We Got The Mo, We Will Win

By the time the last primary/caucus is held, Hillary has to be out of the race.

1. Barack needs a full summer to campaign against McCain who we have to decimate, annihilate in November.
   
2. Barack needs a full summer to give us a 60 strong US Senate.
   
3. Barack needs a full summer with running mate Hillary.
   

How do you get Hillary out?

1. Spend the money. The primaries will be won through TV ads, and there money talks. Already we are giving Hillary a good chase in PA. I think we could win in PA if we do more of it.
   
2. Don't take any remaining state for granted.
   
3. Publicly keep urging the superdelegates to cast their preferences, one way or the other, now. Before the last primary/caucus, all of them must have come out of the closet. These are professionals, they must know by now which horse to pick. You pick the one with the most votes, the most delegates, the most states, the most money, the most volunteers, the most donors.

Summer

1. Pick Hillary immediately.
   
2. Bring in a million people for a summer rally in Central Park.
   

In The News

Mugabe Faces an Uphill Battle in Presidential Runoff (Update2) Bloomberg
The Comedy of Horrors: Obama vs. Clinton The Lincoln Tribune
Political Perceptions: Obama, Overflowing with Glamor Wall Street Journal Blogs
Weekend fix for poll junkies: Obama gains in Gallup, Rasmussen USA Today
Bill Clinton Earned $15.4 Million From Burkle Firm Since 2003 Bloomberg
Three bomb blasts erupt in Nepal's capital USA Today
Nepal ramps up security ahead of key polls AFP Nepal's government began air patrols on Saturday and deployed thousands of police nationwide ahead of key polls planned for next week that will likely abolish the world's last Hindu monarchy. ...... between seven to 25 police stationed at close to 21,000 voting centres ..... "The main challenge on the security front is 'booth capturing' and scaring voters into not turning up" ...... alcohol has been banned from Monday, along with carrying "swords, knife, sticks and batons ....... The lowland districts bordering India have seen sporadic outbreaks of deadly ethnic unrest over the past year, and observers have expressed fears that some of the worst election day violence could take place there.
John McCain regrets now opposing Martin Luther King Jr. holiday Los Angeles Times
McCain Gives Unvarnished View of His Past Wall Street Journal McCain, who has said he will compete for African-American votes ..... He began Monday in Meridian, Miss., near the Navy's McCain Field, named for his grandfather, and devoted most of the subsequent days to discussing his own past. ...... In Annapolis, Md., amid frigid weather and a nonfunctioning TelePrompTer, he skipped a full page of text. ...... he spoke of his poor academic record and demerits for misbehavior. He talked about unauthorized "nocturnal sojourns" off campus and "other petty acts of insubordination." He spoke of a youth spent drinking, dating and generally having a good time. ...... "I knew Fred real well," he said reading one plaque. "He was behind me at the Naval Academy," he said passing another. ..... "What did you do with the officers' club?" he asked a local official. "That's the most important thing!" he said, laughing. It was eradicated, he was told. "Oh no!" McCain replied.
Man lynched for stealing books in Bihar Thaindian.com
India: The Olympic Torch and Tibet Global Voices Online
Police Fire on Tibetan Protesters; 8 Die The Associated Press
IRAQ: Maliki vs Sadr, round 5 Los Angeles Times
The Dems, Now Dancing to His Tune Washington Post
WiMax is suffering from 'growing pains': Intel ZDNet Asia
Microsoft Said to Be Standing Pat on Yahoo New York Times “Since the offer was made, the market has deteriorated and there are numerous indications that Yahoo’s business has declined.”
Lines Drawn for Microsoft and Yahoo, and Neither Is Ceding Ground
What’s Online: At Last, Buffett’s Key to Success is patient and does his research — like most female investors ...... women trade much less often than men, do a lot more research and tend to base their investment decisions on considerations other than just numbers. ...... Men tend to be “frazzled, frenetic day traders, with their ties askew, hair on end and eyes bleary,” she writes. “Patience and good decision-making help set women apart here.” ....... As a result, women’s portfolios on average gain 1.4 percent more than men’s ..... Single women’s portfolios do 2.3 percent better than single men’s. ..... Just like Mr. Buffett, women “typically look beyond the shiniest, newest bio-techno-gadget and focus instead on retailers meeting their needs, on products that they can’t live without, and on consumer goods they buy in their day-to-day lives”
Mobile Phone Industry Takes Aim at the iPhone packing phones with multimedia and Web features. ....... 3.2-megapixel camera ..... high-speed network, includes a navigation function and eight gigabytes of memory, and has Internet radio and easy access to multimedia Web sites like YouTube and Flickr ...... more phones in the coming months were likely to combine touch screens with a keypad or slide-out keyboard
Report: Beyonce and Jay-Z Married on Friday Washington Post in New York ....... Jay wanted it to be a really private affair -- close friends and family. ...... the rapper's TriBeCa apartment ....... friend Gwyneth Paltrow ..... the roof of the building, where a white tent was erected. ..... the couple, who have been dating for several years ..... Gossip blogger Perez Hilton fanned the flames when he reported the wedding would take place Friday, then followed up by posting the address of Jay-Z's apartment as the location. ....... Jay-Z, 37 ..... Beyonce, 26 ..... onetime street hustler from Brooklyn
Verizon reveals plans for airwaves Los Angeles Times faster wireless Internet service by 2010. ..... new rules that forced the winning company to allow consumers to use any device or application on those airwaves. ..... Verizon Wireless has pledged to let customers use any device or software program on its entire network by the end of the year. ..... Having met its primary goal for the auction, Google never submitted another bid ..... the FCC's complex online auction appealed to the geeky side of the company's founders ...... "Larry and Sergey really dove into understanding the details of the auction" ..... "They wanted to be the one that pressed the button"

52 Girls Are Taken From Mormon Sect’s Ranch in Texas New York Times The compound is in Eldorado, roughly 160 miles northwest of San Antonio. ..... The breakaway group continued to teach that a man must have three wives to reach heaven’s highest realms.
In Nepal, a monarchy makes way for democracy Malaysia Star the king at the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz, driving himself and his queen through the crowded streets of Katmandu. ....... Gyanendra's 269-year-old Shah dynasty has reached the end of the line. ...... His US$3.1 million (euro2 million) annual allowance and 10 of the family's palaces were taken away, as were the queen's beauticians and about half his ceremonial guard. ...... a hardheaded businessman with interests in tourism, tea and tobacco. ..... "I know the king certainly believes that he will still be the king next year, and the year after,'' Thapa said. "Maybe he knows something we don't.''
Clinton, Obama visits have Montana Democrats in a festive mood The Missoulian
Obama, Clinton Return to ND The Associated Press

Clintons report $109 million in income over 8 years MarketWatch The Clintons listed $10.25 million in charitable contributions over those eight years. ..... the former president earned more than $10 million in speeches in 2007. He also earned $4.4 million in book income in 2007. ....... the couple have now made 30 years of tax returns public, "a record matched by few people in public service."
Mugabe unleashes thugs in Harare in final bid to stay in power Times Online
Chinese police open fire on protesters United Press International
Polls: Obama Leads Clinton Nationally, Closing Gap in Pennsylvania Trailwatch Pennsylvania polls, where Barack Obama has dramatically narrowed Hillary Clinton’s lead ..... Clinton has averaged 48%, and Obama has averaged 41.4%.
Chelsea Clinton coming to Purdue Monday Journal and Courier
Why China's Olympics is Good for Tibet, Darfur, and Puppies and ... Huffington Post
Sprint Delays Commercial Launch of WiMAX Sci-Tech Today
Jaya accuses Mayawati of targeting Amitabh for cheap publicity Hindustan Times
Amitabh, Shatrughan reunite Rediff
Windows 7, Successor To Vista, May Ship Next Year InformationWeek If Microsoft is moving up the release date for Windows 7, it may be because Vista has received only a lukewarm embrace from home and business computer users. Many have complained about Vista's hefty resource requirements and lack of compatibility with their existing applications.





Despite $20 million haul, signs of trouble emerge for Clinton The Hill the stream of money flowing to the former first lady is slowing significantly ..... While her fundraising numbers would be record-shattering in any other cycle ..... an opponent who appears to have near unlimited resources to counter any attack. ..... Her absence on the airwaves in key states like North Carolina and Indiana had been seen as another indication that money woes were plaguing the campaign. ..... the New York senator’s donor base might not be able to stem the Obama tide.

Carlos Odio In The Washington Post "We came in with a huge disadvantage, and we've introduced him more and more with pretty steady progress," said Carlos Odio, an Obama operative who works on Hispanic outreach in South Texas. "If we were down here for 10 months instead of one and [Obama] could make multiple visits, I'm sure we'd do very, very well. But it just came down to a matter of time and familiarity, and I'm not sure if people got to know him well enough."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/04/AR2008030402755.html



New signs of Mugabe crackdown in Zimbabwe International Herald Tribune
Obama’s Support Softens a Bit, Poll Shows New York Times
India Tiptoes in China’s Footsteps to Compete but Not Offend New York Times
In Iraq, Maliki warns of more offensives Los Angeles Times
Poll shows tight state primary race between Clinton, Obama Indianapolis Star
Obama events bringing buzz to Indiana campaign WLFI.com
Poll: Obama, Clinton Close in US Race The Associated Press Barack Obama, 46 percent Hillary Rodham Clinton, 43 percent
McCain outlines problems to be fixed as Obama gets Carter lift The Herald
Clinton Campaign Backpedals on Richardson Comments CBS News
Clinton to Leno: Bill “Does Get A Little Carried Away Sometimes” CBS News

A Flush Obama Campaign Pulls Out All the Stops Washington Post A whole lot of airtime and office space. ...... Two Obama television ads are airing around the state ..... The Obama campaign's latest gimmick: a high school-outreach program that targets students who will turn 18 by the Nov. 4 general election, making them eligible as primary voters. Indiana students who register at least 20 of their peers by April 6 will be eligible to play three-on-three basketball with Obama, a big-time hoops fan and reputed aggressor on the court.

Jay-Z: Music's $150 Million Man Time "I've turned into the Rolling Stones of hip hop." ..... Madonna announced a 10 year, roughly $120 million deal in 2007, while U2 revealed a 12 year touring and merchandising partnership earlier this week. .... the concert industry is booming. Last year revenues were up 8% to $3.9 billion ...... With top grossing pop (Madonna), rock (U2) and rap (Jay-Z) acts in its stable, the company certainly won't be short on inventory.








Zimbabwe Opposition Offices Raided The Associated Press
Mugabe Party Seems Poised to Fight for Presidency New York Times
Will Mugabe go out like a lion or a lamb? Christian Science Monitor
Dalai Lama Envoy Says Tibet Is Grim The Associated Press
ELECTION NOTEBOOK Clinton: Obama outspending us 4-1 in Pennsylvania MarketWatch
The writing on Clinton's wall Guardian
Obama Catches Clinton in Support From Superdelegate Lawmakers Bloomberg has pulled even with Barack ObamaHillary Clinton in endorsements from top elected officials
Barack Obama: Clinton Slayer Huffington Post
Clinton, Obama Use Different Tactics To Court Superdelegates CBS News Al Gore even joked that he was getting so many call from both sides that in order to do his "60 Minutes" interview with Leslie Stahl, he had to disconnect his phones.
Chelsea Clinton plans three Mountain State stops to stump for mom Daily Mail - Charleston

Michelle Is Back, I Missed Michelle

Just look at her. She is better than Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain put together. Where has she been? This woman gave us Iowa. You can't really give credit to any one person, but if you had to, you would have to give it to her. If we had lost Iowa, we would have been toast. We needed Iowa. And she gave it to us. Woman, are you something or are you something?

Months before the victory she spoke truth to power, the powerful hired hands who ran Obama 2008. She said if we don't win Iowa, we might as well pack up and go home, and she was right. But suddenly the response was, this non-political wife just threw the bus into the ditch. She does not understand the expectations game. (I Stand With Michelle: Iowa Must And Can Be Won)

When I met her in summer 2007 at a Harlem event, I cut a deal. You give us Iowa, we will give you New York City. I meant it. (Michelle Obama Is Just Fabulous) She delivered, I did not. Where I made my mistake was I did not realize half of New York City can't even vote. (My Third World People Don't Get To Vote In This City) But Barack almost took Brooklyn, and he did take the district I live in. Well, Michelle, at least the next Mayor of New York City is going to be a black dude. Sorry for running two years behind schedule.

Barack is contemplative, Michelle is gutsy. It is not like Barack is not strong, but Michelle plain oozes strength. We need her every step of the way. Barack can't pull this thing alone. All his volunteers minus Michelle can't do it either. Michelle is needed.

Another Speech On Race Will Bring Victory In PA



Solution For Florida And Michigan

1. Wait until either Barack or Hillary get 2024, or one drops out.
   
2. Then divide the FL and MI delegates 50-50 between the two and seat them.
   

I can't imagine their not getting seated at the convention.



In The News

Life on the Edge: Learning from Facebook BusinessWeek Facebook now brings together 66 million online users ..... users 35 years old and older account for more than half of Facebook's daily visitors and are the network's most rapidly growing demographic ..... 150,000 active developers, who are now generating more than 20,000 applications. ...... that holy grail—"virality." ..... Applications take off and spread like a flu epidemic ...... "Many crummy trials beat deep thinking." ..... satisfies profound social needs to connect .... social interaction often precedes economic activity
Google: What Goes Up_ finally discovering gravity. First, the company missed Wall Street revenue forecasts in the fourth quarter for the first time ..... stock price has plunged 38% from its all-time peak, an intraday high of $747.24 last November .... "Everyone's scared." ..... the world's most enchanted corporation ..... some key people are leaving for new, potentially more lucrative opportunities. ....... the top sales vice-president who departed last month to become chief operating officer at Facebook ........ Google's seemingly scattershot attempts to find new avenues of growth in everything from online video ads to office software to wireless communications so far haven't produced much revenue. ...... a unique, just-do-it culture that helped it get this far this fast. ...... The company provides no guidance to financial analysts. ...... Its very success has created a company so big that some veterans are now feeling restless. ...... the enchanted corporation may need to search for new ways to maintain the magic.
There Is No Gas Shortage Gasoline reserves on hand are at the highest levels since the early 1990s ...... In January of this year, the U.S. used 4% less petroleum than we did a year ago. (Oil demand was down 3.2% in February.) Furthermore, demand has been falling slowly since July of last year. Ronald Bailey of Reason Online has pointed out that worldwide production of oil has risen 2.5% in the first quarter, while worldwide demand has grown by only 2%. ........ "The record run in oil prices is related more to speculation and a weakening dollar than supply and demand in the market." He added, "In terms of fundamentals, fear of supply reliability is overblown." ...... The dollar has depreciated 30% against the world's currencies since 2002, while the price of oil has gone up 500%. ..... in 2000 approximately $9 billion was invested in oil futures, while today that number has gone up to $250 billion ..... why protect the personal assets of those who were responsible for the mess ...... a free-for-all marketplace with no regulations at all, which lately these "bubble boys" have sent south for all of us. .... Washington missed the obvious: Protect all U.S. consumers and you're also protecting business expansion.
India's Videocon Wants Motorola Phone Biz Venugopal Dhoot, Videocon's 54-year-old chairman, is among India's most ambitious businessmen. Along with his two brothers and their families, Dhoot controls 71% of Mumbai-based Videocon. The Dhoots shot into the limelight in 2005 as the buyers of the picture-tube business of France's Thomson for $291 million. ..... as a typical Indian family-owned business, Videocon has a complex structure of cross-holdings across a web of private companies, with little transparency. ..... Of the 400 million handsets sold globally last year, 120 million were bought in India. ...... the news has stirred Videocon's stock, which climbed by 5%
Facetime with Barack Obama Barack Obama is arguably the most sought-after person in America—with the possible exceptions of soccer star David Beckham and Kristen, the call girl in the Eliot Spitzer scandal. ...... having added $4 trillion worth of debt .......... we should go back to probably a top marginal rate of 39%—what it was before the Bush tax cuts ..... I believe in the market. I believe in entrepreneurship. I believe in capitalism, and I want to do what works. ........ My basic approach to leadership is to hire very good people, set a clear vision for where I want the organization to go…then give people a lot of power to do their jobs and hold them accountable for doing them. .... I know how to manage a team.

How much trouble is Dell really in? CNet it wants to reduce expenses by as much as $3 billion per year over the next three years. ...... How can a company that sat atop the entire computing industry for so long become a shadow of its former self in just two years? ..... HP's growth was estimated at 30 percent in 2007, while Dell's was just 1.7 percent. ...... and suddenly people are more likely to buy a computer at their local Best Buy than ever before. ..... an environment where margins are extremely low
MySpace unveils new music service free streaming music, unprotected MP3 downloads, ringtones, and e-commerce offerings such as merchandise and ticket sales ...... The partnership with MySpace is another sign that the music industry has decided to embrace the Web and digital technology instead of waging war against it. As CD sales continue to shrink and piracy expands, the labels are moving toward the inevitable: a redefining of how they make money from music. ........ MySpace could help modernize the music industry. ...... enable fans to have a fully immersive experience ...... MySpace can offer a place where all aspects of the music experience can be expressed. ....... MySpace, if they don't mess it up, should take the music industry to Music 2.0 ...... MySpace is already one of the largest music communities on the Internet

Obama raised more than $40 million in March Reuters Clinton has significantly less money available ..... Clinton had some $10.9 million in cash left at the end of February compared with $31.6 million for Obama ..... came from some 442,000 contributors, including 218,000 first-time donors. ........ average contribution level was $96
Chelsea Clinton plans three Mountain State stops to stump for mom Daily Mail - Charleston
Donations to DCCC Spike after Clinton Threat To Pelosi Atlantic Online --- that superdelegates ought strongly consider the expressed will of voters in their states. ....... and Nancy is the best .... Nancy is a great unifying force out here and everyone loves her ..... “I I can tell you she’s been disturbed about some of the Clinton campaign’s comments and tactics the last two months, especially saying John McCain would be a better Commander in Chief” ...... she is a secret supporter of Barack Obama's, although Pelosi aides insist that she's been careful to be - and to appear to be -- neutral.

McCain Says He Has List Of About 20 Possible Running Mates U.S. News & World Report
Superdelegate says Clinton needs 'big win' in Pennsylvania Los Angeles Times
Mugabe's Party Sets Sights on Presidential Runoff Vote Voice of America
Nepal as usual kowtows to China Kantipur Online
Dalai Lama urges world community to pressure China on Tibet Monsters and Critics.com
Sen. Obama gets support from proud grandmother The News Journal
Obama Says He Would Give Gore Key Role Shaping Climate Policy Bloomberg
Clinton: “Yo, Adrian!” MSNBC Bill Clinton thought his wife's April Fool's gag yesterday was a hoot ...... his daughter's comment that she thought her mom would be a better president than her dad ..... "We read he bowled there yesterday and bowled 37; she said, 'Finally I found an athletic event that even the middle-aged lady can beat him at, I wanna play that game,'" he said..... launching into a 50-minute discussion on health care, education, the economy, and energy policy. On the latter issue, he talked about the need to invest in clean coal technology

NATO Allies Oppose Bush on Georgia and Ukraine New York Times
China briefs India again on Tibet issue Hindu
Argentina's Christina: Honeymoon Over TIME
The Second Iran-Iraq War Wall Street Journal
New era in space travel begins -- and the US is on the sidelines MinnPost.com
Obama narrows Clinton's lead in Pennsylvania poll Xinhua Clinton winning nearly 60 percent of white Democrats while Obama drawing 75 percent of black voters.

Obama Catches Clinton in Support From Superdelegate Lawmakers Bloomberg with a surge in support from congressional freshmen and governors from Republican-dominated states. ...... endorsed by 16 U.S. House freshmen to Clinton's 6, and 40 percent of his congressional allies are from ``red states' ........ Obama, an Illinois senator, has the support of 99 Democratic U.S. lawmakers and governors, compared with Clinton's 96 ........ Clinton has the support of 250 of the 794 superdelegates; Obama has 220

The Obama Doctrine Wall Street Journal The strike force Mr. Obama envisioned would be in the region, not in Iraq.

Political Sci-Fi

I think this is going to be a very exciting century.

1. Total spread of democracy.
2. Total, global penetration of wireless broadband.
3. Universal access to education, health and credit.
   

Spread Democracy
A Web 3.0 Manifesto
Education, Health, Credit: Universal And Lifelong

You do these three, and you are in political sci-fi territory. It is like we can no longer imagine life before the polio vaccine, life before antiseptics, life before basic hygiene at least in the rich countries. But we do know there is life after all that. We live it, with all the ongoing anxieties. We remain forever hungry for ever more progress.

These three goals look tall for now, but once they are achieved it will be no different from life after the polio vaccine. Life will go on. New challenges will be found. We will stay hungry.

Life goes on.






In The News

Report: Mideast Nuke Race Possible Time an Iranian nuclear weapon frightens the Saudis "to their core" ..... Turkey also would come under pressure to follow suit ..... demands for nuclear energy and for matching Iran's nuclear progress virtually guarantees that three or four Middle Eastern countries will generate nuclear power by 2025.
Bernanke: Recession Is Possible a trio of crises — housing, credit and financial. ...... "Addressing the housing crisis head-on will do as much to instill confidence in the markets as lowering interest rates or bolstering regulatory oversight of wayward mortgage lenders and financial institutions. We need to do all of it."
Obama Keeps Cash Lead Over Clinton Obama raised more than $30 million in the month of March ...... Obama will be able to afford large TV and radio advertising buys in the remaining primary states ..... the New York Senator's total for the month will come close to $20 million .... continued reports that the Clinton campaign is struggling with a persistent debt that at times has reached nearly $9 million ...... Clinton's debt .... hers remains above the norm in size for a campaign at this stage of a race.
Christina's Argentine Honeymoon Ends a spectacle of demonstrations and counter-demonstrations, of rhetoric and bombast ..... she said, adding that she had committed two sins: being democratically elected and "being a woman." ...... the wildfire protests that brought down five presidents in a row after Argentina defaulted on its foreign debt six years ago
How Moqtada al-Sadr Won in Basra Despite the fighting, he never pulled his allies out of the government or withdrew his support from Maliki in Parliament ..... Sadr has proven increasingly adept at politics. .... the Mahdi Army can claim a victory by simply surviving an assault
Zimbabwe Suspense: Is Mugabe Done? "It is increasingly clear that Mugabe has lost the support of the rank and file of the army and the police." ....... Mugabe was once a darling of Africa for his overthrow of white supremacist rule in what was then known as Rhodesia, and was praised in the West for Zimbabwe's excellent education system and relative prosperity. ...... Mugabe regularly rails against homosexuals and a Western conspiracy to recolonize Zimbabwe. ..... elections in 2000, 2002 and 2005 were marred by violence and rigging
The Blue-Collar Battle in Pennsylvania On his first bus tour in the Keystone State, Obama's itinerary is like a gauntlet thrown down before Clinton. Everything about his trip is unconventional, from his choice of towns that he is focusing on — Clinton strongholds like Scranton, Altoona, Wilkes-Barre, mostly working-class and white with lots of Catholics — to his quirky events. ....... at least one Pennsylvania poll shows the race narrowing as Obama outspends Clinton five to one on television and radio ads. And a steady stream of superdelegates breaking for Obama has become a form of Chinese water torture for the Clinton campaign. ...... "I think if he loses by five or six points that will be perceived as a victory."
Zimbabwe Suspense: Is Mugabe Done?
Report: Saudis, Turks May Join Nuke Race
Zimbabwe Ponders Life After Mugabe the prospect of a peaceful exit by the country's longtime leader seems to be growing ...... Mobutu Sese Seko is gone from the Congo; Uganda's Idi Amin went long ago. Autocratic regimes remain in place in Equatorial Guinea and Sudan, but democracy is becoming the norm in much of Africa — and with it, not coincidentally, has come peace. .... the discussions between Mugabe's regime and the opposition, mediated by South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki. ..... If the reports prove true that Mugabe is on his way out, Zimbabwe may well be about to experience nothing short of a rebirth.
A Hispanic Hit at the Cineplex Under the Same Moon follows a nine-year-old boy's travels from Mexico to the U.S. to reunite with his mother, an illegal immigrant who cleans houses in Los Angeles. ...... Latinos buy more movie tickets per person than any other segment of the U.S. population. ...... The median age of Hispanics in the U.S. is 27.4 ..... "It speaks honestly about life in this country as an immigrant and that it never gets easy." ..... "They said, 'I've never seen myself on screen before.'" ..... This weekend the movie will expand from 266 screens to 400 before going wider still on April 4.
Dean: Dems Will Seat Fla. Delegates as long as any agreement is supported by the party's two presidential contenders. ...... without them an agreement is not possible .... Dean said discussions were continuing over Michigan and he was "optimistic" that the state's delegates would also be seated. ...... "multiple solutions and formulas that I think are all reasonable."
Starbucks Looks for a Fresh Jolt Schultz, who took over Starbucks in 1987 and transformed it from a six-shop seller of beans into a thread that runs through our social tapestry ...... Starbucks has been so successful, it may seem unassailable, untouchable--unavoidable. It's not. In fact, the company has had a very difficult year. ...... Its stock has slid some 40% in the past 12 months, shaving more than $400 million from Schultz's personal bean pile. ....... McDonald's, Dunkin' Donuts and several convenience-store chains that have been making a run at Starbucks' customers ...... the zeal of an empire builder .... $10 billion in yearly sales and 16,000 stores in 44 countries ........ John Moore, who was a marketing manager at Starbucks until 2003 and now runs the blog Brand Autopsy ....... Roberts helped Schultz build Starbucks from 1987 to '96 and heeded the call to return as chief creative officer. ..... In 1981 schultz was working in his native New York City for a housewares company when he first traveled to Seattle and stepped inside Starbucks--a narrow store with a worn wooden counter and bins of coffee beans ...... he returned in 1987 with $3.8 million that he'd raised to buy Starbucks and turn it into the company he envisioned. ...... In 1992 Starbucks went public with 140 stores, and from practically the very beginning, the company expanded at a breakneck pace, growing store count 40% to 60% a year. ........ the average store's $1 million annual sales. ..... Tensions over what Starbucks was becoming--cluttered, corporate, soulless--were rising within the company ..... 4,000-some people who work at Starbucks headquarters ..... It was as if he were reassembling the band ....... in downtown Seattle for three days of 14-hour strategy sessions. The retreat started by listening to Beatles music and talking about how great icons reinvent themselves. ....... reinvigorate the "coffee experience." ....... the return of founder CEOs. ...... a brilliant visionary and a genuinely compassionate human being ..... "Entrepreneurs sometimes don't grow with the business. ...... Too much focus on numbers means less focus on customers
Bush to Bypass Laws to Build Fence 670 miles of fence ..... two types of wild cats — the ocelot and the jaguarundi — in even more danger of extinction. They say the fence would prevent them from swimming across the water to mate.

In Speeches, Clinton Often Veers to Dark Side Washington Post In hushed tones, sometimes with palpable sadness in her voice, Clinton tells dark, difficult anecdotes picked up on the campaign trail. They are often related to health matters, culled from her conversations with voters, and are designed to illustrate a policy point. ....... her ability to listen attentively to voters she meets ...... Clinton, who has only recently grown more comfortable talking about herself
Clinton’s Persistence Could Help Obama New York Times and then took a relatively long stroll across the tarmac to her plane ...... at moments she seems almost carefree ..... She recognizes that she probably will not win the nomination. ..... there are still 10 contests to go, with perhaps 43 millions votes to be counted. ...... post-Pennsylvania states where people are thrilled to be part of a process from which they are normally excluded. ..... “This will be the biggest political event in Montana in generations” ...... Pittsburgh had been retrofitted from steel to biosciences
Maureen Dowd: The Hillary Waltz the best way for Obama to prove he’s ready to stare down Ahmadinejad is by putting away someone even tougher
Elite Colleges Reporting Record Lows in Admission Harvard College, for example, offered admission to only 7.1 percent of the 27,462 high school seniors who applied ..... the ease of online applications, expanded financial aid packages, aggressive recruiting of a broader range of young people, and ambitious students’ applying to ever more colleges ..... More than 2,500 of Harvard’s 27,462 applicants scored a perfect 800 on the SAT critical reading test, and 3,300 had 800 scores on the SAT math exam. More than 3,300 were ranked first in their high school class.... “Where we went to college does not set us up for success or keep us away from it.”
On the Campaign: One Bruising Scenario for Clinton Clinton’s best hope now is that Mr. Obama, as a candidate, suffers a political collapse akin to what has happened to the subprime mortgage market ...... Obama has had trouble in competing for Latino voters ..... the potent images of Mr. Wright at the pulpit.
On the Hill: Nancy Pelosi, Mystery Delegate Ms. Pelosi is in a class by herself when it comes to the nominating whirl since, as speaker of the House, she will preside over the Democratic National Convention as chairwoman. ..... the nation’s highest ranking Democratic elected official ...... China is an intensely personal issue for Ms. Pelosi .... would probably be willing to make a pick if she believed it was necessary. ..... she is not about to let a little thing like a historic White House race threaten her plans for an extended House majority.
On the Record: Separating Gender and Political Identity in Clinton Story any Internet search of images of Mrs. Clinton quickly summons “all sorts of visceral and emotional reactions to women, but attached to her” - such as Mrs. Clinton in full attire as the Wicked Witch of the West. Ms. Dolan also noted that gender stereotypes are among the “most engrained,” and argued that much of the news media coverage - from whether Mrs. Clinton was too tough to whether she was crying on cue - played off of those stereotypes. ....... “A lot of men just don’t like her,” said Mr. Kohut. “And that gets us back to the argument, is it something about her, or is it her gender?” ..... “The notion that she is a Rorschach test for where we are on gender issues was true on day one, when we met her, and it’s absolutely true today,” said Ms. Dolan. “So when people say, it’s just her, I don’t buy it.”

I Am Different

Your presence is foreign, as strange to me as a thing.
I think, I explore great tracts of my life before you.
My life before anyone, my harsh life.

I Am Different

The vast landscape out west
The tall mountains of Colorado
That take you down the mind alleys
All the way back to Nepal

The blaring traffic in Manhattan
The honks, the shouts
The bustle on a tired afternoon
In Jackson Heights
That remind of
Asan in Kathmandu
Janak Chowk in Janakpur

The mud roads of my childhood
Of kids hitting the pond water
With their tiny feet

The bus to Janakpur
Crowded with people
All the way to the roof top
It is no small wonder
The bus does not just veer off
By the roadside

The incessant monsoon rains
That come unfailingly each year
No drizzle
But floods and gushes
Washing away houses and paddy fields

I have walked to the snow line
Up in the Himalayas
It got blue cold
But my first snowy winter
Was in Kentucky
My homevillage, hometown
Flat as the floor
Less than a hundred feet above sea level
Less than a hundred miles from Everest
That I have never seen

India was never a foreign country
To me
My home was only a few miles from the border
Half the extended family was on the other side
But for the strong anti-India sentiment
In Nepal, in Pakistan, in Sri Lanka, in Bangladesh
I had to come all the way to America
To claim my Indian half

Delhi, Patna
Much of north India in between
I saw
I missed out on
Alaska, Hawaii

What does it mean to you
That I have been different places
I grew up some place very different
I was 23 when I landed in Seattle
The cab ride from the airport in Kentucky
Cost me a small fortune of 70 bucks

I had 200 dollars with me



I Dedicate This City To You
Love Is The Reason
CSC
Yellow Rose
Yellow Rose To Reclaim
Yellow Roses To Keep
Yellow Roses

How you must have suffered getting accustomed to me,
my savage, solitary soul, my name that sends them all running.

Another Speech On Race Will Bring Victory In PA

Another Speech On Race Will Bring Victory In PA



That first speech on race was a super hit: almost four million hits on YouTube so far. But it is race that still haunts us. Race is the reason we are behind in PA. Hillary's margin comes from her lead among white voters, which is in high double digits right now.

But that was not exactly a speech on race, it was a damage control speech on race in response to some real intense stuff from Jeremiah Wright. God damn America? US of KKKA? I mean, I have said United f____g States, but what Wright said is in a whole different league.

What Barack needs to deliver is a speech on race. I was hoping he would do that right after South Carolina. But I kind of liked it that he tried to suggest his way to deal with race is to not talk about it too much. I wish that were so. But it has become obvious Barack might have moved on, but the country has not. His family might have moved on half a century ago, but the rest of the country still struggles with it.

I have just the speech for him: JFK, Obama Parallels: Catholic, Black.



He has to do what his father did as a foreign student in Hawaii at a bar in the 1950s. Some random white guy hurled a racial slur at the senior Barack. Senior Barack patiently walked over to the man and explained to him as to why it was not okay why he did that. The man got so impressed he paid for Barack Senior's lodging for a few months, something like that.

What his father did to that one man, now Barack Junior gets to do to an entire country. He has to face the fact that race is still a major issue in this country's life. Some would say it is The Issue. Then he has to suggest America's diversity is what gives it great strength, otherwise Shanghai also has the skyscrapers.

The wide gap Hillary has over Barack in PA is not because these folks don't know yet where Barack might stand on Iraq or health care. And it is only a small bit about being less familiar with Barack. It is to do with race. And they are asking for help. These are not racist bigots. These are just people used to a certain way of thinking, and noone of any national stature ever told them otherwise. Barack gets to be that person.

There is no skipping this race issue. Race has to be talked of as a diversity issue, and diversity has to be shown to how we will cure the big problems like global warming.

Besides, that is the only way to compete with Lincoln in the greatness department. That guy ended slavery, you cure racism. It can be done. There is concrete data on disparity. And the number one thing to do is engineer a total spread of democracy.

Talking About Race, Finally
The Need For A Race Gender Coalition
Tackling Race As An Issue The Average Person Way
How To Play The Race Card In South Carolina
Barack Tackles Race Head On In A South Carolina Speech
Race, Gender

The Bio Ads Are Working

Already Hillary's lead in PA is down to single digits and we still have weeks. It is hard for the political junkies to imagine, but Barack is not well known at all. Half of PA does not know he gave that speech in 2004.

Where Is Michelle? I Miss Michelle

Michelle was all over the place all the way to the victory in Iowa, and then also through January. Then she kind of disappeared. She is not as high profile no more. Granted the Obamas have two young daughters, and Michelle does have a career of her own. But you show Obama alone on the campaign trail a little too often and voters start to think maybe he is single.

The president is expected to be reassuring on the family question. Voters like to feel the top person is a family man. Otherwise voters get a little disoriented.

Iowa is all white. And Michelle is a big reason we won there. I know it is not about race. It is not a racial calculation on Michelle's part to stay away. It is her two kids on her mind. Well, she should win this one, and then both she and her husband get to see the two kids every day when they come back from school.

Get Michelle back in the game. Send her all over PA. We need a victory, yo! The two Obamas must make at least a few joint appearances each week. That we should be able to take for granted.

I Stand With Michelle: Iowa Must And Can Be Won
Michelle Obama Is Just Fabulous



In The News

Obama considers Gore for cabinet post Sydney Morning Herald, Australia He's somebody I talk to on a regular basis. I'm already consulting with him in terms of these issues but climate change is real. ...... "All of us are going to have to change our habits. We are a wasteful culture," he said. ..... Using compact fluorescent light bulbs, energy efficient appliances, and unplugging power chargers when they're not in use are relatively simple solutions, he said. ...... "Those kinds of simple steps, if everybody takes them, can drastically reduce our energy consumption."

Social Media Will Change Your Business BusinessWeek Your customers and rivals are figuring blogs out. Our advice: Catch up…or catch you later ..... they're simply the most explosive outbreak in the information world since the Internet itself. ..... The divide between the publishers and the public is collapsing. This turns mass media upside down. It creates media of the masses. ...... "Blogs are what's causing the Web to grow" .... It's wrapped up far more in people's day-to-day lives. It's connected to time. ..... Picture the blog world as the biggest coffeehouse on Earth. ....... the blogs track what's on our minds. ..... "Never in the history of market research has there been a tool like this." ...... mainstream media will start to look more and more like—you guessed it—blogs ...... Popular blogs can land sponsorship deals for as much as $25,000 per month, say consultants. O.K. money for an entrepreneur, but a rounding error in the ad industry. ....... $410 million for About Inc., a collection of 500 specialized Web sites that smell strongly of blogs ..... Blog reporters showed their value following the Asian tsunami in December. Thousands of them posted pictures, video footage, and articles about the disaster long before the first accredited journalists showed up. ........ The winners will be those who host the very best conversations.

Mugabe's Zanu-PF loses majority BBC News
Endorsements, Focus Aid Obama in Pennsylvania Yahoo! News
Beer and bowling: Obama plays the regular guy Times of India
Obama to Clinton: 'Rocky' was a movie Baltimore Sun
Unions give Obama a big welcome PennLive.com
Clinton Challenges Obama to Bowling Throwdown NPR Instead of withdrawing, Clinton challenged Barack Obama to a bowling contest. ...... She added: "Happy April Fool's Day, everybody."
Hillary Clinton is ready to meet Barack Obama in the nearest alley Los Angeles Times
Wyoming Governor Endorses Obama The Associated Press
Obama claims victory in Texas The Australian, Australia “The Obama-Clinton match-up in Texas is now complete and there's not the slightest question about who won. .... “It is unequivocal, it is 100 percent clear, that Senator Obama won Texas and won it probably by five (delegates).”

Polls: Obama Gains on Clinton in Pa. The Associated Press by drawing more support from men and younger voters ..... her lead has steadily eroded from 16 points in mid-February and 12 points in mid-March ...... Since mid-February in Pennsylvania, Obama has gone from trailing Clinton among men by 10 percentage points to running even. He now leads among people under age 45 by 9 points, reversing an 11-point deficit. ..... Clinton leads in the state among people without college degrees, but what was a 29-point margin in February is now 19 points. ..... She has a 25-point lead among whites and almost as big a margin with women, which have changed little since February. ..... whites, who make up 86 percent of Pennsylvania's population, about 6 points above the national average ...... Obama was endorsed by the state's popular Democratic senator, Bob Casey

John McCain Has Carly Fiorina On His Mind

John McCain looks in Carly Fiorina's direction and he likes what he sees. He is like, dang, I can't be black, but I sure can get a woman on the ticket. Otherwise I have no chance at this thing. I might have no chance regardless, but at least if I have Carly on the ticket, I prevent total collapse in November. That is the John McCain thought train, and I admire him for that.



This video below is by yours truly. I am a Carly admirer. I think she was very unfairly thrown out of HP. It was sexist.



McCain might look like a tough guy because he has been a vet, but he is hopeless on economic issues. He needs desperate help. And who better than Carly? It is a thumbs up from me. I am a Carly Fiorina fan.

Without Carly on the ticket, McCain will get trounced. He might carry five states in November.





In The News

Mugabe party loses Parliament, official results show International Herald Tribune
Nepal Police Detain Tibetan Protesters The Associated Press
For India, Tibet Poses Some Delicate Issues Washington Post
Al-Sadr Stronghold Brims With Confidence The Associated Press
The Early Word: Former Rep. Hamilton Tilts Obama New York Times
Clinton Leads Obama in Pennsylvania as Electorate Split by Race Bloomberg The March 24-31 survey released today found that Clinton has support of 50 percent of likely Democratic voters in Pennsylvania compared with 41 percent who support Obama. A March 18 Quinnipiac poll found that Clinton had 53 percent to 41 percent for Obama. ..... Clinton, 60, a New York senator, has support from 59 percent of the state's white voters, compared with 34 percent who back Obama.
Clinton lead narrows in Pennsylvania Boston Globe her lead in must-win Pennsylvania has shrunk into the single digits -- to 50 percent to 41 percent over Barack Obama .... The two are running even among men.
Obama Casts Race Between Him, McCain The Associated Press remarks McCain recently made when he said the U.S. could end up having a long-term military presence in Iraq, similar to the more than 50-year presence of U.S. soldiers in Germany and South Korea

McCain Derides Obama's National Security Thinking Washington Post
Clinton's Real Choice Washington Post of emerging from the primaries with a lead in the popular vote, though it seems impossible for her to overtake Obama in the delegate count. Clinton's campaign song has become: Don't Stop Thinking About the Next Primary. Kevin Rudd offers help to Hillary Clinton Sydney Morning Herald Democrats fear the battle between the two senators will damage the party in the presidential race. Mr Clinton said it was strengthening the party.

Superdelegates turn increasingly to Obama Houston Chronicle Clinton still leads Obama among committed superdelegates 250 to 217, but Obama has been steadily closing the gap. Since Super Tuesday on Feb. 5, 64 superdelegates have announced their support for Obama, compared with nine for Clinton. That trend is increasing pressure on Clinton, who trails Obama in two other important benchmarks — total delegates and overall popular vote — to consider stepping aside. ..... Of the nearly 800 superdelegates, roughly 330 remain undecided.
Obama Fails to Assuage White Indiana Voters With Speech on Race Bloomberg this overwhelmingly white region ..... He was able to use what was a pretty potentially dangerous issue for his campaign as a way to reinforce his campaign message ..... 39 percent of all white voters said the controversy made them less favorable toward Obama. ..... Wright is heard saying ``God damn America'' and ``U.S. of KKKA'' ..... the Indiana contest is competitive. Even if he loses in Pennsylvania, winning in Indiana and North Carolina two weeks later could allow him to wrap up the nomination. ...... culturally conservative southwest Indiana ..... ``I understood where he was coming from, but I don't think anyone else will,'' said Rivera, who currently is backing Clinton. ..... Obama may be able to turn Indiana around. He is stepping up efforts to court white rural voters in Pennsylvania, where he is on a six-day bus tour
Zimbabwe group says Mugabe trails in race Boston Globe Zimbabwe election laws require that a winning candidate get more than 50 percent of the vote. The new election probably would be held on April 19. ..... the observer group, a coalition of 38 nongovernmental organizations. ...... even his once-massive advantage in rural areas has eroded ..... Tsvangirai might win a majority.