Bill Clinton's Swift Tongue

Obama ‘Stunned’ by Clinton ‘Swift Boat’ Claim NewsMax.com Bill Clinton’s assertion that his wife Hillary faced a Republican-style “swift boat” attack during and after the recent Democratic debate has drawn fire from Democratic rival Barack Obama. ...... discussed attempts by the debate moderators and Hillary’s rivals to get her to explain her stance on giving driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. ..... He likened attacks on Hillary to a “scandalous” 2004 ad by John Kerry’s fellow swift boat Vietnam veterans, which questioned Kerry’s military valor. ...... “Why am I saying this? Because I had the feeling that at the end of that last debate we were about to get into cutesy land again.” ........ “I was pretty stunned by that statement.” .. “How you would then draw an analogy to distorting somebody’s military record is a reach.” .. Even the Hillary Clinton campaign sought to distance Hillary from her husband’s comments. A senior adviser to the campaign said the remarks were considered counterproductive ....... by taking on Bill Clinton, Obama was going after one of Hillary’s key campaign assets

The swift boat ads can be compared to when Max Cleland got labeled a traitor. That is a valid comparison. John Kerry served honorably in Vietnam. You don't put out an ad questioning his patriotism. Max Cleland lost limbs in Vietnam. The guy probably is very patriotic. But the Republicans managed to turn the tables on both of them. Draft dodging duo Bush and Cheney were patriotic, but Kerry, well, he was another story.

But how do you go from there to Hillary Clinton being asked as to where she stands on the issuance of drivers' licenses to illegal immigrants. How is that swift? How is that boat? How is that veteran? How is that an ad?

Bill Clinton is a great guy. He was a great president. He remains a progressive idol. He has a sharp mind. He loves his wife. But this is stretching it even by Bill Clinton's standards.

"Sometimes I hear some of these candidates talking, it's like they make me feel like a mummy. I'm only 61. I don't think I've got a leg in the grave yet."
- Bill Clinton

This is classic Bill Clinton. The only thing any Dem running for president makes Bill Clinton feel is like wanting to hit the campaign trail. Noone makes him fee like a mummy. But he is like, what the heck, so what do I have to say to get these seniors in Iowa to vote for my wife?





In The News

Bill Clinton and Obama Agree: GOP Will Make Immigration an Issue Washington Post, United States "My estimation is that the Republicans will run on two issues, and two issues only," he said. "Terrorism and immigration. That is going to be their campaign." ..... in a way that shows the United States can be a "nation of laws and a nation of immigrants at the same time." ...... The former president is known to believe that of all the issues likely to be at the forefront of the 2008 campaign, immigration holds the greatest potential peril for the Democrats. ...... "It is a difficult, complicated and important issue," he said. "What I thought was not good was waiting until the very end [of the debate], when we were in the part where everybody was supposed to answer the question in 30 seconds, and then asking all the candidates to hold their hands up. Because I thought it made all the Democrats vulnerable to a Swift Boat kind of ad in the general election." ........ Clinton said he has a hard and fast rule. "I don't criticize the other Democrats. I can disagree with them on the issues, but I want to keep our party together. I want us to win in November. And the thing I didn't like about the way that Mr. Russert [NBC's Tim Russert] asked the question was it was like setting them all up to be cartoonized. That's what I mean." ...... The Democratic position takes time to explain and includes plenty of qualifiers to soften the message that they favor providing a path to legal status for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants now in the country.
Bill Clinton Says His Wife Took the Rap on Health Care New York Times
Bill Clinton Casts Glow Over Wife's Presidential Campaign FOX News No town is too small or off the beaten track for the former president in a state with a tightening race. ...... locals appear happy to have him. Curiosity-seekers ..... Clinton kept them applauding as he pinch-hit for his absent wife ...... "She's tough, she's smart, and she's disciplined, and she definitely can win." ..... only 27 percent of respondents thought a Hillary Clinton presidency would be an extension of her husband's two terms. Sixty-seven percent said it would be different. ....... only 34 percent of respondents believe Hillary Clinton is honest ...... Nov. 4 and 7 shows Hillary Clinton maintaining a strong lead nationally, even though she's slipping. It showed her with 41 percent support over Obama's 22 percent. A similar Rasmussen poll taken in mid-October showed her with 49 percent, and Obama with 22 percent. ....... "Part of it's generational," Obama told FOX News Wednesday. "Senator Clinton and others have been fighting some of the same fights since the '60s." ....... "Hillary and I, maybe we're just artifacts," he said. "Sometimes I hear some of these candidates talking, it's like they make me feel like a mummy. I'm only 61. I don't think I've got a leg in the grave yet." ........... "You know, I was over at the paper and my husband called. I told him I'd lost my voice, and he said, 'I lost my voice in New Hampshire. It's a good omen!' That is my husband, he always sees the bright side of everything," she said.
Ohio Governor Endorses Clinton New York Times, United States I am doing this out of a deeply felt conviction that Senator Clinton has the skills, the experience, the strength, and the courage to be a great president ...... a week-long news cycle that has been largely tough for Mrs. Clinton ...... warning her rivals not to engage in “Swift Boat” style attacks ..... He obviously counsels and advises me every single day ..... she could be heard coughing hard at one point on the phone call today.
Clinton: Bill advises me whenever he can DesMoinesRegister.com “I’m thrilled to have his support and look forward to being able to call on him in every capacity I can imagine.” .... “9,000 active Democrats being whipped up to get ready for the caucuses on Jan. 3.” .... Strickland said “these are very serious times for our nation,” and Clinton has the best understanding of the problems and is the best prepared to lead.
Poll Suggests Clinton Is Vulnerable Wall Street Journal reservations about Sen. Clinton's truthfulness and ideology, even as Americans applaud her experience and leadership qualities. .... She is in a virtual dead heat with leading Republican candidate Rudy Giuliani when the two are matched up. ..... "This is an exceptionally close election" less than a year before Election Day. ...... the former New York City mayor slammed Mrs. Clinton for displaying "the worst of the Clinton years" by equivocating in the debate on driver's licenses for illegal immigrants. "If you think a question about driver's licenses is a tough question, a gotcha question, you're not ready for [Iranian leader Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad," Mr. Giuliani told a New Hampshire town hall meeting a few days ago. ........... noting that in the case of Social Security her demurrals are designed to avoid "a Republican trap."
The Clinton Conundrum: Bill's Defense Undermines Hillary's Candidacy FOX News His stout defense of his wife saps her credibility and raises doubts about her potential strength as a president. With his every speech and utterance, the question grows: Can she stand up for herself or does she need to hide behind her husband? ..... The stereotype of the strong man standing up for his besieged wife is deeply ingrained in our psyche. But even as it feeds admiration for his chivalry, it also undermines her reputation for strength and independence. ....... a global matrix of terrorists ..... Bill Clinton is way too far out there for Hillary’s good. He needs to take the same kind of slow boat to China that he sent her on during his White House years ........ she is ducking issues and dancing around making commitments. ....... a sense that she may be too weak to be president. After all, the men who run Al Qaeda, Iran, Russia and China have a tendency to pile on also. ....... A strong wife implies a weak husband and vice versa. ..... The fact that Bill has been president just makes his intervention the more obvious and politically costly. .... Bill needs to go home and get a life.
If it is the economy, GOP may be in trouble Los Angeles Times
Suzanne Goldenberg asks whether women will vote for Hillary Clinton Guardian Unlimited, UK The most talked-about news story that day was a fashion item in the Washington Post deconstructing Clinton's neckline. Did the sliver of flesh above her V-neck top really constitute cleavage ...... I feel that a woman can represent my interests better - no matter how liberal or progressive a man is ...... Among Latina women in Los Angeles, she ranked ahead of Mother Teresa. African-American women in Philadelphia put her just behind Oprah Winfrey .... her Georgetown mansion ...... the contacts book of that natural-born schmoozer, Bill Clinton ....... a vote for Clinton was a vote for the status quo. ...... It is just 29 years since the first woman was elected to the Senate in her own right, rather than appointed to replace an inconveniently deceased husband or father. ........ the United States ranks 67th - between Zimbabwe and Turkmenistan - in terms of the representation of women. That translates into 16% of the seats in Congress: 71 women members in the 435-seat House of Representatives, and 16 in the 100-seat Senate. ......... "What if she is supposed to push the button to fire the missiles and she can't because she has just done her nails?" ...... "My campaign was almost entirely inspired by my then 10-year-old niece, who was looking at her social studies books and saying: 'But Auntie Carol, all the presidents are boys.'" ....... The words that came to mind when people thought of Hillary Clinton were: Bill, husband, intelligence and strength, but also phoney, sneaky, way too feminist, backstabber and she-devil. ......... The harshest critics are often other women. ...... Ferraro had encountered outrage among some women that she had dared to play in a male arena. ....... When Clinton was endorsed by the National Organisation for Women, a Christian women's group known as the Concerned Women of America put out a sour statement asserting: "Hillary needs a reality check if she thinks that a majority of women voters embrace radical feminism." ....... we talk about Hillary Clinton. Because she is the first, she has tested many of the issues that are really not about her, but about the deeply cultural issues that have kept women out of leadership ............ Only 55% of those polled say the country is ready, and among women the figure is just 51%. ....... Women, Schroeder says, don't have a "uniform" for politics, unlike men with their "red tie, white shirt, blue jacket". ....... Perching on a stool during a debate might allow male candidates to look casual and relaxed, she says; for women, it is a nightmare of worrying whether their slip is showing. ....... Clinton's favourite outdoor pursuit is walking, and when she wants to de-stress she cleans out her closets - neither of which are particularly photogenic. ........ In the 1964 film Kisses for My President, the improbably elected female leader of the free world resigns when she gets pregnant. Her husband rejoices that while it took the votes of millions of women to put the president in office, it took only one man to get her out.
Gender Card: Hillary Shuffles the Deck The Nation., NY a chorus line of media pundits denounced her for having hurt the cause of feminism by acting like the injured girl and dealing the "gender card." ........ I mean, this is the NFL. This is not Wellesley versus Smith in field hockey ...... a morality play in which men are the rescuers and women the victims in need of rescuing ....... "Every suburban mother's greatest fear" was now not a black man's mug shot but a Muslim terrorist's, and every suburban mother was recast as a Security Mom (a mythical creature, as it happened, but that's another story). ...... Both George W. Bush and John Kerry worked hard to position themselves as the King of the Wild Frontier. (Both granted long interviews to hunting and fishing magazines; both bragged about their gun collections; Bush whacked at sagebrush and tree stumps; Kerry stalked wild animals and waved their bloody pelts at journalists.) ........ "Ashley's Story" was critical to the election results. Political analysts scored it "the most effective ad" of the political season ....... when the Kerry's strategists raced to air the ads, they discovered they'd been trumped: The Bush campaign had bought up the commercial time in the big swing states. ......... as much to do with gender as security ...... So far, the only person who has a lock on rescuing women is the one female candidate. ...... By hugging girls while trying to gut equal-opportunity programs, the White House was working hard to institute its own cult of victimhood. ....... at the core of all American political rescue fantasies is a young woman in need.
Buffeted by critics, Clinton hits rough patch Reuters Buffeted by attacks from her rivals and accused of political double-talk, Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton has hit a rough patch on the road to her party's nomination. ........ A big lead in New Hampshire has weakened a bit. ...... A win in Iowa can generate momentum for the next state contest in New Hampshire, and beyond. ....... On the stump, Clinton tries to remain above the fray.
Credit crunch has only just begun: James Saft
Obama Notes 'Reversal' for Clinton on Energy Washington Post her sketchy record on ethanol would catch up with her in Iowa. ........ her previous opposition to ethanol incentives ...... The state produces and consumes it in enormous quantities. Obama's home state of Illinois is another industry leader, and the senator has been a consistent booster. ...... 13 votes cast by Clinton from 2002 to 2006 that could be construed as anti-ethanol ....... Clinton's energy plan aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050, and to cut foreign oil imports by two-thirds from 2030 projected levels, more than 10 million barrels per day. ..... Clinton proposed increasing the national goal for biofuel use to 60 billion gallons by 2030, with almost half of that coming from advanced biofuels like cellulosic ethanol, which is more effective at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and can be produced from products other than corn, including straw and woodchips. One state investing heavily in commercial cellulosic ethanol development: New York.
Clinton the target for Democrats in Iowa AFP the rockiest week of her 2008 campaign. ..... In 2003, the dinner was seen as the moment when Senator John Kerry breathed new life into his campaign

Why you should care about Google Android ZDNet UK will be location-based and identity-based ...... Android devices with touchscreens. Since the iPhone, everything has to have a touchscreen ..... There are projections of billions of dollars of advertising revenue from the mobile internet. ........ In exchange for giving up their walled gardens, the operators get the promise of a cheaper handset platform, and one which will develop faster and have more applications — if the Android ecosystem works as planned. ...... Android is already doing far better than any previous Linux phone effort. ...... Android is already doing far better than any previous Linux phone effort. ....... the Open Handset Alliance, a group of 34 hardware and software companies plus wireless carriers committed to creating open standards for mobile devices. ....... Google says that three billion people have mobile phones, compared with the billion on the internet — but the majority of those phones are low-end feature phones that won't be able to benefit from Android. Most of the users are on pre-pay rather than a contract, so they won't be able to benefit from the high-value, identity-related services that might be offered on top of Android.
Ballmer: Google Only Ahead Of Microsoft In Search eWeek

Obama tries to convert promise to support in Iowa Reuters draws big crowds and raises big money ....... a race he entered earlier this year in a blaze of excitement, publicity and record-setting fund raising. ...... "Senator Obama is the only candidate who can bring the sort of change we need. He seems very genuine to me" ...... With less than two months left until the Iowa contest, Obama is spending more time in the state and building a vast grass-roots organization featuring more than 30 field offices that has impressed local Democrats. ....... "We recognize the importance of Iowa -- we're going to be spending the bulk of our time here and in New Hampshire in the last two months," said campaign spokesman Robert Gibbs. New Hampshire is expected to hold the second state contest. ....... one Obama backer said he had the ability to talk directly about issues. ..... "When you ask a question he actually answers it"
Obama takes on Clinton x2 Baltimore Sun ALBIA, Iowa -- At times Thursday, it was as if Sen. Barack Obama was running against two Clintons. ....... "If part of your basis for experience is the work you did on health care, then presumably, when it didn't work that's part of experience as well," he said. .... "My understanding is that President Clinton is not on the ballot."
With Obama In Iowa: "How Are You Going To Beat Hillary?" CBS News A new Zogby Poll out today shows the race in Iowa is tightening. Three percentage points now separate Hillary the Leader from Barack the Challenger. Some suspect that's why Bill Clinton is campaigning in western Iowa today. ........ "Every family has a black sheep," he says to gales of laughter. ...... "Longevity," he shouts, "says nothing about your judgment or your character." He says he will end the war in Iraq during his presidency. "It will be the first thing that I do," he said. ....... A woman asks him, "How are you going to beat Hillary?" ..... He tells another voter he's against Michael Mukasey as attorney general. Torture is torture, says Obama. He can't support someone who is ambivalent or ambiguous about it. ..... he says it is not practical to send 12 million people back home. ...... He handles each topic with relative ease, conveying confidence. His audience listens closely, and unlike many political rallies I've attended, in this one nobody leaves early.
Rumble Is On For Obama CBS News a tougher, more competitive tone in the debates and on the stump ...... “I think there was a period of time when things were static and people liked what they were hearing from me, but they didn't have a sense that there were significant differences between me and Sen. Clinton.” ........ At stop after stop, Obama tries to draw even sharper distinctions with Clinton on Iraq, on Iran, on immigration and on who could better unite the country. Voters are taking notice. “He's sharpening himself and honing himself and I think that's more effective than being Mr. Nice Guy,” said Iowa caucus voter Nancy Nieland. ...... Obama says playing it safe is for others - Clinton for example. “I don’t fault her for that. That is how people have been taught politics in Washington. That’s conventional wisdom, right?” Obama said. “You make yourself a small target by avoiding being definitive about anything.” Democrats have tried that before, he says - and lost.
Firing It Up On the Stump Washington Post the "wine and cheese as opposed to the beer and pretzels crowd" ....... He's a late bloomer. "What I do believe, and this was true of my U.S. Senate race, as we get along in the campaign, my stump speeches get more effective and I become a sharper campaigner," Obama said. ...... he is more jazz than pop. "I tend not to write out my stump speeches," Obama said. "Often times I'm sort of developing them on the stump, figuring out what feels right, what suits my voice. Listening to people's stories - that then informs how I'm talking." ........ his speeches could veer into wonkish territory. ...... He polished up the closing portion, a riff on a early morning visit to Greenwood, S.C. ...... "But here's the thing, Ottumwa," Obama told a crowd in eastern Iowa yesterday. "After about a minute or two, I'm feeling kind of fired up. I'm feeling like I'm ready to go." The audience laughed. "It goes to show you how one voice can change the mood of the room," Obama continues. "And if a voice can change a room it can change a city. And if it can change a city it can change a state. If it can change a state it can change a country, and if it can change a country it can change the world. Your voice can change the world. So I want to know - are you fired up? Ready to go?" The chant filled the school gymnasium as Obama walked off stage.
Now Obama & Clinton are talkin' about her generation USA Today
Obama Focuses on Pensions, Retirement The Associated Press
Obama Ad Targets Blue Collar Workers The Associated Press
Obama vows to ensure 'secure and dignified' retirement Boston Globe
Bill Clinton Says His Wife Took the Rap on Health Care New York Times
Bill Clinton Casts Glow Over Wife's Presidential Campaign FOX News
Clinton: Blame Me for Health Failure The Associated Press
In Surveys, Clinton, Giuliani Gain Edge on Primary Rivals Wall Street Journal
Giuliani, Clinton Lead Presidential Race The Associated Press
Clinton vs. Giuliani: Two Sinister Pols Could Face Off Bay Area Indymedia
Clinton Gets an Instant Chance to Wield a New Weapon New York Times
Tips from the Clinton campaign San Diego Union Tribune Hillary Clinton's detractors accuse her of being a lot of things: too liberal, too divisive and, now, a lousy tipper. ..... National Public Radio aired an interview with Anita Esterday, an Iowa waitress who served Clinton a sandwich during a drop-by at the Maid-Rite restaurant in Toledo, Iowa, last month. ...... Esterday posed for photos with Clinton and told her how difficult it is being a single mother working two jobs to make ends meet. Clinton may have been a sympathetic listener, but not sympathetic enough to leave a gratuity, the waitress told NPR. "I mean, nobody got left a tip that day," Esterday said. "I don't think she understood what I was saying."

Kerik’s Corruption Case Dogs Giuliani New York Times
McCain offers Ridge in contrast to Kerik Boston Globe
US Senate Confirms Michael Mukasey as Attorney General Voice of America
Body of journalist recovered in Nepal Hindu
Pakistan's Bhutto Under House Arrest, 5000 Supporters Rounded Up ABC News
Two Gangster Films Shed Light on 70s Drug World in New York Voice of America
Congress Turns Back Bush’s Veto in a Test of Power New York Times

Georgia's president moves up elections Los Angeles Times
Musharraf Says He’ll Give Up Army Post and Hold Elections New York Times He made clear that he was counting on a newly formed Supreme Court, filled with appointees loyal to him, to confirm his re-election as president. ....... “There were a lot of arrests all over Punjab, including of women,” said Qasim Zia, a party leader in Lahore. “Police broke down doors to get into the houses.” ....... an unknown number of lawyers -- 1,000 or more, according to some estimates -- have been arrested. ....... a judge in Lahore, Irfan Qadir, who granted bail to 54 human rights advocates arrested Sunday, was removed from the bench and relegated to a desk job as a way of punishment ........ The leader of the lawyers’ movement, Aitzaz Ahsan, a Cambridge University attorney, was allowed his first visitor Wednesday ...... Under the measure, journalists whose reports bring “ridicule or disrepute” on General Musharraf and other officials could face up to three years in prison. ....... The president appeared to have a plan in mind for the future that would preserve his position as president without any interference from an independent judiciary
Nepal's peace process Economist two local Maoist officials had shot Mr Sah dead, on the orders of their local superior but outside party policy ....... The Terai, the southern plain, is now the most violent part of Nepal. Perpetrators include the Maoists, a string of new militant and criminal groups, and the army and police. There are now more than 20 Terai factions, mostly claiming to espouse the rights of the marginalised southern peoples known as Madhesis. The daily litany of violence recalls the war years. In recent days a youth was burnt to death, a local politician had his throat slit and a bomb in the town of Birgunj killed one person. ......... the minorities' sense of continued discrimination; the politicians' obsession with short-term political gain ...... As the Maoists struggle to overcome internal divisions between hardliners and pragmatists, their Young Communist League has revived their old system of parallel government and rough justice. ....... The army's hardliners, however, resent any hint of UN involvement.
In First Bush Veto Override, Senate Enacts Water Bill New York Times
Pro-Kurdish party calls for autonomy in SE Turkey Reuters Nearly 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict since the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas took up arms to fight for a Kurdish homeland in southeastern Turkey. ........ "A democratic and federal system is the most suitable solution (to Turkey's Kurdish problem)," Aysel Tugluk, an influential Democratic Society Party (DTP) lawmaker, told a party convention in Ankara. ....... "Everyone knows very well that the solution to the Kurdish problem lies in democratic moves rather than (military) operations," Tugluk said.
Britney Spears must provide drug lab with 1 good phone number KESQ
Obama Ad Targets Blue Collar Workers FOX News
Obama Focuses on Pensions, Retirement The Associated Press
Obama vows to ensure 'secure and dignified' retirement Boston Globe
Obama plane lands in wrong Iowa city Reuters From the air, one Iowa city can look a lot like another. Or so it seems. .... Bill Clinton was legendary for running on his own clock ...... The pilot landed Obama’s campaign plane in Des Moines instead of Cedar Rapids, forcing a quick take-off again to fly the 127 miles to Cedar Rapids and making his rally more than an hour late. ...... “What can I tell you?” Obama asked Kay Henderson of Radio Iowa on Wednesday. “Apparently our pilot’s been logging in a lot of miles.”
Obama campaign plane off-course by 150 miles Baltimore Sun
Right State, Wrong Town for Obama New York Times
Obama: Here's $1000 Chicago Sun-Times
Obama targets economic fears Boston Globe
Obama proposes tax-and-benefit program aimed at women, working ... Kansas City Star
Giuliani, Clinton Lead Presidential Race The Associated Press
Poll: Clinton lagging in quest for male voters USA Today
OPINION: Look For Organized Effort to Gang Up on Clinton ABC News
Clinton 'victim' defense apparently backfires Newsday
Clinton Says Debate Made Dems Vulnerable The Associated Press Former President Clinton said Wednesday that all the Democratic presidential candidates could be open to a "swift boat kind of ad" if they try to give quick responses to complicated issues like driver's licenses for illegal immigrants. ...... "I thought it made all the Democrats vulnerable to a swift-boat-kind of ad in the general election," Clinton told reporters after a rally at a South Side ballroom with several hundred of his wife's supporters. The event was closed to the media. "When you have complicated issues, you don't want to turn them into two-dimensional cartoons," he said.
Oh-eight (D): It's a bird, it's a plane... MSNBC
China to Olympic athletes: Bring Bibles if you want USA Today
Bush-Sarkozy: A Love Supreme? TIME
In a Surprise, Pat Robertson Backs Giuliani New York Times
Google Android Just a Press Release, Says Ballmer PC World
Petrol pump Google maps to help lost US drivers ABC Online more reliable than asking a stranger. ..... The new pumps will start coming into service next month.
WiMAX to Hold a $36.4 Billion Market Ad-Hoc-News
Despite $380 million loss, Ford is optimistic International Herald Tribune
Beckham star attraction for 48172 soccer fans in Vancouver Canada.com
SOCCER: BECKHAM OVERSOLD, PELE CONTENDS Globe and Mail
Beckham says he respects Pele but MLS knew what they were getting The Canadian Press
Bill Gates voted most influential IT personality of past 25 years TG Daily
Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Michael Dell Top List of IT Influencers InformationWeek
Yellowstone Is Rising on Swollen "Supervolcano" National Geographic Its central region, called the Yellowstone caldera, has been moving upward since mid-2004 at a rate of up to three inches (seven centimeters) a year—more than three times faster than has ever been measured. ..... an infusion of magma about 6 miles (10 kilometers) underground ...... Yellowstone is situated on a giant, geologically active feature known as a supervolcano. ...... "It's hundreds of times bigger than Mount St. Helens" ...... Much of the park sits in a caldera, or crater, some 40 miles (70 kilometers) across, which formed when the cone of the massive volcano collapsed in a titanic eruption 640,000 years ago. ....... three similarly large blasts in the past two million years, with 30 smaller eruptions since the caldera formed. ....... "Since … about 14,000 years ago, the Yellowstone caldera has inflated and deflated about six to eight times without a volcanic eruption" ...... the volcano is produced by a "hot spot" in the Earth's mantle, a plume of hot rock rising from hundreds of miles below.
Singer-actress Jennifer Lopez confirms pregnancy Reuters
Rosie's Loose Lips Sink MSNBC Ship E! Online
MSNBC and O’Donnell Can’t Make a Deal New York Times Under the heading “the show that never was,” she wrote, “we were close to a deal/almost done.” She added: “well what can u do/2day there is no deal/poof/my career as a pundit is over/ b4 it began.”

Barack Tackles Race Head On In A South Carolina Speech

This speech by Barack in Manning, SC, has got to be one of his best speeches this year. It is because he takes the race issue head on. That is the only way to do it. He exudes strength.

JFK, Obama Parallels: Catholic, Black



I have also been so impressed with the string of new proposals he has brought about. Like tackling credit card companies.


In The News

As Oil Nears $100, Look Out Below BusinessWeek Having jumped 40% since August ...... There are 595 hedge funds that engage in at least some energy trading now, more than triple the 180 funds involved just three years ago. ...... "The barrier was supposedly $70, $80, then $90, and we're past that. Why would $100 suddenly cause a reversal?" .... the serious threat of a recession could take 40% off oil prices. "It's a beautiful thing that people forget: The market moves more quickly on the downside than it does on the upside."
Next Target for Alibaba: Consumers

San Francisco mayor, a rising Democrat, reelected Reuters
Spitzer makes the case for licenses for illegal immigrants San Francisco Chronicle During a presidential debate, candidate Clinton insisted that Spitzer was trying to fill the "vacuum" left by Washington's failure to pass comprehensive immigration reform. Then Clinton insisted she never said that she supported the Spitzer plan, only that she understood the reasons for it. Then, she defended the plan. Finally, Clinton accused debate moderator Tim Russert of NBC News of playing "gotcha" by posing such a tough question. ...... I was against the idea before I was for it. ...... Along comes Spitzer, with a commonsense solution and the courage to see it through despite a firestorm of vitriol, protest and - his words - "racist venom." ........ one that would be used by illegal immigrants for driving and identification purposes within New York state, but not valid as an ID for boarding airplanes or crossing international borders. ...... The Bush administration has signed off on the plan ...... As for Spitzer, he has made the correct choice - even if it isn't the popular one. He has decided that New York's interest in determining who is in the state, and for what purpose, is vital enough that it can't be held hostage by the federal impasse over immigration reform or the all-or-nothing politics that kills the appetite for compromise. He has angered the extremes on both the right and the left, those who think he went too far or didn't go far enough. And he has provided a sensible alternative to what his more-conservative opponents seem to believe - that if you ignore illegal immigrants, they'll go away. ...... Most refreshing of all, when Spitzer took heat for his position - whether it was from political opponents in Albany or petty demagogues on cable television - he stood his ground.
Hillary the Hedgehog Yahoo! News
Obama Plan Focuses on Credit, Colleges FOX News "Americans don't expect government to solve all of our problems," said Obama. "But you're tired of a government that works for special interests and not for you." ...... a new focus on bankruptcy and college costs. ...... our tax code favors wealth over work. ...... recent changes in the nation's bankruptcy laws which he said favored credit card companies over consumers ..... "I don't accept an America where we let someone go over a cliff just because they get sick," Obama said. ........ Obama said his credit card bill of rights would ban unilateral changes to a credit card agreement, prohibit changes in interest rates in debt already incurred and ban interest on late fees. ...... a new and fully refundable tax credit worth $4,000 for tuition and fees every year, which will cover two-thirds of the cost of the tuition at the average public college or university ...... new pension programs that would force employers to enroll workers in a retirement account that puts a small percentage of each paycheck into a retirement account. ....... That "will dramatically increase the number of Americans who save for retirement and lift up the amount of savings in the country," Obama said. ...... He is stepping up his grass-roots effort in Iowa just eight weeks before the precinct caucuses
Former Ill. Governor Headed To Prison Guardian Unlimited he will serve his 6-year sentence for corruption..... The pharmacist-turned-governor, who gained international acclaim for his opposition to the death penalty, has said he will fight to clear his name even while sitting in prison. ..... I have said since the beginning of this 10-year ordeal that I am innocent and I intend to prove that ..... Ryan's typical work day will begin at 7:30 a.m. and include duties such as mopping floors, cleaning toilets, raking leaves, cutting grass, painting and shoveling snow ...... Ryan was convicted of steering big-money state contracts to friends, using state money and state workers to run his campaigns and killing an investigation of bribes paid for truck driver's licenses.
US Strikes Delicate Balance on Pakistan NPR California Rep. Tom Lantos and Delaware Sen. Joe Biden each got an unlikely phone call on Tuesday — from the president of Pakistan, Gen. Pervez Musharraf ....... the delicate balancing act Washington has had to undertake — promoting democracy and stability in Pakistan while working with a military strongman to combat terrorism. ....... by failing to strongly support democracy, we are undermining support for an effective long-term counterterrorism policy within Pakistan. ....... parallels to the overthrow of the Shah of Iran 30 years ago. The U.S. backed the Shah and had no back-up plan.
New York Democrats Say License Issue Had Little Effect New York Times, United States overwhelming public opposition to the proposal. ...... significant victories in several county races upstate ....... And Mr. Spitzer, whose poll numbers have slipped as a result of the issue, played a muted role on the stump, a sharp contrast to his highly visible efforts during the 2006 campaign and during a State Senate special election last winter. ..... anger clearly existed over Mr. Spitzer’s proposal — as well as his bout with scandal and his battles with Albany Republicans ...... New York’s Republican Party has come a long way in the past 12 months ...... she would report to the county sheriff anyone applying for a driver’s license without a valid visa. ..... In Monroe County, Democrats won one hard-fought legislative seat despite a late effort to blanket the area with mailers that charged local Democrats with aiding terrorists because of their support for Mr. Spitzer’s licensing plan. ...... Though the seat will not by itself swing control of the County Legislature, Democrats hope it will presage a strong effort next year against two Rochester-area Republicans in the State Senate. ...... Privately, many said they expected the issue to be off the table by next year, though neither Mr. Spitzer nor his Republican opponents in Albany show any sign of letting the matter drop.
Dubious Fees Hit Borrowers in Foreclosures
First thoughts: Election results MSNBC the DSCC is gloating about the Kentucky result, since Fletcher was a protege of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Yet McConnell -- unofficially at least -- did try and find a candidate to knock off his one-time ally in the GOP primary, but that failed. McConnell is probably on the DSCC's second-tier target list for 2008. But given McConnell's high profile, look for the Democrats to talk up this race a lot, since McConnell's numbers aren't exactly stellar these days. Countdown to Iowa: 57 days Countdown to New Hampshire: 62 days Countdown to Michigan: 69 days Countdown to Nevada and SC GOP primary: 73 days Countdown to SC Dem primary: 80 days Countdown to Florida: 83 days Countdown to Tsunami Tuesday: 90 days Countdown to Election Day 2008: 363 days Countdown to Inauguration Day 2009: 440 days
Spitzer-Bruno war threatens to stall state budget Newsday, NY Eliot Spitzer's raucous first year as governor ...... Spitzer and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Brunswick) remain engaged in a partisan war that is widely expected to extend at least until next year's election, when the results of Democratic efforts to take over the Senate will be known. ..... cannot recall relations as strained...... Bruno and Spitzer are not speaking

Pat Robertson Backs Giuliani Guardian Unlimited
Bhutto Marshals Opposition As Protests in Pakistan Escalate Wall Street Journal
Turkish-Bred Prosperity Makes War Less Likely in Iraqi Kurdistan New York Times
Spears ordered to pay K-Fed's legal fees United Press International
Obama Rejects Bill Clinton's Criticism The Associated Press
Edwards says he has better track record than Obama Nashua Telegraph
Obama Opposes Federal Mining Reform Bill The Associated Press because he says it would be too burdensome on the industry and could end up costing miners jobs in Nevada and other states. ..... Reid, a gold miner's son and longtime supporter of the industry, has said the House bill "won't stand" in the Senate. The White House also has threatened a veto.
Alibaba vs. Google: Showdown in Asia? ABC News
Amitabh Bachchan’s mother shifted to ICU Sify Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan's mother Teji Bachchan (93), who has been in Lilavati Hospital here for sometime now, was shifted to its intensive care unit (ICU) after she took seriously ill on Wednesday ...... Members of the Bachchan family visited her in the hospital
Dell in the M&A Fast Lane Motley Fool
Dell Paying $1.4 Billion for EqualLogic PC World

Key Pakistanis challenge Musharraf Los Angeles Times
Bhutto Raises Heat on Musharraf Wall Street Journal Bhutto plans to meet with opposition parties today to initiate nationwide protests against the state of emergency ...... Hundreds of Islamic militants, meanwhile, seized a town in northwest Pakistan after outnumbered security forces laid down their arms
Pakistani Lawyers’ Anger Grew as Hope for Changes Withered New York Times
Kentucky Governor Loses to Democratic Challenger New York Times
Takahashi: Google alliance may stop wireless firms' gouging of users San Jose Mercury News
Obama Rejects Bill Clinton's Criticism Guardian Unlimited
Commentary: Clinton camp wrong to play the gender card SI.com
Edwards's strategy could benefit Obama Boston Globe Edwards is a man on a mission - to expose the vagaries and equivocations of Hillary Clinton. ..... It's a powerful critique, rooted enough in what voters have seen of Clinton that it just might succeed in handing the Democratic nomination to Senator Barack Obama ....... Dean himself, who was leading in all the polls with just weeks until voting began ....... Kerry took a middle ground, remaining largely above the fray, but rarely missing an opportunity to portray Dean as rash and extreme, to the point of ignoring America's interests. When Saddam Hussein was captured and Dean predicted it would make no difference in the Iraqi insurgency, Kerry portrayed it as a crazy statement from a dangerous ideologue. ........ Obama, who has maintained a Kerry-like posture, is ready to reap any of the votes that Edwards succeeds in peeling away from Clinton. ...... There are many reasons to believe that Clinton won't collapse like Dean. She's a far more disciplined candidate. And unlike Dean, who was a new face to most voters, Clinton is the best-known person in the Democratic field.
Bill Clinton and 2 Candidates Spar Over Debate Remarks New York Times
Obama Opens Iowa Campaign Swing FOX News
Obama hits Clinton on a sacred topic: ethanol Baltimore Sun
Obama runs new radio ad in SC Boston Globe
Clinton Charges Through Iowa, Opponents React to Swift Boat Claim FOX News
Clinton Now Says Licenses for Illegal Immigrants Depends on the State FOX News
Edwards Steps Up Attack on Clinton in Iowa Over Iran (Update1) Bloomberg
Nepal village women mail condoms for husbands working abroad International Herald Tribune
China Plans to Launch Space Station FOX News
Facebook Declares New Era for Advertising BusinessWeek
Facebook to Turn Users Into Endorsers New York Times Facebook had had 50 million users in the last month. And 25 million users visit Facebook each day. The company displays 65 billion pages on which advertisements can be displayed each month.
Google's Android has long road ahead CNET News.com

Clinton's Support Among Liberals is Rising Washington Post Clinton's support among liberals is actually rising, not falling, as the nomination debate has intensified. ....... The opposite has happened to Barack Obama. His support among liberals has actually declined over the course of the campaign. He began the year with the support of 33 percent of liberals, topped out at 36 percent in July and now has drifted down to 25 percent. ......... If Clinton's opponents believe she is vulnerable because of her positions on Iraq and Iran, the polls do not bear it out. ....... 45 percent of those who support immediate withdrawal said they prefer Clinton as the Democratic nominee compared to 26 percent for Obama. ....... What's interesting about all these results is that they run counter to the implications of the campaign debate. ....... She is the candidate who defended taking money from Washington lobbyists and who argued that the only practical way to bring about change is by working within the current system, not by trying to fundamentally change it ....... Finally she is a Clinton, the spouse of a president whom many liberal Democrats believe moved the party too much toward the center, who created an unholy alliance with corporate and moneyed interests and whose economic policies catered more to Wall Street bond dealers than average workers. ........ John Kerry's electability counted for more than Dean's opposition to the war. That same calculation may be at work in the 2008 nomination fight. ..... But there is an important chapter still to be played out. Clinton's opponents have just begun to sharpen their criticism of her and by December it's likely that television ads in Iowa will be airing that directly attack her.
Obama's backers worried Cincinnati Post CHICAGO - These are difficult days for supporters of Barack Obama. This city is filled with people who have voted for, worked for, contributed to, and, in many cases, prayed for the success of the young senator from Illinois. The struggle he has had in trying to overtake Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination is wearing on their morale. ......... the crucial days in Iowa and New Hampshire are still ahead; and that there is time for Obama to close with a rush, as he did when he came from behind to capture the nomination for his Senate seat back in 2004. ........ the steady drumbeat of polls showing Clinton with more support than all the other Democrats combined - and twice as much as Obama - is taking a toll. ...... The elevated stature he enjoyed nationally was nothing compared to the near reverence he commands among his friends here. Those I met who have worked closely with him through the past decade in politics, community affairs or the anti-war movement exhaust the list of superlatives in speaking about him and his wife, Michelle. .......... They see Obama as someone uniquely positioned to heal a divided nation - and to change the image of America in the world, simply by virtue of his own history and personality. They can visualize the headlines and television coverage around the globe if he were elected to the White House. ...... he has been outmaneuvered and outsmarted by Clinton's timing and tactics ....... The speech that he delivered at DePaul University .... it got next to no national press coverage. ...... the voters in those states are far less firmly attached to their current candidate preferences than polling numbers would suggest.
Obama Raises Money in Caribbean The Associated Press
Candidate's Star Power Has Yet to Translate Into Poll Numbers ABC News Obama's brief appearance this weekend in the opening skit of "Saturday Night Live" marks a coup for his campaign. ....... smiles through gritted teeth. "Well that's just great," she growls. ..... Obama has shown plenty of times that he can be funny and self-deprecating. This time he showed he was edgy. ....... Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was almost a cast member on "SNL"-- although he usually appeared in drag. .... Fred Thompson announced his candidacy on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno, even though making that appearance meant skipping a Republican candidate debate. ...... Bill Clinton pioneered the political cameo, the night he famously played the sax on "Arsenio Hall." ....... But Obama has raised it to an art form.He danced with Ellen DeGeneres. He chatted with Tyra Banks about who should play him in the movie (a toss-up between Denzel Washington or Will Smith, they decided). And, of course, his couch time on "Oprah" has meant millions for his campaign. ....... he is doing Gibson, Williams and Couric. He's doing Nightline ....... President Reagan did not dance with Princess Diana. Instead he drafted John Travolta to do it for him.
Clinton Defends Wife on Licenses The Associated Press "It's fine for Hillary and all the other Democrats to discuss Governor Spitzer's plan. But not in 30 seconds — yes, no, raise your hand," he said. ....... He compared the driver's license dustup to television ads during the 2004 presidential campaign that questioned Kerry's patriotism, and campaign commercials in 2002 suggesting that former Sen. Max Cleland, D-Ga., who lost three limbs in Vietnam, was soft on terrorism.
No Gphone, Google bets on Android Business Standard Google has unveiled an ambitious strategy that will make cellphones cheaper and speed up internet surfing. ...... the new platform called Android should reduce the prices of today’s $500 smart phones to around $100-150 in a year or so ...... Smart phones are cell phones that run business applications like documents, spreadsheets and presentations. ...... Google has partnered with 34 technology and mobile companies — under the Open Handset Alliance (OHA) — to develop Android. ...... platform is “open”, which means the source code can be altered by developers for use on handsets. ..... “Open source reduces the cost of software which comprises a major chunk of the cellphone cost”
Alibaba soars in biggest net float since Google Times Online Alibaba.com, the world's biggest online marketplace for international and domestic Chinese trade ....... Asia's second-largest Internet company by market value after Yahoo! Japan ...... Alibaba, founded and chaired by Jack Ma, a former schoolteacher, in 1999 ....... the voracious appetite for China-related stocks, despite global uncertainty caused by the US sub-prime mortgage-related crisis. ...... Yesterday, PetroChina became the world's first $1 trillion company on its first day of trading. ....... the biggest technology IPO since Google raised $1.66 billion in 2004. ........ Alibaba offers small to medium-sized Chinese manufacturers a way to sell their products across the world. ....... free listings for suppliers and buyers. .... Revenue is derived from members who pay for additional services such as search listings or factory inspections. ..... reported earnings of 295.2 million yuan (£19 million) in the first six months of this year. ........ the Alibaba Group, which includes Yahoo!'s China operation and Taobao.com, China's biggest online auction site. ..... Yahoo! holds a 39 per cent stake in the parent company. ..... Other investors in the IPO included Cisco Systems and Hon Hai Precision Industry, of Taiwan. ..... The company started with fewer than 20 staff and now has 4,400 employees.

Mukasey nomination clears hurdle Los Angeles Times
Pakistan's courts in lockdown CNN International
Ousted Justice in Pakistan Urges Defiance New York Times
Nepal anger at killing by Maoists BBC News
NTPC, Railways form JV for 1000MW Bihar plant Business Standard
Sarkozy Whirling Into Washington New York Times

Google lays out mobile strategy Chicago Tribune In the second major announcement this year by a Silicon Valley stalwart that aims to shake up the way people use mobile phones, Google Inc. officially announced Monday a sweeping plan to encourage a new breed of software development designed to make it easier to surf the Internet from a cell phone. ...... a newly created global coalition of companies, called the Open Handset Alliance, that includes phonemaker Motorola Inc. and wireless carriers Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile. ....... the Google software platform could be available on countless phones and sold through multiple carriers. ..... This is a developer announcement. … You can now build the great things you've done on the Internet" on a mobile phone........ "The mobile Web is a myth that has not been attained yet" ...... Notably absent from the alliance were the nation's two largest mobile carriers, AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

Ron Paul Raises $3.68 Million on Guy Fawkes Day New York Times
Nepal Left parties come closer Hindustan Times The CPN(UML), one of the major factions of the ruling alliance, on Monday ruled out the possibility of political polarisation. The UML is being blamed for joining hands with the “ultra-left” Maoists. ..... a strong rumour has been hovering around the political circle that the UML supported the Maoist proposal for proportional electoral system following a unwritten agreement between the two parties. The agreement included supporting CPN(UML) leader Madhav Kumar Nepal as the new prime Minister of the country, while Maoist leader Baburam Bhattarai would be the Deputy Prime Minister. ...... “But adopting a fully proportional system would take much more time,” a senior EC official said, adding that new election laws and ruled will have to be passed by the interim Parliament.
Will War Worries Hit Turkey's Economy? BusinessWeek
Obama Raises Money in Caribbean The Associated Press
The 2008 Primaries: A Long, Hard Slog? Washington Post talk of an extended primary fight has become more than just a political junkie's pipe dream. ...... several candidates from each party will be able to claim enough states to keep them viable well beyond the so-called Tsunami Tuesday on Feb. 5. ........ a protracted primary campaign is a distinct possibility on the Republican side. ...... "The odds are one in three that there will be a frontrunner but no nominee after Feb. 5," Gingrich said in a recent interview. "Anyone who is still standing...will have a real incentive to keep in the race until the convention because it gets so much less expensive." ........ 33 percent -- the first time in three decades that the Republican frontrunner is not polling over 40 percent in surveys conducted this deep into an election campaign. ....... Clinton holds a 49 percent to 26 percent lead ....... the largest and most expensive states -- California, Illinois, New York ...... Maryland and Virginia host primaries on Feb. 12; Wisconsin and Washington go on Feb. 19 ....... March 4 .. Ohio and Texas ..... "Never in primary history have you had two candidates in the same party with the resources of Clinton and Obama" ....... "Both have the chance to plan beyond Feb. 5th." ...... money and organization will be far less important should the nomination fight extend beyond Feb.5 ...... the sheer cost of campaigning in California could well deliver that delegate treasure trove to her on name identification alone. ........ If Obama and Clinton split the first four states -- Iowa and South Carolina for Obama, New Hampshire and Nevada for Clinton -- it seems extremely likely that each will come out of Feb. 5 with enough victories (and delegates) to make the case that he or she should fight on.
Clinton Energy Plan Includes Push for Higher Gas Mileage New York Times
Edwards accuses Clinton of duplicity AFP
Edwards Faults Clinton on Foreign Policy The Associated Press
Edwards Raises Criticism of Clinton Over Iraq Plan New York Times
Clinton Invokes Gore on the Trail New York Times
In Iowa Field, Edwards Sees Only Clinton New York Times exhibiting a fresh ferocity in his second run at the White House. ...... “If the American people understood what’s going on all over, there would be a revolution tomorrow morning” ........ “I’m with you, brother!” Mr. Edwards replied ....... an urgent tone of anger and aggression ...... These days, he does not leave a room before telling his audience why he believes she should not — and cannot — be elected president. ...... Edwards seldom mentions Mr. Obama ....... he cannot proceed without a strong finish in Iowa ....... he threatens to take away health insurance for members of Congress if they do not overhaul the system by July 2009, six months after he would take office. ........ they said they welcomed his pointing out differences, because they were having a difficult time choosing a candidate. ........ a real risk of them beating each other up
Clinton to negotiate Kyoto’s successor Financial Times
Clinton Rebuts Accusations of Secrecy New York Times my husband has never blocked a record ever. He has been the most forthcoming of all presidents." ...... In a 2002 letter from Mr. Clinton to the National Archives, which controls his papers, Mr. Clinton wrote that documents including communication between the two Clintons “should generally be considered for withholding” until 2012.
China oil giant is world's biggest Telegraph.co.uk its shares almost trebled on their first day of trading in Shanghai. ...... strong corporate profit growth and the general health of Asian economies.
PetroChina equals Indian economy Sify Imagine a single Chinese company with a market value that's about the size of India's $1 trillion economy. That mind-boggling prospect became a reality on Monday when PetroChina, China's state-owned oil and gas giant, became the world's first company to exceed $1 trillion in market capitalisation following its dazzling debut on Shanghai's manic stock market. ....... the company was valued at $1.2 trillion, more than twice as much as the next biggest - US energy behemoth Exxon-Mobil, with a market cap of $490 billion. ...... the market cap of the entire Indian stock market is about $1.6 trillion; and India's most valuable company - Reliance Industries, which is no pushover either - is worth about $100 billion ........ PetroChina does not make into the list of world's top 50 companies by profits. ...... PetroChina virtually single-handedly elevated China to the third place in the global ranking, based on market cap, displacing the UK. ...... Mainland China's stock market, which has tripled in the past two years, is valued at $4.5 trillion, within striking distance of Japan ($4.8 trillion), but still a long way behind the US ($18.3 trillion). On the market-cap measure, China is now home to five of the world's 10 biggest companies.

Dreaming of one President for Europe The Economist
Coup number two In an e-mail from house arrest, where she has been placed for 90 days, Ms Jahangir regretted that General Musharraf had “lost his marbles”. ...... midnight televised address ...... “I cannot allow this country to commit suicide.” ....... and his urge to “preserve the democratic transition that I initiated eight years back”. ..... “the extremists don’t fear law enforcement agencies.” ....... American aid to his government—which has amounted to over $10 billion since 2001 ...... So far, Ms Bhutto has roundly condemned the emergency as martial law by another name. But she has not yet rallied her followers against it.
In God's name
To avoid the Big C, stay small

Citigroup Turns to Robert Rubin BusinessWeek
A Wireless Revolution in India The number of Indian consumers connecting to the Internet via cell phones more than doubled, to 38 million from 16 million just last year ....... the world's fastest-growing mobile-phone market, where more than 200 million people use mobile phones and 7 million are added to the rolls each month. ......... the frailties of India's traditional Internet networks ..... the number of Internet connections via the PC declined, from 9.27 million in the first quarter to 9.22 million in the second quarter ...... Wireless phones can be bought right off store shelves, with Web connections set up instantly. ....... Nokia (NOK), Samsung Electronics (SSNLF), and Motorola sell mobile phones in villages for as little as $63. ..... fees of $2.50 to $12.50 a month ....... Downloadable ringtones are already a $45 million annual business in India and are expected to grow at a double-digit rate through 2010. ...... ringtones account for nearly half of all nonvoice revenue.
Apple, Google vs. Big Wireless
Getting Inside Google's gPhone
Skype Goes Mobile
A 4G Standards War Is Brewing




New York City For Barack Obama 11
New York City For Barack Obama 10

New York City For Barack Obama 1-10

New York City For Barack Obama 1: Manhattan For Obama organizational kickoff meeting lead by Arthur Shwartz, State Senator Bill Perkins in attendance, Daniel Soyer of Kensington-Ditmas for Obama, a Brooklyn neighborhood group, Dominican Day Parade in the Bronx, Harlem YouTube debate watch party.
New York City For Barack Obama 2: More of the debate watch party, Queens For Obama, Spanish Harlem For Obama, Dominican Day Parade in Manhattan, Drummers' Groove in Prospect Park.
New York City For Barack Obama 3: Yard Sale For Obama by the Kensington-Ditmas for Obama neighborhood group, Barack Obama at the Marriott near Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn Heights.
New York City For Barack Obama 4: After the Marriott event, Red Hook voter registration, Jeff Kurzon and Raj Khandwalla talk to some Italian TV, Coney Island Beach.
New York City For Barack Obama 5: More from the beach, African American Day Parade in Harlem, largest black parade in America, Dartmouth Debate watch party hosted by DL21C, Drinking Liberally, and DFNYC near Times Square, on over to the rally at Washington Square Park.
New York City For Barack Obama 6: Washington Square Park rally, 30,000 people, largest rally in US presidential campaign history.
New York City For Barack Obama 7: Brooklyn rally, one of 18 all across America to mark the fifth anniversary of Barack's speech in 2002 opposing the war.
New York City For Barack Obama 8: Jordan Thomas, founder of Brooklyn For Barack.
New York City For Barack Obama 9: Hispanic Day Parade in Manhattan, table hosted by Queens For Obama. The new Obama 2008 office in downtown Manhattan.
New York City For Barack Obama 10: Anti war rally and march in downtown Manhattan at the same time as a Hillary rally in Harlem.

Charlie Rangel, Mr. 45%, Hillary Kitchen Rodham Clinton

Charlie Rangel, Mr. 45%

I just read yesterday somewhere, perhaps in The Economist, that Charlie Rangel is trying to engineer a major tax hike. The rates for those in the top income brackets would go up to 45%. W had it at 33%. Bill Clinton had it at 36%.

45% would be disaster. 45% would turn America into Europe. This man single handedly could cost Dems the White House next year regardless of who the nominee is. The tax and spend liberal days will be back. Republicans would gain steam.

If you don't like 36%, go for 37%. But 45%? That is hop step jump all in one.

Charlie Rangel is a good guy, a decent man, I like him, but this 45% talk makes me want to rescue Harlem from Charlie Rangel.

The Republicans are in such a bad shape right now because they flushed fiscal responsibility down the toilet. That is one big reason. Dems have to learn not to repeat their mistake. Or they will be back, the Repubs.

The 12 Year Itch
DL21C Events: High Class Acts
Rangel, A No Show




Hillary Kitchen Rodham Clinton

“If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen,” Mrs. Clinton said at an event in Indianola, Iowa. “Well, I’m really comfortable in the kitchen, and I’m going to stay in there and absorb the heat.”

Hillary used the kitchen metaphor to reach out to women in a back-handed way. This sends out precisely the wrong message. Should someone aspiring to become the first woman leader of the free world suggest that the woman's place is in the kitchen? Should not the message instead be that both men and women belong in the kitchen, as they do in the raising of children? Hillary was better in 1992 when she said, Oh I guess I could have stayed home and baked cookies. I like that better. Back then she meant it as sarcasm. Now she actually means it. With her kitchen comment, she is sending out the message that women should stay home and bake cookies. She also used the broom and stick metaphor in Iowa months back. What do you think she was trying to do?

Does Hillary Have A Gender Card?
Muscular Gender Agenda

Anti War Park Slope

Last night I walked over to this Park Slope event that was anti war. It was inside this church. Congresspeople Jerry Nadler, Yvette Clarke, and Anthony Weiner were on stage. Former Congressman Major Owens was sitting in the aisle right behind me. He also spoke for a few minutes. He was easily the most popular person in the room.

I asked a question at the end. "I believe the best anti-war strategy is to send the right person to the White House. Who do you think that is?" Clarke had already left. Weiner said Clinton, as did Nadler. The audience did not seem to like the answer.

There were sandwiches you could have after the event. Free food is a good idea.

On the walk back, I stopped by the Barnes & Noble on 7th Avenue. That is where I read Rangel's 45% thing in The Economist.

Jerrold Nadler - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yvette D. Clarke - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anthony D. Weiner - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Major Owens - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In The News

Different Rules When a Rival Is a Woman? New York Times, United States was repeatedly challenged by her rivals and the event’s questioners. ...... “John Edwards, specifically, as well as the press, would never attack Barack Obama for two hours they way they attacked her,” said Geraldine A. Ferraro, the 1984 vice presidential candidate who supports Mrs. Clinton. “It’s O.K. in this country to be sexist,” Ms. Ferraro said. ....... some prominent women, countered that Mrs. Clinton was resorting to using her sex as a shield against substantive criticism in a hard-fought race. .......... she did not do well in the debate, that she did not answer important questions on Iraq and Iran ...... both race and sex have been added to the mix of substance and imagery that makes up presidential politics. ...... when her Republican opponent marched across the stage during a debate and demanded she sign a pledge renouncing her use of soft money in the campaign...... produced a flood of support among women. ....... young girls at her rallies are regularly seen wearing “I can be president” buttons provided by the campaign. ........ a central part of Mrs. Clinton’s campaign strategy ..... what even Mrs. Clinton’s supporters acknowledged was a poor performance. ....... she used language that invoked feminist imagery. ...... encourage a simple story line for the debate: Seven men versus one woman.
Frank Rich: Noun + Verb + 9/11 + Iran = Democrats’ Defeat? Between now and Election Day he and Dick Cheney, cheered on by the mob of neocon dead-enders, are going to bomb Iran. ...... a clear stand on the defining issue of the race. .... Hillary Clinton, does not have one. ..... the administration is so flagrantly rerunning the sales campaign that gave us Iraq. The same old scare tactic ...... They know that a clean, surgical military strike at Iran could precipitate even more blowback than our “cakewalk” in Iraq. ..... “Iran could fire hundreds of missiles at Israel, attack American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, organize terrorist attacks in the West or choke off tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s oil windpipe.” ....... a strike on Iran could ignite Pakistan, Al Qaeda’s thriving base and the actual central front of the war on terror. ...... A full-scale regional war, chaos in the oil market, an overstretched American military pushed past the brink ..... While the saber- rattling is reckless as foreign policy, it’s a proven winner as election-year Republican campaign strategy. The real point may be less to intimidate Iranians than to frighten Americans. ..... the pivot toward Iran has been relentless. ..... the Rudy Giuliani campaign that is ubiquitous on that Murdoch channel. ..... a majority of Americans (52 percent) now supports a pre-emptive strike on Iran to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons. ..... with the exception of Mrs. Clinton, the Democratic candidates seem to be saying what they really believe rather than trying to play both sides against the middle. ...... Kyl-Lieberman Senate resolution, designed by its hawk authors to validate Mr. Bush’s Iran policy ...... as Nancy Pelosi has said, there has “never been a declaration by a Congress before in our history” that “declared a piece of a country’s army to be a terrorist organization.” ...... Her response was to blur her stand. She abruptly signed on as the sole co- sponsor of a six-month-old (and languishing) bill ...... a profile in vacillation ...... a Democrat who is not in favor of rushing to war in Iran but, now as in 2002, may well be in favor of walking to war .... an alternative policy that defuses rather than escalates tensions with Tehran. ...... a Democratic opponent who was for a pre-emptive war before being against it.
In Portland, Cultivating a Culture of Two Wheels “Bike City, U.S.A.” ..... Like the local indie rock bands that insist they are apathetic about fame, many of the smaller local companies say craft, not money, is what drives them. ...... has the nation’s highest percentage of workers who commute by bike, about 3.5 percent ..... two cyclists were killed in October when they were hit by trucks ....... $24 million to add 110 miles to the city’s existing 20-mile network of bike boulevards ..... a new bike might cost the buyer well over $5,000.

Nepal closer to becoming a republic The Press Association
US Administration Urges Musharraf to Restore Constitutional Rule ABC News
Police Battle Lawyers in Pakistan New York Times
Torture debate between McCain, Giuliani, gets personal Boston Globe
Obama Walking Fine Line in Clinton Engagement ABC News
Watergate-Era Fundraising Returns With Clinton, Obama, Giuliani Bloomberg
Hillary ahead among Democrats; trails behind Obama among indp Hindu
Obama Plays Convincing Obama in a Skit Mocking Clinton New York Times
The Clinton-Bush Dynasty Wall Street Journal "Should you be elected president, you could conceivably win a second term and be in office for eight years. That would mean that for 28 successive years either a Clinton or a Bush would occupy the White House. Do you think this will encourage the likes of Kim Jong Il of North Korea, Moammar Gadhafi of Libya, Bashar al-Assad of Syria and other dictators that maybe democracy isn't so bad after all?"

Giuliani Works Quietly in NH, Iowa The Associated Press
This is one dangerous man: it's George Bush with brains Guardian Unlimited
China pricks bubble in Hong Kong market International Herald Tribune
Al-Qaeda Targeting Children to Carry Out UK Attack (Update1) Bloomberg
Google Phone Announcement Expected Monday FOX News
Google Rides to the Rescue of Facebook's Rivals Barron's
Even David Beckham can't sell soccer in the States Globe and Mail
Zimbabwe: Of Names And African Soccer Teams AllAfrica.com
Dell Buys Data-Storage Firm TheStreet.com
Oprah matron charged with abuse SI.com
'American Gangster' opens with a bang: $46.3M New York Daily News Crime may pay almost as well for Hollywood as it did for Frank Lucas. ..... exploded into theaters this weekend with a take of $46.3 million - the highest ever for a modern crime movie. .... "Bee Movie," with the voices of Jerry Seinfeld and Renée Zellweger, was close behind with a busy $39.1million. .... The previous opening-weekend record for a modern crime film was $26.9 million, earned last fall by "The Departed." ....... Lucas, who is still living, says he made hundreds of millions of dollars and retired from the drug game after serving two prison terms. ..... a charismatic and brilliant businessman whose innovations included smuggling heroin into the United States inside the coffins of Vietnam War soldiers.