The rules and bylaws committee did this with a straight face. This decision does nothing to unify the Democratic Party. I'll leave it at that but "it is what it is"
...We strongly object to the Committee’s decision to undercut its own rules in seating Michigan’s delegates without reflecting the votes of the people of Michigan.
The Committee awarded to Senator Obama not only the delegates won by Uncommitted, but four of the delegates won by Senator Clinton. This decision violates the bedrock principles of our democracy and our Party.
We reserve the right to challenge this decision before the Credentials Committee and appeal for a fair allocation of Michigan’s delegates that actually reflect the votes as they were cast.
The excerpt is from: Statement by Harold Ickes and Tina Flournoy
I think Senator Obama made a mistake by not just seating the delegates. At this point it would not make a difference in the outcome. The decision by the committee only makes it tougher for Obama because the media now has a talking point that they will use to undermine him in the general election. Seat Florida 100% and Michigan 50% same outcome concerning nomination and no one feels slighted.
As long as the media is spending an inordinate amount of time analyzing statements, let's take a look at this...
Yesterday John McCain told a town hall meeting that he "can look you in the eye and tell you [our strategy in Iraq] is succeeding." As evidence, McCain claimed that Mosul is "quiet" and that U.S. troops have "drawn down to pre-surge levels."
and barely a bleep minimal coverage from the mainstream media outlets. Surprised? I'm not.
So here are a couple of stories out of Mosul, Iraq yesterday:
Suicide Bomber Driving Police Vehicle Killed 3 in Mosul: "Another suicide bomber driving a police vehicle struck Iraqi commandos earlier Thursday in Mosul, killing three of them and wounding nine other people, according to battalion commander Capt. Aziz Latif. The victims were from a unit sent from the southern city of Kut to participate in the Mosul crackdown, Latif said."
Another Suicide Bomber Killed 14 Police Applicants in Mosul, Iraq: A suicide bomber killed 14 police recruits and two policemen in northern Iraq on Thursday, police and military sources said. An attacker wearing a military uniform detonated an explosive vest near a police recruiting centre where about 200 applicants queued at Sinjar, near Mosul, police said. Ten police recruits and five police officers were wounded, police and military sources said. Sunni insurgents have carried out frequent attacks on police recruits, killing hundreds."
and concerning the number of troops in Iraq:
Petraeus Expects to Recommend Troop Cuts in Iraq This Fall: U.S. troop strength peaked in Iraq last year at about 165,000. Recent and already approved drawdowns are expected to bring the level to about 133,000 by the end of July.
Washington Post 05/22/2008
I think I'll file this under my new "I'm Just Saying" tag.
Harvey Korman passed away today at the age of 81
...It takes a certain type of person to be a television star,” Mr. Korman said in that 2005 interview. “I didn’t have whatever that is. I come across as kind of snobbish and maybe a little too bright.”
He added, “Give me something bizarre to play or put me in a dress, and I’m fine...
Isolated tribe spotted in Brazil
Friday, 30 May 2008 01:51 UK
One of South America's few remaining uncontacted indigenous tribes has been spotted and photographed on the border between Brazil and Peru.
The Brazilian government says it took the images to prove the tribe exists and help protect its land.
The pictures, taken from an aeroplane, show red-painted tribe members brandishing bows and arrows.
More than half the world's 100 uncontacted tribes live in Brazil or Peru, Survival International says.
Stephen Corry, the director of the group - which supports tribal people around the world - said such tribes would "soon be made extinct" if their land was not protected...
Full Story: Brazil Tribe
In Pictures: Brazil Tribe
Each year at 3:00 p.m. on Memorial Day, Americans unite in a National Moment of Remembrance which honors America’s fallen and their families. During this Moment, 200 Amtrak trains blast their whistles, approximately 500,000 Major League Baseball fans are joined in silence, and countless other participants make a vow to remember.
The mystic cords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart... Should swell into a mighty chorus of remembrance, gratitude, and rededication of this solemn occasion.
Abrahma Lincoln
"Last Monday in May”
By John T. Bird
We pause to remember those who died
With so much courage, so much pride
They’ll never come back, yet memories endure
To remind us of freedom: fragile, pure
We’re worthy of their sacrifice if we pause each day
Not just on the last Monday in May
©John T. Bird, copyright 2006
UN Opens Thai Staging Base for Burma (Myanmar) Relief
24 May 2008
The United Nations opened a staging area at an airport in Thailand's capital Saturday to deliver relief aid to cyclone survivors in neighboring Burma.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was on hand to open the hub at Bangkok's Don Mueang airport just one day after meeting with Burma's junta about relief efforts.
On Friday, Mr. Ban said Burma's top leader agreed to allow all foreign aid workers into the country to help with relief efforts. Burma's military government had refused to allow most foreign aid workers to enter the country and stage a full scale relief effort...
Among white voters in hypothetical match-ups with John McCain the results were:
McCain 52% Obama 40%
McCain 48% Clinton 44%
Now take a look at this. In comparable 2004 election polls the white vote broke down like this:
Bush 48% Kerry 36%
In comparable 2000 election polls, the white vote broke down like this:
Bush 48% Gore 39%
The thing that jumps out at me is that, both Obama and Clinton are receiving more of the white vote than Kerry or Gore... but if you take the margin of error of 3-5% both Obama and Clinton are experiencing the typical problem that Democrats always have in General Elections.
In fact both Obama and Clinton are doing better among white voters at this point than either Kerry or Gore were doing at this point in their campaigns.
Newsweeks spin on this poll borders on being offensive.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/138456
( Both Obama and Clinton seem to be reaching the people and they both have a message the voters want to hear. The only thing stopping either of them is the media.)
RFK Jr. gives his official thoughts about Hillary Clinton.
“It is clear from the context that Hillary was invoking a familiar
political circumstance in order to support her decision to stay in the
race through June. I have heard her make this reference before, also
citing her husband’s 1992 race, both of which were hard fought through
June. I understand how highly charged the atmosphere is, but I think it
is a mistake for people to take offense.”
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. weighed in on the remarks Hillary Clinton made earlier today. Like most people he understood the context of the remark. Here is what RFK Jr. had to say:
“I’ve heard her make that argument before,” Mr. Kennedy said, speaking on his cell phone as he drove to the family compound in Hyannis for the holiday weekend. “It sounds like she was invoking a familiar historical circumstance in support of her argument for continuing her campaign.” . . . [H]is support of Mrs. Clinton has not wavered.
I just ran across this story...
Florida delegates sue DNC over primary votes
Reported by:
Don Germaise
May 22, 2008 12:54 pm
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL -- Three Florida delegates, including the state's
Senate Democratic leader have filed a federal lawsuit against the
Democratic National Committee claiming the DNC violated their
constitutional rights by barring them from the party's national
convention...
The litigation takes aim at three essential issues:
- The DNC broke its own rules by not investigating the events that led to Florida's ealy vote before punishing the state.
- Even though Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina also broke the same party rules by moving up their primaries, they were not sanctioned as Florida was, but were instead granted a waiver by the DNC from any such penalties.
- As the controversy unfolded, the DNC maintained that Florida should have held a post-primary Caucus. Doing so, Geller argued, likely would have resulted in only about 100,000 votes being counted, a tiny fraction of the 1.75 million voters who turned out in January, while at the same time, completely disenfranchising Florida Democrats in our country’s military serving outside of Florida.
