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Spitzerations

Other than the one sentence I’d mustered, so far, I have not been able to muster any enthusiasm to kick Gov. Eliot Spitzer while he is down. It would be so sweet to dance on his political grave because he was so righteous and fearsome in his element. Yet, I could not bring myself to.

I don’t know that I can even say anything intelligent about his case because I cannot bring

myself to read little more than the broad outline of the story. I feel for his wife and children, this humiliation that they have had to endure.

A friend of mine, Jim Sleeper, brings a great deal of intelligence to any subject and the matter of Eliot Spitzer is no exception. I’ll quote extensively from his two columns at TPMCafe on the subject. Jim puts his finger on the essence of the matter in his first column on March 11:

Continue reading “Spitzerations” →

"Pssst…Barack Obama is a Black Dude"

And Seth Grahame-Smith is one funny guy.

Writing in Huffington Post, he has some pretty good advice

for Sen. Barack Obama regarding the embarassing mess of Geraldine Ferraro. Listen:

So if I were David Axelrod, I’d fire up the nearest edit bay and flood Pennsylvania’s airwaves with an ad that went something like this:

(Start with a nasty frame-grab of Ferraro and Clinton). “Hillary Clinton’s best friend, Geraldine Ferraro, says Barack Obama wouldn’t be where he is today if he wasn’t black.” (Cut to Ferraro giving the finger to a group of black Girl Scouts). “We couldn’t agree more. Barack Obama’s life as a man of mixed race taught him to respect people of all colors, faiths, and points of view.” (Cut to Obama clearing brush on his ranch). “It also instilled a great love for America as the land of opportunity. A land where people from different backgrounds could come together and achieve the impossible. Barack Obama is proud of being black.” (Cut to a beautiful Obama family portrait). He even fathered two black babies — twice as many as John McCain. Don’t the working families of Pennsylvania deserve a president who’s proud of his heritage — and proud of America? (Cut to a smiling Obama). “Barack Obama…you’re damn right he’s black.”

Are we speaking, or are we talking?

Jim Carville Map of Pennsylvania This is a quote by Democratic Political Consultant Jim Carville from Wikipedia:

Between Paoli (one of Philadelphia’s westernmost suburbs) and Penn Hills (one of Pittsburgh’s easternmost suburbs), Pennsylvania is Alabama without the blacks. They didn’t film “The Deerhunter” there for nothing — the state has the second-highest concentration of NRA members, behind Texas.

A true nation

I am losing hope.

For us as a country, whether we could ever truly become a nation. Will we always remain divided?

I know what the lure of history holds for Sen. Hillary Clinton, (D-NY). At one time I wanted it for her, too, that she becomes the first female president of the United States.

But Hillary Clinton’s message must be rejected now. Rejected not because she’s a woman, but because she is divisive and obsessed with power. Rejected because she has used racial fears to attract votes.

I know now she will get this nomination. I’m just waiting to see how.

Orlando Patterson, a professor of sociology at Harvard University, re-examines Sen. Clinton’s the “red phone” ad:

I have spent my life studying the pictures and symbols of racism and slavery, and when I saw the Clinton ad’s central image — innocent sleeping children and a mother in the middle of the night at risk of mortal danger — it brought to my mind scenes from the past. I couldn’t help but think of D. W. Griffith’s “Birth of a Nation,” the racist movie epic that helped revive the Ku Klux Klan, with its portrayal of black men lurking in the bushes around white society. The danger implicit in the phone ad — as I see it — is that the person answering the phone might be a black man, someone who could not be trusted to protect us from this threat.
* * *
Finally, Hillary Clinton appears, wearing a business suit at 3 a.m., answering the phone. The message: our loved ones are in grave danger and only Mrs. Clinton can save them. An Obama presidency would be dangerous — and not just because of his lack of experience. In my reading, the ad, in the insidious language of symbolism, says that Mr. Obama is himself the danger, the outsider within.

Did the message get through? Well, consider this: people who voted early went overwhelmingly for Mr. Obama; those who made up their minds during the three days after the ad was broadcast voted heavily for Mrs. Clinton.

Stand Alone by Bob Marley

“>

There you are, cryin’ again
But your loveliness won’t cover your shame
There you are, you’re takin’ true love
And while you’re takin’ true love, you given the blame

(How could I …) Could I be so wrong
To think that we could get along?
Days I wasted with you, child
If I count there’ll be a million or two
Now I stand alone through the memories
That haunts me, that haunt
Yeah, and I walk alone through the rhapsodies
That taunts me, that taunts me, me

There you are, cryin’ again
But your loveline-ness won’t cover your shame
There you are, you’re takin’ true love
And while you’re takin’ true love, given the blame

(How could I …) How could I be so wrong
To think that we could get along?
Days I wasted with you, child
If I count there’ll be a million or two
Now I stand alone through the memories
That haunts me, that haunts (… me)
And I walk alone through the rhapsodies
That taunts me, that taunts me

Now, there you are, cryin’ again
But your loveline-ness won’t cover your sham-ame, hey
There you are, you’re takin’ true lo-love
While you’re takin’ true lo-love, given the blame

A metaphor too far?

Sen. Barack Obama, (D-IL), could still win the so-called “beer track” Democrats. I don’t see Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, (D-NY), making much headway with Mr. Obama’s core voters, the so-called “wine track” Democrats. So, where do we go from here? A fight to oblivion?

Is Obama really all hype?

From the desk of Lewis Blain:

Some of you might not care….Let’s take a closer look at who’s really qualified and or who’s really working for the good of all of us in the Senate. Obama or Clinton.

Senator Clinton, who has served only one full term – 6yrs. – and another year campaigning, has managed to author and pass into law – 20 – twenty pieces of legislation in her first six years.

These bills can be found on the website of the Library of Congress but to save you the trouble, they are posted here for you.

1. Establish the Kate Mullany National Historic Site.

2. Support the goals and ideals of Better Hearing and Speech Month.

3. Recognize the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

4. Name courthouse after Thurgood Marshall.

5. Name courthouse after James L. Watson.

6. Name post office after Jonn A. O’Shea.

7. Designate Aug. 7, 2003, as National Purple Heart Recognition Day.

8. Support the goals and ideals of National Purple Heart Recognition Day.

9. Honor the life and legacy of Alexander Hamilton on the bicentennial of his death.

10. Congratulate the Syracuse Univ. Orange Men’s Lacrosse Team on winning the championship.

11. Congratulate the Le Moyne College Dolphins Men’s Lacrosse Team on winning the championship.

12. Establish the 225th Anniversary of the American Revolution Commemorative Program.

13. Name post office after Sergeant Riayan A. Tejeda.

14. Honor Shirley Chisholm for her service to the nation and express
condolences on her death.

15. Honor John J. Downing, Brian Fahey, and Harry Ford, firefighters who lost their lives on duty. Only five of Clinton’s bills are, more substantive.

16. Extend period of unemployment assistance to victims of 9/11..

17. Pay for city projects in response to 9/11

18. Assist landmine victims in other countries.

19. Assist family caregivers in accessing affordable respite care.

20. Designate part of the National Forest System in Puerto Rico as protected in the wilderness preservation system.

There you have it, the fact’s straight from the Senate Record.

The following are those of Obama. The list is too substantive, so they are categorized.

During the first – 8 – eight years of his elected service he sponsored over 820 bills. He introduced

233 regarding healthcare reform,

125 on poverty and public assistance,

112 crime fighting bills,

97 economic bills,

60 human rights and anti-discrimination bills,

21 ethics reform bills,

15 gun control,

6 veterans affairs and many others.

His first year in the U.S. Senate, he authored 152 bills and co-sponsored another 427. These inculded **the Coburn-Obama Government Transparency Act of 2006 – became law, **The Lugar-Obama Nuclear Non-proliferation and Conventional Weapons Threat Reduction Act, – became law, **The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act, passed the Senate, **The 2007 Government Ethics Bill, – became law, **The Protection Against Excessive Executive Compensation Bill, In committee, and many more.

In all, since entering the U.S. Senate, Senator Obama has written 890 bills and co-sponsored another 1096.

An impressive record, for someone who supposedly has no record according to some who would prefer that this comparison not be made public.

He’s not just a talker.

He’s a doer.

Obama is the HYPE!

Pass it on….people need to know.