McCain's Own Pastor Problem

So maybe it's not as "out there" as Jeremiah Wright believing that the government created the AIDS epidemic, but John Hagee sure is hilarious:



Wait, I've seen this movie...the Holy Grail is actually Mary Magdalene, and she's buried underneath the pyramids in front of the Louvre, which are THEMSELVES a clever symbol of the Grail! Oh, and the chick is actually descended from Jesus and Ian McKellen's character is the real bad guy. Oddly enough, I was in Paris while they were filming the Louvre scenes; Ron Howard was staying at our hotel and my dad caught a picture of him with his cell phone. But I digress.

Never mind that the paper U.S. dollar did not come into circulation until 1862, well after Washington's time. But the Christian Right never lets silly things like facts get in the way of a good speech or a fundraising opportunity, so why start now?

But of course, this is just the harmless rantings of an evangelical pastor. He's not saying anything bigoted or divisive like Wright did!



Nope, nothing at all like Wright!

He Had To Do It

Just my $0.02 on the Barack Obama-Jeremiah Wright issue from earlier today.

Obama had to do what he did. I understand why he had to, but it hadn't been necessary.

I wish we had a media that held other candidates to the same standards that they hold Senator Obama. I wish that someone would ask John McCain why, if he does not believe that the Catholic Church is a whore or that Jews brought the Holocaust upon themselves, would he actively pursue the nomination of someone who does believe all of that. They won't ask him that, of course, because that would make him appear to either be just another wingnut or an extremely cynical politician, thus destroying the media's sacred narrative of John McCain as the "maverick" who's above all that.

Obama is, wrongly or not, held to a higher standard than the other two candidates. So while John McCain is free to rack up all the bigoted endorsements he wants, it is Obama who does the right thing by denouncing Wright.

It's not what Wright was saying that was the problem. He pointed out, correctly, in the PBS interview that white and black traditions are extremely different. As far as some of the more "out there" statements, like about the government causing AIDS, consider this--the Tuskegee study did not fully come to light until the 1970s. The AIDS epidemic broke out in the 1980s. Given that history, even if I don't personally believe it, it's not hard to understand why some people believe that the government that was capable of Tuskegee could also be capable of causing AIDS.

The problem was in the way Wright said it, in the days after the PBS interview. He fit himself right into the cartoon image of the "angry black man" who scares "mainstream" white Americans, and he certainly relished the attention that came with it.

It went against everything that Obama has been trying to do to heal race relations in this country. And therefore Obama had no choice but to strongly distance himself not from the remarks, but from the man himself.

Of course, the cynics will say that he simply "threw Wright under the bus". But watching the speech from today, you can clearly see how painful it was for him.

And by the way, I am now taking suggestions for alternatives to the phrase "under the bus." I believe that as a phrase, "under the bus" has truly jumped the shark.

They Really DO Make Everything There

It's no secret that everything is made in China these days. But this one truly takes the cake:

Police in southern China have discovered a factory manufacturing Free Tibet flags, media reports say.

The factory in Guangdong had been completing overseas orders for the flag of the Tibetan government-in-exile.

Workers said they thought they were just making colourful flags and did not realise their meaning.

Snap!

The quote of the week:

"If I'd had a rabbi who brought that much game, I wouldn't have spent this Passover neck-deep in a Bacon and Cheese Croissanwich."

-Jon Stewart on Jeremiah Wright

Supreme Court Overturns The 24th Amendment

That might as well be the headline. They've essentially paved the way to bringing back the poll tax, the Jim Crow measure designed to keep African-Americans in the South from voting:

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that states can require voters to produce photo identification without violating their constitutional rights, validating Republican-inspired voter ID laws.

In a splintered 6-3 ruling, the court upheld Indiana's strict photo ID requirement, which Democrats and civil rights groups said would deter poor, older and minority voters from casting ballots. Its backers said it was needed to deter fraud.

I've always found it curious that those who scream "FRAUD!" as a justification for needing photo ID's to vote are strangely silent about the fact that in many states, votes are counted by unverifiable and unauditable e-voting touch screen machines, without a paper trail. Is not the possibility for election fraud just as great in those machines? Why is this considered such a huge priority when the possibility of elections being outright stolen is hanging over our heads?

If Republicans were genuinely concerned with election fraud, this lack of accountability from voting machines would be a larger priority for them. But it's not, and that's not what voter ID laws are about either. They're about disenfranchising those least likely to have photo ID's--the poor, minorities, and both young and elderly voters.

The only form of official photo ID most people carry around is a driver's license. But not everyone drives, and not everyone has a driver's license. It doesn't cost anything to register to vote, but it does cost money to get a driver's license. If that's what the state will be requiring, requiring people to pay for something in order to vote, then I don't see how it's not a modern form of the poll tax.

Now, perhaps the state will begin issuing separate "voter ID's" when people register to vote. If I recall correctly, our own Hobbesian TNGOP flack proposed a similar plan. But that raises a whole new set of questions--who's going to pay for that, wouldn't that make it much harder for someone to register to vote, wouldn't it make voters' personal information much easier to steal, wouldn't that just create a new level of bureaucracy, why do the Republicans want Big Government up in your grill, etc.

The voter registration issue is particularly salient. I still don't understand why Republicans don't understand that this would hurt them as well. It would make it virtually impossible to reigster new voters through canvassing or campaign events, because you'd have to have someone there to take the pictures. Rather than making the voter registration process easy and decentralized, you're making it much more time-consuming. Republican efficient small-government values at work.

I just can't, for the life of me, understand why John Paul Stevens concurred with this. His own opinion notes that this would impose a burden.

This Explains A Lot

I saw Mindy McCready at Ruth Chris in Nashville a few months ago. Her table had already polished off two bottles of wine before their appetizers even came out. But we may now have an underlying reason behind Mindy McCready's personal troubles over the last few years:

The New York Daily News reported this morning that Roger Clemens and Mindy McCready carried on a decade-long romance that began when the baseball star was 28 and the country singer 15.

The allegation surfaced in a defamation lawsuit Clemens filed in January against Brian McNamee, his former personal trainer, and details could surface in an upcoming documentary featuring McCready currently filming in Nashville.

EWWWWW!

But that would explain a lot, wouldn't it? A young, aspiring country singer being taken advantage of by a much older baseball star? That's bound to leave anyone with a host of unresolved personal issues.

Does it surprise anyone that Roger Clemens, Mr. Perfect Reputation, would do something like this? He cheated in baseball, it's not much of a stretch to think he'd cheat on his wife.

We'll know soon, this is all going to come out in his lawsuit against Brian McNamee. He sued McNamee not for lying (slander) about the steroids issue, but for defamation of character. On those grounds, McNamee's lawyers will try to bring in every one of these past indiscretions, to show that Clemens' character was already defamed.

Supporting This Bill Is Fundamental

I'm not sure when this happened, but at some point in the last few weeks, Bart Gordon joined Steve Cohen in signing on to the "Dear Colleague" letter in the House of Representatives requesting that federal funding for Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) be restored in fiscal year 2009.

For the background on this issue, see Save RIF parts 1 and 2. In a nutshell, RIF provides around 16 million free books to around 4.6 million children every year. They can do this for $25.2 million per year, which is chump change in the $3.1 TRILLION budget for this year. But in this latest budget, Bush has proposed eliminating all of their federal funding.

Even with a relatively small budget, RIF has proven to be an extremely effective federal program. That's because it doesn't rely on a centralized organization, it relies on local chapters and local volunteers to distribute the books and promote children's literacy. In addition, they have a large network of corporate sponsors and deals with publishing companies that enable them to buy books for less than $2 each. But even with their generosity, RIF can't survive without federal funding.

So I'm very pleased to see that Bart Gordon has signed on. But I'm very disappointed that the rest of the Tennessee delegation has yet to follow suit. I'm especially disappointed in Jim Cooper, given how active RIF is in Nashville. If it's budget concerns he's worried about, I know that even he can see the benefit in funding a program that has actually gotten results. You'll notice that even Ron Paul has signed on to reinstate RIF's funding for 2009. Does he EVER support stuff like this?

Even he realizes that this is not a wasteful program.

UPDATE: It's particularly ironic that we're having this debate now as Laura Bush, along with Jenna, is on a book tour...promoting children's literacy! It's a pretty hollow gesture right now.

Another Request

Dear David Freeman,

The other day I requested that you and the rest of the Predators ownership do more to attract high-profile concerts to Nashville, to bring in revenue to the Sommet Center. I have another idea for you today.

On ESPN's draft coverage earlier this morning, they pointed out that this is the last year of the NFL's contract to hold the draft in Radio City Music Hall in New York City, leaving open the possibility of having the NFL Draft in other cities in the years to come. There's been serious talk of having the draft rotate around the different NFL cities, to bring the excitement everywhere else.

Now, I realize that this may not happen...ESPN loves having it in New York, because all of the drunk heckling Giants and Jets fans make for great television. But if it does happen, you've got to get the NFL Draft to come to Nashville!

Nashville hosted the NHL Draft in 2003. It was a huge success, bringing 13,000 fans to the arena and bringing in $10 million to the city in one weekend. Now imagine how many more fans and how much more money we'd attract with the NFL Draft, given how football is a much bigger business (and, frankly, more popular sport) here in Tennessee. I'd imagine it'd be several times what the NHL Draft pulled.

And now that they're finally going to build the new downtown Westin, we'll have somewhere to put all the out-of-towners. I just hope it has enough rooms--the hotel that hosts the ESPN people will need to have one room for Mel Kiper and at least two rooms for his ego. Hmm, maybe it'd be easier just to put them all up at the Opryland...

Again, this is all still hypothetical. But it's definitely something anyone concerned with the long-term profitability of the Sommet Center should consider.

And ESPN people, if you've ever seen a Titans game, then you know that Nashville can provide all the drunk heckling fans you need. The only difference is that unlike Jets fans, we heckle other teams, not our own.

If She Can't Run A Campaign...

Then how can she be expected to run an Administration? That's the question this very timely McClatchy article asks.

Over the last few days, you've heard the Clinton supporters and the know-all pundits constantly asking why Obama can't "seal the deal". But that's a bogus question, because he already has sealed the deal. By all means, we can continue this race and have all the primaries. But the ONLY way she can win the nomination at this point is through a superdelegate coup, which the party leadership wants to avoid at all costs. And when I say that's the only way, I mean that you can count Florida and Michigan "as is", and he'd still be ahead in the delegate count. But the odds of Florida and Michigan counting "as is" are pretty low at this point. And I still have yet to hear an explanation from a Clinton supporter of how the outcome of a race where one of the candidates was not even on the ballot (Michigan) can even remotely be considered fair.

So let's reverse the question. Hillary was the frontrunner all along. She had by far the most name recognition, and a huge warchest to go with it. She had a seasoned team of advisors, and could appeal to the Democratic base's fond memories of the 1990s. But the campaign was blindsided by the early losses and never fully recovered:

As the campaign progressed in 2008, Clinton faced a third problem: Her team had expected her to sew up the nomination on Feb. 5, Super Tuesday. It burned through more than $118 million trying to make that happen, spending so furiously that Clinton even lent herself $5 million at the end of January.

But when Obama fought her to a draw that day, Clinton seemed to have no Plan B.

She threw all her money at Super Tuesday, and it failed. She tried shuffling around her campaign staff, and that also failed (because she didn't get rid of the central problem, Mark Penn). She went through "more incarnations than the Dalai Lama", and that too failed.

Yes, Hillary won Pennsylvania. But it didn't bring her any closer to winning the nomination. Her campaign rested upon the assumption of her inevitability, but that facade faded away a long time ago, leaving her to cling to anything to get it back. Anything, including bringing down the rest of the Democratic Party just to say "I told you so."

Bill Clinton ran a great campaign in 1992. But this isn't 1992, and as LeftWingCracker once pointed out, Hillary is not "Bill in a dress". If she can't control the competing personalities within her own campaign to speak with one unified voice, how on earth would she control them in a cabinet? Obama's campaign has advisors and aides from across the spectrum, yet his campaign still manages to come together.

And if her team can't adapt to changing situations on the campaign trail, how can they adapt to changing situations in the world? Can we really afford another President who goes into battles "without a Plan B"?

The Sunday Liberal Blog Roundup, 4-27-08

The Sunday "why aren't you wearing a flag pin?" edition of the TennViews intermittently weekly blog roundup showcasing the best bloggers in Tennessee and what they are talking about...

• 55-40 Memphis: I'm a Hillary-hater now

• BlountViews: Republican County Mayor charges Sunshine Law violation against commissioners helping citizen investigate county finances. Plus: Local paper discovers blogs, interviews yours truly.

• Carole Borges: Hillary please do go gently into that good night

• The Crone Speaks: Abstinence Only Doesn't Work, and Barrack’s Senior Problem

• Cup of Joe Powell: Search For Terrorism in TN Nets Seatbelt Violations , plus: this is not a pipe.

• The Donkey's Mouth: Tennessee's Republican Congressional delegation votes against Medicaid Safety Net, TN GOP doesn't get the memo and blames Bredesen.

• Enclave: Beth Harwell has no interest in protecting Tennessee kids from dangerous toys (wonder why?), and any effort to regulate dangerous toys at the state level usurps the federal government's right to not regulate dangerous toys.

• Fletch: See Chattanooga on a Segway, plus Temple of the Gods: When the temple is occupied, the gods will command a magnificent air-conditioned vista of downtown, the Tennessee River, and Lookout Mountain, while processing the paperwork and making life and death financial and health decisions for the mere mortals down below who pay their tithes to the gods.

• KnoxViews: Straight talk about real life, plus McCain wins Pennsylvania primary. Bonus: KnoxViews voted best local blog by Metro Pulse alt-weekly readers. (Instapundit was a runner up.)

• Lean Left: McCain Opposed To New Benefits for Veterans, plus: Lean Left: You don't stop doing business with Pizza Hut because you don't like their corporate policies. You stop doing business with Pizza Hut because they have sh**ty pizza.

• Left of the Dial: No Deal

• Left Wing Cracker: It's time for some MISSIONARY work, my Democratic brothers and sisters, plus: Democrats for LAMAR!

• Liberadio: Steve Gill’s Gas Problem, and Phil Valentine’s Lying Problem

• NewsComa: Now famous in Pakistan.

• Progressive Nashville: Lamar Alexander Votes To Deny Justice to Tennessee Workers: Alexander and Corker both feel safe in their seats, so they had the freedom to vote party line over common sense. They should both be ashamed. Plus: What do coral snake bites and German rooftops have in common? Hint: the so-called free market.

• Resonance: Is Conspicuous Consumption Out? Plus, People Get Outraged Over The Silliest Things: And somewhere near the bottom of the list would be the horror of having my precious snowflake exposed to a few seconds of Spanish over the school public address system one day a year.

• RoaneViews: Becky Ruppe Officially announced her campaign for State Senator

• Russ McBee: McCain's Pander Bus stops in New Orleans, lies to the Lower 9th. Plus: happy blogiversary!

• Sean Braisted: Let the Caveats Begin: John McCain is backtracking on his tough talk over earmarks... Plus: Willie Horton Part Deux

• Sharon Cobb: Reverend Jeremiah Wright Gives First Interview: I bring all of this up to underscore how much your average white person does not know about the black churches, and how Rev. Wright is going to get his words twisted. Plus: Hillary Clinton Runs Her Campaign Like A Republican, And It Will Backfire

• Silence Isn't Golden: Dear Senator Obama: Hi. I know you're busy right now, and you've got a lot on your mind. But if you can spare a few minutes, then for God's sake, call this woman! Bonus: Awesome spring break, Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. (And the amazing thing is, she still found time to blog for Obama!)

• Southern Beale: Rep. Jim Cooper recounts an embarrassing trip aboard Air Force One ("These are astronaut mattresses!") Plus: Back to the Kitchen!

• TennViews: Democratic Convention 101, Plus: Fight higher grocery prices: Buy local

• Vibinc: Harrowing Healthcare Hedge, And: Whiners and Hand Wringers

• Whites Creek Journal: No She Can't: Ohmygod!!! Obama is Willard Scott! Plus: Pictures from the Morning Hike: My yard is a bit unusual, lying in three counties and two time zones, and having over 800 feet of elevation change from bottom to top.

• Women's Health News: Drug-Addicted Women Need Medical Care, Not Jail Plus: Happy Earth Day - Alternative & Reusable Menstrual Products

UPDATE: Also, Don Williams.

Dear Senator Obama

Hi. I know you're busy right now, and you've got a lot on your mind. But if you can spare a few minutes, then for God's sake, call this woman! Hillary has already called her, but:

Obama, by contrast, has not called. Harwell hopes it's not because he assumes that the head of a Democratic women's organization will automatically vote for the woman in the race.

"I would hope that's not true. I get really irritated with the media when they paint this as a choice between race and gender," she said. "If he's discouraged because of that, it's a shame. A lot of our women are supporting Obama."

This woman is, of course, the president of the Tennessee Federation of Democratic Women, Vicki Harwell. And Senator Obama, she just hinted, in a big way, that this could be another unexpected superdelegate pickup for you. Because if she is definitely supporting Clinton, she wouldn't have bothered to drop that hint. So please, PLEASE, call her!

But no one tell the Tennessee Guerilla Whiners about this. They may try to oust Ms. Harwell, because as we all know, you can't really speak for women if you're an Obama supporter.

If The Tennessean Message Boards Had Been Around In 1995

And if the Titans had already been in Nashville by then, I imagine you'd see at least a few posts like this:

"OMG, whyd we pick Steve McNair?!?!?! Yea hes got good numbers but whod he play? Where the hell is Acorn State anyway, ive never heard of it!! We threw away teh number #3 pick on a nobody from a small school!!! If were going to pick a QB we shouldve gone with Kerry Collins from penn state, hes still on the board! OMG we're going to be 8-8 again! The Titans management SUX!!!!"

Aaaand They're Off!

We now have an official candidate for the 2010 gubernatorial race:

Former Democratic Majority Leader Kim McMillan has announced she is forming an exploratory committee for the 2010 governor's race.

Raised in Knoxville, McMillan was first elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1994 representing Clarksville. She was re-elected five times and served as majority leader for four years, the first woman to hold the position.

***********************

In a statement released to NashvillePost.com regarding the formation of an exploratory committee, McMillan said, "The people of Tennessee want good jobs, close to home. We want to send our kids to first-rate schools and we want to have safe neighborhoods. I think these expectations are reasonable. I've spent much of my life in leadership and public service. I believe I have the experience, the perspective, and the desire to move Tennessee forward."

On the Democratic side, Lincoln Davis has considered the possibility, and it's fairly obvious that Harold Ford has as well.

I consider this a positive development. She is someone who doesn't come with the baggage Harold Ford has, and she isn't quite as...well, as Republican as Lincoln Davis.

A Titans Fan's Dissent

Ok Titans fans, I know many of you are still pissed off over the draft pick of Chris Johnson from East Carolina. He's small, he's not well-known, and everyone wanted a WR because an RB is not our most pressing need.

I'm going to dissent from this logic and go on the record saying that even though I didn't know much about him before the draft, I think this was a quality pick.

First, his numbers. He was the fastest RB in the Combine, running a 4.24 40-yard. He led the NCAA last year with 222.7 all-purpose yards per game, and had close to 7,000 all-purpose yards throughout his game. He can run and catch, bringing a level of versatility to the running game that we haven't seen in awhile. East Carolina used him as a kick returner as well, where he averaged 28 yards per return. The Titans haven't really had a consistently good kick returner since losing Pacman.

Also, I would like to refer you to this play he made against Boise State in the Hawaii Bowl last year:



Look at how many defenders he walked right over. He is super-human fast.

And we do need a fast RB. By picking Johnson, the Titans are essentially admitting what we already knew--that Chris Henry is not living up to expectations and we can't rely on him. LenDale White is a power RB, but he isn't as fast as this. The two of them would make a formidable pair.

More so than Chris Henry, I'm confident that Johnson will "click" with the offense and with the coaches quickly. It bears repeating that the Titans running backs coach, Earnest Byner, is also from East Carolina.

As far as the WR situation is concerned, no WR's were taken in the first round. The top WR's in this draft are good, but none of them are immediate impact players. There will still be plenty of quality WR's left for our second pick (of course I'm still holding a candle for Vandy's Earl Bennett, but that will probably come later on).

I still think that we need a left-side DE to help Jevon Kearse, almost as much as we need a WR.

Here's one last video of Chris Johnson, showing him running, receiving, and kick-returning. I'm guessing this is his "official" highlight tape:



UPDATE: The Titans took a DE in the second round, Jason Jones of Eastern Michigan. Did I not call that?

Mean Business People Gang Up On Hillary

First, it was the Financial Times' endorsement of Obama from over the weekend:

After Tuesday’s vote, the Democrats should move quickly to affirm Mr Obama’s nomination. That is not just because his lead in elected delegates is already unassailable and the contest should be brought to a swift conclusion. It is also because he is, in fact, the better candidate.

Now, the deputy editorial director of the Wall Street Journal has gotten in on the act, pointing out the obvious--that Obama has already won the nomination:

Other than ensuring the Greatest Show on Earth will continue, does it matter that Hillary Clinton defeated Barack Obama Tuesday in Pennsylvania by nine-plus points? Barack Obama is the nominee.

No matter how many kicks the rest of us find in such famously fun primary states as Indiana and South Dakota, it's going to be McCain versus Obama in 2008.

One of the latest Republican/Clinton talking points is that Obama is a "Marxist." Never mind the fact that no one has been able to point out where exactly Obama has said anything about a mass uprising by the proletariat against the bourgeoisie (as with Adam Smith, most of the people who refer to Marx have never actually read him). But if that were the case, why would he have received a glowing endorsement from the Financial Times, one of the most influential business newspapers in the world? The FT is hardly "Marxist," they rely on capitalism and the entrepreneurial spirit. They are "liberal" in the European, not the American, sense of the word. And while the WSJ op-ed was by no means an endorsement, it is at least an acknowledgment that he has been the better candidate. If they really believed he were "Marxist", wouldn't they be doing all they could to sink his nomination?

I eagerly await the Clinton spin from these two together. "Obama needs to immediately reject and denounce the Wall Street Journal, they're owned by NewsCorp and no Democrat should associate with them and their hateful rhetoric!" (oh, wait...). "And the Financial Times? They're printed on PINK PAPER! That obviously shows that they are out of touch with mainstream middle class Americans. And the letters to the editor are addressed to 'Sir'--that just proves that they are sexist pigs determined to hold down strong women!"

Question

This is probably going to sound like a dumb question, but it's driving me crazy, and I need to know this before I move there in August. Is "Missouri" pronounced "MissourEE" or "MissourUH"? Thank you!

Take A Wild Guess

As to whom Rahm Emanuel is referring:

“The way the loser loses,” said Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, who is close to both candidates but has made no endorsement, “will determine whether the winner wins in November.”

Hint--there's only one candidate losing as of right now, and it's not Obama.

Dubai Day Three/Back In The U.S.

Right now I'm in LaGwaaaaaadiah airport waiting for my flight back to Ithaca, where I'm entering a major crunch week to get everything done before Slope Day next week.

I don't really have pictures from Dubai Day Three--it was a lazy day, for the most part. My mom and I went to the beach outside the hotel in the morning. It was a beautiful beach, white sand and clear blue water. Of course, I never really get to enjoy the beach--I can't tan because I have to wear really high SPF sunscreen just so that I don't end up looking like a tomato. After that, a trip to the spa and a little more shopping to buy gifts for everyone back home. We went out to dinner last night with some of my dad's business associates--it was great but the dinner was outside by the sea, and as a result my legs are so mosquito-bitten right now that if you hear about an outbreak of malaria or West Nile virus in upstate New York next week, you'll know what happened.

Early this morning (which was last night U.S. time) we went to the Dubai airport (which itself is like a mall with security, they don't miss a retail opportunity there) for the 13-hour flight back here. Long flights are pretty much the only time I have to see movies, so I am pleased to say that I finally get the context behind "I drink your milkshake!"

On the whole, Dubai was amazing as a vacation spot. It had beautiful beaches, AMAZING shopping, and great nightlife. But because the city in its current form has only been around for 30 or so years, it doesn't really have a culture of its own. It's all very globalized. Adding to that is the fact that the vast majority of the people who live there are not actually Arabic. Dubai basically imported its entire workforce, so most of the people you see there are from places like India and the Philippines.

Of course, it's also important to remember that for all of their economic achievements, they are by no means a democracy. For the first day there, I couldn't figure out why our Internet connection was so slow. But when I tried to access a political site and was blocked, I figured it out...the Internet there is firewalled, like in China.

I'm very glad I went, I needed a true spring break. But now it's back to reality.

A Request

Nashville Predators co-owner David Freeman, on how they're going to make the Sommet Center more profitable, thus taking some of the burden off of the city of Nashville:

"A big part of it is the building itself. We are going to be working just as hard on the building to try to create events. We have somewhere between 40-50 hockey games in here a year, which leaves the building open another 300 nights a year. When you talk about it from a business standpoint, there is probably more potential on the non-hockey nights than on the hockey nights."

I'd like to make a request. More concerts, please. The dearth of high-profile non-country concerts for a town that markets itself as "Music City" is embarrassing. And while the arena wouldn't make money of off ticket sales or merchandise, that still leaves concessions and parking. Let's put a bigger effort into attracting big concerts.

No, Harold

No, no, no, and no.

Let me make this perfectly clear. Obama does not need to win Indiana. It would be great if he did, but he doesn't need to. At this point, all he needs to do is run out the clock. As long as he keeps it within a close margin, the state of the race won't change if he loses Indiana. And any gain Hillary would get out of Indiana will be obliterated by the ass-whippin' she's going to get in North Carolina, along with most of the gains from Pennsylvania. Hillary needs to win Indiana far more than he does.

It doesn't surprise me that Harold is touting this line though. For the last few weeks, the Clinton surrogates have told us that Obama "needs to win Pennsylvania." He didn't, but what happened?

Nothing. The state of the race has not changed from 24 hours ago--Obama is still the leader in pledged delegates and the popular vote, and mathematically it is still impossible for Hillary to win the nomination short of a superdelegate coup.

Another thought--can you imagine what would happen if Harold were in Obama's shoes? Can you imagine how Hillary would attack him? "Well, we all know that Harold Ford has no experience. He was only 26 when he was elected to Congress, what did he do before that? Not much. He doesn't have enough experience. Oh, and he's unelectable. Don't ask us why, but he is." And if the Jeremiah Wright brouhaha is any indicator, Harold would probably be asked to reject and denounce the vast majority of his family members.

I Normally Don't Do Sports Analogies

But one occurred to me as I woke up and saw the Pennsylvania results (it's 9 am here). I know some folks are disheartened over what happened last night (tonight?), but keep this in mind.

Let's say the primaries were a hockey game (it can be a Predators game if you'd like, but in that case it's a home game and it's not the playoffs). Obama has a one goal lead, and has had one for almost the entire game. Every time Hillary has scored a goal, he's answered it almost immediately. Obama's goalie has been on fire most of the game, he's made some of the most acrobatic and photo-worthy saves you'll ever see. Hillary just can't seem to get any offensive momentum going, the different lines don't seem to be communicating with one another. Every time she DOES get some offense going, it's stopped by mistakes or penalties. Hillary's fans are screaming that the refs are screwing them over, but there's no question that she's losing.

There are three minutes to go in the game. Obama is up by one. Hillary is gearing up for one last offensive try, but the best case scenario is that they'll send the game to overtime. And if it doesn't work, then she's awfully close to having to pull the goalie. All Obama has to do is run out the clock.

Now at this point, you may be scratching your head and wondering if I'm just tired or if I've smoked too much shisha. But my point is, nothing has changed. Obama is still the frontrunner, he cut a 25-point deficit into 10, and he kept it close enough so that there won't be a drastic change in the delegate count.

And any momentum Hillary has will come to a screeching halt in North Carolina. However, I'm sure the Clinton fans will just blame that on the refs.

Dubai: Day Two

This morning, we started out going back to Jumeirah Mosque, which we weren't able to get into for a tour yesterday. They gave my mom and I headscarves to wear inside. Please note that they gave us scarves that coordinated with our respective outfits:




I guess even in the mosque, you still have to look fashionable It is Dubai, after all.

Inside the mosque:





The next stop was the gold and spice souqs. I think we were expecting the gold souq to be more like a traditional market, but it was rows and rows of jewelry stores. I didn't take pictures there, but I did get a very nice graduation present there :)

The spice souq was a little more interesting:




After that, Mom and I did a little more shopping, and on the way back to the hotel we passed the Burj Dubai, which will be the world's tallest building when it's completed:




We just got back from a late dinner, and now I'm going to bed until 4 am, when I'm going to wake up to watch the Pennsylvania results come in on CNN. Good night!

Dubai: Day One

Oh. My. God.

It is now a little after nine in the evening on Monday in Dubai, and we've been here for a full day now. Words cannot do this place justice. I had heard that this would be like a Middle Eastern Las Vegas, but I've been to Vegas and this is nicer.

We got in late last night, after a nutty day Saturday of running around Queens in NYC. Of my parents' three suitcases, one of them came up on their flight to JFK, one of them came up on a later flight to JFK, and one of them inexplicably ended up at LaGuardia. But once we got everything under control, we got on our Emirates Air flight (which was awesome even if it was really long) and arrived here on Sunday night.

I couldn't get many pictures last night because it's very hazy here (whether from the desert or pollution I'm not sure), but I was definitely on my best American Tourist behavior today.

First, our hotel, the Burj Al Arab:



I couldn't get a picture of it from the side, but it looks like a sail. That round thing at the top is a helipad, and they once converted it into a tennis court where Roger Federer and Andre Agassi played a match. There's also a group of islands near the hotel that are shaped like a giant palm tree. We're supposed to be able to see it from our room but I don't think we're up high enough.

Inside the Burj Al Arab--the view from the bottom up:



The fountain in the lobby:



Me in front of the fountain:



Jumeirah Beach next door:



A Rolls-Royce parked outside the hotel:



The Dubai Museum inside an old fort:



Jumeirah Mosque (we couldn't go in because they only let non-Muslims in for tours at certain times, we're going to try and go back tomorrow)



After touring, we went to the Mall of the Emirates, which is their biggest mall (as of now--like so many other things, they're building a bigger one). They had every high-street store that I had shopped at in London, which made me inexplicably happy. But this is the Mall of the Emirates' biggest draw:



There is a ski slope in the mall. I repeat: THERE IS A SKI SLOPE IN THE MALL.



We didn't actually go skiing (we tried that as a family once, it didn't quite work out). But this was something magnificent to see.

You try to remind yourself about the environmental damage and the human rights violations. But it's impossible not to admire everything this city has accomplished. It was all the vision of one sheikh who decided that they couldn't just rely on oil for their economy, and would have to branch out into other fields like tourism and finance. And they'll be better off for it in the long term.

On the agenda for tomorrow, if we can finally adjust to the time difference--going back to the Jumeirah Mosque and visiting the gold and spice souqs.

Salaam y'all!

Programming Update, 4-18-08

First...dammit Detroit, stop screwing up my narrative.

Second, posting over the next week is going to be a little erratic. I'm going on a pretty big trip, to somewhere I've never been before and somewhere I am SO RIDICULOUSLY EXCITED to be going to. This is essentially my "second spring break" which as a second-semester senior I feel I am entitled to, because I didn't get to go anywhere fun for my first spring break (I'm not saying that hanging around Nashville isn't fun, but...).

I won't be able to post much over the next week, but I'll do my best to post plenty of pictures. I have no idea what time it'll be there when the Pennsylvania results come in on Tuesday, but I'm fairly confident the hotel will have CNN International.

Oh, and when I get back, I'll only have one more week of classes left as an undergraduate. Crap.

So have a VERY happy Passover if you're celebrating it, otherwise have a great week, and I'll see you, hopefully with a nice tan, at some point next week!

This Pretty Much Describes My Family's Seders

Via a joke e-mail from one of my dad's good friends, here is the "Two-Minute Seder", for those of you who don't have the patience to sit through the whole thing (note: unless you're Jewish or have been to a Seder before, you probably won't get this. If you don't fall into one of those two categories, here's a handy reference):


Opening prayers:
Thanks, God, for creating wine. (Drink wine.)

Thanks for creating produce. (Eat parsley.)

Overview:
Once we were slaves in Egypt. Now we're free. That's why we're doing this.

Four questions:
1. What's up with the matzoh?
2. What's the deal with horseradish?
3. What's with the dipping of the herbs?
4. What's this whole slouching at the table business?

Answers:
1. When we left Egypt, we were in a hurry. There was no time for making decent bread.
2. Life was bitter, like horseradish.
3. It's called symbolism.
4. Free people get to slouch.

A funny story:
Once, these five rabbis talked all night, then it was morning. (Heat soup now.)

The four kinds of children and how to deal with them:
Wise child-explain Passover.
Simple child-explain Passover slowly.
Silent child- explain Passover loudly.
Wicked child-brow beat in front of the relatives.

Speaking of children: We hid some matzoh. Whoever finds it gets five bucks.

The story of Passover:
It's a long time ago. We're slaves in Egypt. Pharaoh is a nightmare. We cry out for help. God brings plagues upon the Egyptians. We escape, bake some matzoh. God parts the Red Sea. We make it through. The Egyptians aren't so lucky. We wander 40 years in the
desert, eat manna, get the Torah, wind up in Israel, get a new temple, enjoy several years without being persecuted again. (Let brisket cool now.)

The 10 Plagues: Blood, Frogs, Lice-you name it.

The singing of "Dayenu":
If God had gotten us out of Egypt and not punished our enemies, it would've been enough. If He'd punished our enemies and not parted the Red Se a, it would've been enough. If He'd parted the Red Sea (remove gefilte fish from refrigerator now.) etc.

Eat matzoh. Drink more wine. Slouch.

Thanks again, God, for everything.

SERVE MEAL.

Say Grace. Drink more wine. Sing some more songs. Try to stay awake.


Who knows one? Who knows two through thirteen?
Dad bought a goat for two zuzim. Everyone beats up every one until God steps in.

Go to sleep.

Do it again another night.


HAPPY PASSOVER!!!

I Heart Kleinheider

And I heart his new blog, Post Politics, brought to you by the Nashville Scene Post.

Go check it out!

Wow

My previous record for number of visits in one day--225

Number of visits on April 17, 2008--407

Folks, please keep Googling "Charlie Gibson booed".

We Ain't Gonna Take That Lyin' Down!

Detroit Red Wings defenseman and dinosaur Chris Chelios referred to Nashville Predators fans as "hillbillyish" last week.

Now, it's understandable that he would harbor some negative feelings toward Southerners. Given his age, I'm sure he has some bad memories of the Civil War.

However, one NHL expert points out that Predators fans do fit into one "hillbilly" stereotype--we're defiant:

Those loud, towel-waving puckheads in the stands last night have been through hell this season; ditto Nashville players like Shea Weber and Dan Ellis and Alexander Radulov, who were told they couldn't take a game against the Wings without Jason Arnott or J.P. Dumont hitting the score sheet, and yet they did. Going to back to Detroit deuce-deuce is miraculous ... although the Preds are 0-5 in their postseason lives when the games are played in Motown.

(Note: I'm not just linking back to this post because they linked to me. Really, I'm not)

Of course, the Prey don't want us to be defiant. They would say we should spend the money on schools, conveniently ignoring that the school budget actually increased this year. They would say that we could spend the money on other things, never bothering to explain how they would help people who are going to lose business downtown (I guess we really don't need a downtown, we can all just sprawl out). They never explain how we'd get a new tenant in the arena, given the dearth of concerts that come here. In short, all whining and no action.

If they're the "enlightened" ones, then I'd rather be a hillbilly.

Better Yale Than Cornell

UPDATE: This was a hoax. Never mind.

Sean, Aunt B., and the IvyGate blog were on this story earlier today, about the senior at Yale who repeatedly artificially inseminated herself and induced miscarriages to use the blood in her senior art project.

First thought upon hearing this--it has to be a hoax. I know plenty of Yalies and I would not put this past them.

Second thought--well, thank goodness this didn't happen at Cornell. No one here has time to do anything like that.

Third thought--her last name is "Schvarts". Oh shit, she's Jewish. Her mother must be dying (note: this is not an assumption just based on her name. Look at her picture on Huffington Post, and tell me she's not).

Fourth and final thought--I know the anti-abortion folks will use this to say, "Oh, look at how awful abortion is!" But the fact that one young woman really fucked up should not be used as a generalization on abortion in general. And if it can, then we should go ahead and ban the Catholic Church because of a few abusive priests.

I'm no doctor, but what's clear to me from reading this is that this girl is profoundly mentally disturbed. What she did in this "project" by constantly causing herself to bleed is self-mutilation, akin to cutting oneself. Her professor should not have approved this project, he or she should have referred her to the campus health center.

It's entirely possible that she's not mentally disturbed, and is just doing this to get attention. In that case, I agree with Aunt B. that it was an unbelievably bratty thing to do, even for "art". In a time when so many women do not have access to even the most basic forms of birth control, let alone abortion, this was an unbelievably selfish thing to do.

But hey, it wouldn't be the first time that Yale has produced bratty, selfish students.

Either way, I still really hope this was a hoax.

Legislative Setbacks For The Republicans

Two of them to be exact. This one makes no sense:

State House Republicans have failed in their attempt to attach a proposal allowing employers to require workers to speak English to an unrelated bill about sewage systems.

The House voted 51-46 to reject the amendment sponsored by Rep. Matthew Hill, a Jonesborough Republican. A similar measure had previously passed the Senate but failed in a House subcommittee last month.

I'm not going to pretend to understand anything the Republicans do, but why not file your own bill on the subject? Or if not, why not attach this to a bill that is remotely related to the subject? Why a sewage bill, for Heaven's sake?

Well, it's nice to see at least one state representative, Brenda Gilmore, taking care of the more important but less headline-grabbing issues.

The other one was technically a setback for a Democrat rather than a Republican, but keep reading:

A legislative proposal to require informed consent before an abortion has failed this session and will be studied over the summer.

The Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee voted 5-3 on Thursday to send the measure to a summer study committee.

The bill sponsored by Dresden Democrat Roy Herron would also require a 24-hour waiting period prior to an abortion to allow the woman time to review information that discusses consequences of such a procedure.

Why on Earth would the Republicans be against that? Seems to me this would be something they would unanimously support. More restrictions on abortion? This is right up their alley....

...unless, of course, they are once again proving that they're only pro-life when they get to put their names on the bill. Wouldn't voting down an anti-abortion bill just because the sponsor is a Democrat be an example of cutting off your nose to spite your face?

No word yet on the status of the bill to force children to remain in government custody rather than be adopted by loving families.

UPDATE: Never mind, the adoption bill has been deferred until Tuesday.

Good Samaritans Still Exist

Something really freaky just happened to me, and I feel the need to share it.

When I got home from class just now, there were two small packages for me on the kitchen table. One was from my synagogue, with a box of chocolate-covered matzah for Passover (THANKS!). The other one had no return address, and the stamp showed it was from a zip code I didn't recognize. When I opened it, there was no note inside...just my checkbook.

I hadn't even realized my checkbook was missing! I don't write checks very often, so it must have flipped out of my purse somewhere without my noticing.

There were no checks taken out of it. I've gone through all of my bank statements, and there's nothing out of the ordinary on them. Thank goodness I have my address on my checks.

I realize that the odds that this Good Samaritan reads my blog are slim and none, but I just want to say to whoever it is...I cannot thank you enough for your random act of kindness and I hope it comes back to you tenfold.

UPDATE: I Googled the zip code, it was mailed from the Charlotte Airport. This must have happened over spring break--I didn't fly through Charlotte, but I flew on U.S. Air, and of course Charlotte is one of their big hub airports. My checkbook must have flipped out of my bag on the plane, and another passenger or a flight attendant must have found it. As many problems as I've had with U.S. Air over the years, this does redeem them quite a bit in my eyes.

Debate Audience Boos Charlie Gibson

Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!



(H/t HuffPo)

The Prey Must Hate This

(Just FYI, "The Prey" is how I will collectively refer to the anti-Predators contingent from here on out. Thanks to Matt Pulle of the Nashville Scene for the inspiration.)

The Prey must have hated what they saw tonight. They want the team to lose money and games, they want the fans to not show up, they want hockey to fail in Nashville, so they can sit there smugly and say they told us so.

So they must have hated the sight of yet another loud Sommet Center sellout. They must have hated how enthusiastically the CBC broadcasters spoke about the Predators' prospects (unrelated note--although I obviously prefer Pete Weber and Terry Crisp, I must say that whoever does the CBC broadcasts was great, and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to them). They must have hated how quickly the Predators scored the first two goals. They must have hated seeing arguably one of the best goalies in the league, Dominik Hasek, being pulled in the second period. And they REALLY must have hated how the Red Wings threw everything they had at the Preds in the last ten minutes and yet the Preds hung on to win.

Understand, the Predators were not supposed to make the playoffs. This was supposed to be a rebuilding year after the turmoil of last summer. But now we've shown that we can not only play with, but that we can beat, the best team in the league. And now it's on to Joe Louis Arena, where we have the momentum to get our first playoff road win.

And the Prey will REALLY hate that.

Batting 500

Yesterday, the excellent LeftWingCracker had his 1,000 blog post. As of this post, I'm halfway there--this is #500!

A week from tomorrow, this collection of news, political commentary, sports talk, and whiny rants will have officially been in existence for nine months. Thank you, THANK YOU, to everyone who helped me in my descent from having a sliver of life to having no life!

Special thanks to--Adam Kleinheider, Sean Braisted, LeftWingCracker, Sharon Cobb, my Daily Kos Krew, the TNDP (especially Wade Munday!) , the Nashville Scene, NashvillePost.com, and everyone with whom I've ever worked on a campaign. Of course, I'd be remiss not to also give special thanks to my parents, for guaranteeing that at least two people read this every day.

My next goal is to get to 1000 posts in a shorter amount of time than LWC got to his (KIDDING!).

"I'm No Longer Afraid"

Interesting story from Out and About, via celebrity blogger Perez Hilton:

Local Nashvillian and host of The Remix, a popular Christian youth show, Azariah Southworth, announced today that he has come out.

“This has been a long time coming. I’m in a place where I’m at peace with my faith, friends, family and more importantly myself. I know this will end my career in Christian television, but I must now live my life openly and honestly with everyone. This is my reason for doing this,” Southworth says.

He later goes on to say that he knows that some in the Christian community will cut him off now, but that just means that he's a better Christian than they are. What I'm guessing will happen though is that you'll have a bunch of people going "Well, being gay is not the sin, it's the acting on it that's sinful." Never mind that you ultimately cannot separate the two, that's just an excuse for being judgmental.

Good for him. I can't say I've ever seen this show, but I've heard of Azariah Southworth before. It took a lot of courage for him to come out in his position. But the ones who will cut him off were never truly his friends, and he can now live his life as he was meant to.

American Idol Recap

Since American Idol had just about as much substance as the sorry excuse for a debate on ABC, here are my thoughts on tonight's show.

*SPOILER ALERT*

You know, I really hated Kristi Lee Cook at first. I thought she was just like Kellie Pickler, another fake who's destroying country music. Her country rendition of the Beatles' "Eight Days A Week" had John Lennon spinning in his grave.

But the longer she stayed on the show, the more she earned my respect. She knew every week that she was in danger of being voted off, and she took it in stride. She treated it with humor and self-depreciaiton. Everyone on that show takes themselves so seriously, and it was nice to see someone who didn't.

But in the end, her time was up. I'm not surprised she got voted off, I'm only surprised Syesha got more votes than Brooke.

I don't feel too bad for her. She'll probably come to Nashville now and get a plum contract, and you'll hear her on the radio a year from now.

Oh, and guys, if you want me to fall in love with you, all you need to do is serenade me with David Cook's version of "Always Be My Baby."

Pennsylvania Debate Thoughts

Live-blog time!

8:10 p.m.: This first question was bullshit. Asking about joint tickets at this point is far too speculative. At least both of them are promising to support the eventual nominee.

8:12 p.m.: Ah, Bitter-gate. That didn't take long.

8:14 p.m.: Top that, Hillary.

8:16 p.m.: "Do you think Obama can beat John McCain"? "Well, we have to." Answer the damn question, Hillary.

8:18 p.m.: Thank you.

8:19 p.m.: "But I can do it better." "I've been vetted." Yes, and she'll be "vetted" all over again if she's the nominee.

8:20 p.m.: In this moment, Obama is proving that he has more class than Hillary has in her pinky. They attacked her for being "elitist" back in the 1990s, but he knew that was wrong. Bu she's adopting the same tactics now.

8:21 p.m.: Is she addressing her comments in this debate to the voters of Pennsylvania or is she trying to scare the superdelegates?

8:23 p.m.: Jeremiah Wright? He's still around? Jesus Charlie Gibson, why not ask him about Farrakhan while you're at it?

8:25 p.m.: Ok, I'm bored already. 35 minutes till American Idol!

8:26 p.m.: Who the hell picks a church for the pastor? You pick it for the people.

8:28 p.m.: Obama agrees with me on that last point.

8:29 p.m.: My God, thirty minutes into the debate and we're still on this. I'm cutting this live-blog off at 9 to watch Idol and the Predators game if it doesn't get better.

8:31 p.m.: HAH! She just admitted that there is bitterness out there!

8:32 p.m.: She just mentioned Farrakhan. The answer to my other question is pretty clear now, she's trying to scare superdelegates rather than address the issue.

8:34 p.m.: She's blaming the "misspeaking" on Bosnia on her lack of sleep. But if she's sleep-deprived, can we trust her to make the right decision when the phone goes off at 3 a.m.?

8:38 p.m.: THE FLAG LAPEL?!?!?! WTF?!?!?!

8:40 p.m.: Obama is trying to get back onto the real issues and point out that the flag lapel is a distracting "manufactured issue", but it's not working. This whole debate is bullshit.

8:41 p.m.: Does Hillary not have any unsavory friends? Oh that's right, she threw them all under the bus because she might have been asked a question about it.

8:42 p.m.: This whole "debate" is grotesque. How do Jeremiah Wright and the flag lapel and the Weather Underground guy help the people in Pennsylvania get jobs, how does it get us out of Iraq?

8:44 p.m.: Hillary--"Don't nominate Obama because the Republicans might say bad stuff about us!" Are you tough against them or scared of them?

8:46 p.m.: You know who this is the most unfair to? The voters of Pennsylvania.

8:51 p.m.: I'm cutting this off now. Maybe this will get better, but I'm ready to watch something else now.

Truly Embarrassing

Cornell Daily Sun:

...a Cornell anthropology professor was the subject of personal attacks posted to two University listservs last week in response to a film screening and discussion she organized on “the prospects for peace in Tibet.”

After Prof. Kathryn March, anthropology, began publicizing the event several weeks ago, it immediately provoked a wave of impassioned e-mail responses, most of which criticized the event. A handful of the responses on the listservs were personally directed at March.

“I … was told to ‘go die’ on the Chinese Students and Scholars Association listserv,” March said at the opening of her event last Thursday, “[I] received personal emails saying things like ‘I spit on you’ or telling me that I needed ‘a brain spa’ where I could get ‘botox [for my] brain and age,’ advice that another e-mailer applauded by writing ‘well said! support!’”

When I first read this, I hoped it was just an isolated incident. But:

A Chinese student at Duke who participated in pro-Tibet protests on campus -- after befriending her Tibetan dorm-mate -- has become the target of brutal online and offline attacks. Thousands of nationalist Chinese thugs (some claiming to be Duke students) see her actions as "traitorous," and have threatened her with personal attacks in comment threads and, apparently, in person.

Online, the bullies have posted her photograph, her US phone number, Chinese identity card number, her parents' address and home number in China. Offline, her parents' home in Qingdao is said to have been attacked with rocks, and her parents are now in hiding.

If the protests of the last few weeks have shown anything, it's that no matter how modern and forward-looking China seems now, they are still controlled by a tyrannical regime that will shut down dissent through fear and threats.

As for the Cornell incident, of course you can't hold the entire Chinese Students Association responsible for what happened. But their professor-advisor has already taken the "sorry if you took it the wrong way" approach. And if I know this school, they're not going to do a damn thing about it.

Mike Huckabee At Cornell

Tonight, former Arkansas governor and Republican Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee visited Cornell, and spoke for about an hour and a half in Bailey Auditorium.

(I do have some pictures, but I'm having some technical difficulties with my Internets right now. I'll try to post them tomorrow)

I've said this before, but Mike Huckabee is such a good speaker, he almost makes you forget how positively crazy he is. You try to remember that he supports the fair tax that is anything but, that he basically admitted he wants to create a theocracy. But dammit, he's just so NICE. And so funny.

He very deftly handled the fact that he was in a more liberal audience than he was used to, pointing out that we were probably less hostile than some Baptist audiences he's seen. He told us about being asked if he was one of those narrow-minded Baptists who think they're the only ones going to Heaven, and he replied that he was even more narrow-minded than that--he didn't think all the Baptists are going to Heaven either. There were several other humorous statements like that which really made the audience warm up to him.

His party-line Republican credentials came out during the Q&A session when asked about Iraq and gay marriage (he made the "it'll lead to polygamy" argument--ever notice that it's only Republican men who seem interested in polygamy?).

Ultimately, however, you do get the sense that his stances do not come from a cynical ploy to get votes but from a genuine conviction. I especially respect that he realizes that "pro-life" does not end when the baby is born, as some Republicans seem to.

I finally came up with a question to ask him, but I didn't get the chance--I was towards the back of the line at the microphone, and they ended the Q&A before I got anywhere near the front. I was going to ask him about the bill before the Tennessee Judiciary Committee (which apparently has been deferred to Thursday), and whether he thinks that children are better off remaining in the care of the government rather than in a home with loving parents who may not fit the traditional definition of marriage. I guess we'll just have to wonder.

They Shoot, They Score!

Two good nights in a row for the Predators!

The Nashville Predators have a new lease at the Sommet Center - one their owners say will give them a better chance of succeeding in Nashville - after a decisive Metro Council vote tonight.

The council voted 30-8 for the new agreement, which comes after months of negotiations. It will give the hockey team's owners more money for managing the facility and more incentives for booking top events there while also protecting the city's investment in the Predators more effectively.

I know the hockey haters like to make it sound as if there is widespread discontent with having the Predators in Nashville and that the city shouldn't give them one penny, never mind the fact that the city would still have to pay for the arena even if the Predators left tomorrow. But unless 30 members of the Metro Council are COMPLETELY out of touch with those who elected them, then the city of Nashville seems to agree that the Predators should stay.

GO PREDS! Make it three good nights in a row against Detroit tomorrow night!

We Don't Want Him

As long as we're on the subject...I don't want to pretend that I speak for all Jews. That would be rather presumptuous of me. But still...

Q Can we look ahead to the Pope's visit tomorrow --

MS. PERINO: Sure.

Q -- and the next day? It's been suggested that the President, who has met so often with Catholic leaders and reached out so aggressively to Catholic groups, and whose social views very closely reflect Catholic Orthodoxy, is actually America's first Catholic President. What do you think of that? (Laughter.)

MS. PERINO: He's also been called America's -- or, the first Jewish President, is what the Israelis call him, too.

First of all, I'd like to know who called Bush that, other than Dana Perino. And I don't understand how you could claim Bush was the first Catholic president. Even if you're very conservative, you still have to admit that it was JFK.

Again, I don't want to pretend that I speak for all Jews, but I think at least 2/3 of the American Jewish community would agree with me when I say...we don't want him. It's already embarrassing enough that we have to deal with Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, and Joe Lieberman. Catholics, he's all yours. Although I'd be willing to bet quite a few of y'all don't want him either.

An Alternative To AIPAC?

A new lobbying organization called JStreet was launched a few days ago. They posit themselves as a distinctly pro-peace pro-Israel organization. For too long, we've been told that you have to hold a neo-conservative worldview to be pro-Israel, and JStreet seems well-positioned to give a voice to the rest of us:



More about JStreet:

J Street was founded to promote meaningful American leadership to end the Arab-Israeli and Palestinian-Israel conflicts peacefully and diplomatically. We support a new direction for American policy in the Middle East and a broad public and policy debate about the U.S. role in the region.

J Street represents Americans, primarily but not exclusively Jewish, who support Israel and its desire for security as the Jewish homeland, as well as the right of the Palestinians to a sovereign state of their own - two states living side-by-side in peace and security. We believe ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is in the best interests of Israel, the United States, the Palestinians, and the region as a whole.

They have the support of many prominent American Jewish community leaders and rabbis, in addition to many prominent Israelis.

I definitely hope that JStreet grows and succeeds. They speak for the vast majority of American Jews, who strongly support Israel as the Jewish homeland but who don't subscribe to the neo-conservative view that the only solution is outright aggression. I hope they become as strong of a pro-Israel voice as AIPAC is now.

Go here if you'd like to sign up or learn more.

UPDATE: Also check out the Washington Post article about this. One interesting difference between JStreet and AIPAC is that JStreet is setting themselves up as a political action committee that can endorse raise money for candidates, something AIPAC doesn't do (they can't as a public affairs committee as opposed to political action.) H/t Kleinheider.

What Should I Ask Mike Huckabee?

As I mentioned last week, the Cornell Republicans are bringing Mike Huckabee to campus tomorrow evening to talk about religion and politics, and I have a ticket to attend it.

I just wanted to throw this out there. If I get the chance to ask him a question, what should I ask? I know I'd love to ask him something, but I don't know what. Part of me wants to ask if he agrees with Cornell alum Ann Coulter '85 that Jews need to be "perfected". I liked my mom's idea too, she says I should ask what they promised him to drop out early.

Any other ideas? Post them in the comments if you have any.

Sold Out In Smashville

I'm watching Game 3 of the Predators-Red Wings playoff series on Versus right now. They just announced that the Sommet Center sold out for this game, meaning that the Predators have sold out every home game in the last month, and that they successfully moved 500 tickets in three hours this afternoon.

So, Sean Braisted and Mike Byrd...do y'all prefer your crow fried or grilled?

But I suppose there's no pleasing some people. The Preds could have sold out yesterday, and Braisted and Byrd would probably criticize the Preds for not selling out all three home playoff games the day the tickets went on sale. But then, they could have sold out all three games that day, plus drawn a crowd of 500 people standing outside the Sommet trying to get in, and I know Sean would criticize the fact that there were ONLY 500 people outside.

But again, there's no pleasing some folks. They've made their minds up that Nashville just can't be a hockey town. Meanwhile, the rest of the city rose to the occasion once again to support our team.

GO PREDS!

UPDATE: My dad says that tonight was the loudest game he's ever seen at the arena. Note to Ryan Suter and Jason Arnott--don't be afraid to take those power shots, good things happen when you do.

Come on Preds fans, I fully expect another sellout Wednesday night!

Naturally

Does this really surprise anyone?

Freedom of Information Act documents obtained by NBC News show that the Pentagon awarded contracts of at least $1.5 million to two Utah-based companies owned and operated by senior officials of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or FLDS. The contracts, issued from 1998 to 2006, were for aircraft parts and other military equipment.

The Pentagon contracts were awarded to Utah Tool & Die and Western Precision, Inc., which operated in Utah. The president of Western Precision was Wendell Nielsen, described in multiple media accounts as a senior official in the FLDS religious sect, whose West Texas compound was raided by police earlier this month as part of a wide-ranging child-abuse investigation. Neilsen disappeared with church leader Warren Jeffs after Jeffs was put on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list in 2003. Jeffs, the sect's "prophet," was convicted last year on two counts of rape as an accomplice.

The records show that Western Precision continued to receive government contracts even after the well-publicized manhunt. And when Jeffs was captured in 2006, he was riding in an SUV registered to John C. Wayman, another Western Precision executive.

So how could federal funds have ended up aiding the FLDS church? According to an affidavit filed by Wendell Nielsen's son in a church-related court case, Western Precision gave the church up to $100,000 a month, a testament to the close ties between the manufacturing firm and the church itself.

I think it shows how desensitized we've become when something like this isn't shocking anymore. Why should it be? Why should anyone be surprised that the Administration that tortures prisoners and funds groups like Blackwater would also be funding a cult that holds child rape as a sacrament?

Disgusting. Heads should roll over this. But they won't.

Hillary Disses Al Gore

This cannot end well:

Pressed on whether she truly believes Obama is an elitist, Clinton called him “a good man,” but recalled the narratives of the 2000 and 2004 president election.

“You don’t have to think back too far to remember that good men running for president were viewed as being elitist and out of touch with the values and lives of millions of Americans,” she said.

Of course, that's not just a reference to Gore, it's also a reference to Kerry.

But later on, at the Compassion Forum (which I missed, because my sorority just had to spend an hour at our chapter meeting arguing over the t-shirt designs for Slope Day)...

"We had two very good men, and men of faith, run for president in 2000 and 2004," she said. "Large segments of the electorate concluded that they did not really understand, or relate to, or respect their ways of life."

Yes we did. And Al Gore still won. So I guess that makes Hillary the George Bush who steals the election.

Al Gore has stayed above the fray for the most part. Will this be what finally drives him to use his considerable leverage? I hope he at least responds.

But even though it's those comments that will get the most airtime in the morning, I think this comment bears repeating as well:

Hillary Clinton said Sunday a query about the last time she fired a gun or attended church services "is not a relevant question in this debate” over Barack Obama’s recent comments on small town Americans.

“We can answer that some other time,” Clinton said at a press conference held in a working class neighborhood here. “This is about what people feel is being said about them. I went to church on Easter. I mean, so?”

I don't know. You're running as the "working-class candidate," I would say that it is a relevant question to these people. Don't get annoyed that they're putting the spotlight back on you for the discrepancies between your actions and your words. That whole bit about not throwing stones if you live in a glass house and all.

And answering a question with "so" is probably not good form:

CHENEY: On the security front, I think there’s a general consensus that we’ve made major progress, that the surge has worked. That’s been a major success.

RADDATZ: Two-third of Americans say it’s not worth fighting.

CHENEY: So?

Silly Scene

As long as we're on the subject of media criticism, I have a beef today with the Nashville Scene and their interview with Democratic Senate candidate Mike Padgett.

(Note to the Nashville Scene before I begin--please don't be mad at me. I still really like your publication and I can't wait till the summer because I have some good entries for this year's You Are So Nashville If... contest)

Matt Pulle of the Scene interviewed Padgett, and put a teaser on the Pith In The Wind blog. The snippet is basically one big Bob Tuke bashing session, because Pulle is mad that Tuke hasn't yet returned his calls:

Pith: What are your thoughts on Sen. Alexander's decision to back CCA corporate counsel Gus Puryear to the federal bench? Bob Tuke doesn't have any.

Padgett: Well, I don't run in Nashville legal circles, so I don't know Mr. Puryear. But I do know Senator Alexander's record as a card-carrying member of the "ol' boys'" network.

Pith: What advice would you give Bob Tuke when he decides to run for juvenile court clerk?

Padgett: Oh, I hadn't heard he was getting out of this race. I'd tell him that if he wants to get into public service, he has to start somewhere, like I did more than 20 years ago.

Pith: Bob Tuke doesn't have think he needs to have opinions on pertinent political issues? Do you?

Padgett: As I said, I haven't had time to think about Bob's stands on the issues. I have been too busy trying to figure out just what Senator Alexander DID when he was UT president and the secretary of education for Bush I.

Pith: Do you like puppies? I would ask your opponent, but he won't call me back.

Padgett: I like puppies. In fact, my English bulldog, Molly, is on our steering committee. And I'll bet Bob likes puppies, too. Lighten up on the fellow, Matt. He's got a lot on him right now.

I really hope that there is more substance in the rest of the interview. This line of questioning is unfair to Bob Tuke and to the readers, but most of all, it's unfair to Mike Padgett. Although I'm supporting Tuke, from what I can tell Mike Padgett is a decent guy. He should be given the opportunity to tell the Scene readers where he stands on the issues--Iraq, the economy, health care, etc. If his last sentence is any indication, he's not interested in attacking Bob Tuke right now, he's interested in building his organization and getting his name out there. I hope there is more to that in the actual interview.

So, while I concur with Braisted that Bob Tuke really ought to call Pulle back since he's not going to let up, Pulle's Bill O'Reilly "They won't come on my show!" routine is getting really annoying.

*Swoon*

Obama:

...Obama turned the tables on Clinton — mocking, among other things, her sudden fealty to the rights of gun owners.

"She is running around talking about how this is an insult to sportsman, how she values the second amendment. She's talking like she's Annie Oakley," Obama said, invoking the famed female sharpshooter immortalized in the musical "Anne Get Your Gun."

Obama continued, saying "Hillary Clinton is out there like she's on the duck blind every Sunday. She's packing a six-shooter. Come on, she knows better. That's some politics being played by Hillary Clinton."

I know I'll get accused of cultism, but I swoon because whether it's in Barack Obama or Keith Olbermann, there's something about righteous anger that I find so attractive in certain men.

But I digress. Everyone gather close, this is going to be a rough-and-tumble ten days. Obama spoke an uncomfortable truth, and despite Hillary's best efforts to spin it into something it's not, the backlash just isn't materializing in Pennsylvania. So now Obama's going on the offensive, wanting to keep it as close as possible in the next ten days. Pointing out what a complete phony she is might just be the way to do it.

The Clinton camp's response to the "Shame on Hillary" statement was to claim that Obama is using Republican talking points from the 1990s. Other than the fact that Hillary is the one who's been using Republican talking points this entire campaign, there is something else hilarious in that statement. Hillary's whole campaign is based on the notion that she's been "vetted", that she knows how to take on the Republican machine, because she took them on in the 90s. Well, if that's the case, let's see how she responds to this!

But something else in the AP article on the subject REALLY annoys me:

Clinton and other Democrats have expressed concern that Obama’s comments make the party look out of touch.

*********************

Political insiders differed on whether Obama's comments, which came to light Friday, would become a full-blown political disaster that could prompt party leaders to try to steer the nomination to Clinton even though Obama has more pledged delegates. Clinton supporters were eagerly hoping so.

What "other Democrats"? What "political insiders"? The article doesn't cite anyone except for the Clinton campaign.

This is an important issue. If you're party leader and you think Obama's comments hurt us, then you need to speak up and explain why. But if you're not willing to go on the record to say it, then why should we listen to you? On the Internets, we call people like that "concern trolls."

Bitter Backlash In Pennsylvania

The backlash against Obama's elitist and condescending comments has begun in the Keystone State.

It's so bad, that a lot of newspapers in Pennsylvania didn't even cover it in their Sunday editions. I guess the backlash was so big that it was self-evident and there was no need to write about it!

Also, it was so bad that two important newspapers, the Allentown Call and the Scranton Times-Tribune, decided to go ahead and endorse Obama today. I guess that this is either a sympathy move against the horrible fallout Obama is facing, or they didn't get the memo about just how offensive his remarks were.

....or, maybe Pennsylvania voters are smarter than Hillary and McCain and the media take them for, and understood exactly what Obama meant by his comments.

The Sunday Liberal Blog Roundup, 4-13-08

You know, after four years in Ithaca, I no longer have any patience for people in Tennessee who bitch about it being cold when it's 45 degrees outside.

The Sunday "spring has sprung but why is it so cold?" edition of the TennViews weekly blog roundup showcasing the best bloggers in Tennessee and what they are talking about...

• 10,000 Monkeys and a Camera: Add my voice to the "Bredesen Blew It" Chorus: Disappointing is becoming a real habit for you.

• 55-40 Memphis: Scary: In fact, some days I'm not absolutely certain he's black, but I'll take Obama's word for it.

• Aunt B.: Why Does Nashville Have Such a High Incarceration Rate?: So, why is our jail a quarter full of illegal immigrants and Memphis’s jail not?

• BlountViews (yellowdog): TDOT Still Backwards After All These Years: The TDOT people and the consultants they hire are stuck in old and irrelevant system of transportation planning rules, and it will take public outcry and active engagement at the level of the regional transportation planning organizations (TPOs) to change it.

• Carole Borges: Mandated health insurance causing problems in MA: One thing we certainly don't need in America is another law that involves the government making choices for citizens. The crisis in MA should make people stop and think before they jump on the mandated health insurance bandwagon. It just might be going nowhere.

• The Crone Speaks: Uninsurance Third Leading Cause of Death for Near-Elderly: How many people should die because they don't have health insurance, before we recognize the need for a Medicare for All program?

• Cup of Joe Powell: Devilish Details In TN Cable Franchise Legislation: But it's rather obvious the state legislature has crafted a plan to serve the needs of business first and residents second. Given the solemn claim by Tennessee House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh to push this plan through, your voice and the voices of other Tennessee residents has little impact, and this proposal will likely become the law in Tennessee.

• Don Williams: As KnoxVoice reinvents herself, so am I: I’m optimistic or naive enough to believe our old world and country are headed for a gentler blooming. Springtime is the season for hope, renewal, for celebrating touchstones and anniversaries.

• The Donkey's Mouth: One more reason why Lincoln looks strong in ‘08: It does seem fishy that Lankford lives outside of the district and will probably be self-financed. A New York Times article, "Short of Funds, GOP recruits rich to run," talks about the significant dearth of fundraising and legitimate recruits at the RNC.

• Enclave: Senate's Foreclosure Prevention Act Forecloses on Families: Once again, in a crisis the U.S. Senate is going to come down on the side of the people who are hurting least in the housing industry. And as Republicans, the Senators of Tennessee can do no other.

• Fletch: Lackluster and Luster

• KnoxViews: State funded luxury hunting lodge audit findings: Apparently, most of the funds have gone to build a luxury hunting lodge and payment of Bittle's salary. (Bittle sponsored the bill that created the specialty license plate and directed the proceeds to his foundation while he was a member of the Tennessee House.) The state audit recommends changes to state law to require better accounting of how such funds are spent.

• Lean Left: Lean Left: They have violated laws and common decency with impunity. They will probably get away with it -- our press refuses to cover it and our Democratic leadership refuses to act. Plus: Petraeus and Crocker: Iraq Wrong War with No Way Out

• Left of the Dial: No Thanks: I received an offer to interview either Sean Astin or John Grisham tomorrow about their support of Hillary Clinton. I passed. I'm all for Hillary but, sorry, no free ad time.

• Left Wing Cracker: Stunning news from the Election Commission: This changes everything, folks, stay tuned...

• Liberadio: This week's Liberadio(!) podcast You know what else John McCain’s not so strong on? Giving Martin Luther King his props., plus more.

• Loose TN Canon: Colin Powell supports Iraq withdrawal and praises Obama

• NewsComa: Meeting Mike Padgett: an extensive report

• Progressive Nashville: Closed-minded legislators: The Tennessee legislature, which has spent an inordinate amount of time this session trying to close records and operate in secret, is at it again with a plan to make it more difficult to obtain public records. Plus: Thompson floated as veep

• Resonance: "Success" In Iraq: Here's my definition...

• RoaneViews: A Letter to Tommy Kilby, and His response: Don't exclude "limited resource waters" from "waters" of the state

• Russ McBee: On the Olympic torch protests: Although the Olympics are supposed to be beyond politics and are supposed to rise above international disputes, the Chinese government itself is assuring that this cannot happen.

• Sean Braisted: Alexander and "Big Oil": Bob Tuke, in an appeal for contributions, takes Sen. Lamar Alexander to task for being in the pockets of "big oil". Plus: DSCC Forgets Tennessee

• Sharon Cobb: Hey Tennessee, Jon Stewart is coming To Nashville, plus: Total Bullsh*t That Hillary Calls On Boycott Of Olympic Games Now: While I am in total agreement that the entire planet should boycott the Olympics in China, why didn't Hillary Clinton call for a boycott before this week?

• Silence Isn't Golden: Silence Isn't Golden: The Bitter Irony: Of all of the faux outrage over Obama's statement, this has got to be the most ironic. Plus: Define "Women's Issues"

• Southern Beale: Gus Puryear: Still A CCA Crony: Why is Democrat Thurgood Marshall Jr. endorsing Gus Puryear, Bush’s controversial pick for the federal bench in Middle Tennessee? Plus: Energy Saved Is Energy Found

• TennViews: TN Senate 08 wrinkle: Questions arise whether Overbey is qualified to be on the ballot v. Sen. Raymond Finney. Plus: Republicans defeat Rural Health Act.

• Vibinc: Free Ride: The Tennessee Bush Dogs are on their way to re-election, some with less opposition than others.

• Whites Creek Journal: George W. Bush Should Stay Away from the Olympics!: No, I'm not proposing a boycott... I just don't want George W. Bush representing America any more. Plus: Stoopid Human Tricks: A close second behind coal burning in the stupid human tricks department is damming rivers.

• Women's Health News: 1) Think About Sex. 2) Design Undies. 3) Win!

Stuff That's Bugging Me

Several things are either bugging or amusing me right now, none of which are detailed or coherent enough to have their own post, so I'm getting it off my chest right now.

• I have only three more weeks of class left, then exams, and then I'm done with college. Forever. On the one hand, I'm ready to get out of here. I know it's time to move on. But a part of me is going to have to be dragged kicking and screaming onto the stage at graduation.

• I love Red Sox fans. "Hey, JEEEEEEEETAHHHHHHHH! YOU SUCK!"

• Sherwin-Williams is coming out with a Nashville-inspired line of paint colors. I think if they really want to capture Nashville's culture, they should expand on these names. For instance, instead of calling a color "Green Hills", they could call it "Green Hills That Are Turning Brown From All The Traffic." Belle Meade could be "Belle Meade Highlighted Blonde." And Bordeaux could be "Bordeaux That We Can't Sell In The Grocery Store."

• Whoever said "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result" had obviously been a Saturday Night Live watcher.

• The Predators still have yet to win a playoff game on the road. They played well today, so I'm beginning to think it's more of a mental hurdle than anything else.

• It occurs to me that I learned how to imitate the Upstate New York accent by listening to the used car dealer commercials they run up here. "Come to Royal Hyundai of Ithaca! The home of no hayassle, no rayazzle-dayazzle!"

• I'm taking a public-speaking class this semester, and the Communications department is in the Ag school. What that means is that we have a bunch of farm kids in my class, and they keep giving speeches about cows--how to show cows, how to milk them, bovine growth hormone, why organic milk is bad, etc. At first it was really cool to hear their perspective. After about the 20th speech about it, I want to go to Wegman's and buy organic milk just to spite them. Because in a class where you have to present five different speeches, you should mix it up so that you don't bore the hell out of everyone else. That's why I haven't done a speech about Obama until now. I did my "how-to" speech on how to sample wine in a restaurant, my "informative" speech on melanoma (which was cool because I got to show all the icky pictures of what melanoma moles look like), and my "convince" speech on why intelligent design is not a science. I saved Obama for my "actuate" speech, where we have to persuade the audience to do something, so I'm going to persuade them to vote for me. Currently, I'm focusing mainly on the economy and Iraq, but maybe I should talk about farm policy to get that side of the room's attention.

So what's bugging you this weekend?

The Bitter Irony

Lou Dobbs of CNN is running a push poll on his website asking if Obama's recent comments suggesting that voters are angry and bitter "reveal his elitist attitude toward every hardworking American".

Of all of the faux outrage over Obama's statement, this has got to be the most ironic. Lou Dobbs knows damn well that the anger to which Obama referred is there. Lou Dobbs has made a career and a fortune off of exploiting that anger. Whether it's raising the alarm over "The War On The Middle Class" or demonizing immigrants, Lou Dobbs has played up that anger for years. He's not just a xenophobe and a demagogue, he's a beastly hypocrite.

Also, here's Obama's response to the "outrage" over his comments:



First, although it's beside the point, I personally think Obama is way more effective when he goes into righteous anger mode.

Second, what he's saying is exactly correct. People are angry, people are hurting, and they're not getting any response from the government. But Obama never said that they're not hard-working and resilient. Who's being more condescending here--Obama for speaking the truth, or Hillary and McCain for suggesting that everything in these people's lives is just PEACHY and no one at all is angry?

Yes, people are clinging to their guns and their religion. They're clinging to them because that's all they have as they lose their homes and their jobs.

Finally, for you former Edwards supporters, here's Edwards advisor Joe Trippi's thoughts on the subject:

"The fight in Pennsylvania is over working people. It should not surprise anyone that Obama is speaking to their frustrations, or that Clinton is branding Obama an elitist. Obama crossed the line to touch the two issues -- guns and religion -- that most politicians try hard to avoid, but that is part of his appeal and he quickly moved to explain his words. It's unlikely to stop his march to the nomination. It is more likely that the Clinton campaign did itself more damage by crossing the line and insinuating once again that Obama was somehow un-American."

Obama spoke to the exact same problems Edwards spoke to. How Edwards could endorse Hillary after this is beyond me.

The Daily Show On Fox News

The Daily Show outdid themselves last night, spoofing a Fox News documentary on President Bush.

Part 1:



Part 2:

Polling Pennsylvania

A whole bunch of different polls have been released for Pennsylvania over the last few days:

Insider Advantage:

Clinton 48 (45)
Obama 38 (43)

Public Policy Polling:

Clinton 46 (43)
Obama 43 (45)

Rasmussen:

Clinton 48 (47)
Obama 43 (42)

Strategic Vision:

Clinton 47 (49)
Obama 42 (41)

Quinnipiac:

Clinton 50 (50)
Obama 44 (41)

SurveyUSA:

Clinton 56 (53)
Obama 38 (41)

So what can we conclude? SurveyUSA has been very accurate so far, so either we have a rare poll where they are an outlier, or there will be no reason to trust any other poll ever again.

I don't think it's as close as some of the polls say it is. I think Hillary wins it by 10, maybe 11 or 12. If it's less than that, she'll still be able to claim it as a win, but it won't lead to any real change in the delegate count and it won't necessarily lead to more money and superdelegates in her direction. If Obama keeps it within 5, then it's a loss for her. And if somehow Obama pulls it off (don't get your hopes up too high for that though), then the chorus calling on her to drop out will get much, much louder.

What's The Real Problem Here?

Is it that our state employees don't have enough to do or is it that our local news stations don't have enough to report on?

The "I-Team" on WSMV ran a SHOCKING report about how state employees are spending their time editing Wikipedia entries, wasting taxpayer dollars in the process:

Channel 4's Jeremy Finley found some state workers editing sometimes lengthy entries for Web sites that clearly have nothing to do with work. One person took the time to add all the lyrics of the theme song for "All in the Family."

*************************

The I-Team was able to trace 677 contributions to Wikipedia.com to state office Internet addresses. One of the entries included time spent adding the name of a "Star Trek" role-playing game.

Another was found verifying Shemp's catch phrases on "The Three Stooges."

On the surface, it doesn't seem like that big a deal, but it does seem pretty annoying. I admit that I've spent time on other jobs reading blogs, but then again, when you work on campaigns it sort of goes with the territory. Besides, I certainly wasn't costing taxpayers any money by doing that.

But is there anything else you'd like to tell us about this investigation, Channel 4?

Because Metro government provides free Wi-Fi service at some parks and libraries, it’s possible that some or all of the entries came from the public. The I-Team wanted to know for sure, but Mayor Karl Dean’s spokeswoman Janel Lacy said there's no way to tell. She said Metro Internet user addresses are randomly assigned and couldn't give more detail for security reasons.

"It's possible?"

You ran this whole report and you don't know for sure that anyone did anything wrong, you're just making an assumption off of IP addresses?

This is at best highly irresponsible journalism and at worst outright libel.

Is the problem here that we may or may not have state employees who go on Wikipedia from time to time, or that journalism in this town has been dumbed down to the point where I could learn more about the news from...reading Wikipedia?

Mandate This!

Elizabeth Edwards on Olbermann:



A brief summary: gushing over Hillary Clinton's health care plan while repeating the lie that Obama's health care plan doesn't cover everyone (when it in fact guarantees access to those who want it!), and then a lecture about how mandating that everyone buy health insurance will magically solve our health care crisis.

First of all, she's wrong. While a mandate would guarantee everyone is covered, it would do nothing to lower the actual cost of health care, nor would it necessarily guarantee access to care. There's a diary on the recommended list on Daily Kos right now that explains the pitfalls of the mandate system in Massachussetts...the insurance companies will still only give the minimum required amount of coverage, resulting in large out-of-pocket expenses for patients. And as far as access to care is concerned, bear in mind that Nataline Sarkisyan had full insurance coverage, and yet was still denied treatment. Neither Hillary nor the Edwards have fully explained how they would use mandates to address the actual cost of health care. Obama has been criticized for saying that he will negotiate with the insurance companies, but at least that approach will do something about the cost and not just about the universality.

My other reason for opposing mandates is that although I am by no means a "strict constructionist", I have a very hard time believeing that a mandate system would be upheld in court. When you start talking about garnishing people's wages if they don't buy into it, that seems to cross a line. And odds are it wouldn't even get to the courts--I highly doubt Congress would pass this.

So, what to make of this? Of course, a lot of the chatter surrounding Elizabeth Edwards' statement is about whether or not this constitutes an endorsement of Hillary. This wasn't, although I'm sure Hillary will try to say it was once the campaign moves to North Carolina. However, part of me wonders if they would endorse Hillary if the bulk of their union supporters hadn't already moved to Obama. What it sounds like to me is that the Edwards are dangling the prospect of an endorsement to get the candidates to suck up to them. But I doubt they'll actually endorse, they'll wait it out as long as possible.

And I hope Obama doesn't pander to them. His health care plan makes more sense and is more likely to pass anyway, so let them be the ones asking for a seat at the table in January.

Define "Women's Issues"

KAG asks why women keep donating to the Democrats even if we're not getting much in return. It's a question first posed by this article on AlterNet, which notes that "women's issues" such as access to birth control or more federal funding for child care and domestic violence prevention, are not being discussed on the campaign trail.

I would argue that the main problem with this question is that it very narrowly defines what is a "women's issue". Yes, the ones mentioned in the article are women's issues--but so are Iraq, the economy, and health care. All of those affect women just as much as what is traditionally defined as a "women's issue." But saying that female voters should be primarily concerned with the traditional issues sells women woefully short. It's about as dumb an argument, IMHO, as saying that women should vote for Hillary because she's also a woman.

But to answer the question, I would argue that the reason you don't hear these issues being discussed as much is because there's no real need to. It's a given that both Obama and Clinton are going to be better on these issues than McCain. Both of them have stellar records on choice, and both have pledged to repeal the global gag rule. Both of them state in no uncertain terms that they support more funding to fight domestic violence, and that they will fight for pay equity. Unlike some of the other issues, there's no ambiguity on the part of either candidate here.

So it's not like women aren't getting "a return on their investment." They give to Obama and Clinton because both of them would represent a 180-degree reversal from the anti-woman policies of George W. Bush, both on traditional "women's issues" and the broader ones.

Stick To Governing

Phil Bredesen should stick to governing and leave the sports analysis to the pros.

First of all, he apparently now owes Kansas Governor (and one of my picks for Obama's VP) Kathleen Sebelius a rack of ribs from Rendezvous in Memphis.

Second, can anyone make heads-or-tails of this comment?

Bredesen tells The Associated Press, "I was thinking at the game last night that the last 90 seconds were so extraordinary, you think it's the kind of thing that keeps Hillary Clinton in the race."

He says any team is just a couple of mistakes or lucky breaks from winning or losing.

Is he comparing Hillary to Kansas, and her "comeback" that didn't result in any net gain in pledged delegates? Because that would make Obama Memphis, and last I checked he has yet to choke in a similar fashion.

If anything, Hillary is Memphis. The team that was supposed to win, that had it in the bag, but for whatever reason just couldn't seal the deal. Besides, Hillary would probably say that Kansas is insignificant...it IS a caucus state, after all.

Random Thought

Am I the only one who sees the irony in ESPN advertising The Masters golf tournament during a women's basketball game?

When Republicans Do The Right Thing

In a sure sign of the Apocalypse, Redstate.com today agreed with Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton that President Bush should not go to Beijing for the Olympics (although why they referred to it as Peking I'm not sure)

We know some on the right who tend to view the world mostly in economic terms will disagree with us. Yes, we recognize that China is a large trading partner. We recognize how much of our debt they hold. We also recognize the arguments of some that if the President were to go, the media would be inclined to shed the spotlight on China's abuses.

None of these arguments contradict the fact that our President, who has spent eight years liberating parts of the world from tyranny, should not give the seal of approval on China's behavior -- approval his presence at the Olympics would most certainly give to the Chinese people.

It's nice to see that at least a few of them are waking up to the hypocrisy of "spreading democracy" in some parts of the world while propping up tyrannical regimes elsewhere. Good for them.

Bellevue Blues--The Library's Moving

It looks as if Bellevue Library will be moving to the site of the new mall, after all:

Metro's Industrial Development Board gave its OK for the possible use of more tax dollars to fund the library that developers said will attract many users to the mall.

The mall's owners, Foursquare Properties, have proposed a $12.3 million tax increment financing plan.

Developers said to include the library, they may have to add to the $12.3 million figure, but they weren't sure.

The industrial development board approved the idea of a possible increase to the TIF plan to pay for a new library branch.

"If it increased and cost $2 million, they would increase TIF funds $2 million. That's what they do to pay for the project," said Industrial Development Board representative Bobby Davis.

From what I understand (and I could be misunderstanding this entirely), this decision is just for funding the library. The amount of TIF funds for the entire project still has yet to be determined.

I still don't understand what's wrong with where the library is now. Yes, it needs to be expanded, but you could do that where it is. And as I've said, the location near the Red Caboose park and Bellevue Middle School is a very kid and family-friendly area. You can walk there from the nearby housing developments, something you couldn't do if the library were at the mall. I still don't think the library "fits" there, and if anything, the amount of traffic around the mall could very well deter library-goers.

Also, I don't quite buy into the logic that putting the library by the mall is going to necessarily attract more people to the mall. If you're going to the library to do research or get work done, then why would you even need to go into the mall? Going to the mall and going to the library are two distinct activities that don't seem to mesh very well.

So if they're going to move the library, then something else is going to have to go in the old location. Maybe they could expand the community center or add more park land. It's a very nice area and it would be a shame to let it go to waste.

And for the love of God, can't we at least get a hint about what stores they have lined up for the new mall?

No Respect

How come when my high school held our senior prom at The Parthenon, back in 2004, we didn't get a whole huge article in the Tennessean like St. Cecilia did today? Are spoiled Jewish girls not as interesting as spoiled Catholic girls?

Fun With Polls

According to the latest Rasmussen poll, Lamar! Alexander would handily beat both Democratic candidates for his Senate seat if the election were held today. He'd beat Bob Tuke 59-30 and Mike Padgett 58-31. Not too surprising.

However, an interesting tidbit:

...among voters between the ages of 18 and 29, Alexander leads Tuke by just a single point and Padgett by eight points. In every other age category, Alexander has a cushion of about 20 points.

While the youth vote in Tennessee will not likely be the saving grace in this election for Tennessee Democrats seeking the U.S. Senate, the fact that Alexander is basically neck and neck in that category with opponents barely known at the statewide level suggests the state GOP has significant work to do in that growing voting bloc.

The youth demographic will probably not cost Lamar his job, but they can become the margin in closer down-ballot races for the State Senate and the State House.

Presumably, having Obama on the ticket would lead to a high youth voter turnout, making that margin all the more closer.

Like Ken Whitehouse says, that's not likely to affect the ultimate outcome in the Senate race. However, it highlights the importance of at least attempting to mount a serious challenge in a high-profile race like this, even if we're unlikely to win. It has the potential to raise voter turnout and help other Democrats down-ticket. This is the kind of longer-term vision we need, one that has been sorely lacking in Democratic politics in the last few elections.

Just What We Need

As early as this summer, you could be allowed to use your cell phones on flights in Europe:

Announcing the guidelines Monday, EU officials said they expect several Europe-based airlines to move within the next few months to launch services, effectively making the 27-nation bloc the first region in the world to scrap bans on the use of cell phones in the sky.

The problem with using cell phones on flights has never been that they might interfere with the equipment on the plane, but that it would interfere with signals on the ground. The EU is getting around that by using satellite rather than direct connections. What that means is that they'll be able to charge astronomical rates for it, but since all the Europeans I know are even more addicted to their mobiles than we are anyway, that shouldn't be a factor. If it works out there, you could see it introduced in the U.S. in a few years.

I'm personally against this. I like having a few hours every now and then when I can just sit back and listen to music or read a magazine without worrying if I should be checking my email or the news. That's why I don't listen to talk radio in the car--the car is another place where I prefer to be free of distractions.

Now, I would still have the option not to use my phone on a flight. But what about the person sitting next to me? It's already inevitable pretty much every time I step onto an airplane that I'll be seated near either a crying baby, a bored toddler, or a crazy person. On a recent flight, I was seated next to a man who was on his way to a Renaissance Fair, and felt the need to tell me about all the parts he's played in various other fairs. Nothing against people who particpate in Renaissance fairs, but why would that be the first thing you mention to someone you just met? And of course, these people never get the hint when you put on your iPod.

So it's inevitable, if they allow this, that I'll be seated next to the jerk loudly yapping into his phone for two hours. That alone is enough to make me want to drive instead.

Come On Lady Vols!

I don't root for the UT men, but come on Lady Vols, beat Stanford tomorrow night!

Please, can't we have at least ONE Tennessee team win some sort of championship?

Dammit Memphis.

Well, Bless Your Heart

One of the Cornell Daily Sun's opinion columnists is a UCLA fan. And he's a little upset today.

The Tiger should win their first NCAA title tonight not because they somehow deserve it or their skill is so superior to that of Kansas, but the lengths they’ve gone to get here. What lies beneath Memphis’ beautiful, high-flying brand of basketball is a recklessness, an unchecked criminality that anticipates a laundry list of arrests and accusations. Memphis has been a program of criminals ever since Calipari — a greasy sleaze whose last Final Four appearance was stricken from the record after it turned out his best player was getting paid by an agent all along — took over as coach in 2000 and began letting everything from inciting riots to marijuana possession go effectively unpunished. This is a team that values winning over anything else, and its penchant for allowing its players to roam the city punching out girlfriends and making it rain in clubs so long as they can hit a 3-pointer should let it coast past law-abiding teams to a championship.

But if there is such thing as karma, if the universe aims to punish the unpunished and reward the unrewarded, the Tigers will lose tonight.

My response:

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!

Aww, is the poor little freshman sad about his team getting destroyed over the weekend?

You know, I hate to be one of those seniors who complains about how the Sun was "so much better back in my day", but it was. We used to have some semi-intelligent writers, now we have a kid who's miffed about UCLA losing and is looking for a way to justify it. That's all this column is.

GO TIGERS!!

Do You Think You're What They Say You Are?

Last week, the state Attorney General ruled that public schools can teach elective courses on the Bible's impact on culture and literature so long as these classes don't become sermons. On Wednesday, State Senator Roy Herron will introduce the bill to the Senate Education Committee.

Story time--one of the best classes I took in college was my freshman writing seminar (Cornell offers many different writing seminars and all freshman are required to take at least one) called "Jesus Christ, Superstar". What the class entailed was looking at how the story of Jesus has been retold over the years. The first day of class, we watched Monty Python's "Life of Brian." We then read and analyzed the Gospels, and read some of the medieval passion plays. We watched several other films, such as "Jesus Christ Superstar" (obviously), " Pasolini's "The Gospel of St. Matthew," and "The Passion of the Christ". The class culminated with reading and watching "The Last Temptation of Christ" (the book was one of the best I've ever read, but for all the controversy, the movie is actually quite mediocre).

I loved this class, and I've kept in touch with the professor since then. So if the true aim of the bill is to have elective classes like this, that don't preach the Bible but examine it from a truly academic and critical perspective, then I'm all in favor of it.

However, here's something to consider--the professor of my class had a Ph.D and had done extensive research on the subject. I would still like to see more details on this bill--what kind of textbook are they proposing the schools use, and how will the teachers be trained? What steps are they going to take to ensure that these classes don't become a daytime version of Wednesday night Bible Study?

I don't find Senator Herron's words very encouraging:

"I want students to study the greatest and most-popular book in history. I want young people to understand how the Bible has changed our world," Herron said. "The Bible has enormously impacted literature, art, music, culture, history, and politics. A Bible course will help students understand our culture and our highest and best values."

It's that last part that's troubling. The Bible has of course impacted art and music and culture. But when you start saying that the Bible shows "our highest and best values" and encouraging it to be taught as such, that crosses the line between academic study and preaching.

So, while I think this bill is a good idea, part of me does not trust Tennessee to get it right, to respect the line between nonreligious academics and religious sermons. This bill will pass, by a large margin. But I don't think we've seen the end of the legal battle just yet. Someone will cross that line in a classroom, and we'll be right back here debating it all over again.

Memphis Political Theatre, Act 2

(See here for Act 1)

Harold Ford Jr., on younger brother Jake Ford's racially tinged comments about Steve Cohen:

"It's beyond concern. I want to make clear my brothers' comments are not mine. I reject them. ... I don't believe any candidate's fitness for office should be measured or determined by race or gender."

And their father, Harold Ford Sr.:

"The article and editorial disturbed me. He certainly does not speak for me, and that's not representative of this family."

Jake's response to their response:

"As for my dad and my brother, they're not running for Congress. I am."

Does anyone in this family own a cell phone? Maybe they could have gotten their message straight before they all started making contradicting statements to the press. The Ford family truly does put the "fun" in dysfunctional!

In all seriousness though, good on Harold Ford Jr. for rejecting the comments. Whether he truly regrets it or is just trying to distance himself from Jake for his future political moves remains doesn't really matter.

(H/t Kleinheider)

The Big Red Huckster?

For a group that has maybe 12 members, the Cornell Republicans sure do have their act together:

The Cornell College Republicans are proud to Present

Govenor Mike Huckabee, former U.S. Presidential Candidate
In God We Trust: The Role of Faith in Politics

Join us to hear one of the foremost political figures speak on faith and politics. A 45-minute question and answer session will follow.

With the presidential election looming, Gov. Huckabee's view on the race will be very relevant. He was a candidate until John McCain recently clinched the Republican nomination on March 4th. Considering the stark contrast between the GOP's entrenchment and the upheaval occurring on the other side of the isle, Gov. Huckabee will have unique insight as a dark horse candidate in a race that is gearing up to be nothing less than historic. As a minister, Gov. Huckabee will speak on the role that he feels religion ought to play in politics. He will address how his faith has shaped his views on social issues and American foreign policy, particularly the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. For those considering a career in politics, public policy or religion, Mike Huckabee’s view on the role that faith plays in our government and its constitutional tradition will be unique and exciting.

"When discussing faith and politics, we should honor the 'candid' in candidate - I have much more respect for an honest atheist than a disingenuous believer."
-The 44th Governor of Arkansas

Join us to hear one of the foremost political figures speak on faith and politics. A 45-minute question and answer session will follow.

This is taking place next Tuesday. I may have to go check it out, seeing as I have nothing due the next day.

I always admired Mike Huckabee's ability to make himself so likeable and reasonable-sounding that you forget that he's NUTS. I also appreciated that he was unwilling to play the "Let's See Who Can Demonize Immigrants the Most" game earlier in the Republican primary.

So I think I'll go. What do you think I should ask him, if I get called on?

From The Makers Of The Sunday Blog Roundup...

...Comes the Tennessee Candidate Database, a unique service listing every candidate for the August state and federal primaries. You can filter the list by office, district, or party.

Each candidate also has their own profile page. If you are a TennViews author, you can edit the pages to update the profiles with news, photos, or commentary (but they're asking that you keep the commentary as objective as possible).

It's an excellent resource, and I'm very grateful to TennViews for providing it!

Wimps

They caved like Democrats in Congress:

The Absolut vodka company apologized Saturday for an ad campaign depicting the southwestern U.S. as part of Mexico amid angry calls for a boycott by U.S. consumers.

The ad in question can be seen here.

I respect companies that stand by their actions in the face of the right wing noise machine. But it looks like I'll be sticking with my cheese-eating surrender monkey French vodka Grey Goose rather than switching to Absolut.

Memphis Political Theatre

Memphis politics are just so much more FUN than Nashville politics. Everyone in Nashville is just so damn cordial. But in Memphis, you get a story basically every time a member of the Ford family opens their mouth.

Case in point--Harold Jr.'s younger brother and independent candidate for Steve Cohen's Congressional seat Jake Ford:

"This is about lives, real people," Ford said of the election. "We only have one district in the state of Tennessee where we can elect African-Americans. I would think for diversity purposes ... we would at least want to have one black in Congress representing the state."

Hmm...if that's the standard, then we in the Fifth Congressional District should be OBLIGATED to elect a Hispanic representative every year. Or a Kurdish one. That's how we could express our diversity!

But really, if Jake Ford wanted to participate in an election where good candidates were pushed out "for diversity purposes", then perhaps he should have run to be part of Tennessee's delegation to the Democratic National Convention.

And then came the money quote:

Ford also criticized Cohen, who is Jewish, for not supporting a reparations bill for African-Americans while backing a separate bill for Holocaust survivors.

"He's just not for the money for blacks, he is for Jews, but not for blacks," Ford said.

Cohen corrected Ford on the African-American reparations issue, saying he was a co-sponsor of Michigan Congressman John Conyers' bill to create a reparations study.

"John Conyers' bill is a study of reparations," he said. "It is not a bill for reparations."

First off, Jake Ford...anti-Semitism aside, can you please point me to the active legislation on the House floor right now that's calling for immediate reparations, before a study is conducted? If you're running for Congress, shouldn't you know that?

I ran a search for it on THOMAS, the Library of Congress search engine. If you type in "reparation" or "reparations", you get Conyers' bill, another bill calling for a commission to study reparations specifically for African-Americans expelled from Missouri towns in 1901, and 15 unrelated bills. So Jake Ford is calling for Cohen to support a bill that does not actually exist as of right now. But I'm sure supporting a non-existing bill would be Jake Ford's NUMBER ONE PRIORITY should he be elected to Congress.

But thanks for the laugh, Jake. You and the rest of your family ensure that Memphis politics will always be more fun to watch than Nashville politics.

*******************************

Oh, and go Tigers!

Against All Odds

The final scores from tonight:

St. Louis Blues--2 (75 pts)
Nashville Predators--3 (91 pts)

Edmonton Oilers--2 (88 pts)
Vancouver Canucks--1 (88 pts)

What does that mean? Tonight Edmonton mathematically eliminated Vancouver from contention, so against all odds, your 2007-2008 Nashville Predators are GOING TO THE PLAYOFFS!

...and going against the Detroit Red Wings as an eight-seed. But hey, we did split the season series with them this year. With the crazy debacle that has been this season, I wouldn't write the Preds off just yet.

UPDATE: It's been brought to my attention that it's still within the realm of possibility for us to actually be the seventh seed. Calgary is in seventh now but they're only a point ahead, so if we beat Chicago on Friday and Calgary loses to Vancouver on Saturday, then we move up. But if we move up to seventh, then we have to play San Jose. And given the Preds' recent history in the playoffs, I'd almost rather play Detroit.

¡Víva Aztlan!

This is an actual ad that Absolut Vodka ran in a magazine in Mexico City. I can't wait to see Lou Dobbs freak out over this one! I think I'll have to go buy some Absolut for some vodka-tonics tomorrow!

Harold Ford On Obama's Patriotism

The relevant comment starts at about 1:18.



My rough transcript:

You raised an issue earlier about patriotism, and I happen to think that is one area where the Republicans will go after Barack, and there's some evidence there. I'm not saying he believes that, but they will go...when I say there's evidence, there's a body of work out there that they can use...

WHAT THE....?

What "evidence" is there? Ooh, his middle name is Hussein? He doesn't wear a flag lapel (and notice, Harold isn't wearing one in that clip either)? Are we still beating the Jeremiah Wright dead horse?

Look, I know Harold Ford in all likelihood supports Hillary. But if you're going to run an ostensibly neutral organization like the DLC, then for God's sake at least pretend to be neutral! At the very least, show a little respect for someone who came all the way down to Nashville to campaign for you in November 2006 at a time when it was clear to pretty much everyone that you were going to lose. I had hoped that by moving to MSNBC from Faux News, Harold might stop giving credence to Republican talking points, but I guess not.

It's especially grating given Harold Ford's response to the "Hussein" TNGOP debacle a month ago:

Obama is a patriot, loves his country and stands shoulder-to-shoulder with McCain and others who seek to protect the country against terrorist attacks. Obama believes a new strategy is needed to maximize our fight against radical Islamic fundamentalists, like finishing the job against al-Qaida and the Taliban in Afghanistan and rooting out terrorists who are hiding out in Pakistan.

So which is it? Is Obama a patriot, or is there evidence that he's not? Did a different Harold Ford Jr. write that column?

And really, what does Harold know about the best way to beat back right-wing talking points and win elections? Obama has gone up against a tough, well-funded opponent who threw everything she could at him, and he prevailed. The first time Harold really went up against a real opponent was in 2006...AND HE LOST!

I'm sorry, I know that's harsh, but it's true. He inherited his seat in Congress and lost the first time he went up against serious opposition. And he has no business telling Democrats how to win elections.

I Thought He Dropped Out?

The Cornell Republicans (all 12 of them) decide to hold a rally on Ho Plaza (yes, it's called Ho Plaza. It's near the Kroch Library and the Johnson Museum) in support of John McCain. The Ron Paulies (or what's left of them) decide to crash said rally. Obama-supporting student passes by on her way home from class and wills her nearly-dead camera back to life for a few more pictures. Hilarity ensues.

We Shall Overcome The TNGOP

The TNGOP, on the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination:

"Dr. King exhorted America to fully become a place where people are judged by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin, and his fellow Republicans responded by passing civil rights legislation over the objection of many Democrats of that era," state GOP chair Robin Smith says in the release.

Martin Luther King, on affirmative action in 1968:

"A society that has done something special against the Negro for hundreds of years must now do something special for him, to equip him to compete on a just and equal basis."

*****************************

"If a city has a 30% Negro population, then it is logical to assume that Negroes should have at least 30% of the jobs in any particular company, and jobs in all categories rather than only in menial areas."

He was also a vocal opponent of the Vietnam War. And lest we forget, Dr. King was assassinated during a strike for better pay for sanitation workers.

What the TNGOP is trying to do is freeze Martin Luther King Jr. in one moment of time, the March on Washington and the "I Have a Dream" speech. But Dr. King lived for five more years after that speech, and didn't just fade into the background during that time. He was a passionate fighter not just for African-Americans, but for all of the poor. To simply freeze him in one moment does his memory and his legacy a great disservice.

But, why let that get in the way of a good talking point?

What About Dairy "Queen"?

McDonald's, a fast-food restaurant that I generally don't frequent (I'm not a fan of fast food in general, but give me my Sonic Cherry Limeade and no one gets hurt!) has apparently decided to join the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.

The result? Heads exploding in Freeper-ville and calls for a boycott of McDonald's.

It's not going to work, for the same reason their boycott of Disney for offering same-sex partner benefits didn't work and the same reason their boycott of Ford for running Jaguar ads in GLBT magazines didn't work. These companies all realized that they can recruit more workers and make more money by demonstrating a commitment to diversity rather than pandering to a small, extremist section of the population.

And I don't understand why the Freepers are shocked that a large corporation cares more about its bottom line than about their opinions. This is America, right?

See also: This hilarious Daily Kos diary with commentary on the Freeper meltdown, and especially this comment outlining what exactly the "gay agenda" compromises.

I Want My Two Buck Chuck!

We now have an answer as to what store will open in Green Hills where Wild Oats used to be:

Trader Joe's, a grocery chain some Nashvillians have long clamored for, is set to open a Green Hills location by Thanksgiving of this year.

I'm thrilled. Trader Joe's is sort of like Whole Foods, but somewhat cheaper. It'll be a great addition to Nashville. Of course, it won't help the traffic situation on Hillsboro Road, but we're still working on that.

Now, if they would hurry up and fix the liquor laws so that Trader Joe's could sell their famous "Two-Buck Chuck" wine, that would be even better.

But Obama Has No Experience!

Doesn't the Congressman who co-chaired the 9/11 Commission understand that Obama has no foreign policy experience and won't be able to handle the proverbial 3 a.m. phone call?

In what could prove both a significant addition to his foreign policy credentials and a boost for the close Indiana primary, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois this afternoon scored the endorsement of former Rep. Lee Hamilton, one of the Democratic Party's leading foreign affairs experts.

Hamilton, a 35-year House member from Indiana, which holds its presidential primary May 6, chaired the Committee on Foreign Affairs and co-chaired both the 9/11 commission and the Iraq Study Group.

“I read his national security and foreign policy speeches," Hamilton told Bloomberg News today, "and he comes across to me as pragmatic, visionary and tough. He impresses me as a person who wants to use all the tools of presidential power.”

Needless to say, Obama needs to get this guy on the ground in Indiana. ASAP.

An Open Letter To NashvillePost.Com

Hi,

I don't really know y'all, I would just like to inform you that I decided to subscribe to your service because a) I'm a rising law student and need to be informed of the legal goings-on here and in the region for when I need a job and b) I'm VERY VERY happy that you hired Adam Kleinheider to be your new blogger and I'm VERY VERY impatient for him to actually start writing.

Kthanx,
-GoldnI

An Open Letter To My Synagogue

Dear Shul,

You guys have sent me your newsletter every month for all four years I've been at college. I don't always read it, but I do flip through it to see if it has photos of anyone I know.

But on the second page of this month's bulletin, there was an article that made my eyes pop out of my head. The writer was urging the congregation to call the White House and urge the President to commute the sentence of Jonathan Pollard, who pled guilty to spying for Israel.

What?! Uh, no, I will do no such thing. Some choice quotes:

"Jonathan Pollard has been in prison for the last 22 years for the crime of providing classified information to Israel, one of America's strongest allies."

Yes, Israel is our ally. That doesn't mean that spying isn't a crime. If the situation were reversed, if Jonathan Pollard was a Mossad agent passing classified information to the U.S., do you think the Israelis would have hesitated to throw his ass in jail for a long time?

"The United States government apparently had elected not to provide this critical information to Israel."

Ok, with all due respect Mr. Synagogue Clergy Member who shall remain nameless...were you in the CIA at any point in your career? Because last I checked, what exact information he gave the Israelis has never been revealed. So how would you, or anyone else other than those directly involved in the case, know if the information was critical? And maybe I have too much faith in U.S. intelligence, but I do believe that if they had intelligence about a credible threat to Israel's or any other ally's security, they would pass on what they know. That's how intelligence works.

Some say that his sentence was excessive. Well, Robert Hanssen also received a life sentence for spying for the Soviet Union. The reason for not distinguishing between spying for an enemy and for an ally is because if you pass along classified information, there's no telling who else might receive that information.

But even if you buy into the idea that the sentence was excessive (after all, as far as we know, Pollard's actions didn't lead to anyone getting killed the way Hanssen's did), that's clearly not the point of this editorial. The implication that he should be freed because he was "only" spying for Israel is clear to see.

I say that's a load of crap. He committed a very serious crime against the United States, and there has never been any question about his guilt. What country he was spying for is immaterial. And the fact that he received a good deal of money for his efforts sort of undercuts the idea that he's some great Jewish martyr.

****************************

And please, somebody bookmark this post so that we can refer back to it when I get accused of being part of an anti-American congregation when I run for Congress.

Yo, Adrian!

In a ploy to get votes in Philadelphia, Hillary Clinton compared herself to Rocky Balboa:

Recalling a famous scene on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Clinton said that ending her presidential campaign now would be as if "Rocky Balboa had gotten halfway up those art museum steps and said, 'Well, I guess that's about far enough.'"

"Let me tell you something, when it comes to finishing a fight, Rocky and I have a lot in common. I never quit. I never give up. And neither do the American people," Clinton said.

I have a few issues with this analogy:

First, I know this is going to come as a shock to people from Philadelphia (my dad included) but...Rocky Balboa isn't real! Rocky is a fictional character from a movie franchise. The character was based on an actual boxer, Rocky Marciano, but he wasn't from Philadelphia.

Then again, since the entire Clinton campaign is based around fictional stories (getting shot at in Bosnia, having tangible foreign policy experience, "winning" in Texas, having any way of winning the nomination short of a superdelegate coup), I suppose the Rocky image fits right in.

Second, what do you suppose Sylvester Stallone will have to say about this? After all, he endorsed McCain. If I were McCain's people, I'd plan a press conference or something for Stallone to reject the analogy. It's just another example of Hillary handing McCain talking points on a silver platter!

Third, if you're going to take on the vicious Ivan Drago, you should probably know who the President of Russia is before you go over there.

Finally, the first time Rocky fought for the World Heavyweight Championship, he lost to a black man. True, it went all the way to fifteen rounds, but Apollo Creed won the fight in the end. I'm just sayin'...