Daily Nonsense

Rather than concede gracefully and get back to her full time job as kibitzer in the Senate, Hillary has been continuing to campaign for the Democratic Nomination.  What madness is this?

Why is she continuing to run her campaign into the ground?  The last figure I can find puts her at $20,000,000.00 (that’s twenty million US dollars) in debt.  And her contributions have slowed to a sparse trickle.

Is she simply trying to achieve a Guinness Book entry for Greatest Debt During a Presidential Campaign?  Or maybe she’s coveting the honor of ‘Worst Example of Fiscal Irresponsibility’.

She can’t actually think that she has a chance in all this, does she?  The powers that be have determined that FL and MI will get 1/2 the votes and that those votes will be equally distributed between the candidates.  Or has something changed while I slept last night?

That being the case, the winner is ..

hmm, lets see, carry the one….

um, divided by two…

Oh, right, it’s STILL Barack.  Or is there a ‘New Math – Fuzzy Math’ solution that enables you to wind up with more votes.  I’m not seeing how, that’s for sure.

McCain, Obama Battle as Clinton Keeps Fighting

By Jeffrey Young
Washington
30 May 2008

With only three relatively minor primary elections for U.S. president left – Puerto Rico, South Dakota, and Montana, Democratic White House-hopeful Senator Hillary Clinton continues to campaign aggressively for her party’s presidential nomination. But her Democratic rival, Senator Barack Obama, is now focused on presumptive Republican Party presidential nominee Senator John McCain and the November general election. VOA’s Jeffrey Young has this week’s Political Wrap.

Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain are already locked in head-to-head combat. Despite delegate shortfalls, Hillary Clinton still insists that she, not Obama, should be the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee.

"Who would be the best president?" she asks. "And, who would be the stronger candidate against [presumptive Republican nominee] Senator [John] McCain? I believe I am."

Clinton’s pleas come amid fading chances. Lawyers for the Democratic National Committee [DNC] say that only half of the combined 368 delegates from Michigan and Florida may be seated at the party nominating convention. The DNC penalized those states for holding primaries before the party said they could. The party could make a final determination May 31.

One of Clinton’s most visible supporters now says the Clinton-Obama contest for so-called superdelegates is effectively over. Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, on Bloomberg TV. "I’m a realist, and I think [that] most likely, the superdelegates will give Senator Obama the votes he needs," Rendell said. "It is very unlikely that Senator Clinton can prevail."

Meanwhile, in the battle between the two parties, Republican John McCain has broadened his attacks on Obama. "Now, why is it that Senator Obama wants to sit down with the president of Iran, but has not yet sat down with General Petraus, the leader of our troops in Iraq?" asks McCain.

Obama reacted to that barb [verbal attack] by stating that McCain and the Republican Party’s strategy in Iraq is a failure. The Democratic front-runner also made fun of a Phoenix, Arizona closed-door fundraiser for McCain by President Bush.

"No cameras, no reporters, and we all know why. Senator McCain doesn’t want to be seen hat-in-hand [asking for a favor] with a president whose failed policies he promises to continue for another four years," Obama said.

John McCain fueled running mate speculation last Sunday by having dinner with former rival Mitt Romney, Florida Governor Charlie Christ, and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindahl.

[Thanks, Voice of America]

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By now, everyone and his brother knows that Sen. Barack Obama stood in for an ailing Ted Kennedy and spoke at Wesleyan’s 2008 commencement this past weekend.  I was impressed by some of the points that Barack raised and wanted to share.

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — Thank you, President Roth, for that generous introduction, and congratulations on your first year at the helm of Wesleyan. Congratulations also to the class of 2008, and thank you for allowing me to be a part of your graduation.

I have the distinct honor today of pinch-hitting for one of my personal heroes and a hero to this country, Senator Edward Kennedy. Teddy wanted to be here very much, but as you know, he’s had a very long week and is taking some much-needed rest. He called me up a few days ago and I said that I’d be happy to be his stand-in, even if there was no way I could fill his shoes.

I did, however, get the chance to glance at the speech he planned on delivering today, and I’d like to start by passing along a message from him: “To all those praying for my return to good health, I offer my heartfelt thanks. And to any who’d rather have a different result, I say, don’t get your hopes up just yet!”

So we know that Ted Kennedy’s legendary sense of humor is as strong as ever, and I have no doubt that his equally legendary fighting spirit will carry him through this latest challenge. He is our friend, he is our champion, and we hope and pray for his return to good health.

The topic of his speech today was common for a commencement, but one that nobody could discuss with more authority or inspiration than Ted Kennedy. And that is the topic of service to one’s country – a cause that is synonymous with his family’s name and their legacy.

I was born the year that his brother John called a generation of Americans to ask their country what they could do. And I came of age at a time when they did it. They were the Peace Corps volunteers who won a generation of goodwill toward America at a time when America’s ideals were challenged. They were the teenagers and college students, not much older than you, who watched the Civil Rights Movement unfold on their television sets; who saw the dogs and the fire hoses and the footage of marchers beaten within an inch or their lives; who knew it was probably smarter and safer to stay at home, but still decided to take those Freedom Rides down south – who still decided to march. And because they did, they changed the world.

I bring this up because today, you are about to enter a world that makes it easy to get caught up in the notion that there are actually two different stories at work in our lives.

The first is the story of our everyday cares and concerns – the responsibilities we have to our jobs and our families – the bustle and busyness of what happens in our own life. And the second is the story of what happens in the life of our country – of what happens in the wider world. It’s the story you see when you catch a glimpse of the day’s headlines or turn on the news at night – a story of big challenges like war and recession; hunger and climate change; injustice and inequality. It’s a story that can sometimes seem distant and separate from our own – a destiny to be shaped by forces beyond our control.

And yet, the history of this nation tells us this isn’t so. It tells us that we are a people whose destiny has never been written for us, but by us – by generations of men and women, young and old, who have always believed that their story and the American story are not separate, but shared. And for more than two centuries, they have served this country in ways that have forever enriched both.

I say this to you as someone who couldn’t be standing here today if not for the service of others, and wouldn’t be standing here today if not for the purpose that service gave my own life.

You see, I spent much of my childhood adrift. My father left my mother and I when I was two. When my mother remarried, I lived in Indonesia for a time, but was mostly raised in Hawaii by her and my grandparents from Kansas. My teenage years were filled with more than the usual dose of adolescent rebellion, and I’ll admit that I didn’t always take myself or my studies very seriously. I realize that none of you can probably relate to this, but there were many times when I wasn’t sure where I was going, or what I would do.

But during my first two years of college, perhaps because the values my mother had taught me – hard work, honesty, empathy – had resurfaced after a long hibernation; or perhaps because of the example of wonderful teachers and lasting friends, I began to notice a world beyond myself. I became active in the movement to oppose the apartheid regime of South Africa. I began following the debates in this country about poverty and health care. So that by the time I graduated from college, I was possessed with a crazy idea – that I would work at a grassroots level to bring about change.

I wrote letters to every organization in the country I could think of. And one day, a small group of churches on the South Side of Chicago offered me a job to come work as a community organizer in neighborhoods that had been devastated by steel plant closings. My mother and grandparents wanted me to go to law school. My friends were applying to jobs on Wall Street. Meanwhile, this organization offered me $12,000 a year plus $2,000 for an old, beat-up car.

And I said yes.

Now, I didn’t know a soul in Chicago, and I wasn’t sure what this community organizing business was all about. I had always been inspired by stories of the Civil Rights Movement and JFK’s call to service, but when I got to the South Side, there were no marches, and no soaring speeches. In the shadow of an empty steel plant, there were just a lot of folks who were struggling. And we didn’t get very far at first.

I still remember one of the very first meetings we put together to discuss gang violence with a group of community leaders. We waited and waited for people to show up, and finally, a group of older people walked into the hall. And they sat down. And a little old lady raised her hand and asked, “Is this where the bingo game is?”

It wasn’t easy, but eventually, we made progress. Day by day, block by block, we brought the community together, and registered new voters, and set up after school programs, and fought for new jobs, and helped people live lives with some measure of dignity.

But I also began to realize that I wasn’t just helping other people. Through service, I found a community that embraced me; citizenship that was meaningful; the direction I’d been seeking. Through service, I discovered how my own improbable story fit into the larger story of America.

Each of you will have the chance to make your own discovery in the years to come. And I say “chance” because you won’t have to take it. There’s no community service requirement in the real world; no one forcing you to care. You can take your diploma, walk off this stage, and chase only after the big house and the nice suits and all the other things that our money culture says you should by. You can choose to narrow your concerns and live your life in a way that tries to keep your story separate from America’s.

But I hope you don’t. Not because you have an obligation to those who are less fortunate, though you do have that obligation. Not because you have a debt to all those who helped you get here, though you do have that debt.

It’s because you have an obligation to yourself. Because our individual salvation depends on collective salvation. Because thinking only about yourself, fulfilling your immediate wants and needs, betrays a poverty of ambition. Because it’s only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential and discover the role you’ll play in writing the next great chapter in America’s story.

There are so many ways to serve and so much need at this defining moment in our history. You don’t have to be a community organizer or do something crazy like run for President. Right here at Wesleyan, many of you have already volunteered at local schools, contributed to United Way, and even started a program that brings fresh produce to needy families in the area. One hundred and sixty-four graduates of this school have joined the Peace Corps since 2001, and I’m especially proud that two of you are about to leave for my father’s homeland of Kenya to bring alternative sources of energy to impoverished areas.

I ask you to seek these opportunities when you leave here, because the future of this country – your future – depends on it. At a time when our security and moral standing depend on winning hearts and minds in the forgotten corners of this world, we need more of you to serve abroad. As President, I intend to grow the Foreign Service, double the Peace Corps over the next few years, and engage the young people of other nations in similar programs, so that we work side by side to take on the common challenges that confront all humanity.

At a time when our ice caps are melting and our oceans are rising, we need you to help lead a green revolution. We still have time to avoid the catastrophic consequences of climate change if we get serious about investing in renewable sources of energy, and if we get a generation of volunteers to work on renewable energy projects, and teach folks about conservation, and help clean up polluted areas; if we send talented engineers and scientists abroad to help developing countries promote clean energy.

At a time when a child in Boston must compete with children in Beijing and Bangalore, we need an army of you to become teachers and principals in schools that this nation cannot afford to give up on. I will pay our educators what they deserve, and give them more support, but I will also ask more of them to be mentors to other teachers, and serve in high-need schools and high-need subject areas like math and science.

At a time when there are children in the city of New Orleans who still spend each night in a lonely trailer, we need more of you to take a weekend or a week off from work, and head down South, and help rebuild. If you can’t get the time, volunteer at the local homeless shelter or soup kitchen in your own community. Find an organization that’s fighting poverty, or a candidate who promotes policies you believe in, and find a way to help them.

At a time of war, we need you to work for peace. At a time of inequality, we need you to work for opportunity. At a time of so much cynicism and so much doubt, we need you to make us believe again.

Now understand this – believing that change is possible is not the same as being naïve. Go into service with your eyes wide open, for change will not come easily. On the big issues that our nation faces, difficult choices await. We’ll have to face some hard truths, and some sacrifice will be required – not only from you individually, but from the nation as a whole.

There is no magic bullet to our energy problems, for example; no perfect energy source – so all of us will have to use the energy sources we have more wisely. Deep-rooted poverty will not be reversed overnight, and will require both money and reform at a time when our federal and state budgets are strapped and Washington is skeptical that reform is possible. Transforming our education system will require not only bold government action, but a change in attitudes among parents and students. Bringing an end to the slaughter in Darfur will involve navigating extremely difficult realities on the ground, even for those with the best of intentions.

And so, should you take the path of service, should you choose to take up one of these causes as your own, know that you’ll experience frustrations and failures. Even your successes will be marked by imperfections and unintended consequences. I guarantee you, there will certainly be times when friends or family urge you to pursue more sensible endeavors with more tangible rewards. And there will be times when you are tempted to take their advice.

But I hope you’ll remember, during those times of doubt and frustration, that there is nothing naïve about your impulse to change this world. Because all it takes is one act of service – one blow against injustice – to send forth that tiny ripple of hope that Robert Kennedy spoke of.

You know, Ted Kennedy often tells a story about the fifth anniversary celebration of the Peace Corps. He was there, and he asked one of the young Americans why he had chosen to volunteer. And the man replied, “Because it was the first time someone asked me to do something for my country.”

I don’t know how many of you have been asked that question, but after today, you have no excuses. I am asking you, and if I should have the honor of serving this nation as President, I will be asking again in the coming years. We may disagree on certain issues and positions, but I believe we can be unified in service to a greater good. I intend to make it a cause of my presidency, and I believe with all my heart that this generation is ready, and eager, and up to the challenge.

We will face our share of cynics and doubters. But we always have. I can still remember a conversation I had with an older man all those years ago just before I left for Chicago. He said, “Barack, I’ll give you a bit of advice. Forget this community organizing business and do something that’s gonna make you some money. You can’t change the world, and people won’t appreciate you trying. But you’ve got a nice voice, so you should think about going into television broadcasting. I’m telling you, you’ve got a future.”

Now, he may have been right about the TV thing, but he was wrong about everything else. For that old man has not seen what I have seen. He has not seen the faces of ordinary people the first time they clear a vacant lot or build a new playground or force an unresponsive leader to provide services to their community. He has not seen the face of a child brighten because of an inspiring teacher or mentor. He has not seen scores of young people educate their parents on issues like Darfur, or mobilize the conscience of a nation around the challenge of climate change. He has not seen lines of men and women that wrap around schools and churches, that stretch block after block just so they could make their voices heard, many for the very first time.

And that old man who didn’t believe the world could change – who didn’t think one person could make a difference – well he certainly didn’t know much about the life of Joseph Kennedy’s youngest son.

It is rare in this country of ours that a person exists who has touched the lives of nearly every single American without many of us even realizing it. And yet, because of Ted Kennedy, millions of children can see a doctor when they get sick. Mothers and fathers can leave work to spend time with their newborns. Working Americans are paid higher wages, and compensated for overtime, and can keep their health insurance when they change jobs. They are protected from discrimination in the workplace, and those who are born with disabilities can still get an education, and health care, and fair treatment on the job. Our schools are stronger and our colleges are filled with more Americans who can afford it. And I have a feeling that Ted Kennedy is not done just yet.

But surely, if one man can achieve so much and make such a difference in the lives of so many, then each of us can do our part. Surely, if his service and his story can forever shape America’s story, then our collective service can shape the destiny of this generation. At the very least, his living example calls each of us to try. That is all I ask of you on this joyous day of new beginnings; that is what Senator Kennedy asks of you as well, and that is how we will keep so much needed work going, and the cause of justice everlasting, and the dream alive for generations to come. Thank you so much to the class of 2008, and congratulations on your graduation.

Christ, it sounds like a boyish schoolyard dare.  The presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain, has challenged Barack Obama to go to Iraq and check out the ‘facts on the ground’ within the war zone.  McCain is more than likely hoping to see a change in Obama’s war stance should he go to the war zone and examine for himself what effects a full withdrawal might have on the country.

Of course, McCain is imagining that Barack can be swayed in his quest to bring the troops home from this illegal little war that the Republicans started for monetary gain.  I don’t see that happening.  Rather, I think that Barack would only strengthen his resolve to withdraw the troops from battle.

McCain, having been a soldier and prisoner of war, is the perfect tool for the Republican right wing war machine while Barack isn’t.  It is going to be interesting to see what kind of dirty tricks the Republicans will pull out of their asses as we get closer to the general election.  There will be many and they won’t be pleasant.

McCain challenges Obama to visit Iraq

The Republican says the Democrat is ignorant of the ‘facts on the ground’ in the war zone. The Illinois senator, in the Western battleground state of Colorado, focuses on education.

By Maeve Reston and Scott Martelle, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
May 29, 2008

RENO — Speaking with evident condescension, Arizona Sen. John McCain needled Barack Obama on Wednesday by offering to travel to Iraq with the Illinois senator to help him gain a better understanding of the war and the consequences of withdrawing troops.

The attack by the presumptive Republican presidential nominee was in line with his campaign’s recent attempts to portray Obama as too young and inexperienced to lead the nation.

Speaking before a boisterous crowd of 500 who gathered for a town-hall-style meeting here, McCain accused his Democratic rival of ignoring the successes of the U.S. troop buildup in Iraq and suggested that Obama was ignorant of the facts.

"To say that we failed in Iraq and we’re not succeeding does not comport with the facts on the ground, so we’ve got to show him the facts on the ground," McCain said.

McCain also said Obama’s proposal to set a date for troop withdrawal would "lead to chaos, genocide and increased Iranian influence."

At a late-afternoon news conference in Beverly Hills, McCain said he was glad to learn via news accounts that Obama is considering a trip to Iraq this summer — although not a joint trip with McCain, which the Obama campaign branded "a political stunt."

"It’s long overdue; it’s been 871 days since he was there," McCain said, referring to a 2006 trip Obama took to Iraq. "And I’m confident that when he goes he will then change his position on the conflict in Iraq."

Obama spokesman Bill Burton fired back that it was "odd that Sen. McCain, who bought the flawed rationale for war so readily, would be lecturing others on their depth of understanding about Iraq."

[Thanks, LA Times]

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The race for the Presidency is heating up between Senators Obama and McCain as the two opponents vie for voters from the important swing states of Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado.  Focusing on the issues that many Americans feel are the most important, like the illegal war in Iraq, both candidates show very different stances.

Barack says he will get American soldiers out of Iraq within 16 months of taking office while McCain has indicated that 100 years wouldn’t bother him although his most reasonable estimate is 2013.  That’s 5 more years if the Republicans win this upcoming election and get their way.  I guess that Bush, Cheney and McCain’s wife have a lot to gain by encouraging the war.  It is all about money, right?

As the two front runners battle it out there are two people who aren’t getting any notice or mention from them and that’s the Clinton’s.  A causal observer might note that the only mention they get anymore is from a small sect of friendly press, the rest of the world has stopped watching or caring.

Clinton Battles On, McCain and Obama Battle Each Other
Obama and McCain Act as if Fall Lineup is Set

By JAKE TAPPER
May 28, 2008

The general election bout has begun with Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain sparring with each other, ignoring Hillary Clinton’s efforts to stay in the ring with them.

The clearest indication that the election is moving into a new phase is that Obama and McCain are both campaigning this week in key November swing states, Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado.

They are also attacking each other, while Clinton doesn’t even rate a mention.

Obama Blasts McCain-Bush Connection

Obama Tuesday night noted that McCain held a fundraiser with President Bush. The press was not permitted to film McCain with the unpopular president, a man Republicans describe as so toxic you’d expect McCain to have been wearing a HAZMAT suit for their one photo op at the airport.

"No cameras. No reporters. And we all know why," Obama described the fundraiser, depicting Bush almost as if he were McCain’s running mate. "Sen. McCain doesn’t want to be seen, hat in hand, with the president whose failed policies he promises to continue for another four years."

And McCain is keeping up his theme that Obama is inexperienced and naive when it comes to foreign policy.

"Many believe all we need to do to end the nuclear programs of hostile governments is have our president sit down with leaders in Pyongyang [North Korea] and Tehran [Iran], as if we haven’t tried talking to these governments repeatedly over the past few decades," McCain said.

Clinton Continues Primary Fight

While Obama and McCain circle each other and throw their first tentative jabs, Clinton is still stumping in the final three Democratic primaries and arguing that she would be a stronger candidate against McCain.

"Based on every analysis of every bit of research, and every poll that’s been taken and every state that a Democrat has to win, I am the stronger candidate against John McCain in the fall," she argued Tuesday night in Billings, Mont.

Clinton backer James Carville told "Good Morning America" today that he agreed that Clinton has the statistics to indicate she has better poll numbers versus McCain in key states than Obama.

He also conceded, however, that he believes Obama would also defeat McCain.

"Any fair reading of the current polls would say Sen. Clinton would win by more," Carville said.

Clinton is expected to win Puerto Rico’s primary this Sunday, while Obama is favored in the last two contests in South Dakota and Montana June 3.

And despite a campaign debt of more than $20 million, Clinton is still buying air time for ads like the one that is now airing and promises, "I will get us back to fiscal responsibility."

Beginning of the End?

Top Democrats and analysts have predicted that the campaign will end within days of the June 3 primaries when superdelegates end their silence and endorse Obama, who has an insurmountable lead in delegates.

But Carville said that when the primaries are concluded Clinton will "likely" be able to make the argument that she has won more popular votes than Obama, although Carville didn’t say whether that would include the disputed votes in Florida and Michigan.

"I sure do think her case, if she has more popular votes, will be stronger," Carville said.

Clinton suffered another setback Tuesday when lawyers for the Democrats’ Rules Committee concluded in a 38-page memo that they cannot legally install all the Florida and Michigan delegations. Those two states were penalized for violating the party’s rules and holding early primaries.

Clinton won both states, although neither candidate campaigned there, and she was hoping to bolster her delegate count by having the full delegations seated.

The rules committee is scheduled to meet this weekend to resolve the fate of those two delegations.

[Thanks, ABC News]

Scott McClellan, former White House Press Secretary, is publishing a new expose’ on the his time as part of the bush administration.  The book includes excerpts like "President George W Bush was not "open and forthright" on Iraq and rushed to an unnecessary war." and "One of the worst disasters in our nation’s history became one of the biggest disasters in Bush’s presidency,".

This looks to me like it will be an honest re-telling of the first three years of the ‘war’ in Iraq.  We’ve always believed that Bush and his administration lied in the effort to involve us in the Middle East, now we have proof given to us by someone involved in the debacle.

One of the questions that has bothered many honest Americans was whether McClellan lied to the press (and the American public) at the behest of Bush.  That question is partially answered in this novel "Rove, Libby, and possibly Vice-President Cheney allowed me, even encouraged me, to repeat a lie"  that Libby was not involved, Mr McClellan writes." The truth then becomes a little clearer.

Ex-aide criticises Bush over Iraq

Former White House spokesman Scott McClellan has said US President George W Bush was not "open and forthright" on Iraq and rushed to an unnecessary war.

In a book to be published on Monday, Mr McClellan says Mr Bush "veered terribly off course". He also attacks the White House’s handling of Hurricane Katrina.

From July 2003 to his resignation in April 2006, Mr McClellan was a firm defender of the Bush administration.

The White House has not yet commented on the 341-page memoir.

Mr McClellan was a long-standing member of Mr Bush’s inner circle, having worked for him when he was Texas governor before following him to the White House.

‘Manipulating opinion’

Extracts from the book, first disclosed by Washington-based news website Politico.com, give an often scathing view of both the president and his highest-ranking aides.

In What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception, Mr McClellan describes White House staff as spending much of the first week after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 "in a state of denial".

"One of the worst disasters in our nation’s history became one of the biggest disasters in Bush’s presidency," he writes.

"The perception of this catastrophe was made worse by previous decisions President Bush had made, including, first and foremost, the failure to be open and forthright on Iraq and rushing to war with inadequate planning and preparation for its aftermath."

Mr McClellan stops short of saying Mr Bush lied about the reasons for going to war in Iraq, but says his administration orchestrated the build-up so that force became the only real option.

Quoted by the Washington Post, he writes that "it was all about manipulating sources of public opinion to the president’s advantage" and chides the media for failing to ask enough questions.

"No-one, including me, can know with absolute certainty how the war will be viewed decades from now when we can more fully understand its impact," he says.

"What I do know is that war should only be waged when necessary, and the Iraq war was not necessary."

‘Repeat a lie’

Mr McClellan also accuses former senior Bush strategist Karl Rove and Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice-President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff, of misleading him about a CIA leak case involving White House staff.

Libby was found guilty last March of obstruction of justice and perjury over the investigation into the unmasking of CIA officer Valerie Plame.

"Rove, Libby, and possibly Vice-President Cheney allowed me, even encouraged me, to repeat a lie" that Libby was not involved, Mr McClellan writes.

In other excerpts quoted by the Washington Post, he describes Mr Bush as "a man of personal charm, wit and enormous political skill" and says he did not set out to engage in "destructive practices" but became caught up in Washington politics.

Mr Rove, speaking on Fox News, where he is now a political commentator, said Mr McClellan should have spoken out sooner if he had concerns about White House policies.

[Thanks, BBC News]

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We took a little vacation these past few days.  We have some company in town and have been quite busy running around town, getting my daughter on early trains to Portland, canoeing in the Arboretum, and watching a close loss by the Mariners to the dastardly Red Sox.

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A 16 year old boy was arrested during a peaceful protest in front of the $cientology Headquarters in London on May 10.  His crime?  Carrying a placard that read "Scientology is not a religion, it is a dangerous cult."  After being confronted by police officers, the youth cited a British court judgment from 1984 in which the organization was labeled a  cult.

Earlier today the Crown Prosecution Service announced that it had decided not to take action.  Another victory for free speech!

Schoolboy avoids prosecution for branding Scientology a ‘cult’

Anil Dawar and agencies
guardian.co.uk,
Friday May 23 2008

A teenager who was facing legal action for calling the Church of Scientology a cult has today been told he will not be taken to court.

The Crown Prosecution Service ruled the word was neither "abusive or insulting" to the church and no further action would be taken against the boy.

The unnamed 16-year-old was handed a court summons by City of London police for refusing to put down a placard saying "Scientology is not a religion, it is a dangerous cult" during a peaceful protest outside the church’s headquarters near St Paul’s Cathedral earlier this month.
Police said they had "strongly advised" him to stop displaying the sign but he refused, citing a high court judgment from 1984 in which the organisation was described as a cult.

The summons was issued under the Public Order Act on the grounds that the sign incited religious hatred.
A file was passed to the CPS, which today told City of London police it would not be pursuing the boy through the courts.

A spokeswoman for the force said: "The CPS review of the case includes advice on what action or behaviour at a demonstration might be considered to be threatening, abusive or insulting.

"The force’s policing of future demonstrations will reflect this advice."

A CPS spokesman said: "In consultation with the City of London police, we were asked whether the sign, which read ‘Scientology is not a religion it is a dangerous cult’, was abusive or insulting.

"Our advice is that it is not abusive or insulting and there is no offensiveness, as opposed to criticism, neither in the idea expressed nor in the mode of expression. No action will be taken against the individual."

The teenager’s mother said the decision was "a victory for free speech".

"We’re all incredibly proud of him. We advised him to take the placard down when we realised what was happening but he said ‘No, it’s my opinion and I have a right to express it’," she said.

Human rights activists were outraged when news of the police action against the teenager broke earlier this week.

A simultaneous demonstration on May 10 outside a Scientology office in London’s West End featured protesters waving similar placards but the Metropolitan police did not confiscate them or issue any summonses.

Two years ago, the City of London police attracted criticism when it emerged more than 20 officers, ranging from constable to chief superintendent, had accepted gifts worth thousands of pounds from the Church of Scientology.

The City of London chief superintendent, Kevin Hurley, praised Scientology for "raising the spiritual wealth of society" during the opening of its headquarters in 2006.

Last year, a video praising Scientology emerged featuring Ken Stewart, another of the City of London’s chief superintendents, although he is not a member of the group.

Scientology was founded by the science fiction writer L Ron Hubbard in 1952 and espouses the idea that humans are descended from an exiled race of aliens called Thetans.

The church continues to attract controversy over claims that it separates members from their families and indoctrinates followers.

[Thanks, Guardian]

After sucking up to the Radical Christian Right for months, Senator John McCain has officially rejected the support of televangelist John Hagee.  Citing issues with statements made in 1999 regarding Adolf Hitler being an instrument of God, McCain has decided that Hagee is a little too loopy to support his campaign.

So, McCain is floundering with the religious support, seeking a war in Iraq that could last through his presidency, and seeking comprehensive and sweeping immigration reform.  Sounds to me like someone I wouldn’t want in the White House ever, let alone during this initial period after Bush and Cheney leave.

McCain talks issues as troubles pile up

Carla Marinucci,John Wildermuth, Chronicle Political Writers
Friday, May 23, 2008

(05-22) 16:03 PDT Union City - — Facing a pile of controversial campaign troubles – including incendiary comments by televangelist John Hagee that forced him to reject Hagee’s endorsement – Sen. John McCain tried mightily to shift the focus to economic issues and his Democratic opponent Barack Obama on Thursday during a California campaign swing.

McCain, speaking at a Silicon Valley forum on economic issues alongside Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, issued a renewed call for "comprehensive immigration reform" as a top agenda item for the next president. He called for a "temporary agricultural program," saying, "We need a way for an ordinary person to apply for citizenship in this country in a way that they can count on and trust."

Later, at an evening rally in Stockton, the Arizona senator and presumptive Republican presidential nominee launched into a slashing attack on Obama. He said the Illinois senator "doesn’t have the knowledge, background or judgment to lead this country in these dangerous times," adding sarcastically that "for a young man with very little experience, (Obama) has done well."

But at the start of his Northern California fundraising and campaign trip, the dominant news of the day was not on McCain’s official agenda: The controversial Hagee had, in the 1990s, said Adolf Hitler had acted as an agent of God to cause the Holocaust to send more Jews to the Holy Land.

[Thanks, SF Chronical]

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Senator Barack Obama has asked a group of friends and advisors to start searching for viable Vice Presidential candidates.  Led by Jim Johnson, biographies are being compiled on likely candidates for future consideration.

Mr. Johnson, a prominent Democratic figure, is not new to the game of Veep selection.  He chaired the vice-presidential selection process for John Kerry.  I’m just hoping that the Clinton’s are not included on anyone’s short list for the position.

Obama Begins Search for Vice President

By Jeff Zeleny

Updated | 1 p.m. ORLANDO – With the Democratic National Convention only three months away, Senator Barack Obama has asked a tight circle of advisers to begin conducting a confidential search for prospective running mates.

Mr. Obama, who intends to wait until the final primaries end on June 3 before declaring victory in the presidential nominating fight with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, has sworn his advisers to secrecy. The search is in its earliest phases, officials said, and Mr. Obama has asked Jim Johnson, a longtime Democratic hand, to lead the process.

Mr. Johnson, who is a vice chairman of the Obama campaign, led the vice presidential search for Senator John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, in 2004 and Walter Mondale in 1984. In recent weeks, officials said, he started to compile information – largely biographical – for a long list of potential running mates.

Democratic officials discussed Mr. Johnson’s role on condition of anonymity because Mr. Obama has demanded that the process be kept secret, and they did not want him to know they were talking about it. Advisers to Mr. Obama declined to discuss the search or any elements of the process.

First, they said, the Democratic nominating contest is not finished, so they don’t want to appear presumptuous. But, they added, time is quickly running out for the exhaustive vetting process to begin.

Mr. Obama, who spoke to reporters on a brief trip back to Washington today, declined to discuss the role Mr. Johnson was playing.

“I haven’t hired him. He’s not on retainer. I’m not paying him any money. He is a friend of mine. I know him,” Mr. Obama said. “I am not commenting on vice presidential matters because I have not won this nomination.”

This week, Mr. Obama crossed the threshold of winning the majority of pledged delegates. He has stopped short of declaring victory, but has gradually turned his focus to Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona.

“We’ve had a wonderful contest against a wonderful candidate,” Mr. Obama told supporters at a fund-raiser here Wednesday evening. “But it is going to be time for us very soon to start unifying this party because we cannot afford to be divided come November.”

[Thanks, NY Times]

Well, another series of primary elections are over and with the two Democratic candidates splitting the states, it’s still obvious that Obama has the numerical advantage over the Clinton’s.  Splitting the two states with a win in Oregon and a loss in Kentucky, Obama now has a total of 1953 votes.  As more and more superdelegates swing his way, he’s pretty much assured of a Victory in Denver.

The Clinton’s, on the other hand, continue to flog the dead horse that is their campaign.  With the news media giving her less and less air time, she will be hard pressed to keep her name in the forefront of the American’s mind.  She claims that there are still things that she needs to accomplish, the only thing I see her doing is digging herself deeper into debt.

Clinton Fades Even in a Victory

By ALESSANDRA STANLEY
Published: May 21, 2008

While Senator Barack Obama gingerly commended his rival’s “perseverance,” the shrinking candidacy of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton all but vanished from the television set on Tuesday, sidelined by bigger news.

Even her victory speech in Kentucky, shown live on cable news, was given perfunctory attention — a footnote to someone else’s page in history. When MSNBC called the Kentucky primary early in the evening, Tim Russert, host of “Meet the Press,” said her success with women and blue-collar voters “means Senator Obama has a lot of work to do” and sketched a rehabilitation plan. He did not mention Mrs. Clinton by name in that disquisition.

Political analysts on cable news have been saying for weeks that the delegate math did not add up for Mrs. Clinton. But those warnings were belied by a constant stream of images of her in Easter-egg-colored pantsuits vigorously shaking hands and rousing crowds along the campaign trail. Her numerical odds may have dimmed quite a while ago, but her star power — and sheer tenacity — kept her on screen.

The darkening stage on Tuesday may be one reason that Mrs. Clinton continues so fiercely fighting to stay in the race. The alternative to victory isn’t just defeat, it’s a cloak of invisibility.

[Thanks, NY Times]

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Today, Edward Moore ‘Ted’ Kennedy was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.  After suffering a seizure at the Kennedy compound in Hyannisport on Cape Cod this past weekend, Ted was airlifted to Massachusetts General Hospital.  He has been resting and undergoing a battery of tests since the incident and today the news of the tumor was released to the public.

In 1960, John F. Kennedy was elected as the 35th President of the united States.  During his brief tenure as President he was able to unify the country as no man had in generations.  From Civil Rights to the Space Race, John left a legacy for America that is still honored.  His aspirations for political office were shared by his two younger brothers, Robert (Bobby) and Edward (Ted).

Robert served as the 64th Attorney General of the United States both under John and later under Lyndon B. Johnson.  He, like his older brother, was gunned down by assassins.

Edward has served as a Senator for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for the past 46 years. At 76 years of age, he can only hope to be strong enough to withstand the rigors of the various forms of radiation and chemotherapy that is the usual treatment for his malady.

Edward, like his brothers, will be sorely missed by this nation.  His stance on the war in Iraq, abortion, same-sex marriages, and immigration policy has always favored the people of America rather than the corporations.

Senator Kennedy Has Malignant Brain Tumor

By JOHN SULLIVAN
Published: May 20, 2008

Senator Edward M. Kennedy has a malignant tumor in his brain, his doctors said Tuesday.

Tests performed over the weekend at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston indicated that Mr. Kennedy, 76, has a type of cancer known as a malignant glioma in the left parietal lobe, the upper left portion of his brain. Mr. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, suffered a seizure on Saturday in Cape Cod and was airlifted to the hospital for treatment.

The doctors said on Tuesday that the senator was “in overall good condition,” had been walking around the hospital, and had suffered no more seizures since Saturday.

“The usual course of treatment includes combinations of various forms of radiation and chemotherapy,” Dr. Lee Schwamm, the vice chairman of neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Dr. Larry Ronan, a primary care physician at the hospital, said in a statement issued Tuesday afternoon.

The National Cancer Institute says that malignant glioma is the most common form of brain cancer, accounting for about 9,000 cases diagnosed each year in the United States. The prognosis depends on the severity of the tumor, although the institute’s website says it is generally poor.

Mr. Kennedy was first elected to the Senate in 1962, when his older brother John F. Kennedy was president, and is serving his eighth term.

I found an interesting article that discusses a senior member of Bush’s traveling circus entourage who has stated that Bush plans on attacking Iran before the end of his term.  A story in the Jerusalem Post contained the leak citing sources high in their own government.

The White House, of course, denies the allegations.  I find more truth in third-hand hearsay than I do in the two liars, crooks and thieves that currently inhabit (and sully) the White House.

White House denies story about attacking Iran

By BEN FELLER, Associated Press Writer
7:30 AM PDT, May 20, 2008

WASHINGTON — The White House on Tuesday denied a published report in Israel that said President Bush intends to attack Iran before the end of his term in January.

A story in the Jerusalem Post quoted a "senior official" there as saying that Bush plans to attack Iran in the coming months. The story says the unidentified official claimed that a "senior member" of Bush’s traveling entourage made the statement about attacking Iran in a closed meeting. Bush was in Israel last week.

The article also says the unnamed Bush official said that Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney "were of the opinion that military action were called for."

"An article in today’s Jerusalem Post about the president’s position on Iran that quotes unnamed sources — quoting unnamed sources — is not worth the paper it’s written on," White House press secretary Dana Perino said in a statement.

"Let me respond by reaffirming the policy of the administration: We, along with our international allies who want peace in the Middle East, remain opposed to Iran’s ambitions to obtain a nuclear weapon," Perino said. "To that end, we are working to bring tough diplomatic and economic pressure on the Iranians to get them to change their behavior and to halt their uranium enrichment program."

Perino said the "president of the United States should never take options off the table, but our preference and our actions for dealing with this matter remain through peaceful diplomatic means. Nothing has changed in that regard."

[Thanks, LA Times]