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]

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It looks like Barack Obama could end today with enough votes to declare himself the Democratic National Candidate for President.  And a long, crazy road it’s been to reach this point.  We have never waited this long for a candidate, nor spent this much money trying to choose one.

Obama Is Expected to Hit a Milestone in Today’s Votes

By JEFF ZELENY and PATRICK HEALY
Published: May 20, 2008

Senator Barack Obama is poised to reach a milestone in the presidential race on Tuesday by capturing a majority of pledged delegates, but he said he would not declare victory against Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton or suggest the Democratic primary should end until the final three contests are finished on June 3.

For Mr. Obama, the situation is delicate. While eager to proceed to a general election match with Senator John McCain of Arizona, the likely Republican nominee, Mr. Obama is also trying to bring the contest to a close in a way that allows him to win over Mrs. Clinton’s supporters and unify the party.

For her part, Mrs. Clinton is making a counterargument that she is winning the popular vote if Florida and Michigan are counted, and that the party’s leaders should take that into consideration before deciding which candidate to support.

The results from the Kentucky and Oregon primaries on Tuesday will almost certainly allow Mr. Obama to reach a threshold that his campaign has long sought to establish as the critical measure of the will of the party: winning a majority of the delegates awarded in primaries and caucuses. He also continues to gather support from the party leaders known as superdelegates that he still needs to secure the nomination, picking up five more endorsements on Monday.

Mr. Obama does not want to appear as if he is pushing Mrs. Clinton out of the race, preferring instead to treat her gracefully as a worthy Democratic fighter, not as a stubborn nemesis.

He issued a directive to his campaign not to overtly declare victory at a rally on Tuesday in Iowa, a sentiment he telegraphed in Montana on Monday where he appealed for support in the state’s June 3 primary.

“We still have a number of contests, including Montana, before we’re able to secure the nomination,” Mr. Obama said, speaking to an audience in Billings. “Senator Clinton has run a magnificent race, and she is still working hard, as am I, for all of these last primary contests.”

Yet David Plouffe, the campaign manager for Mr. Obama, was a bit blunter as he previewed the milestone in a note to supporters on Monday.

“A clear majority of elected delegates will send an unmistakable message — the people have spoken, and they are ready for change,” Mr. Plouffe said. “As we near victory in one contest, the next challenge is already heating up. President Bush and Senator McCain have begun coordinating their attacks on Barack Obama in an effort to extend their failed policies for a third term.”

[Thanks, NY Times]

Continue reading ‘Obama to Capture Necessary Votes Today’

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Today, May 16, 2008 will likely be the RIAA’s Pearl Harbor. On this day, (a day that will live in infamy for the cruelly manhandled recipients of RIAA extortion letters), a U.S. District Court Judge, Michael Davis noted in a brief that he gave erroneous instructions to the jury and might require a re-trial. Also, the lawyers in the now famous Tanya Andersen case have been awarded $107,833 to cover their legal fees.

What sweet justice against an organization that lies, cheats, and extorts money from those least able to afford it.

Judge Says First-Ever RIAA Piracy Trial May Need a Do-Over
By David Kravets
May 15, 2008 | 4:43:55 PM

The federal judge who oversaw the Recording Industry Association of America’s lawsuit against Jammie Thomas said Thursday he might have erred with one of his instructions to the jury, and is considering granting a new trial.

In response, an RIAA spokeswoman said, “if we have to re-try the case, we will do so without hesitation.”

U.S. District Court Judge Michael Davis, who presided over the nation’s only file sharing case to go to a jury, noted in a brief order (.pdf) Thursday that, under federal case law, infringing a copyright likely requires actual dissemination of the pirated content, not merely making copyrighted works available.

In October, Davis instructed jurors that infringement occurs the moment a Kazaa user makes copyrighted music available to others from their share folder — an instruction he now regards as a “manifest error of the law.”

The Duluth, Minnesota, jury found Thomas liable for infringement and awarded the music industry plaintiffs $222,000 for 24 songs.

(ed - read the rest of this article at WIRED)

RIAA ordered to shell out $100k for P2P witch hunt
Pigopolists pay for 471 hours
By Austin Modine

Published Thursday 15th May 2008 21:13 GM

How many work hours does it take to fight off a false accusation of copyright infringement from the Recording Ass. of America?

According to the federal magistrate judge overseeing the case of Tanya Andersen, Oregon’s famous disabled single mother-turned anti-RIAA crusader, about 470.8 hours from her attorneys alone.

Fortunately for Andersen’s financial future, judge John Acosta has ruled that the RIAA will pick up the tab for its unsuccessful lawsuit against her. All totaled, Andersen’s counsel have been ordered to receive $107,833 (£55,395) for their work.

(ed - follow this link to read the rest at The Register)

Between the abhorrent racist remarks and the sexist overtones to this campaign there has been almost no respite since day one.  Someone, somewhere, has been ready to play one of the two cards in almost every commentary of the candidates and the contest.  But the question remains, is the reason that the Clinton’s are behind really due to sexism?

If you ask the Clinton camp it’s a resounding ‘Hell Yeah!’, it’s all about sexism.  Although they have actually been the worst purveyors of racist remarks since this all started, the double-standard doesn’t seem to apply.

In fact, their defense of their imminent loss to Sen. Barack Obama as the Democratic candidate for the ‘08 presidential election is based on sexism.  Well, I tend to differ in that analysis, as does the Boston Globe.  And let’s reflect that the NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League’s Pro-Choice America) with 1 million members has just endorsed Barack.  I think that your accusations of sexsim just don’t wash.

Hillary, you are just not the best or safest candidate in this race.  We really don’t choose to put our hopes and dreams for ourselves, our country and our lost and abridged rights in your hands.

Clinton’s ’sexism’ dodge
By Scot Lehigh
May 16, 2008

LET’S SAY Hillary Clinton’s remaining primary rival were not Barack Obama but a white male. Suppose she were ahead in pledged delegates, led in the popular vote in DNC-approved contests, had raised the most money, and had attracted the most contributors.

Let’s further suppose that her rival had responded to her success by suggesting he might pick her as his vice-presidential nominee. And that, as she gained more momentum, he asserted that superdelegates should nevertheless make him the nominee because he could attract the working-class voters the party needed to win in the fall.

Clinton supporters would likely find those suggestions sexist.

And yet Clinton and her camp have made the same suggestions in this campaign. Clinton’s political arguments have found a broad acceptance among her backers - an acceptance that’s hard to imagine if a similar case were made by a lagging rival in a race Clinton led.

And even as those arguments are offered, some of Clinton’s backers, as well as some commentators, seem convinced that sexism and double standards are among the principal reasons she has fallen dauntingly behind Obama.

Now, I wouldn’t assert for a second that sexism is extinct. It, like racism, is real, and one would have to be purposely oblivious not to notice it in our culture. Further, there are plenty of unhinged Hillary haters out there. And whatever the motivation, we’ve also seen some exceedingly silly media stories about Clinton. High among them rank the deconstruction of her laugh and the attention focused on a Clinton outfit that showed a bit of cleavage on the Senate floor. (How that must have shocked the chaste and ascetic monks who have long inhabited that storied chamber!)

People are right to decry boorish anti-Clinton comments, offensive jokes, and the bilge, bile, and billings-gate of the talk-radio blowhards, as well as occasional over-the-top utterances from cable commentators.

But let’s not mistake the Bruegelian sideshow for the political mainstream. Even allowing for all that stupidity, the notion that sexism is primarily to blame for Clinton’s woes doesn’t pass logical muster.

Consider: Last fall, Clinton was widely judged the prohibitive front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination. In early October, she led Obama by a staggering 53 percent to 20 percent in the Washington Post/ABC News poll. At that point, her average lead in national polls was 20 percentage points.

Therefore, if gender bias really were the cause of her primary problem, one would have to posit that a epidemic of resurgent sexism suddenly infected the country late last year.

Further, as Clinton herself has pointed out, she has emerged as the favorite of working-class white men, a cohort sometimes viewed as resistant to women politicians.

A better explanation of her misfortune? Running against a candidate whose talents they underestimated, Clinton and her campaign simply missed the boat. They badly misconceptualized the race, casting her as the prohibitive front-runner and inevitable winner. (Remember when CBS’s Katie Couric asked Clinton how disappointed she would be if she didn’t become the nominee, only to have Clinton insist, "Well, it will be me"?) Running that way creates a predictable backlash. Convinced she would prevail, Clinton ran a cautious, calculating campaign, emphasizing her Washington experience and attempting to finesse difficult issues, at a time when Democrats were hungry for change and eager for something bolder.

Team Clinton’s other failings are well documented. They didn’t pay enough attention to the caucus states. Expecting to wrap the nomination up on Super Tuesday, they failed to plan adequately for the contests beyond. While Obama used the Internet to build a huge base of smaller donors, Clinton’s team relied for too long on big contributors. Meanwhile, Bill Clinton’s finger-wagging outbursts and his dismissive comments about Obama’s South Carolina victory thrust him into the forefront, sparking renewed Clinton fatigue and alienating black voters.

Bluntly put, it wasn’t sexism that has brought Clinton to her current plight. Rather, Obama and his team have out-thought, out-sought, and out-fought Clinton and hers. As a candidate, Clinton is smart and tough - but Obama has proved the one who better met the moment.

Scot Lehigh can be reached at lehigh@globe.com

[Thanks, Boston Globe]

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A situation eerily familiar to those who have followed the recent Anonymous vs. $cientology brouhaha, Wikileaks has announced that certain Church of the Latter Day Saints (AKA Mormon) documents have surfaced.  In a knee-jerk whiplash of a reaction the Mormon hierarchy has sent multiple copyright infringement notices demanding that the documents be removed from the Internet.

Really, what a bunch of morons.  This kind of rabid reaction is surely destined to simply incite more interest in the documents.  It certainly won’t actually make them disappear from public view.  In fact, it will only fuel the fires and create more and more copies strewn through the Interwebs.  Here’s one now:  DOWNLOAD ME!

Another Scientology-like Web war? Mormon Church documents put online

05:20 PM PT, May 14 2008

Wikileaks has posted a confidential document from the Church of Latter-day Saints called the Church Handbook of Instructions, which is a guide for the church’s lay leadership and is not available either to parishioners or to the public. The LDS, following in the questionable steps of the Church of Scientology, has now issued multiple copyright infringement notices in an effort to get the information taken down. As we know, this strategy is unlikely to do anything but win the Mormons a share of the online community’s unsympathetic attention, a quantity that until now Scientology has been enjoying alone.

It’s well-known by now that Scientology’s secret documents contain many indecipherable dictates and fantastical histories, like the following passage from the L. Run Hubbard-authored document describing the "Gorilla Goals":

This same pattern, but given in an amusement park with a single tunnel, a roller coaster and a Ferris wheel, was used between about 319 trillion years ago to about 256 trillion trillion years ago, a long span.

So in comparison, the information in the LDS Handbook, now available for all to see, can feel rather bland and grown-up. The document covers disciplinary actions like "disfellowshipment" and its more serious consequent, excommunication. It also details the repercussions members face for apostasy ("clear, open, and deliberate public opposition to the Church or its leaders"), abortion, and transsexual operations.  But the majority of the text is humdrum procedural information, surely nothing you would classify as embarrassing, rife with "trade secrets," or necessary to keep under wraps for the good of the parishioners. So then why is LDS making an attention-drawing stink about its publication?

Organizations have long had control over which part of their inner workings they want public and which they don’t.  But now that the Internet is getting better at sniffing out documents that people don’t want public, we’re getting a nice picture of how much of this secret information was secret for its own sake.  In other words, you have to wonder if there’s any reason for LDS to want to keep its boring bylaws in a vault other than, simply, because it has always done so.

The same holds true for Scientology and no doubt for every other organization, religious or secular, that has arrogated to itself the default right to keep its membership in the dark.  This is certainly a privacy issue, but if you’re like me, you don’t think large organizations should have the same right to privacy that an individual does–especially those that claim to be devoted to the best interests of their membership. Actually, scratch that–the ones that don’t care about anyone’s well-being should have an even tougher time keeping secrets.

(Hat tip Ars Technica)

My thanks to the LA Times

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I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’ve wanted to see an Obama/Edwards ticket for this November.  I think that reality has just gotten one step closer.

Reversing an earlier decision to remain above the fray, Senator John Edwards has publicly endorsed Senator Barack Obama for president.  I’m sure that there are many reasons for the lateness of the endorsement, let’s just hope it’s not too late.

Edwards endorses Obama
May 15, 2008
ABDON M. PALLASCH Political Reporter

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — White House hopeful Barack Obama won perhaps the most coveted endorsement left in the Democratic primary: former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards.

"The reason I am here tonight is because the Democratic voters of America have made their choice, and so have I," Edwards told the cheering crowd of 12,000 at the Van Andel Arena. "This is not going to be easy. This is going to be the fight of our lives."

The champion of blue-collar workers whose jobs are being shipped to Mexico, Edwards dropped out of the race months ago but remains so popular he got seven percent of Tuesday’s vote in West Virginia.

These are the voters that exit polls show are shunning Obama in West Virginia, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Ohio. If Edwards can bring them into Obama’s column, it will help him not just close out the primary against Hillary Clinton, but also win in November against Republican John McCain.

Neither man said Wednesday how long ago Edwards decided to make the endorsement that will eclipse Clinton’s 40-point rout of Obama in West Virginia on Tuesday.

Edwards was a surprise guest at the previously scheduled rally in Michigan, where Obama apologized for never having had the chance to campaign because the state moved up its primary and was disqualified from participating in the Democratic convention.

Many among the 12,000 fans said they did not even vote in the primary because Obama wasn’t on the ticket.

"I think it’s really good they came here to show Michigan they really care," said Lenore Orozco, 56.

Her 85-year-old father, John Stack, a tail-gunner in World War II, voted for McCain in the primary but said he will vote for Obama in November.

"This is the greatest thing I’ve seen in my life, all 85 years," Stack said.

Edwards spent a surprising amount of time praising Clinton, whose name drew some boos. Edwards said she has fought for one of his top issues: health care for all Americans. She has shown "strength and character" by staying in the race after her candidacy had been proclaimed dead, he said.

Obama pledged to make health care his fight too, as well as accepting Edwards’ goal of cutting poverty in half within 10 years.

"The fight that John is waging will be a fight I carry into the White House for the next four years because that fight is not done," Obama said.

Clinton campaign manager Terry McAuliffe sent out a one-line response to the endorsement: "We respect John Edwards, but as the voters of West Virginia showed last night, this thing is far from over."

[Thanks, Chicago Sun Times]

With West Virginia behind him, Barack Obama is looking towards the last few primaries and the general election in November.  It is worthy of note that he is less concerned with his erstwhile Democratic opponents than he is with John McCain.  Really, John McCain is the one to beat now that he has mathematically trounced the Clinton’s and their bid for the nomination.

Obama comfortably ahead in Oregon

Posted by Foon Rhee, deputy national political editor May 13, 2008 11:50 AM

Barack Obama is already counting on a win in the Oregon primary next week to put him over the top in pledged delegates — and allow him to declare victory on that key measure.

A new poll suggests that triumph is a pretty safe bet. Done for the Portland Tribune and KPTV, it shows Obama with a 55 percent to 35 percent lead over Hillary Clinton. She is likely to face inexorable pressure to withdraw if she doesn’t win in both Kentucky, where she is ahead in the poll, and in Oregon next Tuesday.

"Barring a disaster, Barack Obama’s going to win Oregon, and he may win it very big," pollster Tim Hibbits told the Tribune.

The survey was conducted Thursday through Saturday, while both candidates were campaigning in the state, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.8 percentage points.

[Thanks, Boston.com]

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Claiming both Sen. Daniel Akaka and Dolly Strazer, the Democratic national committeewoman from Hawai’i, recent Obama endorsers , Barack is ahead on Hawai’i superdelegates, 4 to 2.  This brings Obama’s totals to 1,592 regular delegates and 277 superdelegates.  That is almost 200 delegates more that the Clintons, but still less that the required 2,025 needed to ensure the Democratic nomination.

I think that it’s obvious that the Democratic Primary system needs another revamping.  This superdelegate nonsense is currently creating more harm than good.

Akaka, Strazer back Obama
Hawaii superdelegates join Abercrombie, Hirono in endorsement

By Dennis Camire
Advertiser Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — Barack Obama yesterday picked up support from two more Hawai’i superdelegates, Sen. Daniel Akaka and Dolly Strazer, Democratic national committeewoman from Hawai’i.

Akaka said he is endorsing Obama for president with the hope the Illinois senator will end the "partisan politics that has plagued our country far too long."

"I’ve followed the campaign for president closely … to see which candidate would articulate a vision for our country, encourage hope and renew faith in our government, and stand to rigors of a nationwide contest," Akaka said in a statement released by Obama’s campaign office. "I’ve decided that for me, that candidate is Barack Obama."

Akaka was the last uncommitted superdelegate in Hawai’i’s congressional delegation.

Obama has a 4-2 lead over Hillary Rodham Clinton in superdelegates from Hawai’i. Obama is backed by Akaka, Strazer and U.S. Reps. Neil Abercrombie and Mazie Hirono. Clinton has the support of Sen. Daniel K. Inouye and Democratic National Committee member Richard Port.

Three remaining superdelegate seats, including that of the state party chair, will be picked May 23 to 25 at the Democratic Party state convention.

Akaka said Obama’s Hawai’i background made him uniquely qualified for a presidential candidate.

"I have great hope that in his own way, Barack Obama will achieve what I have been working to accomplish my entire congressional career — more tolerance and understanding, an appreciation for common goals and interests, rather than an emphasis on our differences," Akaka said.

In making his endorsement, Akaka said he held Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bill Clinton "in the highest regard as colleagues and friends."

"Sen. Clinton has campaigned hard and well, and I wish her all the best as we move forward," Akaka said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Reach Dennis Camire at dcamire@gns.gannett.com.

[Thanks, Honolulu Advertiser]

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As the week slowly draws to a close, Barack Obama stands ready to claim his hotly contested place as the Democratic presidential candidate.  In fact, a casual glance at his campaign shows him basically ignoring the Clinton’s and focusing on his real enemy, John McCain.

In what has been the most expensive primary election in the history of the United States, both Obama and the Clinton’s have spent vast sums of money.  The biggest difference being that Obama hasn’t spent very much (if any) of his own.  Hillary on the other hand, has already loaned her campaign 11 million dollars and could be required to add to that sum should things not go as planned in West Virginia, Kentucky and Oregon.  Ouch!

Obama ready to try on Democratic crown
8 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) — With the Democratic presidential nomination tantalizingly within his grasp, Barack Obama has begun to burnish his image as his party’s standard-bearer in the quest to wrest the White House back from the Republicans.

Fresh from a big win over Hillary Clinton in Tuesday’s North Carolina primary, and after nearly tying in Indiana, the Illinois senator who could become the first black president of the United States, was the center of attention as he made a triumphant return to Congress on Thursday.

He has also begun to train his sights on the November 4 general election, exchanging fire with likely Republican nominee John McCain while appearing on the cover of leading magazines and giving national media interviews.

Obama hopes he can finally wrap up the longest and most expensive nomination contest in US history on May 20, when primaries in Kentucky and Oregon may give him a majority of elected delegates.

His campaign is now moving faster toward a transition to the general election campaign as Obama plans stops in the coming weeks in states considered battlegrounds in the November vote, The Washington Post reported.

But with six nominating contests to go until June 3, Clinton has refused to throw in the towel and the feisty former first lady is pressing on with her campaign, focusing on the next primary fight on Tuesday in West Virginia, where she is favored to win.

"I can understand why he’s eager to claim victory and get on with the general election, but I don’t think that it’s over quite yet," said James Gimpel, a government professor at University of Maryland.

"If I were part of his team, I would want to certainly foster the impression or the image that he has overhwelming momentum and that she’s been defeated," Gimpel told AFP.

"They’re trying to make it look like the door’s completely shut. And it’s mostly shut, but I don’t think that it’s entirely shut."

US media have all but bestowed the crown on Obama: The New York Post said Clinton was "Toast" following Tuesday’s primaries, while Time magazine put Obama on its cover with the headline "And the winner is…"

But the magazine’s title also had an asterisk leading to a caption saying, "Really, we’re pretty sure this time."

While Obama may win the majority of elected delegates on May 20, Clinton continued to vow no surrender and could very well refuse to concede and press her case to the Democratic Party’s "superdelegates," nearly 800 party officials who can vote for whomever they want at the August convention, that she is better placed to beat McCain.

She is also pressing the Democratic Party to reinstate the delegates from the Florida and Michigan primaries, which she won but were voided because the states violated party rules by holding their votes too early.

But Obama has beaten back Clinton’s efforts to undermine his "electability" and is slowly chipping away at her superdelegate lead, picking up at least nine new supporters from this elite group this week.

"Superdelegates are not going to contravene the verdict of the pledged delegates. That would tear the party to pieces," said American University political history professor Allan Lichtman.

"There seems to be no inclination to do that. If anything Obama is picking up, not losing, superdelegates, so clearly everyone sees the handwriting on the wall," he said.

Obama leads Clinton 1,854-1,696 in total delegates, while she leads him by only seven superdelegates, 272-265, according to independent website RealClearPolitics.com. To win the nomination, a candidate needs 2,025 total delegates.

Democratic Party officials are worried that the protracted nomination fight could split the party and hurt its chances at taking back the White House after eight years of President George W. Bush.

But both Obama and Clinton have vowed to support the winner of the nomination, whoever that may be.

In the meantime, Obama has begun to focus on his battle against McCain while ignoring Clinton.

At a meeting with technology workers while campaigning in Beaverton, Oregon, on Friday, Obama noticeably did not mention Clinton while assailing McCain’s plans for the economy and the war in Iraq.

"Senator McCain is running for president to double down on George Bush’s failed economic policies," Obama said.

"I am running to change them. And that’s what will be a fundamental difference in this election when I am the Democratic nominee for president."

[Thanks, AP]

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