Obama Says He's Been in 57 States

Barack Obama is NOT smarter than a fifth grader.



Andrew Malcolm, from the Los Angeles Times, writes:

Ah, Oregon. The beautiful Northwest. Rain. Trees. Clouds. Rain. Friendly territory for Sen. Barack Obama, the leading contender for the Democratic Party's long-disputed presidential nomination.

So there he was in Beaverton today at the start of a two-day swing through Oregon, virtually ignoring his remaining Democratic opponent, what's-her-name from New York, as part of his new strategy to act like the actual nominee while she flails around way behind in numbers.

Naturally, this being the Northwest where everything is not ruined quite yet, his staff had Obama visit an eco-friendly company, Vernier Software & Technology, that makes products for science teachers. He could get education in there too, see?

In his prepared remarks Obama was ready to start blasting Arizona Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, to show the Illinois Democrat is moving on to the general election campaign.

But first the freshman senator had to go through all the obligatory delighted to see you, delighted to be here part of stump speeches that also require that you actually know where you are.

Obama pulled that off O.K. But then he drifted away from the text a tad, as rookies are wont to do sometimes, forgetting how exhausting this primary process is and should be. And trusting in their instincts, their very tired instincts.

"It is wonderful to be back in Oregon," Obama said. "Over the last 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states? I think one left to go. Alaska and Hawaii, I was not allowed to go to even though I really wanted to visit, but my staff would not justify it."

The Times' conscientious Robin Abcarian thought she heard something different there. She checked her tape recorder. It had captured what he had actually said -- 57 states now.

Wow. Obama really seems to be "losing his bearings."

The oh so eloquent Obama addressed his mistake later in the day.

(UPDATE: At a later stop Obama was talking with reporters and expressed concern he'd also mis-stated the number of potential cyclone victims in Burma. He said, "I hope I said 100,000 people the first time instead of 100 million. I understand I said there were 57 states today. It's a sign that my numeracy is getting a little, uh." At that point, an aide cut him off and ushered journalists out. Before he could mis-speak again?)

"My numeracy is getting a little, uh...."

The guy can't even get out a sentence.

You know, he's not really very good at thinking on his feet. He stammers a lot.

It's kind of funny that Obama is dreaming of 57 states, actually adding states to the Union, when he wants the Dem nomination for president to be decided by only 48 states.

Obama must be dead tired. To say that there are 57 states is so bizarre. It's really an odd, almost impossible, mistake to make.

I know he doesn't like to wear a flag pin. He seems to have an aversion to flags, but perhaps someone should give him a nice big one and he can count the stars.

I'm kidding, of course. It seems that Obama was on auto-pilot when he was speaking. He must be completely exhausted to slip up like that. I am more than willing to cut him some slack. I believe he knows that there are 50 states.

BUT--

Think of what the reaction would be if John McCain said:

"Over the last 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states? I think one left to go. Alaska and Hawaii, I was not allowed to go to even though I really wanted to visit, but my staff would not justify it."

The Left and the lib media would be all over it. They would say McCain was showing his age. The rigors of a presidential campaign are too much for the old man. Surely, he must be senile. Absolutely no one in one's right mind could say that there were more than 50 states, right?

But according to Obama, he's been in 57 states with one left to go, and he wasn't allowed to visit Alaska and Hawaii. Going by Obama's "numeracy," America is made up of 60 states!

Can you imagine if President Bush said something like that? The Lefties would be speculating that he's hitting the bottle.

The fact is Obama made a mistake, a very, VERY embarrassing mistake.

Yes, he lost his bearings, and he lost them big time.

Do I think from now on Obama should forever be associated with referring to the 57+ states of America?

No.

Of course after all these years, Dan Quayle is still trying to live down the "potatoe" thing.

Something tells me Obama won't suffer the same sort of perpetual ridicule.

Tammy D. Lewis and Alan A. Bushey

UPDATE, July 22, 2009: Religious leader sentenced to two years in decaying corpse case
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UPDATE, February 5, 2009: Wis. religious leader: No contest in corpse case
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UPDATE, November 17, 2008: Woman convicted in toilet corpse case
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UPDATE, November 16, 2008: Woman to be sentenced for hiding corpse
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UPDATE, June 17, 2008: Alleged Wis. cult nun found competent
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Tammy D. Lewis, left, and Alan A. Bushey: What crazy looks like.


This is really a creepy story.

From the Wisconsin State Journal:

Two people have been arrested after a Juneau County sheriff's deputy found one of them and her two children living in a home with the body of a 90-year-old woman decomposing on the bathroom toilet.

Tammy D. Lewis, 35, and Alan A. Bushey, 57, both of Necedah, are each charged with two felony counts of causing mental harm to a child, according to a criminal complaint filed Friday. Lewis also faces one count of obstructing police.

The two, who are also known as Sister Mary Bernadett and Bishop John Peter Bushey, along with the dead woman, Magdeline Alvina Middlesworth, were part of a small church led by Bushey, Juneau County Sheriff's Brent Oleson said.

He said investigators are trying to determine if the other two were defrauding Middlesworth and that future charges against the two are "a very real possibility." He said there is evidence that the woman was providing financial support to the church and to Lewis and her family.

Lewis and Middlesworth were not related, he said, but had been living together with Lewis' 15-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son about 3 and a half years.

Oleson declined to call the church a cult but said "I guess in my mind I don't know of any faith that sanctioned his teachings."

Bushey had been living in the area about 11 years, Oleson said, did not have outside employment, and had built a chapel on the back of his home, which is about half-mile from where Middlesworth and Lewis were found. He said Bushey's church had few members; only eight were at a Mass about two months ago.

He said Bushey's church was not affiliated with the Queen of the Holy Rosary Mediatrix of Peace Shrine, which is less than a mile from Middlesworth's home. The shrine is not a recognized part of the Catholic Church.

Rowina Arbanas, who lives two houses down from the Lewis home, said she never got to know the family who had been living there for four years.

"I would say hello to them because we're neighbors and that's what neighbors do," she said. "But they would never respond."

Arbanas said she would see Lewis, her children and the elderly woman walking up and down the street doing what looked like, a religious procession. "They always wore pilgrim-like clothes, and the women wore white veils," she said.

And from the Associated Press:

According to the criminal complaint, Middlesworth's sister called sheriff's officials Wednesday and asked them to go to the home about 80 miles north of Madison to check on the woman, who had not been heard from for some time.

When Deputy Leigh Neville-Neil arrived at the house, she encountered Lewis, also known as Sister Mary Bernadett, the complaint said. Lewis, 35, initially refused to allow the deputy to check on Middlesworth, telling her that Middlesworth was on vacation and saying she had to check with her "superior" first.

But she eventually let the deputy in. The house smelled of incense and burned wood, and had religious materials everywhere and hymns playing on the stereo, according to the complaint.

When the deputy opened the last closed door, she smelled "decaying matter" and noticed something piled on what appeared to be a toilet. Lewis told her it was Middlesworth's body, the complaint said.

Lewis told the deputy that Middlesworth had died about two months earlier, but that God told her Middlesworth would come to life if she prayed hard enough.

She said she couldn't say anything more until she spoke with her "superior" — Bushey, 57, also known as Bishop John Peter Bushey.

When Bushey arrived, Lewis told the deputy that Middlesworth had appeared to pass out as Lewis helped her into her underwear.

She said she propped Middlesworth on the toilet and left the room to call Bushey, who told her to leave the woman alone and pray for her, the complaint said. He said he had received signs that God would raise her from the dead with a miracle.

Lewis went on to say she thought Middlesworth was still breathing when she put her on the toilet and called Bushey, instead of an ambulance. She later told a detective she put the woman on the toilet on March 4.

...The boy at the house told a detective he had considered running away because he was uncomfortable with the situation. He said Bushey told him that demons were trying to make it look as if Middlesworth wouldn't come back to life, and that if she were to be discovered he and the girl would have to go to public school and get jobs because Middlesworth paid the bills.

Those poor kids!

There are a lot of unanswered questions here, but there's no doubt that the two kids have lived a nightmare.

McCain: "Accountable"

Obama: Robert Malley and Hamas

No wonder Hamas has endorsed Barack Obama to be president of the United States.

From The Times:

One of Barack Obama’s Middle East policy advisers disclosed yesterday that he had held meetings with the militant Palestinian group Hamas – prompting the likely Democratic nominee to sever all links with him.

Robert Malley told The Times that he had been in regular contact with Hamas, which controls Gaza and is listed by the US State Department as a terrorist organisation. Such talks, he stressed, were related to his work for a conflict resolution think-tank and had no connection with his position on Mr Obama’s Middle East advisory council.

“I’ve never hidden the fact that in my job with the International Crisis Group I meet all kinds of people,” he added.

Ben LaBolt, a spokesman for Mr Obama, responded swiftly: “Rob Malley has, like hundreds of other experts, provided informal advice to the campaign in the past. He has no formal role in the campaign and he will not play any role in the future.” The rapid departure of Mr Malley followed 48 hours of heated clashes between John McCain, the Republican nominee-elect, and Mr Obama over Middle East policy.

Mr Obama, who has been trying to assuage suspicion towards him among the influential Jewish and pro-Israel lobby, spoke at a Washington reception marking the 60th anniversary of Israeli independence on Thursday when he promised that his commitment to the country’s security would be “unshakeable”. However, Mr McCain has high-lighted the Democrat’s pledge to negotiate directly with nations such as Iran – whose leaders talk of wiping Israel off the map – and a statement from Hamas saying that it hoped that Mr Obama would win the presidency.

Mr Malley, a respected commentator on Middle Eastern issues and part of President Clinton’s negotiating team at the Camp David talks, has come under attack in recent months from right-wing bloggers. Yesterday, asked if Obama campaign was aware of his contact with Hamas, he said: “They know who I am but I don’t think they vet everyone in a group of informal advisers.”

Randy Scheunemann, Mr McCain’s foreign policy chief, suggested that Mr Malley was part of an emerging pattern in which other advisers had been repudiated after throwing confusion over policies on trade and Iraq. “Perhaps because of his inexperience Senator Obama surrounds himself with advisers that contradict his stated policies,” he said.

Obama needs to take a course in vetting. He surrounds himself with nutjobs, terrorists, and people who like to talk to terrorists.

No wonder Jimmy Carter, chum of Hamas, is in Obama's corner.

Mom Pregnant with 18th Child

UPDATE, December 22, 2008: Jordyn-Grace Makiya Duggar was born on December 18, 2008.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Happy Mother's Day!

It's a happy Mother's Day for an Arkansas woman — she's pregnant with her 18th child.

Michelle Duggar, 41, is due on New Year's Day, and the latest addition will join seven sisters and 10 brothers. There are two sets of twins.

"We've had three in January, three in December. Those two months are a busy time for us," she said, laughing.

The Duggars' oldest child, Josh, is 20, and the youngest, Jennifer, is nine months old.

The fast-growing family lives in Tontitown in northwest Arkansas in a 7,000-square-foot home. All the children — whose names start with the letter J — are home-schooled.

Duggar has been been pregnant for more than 11 years of her life, and the family is in the process of filming another series for Discovery Health.

..."The success in a family is first off, a love for God, and secondly, treating each other like you want to be treated," Jim Bob Duggar said. "Our goal is for each one of our children to be best friends, and everybody working together to serve each other makes that happen."

The other Duggar children, in between Joshua and Jennifer, are Jana, 18; John-David, 18; Jill, 16; Jessa, 15; Jinger, 14; Joseph, 13; Josiah, 11; Joy-Anna, 10; Jeremiah, 9; Jedidiah, 9; Jason, 7; James, 6; Justin, 5; Jackson, 3; and Johannah, 2.

One word: OUCH!

I've heard of families this large, but they're usually blended or involve adoptions. Giving birth to eighteen kids... I can't imagine that.

I can't imagine raising eighteen children.

I don't think I could do it. I know I wouldn't want to do it, but I won't criticize the Duggars' choices.

As long as they can afford to provide for the kids and they give them plenty of love, I see nothing wrong with bringing eighteen children into the world.

God bless them.




Michelle Duggar, 41, is seen here with her family. She is expecting her 18th child in January. (Photo/AP)

Kids, Please Don't Bring your Guns to School

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Lincoln Elementary School student who brought a loaded weapon this week to his fourth grade classroom in Cudahy could face charges along with his father, the gun's owner, through the Milwaukee County district attorney's office.

Cudahy police Sgt. Randy Scheel said the 58-year-old father could be charged with a misdemeanor offense of leaving or storing a loaded firearm within the reach or easy access of a child. Police expect to present the case to the district attorney's office on Tuesday.

The case of the 10-year-old boy will be sent to juvenile authorities for review of possession of a firearm in a school zone as well as possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18 years old, Scheel said.

...Scheel said the father kept his loaded .25-caliber semi automatic handgun in a locked cabinet but the child found the key and brought the gun to school on Wednesday. He showed it to another student, who reported the weapon to a teacher.

School officials found the gun inside the child's desk about 2:25 p.m. There had been no threats made and no one was hurt at the school, 4416 S. Packard Ave.

"It is very unusual," Scheel said. "I can't remember the last time we had a gun inside the school, especially at this age. You think high school or middle school, but not elementary school."

School officials removed the gun from the classroom and detained the student. They alerted police about 2:41 p.m. An officer responded to the scene and took possession of the gun.

School officials did the right thing. It made complete sense for them to call police in this situation.

This highlights how idiotic it was for Principal Pam Pyzyk of Rossman Elementary School in Hartford to have called police because fourth grade student Danielle Christenson had rocks, a hammer, and a screwdriver in her backpack.

She wanted to show her friends the "sparkly things" she finds inside rocks when she breaks them apart.

There is a dramatic difference between what the Cudahy fourth grade boy did and what the Hartford fourth grade girl did.

A kid with a "loaded .25-caliber semi automatic handgun" in his desk is an extremely serious matter.

A child interested in rocks doesn't merit a police response.

Daily Kos Appeals to Dems Considering McCain

This post at Daily Kos caught my attention because of the misspelling. I don't want to put words in onanyes' mouth but I think "Democrats an Independents" should read "Democrats AND Independents."

Onanyes argues:

I've heard some Obama and Clinton supporters say that they would either sit out or vote for McCain if their choice didn't obtain the nomination.

I argue that this is a very bad idea.

More below the fold.

Note: I didn't even touch on many other significant points (e. g. his gaffes over the Middle East).

Onanyes provides seven reasons that McCain is not right for Dems and Independents:

1. McCain is not the "straight talker" that he claims to be, nor is he a maverick.

2. McCain does not have a scandal free past. Remember the Keating Five? McCain was one of them.

3. McCain exercises poor judgment in public; witness his seeking and getting Reverend Hagee's endorsement and witness his joking about bombing another country.

4. McCain does not respect women.

a. He called his wife a "c--t" in public.
b. He joked that Chelsea Clinton is ugly because Janet Reno is her father.
c. He did not express disapproval when a supporter called Senator Hillary Clinton a bitch.

5. McCain thinks that we are better off after having Bush for 8 years.

6. McCain admitted that the Iraq war was for oil and then tried to backtrack.

7. He is clueless on healthcare.

Onanyes concludes:

Folks, if you are an independent or a Democrat, then John "more of the same" McCain is not for you.

There you have it -- the Left's talking points against McCain.

Pretty weak if you ask me.

Can We Ask? Yes We Can.

Do you have a question for Barack Obama?

Check out CanWeAsk.com.

Obama, McCain, Hamas: "Losing his Bearings"

Fact: Barack Obama can't handle the truth.

Mentioning his middle name, the name his parents gave him, is a smear.

Mentioning that Ahmed Yousef, Hamas' top political adviser in the Gaza Strip, wants to see Obama become president is also a smear.

I am so sick of Obama's whining. Whenever someone utters something truthful, but something the Obama camp deems to be negative, Obama cries "smear campaign."

That diversion doesn't fly.

NEW YORK -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Thursday that Republican John McCain was "losing his bearings" for repeatedly suggesting the Islamic terrorist group Hamas preferred Obama for president.

That brought an angry response from McCain's campaign, which accused Obama of trying to make an issue of McCain's age.

Age is a touchy subject for McCain, who turns 72 in August and would be the oldest person to be sworn in as president if elected.

The two senators have focused more intently on one another in recent weeks as Obama has moved closer to becoming the Democratic nominee. Thursday's back and forth between Obama and surrogates for both candidates foreshadowed a likely argument for the fall campaign.

...At the root of the dispute is McCain's decision to call attention to a Hamas adviser's apparent affinity for Obama. The adviser, Ahmed Yousef, said in a recent interview: "We like Obama and hope that he will win the election."

McCain used those comments in a fundraising appeal and has cited them in interviews.

Asked about the matter Wednesday during a taping of "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," McCain said: "It's indicative of how some of our enemies view America. And I guarantee you, they're not going to endorse me."

In an interview Thursday with CNN, Obama accused McCain of trying to smear him by repeating the comments.

"This is offensive, and I think it's disappointing, because John McCain always says, 'Well, I'm not going to run that kind of politics,'" Obama said. "And then to engage in that kind of smear, I think, is unfortunate, particularly since my policy toward Hamas has been no different than his."

The Illinois senator added: "For him to toss out comments like that, I think, is an example of him losing his bearings as he pursues this nomination. We don't need name-calling in this debate."

Transcript of Wolf Blitzer's interview with Obama.

The comments that McCain tossed out happen to be the truth. If Obama finds the truth disappointing, so be it.

Obama can't slam McCain for acknowledging a fact. It's on the record. It aired on WABC radio on the John Batchelor Show.

Obama shouldn't be critical of McCain. He has a beef with Hamas. A terrorist wants Obama to win the election. That's reality. Deal with it.

McCain isn't distorting anything. He's not lying like Obama does, such as when he deceives people about the meaning of McCain's "100 years in Iraq" statement. McCain hasn't lost his bearings. Since when is telling the truth losing one's bearings?

The supposedly eloquent Obama either intentionally took a shot at McCain's age by saying "losing his bearings," or he's too dense to understand the negative connotation of the words.

Is Obama really as stupid as he is smug?

I think he knew exactly what he was saying.

His arrogance is very unbecoming.

Madison's 911 Wake-Up Call

From the Wisconsin State Journal:

Dane County residents should not doubt the community's 911 services despite a controversial error involving homicide victim Brittany Zimmermann, the 911 center director said Thursday.

"We haven't stopped operating just because of this call," county 911 director Joe Norwick told County Board members at a late afternoon meeting Thursday.

"People make mistakes. People in a very stressful job make mistakes. We've told you what they are; we've told the public what they are. We hope no mistakes happen every day in the 911 center. Can I guarantee that? No. Can I work on opportunities to limit mistakes? Yes."

...In many cases, Norwick was vague. He said he didn't know how many calls the center takes each year, that mistakes are infrequent, that he was unsure how many complaints are received by the center every year, and that he doesn't know what budget requests he will make to improve service.

Norwick also offered an apology, something he refused to do at a news conference a week ago.

"I would like to apologize to both the (victim's) family and the media for any misstatements made" last week, Norwick said.

...At a news conference about 911 problems last week, Norwick incorrectly stated the dispatcher involved was still on the job, and that she had hung up on the call from the victim's cell phone.

Officials have since said the dispatcher transferred to another county job and it's not known how the call was disconnected.

Union representatives of the dispatcher, who has not been publicly identified, say she didn't hang up on the call, and that the disconnect was on the other end. The dispatcher didn't hear anything on the phone, went on to answer other calls, and forgot to call back later, officials have said.

Madison Police Chief Noble Wray has insisted the call provided evidence that should have prompted the dispatch of a police car. No officers were dispatched until after the victim's fiance found her body.

...As the board meeting began, District Attorney Brian Blanchard urged officials to tell the public as little as possible about the slaying of the UW-Madison student in her West Doty Street apartment.

"At this time, what matters most is doing justice in the homicide case," Blanchard said. "Our odds decrease with every new leak."

Before the meeting, officials cautioned each other about how much they should say during the first official discussion of a controversial mishandled 911 call.

"There is a potential for litigation in this case, so all members should remember that anything they say or any response from staff has the potential to be used in court," board Chairman Scott McDonell told board members in a written statement handed out before the meeting.

It's difficult to discuss the state of Madison's 911 center when officials are trying to say as little as possible to protect themselves in the event of litigation, as well as to keep from leaking something that might harm the homicide investigation.

Everyone is clamming up and dodging. The public wants answers, not obfuscation.

Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk has said that she won't fire Norwick.

I wouldn't be surprised if she changes her mind on that one.

Bill Moyers and Charlie Rose

Bill Moyers really bugs me.

I think it's his rank hypocrisy.

Talking with Charlie Rose, Moyers blathered about his days in politics and applied his experiences to today.

Moyers plays the role of a wise elder, a man of flawless character. He wallows in being a god among the lib media elite.

I don't know why libs are so willing to overlook the real Moyers. I don't get why they forgive him when they are so rigid and unforgiving when it comes to the actions, real or imagined, of conservatives.

Rose and Moyers talked about JFK and Lyndon Johnson. Moyers compared Barack Obama to JFK. No surprise there.

He brought up the Cuban Missile Crisis and how the inexperienced JFK masterfully handled it, suggesting that Obama's intuition is all the experience he would need to be president. (God help us.)

Nuclear annihilation reminds me of Moyers giving the green light to the "Daisy Ad," a political ad so despicable that it only aired once.

What integrity!

Moyers talking about the great patriot Jeremiah Wright made me sick. He acted as an apologist for Wright. It was nauseating.

Moyers loved it when Rose cited an article from Salon.

Rather than mellowing with age, Moyers, now 68, has arguably become the lone radical on television, openly challenging our national failure to confront fundamental issues of class, money and power. On his current magazine-style show, "NOW With Bill Moyers" (which airs Friday nights on PBS), he has the same shock of schoolboy hair -- now completely white -- and the same air of polite, bespectacled concern as ever. He still looks and sounds like the über-square Texas divinity student and ordained Baptist minister he once was.

What tripe!

It's not surprising that Rose didn't question Moyers about his abuse of power while serving in Johnson's administration.

From "The Intelligence Activities and the Rights of Americans, Book Two, Final Report of the Select Committee to Study Government Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, United States Senate Together with Additional Supplemental and Separate Views, April 26, 1976":

Under the Johnson administration, the FBI was used to gather and report political intelligence on the administration's partisan opponents in the last days of the '64 and '68 presidential election campaigns. In the closing days of the '64 campaign, presidential aide Bill Moyers asked the FBI to conduct name checks on all persons employed in Senator Goldwater's Senate office and information on two staff members was reported to the White House.

And Moyers complains about the Bush Administration's abuse of power!

When Moyers was yapping about the Dem messiah Obama, he didn't mention that he was in on the investigation into Martin Luther King, Jr. He didn't talk about bugging the great civil rights leader.

The Johnson Administration's willingness to permit the FBI to continue its investigation of Dr. King also appears to have involved political considerations. Bill Moyers, President Johnson's assistant, testified that sometime around the spring of 1965 President Johnson "seemed satisfied that these allegations about Martin Luther King were not founded." Yet President Johnson did not order the investigation terminated. When asked the reason, Moyers explained that President Johnson:

was very concerned that his embracing the civil rights movement and Martin Luther King personally would not backfire politically. He didn't want to have a southern racist Senator produce something that would be politically embarassing to the President and to the civil rights movement. We had lots of conversations about that.... Johnson, as everybody knows, bordered on paranoia about his enemies or about being trapped by other people's activities over which he had no responsibility.

Intelligence reports submitted by the Bureau to the White House and the Justice Department contained considerable intelligence of potential political value to the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations. The Attorneys General were informed of meetings between Dr. King and his advisers, including the details of advice that Dr. King received, the strategies of the civil rights movement, and the attitude, of civil rights leaders toward the Administrations and their policies.

Knowing this truth, it was hard to hear the hypocritical Moyers hawk his new book, Moyers on Democracy.

He doesn't acknowledge the reality of his role in our history. Not pretty.

He lives a lie. It's ugly.

Israel Celebrates 60 Years

The Dome of the Rock is seen as fireworks light the skies of Jerusalem marking the start of Israel's Independence Day on May 7. Israel launched celebrations for its 60th anniversary after remembering its fallen in successive Middle East wars, with the premier's fate under a cloud and the nation still far from making peace with its neighbours.(AFP/Ahmad Gharabli)


Israelis and tourists watch air force jets fly in formation over the Mediterranean Sea in Tel Aviv, during celebrations for Israel's Independence Day, marking the 60th anniversary of the creation of the state, May 8, 2008. (REUTERS/Eliana Aponte)

JERUSALEM -- A Jewish astronaut greets Israel from space. Revelers try to set a record for the most people singing a national anthem. To celebrate turning 60, Israel is staging fireworks, air force flyovers and a birthday bash for anyone born on the day the Jewish state was founded.

Israel is marking its 60th Independence Day, which began at sundown Wednesday, with a great sense of pride but also uncertainty about its future and doubts about prospects for peace with the Palestinians. Six decades after rising from the ashes of the Holocaust, the Jewish state is still plagued by threats from abroad and an identity crisis at home.

Israel at 60 is a paradox of exuberance and despair — a country enduring near daily rocket attacks from militants while producing scientists who have pioneered Wi-Fi and instant messaging.

Its 41-year occupation of Palestinian territories has invited international condemnation. Yet Israel is a thriving democracy that has provided a haven for the world's Jews.

This Independence Day is marred by a fresh criminal inquiry of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, whose legal woes are calling his political survival into question just as he is moving to forge a peace deal with the moderate Palestinian leadership in the West Bank.

However, Israelis are putting aside their frustration with politics for what is expected to be one of the most joyous birthday celebrations since the first on May 14, 1948 — a date marked each year in Israel by the Hebrew calendar.

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad isn't sending any best wishes Israel's way.

No surprise there.

"Those who think they can revive the stinking corpse of the usurping and fake Israeli regime by throwing a birthday party are seriously mistaken," the official IRNA news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as having said.

"Today the reason for the Zionist regime's existence is questioned, and this regime is on its way to annihilation."

Ahmadinejad further stated that Israel "has reached the end like a dead rat after being slapped by the Lebanese" - referring to the Second Lebanon War in the summer of 2006.

What a guy!

Jimmy Carter should go visit Ahmadinejad, just to talk.

I suppose Iran probably holds too many bad memories for Carter.

Code Pink's Witches

UPDATE: May 9, 2008: Spells Cast at Anti-Marine Rally in California
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Have no doubts that Code Pink is a group of complete loons.

The San Francisco Bay Area Code Pink has organized "Mother's Day Women's Week at the Marine Recruiting Station," site of many anti-Iraq war, anti-troops, anti-American protests.

In honor of Mother's Day, Code Pink is putting a call out for witches.

From Monday, May 5th until Friday May 9th, as a build-up to reclaiming the Mothers Day of Julia Ward Howe's Proclamation and as a protest against the $178 Billion more dollars proposed to continue funding the occupation of Iraq, we are planning a week of women-focused daily protests at the MRS! Such as:

Monday, May 5th: Grandmothers Day of Action: we call on Grandmothers to volunteer to be recruited, instead of our youth

Tuesday, May 6th: Mothers Day of Action: we Mothers bewail the loss of all our children, and as Mama Bears, we do not allow recruiters to take our youth

Wednesday, May 7th: Daughters Day of Action: we call on daughters to do a wailing, mourning the loss of our fathers, the toll on the humanity of our fathers, the sorrow and pain of our fathers who have paid the price for destroying and/or harming human beings.

Thursday, May 8th: Sistahs:

Friday, May 9th: Witches, Crones, Sirens: perform rituals of leaving, cast a spell of peace and love over the station, rendering nil the recruiting of our youth to become fodder for this occupation of Iraq.

Then on Sunday, Mother's Day, May 11th, we have the March over the Golden Gate Bridge at noon.

"Witches, Crones, and Sirens" will "perform rituals of leaving, cast a spell of peace and love over the station, rendering nil the recruiting of our youth to become fodder for this occupation of Iraq."

Good grief!

Tomorrow's event is described:

Witches, Crones, Sirens come to the MRS today to cast spells, weave magic, invoke the foremothers, share wisdom, lead rituals to banish war and violence and to bring peace to the MRS, to protect our youth from the powerful spells of pro-war forces, to lead the men of the marine recruiting station off into the oceans of peace! Some witches, crones and sirens are willing to risk arrest, others are not. We call on all crones, witches and sirens to come to the MRS, to bring your energy, your wisdom, your fierce determination to end war now and bring peace to our world. Contact Kali at sylviasoven@yahoo.com or Marie at keeptahoepink@yahoo.com

All actions this week are at the MRS (Marine Recruiting Station, 64 Shattuck Square, Berkeley - on Shattuck Ave just south of University where Shattuck runs one-way north - and two blocks north of the BART)

These people are wackos!

Move America Forward is staging a counter event.

We're calling it a "Witch-Hunt" and we at MAF will be out in front of the Marine Recruiting Center this FRIDAY, May 9th from 8:00 AM - 12:00 Noon. Fox News Channel will be broadcasting live reports from the event - so stay tuned to Fox for updates and check back at our website: www.MoveAmericaForward.org for photos and after-action reports.

Finally, we'll be bringing our brooms (the symbol we're using to mock the anti-American witches of Code Pink), American flags and signs.

---Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble...


---Are you a good witch or a bad witch?

Unbelievable.

Oldest League Bowler Bill Hargrove Dies

In this June 18, 2006 file photo, 105-year-old bowler Bill Hargrove reacts at the Yonah Bowl & Skate lanes in Cleveland, Ga. Hargrove died Monday May 8, 2008 at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Atlanta of congestive heart failure, just four days shy of his 107th birthday. (AP Photo/Ric Feld, File)

ATLANTA -- By the time Bill Hargrove was recognized last year as the nation's oldest league bowler, his eyesight had deteriorated so much he could hardly see the pins.

But he kept at it, armed with a mental image of them. He was still bowling last week, just before he was hospitalized and died Monday of congestive heart failure — four days shy of turning 107.

Hargrove died at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, a spokeswoman said Thursday. He lived nearby in Clermont.

He earned national attention in May 2007, after turning 106, when the United States Bowling Congress dubbed him "the oldest league bowler ever."

..."I love it," Hargrove said when the league honored his longevity. "It puts you on trial as far as your ability. And your ability comes and goes. I'm fighting it all the time."

Mr. Hargrove is an inspiration. He was blessed with a long life and he never stopped doing what he loved.

I'm thinking Mr. Hargrove, even at the age of 106 and with poor eyesight, was a better bowler than Barack Obama.

Tyler Peterson Killed Himself

It took months for the Justice Department to release documents revealing the autopsy results of Tyler Peterson.

FINALLY, there are some answers about how Peterson died.

From the Wisconsin State Journal:

The state Justice Department has released new documents confirming an off-duty deputy who killed six people shot himself as he fled police last fall.

Forest County Sheriff's Deputy Tyler Peterson gunned down six people with an assault rifle at a Crandon party last October.

Investigators say he shot himself in the head three times in the woods hours later as police closed in. Questions have swirled about how Peterson could have shot himself three times.

The Justice Department released a summary Thursday of Peterson's autopsy that showed only one of the shots damaged Peterson's brain. Soot rings were found around the entrance wounds, suggesting the shots were fired at close range.

Why did it take so long to clarify this?

Why did the Justice Department allow questions to "have swirled about how Peterson could have shot himself three times"?

There were no reasonable excuses.

Permitting doubts to linger all this time certainly didn't boost people's faith in J.B. Van Hollen.
_______________

More details, from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Arizona Teens Brutally Beat Mormon Kids

Have you heard about this?

It's a hate crime.

Maybe activists all over the country can organize a National Day of Silence to raise awareness of intolerance against Mormons.

Tom Petri, Bicycle Lanes, and the Naked Russian

Some Russians are crying out for St. Petersburg to become a bicycle-friendly city.

One disgruntled citizen in St. Petersburg took to his bike naked in an effort to raise awareness about the need for car drivers to respect cyclists.

He did get noticed.

"I demand that the authorities in the city build bicycle lanes."

He's a man after Tom Petri's heart.

Mark Benson and other Murderers

It took three deaths, Jennifer Bukosky, her daughter Courtney Bella, and her unborn daughter Sophia, for some lawmakers, Governor Jim Doyle, and some Wisconsin residents to say, "No more."

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Reacting to a fatal crash that is shining new attention on the state's drunken driving laws, Gov. Jim Doyle said Wednesday that a third conviction for intoxicated use of a vehicle should be made a felony, and a bipartisan group of legislators called for tougher penalties for repeat offenders.

The statements came in response to an accident April 25 in which Jennifer Bukosky, 39, her unborn child and 10-year old daughter, Courtney Bella, were killed when a sport utility vehicle slammed into the rear of their car.

Mark Benson, a former surgeon who faces three counts of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, was under the influence of pills, authorities say. Two days before the accident, Benson stood before a Waukesha County judge on a third drunken driving offense.

Benson has a history of drug and alcohol abuse dating back to at least 1993, according to court records.

He was sentenced on April 23 to 75 days in the county's work release jail, but was given until May 9 to report there, with orders not to drive in the meantime.

"Since my days as a prosecutor, I have pushed for tough drunken driving penalties. A third offense should be a felony. The only way to protect the public from multiple offenders is to keep them off the streets," Doyle, the former attorney general, said Wednesday in a statement.

Also Wednesday, four legislators - two Republicans and two Democrats - called for revocation of driving privileges and confiscation of vehicles for people convicted of a third offense of driving under the influence.

They also said the law should prevent an individual convicted of a third offense from getting behind the wheel of a vehicle again by sending the person directly to jail.

"Just turning up the heat on our current DUI penalties a little more won't do it," Rep. Bob Ziegelbauer (D-Manitowoc) said.

"Immediate, permanent confiscation of the vehicle, any vehicle driven after a revocation by multiple DUI offenders will be the kind of game changer we need."

The group of legislators included Rep. Joel Kleefisch (R-Oconomowoc), whose district includes the crash scene, and who is chairman of the Assembly Criminal Justice Committee.

...The legislators, including Sens. Jeff Plale (D-South Milwaukee) and Alberta Darling (R-River Hills), said they plan to begin drafting the legislation while working closely with members of the Bukosky family, who are expected to testify in favor of the bills when a hearing is scheduled.

Wisconsin is far too lenient when it comes to punishment for the intoxicated use of a vehicle.

The current law has repeat offender built into it. Five strikes is ridiculous.

Seizing cars and jailing offenders is costly. So what?

If that's what it takes to ensure the public's safety, then that's what it takes.

Locking up Mark Benson is not enough. What we need is change.

...[Waukesha County District Attorney Brad] Schimel said he doesn't disagree with making third-offense drunken driving a felony, but said Wisconsin taxpayers need to recognize that it will require more resources.

...Schimel contends that the focus should be on prevention and treatment.

I agree with Schimel that prevention and treatment is important.

But it's not wise to gamble on hoping that offenders are treated successfully. It's a risk to assume they've managed to change their habits.

They're a deadly threat to innocents, like Jennifer Bukosky and her two daughters.

When it comes to prevention of such tragedy, it means taking the potential killers off the street.

No excuses.

Lawmakers need to enact legislation that protects the public from these repeat offenders. They can save lives.

American Idol Final Three

Jason Castro's departure from American Idol was a couple of weeks overdue.

After his string of disastrous performances, including Andrew Lloyd Weber's "Memory" and Neil Diamond's "Forever in Blue Jeans" and "September Morn," it was time for him to go.

NEW YORK -- Simon Cowell once told Jason Castro that his face would save him from elimination. Not this time.

The dreadlocked heartthrob was voted off "American Idol" Wednesday as the show narrowed the competition to three finalists: David Cook, David Archuleta and Syesha Mercado.

Castro, 20, from Rockwall, Texas, started off strong in the show's seventh season but lost momentum in recent weeks. He gave weaker performances, and flubbed the lyrics to Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" on Tuesday's performance show.

Cowell predicted Castro's gaffe could spell the end of him. "Jason, I'd pack your suitcase," Cowell told the singer.

Castro took his fate in stride and didn't wipe the ever-present grin off his expansive face after learning the result.

Lately, it seemed like Castro was auditioning for a sequel to the movie Half Baked rather than trying to be the next American Idol.

...Castro had his share of spacey moments while he was in the running, like when a viewer asked Wednesday what the contestants' biggest challenges were in the competition. Castro answered: "Just the brain being dead."

As time went on, Castro's spacey moments appeared to be contrived. He developed a rather annoying persona, like he had been plucked off the street and didn't know quite what was happening.

He definitely didn't deserve to be in the final three.

Weeks ago, it was easy to see that the two Davids, David Cook and David Archuleta, would be contenders. I wouldn't have picked Syesha Mercado to be rounding out the final three, but she's had some strong performances in the later weeks of the competition. It seems right that she's there.

It was odd on Wednesday's show when she started talking about her emotions, how she's changed, and how we might have the first female or first African-American president. It was as if she morphed into spacey Castro for a while.

I bet Andrew Lloyd Weber has nightmares about Castro singing "Memory."

Jimmy Carter and Jay Leno

In this photo provided by NBC, showing former President Jimmy Carter, left talking with Jay Leno during the taping of 'The Tonight Show with Jay Leno' in Burbank, Calif., Wednesday, May 7, 2008. (AP Photo/NBC, Paul Drinkwater)

On Wednesday, former President Jimmy Carter was a guest on the Tonight Show.

Jay Leno gave Jimmy Carter one of the most glowing introductions I've ever heard him give a guest. Leno gushed about how thrilling it is to interview former President Carter. What a great man! So many accomplishments!

In Leno's introduction, he noted that Carter is an "undeclared super delegate."

That, of course, is somewhat of a crock. Carter keeps insisting that he's undeclared but then he adds that everyone in his family supports Barack Obama, his way of hinting that he does, too.

Carter said he would not be declaring until after the primary season concludes in June.

Leno asked Carter what he thought about Tuesday's primaries in Indiana and North Carolina.

Carter responded, "Well, I thought that Obama won one and Hillary won one."

He said it takes a super delegate to analyze that. Right.

Something that had to tick Hillary off was Carter's comments about the delegates from Michigan and Florida.

Carter did a dramatic lead up, asserting that they "ought to be seated for sure... in 2012."

Leno agreed with Carter when he said it would be wrong to seat them in 2008 because "they disqualified themselves."

Leno ended the topic by saying, "That argument is pretty much over."

On what planet? I wouldn't say that the issue of Florida and Michigan is settled, not by a long shot.

Talking about the Democrats' primary methods, Carter said the Dem party went with the super delegate system because at the 1980 Dem convention, Carter's opponent Ted Kennedy refused to shake his hand.

If you say so, Jimmy.

Leno asked Carter if he thought McCain was too old to be running for president. Carter said that McCain is 12 years younger than he is. It sounded as if Carter would say that McCain wasn't too old.

Wrong.

Carter flipped and said, "I think we need a younger person to be president."

Way to diss older Americans!

Naturally, Leno brought up Carter's recent talks with Hamas.

Leno asked, "Why do it? It seems like...boy, it gets people riled up. I mean..."

Carter led off with, "Well, for 32 years, I've been trying to bring peace to Israel, and was successful in getting a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt."

Gee, when was the last time you heard Carter mention the Camp David Accords?

It had to be the last time you heard Carter speak because he manages to work that into every statement he makes.

Then, Carter blathered on about meeting with Hamas, and the need for dialogue, and blah, blah, blah.

Carter said that the State Department didn't ask him not to go on the trip and meet with Hamas. He claimed no one even insinuated that he shouldn't go.

If you say so, Jimmy.

The real purpose for Carter's guest appearance was to hawk his new book about his mom, supposedly a great Mother's Day gift. He mentioned how she loved to be the center of attention. Carter added that he's "really not that way."

HUH? Carter wasn't joking. He claimed that he doesn't like to be the center of attention.

I never knew that. He sure fooled me.

WRTL Weighs in on Stevens Point Pro-Life Display

Pointers for Life is a right-to-life group at UW-Stevens Point whose leader is funded by Wisconsin Right to Life.

The group staged a "Cemetery of Innocents" display on the campus, consisting of 4,000 white crosses and pro-life signs.

Student Senator Roderick King didn't like it. He and other students pulled out the crosses in protest even though Pointers for Life had obtained approval for the display.

Barbara Lyons, Executive Director of Wisconsin Right to Life, comments:

"We wonder what caused such intolerance and disrespect. It is hard to understand why a group of white crosses would trigger such an extreme response from King."

What would trigger King's response?

I think King can't handle the truth. Sometimes, the truth hurts.

Watch video of King's fit.

Study: Conservatives Happier than Liberals

Researchers Jaime Napier and John Jost of New York University claim to have an explanation for why conservatives are happier than liberals.

Here's the SCIENCE:

Individuals with conservative ideologies are happier than liberal-leaners, and new research pinpoints the reason: Conservatives rationalize social and economic inequalities.

Regardless of marital status, income or church attendance, right-wing individuals reported greater life satisfaction and well-being than left-wingers, the new study found. Conservatives also scored highest on measures of rationalization, which gauge a person's tendency to justify, or explain away, inequalities.

The rationalization measure included statements such as: "It is not really that big a problem if some people have more of a chance in life than others," and "This country would be better off if we worried less about how equal people are."

To justify economic inequalities, a person could support the idea of meritocracy, in which people supposedly move up their economic status in society based on hard work and good performance. In that way, one's social class attainment, whether upper, middle or lower, would be perceived as totally fair and justified.

If your beliefs don't justify gaps in status, you could be left frustrated and disheartened, according to the researchers, Jaime Napier and John Jost of New York University. They conducted a U.S.-centric survey and a more internationally focused one to arrive at the findings.

"Our research suggests that inequality takes a greater psychological toll on liberals than on conservatives," the researchers write in the June issue of the journal Psychological Science, "apparently because liberals lack ideological rationalizations that would help them frame inequality in a positive (or at least neutral) light."

The results support and further explain a Pew Research Center survey from 2006, in which 47 percent of conservative Republicans in the U.S. described themselves as "very happy," while only 28 percent of liberal Democrats indicated such cheer.

Translation: Conservatives are compassionless, selfish brutes wearing psychological blinders.

What a load!

The researchers don't distinguish between inequality and injustice. The distinction between the two is an important one. Inequalities aren't necessarily indicators of social injustice. That's not a rationalization. That's a fact.

I certainly don't frame injustice in a positive light. I don't rationalize it.

I don't ignore others' suffering. I don't rationalize it away to make me happy.

Did the researchers make a discovery?

No. Their work isn't science. It's propaganda.

Rather than saying conservatives rationalize inequality, the researchers could say that liberals are irrational and lack nuance.

911 Errors and Brittany Zimmermann's Murder

UPDATE, June 18, 2008: "Zimmermann's parents intervene in 911 suit"
________________

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

A 911 call from a murdered college student's cell phone featured sounds that should have been significant to a 911 operator, but they were not heard by the dispatcher during the call, Dane County's top official said Tuesday.

County Executive Kathleen Falk apologized for errors in how the call was managed, but said even if it had been handled correctly, it probably would not have saved Brittany Sue Zimmermann's life on April 2.

"From what I know, I do not believe that had the errors not occurred in the 911 center, that her murder could have been prevented," she said.

Global positioning satellite information would have dispatched police to a 24-unit building next to Zimmermann's apartment in downtown Madison, and a more extensive search of cell phone subscriber records would have taken as long as 30 minutes, county officials said.

Authorities have refused to release the call, describe its content or say when it was made or how long it lasted, saying that could compromise the murder investigation.

On Tuesday, Falk ordered a review of training and personnel qualifications at the county's 911 center and said a national association should also review the matters. She also said she has sent apology letters to Zimmermann's family and fiancé.

County officials and investigators trying to solve the murder of Zimmermann, 21, a University of Wisconsin-Madison student from Marshfield, acknowledged last week that the 911 center had received a call from her cell phone the day of the murder.

Madison police said evidence in the call should have triggered the dispatch of an officer, but that they weren't notified. The head of the county's 911 center said it doesn't have the ability to accurately track emergency calls made from cell phones.

...Falk said residents should have confidence in the system, but acknowledged a series of problems with how the 911 operator responded to the call. She said the 911 dispatcher's failure to hear critical sounds was just one of the errors:

• A new chronology provided by Falk indicates the dispatcher asked three questions during the call from Zimmermann's phone before it ended, but did not make a follow-up call as required by 911 rules.

• After the call from Zimmermann's phone, the dispatcher fielded a hang-up call from a land line. Although she did call that number back, she didn't alert law enforcement - another breach of protocol. Police were first told the call back was to Zimmermann's phone and wasted time focusing on the two men who made the second call, thinking they had used Zimmermann's phone. Falk said records reviewed later showed no connection between the calls.

• Police investigating the murder were falsely told the 911 dispatcher did make a follow-up call to Zimmerman's cell phone. That call did not happen.

Falk said the 911 center was fully staffed at the time of the call and that there were no distractions that would have prevented the operator from hearing the sounds on the call.

"Critical sounds"?

How awful!

Falk is not addressing this matter properly.

Sending apology letters to Zimmermann's family and fiancé is appropriate but that fails to adequately address the multiple errors by the 911 dispatcher.

Falk's call to review training and personnel qualifications at Dane County's 911 center is the right thing to do, but again, not enough.

The dispatcher should at least be reprimanded for failing to follow policy. I think she should be fired.

The community can't have confidence in the 911 system knowing that such an incompetent woman was on the job. Clearly, there are serious problems in terms of the hiring and training of dispatchers.

Worst of all, it's wrong for Falk to declare that Zimmermann would have been murdered even if the 911 call hadn't been so horribly botched.

She can't be certain of that, unless the "critical sounds" are of the actual murder.

But even in that case, quick action may have led to the arrest of the murder suspect. So under any circumstances, the errors have had serious consequences. Zimmermann is dead and no one is in custody for her murder.

...Falk said she continues to have confidence in Joe Norwick, director of the Dane County Public Safety Communications Center, but she and other county officials are still reviewing whether the operator should be disciplined.

The dispatcher asked to be transferred to a different department in county government; it was granted.

Granted?

It should have been demanded.

Falk doesn't seem to get that this a very big deal.

This has to be torture for Zimmermann's loved ones. They have to cope with their loss as well as comes to terms with the fact that when their beloved Brittany called for help, her call was ignored.

Obama Campaign Blames Limbaugh's Operation Chaos

The Obama camp says Rush Limbaugh is responsible for Hillary Clinton's Indiana primary victory.

From FOX News:

Barack Obama’s campaign issued an e-mail on Tuesday night that appeared to relegate Hillary Clinton’s lead in Indiana to efforts by Rush Limbaugh to wreak havoc in the Democratic presidential primary contest.

In an e-mail entitled “The Limbaugh Effect in Indiana = 7 percent,” Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton wrote: “According to the latest exit polling data, 17 percent of voters in the Indiana primary today said they would vote for John McCain in a Clinton/McCain match-up. Forty-one percent of that number is constituted by people who voted Clinton in the primary but also indicated they will vote for McCain in the general election. That comes out to just under 7 percent of the primary electorate the number that may be attributed to a Limbaugh Effect.”

What a lame e-mail!

Burton is saying that Obama really won Indiana.

That's not how it works. Obama lost because Hillary got more votes.

Did Limbaugh's Operation Chaos play a role in giving Hillary that slim victory in Indiana?

Maybe.

It doesn't matter.

What matters is the Dems are divided. This has been a grueling bloody primary. It's May and Obama has shown that he hasn't been able to knock out Hillary.

There's definitely chaos, but Limbaugh can't take credit for all of it.

Why Won't Blacks Vote for Hillary?

So far in Election 2008, race has been a major factor in the Democrat primary race.

That didn't change yesterday in North Carolina and Indiana.

Those Big Tent Dems are hung up on race.

From the Washington Post:

Sen. Barack Obama won a convincing victory over Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton Tuesday in North Carolina and nearly toppled her in Indiana, twin results that could ramp up pressure on the New York senator to reconsider her candidacy for the Democratic nomination.

Clinton claimed a 51 percent to 49 percent victory in Indiana, a margin of just 22,000 votes statewide out of 1.2 million votes cast. The result was badly delayed due to extremely slow counting of votes in Lake County, a northwestern area seen as strong Obama country.

...The North Carolina electorate divided sharply along racial lines. As has been the case in nearly every state to vote so far in the nomination fight, African American voters went overwhelmingly for Obama -- 91 percent for the Illinois senator to just six percent for Clinton, according to exit polling. Clinton carried white voters in the Tarheel State convincingly, taking 60 percent to Obama's 38 percent.

Whites are significantly more likely to vote for Obama than blacks are likely to vote for Hillary.

Regarding the black vote, this Dem primary is playing out like a general election, with Obama being the Dem and Hillary being the Republican.

Blacks are completely abandoning Hillary.

Over 90 percent of blacks vote for Obama even though Hillary and Obama aren't essentially different in terms of the issues.

The difference is skin. It's race.

Although Hillary carries white voters, the margins are nowhere near the overwhelming number of black voters that Obama carries.

It's about race. When given a choice between a comparable white Dem and a black Dem, blacks go with the black candidate.

That's racist.

It's the elephant in the room.

Blacks used to support Hillary. Then Obama came along.

From the New York Times:

In North Carolina, Mr. Obama’s performance was bolstered by a strong black vote. He captured more than 90 percent of those voters in that state, where blacks accounted for one in three voters.

Exit polls in North Carolina and Indiana show that race is key.

Race again played a pivotal role in Tuesday's Democratic presidential clashes, as whites in Indiana and North Carolina leaned solidly toward Hillary Rodham Clinton and blacks voted overwhelmingly for Barack Obama, exit polls showed. Almost half said they were influenced by the focus on Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Obama, the Illinois senator battling to become the first black president, again failed to gain ground with a crucial voting bloc that has consistently eluded him — working-class whites. But he pieced together coalitions that besides blacks included the young, first-time primary voters, the very liberal and college graduates, plus sizable minorities of whites.

According to exit polls of voters, about two-thirds of whites in both states who have not completed college were supporting Clinton. The New York senator could use that to fortify her argument that she would be the stronger Democratic candidate in the November general election. Of 28 states that held primaries in which she and Obama competed before Tuesday, Clinton had prevailed with working-class white voters in 25.

...The six in 10 whites in both states supporting Clinton were similar to her margin over Obama among whites nationally so far, showing he continues to have trouble cutting into her support from those voters. Even so, his lopsided backing from blacks meant he didn't need white majorities Tuesday to be competitive.

...Nine in 10 blacks in both states were backing Obama — an even stronger margin than usual for a group he has dominated. That proved decisive in North Carolina, where they comprised about a third of voters — nearly double their proportion in Indiana.

All the talking heads keep stressing that Obama hasn't managed to win the Archie Bunker vote. Those blue-collar, uneducated bigots won't vote for the "exotic" Obama.

Jeremiah Wright had an impact on the way these bigots voted.

Actually, the pundits and columnists sound like bigots to me.

They completely ignore why blacks aren't voting for the white candidate.

Stevens Point Student Sen. Roderick King Destroys Pro-Life Display

Alex Schumer, left, and Kami Koeshall, students with the Pointers for Life group on the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point campus, replace crosses Thursday after they were pulled up by protesters. (Doug Wojcik/For the Stevens Point Journal)

Oh, those compassionate pro-abortion people!

From the Wausau Daily Herald:

Students at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point butted heads Thursday after an anti-abortion organization planted 4,000 white crosses on campus to symbolize aborted fetuses and a student responded by pulling hundreds of them out of the ground.

The display, sponsored by Pointers for Life and planted on Isadore Street outside the Health Enhancement Center, is called "Cemetery of the Innocents" and features crosses and anti-abortion and religious signs, one of which reads "Seek Jesus."

The group has come to expect minor vandalism each time it displays the exhibit, but students were shocked when Roderick King pulled up many of the crosses in protest.

"It's just so disrespectful, and it's disappointing that this comes from UWSP students. I've always thought of this campus as a tolerant place. ... Someone made these (crosses) with their own hands," said Pointers for Life member Tracey Oudenhoven.

King eventually left the site of the display after speaking with Protective Services officials, but he later returned to protest. King said his anger was not just politically charged, but also related to the anonymity of the exhibit.

"If you're not ashamed of this, then you should claim it and sign it," King said. "My student dollars are going to support this, this travesty."

Pointers for Life reserved the space but didn't indicate its sponsorship of the exhibit. At King's request, students eventually posted a sign reading, "Sponsored by Pointers for Life."

Students put up the exhibit early Wednesday. By Thursday morning, some signs had been slashed and a few crosses had been broken. King said he didn't participate in those acts.

According to a release from Students for Life of America, King did take part in the vandalism.

After having their display vandalized on the night of April 30th, several members from the UWSP pro-life group, Pointers for Life, were repairing the display around 11am on the morning of May 1st when a group of angry students, lead by UWSP Student Senator Roderick King, began to walk though the rows, taking crosses from the ground and throwing them.

King began to voice his complaints and said that Pointers for Life had "no right" to display the crosses, and that it was "his duty as a paying student" to take it down.

When the campus Protective Services officer arrived, most of the students stopped vandalizing the display, however, Senator King did not stop. He claimed, "The freedom of speech does not cover these signs and symbols!" Only after the Protective Services officer threatened to make him pay for damages, Senator King finally stopped.

Bob Tomlinson, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, apologized to Pointers for Life for the disrespect and vandalism by the students. And Student Senators Katie Kloth and Erica Wardle came to the display and clearly defined the policies, asserting that Pointers for Life had correctly reserved the space and were allowed to host the display.

That night, Pointers for Life submitted a complaint to the Student Government Association (SGA) and asked for Senator King to resign or be disciplined appropriately under the student government Constitution. However, the student government has yet to force Senator King to resign.

Jackie Kryzkowski, the Pointers for Life President, said, "Student Senators should be helping to defend our freedom of speech, not trying to take it away because of personal beliefs. If students had a problem with the display, they could exercise their freedom of speech maturely by protesting it peacefully, not by defacing our display."

There is no question that King vandalized the display on the morning of May 1. Watch Sen. King rip down the crosses.



So much for free speech.

Rosie O'Donnell and Jeremiah Wright

I wish Rosie O'Donnell would go on a long cruise.

Nuns Turned Away from Polls in Indiana

No ID, no vote in Indiana.

From the Associated Press:

About 12 Indiana nuns were turned away Tuesday from a polling place by a fellow sister because they didn’t have state or federal identification bearing a photograph.

Sister Julie McGuire said she was forced to turn away her fellow members of Saint Mary’s Convent in South Bend, across the street from the University of Notre Dame, because they had been told earlier that they would need such an ID to vote.

The nuns, all in their 80s or 90s, didn’t get one but came to the precinct anyway.

“One came down this morning, and she was 98, and she said, ‘I don’t want to go do that,”‘ Sister McGuire said. Some showed up with outdated passports. None of them drives.

The convent will make “a very concerted effort” to get proper identification for the nuns in time for the general election. “We’re going to take from now until November to get them out and get this done.

“You can’t do this like school kids on a bus,” she said. “I wish we could.”

What's the big deal?

Nuns don't get a free pass when it comes to voting.

The fact that the convent will get photo IDs for the elderly nuns shows that it can be done. If an individual is capable of going to the polls and casting a vote, the person is capable of getting a proper ID.

If the 98-year-old nun doesn't want to get an ID, then she doesn't have to vote.

Every American has an interest in making sure that elections are clean.

Bill Maher and WKLH

UPDATE: Marquette Warrior has the latest from WKLH.

John McAdams writes:

The verdict? Sort of a non-verdict, actually. Joerres stated that all of the station’s contractual obligations to Maher’s promoters have been satisified, and the issue is now moot. There is nothing “left to be done,” he said. He said it was “a moot point” and “behind us.”

It may be moot, but as of 5:55 PM today, WKLH is still listed as Bill Maher's sponsor at the Riverside's site.

Nothing left to be done? Not exactly moot.


________________

John McAdams has an update on WKLH's sponsorship of Bill Maher's July 24, 2008 show at the Riverside in Milwaukee.

WKLH sent him the following e-mail:

Hi John,

Thank you for contacting us regarding the Bill Maher show. I’ll call you shortly, but first a little background about our promotional involvement.

Our agreement with Pabst/Riverside was a term agreement whereby we partnered to promote several shows within a calendar window.

We are involved in actual artist booking & recommendation ONLY for those shows that benefit station-specific events or charities such as our Christmas for Kids benefit or Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin fundraisers.

At the time of the arrangement Mr. Maher had not made his insensitive remarks, although we will not hide behind that circumstance as an excuse.

The vast majority of shows we have promoted have been well received and non-controversial, including the many that have supported our Dave & Carole Miracle Marathon for Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and Christmas for Kids.

Mr. Maher’s comments have obviously offended many people. While we usually let the market dictate the success or failure of a given show, we will reconsider our promotional involvement with this show.

Thank you for sharing your comments.

Bob Bellini
Program Director
96.5 WKLH Milwaukee

Bellini certainly is playing up WKLH's charity efforts. The station deserves credit for all it does for the community's children. To be sure, it's God's work. It stands in stark contrast to Maher's message.

McAdams writes that "the people who run WKLH will be meeting later today to decide what to do about this situation."

He suggests:

A call to 414-978-9000, or an e-mail to Tjoerres@mkeradiogrp.com (station manager Tom Joerres) with a civil statement about how the station should distance itself from this kind of bigotry would be in order.

Hamas Puppets Kuku and Fufu

Hamas' propaganda puppets are poisoning the minds of children again, and promoting the elimination of Israel.

When Jimmy Carter held his NEGOTIATIONS with Hamas, he should have demanded that Hamas quit propagating hate and teaching children that Israelis are "the enemies of Allah."

Then again, Carter pretty much sees Israel as the enemy.



MEMRI (Middle East Media Research Institute) has the transcript.

Hillary's Top Ten Reasons

In this image taken from video and supplied by CBS, Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., delivers the 'Top Ten Reasons Hillary Clinton Loves America' on 'The Late Show with David Letterman,' Monday, May 5, 2008, in New York. (AP Photo/CBS)

On the eve of the Indiana primary, Indiana boy David Letterman showcased Hillary Clinton on his show.

Hillary had the honor of delivering the Top Ten List.

"Reasons Hillary Clinton Loves America"

10. We have more Dakotas than every other country combined.

9.Canadian bacon: soggy and chewy; American bacon: crisp and delicious!

8. Thanks to the Internet, I can order new pantsuits 24/7 – there’s your pantsuit joke, Dave. Are you happy now?

7. 232 years and not one cookie shortage.

6. TiVo

5. Did I mention the soup? Mmm, soup.

4. Did you know former President Teddy Roosevelt was an American?

3. Where else can you get a car painted for $29.95?

2. Is this the part where I say, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”?

1. Apparently anyone can get a talk show.

David Witthoft: The End of the Favre Era

David Witthoft (Photo/AP)


On March 6, 2008, Brett Favre held a press conference, tearfully announcing his retirement from the Green Bay Packers.

Favre commented, "As they say, all good things must come to an end."

True.

Twelve-year-old David Witthoft came to the same conclusion. It was a great run, but now it's over.

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Finally, David Witthoft shunned his Brett Favre jersey for the first time in 1,581 days.

The Ridgefield, Conn. boy, 12, wore the No. 4 jersey every day since receiving it as a gift for Christmas in 2003. David's father, Chuck Witthoft, said Monday that his son's last day wearing the jersey was April 23 — his 12th birthday.

It's amazing that David could wear the same jersey all those years.

It must have been large on him when he first got it.

1,581 days -- That's quite a record.

Witthoft conceded his son was starting to become more concerned about his appearance after the jersey barely came down to his belt line.

Time passes. Kids grow. Adults grow older. There's nothing you can do about it.

David couldn't wear it forever.

Witthoft first gained national attention three years ago, and attended his first Packers game in December. He's also planning to attend the Sept. 8 game when the Packers retire Favre's No. 4.

His mother, Carolyn, had washed the jersey every other day and mended it when needed.

Carolyn Witthoft is the ultimate iron woman.

It's not easy to keep a jersey clean and mended and wearable daily for five years.

I guess it was fitting for David to end his Favre jersey streak on his 12th birthday. He's not the little boy he was when he got the jersey for Christmas in 2003; and Favre has retired.

It was time for David to retire the jersey.

All good things must come to an end.

Bill Maher's Milwaukee Appearance

On July 24, 2008, Bill Maher will be performing at Milwaukee's Riverside Theatre.

Tickets are $49 and $39 at face value.

Ticket brokers hope to get a lot more.



Wow! I wouldn't pay $39 to see Maher.

This is from the Riverside's page promoting Bill Maher's appearance.

Bill Maher is one of the most politically astute humorists in America today. His unflinching honesty and commitment to never pulling a punch have garnered him the respect and admiration of millions of fans. In 2003, Maher launched a new show, "Real Time with Bill Maher," on HBO, a network that's a perfect fit for his irreverent style. The hour-long show airs live at 11:00PM on Friday nights.

"Real Time with Bill Maher" has received multiple Emmy nominations as well as nominations from the Writer's Guild of America. Some of the outstanding guests who have appeared on the show include Howard Dean, Michael Moore, Robin Williams, Drew Barrymore, Bradley Whitford, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Gen. Wesley Clark, Susan Sarandon, Kevin Costner, Gary Hart, Pat Buchanan and George Carlin. Each week, Bill's hilarious opening monologue, incisive interviews and stimulating panel discussion, as well as his extremely popular "New Rules" segment, serve to wrap up the week's most important events in a way that makes you think, as well as laugh.

That's not my take on Maher, not even close.

I don't consider what Maher spews to be "politically astute" and I certainly don't think of him as a "humorist." He's a vulgar hatemonger, plain and simple.

From the Riverside's page:



Charming!

The sponsors for Maher's Milwaukee appearance are WKLH and the Shepherd Express. American was a sponsor, but no longer.

One wonders why American would have ever allowed its name to be attached to someone like Maher.

John McAdams and Charlie Sykes and others have been following this story.

After being a topic of discussion on blogs and talk radio, American decided to pull its sponsorship.

A statement from American's Wyn Becker, public relations:

We regret if our advertising co-sponsorship participation of the upcoming Bill Maher concert has offended anyone. That was obviously not our intent.

Let me clarify American's involvement. We did not directly or individually select Mr. Maher's concert to sponsor in this or any other market. And we have no immediate connection with the promotion or production of this show.

American does have partnerships with several concert venues and radio stations in town which would tie us to a number of local events. I believe that supporting the renovated Pabst and Riverside Theatres to be a well intentioned endeavor. Our marketing partnership with these two historic landmark entertainment venues involves a year long series of comedy performances, with many of these shows co-sponsored in conjunction with some radio station advertising partnerships.

It is obvious, now, to us that Mr. Maher is a very opinionated political and social humorist who can easily ruffle the feathers of certain groups much more so than we expected.

We do not agree with or condone the content of his material or the opinions disseminated from his routines.

Our intent was simply to develop a solid marketing partnership with two well respected concert/show venues which are bringing a wide variety of comedy performances to Milwaukee throughout the year from Frank Caliendo to Jim Gaffigan, Second City Improv to Dennis Miller.

However, because this particular show has become much more controversial to a certain religious factor than ever anticipated, we have chosen to drop our sponsorship of this particular event, if it is indeed offending some of our customers. We do plan to continue our support of the Pabst and Riverside Theatres, their radio station partners and the fine entertainment that they bring to the Milwaukee market. Thank you.

Wyn Becker
Vice President-Advertising
American Furniture, Electronics & Appliances

I think this was a smart move by American.

It was a move made in the self-interest of the business.

It reminds me of Barack Obama cutting ties with Jeremiah Wright. The damage Wright was doing to Obama was too great for him to remain loyal. So, it was goodbye.

Similarly, it wouldn't be wise for American to sponsor Maher's show. Why alienate the many, many, many people offended by Maher's so-called humor? Since it became an issue, it made sense to sever the sponsorship ties.

Here are a few examples of Maher's shtick:

---"I think that religion stops people from thinking. I think it justifies crazies. I think flying planes into a building was a faith-based initiative. I think religion is a neurological disorder."

---"But [Mel Gibson will] never win as long as he's so religious, because, I hate to tell you, the disease isn't alcholism, the disease is religion."

---"I think the science is in on this question. I mean, I think he is.. the people who were defending him were saying, 'Well, he's just inarticulate.' But inarticulate doesn't explain foreign policy. I mean, it's not that complicated.

"The man is a rube. He is a dolt. He is a yokel on the world stage. He is a Gilligan who cannot find his ass with two hands. He is a vain half-wit who interrupts one incoherent sentence with another incoherent sentence. And I hope I'm not piling on."

---"The Republican Party, besides Rudy Giuliani, Bush likes to dress up. He likes to be a cowboy, or Iceman from Top Gun. And they have something very gay, excuse me, going on with Ronald Reagan. I mean, they love Ronald Reagan in a way that's just gay. I'm sorry. But, I think they want to put him on a stamp so that they can lick his backside. Well, seriously, I mean – am I right?"

---"I would just like gun owners to admit they're selfish, and that it's a vice, like booze or drugs or cigarettes. Stop the nonsense about 'it's my right.' You just like it because you have a small penis."

---"George Bush is the only person who thinks that going more is better… He thinks if we can surge now, then we can pull out. But as anyone who's ever done porn will tell you, that's backwards. You pull out, then you surge. I think we all know that."

---"It's interesting that the only two people who couldn't' run together would be Hillary and Obama because America would go that's too much non-male whiteness at one time. We're progressive but not that much."

---"I think if I have any credibility with the gay community it's because over the years I've defended one simple principle which is that there should not be two sets of civil rights for people in this country, one for people who put penises in vaginas, and one for people who don't.

"And the people who don't are told by the Right wing that they need a cure."

---"America was invented by liberal men in Boston and Philadelphia. Not that I don't love all of America, but rednecks who think they're the real America should read a history book once in a while. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Franklin, Madison -- the whole lot of them were well read, erudite, European thinking children of the enlightenment, and they would have had absolutely nothing in common and less to say to a cowboy simpleton like George Bush."

---"[Republicans] have to concentrate on what all Republicans have in common -- They're gay. Aren't they?

"Not just garden-variety gay, but Mark Foley text messaging little boys gay; Ted Haggard having sex with prostitutes on meth gay; Larry Craig bathroom gay.

"I haven't seen this many self-loathing homosexuals since I left the Catholic Church."

---"We're not winning in Iraq. We lost that war when we invaded Iraq because it was a bad idea to begin with....

"Instead of invading Iran, why don't we just show [Bush] footage of one of his other disasters, Katrina or Iraq, and just tell him, 'There you go Godzilla, you did it again.' "

---"Why couldn't, uh, why couldn't have [Rush Limbaugh] croaked from [OxyContin] instead of Heath Ledger?"

---"I'd like to tip off law enforcement to an even larger child-abusing religious cult. Its leader also has a compound, and this guy not only operates outside the bounds of the law, but he used to be a Nazi and he wears funny hats. That's right, the Pope is coming to America this week and, ladies, he's single."

---"If you have a few hundred followers, and you let some of them molest children, they call you a cult leader. If you have a billion, they call you 'Pope.' It's like, if you can't pay your mortgage, you're a deadbeat. But if you can't pay a million mortgages, you're Bear Stearns and we bail you out. And that is who the Catholic Church is: the Bear Stearns of organized pedophilia -- too big, too fat."

---"When the current Pope was in his previous Vatican job as John Paul's Dick Cheney, he wrote a letter instructing every Catholic bishop to keep the sex abuse of minors secret until the Statute of Limitations ran out. And that's the Church's attitude: 'We're here, we're queer, get used to it,' which is fine, far be it from me to criticize religion. But just remember one thing: If the Pope was -- instead of a religious figure -- merely the CEO of a nationwide chain of day care centers, where thousands of employees had been caught molesting kids and then covering it up, he'd be arrested faster than you can say 'who wants to touch Mr. Wiggle?' "

Read Maher's disgusting anal rape rant.

So many of Maher's remarks are vile. His April 2008 comments about Pope Benedict and the Catholic Church are beyond vile.

Yes, American made the right call by pulling its sponsorship.