Question: Why are you a Democrat? Click for answers here.
OK. Get this. Just get this. Two weeks ago, Senator Barack Obama was tied -- that's right, tied -- with Senator Hillary Clinton for the 2008 Democratic Presidential race in the then latest USA Today / Gallup Poll. Now, USA Today / Gallup didn't do a poll in May, and certainly not two weeks apart, but this new one says that Senator Clinton has a large lead.
What?
The critical eye would have a question. I've got several. But the bottom line is the second round of polling was rigged. Why? Because someone didn't like the outcome and doesn't want Senator Barack Obama to win, so they immediately ordered another poll and worked to obtain results they wanted to see.
The poll effort was rigged. That's right, rigged.
You can't even find the poll on the Gallup website. How in the hell can you explain the supposed "double-digit lead" Senator Clinton has, but then she's behind in South Carolina? That observation about the black vote being the reason is pure bull shit.
Don't believe it because there's no proof for it.
This is what the USA Today's "Gallup Guru" , Frank Newport, reported in his blog - the smoking gun, in part, is here:
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Clinton, Obama, immigration and Russian attitudes
New polling data from several survey organizations – including pending data from Gallup -- make it clear that Sen. Hillary Clinton is maintaining or strengthening her lead for the presidential nomination over Sen. Barack Obama among Democrats. Our early June USA Today/Gallup poll showed the two tied, as discussed here and here. But that finding apparently did not signify a significant change in the structure of the race. The latest polls from the Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg and Wall Street Journal/NBC show Clinton in her accustomed role as leader when Democrats are asked whom they want to be their party’s nominee. It looks as if the June 1-3 USA Today/Gallup poll either picked up a short term change, or as noted here, was a function of unusual sampling which happened to pick up Democrats who were more pro-Obama than the underlying population.
We have a Gallup poll now in the field, with results to be reported early next week. Preliminary indications are that this poll will find Clinton back in her typical leadership position as she has been for the most part this year.
What? In other words, Whoops! We can't believe the outcome, so we've got to talk to a new set of people and get the outcome we want. We can't -- just can't -- be forced to report that Senator Obama is tied with Senator Clinton.
What the Gallup Guru does not explain is why they did a new poll so close after the first one, and without having done a poll two weeks before?
I'll tell you why. Because USA Today and CNN are reporting these polls and don't want Senator Barack Obama to win the Democratic race for the White House.
They don't want a president who happens to be Black, and so they're trying to engineer a win for Senator Clinton. First, CNN consistently focuses on the race issue, then reports any small seemingly negative information about Senator Obama. Any positive information is either downplayed or avoided altogether, or rigged, as in the case of this polling process.
I think the USA Today, CNN, and Gallup all should appologize to Senator Barack Obama. I seriously doubt Frank Newport just decided to do a new poll -- the USA Today paid him to do a new poll because they didn't like the outcome of the first one.
That's crass. Noam Chomsky was right in his classic work "Manufacturing Consent" -- the old media (USA Today) is trying to manipulate the public.
They have to explain the South Carolina poll as well as why the Mason-Dixon pollsters shared their error data, where the USA Today / Gallup Poll people did not. One can argue that the latest USA Today Gallup Poll has a huge margin of error considering the games they play with these polls. This is totally irresponsible on the part of USA Today and Gallup.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Why Are You A Democrat? - Democrats Give Their Reasons
I asked this question to Democrats attending a Democratic Party fundraiser in San Francisco earlier this year. I got a variety of responses but all seem to center around the theme of equality and social justice.
I was so inspired in part by this and by the support for Barack Obama that I purchased the music from Buffalo Springfield "For What It's Worth" and used it as the back music for this two minute video. Take a look. Why are you a Democrat?
I was so inspired in part by this and by the support for Barack Obama that I purchased the music from Buffalo Springfield "For What It's Worth" and used it as the back music for this two minute video. Take a look. Why are you a Democrat?
Seattle Seahawks / Holmgren To Intall Offense Pre-Shift System
"Pre-shifting", or what was called "The Multiple Offense" is being installed by Settle Seahawk's coach Mike Holmgren for the 2008 season. This was reported and buried deep in an article on the Seattle Defense, and which appears below. But in my view, the writer missed the real story.
The strategy has been around since the turn of the 20th Century, but was used as a standard strategy by Dallas Cowboys Coach, the late Tom Landry during his 30-years as head coach. The idea is simply to have the offense "shirt" or move from one formation to the other before the ball is snapped. But the only West Coast / Walsh Offense team to use this until now has been the Tampa Bay Bucs under Jon Gruden.
There' a balance that has to be established between shifting and reading keys after the snap.
_________________________________________
Hawks' defense eager to step up for second Super Bowl run
By CLARE FARNSWORTH
P-I REPORTER
KIRKLAND -- It has been a defensive offseason for the Seahawks.
In the wake of the disappointment that was failing to defend their NFC championship in January, the club signed defensive end Patrick Kerney and safeties Deon Grant and Brian Russell as free agents in March.
April brought the NFL draft, which delivered cornerback Josh Wilson, defensive tackle Brandon Mebane and defensive end Baraka Atkins.
During the post-draft minicamp in May and June minicamp, these players helped lead a surge of rejuvenation that at times confused and stifled the Seahawks offense -- the team's signature unit since coach Mike Holmgren arrived in 1999.
The events of the past 3 1/2 months have been enough to foster the notion that if the defense can rank among the NFL's top 10, the Seahawks have a chance to return to the Super Bowl for the second time in three seasons.
Top 10? Why stop there, says the smile that washes across the face of Pro Bowl linebacker Julian Peterson.
"Seattle is known for its offense, but we want to eventually make it so the defense is what holds the team together," Peterson said Thursday after the team's final minicamp practice. "That's what we're striving to be -- we want to be one of the top five defenses in the league. We have the talent to do that."
Now that is saying something.
The Seahawks have not finished among the top 10 in defense since 1997, and have done it only three times in the past 15 seasons. They were 19th last season -- down from No. 16 during their Super Bowl run in 2005 -- when a seemingly endless avalanche of deep pass plays and long runs doomed the Seahawks to mediocrity, and too often came in critical situations.
"We were OK, at times, but not nearly consistent enough," Holmgren said. "They have a real chance to be better, and we have to be. It's a huge challenge."
Said Peterson, "We're just going to hold up our end on the defense and let the offense continue to do what they do."
But all this concentration on the defense might be masking the real key to the team's success in 2007 -- that offense, which is another year older and replacing several more pieces of the cohesive unit that used to be among the most productive in the league.
During the two-minute drill that ended Thursday's practice, a fiery Holmgren admonished his No. 1 unit after an unblocked defensive lineman was allowed a clear path to quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. On the very next play, fill-in center Pat Ross and Hasselbeck botched the center exchange.
Holmgren gave the first unit another chance, only to have another fumbled snap.
It is asking too much for this up-tempo offense to function as efficiently in June -- or even early September -- as it always seems to by season's end. Especially since Pro Bowl left tackle Walter Jones and leading rusher Shaun Alexander were absent Thursday, when starting center Chris Spencer also saw his first, though limited, contact of the offseason after having postseason shoulder surgery.
But is it expecting too much to just get the ball into Hasselbeck's hands?
The offense worked extensively during this minicamp on pre-snap movement, which is designed to throw new wrinkles at defenses this season and also hold the attention of veteran players and coaches.
"If I find myself kind of standing at practice and going, 'Oh boy, if I have to look at that play one more time I'm going to faint,' then I know it's kind of time to throw in some new stuff," Holmgren said.
"It's healthy to stimulate the veterans that we have and get them thinking, so it's not just business as usual," he said. "And adding things to our repertoire is healthy, as long as it helps us."
Wrinkles aside, the offense that takes the field when training camp practices begin July 28 will not be the same seamless unit that led the Seahawks to three consecutive NFC West titles.
Spencer, left guard Rob Sims and a yet-to-be-determined right guard will man the interior of the line -- Spencer as a full-time replacement for the retired Robbie Tobeck and Sims as the latest option to try to make everyone forget about Steve Hutchinson's departure in free agency last offseason.
Deion Branch has moved to the flanker spot that opened when leading receiver Darrell Jackson was traded to the San Francisco 49ers during the draft. D.J. Hackett will replace Branch as the split end. Marcus Pollard and his 35-year-old body will try to supply what Jerramy Stevens couldn't -- consistent production from the tight end spot.
Regardless of the system and its past success, that is a lot of turnover for one offseason.
The suddenly defensive-minded Seahawks just can't allow it to create turmoil.
The strategy has been around since the turn of the 20th Century, but was used as a standard strategy by Dallas Cowboys Coach, the late Tom Landry during his 30-years as head coach. The idea is simply to have the offense "shirt" or move from one formation to the other before the ball is snapped. But the only West Coast / Walsh Offense team to use this until now has been the Tampa Bay Bucs under Jon Gruden.
There' a balance that has to be established between shifting and reading keys after the snap.
_________________________________________
Hawks' defense eager to step up for second Super Bowl run
By CLARE FARNSWORTH
P-I REPORTER
KIRKLAND -- It has been a defensive offseason for the Seahawks.
In the wake of the disappointment that was failing to defend their NFC championship in January, the club signed defensive end Patrick Kerney and safeties Deon Grant and Brian Russell as free agents in March.
April brought the NFL draft, which delivered cornerback Josh Wilson, defensive tackle Brandon Mebane and defensive end Baraka Atkins.
During the post-draft minicamp in May and June minicamp, these players helped lead a surge of rejuvenation that at times confused and stifled the Seahawks offense -- the team's signature unit since coach Mike Holmgren arrived in 1999.
The events of the past 3 1/2 months have been enough to foster the notion that if the defense can rank among the NFL's top 10, the Seahawks have a chance to return to the Super Bowl for the second time in three seasons.
Top 10? Why stop there, says the smile that washes across the face of Pro Bowl linebacker Julian Peterson.
"Seattle is known for its offense, but we want to eventually make it so the defense is what holds the team together," Peterson said Thursday after the team's final minicamp practice. "That's what we're striving to be -- we want to be one of the top five defenses in the league. We have the talent to do that."
Now that is saying something.
The Seahawks have not finished among the top 10 in defense since 1997, and have done it only three times in the past 15 seasons. They were 19th last season -- down from No. 16 during their Super Bowl run in 2005 -- when a seemingly endless avalanche of deep pass plays and long runs doomed the Seahawks to mediocrity, and too often came in critical situations.
"We were OK, at times, but not nearly consistent enough," Holmgren said. "They have a real chance to be better, and we have to be. It's a huge challenge."
Said Peterson, "We're just going to hold up our end on the defense and let the offense continue to do what they do."
But all this concentration on the defense might be masking the real key to the team's success in 2007 -- that offense, which is another year older and replacing several more pieces of the cohesive unit that used to be among the most productive in the league.
During the two-minute drill that ended Thursday's practice, a fiery Holmgren admonished his No. 1 unit after an unblocked defensive lineman was allowed a clear path to quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. On the very next play, fill-in center Pat Ross and Hasselbeck botched the center exchange.
Holmgren gave the first unit another chance, only to have another fumbled snap.
It is asking too much for this up-tempo offense to function as efficiently in June -- or even early September -- as it always seems to by season's end. Especially since Pro Bowl left tackle Walter Jones and leading rusher Shaun Alexander were absent Thursday, when starting center Chris Spencer also saw his first, though limited, contact of the offseason after having postseason shoulder surgery.
But is it expecting too much to just get the ball into Hasselbeck's hands?
The offense worked extensively during this minicamp on pre-snap movement, which is designed to throw new wrinkles at defenses this season and also hold the attention of veteran players and coaches.
"If I find myself kind of standing at practice and going, 'Oh boy, if I have to look at that play one more time I'm going to faint,' then I know it's kind of time to throw in some new stuff," Holmgren said.
"It's healthy to stimulate the veterans that we have and get them thinking, so it's not just business as usual," he said. "And adding things to our repertoire is healthy, as long as it helps us."
Wrinkles aside, the offense that takes the field when training camp practices begin July 28 will not be the same seamless unit that led the Seahawks to three consecutive NFC West titles.
Spencer, left guard Rob Sims and a yet-to-be-determined right guard will man the interior of the line -- Spencer as a full-time replacement for the retired Robbie Tobeck and Sims as the latest option to try to make everyone forget about Steve Hutchinson's departure in free agency last offseason.
Deion Branch has moved to the flanker spot that opened when leading receiver Darrell Jackson was traded to the San Francisco 49ers during the draft. D.J. Hackett will replace Branch as the split end. Marcus Pollard and his 35-year-old body will try to supply what Jerramy Stevens couldn't -- consistent production from the tight end spot.
Regardless of the system and its past success, that is a lot of turnover for one offseason.
The suddenly defensive-minded Seahawks just can't allow it to create turmoil.
Paris Hilton Had Bad DUI Lawyer - No Communication
I just ran accross this blog that essentially says that had Paris Hilton enjoyed better communication with her lawyers, she would have likely stayed out of jail.
This New Jersey law firm, working to draw clients itself, explains that poor attorney / client comunication was the reason for her jail time and that a responsible lawyer would make sure their client was following the law and staying out of trouble.
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