Sf Mayor Willie Brown's Giving a Rousing Speech At Cal Dem Con

I'm at the California Democratic Convention and sitting at the Press Table in the general session hall at the San Jose Convention Center, listening to former San Francisco Mayor and Speaker of the California Assembly Willie Brown give a passionate and rousing speech on what it means to be a Democrat.

"Democrats are supposed to fight," he said to a standing ovation, "you're not a Democrat if you don't fight."

Brown's taking the assembled state democrats on a kind of "memory lane" but with a message. "We all need to participate in order to beat these Republicans."

Here's that speech:

Hillary Clinton - Get Out Of The Race

I'm going to take issue with my good friend and valued contributor Dave Kaye and ask simply that Senator Clinton get out of the campaign for President. At this point, she can't win and can only cause more damage to the Democratic Party.

All of this rancor could be focused on John McCain, but here we have Hillary throwing rocks at Obama and James Carville's not helping matters with his thugish behavior.

Hillary Clinton- Stay In The Race

As the conjecture and acrimony accelerates over the tumultuous and exceedingly contemptuous Democratic contest,many high ranking elites in the party are strongly suggesting for Hillary Clinton to abandon her Presidential aspirations.

While an ardent and enthusiastic Barack Obama supporter, I feel adamant about witnessing the primary season continue. In contrast to the perspective of Senators and Obama supporters Patrick Leahy, Chris Dodd and Bob Casey, the prolong contest has the distinct ability to serve for the betterment of the Democratic party and the eventual nominee.

Even though both formidable contenders are allocating their time castigating and bashing each other, they are still eerily close to John McCain in the majority of polls. Once a nominee is selected and he or she is able to concentrate on the issues facing the country and on what McCain is seeking to offer the American people (a third Bush term), Democrats will finally be united and able to see their poll numbers sky rocket profusely.

Still, it does not serve Mr. Obama well to have several of his most prominent backers yearning for the elimination of New York's junior Senator and contributing negatively to the overwhelming positive and constructive nature of the Obama campaign. There is a significant amount of time for the stalwarts in the party to unify behind Mr. Obama and embark on a quest to defeat John McCain in the general election.

Whether people agree or disagree with the actions of the Clinton's, one certain thing is for sure: Hillary and Bill are persistent and resourceful, thus eradicating their opportunity to forfeit the contest they once had surely wrapped up several months ago.

Newspaper Ad Revenue Drops 10 Percent In One Year

In perhaps the best sign of the impact of New Media on traditional media, "Editor and Publisher" reporter Jennifer Saba tells us that the newspaper industry has experienced the worst drop in ad revenue in a half-century. She wrote:

According to new data released by the Newspaper Association of America, total print advertising revenue in 2007 plunged 9.4% to $42 billion compared to 2006 -- the most severe percent decline since the association started measuring advertising expenditures in 1950.

Meanwhile, online ad revenue now represents 7.5 percent of total newspaper ad revenue, up almost 2 percent from 2006.

What we're seeing, in my view, is the transformation of media from primarily offline to eventually a balance of online and offline. But in this I don't think the nature of jobs in this industry will be the same. My prediction is that the best-paid writers will contribute to different online platforms and not just one, reflecting the fact that one site can't command readership online as consistently as it can offline.

Bloomberg Introduces Obama's Economic Speech

So, the dark horse in the 2008 campaign seems to have hitched his fortune's to Obama's momentum - what will it spell in the long run? Is the NYC Mayor now ahead in the VeePstakes? Granted that other luminaries endorsed and commented on the Obama positions, it was Michael Bloomberg there on the podium at Cooper Union. The Senator's entire presentation is available via his web site. This surely comes at a time when voters are worried about the growing storm of foreclosures on main street while troubled about the administrations evident focus on helping out those on Wall St.

Meanwhile, the Clinton campaign has accused the Obama folks of keeping the Theft of Valor story of her not exactly dodging sniper fire in Tuzla in the news to distract people from the "Wright scandal." Now I know Bill didn't inhale, but what of Hillary's staff? After all, the more people learn about Jeremiah Wright the better it has worked for Obama! The latest polls, taken before the rebukes from military vets would have had much if any negative impact on Clinton's numbers show Obama bouncing back nicely from a slight dip, and the interpretation is that Wright won't be a negative factor while the Tuzla story, which has been lively on the web for 24-48 hours, is still gaining traction in the traditional media and hasn't yet been reflected in polling data.

Is the Clinton campaign hoping that they can resuscitate the Wright story to eclipse the sequence of increasingly tall tales the Senator spun about the risk of sniper fire, or simply mis-speaking yet again? Are the Clinton's Bosnian Chickens coming home to roost?

Sarah Lacy Is A Cool-Ass Chick At Valleywag Happy Hour

If you read my blog on a regular basis, or if you read Valleywag, or if you attended the Facebook SXSW event, or all of the above, then you've probably heard of Sarah Lacy. You've also undoubtedly formed an opinion about Ms. Lacy without meeting her; a common habit in today's media-driven culture. But you've also certainly not met Sarah Lacy.

Well, I did, and she's one cool chick.

For some background, Sarah Lacy's the person who interviewed Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook at SXSW and got panned for what some said was a "softball" set of questions. Sarah took the entire event in stride.

As a seasoned writer for Businessweek and a tech-finance video reporter for Yahoo!, Sarah's used to mean comments and controversy. She even tossed water on TechCrunch's Michael Arrington. (No kidding.) But you never know who a person really is until you meet them and talk with them, and listen, and get a feel for who they are -- not the whole deal, mind you but a good part of it.

I met Sarah at Owen Thomas' Valleywag Happy Hour event last Friday at what is called, but is soon not to be referred to as, Moose's in Washington Square in San Franciscos' North Beach. Sarah, my friend and business colleague Paula Storti, and I enjoyed oysters, tea (for me), and cocktails and just talked about whatever came up.

That's off the record.

But I can report that Sarah Lacy's fun, smart, opinionated, interesting, and just plain cool.

So the next time you tech-heads go off on her, consider that it may be because she's cooler than you are and you just can't admit it.

Overlooked amid the furor over Clinton's lying Theft of Valor in Tuzla, Bosnia

"The Reverend Jeremiah Wright is an outstanding church leader whom I have heard speak a number of times. He has served for decades as a profound voice for justice and inclusion in our society. He has been a vocal critic of the racism, sexism and homophobia which still tarnish the American dream. To evaluate his dynamic ministry on the basis of two or three sound bites does a grave injustice to Dr. Wright, the members of his congregation, and the African-American church which has been the spiritual refuge of a people that has suffered from discrimination, disadvantage, and violence. Dr. Wright, a member of an integrated denomination, has been an agent of racial reconciliation while proclaiming perceptions and truths uncomfortable for some white people to hear. Those of us who are white Americans would do well to listen carefully to Dr. Wright rather than to use a few of his quotes to polarize. This is a critical time in America's history as we seek to repent of our racism. No matter which candidates prevail, let us use this time to listen again to one another and not to distort one another's truth,"

Who said it? Dean J. Snyder, Foundry United Methodist Church
Hillary Clinton's pastor.

Le Bron James | Vogue - Le Bron James, Wake Up To Racial Stereotyping

Hey Le Bron James. You asked "Who cares" in reaction to charges that your appearance on the cover of Vogue playing to fears of Black men.

Well, Le Bron James, I care and I'm a Black Man.

I saw your cover photo in a local store and my first though was "What this hell was he thinking."

But then I realized that given how young you are, you may not have been thinking about anything other than sex and money. Sex in that you're taking a photo where you've got a hot blonde in your arms, and money because you were paid for it. I don't think the fact that Annie Lebowitz was taking the shot meant much to you because you don't understand how huge she is separate from the photo; you're too young to know.

But that's not what I'm writing about.

Dude, you need to wake up. Fast. And before someone else uses you for some racially-insenstive reason. The Vogue cover didn't represent me well because you're a Black Man like me, and because of our minority status in America, all of us are impacted by what a high-profile brother like you does. We're historically seen in America in the same kind of animallstic way you've portrayed and I for one don't like that one bit.

Wake up Le Bron James.

If you're confused over the possible social impact of a magazine shoot in the future, ask me what it could be. I'll tell you. Because its sure as hell obvious that whomever's advising you know doesn't know what the hell they're doing. I'm tired of brothers like you working to keep brothers like me down. I mean that.

It's time for you to take a serious look at your responsibilities in life outside of Basketball. They're bigger than you realize.

John McCain Flip-Flops On The Confederate Flag - Watch

Watch this video that shows Sen. John McCain giving two opposing views on the Confederate Flag within just three days. Where does he stand today? Regardless of the answer, you can be sure it's going to be opposite one of the answers in this video!

Hill & Chel's Excellent Bosnian Adventure

Look, the whole ducking evidence of what seemed politically expedient back in the day on NAFTA isn't a big deal, really, although it would make sense for Senator Clinton to simply say she changed her mind rather than live in fear of the flip-flop label it might earn her.

And the taxes? Well, she's busy. I get it. She's the campaigner.

Never mind that there are pictures of Bill with Jeremiah Wright, or both of them with Rezko, I get it, politicians are often sought out by guys like Rezko, and for years everybody thought Wright was a patriotic, Christian ex-Marine, after all. Hell, most still do once they hear his comments in context. (Quick links to the "America's chickens are coming home to roost" story and the use of "Nigger" in comparing Clinton and Obama's background - which pretty much silence all but the most pig-headed of critics.)

But this depraved line she held to about the risks in Bosnia? Is that what we want on Day One in the Oval Office? Is the pre-requisite for a Commander In Chief handling calls at 3 a.m. the willingness to lie for personal aggrandizement and political points? Seriously - do we take our daughters into life-threatening situations? Watch the harrowing arrival in Bosnia, then you make the call.

How did all those reporters miss the sniper fire? Somebody here has just made a serious career-limiting mistake.

Bill Clinton Attacks MTVU Editorial Board On Gay Marriage

Appearing before the MTVU Editorial Board, Former President Bill Clinton went off again, this time on Lilly Lamboy of Smith College and the MTVU Editorial Board. In the video it becaomes clear that Clinton is not only horse in his voice, but prone to becoming testy very quickly.

Will there be more or fewer Gay couples in harrassment if couples can go to Massechusetts and not Utah? That was Clinton's question, but before Lilly could say anything, Bill shot back "Answer the question!" Well, you can see the exchange here, but the result pissed off Andrew Sullivan who stated that Clinton was running away from his record of having more Gays ousted from the Military than at anytime before.

Clinton, incredibly, states that the Defense of Marriage Act, which protects one state from having to recognize a "pro-gay" marriage act, paints the policy of the DOA, which he backed as not being anti-Gay. He then accuses Lilly of trying to re-write history.

Clinton is not helping his legacy. He comes off as an angry old coot who thinks the World and America should just fall down at his feet.

Obama's letter to Fed Chrmn Bernanke about the sub-prime lending crisis

On Thursday, March 22nd, U.S. Senator Barack Obama's campaign released his letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Paulson urging them to immediately convene a homeownership preservation summit with key stakeholders to fight foreclosures driven by growth in the subprime mortgage market.

It was overshadowed in the mainstream media by continuing dissection of the Phildelphia speech on values and race from Monday, and in the blogosphere by Hillary Clinton's Bosnia hyperbole,

...or did she simply mis-speak? Well, it got everybody to stop talking about her tax returns. But while Senator Clinton wrestles with what may be a career-limiting memory lapse, it's worth noting that Obama hasn't lost sight of the impact this is having all across the U.S. despite the time-consuming nature of campaigning.

DIGG it!