Bill Gwatney, Arkansas Democratic Party Chairman Killed Before DNC Convention

In a totally sad story of the work of a sick mind, Arkansas Democratic Party Chairman Bill Gwatney was killed by an obviously mentally deranged Timothy Dale Johnson, who walked in a shot him for no apparent reason. other than Timothy Dale Johnson had lost his job.

Gwatney was to appear at the Democratic National Convention on August 23rd to August 29th. I did not have the pleasure of knowing Mr. Gwatney but am saddened by the loss as I very will could have met him at the DNC Convention. Moreover, it brings into sharp focus how dangerous our society has become, especially to those who represent a political party during a poor economy.

Olympics - Beijing National Stadium First Design

chinese-olympic-stadium_web, originally uploaded by sokkmonkey.

As breath-taking as the current "Bird's Nest" design of the Beijing National Stadium is, this one -- an onion -- was favored before it. But the enormity and scale of the design reflects just how much in resources China committed to these games.

The total cost of the China Olympics was $40 Billion. That's more than twice as great as the current cost of the London games, which is at $18 billion. The cost of the Beijing Opening Ceremony alone is about $300 million.

Convention News from DemConWatch

- There are 13 days left until the opening gavel.

- Coloradans will have their chance tomorrow to tape their questions or stories to be aired at the convention

AMERICA’S TOWN HALL ‘OPEN CALL’ TAPING
11:30 AM - 5:30 PM MT
16th Street Mall
Corner of 16th Street and California St
Denver, CO 80202

Info for the other Open Calls can be found here

- Watch The Big Tent Construction Cam. Live streaming video of an empty parking lot! Construction begins today



- Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper will speak on Monday and Colorado Governor will speak on Thursday.

Mark Squier, the producer, said that bookending the convention with prominent Colorado Democrats was part of a larger strategy to showcase the party's rise in what has become a political battleground. - Denver Post

- The Brown Palace Hotel is ready for its second convention.

On Aug. 12, 1892, The Brown Palace Hotel opened its doors in the heart of downtown Denver. The hotel has remained open every minute of every day since opening.

Every U.S. president has visited The Brown Palace since Teddy Roosevelt (1905), with the exception of Calvin Coolidge.

Four of the hotel's suites are named for their famous residents: The Beatles Suite, Eisenhower Suite, Reagan Suite, and Roosevelt Suite.

Teddy Roosevelt was the first president to stop at The Brown Palace Hotel. He came to Colorado to hunt bear in the spring of 1905. During his trip, he spoke to a group of businessmen at an elaborate banquet at the hotel. Roosevelt preceded the trend for cigar smoking; 1,500 cigars were smoked during the event.

- Ohio Governor Ted Strickland will speak on Tuesday night

Gov. Ted Strickland has been given a prime speaking spot at the Democratic National Convention to talk about the economy. Strickland told reporters in a conference call that the Barack Obama campaign asked him to speak Tuesday evening at the convention. - PolitickerOH

- Focus on the Family has removed their video asking everybody to pray for rain at Invesco.

- The DNCC announces "Countdown to America's Future" daily webcasts.

In recognition of the growing power of the Internet and online video, now the primary source of news to millions of Americans, the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) announced today the launch of “Countdown to America’s Future,” a series of daily webcasts about the 2008 Democratic Convention, featuring campaign officials and Convention insiders who know what’s happening behind the scenes and the inside scoop to watch for during each night’s televised Convention program.

- Our friends at Georgia Politics Unfiltered interviewed one of the finalists in the DNCC's "Why Are You A Democrat in 2008" contest. You can see the other videos and vote here.

Did Senator McCain Lift Georgia Speech From Wikipedia?

In the wake of the Russia, Georgia conflict we have a new small scandal involving the speech Senator John McCain gave on Tuesday calling for Russia's withdrawl from the former part of the Soviet Union. According to Taegan Goddard that may be so. This is what he reports at CQ Politics:

A Wikipedia editor emailed Political Wire to point out some similarities between Sen. John McCain's speech today on the crisis in Georgia and the Wikipedia article on the country Georgia. Given the closeness of the words and sentence structure, most would consider parts of McCain's speech to be derived directly from Wikipedia.

First instance:

one of the first countries in the world to adopt Christianity as an official religion (Wikipedia)

vs.

one of the world's first nations to adopt Christianity as an official religion (McCain)

Second instance:

After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Georgia had a brief period of independence as a Democratic Republic (1918-1921), which was terminated by the Red Army invasion of Georgia. Georgia became part of the Soviet Union in 1922 and regained its independence in 1991. Early post-Soviet years was marked by a civil unrest and economic crisis. (Wikipedia)

vs.

After a brief period of independence following the Russian revolution, the Red Army forced Georgia to join the Soviet Union in 1922. As the Soviet Union crumbled at the end of the Cold War, Georgia regained its independence in 1991, but its early years were marked by instability, corruption, and economic crises. (McCain)

Third instance:

In 2003, Shevardnadze (who won reelection in 2000) was deposed by the Rose Revolution, after Georgian opposition and international monitors asserted that the 2 November parliamentary elections were marred by fraud. The revolution was led by Mikheil Saakashvili, Zurab Zhvania and Nino Burjanadze, former members and leaders of Shavarnadze's ruling party. Mikheil Saakashvili was elected as President of Georgia in 2004. Following the Rose Revolution, a series of reforms was launched to strengthen the country's military and economic capabilities. (Wikipedia)

vs.

Following fraudulent parliamentary elections in 2003, a peaceful, democratic revolution took place, led by the U.S.-educated lawyer Mikheil Saakashvili. The Rose Revolution changed things dramatically and, following his election, President Saakashvili embarked on a series of wide-ranging and successful reforms. (McCain)

Granted the third instance isn't as close as the first two, which seem quite obviously taken from Wikipedia.

It should be noted that Wikipedia material can be freely used but always requires attribution under its terms of use. Whether a presidential candidate should base policy speeches on material from Wikipedia is another question entirely.

Yikes. This isn't something commonly done. Having written speeches for a number of politicians from former Mayor Elihu Harris of Oakland to Jerry Brown, I can explain that seasoned speakers generally have talking points or bullets. Full text is saved for a major speech, but then the writer tries to capture the "voice" of the speaker. You can't do that using Wikepedia.

Another McCain mess.

Laure Manaudou v. Federica Pellegrini In Olympics (Nude?) Love Triangle Showdown

CLICK TO SEE VIDEO HERE

Female French Swimmer Laure Manaudou has had a hard go of it of late. Just on top of the swimming World two years ago and in love with Italian Swimmer Male Luca Martin, Laure Manaudou saw her life change rapidly.

After breaking up with Luca Martin, tossing the ring he gave her into the pool, nude photos of her surface on The Internet, embarrasing her in the process.



Fast Forward to Beijing. Luca Martin has taken up with another female swimmer, Federica Pellegrini. Beautiful, athletic, and stunning, Federica Pellegrini has Laure Manaudou's ex-boyfriend and her ex-coach.

Then on Sunday, Laure Manaudou suffers a total performance collapse, coming in last in the 400m Freestyle race. Then, to add insult to injury, Laure Manaudou's 2007 200m Freestyle record is broken by none other than Federica Pellegrini, who also turned her back on Laure on Sunday.

The only way Laure can prevail and salvage a wrecked career is to beat Federica Pellegrini in the finals on Wednesday.

I'm rooting for Laure Manaudou, as she's been through far too much and is too talented for the treatment she's gotten.

What's fascinating about this is the level of attention female swimmers are given in Europe; much more than in the United States. Swimmers like Laure and Federica appear on talk shows and in the front page of magazines, and are chased by photographers.

Olympic 4x100 Freestyle Relay USA Phelps GOLD #2

Well, it's just the National Anthem, but you've got to have some fun.

Howard Wolfson Thinks Clinton Would Have Won Iowa Withour Edwards - He's Wrong

In the Washington Post, former Hillary Clinton campaign spokesperson Howard Wolfson is under the mistaken impression Clinton would have won Iowa without Edwards.

That's nuts. Everyone knows that the Edwards people were more Obama folks than Clinton people. That why 80 percent of th Edwards delegates came over to the Obama side.

Using New Media At The DNC Convention - How Zennie62 Does It

This video presents the "production process" behind the planned use of New Media at the DNC Convention by Sports Business Simulations' SBS Media / Zennie Zeigeist blog.

New Media -- DNC Convention Broadcast

Objective: to quickly and cheaply bring text, audio, and visual information that generally tells a story to as many people as possible in as short amount of time as possible.

Instruments Hardware and Software

Hardware:

1. MacBook -- Has "iMovie" software built in that makes editing movies easy.
2. Sony Camcorder -- Used to make videos and feed to computer
3. iPhone -- used to take photos and also to make mobile blog posts which feed to Zennie's Zeitgeist remotely.

Software:

1. Blogger -- the online home of Zennies's Zeitgeist blog.
2. iMovie -- used to edit the videos uploaded from the camcorder
3. Google -- used to get information and articles on related subjects that then can be linked to in a blog post.
4. Twitter -- updates on Twitter post at the Zennie62 Twitter page, on the Zennie's Zeitgeist Blog, and on my Facebook page all at the same time.
5. Facebook -- Zennie's Facebook page has his blog posts from Zennie's Zeitgeist.
6. Widgets -- Zennie's Zeitgeist widgets are on other blogs in the SBS blog network, from the NFL Business Blog to Oakland Focus.
7. FriendFeed -- allows commentary on blog posts and videos that appear on Zennie62's FriendFeed page.
8. FeedBurner is the RSS (Really Simple Syndication) system used on Zennie's Zeitgeist for yet another way to distribute our blog news to people and as it appears on the blog, automatically.
9. YouTube -- the main home for Zennie62's videos, which are then embedded in the Zennie's Zeitgeist blog and also on Zennie's Facebook page and linked to on Twitter, which is also on Zennie's Facebook page.
10. iReport -- CNN's version of YouTube, where I will upload videos for daily use by CNN.
11. TubeMogul -- permits simultaneous upload of one videos to 15 different video distribution sites, from YouTube to Blip.tv, and Dailymotion, and others.

Pushing back on the "celebrity" label

If Obama had suggested Cindy McCain should compete in a topless Miss Buffalo Chip contest while her husband campaigned in Sturgis the outrage would probably end his bid for the White House - he's not a big enough celebrity to weather that backlash - but John McCain gets a chuckle from the Harley riders and a pass in the press. Why? Because he's a powerful, influential celebrity in DC. But you've got to wonder: Why does he want us to think Obama is, too?

Let’s face it, the best defense is a good offense, and sex sells. A money scandal pales compared to a juicy, salacious story involving a celebrity, after all - just ask Senator Larry Craig - and McCain's campaign needed to distract from that gaffe so we wouldn't all stay focused on Cindy McCain's bosom. So let's grab attention with names like Paris Hilton and try to connect Barack to sexy young celebrities.

The organizations that provide us “news” are driven by their need to pay for their staff and buildings just like any other business. They benefit from increasingly timely, now near-instantaneous feedback about what people who use their “service” want to learn about. Higher ratings translate rapidly into higher advertising revenues, and so they cater to the whims of whoever drives their audience share up, so despite the conflict of interest, commercial media organizations are well-served by echoing even mis-information about the campaign.

John McCain said he’s proud of his ads comparing Barack Obama to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. He wants you to think you’re just caught up by a “celebrity” and don’t really want change in this country. If that’s the sort of leadership you want for the U.S.A., if giving a consummate D.C. insider even more power - and celebrity - matches your view of where this country should go for the next four years, you should vote for him in November.

read more | digg story

John Edwards' and John McCain: Why Does McCain's Affairs Get A Free Pass?

This article makes a great point: why does Senator John McCain get a free pass on all of his affairs and antics with women and Miss Buffalo Chip, and Senator John Edwards gets damned?

See:

Now, we get to the most relevant question - if John Edwards' political career is done, why isn't John McCain's? John McCain had a well-documented affair on his first wife, with his current wife. He has admitted in the books he has written about his life that he ran around with several different women while still married to his first wife. And don't forget that he left her for a younger, richer woman - multi-millionaire Cindy Hensley who is now Cindy McCain - after she had been severely hurt in a car accident.

So, why are McCain's actions any more excusable than Edwards'? Because it was thirty years ago? Does that wash it away? Will we be fine with Edwards running for office again in a couple of years because then it will all be in the past? What is the statute of limitations on an affair?

Speaker Pelosi's $10K DNC Convention Package Upsets Some Bundlers

Speaker Nancy Pelosi has sent out a DNC Convention fundraising plan
with a $10,000 price tag that has some bundlers upset.

Sent from my iPhone

Harry Denton Lays Down On The Filmore, Literally

Harry arrives at the Balboa Cafe

From San Francisco Scene / SF Politics

If you'd have told me that I'd end my evening into very early morning trying to convince the legendary Harry Denton not to lay down in the middle of the intersection of Filmore and Greenwich after what he admits was a drunken bender, I'd have said you were nuts.

Well, you weren't. What I saw was the embodiment of Old San Francisco in action. Harry Denton's a throwback to the days of a bar called "Henry Africa" and Herb Caen and the Three Martini lunch, and Carol Doda. Denton is fun, San Francisco style. But what I now understand that to mean is a kind of ultimate freedom we don't see today. And when we do see it, we just don't know what to do.

Ok. This is what happened.

I decided to visit the Balboa Cafe in San Francisco, really because I'm used to the place and thought that the Olympics would be on television and I could watch the games with a crowd that may be yelling "Go USA" or something like that. But I forgot that it's Saturday night and the only time one may release such a cheer was in watching someone else neck in public.

So when I arrived, the Balboa -- partially owned by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom -- was boringly crowded. People in clicks. Scores of lovely women. The Olympics were on TV. Chatter and laughter, but the same familar din one hears on a Saturday night at that place. Nothing special.

Enter Harry Denton.

Harry Denton is a true San Francisco legend. The man the San Francisco Chronicle calls one of the city's most visible bon vivants, and a promoter and owner of several successful establishments, from Harry Denton's Southside Bar which was on Folsom street in the 80s, to Harry Denton's Bar and Grill on Stuart Street, and Harry Denton's Rouge and Harry Denton's The Starlight Club atop the St. Francis Hotel. Harry has established himself as a celebrity long ago. He has a list of fans -- including me -- and a fierce following of people. I think Harry also senses that San Francisco's become a little boring.

So, Harry walks into the Balboa with a couple I've never seen before, goes around to the side bar area and during greeting us all -- I'd just seen him at the REAF Benefit called "Help Is On The Way" the last Sunday -- "I'm really fucked up." Harry had a lot to drink, and was blowing off steam after a reunion of people associated with the late bar Henry Africa. I was happy to see Harry because he's really a nice person who is always ready with a smile or a quick wit, and he's got an eye for the ladies, even though he's Gay, which is great for me because he points a straight bachelor like me in the right direction.

Anyway, I told my friend Lance, one of the bartenders that all we needed to complete the circle of famous San Francisco night crawlers was Johnny Love. Well, the person I've known since 1990 walked in just five brief minutes after I said that. It turned out that Johnny, Harry, and my friend Rick were all at the Henry Africa reunion, and had got a table outside.



I was invited to join them.

We were all outside and Harry was in rare form. He was well aware of his condition, saying "I need to blow off steam." He did. Harry made fun of the lot of us and just in general was a total riot, occassionally tossing beer bottles to the ground, which refused to shatter -- I'm not making this up -- less they ruin the sprit of the proceedings.

At that point, it was clear something strangely, weirdly magical was happening, at least to me.

Johnny Love sitting On Harry Denton's Lap

After a time, not too long, it was time for all to leave the Balboa. We'd went inside for a bit just before closing and then had a devil of a time getting Harry out, but we did. Then weirdness set in. Johnny walked off with his girlfriend, but without telling Harry or Rick he was going to return. Harry insisted on waiting for Johnny, but eventually realized he wasn't coming back after a long episode of waiting and trying to keep Harry from falling.

Since the numberr were reduced to me, and Harry and Rick, I wound up with the task I assumed which was keeping Harry upright. That was tough. At that point Harry decided that he wanted attention. He said so: "I want attention", and proceeded to try and lay in the middle of the intersection of Filmore and Greenwich. I successfully stopped him from the act, and as he was nearly hit by a car -- but I did this solo.

In getting Harry back to the sidewalk I was livid with the onlookers, many who had taken time to talk to him and give him pats on the back, but would only look at Harry rather than come out and help me with him. At that point, seeing them as part of the shallow and spineless masses that let events like Columbine happen and allow people to be mugged and attacked before their eyes, I collectively gave them my finger.

I was pissed.

Getting Harry into a limousine was a chore, and I did not succeed at the time, but then Harry elected to try a second stint at laying down on the Filmore. Only this time he insisted and while I grabbed his arm, he fought me off, and as I talked to him about how the police may show up ("I don't care"), Harry laid right down on Filmore.

My first thought was expressed to Harry "Hey, the police are going to get you." Harry didn't care, and sure enough an SF police cruiser pulled up, and as the officers got out of the car and approached Harry, something nice happened. Other people -- not part of the throng I gave my finger to -- stepped forward to help me get Harry up. The numbers of people -- about 10 -- was great enough to convince the police to get back into their car and continue on their way: they did.

Harry stood up and held his arms skyward as if to say "I did it" and the crowd standing on the Filmore and Greenwich sidewalk erupted into spontaneous applause. It was surreal.

Finally, the crowd broke up and once again I was tasked with having to get Harry into a limo, but this time I had help from guys who used to work for him and saw him. We got Harry into a limo and on his way home.

Whew!!

Harry Denton showed me and the crowd what San Francisco was all about: personal freedom. Laying down on the street was the ultimate act of freedom and fun. Something we used to see in the City when people were less judgemental and information was less fragmented.

Don't get me wrong, I like -- love -- New Media, but there's something missing in today's society. It's this watered-down P.C. culture, and while I love that it's less racially insensitive and more diverse than in the past, it's also less just plain fun. It's like everyone's worried about doing something wrong or being accused of doing so by someone else and certainly not willing to take charge of anything or take action against an injustice.

Enter Harry Denton.

Harry wanted to have old fashioned fun and the people of the city and even the police parted the way and let him. It was glorious.