It seems the K.C. Chiefs are always in the game, but can't seem to be the team that wins when it's close. They had the Broncos, but failed to adjust and lost 27-11.
Broncos knock around Huard; Holmes rushes for 65 yards in 1st start
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Nobody is happier than Denver to see Kansas City's vaunted Arrowhead Stadium advantage melting away.
With backup Selvin Young rushing for 109 yards and Denver scoring two touchdowns 9 seconds apart, the injury-weakened Broncos beat the Chiefs 27-11 Sunday for their first win in Kansas City since 2002. It's the third home loss this year for the Chiefs, who came into the season with an NFL-best 104-36 home record since 1990.
"The Chiefs have been so good over the years taking advantage of their home field, with their crowd, and finding a way to win," said Denver coach Mike Shanahan. "They have the best home record in the National Football League over the last five or six years and it's nice to come out with a win."
The Broncos (4-5) might also have helped a new quarterback era get started for Kansas City (4-5).
Whip-armed Brodie Croyle replaced shaken-up, turnover-prone Damon Huard in the third quarter and the second-year pro could start next week in Indianapolis. Croyle was expected to be the starter this year, but coach Herm Edwards turned to Huard when Croyle played inconsistently in the preseason.
"I haven't decided anything," Edwards said. "I'll think about it Monday and then we'll talk about what we're going to do at quarterback on Tuesday."
In the decisive series in the third quarter, Dre' Bly intercepted Huard and set up a 20-yard touchdown run by Young, who was subbing for the injured Travis Henry.
On Kansas City's next play from scrimmage, defensive end Elvis Dumervil crashed into Huard and knocked the ball loose. Linebacker Nate Webster, in the right place at the right time, scooped it up and dashed 17 yards for another touchdown. The Broncos led 20-8 en route to just their sixth win in their last 21 games overall.
Huard was slow getting up and stayed on the bench with an ice pack on his neck while Croyle finished the game, going 17-for-30 for 162 yards, with one interception.
"I did some good things," said Croyle. "We moved the ball for the most part."
He declined to speculate whether he now owns the job.
"I try not to read into anything," he said. "I just go out there and do what I do."
Dwayne Bowe had nine catches for 105 yards for the Chiefs, who lost consecutive home games for the first time since 2004 and were without Pro Bowl running back Larry Johnson. Priest Holmes, a three-time Pro Bowler, had 65 yards on 20 carries in his first start in more than two years.
"I feel great," he said. "I look forward to running that hill tomorrow and doing the things you have to do to build that base and make yourself better."
Holmes also lost 14 yards on a third-and-2 run from the 5. Clearly, the more effective backup running back in this game was Young, who had his first 100-yard effort and first NFL touchdown.
"I want to be a puzzle piece and try to fit with no space in between," Young said. "I want to step up and not be a dropoff at all, no falloff in one of the most important positions on the team. I felt I've put myself in a position to be able to handle it."
The home team had won the last nine games between these old rivals, and it seemed that would continue as the Broncos stumbled around in the first quarter, dropping two interceptions and getting six penalties.
Jason Elam, whose game-ending field goals produced Denver's first three wins, made it 3-0 in the first period with a 44-yarder. Then Dave Rayner, following Derrick Johnson's interception of Jay Cutler's pass, kicked a 38-yard field goal for KC.
Pollard blocked Todd Sauerbrun's punt through the end zone for a safety just a few seconds into the second quarter. Then Elam kicked his 37th career field goal of 50 yards or more when the ball hit the crossbar and tumbled over from exactly 50 yards.
Cutler, whose availability was in question earlier in the week because of a deep bruise on his left leg, was 17-of-29 for 192 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Graham with 10:44 left in the fourth quarter.
"I felt good the whole game," Cutler said. "The offense put up points when we had to. We've got to keep this level of play up. That's the biggest thing."
Monday, November 12, 2007
Rams Get First Win - St. Louis 37, New Orleans 29
St. Louis 37, New Orleans 29
1:00 PM ET, November 11, 2007
Superdome,
New Orleans, LA - ESPN
Bulger, Holt lead surprising Rams past streaking Saints
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Jim Haslett wasn't ready to return to the place where his first head coaching job began with accolades and literally ended in disaster after Hurricane Katrina.
It took about three quarters of, in Haslett's words, "freakin' awesome" football to make the St. Louis defensive coordinator feel a little better about being back in New Orleans.
Five times since 1978, two teams in the same season have started 0-8. Half of those 10 won their ninth game, including the previously 0-8 Rams on Sunday.
His aggressive defense stuffed Drew Brees and the Saints' high-flying offense long enough to get the Rams their first win Sunday, 37-29.
"It really felt strange, being in the dome, period, after everything the dome went through and after everything the city went through," Haslett said.
"To be honest with you, I didn't think I'd ever come back here. I've kind of avoided the city, not the people, but the city," Haslett continued, noting that his wife, Beth, couldn't bring herself to come to the Louisiana Superdome for the game. "I was hoping we wouldn't play the Saints, so I wouldn't have to come back."
It was a surprising performance from the Rams (1-8), who dominated the Saints (4-5), a team that had climbed back into the playoff picture with a four-game winning streak after an 0-4 start.
Marc Bulger finished with 302 yards and short touchdown passes to Isaac Bruce and Drew Bennett. Running back Steven Jackson, recovering from a back injury, rushed for a short touchdown and even threw a 2-yard halfback pass to Randy McMichael for a score.
Torry Holt, meanwhile, had eight catches for 124 yards, torturing the New Orleans secondary with several clutch catches on third-and-long plays.
Of course, Bulger, Holt, Bruce and Jackson all have had big games before. It was probably a matter of time before they'd start clicking again.
The difference was the Rams' blitz-happy, play-making defense, which intercepted Brees twice, thwarted a scoring threat with a third-down sack, forced an intentional grounding penalty and piled on Brees for another drive-ending loss after the quarterback bobbled a high snap.
"To me, the guy that makes the whole thing go is the quarterback," Haslett explained. "We figured we're not going to let the quarterback sit back there and pick us apart. We were going to take some chances, come after him and try to disrupt him."
Haslett guessed that he called blitzes on about 16 of the first 18 plays the Saints ran.
"Defensively, I think they had a plan for us. They executed that plan very well," Brees said. "They did a great job of getting pressure and their offense really helped the defense out by staying on the field."
Brees finished with 272 yards and two touchdowns, but most of it came while New Orleans ran a hurry-up offense in a belated comeback attempt that finally ended when the Saints failed to recover an onside kick with a half-minute remaining.
As a rookie head coach in 2000, Haslett led the Saints to the playoffs and was named coach of the year. He never got back there, though, as the Saints hovered around .500 for the next four seasons. They went 3-13 in 2005, when Katrina forced the team to relocate to a makeshift headquarters in San Antonio and play all home games outside New Orleans.
Sean Payton took over the next season, and like Haslett, took New Orleans to the playoffs and won coach of the year as a rookie coach.
Payton was worried about this game, however. Coaches placed rat traps around the Saints' training headquarters during the past week, a ploy to prevent their players from overlooking what they saw as a "trap game" against a winless but hungry and talented team.
It seemed to work early on, as the Saints scored on their opening possession, capped by Bush's 7-yard touchdown run. But the Rams would score the next 34 points from midway through the first quarter to early in the fourth.
Boos rained down from the Superdome crowd, this time validating the play of Haslett's unit.
"I've seen that before," said Haslett, who used to complain publicly about New Orleans fans booing at the first sign of things going wrong.
"I read in the paper last week they booed the kicker before he kicked a field goal. I remember when they booed our quarterback [Aaron Brooks] before the game started," Haslett continued. "That's how they are ... but they are good fans. They know their football, they live and die with it, so you've got to appreciate that."
1:00 PM ET, November 11, 2007
Superdome,
New Orleans, LA - ESPN
Bulger, Holt lead surprising Rams past streaking Saints
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Jim Haslett wasn't ready to return to the place where his first head coaching job began with accolades and literally ended in disaster after Hurricane Katrina.
It took about three quarters of, in Haslett's words, "freakin' awesome" football to make the St. Louis defensive coordinator feel a little better about being back in New Orleans.
Five times since 1978, two teams in the same season have started 0-8. Half of those 10 won their ninth game, including the previously 0-8 Rams on Sunday.
His aggressive defense stuffed Drew Brees and the Saints' high-flying offense long enough to get the Rams their first win Sunday, 37-29.
"It really felt strange, being in the dome, period, after everything the dome went through and after everything the city went through," Haslett said.
"To be honest with you, I didn't think I'd ever come back here. I've kind of avoided the city, not the people, but the city," Haslett continued, noting that his wife, Beth, couldn't bring herself to come to the Louisiana Superdome for the game. "I was hoping we wouldn't play the Saints, so I wouldn't have to come back."
It was a surprising performance from the Rams (1-8), who dominated the Saints (4-5), a team that had climbed back into the playoff picture with a four-game winning streak after an 0-4 start.
Marc Bulger finished with 302 yards and short touchdown passes to Isaac Bruce and Drew Bennett. Running back Steven Jackson, recovering from a back injury, rushed for a short touchdown and even threw a 2-yard halfback pass to Randy McMichael for a score.
Torry Holt, meanwhile, had eight catches for 124 yards, torturing the New Orleans secondary with several clutch catches on third-and-long plays.
Of course, Bulger, Holt, Bruce and Jackson all have had big games before. It was probably a matter of time before they'd start clicking again.
The difference was the Rams' blitz-happy, play-making defense, which intercepted Brees twice, thwarted a scoring threat with a third-down sack, forced an intentional grounding penalty and piled on Brees for another drive-ending loss after the quarterback bobbled a high snap.
"To me, the guy that makes the whole thing go is the quarterback," Haslett explained. "We figured we're not going to let the quarterback sit back there and pick us apart. We were going to take some chances, come after him and try to disrupt him."
Haslett guessed that he called blitzes on about 16 of the first 18 plays the Saints ran.
"Defensively, I think they had a plan for us. They executed that plan very well," Brees said. "They did a great job of getting pressure and their offense really helped the defense out by staying on the field."
Brees finished with 272 yards and two touchdowns, but most of it came while New Orleans ran a hurry-up offense in a belated comeback attempt that finally ended when the Saints failed to recover an onside kick with a half-minute remaining.
As a rookie head coach in 2000, Haslett led the Saints to the playoffs and was named coach of the year. He never got back there, though, as the Saints hovered around .500 for the next four seasons. They went 3-13 in 2005, when Katrina forced the team to relocate to a makeshift headquarters in San Antonio and play all home games outside New Orleans.
Sean Payton took over the next season, and like Haslett, took New Orleans to the playoffs and won coach of the year as a rookie coach.
Payton was worried about this game, however. Coaches placed rat traps around the Saints' training headquarters during the past week, a ploy to prevent their players from overlooking what they saw as a "trap game" against a winless but hungry and talented team.
It seemed to work early on, as the Saints scored on their opening possession, capped by Bush's 7-yard touchdown run. But the Rams would score the next 34 points from midway through the first quarter to early in the fourth.
Boos rained down from the Superdome crowd, this time validating the play of Haslett's unit.
"I've seen that before," said Haslett, who used to complain publicly about New Orleans fans booing at the first sign of things going wrong.
"I read in the paper last week they booed the kicker before he kicked a field goal. I remember when they booed our quarterback [Aaron Brooks] before the game started," Haslett continued. "That's how they are ... but they are good fans. They know their football, they live and die with it, so you've got to appreciate that."
Colts Hit A Wall With Injuries - Lose To Chargers 23-21 - ESPN
It hurts to see the Cols drop two games like this. One they should have won -- New England; the other they could have won even though they played terribly and lost -- San Diego.
A tough loss -- but a justified one for the Colts
By John Clayton
ESPN.com
(Archive)
Updated: November 12, 2007
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SAN DIEGO -- On a night filled with head-scratching frustration and dagger-through-the heart disappointment, Tony Dungy ultimately came to one conclusion: Justice was served. The 23-21 loss his Colts suffered to the Chargers didn't feel good, not good at all. But it felt right -- in some sick, twisted way.
"It's a game we probably didn't deserve to win," Dungy said, "and we didn't."
That's because the Colts who showed up to play Sunday night at Qualcomm Stadium did not -- other than a hard, tenacious effort by the defense -- resemble the defending Super Bowl champions. These were not your Dungy Colts. These were not your Peyton Manning Colts. Instead, these were your Rod Dowhower Colts, circa 1986, a throwback to the days when mistakes were the norm and the team seemed more interested in acquiring the top pick in the draft.
Donald Miralle/Getty Images
It was a bad night for Peyton Manning, but he still had the Colts in position to win.
Consider on this night:
• Manning throwing a career-high six interceptions (three to Chargers cornerback Antonio Cromartie), setting a franchise record in the process.
• Adam Vinatieri, one of the best clutch kickers in NFL history, missing two field goals, including the 29-yard chip shot that would've given Indianapolis a one-point lead with 1:31 left.
• The special teams allowing two touchdowns by San Diego return specialist Darren Sproles -- a kickoff return and a punt return, both in the first quarter.
• Dungy calling a dumb final timeout with 1:34 left before Vinatieri's last field goal attempt. That final timeout handcuffed Manning when he got the ball back with 22 seconds left because he had no way to stop the clock.
Yet despite all that, the turnovers and errant kicks and special-teams breakdowns and all the rest, the Colts still -- remarkably, incredibly -- had a chance to win after rallying from a 23-0 deficit.
The win even seemed to be a foregone conclusion when Colts running back Joseph Addai appeared to have picked up a first down on a 3-yard run to the Chargers' 6 with 1:36 remaining. Officials on the field signaled a first down … but officials in the replay booth challenged the spot. That caused an uproar on the Indianapolis sideline. Dungy had never seen that happen before, a replay challenging a spot in the final minutes.
Referee Gene Steratore reversed the call on the field and set up a fourth-and-1. The next play was, amazingly, even more bizarre and frustrating for the Colts.
Manning was on the field to run off clock time and try to draw the Chargers offside. As tight end Ben Utecht arose from a three-point stance, two other Colts started to motion to a new formation. Indy runs this play all the time, and according to Dungy, the league office said just last week that the Utecht type of shift was legal.
But it wasn't legal Sunday night, at least not to Steratore's officiating crew. Out came the false start flag, the call being that Utecht's move was too abrupt. Dungy complained in vain to officials. Still, he had Mr. Clutch -- Vinatieri -- waiting to give the Colts the lead.
Instead, the kick went wide right … barely. A few minutes later, the loss was official, and all of a sudden Indianapolis finds itself in a mini-crisis mode, with a two-game losing streak and just a one-game division lead over Jacksonville and Tennessee.
Yes, we know what you're thinking, that the Colts had a hangover from last week's tough loss to the Patriots, that they simply couldn't rebound quick enough from that emotionally draining game. To make matters worse, the physical shortcomings were even tougher to overcome.
On the pregame injury report, Indy looked like a team that had traveled to San Diego in an ambulance. The offense was missing three starters -- wide receiver Marvin Harrison, tight end Dallas Clark and left tackle Tony Ugoh. Out on defense were defensive tackle Raheem Brock and linebackers Freddie Keiaho and Tyjuan Hagler.
AP Photo/Denis Poroy
Adam Vinatieri isn't used to blowing a chance to nail the game-winning field goal.
Although Dungy preaches to his team not to use injuries as an excuse, Manning's offense was clearly undermanned. The Colts had just 17 active players on offense, and during the game, tackles Charlie Johnson and Ryan Diem were injured. That left Manning with three wide receivers, two tight ends, five offensive linemen and three running backs.
"We don't use injuries as an excuse, but we still had a chance to win the game," Manning said. "We have no choice but to refocus. … To lose two in a row is disappointing. Getting a win is the best remedy for a two-game losing streak."
Manning and Dungy had pained looks on their faces after the game, but few players were seen in the locker room. That's because they were in the training room. Defensive end Dwight Freeney left in the fourth quarter with a lower left leg injury. He left the stadium wearing a boot. Defensive end Keyunta Dawson followed him with what appeared to be a broken or badly bruised hand.
Indianapolis was down to third-stringers along the defensive and offensive line, at linebacker and at wide receiver.
"We certainly have not had a lot of breaks go our way as far as injuries," Manning said. "A lot of those things are out of your control. Hopefully, we can get some guys back. We've got to find a way to get a win, and certainly that starts with me playing better."
Manning blamed his interceptions and misfires on bad throws and bad decisions, but it was clear early in the game that the offense was struggling with Aaron Moorehead and Craphonso Thorpe trying to play the roles of Harrison and Anthony Gonzalez in the three-receiver sets. Thorpe has been around the NFL for four years with four teams but hadn't caught a pass in a game until Sunday night. Utecht and Bryan Fletcher won't be confused with Clark at tight end.
It didn't help that the Colts trailed 16-0 just 10 minutes into the game. Manning, trying to make something happen, was intercepted three times in the opening quarter as he threw to spots in which the pass-catchers weren't present. Thorpe and Moorehead lack the speed and experience to replace the injured Indy starters. In each half, Manning dialed up potential touchdown passes that Reggie Wayne or Harrison would have caught. Thorpe and Moorehead missed getting to them by a step or two.
Then, when LaDainian Tomlinson gave San Diego a 23-0 lead with a 4-yard run midway through the second quarter, Manning was robbed of another offensive weapon. Now, he couldn't balance the offense with runs by Addai.
So Manning (34-for-58, 328 yards) hoped to just chip away at the Chargers defense. He found Wayne for an 8-yard touchdown pass for the Colts' first score. Then he directed a lengthy drive that resulted in Vinatieri's having to rush onto the field in the final 10 seconds of the half. But he could not connect on the rushed 42-yard attempt.
"You're running out there as fast as you can to get things going, and I was just trying to get it off before the clock ran out," Vinatieri said. "It was perfect operation. It was just on me. If I make either one of those two, the game is different, and I let the team down."
The Chargers gave the Colts every chance to come back. Philip Rivers struggled and made turnovers. Norv Turner kept calling Tomlinson running plays and was booed by the San Diego crowd. Manning kept firing passes and was in position to win.
But the Colts, taking their cue from Dungy, knew they didn't deserve a victory.
"Usually when you have that many turnovers and you make that many interceptions, you usually don't have a chance," Manning said. "We kept fighting. We had a chance there at the end."
The Colts had the chance, and the way they lost was even more painful -- even if the outcome was justified.
John Clayton, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame writers' wing, is a senior writer for ESPN.com.
A tough loss -- but a justified one for the Colts
By John Clayton
ESPN.com
(Archive)
Updated: November 12, 2007
Comment
SAN DIEGO -- On a night filled with head-scratching frustration and dagger-through-the heart disappointment, Tony Dungy ultimately came to one conclusion: Justice was served. The 23-21 loss his Colts suffered to the Chargers didn't feel good, not good at all. But it felt right -- in some sick, twisted way.
"It's a game we probably didn't deserve to win," Dungy said, "and we didn't."
That's because the Colts who showed up to play Sunday night at Qualcomm Stadium did not -- other than a hard, tenacious effort by the defense -- resemble the defending Super Bowl champions. These were not your Dungy Colts. These were not your Peyton Manning Colts. Instead, these were your Rod Dowhower Colts, circa 1986, a throwback to the days when mistakes were the norm and the team seemed more interested in acquiring the top pick in the draft.
Donald Miralle/Getty Images
It was a bad night for Peyton Manning, but he still had the Colts in position to win.
Consider on this night:
• Manning throwing a career-high six interceptions (three to Chargers cornerback Antonio Cromartie), setting a franchise record in the process.
• Adam Vinatieri, one of the best clutch kickers in NFL history, missing two field goals, including the 29-yard chip shot that would've given Indianapolis a one-point lead with 1:31 left.
• The special teams allowing two touchdowns by San Diego return specialist Darren Sproles -- a kickoff return and a punt return, both in the first quarter.
• Dungy calling a dumb final timeout with 1:34 left before Vinatieri's last field goal attempt. That final timeout handcuffed Manning when he got the ball back with 22 seconds left because he had no way to stop the clock.
Yet despite all that, the turnovers and errant kicks and special-teams breakdowns and all the rest, the Colts still -- remarkably, incredibly -- had a chance to win after rallying from a 23-0 deficit.
The win even seemed to be a foregone conclusion when Colts running back Joseph Addai appeared to have picked up a first down on a 3-yard run to the Chargers' 6 with 1:36 remaining. Officials on the field signaled a first down … but officials in the replay booth challenged the spot. That caused an uproar on the Indianapolis sideline. Dungy had never seen that happen before, a replay challenging a spot in the final minutes.
Referee Gene Steratore reversed the call on the field and set up a fourth-and-1. The next play was, amazingly, even more bizarre and frustrating for the Colts.
Manning was on the field to run off clock time and try to draw the Chargers offside. As tight end Ben Utecht arose from a three-point stance, two other Colts started to motion to a new formation. Indy runs this play all the time, and according to Dungy, the league office said just last week that the Utecht type of shift was legal.
But it wasn't legal Sunday night, at least not to Steratore's officiating crew. Out came the false start flag, the call being that Utecht's move was too abrupt. Dungy complained in vain to officials. Still, he had Mr. Clutch -- Vinatieri -- waiting to give the Colts the lead.
Instead, the kick went wide right … barely. A few minutes later, the loss was official, and all of a sudden Indianapolis finds itself in a mini-crisis mode, with a two-game losing streak and just a one-game division lead over Jacksonville and Tennessee.
Yes, we know what you're thinking, that the Colts had a hangover from last week's tough loss to the Patriots, that they simply couldn't rebound quick enough from that emotionally draining game. To make matters worse, the physical shortcomings were even tougher to overcome.
On the pregame injury report, Indy looked like a team that had traveled to San Diego in an ambulance. The offense was missing three starters -- wide receiver Marvin Harrison, tight end Dallas Clark and left tackle Tony Ugoh. Out on defense were defensive tackle Raheem Brock and linebackers Freddie Keiaho and Tyjuan Hagler.
AP Photo/Denis Poroy
Adam Vinatieri isn't used to blowing a chance to nail the game-winning field goal.
Although Dungy preaches to his team not to use injuries as an excuse, Manning's offense was clearly undermanned. The Colts had just 17 active players on offense, and during the game, tackles Charlie Johnson and Ryan Diem were injured. That left Manning with three wide receivers, two tight ends, five offensive linemen and three running backs.
"We don't use injuries as an excuse, but we still had a chance to win the game," Manning said. "We have no choice but to refocus. … To lose two in a row is disappointing. Getting a win is the best remedy for a two-game losing streak."
Manning and Dungy had pained looks on their faces after the game, but few players were seen in the locker room. That's because they were in the training room. Defensive end Dwight Freeney left in the fourth quarter with a lower left leg injury. He left the stadium wearing a boot. Defensive end Keyunta Dawson followed him with what appeared to be a broken or badly bruised hand.
Indianapolis was down to third-stringers along the defensive and offensive line, at linebacker and at wide receiver.
"We certainly have not had a lot of breaks go our way as far as injuries," Manning said. "A lot of those things are out of your control. Hopefully, we can get some guys back. We've got to find a way to get a win, and certainly that starts with me playing better."
Manning blamed his interceptions and misfires on bad throws and bad decisions, but it was clear early in the game that the offense was struggling with Aaron Moorehead and Craphonso Thorpe trying to play the roles of Harrison and Anthony Gonzalez in the three-receiver sets. Thorpe has been around the NFL for four years with four teams but hadn't caught a pass in a game until Sunday night. Utecht and Bryan Fletcher won't be confused with Clark at tight end.
It didn't help that the Colts trailed 16-0 just 10 minutes into the game. Manning, trying to make something happen, was intercepted three times in the opening quarter as he threw to spots in which the pass-catchers weren't present. Thorpe and Moorehead lack the speed and experience to replace the injured Indy starters. In each half, Manning dialed up potential touchdown passes that Reggie Wayne or Harrison would have caught. Thorpe and Moorehead missed getting to them by a step or two.
Then, when LaDainian Tomlinson gave San Diego a 23-0 lead with a 4-yard run midway through the second quarter, Manning was robbed of another offensive weapon. Now, he couldn't balance the offense with runs by Addai.
So Manning (34-for-58, 328 yards) hoped to just chip away at the Chargers defense. He found Wayne for an 8-yard touchdown pass for the Colts' first score. Then he directed a lengthy drive that resulted in Vinatieri's having to rush onto the field in the final 10 seconds of the half. But he could not connect on the rushed 42-yard attempt.
"You're running out there as fast as you can to get things going, and I was just trying to get it off before the clock ran out," Vinatieri said. "It was perfect operation. It was just on me. If I make either one of those two, the game is different, and I let the team down."
The Chargers gave the Colts every chance to come back. Philip Rivers struggled and made turnovers. Norv Turner kept calling Tomlinson running plays and was booed by the San Diego crowd. Manning kept firing passes and was in position to win.
But the Colts, taking their cue from Dungy, knew they didn't deserve a victory.
"Usually when you have that many turnovers and you make that many interceptions, you usually don't have a chance," Manning said. "We kept fighting. We had a chance there at the end."
The Colts had the chance, and the way they lost was even more painful -- even if the outcome was justified.
John Clayton, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame writers' wing, is a senior writer for ESPN.com.
Adrian Peterson Has Torn Ligament After Packers Game - ESPN
Record-setting Vikings back has ligament injury in knee
ESPN.com news services
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson will miss Sunday's game against Oakland Raiders with a torn ligament in his right knee, coach Brad Childress said Monday.
Childress said Peterson tore his lateral collateral ligament in the Vikings' 34-0 loss to Green Bay. Peterson will not require surgery, Childress said.
"The good news is that the knee is otherwise stable and the injury is isolated to that ligament," Childress said. "I'm told that's a good healing ligament."
Childress said this is not a season-ending injury, but he did not talk about when Peterson might be back.
Peterson was hurt just a week after he set an NFL single-game rushing record with 296 yards in a victory over San Diego.
Peterson wasn't even sure who tackled him late in the third quarter of Sunday's 34-0 loss to Green Bay. After an 11-yard catch on a screen, he was hit by Packers cornerback Al Harris and went tumbling, his feet high in the air.
Peterson said he believed Harris' low hit was clean. The rookie writhed in pain on the field afterward, fearing he might have torn a ligament, and players immediately called over trainers.
His fears were justified Monday following results of an MRI.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
ESPN.com news services
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson will miss Sunday's game against Oakland Raiders with a torn ligament in his right knee, coach Brad Childress said Monday.
Childress said Peterson tore his lateral collateral ligament in the Vikings' 34-0 loss to Green Bay. Peterson will not require surgery, Childress said.
"The good news is that the knee is otherwise stable and the injury is isolated to that ligament," Childress said. "I'm told that's a good healing ligament."
Childress said this is not a season-ending injury, but he did not talk about when Peterson might be back.
Peterson was hurt just a week after he set an NFL single-game rushing record with 296 yards in a victory over San Diego.
Peterson wasn't even sure who tackled him late in the third quarter of Sunday's 34-0 loss to Green Bay. After an 11-yard catch on a screen, he was hit by Packers cornerback Al Harris and went tumbling, his feet high in the air.
Peterson said he believed Harris' low hit was clean. The rookie writhed in pain on the field afterward, fearing he might have torn a ligament, and players immediately called over trainers.
His fears were justified Monday following results of an MRI.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
YouTube Community Council - My View On The Group
This video's a response to BravesGirl's presentation of the YouTube Community Council of which she's a part. I'm happy to see she's on it, but I have one major criticism which I present in this video.
"Meet The Press'" Tim Russert Misquotes Senator Barack Obama
Recently, NBC and MSNBC have been agressively working to change the terms of debate in the 2008 Presidential Race. This video's a great example. According to MediaMatters..
-- During his November 11 Meet the Press interview with Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (IL) on NBC's Meet the Press, host Tim Russert asserted that "critics will say you've not been a leader against the war," and then read a quote he attributed to Obama: "In July of 2004, Barack Obama: 'I'm not privy to Senate intelligence reports. ... What would I have done? I don't know,' in terms of how you would have voted on the war." After quoting two other Obama statements on the war, Russert concluded: "It doesn't seem that you were firmly wedded against the war and that you left some wiggle room that, if you were in the Senate, you may have voted for it." However, in citing Obama's comment "What would I have done? I don't know," Russert did not quote the very next sentence of Obama's statement, which was, "What I know is that from my vantage point the case [for authorizing the war] was not made." --
In other words, Tim Russert Misquoted Barack Obama, and perhaps deliberately. I think NBC's new approach is based on the idea that all politicians tell "less" than the truth about their beliefs. But it's easier to approach a line of questioning following that idea with Senator Clinton than it is with Senator Obama, who's quite authentic in his views -- that is, he's not always changing his stance, if he ever has, or has had to. This consistency of message damages NBC's approach, and results in this situation where Russert should appologize to Senator Obama.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Dick Nolan - Coaching Legend of Cowboys, 49ers, and New Orleans Saints Passes Away at 75
Former 49ers, Saints coach Dick Nolan dies at 75 - Canadian News
SAN FRANCISCO - Dick Nolan, the former coach of the San Francisco 49ers and the father of current coach Mike Nolan, died Sunday, the 49ers said. He was 75.
Dick Nolan, a former NFL defensive back who also coached the New Orleans Saints, had been in declining health with Alzheimer's disease and prostate cancer for several years. He spent the last few months at an assisted-care facility in the Dallas area, near his longtime home with his wife, Ann.
Mike Nolan missed practice with the 49ers on Friday and Saturday, travelling back to Texas to be with his father. Team spokesman Aaron Salkin said Nolan would coach the 49ers on Monday night against the Seattle Seahawks.
Dick Nolan played nine NFL seasons before becoming a coach, assisting Hall of Famer Tom Landry in Dallas and going 71-85-3 in nearly 11 seasons with San Francisco and New Orleans. He led the perennially downtrodden 49ers to 56 wins, three division titles and two conference championship games in eight years with the club.
Dick and Mike Nolan were just the fifth father and son to become NFL head coaches, and the first to coach the same team since Bum and Wade Phillips both coached the Saints.
Mike Nolan convinced the NFL to allow him to wear dress suits on the 49ers' sideline last season partly in tribute to his father, who always dressed smartly.
"My father always projected an image of authority, and I wanted to honour him - the way he lived his life and his whole career as a coach," Mike Nolan said.
Born in Pittsburgh and raised in White Plains, N.Y., Dick Nolan played college football at Maryland and went on to a playing NFL career with the New York Giants, Chicago Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys, mostly as a hard-hitting safety.
"He made himself into not just a good player, he was an extraordinary player," former teammate Frank Gifford told the New York Daily News earlier this year. "He didn't have the physical talent to do it all. He just willed himself. He was smart. He was tough - as good as there comes in that respect."
After retiring in 1962, Nolan spent six seasons as an assistant to Landry, his longtime friend and former teammate with the Giants. The 49ers hired him in 1968 to take over a franchise that had made just one playoff appearance in its 18 NFL seasons.
San Francisco went 7-6-1 in his first season before breaking through in 1970, going 10-3-1 and getting the 49ers' first playoff win at Minnesota before falling to Dallas in the NFC title game.
The 49ers made playoff appearances in 1971 and 1972, losing to the Cowboys both times. Nolan was in charge when the 49ers moved from Kezar Stadium near the Haight-Ashbury district to Candlestick Park on the shores of San Francisco Bay.
But the 49ers slumped to three consecutive losing seasons after their playoff appearances, and the same fans who once hailed Nolan as their saviour booed the Niners and cheered for Nolan's departure.
"That was the toughest time, but that's the life of a coach," Mike Nolan said. "My dad never took it personally, and he didn't take it personally when it happened again in New Orleans."
Nolan then coached the Saints from 1978-80, going 15-29 with the perennially downtrodden franchise, which fired him after the Saints lost the first 12 games of the 1980 season.
Nolan scouted and enjoyed retirement before his health worsened. In his final months, he was visited by many of his former players. In September, 49ers Hall of Famers Dave Wilcox and Jimmy Johnson joined Len Rohde and Ed Beard for an afternoon of reminiscing - and Nolan recognized them.
"My father kind of lit up when he saw them, and he doesn't do that very often," Mike Nolan said.
Nolan is survived by his wife and six children. Funeral arrangements are pending.
Dick Nolan passes away
Report from www.rotoworld.com
Former 49ers head coach Dick Nolan passed away on Sunday, according to FOXSports' Jay Glazer.Nolan is the father of Mike Nolan, who took a leave of absence from the 49ers to be with his dad late in the week. Mike still plans to attend Monday night's game against Seattle. Dick was also the coach of the Saints from 1978-80. He coached the Niners from 1968-1975. Dick Nolan was 75. Nov. 11 - 8:00 pm et
Former 49ers head coach Dick Nolan passed away on Sunday, according to FOXSports' Jay Glazer.Nolan is the father of Mike Nolan, who took a leave of absence from the 49ers to be with his dad late in the week. Mike still plans to attend Monday night's game against Seattle. Dick was also the coach of the Saints from 1978-80. He coached the Niners from 1968-1975. Dick Nolan was 75. Nov. 11 - 8:00 pm et
Jaguars RB Taylor eclipses 10,000 yards rushing
Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Jacksonville Jaguars running back Fred Taylor became the 21st player in NFL history on Sunday to rush for more than 10,000 yards in his career.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Complete coverage:
Video | Schedule | Stats
Roster | Depth chart | Transactions
Official team site: Jaguars.com
His 15-yard run on the Jaguars' opening drive put him at 10,002 yards for his career.
Taylor, who has never made a Pro Bowl, holds franchise rushing records for a career, season and game. Taylor also has led the Jaguars in rushing seven of the past nine seasons.
The former Florida Gators standout trails only the Arizona Cardinals' Edgerrin James among active running backs in yards rushing. Taylor began Sunday ninth in yards rushing per game (83.2) and 10th in yards from scrimmage per game (101.8) in league history.
Taylor is one of 27 players to have more than 2,000 carries for his career.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Jacksonville Jaguars running back Fred Taylor became the 21st player in NFL history on Sunday to rush for more than 10,000 yards in his career.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Complete coverage:
Video | Schedule | Stats
Roster | Depth chart | Transactions
Official team site: Jaguars.com
His 15-yard run on the Jaguars' opening drive put him at 10,002 yards for his career.
Taylor, who has never made a Pro Bowl, holds franchise rushing records for a career, season and game. Taylor also has led the Jaguars in rushing seven of the past nine seasons.
The former Florida Gators standout trails only the Arizona Cardinals' Edgerrin James among active running backs in yards rushing. Taylor began Sunday ninth in yards rushing per game (83.2) and 10th in yards from scrimmage per game (101.8) in league history.
Taylor is one of 27 players to have more than 2,000 carries for his career.
New Orleans' streetcars roll again- A Beautiful Sight To See
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AP) -- Amid a Carnival-like atmosphere, streetcars began rolling past the historic mansions of this city's Garden District Saturday for the first time since Hurricane Katrina halted the St. Charles Avenue line more than two years ago.
While only about half of the line is reopened, many see the return of the 1920s-era green cars as a sign of progress in the city's recovery and a morale booster.
"It's like having another piece of the puzzle, another piece of the city" back, said Melisa Rey, who rode on the first of a string of cars with her husband, Tom, and 10-month-old daughter, Jeanne-Marie. "It's so nice to finally have some good publicity," Tom Rey added.
Six of the 13 miles where the cars once ran are now open on the St. Charles line, and officials hope to restore full service by spring.
It's been slow going in large part due to the cost and scope of the storm's damage to the line's power system, due for an upgrade before the August 2005 storm. Mark Major, general manager of the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority, praised federal highway officials for providing $14 million that he said was key to the resumption of the service.
Politicians and local officials were on hand, as they were in December when an initial loop of about 1.2 miles opened. But the feel was different, more festive. Watch brass band celebrate return of St. Charles streetcars »
On Saturday, a marching band led the streetcars down to the Lee Circle loop. Revelers dotted the oak-lined avenue -- some waving or holding up drinks, others carrying signs that read "No More Bus" or "Welcome Back," or offering riders Mardi Gras beads or high-fives.
Councilwoman Stacy Head called the streetcars part of the city's identity -- "everything from the noise, the clanging down the avenue to the lights at night." The St. Charles line was the oldest continuously operating line in the world before Katrina shut it down in August 2005. It began operation in September 1835.
"It's what makes New Orleans feel like home," Head said. "It's as important as red beans and rice and Mardi Gras, and it's hard to explain to people who aren't part of this city how important this is as an icon and a real-life form of transportation."
Karen Miller grew up riding the streetcar and took it to work before Katrina. It's not just for tourists, and it's far more fun than riding a bus -- especially when the windows are down, she said. A warm breeze blew through the car in which she was riding.
Transit officials expect to run about five cars on the St. Charles line. The fare is $1.25 beginning Sunday; people got to take rides for free Saturday afternoon. Four or five streetcars also are running on the Canal Street line and two are available along the riverfront.
While only about half of the line is reopened, many see the return of the 1920s-era green cars as a sign of progress in the city's recovery and a morale booster.
"It's like having another piece of the puzzle, another piece of the city" back, said Melisa Rey, who rode on the first of a string of cars with her husband, Tom, and 10-month-old daughter, Jeanne-Marie. "It's so nice to finally have some good publicity," Tom Rey added.
Six of the 13 miles where the cars once ran are now open on the St. Charles line, and officials hope to restore full service by spring.
It's been slow going in large part due to the cost and scope of the storm's damage to the line's power system, due for an upgrade before the August 2005 storm. Mark Major, general manager of the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority, praised federal highway officials for providing $14 million that he said was key to the resumption of the service.
Politicians and local officials were on hand, as they were in December when an initial loop of about 1.2 miles opened. But the feel was different, more festive. Watch brass band celebrate return of St. Charles streetcars »
On Saturday, a marching band led the streetcars down to the Lee Circle loop. Revelers dotted the oak-lined avenue -- some waving or holding up drinks, others carrying signs that read "No More Bus" or "Welcome Back," or offering riders Mardi Gras beads or high-fives.
Councilwoman Stacy Head called the streetcars part of the city's identity -- "everything from the noise, the clanging down the avenue to the lights at night." The St. Charles line was the oldest continuously operating line in the world before Katrina shut it down in August 2005. It began operation in September 1835.
"It's what makes New Orleans feel like home," Head said. "It's as important as red beans and rice and Mardi Gras, and it's hard to explain to people who aren't part of this city how important this is as an icon and a real-life form of transportation."
Karen Miller grew up riding the streetcar and took it to work before Katrina. It's not just for tourists, and it's far more fun than riding a bus -- especially when the windows are down, she said. A warm breeze blew through the car in which she was riding.
Transit officials expect to run about five cars on the St. Charles line. The fare is $1.25 beginning Sunday; people got to take rides for free Saturday afternoon. Four or five streetcars also are running on the Canal Street line and two are available along the riverfront.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Wall Street Journal On Barack Obama And His Appeal To Black and White America
A classic and uplifting article that should be read by all Americans. It's a great window on how America has improved as a country.
Whites' Great Hope?
Barack Obama and the Dream of a Color-Blind America
By JONATHAN KAUFMAN
November 10, 2007; WSJ
Portland, Maine
Isaiah Oliver, a 24-year-old white social worker, grew up in this overwhelmingly white city and attended the predominantly white University of Richmond in Virginia. Ask him why he supports Barack Obama and he says it's because of the candidate's race.
"Because he's black it makes me want to believe that he will change things," says Mr. Oliver, leaving an Obama campaign rally here. "It feels like you are part of something that's starting to change American politics. It's the cool factor. He's a rock star."
As he campaigns across the country, Sen. Obama, the son of a black father and a white mother, is both revealing and tapping into a changed racial landscape, especially among younger whites. After decades of often bitter polarization and racial tension on issues ranging from the spread of civil rights to affirmative action, many whites say they are drawn to Sen. Obama precisely because they think his mixed-race background reflects America's increasingly diverse population and projects a more optimistic vision of the country's racial future.
Sen. Obama's candidacy, whether it succeeds or not, appears to mark a turning point in race and politics in America: It is prompting significant numbers of white Americans to consider voting for him not despite his racial background, but because of it.
"Obama is running an emancipating campaign," says Bob Tuke, who is white and is the former chairman of the Tennessee Democratic party. "He is emancipating white voters to vote for a black candidate."
Sean Briscoe, a 24-year-old white who writes a political blog in Nashville, is one: "Obama doesn't come with the baggage of the civil-rights movement, focusing entirely on the race issue," he says. "He went from Hawaii to Indonesia. He has been in all these places where you get an appreciation for people who aren't like you."
Two decades ago, Jesse Jackson broke new ground by challenging whites to consider a black mounting a serious run for the presidency. Now Sen. Obama and a new generation of black candidates are running campaigns that make whites feel good about themselves. These younger black politicians, including Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and Tennessee Senate candidate Harold Ford Jr., are, like Sen. Obama, seen by many whites as proof of the country's racial progress -- and their own.
Sen. Obama "doesn't steer away from race but makes sure that everything he does is influenced by his bi-racial identity," says Harvard Law School professor Charles Ogletree, who knew Mr. Obama as a law student and is advising the campaign.
"Obama has learned the lessons of [the failed candidacies] of Jackson and [Rev. Al] Sharpton, and married that with the smoothness of Colin Powell," says Scott Reed, a Republican strategist. "He has triangulated against all of them."
Sen. Obama continues to trail Sen. Hillary Clinton by substantial margins in national polls. Even with white support, he could become the equivalent of Eugene McCarthy in 1968 or Howard Dean in 2004, candidates who stirred fervor among white college students and intellectuals but were unable to win the nomination.
Sen. Obama and his campaign aides declined to be interviewed for this story. But his own writings and conversations with people who know him suggest his approach is both politically savvy and rooted in his own experiences.
He has always lived between two worlds. He is the son of a mother from Kansas and an African father, who separated when he was two years old. He lived in Indonesia for a time as a child, when his mother married an Indonesian, and then with his white grandparents in Hawaii. He excelled at elite institutions such as Columbia University and Harvard Law School, then worked in a black Chicago neighborhood. Friends say that double life has affected not just his personality but also his politics.
"Obama knows this is a majority white country," says Mary Pattillo, an African-American professor at Northwestern University who has known Sen. Obama for years. "He is acutely aware how his discussion of race and racial politics will be interpreted and received by whites. We who work in the white world are always mindful of not making whites feel threatened. You can't get angry as a black person working in white America. To get a message across, black professionals are always thinking about the perfect balance of assertiveness and non-threateningness."
Unlike Sen. Clinton, who regularly invokes the history-making achievement she could make by becoming the first woman president, Sen. Obama rarely mentions race directly in his campaign speeches.
Here in Portland, he emphasizes the "core decency of the American people" and his experience "bringing people together to get things done." He ends with a story about meeting an elderly woman in a small town in South Carolina who asked him if he was "fired up" and "ready to go" -- leading to a call and response chant that brings the crowd to its feet. Sen. Obama never mentions that the woman and the town are black.
"Barack is aimed at trying to get as much of the white vote as he can in order to win," says Ronald Walters, former campaign manager for Jesse Jackson's presidential campaign. The challenge facing black candidates like Sen. Obama who have national ambitions, says Mr. Walters, "isn't whether they're black enough. It's whether they're white enough."
Race remains a wild card in American politics. Candidates such as Mr. Ford, who narrowly lost the Senate race in Tennessee last year, have often come close to election only to find race flaring at the last minute to blunt their momentum.
"Obama knows that just because people are saying one thing doesn't mean they will vote that way," says Tim King, the African-American head of a charter school in Chicago who has known Sen. Obama for a decade. "No one ever really knows what people do once they close the curtain in the voting booth."
Sen. Obama's popularity among whites also stirs uneasiness among many blacks. In the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, Sen. Obama trails Sen. Clinton among black voters 46% to 37%.
"There is a lot of debate [among blacks] over how appealing Obama is to white folks," says Mr. King. "People are saying, 'Is he too likeable to white people?"'
"Obama doesn't really push people to consider what diversity really is," says Alfred DeFreece, a black teacher at Eastern Michigan University, who says many of his white students favor Obama. "He is close enough to what is a tolerated white norm, very much what is palatable and acceptable and good." Mr. DeFreece says he wonders whether Sen. Obama would be able to aggressively push social programs that help blacks in poverty and end discrimination.
At the same time, Mr. DeFreece also reflects the country's changing racial landscape. The woman he lives with is white.
Sen. Obama's rise reflects the ways American race relations have changed in the past 40 years -- the expansion of the black middle class, the rise of blacks to positions of prominence in business, academia and government, and a general lessening of racial tension.
About 75% of whites and 55% of blacks describe black-white relations as "somewhat good or very good," according to a recent Gallup poll. About 75% of whites and 85% of blacks say they support interracial marriage. In the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, 63% of registered voters said they believe voters are prepared to elect a qualified African-American as president, a dramatic increase from 1986 when just 29% said they thought America was ready to elect a black president. In the current poll, just 46% of voters say voters today are ready to elect a qualified Hispanic as president and 38% a qualified Mormon.
Sen. Obama runs stronger among younger voters who are at the forefront of many of these changing attitudes, from their embrace of hip-hop music to the diversity they encounter on college campuses. And he runs strongest among whites in their 30s and 40s who have lived through the racial changes of the past decades.
In the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, Sen. Obama trails Sen. Clinton among Democratic primary voters by 22 percentage points overall -- and by virtually the same amount among white voters alone. But his deficit is smaller -- 46% to 32% -- among voters aged 18 to 34 and he runs even with Sen. Clinton among voters aged 35-49. By contrast, he trails Sen. Clinton among voters over 50 by more than 30 points.
"I've met people who reminded me of Obama at high school," says Mae Mouk, a white 24-year-old assistant in a Washington, D.C., law firm who grew up in Baton Rouge, La. "I have dated outside my race. I had friends in high school and college who were in interracial relationships. I look at race differently than my grandparents and parents."
Most whites, of course, still live in largely segregated neighborhoods and have attended predominantly white schools. Even on more-diverse college campuses, blacks and whites tend to live in separate worlds. But many young whites pride themselves on being open-minded and on having been exposed to the rhetoric and reality of diversity.
"I don't see race as a big issue," says Mr. Briscoe, the Nashville blogger. "Most younger people can go in between the different communities and can get along with people of different backgrounds. It's a more multicultural way of life. I have friends of all different colors. I can listen to rap music."
Sen. Obama "is a citizen of the world," says David Bartholomew, a white law student at Boston College Law School. "Obama and my generation -- we see the future of the world as countries evolving together. Because of his background he can speak to a wider range of people than any other candidate. He can speak globally."
Younger voters like Mr. Briscoe and Mr. Bartholomew embrace Sen. Obama -- born in 1961 and too young to have marched with Martin Luther King Jr. -- as a post-Civil-Rights candidate. But his approach and campaign rhetoric consciously echo the hopeful spirit of the early civil rights days.
In his autobiography, written before he entered politics, Sen. Obama tells the story of his Kenyan father drinking with friends at a bar in Hawaii when a white man objects to being in a bar "next to a n-."
"The room fell quiet and people turned to my father, expecting a fight," Sen. Obama recounts. "Instead, my father stood up, walked over to the man, smiled and proceeded to lecture him about the folly of bigotry, the promise of the American dream, and the universal rights of man." The white man ends up buying Sen. Obama's father a round of drinks.
In the book, Sen. Obama looks back wistfully to the early 1960s, a "fleeting period" that promised "a bright new world where differences of race or culture would instruct and amuse and perhaps even ennoble."
By the late 1960s, both the rhetoric and substance of the Civil Rights Movement had sharpened with the rise of Black Power and groups like the Black Panthers, who accused whites of being racists, leading to an eventual white backlash and decades of black-white hostility and anger.
"The secret to Martin Luther King was that he flattered white Americans that you are better than you think you are," says Shelby Steele, a black research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. "The very essence of Obama's appeal is the idea that he represents racial idealism -- the idea that race is something that America can transcend. That's a very appealing idea. A lot of Americans would truly love to find a black candidate they could comfortably vote for for President of the United States."
Richard Harpootlian, a white lawyer and former state chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party, was in college in 1968 when King was assassinated. He recalls going down to Atlanta to walk in King's funeral cortege. "They played the 'I Have a Dream' speech with his line about judging his children not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character," Mr. Harpootlian recalls. On that day, "I thought we were never further away from that vision. When I met Barack Obama, I felt as I'd never felt before that he typifies what Dr. King was talking about."
At the Obama rally here, 17-year-old Nick Wright, a high school senior, is one of the few African-Americans in the crowded downtown arena. He sits at a table with a white classmate, welcoming people to the rally.
"Obama isn't just reaching out to the African-American community," says Eli Noll, the white classmate. "He's so much for the youth of America."
Mr. Wright nods in approval. "I just read about Malcolm X in English class," he says. "He had a lot of good things to say, but nobody listened because of some of the other things he said. Obama -- he doesn't have to be like Malcolm X."
Write to Jonathan Kaufman at jonathan.kaufman@wsj.com
Whites' Great Hope?
Barack Obama and the Dream of a Color-Blind America
By JONATHAN KAUFMAN
November 10, 2007; WSJ
Portland, Maine
Isaiah Oliver, a 24-year-old white social worker, grew up in this overwhelmingly white city and attended the predominantly white University of Richmond in Virginia. Ask him why he supports Barack Obama and he says it's because of the candidate's race.
"Because he's black it makes me want to believe that he will change things," says Mr. Oliver, leaving an Obama campaign rally here. "It feels like you are part of something that's starting to change American politics. It's the cool factor. He's a rock star."
As he campaigns across the country, Sen. Obama, the son of a black father and a white mother, is both revealing and tapping into a changed racial landscape, especially among younger whites. After decades of often bitter polarization and racial tension on issues ranging from the spread of civil rights to affirmative action, many whites say they are drawn to Sen. Obama precisely because they think his mixed-race background reflects America's increasingly diverse population and projects a more optimistic vision of the country's racial future.
Sen. Obama's candidacy, whether it succeeds or not, appears to mark a turning point in race and politics in America: It is prompting significant numbers of white Americans to consider voting for him not despite his racial background, but because of it.
"Obama is running an emancipating campaign," says Bob Tuke, who is white and is the former chairman of the Tennessee Democratic party. "He is emancipating white voters to vote for a black candidate."
Sean Briscoe, a 24-year-old white who writes a political blog in Nashville, is one: "Obama doesn't come with the baggage of the civil-rights movement, focusing entirely on the race issue," he says. "He went from Hawaii to Indonesia. He has been in all these places where you get an appreciation for people who aren't like you."
Two decades ago, Jesse Jackson broke new ground by challenging whites to consider a black mounting a serious run for the presidency. Now Sen. Obama and a new generation of black candidates are running campaigns that make whites feel good about themselves. These younger black politicians, including Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and Tennessee Senate candidate Harold Ford Jr., are, like Sen. Obama, seen by many whites as proof of the country's racial progress -- and their own.
Sen. Obama "doesn't steer away from race but makes sure that everything he does is influenced by his bi-racial identity," says Harvard Law School professor Charles Ogletree, who knew Mr. Obama as a law student and is advising the campaign.
"Obama has learned the lessons of [the failed candidacies] of Jackson and [Rev. Al] Sharpton, and married that with the smoothness of Colin Powell," says Scott Reed, a Republican strategist. "He has triangulated against all of them."
Sen. Obama continues to trail Sen. Hillary Clinton by substantial margins in national polls. Even with white support, he could become the equivalent of Eugene McCarthy in 1968 or Howard Dean in 2004, candidates who stirred fervor among white college students and intellectuals but were unable to win the nomination.
Sen. Obama and his campaign aides declined to be interviewed for this story. But his own writings and conversations with people who know him suggest his approach is both politically savvy and rooted in his own experiences.
He has always lived between two worlds. He is the son of a mother from Kansas and an African father, who separated when he was two years old. He lived in Indonesia for a time as a child, when his mother married an Indonesian, and then with his white grandparents in Hawaii. He excelled at elite institutions such as Columbia University and Harvard Law School, then worked in a black Chicago neighborhood. Friends say that double life has affected not just his personality but also his politics.
"Obama knows this is a majority white country," says Mary Pattillo, an African-American professor at Northwestern University who has known Sen. Obama for years. "He is acutely aware how his discussion of race and racial politics will be interpreted and received by whites. We who work in the white world are always mindful of not making whites feel threatened. You can't get angry as a black person working in white America. To get a message across, black professionals are always thinking about the perfect balance of assertiveness and non-threateningness."
Unlike Sen. Clinton, who regularly invokes the history-making achievement she could make by becoming the first woman president, Sen. Obama rarely mentions race directly in his campaign speeches.
Here in Portland, he emphasizes the "core decency of the American people" and his experience "bringing people together to get things done." He ends with a story about meeting an elderly woman in a small town in South Carolina who asked him if he was "fired up" and "ready to go" -- leading to a call and response chant that brings the crowd to its feet. Sen. Obama never mentions that the woman and the town are black.
"Barack is aimed at trying to get as much of the white vote as he can in order to win," says Ronald Walters, former campaign manager for Jesse Jackson's presidential campaign. The challenge facing black candidates like Sen. Obama who have national ambitions, says Mr. Walters, "isn't whether they're black enough. It's whether they're white enough."
Race remains a wild card in American politics. Candidates such as Mr. Ford, who narrowly lost the Senate race in Tennessee last year, have often come close to election only to find race flaring at the last minute to blunt their momentum.
"Obama knows that just because people are saying one thing doesn't mean they will vote that way," says Tim King, the African-American head of a charter school in Chicago who has known Sen. Obama for a decade. "No one ever really knows what people do once they close the curtain in the voting booth."
Sen. Obama's popularity among whites also stirs uneasiness among many blacks. In the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, Sen. Obama trails Sen. Clinton among black voters 46% to 37%.
"There is a lot of debate [among blacks] over how appealing Obama is to white folks," says Mr. King. "People are saying, 'Is he too likeable to white people?"'
"Obama doesn't really push people to consider what diversity really is," says Alfred DeFreece, a black teacher at Eastern Michigan University, who says many of his white students favor Obama. "He is close enough to what is a tolerated white norm, very much what is palatable and acceptable and good." Mr. DeFreece says he wonders whether Sen. Obama would be able to aggressively push social programs that help blacks in poverty and end discrimination.
At the same time, Mr. DeFreece also reflects the country's changing racial landscape. The woman he lives with is white.
Sen. Obama's rise reflects the ways American race relations have changed in the past 40 years -- the expansion of the black middle class, the rise of blacks to positions of prominence in business, academia and government, and a general lessening of racial tension.
About 75% of whites and 55% of blacks describe black-white relations as "somewhat good or very good," according to a recent Gallup poll. About 75% of whites and 85% of blacks say they support interracial marriage. In the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, 63% of registered voters said they believe voters are prepared to elect a qualified African-American as president, a dramatic increase from 1986 when just 29% said they thought America was ready to elect a black president. In the current poll, just 46% of voters say voters today are ready to elect a qualified Hispanic as president and 38% a qualified Mormon.
Sen. Obama runs stronger among younger voters who are at the forefront of many of these changing attitudes, from their embrace of hip-hop music to the diversity they encounter on college campuses. And he runs strongest among whites in their 30s and 40s who have lived through the racial changes of the past decades.
In the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, Sen. Obama trails Sen. Clinton among Democratic primary voters by 22 percentage points overall -- and by virtually the same amount among white voters alone. But his deficit is smaller -- 46% to 32% -- among voters aged 18 to 34 and he runs even with Sen. Clinton among voters aged 35-49. By contrast, he trails Sen. Clinton among voters over 50 by more than 30 points.
"I've met people who reminded me of Obama at high school," says Mae Mouk, a white 24-year-old assistant in a Washington, D.C., law firm who grew up in Baton Rouge, La. "I have dated outside my race. I had friends in high school and college who were in interracial relationships. I look at race differently than my grandparents and parents."
Most whites, of course, still live in largely segregated neighborhoods and have attended predominantly white schools. Even on more-diverse college campuses, blacks and whites tend to live in separate worlds. But many young whites pride themselves on being open-minded and on having been exposed to the rhetoric and reality of diversity.
"I don't see race as a big issue," says Mr. Briscoe, the Nashville blogger. "Most younger people can go in between the different communities and can get along with people of different backgrounds. It's a more multicultural way of life. I have friends of all different colors. I can listen to rap music."
Sen. Obama "is a citizen of the world," says David Bartholomew, a white law student at Boston College Law School. "Obama and my generation -- we see the future of the world as countries evolving together. Because of his background he can speak to a wider range of people than any other candidate. He can speak globally."
Younger voters like Mr. Briscoe and Mr. Bartholomew embrace Sen. Obama -- born in 1961 and too young to have marched with Martin Luther King Jr. -- as a post-Civil-Rights candidate. But his approach and campaign rhetoric consciously echo the hopeful spirit of the early civil rights days.
In his autobiography, written before he entered politics, Sen. Obama tells the story of his Kenyan father drinking with friends at a bar in Hawaii when a white man objects to being in a bar "next to a n-."
"The room fell quiet and people turned to my father, expecting a fight," Sen. Obama recounts. "Instead, my father stood up, walked over to the man, smiled and proceeded to lecture him about the folly of bigotry, the promise of the American dream, and the universal rights of man." The white man ends up buying Sen. Obama's father a round of drinks.
In the book, Sen. Obama looks back wistfully to the early 1960s, a "fleeting period" that promised "a bright new world where differences of race or culture would instruct and amuse and perhaps even ennoble."
By the late 1960s, both the rhetoric and substance of the Civil Rights Movement had sharpened with the rise of Black Power and groups like the Black Panthers, who accused whites of being racists, leading to an eventual white backlash and decades of black-white hostility and anger.
"The secret to Martin Luther King was that he flattered white Americans that you are better than you think you are," says Shelby Steele, a black research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. "The very essence of Obama's appeal is the idea that he represents racial idealism -- the idea that race is something that America can transcend. That's a very appealing idea. A lot of Americans would truly love to find a black candidate they could comfortably vote for for President of the United States."
Richard Harpootlian, a white lawyer and former state chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party, was in college in 1968 when King was assassinated. He recalls going down to Atlanta to walk in King's funeral cortege. "They played the 'I Have a Dream' speech with his line about judging his children not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character," Mr. Harpootlian recalls. On that day, "I thought we were never further away from that vision. When I met Barack Obama, I felt as I'd never felt before that he typifies what Dr. King was talking about."
At the Obama rally here, 17-year-old Nick Wright, a high school senior, is one of the few African-Americans in the crowded downtown arena. He sits at a table with a white classmate, welcoming people to the rally.
"Obama isn't just reaching out to the African-American community," says Eli Noll, the white classmate. "He's so much for the youth of America."
Mr. Wright nods in approval. "I just read about Malcolm X in English class," he says. "He had a lot of good things to say, but nobody listened because of some of the other things he said. Obama -- he doesn't have to be like Malcolm X."
Write to Jonathan Kaufman at jonathan.kaufman@wsj.com
Heroes On Hulu - Watch The Entire Episode "Out Of Time" Here, Now Live!
Click on the arrow to watch the entire Heroes episode "Out of Time."
Hulu is NBC's new website system that allows one to see HD-quality online versions of shows from NBC, CBS, and other providers. I don't see it as a YouTube replacement for reasons I state over at Zennie's Zeitgeist, but it's a fun system, none the less.
Hulu - I Get My Hulu Invitation, Watch Bionic Woman
I received my Hulu invitation two days ago, which allowed me to take a look around. It's not anywhere like YouTube, and in my view NBC and others that have elected to take down their YouTube channels have made a massive error. These platforms are complementary.
In my view, Hulu is simply network television online. YouTube is a video distribution device that's designed to cause viral video propagation. YouTube clips are generally between three and six minutes. "Bionic Woman" -- shown here -- is 42 minutes long (and you can watch the whole episode "The List" above right now). Thus, the best strategy for NBC is to maintain and explains its YouTube presence and install links to Hulu-based shows. In my view, Hulu will never reach YouTube's level of viewship just by design.
But that written, I like the Hulu system. The video picture is clear, even my Mom liked it and she's used to the standard tube and watches YouTube videos.
Hulu brings up another interesting question: are Hulu views part of the Nielsen ratings for Bionic Woman?
Barack Obama Charms Waitress In Iowa - Gets New Supporter Over Ice Cream
This was reported in Floridacounts.com
(COURTESY LA TIMES)--
Barack Obama made an unscheduled stop on his campaign bus tour of Iowa the other day. Even a presidential candidate needs an ice cream cone of an afternoon.
Obama got the ice cream cone in a dairy bar in Wapello. But he also got a little more than he bargained for. After ordering around $20 worth of snacks--mostly ice cream and onion rings--for his campaign group, Obama got to talking with the counter waitress, Angela Dossett, who had some non-edible pressing concerns.
Turns out, she's the widow of a Marine killed in Iraq three years ago. She's afraid she'll lose all her survivor benefits if she makes more money or remarries and moves on with her life. "I can't move on," she said. "If I do I lose'' medical and other benefits.
Obama, who is a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, made a note of her concerns. Afterwards, she said Obama was the first presidential candidate to stop by the small diner. Now she is favorably disposed toward him. "He's really a nice guy,'' Dossett told The Times' Janet Hook.
Obama could have gotten away without paying the check. As the candidate was about to leave, one employee told him that the diner owner, who shyly stayed in the back kitchen, would spare him the bill if he just left an autograph. But the senator had already paid.
Obama chose vanilla, by the way.
--Andrew Malcolm
(COURTESY LA TIMES)--
Barack Obama made an unscheduled stop on his campaign bus tour of Iowa the other day. Even a presidential candidate needs an ice cream cone of an afternoon.
Obama got the ice cream cone in a dairy bar in Wapello. But he also got a little more than he bargained for. After ordering around $20 worth of snacks--mostly ice cream and onion rings--for his campaign group, Obama got to talking with the counter waitress, Angela Dossett, who had some non-edible pressing concerns.
Turns out, she's the widow of a Marine killed in Iraq three years ago. She's afraid she'll lose all her survivor benefits if she makes more money or remarries and moves on with her life. "I can't move on," she said. "If I do I lose'' medical and other benefits.
Obama, who is a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, made a note of her concerns. Afterwards, she said Obama was the first presidential candidate to stop by the small diner. Now she is favorably disposed toward him. "He's really a nice guy,'' Dossett told The Times' Janet Hook.
Obama could have gotten away without paying the check. As the candidate was about to leave, one employee told him that the diner owner, who shyly stayed in the back kitchen, would spare him the bill if he just left an autograph. But the senator had already paid.
Obama chose vanilla, by the way.
--Andrew Malcolm
Daniel Craig | James Bond 007 Casino Royale Opening Segment
Daniel Craig | James Bond 007 Casino Royale Opening Segment
Another James Bond Classic movie opening.
Friday, November 09, 2007
Ron Paul Questions Ben Bernanke On Fed Policy
Texas Congressman and Presidential Candidate Ron Paul is really giving great questions to Ben Bernanke on Federal Reserve Policy, particularly dealing with exchange rates. Watch for yourself.
Barack Obama - CBS News Reports A Surging Obama Campaign
Hillary Clinton's slips in the last debate caused this shift, aiong with the Obama campaign's constant focus.
(CBS) The crowds are enthusiastic, and the candidate is pumped.
A week of mostly positive press coverage, a star-turn last Saturday night and a tougher, more competitive tone in the debates and on the stump have convinced Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., there’s a chance now to reshape his political destiny, CBS News correspondent Dean Reynolds reports.
“I disagree with Senator Clinton,” he's said on the campaign trail. “Just remember who got it right and who got it wrong in the most important decision! I strongly disagree with Sen. Clinton on her commitment to block a war in Iran.”
For Obama, the roll-out is over and the rumble is on.
“It’s changed the dynamic in the race,” Obama told CBS News. “I think there was a period of time when things were static and people liked what they were hearing from me, but they didn't have a sense that there were significant differences between me and Sen. Clinton.”
At stop after stop, Obama tries to draw even sharper distinctions with Clinton on Iraq, on Iran, on immigration and on who could better unite the country.
Voters are taking notice.
“He's sharpening himself and honing himself and I think that's more effective than being Mr. Nice Guy,” said Iowa caucus voter Nancy Nieland.
But it’s not a risk-free strategy.
“The question is whether Sen. Obama is gonna be comfortable attacking and in fact, the more he attacks, whether that causes some damage to his reputation, in his image and frankly, in his message,” said political analyst Stuart Rothenberg.
Obama says playing it safe is for others - Clinton for example.
“I don’t fault her for that. That is how people have been taught politics in Washington. That’s conventional wisdom, right?” Obama said. “You make yourself a small target by avoiding being definitive about anything.”
Democrats have tried that before, he says - and lost.
(CBS) The crowds are enthusiastic, and the candidate is pumped.
A week of mostly positive press coverage, a star-turn last Saturday night and a tougher, more competitive tone in the debates and on the stump have convinced Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., there’s a chance now to reshape his political destiny, CBS News correspondent Dean Reynolds reports.
“I disagree with Senator Clinton,” he's said on the campaign trail. “Just remember who got it right and who got it wrong in the most important decision! I strongly disagree with Sen. Clinton on her commitment to block a war in Iran.”
For Obama, the roll-out is over and the rumble is on.
“It’s changed the dynamic in the race,” Obama told CBS News. “I think there was a period of time when things were static and people liked what they were hearing from me, but they didn't have a sense that there were significant differences between me and Sen. Clinton.”
At stop after stop, Obama tries to draw even sharper distinctions with Clinton on Iraq, on Iran, on immigration and on who could better unite the country.
Voters are taking notice.
“He's sharpening himself and honing himself and I think that's more effective than being Mr. Nice Guy,” said Iowa caucus voter Nancy Nieland.
But it’s not a risk-free strategy.
“The question is whether Sen. Obama is gonna be comfortable attacking and in fact, the more he attacks, whether that causes some damage to his reputation, in his image and frankly, in his message,” said political analyst Stuart Rothenberg.
Obama says playing it safe is for others - Clinton for example.
“I don’t fault her for that. That is how people have been taught politics in Washington. That’s conventional wisdom, right?” Obama said. “You make yourself a small target by avoiding being definitive about anything.”
Democrats have tried that before, he says - and lost.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Zogby Poll Has Iowa Race Near Dead-Heat - Clinton Two Points Over Obama
It's getting tighter. The latest Zogby Poll has Clinton just three points ahead of Obama, 28 to 25 percent with Edwards at 21 percent.
San Francisco DA Kamela Harris Wins Seat Unopposed
Congratulations to Kamela Harris on her election victory as San Francisco DA! She will be a great Mayor of SF, too!
Hillary Clinton Gets Max Donations From Pakistan Lobbyist
This is from a Huff Post Blogger Zephyr Teachout.
Zephyr reports...
"Like others in the race for the White House, Hillary Clinton has strong words for Pakistan, but has yet to propose the United States seriously consider limiting its aid to the country. But unlike the other leading Democratic presidential hopefuls, Edwards and Obama, she has accepted tens of thousands of dollars from Pakistan's lobbyists, Cassidy & Associates. Its founder, Gerald Cassidy, long ago maxed out his donations to her.
According to the Foreign Agents Registration Act website, Pakistan recently hired Cassidy and Associates for a one year, $1.2 million/year contract. The Cassidy contract with Pakistan makes for good reading. For the $1.2 million, "target audiences will be identified for critical message reception," and Cassidy will inventively move beyond pushing pieces in the mainstream media, also focusing on blog outreach. In other words, Cassidy will shill and propagandize for one year, and use its contacts in Washington--presumably including Clinton--to ensure that the billions in aid are not diminished, regardless of what the government does to its citizens and its elections. According to The Hill, Pakistan's lead lobbyist is Robin Raphel, who served in the Clinton administration."
Read the rest here.
Zephyr reports...
"Like others in the race for the White House, Hillary Clinton has strong words for Pakistan, but has yet to propose the United States seriously consider limiting its aid to the country. But unlike the other leading Democratic presidential hopefuls, Edwards and Obama, she has accepted tens of thousands of dollars from Pakistan's lobbyists, Cassidy & Associates. Its founder, Gerald Cassidy, long ago maxed out his donations to her.
According to the Foreign Agents Registration Act website, Pakistan recently hired Cassidy and Associates for a one year, $1.2 million/year contract. The Cassidy contract with Pakistan makes for good reading. For the $1.2 million, "target audiences will be identified for critical message reception," and Cassidy will inventively move beyond pushing pieces in the mainstream media, also focusing on blog outreach. In other words, Cassidy will shill and propagandize for one year, and use its contacts in Washington--presumably including Clinton--to ensure that the billions in aid are not diminished, regardless of what the government does to its citizens and its elections. According to The Hill, Pakistan's lead lobbyist is Robin Raphel, who served in the Clinton administration."
Read the rest here.
Barack Obama - Right About Pakistan; Clinton, Giuliani Wrong - Ruben Navarrette Jr, CNN
Barack Obama's call regarding our Pakistan policy was timely, and shows that his judgement is better than that of Clinton or Giuliani or Edwards or Romney. CNN's Ruben Navarrette Jr. agrees.
SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- This week, like a lot of Americans, I have Pakistan on my mind -- again.
Ruben Navarrette Jr.: The United States has leverage with Pakistan in the form of military and economic aid.
The last time was in August when that country made a cameo appearance in the 2008 presidential campaign. When Sen. Barack Obama suggested getting out of Iraq and moving "onto the right battlefield in Afghanistan and Pakistan," and then pledged, if elected president, to go into Pakistan if our military was in hot pursuit of "high-value terrorist targets" (read: Osama bin Laden), his opponents pounced.
Rudy Giuliani suggested that Obama should be more accommodating of Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf. Mitt Romney said that Obama was "confused as to who are our friends and who are our enemies." Sen. John McCain called Obama's remarks "kind of typical of his naivete." And Sen. Hillary Clinton said that Obama's foreign policy views were "irresponsible and frankly naive."
And while U.S. intelligence agencies put bin Laden in the remote tribal areas of western Pakistan, the Pakistani ambassador to the United States insisted that, if the U.S. military went into his country after bin Laden, it would destabilize the region.
You don't say. What do you call what is happening now?
In a power grab intended to head off a likely decision by the country's Supreme Court declaring him ineligible to serve another term, Musharraf has declared a state of emergency, suspended the constitution, limited freedom of the press, detained more than 1,000 lawyers and opposition leaders, and put the next round of elections on hold indefinitely. With that, a key U.S. ally in the war on terror -- and a nuclear power to boot -- seems to be spinning out of control.
Now for the really depressing part: The United States seems powerless to stop it. Speaking for his administration, President Bush said Monday that it is "our hope" that Musharraf will "restore democracy as quickly as possible."
Hope? Easy, Mr. President. You don't want to be too aggressive. You might scare him off. Is hope all we have left when dealing with Pakistan? What about the leverage that should come from providing the country with military and economic aid to the tune of -- according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies -- at least $10 billion since September 11, 2001?
By comparison, the amount of aid that Great Britain plans to give Pakistan -- $493 million over the next three years -- seems like a pittance. And yet the Brits say that they're reviewing their aid package in light of the crackdown and demanding that Pakistan's government release all detainees.
That's a splash of moral leadership -- and a good example for the United States to follow. After all, what good is having a friend in that part of the world if it is no friend of freedom and democracy? And, if expedience has us cozying up to a petty dictator who puts his interests before those of his country, what makes us think that -- when push comes to shove -- he won't put his interests before ours? And, if that's true, tell me again why this relationship is worth preserving.
Ruben Navarrette Jr. is a member of the editorial board of the San Diego Union-Tribune and a nationally syndicated columnist. You can read his column here.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer. E-mail to a friend
SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- This week, like a lot of Americans, I have Pakistan on my mind -- again.
Ruben Navarrette Jr.: The United States has leverage with Pakistan in the form of military and economic aid.
The last time was in August when that country made a cameo appearance in the 2008 presidential campaign. When Sen. Barack Obama suggested getting out of Iraq and moving "onto the right battlefield in Afghanistan and Pakistan," and then pledged, if elected president, to go into Pakistan if our military was in hot pursuit of "high-value terrorist targets" (read: Osama bin Laden), his opponents pounced.
Rudy Giuliani suggested that Obama should be more accommodating of Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf. Mitt Romney said that Obama was "confused as to who are our friends and who are our enemies." Sen. John McCain called Obama's remarks "kind of typical of his naivete." And Sen. Hillary Clinton said that Obama's foreign policy views were "irresponsible and frankly naive."
And while U.S. intelligence agencies put bin Laden in the remote tribal areas of western Pakistan, the Pakistani ambassador to the United States insisted that, if the U.S. military went into his country after bin Laden, it would destabilize the region.
You don't say. What do you call what is happening now?
In a power grab intended to head off a likely decision by the country's Supreme Court declaring him ineligible to serve another term, Musharraf has declared a state of emergency, suspended the constitution, limited freedom of the press, detained more than 1,000 lawyers and opposition leaders, and put the next round of elections on hold indefinitely. With that, a key U.S. ally in the war on terror -- and a nuclear power to boot -- seems to be spinning out of control.
Now for the really depressing part: The United States seems powerless to stop it. Speaking for his administration, President Bush said Monday that it is "our hope" that Musharraf will "restore democracy as quickly as possible."
Hope? Easy, Mr. President. You don't want to be too aggressive. You might scare him off. Is hope all we have left when dealing with Pakistan? What about the leverage that should come from providing the country with military and economic aid to the tune of -- according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies -- at least $10 billion since September 11, 2001?
By comparison, the amount of aid that Great Britain plans to give Pakistan -- $493 million over the next three years -- seems like a pittance. And yet the Brits say that they're reviewing their aid package in light of the crackdown and demanding that Pakistan's government release all detainees.
That's a splash of moral leadership -- and a good example for the United States to follow. After all, what good is having a friend in that part of the world if it is no friend of freedom and democracy? And, if expedience has us cozying up to a petty dictator who puts his interests before those of his country, what makes us think that -- when push comes to shove -- he won't put his interests before ours? And, if that's true, tell me again why this relationship is worth preserving.
Ruben Navarrette Jr. is a member of the editorial board of the San Diego Union-Tribune and a nationally syndicated columnist. You can read his column here.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer. E-mail to a friend
SpinVox Live Ad in San Francisco Market St. Dancing Boxes
This is an interesting ad approach. Personally it did not thing for me. Few stopped to figure-out what was going on.
Ron Paul's Raised $4 Million In One Day - Shocks Presidential Race
Maverick Paul sets one-day, GOP fundraising record
By BENNETT ROTH
Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — Maverick GOP presidential contender Ron Paul of Lake Jackson continued his fundraising juggernaut, raking in $4.3 million in one day over the Internet.
The 24-hour fundraising drive on Monday brought Paul's contributions to $7.3 million so far for the final quarter of this year, eclipsing the $5.4 million he raised in the third quarter.
Paul received 38,000 donations during the drive, which was spearheaded by the candidate's supporters in honor of Guy Fawkes Day, which commemorates Fawkes, a British mercenary who unsuccessfully sought to kill King James I on Nov. 5, 1605. Fawkes was also the inspiration for the novel and movie V for Vendetta, in which the lead character takes on a fascist government in Britain.
The Libertarian-leaning Paul is a strong opponent of many government programs and is the only Republican candidate for the White House advocating troop withdrawal from Iraq.
On Paul's Web site, his fundraising director, Jonathan Bydlak, called the cash haul "Earth-shattering, jaw-dropping ... No matter which way you phrase it, Ron Paul is for real."
Paul now holds the record among Republican White House candidates for fundraising on a single day, according to the Associated Press. Democratic presidential contender Hillary Rodham Clinton has raised the most, $6.2 million, on a single day during the current campaign.
While he has built a fervent fan base over the Internet, Paul still remains mired in the low single digits in most national polls.
Paul's spokesman Jesse Benton said the influx of funds will allow the candidate to increase his name recognition. Paul is already airing television and radio commercials in New Hampshire and radio spots in Iowa, South Carolina and Nevada.
Benton said the campaign has already increased its staff to 70 people.
bennett.roth@chron.com
COMMENTS
Readers are solely responsible for the content of the comments they post here. Comments are subject to the site's terms and conditions of use and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or approval of the Houston Chronicle.
Most recent comments
TheOddball81 wrote:
Good point, _NH. We may appear to have a two-party system, but there's really only one party. The goal of the media is to get the majority of Americans to support a pair of CFR candidates. Hillary, Obama, Romney, and Giuliani are not front-runners because they are loved by the most people or because they have the best positions on issues. They are front-runners because the mainstream media says so. This way, all media attention is devoted to these front-runners, and the public sees these candidates as "rational" choices, and they vote for them in the primaries. We are all programmed to accept the choices given to us, and have been for many years. Finally, someone like Ron Paul has come along who is not a pre-packaged puppet and actually stands for something and loves his country.
11/7/2007 2:16:24 AM
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jmunjr wrote:
"Libertarians (such as Paul) don't believe in social security, medicaid, AFDC, health insurance for poor children and many other programs not specified by the constitution."
So what is your point? All of those things are responsibilities of the STATES!!! Period. Paul would not eliminate Social Security either, but he would give the people who stand to gain absolutely nothing from it(younger people) a choice to opt-out while still taking care of those who put into all their lives.
My only fear about Paul is this country has gotten so used to getting handouts from the government that they won't vote for the guy because the handouts will stop. But guess what? You'll get far more after the federal income tax is eliminated. Granted the states will try to get more of it but you'll still end up with a heck of a lot more than you'll get from the federal government, and you'll get to choose how you'll spend it. This country if led by Paul would be more productive, richer, and freer than we've ever seen. Don't be a sheep and fall for the same old rouse put on by the Democrats and neo-conservatives.
Even if you don't like Paul, nobody from the Democrats or the rest of the Republicans has any qualities worth admiring. Most are nearly all pro-war, including Hillary, ALL want to spend out of control, and none of them genuinely want to protect our liberty, and that folks is the #1 role of our federal government.
The leaders of this nation have failed us. It is time for someone new to restore our Republic and make America the great country it once was.
11/7/2007 2:11:26 AM
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_NH wrote:
Trouble is, Hillary and Mitt's numbers are for PLEDGES not actual donations so Paul bested them too!
Look it up.
RON PAUL IS THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN BEAT HILLARY. They know it and probably won't care because either Rudy or Hillary is acceptable as they are one and the same.
11/7/2007 1:44:11 AM
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antiwardoc wrote:
Oops, I meant Romney and Clinton, sorry. As State of Brain says, the FEC filings showed that Romney only raised 3.1 MIL, and the Clinton total was collected over the course of 1 week, not in a single day.
11/6/2007 11:55:59 PM
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antiwardoc wrote:
See the press conference today by Jonathan Bydlak, Ron Paul's press secretary. They investigated the Kerry and Clinton claims of having raised about 5-6 million dollars in a single day, and both were false. The press conference is posted at ronpaul2008.com
11/6/2007 11:54:19 PM
Recommend (2)
Repo
By BENNETT ROTH
Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — Maverick GOP presidential contender Ron Paul of Lake Jackson continued his fundraising juggernaut, raking in $4.3 million in one day over the Internet.
The 24-hour fundraising drive on Monday brought Paul's contributions to $7.3 million so far for the final quarter of this year, eclipsing the $5.4 million he raised in the third quarter.
Paul received 38,000 donations during the drive, which was spearheaded by the candidate's supporters in honor of Guy Fawkes Day, which commemorates Fawkes, a British mercenary who unsuccessfully sought to kill King James I on Nov. 5, 1605. Fawkes was also the inspiration for the novel and movie V for Vendetta, in which the lead character takes on a fascist government in Britain.
The Libertarian-leaning Paul is a strong opponent of many government programs and is the only Republican candidate for the White House advocating troop withdrawal from Iraq.
On Paul's Web site, his fundraising director, Jonathan Bydlak, called the cash haul "Earth-shattering, jaw-dropping ... No matter which way you phrase it, Ron Paul is for real."
Paul now holds the record among Republican White House candidates for fundraising on a single day, according to the Associated Press. Democratic presidential contender Hillary Rodham Clinton has raised the most, $6.2 million, on a single day during the current campaign.
While he has built a fervent fan base over the Internet, Paul still remains mired in the low single digits in most national polls.
Paul's spokesman Jesse Benton said the influx of funds will allow the candidate to increase his name recognition. Paul is already airing television and radio commercials in New Hampshire and radio spots in Iowa, South Carolina and Nevada.
Benton said the campaign has already increased its staff to 70 people.
bennett.roth@chron.com
COMMENTS
Readers are solely responsible for the content of the comments they post here. Comments are subject to the site's terms and conditions of use and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or approval of the Houston Chronicle.
Most recent comments
TheOddball81 wrote:
Good point, _NH. We may appear to have a two-party system, but there's really only one party. The goal of the media is to get the majority of Americans to support a pair of CFR candidates. Hillary, Obama, Romney, and Giuliani are not front-runners because they are loved by the most people or because they have the best positions on issues. They are front-runners because the mainstream media says so. This way, all media attention is devoted to these front-runners, and the public sees these candidates as "rational" choices, and they vote for them in the primaries. We are all programmed to accept the choices given to us, and have been for many years. Finally, someone like Ron Paul has come along who is not a pre-packaged puppet and actually stands for something and loves his country.
11/7/2007 2:16:24 AM
Recommend
Report abuse
jmunjr wrote:
"Libertarians (such as Paul) don't believe in social security, medicaid, AFDC, health insurance for poor children and many other programs not specified by the constitution."
So what is your point? All of those things are responsibilities of the STATES!!! Period. Paul would not eliminate Social Security either, but he would give the people who stand to gain absolutely nothing from it(younger people) a choice to opt-out while still taking care of those who put into all their lives.
My only fear about Paul is this country has gotten so used to getting handouts from the government that they won't vote for the guy because the handouts will stop. But guess what? You'll get far more after the federal income tax is eliminated. Granted the states will try to get more of it but you'll still end up with a heck of a lot more than you'll get from the federal government, and you'll get to choose how you'll spend it. This country if led by Paul would be more productive, richer, and freer than we've ever seen. Don't be a sheep and fall for the same old rouse put on by the Democrats and neo-conservatives.
Even if you don't like Paul, nobody from the Democrats or the rest of the Republicans has any qualities worth admiring. Most are nearly all pro-war, including Hillary, ALL want to spend out of control, and none of them genuinely want to protect our liberty, and that folks is the #1 role of our federal government.
The leaders of this nation have failed us. It is time for someone new to restore our Republic and make America the great country it once was.
11/7/2007 2:11:26 AM
Recommend
Report abuse
_NH wrote:
Trouble is, Hillary and Mitt's numbers are for PLEDGES not actual donations so Paul bested them too!
Look it up.
RON PAUL IS THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN BEAT HILLARY. They know it and probably won't care because either Rudy or Hillary is acceptable as they are one and the same.
11/7/2007 1:44:11 AM
Recommend (1)
Report abuse
antiwardoc wrote:
Oops, I meant Romney and Clinton, sorry. As State of Brain says, the FEC filings showed that Romney only raised 3.1 MIL, and the Clinton total was collected over the course of 1 week, not in a single day.
11/6/2007 11:55:59 PM
Recommend
Report abuse
antiwardoc wrote:
See the press conference today by Jonathan Bydlak, Ron Paul's press secretary. They investigated the Kerry and Clinton claims of having raised about 5-6 million dollars in a single day, and both were false. The press conference is posted at ronpaul2008.com
11/6/2007 11:54:19 PM
Recommend (2)
Repo
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Oprah Winfrey's On YouTube, But Video Comment Restrictions Piss Off YouTubers
Oprah Winfrey goes Web 2.0! Oprah launches her YouTube channel and as our new Internet world would have it, she can't bring her old media control ways to YouTube without protest.
First, the video shown below is actually blocked from view! You may be wondering how I managed to at least show the image you see, and that's because I created my own embed code. Now, it's here, but you still can't play the video. It's disabled from being embeded.
It's not a smart approach as it actually robs Oprah of additional video views -- something advertisers focus on as if Oprah's people are going to embed sponsor ads in future videos, those companies want maximum exposure; the current strategy kills that.
But there's another move by Oprah's YouTube people that's really got the community pissed off. I was alerted to this by my friend Kenrg, a frequent YouTube contributor.
Ken wrote:
Hi Zennie -
I'm sure you've noticed by now that Oprah Winfrey has taken over the front page of YouTube (check out her "welcome message" and her selection of featured videos, including three of her own).
TaraGolden and I are putting together a quick collaboration video welcoming Oprah, and letting her know that YT is about 2-way communication, we're not all wanna-be stars or freak acts, and that we're here because we DON'T want more TV. As politely as possible, of course.
If you have anything you'd like to say to Oprah in our open video letter, please send it to me anytime today to kengoldstein@gmail.com.
I'm going to finish the edit and post it first thing Wednesday morning.
Thanks!
- Ken
So Ken's pissed. Renetto's upset too , although I think it's because he wasn't mentioned on Oprah.
AnimeDudeAsian's reaction was "You gotta be fuc#$ kidding me," and other choice words, referring to "That crapping ass dog on a skateboard" as the video Oprah showed that he wished she'd not have touched. Finally, AnimeDudeAsian thinks each YouTuber should get a car from Oprah.
Stay tuned for more reactions!
First, the video shown below is actually blocked from view! You may be wondering how I managed to at least show the image you see, and that's because I created my own embed code. Now, it's here, but you still can't play the video. It's disabled from being embeded.
It's not a smart approach as it actually robs Oprah of additional video views -- something advertisers focus on as if Oprah's people are going to embed sponsor ads in future videos, those companies want maximum exposure; the current strategy kills that.
But there's another move by Oprah's YouTube people that's really got the community pissed off. I was alerted to this by my friend Kenrg, a frequent YouTube contributor.
Ken wrote:
Hi Zennie -
I'm sure you've noticed by now that Oprah Winfrey has taken over the front page of YouTube (check out her "welcome message" and her selection of featured videos, including three of her own).
TaraGolden and I are putting together a quick collaboration video welcoming Oprah, and letting her know that YT is about 2-way communication, we're not all wanna-be stars or freak acts, and that we're here because we DON'T want more TV. As politely as possible, of course.
If you have anything you'd like to say to Oprah in our open video letter, please send it to me anytime today to kengoldstein@gmail.com.
I'm going to finish the edit and post it first thing Wednesday morning.
Thanks!
- Ken
So Ken's pissed. Renetto's upset too , although I think it's because he wasn't mentioned on Oprah.
AnimeDudeAsian's reaction was "You gotta be fuc#$ kidding me," and other choice words, referring to "That crapping ass dog on a skateboard" as the video Oprah showed that he wished she'd not have touched. Finally, AnimeDudeAsian thinks each YouTuber should get a car from Oprah.
Stay tuned for more reactions!
Monday, November 05, 2007
Another Clinton Sex Scandal? Big Head DC Thinks So...
I just saw this over at Big Head DC ...
A major sex scandal story involving one of the leading presidential candidates is believed to be soon published by the LA Times, Big Head DC has learned. Details are slowly trickling in through people who’ve heard about the story, and with Larry Flynt saying he’s set to reveal a “huge” sex scandal story involving a sitting senator in the coming days, the rumors seem to be gathering traction.
“So I was down in DC this past weekend and happened to run into a well-connected media person, who told me flatly, unequivocally that ‘everyone knows’ the LA Times was sitting on a story, all wrapped up and ready to go about what is a potentially devastating sexual scandal involving a leading presidential candidate,” reports Pajamas Media’s Ron Rosenbaum. “‘Everyone knows’ meaning everyone in the DC mainstream media political reporting world. ‘Sitting on it’ because the paper couldn’t decide the complex ethics of whether and when to run it. The way I heard it they’d had it for a while but don’t know what to do. The person who told me is not an LAT person and knows I write and didn’t say ‘don’t write about this.’”
Several commenters on Rosenbaum’s article strongly believe that Hillary Clinton will ultimately be revealed as a lesbian, and that the recent GQ story her campaign helped kill by threatening to withhold a Bill Clinton interview may have gone into some shocking details into her sex life.Rumors of a close Hillary relationship with one of her top aides Huma Abedin, shown above, have long been swirling. Hillary has long denied being a lesbian.
Stay tuned...
A major sex scandal story involving one of the leading presidential candidates is believed to be soon published by the LA Times, Big Head DC has learned. Details are slowly trickling in through people who’ve heard about the story, and with Larry Flynt saying he’s set to reveal a “huge” sex scandal story involving a sitting senator in the coming days, the rumors seem to be gathering traction.
“So I was down in DC this past weekend and happened to run into a well-connected media person, who told me flatly, unequivocally that ‘everyone knows’ the LA Times was sitting on a story, all wrapped up and ready to go about what is a potentially devastating sexual scandal involving a leading presidential candidate,” reports Pajamas Media’s Ron Rosenbaum. “‘Everyone knows’ meaning everyone in the DC mainstream media political reporting world. ‘Sitting on it’ because the paper couldn’t decide the complex ethics of whether and when to run it. The way I heard it they’d had it for a while but don’t know what to do. The person who told me is not an LAT person and knows I write and didn’t say ‘don’t write about this.’”
Several commenters on Rosenbaum’s article strongly believe that Hillary Clinton will ultimately be revealed as a lesbian, and that the recent GQ story her campaign helped kill by threatening to withhold a Bill Clinton interview may have gone into some shocking details into her sex life.Rumors of a close Hillary relationship with one of her top aides Huma Abedin, shown above, have long been swirling. Hillary has long denied being a lesbian.
Stay tuned...
Friday, November 02, 2007
Hollywood writers poised to strike over royalties
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Hollywood writers are poised to strike after their negotiating team recommended a walkout in a dispute over royalties at a Thursday night meeting of the union membership.
The Writers Guild of America board will meet on Friday to make a formal decision and set a strike date against producers. It would be the union's first strike in nearly 20 years.
Steve Skrovan, a screenwriter for the Fox show "Til Death," said after the meeting that a strike is all but inevitable.
"We've never been more united and we are willing to deal -- and our decision makers are at the table," said Skrovan. "Their decision makers are not at the table, and that tells you pretty much all you need to know about how the companies are pushing this."
Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers President Nick Counter said the news was no surprise.
"By the WGA leadership's actions at the bargaining table, we are not surprised by tonight's recommendation," Counter said in a written statement. "We are ready to meet and are prepared to close this contract this weekend."
The labor impasse concerns royalties from DVD sales -- last negotiated in 1988. Writers also want royalties from the so-called new media -- all the various places their works are now distributed, including Internet downloads. Watch how a strike could affect your favorite shows »
"The future of TV is not going to look like what it's been for the last 30 years," said TV writer Dave Schiff, who has penned scripts for "King of the Hill" and "That 70s Show."
"So, you know it's not just for us who are currently working, but writers down the line, that we make sure that we get a ... piece of the pie."
But CBS President Nina Tassler said not enough is known yet about new media revenues.
"We don't know what the pie is yet, in order to determine how to cut it up," she said recently.
Hollywood producers say the issues are non-starters.
"We want to make a deal," Counter told the writers on Wednesday, according to a written statement. However, he added, "No further movement is possible to close the gap between us so long as your DVD proposal remains on the table."
Writers accuse producers of being non-responsive.
"After three and a half months of bargaining, the AMPTP still has not responded to a single one of our important proposals," a statement from the WGA said.
"Every issue that matters to writers, including Internet reuse, original writing for new media, DVDs, and jurisdiction, has been ignored. This is completely unacceptable."
TV writer Bryce Zabel said that producing companies "have decided to force the writers into a situation of a strike."
"Our choice right now is to accept a completely unacceptable deal or to go on strike," he said. "Strike is the only option."
If the roughly 12,000 writers do go on strike, late-night television hosts like David Letterman, Jay Leno and Jimmy Kimmel, as well as programs like "The Daily Show," would feel the pinch first. Because of their topical nature, these shows are not typically written or recorded in advance.
Daytime soaps normally stockpile about 30 days in advance, and most prime time shows would likely make it through the end of the year without any impact on programming.
But networks would have to resort to reruns, news programs and reality shows to fill the schedule in 2008 if a strike were to drag on.
The film industry has also been preparing for a possible strike.
"Everyone is sort of madly scrambling to get scripts into production, sometimes a little ahead of what might otherwise be prudent," said Gavin Hood, director of the film "Rendition."
The film and television industry is responsible for an estimated 1.3 million jobs in the United States.
The union's most recent strike, in 1988, lasted five-and-a-half months. Industry estimates say a half-billion dollars was lost because of that strike.
The Writers Guild of America board will meet on Friday to make a formal decision and set a strike date against producers. It would be the union's first strike in nearly 20 years.
Steve Skrovan, a screenwriter for the Fox show "Til Death," said after the meeting that a strike is all but inevitable.
"We've never been more united and we are willing to deal -- and our decision makers are at the table," said Skrovan. "Their decision makers are not at the table, and that tells you pretty much all you need to know about how the companies are pushing this."
Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers President Nick Counter said the news was no surprise.
"By the WGA leadership's actions at the bargaining table, we are not surprised by tonight's recommendation," Counter said in a written statement. "We are ready to meet and are prepared to close this contract this weekend."
The labor impasse concerns royalties from DVD sales -- last negotiated in 1988. Writers also want royalties from the so-called new media -- all the various places their works are now distributed, including Internet downloads. Watch how a strike could affect your favorite shows »
"The future of TV is not going to look like what it's been for the last 30 years," said TV writer Dave Schiff, who has penned scripts for "King of the Hill" and "That 70s Show."
"So, you know it's not just for us who are currently working, but writers down the line, that we make sure that we get a ... piece of the pie."
But CBS President Nina Tassler said not enough is known yet about new media revenues.
"We don't know what the pie is yet, in order to determine how to cut it up," she said recently.
Hollywood producers say the issues are non-starters.
"We want to make a deal," Counter told the writers on Wednesday, according to a written statement. However, he added, "No further movement is possible to close the gap between us so long as your DVD proposal remains on the table."
Writers accuse producers of being non-responsive.
"After three and a half months of bargaining, the AMPTP still has not responded to a single one of our important proposals," a statement from the WGA said.
"Every issue that matters to writers, including Internet reuse, original writing for new media, DVDs, and jurisdiction, has been ignored. This is completely unacceptable."
TV writer Bryce Zabel said that producing companies "have decided to force the writers into a situation of a strike."
"Our choice right now is to accept a completely unacceptable deal or to go on strike," he said. "Strike is the only option."
If the roughly 12,000 writers do go on strike, late-night television hosts like David Letterman, Jay Leno and Jimmy Kimmel, as well as programs like "The Daily Show," would feel the pinch first. Because of their topical nature, these shows are not typically written or recorded in advance.
Daytime soaps normally stockpile about 30 days in advance, and most prime time shows would likely make it through the end of the year without any impact on programming.
But networks would have to resort to reruns, news programs and reality shows to fill the schedule in 2008 if a strike were to drag on.
The film industry has also been preparing for a possible strike.
"Everyone is sort of madly scrambling to get scripts into production, sometimes a little ahead of what might otherwise be prudent," said Gavin Hood, director of the film "Rendition."
The film and television industry is responsible for an estimated 1.3 million jobs in the United States.
The union's most recent strike, in 1988, lasted five-and-a-half months. Industry estimates say a half-billion dollars was lost because of that strike.
Giants defeat Dolphins in a nail biter 13-10
By David
Kaye
If the NFL’s brain trust had envisioned displaying a sloppy and unentertaining matchup between the league’s perennial loser and one of their most pedestrian team’s, they should have thought twice last summer about marketing their brand on an international basis with the Dolphins and Giants being their spokespersons.
As unfortunate as it played out to be, both squads were relegated to the roll of showcasing their sport in front of 81,176 animated fans at London’s Wembley Stadium. Through the mud, rain, slippery conditions and uncountable forecast big blue prevailed in a squeaker 13-10. It was not the kind of performance coach Coughlin expected from his team that had averaged 33 points per game during the course of the past three weeks. Still, the Giants determined and didactic leader will take a victory whether he receives it state side or overseas as he molds his team into an elite force in the National Football Conference.
Lead by 290 pound running back Brandon Jacobs and former Miami Dolphin Sam Madison the Giants registered their sixth consecutive victory of the year. Jacobs rushed for a season-high 131 yards on 23 carries against the still-winless fins. Quarterback Eli Manning struggled exponentially and recorded his worst start in his brief football career. With 59 yards passing, a completion percentage of 36.4% and one fumble, Manning was unable to capitalize off a Miami defense that ranks towards the bottom of the league in many majors categories.
While the league did a poor job at acclimating Europeans to American football, they succeeded at increasing the attention and notoriety that the United States will receive in the years to come from interested owners who want a Super Bowl to be played outside of the hollow grounds of North America. Also succeeding were the Giants who improve to 6-2 and are now a half game back of the Cowboys for the lead in the NFC East.
Kaye
If the NFL’s brain trust had envisioned displaying a sloppy and unentertaining matchup between the league’s perennial loser and one of their most pedestrian team’s, they should have thought twice last summer about marketing their brand on an international basis with the Dolphins and Giants being their spokespersons.
As unfortunate as it played out to be, both squads were relegated to the roll of showcasing their sport in front of 81,176 animated fans at London’s Wembley Stadium. Through the mud, rain, slippery conditions and uncountable forecast big blue prevailed in a squeaker 13-10. It was not the kind of performance coach Coughlin expected from his team that had averaged 33 points per game during the course of the past three weeks. Still, the Giants determined and didactic leader will take a victory whether he receives it state side or overseas as he molds his team into an elite force in the National Football Conference.
Lead by 290 pound running back Brandon Jacobs and former Miami Dolphin Sam Madison the Giants registered their sixth consecutive victory of the year. Jacobs rushed for a season-high 131 yards on 23 carries against the still-winless fins. Quarterback Eli Manning struggled exponentially and recorded his worst start in his brief football career. With 59 yards passing, a completion percentage of 36.4% and one fumble, Manning was unable to capitalize off a Miami defense that ranks towards the bottom of the league in many majors categories.
While the league did a poor job at acclimating Europeans to American football, they succeeded at increasing the attention and notoriety that the United States will receive in the years to come from interested owners who want a Super Bowl to be played outside of the hollow grounds of North America. Also succeeding were the Giants who improve to 6-2 and are now a half game back of the Cowboys for the lead in the NFC East.
American Gangster Is Amazing - Just Saw It At Metreon Premier
I was invited to see American Gangster at a special premier at Sony Metreon and I must report that I was blown away. I've seen a lot of movies, but this one hits you between the eyes from the start, and just increases the presure.
Denzel Washington and Russell Crow are excellent, especially in one interrogation scene. The whole movie is full of great actors giving awesome performances, from Cuba Gooding, Jr. , to Armand Asante. American Gangster is a must see movie that's also a social lesson in the stupidity of racism.
If the police largely paid attention to Frank Lucas, who's played by Washington, his crime organization would have been stopped as it grew. But because few could believe a Black man could generate an empire that would take out the Mafia, let alone earn $250 million in assets.
American Gangster is a treasurer.
Denzel Washington and Russell Crow are excellent, especially in one interrogation scene. The whole movie is full of great actors giving awesome performances, from Cuba Gooding, Jr. , to Armand Asante. American Gangster is a must see movie that's also a social lesson in the stupidity of racism.
If the police largely paid attention to Frank Lucas, who's played by Washington, his crime organization would have been stopped as it grew. But because few could believe a Black man could generate an empire that would take out the Mafia, let alone earn $250 million in assets.
American Gangster is a treasurer.
Hillary Clinton Under Fire By Justice Department For Alledged Fundraising Coercion - AP
Hillary Clinton
in fundraising controversyQuestions raised about Hillary Clinton's big Chinatown fundraiser
The Associated Press
Published: November 1, 2007
NEW YORK: On the wall of Hsiao Yen Wang's New York apartment, a cramped, 17th-floor public housing unit, are photographs of her husband, David Guo, a cook who specializes in Fujian cuisine.
One photo stands out: Guo shaking Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's hand, a memento from a $1,000 (€693)-a-person fundraiser for the New York senator held in New York's Chinatown last April.
Last week, Wang got another memento — a calling card from a Justice Department criminal investigator. The investigator asked Wang if she was coerced into giving money to the campaign and whether she knew of anybody else who may have been forced to contribute.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Wang said she and her husband had given willingly and that she knew of no coercion. A Justice Department spokeswoman would not comment on the inquiries.
"I want to see her become the first female U.S. president," Wang, a hospital worker, said of Clinton as her daughter translated.
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Still, less than three weeks after the April 9 fundraiser, the Clinton campaign's vetting operation had flagged the check and returned it. Wang's contribution, delivered by Guo, was one of a handful obtained at the Chinatown event that the campaign turned back, citing an "abundance of caution."
Clinton has tapped a vein of support among ethnic, minority and immigrant communities with vigorous outreach that has helped her become one of the best-financed candidates in the presidential field. Under federal law, donors do not have to be citizens to contribute but must be in the United States legally.
The April fundraiser, held in Chinatown's Golden Bridge Restaurant, illustrates both the pitfalls and the success Clinton has experienced with her fundraising operation.
The event attracted nearly 300 donors from as far away as Maryland. Shortly after, about $380,000 (€263,468) poured into the Clinton campaign from attendees and their families. Many were owners or managers of other restaurants. Among the rest were lawyers, business owners, real estate agents and artists.
According to reports filed by the Clinton campaign with the Federal Election Commission, seven donors identified themselves as cooks, three as chefs, three as servers, two as cashiers, one as a dishwasher and cook and one as a waiter.
Details of the event were first reported by the Los Angeles Times.
FEC records show that the campaign returned at least $8,000 (€5,547) in checks to at least eight donors, most of them at the end of June. Among those donors were four identified as cooks and one as a cashier. The campaign also returned $4,600 (€3,189) to a donor who appeared to have earlier given the maximum allowed by law.
The campaign appears to have missed some others.
In one small store, a woman said she donated to the Clinton campaign but did not have citizenship or a green card. A man living in a Brooklyn boarding house who identified himself as an artist said he also gave $1,000 (€693), but said he, too, has no citizenship and no green card.
Clinton campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson said in an e-mail response to the AP that all donors are asked to fill out cards that state they must be citizens or green card holders. "Is it possible that out of more than 200,000 donors, two may not be? It is," he said. "Of course we would refund any such contributions."
The Associated Press conducted a spot check of 44 addresses listed in campaign finance documents as belonging to donors at the April 9 fundraiser. All the addresses checked out and reporters spoke to 19 persons who said they donated.
Associates of some people listed as donors said they were in China and could not be contacted. Others did not return messages left with families.
Chung Seto, the organizer of the Chinatown event, said Chinese have a culture of thrift and it would not be surprising for workers with meager wages to make $1,000 (€693) donations. She said donors stood in line for up to three hours waiting for the fundraising event to begin. Any mistakes in vetting contributors, she said, were a result of enthusiasm, not coercion.
"Some people were very eager, and some were overeager," she said in an interview, acknowledging the returned checks.
Seto, an activist in the Chinese-American community and a former executive director of the New York Democratic Party, said Chinatown residents hold Clinton in special esteem. They particularly remember her help during the economic downturn that hit the lower Manhattan neighborhood after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Celebrities Shocked Over NYC Realtor's Murder
The news broke suddenly over the New York airwaves and the situation has only been complicated.
Linda Stein Discovered In Pool Of Blood By Her Own Daughter
NEW YORK (CBS) ― A day after a well-known New York realtor who worked with many A-list celebrities and even once managed the Ramones was found brutally murdered in her Upper East Side apartment, many stars who knew her best are speaking out.
Linda Stein's body was discovered lying in a pool of blood by her daughter on Tuesday, and the medical examiner ruled a day later her death was a homicide. She had suffered blunt force trauma to her head and neck.
Residents of the upscale and normally peaceful neighborhood adjacent to Central Park were stunned that such a crime could occur in the area, and on Thursday, some of Stein's most famous friends expressed their dismay.
"I'm absolutely shocked and upset. She's been a friend for over 37 years and will be greatly missed," said Elton John, one of Stein's earliest clients.
Police say the murder occurred sometime on Tuesday. The 64-year-old lived alone and residents say the doorman building which is also guarded with surveillance cameras would be difficult to get into without permission. Published reports, however, say a side door to the building was found unlocked.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly says the investigation is still in the early stages.
"There was no forced entry. And we're interviewing building residents, we're interviewing workers in the building, and there are also construction workers doing work in the area who are being asked to cooperate with investigators," Kelly said.
Stein first cropped up in the celebrity scene when she managed the Ramones during the early days of punk rock. She later began her career as a realtor well-known in celebrity circles as someone who respected their privacy.
"The big thing about her was about discretion, about making sure she protected her clients from publicity," said Steve James, President of Douglas Elliman Property Management.
Stein's client list ranged from Madonna to Billy Joel, many of whom are only now hearing the news. CBS 2 ran into one of her former clients, Christie Brinkley at an event in midtown Manhattan on Thursday. Brinkley was visibly shaken and distraught over the news of her friend's murder, and her reaction showed just how Stein's relationships with her clients transcended business.
Brinkley had been so busy with appearances like unveiling the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree star that she hadn't yet heard about the murder. From all accounts, her heartfelt reaction of shock and sorrow has been repeated many, many other times by many other people.
Linda Stein Discovered In Pool Of Blood By Her Own Daughter
NEW YORK (CBS) ― A day after a well-known New York realtor who worked with many A-list celebrities and even once managed the Ramones was found brutally murdered in her Upper East Side apartment, many stars who knew her best are speaking out.
Linda Stein's body was discovered lying in a pool of blood by her daughter on Tuesday, and the medical examiner ruled a day later her death was a homicide. She had suffered blunt force trauma to her head and neck.
Residents of the upscale and normally peaceful neighborhood adjacent to Central Park were stunned that such a crime could occur in the area, and on Thursday, some of Stein's most famous friends expressed their dismay.
"I'm absolutely shocked and upset. She's been a friend for over 37 years and will be greatly missed," said Elton John, one of Stein's earliest clients.
Police say the murder occurred sometime on Tuesday. The 64-year-old lived alone and residents say the doorman building which is also guarded with surveillance cameras would be difficult to get into without permission. Published reports, however, say a side door to the building was found unlocked.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly says the investigation is still in the early stages.
"There was no forced entry. And we're interviewing building residents, we're interviewing workers in the building, and there are also construction workers doing work in the area who are being asked to cooperate with investigators," Kelly said.
Stein first cropped up in the celebrity scene when she managed the Ramones during the early days of punk rock. She later began her career as a realtor well-known in celebrity circles as someone who respected their privacy.
"The big thing about her was about discretion, about making sure she protected her clients from publicity," said Steve James, President of Douglas Elliman Property Management.
Stein's client list ranged from Madonna to Billy Joel, many of whom are only now hearing the news. CBS 2 ran into one of her former clients, Christie Brinkley at an event in midtown Manhattan on Thursday. Brinkley was visibly shaken and distraught over the news of her friend's murder, and her reaction showed just how Stein's relationships with her clients transcended business.
Brinkley had been so busy with appearances like unveiling the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree star that she hadn't yet heard about the murder. From all accounts, her heartfelt reaction of shock and sorrow has been repeated many, many other times by many other people.
Americans Are Unhappy With America - USA Today / Gallup Poll
This USA Today article reads:
"In all, 72% of those surveyed in a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Oct. 12-14 say they are dissatisfied with how things are going in the USA while just 26% are satisfied. Not since April have even one-third of Americans been happy with the country's course, the longest national funk in 15 years."
This sparks the sign of political change. But in what direction? Could it mean victory for Barack Obama or Ron Paul? It's hard to tell from the article's comments. But here's the rest of it:
raq dominates the political agenda. In the poll, four in 10 Americans volunteer that the Iraq war will be one of the most important issues determining their vote in 2008. That's more than twice as many who cite the second-ranking issue: health care.
Six in 10 call the invasion of Iraq a mistake, equal to the highest levels of anti-war feeling during the Vietnam conflict. Despite reports of progress after this year's rise in U.S. force levels, a majority say the situation in Iraq is getting worse for the United States. Only 16% say it's getting better.
In conversations at four locales across the nation — at a farmer's market in Salem, Ore., outside a public library in Phoenix, at a shopping mall and bus stop in downtown Milwaukee and in a roundtable at the New Jersey shore — Americans struggled over what to do next in Iraq.
Not one of several dozen people interviewed expressed optimism that the next president, whoever is elected, will be able to turn things around militarily or to extricate U.S. troops without significant complications, even chaos.
"The next person coming in, it's going to take him at least eight years to clean up," predicts Geraldine Buie, 49, a food-service worker in Milwaukee who wants U.S. troops withdrawn now.
"On the one hand, people say we should pull out, but if we just pull out, everything will collapse and we'll have done nothing," says Antonio Carlos, 24, a student in Phoenix. "We've been committed for six years. Are we going to give up already? But at the same time, do we have the money (to continue)? And do we want our people over there dying left and right?"
The satisfaction divide
Not everyone has a dismal view of the future, of course.
"I think things are going along fine," said Tanya Rider, 32, a medic from Salem, though she worries about her brother and best friend, both deployed to Iraq. "The job market is going up. There's less homeless people." (The National Alliance to End Homelessness says the difficulty of counting homeless people makes it hard to assess whether their numbers are falling.)
Predictably, those who rate the economy as good are much happier with the country's direction than those who rate it as poor. Affluent Americans are more satisfied than those with lower incomes. Conservatives are more satisfied than liberals, and men more than women.
Even in the most optimistic demographic category, however, a majority is dissatisfied with the country's direction — including, for instance, 55% of Republicans. Among Democrats, the conclusion is almost universal: 84% say things are on the wrong track.
"The war in Iraq is clearly a major drag on the public's sense of how the country's doing," says Lawrence Jacobs, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota. "And there's a kind of longer-term impact of the economy. Overall the economy is doing quite well but the sense of insecurity, the sense of anxiety of what the future might hold — that's having a downward effect."
Assessments of the current economy, while downbeat, are no worse than they were one year before the presidential elections in 1992, 1996 and 2004.
What's driving today's negative mood is pessimism about the future: Two-thirds predict economic conditions are getting worse, by far the highest number since 1992.
At a roundtable discussion in Neptune, N.J., only one of the 11 participants was looking for a job; the rest were retired or employed, most in jobs they like.
But Bob Cohen, 61, said he was "scared looking around the corner at the demographics of the country" and the pressure the looming retirement of the baby boom generation will put on Social Security.
Tish Ferguson, 48, a global recruiting manager, says she "works in a market where we're worried about a recession."
Eugene Kelsey, 82, expressed alarm about the impact of illegal immigration on American culture.
Americans are glummer about the economy than economists are. By the traditional measure — back-to-back quarters of economic contraction — the nation isn't in a recession. Yet more than one-third of those surveyed say it is. Four in 10 say a recession is likely during the next year.
For many Americans, good economic news about steady growth and low unemployment and inflation has been overshadowed by the rising cost of gasoline, turmoil in the housing market and uncertainties about health care coverage.
"I keep hearing there are positive indicators in the economy," says Dave Hendrick, 30, an Americorps volunteer in Milwaukee. "I have a hard time understanding that when I see skyrocketing foreclosure rates."
There are significant differences in views of the economy by region. The mood is brightest in the Southwest and the Rocky Mountain states, where 46% rated the economy as good in an aggregation of seven Gallup Polls taken since May.
The mood is darkest in the Great Lakes, where just 31% called the economy good. Jobs are a big reason as the region tries to recover from the loss of manufacturing plants. Michigan has the highest unemployment rate in the nation; Ohio the fifth highest.
People in the upper Midwest are "frustrated by the (national) debt, frustrated with the war, frustrated with the health care system that seems to be crumbling," says former Wisconsin governor Tommy Thompson, who in August abandoned a bid for the Republican presidential nomination. "They want somebody to get something done. They don't like to see problems shunted aside, and that's what they see in Washington."
Both the president and Congress get historically low ratings, another sign of unhappiness with the nation's course and indicator of possible political upheaval ahead.
Since World War II, no party has managed to hold the White House when the incumbent president had a job-approval rating below 45% one year before the election. Bush's approval rating now: 32%.
Congress fares even worse. Its approval rating in August dipped to 18%, equaling the low point in the history of Gallup. It's now bumped up to a still-dismal 29%.
Ethics scandals and opposition to the Iraq war contributed to a Democratic takeover of the House and Senate in last November's elections, but Congress' ratings haven't significantly improved since then. Dissatisfaction is widespread and bipartisan: 76% of those surveyed say Congress has accomplished "not too much" or "nothing at all" this year. Among those, 73% blame both parties equally.
"In all, 72% of those surveyed in a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Oct. 12-14 say they are dissatisfied with how things are going in the USA while just 26% are satisfied. Not since April have even one-third of Americans been happy with the country's course, the longest national funk in 15 years."
This sparks the sign of political change. But in what direction? Could it mean victory for Barack Obama or Ron Paul? It's hard to tell from the article's comments. But here's the rest of it:
raq dominates the political agenda. In the poll, four in 10 Americans volunteer that the Iraq war will be one of the most important issues determining their vote in 2008. That's more than twice as many who cite the second-ranking issue: health care.
Six in 10 call the invasion of Iraq a mistake, equal to the highest levels of anti-war feeling during the Vietnam conflict. Despite reports of progress after this year's rise in U.S. force levels, a majority say the situation in Iraq is getting worse for the United States. Only 16% say it's getting better.
In conversations at four locales across the nation — at a farmer's market in Salem, Ore., outside a public library in Phoenix, at a shopping mall and bus stop in downtown Milwaukee and in a roundtable at the New Jersey shore — Americans struggled over what to do next in Iraq.
Not one of several dozen people interviewed expressed optimism that the next president, whoever is elected, will be able to turn things around militarily or to extricate U.S. troops without significant complications, even chaos.
"The next person coming in, it's going to take him at least eight years to clean up," predicts Geraldine Buie, 49, a food-service worker in Milwaukee who wants U.S. troops withdrawn now.
"On the one hand, people say we should pull out, but if we just pull out, everything will collapse and we'll have done nothing," says Antonio Carlos, 24, a student in Phoenix. "We've been committed for six years. Are we going to give up already? But at the same time, do we have the money (to continue)? And do we want our people over there dying left and right?"
The satisfaction divide
Not everyone has a dismal view of the future, of course.
"I think things are going along fine," said Tanya Rider, 32, a medic from Salem, though she worries about her brother and best friend, both deployed to Iraq. "The job market is going up. There's less homeless people." (The National Alliance to End Homelessness says the difficulty of counting homeless people makes it hard to assess whether their numbers are falling.)
Predictably, those who rate the economy as good are much happier with the country's direction than those who rate it as poor. Affluent Americans are more satisfied than those with lower incomes. Conservatives are more satisfied than liberals, and men more than women.
Even in the most optimistic demographic category, however, a majority is dissatisfied with the country's direction — including, for instance, 55% of Republicans. Among Democrats, the conclusion is almost universal: 84% say things are on the wrong track.
"The war in Iraq is clearly a major drag on the public's sense of how the country's doing," says Lawrence Jacobs, director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota. "And there's a kind of longer-term impact of the economy. Overall the economy is doing quite well but the sense of insecurity, the sense of anxiety of what the future might hold — that's having a downward effect."
Assessments of the current economy, while downbeat, are no worse than they were one year before the presidential elections in 1992, 1996 and 2004.
What's driving today's negative mood is pessimism about the future: Two-thirds predict economic conditions are getting worse, by far the highest number since 1992.
At a roundtable discussion in Neptune, N.J., only one of the 11 participants was looking for a job; the rest were retired or employed, most in jobs they like.
But Bob Cohen, 61, said he was "scared looking around the corner at the demographics of the country" and the pressure the looming retirement of the baby boom generation will put on Social Security.
Tish Ferguson, 48, a global recruiting manager, says she "works in a market where we're worried about a recession."
Eugene Kelsey, 82, expressed alarm about the impact of illegal immigration on American culture.
Americans are glummer about the economy than economists are. By the traditional measure — back-to-back quarters of economic contraction — the nation isn't in a recession. Yet more than one-third of those surveyed say it is. Four in 10 say a recession is likely during the next year.
For many Americans, good economic news about steady growth and low unemployment and inflation has been overshadowed by the rising cost of gasoline, turmoil in the housing market and uncertainties about health care coverage.
"I keep hearing there are positive indicators in the economy," says Dave Hendrick, 30, an Americorps volunteer in Milwaukee. "I have a hard time understanding that when I see skyrocketing foreclosure rates."
There are significant differences in views of the economy by region. The mood is brightest in the Southwest and the Rocky Mountain states, where 46% rated the economy as good in an aggregation of seven Gallup Polls taken since May.
The mood is darkest in the Great Lakes, where just 31% called the economy good. Jobs are a big reason as the region tries to recover from the loss of manufacturing plants. Michigan has the highest unemployment rate in the nation; Ohio the fifth highest.
People in the upper Midwest are "frustrated by the (national) debt, frustrated with the war, frustrated with the health care system that seems to be crumbling," says former Wisconsin governor Tommy Thompson, who in August abandoned a bid for the Republican presidential nomination. "They want somebody to get something done. They don't like to see problems shunted aside, and that's what they see in Washington."
Both the president and Congress get historically low ratings, another sign of unhappiness with the nation's course and indicator of possible political upheaval ahead.
Since World War II, no party has managed to hold the White House when the incumbent president had a job-approval rating below 45% one year before the election. Bush's approval rating now: 32%.
Congress fares even worse. Its approval rating in August dipped to 18%, equaling the low point in the history of Gallup. It's now bumped up to a still-dismal 29%.
Ethics scandals and opposition to the Iraq war contributed to a Democratic takeover of the House and Senate in last November's elections, but Congress' ratings haven't significantly improved since then. Dissatisfaction is widespread and bipartisan: 76% of those surveyed say Congress has accomplished "not too much" or "nothing at all" this year. Among those, 73% blame both parties equally.
CBS' Les Moonves Gets YouTube and New Media - Wired
I loved reading this interview with CBS Television head Les Moonves as it reveals a person who gets new media and how it impacts CBS. Why can't Viacom have this view?
CBS Chief Isn't Worried About YouTube or Google — 'As Long as We Get Paid'
Frank Rose 05.16.07 | 2:00 AM
CBS President Leslie Moonves
What happens to network television in the Internet age? As broadcasters confront ever-shrinking audiences and increasingly Net-savvy advertisers, that's a big question in certain quarters of New York and Los Angeles. With hits like CSI and Survivor, CBS president Leslie Moonves is the current ratings champ, but he knows Wall Street is ultimately going to judge him on how he manages the transition to the digital world. Moonves talked to Wired about user-generated video, tiny TVs, and how those clips of his wife made it onto the Internet.
Wired: Right now, traditional broadcasting accounts for the bulk of your viewership and income. Will that change?
Leslie Moonves: I think many years from now, people will still watch television, though it will probably be 150 inches wide. What will change is the ability to get CSI not only on TV but also on the Internet, even watching it in a foreign country as it's playing in the US.
Wired: Major advertisers, including Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble, are shifting money from network television to the Internet. How concerned are you?
Moonves: We're not. There are plenty of people who are willing to pay $2.6 million for 30 seconds on the Super Bowl and hundreds of thousands of dollars for American Idol. There will be advertising dollars on the Internet. We're there as well. We win either way.
Wired: How do you feel about Google trying to get into television advertising?
Moonves: Hard to say. Right now we like selling our own inventory.
Wired: Does user-generated video pose a threat to traditional television?
Moonves: Only when they're taking content without permission. Genuine user-generated content — like the guys from OK Go dancing on the treadmills, which I liked a lot — I don't think poses any threat. A lot of it is garbage; you know, your cousin Fanny sitting outside on a swing. But there's some great amateur stuff coming out. They don't have to steal the professional stuff.
Wired: Will professional television change in response?
Moonves: It already has. We have a bunch of people coming up with ideas for original shows that are very cheap, very experimental. There isn't a lot of advertising revenue on this, so you need young people who don't want a lot of money yet. They will later.
Wired: You were in talks with Fox and NBC to join their partnership to distribute programming on the Internet — the so-called YouTube Killer. Why did you decide not to?
Moonves: What was difficult for us was the idea of exclusivity. We would have had to funnel every piece of content through that mechanism. It didn't give us the freedom we wanted to make partnerships all over the place. We're so much in the infancy of the Internet; three years from now, this is going to seem like the dinosaur age. We've got to learn about users — how much they're using, why they're using it, when they're using it — and we have to connect with them. We think we can accomplish as much alone as they're doing together.
Wired: There's a lot of CBS material on YouTube. How does that work?
Moonves: You have to look at it in two different ways. One is content that you will get paid for directly, and the other is promotional content. Our attitude is, either pay us for it or give us promotional value that will eventually lead to our getting paid for it.
Wired: How do you tell the difference?
Moonves: If there's a one-minute clip of CSI, or user-generated clips like different shots of David Caruso taking off his glasses, that's great promotion. If they were showing a whole episode of CSI and we weren't getting paid, we'd object.
Wired: Do you have your own favorite YouTube video?
Moonves: My wife is the host of Big Brother. Her name is Julie Chen, and she'll say, "Da da da, but first we do this." So they mashed together her saying "but first" a couple dozen times. Literally. In different outfits. And when you cut it together like that, it appears very robotlike. They called her the Chenbot.
Wired: Recently, you made a deal with Verizon Wireless. Do you think mobile TV is going to work?
Moonves: We think wireless is going to grow tremendously. Do I think people are going to watch an episode of Survivor on a 2-inch television set? I doubt it. But I do think somebody's going to go to a grocery store in the middle of a football game and watch that game.
Wired: Of all these new distribution channels, what's the most valuable?
Moonves: They're all good. We don't care how you get our content — over the air, over cable, satellite, the Internet, or on your cell phone — as long as we get paid for it.
Contributing editor Frank Rose (frank_rose@wired.com) wrote about 2007 Rave Award winner Michael Wesch in issue 15.05.
NFL Agent Ed Goines - From 49ers Lawyer To Player Agent
For five years, Ed Goines was the Senior Vice President of Legal and Business Affairs for the San Francisco 49ers. Now, Ed Goines has stepped over the line to become an Official NFL Players Association Contract Advisor, otherwise known as NFL Agent.
For Ed, it's a logical step. "I have corporate sponsor contacts, and know how the team organization works. I can see the player deal from both the players and the team's perspective. As the 49ers point person for business affairs I was responsible for sponsorship deals and contract structure, and have already worked with many NFL executives."
Ed also has an online show called "Ed Goines On Sports." You can check out his take on the business of sports there and contact him at 415-407-0882.
Iowa Caucus Absentee Voting Confusion - Website Says "Yes" - Sec of State "No"
I just wrote a blog article on the Iowa Caucuses and investigated the Secretary of State's website regarding Absentee Ballots and elections.
The Secretary of State's office website discusses Absentee Ballot information but does not give any words at all on restrictions of use of the Absentee Ballot. Yet, the elections specialist there says that the Absentee Ballot can't be used for the Iowa Caucuses, just the general election.
They admit the website's in error. This is what it reads on Absentee Ballots:
Absentee Ballot Information
Applications for Absentee Ballots can be obtained Online in a PDF format, or mailed upon request from the Secretary of State.
Request for ballot should be made by mail to the County Auditor/Commissioner of Elections, in the county you are registered to vote in.
If the application is received so late that it is unlikely that the absentee ballot can be returned by mail in time to be counted on election day, the commissioner shall enclose with the absentee ballot a statement to that effect. The applicant can be hand deliver the ballot on Election Day before the polls close.
In requesting an absentee ballot, state your name, voting address, the address to which your ballot should be sent, and sign the request as you are registered. Absentee votes may be cast in person at your County Election Office (County Auditor) as soon as ballots are available.
In order for the ballot to be counted, the carrier envelope must be received in the commissioners office before the polls close on election day or be clearly postmarked by an officially authorized postal service not later than the day before the election, and received by the commissioner not later than noon on the Monday following the election.
Those in the Armed Forces need not register if they vote a military ballot. The request constitutes registration, with a county address. There is additional information and application forms on the Internet through the Federal Voting Assistant Program
Any qualified elector who becomes a patient or resident of a hospital or health care facility within three days prior to the date of an election, may request an absentee ballot during that period or on election day.
Helpful places with more information
Democratic State Central Committee
5661 Fleur Dr., 50321, Phone 244-5051
Republican State Central Committee
521 E. Locust St., 50309, Phone 282-8105
The Secretary of State's office website discusses Absentee Ballot information but does not give any words at all on restrictions of use of the Absentee Ballot. Yet, the elections specialist there says that the Absentee Ballot can't be used for the Iowa Caucuses, just the general election.
They admit the website's in error. This is what it reads on Absentee Ballots:
Absentee Ballot Information
Applications for Absentee Ballots can be obtained Online in a PDF format, or mailed upon request from the Secretary of State.
Request for ballot should be made by mail to the County Auditor/Commissioner of Elections, in the county you are registered to vote in.
If the application is received so late that it is unlikely that the absentee ballot can be returned by mail in time to be counted on election day, the commissioner shall enclose with the absentee ballot a statement to that effect. The applicant can be hand deliver the ballot on Election Day before the polls close.
In requesting an absentee ballot, state your name, voting address, the address to which your ballot should be sent, and sign the request as you are registered. Absentee votes may be cast in person at your County Election Office (County Auditor) as soon as ballots are available.
In order for the ballot to be counted, the carrier envelope must be received in the commissioners office before the polls close on election day or be clearly postmarked by an officially authorized postal service not later than the day before the election, and received by the commissioner not later than noon on the Monday following the election.
Those in the Armed Forces need not register if they vote a military ballot. The request constitutes registration, with a county address. There is additional information and application forms on the Internet through the Federal Voting Assistant Program
Any qualified elector who becomes a patient or resident of a hospital or health care facility within three days prior to the date of an election, may request an absentee ballot during that period or on election day.
Helpful places with more information
Democratic State Central Committee
5661 Fleur Dr., 50321, Phone 244-5051
Republican State Central Committee
521 E. Locust St., 50309, Phone 282-8105
Iowa Caucus Allows Absentee Voting - Great For Barack Obama and College Students
I just read an interesting Huff Post "Off The Bus" article that asserted the youth vote, which is the strength of the Obama for America campaign, would be harmed by the fact that the Iowa Caucus will be held when students are away.
I read the article and realized that the author never considered absentee voting! So I went back to see if I missed anything; nope. I did not. Here's the information and link:
Iowa Absentee Ballot Application
The Iowa Secretary of State has made the official absentee ballot application available online in a pdf format. You may print this online form and fill it out by hand, please be sure to sign the form before you send it to your county auditor.
English Application for an Absentee Ballot
Español Formulario Official Para Solicitud de Votación en Ausencia
Laotian Application for an Absentee Ballot
Vietnamese Application for an Absentee Ballot
Absentee Voting for Iowans who are in the Military or Overseas
Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) - Military & Overseas
If you would like a hard copy of any of the forms above, please call the Secretary of State's Office at 515-281-0145 or 888-SOS-VOTE (888-767-8683).
There's also information specific to Iowa college students here > Iowa College Students Vote
So if the Obama campaign works the absentee ballots, they're ok.
Actually, I learn they're not. The Secretary of State's website's in error! They're going to correct this - they say!
I read the article and realized that the author never considered absentee voting! So I went back to see if I missed anything; nope. I did not. Here's the information and link:
Iowa Absentee Ballot Application
The Iowa Secretary of State has made the official absentee ballot application available online in a pdf format. You may print this online form and fill it out by hand, please be sure to sign the form before you send it to your county auditor.
English Application for an Absentee Ballot
Español Formulario Official Para Solicitud de Votación en Ausencia
Laotian Application for an Absentee Ballot
Vietnamese Application for an Absentee Ballot
Absentee Voting for Iowans who are in the Military or Overseas
Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) - Military & Overseas
If you would like a hard copy of any of the forms above, please call the Secretary of State's Office at 515-281-0145 or 888-SOS-VOTE (888-767-8683).
There's also information specific to Iowa college students here > Iowa College Students Vote
So if the Obama campaign works the absentee ballots, they're ok.
Actually, I learn they're not. The Secretary of State's website's in error! They're going to correct this - they say!
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