WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Ralph Nader is entering the presidential race as an independent, he announced Sunday, saying it is time for a "Jeffersonian revolution."
In the last few years, big money and the closing down of Washington against citizen groups prevent us from trying to improve our country. And I want everybody to have the right and opportunity to improve their country," he told reporters after an appearance announcing his candidacy on NBC's "Meet the Press."
Asked why he should be president, the longtime consumer advocate said, "Because I got things done." He cited a 40-year record, which he said includes saving "millions of lives," bringing about stricter protection for food and water and fighting corporate control over Washington.
Nader's decision, which did not come as a surprise to political watchers, marks his fourth straight White House bid -- fifth if his 1992 write-in campaign is included.
Calling Nader's move "very unfortunate," Sen. Hillary Clinton told reporters, "I remember when he ran before. It didn't turn out very well for anybody -- especially our country."
"This time I hope it doesn't hurt anyone. I can't think of anybody that would vote for Sen. McCain who would vote for Ralph Nader," she said.
Nader was criticized by some Democrats in 2000 for allegedly pulling away support from Democrat Al Gore and helping George Bush win the White House.
Noting that he ran on the Green Party ticket that year, Clinton said Nader "prevented Al Gore from being the 'greenest' president we could have had."
Nader has long rejected his portrayal as a spoiler in the presidential race. In his NBC interview Sunday, he cited the Republican Party's economic policies, the Iraq war, and other issues, saying, "If the Democrats can't landslide the Republicans this year, they ought to just wrap up, close down, emerge in a different form."
But Clinton said, "Obviously, it is not helpful to whoever our Democratic nominee is. But, you know, it is a free country."
Nader said political consultants "have really messed up Hillary Clinton's campaign."
Long-shot GOP contender Mike Huckabee said Nader's entry would probably help his party.
"I think it always would probably pull votes away from the Democrats and not the Republicans, so naturally, Republicans would welcome his entry into the race," Huckabee said Sunday on CNN.
Nader said Thomas Jefferson believed that "when you lose your government, you've got to go into the electoral arena."
"A Jeffersonian revolution is needed in this country," he said.
Nader told NBC that great changes in U.S. history have come "through little parties that never won any national election."
"Dissent is the mother of ascent," he said. "And in that context I've decided to run for president."
Nader, who turns 74 this week, complained about the "paralysis of the government," which he said is under the control of corporate executives and lobbyists.
Sen. Barack Obama criticized Nader earlier this weekend. "My sense is that Mr. Nader is somebody who, if you don't listen and adopt all of his policies, thinks you're not substantive," Obama told reporters when asked about Nader's possible candidacy.
"He seems to have a pretty high opinion of his own work."
Obama said Nader "is a singular figure in American politics and has done as much as just about anyone for consumers."
"I don't mean to diminish that," he said. "There's a sense now that if someone's not hewing to the Ralph Nader agenda, he says they're lacking in some way."
Responding to those remarks, Nader called Obama "a person of substance" and "the first liberal evangelist in a long time" who "has run a good tactical campaign." But he accused Obama of censoring "his better instincts" on divisive issues.
Nader encouraged people to look at his campaign Web site, votenader.org, which he said discusses issues important to Americans that Obama and Sen. John McCain "are not addressing."
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Obama / Smiley | Tavis Smiley's Ego-Trip Rejection Upsets Essence Readers
Remember Tavis Smiley's rejection of Senator Obama's offer to have his wife Michelle speak at the "State Of Black America" conference? Well, it's now upset readers of "Essence", the well-known magazine for Black Women.
Here's some of the comments readers left:
Comments
Tavis is wrong! This is NOT a DNC sanctioned debate or official candidate forum, but a forum where all voices from the African American Community are supposed to be welcome to discuss issues that matter to us. Michelle is now a prominent member of the community, so why can't she lend her voice? Tavis says otherwise, but there is not a doubt in my mind that if Bill Clinton asked to attend that he would be welcomed!
Posted by: Dee of VA | February 14, 2008 at 09:01 AM
Does Mr.Smiley realize he is shuning the wife of our next Presidential Elect? Michelle Obama is in every essence just as qualified as former first lady Hillary Clinton to appear in representation of Presidnet Elect Barrack Obama. It appears that Tavis is going off message at a crucial time when Barrack Obama needs to continue to reach out and stay on focus. We are looking for his support here in Texas and need to pull these votes together. It would have probably have been a better idea to hold the State of the Black Union in the state of Texas. This was the last state in which black found out they were free. It would be just as befitting to bring the the address that would capitalize on the black vote and bring out votes to the polls. Just my opinion.
Posted by: Dietrich | February 14, 2008 at 09:10 AM
Talk about CLASS!!! I love michelle's response to Tavis snubbing her as Barack's replacement for the event. I beleive maintaining a high road posture by Barack, as it relates to addressing all those trying to derail his campaign, is the best strategy. I am relieved to see that this is shared by his wife as well. yu go girl!!!
Posted by: calvin | February 14, 2008 at 09:31 AM
I respect Mr. Smiley but I could not disagree with him more on this issue. Barack Obama should continue to stay out and reach for new voters. Quite frankly this is not the time to for this issue. I attended the state of the Black union when it was in Flordia and it is the same today as it was that day. It is up to us the people to change. Mr. Smiley's thought process on this is very short sighted and comes across as someone who thinks he is now bigger than the rest of us. Let's stay on point people we may never see a black man that is on top of his game be in this position in our life time!
Peace
Faye Davis
Posted by: Faye Davis | February 14, 2008 at 09:38 AM
Tavis' insistence on Obama falling in step with his program is counterproductive. I am so disappointed in Tavis right now.
I could have added more of them. Only one was supportive of Tavis, and even then not 100 percent so. Tavis really should appologize to Barack and Michelle Obama.
NY Upper East Side Interior Designer Christine Smith Featured By NY Post
Christine Smith Interior Design Blessed By NY Post's Cindy Adams
Taking a break from politics, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John Mcain, we look at Cindy Adams who "brings you the juiciest celeb gossip and celebrity news" according to the New York Post, her employer. Well, if that's the case, then Cindy's just blessed Christine Smith as a celebrity. Cindy took note of the growing presence of Smith's workers around the Upper East Side, and gushed ..
"GUYS are around hauling demolition, filling dump trucks, wearing black T-shirts that read "Christine Smith." So who's Christine Smith? A stunning, skinny, befurred, 6-foot blonde with silver buckles on her jeans and waist-length hair. And why's anyone hauling fixtures wearing her shirts? She's this season's contractor du jour. Looking like a model, this lady is demolishing johns, pulling out sinks, building walls and redoing kitchens all over the Upper East Side."
Wow.
Not only is Christine a model, but the work of her and the crew of people she employs is as well. Here is but one of the examples of the work of Christine Smith, who it can now be said rules the Upper East Side of New York. Visit her website at http://www.christinesmithassoc.com
New England Patriots In Trouble With Senator Arlen Spectre
Senator Arlen Spectre's all over this NFL problem and if Commissioner Goodell does not handle it properly it could blow up in the collective face of the league. There are some serious problems with how the Pats conducted their activities under Head Coach Bill Belichek, and it seems that there's more to this than meets the eye and it unfolds more each day.
Specter irked by uncooperative Pats, league in Spygate probe
By Mike Fish
ESPN.com
Frustrated at the obstacles confronting his investigation of "Spygate," Sen. Arlen Specter accused the New England Patriots of "stonewalling" on Friday and suggested the NFL might never get around to questioning key witness Matt Walsh, a former Patriots video assistant.
Specter's comments are in stark contrast to remarks on Wednesday from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who told reporters that the NFL was moving toward an agreement that would allow Walsh to tell what he knows about the Patriots' spying practices without fear of being sued.
Sen. Arlen Specter says he would like to be present if the NFL ever questions Matt Walsh, a former Patriots video assistant.
"My suspicion is that they're going to put enough conditions on it so that he won't talk," Specter, a Republican from Pennsylvania, told ESPN.com. "If they had wanted Walsh to talk, it would have been done a long time ago. They are not helped by keeping him on ice, unless they intend to [permanently] keep him on ice."
If the league gains Walsh's cooperation, Specter said he wants to be present when Walsh is questioned "because a witness' testimony can be shaded or molded by who questions him first.''
Walsh, employed by the Patriots from 1996 to 2003, has suggested that he has information, perhaps even materials, about the Patriots' video practices that could be potentially damaging.
His attorney, Michael Levy, forwarded a proposal to the NFL's outside counsel seeking full indemnification for Walsh on Feb. 14. Levy, as well as Specter, maintained that the league's initial proposal failed to protect Walsh against the possibility of being sued, and said it also required that he turn over any materials or evidence.
"They haven't taken the steps to get Walsh to come forward," Specter said. "They have the key."
Late Friday afternoon, NFL spokesperson Greg Aiello said the league respectfully disagrees with Specter.
"We have offered Mr. Walsh's attorney assurances that are fully responsive to his concerns," Aiello said. "And we have not heard back from him. ... We very much want to speak to [Walsh]."
As of Friday night, however, the league and Walsh's attorney had not reached an agreement.
An attorney for the Patriots told ESPN.com that Walsh did not have a confidentiality agreement with the franchise or anything else that might prevent his cooperation.
Specter painted a much starker, more contentious picture than the one presented by the league and the Patriots. He said both the Patriots and New York Jets have refused to cooperate with his investigation.
That it is somewhere between absurd to insulting that they won't let us talk to the witnesses.
-- Sen. Arlen Specter,
on the Patriots' responses
to his investigators
Specter told ESPN.com that his staff has been rebuffed in its efforts to interview Patriots personnel about the team's videotaping practices. The Republican leader on the Senate Judiciary Committee refused to say who, specifically, he wanted to talk to, but the list presumably includes head coach Bill Belichick, his longtime assistant Ernie Adams and members of the team's video department.
"My staff has been stonewalled on that," Specter said.
After his staff made phone contact with some individuals connected to the team, Specter said they were referred to the Patriots' outside legal counsel, who rejected a request for cooperation. Daniel L. Goldberg, who represents the Patriots and also the Boston Red Sox, said that in all cases, the individuals had been previously interviewed at least once -- and in some instances twice -- by the league.
Goldberg refused to identify those individuals.
"Sen. Specter's office had called me as counsel to the Patriots to ask to interview several Patriots employees," said Goldberg, attorney with the Boston firm of Bingham and McCutchen. "I was told that the inquiry was with respect to signal-taping. And as I explained to the Senator's office, we regard this as a league matter. As such, we have fully cooperated with the league's investigation."
Asked to respond to Specter's accusation that the Patriots have stonewalled his requests for information, Goldberg said, "You look at it from our perspective. Who is the right forum for an inquiry into a matter like this? We regard this as a league matter. It deals with league rules, league enforcement."
But Specter, a one-time district attorney in Philadelphia, didn't react favorably to the Patriots' responses to his investigators.
"Well, I think that it is somewhere between absurd to insulting that they won't let us talk to the witnesses," Specter said. "Whoever heard of not being able to talk to someone because it is hearsay back from somebody else who talked to them. You have to question hearsay and reliability. I'm not prepared to accept what somebody else says these key witnesses say. What kind of an inquiry would it be if we accepted what somebody else tells us what was said?"
Our clients have not spoken to the senator or his staff and at this time have no plans to do so.
-- Jets outside legal counsel
Scott Michel
Specter's investigators also have been rebuffed in their efforts to seek access to members of the Jets' coaching staff. During the season-opening game last September at New York, the Patriots were caught taping defensive signals being sent in from the Jets' sideline. The Jets' staff is of key interest in the Spygate affair because several members, including Jets head coach Eric Mangini, worked under Belichick in New England.
"Our firm was engaged to represent certain employees of the New York Jets in connection with a request for information from Sen. Specter," Jets outside legal counsel Scott Michel said in an e-mail to ESPN.com on Friday night. "Our clients have not spoken to the senator or his staff and at this time have no plans to do so."
Specter said Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Damon Huard, a one-time backup to Tom Brady with the Patriots, refused to speak with him, too, during a personal phone call the Senator placed to Huard last Friday.
"I talked to him, and he wouldn't talk," Specter said. "I didn't go through a secretary, and he doubted that it was Arlen Specter. Maybe that is why he wouldn't talk. I don't sound much like Arlen Specter."
Specter said it is only because of outside pressure that the NFL has offered up additional information related to the Patriots' taping history. Specter explained: "To get a concession from the commissioner that it goes back to the year 2000. To get a concession that they had notes. Originally, we were only told about videos, and they only went back a half-dozen games in '06. Originally, we weren't told that the notes included the [Pittsburgh] Steelers."
Specter said he is aware of what appears to be a united league-wide front supporting Goodell's handling of the taping controversy. That support was echoed Thursday at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis by members of the league's powerful Competition Committee, who told reporters they believe the issue should be put to rest.
"Well, I don't want to pick a fight with everybody in the world, like all the owners," Specter said. "But they are functioning from talking points -- 'We're satisfied with the investigation.' 'Oh yes, the penalty was sufficient.' 'Oh, let's put this behind us.' 'Let's move on.'
"You have heard everyone say the same thing."
Mike Fish is an investigative reporter for ESPN.com. He can be reached at michaeljfish@gmail.com.
Specter irked by uncooperative Pats, league in Spygate probe
By Mike Fish
ESPN.com
Frustrated at the obstacles confronting his investigation of "Spygate," Sen. Arlen Specter accused the New England Patriots of "stonewalling" on Friday and suggested the NFL might never get around to questioning key witness Matt Walsh, a former Patriots video assistant.
Specter's comments are in stark contrast to remarks on Wednesday from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who told reporters that the NFL was moving toward an agreement that would allow Walsh to tell what he knows about the Patriots' spying practices without fear of being sued.
Sen. Arlen Specter says he would like to be present if the NFL ever questions Matt Walsh, a former Patriots video assistant.
"My suspicion is that they're going to put enough conditions on it so that he won't talk," Specter, a Republican from Pennsylvania, told ESPN.com. "If they had wanted Walsh to talk, it would have been done a long time ago. They are not helped by keeping him on ice, unless they intend to [permanently] keep him on ice."
If the league gains Walsh's cooperation, Specter said he wants to be present when Walsh is questioned "because a witness' testimony can be shaded or molded by who questions him first.''
Walsh, employed by the Patriots from 1996 to 2003, has suggested that he has information, perhaps even materials, about the Patriots' video practices that could be potentially damaging.
His attorney, Michael Levy, forwarded a proposal to the NFL's outside counsel seeking full indemnification for Walsh on Feb. 14. Levy, as well as Specter, maintained that the league's initial proposal failed to protect Walsh against the possibility of being sued, and said it also required that he turn over any materials or evidence.
"They haven't taken the steps to get Walsh to come forward," Specter said. "They have the key."
Late Friday afternoon, NFL spokesperson Greg Aiello said the league respectfully disagrees with Specter.
"We have offered Mr. Walsh's attorney assurances that are fully responsive to his concerns," Aiello said. "And we have not heard back from him. ... We very much want to speak to [Walsh]."
As of Friday night, however, the league and Walsh's attorney had not reached an agreement.
An attorney for the Patriots told ESPN.com that Walsh did not have a confidentiality agreement with the franchise or anything else that might prevent his cooperation.
Specter painted a much starker, more contentious picture than the one presented by the league and the Patriots. He said both the Patriots and New York Jets have refused to cooperate with his investigation.
That it is somewhere between absurd to insulting that they won't let us talk to the witnesses.
-- Sen. Arlen Specter,
on the Patriots' responses
to his investigators
Specter told ESPN.com that his staff has been rebuffed in its efforts to interview Patriots personnel about the team's videotaping practices. The Republican leader on the Senate Judiciary Committee refused to say who, specifically, he wanted to talk to, but the list presumably includes head coach Bill Belichick, his longtime assistant Ernie Adams and members of the team's video department.
"My staff has been stonewalled on that," Specter said.
After his staff made phone contact with some individuals connected to the team, Specter said they were referred to the Patriots' outside legal counsel, who rejected a request for cooperation. Daniel L. Goldberg, who represents the Patriots and also the Boston Red Sox, said that in all cases, the individuals had been previously interviewed at least once -- and in some instances twice -- by the league.
Goldberg refused to identify those individuals.
"Sen. Specter's office had called me as counsel to the Patriots to ask to interview several Patriots employees," said Goldberg, attorney with the Boston firm of Bingham and McCutchen. "I was told that the inquiry was with respect to signal-taping. And as I explained to the Senator's office, we regard this as a league matter. As such, we have fully cooperated with the league's investigation."
Asked to respond to Specter's accusation that the Patriots have stonewalled his requests for information, Goldberg said, "You look at it from our perspective. Who is the right forum for an inquiry into a matter like this? We regard this as a league matter. It deals with league rules, league enforcement."
But Specter, a one-time district attorney in Philadelphia, didn't react favorably to the Patriots' responses to his investigators.
"Well, I think that it is somewhere between absurd to insulting that they won't let us talk to the witnesses," Specter said. "Whoever heard of not being able to talk to someone because it is hearsay back from somebody else who talked to them. You have to question hearsay and reliability. I'm not prepared to accept what somebody else says these key witnesses say. What kind of an inquiry would it be if we accepted what somebody else tells us what was said?"
Our clients have not spoken to the senator or his staff and at this time have no plans to do so.
-- Jets outside legal counsel
Scott Michel
Specter's investigators also have been rebuffed in their efforts to seek access to members of the Jets' coaching staff. During the season-opening game last September at New York, the Patriots were caught taping defensive signals being sent in from the Jets' sideline. The Jets' staff is of key interest in the Spygate affair because several members, including Jets head coach Eric Mangini, worked under Belichick in New England.
"Our firm was engaged to represent certain employees of the New York Jets in connection with a request for information from Sen. Specter," Jets outside legal counsel Scott Michel said in an e-mail to ESPN.com on Friday night. "Our clients have not spoken to the senator or his staff and at this time have no plans to do so."
Specter said Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Damon Huard, a one-time backup to Tom Brady with the Patriots, refused to speak with him, too, during a personal phone call the Senator placed to Huard last Friday.
"I talked to him, and he wouldn't talk," Specter said. "I didn't go through a secretary, and he doubted that it was Arlen Specter. Maybe that is why he wouldn't talk. I don't sound much like Arlen Specter."
Specter said it is only because of outside pressure that the NFL has offered up additional information related to the Patriots' taping history. Specter explained: "To get a concession from the commissioner that it goes back to the year 2000. To get a concession that they had notes. Originally, we were only told about videos, and they only went back a half-dozen games in '06. Originally, we weren't told that the notes included the [Pittsburgh] Steelers."
Specter said he is aware of what appears to be a united league-wide front supporting Goodell's handling of the taping controversy. That support was echoed Thursday at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis by members of the league's powerful Competition Committee, who told reporters they believe the issue should be put to rest.
"Well, I don't want to pick a fight with everybody in the world, like all the owners," Specter said. "But they are functioning from talking points -- 'We're satisfied with the investigation.' 'Oh yes, the penalty was sufficient.' 'Oh, let's put this behind us.' 'Let's move on.'
"You have heard everyone say the same thing."
Mike Fish is an investigative reporter for ESPN.com. He can be reached at michaeljfish@gmail.com.
The New England Patriots Spygate Problem Gets Worse - ESPN
Arlen Spectre's all over this NFL problem and if Commissioner Goodell does not handle it properly it could blow up in the collective face of the league. There are some serious problems with how the Pats conducted their activities under Head Coach Bill Belichek, and it seems that there's more to this than meets the eye and it unfolds more each day.
Specter irked by uncooperative Pats, league in Spygate probe
By Mike Fish
ESPN.com
Frustrated at the obstacles confronting his investigation of "Spygate," Sen. Arlen Specter accused the New England Patriots of "stonewalling" on Friday and suggested the NFL might never get around to questioning key witness Matt Walsh, a former Patriots video assistant.
Specter's comments are in stark contrast to remarks on Wednesday from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who told reporters that the NFL was moving toward an agreement that would allow Walsh to tell what he knows about the Patriots' spying practices without fear of being sued.
Sen. Arlen Specter says he would like to be present if the NFL ever questions Matt Walsh, a former Patriots video assistant.
"My suspicion is that they're going to put enough conditions on it so that he won't talk," Specter, a Republican from Pennsylvania, told ESPN.com. "If they had wanted Walsh to talk, it would have been done a long time ago. They are not helped by keeping him on ice, unless they intend to [permanently] keep him on ice."
If the league gains Walsh's cooperation, Specter said he wants to be present when Walsh is questioned "because a witness' testimony can be shaded or molded by who questions him first.''
Walsh, employed by the Patriots from 1996 to 2003, has suggested that he has information, perhaps even materials, about the Patriots' video practices that could be potentially damaging.
His attorney, Michael Levy, forwarded a proposal to the NFL's outside counsel seeking full indemnification for Walsh on Feb. 14. Levy, as well as Specter, maintained that the league's initial proposal failed to protect Walsh against the possibility of being sued, and said it also required that he turn over any materials or evidence.
"They haven't taken the steps to get Walsh to come forward," Specter said. "They have the key."
Late Friday afternoon, NFL spokesperson Greg Aiello said the league respectfully disagrees with Specter.
"We have offered Mr. Walsh's attorney assurances that are fully responsive to his concerns," Aiello said. "And we have not heard back from him. ... We very much want to speak to [Walsh]."
As of Friday night, however, the league and Walsh's attorney had not reached an agreement.
An attorney for the Patriots told ESPN.com that Walsh did not have a confidentiality agreement with the franchise or anything else that might prevent his cooperation.
Specter painted a much starker, more contentious picture than the one presented by the league and the Patriots. He said both the Patriots and New York Jets have refused to cooperate with his investigation.
That it is somewhere between absurd to insulting that they won't let us talk to the witnesses.
-- Sen. Arlen Specter,
on the Patriots' responses
to his investigators
Specter told ESPN.com that his staff has been rebuffed in its efforts to interview Patriots personnel about the team's videotaping practices. The Republican leader on the Senate Judiciary Committee refused to say who, specifically, he wanted to talk to, but the list presumably includes head coach Bill Belichick, his longtime assistant Ernie Adams and members of the team's video department.
"My staff has been stonewalled on that," Specter said.
After his staff made phone contact with some individuals connected to the team, Specter said they were referred to the Patriots' outside legal counsel, who rejected a request for cooperation. Daniel L. Goldberg, who represents the Patriots and also the Boston Red Sox, said that in all cases, the individuals had been previously interviewed at least once -- and in some instances twice -- by the league.
Goldberg refused to identify those individuals.
"Sen. Specter's office had called me as counsel to the Patriots to ask to interview several Patriots employees," said Goldberg, attorney with the Boston firm of Bingham and McCutchen. "I was told that the inquiry was with respect to signal-taping. And as I explained to the Senator's office, we regard this as a league matter. As such, we have fully cooperated with the league's investigation."
Asked to respond to Specter's accusation that the Patriots have stonewalled his requests for information, Goldberg said, "You look at it from our perspective. Who is the right forum for an inquiry into a matter like this? We regard this as a league matter. It deals with league rules, league enforcement."
But Specter, a one-time district attorney in Philadelphia, didn't react favorably to the Patriots' responses to his investigators.
"Well, I think that it is somewhere between absurd to insulting that they won't let us talk to the witnesses," Specter said. "Whoever heard of not being able to talk to someone because it is hearsay back from somebody else who talked to them. You have to question hearsay and reliability. I'm not prepared to accept what somebody else says these key witnesses say. What kind of an inquiry would it be if we accepted what somebody else tells us what was said?"
Our clients have not spoken to the senator or his staff and at this time have no plans to do so.
-- Jets outside legal counsel
Scott Michel
Specter's investigators also have been rebuffed in their efforts to seek access to members of the Jets' coaching staff. During the season-opening game last September at New York, the Patriots were caught taping defensive signals being sent in from the Jets' sideline. The Jets' staff is of key interest in the Spygate affair because several members, including Jets head coach Eric Mangini, worked under Belichick in New England.
"Our firm was engaged to represent certain employees of the New York Jets in connection with a request for information from Sen. Specter," Jets outside legal counsel Scott Michel said in an e-mail to ESPN.com on Friday night. "Our clients have not spoken to the senator or his staff and at this time have no plans to do so."
Specter said Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Damon Huard, a one-time backup to Tom Brady with the Patriots, refused to speak with him, too, during a personal phone call the Senator placed to Huard last Friday.
"I talked to him, and he wouldn't talk," Specter said. "I didn't go through a secretary, and he doubted that it was Arlen Specter. Maybe that is why he wouldn't talk. I don't sound much like Arlen Specter."
Specter said it is only because of outside pressure that the NFL has offered up additional information related to the Patriots' taping history. Specter explained: "To get a concession from the commissioner that it goes back to the year 2000. To get a concession that they had notes. Originally, we were only told about videos, and they only went back a half-dozen games in '06. Originally, we weren't told that the notes included the [Pittsburgh] Steelers."
Specter said he is aware of what appears to be a united league-wide front supporting Goodell's handling of the taping controversy. That support was echoed Thursday at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis by members of the league's powerful Competition Committee, who told reporters they believe the issue should be put to rest.
"Well, I don't want to pick a fight with everybody in the world, like all the owners," Specter said. "But they are functioning from talking points -- 'We're satisfied with the investigation.' 'Oh yes, the penalty was sufficient.' 'Oh, let's put this behind us.' 'Let's move on.'
"You have heard everyone say the same thing."
Mike Fish is an investigative reporter for ESPN.com. He can be reached at michaeljfish@gmail.com.
Specter irked by uncooperative Pats, league in Spygate probe
By Mike Fish
ESPN.com
Frustrated at the obstacles confronting his investigation of "Spygate," Sen. Arlen Specter accused the New England Patriots of "stonewalling" on Friday and suggested the NFL might never get around to questioning key witness Matt Walsh, a former Patriots video assistant.
Specter's comments are in stark contrast to remarks on Wednesday from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who told reporters that the NFL was moving toward an agreement that would allow Walsh to tell what he knows about the Patriots' spying practices without fear of being sued.
Sen. Arlen Specter says he would like to be present if the NFL ever questions Matt Walsh, a former Patriots video assistant.
"My suspicion is that they're going to put enough conditions on it so that he won't talk," Specter, a Republican from Pennsylvania, told ESPN.com. "If they had wanted Walsh to talk, it would have been done a long time ago. They are not helped by keeping him on ice, unless they intend to [permanently] keep him on ice."
If the league gains Walsh's cooperation, Specter said he wants to be present when Walsh is questioned "because a witness' testimony can be shaded or molded by who questions him first.''
Walsh, employed by the Patriots from 1996 to 2003, has suggested that he has information, perhaps even materials, about the Patriots' video practices that could be potentially damaging.
His attorney, Michael Levy, forwarded a proposal to the NFL's outside counsel seeking full indemnification for Walsh on Feb. 14. Levy, as well as Specter, maintained that the league's initial proposal failed to protect Walsh against the possibility of being sued, and said it also required that he turn over any materials or evidence.
"They haven't taken the steps to get Walsh to come forward," Specter said. "They have the key."
Late Friday afternoon, NFL spokesperson Greg Aiello said the league respectfully disagrees with Specter.
"We have offered Mr. Walsh's attorney assurances that are fully responsive to his concerns," Aiello said. "And we have not heard back from him. ... We very much want to speak to [Walsh]."
As of Friday night, however, the league and Walsh's attorney had not reached an agreement.
An attorney for the Patriots told ESPN.com that Walsh did not have a confidentiality agreement with the franchise or anything else that might prevent his cooperation.
Specter painted a much starker, more contentious picture than the one presented by the league and the Patriots. He said both the Patriots and New York Jets have refused to cooperate with his investigation.
That it is somewhere between absurd to insulting that they won't let us talk to the witnesses.
-- Sen. Arlen Specter,
on the Patriots' responses
to his investigators
Specter told ESPN.com that his staff has been rebuffed in its efforts to interview Patriots personnel about the team's videotaping practices. The Republican leader on the Senate Judiciary Committee refused to say who, specifically, he wanted to talk to, but the list presumably includes head coach Bill Belichick, his longtime assistant Ernie Adams and members of the team's video department.
"My staff has been stonewalled on that," Specter said.
After his staff made phone contact with some individuals connected to the team, Specter said they were referred to the Patriots' outside legal counsel, who rejected a request for cooperation. Daniel L. Goldberg, who represents the Patriots and also the Boston Red Sox, said that in all cases, the individuals had been previously interviewed at least once -- and in some instances twice -- by the league.
Goldberg refused to identify those individuals.
"Sen. Specter's office had called me as counsel to the Patriots to ask to interview several Patriots employees," said Goldberg, attorney with the Boston firm of Bingham and McCutchen. "I was told that the inquiry was with respect to signal-taping. And as I explained to the Senator's office, we regard this as a league matter. As such, we have fully cooperated with the league's investigation."
Asked to respond to Specter's accusation that the Patriots have stonewalled his requests for information, Goldberg said, "You look at it from our perspective. Who is the right forum for an inquiry into a matter like this? We regard this as a league matter. It deals with league rules, league enforcement."
But Specter, a one-time district attorney in Philadelphia, didn't react favorably to the Patriots' responses to his investigators.
"Well, I think that it is somewhere between absurd to insulting that they won't let us talk to the witnesses," Specter said. "Whoever heard of not being able to talk to someone because it is hearsay back from somebody else who talked to them. You have to question hearsay and reliability. I'm not prepared to accept what somebody else says these key witnesses say. What kind of an inquiry would it be if we accepted what somebody else tells us what was said?"
Our clients have not spoken to the senator or his staff and at this time have no plans to do so.
-- Jets outside legal counsel
Scott Michel
Specter's investigators also have been rebuffed in their efforts to seek access to members of the Jets' coaching staff. During the season-opening game last September at New York, the Patriots were caught taping defensive signals being sent in from the Jets' sideline. The Jets' staff is of key interest in the Spygate affair because several members, including Jets head coach Eric Mangini, worked under Belichick in New England.
"Our firm was engaged to represent certain employees of the New York Jets in connection with a request for information from Sen. Specter," Jets outside legal counsel Scott Michel said in an e-mail to ESPN.com on Friday night. "Our clients have not spoken to the senator or his staff and at this time have no plans to do so."
Specter said Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Damon Huard, a one-time backup to Tom Brady with the Patriots, refused to speak with him, too, during a personal phone call the Senator placed to Huard last Friday.
"I talked to him, and he wouldn't talk," Specter said. "I didn't go through a secretary, and he doubted that it was Arlen Specter. Maybe that is why he wouldn't talk. I don't sound much like Arlen Specter."
Specter said it is only because of outside pressure that the NFL has offered up additional information related to the Patriots' taping history. Specter explained: "To get a concession from the commissioner that it goes back to the year 2000. To get a concession that they had notes. Originally, we were only told about videos, and they only went back a half-dozen games in '06. Originally, we weren't told that the notes included the [Pittsburgh] Steelers."
Specter said he is aware of what appears to be a united league-wide front supporting Goodell's handling of the taping controversy. That support was echoed Thursday at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis by members of the league's powerful Competition Committee, who told reporters they believe the issue should be put to rest.
"Well, I don't want to pick a fight with everybody in the world, like all the owners," Specter said. "But they are functioning from talking points -- 'We're satisfied with the investigation.' 'Oh yes, the penalty was sufficient.' 'Oh, let's put this behind us.' 'Let's move on.'
"You have heard everyone say the same thing."
Mike Fish is an investigative reporter for ESPN.com. He can be reached at michaeljfish@gmail.com.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Peter Paul v. Clinton - Hillary To Be Called As Witness If Process Servers Can Catch Her
Peter Paul v. Clinton - Hillary To Be Called As Witness If Process Servers Can Catch Her
I got a call from a person heavily involved in the case of Peter Paul v. Hillary Clinton . The latest twist in this case came Thursday, as Judge Aurelio Munoz allowed Peter Paul's attorneys to commence discovery (sworn depositions of witnesses) after a three year hiatus, while agreeing to set a trial date at a hearing to be held in April, 2008, according to Paul's website
According to the site:
The business fraud suit being prosecuted by Hillary’s largest donor Peter Paul is finally proceeding to trial after years of delays in the appellate court fight to keep Hillary in the case as a defendant rather than a material witness. Judge Munoz allowed Paul to commence discovery (sworn depositions of witnesses) after a three year hiatus, while agreeing to set a trial date at a hearing to be held in April, 2008.
In response, Hillary Clinton’s attorney David Kendall declared that none of Hillary Clinton’s lawyers would accept a deposition subpoena on Hillary’s behalf.
Hillary is declaring that she would rather dodge process servers while she is campaigning for President of the United States around the nation than honorably accept a notice of her mandatory deposition through her lawyers!!
Hillary Clinton was dismissed as a co-defendant in the case at a hearing in April, 2007 because of democrat Appellate Court Judges’ support of her belated effort to obtain the protection of California’s Anti-SLAPP law from tort fraud conspiracy charges in raising money for her Senate campaign.
At that hearing, after dismissing Hillary as a defendant, trial court Judge Aurelio Munoz admonished David Kendall by telling him unequivocally that any effort to deny Senator Clinton’s testimony as a witness in the case would be “Dead on Arrival”. To emphasize his point, the Judge followed his statement by saying “Did you hear that Mr Kendall?”
In typical Clintonian hubris and contempt for the judicial process, Hillary had her diminutive counsel with the over inflated ego state to Paul’s lawyer, Colette Wilson, that none of the three lawyers of record representing Hillary in the case would accept a witness subpoena for her deposition on her behalf, and that there would be no cooperation in the process the judge stated should include Hillary’s testimony.
In other words, Clinton's lawyer have no interest in following the judge's orders.
I directly called Peter Paul, the plaintiff (person who filed the fraud lawsuit against Bill Clinton, and to which Senator Hillary Clinton is considered a part of) to get more background on this story. In response to the remarks of Clinton's attorney, Paul said "It denegrates her office as a server of the public. After abusing the First Amendment to be dismissed (from testifying as a witness in the fraud trial), now she's challenging a judge's order. Telling the plaintiff's lawyer that she will not cooperate without being served (a subpoena ) by a process server."
Paul reports that his team will have a process server in Texas and Ohio, where Clinton is campaiging. According to Paul, It's now a race against a 70-day clock: "They're (Clinton's legal team) hoping to 'run the clock," Paul said, "and hope that they get a summary judgement." (That means a decision where the judge is convinced there's not enough evidence to warrant a trial-by-jury). If Senator Clinton's served by a process server, she has to testify, which would then give enough evidence to have a jury trial.
All of this means that Hillary Clinton will be chased by process-servers as she's campaigning in Texas and Ohio. This is a race to watch. Stay tuned.
Cogan's View of The Court
Doug Cogan, who made the movie "Hillary Uncensored", was outside the court on Thursday and gave me his take on the matter. "It really is remarkable that the candidate (Clinton) who wants to be the chief law enforcement officer for the nation continues to scoff at the law" Cogan says the Clintons never expected Peter Paul to come back from Brazil (where he was imprisoned several years ago) alive.
"I would love for some reporter to ask Hillary if she's going to obey the court's order," Cogan remarked.
Cogan explains that there is compelling evidence that Dave Kendall submitted false declarations to the court, from assertions that Hillary Clinton met Paul in 2000, when this video shows Clinton and Peter Paul talking about when they met in 1993.
As a note, this is my video on the FEC side of Peter Paul's battle against the Clinton's:
Officer in Clinton's motorcade dies
(CNN) – An officer involved in Hillary Clinton's motorcade in Dallas, Texas was killed in a motorcycle crash Friday, the New York senator confirmed.
Clinton released a statement saying she is “greatly heartsick over this loss of life in the line of duty.”
The officer was thrown at least 30-40 feet in the accident, which occurred on the Trinity River Viaduct as Clinton's motorcade made its way through downtown Dallas.
The Dallas police department has not yet confirmed the death, or released the identity of the officer.
“I want to express my deepest condolences to the family and the Dallas police department on this tragic, tragic loss," said Clinton.
She added that she had called the Dallas Police chief, and would call the family at an appropriate time, and was grateful for the police department's service.
"I am certainly grateful for all they do for me and more importantly what they do for the citizens of cities like Dallas,” she said.
There have been two fatal accidents involving motorcycle officers escorting President Bush’s motorcade over the past 18 months.
On August 28, an officer from Rio Rancho, New Mexico died when his motorcycle crashed as the motorcade approached the airport in Albuquerque. The officer, Germaine Casey, was 40. He was the lead motorcycle in the motorcade when the crash occurred.
On November 23, 2006, a Honolulu Police motorcycle officer crashed on wet roads during the President’s motorcade in Hawaii…he died of his injuries a week later. Two other officers injured in the crash were released from the hospital. Steve Favella was 30.
Clinton released a statement saying she is “greatly heartsick over this loss of life in the line of duty.”
The officer was thrown at least 30-40 feet in the accident, which occurred on the Trinity River Viaduct as Clinton's motorcade made its way through downtown Dallas.
The Dallas police department has not yet confirmed the death, or released the identity of the officer.
“I want to express my deepest condolences to the family and the Dallas police department on this tragic, tragic loss," said Clinton.
She added that she had called the Dallas Police chief, and would call the family at an appropriate time, and was grateful for the police department's service.
"I am certainly grateful for all they do for me and more importantly what they do for the citizens of cities like Dallas,” she said.
There have been two fatal accidents involving motorcycle officers escorting President Bush’s motorcade over the past 18 months.
On August 28, an officer from Rio Rancho, New Mexico died when his motorcycle crashed as the motorcade approached the airport in Albuquerque. The officer, Germaine Casey, was 40. He was the lead motorcycle in the motorcade when the crash occurred.
On November 23, 2006, a Honolulu Police motorcycle officer crashed on wet roads during the President’s motorcade in Hawaii…he died of his injuries a week later. Two other officers injured in the crash were released from the hospital. Steve Favella was 30.
President Barack Obama - First Seen At Texas Debate
We've just seen our next president, and that person's Barack Obama. Senator Obama emerged into a full president tonight before the eyes of America and in the Lone Star State. Obama seemed "presidential" to many, including past Clinton supporters like CNN's Donna Brazile. Obama's ready; he's the one.
Hillary Clinton's Campaign Partying At The Bellagio In Las Vegas - Lost Money
This NY Times article details the free-spending that has gone on with the Hillary Clinton for President campaign. They took $25,000 of the money and stayed at The Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada, rather than a cheaper hotel. It's like someone forgot to tell the campaign they were working to get a person elected President of The United States! Wow. Read this.
Spending by Clinton Campaign Worries Supporters
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By MICHAEL LUO, JO BECKER and PATRICK HEALY
Published: February 22, 2008
This article was reported by Michael Luo, Jo Becker and Patrick Healy and was written by Mr. Healy.
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What Candidates Have Raised and Spent
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Nearly $100,000 went for party platters and groceries before the Iowa caucuses, even though the partying mood evaporated quickly. Rooms at the Bellagio luxury hotel in Las Vegas consumed more than $25,000; the Four Seasons, another $5,000. And top consultants collected about $5 million in January, a month of crucial expenses and tough fund-raising.
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s latest campaign finance report, published Wednesday night, appeared even to her most stalwart supporters and donors to be a road map of her political and management failings. Several of them, echoing political analysts, expressed concerns that Mrs. Clinton’s spending priorities amounted to costly errors in judgment that have hamstrung her competitiveness against Senator Barack Obama of Illinois.
“We didn’t raise all of this money to keep paying consultants who have pursued basically the wrong strategy for a year now,” said a prominent New York donor. “So much about her campaign needs to change — but it may be too late.”
The high-priced senior consultants to Mrs. Clinton, of New York, have emerged as particular targets of complaints, given that they conceived and executed a political strategy that has thus far proved unsuccessful.
The firm that includes Mark Penn, Mrs. Clinton’s chief strategist and pollster, and his team collected $3.8 million for fees and expenses in January; in total, including what the campaign still owes, the firm has billed more than $10 million for consulting, direct mail and other services, an amount other Democratic strategists who are not affiliated with either campaign called stunning.
Howard Wolfson, the communications director and a senior member of the advertising team, earned nearly $267,000 in January. His total, including the campaign’s debt to him, tops $730,000.
The advertising firm owned by Mandy Grunwald, the longtime media strategist for both Mrs. Clinton and Bill Clinton, the former president, has collected $2.3 million in fees and expenses, and is still owed another $240,000.
“Fees and payments are in line with industry standards,” Mr. Wolfson said. “Spending priorities have been consistent with overall strategic goals.”
But some Democrats are now asking if the money spent on a campaign that appears to be sputtering — $106 million so far — was worth it.
“It’s easy to be critical, but had she won Iowa, none of this would have mattered. It wouldn’t have mattered what she spent because money would have come pouring in,” said Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic political consultant and a veteran of Mr. Clinton’s successful 1996 re-election bid. “But the fact that she did not has made everyone focus on where the dollars went — and where they think the money should’ve gone.”
Mrs. Clinton came into January with a cash advantage over Mr. Obama, with about $19 million available for the primary, compared with about $13 million for him. She wound up spending at roughly the same rate as Mr. Obama, about a million dollars a day, but because she performed dismally compared to him in raising money, she ended the month essentially in the red and was forced to lend her campaign $5 million, while he had $19 million for the coming contests.
Over all, Mrs. Clinton has spent more than $35 million on media, polling and consulting. A comparison with Mr. Obama’s spending is difficult because of the ways the campaigns labeled expenses, but it appears he spent about $40 million in those areas.
In other notable expenditures during the lean month of January, Mrs. Clinton paid $275,000 to Sunrise Communications, a South Carolina firm that was supposed to turn out black voters for her and collected nearly $800,000 in total. She lost that state to Mr. Obama by a wide margin. Even small expenses piled up in January: the campaign spent more than $11,000 on pizza and $1,200 on Dunkin’ Donuts runs.
Mr. Penn, the chief strategist, said in an interview that, since 2001, he no longer owned any of the political consulting firm of Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates. He said the firm’s fees were capped at $20,000 a month and that the “great bulk” of the payments went for direct mail.
Joe Trippi, who was a senior adviser to John Edwards’s presidential campaign, said he believed that the Clinton team had made two fundamental errors.
First, he argued, Mrs. Clinton built a top-down fund-raising operation that relied on a core group of donors to write checks early on for the maximum amount, $4,600 for the primary and the general election, which left few of them to go back to when money became tight. Mr. Obama, by contrast, focused on building a network of small donors whose continued ability to give has been essential to his success this winter.
more here...
Spending by Clinton Campaign Worries Supporters
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By MICHAEL LUO, JO BECKER and PATRICK HEALY
Published: February 22, 2008
This article was reported by Michael Luo, Jo Becker and Patrick Healy and was written by Mr. Healy.
Multimedia
Graphic
What Candidates Have Raised and Spent
Interactive Graphic
Election Guide 2008: The Money Race
Related
McCain Loan Complicates Financing of Campaign (February 22, 2008)
Times Topics: Hillary Rodham Clinton
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The Caucus
The latest political news from around the nation. Join the discussion.
Candidate Topic Pages
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Nearly $100,000 went for party platters and groceries before the Iowa caucuses, even though the partying mood evaporated quickly. Rooms at the Bellagio luxury hotel in Las Vegas consumed more than $25,000; the Four Seasons, another $5,000. And top consultants collected about $5 million in January, a month of crucial expenses and tough fund-raising.
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s latest campaign finance report, published Wednesday night, appeared even to her most stalwart supporters and donors to be a road map of her political and management failings. Several of them, echoing political analysts, expressed concerns that Mrs. Clinton’s spending priorities amounted to costly errors in judgment that have hamstrung her competitiveness against Senator Barack Obama of Illinois.
“We didn’t raise all of this money to keep paying consultants who have pursued basically the wrong strategy for a year now,” said a prominent New York donor. “So much about her campaign needs to change — but it may be too late.”
The high-priced senior consultants to Mrs. Clinton, of New York, have emerged as particular targets of complaints, given that they conceived and executed a political strategy that has thus far proved unsuccessful.
The firm that includes Mark Penn, Mrs. Clinton’s chief strategist and pollster, and his team collected $3.8 million for fees and expenses in January; in total, including what the campaign still owes, the firm has billed more than $10 million for consulting, direct mail and other services, an amount other Democratic strategists who are not affiliated with either campaign called stunning.
Howard Wolfson, the communications director and a senior member of the advertising team, earned nearly $267,000 in January. His total, including the campaign’s debt to him, tops $730,000.
The advertising firm owned by Mandy Grunwald, the longtime media strategist for both Mrs. Clinton and Bill Clinton, the former president, has collected $2.3 million in fees and expenses, and is still owed another $240,000.
“Fees and payments are in line with industry standards,” Mr. Wolfson said. “Spending priorities have been consistent with overall strategic goals.”
But some Democrats are now asking if the money spent on a campaign that appears to be sputtering — $106 million so far — was worth it.
“It’s easy to be critical, but had she won Iowa, none of this would have mattered. It wouldn’t have mattered what she spent because money would have come pouring in,” said Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic political consultant and a veteran of Mr. Clinton’s successful 1996 re-election bid. “But the fact that she did not has made everyone focus on where the dollars went — and where they think the money should’ve gone.”
Mrs. Clinton came into January with a cash advantage over Mr. Obama, with about $19 million available for the primary, compared with about $13 million for him. She wound up spending at roughly the same rate as Mr. Obama, about a million dollars a day, but because she performed dismally compared to him in raising money, she ended the month essentially in the red and was forced to lend her campaign $5 million, while he had $19 million for the coming contests.
Over all, Mrs. Clinton has spent more than $35 million on media, polling and consulting. A comparison with Mr. Obama’s spending is difficult because of the ways the campaigns labeled expenses, but it appears he spent about $40 million in those areas.
In other notable expenditures during the lean month of January, Mrs. Clinton paid $275,000 to Sunrise Communications, a South Carolina firm that was supposed to turn out black voters for her and collected nearly $800,000 in total. She lost that state to Mr. Obama by a wide margin. Even small expenses piled up in January: the campaign spent more than $11,000 on pizza and $1,200 on Dunkin’ Donuts runs.
Mr. Penn, the chief strategist, said in an interview that, since 2001, he no longer owned any of the political consulting firm of Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates. He said the firm’s fees were capped at $20,000 a month and that the “great bulk” of the payments went for direct mail.
Joe Trippi, who was a senior adviser to John Edwards’s presidential campaign, said he believed that the Clinton team had made two fundamental errors.
First, he argued, Mrs. Clinton built a top-down fund-raising operation that relied on a core group of donors to write checks early on for the maximum amount, $4,600 for the primary and the general election, which left few of them to go back to when money became tight. Mr. Obama, by contrast, focused on building a network of small donors whose continued ability to give has been essential to his success this winter.
more here...
Obama Security Screening Stopped By Secret Service In Dallas? WTF?
This is terrible! It's a totally freaking outrage! What is going on with the Secret Service?
Police concerned about order to stop screening
By JACK DOUGLAS Jr.
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
STAR-TELEGRAM/RODGER MALLISON
Barack Obama speaks Wednesday at a Democratic rally in Dallas' Reunion Arena. Police were told to stop screening people for weapons before the rally began.
DALLAS -- Security details at Barack Obama's rally Wednesday stopped screening people for weapons at the front gates more than an hour before the Democratic presidential candidate took the stage at Reunion Arena.
The order to put down the metal detectors and stop checking purses and laptop bags came as a surprise to several Dallas police officers who said they believed it was a lapse in security.
Dallas Deputy Police Chief T.W. Lawrence, head of the Police Department's homeland security and special operations divisions, said the order -- apparently made by the U.S. Secret Service -- was meant to speed up the long lines outside and fill the arena's vacant seats before Obama came on.
"Sure," said Lawrence, when asked if he was concerned by the great number of people who had gotten into the building without being checked. But, he added, the turnout of more than 17,000 people seemed to be a "friendly crowd."
The Secret Service did not return a call from the Star-Telegram seeking comment.
Doors opened to the public at 10 a.m., and for the first hour security officers scanned each person who came in and checked their belongings in a process that kept movement of the long lines at a crawl. Then, about 11 a.m., an order came down to allow the people in without being checked.
Several Dallas police officers said it worried them that the arena was packed with people who got in without even a cursory inspection.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because, they said, the order was made by federal officials who were in charge of security at the event.
"How can you not be concerned in this day and age," said one policeman.
Police concerned about order to stop screening
By JACK DOUGLAS Jr.
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
STAR-TELEGRAM/RODGER MALLISON
Barack Obama speaks Wednesday at a Democratic rally in Dallas' Reunion Arena. Police were told to stop screening people for weapons before the rally began.
DALLAS -- Security details at Barack Obama's rally Wednesday stopped screening people for weapons at the front gates more than an hour before the Democratic presidential candidate took the stage at Reunion Arena.
The order to put down the metal detectors and stop checking purses and laptop bags came as a surprise to several Dallas police officers who said they believed it was a lapse in security.
Dallas Deputy Police Chief T.W. Lawrence, head of the Police Department's homeland security and special operations divisions, said the order -- apparently made by the U.S. Secret Service -- was meant to speed up the long lines outside and fill the arena's vacant seats before Obama came on.
"Sure," said Lawrence, when asked if he was concerned by the great number of people who had gotten into the building without being checked. But, he added, the turnout of more than 17,000 people seemed to be a "friendly crowd."
The Secret Service did not return a call from the Star-Telegram seeking comment.
Doors opened to the public at 10 a.m., and for the first hour security officers scanned each person who came in and checked their belongings in a process that kept movement of the long lines at a crawl. Then, about 11 a.m., an order came down to allow the people in without being checked.
Several Dallas police officers said it worried them that the arena was packed with people who got in without even a cursory inspection.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because, they said, the order was made by federal officials who were in charge of security at the event.
"How can you not be concerned in this day and age," said one policeman.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Christine Smith Blessed By NY Post's Cindy Adams - NY Upper East Side Interior Designer A Celeb
Christine Smith Interior Design Blessed By NY Post's Cindy Adams
Taking a break from politics, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John Mcain, we look at Cindy Adams who "brings you the juiciest celeb gossip and celebrity news" according to the New York Post, her employer. Well, if that's the case, then Cindy's just blessed Christine Smith as a celebrity. Cindy took note of the growing presence of Smith's workers around the Upper East Side, and gushed ..
"GUYS are around hauling demolition, filling dump trucks, wearing black T-shirts that read "Christine Smith." So who's Christine Smith? A stunning, skinny, befurred, 6-foot blonde with silver buckles on her jeans and waist-length hair. And why's anyone hauling fixtures wearing her shirts? She's this season's contractor du jour. Looking like a model, this lady is demolishing johns, pulling out sinks, building walls and redoing kitchens all over the Upper East Side."
Wow.
Not only is Christine a model, but the work of her and the crew of people she employs is as well.
Here is but one of the examples of the work of Christine Smith, who it can now be said rules the Upper East Side of New York. Visit her website at http://www.christinesmithassoc.com
Pro Clinton 527 / Emily's List Take $ From Questionable People
By now if you're a political junky like myself, you've heard about the "Pro-Clinton 527" that will concentrate on coming up with new ways to smear Senator Barack Obama on his way to what is an eventual Presidential Nomination. The Clinton 527 is being paid for in part by Steve Bing, who's a Hollywood type who reportedly -- according to the Telegraph of London -- got two starlets knocked up, then pressured the media to bury the story. Emily's List took money from this guy!
Read this from the Telegraph.Co.UK:
After Liz Hurley, Bing faces second bitter paternity row
By Oliver Poole in Los Angeles
Last Updated: 3:28pm BST 16/05/2002
Steve Bing, the playboy Elizabeth Hurley claims is the father of her son Damian, was named yesterday as the parent of a girl at the centre of the world's most expensive child support case.
The millionaire television producer was identified in court papers as the father of Kira Kerkorian.
Kirk Kerkorian
The four-year-old girl is the subject of a bitter paternity row between Kirk Kerkorian, one of California's richest men, and his former wife, who has demanded £223,000 a month in maintenance.
Mr Bing, 37, is already waiting for a DNA test to be carried out to determine whether he is the father of six-week-old Damian after Hurley agreed to the procedure last week.
However, he may have to spend thousands of pounds more on child support and make the girl heir to part of his estimated £280 million fortune after the latest development.
According to the papers filed at a Los Angeles court, Mr Kerkorian, who owns MGM film studios and a string of Las Vegas casinos, hired private detectives who matched DNA from the child with a strand of dental floss they found in Mr Bing's dustbins.
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The 84-year-old had become suspicious when he heard rumours that Mr Bing and his ex-wife, the former tennis player Lisa Bonder, had an affair around the time of Kira's conception.
The couple were living apart at the time. They were reconciled for a one-week fling in which Miss Bonder claimed that she became pregnant.
Mr Kerkorian's investigators took DNA from the floss and compared it to strands of the child's hair which showed a match with 99.993 per cent certainty, the court papers said.
The case went to court at the start of this year after Miss Bonder, 36, filed for child support as well as demanding use of her former husband's private Boeing 737 up to five times a year. She said the money was needed to keep her daughter in the manner to which she had become accustomed, which included £4,200 a month for visits to restaurants and £300 a month to look after Kira's pet rabbit.
Mr Kerkorian said he believed that the child was not his. However, he had become emotionally attached to her and was happy to continue paying £53,000 a month to help support her.
Neither he nor representatives of Miss Bonder or Mr Bing were available to comment on the new allegations yesterday. The latest development comes after the flurry of claims and counter-claims after the birth of Damian whom Hurley, 36, insists was fathered by Mr Bing during their 18-month relationship, which ended last November.
That would not only make the boy eligible to a share of his fortune - which is based in New York property - but also about £450,000 a year in child support until he is at least 18.
When the pregnancy was announced Mr Bing questioned whether he was the boy's father and said the couple were not in "an exclusive relationship" when he was conceived.
However, Hurley said she was "completely loyal and faithful" to her former boyfriend, whom she "loved enormously during the two years we were together".
A DNA test is expected to take place within the next month to settle whether he is Damian's parent. At present no father is named on the boy's birth certificate.
When proceedings to resolve the paternity case were issued in the Family Division of the High Court last month, Mr Bing's spokesman said: "If it is proved that Mr Bing is Damian's father, he would wish generously to support him and to be involved in his upbringing."
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
John McCain Lobbyist Scandal With Vicki Iseman About Power
The MSN and the Internet in the form of thousands of emails on the Barack Obama listservs were abuz with the news about John McCain's association with a beautiful lobbyist Vicki Iseman. The association between the two is eight years old and while Senator McCain says there was no sexual relationship, in my view there was a "power association" -- a marriage of a Senator flattered by the attention of a smart, lovely young woman who knew the ropes in Washington, and her desire to be in the company of a senior elected official who could open doors for her.
Vicki Iseman is no slouch. A look at the bio on her website will tell you that:
VICKI ISEMAN
Vicki Iseman, Partner, represents corporate and public clients on issues as diverse as government contracting and regulatory reform. Her experience includes representation of clients before Congress, Federal government agencies and local opinion leaders.
She has extensive experience in telecommunications, representing corporations before the House and Senate Commerce Committees. Her work on the landmark 1992 and 1996 communications bills helped secure cable access for broadcast television stations. Her experience in the communications field includes digital television conversion, satellite regulations and telecommunications ownership provisions.
She has been active in grassroots communications campaigns for clients, building community based support for legislative initiatives. Among others, she participated in the "Keep America Moving" campaign that educated community leaders on the allocation of Federal highway trust funds.
In addition, she has consulted for clients who are interested in government contracting opportunities. She has assisted corporations through the authorization and appropriation process. An active fundraiser, she has organized and participated in many political fundraising events.
A native of Pennsylvania, she holds a B.A. degree in Education from Indiana University in Pennsylvania.
(Note: the company took her bio off their main site, but a cached version is at the Huff Post. )
Iseman is skilled in getting earmarks for her clients. Earmarks are expenditures for projects in an area of interest to an elected official. While, it's not clear -- yet -- that she helped McCain in that area, it's documented that by 2006, she'd become a name partner in her firm and quite good at the practice.
And Vicky's client list is extensive:
American Maglev Technology
AMFM Inc
Arison Family Trust
AstraZeneca
BearingPoint Inc
CACI International
CanWest
Capstar Broadcasting Partners
Carnival Corp
City of Miami, FL
City of Palm Springs, CA
Click Radio
Computer Sciences Corp
Future Leaders of America
Hillsborough County
Hispanic Broadcasting Inc
Homer-Center School District
i2Telecom International
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Ion Media Networks
Jovan Broadcasting
Latona Assoc
Marin County, CA
National Stroke Assn
Operation Warm
Paxson Communications
PriceWaterhouseCoopers
Saga Communications
Sinclair Broadcast Group
Telemundo Network Group
Total Living Network
Tulare County
Univision Communications
Walter Industries
I don't think this is a case of a classic sex scandal and to look at it that way is to miss what in my view is a much richer story: a tale of how McCain made relationships with lobbyists and very much before his relatively new efforts to curb lobbiyst activities.
But one does have to wonder if McCain's sudden war on lobbyists had something to do with his relationship with Ms. Iseman. Time will tell.
Major News From Barack Obama
I received this e-mail message from Democratic frontrunner Barack Obama less than an hour ago.
david --
We learned something extraordinary since I wrote to you last night.
We've crunched all the numbers and discovered that we are within striking distance of something historic: one million people donating to this campaign.
Think about that ... nearly one million people taking ownership of this movement, five dollars or twenty-five dollars at a time.
We're already more than 900,000 strong, including over half-a-million donating so far this year. This unprecedented foundation of support has built a campaign that has shaken the status quo and proven that ordinary people can compete in a political process too often dominated by special interests.
Unlike Senator Clinton or Senator McCain, we haven't taken a dime from Washington lobbyists or special interest PACs. Our campaign is responsible to no one but the people.
One million donors would be a remarkable feat -- something that's never been done before in a presidential primary and something no one ever thought would be possible for us. And you still have the opportunity to be a part of it.
If you make a donation right now, one of those 900,000 donors has promised to give again in order to match your first gift. You can double the impact of your first donation -- and you can even choose to exchange a note about why you are part of this movement.
We started this improbable journey a little over a year ago in Springfield, Illinois.
And because you've joined together to make your voices heard, this journey isn't looking as improbable anymore.
Since our victory on February 5th, we've won ten straight contests.
But on March 4th, we face a huge challenge in Texas and Ohio, who will vote along with Rhode Island and Vermont. We are behind in the big states and need as many people involved as possible if we're going to win.
If we can reach our goal of one million donors by March 4th, we can send a powerful message that the Washington establishment and big-money interests cannot ignore.
As one million people with one voice, we can tell them that their days of dominating Washington are coming to an end -- the old politics are crumbling and a new voice is breaking through. Our voice.
I learned the power of ordinary people coming together as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago.
I worked side-by-side with people who had been laid off from steel plants that were moved overseas. These were people who needed new jobs to rebuild their lives, and their political leaders were ignoring them.
But even though the odds were stacked against them, they discovered that by coming together with one voice, they could no longer be ignored.
When we launched this campaign, we knew we were up against similar odds. We knew we'd be running against a massive political machine with deep ties to the Washington establishment.
We knew it wouldn't be easy.
But if we can do this, we're not just going to win an election. We're going to change our country.
Thank you so much,
Barack
david --
We learned something extraordinary since I wrote to you last night.
We've crunched all the numbers and discovered that we are within striking distance of something historic: one million people donating to this campaign.
Think about that ... nearly one million people taking ownership of this movement, five dollars or twenty-five dollars at a time.
We're already more than 900,000 strong, including over half-a-million donating so far this year. This unprecedented foundation of support has built a campaign that has shaken the status quo and proven that ordinary people can compete in a political process too often dominated by special interests.
Unlike Senator Clinton or Senator McCain, we haven't taken a dime from Washington lobbyists or special interest PACs. Our campaign is responsible to no one but the people.
One million donors would be a remarkable feat -- something that's never been done before in a presidential primary and something no one ever thought would be possible for us. And you still have the opportunity to be a part of it.
If you make a donation right now, one of those 900,000 donors has promised to give again in order to match your first gift. You can double the impact of your first donation -- and you can even choose to exchange a note about why you are part of this movement.
We started this improbable journey a little over a year ago in Springfield, Illinois.
And because you've joined together to make your voices heard, this journey isn't looking as improbable anymore.
Since our victory on February 5th, we've won ten straight contests.
But on March 4th, we face a huge challenge in Texas and Ohio, who will vote along with Rhode Island and Vermont. We are behind in the big states and need as many people involved as possible if we're going to win.
If we can reach our goal of one million donors by March 4th, we can send a powerful message that the Washington establishment and big-money interests cannot ignore.
As one million people with one voice, we can tell them that their days of dominating Washington are coming to an end -- the old politics are crumbling and a new voice is breaking through. Our voice.
I learned the power of ordinary people coming together as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago.
I worked side-by-side with people who had been laid off from steel plants that were moved overseas. These were people who needed new jobs to rebuild their lives, and their political leaders were ignoring them.
But even though the odds were stacked against them, they discovered that by coming together with one voice, they could no longer be ignored.
When we launched this campaign, we knew we were up against similar odds. We knew we'd be running against a massive political machine with deep ties to the Washington establishment.
We knew it wouldn't be easy.
But if we can do this, we're not just going to win an election. We're going to change our country.
Thank you so much,
Barack
John McCain Wins Wisconsin and Washington State Over Huckabee
John McCain is just a few steps closer to the Republican nomination with decisive wins on Tuesday and in Wisconsin and Washington State. But John's got a bigger problem and Amy Holmes and the Republican Party has an uphilll battle in that Barack Obama himself tonight has drawn more voters than the entire Republican Party has for all of the primary contests.
Yikes!
Yikes!
Barack Obama's Sweep: Wisconsin, Hawaii, and Washington State
Barack Obama has one again. He won decisively in both Wisconsin and Hawaii, and by 58 percent / 41 percent in Wisconsin, and a whopping 74 percent to 26 percent, respectively in Hawaii. That's ten straight wins for Obama and a fresh set of donors and fans.
But the campaign withstood what is the strongest challenge of negative press on the part of both the Clintons and the mainstream media. It's started with what I think was a misguided and vealedly racist attack on Barack's speeches as lacking substance. But then it got worse with attacks on Michelle Obama because she said that in her adult life she was finally proud to be an American.
I agree.
Clinton fans are wondering why she's not only losing, but being totally beaten in a landslide most of the time. The answer is simple. She's using the old style politics of divide and attack and it's not working. Many public officials know that you don't attack when it's not popular to do so.
I end this blog post with a video made by the University of Wisconsin chapter of Students for Obama:
But the campaign withstood what is the strongest challenge of negative press on the part of both the Clintons and the mainstream media. It's started with what I think was a misguided and vealedly racist attack on Barack's speeches as lacking substance. But then it got worse with attacks on Michelle Obama because she said that in her adult life she was finally proud to be an American.
I agree.
Clinton fans are wondering why she's not only losing, but being totally beaten in a landslide most of the time. The answer is simple. She's using the old style politics of divide and attack and it's not working. Many public officials know that you don't attack when it's not popular to do so.
I end this blog post with a video made by the University of Wisconsin chapter of Students for Obama:
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Michelle Obama Speaks For Me. I'm FINALLY PROUD OF AMERICA
Michelle Obama speaks for me. I'm finally proud to be in America and for anyone Afirican American, they feel the same way too. Look, after decades of racial discrimination, political lies with Watergate, Clinton scandals and all the rest, we've finally reached a point where we all can exhale, because we've been waiting too long to do so.
Michelle Obama speaks for me!
Michelle Obama speaks for me!
Hillary Clinton Can't Use Her Own Words So What's She Talking About
Hillary Clinton's officially off the deep end and desperate. If she's the nominee, I'm voting for McCain, and you can bank on it.
First, Clinton says that Obama should use his own words -- but she should use her own words. Hell, she was the one who said Fired Up and Ready To Go." She's not able to use her own words at all.
I really don't like the idea of her as president. She's running an ugly campaign.
First, Clinton says that Obama should use his own words -- but she should use her own words. Hell, she was the one who said Fired Up and Ready To Go." She's not able to use her own words at all.
I really don't like the idea of her as president. She's running an ugly campaign.
Did Officer Wiley Willis Do Brutality Against Angela Garbarino
In my opinion this is an excellent example of a police officer terrorizing a person and turning off a camera himself to continue an act of brutality. This happened in Shreveport, LA and to one Angela Garbarino . who was arrested on suspicion of DUI by Officer Wiley Willis, who has been fired.
But this again shed light on why some -- not all -- police officers are allowed to behave in this way. It wrecks the very idea of "protect and to serve." How can you feel protected by people who can act like this?
Here's the rest of the story, from ABC News:
A Louisiana police officer was fired after a woman, who was pulled over on the suspicion of a DWI, ended up with two black eyes and bruises to her face while in police custody in November.
Video
DWI Suspect in Pool of Blood: How Did it Happen?
What makes Angela Garbarino's injuries and situation more curious is the fact that Shreveport police Officer Wiley Willis turned off the interrogation-room camera after he and Garbarino exchanged words.
The video shows Garbarino requesting a phone call.
"You're not going to let me call anybody?" she asks on the video. "I have a right to call somebody right now and I know that. Is this on the record?"
The footage documents Wiley attempting to read Garbarino her rights, but he runs out of patience and things get tense. He seems to forcefully put her in a chair.
"Don't touch me again. Get away from me," Garbarino says after a scream.
Then, Wiley walks over to the police camera recording the booking and turns it off. What happens next is a mystery, but when the video resumes the handcuffed Garbarino is sprawled on the floor and silently lying in a pool of her blood.
Another officer arrives and takes a cursory look before Garbarino is wheeled out on a stretcher. In addition to her bruised face, Garbarino's injuries also included two broken teeth.
While Garbarino says Wiley physically abused her, his attorney said what he did was "in accordance with normal practice."
"The suspect again tried to leave the room. In the process of stopping her, she fell and injured herself," said Eron Brainard in a statement to ABC News.
Wiley is appealing his dismissal and police have not brought charges against him because no one knows for sure what occurred.
Meanwhile, Garbarino faces reckless driving, hit-and-run and DWI charges. She has denied the charges.
A Shreveport police spokesperson said no specific law about the phone call exists, but typically suspects are processed, booked and then allowed to make a phone call.
But at least one expert said at the very least Wiley should have called for a female backup.
Castro Resigns After 49 Years Of Cuban Rule
It's hard to imagine the end of his reign, but it's coming. He was a force for the protection of the working person in Cuba, even if I didn't agree with how he accomplished his objectives. Here's the Washington Post story.
Fidel Castro retires
HAVANA (Reuters) - Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro said on Tuesday that he will not return to lead the country as president or commander-in-chief, retiring as head of state 49 years after he seized power in an armed revolution.
Castro, 81, who has not appeared in public for almost 19 months, said in a statement to the country that he would not seek a new presidential term when the National Assembly meets on February 24.
"To my dear compatriots, who gave me the immense honor in recent days of electing me a member of parliament ... I communicate to you that I will not aspire to or accept -- I repeat not aspire to or accept -- the positions of President of Council of State and Commander in Chief," Castro said in the statement published on the Web site of the Communist Party's Granma newspaper.
The National Assembly or legislature is expected to nominate his brother and designated successor Raul Castro, 76, as president. The younger brother has been running the country since emergency surgery to stop intestinal bleeding forced Castro to delegate power July 31, 2006.
The title of "Comandante en Jefe" or commander-in-chief, was created for Castro in 1958 as supreme leader of the guerrilla forces that swept down from the mountains of eastern Cuba to overthrow U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista.
Castro's retirement draws the curtain on a political career that spanned the Cold War and survived U.S. enmity, CIA assassination attempts and the demise of Soviet Communism.
A charismatic leader famous for his long speeches delivered in his green military fatigues, Castro is admired in the Third World for standing up to the United States but considered by his opponents a tyrant who suppressed freedom.
His illness and departure from Cuba's helm have raised doubts about the future of the Western Hemisphere's only communist state.
"Fortunately, our Revolution can still count on cadres from the old guard and others who were very young in the early stages of the process," Castro said in his statement.
"They have the authority and the experience to guarantee the replacement," he said.
The streets of Havana were empty and news of Castro's retirement from politics had not reached Cubans yet by radio or the printed edition of Granma.
"It was logical for Fidel to quit because he has been saying that he is not well," said a musician who was leaving a cabaret. "But nothing will change until the government makes the economic reforms that Cuba needs," he said.
President George W. Bush, in Rwanda as part of a trip to Africa, had no immediate comment on Castro's plans to step down, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said on Tuesday.
Castro has only been seen in pictures since then, looking gaunt and frail, though his health improved enough a year ago to allow him to keep in the public mind writing reams of articles published by Cuba's state press.
"This is not my farewell to you. My only wish is to fight as a soldier in the battle of ideas. I shall continue to write under the heading of 'Reflections by comrade Fidel.' It will be just another weapon you can count on. Perhaps my voice will be heard. I shall be careful," Castro said.
Castro could remain politically influential as first secretary of the ruling Communist Party and elder statesman.
Raul Castro, Cuba's long-standing defense minister, has run raised expectations of economic reforms to improve the daily lot of Cubans since standing in for his brother, but he has yet to deliver.
(Reporting by Anthony Boadle, Editing by Eric Walsh)
Fidel Castro retires
HAVANA (Reuters) - Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro said on Tuesday that he will not return to lead the country as president or commander-in-chief, retiring as head of state 49 years after he seized power in an armed revolution.
Castro, 81, who has not appeared in public for almost 19 months, said in a statement to the country that he would not seek a new presidential term when the National Assembly meets on February 24.
"To my dear compatriots, who gave me the immense honor in recent days of electing me a member of parliament ... I communicate to you that I will not aspire to or accept -- I repeat not aspire to or accept -- the positions of President of Council of State and Commander in Chief," Castro said in the statement published on the Web site of the Communist Party's Granma newspaper.
The National Assembly or legislature is expected to nominate his brother and designated successor Raul Castro, 76, as president. The younger brother has been running the country since emergency surgery to stop intestinal bleeding forced Castro to delegate power July 31, 2006.
The title of "Comandante en Jefe" or commander-in-chief, was created for Castro in 1958 as supreme leader of the guerrilla forces that swept down from the mountains of eastern Cuba to overthrow U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista.
Castro's retirement draws the curtain on a political career that spanned the Cold War and survived U.S. enmity, CIA assassination attempts and the demise of Soviet Communism.
A charismatic leader famous for his long speeches delivered in his green military fatigues, Castro is admired in the Third World for standing up to the United States but considered by his opponents a tyrant who suppressed freedom.
His illness and departure from Cuba's helm have raised doubts about the future of the Western Hemisphere's only communist state.
"Fortunately, our Revolution can still count on cadres from the old guard and others who were very young in the early stages of the process," Castro said in his statement.
"They have the authority and the experience to guarantee the replacement," he said.
The streets of Havana were empty and news of Castro's retirement from politics had not reached Cubans yet by radio or the printed edition of Granma.
"It was logical for Fidel to quit because he has been saying that he is not well," said a musician who was leaving a cabaret. "But nothing will change until the government makes the economic reforms that Cuba needs," he said.
President George W. Bush, in Rwanda as part of a trip to Africa, had no immediate comment on Castro's plans to step down, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said on Tuesday.
Castro has only been seen in pictures since then, looking gaunt and frail, though his health improved enough a year ago to allow him to keep in the public mind writing reams of articles published by Cuba's state press.
"This is not my farewell to you. My only wish is to fight as a soldier in the battle of ideas. I shall continue to write under the heading of 'Reflections by comrade Fidel.' It will be just another weapon you can count on. Perhaps my voice will be heard. I shall be careful," Castro said.
Castro could remain politically influential as first secretary of the ruling Communist Party and elder statesman.
Raul Castro, Cuba's long-standing defense minister, has run raised expectations of economic reforms to improve the daily lot of Cubans since standing in for his brother, but he has yet to deliver.
(Reporting by Anthony Boadle, Editing by Eric Walsh)
Hillary Clinton & Clinton Racist Staffers Use Obama "Plagiarism" Accusations
Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Campaign Managers are being racist in my view, and that includes the new campaign head, Maggie Wiliams, who's Black but is so into the campaign and wanting to please Senator Clinton she can't see straight. She's got to wake up.
This is why. Look, they've accused Obama of "just words" and not speaking on policy substance and the hidden rule is that Black politicians like Obama and Deval Patrick, the Governor of Massechusetts, talk in inspiring terms, but are weak on policy, which is another veiled way of saying..
They're not intelligent because they're Black.
That's right. That's what Hillary Clinton is saying. That's why Barack Obama went to Governor Patrick and borrowed the retort Obama recited last Saturday in Wisconsin. Because both Obama and Governor Patrick faced the same racist approach from opposition White candidates who implied that in some way they were not good at talking about policy or providing substance and while they don't say "it's because they're Black" the implication is obvious.
Hillary Clinton should be totally ashamed of herself. Her staffers too. They've been trying to position him by first saying he' like or trying to compare himself to Martin Luther King, who Senator Clinton dissed when she basically said MLK could not do a thing without President Johnson's help.
See the connection? Clinton compares Obama to MLK , then says MLK needs a president, which could not be Obama because he can't talk policy; that's a strategy Governor Patrick recognized and so do I -- and it stinks to high heaven.
The Clintons can't help themselves. First it's the Muslim charge; then Martin Luther King; then falling asleep at an MLK Day speech, then saying that certain Obama wins don't matter because many of the voters were African American -- it goes on and on and on and the Mainstream Media just lets' them do it.
I wish someone at CNN, FOX, or MSNBC would grow a spine and start pointing this out. This is sick! I for one, am tired of it.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Sacramento Kings Cheerleader Photo Scandal - Kings Cheerleader Calendar Now Hot Property
As you may have heard, the Sacramento Kings Cheerleaders have decided to take photos of themselves that are simple, racy, and soft-core porn at best. All good reasons to take a bit of a time out from politics -- after all, Bill O'Reilly did. What led to these photos being taken and distributed is a good question. I've not found the answer.
The photos are a year old and I'm interested to know as they came out after Valentines Day. Was a jealous ex-boyfriend behind the Sacramento Kings Cheerleader scandal? Did he decide to "out" the group as a whole? Or was it an angry ex-cheerleader who didn't make the cut this time around?
Regardless of the culprit, it's clear that there are at least two groups happy: the Kings fans and Carl's Jr, who's logo is on the dance team photo on the website. If Carl's Jr. is smart, they'll find a way to link this to hamburger sales!
Whatever the case, man, they sure do have great legs!
Big Head DC Getting Lesson In Blog Law | Big Head DC Bullying Stopped By Zennie
Big Head DC is a respectable publication on politics in DC. I enjoy reading it. But I did not like one of Big Head DC's blog articles where he -- the "he" is Rob Capriccioso (pictured) who's the editor of Big Head DC -- accused ABC News anchor Sam Donaldson of being a client of a DC madam named Deborah Jeane Palfrey and basically just because his name happened to be in her phone book and even though Deborah Jeane Palfrey who's the escort, explained to Rob that she had just called him to explain a phone mix-up, and not to offer services.
Plus, Jossip explained "Except all Palfrey had to say to Capriccioso was that she made a single call to Donaldson — to explain a phone call mix up, not to offer her services...Not that it stopped Capriccioso’s report.."
Rob went ahead and wrote an account that in my view smeared Sam Donaldson and left out that the matter seemed to be a total misunderstanding. I wrote that Big Head smeared Sam Donaldson. That's my view and I'm sticking to it.
Now, Rob, who thinks he can bully people, has threatened to sue me. HA! This is what Rob wrote to me:
To Zennie:
It has come to my attention that one of your blog posts contains factually incorrect information about Big Head DC and our reporting:
http://zennie2005.blogspot.com/2007/11/rob-capriccioso-smears-sam-donaldson.html
Sam Donaldson's number does indeed appear more than once in the records of Deborah Jeane Palfrey, which is exactly what Big Head DC reported. By you saying that "Rob Capriccioso Smears Sam Donaldson With Wrong News" and "this blogger got it wrong," you are libeling the reputation of Big head DC. As the editor of Big Head DC, I ask that you remove or edit your post to accurately reflect our reporting.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Rob
To which I showed Rob how the Internet had rose up against him. For example, let's take the website i linked to in the orginal story, and the one that was the basis for my assertion that Big Head DC smeared Sam Donaldson, the one called Radar and apparently one where Rob had a relationship with the writers there -- not any more.
In Radar, D.C. CONFIDENTIAL explained that "Capriccioso found out about Donaldson's involvement from Radar. We were looking into the Donaldson rumor and stupidly asked Capriccioso, who claimed to have a relationship with Palfrey, to talk to her about it. We decided not to pursue the item for reasons explained below, so he picked it up for himself without so much as a "thank you" or heads-up."
DC CONFIDENTIAL goes on..
"After receiving many calls from Sam Donaldson leaving pleasantries for his releative [sic] on her personal cell number voicemail in the mid-2000s, Palfrey herself decided to give him a call to relay what she assumed to be a mistake. 'Would you please tell your relative to give out the correct phone number?' Palfrey recalls asking Donaldson. 'I was sick and tired of getting these phone calls from people all over Washington asking for his relative.' When she talked to Donaldson, he was immediately panicked and asked how she got his number (she says she didn't tell him that she ran an escort service). She explained the whole story to him about her receiving messages that were obviously not intending for her."
When Radar expressed skepticism, Capriccioso wrote back: "I pushed her hard on that—asked her if she had an affinity for Sam for some reason, and told her that many people would think it was such an odd coincidence that he dialed the wrong number ... she insisted that that was the truth."
The only parts of the above story that made it into Capriccioso's post are the parts about Palfrey confirming a call to Donaldson and Donaldson panicking at the call. The innocent explanation Palfrey offered apparently wasn't relevant.
Radar eventually dropped the item after being waved off of it by a source close to Larry Flynt, the porn magnate who outed Vitter and has been poring over the list. The source insisted that if there was anything to the Donaldson rumor, Flynt would have reported it. Given that, and Palfrey's insistence that Donaldson was not a client, we couldn't sully the man's name in the absence of any other evidence—even if we think Palfrey's story is bullshit. Capriccioso, who didn't return a call for comment, apparently didn't have that problem.
Wow. Which means that DC CONFIDENTIAL didn't even want to run with the story that Rob ran with. Why? Because it makes Donaldson look like he did something in hiring an escort that it's not clear he did at all. Plus, not even Larry Flynt reported the story because he considered it baseless.
Thus, Rob's actions are a real defamation of character in anyone's book, and certainly mine. But Rob thinks he has a case to threaten me. Let's check his claim for fun.
What Rob does not understand is that several bloggers don't back his story, thus leaving it fair game for attack. It's impossible to make a defimation claim stick if the plaintiff does not have a good reputation to start with and in this case of this story, Rob is toast -- he looks bad, indeed.
Moreover, I can state my opinion and I did that. Too bad for him. Moreover, Rob -- by virtue of his blogging and his terrible reporting being all over the Internet on the Donaldson story -- has become a public figure who can be criticized and that's what I did.
And here's the smoking gun: Blogactive has written that Big Head DC's story was so not credible they considered never linking to his work again! Here's what they wrote:
More discrediting
I've taken some heat in the comments of my last post. Please note that I never said it didn't happen. I simply said that it APPEARED that BigHeadDC was hustled by a hustler.
I contacted Rob at BigHeadDC and asked him specifically about the information he posted with regard to Sam Donaldson's number appearing in the DC Madam's, Jeane Palfrey. Once the story was discredited by Radar, I decided to dig a little deeper. It was only about five minutes before I was able to put my shovel down on this angle to the story.
I happen to know Jeane Palfrey. So, I wrote a note last night:
From: Michael Rogers - PageOne
Date: Nov 27, 2007 3:21 PM
To: jeanepalfrey@_______.com
Subject: Jeane...
Jeane...
Can you let me know if this article is accurate and whether you have any on or off teh record comments about it?
Thanks!
Mike
In less than 12 hours, Jeane wrote back:
From: Jeane Palfrey
Date: Nov 28, 2007 12:32 AM
To: Michael Rogers
Mike… the Radar article is correct.
-Jeane
This exchange, along with numerous friends in the media telling me about other other stories that were wrong on BigHeadDC, has initiated a review with Nick Langewis, the associate editor of PageOneQ, over whether BigHeadDC will ever be linked to from Q again. If we decide not to link there again, it will be the first time a site has been permanently banned from PageOneQ.
In this business, accuracy is everything.
It sure is, right Rob? Even Jossip has exposed Rob's tendency to TRY and bully other bloggers into compliance with his biased reporting. Check what Rob wrote to a Leigh Ann Boutwell , who's Jossip's managing editor.
From: Rob Capriccioso
Date: Nov 13, 2007 11:02 AM
Subject: From Rob Capriccioso / action requested
To: Leigh Ann Boutwell
Hi Leigh Ann,
What John Cook wrote yesterday in his Fresh Intelligence update is
exceptionally unprofessional, and riddled with errors. To clarify, a
Big Head DC staffer received more confirming information regarding the
“DC Madam” / Sam Donaldson story, and we ran with it. Neither I, nor
Big Head DC, had any obligation to run this story with Radar Online.
Apparently, John Cook felt differently, and published a story that not
only misspells the name of Palfrey in a couple of different ways, but
also makes it seem as if the story isn’t true, which it is.
Cook also quoted several off the record e-mails between myself and
Tyler Gray, which, as you know, is very unprofessional. I find this
quite odd, since Tyler, too, has shared much off the record
information with me via e-mail that he has asked me not to publish.
Cook also says in the item that I didn’t return requests for comment,
which is not at all true, as you will see from the e-mails below,
which Radar had in its possession before the update story ran.
To resolve this issue ASAP, I am asking that Radar remove, or amend
with this added information, Cook’s false Fresh Intelligence piece.
Sincerely,
Rob
–
Rob Capriccioso | Publisher & Founding Editor | Big Head DC |
bigheadDC.com | rob@bigheadDC.com | AIM: bigheadrob007
Action requested? Geez. Gimme a break. Matt Janovic said it best in a comment over at Radar:
Again, what happened between Radar and Bighead? They wanted the SMUT, but Ms. Palfrey wasn't going to confirm it to Mr. Capriccioso, so he went and submitted the story anyway. But there was a problem of confirmation: Deborah Jeane Palfrey. She's not going to confirm it because there was never a story to begin with. Her assertions are true, while those of Radar and Bighead are not. They wanted a story that was an easy fix, didn't get it, and went and ran it anyway. Now they have to do the clean-up.
The End Of American Hegemony - AntiWar
AntiWar, the website against the Iraq War and violent conflict in general, has an article worthy of note called "Can The US Brace Its Fall?" It asks if America is ready for a world where it's no longer the most influential nation. My response is that it depends.
I think we are if we elect leaders who recognize America's new, more complex position in the World. Senator Barack Obama does; Senator Clinton and certainly Senator McCain far less so. If we can get the "hawk" element of U.S Government under control and adopt a more intelligent and less "cowboyish" and power-hungry approach, we can do this.
The 2008 Presidential election will tell much for the future.
I think we are if we elect leaders who recognize America's new, more complex position in the World. Senator Barack Obama does; Senator Clinton and certainly Senator McCain far less so. If we can get the "hawk" element of U.S Government under control and adopt a more intelligent and less "cowboyish" and power-hungry approach, we can do this.
The 2008 Presidential election will tell much for the future.
Larry Sinclair UPDATE - Admits He Has Texas Speeding Tickets!
The evidence is here above. That's "Larry's" message to me. I don't believe that's his real name.
Larry Sinclair, the Obama hater spreading false claims about Barack Obama , has admitted personally to me that he has speeding tickets in Texas. This flies in the face of his claim that he lives in Minnesota, even giving an adress that turned out to be an assisted living center called Gateway Assisted Living.
Sinclair is on YouTube as am I -- his channel is larrysinclair0926. I found his channel and informed him that I'd determined that he was really in Texas and not Minnesota and that he had an outstanding warrant in Texas (ok, I lied).
But he fell for it! Sinclair wrote back this to me:
"As for your statement that I have an outstanding Texas warrant, that is news to me, but I will look into it. I do have speeding tickets."
So he's in Texas and a faker to boot.
Hillary Clinton Uses Obama Words Without Attribution - "Fired Up And Ready To Go"
According to The Politico's Ben Smith , Senator Hillary Clinton said the words "Fired Up And Ready To Go" -- a tagline constantly used by Senator Barack Obama and the Obama for America campaign. Clinton does not credit Obama for the original use of the term, nor does Clinton know why Obama came to use it.
That's a clear theft of a term used by Obama, who's opposing Clinton in the 2008 Presidential race.
Smith reports Clinton saying, "We are fired up and we are ready to go, because we know that America is ready for change," Hillary said moments ago in Davenport, melding Obama's signature line into one of hers in a sort of campaign slogan medley.
She's also got a radio ad out casting her as the candidate of "hope," TIME's Mark Halperin reports.
The term "Fired Up and Ready To Go" came from a small group of Obama supporters in South Carolina.
That's a clear theft of a term used by Obama, who's opposing Clinton in the 2008 Presidential race.
Smith reports Clinton saying, "We are fired up and we are ready to go, because we know that America is ready for change," Hillary said moments ago in Davenport, melding Obama's signature line into one of hers in a sort of campaign slogan medley.
She's also got a radio ad out casting her as the candidate of "hope," TIME's Mark Halperin reports.
The term "Fired Up and Ready To Go" came from a small group of Obama supporters in South Carolina.
Larry Sinclair Is A Texan Obama Hater / Liar Who Supports Ron Paul
UPDATE Larry Sinclair admits he has TEXAS speeding tickets!
There's a major sicko liar of a person named Larry Sinclair who's making claims about Obama I will not discuss here. But I will report that Sinclair, who was stupid enough to post his fake adress as 600 W Superior St Duluth, MN 55802, which is an "assisted living" facility called Gateway Assisted Living!
Then this totally terrible man proves how bright he IS NOT by making a YouTube video I will not link to, wearing a -- get this -- "Everything Is Bigger In Texas" shirt!! Now, how likely is it that a young guy in an assisted living facility in Minnesota would even wear a shirt with Texas on it? First, assisted living facilities are for the elderly.
And he's speaking with a Texan drawl, in a room with a Mexican Flag (!) in the background and a fan -- a freaking fan -- running. Which means it's hot and he's somewhere in South Texas which is where it's around 80 degrees on February 5th which is when the video was posted, and South Texas is near the boarder!
He's a fake!
Dear Murray has shed light on Sinclair's Ron Paul ties, which is logical not only considering Murray's evidence, but Sinclair's own Texas clues he's stupid enough to offer in his own video.
Yeah.
What an idiot!
Bill Clinton v. Heckler | Was Heckler A Clinton Plant?
The real question is why would President Clinton take time to lower himself to take on a heckler? That's the disturbing part about all of this. Now, Bill's temper is front page news -- again. Of course, the guy could have been a plant by Clinton.
He also got "excited" at this rally after being heckled by anti-abortion people. But it makes you wonder if this sort of thing is staged because you know and I know that Secret Service people have checked the area more than once. I'm suspicious.
From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli
CANTON, OH -- Robert Holeman came to Timken High School here today with a message to deliver to Bill Clinton. He did -- and he said the former president wasn’t happy about it.
Clinton spoke to a capacity crowd in this Northeast Ohio town, the third of five events today in the Buckeye State. He told voters that the contest was “the power of speeches against the promise of solutions by a world-class change maker.”
Throughout the event, as Clinton made his case for his wife, Holeman’s dissenting voice could be heard. At times he simply shouted Obama’s name. When Clinton would set up a sure applause line, Holeman could be heard heckling. As soon as Clinton finished speaking, the Canton native made a beeline to the ropeline to give Clinton a piece of his mind.
“I asked the president to please stop the bickering between the campaigns,” Holeman said in an interview afterwards. “All this name calling is like the bully in the yard. He can’t get his way, he can’t get nothing done.” Holeman said he thought Clinton was “gasping for air.”
“This is the last hurrah. After March 4, Hillary Clinton will be out of the race for good, and Obama will take the commanding lead,” he said. “She should back him with her delegates immediately. That’s what I’m asking them to do.”
Holeman said that Clinton responded by saying Obama came after him first. Holeman also described Clinton’s reaction to him as “irate.”
“I think he even hit me in the face with his hand,” he said. “He did give me a little pop. It was okay, because I understand his tenacity for his wife.” Clinton did engage Holeman for a few minutes, at times pointing directly at him. It was unclear whether he did make physical contact, however.
Holeman said he did support Bill Clinton during his campaigns, but that now the country wants a “new perspective.” “I think the president’s trying hoodwink us, bamboozle us, put us back in the okie doke,” he said. “He had eight years to do what he was supposed to do. All the things he said that she’s gonna do, he had the same authority that he wants her to have. Now if one Clinton, the male Clinton can’t get it done, how is Ms. Clinton [going to].”
Several Clinton supporters who saw the exchange came up to Holeman after to -- shall we say delicately -- express their disapproval for his actions. More negativity, Holeman said. “Hillary Clinton has started the most negative campaign I have ever seen, other than what the Republicans can launch,” he said. “I think we need to come together on those issues.”
*** UPDATE *** Obama spokesperson Ben LaBolt said Holeman was "absolutely not" a plant by the campaign. And a spokesperson for President Clinton who was near the president said there was no physical contact.
He also got "excited" at this rally after being heckled by anti-abortion people. But it makes you wonder if this sort of thing is staged because you know and I know that Secret Service people have checked the area more than once. I'm suspicious.
From NBC/NJ's Mike Memoli
CANTON, OH -- Robert Holeman came to Timken High School here today with a message to deliver to Bill Clinton. He did -- and he said the former president wasn’t happy about it.
Clinton spoke to a capacity crowd in this Northeast Ohio town, the third of five events today in the Buckeye State. He told voters that the contest was “the power of speeches against the promise of solutions by a world-class change maker.”
Throughout the event, as Clinton made his case for his wife, Holeman’s dissenting voice could be heard. At times he simply shouted Obama’s name. When Clinton would set up a sure applause line, Holeman could be heard heckling. As soon as Clinton finished speaking, the Canton native made a beeline to the ropeline to give Clinton a piece of his mind.
“I asked the president to please stop the bickering between the campaigns,” Holeman said in an interview afterwards. “All this name calling is like the bully in the yard. He can’t get his way, he can’t get nothing done.” Holeman said he thought Clinton was “gasping for air.”
“This is the last hurrah. After March 4, Hillary Clinton will be out of the race for good, and Obama will take the commanding lead,” he said. “She should back him with her delegates immediately. That’s what I’m asking them to do.”
Holeman said that Clinton responded by saying Obama came after him first. Holeman also described Clinton’s reaction to him as “irate.”
“I think he even hit me in the face with his hand,” he said. “He did give me a little pop. It was okay, because I understand his tenacity for his wife.” Clinton did engage Holeman for a few minutes, at times pointing directly at him. It was unclear whether he did make physical contact, however.
Holeman said he did support Bill Clinton during his campaigns, but that now the country wants a “new perspective.” “I think the president’s trying hoodwink us, bamboozle us, put us back in the okie doke,” he said. “He had eight years to do what he was supposed to do. All the things he said that she’s gonna do, he had the same authority that he wants her to have. Now if one Clinton, the male Clinton can’t get it done, how is Ms. Clinton [going to].”
Several Clinton supporters who saw the exchange came up to Holeman after to -- shall we say delicately -- express their disapproval for his actions. More negativity, Holeman said. “Hillary Clinton has started the most negative campaign I have ever seen, other than what the Republicans can launch,” he said. “I think we need to come together on those issues.”
*** UPDATE *** Obama spokesperson Ben LaBolt said Holeman was "absolutely not" a plant by the campaign. And a spokesperson for President Clinton who was near the president said there was no physical contact.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Clinton Gives Donor List To CNN Polling Company - Poll Rigged?
National Public Radio has provided what seems to be the "smoking gun" evidence of possible early campaign "poll-rigging" on the part of the Hillary Clinton for President campaign. Last year, 2007, in this blog post, here:
http://zennie2005.blogspot.com/2007/07/cnn-polling-linked-to-clinton-donor.html
I argued that CNN -- the Cable News Network -- should not be using polls that came from a company linked to Vinod Gupta, a major Clinton Donor. Gupta owns Info USA and the Opinion Research Corporation (OPC). It's the OPC that makes the polls that are reported by CNN, and those same polls early in the 2008 Democratic Presidential race gave consistently enormously high leads for Senator Clinton. Polls by the OPC were consistently high for months, even as other organizations like Gallup USA began to show Obama closing on Clinton.
Now, it's revealed in this NPR article that the Clinton campaign sold -- or rented -- their donor list (which contains 38,000 names) to Info USA and the OPC, but NPR's article does not make the extra step of explaining why InfoUSA / OPC would even need such a list. That's what this video is about. The list was rented for just $8,225, and not the six-figures it's valued to be, and the Clinton campaign did not collect the money until 11-months after the list was delivered.
Why? My assertion is that the campaign knew the payments would show up in their finance reports and thus wanted to delay this possible discovery for as long as possible. Clinton's campaign received the money on December 3rd of 2007. Does this violate any law? At first blush it does not but it's unethical nonetheless and should not be allowed. If Opinion Research Corporation calls just 1,500 of the 38,000 Clinton donor names, ORC can claim that they used a "representative sample of most likely voters" and have an outcome favorable to Clinton. However, I don't deal with the legal aspects of this problem here, that's for the next blog and video.
Meanwhile Gupta himself is in some trouble , as his activities of lending the Clintons the use of his private jet, and hiring President Bill Clinton for $3 million a year have ignited a shareholder lawsuit against Gupta. as Gupta's corporate operatives want to know what value, if any, Gupta's free-spending ways on Clinton have gained InfoUSA.
In may ways, this story is much like that of Peter Paul and Clinton , where Mr. Paul tried to hire Bill Clinton as a "rainmaker" for Stan Lee Media, and in the process never secured the employment of Clinton, while spending $2 milllion to hold a lavish gala for Hillary Clinton's Senate run.
What does this say about the Clintons and donors? Be careful not to get used; while Gupta's in trouble, Hillary campaign for President. Can Gupta count on the Clinton's to get him out of this jam? It depends.
If Gupta had a good contract with Clinton such that Bill had to submit performance reports with each invoice, then Gupta would be able to show shareholders what they got for their money; but if Gupta just gave Bill Clinton money for being Bill Clinton then Gupta's not going to make his shareholders happy at all.
Stay tuned.
"Feeling Down" Sexist? What A Bunch Of Bullshit! - Clinton Supporters Need To Chill
My letter to "BigTentDemocrat" who had the never to post a really silly blog on Barack Obama's use of the term "Feeling down"
Hello,
How in hell can you come up with such a ridiculous and stupid and silly assertion as to even THINK that stating "feeling down" is
sexist? I don't care that Andrea Mitchell -- who's a Clinton backer upset that Barack's gotten this far -- has pointed to this.
I'm a guy who's a member of TWO women's professional groups and THEY have never heard of such B.S. If you're interesting in helping Hillary, this is not going to work. It's -- actually -- the most laughable approach. But it also points to a constant attempt by Clinton supporters to focus on the worst fears and anxieties of people, and it stinks.
It also smells that you would play into it. Please stop it.
Clinton supporters have the annoying habit of playing to America's worst fears. First they use racism. Then they play the "female voter harmed" angle, while Obama does not do this. It's not helping Clinton at all, and it's a sure bet it will continue to fail.
Hello,
How in hell can you come up with such a ridiculous and stupid and silly assertion as to even THINK that stating "feeling down" is
sexist? I don't care that Andrea Mitchell -- who's a Clinton backer upset that Barack's gotten this far -- has pointed to this.
I'm a guy who's a member of TWO women's professional groups and THEY have never heard of such B.S. If you're interesting in helping Hillary, this is not going to work. It's -- actually -- the most laughable approach. But it also points to a constant attempt by Clinton supporters to focus on the worst fears and anxieties of people, and it stinks.
It also smells that you would play into it. Please stop it.
Clinton supporters have the annoying habit of playing to America's worst fears. First they use racism. Then they play the "female voter harmed" angle, while Obama does not do this. It's not helping Clinton at all, and it's a sure bet it will continue to fail.
Tavis Smiley Snubs Michelle Obama - Will Not Allow Her To Speak At "State"
Man, this really burns me. Tavis Smiley has totally gone off the deep end. He's not king, and seems to simply be sorry that Senator Obama's really making a trail to be the next President of The United States. According to the Washington Post , Senator Obama declined to speak at Smiley's event, "The State Of The Black Union" because he's campaining and in a fierce battle with Clinton for those states remaining.
Tavis -- bowing to his own ego -- elected to publicly damn Obama for the decision.
Obama offered to have his wife Michelle speak, but Smiley declined! That's ego run-amok! Tavis should go and appologize to Obama. Smiley must understand that he can't stand in the way of Obama doing the work that has gotten him this far. But Tavis claims he's a journalist asking the hard questions -- that's bullshit, as he's just asking about his event! He's just getting into a pissing match because he doens't know better. Time to be educated, Tavis.
I agree with Melissa Harris-Lacewell over at The Root, Tavis may be acting like the crab in the barrel. I wish he'd start acting like a person interested in Barack's succes.
Tavis -- bowing to his own ego -- elected to publicly damn Obama for the decision.
Obama offered to have his wife Michelle speak, but Smiley declined! That's ego run-amok! Tavis should go and appologize to Obama. Smiley must understand that he can't stand in the way of Obama doing the work that has gotten him this far. But Tavis claims he's a journalist asking the hard questions -- that's bullshit, as he's just asking about his event! He's just getting into a pissing match because he doens't know better. Time to be educated, Tavis.
I agree with Melissa Harris-Lacewell over at The Root, Tavis may be acting like the crab in the barrel. I wish he'd start acting like a person interested in Barack's succes.
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