Helen Mirren's Hot Body At 63 Proves Hotness Knows No Age

The great actress Dame Helen Mirren allowed herself to be see wearing a two-piece bikini and the industrialized world went nuts. Helen's body is a prime example that hotness knows no age anymore.

Helen -- if you don't know her name -- was the actress who won the Academy Award in 2006 for her role as the Queen of England in "Queen" and has played several meaty and in many cases sexy roles.

But her greatest role may be as octogenarian sex-symbol. At 63, she's got a body that rivals that of someone 30 years younger than she is. Ok. I'll go as far as 35 years younger.

Here's my video:

Props to Nas

Props to Nas for a song on his new untitled album. The song, “Black President,” is another in a line of non-campaign related pro-Obama songs created by and for the youth movement. If DefJam or Nas or iTunes, even, loved us, just a little, we could put the song or an as-yet-to-be-created video here for you. But, alas, they do not and we cannot. So run over to iTunes and check it out for yourself. We'd love to know what you think.

*Cross posted to AshPolitics.

Vote For It! '08 | www.voteforit08.org | Hip-Hop Summit Action Network

I found this great video and simply am posting it to help get out the message before the DNC Convention. It features LL Cool J -- who's made a huge comback (don't call it that) and Russell Simmons, among others. The description reads:

VFI08 is a joint initiative between the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN), and online ad network and marketing company, CPX Interactive. The overarching purpose of the joint initiative is to serve as a call-to-action to America's youth vote, emphasizing the importance of connectivity to the growing national political spirit and the necessity of empowering one's self thru the exercise of the most basic responsibility...that is the right to vote.

Here's the video:

Vanity Fair Editor Alex Shoumatoff Arrested, Embarrassed at Bohemian Grove

Vanity Fair Editor Alex Shoumatoff Arrested, Embarrassed at Bohemian Grove

He Plans Hit Piece on Bohemian Club Tree Plans

Alex Shoumatoff, a contributing editor at Vanity Fair magazine, tried to sneak into the exclusive Bohemian Grove in Monte Rio, Calif., this week. He was hoping to get an inside look at the exclusive retreat of some of the world’s most prominent CEOs, business leaders and politicians. Of course, he stuck out like a seersucker suit at a funeral and was promptly handcuffed and arrested.

Most embarrassing for him: he was arrested by a part-time security guard whose day job is a plumber. One could say he was arrested at ‘plunger-point.’

Shoumatoff was attempting to sneak in to the 2,700 acre grove. Unfortunately, it’s hard to sneak in when you weight 375+ pounds and are prone to being arrogant and dropping names like dimes. Clearly, when captured, Shoumatoff couldn’t muster the right names to drop and he was detained, handcuffed and arrested by Sonoma County Sheriff’s Dept. for trespassing.

Why break in to an exclusive retreat that many consider far more important and powerful that the annual Davos get-together?

His goal was to write a hit piece on the exclusive club’s timber management plans. Shoumatoff must not have had a program for the Grove. The lecture by tree expert Ralph Osterling on the Club’s timber plan that Shoumatoff should have attended was held Saturday morning. Instead, he showed up late at night during the highly ritualized “Cremation of Care,” an operatic production that the entire Club turns out to see.

Shoumatoff and former Bohemian Club member Jock Hooper, were Harvard roommates. Hooper convinced his journalist friend to write a negative story on the Bohemian Club on its plan to harvest up to 1.5 percent of its forest as part of its fire prevent plans. However, Hooper has failed to make publicly known the fact that he, too, has a forest (isn’t it nice to be rich?) and the fact that he harvests 5 percent a year of its trees. Yet, he is against the Bohemian Club’s harvest management plan because it is too aggressive! If Shoumatoff had any cojones hidden under his ample belly, he would be turning on his friend and writing about Hooper’s hypocrisy, not the Club’s plans to prevent forest fires from destroying their old growth redwood trees--the same way Shoumatoff turned on his other friend, Bill Weld, the Governor of Massachusetts. But that is another story.

Shoumatoff should have disqualified himself from the story because of his long friendship with Hooper. Equally damning is the fact that he attempted to pretext his way past Grove security, as reported in the San Francisco Sentinel. Bias and deception by journalists gives all reporters a bad name. Shoumatoff should apologize to all journalists and the Bohemian Club for his actions, and, he should read the Society of Professional Journalists ethics for a refresher on his professional duties. If he had read the SPJ ethics page before starting on his ill fated venture, perhaps he never would have been arrested for pretending to be something that he is not.

Here is the background on the Bohemian Club NTMP forest management story:

It’s been called the “greatest men’s party on earth,” and several thousand of the most powerful, rich and famous corporate CEOS and business leaders in the world will encamp at the Bohemian Club’s Grove in Monte Rio.

The club is battling with a former disgruntled member, John “Jock” Hooper, a fourth-generation member of San Francisco’s exclusive Bohemian Club until he resigned in 2004 over how to manage the Club’s heavily forested 2,700 acres at the Bohemian Grove summer retreat that lasts from July 10 to July 27 this year.

Now four years later, Hooper is back with an axe to grind, working with his lawyers to oppose the Club’s application to the state of California for a non-industrial timber management plan, which allows landowners to manage their own timber harvests.

The Bohemian Club wants to manage its timber and harvest no more than 1.5 percent of its second growth trees to manage its Sonoma County forest which its members have encamped at for more than 100 years. Their goal is to reduce the possibility of forest fires and ensure the protection of the Grove’s beloved redwood trees from a catastrophic fire like others that have stuck and devastated California in recent years. No old growth redwood trees will be cut by the Club, according to their plan.

The plan is now before the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection which oversees the regulation of timber and forest management.

Hooper struck the first blows in the battle, but now the Club is striking back, saying the ultimate irony is that Hooper himself runs an aggressive logging operation on his commercial apple farm in Mendocino County.

The farm’s has been logging there since 1997 and last year removed 5 percent of the property’s standing conifer trees.

Bohemian Club officials say that rate is much higher than anything being proposed at the Bohemian Grove, which is only up to 1.5 percent a year on average—all of which will then be replanted with redwood tree seedlings.

Here is exact language from Hooper’s own website: http://www.oz-farm.com/forest.htm: “In 1997, we conducted our first logging operation under the authority of a state-approved Non-Industrial Timber Management Plan (NTMP). Our NTMP as well as the constraints imposed by an easement administered by Pacific Forest Trust permit us to cut timber at about half the rate the timber stand is growing so that the size and quality of the trees improve over time. In the fall of 2007, we completed our second Timber harvest, mostly in areas not harvested in 2007. We removed approximately 5% of the standing conifer inventory.”)

Furthermore, some serious tree experts including Professor Stephen Sillett – described as the world’s foremost authority on redwood trees – have written the State in support of the Bohemian Club’s plan—as well as the local Monte Rio Fire Chief Steve Baxman and other distinguished professors and tree experts. (Sillett is a rock star in the world of redwoods).

Still, Hooper has been running a relentless media campaign, even taking up a television crew in a helicopter for a flyover of the Grove. He’s even embroiled Vanity Fair magazine in a media ethics flap by trying to get contributing editor Alex Shoumatoff – a classmate of Hooper’s at Harvard – to weigh in. And if you see the pictures of Shoumatoff “weigh in” is the operative word. No wonder security caught this guy—he couldn’t run away from a jelly fish.

John McCain Cindy McCain Satirzed In New Cartoon

John McCain Cindy McCain Satirzed In New Cartoon

In a response to the New Yorker's questionable taste of a cartoon on Senator Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama, we have this new cartoon showing Senator John McCain in a wheelchair and his wife Cindy feeding him a tidalwave of pills to calm him after the election of Senator Obama as President of The United States.

Senator Barack Obama's NAACP Speech : Video and Text

CRW_6803, originally uploaded by Joe Lamb.

This is the video and text of Senator Barack Obama's speech on Monday before the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in Cincinnati.

Video:

It is always humbling to speak before the NAACP. It is a powerful reminder of the debt we all owe to those who marched for us and fought for us and stood up on our behalf; of the sacrifices that were made for us by those we never knew; and of the giants whose shoulders I stand on here today.

They are the men and women we read about in history books and hear about in church; whose lives we honor with schools, and boulevards, and federal holidays that bear their names. But what I want to remind you tonight – on Youth Night – is that these giants, these icons of America’s past, were not much older than many of you when they took up freedom’s cause and made their mark on history.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was but a 26-year -old pastor when he led a bus boycott in Montgomery that mobilized a movement. John Lewis was but a 25-year-old activist when he faced down Billyclubs on the bridge in Selma and helped arouse the conscience of our nation. Diane Nash was even younger when she helped found SNCC and led Freedom Rides down south. And your chairman Julian Bond was but a 25-year old state legislator when he put his own shoulder to the wheel of history.

It is because of them; and all those whose names never made it into the history books – those men and women, young and old, black, brown and white, clear-eyed and straight-backed, who refused to settle for the world as it is; who had the courage to remake the world as it should be – that I stand before you tonight as the Democratic nominee for President of the United States of America.

And if I have the privilege of serving as your next President, I will stand up for you the same way that earlier generations of Americans stood up for me – by fighting to ensure that every single one of us has the chance to make it if we try. That means removing the barriers of prejudice and misunderstanding that still exist in America. It means fighting to eliminate discrimination from every corner of our country. It means changing hearts, and changing minds, and making sure that every American is treated equally under the law.

But social justice is not enough. As Dr. King once said, “the inseparable twin of racial justice is economic justice.” That’s why Dr. King went to Memphis in his final days to stand with striking sanitation workers. That’s why the march that Roy Wilkins helped lead forty -five years ago this summer wasn’t just named the March on Washington, and it wasn’t just named the March on Washington for Freedom; it was named the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

What Dr. King and Roy Wilkins understood is that it matters little if you have the right to sit at the front of the bus if you can’t afford the bus fare; it matters little if you have the right to sit at the lunch counter if you can’t afford the lunch. What they understood is that so long as Americans are denied the decent wages, and good benefits, and fair treatment they deserve, the dream for which so many gave so much will remain out of reach; that to live up to our founding promise of equality for all, we have to make sure that opportunity is open to all Americans.

That is what I’ve been fighting to do throughout my over 20 years in public service. That’s why I’ve fought in the Senate to end tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas and give those tax breaks to companies that create good jobs here in America. That’s why I brought Democrats and Republicans together in Illinois to put $100 million in tax cuts into the pockets of hardworking families, to expand health care to 150,000 children and parents, and to end the outrage of black women making just 62 cents for every dollar that many of their male coworkers make.

And that’s why I moved to Chicago after college. As some of you know, I turned down more lucrative jobs because I was inspired by the Civil Rights Movement and I wanted to do my part in the ongoing battle for opportunity in this country. So I went to work for a group of churches to help turn around neighborhoods that were devastated when the local steel plants closed. And I reached out to community leaders – black, brown, and white – and together, we gave job training to the jobless, set up after-school programs to help keep kids off the streets, and block by block, we helped turn those neighborhoods around.

So I’ve been working my entire adult life to help build an America where social justice is being served and economic justice is being served; an America where we all have an equal chance to make it if we try. That’s the America I believe in. That’s the America you’ve been fighting for over the past 99 years. And that’s the America we have to keep marching towards today.

Our work is not over.

When so many of our nation’s schools are failing, especially those in our poorest rural and urban communities, denying millions of young Americans the chance to fulfill their potential and live out their dreams, we have more work to do.

When CEOs are making more in ten minutes than the average worker earns in a year, and millions of families lose their homes due to unscrupulous lending, checked neither by a sense of corporate ethics or a vigilant government; when the dream of entering the middle class and staying there is fading for young people in our community, we have more work to do.

When any human being is denied a life of dignity and respect, no matter whether they live in Anacostia or Appalachia or a village in Africa; when people are trapped in extreme poverty we know how to curb or suffering from diseases we know how to prevent; when they’re going without the medicines that they so desperately need – we have more work to do.

That’s what this election is all about. It’s about the responsibilities we all share for the future we hold in common. It’s about each and every one of us doing our part to build that more perfect union.

It’s about the responsibilities that corporate America has – responsibilities that start with ending a culture on Wall Street that says what’s good for me is good enough; that puts their bottom line ahead of what’s right for America. Because what we’ve learned in such a dramatic way in recent months is that pain in our economy trickles up; that Wall Street can’t thrive so long as Main Street is struggling; and that America is better off when the well-being of American business and the American people are aligned. Our CEOs have to recognize that they have a responsibility not just to grow their profit margins, but to be fair to their workers, and honest to their shareholders and to help strengthen our economy as a whole. That’s how we’ll ensure that economic justice is being served. And that’s what this election is about.

It’s about the responsibilities that Washington has – responsibilities that start with restoring fairness to our economy by making sure that the playing field isn’t tilted to benefit the special interests at the expense of ordinary Americans; and that we’re rewarding not just wealth, but the work and workers who create it. That’s why I’ll offer a middle class tax cut so we can lift up hardworking families, and give relief to struggling homeowners so we can end our housing crisis, and provide training to young people to work the green jobs of the future, and invest in our infrastructure so we can create millions of new jobs.

And that’s why I’ll end the outrage of one in five African Americans going without the health care they deserve. We’ll guarantee health care for anyone who needs it, make it affordable for anyone who wants it, and ensure that the quality of your health care does not depend on the color of your skin. And we’re not going to do it 20 years from now or 10 years from now, we’re going to do it by the end of my first term as President of the United States of America.

And here’s what else we’ll do – we’ll make sure that every child in this country gets a world-class education from the day they’re born until the day they graduate from college. Now, I understand that Senator McCain is going to be coming here in a couple of days and talking about education, and I’m glad to hear it. But the fact is, what he’s offering amounts to little more than the same tired rhetoric about vouchers. Well, I believe we need to move beyond the same debate we’ve been having for the past 30 years when we haven’t gotten anything done. We need to fix and improve our public schools, not throw our hands up and walk away from them. We need to uphold the ideal of public education, but we also need reform.

That’s why I’ve introduced a comprehensive strategy to recruit an army of new quality teachers to our communities – and to pay them more and give them more support. And we’ll invest in early childhood education programs so that our kids don’t begin the race of life behind the starting line and offer a $4,000 tax credit to make college affordable for anyone who wants to go. Because as the NAACP knows better than anyone, the fight for social justice and economic justice begins in the classroom.

But it doesn’t end there. We have to fight for all those young men standing on street corners with little hope for the future besides ending up in jail. We have to break the cycle of poverty and violence that’s gripping too many neighborhoods in this country.

That’s why I’ll expand the Earned Income Tax Credit – because it’s one of the most successful anti-poverty measures we have. That’s why I’ll end the Bush policy of taking cops off the streets at the moment they’re needed most – because we need to give local law enforcement the support they need. That’s why we’ll provide job training for ex-offenders – because we need to make sure they don’t return to a life of crime. And that’s why I’ll build on the success of the Harlem Children’s Zone in New York and launch an all-hands-on-deck effort to end poverty in this country – because that’s how we’ll put the dream that Dr. King and Roy Wilkins fought for within reach for the next generation of children.

And if people tell you that we cannot afford to invest in education or health care or fighting poverty, you just remind them that we are spending $10 billion a month in Iraq. And if we can spend that much money in Iraq, we can spend some of that money right here in Cincinnati, Ohio, and in big cities and small towns in every corner of this country.

So yes, we have to demand more responsibility from Washington. And yes we have to demand more responsibility from Wall Street. But we also have to demand more from ourselves. Now, I know some say I’ve been too tough on folks about this responsibility stuff. But I’m not going to stop talking about it. Because I believe that in the end, it doesn’t matter how much money we invest in our communities, or how many 10-point plans we propose, or how many government programs we launch – none of it will make any difference if we don’t seize more responsibility in our own lives.

That’s how we’ll truly honor those who came before us. Because I know that Thurgood Marshall did not argue Brown versus Board of Education so that some of us could stop doing our jobs as parents. And I know that nine little children did not walk through a schoolhouse door in Little Rock so that we could stand by and let our children drop out of school and turn to gangs for the support they are not getting elsewhere. That’s not the freedom they fought so hard to achieve. That’s not the America they gave so much to build. That’s not the dream they had for our children.

That’s why if we’re serious about reclaiming that dream, we have to do more in our own lives, our own families, and our own communities. That starts with providing the guidance our children need, turning off the TV, and putting away the video games; attending those parent-teacher conferences, helping our children with their homework, and setting a good example. It starts with teaching our daughters to never allow images on television to tell them what they are worth; and teaching our sons to treat women with respect, and to realize that responsibility does not end at conception; that what makes them men is not the ability to have a child but the courage to raise one. It starts by being good neighbors and good citizens who are willing to volunteer in our communities – and to help our synagogues and churches and community centers feed the hungry and care for the elderly. We all have to do our part to lift up this country.

That’s where change begins. And that, after all, is the true genius of America – not that America is, but that America will be; not that we are perfect, but that we can make ourselves more perfect; that brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand, people who love this country can change it. And that’s our most enduring responsibility – the responsibility to future generations. We have to change this country for them. We have to leave them a planet that’s cleaner, a nation that’s safer, and a world that’s more equal and more just.

So I’m grateful to you for all you’ve done for this campaign, but we’ve got work to do and we cannot rest. And I know that if you put your shoulders to the wheel of history and take up the cause of perfecting our union just as earlier generations of Americans did before you; if you take up the fight for opportunity and equality and prosperity for all; if you march with me and fight with me, and get your friends registered to vote, and if you stand with me this fall – then not only will we help close the responsibility deficit in this country, and not only will we help achieve social justice and economic justice for all, but I will come back here next year on the 100th anniversary of the NAACP, and I will stand before you as the President of the United States of America. And at that moment, you and I will truly know that a new day has come in this country we love. Thank you.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Would Serve Obama

In this video, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger tells ABC' "This Week" host George Stephanopoulos that he would indeed serve in an Obama Administration if he were called to do so. "I will take his call now, and I will take his call if he were President. I don't think this is one of those things where you can be partisan."

Zennienet.com - The Newest Social Tagging System

If you use Digg, or Reddit, or Mixx, then you're familar with "social tagging". Now, there's a new system right here at Zennie's Zeitgeist, and will soon be on our other blogs: Zennienet.com

Try it.

Tony Snow Remembered On "Face The Nation"

A person who passed too young, former White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, was remembered on CBS' "Face The Nation":

Chicago Tribune / LA TImes Shrink - Tribune Co Fires Staffers

On the very day the New Yorker jumps the shark, the Tribune Company announces firings, including the editor of the Chicago Tribune and the publisher of the LA Times. The reason: readers flow to online sources and advertisers go with them.

New Yorker, Jesse Jackson, Ralph Nader Use Racism Against Obama

In this installment in my video series I discuss the New Yorker cartoon of Barack and Michelle Obama and how it compares to Jesse Jackson's "nuts" gaffe of last week (which I contend was not a gaffe and was a deliberate action), and Ralph Nader's most unfortunate statement that Senator Obama was "acting white."

I feature New Yorker Editor David Remick's explaination of the creation and use of the cartoon, and provide commentary.

I then explain that all three actions were examples of "jumping the shark" -- using race to get attention for their message, but doing nothing to improve the American condition in the process.

New Yorker's Cartoon Of Barack And Michelle Obama An Outrage

If you've not seen this cartoon for the New Yorker,then here it is in all of its glory. It shows Barack and Michelle Obama in all of the stereotypical garb and poses that bigots and racists -- same thing -- have complained about. It has Michelle as a terrorist doing the "fist pump" and Barack in radical muslim garb.

Why?

What's the point of this?

A number of outraged Obama supporters have flooded the listservs on this matter, and one person John Hay of TellingThoughts.com took up an email conversation with the cartoonist Barry Blitt:

t appears as though “The New Yorker” is now running for cover over their outrageous and highly defamatory Obama magazine front cover. Possibly grounds for a costly New Yorker payout after Senator Obama gets the election out of the way.

Below is the New Yorker cartoonist’s response to an emailed complaint over the cover. It was posted early today by an Obama supporter MK, on one of the Obama site threads.



***************************

New Yorker Cover Artist’s Response to My E-mail | Report to Admin

By MK Today at 2:52 am EDT

Here is Barry Blitt’s response to my e-mail expressing my hurt and distress at his New Yorker Cover…

I am distressed to receive your email. All I can tell you is it was my intention to depict the
hideous innuendo and scare tactics circulated in the media as the ridiculous lies that they are.

My drawing was intended to appear preposterous and ridiculous. That it is being taken at
face value is very upsetting, and directly opposite to its intention. I am sorry for the hurt
it has caused. I cannot actually believe this cartoon, which was meant to mock the bigots
and xenophobes who spread lies, will actually give them license.

I hoped the image would get people talking about the falsehoods being spread about the Obamas.
I still hope that will be the case.

I am sorry once again.

Barry Blitt

But this is like Jesse Jackson all over again. You do something you know is going to upset people, but then turn around and appologize for it. This is happening all too often.

What about the New Yorker's editors? They're the ones who decided to run the damn thing.

Blogger Influence Studies Miss The Point - Print Media Is Dying

I happened over to Flopping Aces, a political blog, and noticed their reference and post on a study that questioned the infuence of bloggers in politics. The study was done in the "olden" days of blogging, circa 2006, and so is already questionable because there were 2 million blogs then, versus over 100 million today.

But the main point missed by Flopping Aces is that with ad dollars moving toward the Internet, and reporters being laid off left and right, blogs remain the one place to go to get news. Yes, biased -- for example, we tend to be pro-Barack Obama -- but that is why people surf blogs. The bottom line is that the way we're getting our news is changing fast and in this sea of alteration is difficult to question the power of blogs.

We're at a point where almost every major news channel on television looks like blogs for news, then uses their content or story idea to some degree. That fact is not in the study's discussed.

"Yes We Can" - Tribute to Obama By Maria Muldaur and Bonnie Raitt

"Yes We Can" is the new musical and video tribute to Senator Barack Obama for President by Maria Muldaur and Bonnie Raitt. I was asked to co-produce and distribute the video on behalf of Maria Muldaur and Joel Jaffe of Studio D Recording in Sausalito , CA. It's not to be confused with the first great "Yes We Can" video and song by Will-I-Am, which is a terrific and pioneering work of its own. Also see www.yeswecanthevideo.com

"Yes We Can" - Tribute to Obama By Maria Muldaur and Bonnie Raitt

Press Release: Singing Legends Team Up For Obama Tribute Song and Video

Here's the video:



> On Metacafe.

> On Google

> On My Space

> On Crackle

> On Sclipo

> On Viddler


> Dailymotion

> On AOL






"Yes We Can" by
Zennie Abraham is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

Based on a work at
www.yeswecanthevideo.com.

Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at
www.yeswecanthevideo.com.
> On Yahoo

Sunday, Bloody Sunday

We have always known music is powerful - that it can affect people, reach them on a very visceral level. Here, then, is a reworking - a mashup, if you will - of a song that was already full of power and emotion. U2's "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" courtesy of YouTube and 1962verbodivino.

Sunday, Bloody Sunday...

I cant believe the news today
Oh, I cant close my eyes and make it go away
How long...
How long must we sing this song?
How long? how long...

'Cause tonight...
We can be as one tonight...

Broken bottles under childrens feet
Bodies strewn across the dead end street
But I wont heed the battle call
It puts my back up
Puts my back up against the wall
...
And the battle's just begun
There's many lost, but tell me: who has won?
The trench is dug within our hearts
And mothers, children, brothers, sisters torn apart

...

Wipe the tears from your eyes
Wipe your tears away
Wipe your tears away
I wipe your tears away (Sunday, bloody Sunday)
I wipe your blood shot eyes (Sunday, bloody Sunday)

Sunday, bloody sunday (Sunday, bloody Sunday)
Sunday, bloody sunday (Sunday, bloody Sunday)


And its true we are immune
When fact is fiction and tv reality
And today the millions cry
We eat and drink while tomorrow they die

The real battle yet begun (Sunday, bloody Sunday)
To claim the victory Jesus won (Sunday, bloody Sunday)

On Sunday - bloody Sunday!
Sunday, bloody Sunday...

Click for "YES WE CAN" - The new Obama Tribute Video!

Digg this post | rate the original at YouTube

Women Can Be Sexist Too: Clinton Supporters And Sexism

This video is nothing less than a monologue on how some remaining female supporters of Senator Clinton for President are, in pointing out sexism, being sexist themselves.

I point to Salon.com's Editor-in-Chief Joan Walsh as a main example and as one who looks the other way when Michelle Obama is the target of sexism and racism, but not Senator Clinton, followed by Harriet Christian, the terrible and outwardly racist Clinton supporter who gained national attention for her racist and sexist rant against Senator Barack Obama at the DNC Rules Committee Meeting of May 31st.

In fact, I point to this blog "Too Sense" and the article "The Limited Empathy of Joan Walsh" where the blogger dNa writes:

Walsh and Ferraro, experts both on being a black man and running for president, and presumably how easy such an endeavor is, given the vast number of black presidents we have elected. It wasn't that Obama built a top-tier fundraising organization, (from scratch) studied the primary rules and how to take full advantage of them, or ran an disciplined campaign with minimal conflicts it was because it was easy, because otherwise there's no possible way this nigger could have actually pulled it off.

Here Walsh demands a full exoneration for Geraldine Ferraro, complete with deference to her knowledge of how to win "Reagan Democrats," something Ferraro doesn't have the slightest idea how to do. Her supposed rapport with "Reagan Democrats" is based exclusively on the idea that they share the same racial prejudices as she does, which strikes me unbelievably condescending.

With the exception of the use of the "N" word, I totally agree. Joan Walsh lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, not the Deep South, and so should value diversity and attack both racism and sexism, wherever both exist. Instead, she sides with Reagan Democrats, who threaten to back Senator McCain for President.

In this both Walsh, and Suzie Thompkins Buell, the founder of Esprit, have behaved terribly as San Francisco Professional Women of Power. Buell was recently quoted in the Wall Street Journal as saying..

Susie Tompkins Buell, a Hillraiser from San Francisco, said, "What really hurt women the most was to look back and see all this gender bias." Ms. Buell said she hasn't decided whether to vote for Sen. Obama and plans to skip the August Democratic convention.

That's ridiculous and it means Buell's view is just like that of Joan Walsh, who one commenter at the Too Sense wrote of using less-than-kind terms...

Joan Walsh is an insult to white women. She has outright lied, presented misleading information, mischaracterized events, and overall has pushed for a vicious agenda of delegitimizing Obama. She and her coterie of "feminists" have shown themselves to be no better than neo-cons.

Salon was an interesting place for insightful articles, but especially for the past year it has been a complete fluff blog, with Joan Walsh showing such astounding immaturity, it has been a sad spectacle to watch. She has been reactionary, completely illogical, and completely emotional.

She should not be an editor of anything.

Finally, I point to efforts like those of The Denver Group to force a new election at the DNC Convention as divisive and driven by some of the worst elements in the Democratic Party -- some people who are both racist and sexist. The main persons here are Larry Johnson and the afforementioned Harriet Christien; Johnson a Clinton supporter best known for working to find a tape on Michelle Obama that does not exist.

They represent the worst elements of the Democratic Party and should be laughed at, then ignored. America made it's choice for Democratic Presidential representative. And even the Florida and Michigan voters knew their elected officials screwed up in moving their primaries forward. To change the DNC Rules would be to declare that the DNC Rules Committee has no backbone or teeth in any decision it makes, and so anyone could go on -- any state leader -- and thumb their noses at the DNC when it wished to do so.

That's not the right course for the DNC. We must end all sexism and racism in the Democratic Party. Period.

Germany Says Bush Did Not Pressure Them To Cancel Obama Speech

As we move closer to Senator Barack Obama's much anticipated speech in Germany, we have this report from Poltical Gateway that says Germany claims the Bush Administration did not pressure them to try and stop the Obama speech from happening,

Yeah. Right. Like I believe the Bush White House had nothing to do with the "outing" of CIA operative Val Plame.

Tony Snow - Former Bush Press Secretary Passes Of Colon Cancer

Tony Snow, former White House / Bush Administration Press Secretary, passed away at the young age of 53 after his battle with Colon Cancer.

He will be missed. I always enjoyed his perspective and his reasoned approach. He seemed like a very good person.

DNC Convention Media Walkthrough At Pepsi Center - Video

This is the video -- 35 minutes long -- of my trip to the DNC Convention Media Walkthrough in Denver, Colorado. It started with my flight to Denver on United that Monday night, which was delayed for about two hours. My intent was to get in during the day but because of the flight backup, I ended up getting in at 11 PM.

The other problem is that I'd not been to Denver since the age of 14. In other words, before I knew how to drive. So my first thought upon landing was "Where the hell am I." My second view was who do I call if I'm lost?

Yikes!

At any rate, the people at National Rental Car in Denver, were great. They gave me a Toyota Prius for rent at a cheap rate. I was inimidated just because it's a vastly different car, but after a short training session, and a drive, I was a big fan of the car.

Especially since it had a GPS device. That was a life-saver for me. Wow.

I finally got to my hotel room at the StayBridge Suite in Englewood, Co. Nice big place of a room, with a kitchen where I burned popcorn in a microwave oven. I am glad it was one night, because I couldn't even make a good pot of coffee -- it came out watery.

The next morning I got up to a bright, sunny ...and hot day. My wakeup call was 6 AM and I got going after 30 min more of slumber. Hey. I need my sleep.

After a rush-hour drive, I got to the Pepsi Center, got my credential, and made a video of interviews with Rich Grant and Chris Lopez, the communications directors for the Denver Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Denver DNC Host Committee, respectively. Grant said that he expected an economic impact of $164 million and Lopez cleared up the funding news regarding the DNC Convention, saying that of almost $40 million needed, about 70 percent, or $28 million, was raised, and that about $11 million was remaining.

Then I headed to the Media breakfast and meet and greet, where I met a number of people that I interviewed in the video and will expound more on later.

...Developing.

McCain Elderly Protester Removed - Brandon Keating Sr Starts With A Bang

YouTuber Brandon Keating Sr. started off his appearance on Zennie's Zeitgeist with a bang, presenting his take on a video of an elderly John McCain protester's unnecessary and questionable treatment by law enforcement. Welcome Brandon and keep them coming!

See it with a click here > BRANDON!

Netroots Blog Caltics Attacking Senator Diane Feinstein

I happened to visit the Calitcs Blog, when I saw an article calling for nothing less than the censure of Senator Diane Feinstein. Why? Because of her support for the FISA bill that just past, and her alledged role as swing vote confirming, as Caltics put it, the appointments of Michael Mukasey, President Bush's torture-condoning nominee for Attorney General, and Leslie Southwick, a racist and homophobic judge.

Yikes!

It seems that no action has stopped Feinstein, according to Caltics.:

We've tried everything to get Sen. Feinstein's attention. Phone calls. Emails. Faxes. Petitions. Protests. Smoke signals. We even launched an online petition supporting a proposed California Democratic Party censure resolution of Sen. Feinstein last November that spread like wildfire across the grassroots, with 35,039 Californians signing on in support.

The censure movement also catalyzed national media attention, fueled by endorsements from MoveOn.org, Progressive Democrats of America, the California Democratic Party Women's Caucus and Progressive Caucus, as well as 38 chartered Democratic Clubs across California.

A number of people have asked if the Courage Campaign would support holding Senator Feinstein accountable for caving on warrantless wiretapping by re-launching the censure resolution inside the California Democratic Party. It's an important question but, frankly, a censure resolution is merely a piece of paper unless there's a people-powered movement behind it.

That's why we're putting this decision in your hands today. If grassroots and netroots activists across California support a new censure resolution of Senator Feinstein, we will launch a censure campaign leading up to the California Democratic Party's next Executive Board meeting.

Yikes!

The problem is when is that meeting? The site of the California State Democratic Party presents the standing committees, but no meeting date for an "Executive Board."

I should have asked Cal Dem Party head Art Torres when I saw him at the Karen Bass event.

FISA is for "Foreign"

The last time I checked, the title of the FISA bill was Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, not "American" or AISA. What's the deal? Are we growing a nation of people who can't read? I have no problem with the FISA bill vote. But the other Feinstein matters deserve the once over. I'd stop short of calling for a censure, however. I think a fair reading of Feinstein's accomplishments is in order. Stay tuned.


FISA

DNC Convention - DNCC Releases List of Credentialed Blogs

Which blogs are the "credentialed blogs" for the DNC Convention? Here's a list below. This blog also has a blog roll of them if you look to the right and scroll down. But here's the list:

2008 Democratic Convention Watch http://demconwatch.blogspot.com

43rdStateBlues.com http://43rdstateblues.com

AFL-CIO NOW Blog http://blog.aflcio.org

African American Political Pundit http://aapoliticalpundit.blogspot.com

AMERICAblog.com http://americablog.com

Asian American Action Fund Blog http://aaa-fund.com

Badlands Blue http://badlandsblue.com

Bagnews Notes http://bagnewsnotes.com

Beliefnet http://beliefnet.com

Bitch Ph.D. http://bitchphd.blogspot.com

Blogger News Network http://bloggernews.net

Blogging For Michigan http://bloggingformichigan.com

BlogHer http://blogher.com

Blue Hampshire http://bluehampshire.com

Blue Indiana http://blueindiana.net

Blue Jersey http://bluejersey.com

Blue Mass. Group http://bluemassgroup.com

BlueGrassRoots http://bluegrassroots.org

BlueNC.com http://bluenc.com

BlueOregon http://blueoregon.com

Buckeye State Blog http://buckeyestateblog.com

Burnt Orange Report http://BurntOrangeReport.com

Calitics http://Calitics.com

Campus Progress http://campusprogress.org

Celtic Diva's Blue Oasis http://divasblueoasis.blogspot.com

Change to Win http://changetowin.org

Colorado Confidential http://coloradoconfidential.com

Cotton Mouth Blog http://cottonmouthblog.blogspot.com

CracktheBell.com http://crackthebell.com

Crooks and Liars http://crooksandliars.com

culturekitchen http://culturekitchen.com

Daily Kingfish http://dailykingfish.com

Daily Kos http://dailykos.com

Dallas South Blog http://dallassouthblog.com

DCist.com http://dcist.com

Democracy Arsenal http://democracyarsenal.org

Democracy for New Mexico http://DemocracyForNewMexico.com

Democratic Party of the U.S. Virgin Islands http://groups.yahoo.com/...

Democratic Underground http://democraticunderground.com

Democrats Abroad Argentina http://yanquimike.com.ar

DemoOkie http://DemoOkie.com

Digby's Hullabaloo http://digbysblog.blogspot.com

Disaboom.com http://disaboom.com

Doc's Political Parlor http://politicalparlor.net

DoubleSpeak http://doublespeakshow.com

Eschaton http://atrios.blogspot.com

EverydayCitizen.com http://everydaycitizen.com

Fired Up! http://firedupmissouri.com

Firedoglake http://firedoglake.com

Florida Progressive Coalition http://flaprogressives.org

Future Majority http://futuremajority.com

Georgia Politics Unfiltered http://georgiaunfiltered.blogspot.com

Green Mountain Daily http://greenmountaindaily.com

Grist Magazine http://grist.org/

Group News Blog http://groupnewsblog.net

HispanicTips.com http://hispanictips.com

HorsesAss.org http://horsesass.org

HummingbirdMinds Blog http://hummingbirdminds.blogspot.com

iLind.net http://ilind.net

Indianz.com http://indianz.com

Jack and Jill Politics http://jackandjillpolitics.com

Jusiper http://jusiper.blogspot.com

Keystone Politics http://keystonepolitics.com

KnoxViews http://knoxviews.com

Las Vegas Gleaner http://lasvegasgleaner.com

Left In Alabama http://leftinalabama.com

Left in the West http://leftinthewest.com

Michigan Liberal http://michiganliberal.com

Minnesota Monitor http://minnesotamonitor.com

MOMocrats http://momocrats.typepad.com

My Left Nutmeg http://myleftnutmeg.com

MyDD http://mydd.com

New Nebraska Network http://NewNebraska.net

NewsOne.com http://newsone.com

No Rest for the Awake http://minagahet.blogspot.com

NorthDecoder.com http://northdecoder.com

Obsidian Wings http://obsidianwings.blogs.com

Ohio Daily Blog http://ohiodailyblog.com

OliverWillis.com http://oliverwillis.com

Open Left http://openleft.com

Pam's House Blend http://pamshouseblend.com

Political Base http://politicalbase.com

Political Wire http://politicalwire.com

PoliticalLunch.com http://PoliticalLunch.com

PolitickerNJ.com http://politickernj.com

PoliticsOnline http://politicsonline.com

Pop and Politics http://popandpolitics.com

Prairie State Blue http://PrairieStateBlue.com

RaceWire http://racewire.org

Raising Kaine http://raisingkaine.com

Raw Story http://rawstory.com

Rhode Island's Future http://rifuture.org

Room 8 http://r8ny.com

Rum, Romanism and Rebellion http://rumromanismrebellion.net

RuralVotes http://ruralvotes.com/...

Scholars & Rogues http://scholarsandrogues.com

Seeing the Forest http://seeingtheforest.com

Sepia Mutiny http://sepiamutiny.com

SquareState.net http://squarestate.net

Talking Points Memo http://talkingpointsmemo.com

TalkLeft http://talkleft.com

Taylor Marsh http://taylormarsh.com

The Albany Project http://thealbanyproject.com

The Center for Emerging Media http://centerforemergingmedia.com

The Iowa Independent http://iowaindependent.com

The Natchez Blog http://natchezms.blogspot.com

The Seminal http://theseminal.com

The UpTake http://theuptake.org

The Utah Amicus http://utahamicus.com

The Washington Independent http://washingtonindependent.com

Think Youth http://thinkyouth.org

Thought Theater http://thoughttheater.com

TommyWonk http://tommywonk.blogspot.com/

Tondee's Tavern http://tondeestavern.com

Towleroad http://towleroad.com

Turn Maine Blue http://turnmaineblue.com

Under The Dome.com http://underthedome.com

Uppity Wisconsin http://uppitywis.org

USAmerica Vota '08 http://usamericavota08.blogspot.com

VivirLatino.com http://vivirlatino.com

West Virginia Blue http://wvablue.com

What About Our Daughters? Blog http://whataboutourdaughters.com

Working Life http://workinglife.org

Zennie's Zeitgeist http://zennie2005.blogspot.com

Faith, Hope, and the Courtship of South Carolina

South Carolina hasn't voted for a Democrat for president since Jimmy Carter. According to Linda Hansen, the voters in the "Palmetto State" have been no use to "liberal" candidates after primary season:

"Truth to tell, we South Carolinians have been jilted before we got to the altar so many times we don't bother with trousseau shoppin' any more. We've lost faith. Abandoned hope. The Dems gave up on us long ago and the GOP knows we can be had, cheap."

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall...

The times?

They are a-changing: In the summer of 2007 Senator Barack Obama promised the people of South Carolina he'd work for them if they'd have him. Obama's keeping his promise, which reflects his fifty state strategy.

Ms. Hansen compares the state of the McCain & Obama campaigns, and while the polls suggest that McCain has the traditional lead, the mood on the ground is - evidently - not indicative of a Republican lock on the electoral votes come November.

read more | digg story

Freedom Of Speech has it's limitations

I would first like to thank Zennie for inviting me to this blog and have the ability to post here. My views may not represent how you feel, or how Zennie feels. I do thank him for giving me a voice on here.

Now this may be an old story, but I am still upset with it. I was completely in awe when I discovered that the McCain camp removed the Librarian from the so called "Public" event for holding a sign that read "McCain = Bush".  I was further disgusted when I learned she was cited for "Trespassing".  Yes, trespassing at a public event. Public meaning "people in general", public meaning "NON PRIVATE".

If we have the freedom of speech, shouldn't we be allowed to express ourselves the way we see fit? Shouldn't we be able to express our opinions even if it does not "fit in" with the republican party?

If you missed the actual video, here is the 61 year old librarian being cited for "trespassing".

And here is my response. Please excuse the cursing, as I am a former sailor. lol

McCain Advisor Phil Gramm "We're A Nation Of Whiners" - Video

Senator John McCain's campaign will look back on this as a terrible day and a major one in what seems to be an incredible one-week meltdown that will certainly lead to a bump in the polls for the already leading Democratic Senator Barack Obama.

Former Senator and McCain Advisor Phil Gramm made a comment that's caught fire. Everyone's having a field day with what Phil Gramm said. Former Senator Gramm seems to think that Americans should just shut up and take the fact of the worstening economy without comment:

“You’ve heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession,” Gramm, a former Texas senator, told the newspaper, adding that the presumptive Republican nominee will face an uphill battle fighting those perceptions.

“We have sort of become a nation of whiners,” he said. “You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in ‘decline’ despite a major export boom that is the primary reason that growth continues in the economy.”

This didn't miss the eye of "RaisingKaine"'s Lowell, who writes Yeah, Sen. McCain, you certainly were correct when you said you didn't know much about economics!

The comment by Senator Gramm did not miss the eye of Senator Barack Obama. The Presumptive Democratic Nominee said "We already have one Dr. Phil" referring to the television star therapist.



Meanwhile, Senator McCain, facing yet another reason to get mad at someone, which he's proven he's good at, immediately threw McCain under the bus, banishing him to Belarus. According to Fox News Mosheh Oinounou...

“I don’t agree with Senator Gramm. I believe that the person here in Michigan that just lost his job isn’t suffering a ‘mental recession.’ I believe the mother here in Michigan and around America who is trying to get enough money to educate their children isn’t ‘whining,’” McCain told reporters today. “America is in great difficulty and we are experiencing enormous economic challenges as well as others. Phil Gramm does not speak for me. I speak for me. So, I strongly disagree.”

McCain has previously said that “no one is more qualified” on economic issues than Gramm, who serves a national campaign co-chair, but made clear today that he was unhappy with the former Texas senator when asked if Gramm would have a role in a future McCain administration.

“I think Senator Gramm would be in serious consideration for ambassador to Belarus, although I’m not sure the citizens of Minsk would welcome that,” McCain said.

For his part, and I think this is the most damaging to McCain, Senator Gramm stood by his remarks. "I'm not going to retract any of it. Every word I said was true," Gramm said.

Wow.

I guess Senator Gramm wants to stick it to Senator McCain. Sure looks that way, yes? On top of that, Senator McCain looked totally uncomfortable in the way he ducked a question about Viagra and health care. More on that soon.

Jesse Jackson doesn't speak for me.

Why is it Christian "leaders" so often seem to want the REST of us to follow precepts and/or adhere to standards of behavior that they don't apply to themselves?

Have Reverend Jackson and Pastor Dobson jumped the shark?

I'm glad Jesse Jackson apologized for his inappropriate language and that he's trying to do a bit of damage control. I know the media love dishing dirt and all this colorful talk (or in Jackson's case, "off color") of fruitcake and nuts, but like James Dobson before him, Jesse Jackson doesn't speak for me.

read more | digg story

Fox News' Fred Barnes Baffoonery: "Who Reads Bloggers?" He Asks.

Fox News Fred Barnes' has a knack for trying to be so conservative and score points with the Bush Adminstration, that he makes dumb statements more often than not, by far.

Barnes -- on today's Fox News Panel With Britt Hume -- famously observed, in response to how some liberal browsers were attacking Obama on his support of the reformed FISA Act, said "Who Reads Bloggers?"

Well, in the sprit of that civic dis, we have "The Fred Barnes Watch" -- coming soon.

Senator Clinton and Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg On Obama Plane Wednesday

Senator Clinton and Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg On Obama Plane Wednesday

What does it tell you when Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg (who's heading Senator Barack Obama's search for a vice presidential candidate) are on the Obama airplane on the same day that Senator Obama casts a vote in favor of a slightly refined Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) that Clinton opposed?

It tells me that Clinton's going to be the Vice Presidential Canidate for Obama.

This story comes from The Washington Independent, who's contributor SRIDHAR PAPPU wrote:

We awoke on the Obama plane on the Reagan International Airport tarmac with news that we'd have not one, but two special guests on our trip to New York. The first was Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama's onetime nemesis and now seemingly close cohort as she tries to both influence the direction of the general campaign and recoup the millions of dollars in debt she owes as the result of the race. The second? Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, daughter of the late president and vice presidential search committee.

The latter arrived on the plane with Obama, sporting some aviator sunglasses. At the moment, his "body man" Reggie Love is passing out cookies to those press held up in the back of the plane. We'll return with a beverage update if time permits.

This is a great political "headfake" that was so good, it caught Pappu off guard, treating it as routine news. It's anything but

The FISA issue and Obama's vote caught the press entirely off-guard. CNN took the bait hook-line-and-sinker today, reporting that Clinton and Obama were "at odds" with each other, and that the issue could harm her VP chances.

Hah!

Senator Ted Kennedy Returns To The Senate

Senator Ted Kennedy Returns To The Senate

Senator Ted Kennedy, courageously battling terminal brain cancer, returned to his Senate duties and in the process displayed his uncanny knack for great political timing. Recognizing that his vote would not only break a tie in the overall voting for a bil preventing a six percent cut in Medicare, but perhaps bring some Republicans over to the Democratic Side, Kennedy made the trip to Capitol Hill, and was given a war hero's welcome.

I can't wait to see him at the Democratic National Convention. You just know he's excited to appear before this grand stage.

Obama Supports Revised FISA Bill Today

Upsetting Presumptive Republican Presidential Nominee Senator John McCain, who has to reach for the tired "flip-flop" strategy, Senator and Presumptive Democratic Presidential Nominee Barack Obama backed the passage of "FISA", The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, in the Senate today.

Developing story.

Julie Donaldson, Sports Reporter Testifies Ivan Lattimore Beat Her

Julie Donaldson, Sports Reporter Testifies Ivan Lattimore Beat Her

In an unfortunate and sad twist of events, Julie Donaldson, the famous New York Mets features producer and sports reporter who's Internet popularity rocketed with a video of her being doused with beer by celebrating NY Mets after they won the pennant in 2006 that became so popular one can't even find it anymore, has testified that her bofriend Ivan Lattimore bear her.

In a case of "What was she thinking", the Boston Globe reports:

Since she and Lattimore started dating, Donaldson said, there have been at least four violent episodes. The first, she said, occurred at the Super Bowl in Arizona and resulted in bruises on her arms. "I wore a long sleeve shirt and didn't tell anyone," she said.

The second attack was more serious, she said. After a Celtics game against the Miami Heat on March 30, Donaldson said that she lied to Lattimore about her whereabouts and that he was waiting for her when she returned to her apartment.

"He grabbed me by my hair and took my hands by my wrists and made me punch my face," she said, adding that she had to miss work the next day because of bruises on her face. A few months ago, she said, another fight ensued after a night of drinking at Sonsie on Newbury Street.

Why women -- some women -- chose guys like Ivan Lattimore is beyond me. He's a nut case.

Checking in at DNC Convention Media Walkthrough

This is but one of many images I have from the DNC Convention Media
Walkthrough in Denver. This one directly from my iPhone. It is at Pepsi Center, which is where the
convention will be held August 23 - 28.

The big news was the move of Senator Obama's acceptance speech to
Invesco Field next door.

More in our video series.

Obama's Comprehensive Energy Plan

Barack Obama's energy plan will provide meaningful short-term relief for our families and make a historic investment in alternative energy development that will create millions of new jobs, keep the cost of energy affordable and secure our energy independence once and for all. This is the sort of leadership the current generation of Americans needs - and demands - from our elected officials.

Learn more about Obama's comprehensive energy plan at: http://www.NewEnergyForAmerica.com

The Columbus Dispatch Ad Watch said the RNC was "Stretching the Truth":

While Obama is offering real solutions for America's energy future, the Republican National Committee recently released a false, negative ad attacking Barack Obama on energy.

"The commercial accurately points out that McCain favors temporarily lifting the federal gasoline tax, which Obama opposes. Nearly every reputable economist says lifting the gas tax would save motorists nickels and dimes and not produce one new gallon of gasoline."

"The commercial also accurately points out that McCain favors drilling off the coasts of California and Florida, while Obama does not. But many economists are not convinced that oil exploration off the coasts would dramatically reduce gasoline prices any time soon. Instead, oil prices have risen because demand has outpaced production worldwide. The commercial does not mention that McCain once opposed offshore exploration. And it probably is no accident that the commercial is being aired in Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin rather than Florida and California."

"VERDICT: 'Stretching The Truth'" [Columbus Dispatch 7/7]

It's all part of Obama's unified view of the way energy affects our economy, our environment and climate, and our national security interests. He's advocating a much more pro-active leadership approach to science than the Republican party has prioritized in recent memory. At a glance, Obama wants to:

• Reduce Carbon Emissions 80 Percent by 2050
• Invest in a Clean Energy Future
• Support Next Generation Biofuels
• Set America on Path to Oil Independence
• Improve Energy Efficiency 50 Percent by 2030
• Restore U.S. Leadership on Climate Change

Barack Obama introduced a bold new plan that brought Republicans and Democrats, CAFE supporters and long-time opponents together in support of legislation that will gradually increase fuel economy standards and offer what the New York Times editorial page called "real as opposed to hypothetical results." That's the sort of change that works for America and the world.

Digg this story! | read more...

A BACKSTAGE PASS to see OBAMA accept the nomination in Denver?

All you have to do is donate at least $5 this month via special links provided at the Obamesque blog and you're in the running to meet Senator Barack Obama BACKSTAGE and see him accept the Democratic nomination in front of 75,000 people. Can you imagine seeing the convention from this perspective, and meeting the man who will probably be the next President of the United States?

If you're one of the ones selected you also get to bring a guest. Let's spend a few nights in Denver, shall we?

History in the making, and you can be there with the crew from Zennie's Zeitgeist (we're covering the whole convention.)

read more | digg story

Zennie In Denver for DNC Convention Media Walkthrough

Zennie In Denver for DNC Convention Media Walkthrough

...and I'm off to sleep, having just got in at 1 AM after a massively delayed flight. It's a one-day trip. The meeting's at 8 AM at The Pepsi Center.

Stay tuned. Video camera's with me as well.

McCain's no economist, he's confused about Obama's tax plan - and apparently his own, too!

Senator Obama’s plan will not raise taxes - it WILL provide a bigger break for middle class Americans than Senator McCain’s plan. As numerous outside observers agree: McCAIN’S claims that Obama will raise taxes are “WRONG,” “FALSE,” “MISLEADING”

Do you trust factcheck.org? That' s one of many sources cited in the article McCain’s claims that Obama will raise taxes are wrong.

It’s misleading to tag Obama for something that was built in to the Bush tax cuts. Remember that they are set to auto-expire - that's the law Bush signed.

Senator McCain has announced that he would balance the budget by 2013.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that the unified budget deficit will be $443 billion in 2013 assuming that expiring tax cuts are extended. To balance the budget in that year John McCain would have to pay for all of his campaign proposals plus cut another $443 billion of spending. To give a sense of why this pledge is not credible, cutting spending by $443 billion would require:

• Cutting Medicare by 81 percent OR

• Cutting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid by 33 percent OR

• Cutting non-defense discretionary spending – which pays for education, veterans, air traffic control and justice – by 79 percent

And these spending cuts would be on top of the hundreds of billions of dollars of spending cuts Senator McCain needs to pay for his existing proposals including: increasing defense spending, cutting corporate taxes, eliminating the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), and a small tax cut for middle class families with children (a total of $125 for middle class families with 2 children and $0 for 101 million households who do not qualify). The New York Times has estimated that Senator McCain’s budget plan “will add $200 billion to $300 billion or, depending on his voluntary tax system, even more” annually to the deficit.

Without these offsets and spending cuts, the McCain budget would leave a deficit of at least $650 billion to $750 billion in 2013 alone. No wonder so many Republicans are now reporting that they’ll vote for Barack Obama in November.

read more | digg story

Chevron Pipelines Attacked In Nigeria and Columbia; FARC May Be Responsible In Columbia

In the ongoing matter of Chevron and Nigeria comes a report from UPI declaring that "Nigeria attack cripples Chevron". Moreover, the same report points a finger at militant groups like the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND). And while there's no recorded link between MEND and Chevron accuser Larry Bowoto, it seems the two have similar aims: to cripple Chevron's presence in the region, as well as that of Royal Dutch Shell.

Consider this UPI report:

Chevron Corp. has declared a force majeure on its oil exports following a particularly destructive attack on one of its installations in the Niger Delta.
Officials at the U.S. oil company said that though production was unaffected at offshore installations, Chevron could not meet its production quotas for customers because of shortfalls caused by the pipeline attack last week at the Escravos oil field in the delta.

Though Chevron would not say just how much production was lost due to the attack, Nigerian energy officials estimated the losses at over 100,000 barrels per day, a blow that prompted the company to declare force majeure, relieving them of their contractual obligations until the assaulted pipeline can be repaired and secured.

Chevron, meanwhile, is not the only company reeling from the recent increase in violence against foreign oil interests by armed militant groups in the delta. Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS-A), the leading foreign petroleum company operating in Nigeria, suffered yet another in a long list of attacks at its Bonga facility last week, prompting the Anglo-Dutch company to halt production for several days.

It wasn't the first time Shell was forced to scale back production due to militant violence. In January, Shell shut down operations at its Forcados terminal following pipeline attacks that threw its 100,000 barrel-per-day production offline. The terminal already had been shut once before because of violence and reopened in October 2007 after more than a year of halted production. Since its reopening, the facility, which can produce some 450,000 barrels per day, had been operating at a fraction of its capacity.

FARC May Be Behind Anti-Chevron Ecuador Efforts

It seem that MEND has something in common with FARC, the same organization that kidnapped now freed politician Ingrid Betancourt: both have apparently bombed Chevron pipelines. in FARK's case, such an activity has been ongoing since 2001, but not limited to Chevron at that time; Petroecuador pipelines -- Petroecuador has long been a partner to Chevron in the region -- were the targets of that Columbian rebel group and that continues today.

Since Ecuador's charging that Columbia's using U.S. made weapons, it seems that Chevron's made as the scapegoat, when it provides much needed employment to the region as is true in Nigeria.

Barack Obama's Poised For Big Electoral College Win - Zogby

John Zogby, who's polls are generally considered to be the most accurate and fair, reports that Senator Barack Obama has an electoral college lead over John McCain that may be too much for the GOP representative, 273 to 158.

Will Leitch Departs Deadspin to Join New York Magazine

Will Leitch Leaving Deadspin to Join New York Magazine

One of our first major linkers and now Facebook Friend Deadspin founder and editor Will Leich is leaving that online sports publication to join the New York Magazine as contributing editor.

Good Luck Will, but you're not really leaving at all. Still, it seems that perhaps, like me, this whole political revolution thing has drawn you away from sports. Funny how that works

Will Leitch Leaving Deadspin to Join New York Magazine

Will Leitch Leaving Deadspin to Join New York Magazine

One of our first major linkers and now Facebook Friend Deadspin founder and editor Will Leich is leaving that online sports publication to join the New York Magazine as contributing editor.

Good Luck Will, but you're not really leaving at all. Still, it seems that perhaps, like me, this whole political revolution thing has drawn you away from sports. Funny how that works.

Obama Draws Jason Burnett, Former Bush EPA Official

Obama Draws Jason Burnett, Former Bush EPA Official

Barack Obama's drawing Republicans into the fold, particularly Bush aides who apparently are disillusioned with the current President's style and strategy. One such person is Jason Burnett, the now former EPA official who criticized the Bush administration for rejecting California's request for a federal waiver that would have allowed the state to enforce greenhouse gas restrictions.

According to the LA Times, Burnett's burning issue is Global Warming:

Now Burnett is talking with his checkbook, too. After submitting his resignation last month, he donated $3,600 to Democrat Barack Obama's presidential campaign. That came on top of a $1,000 contribution he made to Obama before rejoining the EPA last year.

A Stanford-trained economist and a Democrat, Burnett, 31, said in an interview that he was moving back to Northern California to campaign for Obama and Rep. Sam Farr (D-Carmel).

He said he was counting on them to support stepped-up efforts to curb greenhouse gases.

Authenticity of message is Obama's attraction point, and it's a powerful magnet, bringing in ex-Clinton and Bush aides on a regular basis. In Burnett's case, he was at the center of the Bush Administrations refusal to turn over congressional documents related to the denial of a request for California to be able to regulate its own Greenhouse Gas emissions.

Political, Sports, and Celebrity Blog Writers Wanted - Inquire Within

If you want to express your political or sports or hollywood view unfettered and are looking for an outlet to get your blog and video work seen or just your view, send an email to zennie@sportsbusinesssims.com . You will become part of our "SBS Personalities" if you wish, which gets you your very own page and more exposure.

Just send an email. We're building the next great political and pop culture blog!!

Zennie62 Introduces DNC Convention Coverage

A few weeks ago, Zennie's Zeitgeist was credentialed to cover the DNC Convention.

In short, we're going to be brings you both live and video blog coverage from the floor of the 2008 Democratic Convention. It also means a milestone in the assent of our blogs as a business unit of Sports Business Simulations and is major proof that I made the right bet in 2003 when I determined to establish a writer's group called SBS Personalities and in 2005 when I first started this blog network.

All I can say is thanks to Drew at the DNC, and thanks to the DNC. We -- Ashley, Tom, Dave, and myself -- are excited!

Now, today I leave for the DNC Convention Media Walkthrough on Tuesday. I'll bring my camera and give coverage at both our YouTube Channel Zennie62 and here at http://zennie2005.blogspot.com