Cal's Marshawn Lynch Signed By Buffalo - $18.9 million - Profootballtalk.com

LYNCH DEAL DONE

A league source tells us that the Bills have reached an agreement with running back Marshawn Lynch, the No. 12 selection in the 2007 draft. (Adam Schefter of NFL Network was the first to report this.)

Lynch will receive $10,285,000 in guaranteed money, and the total value of the package is $18,935,000 on a five-year deal. (Technically, it's a six-year deal that voids to five if Lynch meets a minimum playing time threshold.)

The key is the duration; Lynch is the fourth player taken in the top 16 who could have been required to sign a six-year deal, but who got in the end a five-year contract.

The former California tailback is expected to step in immediately as the starter, given the offseason trade of Willis McGahee.

Hillary's Flip Flop - Video Evidence By YouTuber "lovingj1"

New York Times Kit Seelye Responds To Zennie's Post

Last night, New York Times online writer Kit Seelye responded to my post on her error in failing to recognize that I was the same person who's video she linked to twice in her article on the CNN / YouTube debates.

I referred to the action as an example of institutional racism, which, while it's generally unintentional has terrible results of stereotyping or exclusion -- both of which happened in this case. In Ms. Seeyle's partial defense, she responded as if she was tired, but still, she's a professional journalist.

The comment exchange is in the blog post here.

CNN / YouTube Debates - Senator Joe Biden Answers My "In God We Trust" Question

This was my question number 36 in the list of videos presented at the CNN / YouTube Debates:

The cathedral behind me is the perfect backdrop for this question. This quarter reads "United States of America." And when I turn it over, you find that it reads "liberty, in God we trust." What do those words mean to you? Thank you.

Falcons News Conference On The Michael Vick Issue

I'm watching Atlanta Falcons' Owner Arthur Blank, General Managr Rich McKay, and Head Coach Bobby Petrino talk to the media about the Michael Vick issue.

If you've not followed this, Vick's indicted for being involved in felony dogfighting. This press conference is for the Falcons; heads to explain to the public how they're dealing with this.

To me, it seems as if Arthur Blank's forced to walk a tightrope between supporting Vick and not upsetting the activitist animal rights organizations that have been crawling all over them.

More soon..

Hillary's Flip Flop - Senator Clinton Backs Off On Promise Of New Leadership

At Monday's CNN / YouTube Debate, Senator Hillary Clinton stopped short of saying she would talk to Third World leaders like Hugo Chavez, explaining in a complex way that she would send diplomatic envoys to do this. By contrast, Senator Obama expained that he would send a message that he was willing to have dialog with leaders we don't currently have a great relationship with.

After the debate, some have tried to paint Senator Obama as less experienced than Senator Clinton because of the debate. While that's inaccurate, another story has emerged that paints Senator Clinton in the position of flip-flopping. In the article below, she says President Bush should talk to leaders like Hugo Chavez! Morover, she said this on April 22nd of this year.

Read!

Clinton Blasts President Bush's Foreign Policy
http://wcbstv.com/us/local_story_112220939.html

(CBS/AP) DECORAH, Iowa Hillary Rodham Clinton on Sunday criticized President Bush's foreign policy, and said if she were president she would do things differently, including beginning diplomatic talks with supposed enemies and sending envoys throughout the world.

"I would begin diplomatic discussions with those countries with whom we have differences, to try to figure out what is the depth of those differences," said Clinton, who spoke to about 1,000 people at Luther College in Decorah in northeastern Iowa.

"I think it is a terrible mistake for our president to say he will not talk with bad people. You don't make peace with your friends -- you have to do the hard work of dealing with people you don't agree with," said Clinton, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination.

Opening talks with other countries doesn't mean the U.S. won't defend its interests whenever necessary, she said, "but what it means is that we should discuss other routes before we decide we're going to pursue military options.

"We cannot provide the leadership we need unless we are willing to try engage the other countries," she said,

She dished out plenty of criticism about the war in Iraq, and said when it comes to Iran, the U.S. needs to engage those with the real power -- the clerics.

Of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad she said: "He's like their front man, he's like their puppet. He goes out and gets people agitated and says things that everybody responds to, but he's not making the decisions. The decisions are being made within the alternative government of these clerics.

"We have no idea of how these people think, we have no contact with them," Clinton said, arguing that she's advocated for years to have a process of diplomacy with Iran.

"If we ever have to use force against any country, it should be seen as an action of last resort, not first resort," she said.

YouTube's Nathaniel Krefman On Barack Obama and "A Call For Change"