Stephen Colbert Could Run For President As A "Write In" Candidate

Yep. I'm not sure what to make of all of this, except that all of this response to Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert's supposed "effort" to run for President has not only taken on a life of its own, but -- hey folks -- he's actually got time to file and run for President.

I was under the impression that the filing deadline was November 2nd, but that's the last time I listen to television. Here's the actual information.

It seems the candidate can actually sign up as a write-in competitor in some states. Read this from the North Dakota website :

Running as a Write-In Candidate in the
General Election
A person who intends to be a write-in candidate for President
of the United States at the November 4, 2008 General Election
shall file a sworn Certificate of Write-In Candidacy with the
Secretary of State by 4:00 p.m. on the 21st day before the
General Election. The sworn Certificate of Write-In Candidacy
must contain the complete address of the candidate and the
names and complete addresses of the candidate’s 3
presidential electors. A sworn certificate of acceptance signed
by the candidate’s presidential electors must accompany the
Certificate of Write-In Candidacy.
The certificate of
acceptance for each elector is included as part of the
Certificate of Write-In Candidacy. If the presidential candidate
has a vice-presidential running mate, the name and complete
address of the running mate shall be contained on the
Certificate of Write-In Candidacy as well. If there is no vice-
presidential running mate, the certificate shall be appropriately
marked. The sworn vice-presidential certificate of acceptance
is also included as part of the Certificate of Write-In Candidacy.
NDCC Ch. 16.1-12-02.2
A Complete Filing Must Include
1. A Certificate of Write-In Candidacy President of
the United States General Election (SFN 18440);
2. A Statement of Interests (SFN 10172) or a like
personal disclosure statement required by the Federal
Election Commission for presidential and vice
presidential candidates.
When and Where to File
The filing deadline with the Secretary of State is October
14, 2008 by 4:00 p.m. Complete filings must be in the
physical possession of the Secretary of State’s office by
the filing deadline.
________
_
_________________________________________
Interaction with Federal Laws
Candidates for President and Vice President of the United
States are subject to the registration and financial disclosure
requirements of the Federal Election Campaign Act.
Under the Federal Election Campaign Act, a candidate is
subject to registration and financial obligations when the
campaign exceeds $5,000 in either contributions or
expenditures.
Questions and requests for further information may be directed
to the:
Federal Election Commission (FEC)
999 E Street North West, Room 232
Washington, D.C. 20463
Toll Free
1-800-424-9530
Web Site
www.fec.gov
__________________________________________________
Forms
The state forms listed above (SFN) are available from the
Secretary of State’s office and may also be accessed from the
Secretary of State’s web site and Fax-On-Demand service line.
Secretary of State
State of North Dakota
600 E Boulevard Ave Dept 108
Bismarck ND 58505-0500
Phone
(701) 328-4146
Toll free
1-800-352-0867
Fax-On-Demand Service (701) 328-0120
Web Site
www.nd.gov/sos

So hang on, folks, this could get serious. He's already massed a Facebook group of over 1 million people!

It's definite: Game's on Sunday at Qualcomm

By Kevin Acee
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

11:01 a.m. October 26, 2007

A week of uncertainty has come to a close, as the Chargers have learned they will play their home game Sunday – actually at home.

They will play the Houston Texans at 1:05 p.m. at Qualcomm Stadium, according to a press release from the city.

The wildfires that tortured San Diegans this week forced the Chargers to flee Tuesday to Arizona, where they will hold their third-and-final practice at the Cardinals' complex in Tempe this afternoon.

On Thursday, Mayor Jerry Sanders cleared Qualcomm Stadium as site of the game. While all indications were the game would be there, the Chargers still did not confirm that on Thursday night.

The mayor said the team remained concerned about air quality and police and fire support. A mayoral spokesman said Thursday the city “would be ready” with that support by Sunday.

Also, all remaining evacuees at Qualcomm Stadium were to be transferred to other shelters.

While some in San Diego expressed concerns about playing a game so soon after a tragedy, many have clamored for the game to be at Qualcomm because it would be a positive diversion.

I think thats very important for us,” quarterback Philip Rivers said. “We want to look at it like that. Anytime you can entertain people, its always going to take their minds off of whats going on. Even for three or four hours, if you can entertain them, theyre going to take their mind off of whatever is going on in their world. Thats what we want to do.

“People in the county are going through a tough time ... To play a game, hopefully back there, hopefully that can lift people's spirits. Because this is gong to be something the county is going to have to deal with for a long time.”

Asked Thursday about a game at Qualcomm helping people feel better, Sanders said, “I think the city ought to feel real good about the way it's responded to this crisis already. And I think a lot of people in the city and county of San Diego have done an incredible job working together to house and feed and do a lot of things. I certainly think a football game would be nice, but I don't know that that's the only thing people are focused on at this point.”

Hillary Clinton > DCCC Email Controversy Update

Ok. After a phone call I made to the DCCC regarding the Hillary Clinton Birthday email issue , I did get a call back from the DCCC's person in charge of the email effort, Nick Jeffrey.

Mr. Nick Jeffrey told me that the DCCC was "in negotiations with the other presidential campaigns regarding email swap programs like the one that resulted in the Hillary Clinton birthday emailer." But I told Mr. Jeffrey that the DCCC should get its story straight because another DCCC spokesperson said...

UPDATE: It's a "list-swap," says DCCC spokeswoman Jennifer Crider. The campaign committee -- as Politico reported yesterday (!) -- is trying to broaden its fundraising base with an offer to send an email on a candidate's behalf to its list, in exchange for access to their similar-sized lists. The offer has been extended to Clinton, Obama, and Edwards; Clinton is the only one to take them up on it so far.

Mystery solved.

So that's where the story is. The next step is to get word from the Obama and Edwards camps to determine if they were actually contacted or if it's all just political smoke!

A380 - Singapore Airlines A380 Maiden Flight

Singapore Airlines' A380 completed it's maiden flight this week. Here's video of that event and video of the cabin interior. Business class is particularly interesting.

Landing in Sydney:



Interior Video:



Singapore Airlines Crew Training Video:

Hillary Clinton > Did DCCC Violate FEC Laws In Emailer For Her Birthday?

It's spreading all over the Internet. This email letter you see is from Bill Clinton and asking receivers to help celebrate her 60th birthday. This has got many non-Clinton supporters in an uproar, as the email was sent through the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, or "DCCC".

This news first hit my attention via the Obama listserv and was the focus of a blog post on DailyKos today. To get to the bottom of this, I called the DCCC, and the receptionist told me, in response to my question on this that "The DCCC does not support anyone for president; we were just trying to expand our email list. You should talk to Nick Jeffrey, who runs the email campaign."

So I called Mr. Jeffrey, but got his voicemail.

Even if the DCCC's not taking a position, it sure looks that way and seems to be another example of "triangulation politics" where a person says they're for or against something in word, but not in deed. I call it being dishonest myself.

The question for me is this: does this count as an FEC violation? I don't know the answer. But it seems that if the DCCC is raising money and working on behalf of Congressional democratic candidates, this move is against their mission, as it looks like the DCCC's supporting a single Presidential candidate. They didn't do this for Senator Obama's birthday August 4th.

More on this.

Pier 39 Fleet Week 2007 San Francisco Party - Video

I'll get back to politics, but here's some fun. My good friend Beth Schnitzer invited me to Pier 39s Fleet Week Party held October 5th 2007 on the roof of the parking lot at Pier 39 in San Francisco. It's a killer event that drew over 600 people and provided a great backdrop for products and events from various sponsors from Bauer's Limousines -- http://www.bauerslimousines.com -- to Sheri's Berries. There's great food and music and people, like Movie Critic Jan Wahl. This is the first movie in a series.

Hillary Clinton - Iowa Pork: The Other White Meat

Well, that's what it reads if you look at the photo. It features Hillary Clinton flipping burgers while wearing an apron that reads "The Other White Meat" and standing just in front of an under a sign that reads "Iowa Pork."

Man, I can't make this one up!