For those of you who are linguistically challenged, or monolingual but interested in news and views of the US election, Bush's latest gaffes, editorial opinion and perspectives from around the world, suggest you head over to WorldMeets.US

WORLDMEETS.US was created by William Kern, a news editor who has practiced his craft on three continents. Picking up where his last project (WatchingAmerica.com) left off, WORLDMEETS.US will use all the power of the Internet to promote citizen diplomacy by creating an online community where Americans can easily meet and get to know people from other nations, and where people from other nations can find Americans.

Democrats should choose Obama
Ill. senator suited to lead U.S. into future

Voters are feeling bruised and conflicted as a long, grueling battle for the Democratic presidential nomination comes down to the wire.

So, before Kentuckians go to the polls Tuesday in one of the last primaries, let's just pause to savor this moment in history: For the first time in 232 years of nationhood, an African-American or a woman will lead a presidential ticket.

That alone makes this election a hopeful turning point.

The opportunity for national renewal will be even greater if, as appears almost certain, Sen. Barack Obama is the nominee.

http://www.kentucky.com/...

Here's her schedule:

1:00 pm
Michelle Obama attends an airport greet with the First Lady of Puerto Rico at the San Juan airport

2:00 pm
Michelle Obama attends a greeting with a steering committee in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

3:45 pm
Michelle Obama attends a hospital visit and ribbon cutting ceremony in San Juan, Puerto Rico

http://thepage.time.com/...

Since we are headed toward one of the final primaries in Puerto Rico, I'd like to discuss Puerto Ricans and where they fit into the primary season and beyond.

While many of you are either avoiding the television today, or counting super delegates, I have been having a bit of fun exploring Republican territory.  Don't usually get the time (or have the interest) in reading much from the right, but today seemed like a good day to browse, since I have turned off my television, done some gardening and have now settled down to see what the other side is doing.  

Much to my surprise I found a humorous read this afternoon (I had no idea the right had a sense of humor - but I digress).

Suggest you take a side trip today to read David Kahane's column Hillary’s Your Gal: Holy Joe Lamont Lieberman sets the trend.

I got up this morning, had my coffee, sat down to read some diaries, look for news, and thought about my mom with a smile.  Though she died nine years ago she is always with me.  I keep wishing she and my dad were here to see this historic campaign, and to celebrate the lessons that this process is teaching us all.  After going out for Mother's Day brunch, came home and thought I'd share my thoughts about my mom, what she taught me and how you all are a part of what I've learned.

Both of my parents were teachers and instilled in me early on a love for education, critical thinking,  a joy in reading, respect for history and most importantly a love for people in all their ethnic, racial and religious diversity. They both graduated from West Virginia State University, a traditionally black college.  Though West Virginia is being portrayed as "unfriendly" to African Americans these days, the State of West Virginia produced a whole crop of college educated black folks, from  both WVA State and Bluefield State, starting in the late 1800’s.

In a piece entitled Damsel of Distress Peggy Noonan, Republican conservative columnist for the Wall Street Journal, and former Reagan speechwriter, joins a host of voices from left, right and center in denouncing Senator Clinton's recent descent into race-baiting as she heads into WVA and KY.  

Interestingly, her piece is accompanied by a cartoon of Hillary tied to the rails with a locomotive on its way towards her, evoking the old silent movie episodes of the Perils of Pauline

After finishing up my morning cuppa java, and reading diaries here, I headed over to some other sites to try to find something to read to get away from my primary day jitters.

I found this excellent diary on TPM, Hillary Clinton Has a Palmore v. Sidoti Problem, and Now We Do Too, which focuses on the case of a child being removed from the home of an inter-racial couple.  
Coincidentally, this diary comes at a time when we mourn the death of Mildred Loving. Mildred Loving, Who Fought Ban on Mixed Marriage, Dies at 68

Was drinking my morning coffee and surfing for Obama news, and ran across some really nice coverage of the surprise Obama visit to Elkhart IN, including some raw footage of Barack, Michelle and their daughters.

ELKHART, Ind. (AP) — Presidential candidate Barack Obama and his family made an early afternoon stop in an Elkhart neighborhood to shake hands, sign autographs and meet hundreds of people. Obama, his wife, Michelle, and their daughters, Malia and Sasha, pulled up around 12:30 p.m. in a neighborhood downtown. A small crowd quickly grew and formed an informal rope line as Obama chatted with residents and walked up to a few homes. The Democrat from Illinois then boarded a bus and traveled to a nearby middle school, where he shot some hoops, signed more autographs and posed for some pictures.

http://www.wsbt.com/...

Will black, red, & brown  folks just get so disgusted that they will say the hell with this country – and just stay home?  

This question was raised a few days ago in FishOutofWater’s diary   Furious Black Voters Won't Vote for Hillary in November

I read the 1161 comments carefully, a majority from white Kossacks, but quite a few strong replies from black and latino ones as well.  

I realized that any response I made would be a diary in itself and so I’m writing one here.  

I went to Brooklyn College on Mayday to participate in a forum.  When the program was over I had a discussion with one of the Professor's who had arranged the forum, and she brought up a case which I hadn't heard about; the story of a Brooklyn College graduate and former student of hers, who is currently being held under untenable and imho unconstitutional conditions, right here in the US - not at GITMO. I asked her to send me the information and promised that I would do what I could to get his story out to a wider audience.

His name is Syed Hashmi, and this is the story.

Was watching television with my sister this morning (I'm visiting) and she's a fan of CNN's American Morning.  The program featured a segment with seniors who are supporting Democratic candidates. The first woman was Jean Weiss, who is the 82 year old woman from NC who was viewed widely  when Obama asked her affectionately to be his running mate.  The Clinton supporter was a woman from New Jersey - sorry didn't catch her name, but she had a poster with her adorned with the names of historical Presidential couples who she compared Clinton to: George and Martha Washington, Ronald Reagan and Nancy...she even brought up Winston Churchill and his wife.  

Though May Day is celebrated as International Workers Day in many countries around the world, here in the US Labor Day is the designated holiday to honor workers, because May Day has connections to the left, socialist and communist groups world wide.

Today in the US, many May Day rallies will be focusing on immigration reform.

May Day Rallies To Put Spotlight Again On Immigration Reform

Immigration advocates in cities across the U.S. are hoping to use May 1st to again stress the need for comprehensive immigration reform in the United States.

Haven't seen this mentioned here, but in yesterdays NYT Think Again blog Stanley Fish wrote an opinion piece Much Ado

in which he connects Swiftboating and McCarthyism.

Now, in 2008, after a primary season increasingly marked by dirty pool and low blows, "McCarthyism" and "Swiftboating" have come together in a particularly lethal and despicable form. I refer to the startling revelation — proclaimed from the housetops by both the Clinton and McCain campaigns — that Barack Obama ate dinner at William Ayers’s house, served with him on a board and was the honored guest at a reception he organized.

Conversations have been held here on Dkos in recent days and weeks about the use of code words and dog whistles like "electablility" or "working class voter" by pundits and the Clinton campaign, to simply mean that Barack Obama is  black.   Use your secret code ring descrambler and read - America is not going to elect a black man as President.

This is now being deconstructed outside of our orange domain and is the headline and subject of the latest column from Richard Reeves:IT'S RACE, STUPID!

Last night I got ready to turn off MSNBC after watching Keith Olbermann, but left it on because my husband wanted to watch Verdict with Dan Abrams, a program I personally can’t stand.  Abrams had a "panel" of analysts on, discussing in heated rhetoric the upcoming Bill Moyer’s interview with Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

The most fervent attacker of Rev. Wright was the African-American commentator Joe Watkins, who I haven’t really paid much attention to.  He was practically frothing at the mouth, attempting to put words into Jeremiah Wright’s mouth and reading "meaning" into his statements to Moyer’s, egged on by Abrams.  The only person disagreeing with him was Lawrence O’Donnell.

As we move into the North Carolina primary, and the headlines now turn to the NC Republican Party and their rovian attempts to again use Jeremiah Wright against Barack Obama in a race-baiting ad, I'd like to remind everyone that Friday evening, April 25, Bill Moyers Journal will air the first interview with Pastor Wright.

Moyers is probably the only journalist in America that Reverend Wright could trust to present his life and story fairly, because Bill Moyers is a member of the United Church of Christ, and a journalist who has specialized in informed, award-winning reportage on religion and politics.

Camille Paglia, who lives in Philadelphia, defines herself as a feminist, is a social critic, columnist for Salon and author of Sexual Personae: Art and Decadence from Nefertiti to Emily Dickinson.

In yesterday's UK Telegraph, she wrote Why women shouldn't vote for Hillary Clinton.

As a feminist, her arguments were of interest to me, since I have never felt that Senator Clinton is a feminist, nor do I believe that as a feminist I must vote for a person simply because of their gender.

Okay. She decided to go there.  

She decided to pile on to the Bill Ayers smear. The guilt by association, new kitchen sink strategy against Senator Obama, artfully suggesting (to the supers) that he would be hit with these purportedly terrible things in the general.  So she wants us to beleive she's doing him a favor - vetting him now.

I suggest we all take a look at what would be waiting for Senator Clinton, related not only to the Weather Underground, but to the FALN, Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional, if she should overturn Obama's nomination via the super delegates.