After five days of lots of blog uproar and virtually zero follow-up from traditional media, the NYT story on the propaganda program appears to be gaining traction.  At least, its gaining traction where it matters a lot: in Congress, not yet in traditional media.

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In my view, all the media hype about delegates, superdelegates, the delegate count completely misses the point that this is a democracy and we Democrats beleive in a democratric process (or should, anyhow)!

Therefore, I've been surprised at how little attention is paid to the actual popular vote: that is how many actual votes have the candidates received?  

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This is an open question given his own words.  I like Barack Obama a lot and see him as a potentially great president.  Yet, I'm very much troubled when he says things that indicate he may be catching the same fever displayed by the vehement Clinton haters here on Daily Kos.  In an interview with CBN News today that I picked up on TPM, he suggested that his supporters may not support HRC in the general election:

I have no doubt that once the nomination contest is over, I will get the people who voted for her. Now the question is can she get the people who voted for me? And I think that describes sort of one of the choices that people have, just a practical choice, as they move forward.

I don’t have a lot of knowledge about the inner workings of Las Vegas’ culinary union or Nevada politics.  However, I have some familiarity with CU 226's counterpart in Atlantic City (Local 54). That leaves me concerned that rank-and-file union members who show up to vote at the casino caucuses will feel subtle, if not overt pressure to vote as their union bosses want them to vote, even if they don’t agree with the choice.  

Many of these workers are Asian or Latino immigrants (documented!) who receive tremendous benefits and support from their union.  In many cases, the union even helped them become citizens, thus giving them the right to vote. They have good reason to stay in good standing with union leaders.  In Atlantic City, at least, the union is powerful and its shop stewards, officers, etc. can really influence whether rank-and-file members succeed and rise in the casinos or fail.    

Interesting Reuters article on the NYTimes website has John McCain quoting Chairman Mao: here.

I'm not really sure what to make of it, other than be a little surprised.  The quote is innocent enough, though I'm a bit taken aback that he would quote Mao (perhaps learned when he was imprisoned in Hanoi?), especially given the recent histories that depict Mao as even more violent and extreme than was previously well-known.  

Also, imagine if a democrat went around quoting Mao or Stalin or some other historic dictator, especially if it was Hillary.  The press probably wouldn't let it go for a week or more.  Think that will happen to McCain?  Doubt it.  

Anyways, I'm actually all for McCain or his GOP counterparts quoting Chairman Mao or any other notorious figure for perspective.  Maybe the winner will do it in the general election as a campaign strategy -- I sure hope so!  

I'm not sure anybody's seen the latest TPM 'media' production on Speaker Pelosi's trip: TPM on Pelosi trip.  Josh Marshall is suggesting that the administration may have intentionally leaned on Olmert and the Israelis to embarass Pelosi by changing their tone on her message conveyance to the Syrians.  When the story broke last week, it seemed very fishy -- I highly doubt that Nancy Pelosi would have mis-read the Israelis and gotten it wrong -- the stakes are too high.  So, I suspected something like this may have taken place.

What's interesting also is Marshall's nifty use of new media: the TPM blog and YouTube.  Yes-- the report is highly speculative and based entirely on secondary accounts, but it is also effective in putting together a plausible narrative that the mainstream media has completely ignored.  It is a good refutation to blog critics.  Check it out.  

My grandmother was an immigrant.  She migrated to this great nation with her parents from Russia just after World War I ended.  She left something like 10 older brothers and sisters behind.  She came to these shores just before the nativist government of her time clamped down on the immigration of eastern and southern European Jews and Catholics who came over in droves between 1880 and 1917.  

At that time, the KKK ruled politics in many rural parts of the country, north and south, east and west. Its anti-Catholicism and anti-Semitism led to severe national immigration quotas that reflected its bigotry. So what happened to my grandmother's siblings that did not migrate?(more below the fold)

George W. Bush and/or his advisors applied recent history to his SOTU message last night.  By stating that "America is addicted to oil," Bush recalled Bill Clinton's famous "The era of big government is over" in his 1996 SOTU.  Clinton's statement was a brilliant election-year political maneuver as it co-opted a GOP position.  But Clinton also followed it up in '96 by working with the GOP Congress to pass a substantial welfare reform bill. But will Bush also follow through to back his rhetoric?

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Earlier today a right-wing member of my family let fly an offhand comment about Cindy Sheehan to the effect of that women needs to just shut up and go home.  Now, normally I'm a mild-mannered fellow when it comes to politics and I enjoy a reasonable debate, even with those with whom I disagree.  

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Interesting account here: questionable oreo incident about an incident that I don't recall hearing anything about at the time.  It supposedly involved Michael Steele & opponents throwing oreos at him at a debate at Morgan State U. in 2002.  I remember the debate, but didn't hear anything about this at the time & expect I would have given the constantly heated environment involving race & politics in Maryland.  So is this really a hoax perpetuated by MD GOP operatives or did it really happen, as Ehrlich wants us all to not question?  Anybody know?

 

The bankruptcy bill is just a bill -- not law yet.  I'm aware that Senate passage is imminent and the House is likely to follow suit.  However, methinks a powerful grassroots campaign may just affect the outcome and at a minimum put the GOP on notice that ordinary Americans are paying attention.  My e-mail letter to my Congressman below the fold:

Historian William Marina has a very interesting piece on the historical evolution of empires and our current historial moment. Its an insightful piece that gets to the larger forces that have driven civilization for millenia: Do you think the American empire is exceptional, therefore resistant to the historical tides that have characterized others in history? full article

While watching football and handing out loads of candy this evening, I had an idea that I thought was worth putting up on Daily Kos. What if the big man himself -- JFK -- spent about 2 minutes of one of his last stump speeches on pure GOTV?

Here's my suggestion: "I urge all Americans to act on the wonderful right to vote we have guaranteed to us as free citizens by our Consitution. Then, I will do my duty as president of this great American nation to make sure that no one ever again faces the angry wrath of those who seek to take away our freedoms." Editing welcome...

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I am an American. I am an American and I am not scared by Osama bin Laden. I am an American and I turn and rush into the oncoming storm. I am an American and I recall the sacrifices of the revolutionary generation that fought for the power of the people. I am an American and I remember the amazing women who fought hard and sacrificed plenty to win suffrage. I am an American and I remember the long, hard fight by African-Americans to be able to vote as citizens in a free democracy. I am an American and I will never allow a fanatical terrorist to impact my political choices.

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So much for the right-wing, jingoistic anti-French movement. If they were really against us over there, why would they help the Bush admin. in its desparate efforts to supply anough flu vaccine for Americans: French company supplies flu vaccine. If nothing else, this will help to discredit lingering anti-French rhetoric I still hear from some rightwards acquaintances. Thanks to katerina for steering me to Yahoo! news: a good source for information.

I just read this article in the Baltimore Sun: Kerry sees 'great potential of draft' if Bush wins. It reminded me that this guy is good -- knows how to play politics. He's sticking it to the B/C team -- playing offense, forcing them to repeat their denials. Here's Yahoo's version of the story: Kerry Warns Draft Possible if Bush Wins.

This is quick & easy & free after 9PM & on weekends for everybody with a standard cell phone plan: Kerry Phone Corps. Apologies to anyone who has previously posted this info. I got the idea reading a diary a few minutes ago about donating to the DNC: kudos to all those suggesting action, not just discussion right now!

I hope this is for real -- I just had Faux on for a few minutes & I think I saw on the ticker that Cheney acknowledged a significant mistake: that he actually did meet Edwards before tonight. Did anyone else see/hear this? If this is true, I think its big: obviously a prepared attack point that exposes Cheney's basic dishonesty.