Opening Day, Closing Daze

Obama on The View

Just Plain Weird...

The Latest Barack-Star Video

Happy Easter

Four Thousand Dead in Iraq.

Is America paying enough attention? Ask John McCain.

In the Heart of Hillary Territory...

Spotted in the window of a hot-dog stand in New York City.

The Girl in the Ad

Yet Another Obama YouTube Song

(Couldn't, er, resist.)

Angry Black Preachers of the Past

"God didn't call America to engage in a senseless, unjust war. . . . And we are criminals in that war. We've committed more war crimes almost than any nation in the world, and I'm going to continue to say it. And we won't stop it because of our pride and our arrogance as a nation. But God has a way of even putting nations in their place...[God will say:] And if you don't stop your reckless course, I'll rise up and break the backbone of your power."

Guess who said it?

The Double Standard

If Reverend Wright had said this:

If there is a legitimate reason for the use of force [against the US government]... then at a certain point force is justifiable.

or this, on the floor of the U.S. Senate:

One of the reason I believe the spiritual door was opened for an attack against the United States of America [on 9-11] is that the policy of our government has been to ask the Israelis, and demand it with pressure, not to retaliate in a significant way against the terrorist strikes that have been launched against them.

or said this about Asians, in front of a busload of reporters:

I hated the gooks. I will hate them as long as I live.

or called for the killing of a democratically elected foreign leader

would he have
lunched with Presidents
or remained in the U.S. Senate
or (even after apologizing) still be running for President of the United States?

Frank Schaeffer thinks not.

Glenn Greenwald suggests a double standard.

Quotes of the Day

"[Y]ou can't hold the candidate responsible for everything that people around him may say or do," he said.

"It's interesting to me that there are some people on the left who are having to be very uncomfortable with what ... Wright said, when they all were all over a Jerry Falwell, or anyone on the right who said things that they found very awkward and uncomfortable, years ago. Many times those were statements lifted out of the context of a larger sermon. Sermons, after all, are rarely written word for word by pastors like Rev. Wright, who are delivering them extemporaneously, and caught up in the emotion of the moment. There are things that sometimes get said, that if you put them on paper and looked at them in print, you'd say 'Well, I didn't mean to say it quite like that.' ''

Later, he defended Wright's anger, too:

"As easy as it is for those of us who are white to look back and say 'That's a terrible statement!' ... I grew up in a very segregated South. And I think that you have to cut some slack -- and I'm gonna be probably the only conservative in America who's gonna say something like this, but I'm just tellin' you -- we've gotta cut some slack to people who grew up being called names..."

"We've gotta cut some slack to people who grew up being called names; being told you have to sit in the balcony when you go to the movie; you have to go to the back door to go into the restaurant; you can't sit out there with everyone else, there's a separate waiting room in the doctor's office; here's where you sit on the bus .. . And you know what? Sometimes people do have a chip on their shoulder, and resentment, and you have to just say, 'I probably would, too. I probably would, too.' And in fact, I may have had more of a chip on my shoulder had it been me."

Guess who said it?

Sullivan Has An Epiphany

"For me, this is an epiphany of sorts. Not that I have changed my mind about the things I wrote in "The Conservative Soul." Not that I have stopped believing in limited government, individual freedom, personal responsibility, pragmatic change. But I have come to believe that large swathes of today's conservative movement truly are hateful."

--Andrew Sullivan, with no obvious trace of sarcasm

Five Years

The numbers from the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars (so far)...

3,990 American Troops dead
29,395 American Troops wounded
2,100 American Troops have attempted suicide
82,000-89,000 Iraqi casualties
4,500,000 Iraqi refugees
Global terrorist incidents in January 2001: 1,188
Global terrorist incidents in January 2005: 5,188

A CBS News poll now shows only 29 % of Americans believe the results of the war were worth it, 64% say it was not worth it.

(via HuffPost)

"How're You Gonna Save Yourselves?"

A Plan to Get Out

Read the plan here.

Exchange of the Day

PBS Reporter: Well, you've pressed OPEC to increase oil production -
BUSH: I did.
PBS Reporter: And they didn't do it. Let's say that OPEC did pump more oil. How much do you think that that would bring down oil prices, by $20, $30?
BUSH:You know, I don't know. You're going to have to ask the experts that. I'm just a simple president. But I really don't know what it would do. I do know that the main problem is supply and demand and excess supply obviously would help.

(via Pam, video at Think Progress)

Give It To Her, NOW!

(Cheesey, mean fun, I know, but I laughed. Out loud.)

Two Raps (Don't Make It Right)

Where Can I Send a Campaign Contribution?

Dr. Jack Kevorkian is planning to run for Congress from Michigan. He plans to run on a platform of prison reform (no surprise there) and "bringing integrity" to Congress.

(via Joe.My.God.)

Bush Derrangement Syndrome Update

On Afghanistan:

"I must say, I'm a little envious," Bush said. "If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed."

"It must be exciting for you ... in some ways romantic, in some ways, you know, confronting danger. You're really making history, and thanks," Bush said.

Fine, then send your daughters over there.

It's a Blackness Thing

Seven New Sins

The latest from the Vatican:

1. Genetic modification (Do Monsanto--and most of the farmers of the world--know?)

2. Carrying out experiments on humans (Does the N.I.H. know?)

3. Polluting the environment (A very inconvenient Truth.)

4. Causing social injustice (Is hating the queers exempt?)

5. Causing poverty (Does the National Debt count?)

6. Becoming obscenely wealthy (The Catholic Church says this?)

7. Taking drugs (Including prescriptions?)

McCain's "Spiritual Adviser"

Rod Parsley: Spiritual Adviser to Presidential Candidates by day, Islam Destroyer the rest of the time?

(via MotherJones)

The Man Behind McCain

Ladies & Gentlemen, Pastor John Hagee...

On Hurricane Katrina: "All hurricanes are acts of God, because God controls the heavens. I believe that New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God, and they were recipients of the judgment of God for that ... I believe that Hurricane Katrina was, in fact, the judgment of God against the city of New Orleans."

On the Catholic Church: "Most readers will be shocked by the clear record of history linking Adolf Hitler and the Roman Catholic Church in a conspiracy to exterminate the Jews."

On Muslims: Asked whether he believes that Muslims have a mandate to kill Christians and Jews, Hagee replied, "Well, the Quran teaches that. Yes, it teaches that very clearly."

On women: "Do you know the difference between a woman with PMS and a snarling Doberman pinscher? The answer is lipstick. Do you know the difference between a terrorist and a woman with PMS? You can negotiate with a terrorist."

On the Antichrist: "He's going to make a seven-year treaty with Israel and set up his image to be worshiped in Israel. And that is where I'm convinced that a Jewish person who understands who he is shoots him, because the Bible says he's wounded in the head and recovers wondrously, emulating the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. At this point in time when he comes back to life he has the personality of a Hitler. He now pursues the Jewish people. The Jewish people then go to Petra, which is a place in Jordan that is a natural fortress. And that God is going to provide for them there protection from him. And as he gets ready to pursue him, the Bible says that he, the Antichrist, hears tidings from the east that disturb him. The tidings from the east is that... the Chinese army is marching up the Euphrates River, 200 million of them, and they're moving toward the battle of Armageddon, because they want the oil that will make them a superpower."

On the Israeli-Palestinian peace process: "When the Annapolis Conference was being planned and the topic of dividing Jerusalem came up, one man asked me, 'Where do you stand on this based on the Bible?' I responded that 'the plan of the Antichrist is to divide Jerusalem.' If America puts pressure on Israel to divide Jerusalem we are following the blueprint of the Prince of Darkness. Amos 3:2 states that any nation that divides the Land of Israel will come under the severe judgment of God."

(via Alterman)

Comments You Can Xerox

April 15, 1988, Washinton Post:

And former representative Geraldine A. Ferraro (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday that because of his "radical" views, "if Jesse Jackson were not black, he wouldn't be in the race."

This week, The Daily Breeze:

"If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color), he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept." --Geraldine Ferraro

So, therefore, we can expect, MicroGoogleYahooSoft, 2028:

"If (candidate-of-color X) was a white man, he would not be in this race...." --Geraldine Ferraro

Leader in the Lead

Obama: 13,335,159

Clinton: 12,629,468

(margin: 705,691 votes)

Like A Rolling Stone

1040 Not-So-EZ

Senator Clinton thought tax-return transparency was important for her Senatorial race opponent in 2000.

A good friend and respected blogger (and Hillary supporter) suggested to me that the current demand for Hillary to release her returns was "pure Chicago politics." Perhaps.

But if it was important enough in 2000 for her to make an issue out of it in the Senate race?

I'm just sayin...

Quote of the Day

"But I mean, let's face it: Barack Obama wasn't even on the ballot in Michigan, so how can you say that that was an election?"

--Speaker of the House, and Chair of the Democratic National Convention, Nancy Pelosi

Counterspin Can Be Fun!

Quote of the Day

"I've had my time in the Oval Office. It's been a fabulous experience...and by the way, I'm not through."

--George W. Bush, at his press conference endorsing John McCain

(thanks, Towleroad)

Two Versions of Victory

PLEASE, GOD, WHEN WILL IT FINALLY BE OVER!?

(via Wonkette)

Vacation Daze

President Bush has spent 452 days on vacation while in office; that amounts to roughly 17.4 percent of his presidency; or, an average of 63 days per year. (So far...)

(via Alterman)

Call & Response, or Back Atcha, Jack

The "Telephone" Ad War continues...