Barackface

Friday, November 10, 2006

New Orleans: 2008 Democratic Convention

New York City will be nice to have since it is hometown, the adopted hometown, the basetown. And Denver is not a bad choice. Colorado is the closest thing to Nepal America has. Denver is Kathmandu-like. But I would root for New Orleans. Like Iraq symbolizes Republican failures in the world, Katrina symbolizes the failures on the home front. You want to go for the jugular.

In a democratic framework, you strike your opponent's greatest strength. The South is the GOP's greatest strength. So we hit New Orleans.

Obama Or Hillary

Say both can win the general election for the Democrats, but of course only one can. Who should get the ticket? Who deserves it more?

2016 will be too late for Hillary. She is the older between the two. But Obama will be just fine in 2016, a sitting Vice President who goes on to be President.

But then running for president is the best way Obama can make sure he ends up on the ticket even if he loses.

A spirited, clean, ideas based primary contest between the two will be nice for the party, the contry, and for both of them. They are the only two serious contenders. So a competition will prepare them both better for the general campaing. Minus Obama, it will be too eary for Hillary. Minus Hillary, it will be too easy for Obama.

Never Underestimate Billie Clinton

I just read this news item on him - Clinton would pursue peace differently now Canada.com - and suddenly the guy has won me over all over again.

Obama-Clinton, Clinton-Obama

That is what it will be. Which one? I don't know. That is what primaries are for. Me? I am throwing my lot with Obama.

Neither need worry about money or organization. Both will have plenty of both. So expect a fierce competition of ideas. I can't wait.

The two should stay above the fray and launch no personal attacks against each other whatsoever. Both are on great personal terms as is.

These two have been the only two Senators I have linked to from my blog. I got in early. Let that be on the record.

In The News

Blair warns of 'long struggle' with terror Independent
Clinton would pursue peace differently now Canada.com In most developing countries ''because of the strain on government budgets and the weak tax base, there is no free public education ..... ''Parents have to pay to send children to public schools.'' ..... Pakistan ...... ''If we had given them just one less plane and taken that money and put it into education. God only knows how many fewer terrorists and how many more engineers and scientists we might have educated.'' ........ In a poor country, he noted, every year of schooling adds on average of 10 per cent to a child's future earning capacity. Around the world, 130 million children don't go to school. ...... countries such as Brazil have proven that attendance can also be boosted by paying poor parents a stipend if their kids go to class. ...... 10 million children die of preventable causes annually and that half the people in the world live on less than $2 a day. ...... ''The good news is we know what to do about these challenges,'' he said. ''We can have a significant impact on child poverty in a short time'' if governments, business and non-governmental groups team up. ..... ''If there's one thing I've learned in my increasingly long life is that intelligence, ability and willingness to work are evenly distributed around the world,'' Clinton said, ''but opportunity, investment and systems that function, that establish that critical link between effort and result, are not........ All the things we can do are much cheaper than the aftermath of calamity and also, parenthetically, much cheaper than going to war. ............ he noted the U.S. has spent $400 billion US on the Iraq war and $100 billion in Afghanistan, yet won't honour a commitment to provide $30 billion a year in foreign aid.
What Amitabh Bachchan thinks of Abhishek's marriage Apun Ka Choice
Microsoft to pay Novell $240 million BusinessWeek
Democrats win control of both houses Business Day
Communist rebels rally in Nepal San Jose Mercury News
Tough task ahead for UN post Nepal peace deal Hindustan Times
Obama: Pressure on Dems as he eyes 2008 Chicago Sun-Times
Obama On Presidential Bid, Elections, Ed Bradley CBS2 Chicago
Illinois senators call Rumsfeld resignation belated WJBC News
Campaign for President in 2008 in Full Gear WREX-TV
Obama’s New Book Is a Surprise Best Seller New York Times
Obama reaches top of the book heap Chicago Tribune
NRI tech entrepreneur’s gift to Bihar Times of India
NDA sweep in Bihar Calcutta Telegraph
Poverty fight cheaper than war: Clinton London Free Press
Clinton taps Mandela's power Toronto Star
Clinton’s 2006 Victory Lap Has Futuristic Feel, Like 2008 New York Times
Bush agenda faces uphill climb in lame-duck Congress USA Today
Strategy void deepens Mid-East crisis BBC News Israel has been in a political tailspin since the conflict in Lebanon in the summer, full of recriminations about the war's lessons and consequences.
Thousands attend controversial gay rally in Jerusalem Monsters and Critics.com
Israel Holds Gay Rally Under Heavy Guard New York Times
Jerusalem holds gay pride rally BBC News
Doctors turn to Google for tricky cases Guardian Unlimited Two Australian doctors have found that entering the symptoms of a tricky case into the internet search engine often results in accurately diagnosing the illness.
What's That Disease? Ask Google CBS News
Google could help doctors diagnose illnesses Silicon.com
Yahoo VP: Blogging Service May Get Makeover PC World
Dean to deliver keynote speech Globe and Mail
Soccer fan dies after fall in Mexican stadium People's Daily Online
Texas sets sights on college soccer's final weekend ESPN
Al-Qaida Claims To Have 12,000 Fighters In Iraq E Canada Now
US Death Toll in Iraq at 23 for Nov. Forbes
Iraq Qaeda chief says Rumsfeld flees battlefield Malaysia Star
Al-Qaeda aims to create an Islamic Iraq Middle East Online
Blair Says Terrorist Threat to Last ‘a Generation’ New York Times
Britain facing 30 terrorism plots, says spy chief Reuters AlertNet
Martin On Rumsfeld: "Irresistably Charming And Stunningly Rude" CBS News
At the Pentagon, Concern About Blame for the Situation in Iraq New York Times
Murtha wants Defense nominee to change Iraq policy Pittsburgh Post Gazette
Vista winds its way to market CNET News.com
Googling for a diagnosis The Standard
Low carb, low fat diets pose similar heart disease risks Reuters.uk
Vegetable-rich low-carb cuts heart disease risk, says study NutraIngredients.com
Hoffman's tales sound Stranger than Fiction Toronto Star
Ed Bradley, of '60 Minutes;' a pioneer in TV journalism Boston Globe
Britney, Kevin mingle as singles USA Today
Massachusetts lawmakers debate proposed ban on gay marriages Boston Herald

Dean says choosing host city a priority Denver Post, CO Dean and party leaders will choose between Denver and New York to host the party's convention. Dean said he is shooting for an announcement in early December. He said Democratic Party aides "are in negotiations with both cities." ..... he favors holding the convention in Denver because it would signal to Western states that Democrats recognize the region is "a bastion and a beacon of the Democratic Party."
Next for Dems: DNC selection Denver Post
Next on Dems' radar: Convention city pick Denver Post
Next on Dems' radar: Convention city pick Denver Post
Howard Dean to Jon Stewart: We Won't Impeach bush Editor & Publisher
Dean calls for election changes, reform KVOA.com, AZ Dean says Democratic leaders should now focus on redistricting areas that were altered by Republicans. Dean says the party should also push for reforms when it comes to improving voting machines. .... Dean says Democrats made big gains in the Hispanic vote because of the way Republicans presented immigration reform.

Bush lowers partisan tone after election losses Reuters
Bush concedes need for "fresh perspective" on Iraq
Youth turnout in election biggest in 20 years 24 percent of Americans under the age of 30 ..... Rock the Vote, a youth-and-civics group, said young voters favored Democrats by a 22-point margin, nearly three times the margin Democrats earned among other age groups and dealing a potentially decisive blow to Republicans in tight races. ...... of 28 seats Democrats picked up from Republicans in the 435-member House of Representatives, 22 were won by less than 2 percent of the vote and 18 were won by just 5,000 votes or less. ........ Forty-six percent favored a total troop withdrawal from Iraq within a year, while a third said troops should be withdrawn after the Iraqis take full control. ..... The "Generation Y" of Americans born from 1977 to 1994 -- shaped by the September 11 attacks, the Iraq war and Hurricane Katrina -- in nine years will make up a third of the electorate.
Democrats take U.S. Senate: media Webb led Allen by about 7,000 votes out of 2.3 million cast. The final vote count could take a week, with a winner certified on November 27. Any recount could stretch into December. ...... Allen's camp has refused to concede defeat, with adviser Ed Gillespie telling reporters in Richmond, Virginia, earlier on Wednesday, "We'll see where the official tally stands on November 27 and we'll come back and visit with you then."
Republican senator won't concede in Montana
Rumsfeld a forceful, divisive Pentagon chief
Democrat win may shift focus to U.S. middle class
Nicaragua's Ortega slams U.S. over Iraq
Peace mom Sheehan arrested in Washington
Iowa's Vilsack to run for president Yahoo News
Dems complete election sweep of Congress the first female speaker in history. .... The Senate had teetered at 50 Democrats, 49 Republicans for most of Wednesday, with Virginia hanging in the balance. ..... Even Reid, the Senate's party leader, mused aloud at one point that it might take a miracle to capture Senate control. .... end a decade of one-party rule in Washington. ..... Republicans lost ground with swing voters such as Catholics, independents, Hispanics and suburbanites ...... GOP held its conservative base, but Democrats made inroads with moderates. .... Without losing any seats of their own, Democrats captured 28 GOP-held seats. The party won in every region of the country ....... Democrats took 20 of 36 governors' races to give them a majority of top state jobs — 28 — for the first time in a dozen years. Arkansas, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and Ohio went into the Democratic column.
Hand-wringing, soul-searching as Republicans mull their future last month's explosive revelations that Mark Foley, a senior Republican lawmaker, had over several years maintained a sexually explicit email correspondence with underage male congressional aides. ....... he election was not a broad rejection of the party, but of "big government Republicanism." ..... not a rejection of conservative principles per se, but a rejection of corrupt, complacent and incompetent government ....... a top-to-bottom reevaluation of Republican priorities is called for. .... we didn't just lose our majority, I believe we lost our way ....... a dramatic turn in the direction of the agenda of the Republican Revolution ...... not so much a defeat as "a two-year hiatus" from power for the ruling party.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Child Adoptions: My Number One Reason To Be For Gay Marriage

I am not going to tell the gays I feel their pain. The conclusions I reach are as a matter of political discourse. And I feel like just like the women and the ethnic minorities, the gays - the sexual minorities - are part of the social justice coalition. So there is obvious camaraderie.

The anti abortion crowd should be the strongest for gay marriage, since there will be more adoptions and fewer abortions possible. I am not for abortion. It is just that I don't think it should be made illegal. Keep it legal but rare. Keep it legal and move the debate onto the larger social challenge of keeping the numbers small. Find common ground.

I have met homophobic black people. I have told them their attitudes help me understand the concrete white sentiments that kept segregation alive back in the days. Half a century from now, we are also going to look dumb and primitive on gay rights. Oh, those straight folks in 2006, those weirdos had weird thoughts for sure. Oh, their attitudes. That is how the straight people in 2050 are going to talk about us.

It is not true there is too much love in this world. More marriages will be just fine.

Only a few days before the election I showed up at a DL21C event. This was not your usual snazzy DL21C event. This was obscure, on the Upper West Side, in a small room, and David claimed he was a panelist/speaker at a DL21C event after having been president of the organization for 17 years. That is another thing I don't understand about the progressive organizations in Manhattan. They run like monarchies. I don't think they hold elections. Do they even have constitutions? There was this Empire State Pride Agenda guy. Impressive smarts. And, also, at the event I learned David is a Harvard guy. All these Harvard guys. Justin and the DL David are also Harvard guys. So the Pride Agenda guy gets introduced. And when it is David Pollak's turn, he kicks back in mock horror: "Must my resume be compared to his!" He has that endearing quality. Also he comes across as someone who never combs his hair. "I have spitmarks in my face from this discussion I had with Rahm Immanuel recently as to why we don't have a clear agenda for after we take over."

And also Sean Maloney. He has great kid stories. He is gay. A high profile gay. (Sean Maloney)

Next Stop: White House

When I heard people in Montana want a recount, I am thinking, they just want the media limelight. If Florida and Ohio can have it, why not us?

I think the Senate has also gone Democratic, and Washington is ready for a new direction. The most immediate fallout will be on the Iraq front. It is not just Al Qaeda stuff out there. There is also a lot of nationalist resenment of a foreign invasion.

The troops have to come back fast in a way that the country holds on.

But the most important thing about this victory is that 2006 is a springboard for 2008. The cons got the Supreme Court. The progressives need to take over and keep the other two branches for a generation.

I think Obama is going to declare in January that he is running for president. Hillary can not do it that early. She will have to wait until at least after summer, likely October, Bill Clinton's preferred month. That gives Obama an edge.

They are both on great personal terms and I admire them both greatly, so there will be no personal attacks. But there will be necessary debate on policy specifics. That will be good for the party and the country.

I don't know which of them is going to be president, but I do know both are going to be on the ticket.

There is this Clinton Machine in place. But Obama need not fear that. His grassroots effort will be much bigger than Dean's was.

On November 7: In Harlem: For Obama
Democratic Vision For The 21st Century

Victory Party

So I went to the victory party.

Events To November 7 Victory

I have an hour of video from the event. People in the room were obviously the most active members of the top progressive organizations in town, especially the young crowd. David Pollak who calls himself the "oldest kid" introduced the speaker later in the evening. He mentioned a few groups, but not Drinking Liberally, and I wonder why the Manhattan Young Democrats were not on the roster. They perhaps wanted to celebrate after the slow counts and recounts are in. They are doing it tonight, on their own. I might go.

Drinking Liberally has a much larger national presence than any group that was present. So I thought it was odd the group did not get mentioned. I think the basic idea behind it is so simple and so great, it is really going to take off over the years.

But I got them all on video. And some DFNYC folks. Many random folks. There is quite some footage of David and Justin talking to each other.

DFNYC was the loudest bunch. Charles of DFNYC was the only person I interviewed for my videoblog.

"How are you feeling?"

"I am happy."

"Why are you happy?"

"Because we won."

End of interview.

Watching TV can get tiring, especially when the first few hours the results are not even in. I kept thinking it would have been better to track the results online. But then the crowd warmed up, and it was all so great.

I captured a lot of the excitement on video. I was dressed in all black, my hair very neatly combed. I had a black sweater instead of a shirt beneath my jacket. Looks like I dislike more than the tie, I also dislike the collar. I was sitting on a window sill, a chair above a chair. That gave me a great view of the entire bar. I also got some people on the pavement on video, people watching TV from outside. On the outside, peering in, like the minorities.

It was a mostly white crowd. White, young, progressive, relatively rich. I am not there yet, the rich part. But I will be there. $100,000 is not rich. It is upper middle income. The trajectory, by definition, has to be unconventional. Out of the box thinking. I also test people's progressive badge. Are you really?

There is this scene in a James Bond movie. The guy zooms a camera onto the "v" neck of the blouse of a secretary working. There is about three seconds of that in my video. I want it on record that the idea was not original.

On the pesonal side. There was a nonevent that should have been an event. I got tonguetied. It happened in a flash. The number one reason I went to this party. What tells me I am cut for entrepreneurship, not politics.

Carly Fiorina: The Academy Awards Of Business: Photos
Carly Fiorina: "The Academy Awards Of Business"

Politics, Business

Maybe I am not cut for politics. I don't have the patience. I watch politics like some people watch sports. And staying political keeps me sharp in the group dynamics department which is one third of business, the other two being vision and engineering.

I am not American, I am a netizen. Politics is in America.

In The News

Ex-CIA chief Gates tapped to lead Pentagon MarketWatch
US Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld to resign Montreal Gazette
Defense Secretary Rumsfeld resigns Chicago Tribune The Senate teetered on the verge of falling into Democratic hands as recounts in close races in Virginia and Montana were contemplated. ...... The speed of Rumsfeld's resignation caught official Washington by surprise. A combative bureaucrat with a razor-sharp wit ....... Bush only last week offered assurances that Rumsfeld would stay ...... Rumsfeld's combative nature made him a soft target for those who oppose the war in Iraq
Allen campaign awaits canvass; Webb assembling transition team USA Today
Webb builds Senate transition team; Allen scrutinizes canvass Daily Press
All Eyes on Us Richmond.com
Clinton win opens door for 2008 White House Daily News & Analysis
Deconstructing the Democratic Victory Newsweek ....... it will be a far bigger deal if the Democrats ultimately win the Senate ....... Democrats won big, but in a way, it’s a wonder they didn’t do better. ...... In the House, Rep. Rahm Emanuel, the Illinois Democratic in charge of the effort to take back the House, actively recruited moderate to right-leaning candidates who could put up a fight in Republican districts. Among Democrats, left-leaning candidates are out of fashion in many parts of the country. In Connecticut, Joe Lieberman—forced to run as an independent—crushed anti-war liberal Ned Lamont ........ Casey is pro-life ..... Bans on same sex unions of one kind or another in South Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, Idaho, Colorado and Wisconsin. ....... During the campaign, now-incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi talked up the Dems’ agenda, a thin document she titled Six For ’06. ....... make healthcare better, make education better, make the war in Iraq better ...... A minimum wage hike. ...... student loans and prescription drug reform ...... The real power the Dems now have—and the one many of them covet most—is the power to investigate.......... Old timers like John Conyers, Henry Waxman, John Dingell, and Charlie Rangel know what it’s like to wield a gavel. ....... Pelosi has tried to keep a firm hand on investigation mania ....... Waxman, an always-outraged Californian in line to head the Government Reform Committee, plans to look at Halliburton and contract abuses in Iraq. ........ ultimate goal is to position the party for the 2008 presidential campaign.
Parsing And Re-Parsing Novell-Microsoft CRN
Arab leaders shocked by deadly Israeli shelling, call for action Monsters and Critics.com
Spears' divorce: What the blogs say BBC News
Nepalese rebels renounce violence BBC News
Chelsea Clinton's name missing from voters list Toronto Star
Clinton and Democrats Sweep Races in New York New York Times
Clinton, Spitzer Win Easily in New York Washington Post
Spitzer, Clinton, Cuomo, Hevesi Win Big NY1
Governors' mansions go blue Christian Science Monitor
Voters Reject Abortion, Gay Marriage Ban Forbes
Ortega wins Nicaraguan presidency Guardian Unlimited
China's Margaret Chan named next WHO head EiTB
Google: Web 2.0 is a Similarity Engine, and Similarities Sell Ads eWeek
Special Report: Live From China Information Week Weblog
Podcast From China: Getting There, How America Can Compete, And ... Information Week Weblog
Arunachal government favours border trade with China Hindustan Times
Yahoo Tests Mobile Ads PC World
Chris Matthews Presses Howard Dean for Iraq Withdrawal NewsBusters
ElectionWatch: Howard Dean Gives West Coast Votes a Reason to Vote ... Huffington Post
US Democratic leaders aim for "right way to exit from Iraq" ... Kuwait News Agency
Elizabeth Dole Right: Democrats Content Losing Iraq War FOX News
Search Engines Boosted Political Sites In Run To Election InformationWeek
Search Engines, Email and Blogs Sending Most Traffic To Political ... Tekrati Industry Analyst Reporter
The future of the web: Search engines with real savvy PC World Canada "We want to do a better job of understanding the user's intent and the content provider's intentions," says Peter Norvig, director of research for Google. "We mostly rely on matching keywords, but we'd like to get closer to matching the intent." ........ "A search engine would be very good at telling me who won the 17th World Series, but bad at telling who's the best nanny in the neighbourhood ....... So search engines are adding social networking features for sharing information within small groups. ...... "(We have) one look for websites, one for news, one for images," Norvig says of Google's site. "We want to find a way to combine all of that information."
It's a poor surfer who blames his Internet Waterloo Chronicle
Youth soccer coach accused of sexually assaulting teenage boy Boston Globe Every coach, assistant and manager in the World Cup league undergoes a record check through the state's Kidsafe program, president Rich Modelski said. "Ralph did do that when he joined the club as a coach. His record is squeaky clean. I don't think he even had a parking ticket." Modelski said.
Brazil crushes US 10-6 in beach soccer World Cup People's Daily Online
Samsung signals new WiMax device CNET News.com
Deutsche Telekom Won't Deploy WiMAX in Germany BetaNews
Towerstream expands pre-WiMAX service into Boston RCRNews.com
South Africa Buries Former Apartheid-Era President Voice of America
Apple Introduces New Intel-Based MacBooks TechNewsWorld
Millions of children damaged by toxic chemicals Yorkshire Post Today
Cell Transplants Restore Vision in Mice Lex 18
Blindness cure breakthrough Guardian Unlimited
Faith Hill says camera caught her joking, not angry Washington Post
Britney Spears upbeat after filing for divorce CTV.ca

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6 November