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April 2008

Who is Ed Schultz and Why Do I Like Him?

Radio talk show host Ed Schultz called John McCain a warmonger during a Barack Obama campaign fundraiser. Although Schultz said he is not an Obama surrogate, McCain demanded an apology from the Obama camp which they got. Obama's apology was lukewarm but an apology none the less.

Schultz has repeated his characterization of McCain several times and refuses to apologize. I don't know about you but I'm sick and tired of the namby-pamby politricking going on during this presidential campaign. There's been far too much apologizing and repudiating. It's refreshing to hear someone stick by their words.

Well, my new hero, Ed Schultz refused to apologize and I am so feeling that. What's with the sensitivity this year? McCain is a warmonger. That's nothing to be angry about or to apologize for. It is what it is. McCain's combat roots are what got him in the position of the Republican presumptive nominee.

Schultz will not change his mind because he says 'warmonger' is a label. I respect Schultz for that. I don't agree with everything he says but I support him in this situation.


Polls show that Obama is closing in on Clinton in PA. Do polls really matter?

Almost every day I seem to read about poll results for this presidential campaign. Some poll results would make Hillary Clinton very nervous; while others seem to demean the Obama campaign. The closer we get to the April 22nd primary in PA, I'd like to know how you feel about polls. Do they really matter or do you ignore them? What say you?


The Illusion of Democracy Part 2: Is It All About the Benjamins?

Photo from hilldabeast.com

Well…well…well. Now we know why the Clintons were holding out on releasing their income tax returns. Uh huh. While Billary has been playing the "we're just like you folks" game, they were actually raking in the Benjamins hand over fist. Man, oh, man…$109M? $52M in speaking fees for Bill Clinton? What in the world did he say? What was the amount per word uttered? I mean really, inquiring minds want to know.

The Clinton campaign released a press statement that puts a great spin on this income tax issue but who's really buying this? Don't get it twisted, I'm not mad at the Clintons if they're getting paid but why, oh why, all the secrecy and delay in releasing the information? It doesn't take that long to black-out social security numbers and other confidential information so you know a lot of folks think their is some hanky-panky going on with the numbers.

And check out when the info was released. Why wait until a Friday late afternoon when the media is not in a position to scrutinize and report to the public. It's a tad foul but that's how the Clintons tend to roll. Anyhoo, we had an inkling that the Clintons are big ballin' when Hillary loaned her campaign $5M.

One of my favorite sites, The Huffington Post, has a couple of don't miss articles on the Clintons income tax records. The first one I read is The Embarrassment of Riches by Bob Franken and the second is What Did Bill Do To Get $15m From Ron Burkle?. The Burkle article has links to the Clintons tax returns so peruse them and let me know what you think.

Now we have some idea why the big money folks like Bob Johnson are so hell-bent on keeping Hillary Clinton in the race and ultimately in the White House. Who knows what kind of deals they have in the works! Wake up, America, it's all about the Benjamins and little to do with the voters the Clintons and their friends pander to. Perhaps we'll find out more as the investigative reporters carefully scrutinize the Clintons income tax information.

In my humble opinion it was particularly insulting for Hillary Clinton to make a joke about her husband being rich after leaving public service full-time. That's not funny when you're an American who's on the verge of foreclosure or your health insurance won't cover needed medical costs. It's insensitive. And comparing herself to Rocky Balboa? Give me a break. Are we expected to believe their wealth was a surprise to her? That was just wrong.

And another thing, a senator's salary, even if a party leader, is somewhere in the $183K range. So just what does Hillary Clinton or any other senator do to earn over a million dollars in salary? I'm just asking.

In the meantime, I think I'd better join Toastmasters and get my talk on.

Don't hate. We're rich!

 

Related Links:

Clintons' disclosed tax returns show more than $109m earned in the past eight years

Hillary Clinton No Rocky Balboa

The Illusion of Democracy or Are the Superdelegates Feeling Very Super?


Rev. King’s Dream Deferred

Visitors look up from the street at a wreath hanging on

the balcony of the former Lorraine Motel, now part of

the National Civil Rights Museum, where Martin Luther

King Jr was assassinated in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.

 

Today is the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. There has been media coverage of this somber date with CNN broadcasting a splendid special report with heretofore unseen footage and interviews of individuals connected with the date.

There's controversy over whether James Earl Ray actually killed King and an especially noteworthy offering of the truth on the view of King by the rest of America; especially our government.

King was been beatified subsequent to his death but his powerful words were very much despised by our governmental leaders. While King espoused peace, he also criticized our government's involvement in the Viet Nam War. He fought for the civil rights of oppressed people and began a campaign against poverty. King was a visionary.

Sadly, the United States has yet to overcome many of the challenges of King's era. There are blacks, Latinos and women in positions of power in government, business, education and the Arts. But for the masses of blacks and other minorities, the King dream is still deferred.

 


Employees at BJ’s Homestead Store Settle Discrimination Lawsuit

 

Thursday, April 3, 2008 - 11:52 AM EDT

BJ's settles discrimination suit for $100,000

South Florida Business Journal

 

BJ's Wholesale Club is to pay $100,000 to settle a discrimination lawsuit involving its Homestead store, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced Thursday.

The EEOC had filed suit in U.S. District Court in South Florida, charging that a hostile workplace was created when one of BJ's managers subjected a Puerto Rican employee and a black employee to offensive slurs based on race and national origin. The manager was a Cuban-American.

Natick, Mass.-based BJ's (NYSE: BJ) has about 177 warehouse clubs nationwide, including 13 in South Florida. [More…]


Chris Matthews on Bill Richardson and the Clintons




Bill Richardson’s Response to Sniping by Clinton Supporters, especially James Carville

 

Loyalty to My Country

By Bill Richardson

Tuesday, April 1, 2008; 10:29 AM

My recent endorsement of Barack Obama for president has been the subject of much discussion and consternation -- particularly among supporters of Hillary Clinton.

Led by political commentator James Carville, who makes a living by being confrontational and provocative, Clinton supporters have speculated about events surrounding this endorsement and engaged in personal attacks and insults.

While I certainly will not stoop to the low level of Mr. Carville, I feel compelled to defend myself against character assassination and baseless allegations.

Carville has made it very clear that this is a personal attack -- driven by his own sense of what constitutes loyalty. It is this kind of political venom that I anticipated from certain Clinton supporters and I campaigned against in my own run for president.

Continue reading "Bill Richardson’s Response to Sniping by Clinton Supporters, especially James Carville" »


Do the Math: Why Hillary Clinton Won’t Win

There are 10 remaining races in the Democratic presidential campaign:

Date

State

Delegates

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Pennsylvania

158

Saturday, May 03, 2008

Guam

4

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Indiana

72

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

North Carolina

115

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

West Virginia

28

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Kentucky

51

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Oregon

52

Sunday, June 01, 2008

Puerto Rico

55

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Montana

16

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

South Dakota

15

Sub-total

566

Superdelegates (Uncommitted)

339

Total

905

Here's the current Democratic delegate count:

Democrats »

TOTAL DELEGATES

Barack Obama 

Pledged:

1,414

Superdelegates

212

Total:

1,626

Hillary Clinton 

Pledged:

1,243

Superdelegates

243

Total:

1,486

Election Center »

Needed to Win: 2,024

As of 4:13 AM EST

Wed 04/02/2008

What this means is that neither candidate can achieve the targeted 2,024 delegates needed to win without the support of the superdelegates. You do the math.

The most amazing tool I've found is CNN's Democratic delegate calculator. It allows you to adjust the percentages of the remaining races to show how the earned delegate total may stack up for Clinton and Obama. Keep in mind a few things as you try out the calculator.

  1. The Florida-Michigan Factor – The target number to win, 2024, does not exclude the 366 delegates those two states have at stake. If those delegates were deducted from the goal, Barack Obama would be even closer to winning the nomination.
  2. Superdelegates – As of this post, there were 339 uncommitted superdelegates remaining. The superdelegates can switch their vote to either candidate. Many are likely waiting to see how the popular votes pan out.
  3. Clinton favor – If you start out playing with the delegate count by allocating 50% of the votes to either candidate, Clinton is favored where there is an odd number of delegates. That has no bearing on my prediction of the final outcome, just something I noticed.

When all is said and done, Hillary Clinton will need close to 56 or 57% percent of the votes to win the nomination. That's not likely to happen. Obama will do better in PA than the pundits predict. I think he'll win Guam, Indiana, North Carolina, South Dakota and Puerto Rico. At this point, the only thing the Barack Obama campaign needs to do is keep the contest close. You do the math.

Hillary Clinton will not concede the race. She is spinning the issue to make voters think their rrights are somehow being trampled. I won't go there, again I say, do the math. To illustrate the chances of winning, try the delegate calculator.

Here's my very conservative prediction of the remaining races. What's yours?

Cnn_delegate_calculator462x513

To bolster my position, do go to The Huffington Post and check out Top 10 Myths Keeping Hillary in the Race; it's another eye-opener.


What’s Up with Wal-Mart Dissing a Vet?

Can you believe that the can you believe the Department of Justice has sued Wal-Mart on behalf of former airman, Sean Thornton?

Allegedly, Wal-Mart violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 by failing to reinstate Thornton as a cashier at an Orange City store. The Act requires workers who leave their job to serve in the military be given their job back when they return.

Not a good look for Wal-Mart especially after the negative publicity from their attempt to take the insurance recovery from Debbie Shank, a former worker who is brain-damaged due to an automobile accident.