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BLOG'a'Boulder
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Dispatches from Boulder the Damned
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Friday, April 25, 2008
USA Today leads with a new report from the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction which contends Iraqi security forces are nowhere near ready and it could be years before they have enough resources to secure the country. An audit found that the figures kept by the Iraqi government substantially overestimate the number of military and police officers and there's no way of knowing how many of those listed in the payroll are actually on the job. For its part, the Pentagon insists the numbers are accurate.
Iraq's main Sunni political bloc announced that it will return to the government after a boycott in place since August. Although the finishing touches on the deal are still being worked out, the move would be a clear victory for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as he continues to wage war against Shiite militias. "The reconciliation has proved a success," Maliki said. But the LAT points out that followers of cleric Muqtada Sadr said they have no plans to return to the government.
The new Pakistani government is supposedly close to reaching a peace deal with leaders of the "the most militant tribes" in the volatile border region. Although nothing is official yet, a top militant leader, Baitullah Mehsud, has ordered members of the Taliban Movement of Pakistan to stop all attacks and militant activities and warned that anyone who ignores his order will be punished. The 15-point accord calls for an end to the fighting and for the release of prisoners from both sides. Under the terms being discussed, the Pakistani military would also withdraw from a section of South Waziristan as long as the militants allow the local paramilitary force known as the Frontier Corps freedom to move around in the area. Followers of Mehsud, who is thought to have ordered the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, say the Pakistani military has already begun withdrawing from tribal regions, but officials deny those allegations and insist negotiations are ongoing.
Not surprisingly, U.S. officials aren't thrilled about a possible accord with Meshsud, who is thought to be responsible for "many, if not most of the suicide attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan over the last two years," says the NYT. Previous attempts at reaching this type of cease-fire agreement haven't been successful, and the Post points out that some believe they actually allowed the militants to get stronger. Significantly, the draft accord makes no mention of halting attacks in Afghanistan.
The Wall Street Journal says the U.S. military claims to have found evidence that Iran is continuing to send weapons into Iraq, despite Tehran's pledge to take action to stop these shipments. Officials say the Iranian arms have date stamps indicating they were manufactured in the past two months. Officials apparently plan on making their findings public within the next few days, possibly Monday. The WSJ says that the allegations "mark a further hardening of U.S. rhetoric on Iran" at a time when military officials believe Tehran is increasing its support for Shiite militia groups in Iraq. Top Pentagon leaders are declaring that the Iranian government, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is aware of the shipments. Even though the criticism of Iran has been increasing lately, officials had recently acknowledged they weren't sure whether Iranian weapons found in Iraq were leftovers. But this new discovery apparently gives officials the confidence to claim that Iran continues to ship weapons, including explosively formed penetrators, to Shiite militants.
The Federal Aviation Administration acknowledged managers in Dallas covered up mistakes by air traffic controllers by blaming them on pilots. A new report, which the FAA declined to release, says the agency never appropriately cracked down on this problem even though similar allegations were made years ago. "The report is disturbing," the FAA acting administrator said. USAT highlights that the problems amounted to the second time in as many months that "federal whistle-blowers raised safety concerns at the FAA," a legacy of not funding oversight by government. Although Agency officials had promised in 2005 to crack down on reporting errors in Dallas, the problems persisted for several years. None of the errors has resulted in a crash yet, but misreporting is serious because it can prevent the FAA from tracking patterns and improving overall safety at airports.
Experts in aviation say runway collisions are the aspect of airline safety that worry them the most. Even though nervous fliers probably think they're safe when they're on the ground, the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board says that exactly the opposite is true. "To me, this is the most dangerous aspect of flying," he said. Although existing technology could help avoid most of the risk, the FAA has been slow in requiring that it be implemented. Here's a scary thought: "If you've got a G.P.S. in your car, you have infinitely more detailed information about where you are than in the cockpit of an airplane on the ground," a former president of the Air Line Pilots Association said.
The Senate unanimously voted for legislation that would prohibit employers and health insurers from discriminating based on a person's genes. As more people begin to undergo genetic testing, companies would be prohibited from using this information to evaluate a customer or employee. The House is expected to approve the bill. "It's the first civil rights bill of the new century of life sciences," Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., said. Nice thought, and all, but the records will be kept.
Barack Obama is the "new star" of several Republican ads. Besides giving a preview of what Republicans might focus on in the general election if he's the nominee, the ads are particularly significant because they're coming out at a time when Democratic leaders are trying to figure out whether Obama "could be vulnerable to being cast as too far out of the mainstream." Meanwhile, in the WP's op-ed page, Geoff Garin, a strategist for Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign, says the former first lady has been held to a different standard than Obama. Although Clinton has often been accused of being too negative, it's Obama's campaign that "has made an unprecedented assault on her character—not her positions, but her character—saying one thing about raising the tone of political discourse but acting quite differently in its treatment of Clinton."
The top U.S. envoy to Africa says Zimbabwe's opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, was the "clear victor" of the country's election and President Robert Mugabe should step down. "This is a government rejecting the will of the people," the assistant secretary of state for African affairs said. "If they had voted for Mugabe, the results would already have been announced. Everyone knows what time it is."
Actor Wesley Snipes was sentenced to three years in prison for failing to file tax returns for three years. The judge ignored dozens of letters, including from the likes of Woody Harrelson and Denzel Washington, and handed the maximum penalty to the star of the Blade trilogy. In what the NYT calls the "most prominent tax prosecution since the billionaire hotelier Leona Helmsley was convicted of tax fraud in 1989," Snipes has to pay up to $17 million in back taxes, not including penalties and interest.
In history, this day in 1792, French highwayman Nicolas Jacques Pelletier was beheaded by the guillotine, making him its first victim.
In 1846, the Mexican-American War ignited, a result of disputes over claims to Texas boundaries by Southern slavers. The outcome of the war fixed Texas' southern boundary at the Rio Grande River.
This day in 1859, work began on the Suez Canal in Egypt.
In 1860, the first Japanese diplomats to visit a foreign power reached Washington, DC. They remained in the U.S. capital for several weeks while discussing expansion of trade with the United States. Seven years to the day later, Tokyo was opened for foreign trade.
In 1898, the U.S. declared war on Spain. Spain had declared war on the U.S. the day before.
This day in 1915, during World War I, Australian and New Zealand troops landed at Gallipoli in Turkey. This was Churchill's underbelly plan to get the Central Powers from below and protect the Suez Canal. The attack was unsuccessful.
Hale! In 1928, a seeing eye dog was used for the first time.
In 1952, after a three-day fight against Chinese Communist Forces, the Gloucestershire Regiment was annihilated on "Gloucester Hill," in Korea. Yes, the Brits fought there as well.
It was this day in 1953, that Dr. James D. Watson and Dr. Francis H.C. Crick suggested the double helix structure of DNA.
In 1954, the prototype manufacture of the first solar battery was announced by the Bell Laboratories in New York City.
This day in 1959, the St. Lawrence Seaway opened to shipping, connecting the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean.
In 1961, a huge invention: Robert Noyce was granted a patent for the integrated circuit.
In 1967, Republican Colorado Governor John Love signed the first law legalizing abortion in the U.S. The law was limited to therapeutic abortions when agreed to, unanimously, by a panel of three physicians. Those were the days when the GOP was real.
In 1983, Soviet leader Yuri V. Andropov invited Samantha Smith to visit his country after receiving a letter in which the U.S. schoolgirl expressed fears about nuclear war.
Too funny. In 1990, Sandinista rule ended in Nicaragua when they were voted out. The Boulder Sandelistas were totally flummoxed, and have never really recovered. Rather, they now are into 'environmental' concerns. More important, the U.S. Hubble Space Telescope was placed into Earth's orbit. It was released by the space shuttle Discovery.
It happens. In 2003, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the anti-apartheid leader and ex-wife of former President Nelson Mandela, was sentenced to four years in prison for her conviction on fraud and theft charges. She was convicted of 43 counts of fraud and 25 of theft of money from a women's political league.
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Thursday, April 24, 2008
 Lawmakers will see a video today of North Koreans inside the suspected Syrian nuclear reactor site that was destroyed by Israel last September. This video is apparently what convinced Israel and the White House that Syria was receiving help from North Korea to build a nuclear reactor, particularly because of its striking design similarities to the reactor at Yongbyon. If true, compelling, and I'd assume this wasn't racial profiling but ID of actual individuals known to be North Koreans.
It was five years ago today we discovered North Korea claimed to have nuclear weapons.
Israel apparently decided to show the Bush administration the video from inside the Syrian facility after U.S. officials openly expressed skepticism that North Korea was helping to build a nuclear reactor. Syria vigorously denies the claim. "If they show a video, remember that the U.S. went to the U.N. Security Council and displayed evidence and images about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq," the Syrian ambassador said. Others are also skeptical, particularly because officials will tell lawmakers that "there was no uranium for the reactor and no indication of fuel capability," which has led experts to wonder whether this was really part of a Syrian nuclear weapons program. Also, there is no evidence that Syria has tried to rebuild after the bombing, so the inevitable question is: Why now?
The NYT notes the whole thing is strange considering that the White House has so far refused to talk about the bombing. "It is not clear what has changed, apart from the politics of the moment," says the NYT. Some think it might force the North Koreans to confess. But there are "widespread suspicions, especially in the State Department," that the administration's hawks—led by Vice President Cheney—pushed for the release of the information in order to derail an impending deal with North Korea, which many say is too soft on Pyongyang. As an alternate theory, some officials tell the WP that "the CIA's hand was forced" because lawmakers had threatened to cut funds if they weren't kept in the loop.
A real scandal. USA Today says approximately 60,000 federal contractors owe almost $8 billion in back taxes. "Lack of communication between agencies lets one arm of the government pay contractors money while another arm is trying to collect taxes from them," says USAT. Lawmakers are angry and are moving to do something about the problem. A regulation that took effect this week requires contractors to reveal if they owe any taxes, and a bill that's pending in the Senate would prohibit companies that owe taxes from getting contracts. Great. Now how about criminal proceedings for not paying taxes?
As all eyes turn toward Indiana, the Clinton campaign announced that it received $10 million in contributions after the Tuesday victory, reports the WSJ. The NYT has a double-story lead, one looking at increasing questions of how Sen. Barack Obama's race might affect the general election and another questioning how much primary results really foreshadow what will happen in November. The LAT talks to "dozens" of superdelegates, who seem to accept that the race will continue for six more weeks but insist that a decision has to be made after the last primary on June 3 and can't wait until the convention, which will take place in late August. I don't know why it cannot.
The NYT's Adam Nagourney acknowledges that "the role of race is difficult to disentangle from the other strands of the political debate surrounding" the senator from Illinois, including his "values, elitism, ideology, and experience." But it seems clear that race is at least playing some sort of factor in a key part of the electorate, and that is increasingly worrying Democrats. Although Obama says he's made inroads with white, blue-collar voters, the Post points out that "exit polls dispute that." Not only did he lose white voters without college degrees in Pennsylvania by pretty much the same margin as in Ohio, he even lost ground with white Roman Catholics, who make up an important constituency in several key states. That isn't race, that's religion, far worse. I'd feel better if Obama had actually said he'd support the Democratic nominee regardless.
Clinton's victory in Pennsylvania allowed her to continue making the argument that she's winning the states that are essential to a Democratic victory in November. The NYT says that just because she's winning the states in the primary doesn't mean Obama can't also win them in November. For its part, Obama's camp contends that the senator from Illinois could put other states in play that have traditionally leaned Republican. That may be true, or it may be that the GOP/faux independents who voted the primaries are hoping for Obama. Ultimately, political analysts seem to agree that "state primary results do not necessarily translate into general election victories," and most of those who voted for Clinton would likely pull the lever for Obama in November. Vice-versa?
Despite the spike in donations, the former first lady still expects to be vastly outspent in Indiana. According to the Associated Press, Clinton still trails Obama in the national delegate count by 131. In terms of the popular vote, "the gap both narrows and widens" depending on how it's counted, notes the WSJ. Traditional counts put Obama ahead in the popular vote, but if the results from Michigan and Florida are included, then Clinton has a narrow lead.
In his WSJ op-ed piece, Karl Rove says that although Obama is still clearly the favorite, the last few weeks have weakened him as a candidate. "His appeals are based on two aspirational pledges he is increasingly less credible in making," Rove writes. There's little evidence that Obama "demonstrated bipartisanship" in any important issues as a senator, and he has also "not provided leadership on any major legislative battle." That's how McCain could beat him: he hasn't done anything, risked anything.
David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, is now the Bush administration's nominee to lead military forces in the Middle East and Central Asia as head of Central Command. At the same time, Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno was nominated to take over for Petraeus in Iraq. Everyone points out that with these nominations, President Bush is ensuring that two commanders who have been key to his strategy in Iraq continue in influential roles long after he leaves the White House. The move could very well signal that the Pentagon is ready to overhaul its Afghanistan mission and implement the same sort of counterinsurgency tactics that have been used in Iraq. The LAT notes up high that Petraeus has often been critical of Iran's interference in Iraq, "making his appointment a signal of heightened U.S. attention to Tehran."
Grocery prices are increasing, and even a casual reader of news probably knows that food shortages have led to riots around the world. But lawmakers in Washington are covering their ears, closing their eyes, and pretending that everything is the same, notes the NYT. Although American farmers are making record incomes and losing sleep over the futures markets, Congress is getting ready to pass the typical farm bill that has billions in the same old subsidies. "It really is astounding," said Rep. Ron Kind. "It's as if this farm bill is being negotiated in a vacuum."
The WP notes that the latest royal mini-scandal in England involves Prince William, who has been busy traveling around in a Royal Air Force Chinook helicopter as if it were his new ride. He landed the helicopter near his girlfriend's home ("a majestic use of military aircraft as a flirtation device") and picked up his brother to fly to a bachelor party, among other questionable uses of taxpayer resources. There's been the usual grumbling about privilege, but others are decidedly more forgiving of the prince: "If William can't run around and act like, 'I'm going to be king,' then who can?"
In history, this day in 1800, the Library of Congress was established with a $5,000 allocation.
In 1805, U.S. Marines attacked and captured the town of Derna in Tripoli.
In 1877, federal troops were ordered out of New Orleans, marking the end to the North's post-Civil War rule in the South.
In 1898, this day, Spain declared war on the U.S., rejecting America's ultimatum for Spain to withdraw from Cuba.
It begins. In 1915, during World War I, the Ottoman Turkish Empire began the mass deportation of Armenians by using Kurdish troops.
This day in 1916, Irish nationalists launched the Easter Rebellion against British occupation forces. They were put down several days later.
OH, CANAda........ On April 24, 1928, the Supreme Court of Canada declared that - although women were indeed legal "persons" - they are nevertheless ineligible to serve in the Canadian Senate. The Court agreed that the term "person" applies equally to humans of both genders, but the British North America Act referred specifically to "fit and qualified persons" -- necessarily excluding the unfit and unqualified women. Tories, don't you know.....
In 1948, the Berlin airlift began to relieve the surrounded city.
This day in 1953, Winston Churchill was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. I should hope.
In 1961, President Kennedy accepted "sole responsibility" following Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. Plenty of that to go around. Hi, CIA!
Credit where due. In 1967, Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov became the world's first space mission fatality after his Soyuz parachutes become entangled four miles above the Earth. Komarov died when his craft crashed full speed into the earth. He was a real space pioneer.
In 1973, Albert Sabin reported that herpesviruses were factors in nine kinds of cancer.
Fiasco Day, Dawn of Delta Force. In 1980, a mission to rescue 53 American hostages from Tehran failed; 8 US soldiers are killed.This day in 1981, the IBM Personal Computer was introduced.
In 1990, the obnoxious Michael Milken pled guilty to six felonies and agreed to pay a $600 million penalty. He was later sentenced to ten years in prison. Milken sold junk-bonds in the 1980s.
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Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Here in Boulder the Damned - well, Denver, now - the CU Regents voted to lift the tuition for CU students by nearly 10%. This, nobody says, is because of Douglas Bruce and TABOR. Props to Benson for saying the state needs to step up, but the thing is the state always should have, and the reasons for it being that CU brings in lots of money.
Bob Schaffer isn't taking his political death lying down. No, he's fabricating non-stop, ignoring documents that prove he's lying.
Hillary Clinton's decisive win in the Pennsylvania primary is annnoying the pro-Obama Blogosphere. With nearly all the votes counted, Clinton led Sen. Barack Obama by 10 percentage points. There seems to be a consensus that this margin of victory is exactly within the range of what Clinton needed to stay in the race but fell short of a landslide that could have really changed the shape of the contest. Maybe. Obama is going to be under the microscope now, and he doesn't do well under pressure if the campaign is an indication. He's not felt it before.
Out of the 158 delegates that could have been won yesterday, Clinton got at least 66, Obama gained 57, and the rest still have to be awarded, which is why the 'so what?' attitude is peculiar. After weeks of intense campaigning, and Obama spending near triple what Clinton did, it's clear that interest in the race remains high, and the Washington Post points out that more than 2 million Democrats voted yesterday, which is "nearly triple the number who turned out in the past two presidential primaries in the state."
Even though difficult for Clinton to catch up to Obama as far as the pledged delegates are concerned, her victory "does reinforce questions she has raised about whether the Illinois senator can appeal to white working-class voters and carry the big industrial states," says USA Today. The New York Times points out that Clinton "used the words 'fight,' 'fighter' and 'fighting' repeatedly" in her victory speech "to convey that she had the resolve and confidence to stay in the race." But there's already been plenty of fighting, and if there's one conclusion everyone can agree on, it is that the long campaign in Pennsylvania "left both candidates bloody," as the Wall Street Journal puts it, but that's just projection on their part.
Clinton won in Pennsylvania by relying on her base of whites, women, older voters, and the less affluent, which allows her to continue questioning whether Obama can win with voters who have always been essential for Democrats. "Considering his financial advantage, the question ought to be, why can't he close the deal?" Clinton asked yesterday. While it's true that Obama didn't manage to make many in-roads among white, working-class voters despite the fact that he vastly outspent Clinton in advertising, the LAT says it's significant that he didn't lose support among that group "even after navigating some of the worst weeks of the campaign so far." And Clinton still clearly faces an uphill battle if she hopes to convince superdelegates that Obama is a flawed candidate. The Post's Dan Balz says that "even some of her most loyal supporters privately expressed doubts last night that she can prevail."
The NYT points out that Obama seems determined to use his financial advantage "to overwhelm" Clinton in the next few contests. And Clinton let that be known yesterday to her supporters, telling them that she needed their help. "We can only keep winning if we can keep competing against an opponent who outspends us so massively," she said. Her campaign said she received $2.5 million in a few hours after Pennsylvania was called in her favor.
Indiana, which votes on May 6, is next, and each candidate has reason to be hopeful because it has an important blue-collar constituency but also shared media markets with Illinois, which means many Democrats in the state "have known Obama for several years," says the LAT. Clinton takes it, I think.
Exit polls were a joke, and they claim that the campaign's deeply negative turn in the past few weeks has hurt both candidates. Most of those who voted for Obama said they don't think Clinton is honest, while Clinton voters had similar negative feelings about Obama. There are several statistics from exit polls that will undoubtedly lead to much hand-wringing among Democrats. The WSJ points out that around 25 percent of Clinton's supporters said they would vote for Sen. John McCain rather than Obama, while 16 percent of Obama's supporters claim to prefer the presumptive Republican nominee to the former first lady. The NYT notes that exit polls seem to provide "stark evidence" that Obama's race could really hurt his chances in a general election. A total of 16 percent of whites said race matters, and a mere 54 percent of those voters said they would pull the lever for Obama if he's the nominee.
Obama should also begin to face problems from people who flocked to him because of his positive tone but could get turned off by the increasingly negative nature of the campaign. That's if people didn't recognize a schtick when they saw it. The WP: "....the candidate who rocketed to stardom as the embodiment of a new kind of politics -- hopeful, positive and inspiring -- saw his image tarnished in the bruising fight for Pennsylvania." And the negativity will probably intensify in the coming weeks. A Democratic strategist says that Obama's camp is likely to bring up more controversies from Bill Clinton's presidency (cattle futures, anyone?) before Indiana in order to try to close up the race as soon as possible.
This hand wringing is stupid. It's the way it used to be, and it has to be good to get people out. As has become the norm, all the papers have quotes from Democrats who just want the contest to end because all this infighting is raising both of the candidates' negative ratings before the real campaign against McCain even begins. "Anybody who says past this point that this is good for the party or good for the nominee is a fool," a Democratic strategist tells the LAT. Nameless, and bad for him, because his polling has been mashugga. Guess that means the WSJ's Gerald Seib is a fool, then, because he argues exactly that point today. "Toughness and resilience are important attributes, and that is what a long campaign instills in a candidate," Seib writes. And I agree but suspect the Journal really doesn't, and hopes for a bloody Dem convention.
Sunni militants were responsible for several attacks across Iraq that killed 22 people. Most significantly, a suicide truck bomb killed two U.S. Marines and 10 Iraqis in Anbar province, and al-Qaida in Iraq claimed responsibility. "The killings underscored the threat still posed by Sunni insurgent groups," notes the WP.
The World Food Program director calling the constant rise in food prices a "silent tsunami" that could have devastating effects around the world. There's not much new here, except that the WFP gave figures that illustrate the challenges of trying to keep up with the seemingly nonstop inflation in food prices. Two months ago, the WFP said it needed $500 million to fill its "food gap," but now that number has increased to $755 million. Horseshit. The problem is an exploding and unsustainable population.
The NYT fronts a look at how Rupert Murdoch is making moves to increase his power over the New York media market. For the first time since buying the WSJ, Murdoch will have the chance to appoint the top editor at the paper since Marcus Brauchli resigned yesterday. In addition, the mogul is also hoping to close a deal to buy the Long Island-based Newsday for $580 million. Murdoch not only hopes to gain control over a big chunk of the New York tabloid market, he also hopes the move will allow him to consolidate operations with the New York Post, which currently loses about $50 million a year. Bad. Very bad news.
In history - or myth - this day in 33 CE, at least according to Christian tradition, Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, after being crucified three days prior.
The first English order of knighthood was founded this day, the Order of the Garter. In 1348.
In 1895, Russia, France, and Germany forced Japan to return the Liaodong peninsula to China. That rankled, and we saw the result in a few decades.
This day in 1900, the word "hillbilly" was first used in print in an article in the "New York Journal." It was spelled "Hill-Billie".
In 1940, about 200 people died in a dance-hall fire in Natchez. Spanish moss was the culprit.
This day in 1945, the Soviet Army fought its way into Berlin.
In 1967, Soyuz 1 was launched by Russia. We're still using a variant, as the botched last two space station landings suggest.
In 1985, the Edsel was no longer the cliched marketing failure for the ages. The Coca-Cola Company announced that it was irrevocably changing the formula for its flagship beverage, unveiling "New Coke." It tasted quite like Pepsi. The company stood firm on its decision until public pressure finally forced it to reintroduce the original drink, exactly 79 days later. They kept the New around for awhile for cover.
Ten years ago today, James Earl Ray died at age 70 while serving a life sentence for the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Ray had confessed to the crime and then later insisted he had been framed.
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Tuesday, April 22, 2008
The thing about Ted Turner is he's often correct. "We'll be eight degrees hotter in thirty or forty years, and basically none of the crops will grow, most of the people will have died, and the rest of us will be cannibals."
The Food and Drug Administration announced that contaminated heparin from 12 Chinese companies has been found in 11 countries and is linked to 81 deaths in the United States. But Chinese Embassy officials strongly disputed the claims, saying that the man-made contaminant can't be the real cause of the deaths and suggested the problem may have originated in the United States. In the old days, we could dismiss China's claims. Not after Bush and his crappy administration and no dedication to protecting his charges.
Before the FDA made its announcement about Heparin, the Chinese government began what the WSJ characterizes as a "pushback" against the conclusions. At a press conference, Chinese officials said they want to look into whether the problem was caused in the end stage of the production process. The FDA disputes the Chinese assertion that severe adverse reactions have not been observed in any other countries, although it's unclear whether contaminated heparin is linked to deaths anywhere else.
The growing rift between the United States and China over safety issues is emblematic of other frays. It's becoming clearer just how little oversight there is of imported products. A new government audit says the FDA would have to invest an additional $56 million next year simply to begin full inspections of foreign plants. At the current pace, "the F.D.A. would need at least 27 years to inspect every foreign medical device plant that exports to the United States, 13 years to check every foreign drug plant and 1,900 years to examine every foreign food plant," reports the NYT.
The Army has increased the use of involuntary extensions to maintain troop levels despite the fact that Defense Secretary Robert Gates said last year that they should be kept to a minimum. The number of soldiers affected has increased 43 percent since May, to a total of 12,235 in March.
This is the last day of campaigning before Pennsylvania voters head to the polls today. Hillary Clinton unveiled a new ad, and Barack Obama's campaign worked hard to manage expectations, saying that the former first lady is clearly the favorite to win their first contest in six weeks. The Wall Street Journal thinks the Democratic contenders will each leave Pennsylvania with very different balance sheets. While Clinton is in debt, Obama has more than $40 million available.
Clinton's new ad invokes images of Pearl Harbor and Osama Bin Laden to question whether Obama is ready to be president. The ad never mentions Obama by name, but the message is clear: "Who do you think has what it takes?" Obama's camp quickly responded with an ad of its own: "Who in times of challenge will unite us—not use fear and calculation to divide us?"
Although Obama has spent almost twice as much on TV ads in Pennsylvania, his campaign is making it clear that he doesn't expect to win today. But, of course, as has been the case during several of these contests, winning isn't only about winning. The LAT says Clinton needs to win by at least 10 percentage points, but the Post notes that some think that as long as she wins by more than five points it would mark "a respectable victory," considering how much money Obama has spent on ads. Democrats agree that the key factor today will be to see whether Obama has been able to make significant gains with blue-collar voters.
In a Page One analysis, the WSJ says there are four groups of voters that "stand out as the key pieces" of the electoral puzzle: "working-class males, young people, rural and small-town Americans and Hispanics." To some degree, all of these groups will be on display in Pennsylvania, which is why today's vote will be critically important for Clinton if she hopes to have any chance of ultimately prevailing against Obama.
One area in which Clinton remains highly vulnerable is money. In a Page One story, the WSJ says her lack of money could be what ultimately kills her chance to keep up with Obama during the next few contests. This lack of money will be particularly felt in Indiana, which votes May 6. Polls show a tight contest, and Obama has said it "may end up being the tiebreaker."
But before the candidates can start thinking about Indiana, there's still the small matter of Pennsylvania. The WSJ says that if by any chance Obama wins today, Clinton "will likely have to drop out." On the flip side, even if Clinton wins by a large margin, she still won't pick up enough delegates to make a significant dent in Obama's lead. But it could lead superdelegates to question Obama's prospects and hold off any more endorsements until the next set of primaries. It's looking less and less likely that Obama and Clinton will join forces. The prospect was always far-fetched, but as time goes on and tensions continue to rise, some Democratic insiders are convinced that it would simply be a bad idea. It's always a stupid idea. A Senator has more import than a VP, or should have.
In a blunt piece, the WSJ says the tax cuts Sen. John McCain is vowing to push through as president "would either cause the federal deficit to explode or would require unprecedented spending cuts." He has proposed a total of more than $650 billion in tax cuts a year that would mostly benefit "corporations and upper-income families." Details are scarce, but he has promised deep cuts would equal $160 billion a year, which was "the total budget in 2007 for the departments of Education, Energy, Homeland Security, Justice and State." In other McCain-related news, the LAT points out that when the senator released his tax return last week, he disclosed that he received a tax-exempt $58,358 for what his staff called a "disability pension" from the Navy because of "his limited body movements due to injuries as a POW." I should hope.
As Democrats continue to fight over who will get a chance to sit in the Oval Office, USAT notes that the current occupant of the White House now has "the highest disapproval rating" that has ever been recorded in the Gallup Poll's 70-year history. In a weekend poll, 69 percent said they disapprove of President Bush. In an apparent attempt to boost his numbers using his old standby charm and self-deprecating attitude, Bush made an appearance on a popular NBC show yesterday. "I'm thrilled to be on Deal or No Deal with you tonight," Bush said. "Come to think of it, I'm thrilled to be anywhere with high ratings these days."
The Los Angeles Times leads with new record prices for both oil and gasoline. The average price of gas nationwide passed the $3.50 mark, and the price of crude oil reached $117.48 a barrel. Many predict that it won't be long before gasoline costs more than $4 a gallon in many parts of the country and a barrel of oil reaches $125.
A new study says life expectancy for women in nearly 1,000 counties is shorter now than what it was in the 1980s. The women who saw the sharpest drops in their life spans live mainly in the Deep South and Appalachia. Researchers say lung cancer, diabetes, and obesity have contributed to this "distinctly American" trend.
In history, this day in 1509, Henry VIII ascended to the throne of England upon the death of his father Henry VII.
Twenty years to the day later, Spain and Portugal divided the eastern hemisphere in Treaty of Saragosa approved by the Pope. Pointless, as France and England (and Russia) moved in.
This day in 1889, at noon, the Oklahoma land rush officially started as thousands of Americans raced for new, unclaimed land. Well, unclaimed by whites...... Previously given to the Native Americans.
This day in 1915, at the Second Battle Ypres, the German Army opened 5,700 canisters of chlorine gas upwind of French soldiers. It is the first use of poison gas for military purposes.
On April 22, 1934, John Dillinger's gang shot their way out of an FBI ambush at the Little Bohemia Hunting Lodge in northern Wisconsin. The FBI accidentally killed one innocent bystander and injured two others in the humiliating debacle which guaranteed Dillinger would be killed before trial. Well, that and his jail escape with a wooden, shoe polished 'gun.'In 1952, an atomic test conducted in Nevada was the first nuclear explosion shown on live network television. I think I remember it. Two years later, after the Soviets admitted their own bomb, the U.S. Senate Army-McCarthy televised hearings began. I do recall that.
This is Earth Day. In 1970, the first "Earth Day" was observed by millions of Americans.
In 1987, the American Physical Society said that the "Star Wars" missile system was "highly questionable" and would take ten years to research. Haven't upped the odds yet over two decades later.
On April 22, 1992, 215 people were killed and 1,500 injured when two miles of sewer lines explode in Gaudalajara, Mexico. 20 city blocks in the downtown area were leveled by the blast. A corroded petroleum pipeline had filled the sewer with explosive fuel. In 2000, the ridiculous Saga of Elian Gonzalez ended when he was reunited with his father. He had to be taken from his Miami relatives by U.S. agents in a predawn raid, because the Miami Cubans wouldn't let him return to his father, which he wanted.
This day in 2004, Army Ranger Pat Tillman was killed in action while in Afghanistan. Tillman was a former NFL player who walked away from a $3.6M contract with the Arizona Cardinals to join the U.S. Army in May 2002, shortly after the 9/11 attacks. Much was made of his heroic death by Army leadership, but in May it is revealed that Tillman was actually killed by friendly fire. It gets worse, and the Army is now patting together their 6th variant on his death.A year later, Zacarias Moussaoui pled guilty to conspiring with hijackers in the September 11, 2001, plot to attack American buildings and citizens.
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Monday, April 21, 2008
Boulder lucked out again. For the second time in about a decade, a wind spawned grass fire nearly ignited some resiental units, after which the increased heat would make it such a major inferno that large sections of Boulder could vanish. With beetle kill and dry conditions of our changing climate (which may provide more water, according to some), I still think the flame torch of Boulder Canyon is the horror to come, with ignited macadam surface and trees alight on both sides. Quite scary, and more likely than the flood, which isn't that preposterous either.
Oh, and another bluster from the Bushies. Secretary Rice's Sunday trip to Iraq - you knew, right? and cared? - allowed her to mock cleric Muqtada al-Sadr as a "coward." It's accurate. He's a blustering pudgeball, but we're the United States. We don't trade jive with blustering pudgeballs. But the Bushies do.
Barack Obama has unsurprisingly sharpened his tone on the eve of the Pennsylvania primary. Clinton, D-N.Y., has been asking Democrats to take a fresh look at Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., in the wake of what she considers to be her superior debate performance. "It's no wonder my opponent has been so negative these last few days of this campaign," she said, "because I think you saw the difference between us."
The Post says Obama's increasingly negative rhetoric is a departure from his practice of coasting into a primary vote with a positive message, nervous about making Clinton seem too sympathetic. After Clinton's many comebacks, he seems to be dismissing that fear. The last few days, Obama has painted Clinton as a compromised Washington insider (Times) and a practitioner of old-style, special-interest politics (Post)—while making apologies for getting rough. "Look, our campaign's not perfect," he said. "There've been times where, you know, if you get elbowed enough, eventually you start elbowing back."
The Wall Street Journal fronts speculation that, immediately following the primaries, "influential Democrats—led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi—plan to push the last uncommitted party leaders to endorse a candidate, in hopes of preventing a fight at the August presidential convention, party insiders say. … That's when Mrs. Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean and their allies will start rallying superdelegates to decide the contest in favor of the leading candidate, Democrats say." Leading candidate has become a euphemism for Obama, given his essentially insurmountable lead.
Reading between the story's lines, it's possible to wager a guess at the identity of the insider sources. Donna Brazile, Al Gore's 2000 campaign manager, is quoted in the piece saying a group around Clinton doesn't "care about the party" and that after the last primary "we'll all talk to each other. I know I'll reach out to some key people, including my ex-boss." Dean, too, was interviewed for the story, as were Pelosi aides.
The NYT fronts a piece on "Mugabe's Tsunami," as it's being called in South Africa. A thousand Zimbabweans a day are estimated to be fleeing the violence following President Robert Mugabe's apparent electoral loss, coupled with a refusal to cede power. He has prevented results from being released as Mugabe-supporting gangs beat and torture opposition supporters.
"Right now we're headed toward becoming a Third World city. But we can change that," says Ernesto Cortes Jr., Southwest regional director of the Industrial Areas Foundation, which the LAT says is something called "a leadership development organization." The Times has a study showing that the workforce lacks the education and training needed to replace the retiring boomer generation. Citing a new study based largely on U.S. Census data, the paper notes that "60% of [L.A. County's] immigrant workers struggle with English and one-third lack high school diplomas." Those immigrants now account for roughly half of all workers and are projected to account for nearly all of the growth over the next few decades.
USA Today leads with nations' unwillingness to meet previous troop commitments in Afghanistan. A recent NATO summit, which led to the pledge by other nations of some 7,000 to 8,000 additional troops for Afghanistan, was more talk than action. Only a few thousand of those have been delivered, and others appear to be on their way home, with Poland set to remove 900 troops in the fall and Georgia 2,000 next year. One security expert tells the paper that "what the NATO summit showed is that the United States is not going to be able to count on its NATO allies to fill the gap in Afghanistan."
The Wall Street Journal puts the Pope's visit to Ground Zero atop its worldwide news box, highlighting an unexpected shyness and compassion from the church leader. Shame, I'd hope. His visit raised hopes that he will follow up by removing the statute of limitations that has so far protected some priests who sexually abused children. So long as his buds aren't among them, maybe. He mentioned the scandal on every day of his trip. As he should have. But he isn't sending Cardinal Law back, I'd wager.
The Post fronts a five-click feature about the growing use of relatives' DNA in the investigation or crimes. Law enforcement officials claim that testing a suspect's relatives' DNA can narrow a search—as it did with the BTK serial killer, whose daughter's DNA was tested and found nearly to match that found at crime scenes. Privacy advocates are unenthusiastic about the broadening scope, noting that the tool will be used primarily on DNA already in the government's possession—meaning that minority suspects will be overly affected.
Latin America's political movement leftward continues, with the landslide election of a man dubbed the "Bishop of the poor" in Paraguay.
The WSJ fears another shoe may drop in the spreading lending crisis, as small banks begin to take the hits that big banks have absorbed. "Regulators are bracing for a surge in bank failures, especially among smaller lenders that often lack the diversification to absorb steep losses in one area. Those banks are also less appealing to the sovereign wealth funds and other big investors that have poured billions into larger banks."
PETA is offering a million-dollar prize to a researcher who finds commercially viable fake meat. That used to be considered an amount of note. No more.
In 753 BC, Rome was founded.
In 1526, the Mongol Emperor Babur annihilated the Indian Army of Ibrahim Lodi. Guess which side had the most elephants.
In 1836, General Sam Houston defeated Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto. This battle decided the independence of Texas, revenged the Alamo, and captured Santa Anna.
This day in 1847 Lewis Keseberg, the final member of the Donner Party still stranded in the mountains, was escorted to safety by a fourth rescue party. Later accounts hold that Keseberg was discovered "seated, like a ghoul, in the midst of dead bodies, with his face and hands smeared with blood, and a kettle of human flesh boiling over the fire."
This day in 1898, the Spanish-American War began.
On the cover of the Boulder Lout today is Halley's Comet, the vehicle that brought Sam Clemens into the world and the hearse that took him out, this day in 1910. He died in Redding, Connecticut. Photo taken within two weeks of his death.
In 1918, the Red Baron, Germany's Baron Manfred von Richthofen, was killed when his biplane was shot down during WWI, and by a ground crew at a machine gun. History credits him with 80 kills.
On this day in 1967, Svetlana Alliluyeva (Svetlana Stalina) defected in New York City. She was the daughter of Joseph Stalin.
This day in 1986, while I and the nation watched, Geraldo Rivera opened a vault that belonged to Al Capone at the Lexington Hotel in Chicago. Nothing of interest was found inside.
It was this day in 1998 astronomers announced in Washington they had discovered possible signs of a new family of planets orbiting a star 220 light-years away.
In 2000, North Carolina researchers announced that the heart of a 66 million-year-old dinosaur was more like a mammal or bird than that of a reptile.
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Sunday, April 20, 2008
It's back. The Pentagon's defensive message machine that it wheels out when idiots in government start blaming the military they've sucked up to leading to some disaster. We saw it in Vietnam and the New York Times has an exposé of today's "message machine," a concerted effort by the Department of Defense to spread the Bush administration's Iraq talking points by briefing supposedly independent retired commanders for network and cable television appearances.
The NYT successfully sued the Department of Defense to gain access to thousands of e-mails and internal documents relating to its posse of military T.V. commentators. The 8,000 pages of information "reveal a symbiotic relationship where the usual dividing lines between government and journalism have been obliterated." These "military experts" often communicated with the Pentagon to receive the latest agenda before going on camera, and some used the inside information to assist private companies in obtaining military contracts, which is a crime, is it not?
More unfortunately, "members of this group have echoed administration talking points, sometimes even when they suspected the information was false or inflated. Some analysts acknowledge they suppressed doubts because they feared jeopardizing their access." Several of the purported military experts express regret over their actions, while the Pentagon defends the operation as a genuine effort to inform the American people. The networks, with the sole exception of CNN, refused to comment.
The Times also fronts two war stories—first, requests by American commanders in Pakistan for expanded attacks on indigenous radicals in the country's tribal regions. The requests have been "rebuffed for now" amid fear that such attacks would upset delicate negotiations between Pakistan's new government and radical groups. On the Iraq front, Iraqi soldiers took control of the final strongholds of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Basra, prompting Iran's Baghdad ambassador to publicly "endorse" the Iraqi army's military operation in the region. The victory and ensuing calm also prompted violent, desperate words from al-Sadr, who accused his opponents of using the "politics of Saddam."
The Los Angeles Times leads with California school districts' cries to parents for funding in the face of sweeping budget cuts. Potential layoff notices have been handed to 20,000 teachers, librarians, and nurses, as districts ask for as much as $400 a year from each student's family.
The Washington Post views the growing energy consumption of the District of Columbia, which fuels the coal mining that is devouring the once-green landscape of nearby West Virginia. D.C.'s energy consumption is on the rise but fails to highlight much of a conflict beyond the concerns of isolated environmentalists and select West Virginians. More of the state's residents, it seems, see their coal-rich environment as a "gift from God."
In election news, the WP has a study of Sen. John McCain's "volcanic temper," which the presumptive Republican presidential nominee explains alternately as a lifelong character flaw and as the fuel of his fire for political reform. The unflattering piece charts the infamous temper from its early days on the playgrounds of the many schools McCain attended as a child all the way to the Senate chambers, where it often showers McCain's opponents with denigrating expletives. Like this Post piece, a string of "McCain stories" —in which the grievances and grudges of past colleagues are aired—forms the bulk of the story. Those who have born the brunt of McCain's fury in the past are split on how the temper might affect his presidential performance—some are now his supporters while others see his short fuse as a strong disqualifier for the Oval Office. Worth saying that it hasn't gotten better as he gets older. He's old.
The NYT airs the inner dialogue of Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign about the erosion of support for Mrs. Clinton among past friends and colleagues. The perceptive piece notes that some Democrats' decisions to defect have been politically expedient, but the erosion is also "a reckoning of whether the Clintons, on balance, have been good or bad for the party." But what some see as disloyalty is, for others, a "well-deserved comeuppance," a reaction to the Clintons' widely perceived one-way loyalty street. Former South Dakota Sen. Tom Daschle chalks it all up to "Clinton fatigue," while others like Minnesota superdelegate Nancy Larson still like the Clintons too much to explain their reasons for endorsing Sen. Barack Obama.
Mexico is feeling U.S. pain, as economic slowdown has stanched the flow of income from illegal immigrants back to their relatives south of the border. The number crossing into the U.S. this spring might be as low as half the usual rate. "The U.S. housing downturn has dried up much of the building-related labor market, and a striking number of workers here say that, for now, they are unwilling to accept the physical and legal risks and fast-rising smugglers' fees to reach an iffy job situation on the U.S. side," the Times reports.
Our National Glossary of Terminology is changing. Facebook philosophizing is back, and the WP expends several thousand words attempting to define "true" friends amid the sea of new, miscellaneous associations we now call "friendships." What "true friends" are are "friends." Other 'friends' are acquaintances. Also, an avalanche of new metaphors for social networking ("internet cocktail party" and "digital eavesdropping," for example).
Interesting op-ed in the LAT that provides evolutionary defenses for the Biblical admonition to "turn the other cheek." Or on the lighter side, an amusing essay in the WP magazine section explores the office caste system encapsulated in an e-mail's recipient fields.
In history, this day in 1653, Oliver Cromwell expelled the Long Parliament for trying to pass the Perpetuation Bill that would have kept Parliament in the hands of only a few members.
In 1769, the deservedly renowned Ottawa Chief Pontiac was murdered by an Illinois Indian in Cahokia.
This day in 1775, the British began the siege of Boston.
France began its revolutionary wars this day in 1792, when it declared war on Austria, Prussia, and Sardinia for starters. Same day in 1809, Napoleon defeated Austria at Battle of Abensberg, Bavaria.
In 1841, in Philadelphia, Edgar Allen Poe's first detective story, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," was published in Graham's Magazine. From this came a whole genre of fiction, Sherlock Holmes, CSI, and changed the way people looked at police and government and concepts of safety and crime. Also? Damned good writer, and nobody really has improved upon the ape tale.
In 1902, Marie and Pierre Curie isolated the radioactive element radium and did the lion's share of dangerous work to inform us about nuclear issues. Killed them, and we are less than grateful in this nation. In 1940, the first electron microscope was demonstrated by RCA on this day. Not unrelated.
In 1945, the Soviets began their attack on Berlin.
In 1951, perpetual Mama's Boy General MacArthur addressed the joint session of Congress after being relieved by U.S. President Truman. First time back in the US for decades.
In 1961, FM stereo broadcasting was approved by the FCC this day. And, thank you.
In 1977, Woody Allen's film "Annie Hall" premiered on this date.
In 1988, the U.S. Air Forces' Stealth (B-2 bomber) was officially unveiled. Saw one fly over Boulder about five years ago, and it's impressive and eerie.
A fable for the attractions of fame. On this day in 1992, while in his apartment watching TV, the famous British comedic legend Benny Hill suffered a fatal heart attack. His body went undiscovered for four days. His TV show is still shown internationally. Kurt Cobain's body lay for days. The Lady of Fame is an uncaring bitch.
This is Columbine Day in Colorado. In 1999, 13 people were killed at Columbine High School near Littleton by two lost souls. I blame the parents; but the fact is, they were ostracized and that builds up predictably.
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Friday, April 18, 2008
It's take out the trash day, and nobody knows that better than the Bushies, so be alert for the reluctantly admitted horror sure to appear before 3 PM MDT. Economy looks okay today, so it'll be some investigation of long standing or long overdue. Just a guess.
An irritating report by the Defense Department's inspector general that says officers in the Air Force lobbied for an unknown company, SMS, to receive a $50 million contract, even though its price was more than double what a competitor had bid. The whole contracting process seems to have been full of improper favoritism. But the most shocking part comes in the story's fifth paragraph when the Post reveals that a high-ranking Air Force officer, who is now vice director of the Pentagon's Joint Staff, even included President Bush in his efforts, and he apparently played along. The officer arranged for the commander in chief "to record a video testimonial in the White House Map Room that was included in the SMS contract proposal, demonstrating the company's credibility and access." Okay, that bites and I thought illegal.
The man called the stupidest man in the world by Tommy Franks - himself no Mensa Member - is defending his apparently lie filled booked of exculpation. "I went out of my way to be accurate," says Douglas Feith, an innovation deserving of comment.
I've never believed the dubiously sourced claim that Americans work harder than any other nation. Hours not at hom, hours at place of employment, hours on the clock even, but not work. Now, conveniently, equally poorly sourced tales suggest the number of hours worked by people in the United States has been on a downward spiral lately. Although attention is usually paid to the official unemployment number, which has remained pretty constant, the truth is that many are having trouble making ends meet because they're being forced to work fewer hours and there's less overtime to go around. In addition, the number of people being forced to pursue part-time employment is on the rise.
A decline in the number of hours worked "is a critical indicator that the nation may well be on the verge of a recession, if not already in one," says the NYT. The last time there's been a decline in the total hours worked it was right before the 2001 recession. Meanwhile, earnings are also decreasing and are not making up for the increases in the cost of food and fuel. Of course, this is all a vicious cycle, because as people have less money to spend, they have to give up certain purchases they might have made before (restaurant meals, piano lessons), which, in turn, means these providers also start facing economic hardship. Adding to the hardship is that credit, which would have been a natural response to make ends meet in previous years, is much more difficult to obtain.
USA Today leads with an interesting in-house analysis that shows flights are taking longer than 20 years ago. In 2007, the average flight traveled at about 342 mph, while in 1998 the number was 358 mph.
The Wall Street Journal leads its world-wide newsbox with word that U.S. commanders in Iraq have already begun releasing detainees. It's all part of a process to clean house that could set more than half of the 23,000 prisoners free.
Pope Benedict XVI met with a small group of people who were sexually abused by priests. The unannounced meeting was held after the pope's huge Mass at Nationals Park, where almost 50,000 people gathered, and the pope, for the third time this week, talked about the sexual abuse scandals. Great. How about turning in for punishment the guilty people and those who sheltered them?
Ahnald's California government will review health insurance policies that were canceled in order to determine whether companies acted inappropriately. The practice is particularly controversial because companies usually carry it out after a patient falls ill and submits medical bills. If an independent arbiter finds that the policy was canceled unfairly, then the patient would have to be reinstated, and the insurer would be responsible for the medical bills during the time that a patient was without insurance. Good.
The United States is trying to reshape its detention facilities and policies in Iraq, and as part of this redo, it's releasing thousands of prisoners. Some estimate the number of prisoners remaining after this process will be as small as 2,500, which, of course, raises the question of why the other 20,000 have remained incarcerated for so long. The detention facilities have helped stir up anti-American sentiment, particularly since a suspected insurgent could be held for years without ever seeing the inside of a courtroom. The paper says the U.S. military hopes these mass releases will encourage Sunnis to be more active in the Iraqi political process. Let's name the ways this is both unfair and misleading and beneath this nation.
The United States is building a concrete wall that would divide Sadr City. The idea is that the side of Sadr City closest to the Green Zone would be turned into a protected area so reconstruction projects can take place. The paper reminds readers that concrete barriers have been used in other parts of Iraq, and they "have often proved to be an effective tool in blunting insurgent attacks."
As illustrative point, a suicide bomber killed more than 50 people in a village that is about 90 miles north of Baghdad. It was the second major bombing this week in a northern province that supposedly had been pacified by U.S. troops. The LAT says the bombing was "the latest strike in an internal war among Sunni Arabs, some of whom have aligned themselves with the Americans and others with the group al-Qaida in Iraq."
USAT contacted "dozens" of uncommitted superdelegates and says most aren't going to make up their minds after Pennsylvania. Although they all recognize that Pennsylvania is an important state, they seem to be emphasizing that it's hardly the only one that matters from now on. But they say they won't be undecided forever and will have chosen their candidate by July 1 to try to prevent the fight from reaching the convention. The NYT also contacted superdelegates (15), and most of them said they haven't been swayed by Clinton's attacks on Obama and his qualifications for office. In addition, these superdelegates say they don't think his gaffes and personal relationships that came up in this week's debate are really that important. They aren't, but his reactions when the going gets tough aren't encouraging either.
A lot of intense criticism of the performance by ABC's moderators is evident throughout the blogosphere. The main complaint was that the first half of the debate was almost exclusively devoted to targeting controversies surrounding Obama's personal associations and gaffes rather than substantive issues. George Stephanopoulos, one of the moderators, seems to concede that point but says that it's because Obama is the front-runner.
The WP's Tom Shales, who called the debate "despicable," had already come out as a certified Obama backer when he swooned over the Illinois senator's performance after the NBC debate in February. Slate joked then that Shales was angling for the job of Obama Girl, not without reason. There was also much criticism from the Huffington Post, which is pretty much pro-Obama all the time, and a column by Will Bunch ("the utter phoniness of the Clinton campaign is kind of old news right now"). But it's likely a case of people really complaining because their candidate did poorly, and even some of his cheerleaders seem to agree. They're hoping that complaining about the debate itself will hide the news of his performance, which was flat.
In history, on this day in 1521 Martin Luther confronted the emperor Charles V in the Diet of Worms and refused to retract his views that led to his excommunication. A bigot, a pig, and a not untalented musician, Luther had courage and conviction, and both could have been used by the Church he left.
Colonial historian Francis Jennings estimated that King Phillip's War killed nearly 7 of every 8 Indians and 30 of every 65 English settlers when it ripped through New England in 1670's. It was proportionately one of the bloodiest and costliest in the history of America, given a boost this day 1676, when Sudbury, Massachusetts, was attacked and slaughtered by Indians. My Uncle's house in Rehobeth still bore burn marks supposedly from the same group. It was the closest any Indians came to defeating the Brits and a European invader. A close call for the Crown.
In 1775, this day, American revolutionaries Paul Revere, William Dawes and Samuel Prescott rode though the towns of Massachusetts giving the warning that "the British are coming."
In 1818, a regiment of Indians and blacks were defeated at the Battle of Suwann, in Florida, ending the first Seminole War.
Big day in military history. In 1847, U.S. forces defeated the Mexicans at Cerro Gordo.
In 1877, Charles Cros wrote a paper that described the process of recording and reproducing sound. In France, Cros is regarded as the inventor of the phonograph. In the U.S., Thomas Edison gets the credit. But new recordings from France pretty much give the Frogs the win.
In 1906, this day, San Francisco was hit with an earthquake. The orginal death toll was cited at about 700. Later information indicated that the death toll may have been 3 to 4 times the original estimate. The midwest had a 5.2 this very day in honor of that catastrophe.
In 1937, Leon Trotsky called for the overthrow of Soviet leader Josef Stalin. The pick that entered Trotsky's head in Mexico some years later is often connected to this.
In 1942, James H. Doolittle and his squadron of B-25's, from the USS Hornet, raided Tokyo and other Japanese cities. Little damage, but so embarrassed the IJN it rushed into Midway and got walloped.
A year to the day later, Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was shot down by American P-38 fighters. Not a good day in Japan. Or us. In 1945, war correspondent Ernie Pyle was killed by Japanese gunfire on the Pacific island of Ie Shima, off Okinawa. He was 44 years old and a wonderful writer.
Albert Einstein died this day in 1955.
In 1983, the U.S. Embassy in Beirut was blown up by a suicide car-bomber, killing 63 people of whom 17 were Americans.
This day in 1989, thousands of Chinese students demanding democracy tried to storm Communist Party headquarters in Beijing.
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All material on this site copyright Richard L. MacLeod (Dark Cloud) 1968-2010 unless otherwise stated.
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