Palin
How is it possible that a candidate who would be the most physically feeble President we've ever elected is giving us a vice-president that nobody knows about, with little relevant experience, none of which she's been at long enough for us to evaluate, and with almost no time for the press corps to investigate and question her? We went through this 19 months of grueling presidential scrutiny, weeding out the strong candidates from the weak, testing them under all kinds of various pressures, and are left with a VP who has been through virtually none of that, ever, in any context, sitting a 72-year-old heartbeat away from the nuclear buttons?

What the hell? Are we in the middle of some kind of bad Reese Witherspoon movie?

Is McCain insane?

All Out for Hillary Voters
McCain picks Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

If I could ask McCain one question about the pick I would ask him if he would have still selected Palin had Obama picked Hillary, because the answer is clearly NO, though he would have to say YES. There is a serious (72-year-old) heartbeat-from-the-presidency issue for a VP with so little experience. But there is also a McCain character question that continues to grow. Tasked with his first major presidential decision, John McCain made a deliberately political choice, rather than a principled one. That much seems unquestionable.

Post-Speech Thought
I didn't listen to lots of post-speech coverage, but I heard even Pat Buchanan say he thought Obama's was the best Convention speech he had ever heard. I thought it went really well. What did you think? If you missed the speech, you can watch it here.

"I Thought I Had Cried All My Tears"
On this day 45 years ago, Dr. King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial in DC. Not many figures in history could claim to have given an address that became so ingrained in culture that - in the course of less than a generation - it was a staple in grade school education all across the country. I first heard it in school almost 30 years ago.

It is the quintessential expression of the American ethos at its best. That's why it's so revered, and why - despite the objections of John McCain at the time (how is that judgment, again?) - Dr. King has a holiday, to remember what he stood for, and how he stood for it.

But that's not the reason for this post. It's this: 9 other great Americans gave speeches that day as part of the March on Washington in August, 1963. All of them have passed away, except one: Congressman John Lewis of Georgia. 45 years later, he will speak again, ahead of Barack Obama's acceptance speech. This morning, NPR interviewed an emotional Lewis. I almost had to pull the car over. You can read it, but I recommend clicking the link to listen and hear his voice. Besides, maybe it's because I was driving when I heard it, but I would swear their transcript gets a key statement wrong. He didn't say "But I've cried all my tears." He said, weeping and surprised, "I thought I had cried all my tears." [UPDATE: Check the comments - they fixed the transcript]

I understand there would be a political risk in assuming too much connection between King's speech and Obama's address tonight. And I was initially wary of the campaign making too much of the anniversary. But now I think it would be a mistake not to pay significant homage to that moment, and the movement that - whether some like to hear it or not - now includes Senator Obama's candidacy in its embrace. Today, I'm not inclined to pander to the bigots who - once opposed to uplifting King's legacy - now cry "presumptuous" at Obama's claim on history.

I suspect Rep. Lewis will not be alone in his surprise at the level of emotion that comes from this recognition, that in Obama the bridge connecting today to August 28, 1963 has a new and potent steadying brace on which to build. There's going to be waterworks tonight, folks. I say, let 'em flow.

Bill
Simply the best. Thank God for him.

Why is that so hard?

Tonight is the highlight of the convention - clearly. And we haven't even gotten to Biden yet. Not just Bill, but John Kerry - who was on fire - Tammy Duckworth, Chet Edwards, and a few people I don't even know, hammered McCain and Bush for their mistreatment of troops and foreign policy. One thing is clear from tonight: the military is pissed at Republicans. Too bad the networks have missed it. Here's hoping the cable boxes of undecided voters across Colorado, Ohio, Florida, Nevada got somehow stuck on C-Span for a few hours.

In case you missed it, here's Kerry. Ya think he's out for some revenge?

McCain's Misogyny [UPDATED]
Perhaps building on the post below, I note with interest the celebration surrounding John McCain's endorsement by Latino star (apparently) "Daddy Yankee", whose hit song "Gasolina" is, well, not about fossil fuel. [Be careful with that link if you are at work...it takes you to some explicit explanation of the song's lyrics, as well as a music video that rather sells the point.]

Taken together - the cruelty toward Chelsea, the crudity toward Hillary, this new, let's call it teenage sexploitation endorsement, plus - don't forget - McCain's earlier suggestion that his wife should enter something of a topless fornication pageant at the Sturgis Festival, and you've got a candidate with a pretty disturbingly well-defined anti-woman resume.

You'd think after a while someone in the press corps might put this together and ask a few questions - not of McCain, but of the conservative religious crowd he so needs to have a chance at winning in November.

[UPDATE: As it turns out, teenage sexploitation specialist "Daddy Yankee" initially approached the Obama campaign for an endorsement (desperately seeking to break into the over-18 voting crowd?) but was rebuffed, for exactly the reasons that McCain's camp should be skewered for accepting him. For their part, the McCain campaign - presumably because they can't imagine any campaign might function with integrity - doesn't believe the Obama report.

It would be nice if the communication between the "gasolina" artist and the Obama campaign were archived in some form to prove them wrong. In such a case, I would trumpet this essential difference in campaign values every hour of every day from now until November. Maybe that's why I don't run political campaigns.]

Maybe I'm Crazy
But I'd like to see someone tonight - even Chelsea Clinton herself - make reference to the crude joke McCain told about her when she was 18, and would like to see Hillary talk about McCain laughing and saying "good question" when someone asked him during the primaries "How do we beat the bitch"?

I know, Americans don't like politicians playing the victim or that can't take a joke. But if Clinton supporters are going to really flirt with voting for him, they should have to come to terms with just what a woman-hating, anti-Clinton asshole he is.

Statistics
The good news is that the number of uninsured has finally dropped. The bad news is that the only reason it has is that *so many people* are now poor enough to qualify for Medicaid.

Kennedy Tribute
Michelle was fabulous tonight (transcript here). If that doesn't warm the cold-hearted skeptics to her, then I guess that just can't be done. But the thing I'll remember about tonight was the tribute to Teddy. Caroline's speech was moving and then the video tribute really got me. Below is a bit from her intro, and then the video, in case you missed it.

For 46 years, he has been so much more than just a senator for the people of Massachusetts. He’s been a senator for all who believe in a dream that’s never died. If you’re no longer being denied a job because of your race, gender or disability, or if you’ve seen a rise in the minimum wage you’re being paid, Teddy is your senator, too.

If your children are receiving health care thanks to the Children’s Health Insurance Program, if you see a nurse at a community health center or if you’re benefiting from the Medicare program that he fought to create, and that just last month he returned to the Senate to save, Teddy is your senator too. If your child is getting an early boost in life through Head Start, or attending a better school or can go to college because a Pell grant has made it more affordable, Teddy is your senator too. And if you’re an 18-year-old who’s going to vote for the first time — and I bet it’ll be for Barack Obama — Teddy is your senator, too.

MEDIA MONDAY
What have you been watching, listening to, reading?

Film Recommendation
I saw the incredible documentary Man on Wire last week. Will hopefully have time to say more about this later, but I think it's pretty easily the best film I've seen this year. If you get a chance to catch it, do! Here's the trailer, though it doesn't exactly portray the true tone of the movie:

Random Sunday Question
What did Ron Paul do with all of that money he raised?

Biden
I don't typically enjoy the sensation of reacting positively to a David Brooks column. It makes me wonder if I'm ill. But he has a good piece today on the merits of picking Joe Biden as VP. I learned some things about Joe I didn't know that will make me even happier if he should turn up on the ticket tomorrow (or later today).

Bayh update: Indiana out of reach?

Tennessee update: Being annexed by Alabama?

Confirmed
Everyone in my office is aware of how many homes they own. Make sure you check with everyone in yours. (Consulting with assistants or staff is not allowed)

And Another
This is getting fun...

The Too-Many-Houses Story Has Legs?
From Politico (via TPM):

The McCains increased their budget for household employees from $184,000 in 2006 to $273,000 in 2007, according to John McCain's tax returns.

The additional cash supports an "increase in the number of employees," the McCain aide told Politico. The aide did not answer a question about whether the growing staff stemmed from addition of new properties to the family's real estate portfolio.

That's certainly something all Americans can relate to, right? 1/4 million dollars a year on "household employees"... He's out of touch, out of touch, out of touch.

While we're at it, I'm sure someone's checked into the legal status of said employees? Were they paid a living wage? Health-care benefits?

More Like It

Stop Begging
This is right, and similar to what I was trying to say earlier.

Big Event in Indy?
Fwiw, the Nashville Post is reporting that campaign staff from around the country are coming to Indianapolis for a big announcement.

NashvillePost.com has learned that senior campaign officials from the Barack Obama Presidential campaign are being dispatched from various locations around the country and are converging in Indianapolis for a “major event” to take place on Saturday.
...
Sources in Denver, the site of next week's Democratic National Convention, say that individuals responsible for Obama's major public appearances have been pulled out of the city and are heading east towards Indiana.

Ken Whitehouse is a good reporter with good sources. I guess we'll see if this is it, and it's Bayh, which would be fine by me.

Winning Indiana would combine with Iowa and NM to overcome a loss in Ohio. The math is right. I could see Obama losing the popular vote and still winning the presidency this way.

Tuesday VP Talk
Biden gaining rumor mill steam?

Gore finally slated to speak at Convention - last night in the stadium with Obama.

Some techie sleuths think they've figured out it's Sebelius. It might be, but I'm not buying the argument.

I don't think Biden brings a state, but otherwise I don't mind. He's fiery and smart with lots of experience. If I was going to be President, I would want him to be a key foreign policy adviser. Whether that means the place for him is VP is another question, but I think his political skills make him preferable to other Senators with similar experience like Reed, Dodd and Kerry.

Obama at VFW
You can read the prepared remarks and see the video of the speech Obama gave today to the Veterans of Foreign Wars here, the day after McCain spoke to the same crowd and went back again to questioning Obama's patriotism in his views on the war. Obama responded directly to that charge, and TPM's Greg Sargent says:

Obama declared that it's time for McCain to "acknowledge" that Obama genuinely wants to serve America's national interest. It'll be interesting to see what McCain says if and when he's asked directly by reporters whether he's prepared to acknowledge this -- and how hard the national press corps will grill him for a direct answer to the question.

I don't think this is a positive development. We don't need more and more news cycles of asking John McCain if maybe, just maybe Obama only loves his country slightly less than he does, rather than much less. Why give in to the offensive notion that McCain is the proper judge of who loves the country enough?

When I complain that Obama is not hitting back hard, I'm not wanting stuff like this. I'm wanting him to hit McCain over what he would do to the country with his horrible ideas. I don't want the press corps asking about Obama's patriotism; I want them asking why continuing this war with no end in sight - and against the wishes of the American people - at $1 Billion/month - is worth it? McCain is distracting attention away from his policies, which the majority of voters disagree with.

McCain is not the arbiter of love of country. Don't explain that you love it. Show it, in your passion and your agenda. And accuse McCain of reverting to a politics of division that is trying to hide his agenda beneath scurrilous attacks. After 8 years of Bush, we need an infusion of character in our politics, and sanity in our policies. McCain currently offers neither.

VP Deep Thought Question
Between now and the Convention, the longer Obama waits to announce his running mate, the better known they likely are? Less of a need to introduce the person to the country in a series of news profiles? If he waits until the Convention itself, that increases the chances it's Hillary? Would need to get someone like Sebelius out there ASAP? Someone like Biden sometime in between?

MEDIA MONDAY
What have you been reading, watching, listening to?

New From Old
I've been listening to the All Songs Considered podcast recently and it pointed me to a couple of new recordings by not-so-new artists that may be worth checking out. David Byrne and Brian Eno have teamed up again for the first time since My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. Everything That Happens Will Happen Today is available now. You can hear a track in that podcast - link here. Apparently, David Byrne will start touring the material this fall.

Also Randy Newman has a new CD out that sounds great.You can hear a track from Harps and Angels in the Aug. 4 podcast.

Weekend Box Office
1. Tropic Thunder
2. Dark Knight
3. Star Wars: Clone Wars
4. Mirrors
5. Pineapple Express

More VP Talk
Steve Clemons says he knows something, but not everything.

[S]ources close to Obama report to me that after the "surge of concern" on the net about Evan Bayh, he has not been selected as Obama's VP running mate.

I have been informed that the decision has been made, and I don't know who that person is.

I also have been told that Tom Daschle is not the running mate. I also happen to know that it is not Wesley Clark.

I just received word that it is not Senator Jack Reed either, though Obama thought very highly of him.

I would be very disappointed if Bayh was passed over because of "concern on the net". We've got to deal with the electoral map. If Obama wins Ohio, then he's going to win and all is well. But if he loses there (and now it's looking tied after months of leading), some things have to go right. If we win all the Kerry states plus Iowa and New Mexico - as looks like a fair bet - that still leaves Obama 5 EVs behind. Colorado would do it. Nevada would do it. Montana PLUS Alaska would do it. Virginia would do it. And Indiana would do it. Bayh would bring Indiana. Who cares what his policy differences are!? Yeah liberals would get annoyed - and since when has *that* been a problem with the American electorate? And can we point to even *one* person who would have voted for Obama but won't if Evan Bayh is on the ticket?

I know, I know, I haven't exactly been a champion of Bayh until recently, and I'm still not *in any substantive way*, but come on let's look at the map. If the pick doesn't wind up making strong electoral sense (and I can only see 2 - Kaine and Bayh - that do), I'm going to be very confused. And if he picks someone else and we go on to lose by those 5 EVs, going down in both IN and VA by slim margins, he's got lots of splainin' to do. Indiana's right there for the taking.

Worrying about the liberal vote...sheesh, pleeeze. Of all the moronic things to worry about, what liberals think about the VP has got to be the most pointless. Pick Evan Bayh, win his 11 electoral votes, go to Washington and put him in a box somewhere for the next 4 years and don't let him out.

I should say...Clemons also tries to tantalize us with one more hint he got.

One well placed political expert just told me on the phone that we may all be wrong and that Obama could come out with something completely unexpected -- a Hillary Clinton or even (and this shocked me) Al Gore or John Kerry.

But note the differences. This is a political expert (not the source "close to Obama"), who says we "may all be wrong" (not that he has the slightest information that we are). This last bit is just idle speculation the same you or I could engage in. That said, I would have a positive response to either Gore or Hillary, even though the potential for electoral vote regret would be the same I mentioned above.

Not a Good Feeling
After that Saddlebrook Church CNN presidential forum last night. Watched the replay. If this is a preview of debate style, Obama is in for some tough nights. He seemed thoughtful, hesistant and nuanced in his approach to complex issues - which he answered in a halting, conversational style with the moderator. McCain was passionate, direct, seemed more awake, and spoke to the audience.

Of the 2 approaches, we know which generally wins presidential elections. It's only surprising the Obama campaign doesn't seem to know.

I put links to the video and transcript up at the other blog. Check it out if you want to watch or read the event online.

On other depressing campaign news, McCain has broken through his 44% ceiling in the Gallup tracking poll.

Friday Night Deep Thought: Olympic Edition
Many sports play well on TV. Badminton is not one of them.

VP [UPDATED]
I suppose, Obama has to announce his choice next week, since the Convention begins the week after that. Jerome at MYDD believes the speaking schedule announced rules out some high-profile candidates:

The headline prime-time speaker on Wednesday will be Barack Obama's Vice Presidential Nominee.
...
Former President Bill Clinton will speak on Barack Obama's commitment to a stronger and safer America, as well as the history of Democrats making positive change in the lives of all Americans.

Governor Bill Richardson and Senators Evan Bayh, Joe Biden and Jay Rockefeller will echo Obama's call for a new direction in national security and outline his policies and plans to secure America's future.

That, he concludes, takes Bayh, Biden and Richardson out of the running. But I'm not so sure. What would be so difficult about moving them from one slot on Wednesday to another? Anyway, announcing that slot now gives them a speaking assignment to start working on that speech...presumably before knowing it will really be an address given as the Vice President selection. It's hard to see how this schedule release really rules anyone out.

Or maybe I just want to think Bayh is still in the running. I've warmed up to the idea of his selection for one simple reason: he would bring Indiana. Which other choice has a definite electoral college advantage (besides VA's Kaine)?

[UPDATE: Here's a list of possibles and their supposed status. Those not yet crossed out include also Chet Edwards (who I like a lot, and if Obama's not going with one of the 2 that could win a state, I would be pulling for Chet), Chris Dodd, John Kerry, Wes Clark, Jack Reed and Sam Nunn.]

Article 19 Nutrition Quiz
Quick, label the following as either a fruit or a vegetable:
--String Beans
--Tomatoes
--Cucumber
--Okra
--Rhubarb
--Squash

If you said they are all fruits except for the rhubarb....you're right. Yes, now I'm really confused too. Read all about it, and why strawberries and blackberries are not really berries, here.

I'm a Champion
My teevee just told me that if I've had a Coke in the last 80 years, I've "had a hand" in every Olympic gold medal won since then. Who knows what kind of great stuff other people will continue to do if only I will keep drinking Coke.

Who's On the Fence?
According to polls, about 10-12% of likely voters just don't know which candidate they will choose when they get in the voting booth in a couple of months. Some 5% beyond that seem to be capable of changing their pick from week to week, depending on completely bizarre, irrelevant campaign trivia.

Some but not all of this phenomenon is due to the well-meaning people - you may know a few - who believe there is lots to like about John McCain, and are convinced he's a good, honorable guy, hence worth considering for President. These folks always thought of him as their Favorite Republican. Their one-time willingness to vote for him was the last scrap of evidence they could point to indicating they were Non-Partisan, as they hate to refer to themselves as Democrats, because that kind of team-based political cheerleading is for non-thinking Americans. To be a reasonable person, the argument goes I guess, you have to be willing to vote for the candidate whose policies best represent your values *and* sometimes the one who does not, to show you're not tied to that worst of all beasts Political Parties.

All of that to say, after sending them daily reminders of the Supreme Court's oldest members, you might also ask your bi-partisan friends to think about McCain's response to Russia's increasingly aggressive stance. You could do worse, as Josh Marshall says, than to start here, with Republican Andrew Sullivan's reaction. [UPDATE: And here's a more pointed critique from Josh here.]

Tell them that after they come to grips with voting for Obama, they will still have Lincoln Chafee and Colin Powell to like.

MEDIA MONDAY
What have you been reading, listening to, watching?

RIP, Isaac Hayes
But did he really create the "Memphis sound"? Just askin.' Perhaps sadly for him, whatever else worthwhile he did musically, I'll always remember him for his Chocolate Salty Balls.

Russia-Georgia Background
If you're as clueless as I am, this NYTimes piece is a good place to start for a primer.

And you can check the Wikipedia entries on the territories in question: Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

When You Sue, Settle
From today's NYTimes:

That is the clear lesson of a soon-to-be-released study of civil lawsuits that has found that most of the plaintiffs who decided to pass up a settlement offer and went to trial ended up getting less money than if they had taken that offer.
...
Defendants made the wrong decision by proceeding to trial far less often, in 24 percent of cases, according to the study; plaintiffs were wrong in 61 percent of cases.

I don't know that this is the right way to measure a gamble, though. The question is not how *often* either side comes out ahead or behind, but how much do they stand to lose or gain when they do. The piece goes on to tell that when defendants do get it wrong it costs them on average over $1 million, while plaintiff mistakes cost on average $43,000.

How Many Countries Can You Name in 5 Minutes?
Not a tremendously proud Article 19 showing. I got 50 the first time, but spent the last 2 minutes staring at the screen and trying to remember the Risk board. Then tried again and got 60 (without looking at the list of those I missed). The time starts when the page loads - also you don't need to hit enter. It will count your country as soon as you spell it correctly. Here's the link. Don't think about it. Just click the link and start typing.

Disclaimer: I got this game through the blog Bold Confessor, and not through the, ahem, dating site I just realized it's attached to.

Your Co-Worker May Be Secretly Delusional
I am not sure the evidence is solid against Bruce Ivins being the anthrax killer. But it is solid against him having a grip on reality. Still, he managed to keep his high security job handling dangerous biological toxins.

“I wish I could control the thoughts in my mind,” he added a month later in another message to a colleague. “It’s hard enough sometimes controlling my behavior. When I am being eaten alive inside, I always try to put on a good front here at work and at home, so I don’t spread the pestilence.”

He continued, “I get incredible paranoid, delusional thoughts at times, and there’s nothing I can do until they go away.”

These e-mail messages...provide glimpses into the personality of a man obsessed with a sorority that he first encountered while an undergraduate, asserting in an e-mail message that the women’s group was waging a “fatwah” against him.

I don't expect a military microbiologist to be an especially normal fellow. But neither should the lab that hires him. Let's watch the guys working on the deadly substances a little more closely please...

Exhale
Obama back in front in Rasmussen tracking poll, ahead by 4 by 2 in Gallup, and 6 in AP/Ipsos.

Pride in Their Ignorance
Another Obama statement I like:

I Like
You like?

Asked about the McCain campaign's claim that Obama had "played the race card" — one McCain spokesman had suggested that McCain was being painted as a racist — Obama called the criticism an attempt to alter the campaign's focus.

He added of the Republicans' approach: "They're very good at negative campaigning. They're not so good at governing."

This election message should be simple. Republican policies and ineptitude have gotten the country in the mess we're in now. McCain is proposing to continue the failed strategies of the past 8 years.

Though he has to pass a basic test of acceptability, this election really isn't and shouldn't be about Obama. It's about the last 8 years of failed government. Democrats need to get better about saying that same thing over and over again between now and November.

MEDIA MONDAY
What have you been reading, listening to, watching?

Weekend Box Office
1. The Dark Knight
2. The Mummy
3. Step Brothers
4. Mamma Mia
5. Journey to the Center of Earth

What's Happening?
I'm on vacation this week. The good news is that for the first time, our regular Myrtle Beach stay is offering free wi-fi. The bad news is that it's pretty spotty. So, what's going on in the world? Are we going to get one or other of the VP announcements before the weekend?

Outside the Box?
Link

Barack Obama's vice presidential search team has floated the name of a member of President Bush's first-term Cabinet, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, as Obama's running mate.

Veneman, 59, has a biography that could be suited to Obama's unifying message. A Republican raised on a California peach farm, she rose to become the nation’s first female agriculture secretary. In 2002 she was diagnosed with breast cancer, which was treated successfully. Today she serves as executive director of the United Nations children's agency, UNICEF.

We need to win soooo badly, that it seems to me Obama has some leeway here to choose a VP that might otherwise meet with lots of disapproval from the left. There is certainly nobody he could choose that would make me vote for McCain, or not vote, or pick Nader or Barr.

As Agriculture Secretary, she was not exactly a friend of business regulation. But she might send a message about Obama's commitment to women and family issues (UNICEF), and shows he is not an old school partisan - good for the independents. Still, does she pass the most basic test: ready to be President? Seems like a pick that would be a little too cute. You can read more about her here.

The Court
I had a dream last night about the election. Just before the conventions, Justice John Paul Stevens announced his retirement and the issue of the Court came front and center for the rest of the campaign. In my sleep, anyway, this was a great development for Obama.

Even presuming nothing so dramatic actually happens, the effect might not be such a bad idea. What do you think? Could Obama make gains by playing up the rightward jolt a McCain presidency would give the Court? Or would it bring out social conservatives in a year they may be otherwise inclined to stay at home?

For Obama to Win
I basically agree with Nate's list at 538.

Obama's Berlin Speech
You can read it here.

It's hard to believe the American people might let this moment pass by, and elect the uninspiring guy whose idea for the economy is to keep doing what's got us into this mess, whose idea for the war is to continue it, and whose age frankly makes it a virtual certainty that he will be a less focused person by the end of his first term than he is even today. No telling what a second term would hold, or who might be running the show. But the polls are tight and not especially headed in the right direction, so who knows.

Too True?
Via TPM, check out what they are actually selling at the official McCain campaign store! Ha! What's next, official McCain urinal cups? Toilet paper?

The "Dark" Part
Last night, I caught a late show of the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight. Still mulling what I think of it over all, but worth pointing out - if you didn't know - that this is not a movie for children to enjoy, like other recent superhero movies might have arguably been (Spiderman franchise, Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Superman, even X-Men, etc..). Each of those may have had some ignorable innuendo and language that put it over the PG edge into PG-13.

This film is dark. There are some seriously disturbing thoughts, scenarios and ideas here. I'm not (necessarily) complaining. Just warning that this is not an especially fun film to sit through. Ledger's powerful Joker is not of the Jack Nicholson variety. If I was less than, oh, 15 or so, it would have given me pretty bad dreams for a week.

Nashville in the News
God help us.

It started when Juana Villegas, an illegal immigrant from Mexico who was nine months pregnant, was pulled over by a police officer in a Nashville suburb for a routine traffic violation.

By the time Mrs. Villegas was released from the county jail six days later, she had gone through labor with a sheriff’s officer standing guard in her hospital room, where one of her feet was cuffed to the bed most of the time. County officers barred her from seeing or speaking with her husband.

After she was discharged from the hospital, Mrs. Villegas was separated from her nursing infant for two days and barred from taking a breast pump into the jail, her lawyer and a doctor familiar with the case said. Her breasts became infected, and the newborn boy developed jaundice, they said.

Shameless
They accuse Democrats of being unpatriotic for our dissent - though usually the big-wigs leave it to others to conduct that kind of branding. But today McCain crossed a line I don't think I've ever heard from a presidential candidate himself.

It seems to me that Senator Obama would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign.

That's a pretty nasty charge, putting political ambition over the well-being of the troops and the country...

But isn't it even worse if we pull the logical inference out of it? If he says Obama would win a campaign by losing the war, doesn't that implicate American voters in that ill-framed tradeoff? After all, the only way losing the war could turn into an electoral victory is if *we vote for it.*

MEDIA MONDAY
What have you been reading, listening to, watching?

Who's seen Batman already?

The Rest of the World v. The American Electorate
I may just be letting my natural political anxiety show here, but I am afraid the big spectacle being made of Obama's trip overseas may have some backlash here at home... I just figure that Europe liking a left-of-center American candidate will make most Americans like the candidate less. Not that it would make any sense, mind you.

Still, that backlash will be nothing compared to what this will cause. Do the DNC and Obama campaign have nobody on staff that can tell them how poorly the Hollywood-class endorsement route will play among the voters we need to convince between now and November? Are they *trying* to lose? Actively forgetting how hard Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Vedder, and Ben Affleck worked to elect Kerry in 2004? Remember that big tour through the swing states?!

It's real simple. Scarlett Johannson couldn't save Woody Allen at the box office, Affleck couldn't save Daredevil, and they are not going to get Barack Obama elected. The people we have to go after don't want entertainment celebrities telling them who to vote for. In fact, they would seem to resent it. I don't see how the DC Democratic political culture could be so star-struck they wouldn't notice they're handing Republicans fodder for their favorite stupid charge: elitism.

If he wants to close the deal on the election, the only relationship Obama should be having with the music and film industries is telling them to stop peddling smut and violence to kids. People love that. All of this rock-star-candidate stuff was great fun and exciting and provided necessary energy for the fund-raising and primary stages. But the campaign is in a different phase now, the one where he has to simultaneously look both presidential and genuinely in touch with working people. (Kerry got 1 of those 2, Bill Clinton 2 of 2.) I'm afraid the plans for Germany this week, and Denver in August - which might be exciting for a partisan supporter like me to watch - nonetheless work against both goals.

Then again, I have never been correct about a political prediction yet, so we will see how the polls develop this week. Hopefully, this isn't the time I'm finally right about something.

Times Change
Remember back when stuff like rape was so funny to joke about? That was way back in the 80s. John McCain was giving speeches back in the rape-jokes-are-funny era. Of course, he doesn't remember back that far. Maybe he can get this guy to work on piecing that time period back together for him. Or this guy.

That McCain camp is classy, no?

Community Schools
The American Federation of Teachers has elected a new President, Randi Weingarten. Earlier this week, she gave her first address and is calling on our nation's schools to take on a larger role. From the AFT press release:

A key aspect of Weingarten’s proposed solution is the expansion of the community school model—schools that serve the neediest children by bringing together all the services and activities they and their families need under one roof.

“Imagine schools that are open all day, and offer after-school and evening recreational activities and homework assistance; high schools that allow students to sign up for morning, afternoon or evening classes. And suppose the schools included child care and dental, medical and other services the community needs.”

I'm sure many schools do something on the way to this already, but this is a pretty broad challenge to make schools into full-service community centers. I imagine something along the lines of what churches do for many people - and did for me when I was younger. Maybe because of that I have mixed feelings about it, though I can't quite put my finger on what bugs me - if anything. Is this a really good idea for serving the community and bringing parents and everyone else to a greater sense of ownership over our community schools? What do you think?

Either way, though, isn't it just pie-in-the-sky rhetoric? Wouldn't we need dramatically larger facilities and greatly increased staff (and once it comes down to it, won't the AFT itself argue for higher teacher salaries over using an increased school budget for, say dental care)? Not only that, around here we have a problem with promoting exclusively community-based schools: segregation. I'm all for an overhaul - could things get much worse? But it's hard seeing enough political will playing out on all sides to make much of anything truly change, let alone something like this happen.

Guess What: TV is Bad
This makes lots of sense. I only wonder the age range for which it remains true that background TV might distract from the brain's development. Why think it effects only the little kids?

[I]n the new study, researchers say the disruptive effects were "real but small," amounting to a few seconds in many cases. For instance, kids played about 90 seconds less in the half hour with the TV on — they looked momentarily at the screen, then went back to their toys.

But researcher Daniel Anderson, a psychologist at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, says he's concerned the effects could be cumulative.

"It's that situation that I'm most concerned about, when you look at TV as being a disruptive influence hour after hour, day after day, week after week, year after year," he says.

Perhaps most significant: When the TV was on, kids of all ages played with a given toy — a jack-in-the-box, a baby doll, blocks, a toy telephone, a school bus with toy passengers — for about 30 seconds, on average. Without TV, it was 60 seconds.

Researchers say solitary play, especially with toys, offers many benefits. It allows children to practice planning ahead and develop cognitive skills.

Obviously it's even more important with very young children to remove that distraction, but since we know that the brain continues to develop for several years, it makes you wonder if background distractions can hamper you later in life as well. I also wonder if music can have the same disruptive impact.

Late Night Deep Thought
Hogan's Heroes is highly unrealistic. Maybe even moreso than Gilligan's Island.

MEDIA MONDAY
What have you been listening to, watching, reading? C'mon I know you've been seeing summer movies, reading summer books, and going to summer concerts. We want to know about them.

The Beatles Were a "Christian Band"?
That's (kind of) what John Lennon said in a 1969 interview recently broadcast for the first time.

Christians around the world had been dismayed by Lennon’s boast in an article in London’s Evening Standard about the popularity of the Beatles, but the singer says he was misunderstood.

“It’s just an expression meaning the Beatles seem to me to have more influence over youth than Christ,” he says. “Now I wasn’t saying that was a good idea, ‘cos I’m one of Christ’s biggest fans. And if I can turn the focus on the Beatles on to Christ’s message, then that’s what we’re here to do.”

He blames “the hypocrites” for being too “uptight” in reacting to his comments. “If the Beatles get on the side of Christ, which they always were, and let people know that, then maybe the churches won’t be full, but there’ll be a lot of Christians dancing in the dance halls. Whatever they celebrate, God and Christ, I don’t think it matters as long as they’re aware of Him and His message.”
...
Lennon actually tells the interviewer, “I’m a Christian, Mohammed, and Buddhist. Whatever you’d like to call it. I believe in Christ and Buddha and Mohammed and God.”

Of course, the next year he would release "God" on the Plastic Ono Band, in which he said quite specifically "I don't believe in Jesus", "I don't believe in Mohammed", and "I don't believe in Buddha". So, I guess there's something for everyone.

Weekend Box Office
1. Hellboy 2
2. Hancock
3. Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D
4. Wall-E
5. Wanted
I saw...
16. Mongol...pretty good.

Obama Hits Back on Iraq
With an op-ed in Monday's NYTimes.

In this campaign, there are honest differences over Iraq, and we should discuss them with the thoroughness they deserve. Unlike Senator McCain, I would make it absolutely clear that we seek no presence in Iraq similar to our permanent bases in South Korea, and would redeploy our troops out of Iraq and focus on the broader security challenges that we face. But for far too long, those responsible for the greatest strategic blunder in the recent history of American foreign policy have ignored useful debate in favor of making false charges about flip-flops and surrender.

It’s not going to work this time. It’s time to end this war.

Be Careful in Those Great Seats
I'm surprised this doesn't happen more often.

Doctors and family members say a 7-year-old boy who fractured his skull when he was struck by a foul ball at Wrigley Field was recovering and expected to live.

Dominic DiAngi of suburban Frankfort was sitting behind the Cubs dugout Thursday afternoon during a game between the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds when a foul ball off the bat of Cubs pitcher Ted Lilly struck him in the head.

Hockey finally put nets up that erase most - but not all - of the danger of flying pucks. It doesn't affect the vision of the game one bit and makes lots of sense. Maybe it's not doable in the danger areas down the lines of a baseball field (the backstop is well protected), but you shouldn't have to worry that such a typical occurrence (a foul ball) will kill your child.

Great Moments on the Straight Talk Express
I never thought there would be occasion to enjoy watching John McCain's face, but the contortions he goes through trying to answer - or trying not to answer, I should say - a reporter's question about health insurance companies that pay for Viagra, but not for women's birth control, are priceless. I've watched three times already. Note, by the way, as you watch this CNN coverage, that Carly Fiorina *is his national campaign chair.*

Don't Forget that Cholesterol Screening...
...for your 8-year old.

The new guidelines were to be issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics on Monday.

The push to aggressively screen and medicate for high cholesterol in children is certain to create controversy amid a continuing debate about the use of prescription drugs in children as well as the best approaches to ward off heart disease in adults.

But proponents say there is growing evidence that the first signs of heart disease show up in childhood, and with 30 percent of the nation’s children overweight or obese, many doctors fear that a rash of early heart attacks and diabetes is on the horizon as these children grow up.

I'm sure the drug companies are not excited about this. The NYTimes issued an editorial today that I basically agree with. I would only add this: if this was an example of our increased medical knowledge about early prevention, we could celebrate. But it sounds more to me like an example of the stress of today's toxic diet and zero-activity rate on children. I suppose the truth may be somewhere in between.

Whew..Just a Dream
It turns out that the woeful economy we thought we were going through is just in our heads. So sayeth McCain's top economic adviser. Get to work you bunch of "whiners"!

It's a good thing, too. Because I was starting to think that the unemployment rate had really climbed back to 5.5%, that home foreclosures were really skyrocketing, that health care costs truly were exploding and that gas really was over $4 a gallon. The old imagination running wild I guess.

Boredom and Imagination
I had a long conversation last night with a colleague who teaches something of a philosophy of art class. We were discussing attitudes - our own and our students' - toward art, observation, beauty, fiction....you know, standard Tuesday night conversation.

She said something that frankly shocked me. The last few semesters in this course, on the first day's discussion, students almost unanimously deride the value of imagination. They consider it a "pointless" resource, and using it a "complete waste of time".

Needless to say, I don't get to have discussions like this in a music theory class, so I didn't see it coming.

For a generation enthralled with role-playing games, virtual reality, and networks of friends and relationships even that exist on the fringe of the imaginary, I would have thought imagination played a key part in their existence. But it would seem the opposite is the case. Indeed, I am left having to assume that any person who fully discounts the usefulness of one's imagination - the fundamental muscle of creativity - simply doesn't have one, or at least not much of one.

Is this possible? Is there a population surge among the un-imaginative?

The second part of our conversation hinged on a question of mine that seemed like a logical follow-up to this revelation. Given that I *know* most of them are not spending lots of time productively on the outside of their brains, what do they spend all of their time doing, if not exercising their imaginations in some way or another?

She asks them that question, she said (see, I told you it was logical), and to a person, her students respond that they spend most of their time looking for ways to avert boredom. Their default position (in life) is bored disinterest.

Now, I'm not trying to disparage the youth here in a "the-kids-today" rant. That's the most tired, predictable, silliest drivel ever to mark growing old. For the most part, I consider that kind of nonsense to be sheer jealousy. What is more pathetic than the ravings of those that envy the beauty of youth? I'm not immune to it, obviously. But I try to keep it to a minimum. No, my trouble here is that I associate that kind of attitude - that would decry the value of imagination, hence stumble day-to-day in dreary boredom - with the jaded older set, those who prefer to lift up the glory of imagination's counterpart: reality (otherwise known as "the reeeal world"). I would not have thought students today to be so thoroughly disconnected from their imaginations....already.

And so I have questions.

Do you think they are telling the truth? Or did they simply not want to admit to or discuss their imaginations? Were you bored in college? (the stage of my life when I was *least* like that) Did you - or do you - think the imagination holds no value? Does this sound like young people you know? (no names, please) Do you think young people have always been like this and I'm just crazy? If not, to what do you attribute this phenomenon? What - if anything - might be the antidote?

Depressing
It seems like this FISA bill would have been an easy one to argue against on principal, without concern that the GOP smear machine would accuse all Democrats of being wusses. But, they're caving rather than fight. Having watched this interview last night, I can assure that you probably don't want to watch Jonathan Turley explain just how horrible this is, but just in case:

RFK Jr's Energy Manifesto
This is a couple of months old, but a great read. In Vanity Fair, Robert Kennedy, Jr. discusses our energy opportunities in a "manifesto", offering the next President some very specific advice that's pretty educational to a nimrod like myself.

There’s a second thing the next president should do, and it would be a strategic masterstroke: push to revamp the nation’s antiquated high-voltage power-transmission system so that it can deliver solar, wind, geothermal, and other renewable energy across the country. Right now, a Texas wind-farm manager who wants to get his electrons to market faces two huge impediments. First, our regional power grids are overstressed and misaligned. The biggest renewable-energy opportunities—for instance, Southwest solar and Midwest wind—are outside the grids’ reach. Furthermore, traveling via alternating-current (A.C.) lines, too much of that wind farmer’s energy would dissipate before it crossed the country. The nation urgently needs more investment in its backbone transmission grid, including new direct-current (D.C.) power lines for efficient long-haul transmission.

MEDIA MONDAY
What have you been reading, listening to, watching?

Weekend Box Office
1.Hancock
2.Wall-E
3.Wanted
4.Get Smart
5.Kung Fu Panda

Doc Watch
I saw 3 a couple of weeks ago.

Note by Note is a beautiful, fascinating look inside the Steinway & Sons piano factory in New York. It follows a single concert grand, starting as a long piece of wood from an Alaskan lumberyard through the year-long process it takes to make it a finished Steinway. The clear highlight is meeting the people who work with such obvious pride and skill at their jobs, which are shockingly un-automated.

My Name is Albert Ayler uses lots of first-person speaking from the subject himself to explore the music and psyche of one of my (anti-)heroes. Some of the footage is astounding - I had never actually seen film of him playing before - and the audio is revealing. I learned lots about him I didn't know, but still I have to say, I was a bit disappointed in the film.

Standard Operating Procedure is Errol Morris' new film, about the Abu Ghraib scandal. It's another haunting work by him, wrenching and powerful and so very disturbing. Somehow, he managed to make an entire film about the public characters of the scandal and still leave the impression that the subject of the story should be not those in the pictures, but those never pictured, whose actions remain a mystery. Even without pointing to much evidence of it directly, we are left knowing that something truly horrible was taking place in the prison, having almost nothing to do with the pictures we all saw and found abhorrent. The "real torture", someone says, was taking place behind the closed doors. I highly recommend it, but I don't think I could ever watch it again.

Holding Serve
Imagine if Major League Baseball instituted a new rule: only pitchers can bat. The notoriously weak hitting hurlers would ensure a defensive duel. Extra inning games would be the norm as team batting averages of .100 would struggle to score a single run.

That's a little what watching men's tennis is like these days. For some reason, I'm keeping an eye on the Wimbledon final. Basically, it's just a matter of waiting for a player to break serve, to have a chance to win. 48 games in to the match and it's only happened 3 times (a worse batting average, even, than most pitchers). Unless and until it happens a 4th time, nobody will ever win. Ever.

There are many reasons to prefer women's tennis that I won't go in to here. But, this is another.

[UPDATE: Of course, as soon as I type that, Federer gets broken in the 49th. But still, for such a close championship match, "the best ever", they are saying on my teevee, it sure can get boring.]

Gay McPride
McDonald's great sin, by the way, was sponsoring the San Francisco Gay Pride parade last year.

The Ted Kennedy Health Reform Act
You know that overhauling our health care system is where he wants to leave his legacy. Even in the hospital for brain surgery, he was making plans for his final act.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy's office has begun convening a series of meetings involving a wide array of healthcare specialists to begin laying the groundwork for a new attempt to provide universal healthcare, according to participants
...
Kennedy's committee has held two meetings so far - one with healthcare coalitions, the other with physicians' groups. Eight more will be held by the end of the month. The meetings are attended by aides for committee members of both parties, said Craig Orfield, a spokesman for Senator Mike Enzi of Wyoming, the ranking Republican on the committee.

Come On In, the Water's Fine?
File this one under knowing-too-many-stats. A huge and impressive cleanup of the Cumberland River over the last dozen years has led to a yearly pr event demonstrating the cleanliness of the water as area swimmers throw on life vests and take a lap across. I'm sure it is, as they say, clean enough to swim in. For my money though, Councilwoman Emily Evans might want to abandon the precise statistics, you know, because of the imagery.

Emily Evans, who started organizing the event last fall, said the river was safe and pointed out that every swimmer would wear a life vest.

Evans, one of five council members who swam, also said sewage overflows into the river have decreased from 2.3 billion gallons in 1989 to 16 million gallons in 2007.

That's quite a decrease..I suppose...but come on, don't tell me there are 16 million gallons of sewage flowing into the river. It might not be much by river standards, but it sure sounds like plenty.

Announcing the Big Gay Mac?
In my inbox, I just got word from Donald Wildmon of the American Family Association - the freaks that started the boycott of Disney, and Ford (for advertising in gay magazines) - that he will have a "major announcement concerning McDonald's" on Thursday. I wait with bated breath.

Are You at Risk for Diabetes?
The NYTimes blog on health often has some interesting bits in it. Recently, a piece outlined the "11 Best Foods You Aren't Eating" (and in fact I'm not, with the exception of a little blueberry action). But I also recommend their post yesterday on diabetes. A recent study shows that more than 1 in 4 Americans is either diabetic or in a pre-diabetic stage. Included is a simple and brief questionnaire to help you evaluate your risk level. Remember to answer all the questions honestly... unlike when you get asked about how many fruits and vegetables you are eating, when you are clearly lying through your teeth.

Obama's Week
In case you missed it, Obama is giving a series of speeches in the runup to July 4. Yesterday's speech was about patriotism. Today's is about faith, specifically expanding and changing the focus of the President's faith-based funding program.

This part of the campaign might be a little bumpy for those of us who are unabashed liberals, not that there was anything in the first speech I find objectionable. (and not much in the second either) Like Atrios says, Obama's not trying to get our vote anymore. He's got it. Others still need to be convinced if he's going to win. It makes perfect sense, and doesn't mean he's excessively pandering. It just means he's shaping emphasizing his convictions with strategy.

MEDIA MONDAY
What have you been listening to, reading, watching?

Weekend Box Office
1. Wall-E
2. Wanted
3. Get Smart
4. Kung Fu Panda
5. The Incredible Hulk

Doddmania
Yeah it's a little long, but read - or watch - Senator Dodd's speech on the floor of the Senate about the FISA/retroactive immunity bill. It's fabulous - and a perfect example of the reason why the Senate floor is, occasionally, known as a place for great speeches.

I'm genuinely confused as to why Obama feels the need to alter his course here. But it seems more and more like his earlier pledge to filibuster the bill if it contains immunity for telecom companies is the one that may have been a bit of a pander, not this newer resolve that we need the bill regardless. In other words, he may actually mean it now. That, I guess, would at least explain it.

For another compelling take, you should read Kevin Drum, who thinks this bill is horrible, but not because of the retroactive immunity provisions. He makes alot of sense. I would like for Obama, and others willing to support it, to explain *exactly* what has changed in the legislation that makes it palatable now whereas it was not before.

A Philosophical Question
If an e-mail is sent but it's never opened, does it still contain a message? This sound of one hand clapping comes courtesy of the White House.

The White House in December refused to accept the Environmental Protection Agency’s conclusion that greenhouse gases are pollutants that must be controlled, telling agency officials that an e-mail message containing the document would not be opened, senior E.P.A. officials said last week.

Also, when the EPA calls, White House officials are instructed to put their fingers in their ears and sing la-la-la-la-I-can't-hear-you-la-la-la-la.

Only 209 More Days
In a news conference with the Filipino President:

PRESIDENT BUSH: Madam President, it is a pleasure to welcome you back to the Oval Office. We have just had a very constructive dialogue. First, I want to tell you how proud I am to be the President of a nation that -- in which there's a lot of Philippine-Americans. They love America and they love their heritage. And I reminded the President that I am reminded of the great talent of the -- of our Philippine-Americans when I eat dinner at the White House.

Good Luck Everybody
Today's NYTimes adds a bit of truth-telling to the Russert-based heart disease discussion.

Mr. Russert’s fate underlines some painful truths. A doctor’s care is not a protective bubble, and cardiology is not the exact science that many people wish it to be. A person’s risk of a heart attack can only be estimated, and although drugs, diet and exercise may lower that risk, they cannot eliminate it entirely. True, the death rate from heart disease has declined, but it is still the leading cause of death in the United States, killing 650,000 people a year. About 300,000 die suddenly, and about half, like Mr. Russert, have no symptoms.
...
At his last physical, in April, he passed a stress test, and his heart function was good. Dr. Newman estimated his risk of a heart attack in the next 10 years at 5 percent, based on a widely used calculator.

MEDIA MONDAY
Sad
Rest in Peace, George Carlin. Here he is famously discussing the Seven Words you can't say on television. Needless to say, the audio is not safe for work. In fact, in sheer volume of bad language, it may be the least safe 10 minutes of audio in history.

Post-Dean
I had a professor argue that one measure of The Beatles' greatness/importance was that hardly anyone making music who was popular before them was still popular after them--Frank Sinatra and, to some degree, Elvis Presley the notable exceptions.

Usually I don't buy the argument that losing political candidacies "accomplish" anything. But, I'm starting to re-assess in the case of Howard Dean. I think - and hope, if everything goes right - that we will look back on Democrats in this era and divide them in 2 camps - before Dean and after Dean. There are a whole host of Dem office-holders now that embrace the politics of toughness and contrast on the content side, and bottom-up grassroots organization on the politics side.

Webb, Tester, Schweitzer, Sebelius, Obama to name a few. Democrats who were in office across that divide can likewise be separated into those who either embraced this development (Kennedy, Harkin) or have resisted it (Clinton, Lieberman).

Where I'm going with this is with regard to VP selection. It will be interesting to see if Obama picks a post-Dean figure in the name of consistent vision, or a pre-Dean figure in the name of unity. Hillary is an interesting case in that she is clearly a pre-Dean Democrat, but wound up - quite unintentionally in my view - becoming a post-Dean, movement candidate for President.

Either way, I think it's safe to say that if not for the Dean campaign, many of those new Democrats in federal office would not have won. Also, clearly, Obama would not be the nominee for President now.

Of course, the formula is flawed, oversimplified. If Dean hadn't run the campaign he did, someone else may have used the intertubes to engineer the same kind of political shift. But, he did. In retrospect, his failed campaign did accomplish quite a bit.

I'm Depressed [UPDATED]
Normally I would save reaction to a film for the next Media Monday. However, my response here is not so much about the merits of the film . After studiously avoiding seeing the HBO movie The Recount (about the FL 2000 election), my brother - apparently something of a familial sadist - told me I should watch it. So I did, late last night.

It was painful, painful, painful. Gore won Florida in 2000 - not by much, but he did. And somehow we let the other guy get sworn in. We should have made more noise, caused more trouble, and made it much more difficult for that to happen. I know if the shoe was on the other foot, the other party would have brought the country to a standstill.

And now look where we are.

My experience re-living that horror (mostly in something of a whiny fetal position on the couch) left me with 3 questions resonating through the accumulated last 8 years.

1) How could Democrats have been so inattentive to the awful, even criminal mismanagement of elections that was happening right under their noses in that state - from the ridiculous ballots and machinery to the wrongful purging of 20,000 voters from the rolls just for having names *similar* to felons? And why did these failures not result in a major overhaul of election law and procedure?

2) Given the dubious election thrust not only an illegitimate presidency on us, but - as was almost immediately clear - one of the most incompetent failing presidencies of all time, how the hell did we not soundly right that wrong in 2004? How the hell did Kerry lose? And especially how did he lose Florida?

3) Since the Nader vote in either New Mexico or Florida would have delivered the presidency to Gore, how do 2000 Nader voters in those 2 states live with themselves?

Ok, while I'm at it, 4) How did the fact that Gore won the popular vote end up fading away so uncontroversially? There was never the slightest effort the next year to undo the Electoral College, even as it awarded the presidency to the candidate who got fewer votes, here in a supposedly one-person, one-vote democracy. I understand the arguments for continuing the Electoral College, but nobody even seriously brings up changing it so we can debate the relative merits? I seem to remember after 2000 everyone assuming it would be one of those inevitable groundswell debates, but it just never happened. Don't you know that if Obama becomes President through the Electoral College but loses the popular vote to McCain that Republicans will first contest that result with all they've got (and probably win a few votes in the Supreme Court), then brand Obama as illegitimate *every week for 4 years*, will attach anti-EC legislation to everything until they win, and then will hammer home that Americans really didn't vote for Obama through the entire 2012 election until they defeat him.

We just don't fight like them. Sometimes I'm proud of that, but watching Recount doesn't help with that sense.

If anyone can help my psyche with some salving answers to those questions, I'd appreciate it. In the meantime, and until then, I can't recommend Recount.

[UPDATE: This makes me feel a little bit better, but only a little.]

A Question on a Cave
In case you missed it, Democrats have bizarrely caved on the FISA immunity bill that lets telecom companies get away with spying on Americans on behalf of the Administration. We have the Blue Dogs to thank, it would seem, though I really don't understand - is there some kind of groundswell of public anger in those conservative Dem areas over FISA legislation? From where I sit, it doesn't look like anyone even knows what it is, much less are they clamoring about it.

Anywho, over at War and Piece, Laura Rozen has the question which we can only dream someone in today's press corps might actually ask of Speaker Pelosi.

[UPDATE: Glenn Greenwald's powerful analysis is here.]

Flooding
I'm kind of surprised the flooding in the Midwest hasn't gotten wall-to-wall coverage we saw with New Orleans and Katrina. This is a real disaster as levees are giving way all the way down the Mississippi as the crest surfs toward the Gulf. In terms of devastating homes and towns and property, it seems just like Katrina only spread out over a larger area.

Um,Ok
Bugs to the rescue?

To be more precise: the genetic alteration of bugs – very, very small ones – so that when they feed on agricultural waste such as woodchips or wheat straw, they do something extraordinary. They excrete crude oil.

Unbelievably, this is not science fiction. Mr Pal holds up a small beaker of bug excretion that could, theoretically, be poured into the tank of the giant Lexus SUV next to us. Not that Mr Pal is willing to risk it just yet. He gives it a month before the first vehicle is filled up on what he calls “renewable petroleum”. After that, he grins, “it’s a brave new world”.

A Litigant With a Vendetta
Professor Lessig posts some background and perspective on the Judge Kozinski business:

For at least a month, a disgruntled litigant, angry at Judge Kozinski (and the Ninth Circuit) has been talking to the media to try to smear Kozinski. Kozinski had sent a link to a file (unrelated to the stuff being reported about) that was stored on a file server maintained by Kozinski's son, Yale. From that link (and a mistake in how the server was configured), it was possible to determine the directory structure for the server. From that directory structure, it was possible to see likely interesting places to peer. The disgruntled sort did that, and shopped some of what he found to the news sources that are now spreading it.
...
No one can know who uploaded what, or for whom. The site was not "on the web" in the sense of a site open and inviting anyone to come in. It had a robots.txt file to indicate its contents were not to be indexed. That someone got in is testimony to the fact that security -- everywhere -- is imperfect. But this was a private file server, like a private room, hacked by a litigant with a vendetta. Decent people -- and publications -- should say shame on the person violating the privacy here, and not feed the violation by forcing a judge to defend his humor to a nosy world.

Unexpected Success
After my hard drive died, I decided to get an external to back everything up, plus I think I will use it to store all of my music since that can take up lots of space. I picked an iomega because it portable and I know the name, but when I went to hook it up with the Firewire connector, it didn't show up. So I went online to the iomega site, went to support where they claim to offer live chat help (my favorite kind of support), filled in my item's serial number and waited for about 20 mins. Tech help finally came on and I told him my issue and we both feared something wrong with the port on my ibook. And, you know, usually, those help people are all too glad to deflect blame to somebody else's device. So I figured I would end up back at the Apple store...but he said he'd send a replacement cord, just in case that's it. It just came via FedEx and I plugged it in and voila.

All of that to say, next time you're considering a storage device, put a check mark beside support help under iomega.

Lastly, someone remind me about this unexpected success the next time I am moaning about tech support horrors and about to put a hex on the whole industry.

My Wish for McCain's VP
Please, please please let it be Jindal.

Newsflash: The Internets Are Not So Private
Even if you're a chief judge. Whoops.

Kozinski probably didn't want to be on the Supreme Court anyway.

Plant Social Life
This is pretty fascinating:

The sea rocket, researchers report, can distinguish between plants that are related to it and those that are not. And not only does this plant recognize its kin, but it also gives them preferential treatment.

If the sea rocket detects unrelated plants growing in the ground with it, the plant aggressively sprouts nutrient-grabbing roots. But if it detects family, it politely restrains itself.

The finding is a surprise, even a bit of a shock, in part because most animals have not even been shown to have the ability to recognize relatives, despite the huge advantages in doing so.

If an individual can identify kin, it can help them, an evolutionarily sensible act because relatives share some genes.

MEDIA MONDAY
What have you been watching, reading, listening to?

I know I've pointed to the NYTimes' songwriting blog, "Measure for Measure" before, but here's another great post of Rosanne Cash's from a couple of weeks ago, here about whether honest songwriting is helped by being true to facts.

The “truth” (or “honesty”) and the “facts” are not necessarily the same, they are not necessarily equal and one often requires the suspension of the other. This may not be the case in higher math or on Wall Street (or, actually, it may work there as well, but I’m clueless about that) but it is an immutable “truth” in art and music that facts are not necessarily the best indicators of the deepest human experience.

The table where you found the suicide note, the cup of coffee that turned cold because you were distracted in a painful reverie staring out the old wavy-glass window at the rain dripping off the eaves, the seashell left in the coat pocket from the last time you were at that favorite spot at the ocean, when it all came clear that you were at the right place with the wrong man, the letters, the photos, the marbles and jewels — all these physical, material, real-world artifacts carry poetic weight and should be used liberally in songwriting. These are the facts that convey truth to me.

The exact words he said, who was right or wrong, whether he relapsed on the 7th or the 10th, why exactly she does what she does, the depth and weight and timbre of the feelings, whether Love Heals Everything — these aren’t facts, these are ever-changing blobs of emotional mercury, and when you are working in rhyme, it can be much more powerful and resonant to write about the shards of the coffee cup than about the feeling that caused him to throw it across the room.

She goes on to describe a recent collaboration between herself, Elvis Costello, and Kris Kristofferson.

Weekend Box Office
1. Kung Fu Panda
2. Zohan
3. Indiana Jones
4. Sex and the City
5. The Strangers

Friday Quick Links
Mitch McConnell brought the US Senate to a standstill yesterday in retaliation for what he claims is Democratic obstructionism on confirming Bush appointments. He forced the clerks to read the entire Lieberman-Warner climate change bill aloud, all 500 pages. It took 9 hours. I can only assume the reason why Democrats did not ever take such a tact when Republicans were in charge is that we feared they would pummel us in the press for it. And yet when Republicans do it, we do not pummel them in the press for it.... McConnell is up for re-election in November, and I'm hoping Kentucky voters hear lots from his opponent about this kind of foolishness, even if our fine media doesn't seem to care.

The climate change bill, by the way, is dead. 12 votes short, though really 10 if you figure that Obama and McCain both said they would have voted yes.

Not dead? Paul Pierce. Carried off the court in the middle of the 3rd period against the Lakers last night, then carted to the dressing room in a wheelchair, Pierce determined his knee ligaments were not torn as feared and limped back through the tunnel and onto the parquet to lead the Celtics to victory in the first game of the NBA Finals a la Larry Bird against the Indiana Pacers. It was....awwwesome.

Shepherd Fairey prints for Obama are cool (here's "Progress" and "Hope".) . If you have one, hold on to it. They are limited edition, and selling for bunches on the intertube auction sites. Would love to get my hands on a poster of one, and/or a shirt, but seem hard to come by at the moment.

We could use some hope, change and progress these days. Unemployment jumped more than it has in 20 years. New figures are 5.5%.

Obama's "Strong Diplomacy" in Action?[UPDATED]
Link

[D]uring a Senate vote Wednesday, Obama dragged Lieberman by the hand to a far corner of the Senate chamber and engaged in what appeared to reporters in the gallery as an intense, three-minute conversation. While it was unclear what the two were discussing, the body language suggested that Obama was trying to convince Lieberman of something and his stance appeared slightly intimidating.

Using forceful, but not angry, hand gestures, Obama literally backed up Lieberman against the wall, leaned in very close at times, and appeared to be trying to dominate the conversation, as the two talked over each other in a few instances.

Still, Obama and Lieberman seemed to be trying to keep the back-and-forth congenial as they both patted each other on the back during and after the exchange.

Afterwards, Obama smiled and pointed up at reporters peering over the edge of the press gallery for a better glimpse of their interaction.

Lieberman has lately been joining in with McCain to bash Obama for his stance re Iran.

[UPDATE: ABCNews' Jake Tapper has more on the confrontation.]

Deep Thought: The Day After
I see where superdelegates are coming out today - including my own Governor - to endorse Obama. Could there be a more useless bunch? Apart from those few who have some other legitimate reason (e.g., Dean, or Gore or congressional leadership) to wait until it's all decided, there are 2 kinds of superdelegates: those who helpfully endorsed someone before today, and those who are complete cowards. Who the hell else were they going to endorse today??

Obama's Speech
I understand from the late-night commentary that some people viewed Obama's speech cynically. So, are there just 2 kinds of people? The kind that are moved by a speech like this, and the kind that aren't? Either way, I suppose, it's not a conscious decision. Still, I'm glad to be in the former group, and as confused by the presence of the other side as they surely are by mine. By the end especially, I found it remarkable and inspiring.

Prediction
Hillary supporters have all of the determined energy right now. That plus trouble-making Republicans means she will outperform expectations.

Montana
Obama 53
Clinton 47

South Dakota
Obama 46
Clinton 54

The Restrictionist Message
An important editorial in today's NYTimes

A nation of immigrants is holding another nation of immigrants in bondage, exploiting its labor while ignoring its suffering, condemning its lawlessness while sealing off a path to living lawfully. The evidence is all around that something pragmatic and welcoming at the American core has been eclipsed, or is slipping away.
...
The restrictionist message is brutally simple — that illegal immigrants deserve no rights, mercy or hope. It refuses to recognize that illegality is not an identity; it is a status that can be mended by making reparations and resuming a lawful life. Unless the nation contains its enforcement compulsion, illegal immigrants will remain forever Them and never Us, subject to whatever abusive regimes the powers of the moment may devise.

Read the whole thing.

MEDIA MONDAY
What have you been watching, reading, listening to?

Random Primary Thoughts
--Looks like the turnout in Puerto Rico is not nearly what was projected (900,000), much less hoped for (2 million) by the Clinton campaign. Assuming that holds up, she will lose the popular vote even including Florida.

--Went to the Democratic Party's Jackson Day Dinner last night and Governor Bredesen and indeed the entire event onstage sounded ready to unify behind Obama, even without expressly saying it that way.

--At that same event, a Hillary-supporting couple at my table referred to the guest speaker, Senator Claire McCaskill as a "traitor" for supporting Senator Obama. It occurred to me that while at one time the Obama campaign may have had the appearance of an over-excited, cult-like following, it is now the Clinton campaign that has the claim on rabid-in-the-face-of-reality.

--Perhaps because of that, I still think Clinton as VP offers more positive than anyone else I can think of.

--This would be nice, if true:

Despite veiled threats to keep the race going by taking the Michigan compromise to the Democratic party's credentials committee or even to the party's convention in August, Clinton's team is already sounding out Obama about taking on some of her campaign staff and adopting some of her policy positions, particularly on health. Clinton would in turn endorse Obama and the two might appear together later this week.