Happy Thursday!

Today is my Friday. Yay! I sure need a couple days off. I can't wait to start blogging more regularly too. That's what I'm talking about.

Jesse Ventura

I saw Jesse Ventura last night on Larry King. Yes, he's off the wall and he way oversimplifies things but he said two things about immigration that caught my ear. (paraphrasing)

The Pilgrims didn't have visas.

Keep in mind that any fence that goes up today might, 10 years from now, be used to keep us in.

Number 1!

The Yankees played, and won, the rescheduled first game of the year last night. I was at the official opening day Monday afternoon which was pretty much a wet and cold beer party. After working 37 out of the last 40 days it looks like I will actually get a couple days off this weekend. More baseball, beer and even a little sleep is just around the corner! Yayy!

Come again some other day

What a drag. Struggled all month to get some time off today to see the game today. Went up there, sat in the freezing rain for 3 hours only to have the game postponed until tomorrow. Oh well, I'll just try, try again.

Here, At Last

Today is the Final Opening Day at the historic Yankee Stadium. I've been looking forward to this for a long time. It's going to be a hectic day. I'm up early to head downtown to work by 8'o'clock. I'll be there for a few hours before jumping on a subway up to The Stadium. After all, or a least most of the game, I will retreat back to SoHo to finish up the day working until at least 9pm. A whirlwind and exhausting "only in New York" day. I can't wait!

Happy Friday!

Egg McMuffin inventor dies at 89

I do like the Egg McMuffin. Maybe I'll try to get one today in tribute.

Herb Peterson came up with idea for the signature McDonald's breakfast item in 1972. He "was very partial to eggs Benedict," Fraker said, and worked on creating something similar. The egg sandwich consisted of an egg that had been formed in a Teflon circle with the yolk broken, topped with a slice of cheese and grilled Canadian bacon. It was served open-faced on a toasted and buttered English muffin.

Obama Girl: "Hillary! Stop the attacks!"

Twitter Me

till death us do part

USA! USA! USA!

We're number 24!

Finally, some good news!

Ha ha ha

Duck and Cover!

Happy Birthday B!

Happy Birthday Uncle Jim!

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter Sunday! I am going to be very low key- enjoying an almost unheard of day off. I'm just going to rest up, try to shake off the rest of this very annoying flu and get ready for the end of month rush.

So?

One Week and One Day

Until the final Opening Day at the Old Yankee Stadium. The tickets for this season arrived a couple days ago and I am so ready to get a little R&R at the ballpark again.

Cartoon Commentary

Happy Friday!

Mike Huckabee comments on Barack Obama Speech

This conservative gets it! Huck does me proud again. (excerpts)

Barack Obama: A More Perfect Union

I’m feeling sick today so while I have the time to write, I don’t have the energy. But briefly, I think the Obama speech on race was brilliant. He perfectly explained himself. He did not agree with all the comments of his pastor, much as we all don’t agree with the comments of friends and family’s all the time, but Obama still embraces the faith and hope that he gained from his church.
Barack Obama is truly the first 21st century politician. He talked to the American people as if we were intelligent adults capable of seeing things beyond one dimension. I hope enough people are able to follow him. Simple mindedness has ruined this country and given us a moron as President and elevated hate mongers like Rush Limbaugh to iconic status. Barack Obama is trying to explain the world in all it’s complexities. I just hope that enough Americans are able to understand his message and move away for the bumper sticker politics that has the United States on the verge of irrelevancy.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Modern Mechanix

Lot’s of old newspaper clippings and ads on this website.

Here’s one that made me chuckle.

What are you doing?

I saw this video last night and quickly joined up. My screen name there is markontv. It's free to join and seems kinda cool. Join here.

A Letter From Barack

I am on the Barack Obama mailing list so get e-mails from Barack a couple times a week. I thought it might be interesting to share what they say. Here is the e-mail I received today after Obama's latest victory last night. Have a look - you may find it interesting. There's even a link where you can donate to the Obama campaign if you are so inclined.
--------------------
Mark --

It's tough to think of two states more different than Wyoming and Mississippi.
But we won Wyoming on Saturday, and we just learned that we won Mississippi by a large margin tonight.
Between those two states, we picked up enough delegates to erase the gains by Senator Clinton last Tuesday and add to our substantial lead in earned delegates. And in doing so we showed the strength and breadth of this movement.
But just turn on the news and you'll see that Senator Clinton continues to run an expensive, negative campaign against us. Each day her campaign launches a new set of desperate attacks.
They're not just attacking me; they're attacking you.
Over the weekend, an aide to Senator Clinton attempted to diminish the overwhelming number of contests we've won by referring to places we've prevailed as "boutique" states and our supporters as the "latte-sipping crowd."
I'm not sure how those terms apply to Mississippi and Wyoming -- or Virginia, Iowa, Louisiana, or Idaho for that matter.
I know that our victories in all of these states demonstrate a rejection of this kind of petty, divisive campaigning.
But the fact remains that Senator Clinton's campaign will continue to attack us using the same old Washington playbook. And now that John McCain is the Republican nominee, we are forced to campaign on two fronts.

It's up to you to fight back. Please make a donation of $25 today:
https://donate.barackobama.com/math

Thank you,
Barack

Hmmmmmm?

A thought experiment: if you hired a couple to have sex in your bedroom while you watched, it would be prostitution. if someone else hired them, put it on video and you watched them in your bedroom, it would be porn. Why is one illegal and the other isn't? source

Eliot Mess

I have been working even more than normally so haven't gotten into the whole furor involving my Governor. Here are some quick thoughts...
-- If none of the tabloids used my headline "Eliot Mess" then shame on them for their lack of creativity. I'm guessing it is the most used headline but since I haven't see it anywhere I decided to use it myself.
-- I really don't care if someone uses high priced prostitutes. When it comes to sex scandals it is the hypocrisy (typically of right wing politicians preaching morality) that I criticise.
-- Spitzer did prosecute prostitution when he was Attorney General of the state. Pretty hypocritical.
-- Spitzer did run for Governor on cleaning up NY State government. Also, pretty hypocritical.
-- This is, by my count, the third controversy in 2 years for Eliot. Too many too soon.
-- I think he should resign for all those reasons.
-- Those outside of new York may not know that our Lt. Governor (soon to be Gov?) is not only African-American but he is also BLIND! I'm guessing that's a first in US History. (mandatory tasteless joke about the blind -- Lt. Governor Patterson has lost his sight ... but not his vision!

...................... now back to work

This joint (ticket) won't catch fire

fancy, schmancy, cyr ma

I have written a little about how much I am finding text messaging to be an effective and efficient way of communication. In fact, I am going to adjust my cell phone plan to downgrade the number of minutes I can call a month and increase the number of text messages I am allotted. (It is really unbelievable how difficult Sprint makes it to do this.) Anyway ... click the image on the left and you'll see a list of some common abbreviations for text messaging. even if you don't think you need to know them now - believe me you will!

Reich Right On

Former Clinton administration Labor Secretary Robert Reich has what I call a "glass of water blog" that I read regularly. ( I call it that because while it can be very dry, if you read it with a glass of water you'll certainly get a lot out of it). In his latest entry he articulates what I fear is happening to the Democratic party.

The sad news is that whether the Clinton scorched-earth strategy ultimately succeeds or fails, it will have caused great harm. In the unlikely event it succeeds, the result will be a shame and not a little ironic. Barack Obama has breathed life into the Democratic Party, and into American politics, for the first time in forty years. Not since Robert Kennedy ran for president has America been so starkly summoned to its ideals; not since then has America -- including, especially, the nation's youth -- been so inspired. The Clintons would prefer to write off "Obamania" as a passing fad, but the reality is that idealism and inspiration are necessary preconditions for positive social change. Nothing happens in Washington unless Americans are energized and mobilized to make it happen. HRC's tactics are the old politics the nation is recoiling from -- internal division and national fear. This only serves to deepen Americans' cynicism about politics, and makes social change all the harder to achieve.

Obama scores decisive win in Wyoming

“This is a big win for us,” Obama campaign manager David Plouffe told reporters in a conference call Saturday night. “You saw very furious campaigning by the Clinton campaign. They had more campaign activity than we did heading into Wyoming. They mounted a very aggressive effort on the ground. This is a very important win for us.” more

Cartoon Commentary

Happy Friday!

If you are reading this ... you made it through another week. After all is said and done, you've got to be happy about that.

"As far as I know"

Those four words, "as far as I know", spoken by Hillary Clinton the other day, show me that she is willing to do or say anything to become President. How horrible! I feel that her efforts to smear Barack Obama in this way disqualifies her from ever getting my vote. This "me-first" attitude is the exact OPPOSITE of the type of mentality we need in Washington today.

Why have these four words upset me so much? Well, they were said in response to a question about the false rumor going around that Barack Obama is or once was a Muslim. It is not true, he has said it was not true and no one has ever proven it was true. It is just a hateful whisper campaign by the political forces that have so damaged our nation. Rather than repudiate this (as even John McCain has) Hillary Clinton chose to try to use it to her advantage. Maybe it worked last night but it is still very, very wrong.

KROFT: You said you take Sen. Obama at his word that he's not a Muslim...

CLINTON: Right, right..

KROFT: …you don't believe that he's a Muslim.

CLINTON: No! No! Why would I? There's nothing to base that on, as far as I know.

The only reason she would say that is to keep this vicious rumor alive. Forget that Obama and Clinton are both Democrats. Forget that he has been a devout Christian for decades. I am just outraged that anyone who knows better would purposefully distort the truth in such a mean and calculating way. Shame on Hillary Clinton. She has not only gotten into the mud but proven herself to be exactly the same kind of "divide and conquer" politician as George W. Bush and Karl Rove. The United States cannot stand 4 more years of this type of mentality in Washington!

Barack Obama has his work cut out for him. It is never easy fighting against the forces of distortion and division, especially when they are in your own "house". Last night's Clinton victories, with the help of this type of dirty campaigning and all the Republican cross-over voters salivating at the change of facing her in the general election, may seem like a good thing today to Hillary supporters. But I assure you that it will not help her beat John McCain or bring America back from it's darkest hour. She has sacrificed a lot to get a few checks in the win column. Mostly, she has lost the respect of people who value the truth and have the desire to unify America through hope rather than through hate.

It's Over!

The apostle Paul wrote that, "I fought the good fight; I've finished the race; and I've kept the faith." And I believe tonight that one of the things that we will be able to say is not only that we fought the good fight and finished the race; we'd like to have finished it first, but we stayed in until the race was over. But I think, more importantly, we've kept the faith. And that for me has been the most important goal of all. I'd rather lose an election than lose the principles that got me into politics in the first place. Huckabee Consession Speech

They like him..

they really like him

Birds of a feather

Voting together

Hillary's Dark Tactics

Did she or didn't she?

Primary Decision

Another big Tuesday today. The election could be all wrapped up for both parties by this time tomorrow. First, the Democrats..... If Barack Obama sweeps the 4 states tonight, Hillary will probably drop out and he will easily win the Democratic nomination. The toughest states for him tonight will be Texas and especially Ohio. Clinton has a lead in the polls in Ohio and Texas seems too close to call. Even if she wins both states, it will be mathematically difficult for her to catch Barack Obama, but she will have some appearance of momentum that will justify (in her supporters eyes) to keep the fight going. Unless Obama has a total meltdown over the next couple months, he should still arrive at the convention with the majority of delegates and popular vote. But Clinton is hoping that a late surge will convince the Super-delegates to support her. Not very likely, but it is her only hope at this time.

As far as the GOP goes, tonight could be the end of the road for my dark horse favorite Mike Huckabee I've been disappointed at the near media blackout of his campaign over the past two weeks. I really think that if he were given equal time, he would probably defeat John McCain. I am not in any of the states voting today so I can't say what the local press is doing as far as covering Huckabee, but I hope he has been getting heard. Much like Barack Obama, the more Mike Huckabee is seen and heard, the more popular he gets. It's really a shame that it took so long for him to break through the crowd in the public mind. I'm certain that if the primaries were starting today, Huckabee would be the nominee. But now, he faces the ultimate of uphill battles. If Huckabee wins Texas and does very well in the other contests, he is still very much in the game. (Ironically more so than Clinton because of the unhappiness among the GOP base with John McCain). Let's hope that what has been happening on the ground in the way of press coverage has been more than what is apparent from here in New York. Otherwise, it could be the end of the 2008 road for my man Mike. It will be a sad thing indeed for me - someone who has been following and cheering on Huckabee for quite a longtime. He certainly has shown the ability to pull of the big surprise, so anything is possible. But it does have to happen for him tonight.

Bad Cook

False Resume Gets Chef Cut From The Food Network

Ben Stein on Election '08

Cartoon Commentary

The Hillary Clinton - George W. Bush Comparison

apt

The much vaunted Clinton campaign operation, billed as the biggest, baddest game in town, had no post-Super Tuesday strategy because its leaders apparently didn't think one was needed. Whether that's due to arrogance or ignorance, it's the campaign equivalent of what President Bush did in invading Iraq without a post-Saddam plan.

The Obama - Reagan Comparison

interesting

Yes, Obama gets his crowds swooning. So did Reagan. It's laughable to hear conservatives talk darkly about a "cult of personality" around Obama. The Reaganites, after all, have lobbied to name every airport, school, library, road, bridge, government building and lamppost after the Gipper. When it comes to personality cults, the right wing knows what it's talking about.
But don't worry, say Obama's adversaries, he'll collapse because voters won't trust him to handle foreign policy. He's too inexperienced and has these perilously idealistic ideas. Yes, and President Jimmy Carter's campaign in 1980 was absolutely convinced it could persuade the country that Reagan was a dangerous warmonger who could not be trusted to keep America safe.

Happy Friday!

Happy this was not true.

Leave Him Alone!

If you are not familiar with the "Leave Britney Alone" video classic then check it out first. It is a young man's plea to the public to leave his hero, Britney Spears, alone. If you are familiar with it then just enjoy this parody entitled "Leave Mike Huckabee Alone". Funny stuff!

A reminder

How Red America operates

The Natural

Barack Obama is the best politician I have ever seen. He destroyed Hillary Clinton in the debate. No matter what topic, Barack controlled the discussion and actually managed to out-wonk Hillary on health care and other issues. There was a dangerous moment where Tim Russert grilled Obama about a quote from his book seemingly praising Loius Farrakahn. Obama was stuck because he did write it - but he fought his way through with a denunciation of Farrakahn's past anti-Semitic rantings. Rev. Lou's might have softened up a little bit in old age but a lot of people don't like the Jews and Farrakahn's one of them. Obama danced some more on the follow up and then faced a surprising attack from Clinton. She's said that it would have been more principled to reject the support rather than just denounce it. At that time it looked like Obama might be trapped looking sympathetic to an anti-Semite, but he made a joke by promptly denouncing and rejecting the comments.

Before tonight's debate I knew Barack Obama was a great candidate, but now I feel he really has the wherewithal to be a great President. He knows his stuff and he's quick on his feet. I've watched virtually every debate since Ford/Carter. Bill Clinton was good at debates, but Barack last night was the best I've ever seen.

McCain Condemns Obama Smear

And good for him!
McCain says he will 'absolutely repudiate' comments by an introductory speaker who says Obama sympathizes with 'world leaders who want to kill us.'

In the homestretch it's ... Barack Obama!

The poll here (click to enlarge) shows a real surge among Democratic voters toward Barack Obama. I think with the recent flailing by the Clinton campaign, this trend will continue. I supposed if you want to be know as "tough" and "a fighter" as Hillary Clinton does, you have to take off the gloves. But her recent charges and semi-smears are really distasteful and show more desperation than anything else. Whining about a mailer, circulating photos, mocking and ridiculing Obama supporters seem to me to have little or no chance of gaining her votes.

Tonight's final Democratic Debate on MSNBC at 9PM, will give Clinton one final chance to land a punch. She seems to excel at debates so she will probably use this final opportunity to burst the Obama bubble. Chances are she'll be at her nastiest this evening so if Obama can withstand it - he may just wrap things up next Tuesday.

It wasn't a dream, it was a dream come true

A friend of mine, Danny, sent me these today. I have not seen them before but I sure do like them a lot. Hope you do too. (If not you must be once of my readers from Boston.)

Ralph? Enough Already!

Ralph Nader is running for President again. What a dumb ass. His previous runs accomplished nothing positive and yet he still goes on. While the number of people who support him are shrinking, they still present a danger to the USA. Some folks just don't get the errors of their ways or realize the damage they (even accidental) do to the nation. On the right, they call themselves "Conservatives" (you know the ones I mean - those with a list of policies ideas derived from the college republicans, talk radio and Fox News - which they believe are infallible and nonnegotiable no matter how consistently they fail). So while I'm thankful that "Conservatives" seem to be loosing their grip on power in the USA, I just hope the the lefts' version of this narrow mindedness continues to diminish in scope and influence.

Cartoon Commentary

Big Mac Attack

Here is a clip from a show this morning where Mike Huckabee goes off on the Republican establishment that wants him to leave the race before John McCain even has enough delegates to win the GOP nomination. My man Huck is, once again, right on!

10

Last night Barack Obama won his 9th and 10th straight victories. It's looking like he will take the nomination. I'm glad he is continuing to win and continuing to campaign hard in the states to come. One of the most impressive things I've noticed in this election season is just how well thought out, organized and effective Obama's campaign has been compared to all of the other candidates. I hope this indicates that he would have an effective Administration should make it all the way to the White House.

In his victory speech last night Obama reminded the audience that victory would not be easy and that change will require all of us. I like that. One of the many criticisms of the Bush Administration is that he never directly asked average Americans to sacrifice (although his policies have caused us to suffer - it's not quite the same thing). Now, of course, sacrifice for it's own sake is pointless. But to come out of the dire situation the USA now finds itself in, individual sacrifice - and effort - will be required. I certainly hope that Obama continues to talk about the work all Americans will have to do AFTER a new President takes office. Accomplishing the dramatic changes that he wants and the country needs will take all of us.

Ants

Quit yer bitchin'

Fidel Castro Steps Aside

I woke up today hearing that Fidel Castro was stepping down as leader of Cuba. I was surprised because I always figured he would stay in power until the day he died. I'm guessing he must be pretty close to death now and is trying to make the transition to a new leader go as smoothly as possible. Of course President Bush has tough words about it all - demanding (he always demands doesn't he) free and fair elections. What a sad joke.

I have thought for quite a while that we should open relations with Cuba. The only people being hurt are the Cuban people. Right wing Cuban-Americans (and the neo-cons they allied themselves with) have been calling the shots in our Cuba policy for the past generation. As far as I can tell it only succeeded in giving Castro an excuse for his poor management of the nation and some Cubans-Americans an excuse to act persecuted even while enjoying more advantages than virtually any other immigrant group in our history.

Perhaps with the changing of the guard there and (soon) here, we can brush aside all this pointless posturing and introduce a Cuba policy which does not embrace exclusion of those victimized by Fidel Castro nor favoritism to those who fled the island to live in the United States.

Say Cheese!

Obama: a Dignified Climbdown for Republicans?

There are quite a few republicans who, if not promising to vote for Barack Obama, at least are taking a look at him. What a difference from the hyper-partisanship we all have been part of for the past generation. This diary offers an intriguing explanation for this crossover appeal.

Gandhi and Dr. King always said that in a struggle with an oppressor, the most important thing is to separate the oppressor from their oppression - oppose the behavior, not the person - and try to find a way for the oppressor to "cimb down" from their perch and see the light but with their dignity fully intact. ... [Obama]is offering an emotionally powerful idea of hope and cooperation - which appeals to everyone, including Republicans. ... Hillary Clinton is not only incapable of inspiring such optimism, her baggage from the past (unfair or not as it may be) stops her from being such an inspiring figure. Obama is the Democratic Reagan. The Dems for Reagan voted not for his right-wing policies, but for his message of optimism.

Huckabee goes for (a) Broke(red Convention)!

Mike Huckabee knows that he can still win the Republican nomination only if he forces a brokered convention. With the widespread dissastisfaction for John McCain, it could actually work! It would be a longshot - but that is Huckabees' style anyway.

Cartoon Commentary

Happy Friday!

Ouch!

It's All Barack!

Another night of elections and another sweep for Barack Obama. This extends his winning streak to 8 in a row. Obama is on a roll, still gaining momentum and now leads in the delegate count. There's still a way to go but right now - it's all Barack!

Two Years Ago Today

It's snowing today in the city but nothing compared to the Blizzard of '06!

Write your own headline ....

... because this picture is too good not to!

Sugar Substitutes Not So Sweet

I have always shunned away from artificial sweeteners. I try to eat healthy but have no fear of sugar. Eaten moderately, sugar is a natural product that makes just about anything taste good. So no diet sodas for me - give me the real thing every time. Well, in addition to my reservations about the artificial nature of these sweeteners comes evidence that they actually make it more difficult to lose weight!

...A sweet taste might be a sign that "calories are coming, and I should prepare my body for the arrival of those calories." However, when the sweetness is not followed by a lot of calories, the body's digestive system gets confused, and the metabolism rate does not gear up as much the next time sweetness is tasted.

The Maine Man

Barack Obama swept the weekend contests 5 for 5 with his victory in Maine on Sunday. Coming up Tuesday are a series of primaries in the Virginia and the Washington D.C. area. Hillary is strong in Virginia, Obama in D.C. with the other states are more or less a toss up. Go Barack Go!

Reaching

While I support Barack Obama overall and would really like to see Mike Huckabee win on the Republican side, I wrote a little something the other day on my other website listing Six Reasons Why John McCain Is OK With Me, if he hangs on to win the GOP nomination.

Underdogs Prevail!

Obama and Huckabee again surprised pudits by their victories Saturday. That's my boys!

RED SPIN: Conservatism can never fail, it can only be failed

I rarely reprint someone else's blog post in whole but this one I had to. If you read or listen to many who claim to be "conservative" you will hear people so brainwashed to a set of ideas that they are convinced are absolutely perfect. They honestly think that "conservative" policies are flawless! So, whenever conservatism fails (which it always does) they will quickly slip into denial and argue that it was because the policies that their hand picked politicians implemented were NOT conservative at all! So after a generation of conservative Judges, conservative Congresses and conservative Presidents - they claim that the reason everything is a mess is because .. well because all those people they elected or appointed were not conservative after all. Huh? Their denial is more than just an annoyance, it is a strategy which has crippled our nation since at least 1980. Yet it continues...

from Digby

Somehow I don't think it actually hurts John McCain's chances of winning to have Chris Matthews' BFF Tom Delay on Hardball saying that McCain is too liberal because it's "arrogant to think man can affect the climate," and because he hasn't endorsed a right to "drive through Philly with a bazooka hanging out of the window of their Hummer." Not that he'll win anyway...Matthews: Will you vote for John McCain if it keeps the Clintons out of the White House? DeLay: I don't have to decide that right now. Do you get the feeling that the conservatives are gaming this thing? I knew that you would.They know they are going to lose. They will blame the loss on the fact that McCain wasn't a real conservative (just like Bush.) They know when to fall back and regroup. They're already playing for the next election. Everybody sing: Conservatism can never fail, it can only be failed.

Now THIS is Super!

Want more? Watch this.

Mitt Drops It

Mitt Romney is out and now is the chance for Mike Huckabee to make his move. He should, with a smile on his face, distinguish himself as the conservative alternative to John McCain. He should say that McCain is a moderate and while that's not a bad thing, Republican voters who want a conservative now have only him to vote for. It may not work, and he might want to factor how it would effect his VP chances, but what the Huck - go for it Mike.

Super Night

A Tuesday as Super as yesterday will take some time to fully understand and analyze. But here are some quick thoughts. First of all, I woke up today to find that Missouri, the state I have been pointing to as the bellwether state for Democrats, had switched from a Clinton win to an Obama win. I hope that is indicative of not only yesterday, but of the contests to come. That's to say that Clinton has strength and the traditional machine but Obama has the momentum for the future. This is the trend I am seeing right now. Obama is excelling in places that he is able to visit, spend time in and talk to the people. Early voters are trending Clinton, but those who have more time to listen to Barack are gravitating to him. This could be a very good thing in the weeks to come and is already benefiting him in the delegate count.

One the Republican side, my man Huckabee shocked the world once again by winning states all through the south. If John McCain is able to hang on to the nomination he will almost certainly be forced to choose Huck as his #2. But watch out, I still think there is a chance that Huckabee could have more surprises in store. One development I will be watching for is the abandonment of Romney by the talk show types and I wonder if they will now move to Huckabee. I bet Huck is wondering and hoping the same thing. Sure, they have slammed him in the recent past, but people forget that they also hated Romney up until it became apparent (in their mind) that he was the only choice to face off against McCain. I would not be surprised if these right wingers flipped flopped once again and jumped on the Huckabee bandwagon. Also, this is the time where Huck should start to campaign against John McCain. Huck is good at that and I'm sure he already knows what he will say to bring him down.

I'll pour over the result more today and in the days to come and try to share my thoughts as they come. On a personal note, I had so much fun watching all the returns. I was trying to watch 2 or 3 TV stations at a time, listen to the radio and serf the web. Finally about 3am I threw in the towel, put on a rerun of Frasier and fell asleep. I am just waking up now (got the morning off) and am looking forward to seeing what else has developed overnight.

Super Tuesday

Here we go! The 2nd Super Bowl of the week. I'll be glued to the TV tonight. Now, I'm off to vote for Barack Obama!

This is the first I've seen of this. While I'm not a real Dead Head, I have played one on TV. When they say they are "fired up" .. I'm sure they mean it. Rock the vote hippies!

PERFECTVILLE: POPULATION 1

If I really started writing my thoughts about how good I feel about the Giants winning last night I would go on for hours. I would talk about listening to the 1972 Dolphins on the radio as they marched to perfection. I would reminisce about watching Super Bowl VII and freaking out when Garo bobbled the blocked field goal. I would tell you about how I got to meet Mercury Morris in 1982 when he was serving time in prison and I was a young intern there. I would tell you about how my dad looked like Garo back in the 1970's and how kids at school would ask for his autograph during Father/Son days. I would tell you about the 1972 perfect season book that I have cherished all theses years and stumbled across at my parents house over Christmas (I could not bear to look at it - fearful about the Pats*). I would tell you how the 1972 championship was one of the highlights of my childhood and even my life and I would share with you just how much holding on to this record means to me. No, I won't get into all that. It would just take too much time.

CHEATERS NEVER WIN (them all)!

1972 MIAMI DOLPHINS REMAIN ONLY UNDEFEATED TEAM IN NFL HISTORY!

A Super Bowl of Cheaties

Congress Moves to Investigate NFL

Senator Arlen Spector is calling out the NFL and demanding hearings about “Spygate”. He wants to bring NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to Washington to answer his questions about the cheating scandal that has tainted this year's Super Bowl. Goodell is working hard to spin his role in the activity, but there should be no denying that the National Football League has gotten itself into a terrible situation. Certainly any Patriots* achievements this year (and perhaps during the entire Bill Belichick reign) are dubious because of the seriousness of the cheating offenses. Additionally, and the behavior of the NFL, which destroyed evidence privately while they levied record fines in front of the cameras, (and simply ignored other charges) has called into question it's own integrity.

Many are quick to dismiss this as much adu about nothing. But think about it, the Patriots* had been secret gathering and using inside information they should not have and others did not have for over a full year. Fining people does not erase their memory nor the advantage the Patriots* coaching staff retains to this day. Sure, teams have come up with new signals now, but Belichick and Co. still have an enhanced understanding of opposing teams strategies and methods of adaptations that you can't get simply by viewing legal game film. They had an unobstructed peek behind the curtain of the opposing team’s thinking and tendencies. There is a reason what they did is illegal!

It's too late now to levy what should have been the appropriate penalty, removal of the coaching staff and forfeiting of the 1 game they were actually caught red handed, but perhaps Congress can help to eventually restore the once honorable reputation of the NFL. Sadly, it just won't be in time for this Super Sunday.

Happy Friday!

I always liked pancakes as a kid but stopped eating them for years. On the rare occasions I had breakfast, I would make scrambled eggs and cheese at home or ham and cheese omelets if I ate out. It wasn't until I first moved to Las Vegas that I rediscovered the simple beauty of pancakes. They always taste good and contrary to eggs, are easy on my stomach every time. Now they sell an easy to use package so I can even make them at home. Today's video was put together by some guys using stop action video. It's pretty cool. I also have a new poll in the sidebar where you can share your breakfast preferences.

Momentum

After the meaningless results from the Florida Democratic non-primary I tried to comfort Obama supporters by pointing out that momentum was on his side. I was looking at the exit polls which showed that among Florida voters who made their mind up in the final days - Obama was the clear choice. Seems that momentum is being felt nationally. just look at this tracking poll! (click on it to see it full size). I may not get to watch all of the debate tonight on CNN but let's hope Barack suceeds in continuing the trend.

Edwards Out!

John Edwards will announce today that he is leaving the Democratic race for President. I think this should help Barack Obama heading into Super Tuesday. It would be helpful if Edwards gave an endorsement to Obama, but I think Edwards followers will naturally gravitate to him no matter what. Let's hope so.

Florida

The Democratic results are useless as far as gauging future performance of either Clinton or Obama in a general election. There was no campaigning so Clinton had the benefit of name recognition and won the absentee ballots as well as the vote of those who made their decision weeks ago. Obama won the votes of those who physically went to the polls and made up their mind in recent days. So, since no delegates were at stake, the lesson of the Democratic election may be that Clinton has the machine, but Obama has the momentum.

John McCain's victory was due in no small part to the appeal of Mike Huckabee. Most of the pundits seems to sense a McCain/Huckabee ticket and for once they might be right. I'm finding it interesting that John McCain is getting the key endorsements from virtually everyone in Republican politics, but movement conservatives just hate him. I suspect they believe they can control the desperate to please Romney if he should make it to the White House. It'll be hats off to John McCain if he can overcome this resistance.

My Endorsements

I have been asked by some people in Florida what I think about their primary coming up. Since my own primary in New York is very close too, I figured this would be a good time to give my endorsements. No surprises really, I have been supporting these guys the whole time but here are some reminders why. As usual, please excuse any choppiness or grammatical errors. This blog is done usually without revisions (due to time constraints) so fight your way through it and I hope you catch my drift. Maybe one day, when this is my full time job I can revise, rewrite and make everything look perfect. In the meantime read what I am quickly typing while the boss is away getting coffee.

Democrats: Barack Obama

This was always a bit of a close call for me - especially at first. I had great respect for Bill Clinton and while Hillary was never a favorite, she seems to be very smart and quite able to be President of the United States. Barack Obama lacks Washington experience and seems almost too nice for the job. However, over these few months of the campaign, I have seen two things that puts me solidly in the Obama camp. First of all, Barack is indeed smart enough and tough enough for the job. His impressive leadership abilities are apparent in the way he has created an effective national campaign in a very short period of time. Barack Obama also would bring the most change to national politics - which we desperately need. Secondly, Hillary, or "Billary" as it now seems to be the case, have shown over the past couple months a shocking disdain for the truth and common decency. The Clinton administration of the 1990's was competent and much better than what preceded and followed. However, their choice to lie, mislead and most recently introduce hateful racial undertones to the current campaign disqualifies them from my consideration. It also has sent my opinion of Bill Clinton way, way down. As someone, who loved Bill and was never a Hillary hater - I am surprised to find myself saying this but if she wins the nomination I MAY NOT even vote Democratic! Anyone who knows me understands just how much the Clintons have irked me for me to say that. They are acting like ... republicans ... in this election. In the interest of consistency I have to publicly rebuke them for that. It really is a shame.

Republicans: Mike Huckabee

Reports of Mike Huckabee's demise is premature. And I sure hope it is wrong all together. Although Huck has said some really odd things on the campaign trail, I still think he would is the best of the choices on the GOP side. To this day, he remains the only Republican that seems to understand that trickle down economics does not work for everyone and that compassion is not a dirty word. He is a breath of fresh air and, if not for a lack of money and experience in the national spotlight, would be the runaway favorite for the Republicans. I still think he has a real shot to win it all - after all he won Iowa with little money and came out of nowhere to do it. Florida can put him back in the mix and I sure hope they do.

Asses

The Republican run FCC is at it again fining ABC television $1.43million for an episode of long ago terminated series NYPD Blue. The offense? Showing a bare buttocks of a woman! Let me get this straight: every night we see the carnage of an unnecessary war and hear lies repeated by "moral" politicians. Yet a bare ass is what the government pursues. Really? Is it any wonder that the Republican party is in shambles? This is another reason why we should all hope it stays that way.

"We find that the programming at issue is within the scope of our indecency definition because it depicts sexual organs and excretory organs -- specifically an adult woman's buttocks," the FCC wrote. "Although ABC argues, without citing any authority, that the buttocks are not a sexual organ, we reject this argument, which runs counter to both case law and common sense."

Barack is Back!

Obama scores huge victory in South Carolina

E-mail smear taxes Obama campaign

Unfortunately, once again, naive Americans are being targeted by e-mail smears, this time about Barack Obama. The same people who were conned into believing George W. Bush was a suitable candidate for President are now being told that Obama is a secret Muslim who won't pledge allegiance to the flag. The type of people spreading these lies are the same one who have been dominating politics and policy over the past generation. Will naive Americans be fooled again? The future of this once great nation may depend on these voters abilty to rise up and reject the stream of lies being fed to them by radio and e-mail.

Happy Friday with playing dolphins

Stopping the Red Menace

I came across this letter to the editor today that explains exactly what should be brought to the attention of the American people in this important election year. While I have said it different ways many times, this short letter sums it up more succinctly than I ever could.

Today we are hearing many conservatives lamenting that conservatism has lost its way. The truth is that conservatives had their way. In six years of unified control of the levers of power, they did more damage than is imaginable. It could take us a generation to regain our former prestige and clout.
Conservatism failed in the 1890s, again in the 1920s, again in the 1980s, and again at the beginning of the 21st century. That is the message Democrats need to hammer home at every possible occasion.
Conservatives failed because conservatism is a failed ideology. The greatest periods of American history all rejected conservatism in favor of the ideals our nation was founded on.

New Spy Gear and Police Technology

Follow this link to see some amazing technology that will soon be used by Homeland Security and Police Departments. Here is just one example : The Remington R1 - a throwable wireless camera. Just toss one of these bad boys through that window you’re about to jump through and you can survey the area with a push of a button.