Hillary Gets On Board The Obama Express!

I want to applaud Hillary Clinton for her speech this afternoon. She made that gracious exit I have been urging for so long and wholeheartedly endorsed Barack Obama for President. Senator Clinton has come around to the side of supporting the party and working to get a Democrat back in the White House and for that we should all be grateful.

From the reactions of her supporters, I feel most will follow her lead and work for the Obama campaign through November. The diehards who are moaning about supporting McCain, I suspect either have no idea what they are saying or do not care that McCain could stack the Supreme Court and achieve the overturning of Rove Vs. Wade which the GOP has long sought. To doubt that McCain will try this is a mistake. He will to appease his bible thumping backers, though if the Supreme Court overturns Rove, his hands will be clean. He can blame it on the court and not have to be seen supporting the pro-choice lobby and potentially pissing off a good part of the moderate and independent voters.

Hillary will need to continue to work on her supporters to ease them into the idea of backing Obama’s campaign. A small minority of those are like the woman who was caught screaming at the DNC rules committee. They have some deep seated racist beliefs that might prevent them from voting for an African-American. It is my hope that they can move beyond that fear and see Obama as a candidate who will restore America to what it once was.

McCain & Nixon - Both In Need Of A Make-up Artist

I have been in the communications business a long time. Even before3 I started my career, I remember watching Richard Nixon and Jack Kennedy as a kid in the debates. That first debate, Nixon looked like a ghost. He was pasty faced and pale and looked sickly. Why? No makeup!

Today we have John McCain appearing in much the same way. Looking like a death’s head against that green monster of a background, the media is making hay, and well they should. Whoever is his image consultant should be fired or at the very least reassigned. Green looks bad behind anyone, much less a pale as a ghost white guy with bad skin.

As far as substance? Well McCain is an echo chamber for the Bush administration, and though the new slogan is “A Leader We Can Believe In” everyone knows he is a politician who will blow whichever way the GOP wind is blowing.

Another Day Another Storm Chase!

Just got back from another storm chase this afternoon. We spent yesterday zooming across Kansas trying to catch up with the storms that were moving between 60 and 80mph. I caught a brief glimpse of a tornado as it dropped west of Wichita perhaps near Pratt, but it disappeared before I could stop the car and get a photo.

As we continued to track the storms, and there was a line of them that stretched across the state, we passed what I first thought was tornado damage. Trees down and a row of telephone poles snapped in half. Some emergency service folks were stopped where they had cleared the 2 lane road. We saw a small barn destroyed as well. From what I can tell, it seems that it was actually straight line wind damage according to reports on the SPC’s web site. Gusts up to 100mph were recorded and that could certainly break a telephone pole.

Meanwhile as we headed toward a new storm further south that we had been tracking on our Mobile Threat Net radar, we realized it was moving so fast it would intercept up before we could get into position to safely watch it. I reversed course when we spotted a wall cloud descending from the storm as it approached us and headed east out of harm’s way.

The system proved too fast for us and caught up to us along US 54 eastbound into Wichita. Straight line winds from rear flank gust front made driving really dicey. The precipitation was very dense, but thanks to a freshly Rain-xed window we managed to stay on the road.

Spent the night in Wichita and dried out while having dinner that the Outback. Topped the evening off with a frozen custard from Freddie’s. If you have never had one, you have missed a great ice cream treat!

Obama Wins, Hillary Finally Will Concede & McCain Looks Older Than Ever

I watched three speeches last night. First Hillary Clinton, making Barack Obama’s triumphal night all about her. Then McCain standing in front of an ugly green wall as he doddered and whined about Obama being young. Then, finally, Barack Obama igniting a huge crowd with the enthusiasm it will take to win the election in November.

It was at that moment I knew I had supported the right candidate. Not really, I knew Obama was the candidate back when he made the opening speech at the Democratic Convention four years ago! Obama is making history every day from this point forward and I am delighted.

Additionally, news comes tonight that Hillary will concede and throw her support behind Obama this weekend. It’s about time. Now, it’s time for the Democrats to circle the wagons and get ready for the GOP attack machine. The difference this year is, the GOP has a lame candidate who resembles George Bush far too much.

Hint to McCain, might want to stop making those references to Obama being young. It's one of his greatest strength, and you are playing right into it.

Open Invitation To Dana Rohrabacher - How About A Little Waterboarding? It's Just A Prank.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA),has a standing invitation to meet with me from this point on. He compared the torture techniques used at Guantanamo to “hazing pranks used by fraternities”. I would be more than happy to demonstrate to and on Rep. Rohrabacher exactly the kind of “pranks” that are used. The only difference is that when I do them it’s consensual and with adequate safety precautions.

Still I feel without any qualms that Rep. Rohrabacher would not only find the activities far from “pranks” and would confess to stealing the Lindbergh baby in less than 30 minutes. I would invite the press to attend should he decide to accept.

OK, so am I using strong words, yes I am. Do I believe he will accept my invitation. Absolutely not! He like the rest of the Republicans on Capitol Hill are more than willing to put people through things they would never endure. Most are not veterans, yet they send our troops to war. None but John McCain have experienced torture, yet they endorse its use. None face the economic challenges of most Americans, yet they make the policies that exacerbate the problems. It’s time for them to put up or shut up.

To give you an idea of how out of touch with reality Rohrabacher is, here is his statement on what constitutes torture:

They seem like more like pranks, hazing pranks from some fraternity than some well-thought-out policy of how do you torture someone and get information from them. […]

I will have to tell you, when most people hear the word “torture,” which has been bandied around here, I don’t believe that they think of it as holding a growling dog near somebody but not the growling dog — you know, it’s one thing to have the growling dog eating someone’s leg or arm versus — which is absolute torture. It’s another thing to have a growling dog around, or putting panties on someone’s head, or discussing — telling him he had repressed homosexual tendencies in his presence. I mean, I’m sorry, these are acts of humiliation.

Top Clinton Supporters Miffed At Hillary's Failure To Concede

The unstoppable Hillary has really put her supporters in a tough place. By refusing to concede last night after Obama’s clear victory she is sending the most mixed of messages. Now her ardent supporters are complaining.

Most vocal award goes to Hilary Rosen. She has long been one of Senator Clinton’s most vociferous supporters and now she is a strong Obama voice! From Huffington Post:

Senator Clinton's speech last night was a justifiably proud recitation of her accomplishments over the course of this campaign, but it did not end right. But she didn't do what she should have done. As hard and as painful as it might have been, she should have conceded, congratulated, endorsed and committed to Barack Obama. Therefore the next 48 hours are now as important to the future reputation of Hillary Clinton as the last year and a half have been....

I am also so very disappointed at how she has handled this last week. I know she is exhausted and she had pledged to finish the primaries and let every state vote before any final action. But by the time she got on that podium last night, she knew it was over and that she had lost. I am sure I was not alone in privately urging the campaign over the last two weeks to use the moment to take her due, pass the torch and cement her grace. She had an opportunity to soar and unite. She had a chance to surprise her party and the nation after the day-long denials about expecting any concession and send Obama off on the campaign trail of the general election with the best possible platform. I wrote before how she had a chance for her "Al Gore moment"

And if she had done so, the whole country ALL would be talking today about how great she is and give her her due.

Instead "she left her supporters empty", Obama's angry and party leaders trashing her. She said she was stepping back to think about her options. She is waiting to figure out how she would "use" her 18 million voters.

But not my vote. I will enthusiastically support Barack Obama's campaign. Because I am not a bargaining chip. I am a Democrat.

Add to her complaint that of Rep. Charles Rangel and you get a picture of a campaign that has moved on in spite of its candidate. ABC News reports:

One of Hillary Clinton’s most loyal backers on Capitol Hill is voicing frustration about the position she has put her supporters in.In an interview with ABC News, Rep. Charles Rangel said he thinks it is time for Clinton to publicly clarify what she is doing and allow her supporters to switch their allegiance to Barack Obama.

“Unless she has some good reasons-- which I can’t think of-- I really think we ought to get on with endorsements (of Obama) and dealing with what we have to deal with… so we can move forward,” Rangel said.

Asked why the Senator told supporters Tuesday night that she needed more time to consider her future, Rangel said: “I have no clue.”...“The NY congressional delegation encouraged her to run for President. So we feel some obligation to stay with her as long as we can” to give Clinton some time and space he said.

“We just have to have a better answer as to why it helps her to victory… as to why we’re not endorsing Obama when the only person left to endorse is Obama.”

Overall it is really puzzling why Hillary has refused to face reality and support Obama as she has intimated she would do should he become the nominee.

So Hillary, what gives?

Obama Wins And Hillary Is Confused!

Just watched a delusional Terry McAuliffe on the Daily Show as he spoke to Jon Stewart about Hillary’s victory. Now given that the show is taped at 6:00pm and shown at 11:00pm but hey, by 6:00pm enough superdelegates had come around that Obama was the nominee before the polls closed.

Clinton hasn’t conceded yet, even though she had a perfect chance to do it. She had a prime opportunity to make a graceful “let’s bring the party together” speech and instead she hedged her bets and announced nothing!

Someone needs to take her into a room and explain that she has lost. Perhaps a course of therapy is in order?

Hillary Talking About VP Spot Already

So now the ploy becomes clear. Clinton told a group of New York lawmakers in a conference call that she would be open to being Obama’s VP if it would help the party. That according to an AP report from one of the participants in that call.

Apparently the only reason she is still holding out is for the VP spot, and though some would find it a dream ticket, I have to wonder if it wouldn’t just weigh Obama down with the Bill and Hillary media circus. President Clinton continues to stick his foot in his mouth and having a liability like that on the campaign trail until November could be a big problem for Obama.

Additionally, Hillary might just want to sabotage the ticket so she might have a run in 2012. I wouldn’t put that past her since her “throw the kitchen sink” tactics so far.

Jon Stewart Nails McClellan - Great Interview

Last night, Jon Stewart did a great interview with Scott McClellan. Stewart, unlike the majority of real journalists, has no qualms about asking the tough questions. He does not give an inch to McClellan when he claims that the White House omitting facts was the same as lying. Now, if only the real journalists would start doing interviews like this.



Part 2 is here:

GM Closes 4 Plants - Apparently The US Really Does Want Fuel Efficient Cars!

Arlington, Texas dodged another bullet. GM is closing 4 plants that make gas guzzling trucks and SUVs and the Arlington plant is not one of them! Good news for local auto workers, but in general bad news for GM. The brain dead management of General Motors has been stuck in the “bigger is better” rut while the rest of the world long ago realized that smaller and more gas efficient cars were better suited to the current economy and ecology.

Poor GM. Stuck in the fossil fuel age along with Ford. Both companies had plenty of chance to retool and start making better-smaller-smarter cars but they were blinded by temporary bumps in sales of a few models and decided to go bigger instead of smaller. The size of the largest SUVs has increased continuously since they were first introduced. The apex of this lemmings run toward obsolescence was the Hummer. As the widest and least fuel efficient car or car-like vehicle on the road, the Hummer screams excess and boorishness. Still it had its market with under-endowed men and suburban moms seeking assault vehicle to pick little Suzy and Timmy up from the Montessori school.

Now as gas climbs over $4:00 a gallon and the economy is in a shambles, GM finally realizes it needs to create a small fuel efficient car or even better an electric one. The Chevy Volt holds their future, but that will not see a dealer showroom until 2010. For the next two years GM will have to limp along selling its oversized and overpriced cars to a dwindling number of consumers who have unlimited funds.

Toyota and Honda saw this coming years ago. They have been importing hybrids and fuel efficient conventional cars for years. Their market share has steadily climbed and yet GM failed to notice. GM even had hybrid technology in its Saturn line and yet failed to promote and expand that. Instead the dinosaurs at GM decided to put hybrid engines in their largest SUVs . Now this does make some sense, because now instead of 14 mpg they get 22 mpg. Meanwhile Toyota and the other Japanese carmakers have vehicles that get up to 50 mpg and Honda will introduce a fully electric/hydrogen car in the very near future.

If Ford and GM had real management instead of the brain dead MBAs that are so focused on this quarter’s profits that they fail to see the big picture they might have kept making the electric cars created for California. They had the key to their company’s future in their hands and they recalled and destroyed it.

It’s time the stockholders of the US car companies tossed the management fossils of US carmakers out on their ears and get some folks with a vision and a real grasp of where the market is headed.

Ejected Clinton Supporter At The DNC Rules Meeting - Video

And here is why Hillary's supporters are not facing reality. Like this woman, many of them have been caught up in the battle and are unwilling to let it go. She is also a little bit radical in her unfounded racism, but hey, it's a big tent.

Clinton Campaign Manager McAuliffe Swaggers And Slurs On MSNBC

Clinton campaign manager Terry McAuliffe made a bizzarre appareance on the MSNBC Morning Joe Show today. He looked and sounded positively drunk. Brandishing a bottle or rum and boasting of Clinton's unbeatable win in Puerto Rico as the final step in her victory even the hosts seemed taken back. Watch it!

Rock & Roll Legend Bo Diddley Dead At 79

Bo Diddley, the legendary rock and roll artist and writer, is dead at 79. Diddley’s songs, most of which were penned in the 1950’s and 60’s were not only hits for him, but ended up becoming hits for other artsist as well. The Rolling Stones most notably covered many of his songs including “I’m a Man” and “Who Do You Love”. His most famous contribution was the “Bo Diddley Beat” which has appeared in songs ever since he first came up with it. The hits, “Hand Jive” and “I Want Candy” are both based on Bo’s beat.

Diddley died of heart failure at his home in Archer, Florida.

Clinton Camp Jettisoning Staff Members

Sounds like Hillary finally woke up and smelled the coffee. Her campaign has issued calls to her advance staff to return to the New York City headquarters Tuesday evening. According to a story on politico.com’s Ben Smith’s Blog, staffers are being given their walking papers.

This would seem a pretty good signal that she plans to end her campaign shortly after the Tuesday primaries. Her senior aides are refusing to comment on the action, which in itself may also be a signal that she knows it’s over.

Family Equality Day Blog – LGBT Families & Beyond

It's LGBT Family Day, and bloggers across the country are using this opportunity to tell the stories of their families both or origin and choice.

Our families take all different shapes. Some look a lot like the TV Sitcom family of the 1950’s with two parents and a couple of kids living in the suburban dream home, while others are decidedly more non-traditional. My family is one of those.

As a member of both the LGBT community and the Leather/Fetish/BDSM community my definition of family is much different. For me it is completely a family of choice. I am called “Daddy” sometimes, though I have no biological offspring and no one in my family is under the age of 30.

I have a “boy” who is related to me only by our mutual love and affection for one another. We have spent 13 very happy years together and plan to see out our lives through in this relationship.

I have many other boys and Daddies and Masters and slaves who make up my extended family and they are all as close as though we were brothers and sisters. Together we make up a large extended family who we can rely on for emotional as well as material support. No one goes hungry in our family. No one is without a friendly shoulder when needed or a helping hand. That is how close my leather family is.

Though I have lots of friends both straight and LGBT outside my family, it is the loving and supportive men and women of the leather community I rely on when things get tough. It is the same members of the leather community that I celebrate with when sharing a joyful event.

Though we may be politically non-correct and occasionally misunderstood, these people are my family and I wouldn’t trade them for all the “nuclear families” in the world.

Alien Video - Must Be A Slow News Week

For a press corps weary of the Hillary/Obama spat and other such real news items the announcement by Jeff Peckman that he had video proving that outer space aliens exist was a natural. Peckman’s real agenda was to put an item in the budget of the Denver City Council to create an Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission to handle alien encounters.

OK, so had there been no other news to cover, I can see how this one might get a few minutes of play, but it seems every news organization has flocked to Peckman to se the footage of the alleged alien peeking in the window of a house. The video, taken with a black & white security camera by Stan Tiger Romanek back in 2003 in Nebraska. Of course, the image is fuzzy and hard to make out, and from the still that was leaked it is even impossible to tell if it is three dimensional or not.

The video was not released to the news media on the premise that it is being used in a documentary. In other words the whole thing is a tease and a promotion for the upcoming documentary. The whole thing sounds like a grab for Peckman’s 15 minutes of fame and the press should be smarter than that.

So someday we will see this footage which has been examined by a film school professor who says the video hasn’t been tampered with. However the reality of the alien remains in question. From the photo I have seen it is a real question as to whether it’s a puppet or a cutout or a balloon with eyes on it.

So if you believe in UFO’s you will see it as proof and if you are skeptic you will see it as fake. As for me, I see it as a waste of any more space on my blog….