The Presidential Basketball Diaries

And now, the lighter side of presidential electoral politics,
courtesy of HBO's REAL Sports with Bryant Gumbel.

Happy (Belated) Earth Day

And the prestigious 'Funny Because It's True Earth Day Award' goes to......Whole Foods Market!

After announcing that they would do so back in January, this past Tuesday on Earth Day Whole Foods officially ended the use of disposable plastic grocery bags at checkouts in every single one of their 270 stores across the globe.

Let me be clear here: there is absolutely no reason why every single store in the world doesn't adopt a 'no plastic bag' policy exactly like the one so boldly being adopted by Whole Foods, or at least implement some sort of policy with a similar spirit (something along the lines of limiting the number of plastic bags per customer, or providing financial incentives for using alternative bags, etc.).

For more than a year now, my fiance and I instituted a 'Say No To Plastic Bags' policy on ourselves, and the results have been excellent. About 98% of our shopping is done with the use of cloth bags or no bags at all; the 2% of time when a plastic bag is used, it involves the kinds of plastic bags that can and will be reused many, many times in the future.

And one more item to address for all of the cashiers out there. I see you've already ripped that plastic bag out of the metal plastic bag holder thingy and you're all set to use it, but when I tell you "You know what, I don't need a plastic bag, I'll just carry it out", and you respond with "Oh...(blank stare)...well, I'll give you one anyway, just in case", and, as my insides begin to boil as I contemplate in exactly what "case" I'm going to need a large plastic bag to carry a two-inch ChapStick (one that is itself housed in a plastic container sealed in a plastic wrapper), I decide to simply respond with "well thanks anyway, but I'd rather not waste the plastic", and, just when I think I've finally won this epic struggle to NOT have a plastic bag crammed down my throat, you mumble "oh...ok", and then...THROW THE PLASTIC BAG AWAY...you, my dear cashier, make me want to lunge across that counter and smash your face in. If my options are 'take the plastic bag and reuse it' OR 'don't take the plastic bag and it gets thrown away', I'll take the damn bag! But, instead, how about you use your head and just put the plastic bag back on the metal plastic bag holder thingy and...brace yourself...use it for the next customer. How genius!

One step at a time, people, one step at a time.
.

Pennsylvania Primary Results: Now With 52% Voter Turnout!

Pennsylvania.......Obama 45%, Clinton 55% (99% Reporting)

Fired Up For Pennsylvania

Michael Moore Supports Obama

Friends,

I don't get to vote for President this primary season. I live in Michigan. The party leaders (both here and in D.C.) couldn't get their act together, and thus our votes will not be counted.

So, if you live in Pennsylvania, can you do me a favor? Will you please cast my vote -- and yours -- on Tuesday for Senator Barack Obama?

I haven't spoken publicly 'til now as to who I would vote for, primarily for two reasons: 1) Who cares?; and 2) I (and most people I know) don't give a rat's ass whose name is on the ballot in November, as long as there's a picture of JFK and FDR riding a donkey at the top of the ballot, and the word "Democratic" next to the candidate's name.

Seriously, I know so many people who don't care if the name under the Big "D" is Dancer, Prancer, Clinton or Blitzen. It can be Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Barry Obama or the Dalai Lama.

Well, that sounded good last year, but over the past two months, the actions and words of Hillary Clinton have gone from being merely disappointing to downright disgusting. I guess the debate last week was the final straw. I've watched Senator Clinton and her husband play this game of appealing to the worst side of white people, but last Wednesday, when she hurled the name "Farrakhan" out of nowhere, well that's when the silly season came to an early end for me. She said the "F" word to scare white people, pure and simple. Of course, Obama has no connection to Farrakhan. But, according to Senator Clinton, Obama's pastor does -- AND the "church bulletin" once included a Los Angeles Times op-ed from some guy with Hamas! No, not the church bulletin!

This sleazy attempt to smear Obama was brilliantly explained the following night by Stephen Colbert. He pointed out that if Obama is supported by Ted Kennedy, who is Catholic, and the Catholic Church is led by a Pope who was in the Hitler Youth, that can mean only one thing: OBAMA LOVES HITLER!

Yes, Senator Clinton, that's how you sounded. Like you were nuts. Like you were a bigot stoking the fires of stupidity. How sad that I would ever have to write those words about you. You have devoted your life to good causes and good deeds. And now to throw it all away for an office you can't win unless you smear the black man so much that the superdelegates cry "Uncle (Tom)" and give it all to you.

But that can't happen. You cast your die when you voted to start this bloody war. When you did that you were like Moses who lost it for a moment and, because of that, was prohibited from entering the Promised Land.

How sad for a country that wanted to see the first woman elected to the White House. That day will come -- but it won't be you. We'll have to wait for the current Democratic governor of Kansas to run in 2016 (you read it here first!).

There are those who say Obama isn't ready, or he's voted wrong on this or that. But that's looking at the trees and not the forest. What we are witnessing is not just a candidate but a profound, massive public movement for change. My endorsement is more for Obama The Movement than it is for Obama the candidate.

That is not to take anything away from this exceptional man. But what's going on is bigger than him at this point, and that's a good thing for the country. Because, when he wins in November, that Obama Movement is going to have to stay alert and active. Corporate America is not going to give up their hold on our government just because we say so. President Obama is going to need a nation of millions to stand behind him.

I know some of you will say, 'Mike, what have the Democrats done to deserve our vote?' That's a damn good question. In November of '06, the country loudly sent a message that we wanted the war to end. Yet the Democrats have done nothing. So why should we be so eager to line up happily behind them?

I'll tell you why. Because I can't stand one more friggin' minute of this administration and the permanent, irreversible damage it has done to our people and to this world. I'm almost at the point where I don't care if the Democrats don't have a backbone or a kneebone or a thought in their dizzy little heads. Just as long as their name ain't "Bush" and the word "Republican" is not beside theirs on the ballot, then that's good enough for me.

I, like the majority of Americans, have been pummeled senseless for 8 long years. That's why I will join millions of citizens and stagger into the voting booth come November, like a boxer in the 12th round, all bloodied and bruised with one eye swollen shut, looking for the only thing that matters -- that big "D" on the ballot.

Don't get me wrong. I lost my rose-colored glasses a long time ago.

It's foolish to see the Democrats as anything but a nicer version of a party that exists to do the bidding of the corporate elite in this country. Any endorsement of a Democrat must be done with this acknowledgement and a hope that one day we will have a party that'll represent the people first, and laws that allow that party an equal voice.

Finally, I want to say a word about the basic decency I have seen in Mr. Obama. Mrs. Clinton continues to throw the Rev. Wright up in his face as part of her mission to keep stoking the fears of White America. Every time she does this I shout at the TV, "Say it, Obama! Say that when she and her husband were having marital difficulties regarding Monica Lewinsky, who did she and Bill bring to the White House for 'spiritual counseling?' THE REVEREND JEREMIAH WRIGHT!"

But no, Obama won't throw that at her. It wouldn't be right. It wouldn't be decent. She's been through enough hurt. And so he remains silent and takes the mud she throws in his face.

That's why the crowds who come to see him are so large. That's why he'll take us down a more decent path. That's why I would vote for him if Michigan were allowed to have an election.

But the question I keep hearing is... 'can he win? Can he win in November?' In the distance we hear the siren of the death train called the Straight Talk Express. We know it's possible to hear the words "President McCain" on January 20th. We know there are still many Americans who will never vote for a black man. Hillary knows it, too. She's counting on it.

Pennsylvania, the state that gave birth to this great country, has a chance to set things right. It has not had a moment to shine like this since 1787 when our Constitution was written there. In that Constitution, they wrote that a black man or woman was only "three fifths" human. On Tuesday, the good people of Pennsylvania have a chance for redemption.

Yours,
Michael Moore
MichaelMoore.com
MMFlint@aol.com

To My Incredible Andrea:

* * * You're 25 * * *

You're also beautiful, inspiring, hilarious, and brilliant.

I love you, Andrea!

35,000 In Philadelphia

"Over 35,000 people came out to hear Barack speak at
the largest rally in the campaign's history in front of
Independence Hall in Philadelphia tonight."

Former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich Endorses Senator Obama

[UPDATE: More on the endorsement front...'Former Senators Sam Nunn and David L. Boren Endorse Barack Obama for President'.]

The formal act of endorsing a candidate is generally (and properly)limited to editorial pages and elected officials whose constituents might be influenced by their choice. The rest of us shouldn't assume anyone cares. My avoidance of offering a formal endorsement until now has also been affected by the pull of old friendships and my reluctance as a teacher and commentator to be openly partisan. But my conscience won't let me be silent any longer.

I believe that Barack Obama should be elected President of the United States.

Although Hillary Clinton has offered solid and sensible policy proposals, Obama's strike me as even more so. His plans for reforming Social Security and health care have a better chance of succeeding. His approaches to the housing crisis and the failures of our financial markets are sounder than hers. His ideas for improving our public schools and confronting the problems of poverty and inequality are more coherent and compelling. He has put forward the more enlightened foreign policy and the more thoughtful plan for controlling global warming.

He also presents the best chance of creating a new politics in which citizens become active participants rather than cynical spectators. He has energized many who had given up on politics. He has engaged young people to an extent not seen in decades. He has spoken about the most difficult problems our society faces, such as race, without spinning or simplifying. He has rightly identified the armies of lawyers and lobbyists that have commandeered our democracy, and pointed the way toward taking it back.

Finally, he offers the best hope of transcending the boundaries of class, race, and nationality that have divided us. His life history exemplifies this, as do his writings and his record of public service. For these same reasons, he offers the best possibility of restoring America's moral authority in the world.

A Great Episode or The Greatest Episode?

Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Pennsylvania Congressman Patrick Murphy, Benjamin Franklin...the apprentice has defeated the master, as The Colbert Report has officially overtaken The Daily Show as the better late night show on Comedy Central (to be honest, I think Colbert may have always been the better show, but there's no disputing it now).

Although Obama's segment above involving an acknowledgment that Grizzly Bears "are the number one threat to America" was pretty good, John Edwards ultimately takes the prize from last night's show. His segment, 'The EdWords', was the most hilarious and well-delivered of all the guests (check it out here).

Stan Lee At JFK Airport!

That's right, I was standing next to Stan Lee, famed created of Marvel Comics, at JFK Airport.

Yesterday evening, my brother was flying back into JFK airport from his trip to San Francisco, and so after my Wednesday afternoon class at NYU I decided to meet him there to take the train back home with him. Well, as we were waiting at the baggage claim area, both my brother and I took notice of a well-dressed, dark sunglass-wearing, older man across the way that looked strikingly similar to Stan Lee. There was still a chance that it was just some random hip older guy that didn't even realized he was stealing Stan Lee's style, so we figured we could know for sure if we went over and stood close enough to him to hear his distinctly deep, gravelly voice. Sure enough, it wasn't more than a few moments before I heard him utter a couple of words to his personal assistant that I knew for sure I was standing next to Mr. Marvel Comics himself! Then, the recognition that he had a personal assistant, as well as a limo driver standing close behind, really cemented the fact that it was Stan Lee.

I have to say, he looks even cooler and more youthful in person than he does in pictures or on television. As usual, I decided not to approach him with some corny "Hi Mr. Lee, I'm a big fan!" line, and him being surrounded by a pseudo entourage of assistants would have made it difficult to get close enough anyway. Needless to say, I'm extremely pleased I decided to do the nice thing and meet my brother at the airport, as I was rewarded with being in the presence of a comic book legend!

Bruce Springsteen Endorses Obama

Dear Friends and Fans:

Like most of you, I've been following the campaign and I have now seen and heard enough to know where I stand. Senator Obama, in my view, is head and shoulders above the rest.

He has the depth, the reflectiveness, and the resilience to be our next President. He speaks to the America I've envisioned in my music for the past 35 years, a generous nation with a citizenry willing to tackle nuanced and complex problems, a country that's interested in its collective destiny and in the potential of its gathered spirit. A place where "...nobody crowds you, and nobody goes it alone."

At the moment, critics have tried to diminish Senator Obama through the exaggeration of certain of his comments and relationships. While these matters are worthy of some discussion, they have been ripped out of the context and fabric of the man's life and vision, so well described in his excellent book, Dreams of My Father, often in order to distract us from discussing the real issues: war and peace, the fight for economic and racial justice, reaffirming our Constitution, and the protection and enhancement of our environment.

After the terrible damage done over the past eight years, a great American reclamation project needs to be undertaken. I believe that Senator Obama is the best candidate to lead that project and to lead us into the 21st Century with a renewed sense of moral purpose and of ourselves as Americans.

Over here on E Street, we're proud to support Obama for President.

[Posted at brucespringsteen.net]

When Politics Hands You Lemons, Fundraise

Happy 25th Birthday, Mr. Cooper!

As always, your gift will be how many years old you're turning in coinage.

Congratulations, enjoy your quarter, and have an awesome birthday!

(Kidding, of course...click here to get your real present!)

The Bitter Truth: Wrap Up

Harvard University Political Scientist Theda Skocpol had this to say to Talking Points Memo about Hillary Clinton's attacks against Barack Obama this weekend:

"I have been in meetings with the Clintons and their advisors where very clinical things were said in a very-detached tone about unwillingness of working class voters to trust government -- and Bill Clinton -- and about their unfortunate (from a Clinton perspective) proclivity to vote on life-style rather than economic issues. To see Hillary going absolutely over the top to smash Obama for making clearly more humanly sympathetic observations in this vein, is just amazing. Even more so to see her pretending to be a gun-toting non-elite. Give us a break!

I wonder if she realizes that gaining a few days of lurid publicity that might reach a slice of voters is going to cost her a great deal in the regard of many Democrats, whose strong support she will need if she somehow claws her way to the nomination -- and even more so if she does not clinch the nomination. The distribution of "we're not bitter" stickers to her campaign rallies is the height of over-the-top crudity, and the reports are that very few audience members seem to have much enthusiasm for this nonsense. Not surprisingly, people cannot see the reasons for so much fuss.

Yes, she wants a big break, she desperately wants the nomination she and Bill believe is hers by right. We all know that. But where is her authenticity and her dignity and her sense of any proportion?

This has to be one of the few times in U.S. political history when a multi-millionaire has accused a much less wealthy fellow public servant, a person of the same party and views who made much less lucrative career choices, of "elitism"! (I won't say the only time, because U.S. political history is full of absurdities of this sort.) In a way, it is funny -- and it may not be long before the jokes start."

If this is the kind of sentiment that continues to be echoed throughout the coming weeks regarding this bitterness brouhaha, then warnings of "treading carefully" with this kind of attack may be too little too late.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE: As I've been predicting Virginia Senator Jim Webb to be Obama's vice presidential running mate for some months now, I find this excerpt from a 2006 op-ed written by Senator Webb to be most enlightening...

"The politics of the Karl Rove era were designed to distract and divide the very people who would ordinarily be rebelling against the deterioration of their way of life. Working Americans have been repeatedly seduced at the polls by emotional issues such as the predictable mantra of "God, guns, gays, abortion and the flag" while their way of life shifted ineluctably beneath their feet."

The Bitter Truth

If I may be politically blunt for a moment, being called 'elitist' by a former resident of the White House who's filed income over the past eight years totals more than $109 million and 'out of touch' by a septuagenarian supporting an unending American military presence in Iraq is downright laughable.

Of course, when one candidate is faced with the reemergence of a damaging news story (brought on by none other than her own husband!), and another candidate can't seem to break into the news cycle much at all, it would seem that this may be their best political move. However, these candidates would be wise to tread carefully here, for one need only watch the last 45 seconds of the above video to be reminded of precisely how a candidate speaking to the frustrations of government inaction and to the perils of divisive issues will be received in the current American political climate (particularly for a crowd of Philadelphians attending the Democratic presidential debate only four days away).

The Day The Stern World Stood Still

Unbelievable...and, yet, largely fated. Anybody who's been listening to The Howard Stern Show over the past six months wholly knew that someday Artie Lang was going to have some kind of an episode that would qualify as 'hitting rock bottom'. However, I don't think anyone could have predicted it would happen quite like this (listening to the usually-jubilant Robin Quivers screaming in outrage sends chills down my neck).

And, to make this historic Stern moment all the more surreal, the show is now currently on a planned one-week vacation (scheduled to resume on Monday the 21st), leaving us with endless questions: Is Artie really gone for good? If so, how long will it be before he ends up in rehab, or in the hospital, or worse? How exactly will Howard, Robin, Fred, Gary, etc. approach all of this when the show returns? What about Artie's upcoming scheduled trips to the bachelor party in Amsterdam and the USO Show in Iraq? Who will replace Artie, if anyone? Will it be fan-favorite George Takei? Please can it be fan-favorite George Takei!?

Amazingly, I actually heard the first ten seconds of this tragedy live on my Sirius radio as I was driving to work this morning. Little did I know that mere moments after I turned my car off, all hell was breaking loose in the Stern studio. Regardless, I, and millions more, will be spending the next ten days pondering endlessly if Thursday, April 10th will go down in Howard Stern Show history as the last day Artie Lang, cupcakes and Hawaiian Punch in hand, walked through that famous studio door and sat down to serve as a member of one of the most elite radio families in the history of broadcasting...and then fell asleep.

I Knew I Liked Terry McAuliffe

In all the interviews I've seen him in, Clinton Campaign Chairman Terry McAuliffe always struck me as a really honest, smart, likable guy (something that was confirmed by the cool story-infused Mr. Cooper after a meeting he and a few others had with McAuliffe up at Harvard). It looks like we can add a good sense of humor too, after a "beaming" McAuliffe was spotted taking a few photos with Obama supporters at the regional caucuses of the Washington State Democrats this past weekend.

There Will Be A DVD Purchase

Actually, I think I may be too poor right now to even afford this $22 DVD, but my birthday is coming up in June, so rest assure we'll all be drinking milkshakes in time for summer.

I'm 99.9% Sure I Just Saw Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman At NY-Penn Station

Before I caught the train coming home after my Monday night grad. school class, I saw someone that seemed oddly familiar standing in the main terminal of Penn Station. I knew it was a politician, someone I had seen on television at some point, and I was pretty sure it was a Republican, but I just couldn't come up with who it was exactly. Sure enough, as soon as I got home, it hit me...Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman, someone I've seen and read about many times in following Al Franken's current campaign for Coleman's senate seat. The reason I'm saying I'm only 99.9% sure is to allow myself the 0.1% chance that it was someone that just happened to really, really, really look like Norm Coleman, but the guy has a face like the Joker, so I'm pretty certain it was the real Norm Coleman.

UPDATE: Ah hah! It WAS Norm Coleman because I just saw him on television at today's Senate hearings (Coleman is on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee), and it's clear he was taking last night's Amtrak train from Penn Station to Washington. And thus ends my short stint as the Lieutenant Columbo to Norm Coleman's itinerary.

MYTH: Florida Democratic Politicians Were Opposed To Moving Up The Florida Primary

FACT: Florida Democratic Politicians supported moving up the Florida primary with their own legislative actions and words.

Exhibit A: Here is the Florida House vote count pertaining to passage of the bill that moved up the Florida primary date. Notice a pattern? Every Florida legislator voted YES in support of moving up the Florida primary date. A unanimous vote in support of the bill, all Republicans and all Democrats. One might question why, if the Florida Democrats were opposed to moving up their primary date, would they give unanimous legislative support to the bill? Why, if they knew that the DNC was going to potentially penalize them for moving up their primary date, wouldn't they vote unanimously against the bill, and then present this voting opposition to the DNC to plausibly prove that they did all that they could to stop this violation of the rules? While Republican legislators outnumbered the Democratic legislators in the Florida House, and thus still would have been able to pass the bill, the actions of the Florida Democratic politicians proved lethal to their appeals to the DNC and to the soundness of their argument that they actually opposed moving up the primary date.

Exhibit B: Here (and embedded below) is a video of Florida Democratic minority leader Steven Geller "objecting" to moving up the primary date. Note the mocking tone, the sarcasm, and the chuckling regarding making a motion of objection as a formality of having something to "show to [the DNC] later."

No one can argue that the DNC didn't make a mistake by instituting such a harsh penalty against the Florida delegation for violating the rules. And likewise, with the legislative actions and words cited above, no one can argue that Florida Democratic legislators didn't actually support moving up the Florida primary. Once it became clear that the harsh penalties of the DNC were actually going to be levied against the Florida delegation, there began more backpedaling from Florida Democratic legislators than in a reverse bicycle marathon.

I Guess We Can Pry That Rifle Now

'Charlton Heston Dead at 84'

40 Years Later

~ Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) ~

Former Rep. Lee Hamilton Endorses Obama

Former Indiana Rep. Lee Hamilton endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for president Wednesday, praising his ability to transcend partisan division and calling his foreign policy outlook "pragmatic, visionary, and tough."

Hamilton, who during a three-decade House career rose to be chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Intelligence committees, also was vice chairman of the Sept. 11 commission. His endorsement could boost the Democratic hopeful's national security standing.

"Barack Obama has the best opportunity to create a new sense of national unity and to transcend divisions within this country, not by ignoring them or smoothing them over, but by working together with candor and civility to meet our challenges," Hamilton said in a statement released by Obama's campaign.

On Obama's foreign policy stance, Hamilton said: "He will work with our friends and allies. Obama will strengthen our ability to use all the tools of American power, and relentlessly promote the American values of freedom and justice for all people." [HuffPost, 04.02.08]

New Link Added --------->

Check out the new site I added to the blog links, picnik. It's a really great, really easy, really FREE photo editing website that I've already spent far too much time messing around with. Have fun.

A Winning Welcome

'Girardi debuts as New York wins final opener at Yankee Stadium'

Go Knights!

You were the only team to beat UConn all season, ladies. Once again, the ball's in your court (sorry, I couldn't resist). Now go out there and claim that last spot in the Final Four!

UPDATE: Why must I keep forgetting that every time a Rutgers sports team is performing well, they always manage to crumble when it matters?! Good job getting to this point Rutgers, but based on the first-half play of the game, the win should have definitely been yours (ahhh, that all too familiar "should have been").

Obama Wins...Texas!

'NBC News has allocated the remaining nine Texas caucus delegates, 7-2, in favor of Obama. That means the Illinois senator has won the most delegates, 99-94, as a result of both the Texas primary and caucuses.' [First Read, MSNBC.com - 04/01/08]