ProLA

Clinton to Concede Delegate Race to Obama

2008-06-03T13:08:00.003-05:00

I don't post here much, but I sort of feel it is my duty to post this in Brou's absence.

Clinton to Concede Delegate Race To Obama

I'm sure your resident Prola blogger will have many more eloquent words on the subject that I can muster so I will leave it at that.

Less Activity

2008-05-26T23:12:00.003-05:00

The next two weeks will probably be pretty slow for ProLA. My soon-to-be wife and I will be getting married this weekend, and between family members coming into town and last minute details I probably won't have much time for posting this week. After the wedding we'll be out of town, so next week will probably be pretty slow as well.

Take care, and check back in a couple of weeks should posting drop off!

PS. I've posted this in the sidebar, but I figured I would repeat it here. If you would like to participate in posting to this blog—authoring posts, not commenting—send me an email (the link can be found in the left column). The only requirement is that your posts are thoughtful and respectful, and that they maintain the spirit of this blog. I hope you'll share your perspective with us.

Zogby Poll

2008-05-22T00:42:00.006-05:00

A new Zogby poll has Obama leading a 4-way presidential race (against McCain, Barr, and Nader) by 10 points:

Obama leads in the East, the West, and in the South, while the two are essentially tied in the central part of the country, including the Midwest and the Great Lakes region, the poll shows. He leads among all voters under age 65 – including by huge percentages among those voters under age 30 - but trails McCain among those older voters by a 45% to 34% margin. Interestingly, Obama holds a 13-point edge among those voters age 50 to 64.

The survey hints that Libertarian Bob Barr could do some serious damage to McCain by stealing support among the very conservative and libertarian voters. Barr wins 10% support among those self-described “very conservative” voters, and wins 22% among philosophical (not necessarily “capital L”) libertarians. As McCain continues to angle for moderate support on the campaign trail, Barr could create havoc for him among McCain’s political base.

It's early, and Zogby hasn't always had the best track record for this year's primaries, but I think this is promising.

update:

Reuters article

Democratic Divide

2008-05-21T19:08:00.008-05:00

The Christian Science Monitor has another take on the "Democratic Divide"—it's closing up. Of course, you wouldn't know by watching cable news, which not only emphasizes exit polls for division data, but also prefers to linger on those which demonstrate division. Likewise racial conflict has been inflated in this campaign—through exit polls—when it has been clear for some time (and confirmed again in Oregon) that the real split was geographical and/or cultural. Why? Conflict sells. Sensational journalism sells.

McCain Talks to Jindal

2008-05-21T16:15:00.008-05:00

McCain will meet with Bobby Jindal.

Uggh

2008-05-21T15:02:00.000-05:00

From TPM and Veracifier:

Patchwork Nation

2008-05-21T02:10:00.010-05:00

So I'm up late again, flipping between CNN and MSNBC for election coverage (Obama picked up Oregon and Clinton won Kentucky ... no surprise there) and browsing websites during commercials and surrogate babble, and just as I'm about to give up for the night I stumble onto this. Of all the demographic analysis and map coloring that I've seen over the past few months, this has to be the most interesting—by far.

The Christian Science Monitor's Patchwork Nation divides communities into one of eleven groups:

Boom Towns (brown)

Evangelical Epicenters (yellow)

Military Bastions (purple)

Service Worker Centers (red)

Campus & Careers (dark green)

Immigration Nation (cyan)

Minority Central (orange)

Tractor Country (pink)

Emptying Nests (light green)

Industrial Metopolis (gray)

Monied 'Burbs (peach)

The combined result looks something like this:

VP Polls

2008-05-20T12:59:00.007-05:00

SurveyUSA polled voters in Pennsylvania and New Mexico on potential VP choices. Edwards is the clear winner on the Democratic side (aside from Rendell in PA, others actually bring his number down), but I read this as a recognition issue—how many people outside of Kansas know who Kathleen Sebelius is?. SUSA also left out Clinton, Gore, Richardson, and Webb from the poll—odd considering the speculation surrounding these people, and especially odd considering Richardson was left out of the polling in his own state.

update:

SurveyUSA added California:

John McCain Speaks to Democratic Voters

2008-05-19T12:10:00.005-05:00

This is interesting on a few levels.

1) It is pretty funny to be honest, in light of what is happening in the Democratic party, and

2) It strikes me as odd that the political arena and the entertainment arena would be mixed so blatantly, especially in an election year.

What do you guys think? Is this appropriate at any time? Is it appropriate in an election year? Shout it out.

McLies

2008-05-19T12:07:00.002-05:00

The video says it all:

75,000

2008-05-18T22:17:00.004-05:00

A crowd of 75,000 people gathered around Barack Obama in Portland, Oregon.

Buzz Words

2008-05-17T01:25:00.005-05:00

Chris Matthews appeared on Countdown tonight to discuss this exchange, but it turned out to be far more interesting than I expected (starting around the 3:45 mark). Check it out:

So the question here is: How serious is Chris Matthews? Did Thursday's show mark a turning point for Hardball? Is Matthews going to make more of an effort to expose this language from here on out? Will we actually begin to see substantive debate on his show rather than regurgitated talking points shouted back and forth?

I highly doubt it, but wouldn't that be something ...

Huckabee Crosses a Line

2008-05-16T18:19:00.006-05:00

While giving a speech in front of the NRA, former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee joked about an assassination attempt on Democratic candidate Barack Obama:

“That was Barack Obama, he just tripped off a chair, he's getting ready to speak,” said the former Arkansas governor, to audience laughter. “Somebody aimed a gun at him and he dove for the floor.”

Smintheus, at Daily Kos, aptly notes:

This is about more than Mike Huckabee, with his bizarre habit of threatening to use violence in the political arena. This is about a Republican establishment that encourages, rewards, and lionizes those on the right who use threats of violence to expand the boundaries in public discourse of the "acceptable" demonization of Democrats. Where will it end?

Voice Your Opinion: LA House Bill 199

2008-05-16T00:49:00.021-05:00

Noting its own opposition to the bill, The Daily Advertiser asks its readers to contact state legislators with opinions on HB 199.

To find out who your local representative is, click here.

For a list of representatives and their email addresses, click here.

For more contact information, click here.

Another interesting note from the Advertiser:

State Rep. Ernest Wooton, R-Belle Chasse, sponsor of the bill, decided to delay the vote after more than 20 LSU athletic officials signed a letter in opposition.

Maybe I'm misreading this, but did they say that it took action by athletic officials in order to get some reconsideration on this bill? Athletic officials?? I guess outrage on the part of students and campus police chiefs isn't enough cause for concern—we need LSU's athletic department to weigh in. To hell with teachers and students, but we just can't allow LSU football to be jeopardized:

The letter argued Wooton's legislation would make campuses more dangerous. "Athletes, students, staff and visitors" the letter said, "will be able to carry concealed weapons into our practice facilities and in locker rooms."

Whatever gets it done I guess ...

Please help to put an end to this nonsense.

Contact your representative.

It took me less than five minutes.

Cheers for Hillary Clinton

2008-05-15T22:49:00.007-05:00

Hillary Clinton has come to the defense of Barack Obama over recent attacks by George W. Bush and friends:

“President Bush’s comparison of any Democrat to Nazi appeasers is offensive and outrageous on the face of it, especially in light of his failures in foreign policy,” Clinton said. “This is the kind of statement that has no place in any presidential address.”

If this signifies a new (non-destructive) direction for the Democratic race—and if she can turn all of her attacks toward Bush and McCain—well then I might be changing my position on it and possibly on the idea of an Obama-Clinton ticket.

But will C-SPAN cover it???

2008-05-15T21:53:00.002-05:00

Reuters is running a report that John McCain would like to hold UK style question and answer sessions with Congress if elected.

This is actually one policy of his that I could get behind. I've always wondered why the POTUS doesn't do this kind of thing.

What happened in West Virginia?

2008-05-15T21:20:00.005-05:00

Brilliant analysis of Clinton's victory in West Virginia

Especially at 5 minutes in..."and I took it!"

Ouch

2008-05-15T16:58:00.002-05:00

Normally I'm not a huge fan of Chris Matthews, but this clip (starting around the 3:50 mark) is just golden:

McCain "Flip-Flop" on Iraq?

2008-05-15T11:31:00.003-05:00

McCain now says we'll be out by 2013.

Interesting ...

McCain previously had resisted offering target dates for troop withdrawals, saying that to do so would be tantamount to giving terrorists a timeline for defeat. During the Florida primary, he blasted former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney for what he said was support of a withdrawal timeline. Democrats, meanwhile, pilloried McCain for saying American troops could remain in Iraq for up to 100 years -- a reference McCain later likened to the presence of U.S. bases in Germany or South Korea.

Just last month, McCain said that "to promise a withdrawal of our forces from Iraq, regardless of the calamitous consequences to the Iraqi people, our most vital interests, and the future of the Middle East, is the height of irresponsibility. It is a failure of leadership.''

The straight-talker is turning out to be quite the "flip-flopper."

Keep It Up George

2008-05-15T11:16:00.005-05:00

Bush criticizes Obama ... in Israel.

In a speech to Israel's Knesset, Bush said: "Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along.

"We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: 'Lord, if I could only have talked to Hitler, all this might have been avoided.' We have an obligation to call this what it is — the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history."

Keep it up George, because the American people aren't buying your bullshit anymore. Every time you pull a stunt like this, your party comes that much closer to losing the White House.

update:

McCain and Lieberman jump in.

Obama pushes back:

"It is sad that President Bush would use a speech to the Knesset on the 60th anniversary of Israel's independence to launch a false political attack," Obama said in the statement his aides distributed. "George Bush knows that I have never supported engagement with terrorists, and the president's extraordinary politicization of foreign policy and the politics of fear do nothing to secure the American people or our stalwart ally Israel."

Golf

2008-05-15T00:02:00.005-05:00

Al Gore Debunks Hagee's Katrina Theory; FOX Does What FOX Does Best

2008-05-11T22:19:00.012-05:00

Al Gore in an interview on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross:

GROSS: In your book you mention that you think Katrina, Hurricane Katrina, convinced Americans to look differently at climate crisis ...

GORE: Some.

GROSS: ... even though no one can say for sure whether Katrina was directly a result of the climate crisis or not. But one reaction to Katrina—one now famous reaction—was from Pastor John Hagee, whose endorsement John McCain sought. And on our show about Hurricane Katrina, he said, "All hurricanes are acts of God because God controls the heavens. I believe that New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God, and they were recipients of the judgement of God for that. I believe that Hurricane Katrina was in fact the judgement of God against the City of New Orleans." And he went on to explain that this was punishment for a gay pride parade that was about to happen, that promised to reach a level of sexuality never demonstrated before in all other gay pride parades. What do you think about when you hear a reaction like that to Katrina?

GORE: My friends in New Orleans said, ‘Well, if that’s the case, how come God spared the French Quarter?’ Of course that’s silly.

It’s also important to note that the emerging consensus among the climate scientists is even though any individual storm can’t be linked singularly to global warming — we’ve always had hurricanes — nevertheless, the trend toward more Category 5 storms, the larger ones, the trend toward stronger and more destructive storms appears to be linked to global warming. And specifically to the impact of global warming on higher ocean temperatures in the top couple hundred feet of the ocean, which drives convection, energy and moisture into these storms and makes them more powerful.

And as we’re talking today, Terry, the death count in Myanmar from the cyclone that hit there yesterday has been rising from 15,000 to way on up there to much higher numbers now being speculated.

And last year a catastrophic storm, last fall, hit Bangladesh. The year before, the strongest cyclone in more than 50 years hit China.

And we’re seeing consequences that scientists have long predicted might be associated with continued global warming. The entire north polar ice cap, normally the size the lower 48 states, give or take an Arizona, is melting before our eyes. 40 percent melted in the last twenty years. And in the summer months, it could be completely gone, in one scientific estimate, in as little as five years.

Desmogblog backs him up in this article:

It is impossible to link any single storm to climate change but there is mounting scientific evidence that our warming world will produce more intense storms such as Nargis, with a predicable human toll. Last year, Cyclone Sidr slammed into Bangladesh, killing as many as 10,000 people and leaving 20,000 homeless.

...

The science is already there. The 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) had clearly observed that cyclones will increase in their intensity as a result of global warming. According to the IPCC: “There is observational evidence of an increase of intense tropical cyclone activity in the North Atlantic since about 1970, correlated with increases of tropical sea surface temperatures.”

The IPCC also noted that based on a range of models, it is likely that future tropical cyclones (typhoons and hurricanes) will become more intense, with larger peak wind speeds and more heavy precipitation associated with ongoing increases of tropical sea surface temperatures.

Professor Kerry Emanuel of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology reported in the journal Nature in 2005 that warmer oceans worldwide are making devastating storms such as Hurricane Katrina more likely by making cyclones on average more powerful and longer lasting. He found that the destructive power of tropical cyclones worldwide had increased by 70% in the last 30 years.

Another paper was published in the prestigious journal Science , backing up Emmanuel’s disturbing findings. These researchers found that the number of deadly Category 4 and 5 storms worldwide has almost doubled in the last 35 years.

This is no act of God. The authors of both these papers attributed this disturbing trend at least in part to human-induced climate change.

Now FOX News has been distorting Al Gore's statement, claiming in effect that he linked the Mynanmar cyclone directly to global warming. FOX conveniently left out the part where Gore said, "any individual storm can't be linked singularly to global warming."

This is exactly the sort of thing that Bill Moyers refers to when he says, "the media doesn’t allow complicated thought to be articulated in ways that enlighten instead of misinform people." The media, in this instance FOX News, tends to take and simplify complex scientific conclusions by isolating and presenting only those aspects of that issue that serve the story—or in some instances, only the aspects that support a particular political agenda. The end result is that the information being presented often contradicts scientific consensus.

By reporting only half of what Gore said—that science can identify trends in global climate change that are linked to an overall increase in the intensity of hurricanes—and then pretending to refute his statement with the part they omitted, and which they are now presenting as the totality of scientific opinion—that scientists cannot positively link the cause of single, specific storm to global warming—FOX gives the impression that scientists find no correlation between global warming and an increase of average hurricane strength. The end result is that their viewers end up believing that this debate, which is manufactured by the media and not truly present as such within the scientific community, is real. We see the same thing with the scientific theory of evolution, with the connection between global warming and human activity, and with the very existence of global warming.

An Entirely Different Conversation on Race

2008-05-11T11:41:00.006-05:00

From the Miami Herald:

TALLAHASSEE -- For a sign of Florida Republicans' all-out effort to attract black voters, look no farther than the glossy full-colored The Black Republican magazine that launches broadsides like these:

The KKK was the ''terrorist arm of the Democratic Party.'' Democrats, in addition to waging ''war on God,'' are still mired in sex and financial scandals.

That's all tucked in the back of the Sarasota-based National Black Republican Association's 60-page mag, the first half of which touts Republican Gov. Charlie Crist's civil rights record and the Republican Party of Florida's minority outreach efforts that the association has helped coordinate.

The strident comments and images -- replete with a Ku Klux Klan rally snapshot that notes ''every person in this photo was a Democrat'' -- has outraged Democrats and caught the Republican Party of Florida flat-footed as well.

...

But Democrats say the magazine omits the fact that many Southern Democrats joined the GOP after the 1960s civil rights movement.

'You could change the caption to say, `All of these people are now Republicans,' because the Democratic Party no longer suited their racist Southern strategy,'' said Dan Gelber, a Democratic state legislator from Miami Beach.

Compare.

Scientists Misrepresented in Global Warming Document

2008-05-11T01:12:00.017-05:00

At least 45 of the 500 scientists named in The Heartland Institute's list of "500 Scientists with Documented Doubts of Man-Made Global Warming Scares" have expressed anger over being included in the list. The Heartland Institute did not seek the scientists' consent before creating the list nor did they inform the scientists that they would be cited in the document.

Here are some of the scientists' responses (taken from desmogblog):

"I am horrified to find my name on such a list. I have spent the last 20 years arguing the opposite."

—Dr. David Sugden. Professor of Geography, University of Edinburgh

"I have NO doubts ..the recent changes in global climate ARE man-induced. I insist that you immediately remove my name from this list since I did not give you permission to put it there."

—Dr. Gregory Cutter, Professor, Department of Ocean, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Old Dominion University

"I don't believe any of my work can be used to support any of the statements listed in the article."

—Dr. Robert Whittaker, Professor of Biogeography, University of Oxford

"I'm outraged that they've included me as an "author" of this report. I do not share the views expressed in the summary."

—Dr. John Clague, Shrum Research Professor, Department of Earth Sciences, Simon Fraser University

Someone needs to tell Louisiana's Senate.

But Not Body Armor?

2008-05-11T00:17:00.020-05:00

So let me get this straight. We're OK with letting students bring concealed weapons to class—for protection—but body armor is taking it just a bit too far? Because (if it wasn't illegal) a shooter might decide to wear it too??? I guess emotionally distressed kids who have no qualms about mass murder tend to draw a line when it comes to breaking laws that restrict wearing body armor to school.

If there was ever any doubt as to whether or not House Bill 199 is a Republican gimmick cooked up by NRA enthusiasts, shrouded in nonsensical arguments about protecting students, and aimed at turning the gun-wielding public against any and all sane politicians in this state—well this pretty much dispels it.

The Advertiser points out:

Rep. Roy Burrell, D-Shreveport, was one of only two members of the House Criminal Justice Committee to question the wisdom of passing such a state law.

He said he found it an unusual move in a committee that recently approved carrying concealed weapons on college campuses.

"Are we making the assumption that if we don't allow the wearing of body armor, we're making schools safer?" Burrell asked. "If somebody is going to commit a crime of this nature, they're not necessarily going to wear body armor."

Rep. Damon Baldone, D-Houma, said anyone intent on attacking students is likely to "wear a vest and break this law anyway."

But wait:

The bill has a provision that would allow any student who wants to wear armor for protection to request permission from the principal or chancellor of the school.

So doesn't that make this even more absurd? Assuming that a kid hellbent on murdering his fellow classmates wouldn't just wear the body armor anyway, couldn't he or she just get permission the day before? Or are we going to allow principals to select which students should and should not be allowed to protect themselves?

That aside, if the House wants to introduce a bill that would prohibit body armor in schools because it unsettles teachers and students, fine. But how can they simultaneously entertain a bill that would allow college students to arm themselves with concealed weapons? Would not the prospect of a classroom full of gun-toting youths also unsettle many teachers and students?