So Hillary came to the area yesterday. Obama campaign locals were encouraging people to go. And I was curious to check it out, too. See what the crowd was like. An hour ahead of the doors opening, this was what I found:
This was about the same time that people had been asked to show up to volunteer. But they had all the volunteers they needed by then. Española is the county seat of Rio Arriba County, a heavily Democratic, largely Hispanic county which went for Hillary on Super Tuesday. It is said that people in Rio Arriba wouldn’t vote for Obama unless Hillary came in person to ask them to. And so she did.
It was a dutiful performance, with a ritual feeling to it. The laconic mood was perhaps related to a hot day, and a non-air-conditioned venue.
Is it because the birds are hanging out in places they are unaccustomed to? Or is it some new twist on kicking the dog after a bad day at work? From the BBC:
[P]olice in Devon arrested a 21-year-old man who had been luring gulls by throwing bread, before attempting to shoot them with a BB gun. The RSPB [Royal Society for the Protection of Birds] said there have also been reports of gulls being kicked or beaten to death. Garden birds like pied wagtails, blackbirds and blue tits have also been hit.
"The statistics and details that have come to light through this report are shocking and disgusting," Ms Atherton added.
Bush & Putin make nice at the Olympics, while Russians tanks rumble across Georgia. But, hey! Dubya knows how to play checkers! Tonight's lead story from the BBC:
Poland has signed a preliminary deal with the US on plans to host part of its new missile defence shield. Under the agreement, the US will install 10 interceptor missiles at a base on the Baltic coast in return for help strengthening Polish air defences.
So, we're ratcheting things up in northern Europe, which depends on Russia for a big chunk of its natural gas. I keep thinking there's real problems with the recurring stories of Turkey bombing the Kurds in Iraq. Not exactly "Cumbaya" moments swirling about us...
Greg Palast is promoting some plain old tinfoil hattery about rural NM. I posted a (little noticed) diary yesterday. It was a detailed analysis of one precinct in northern New Mexico. There's persistent rumors of a big voter purge in NM, and Palast is one of the most high visibility proponents of that idea. So I decided to look at the numbers. And I don't see any problems in the precinct I looked at. Someone linked to Greg Palast in the comments:
In swing state New Mexico, HALF of the Democrats of Mora, a dirt poor and overwhelmingly Hispanic county, found their registrations disappeared this year, courtesy of a Republican voting contractor.
This article isn't dated, but I find zero evidence of voters missing from the rolls in Mora County, New Mexico. We've got plenty of problems in New Mexico, don't get me wrong. But this just doesn't look like one of them. Check it out.
I've heard it said, and seen it written: The voter rolls in New Mexico were purged, and it's gonna sabotage the election. The implication is that something nefarious has happened. I decided to test it out. With a mini-audit on one precinct that I know well. I worked it in 2004 in detail, and still have the files.
I went through Taos County, Precinct 13 (Taos Pueblo Indian Reservation) - comparing the voter rolls from Election Day 2004 with today. My conclusion? Nothing to worry about. Unless something is very different in another part of the state, that is.
Since there are persistent rumors and speculation on this, I thought it would be worth sharing what I found out.
Some years back, I did a road trip around the country, and found myself in the South in July. It was hot, and it occurred to me that the truly horrible thing about picking cotton was less the nature of the work, but more the nature of the weather you had to do it in. So, some of the best movies set in the summer are in the sultry south. Here’s Paul Robeson, singing Summertime from Porgy and Bess:
Right now, however, the forecast is for western Alaska and North Slope communities to enjoy a relatively early summer, with ice-free shipping lanes opening up a couple weeks earlier than last year, National Weather Service ice forecaster Kathleen Cole said Friday.
...
[T]hat's good news for northern Alaskans. A longer ice-free season means barges can reach Kotzebue and Barrow earlier and later in the summer, thus eliminating the high cost of receiving food and supplies by air that much longer. And summer seismic crews employed by oil companies won't be hampered as much by ice. Said Cole: "I think everybody is going to be happy about that."
Since then, some academicians have been busy mapping out the apportionment of the Arctic Ocean floor:
Death by 1000 cuts. I always mean to write about science and nature topics, but too often put it off. Today, I'm gonna throw a few stories together. The full court press is on for offshore oil drilling, as if there were no global warming. But on Canada's Baffin Island, the Auyuittuq Arctic Park is closed. In a bit of sardonic irony, its name translates to English as The Land that Never Melts:
Most visitors enter the park via the Akshayuk Pass, a traditional travel corridor used by the Inuit for thousands of years. Now the pass has been closed as the glacier moraine that blocks Crater Lake from spilling into the pass is severely eroded, Ms Scott says, and threatens to create a flash flood.
And, too, nearly half the world's primate species now face extinction.
So, I'm taking all these foot pix. And out at the Howard Dean bus launch, Thursday, I see George Lakoff. "Can I photograph your feet?" Done, but he says "You better photograph her feet, too." Pretty woman in a dress? Sure, why not? "What's your name?" Debbie Cook! OK. I like candidates as subjects. And whups!
Turning to move on, a voice behind me says, "Hey! Aren't you gonna photograph my feet?" If ya wanna know who it was, you're gonna hafta click again...
If you think that's the question you have to answer, think again! The question we all should ask ourselves is:
Obama or McCain?
This time next year, one of these two men is gonna reside at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
From time to time, one encounters a pundit who says that the Republican strategy is to make this Presidential campaign a referendum on Obama. Is he good enough or not? Leaving McCain out of the picture entirely as much as possible. Looks like they've been having a pretty good success at it, too. A lot of users here on Daily Kos - who should know better - have been acting as if that Republican approach is what they've adopted, too.
Since so many of us will be heading to Austin in but a few days, it makes sense to get in a Texas state of mind. Just last week, I rented the new DVD release Under the Same Moon, about a woman who leaves her son with her mother to work in Los Angeles. When the grandmother dies, the kid goes in search of her, crossing the border in Texas. There's a great commercial for it which includes the copy:
TIME Magazine raves that 'Adrian Alonso could melt Lou Dobbs' heart, if he had one.'
And there’s lots more movies set, in whole or in part, in what was long the nation’s largest state.
Gordon Smith (R, OR-Sen) is advertising as being in line with Obama in Oregon. Lincoln Chafee (who lost his Republican RI Senate seat in the 2006 midterm) has left his party. Today he published a short piece on TPM today which got me thinking of 1980.
Democrats in Congress developed their "Stockholm Syndrome" after Reagan swept to power, caving to him on issue after issue. It was infuriating. Chafee's got me thinking that maybe that pendulum is swinging the other way. President Obama's gonna get bipartisan votes passed in Congress. The Republicans are going to get thrashed with Obama's coattails. Mitch McConnell's not going to get iron-fisted discipline out of his caucus any more. Even if he's still got 42 or 43, I'm thinking filibusters are going to decline dramatically.
I think we've got signs of some really good news here.
Back in 2005-2006, I put a lot of effort into blogging against Richard Pombo (R, CA-11). Kossacks who came on board after the midterms might not be familiar with his name. Suffice it to say that his vanquishment (thanks to Pete McCloskey & Jerry McNerney and thousands upon thousands of donors and volunteers) was one of the sweetest victories in the Democratic wave that retook the House.
Pombo's a lobbyist now, and is busy trying to promote new oil development. He's turned up again, now associated with some misleading astroturf. That's not new for him: what's new is the fresh chorus for new oil development on all fronts. This time, oil shale in Colorado. As if there weren't tons of new drilling and despoilment going on already under Cheney's energy plan.
Yeah, I know it's called a scholarship program, but "Scholarship Recipients" didn't look good for the title. And scholar isn't a name that applies to all all of these wonderful activists, writers and researchers.
We made it to 30 scholarships! I can't imagine 21 of these good people having to stay home. Thanks so much to DFA and all the many generous donors who made this happen. It takes 30 seconds to get to the happy dance in this YouTube - Picked because I couldn't resist the costumes.
Here's the link to the DFA announcement of the awards. And my own listing and comments below the fold. And, isn't it grand that we weren't limited to just nine of them! Looking forward to seeing you all in Austin a month from now.
Today, Democracy for America will be making decisions on awardees for their Netroots Nation Scholarship program. In the end, 121 applications submitted, not 128. (There were a few duplicates.) I don't know how many scholarships will be awarded yet, for two reasons.
DFA hasn't told me what the totals from over the weekend donations is yet.
There's still time to donate this morning. This is the last call for that. (Donate here.)
To that end, OPOL says he's throwing a last $100 in the pot, and challenges others to do the same. And John Cusack? If you are reading this? Send me an email that you are sorry you can't attend, but would love to sponsor someone else. (Just like other Kossacks with a lot less discretionary income than you have already done.)
By any means possible, I'd like to still add one more to the total scholarships to be awarded. And right now is the absolute last chance
Tomorrow, DFA will be making decisions about the applicants for the Netroots Nation Scholarships. Friday, it was confirmed that we had raised enough money to cover 25. With what's come in since then, I think 30 scholarships might be within reach. That's a great improvement over the initial nine offered.
I've been looking at the applications, and one of the many things I've discovered is that the President of the College Democrats at Idaho State University is a Kossack. You ever wondered what's up in Pocatello? Check out dianamarie13's diaries. One is a report on making the arguments to her Republican father against voting for McCain.
You can still vote on the applications, but it probably won't change anything. The best way to effect the outcome it to toss in a few more bucks. And I'm offering match this evening, up to $100, towards that end.
It's only a little more than a month until the Netroots Nation confab in Texas. All kinds of getting ready is underway. The organizers are sending their program to the printer at the end of the week, so everyone with a panel is busy polishing up their copy text; travel arrangements are being made. There's much to learn, and much fun to be had. And many friends to finally meet face to face. Last year, I photographed people's feet, to give a sense of the person, while still keeping the mystery of how we know each other at a distance.
STOP THE PRESSES!!!DFA has extended the deadline to the end of this week. Yup, till Friday the 13th. (Donations will be accepted for at week or so after that.)
And if you're going to Netroots Nation, check in in the comments. Maybe there's rides to arrange or hotel rooms to share or drinks to buy.
I'm combining two things here. One is the ongoing effort to beg, cajole and solicit support for the Netroots Nation scholarship program. I'll say more about it below the fold.
But it is still Friday Night at the Movies, so we need movies. This week's topic is about movies with travel in them. Bob Hope & Bing Crosby made a bunch of "Road to ****" movies - this from one of them:
