DNC convention committee faces $15 million shortfall.
DENVER (AP) — The host committee for the Democratic National Convention faces a possible shortfall of $15 million, complicating logistics for the August event and forcing it to abruptly postpone a media walkthrough of the site scheduled for next week.
The Assassination of Barack Obama
The Assassination of Hillary Clinton
Artists are retards.
** UPDATE **
Yazmany Arboleda, whose button-pushing shows barely caused a ripple when they were recently unveiled in Chelsea, was grilled by agents after he had the provocative title stenciled on the windows of a West 40th St. storefront.NY Daily News More after the jump...
Hillary concedes but throws Obama under the bus in the process.
Moral dilemma or just good business sense.
Today I tried to get into an intelligent debate with members of a blog I frequent. The subject was simple; YouTube was hosting a video of an insurgent sniping a U.S Military Serviceman. Clearly the video was propaganda for the terrorists and their cause. The video was graphic in nature and disturbing to watch, not only as an American but as a human being. The loss of life is always something that makes me a little queasy in the stomach.
The members of this blog took it upon themselves to make it their own personal “jihad” and did everything in their little internet powers to get this video removed, not because of the graphic nature of the video mind you, because it was one of “our guys” that took one in the dome that was being depicted in this video.
Now I did a brief search on YouTube for “insurgents killed” and there was a query of over 100 videos depicting everything from enemy combatants killed by sniper fire, missiles, bombs and other various accoutrements of war. Equally disturbing, yes, very much so, but it was the “bad guys” getting it and it was clearly a victory for “our side” so the members of this particular blog general feelings were these videos MUST stay. I guess to show the enemy we mean business and we will not tolerate the posting of videos of “our” men getting killed in combat.
So now, as a Republican, I support our military personnel one trillion percent, they are noble men and women doing good work to bring stability to an unstable region and securing not only the safety of people in the middle east, but securing the safety of American living here and abroad.
With that said I am against censorship in its various forms, whether it been the banning of movies, music, books, videos or anything that someone might deem inappropriate. What’s one person’s distain is another’s wild Brazilian tranny fetish, to each their own.
Comments were made regarding Google’s. “moral” responsibility, I guess being that they are a U.S. based company, clearly only videos of U.S military victory’s should be posted.
First, Google DOES NOT have a moral responsibility to anyone, Google is a business, and the function of this business is to make money. No where in Google’s SEC filings does it mention that YouTube is designed to be a depot for “morally acceptable” video’s only, there are strict guidelines on the nature of the videos and Google reserves the right to remove any video that depicts graphic violence, such as the killing of another human being is clearly in violation of YouTube’s terms of service.
Second, there are alternatives, you do not like the videos posted on YouTube, you can visit various other sites that feature light hearted fare, and more socially acceptable videos, you do not like YouTube’s business model then do not frequent the site, you are not a big fan of Google’s politics then use another company for your web searches and email programs and don’t use the copout that, “But that’s my company email”, you want to feign fake distain then have the balls to say, “fuck it” it’s a minor inconvenience, but I will stick to my fundamental beliefs and dump my Gmail account.
Third, you have the power, YouTube and Google are ad generated business, let the corporations know that you will not purchase products, or services from business that advertise on YouTube, me personally I installed “Ad-Block” I do not need to be inundated with advertisements for products I do not need, or want.
Fourth, be intelligent, if you have strong feelings regarding a particular issue, speak your piece in a coherent intelligent manner, “Die in a fire” gets you nowhere and it makes you come off like a inbred moron that lacks the social skills to even be allowed to use the internet.
And Finally, not everyone has the same beliefs as yourself, understand that and accept that, what if one day the corporate heads at Google decide, because they are atheists, there will no longer be videos depicting religious symbolisms or ceremony’s of any faith, because Google has a “moral” responsibility to the board members that do not believe in God, by doing that Google gave up their business model for moral beliefs, and in a country where 40 percent of the people believe in an invisible entity this business model would no longer be as profitable.
Like someone once said to me, “Don’t sweat the petty stuff, pet the sweaty stuff”, ha that was a vagina joke, see what I did there.
Now let me go eat my Kashi cereal, and drink some Starbucks coffee so I can fund terrorism.
It sounds crazy at first. Amid dire reports about the toxic political environment for Republican candidates and the challenges facing John McCain, many top GOP strategists believe he can defeat Barack Obama — and by a margin exceeding President Bush’s Electoral College victory in 2004.More at Politico More after the jump...
At first blush, McCain’s recent rough patch and the considerable financial disadvantage confronting him make such predictions seem absurd. Indeed, as Republicans experience their worst days since Watergate, those same GOP strategists are reticent to publicly tout the prospect of a sizable McCain victory for fear of looking foolish.
But the contours of the electoral map, combined with McCain’s unique strengths and the nature of Obama’s possible vulnerabilities, have led to a cautious and muted optimism that McCain could actually surpass Bush’s 35-electoral-vote victory in 2004. Though they expect he would finish far closer to Obama in the popular vote, the thinking is that he could win by as many 50 electoral votes.
This is purely speculative, figuring out who John McCain is going to select as a vice president this early in the game is very difficult.
Charlie Crist: Odds 10-1
Positives - Popular Florida Governor, Will keep the sunshine state red in what expects to be a close election.
Negatives - Outside of Florida no one really knows who he is.
Lindsey Graham: Odds 15-1
Positives - Very close ally to McCain, Military background.
Negatives - A loss of a very important senate seat, not popular amongst the more conservative Republicans.
Mike Huckabee: Odds 2-1
Positives - Charismatic, does well reaching out to the middle class and Regan Democrats.
Negatives - Suffers from foot in the mouth disease.
Joe Lieberman: Odds 30-1
Positives - Would create a super uber-ticket, strong on national security, would steal traditional Democratic Jewish voters away from Obama, because of Obama's stance on negotiating with terrorists and terrorists organizations.
Negatives - Outside of national security he is fairly liberal, and would disenfranchise even further conservatives that dislike McCain.
Tim Pawlenty: Odds 10-1
Positives - Would put Minnesota in play, and could turn it red, social conservative.
Negatives - Again, like the Florida Governor, Pawlenty is an unknown outside his home state.
Rob Portman: Odds 25-1
Positives - Strong economics background, Former Ohio congressman could keep Ohio Red.
Negatives - Close ties to the Bush administration
Condi Rice: Odds 15-1
Positives - Foreign experience, could appeal to women and minorities.
Negatives - Secretary of State under the Bush administration, never held public office.
Tom Ridge: Odds 5-1
Positives - Former Governor of Pennsylvania, well liked amongst conservatives.
Negatives - First Homeland Security Secretary under Bush.
Mitt Romney: Odds 3-1
Positives - Romney's business acumen is a big asset, Popular Massachusetts Governor.
Negatives - Can't guarantee turning Mass from blue to red, Being a Mormon might be an issue.
Mark Sanford: Odds 7-1
Positives - Huge McCain supporter and fund raiser, young (40), conservative, southern well liked amongst conservatives and moderates.
Negatives - Could turn off voters in moderate swing states like Ohio and Michigan.
ALBANY, N.Y. - New York Gov. David Paterson is granting a full and unconditional pardon to rapper Ricky "Slick Rick" Walters for the attempted murder of two men in 1991.And so it begins, the downfall of New York.
The pardon is expected to halt efforts to deport Walters to the United Kingdom, the country he left as a child.
Hillary Clinton is bleeding away Barack Obama's financial advantage over presumptive GOP presidential nominee John McCain, new fund-raising figures show.
Obama's bitter battle with Clinton - including the skirmish fought last month in Pennsylvania's expensive media markets - has enabled McCain to narrow the cash gap with Obama, his likely general election foe.
Team Obama reported to the Federal Election Commission Tuesday night that the likely Democratic nominee has $46.5 million left in the bank after having blown through nearly $219 million to fend off Clinton's never-say-die candidacy.
At the same time, McCain has doubled the cash stash he had at the beginning of April.
The Arizona senator now has nearly $22 million in the bank, the federal fund-raising records reveal.
That means McCain has whittled Obama's financial advantage from nearly 5 to 1 at the start of April to slightly more than 2 to 1 at the start of May.
McCain knocked off his last major primary foe, Mike Huckabee, in March. He has been able to stockpile funds ever since.
With the GOP rallying behind him, McCain raked in more than $18.5 million in April, his biggest one-month haul to date. He spent only about $8.4 million last month.
Clinton raised about $22 million over the same stretch, including $10 million in the 24 hours after defeating Obama in Pennsylvania.
She also pitched in $5 million of her own loot to keep her White House hopes afloat, the second time she's loaned cash to her campaign.
Clinton entered May with $30 million in her campaign coffers, but carrying nearly $20 million in debt - owing $10 million to herself and nearly $5 million to ousted chief strategist Mark Penn.
The reports also show Rudy Giuliani loaned $500,000 of his own money to his failed presidential bid. It may not be the last time: His campaign still owes $3.6 million to scores of vendors.
But the ex-mayor is getting a little help from McCain, who apparently is under the impression that Giuliani's endorsement was worth at least $47,878.
That's how much McCain's campaign paid to reimburse Giuliani for flying out to California in a private 727 on Jan.30, when Giuliani simultaneously bowed out of the race and threw his support behind McCain's candidacy.
BOSTON — Sen. Ted Kennedy has been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, FOX News confirms.
Doctors for the Massachusetts Democrat said Tuesday that "preliminary results" from tests conducted on Kennedy after a seizure sent him to the hospital over the weekend confirmed the diagnosis.
"Preliminary results from a biopsy of the brain identified the cause of the seizure as a malignant glioma in the left parietal lobe," the doctors said in a statement, adding that treatment would likely include "combinations of various forms of radiation and chemotherapy.
Senator Edward Kennedy has been admitted to hospital in the US after suffering stroke-like symptoms, sources have said.
The Massachusetts senator was taken to hospital in Boston, said an official, who requested anonymity. There was no word on his condition.
Hyannis Fire Lieutenant Bill Rex told The Associated Press an emergency call came in from the Kennedy compound at 8.19am EDT (1219 GMT).
A male was transported to Cape Cod Hospital and then transferred by medical flight at 10.10am (1410 GMT) from Barnstable Municipal Airport to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
The 76-year-old senator has been in the Senate since election in 1962, filling out the term won by his brother, John F Kennedy.
In October, Mr Kennedy had surgery to repair a nearly complete blockage in a major neck artery. The discovery was made during a routine examination of a decades-old back injury.
The hour-long procedure on his left carotid artery - a main supplier of blood to the face and brain - was performed at Massachusetts General. This type of operation is performed on more than 180,000 people a year to prevent a stroke.
Barack Obama is already explaining his anticipated loss to Hillary Clinton in the Kentucky primary this coming Tuesday. In part, Obama blames FOX News. In part, Obama invokes improbable geography:
Obama conceded that he has a steep challenge to get his message and background to voters in states such as Kentucky — where he trails Sen. Hillary Clinton by 27 points, according to a poll published earlier this week — and West Virginia, where voters chose Clinton over Obama by 40 points on Tuesday.
"What it says is that I'm not very well known in that part of the country," Obama said. "Sen. Clinton, I think, is much better known, coming from a nearby state of Arkansas. So it's not surprising that she would have an advantage in some of those states in the middle."
Whether he meant to or not, President Bush, in his comments Thursday opposing diplomacy with despots, unleashed a torrent of GOP ire as prominent Republicans took the opportunity to pile on Barack Obama
Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton said he thought Bush “hit the nail on the head yesterday in Jerusalem. And today, the nails started to complain. It’s not just naïve. It’s dangerous for our country.”After Obama blasted both McCain and Bush on Friday for a failed go-it-alone policy in the Middle East, Republicans ripped Obama for his willingness to meet with nations like Iran without preconditions. The intense focus on national security was reminiscent of the 2004 presidential race between Bush and then-Democratic nominee John Kerry.
More of the usual stuff, nothing new, death to the infidels, America sucks, I endorse Obama and Israel is evil.
Sign On SanDiego has more.
There is occasionally an improvised quality to Barack Obama's critique of the conduct of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He sometimes seems to be making up his critique as he goes along
Sporting a shiny new American flag pin at an appearance in Rush Limbaugh's hometown, Sen. Barack Obama came up with some novel reasons why the U.S. may be struggling in the war in Afghanistan.
"We don't have enough capacity right now to deal with it -- and it's not just the troops," Obama, D-Ill., told a crowd in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
Obama posited -- incorrectly -- that Arabic translators deployed in Iraq are needed in Afghanistan -- forgetting, momentarily, that Afghans don't speak Arabic.
"We only have a certain number of them and if they are all in Iraq, then its harder for us to use them in Afghanistan," Obama said.
The vast majority of military translators in both war zones are drawn from the local population.
Naturally they speak the local language. In Iraq, that's Arabic or Kurdish. In Afghanistan, it's any of a half dozen other languages -- including Pashtu, Dari, and Farsi.
From IMAO.US
Senator Barack Obama has a some very introspective remarks for his concession speech after losing by 41 points in the West Virginia primary:
"Do you not see the flag pin, you inbred, hillbilly retards?! I wore a @#$% flag pin for you mouth breathers! I broke my campaign's only strongly held principle -- not being patriotic -- for you! My friends won't even look at me when I have it on. I even found Ayers trying to put a bomb on my car. What more do you want from me?More after the jump...
"Is it because I'm black? Is that why you @#$% crackers won't vote for me? Now I know why my wife hates America. Well, you better hope I don't get the presidency, because I will install Ray Nagin as ruler of West Virginia and he will chocolatize your state. When you bitterly head to church on Sunday, you'll find Wright preaching there about how God wants us to kill honkeys.
"So go pluck your banjos while you can, white trash. And does anyone want a flag pin? I don't have any use for it anymore."
