Restoring my faith in . . . well, mammals, at least

Sometimes when you need some good news you gotta turn to animals. This is an absolutely incredible story of two whales who got disoriented and beached themselves, repeatedly, before literally being rescued by a dolphin off the New Zealand coast.

Rescuers worked for more than one hour to get the whales back into the water, only to see them strand themselves four times on a sandbar slightly out to sea. It looked likely the whales would have to be euthanized to prevent them suffering a prolonged death, Smith said. . . .

"Moko just came flying through the water and pushed in between us and the whales," said Juanita Symes, a rescuer. "She got them to head toward the hill, where the channel is. It was an amazing experience. The best day of my life."

So this dolphin, whom locals say spends most days swimming playfully with humans at the beach, literally swam up to the whales and humans attempting a rescue in the water and got the whales to head out to sea. Absolutely unreal. Read the rest of this post...

Sleep-deprived. That's the latest excuse for the Bosnia lies.

And she's going to be ready to answer a 3 a.m. call? This isn't exactly confidence inspiring. Sleep-deprived:

Clinton said she was "sleep-deprived" and "misspoke" when she said last week that she landed under sniper fire during a trip to Bosnia in 1996, when she was first lady.

This is the weakest possible excuse.

But, if "sleep-deprived" is the newest excuse, Clinton has been sleep deprived since December:


Clinton didn't get tea on the tarmac in Tuzla, just a poem from an eight year old girl.

No worries. If Clinton somehow steals the nomination, rest assured the Republicans would never, ever make too much hay out of this whole Bosnia thing. Read the rest of this post...

Hillary is Tanya Harding

I was going to write that line and a Democratic party official beat me to it. From Jake Tapper at ABC, interviewing an anonymous Democratic party official:

What will she have to do to Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, in order to eke out her improbable victory?

She will have to "break his back," the official said. She will have to destroy Obama, make Obama completely unacceptable.

"Her securing the nomination is certainly possible - but it will require exercising the 'Tonya Harding option.'" the official said. "Is that really what we Democrats want?"

The bigger question is, is that what Howard Dean really wants?

PS Hillary today made the following crack about Obama: "You don't choose your family, but you choose what church you want to attend." Meaning, one assumes, that it's not her fault that she has a cheating husband but it is Obama's fault that he has an outspoken pastor. Well, in fact, you do choose your family. It's called marriage and divorce. A leader of the women's movement recently said to me, explaining why she had a problem with a woman choosing to remain with a cheating husband in order to advance her own career: "You don't choose a job over your own self-respect." Read the rest of this post...

Blocks of Ice Shelf in Antarctica "just tumbling and crumbling into the ocean"

Directly attributed to warming according to Reuters:

Satellite images show that a large hunk of Antarctica's Wilkins Ice Shelf has started to collapse in a fast-warming region of the continent, scientists said on Tuesday.

The area of collapse measured about 160 square miles of the Wilkins Ice Shelf, according to satellite imagery from the University of Colorado's National Snow and Ice Data Center.

The Wilkins Ice Shelf is a broad sheet of permanent floating ice that spans about 5,000 square miles (13,000 square km) and is located on the southwest Antarctic Peninsula about 1,000 miles south of South America.

"Block after block of ice is just tumbling and crumbling into the ocean," Ted Scambos, lead scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center, said in a telephone interview.

The failure to address global warming is another legacy of George Bush and Dick Cheney -- something of which their children and grandchildren will be very proud. Read the rest of this post...

Clinton tries desperately -- and I mean desperately -- to change the subject from her lies about the Bosnia trip

They must all be high-fiving at Clinton HQ this afternoon. Hillary brought up Rev. Wright to change the subject from her serial lies about the trip to Bosnia -- and CNN is dutifully replaying it. Although, at 5:54 PM tonight, a stunning thing happened -- even Wolf Blitzer seems to get that "she tried to change the subject as she comes under scrutiny for some controversial remarks of her own." Yeah, even Wolf gets it.

I expected the campaign to go pretty low, but didn't really expect to see Hillary herself get into the muck like this. How demeaning for her. Last week, Hillary wouldn't answer a question about Wright -- she literally ignored the reporter. Earlier today, at the Pittsburgh Tribune Review (owned by right winger Richard Mellon Sciafe), she jumped right in. It came up again at a press conference this afternoon, which I watched live on CNN. Greg Sargent posted video of the presser at TPM Elections and he accurately reported this key point:

Also, note that Hillary appears to be reading much of her material on the Wright questions, suggesting that real care went into working out precisely how she'd deal with the issue.

Clearly, the Clinton campaign thought this messaging very carefully. How much did it cost Mark Penn to come up with the line "He would not have been my pastor"? They've probably been focus group testing that line for a week. But what they don't get is that it just looks extremely desperate and pathetic for Hillary to evoke Rev. Wright now.

The Bosnia trip scandal isn't going away. Clinton made that trip a centerpiece of her campaign. There's too much video and too many lies told by the candidate herself.

The Bosnia controversy has redefined Clinton's campaign -- and created a new story line about Clinton's ability to separate reality from fiction. For example, check this passage from Newsweek:

Is it possible that Hillary Clinton really thought she risked her life disembarking from a plane and running for cover "under sniper fire" at the heavily fortified U.S. Air Force base at Tuzla? Clinton has been telling the story of her visit to Bosnia in 1996 for many years, gradually adding embellishment and changing details. Perhaps she may have actually come to believe it.

Ouch.

Clinton brought that on herself. Clinton is the star of all the Bosnia-related videos, not someone's pastor. Her words are at issue, not someone's pastor. Her lies are being dissected, not someone's pastor.

And, like I said, there's plenty of video -- and audio from today:
Read the rest of this post...

Iraq is exploding: "The cease-fire is over; we have been told to fight the Americans"

Now Dick Cheney and John McCain were in Iraq last week telling us all how great things were going, although Cheney had to sneak into Iraq without being greeted as a liberator, five years later, and McCain repeatedly didn't know the basic facts about the n Sunnis and Shiites. George Bush, with some of his old swagger, touted the progress in Iraq last week, too.

But, one more time, the facts don't match the rhetoric from Bush/Cheney/McCain:

The Mahdi Army's seven-month-long cease-fire appears to have come undone.

Rockets fired from the capital's Shiite district of Sadr City slammed into the Green Zone Tuesday, the second time in three days, and firefights erupted around Baghdad pitting government and US forces against the militia allied to the influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

At the same time, the oil-export city of Basra became a battleground Tuesday as Iraqi forces, backed by US air power, launched a major crackdown on the Mahdi Army elements. British and US forces were guarding the border with Iran to intercept incoming weapons or fighters, according to a senior security official in Basra.

The US blames the latest attacks on rogue Mahdi Army elements tied to Iran, but analysts say the spike in fighting with Shiite militants potentially opens a second front in the war when the American military is still doing battle with the Sunni extremists of Al Qaeda in Iraq.

"The cease-fire is over; we have been told to fight the Americans," said one Mahdi Army militiaman, who was reached by telephone in Sadr City. This same man, when interviewed in January, had stated that he was abiding by the cease-fire and that he was keeping busy running his cellular phone store.

Read the rest of this post...

Oil investor sees $100+ oil for rest of 2008

The 2007 average price was $72 per barrel and the current average is sitting at a healthy $94 per barrel. Between 2004-2005 the oil prices started to go through the roof and we're not exactly dropping into an affordable range even with a big drop last week. He was previously cool to the idea of alternative fuels but is now seeing that without alternative fuels, the transfer of wealth out of the country will be significant.

"We're spending about $1.5 billion a day -- $500 to $600 billion a year -- on imported oil," he noted. "That's four times the cost of the Iraqi war. We can't continue to do that. In 10 years you will have transferred wealth from the United States to the producing countries of about $5 or $6 trillion. That won't work. I'm not sure what it's going to do to us to remove that much wealth out of this country. We have got to get on alternative fuels in the United States. That's all there is to it."

Read the rest of this post...

Podcast: BicycleMark from Amsterdam about European reaction to the elections and the future of videoblogging

In this episode, American expat videoblogger, BicycleMark, who is based in Amsterdam, pays a visit to Chris' place in Paris to talk to me about European reaction to the US elections, and the future of videoblogging.

You can listen to the podcast by clicking here. For those who don't know, a podcast is really just a radio show. Click the link and your computer should play it automatically, assuming you have speakers and your volume is turned up.

As always, you can subscribe to the AMERICAblog podcast via iTunes here, or you can subscribe to the podcast's RSS feed here. And you can listen to any of our old shows via either of the two links in the preceding sentence. Read the rest of this post...

Hillary now claiming that she only "misspoke" about Bosnia once. It was four times over 4 months.

I don't mean to nitpick, but let's not just outright lie about this entire affair and then pretend it's going to go away. After talking about her sniper-fire-ful trip to Bosnia for four months, now that Hillary got talking just making it all up she's claiming that she only said it once. She said it four times and then her staff sent even more people out to claim it was true. Here's what Hillary is claiming today:

"You know I have written about this and described it in many different settings and I did misspeak the other day. This has been a very long campaign. Occasionally, I am a human being like everybody else. The military took great care of us. They were worried about taking a First Lady to a war zone and took some extra precautions and worried about all sorts of things. I have written about it in my book and talked about it on many other occasions and last week, you know, for the first time in 12 or so years I misspoke."

Last week? That's simply a lie, and at this point Hillary knows it. She said it four times over four months. She sent out scores of aides to defend the comments - comments she said FOUR TIMES. And now expects us to believe that she only said it once a week ago, so it was a slip of the tongue (mind you, it was a minute long slip of the tongue)? As Joe writes below, the fog of nonsense coming from Hillary and her people is getting rather absurd. And just as incredible, the Clinton people are now saying they're not going to answer any more questions about this issue.

News flash: Just because your latest talking point is to have the entire campaign lie about what really happened and now claim that it was only one time, doesn't change the fact that we have her on film saying it four different times.

MARCH 17: Clinton: "There Was No Greeting Ceremony, And We Basically Were Told To Run To Our Cars. Now, That Is What Happened." "Everyone else was told to sit on their bulletproof vests," Clinton said. "And we came in, in an evasive maneuver....There was no greeting ceremony, and we basically were told to run to our cars. Now, that is what happened." [CNN, 3/1708]

MARCH 17: Clinton, Speaking About Her Trip To Bosnia, Said "I Remember Landing Under Sniper Fire. There Was Supposed To Be Some Kind Of A Greeting Ceremony At The Airport, But Instead We Just Ran With Our Heads Down To Get Into Vehicles To Get To Our Base." Clinton: "Good morning. I want to thank Secretary West for his years of service, not only as Secretary of the Army, but also to the Veteran's Administration, to our men and women in uniform, to our country. I certainly do remember that trip to Bosnia, and as Togo said, there was a saying around the White House that if a place was too small, too poor, or too dangerous, the president couldn't go, so send the First Lady. That's where we went. I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base. But it was a moment of great pride for me to visit our troops, not only in our main base as Tuzla, but also at two outposts where they were serving in so many capacities to deactivate and remove landmines, to hunt and seek out those who had not complied with the Dayton Accords and put down their arms, and to build relationships with the people that might lead to a peace for them and their children." [Clinton speech (remarks as delivered), 3/17/08]

FEBRUARY 29: Clinton Said That The Welcoming Ceremony In Bosnia "Had To Be Moved Inside Because Of Sniper Fire." "At the rally, she belittled the idea that Mr. Obama's 2002 speech 'at an antiwar rally' prepared him to serve as commander in chief. She said he was 'missing in action' on the recent Senate vote on Iran and as chairman of a subcommittee responsible for NATO policy in Afghanistan. Contrasting that with her own experience, she evoked foreign battlefields, recalling a trip to Bosnia as first lady, when the welcoming ceremony 'had to be moved inside because of sniper fire.' She said she had traveled to more than 80 countries and was 'on the front lines' as the United States made peace in Bosnia and Northern Ireland and helped save refugees from ethnic cleansing in Kosovo." [NYT, 3/1/08] VIDEO

DECEMBER 29: Clinton That When She Went To Bosnia, "We Landed In One Of Those Corkscrew Landings And Ran Out Because They Said There Might Be Sniper Fire." Clinton, in Dubuque, Iowa on December 29, 2007, said "I was so honored to be able to travel around the world representing our country. You know, going to places that often times were, you know, not necessarily a place that a president could go. We used to say in the White House that if a place was too dangerous, too small or too poor, send the first lady. So, I had the time of my life. I was the first, you know, high- profile American to go into Bosnia after the peace accords were signed because we wanted to show that the United States was 100 percent behind the agreement. We wanted to make it clear to the Bosnians of all backgrounds. Plus we wanted to thank our American military and our allies for a great job. So, we landed in one of those corkscrew landings and ran out because they said there might be sniper fire. I don't remember anybody offering me tea on the tarmac. We got there and went to the base where our soldiers were and I went out to a lot of the forward operating bases to thank our young men and women in uniform and to thank the Europeans, including the Russians who were part of that effort." [CNN, 1/1/08]

Read the rest of this post...

"Another example of the fog of nonsense that has increasingly enveloped the Clinton campaign"

Josh Marshall on Hillary Clinton's assertion to the Philadelphia Daily News that primary delegates are superdelegates who can just vote for anyone -- and the Clinton campaign in general these days:

It's also another example of the fog of nonsense that has increasingly enveloped the Clinton campaign. Spin is one thing. And it's not a bad thing. But to have utility it must be tethered to some relevant facts, some kind of reality. Otherwise it just descends into ridiculousness. There's always some new clever but inane argument to twist 'up' into something at least somewhat resembling 'down'. Or if not that, enough to keep your head spinning long enough not to notice for a while that 2 and 2 still equals 4. It's like getting snowed by a precocious adolescent or maybe Jon Lovitz's Tommy Flanagan.

Usually this malarkey comes out of the mouth of Mark Penn. But it seems to be infectious.

He's right. It' amazing, though, how the traditional media eats up each of the Clinton campaign's new ridiculous arguments.

And wouldn't this latest delegate idea of Clinton's work the other way, too? If Hillary Clinton's primary delegates have figured out (like almost everyone else) that she can't win the nomination without starting a civil war, can't they just switch and vote for Obama? According to Clinton's own standard, they could. Maybe some of them should. It would help wrap this thing up. Read the rest of this post...

Consumer confidence futures hit lowest point since 1974

Another record low for Bush/Republican economics. Then again, the dollar is at lows against world currencies not seen since around that time and let's not even talk about the price of oil or food. Read the rest of this post...

Oops, she did it again

Late February. This time, Hillary "particularly remembered" her heroic tale of valor in Bosnia that never happened. So that makes how many times now that Hillary particularly misspoke only "once"?

Read the rest of this post...

Hillary spokesman now says "on one occasion she misspoke" about Bosnia - no, she said it four times over as many months

Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson told reporters yesterday that Hillary only misspoke "on one occasion" when she told voters that she arrived in Bosnia in 1996 under sniper fire and had to run for cover after the opening ceremony was canceled because of the gunfire. That's a flat-out lie. Hillary made similar claims at least four times since last December. And what's worse, her campaign repeatedly defended the "misspoken" comments, and even sent surrogates out to defend them, claiming they were true. Rather than admitting that Hillary screwed up, and puffed up her resume, the campaign is now choosing to lie to us about facts we already know.

Last night, Joe posted the Keith Olbermann segment about Hillary's false claims. Hillary spokesman Howard Wolfson claimed the following yesterday, per Olbermann: "It's possible she misspoke." Possible? Did she also misspeak the four other times she claimed the exact same story?

- In Dubuque, Iowa in December Hillary claimed that Bosnia was too dangerous for the president and that she ran across the tarmac.

- In late February, Hillary claimed during the White House 3 am phone ad roll-out that sniper fire forced the airport ceremony inside.

- In a March 17, 2008 press conference Hillary repeated the claims.

- In her March 17, 2008 prepared remarks - PREPARED remarks, i.e., these remarks were intentional - she said the same thing.

Let's revisit the latest details, per Olbermann:

Hillary's spokesman Howard Wolfson is now saying she was on the front lines by landing at the airport. As Olbermann noted, there was an 8 year old girl with flowers on those front lines, the US military commander in charge at the time said there was no threat of enemy fire, and Hillary herself stopped and took photos with military personnel. These were the front lines, but Hillary was doing photo opps with soldiers and 8 year old girls?

Here is Hillary's latest explanation, per yesterday:

Hillary: "I was also told that the greeting ceremony had been moved away from the tarmac but there was this 8 year old girl and I can't rush by her, I have to at least greet her, so I took her stuff and then I left."

Again, bull. There are photos and videos of Hillary and Chelsea posing with troops for photos on the tarmac. It was too dangerous for Hillary to linger any longer than a quick hug with a kid but the troops then put the president's wife's and daughter's lives at risk by posing for glamor shots? Then there's this:

Hillary yesterday: "I say a lot of things -- millions of words a day -- so if I misspoke, that was jsut a misstatement."

2 million words a day = 83,333 words an hour = 1388 words a minute = 23 words a second. Yes, you do say a lot of things. Read the rest of this post...

McCain chimes in on bailout/mortgage crisis

And he proved again that he has no idea what he's talking about. Restating the obvious ("there was a crisis of confidence" and "lenders were too lax") is all fine and good but the fact remains that McCain's top economic guru is Phil Gramm, retired Senator who helped to set up this sticky situation when he was in the Senate. McCain also tells his right wing guests at the Orange County fund raiser that he will "not allow dogma to override common sense" but let's be straight about who is on his economic team.

They are all pro-business let-business-self-regulate types. They all talk a big talk about controlling spending but when they had the chance with control of Washington, what were the results? How much cutting did they do then? Why should we suddenly believe them now? The record is quite clear that they can spend as well as anyone. When they talk about cuts, they're actually talking about cuts for programs that most people want but heavens no, it's not possible to cut corporate welfare. Oh no, that's just not possible. How else will corporate America be able to afford lavishing riches upon the business leaders? Maybe it's time corporate America starts to show a little interest in joining the cause of cutting back. Read the rest of this post...

Tuesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

Well, Hillary Clinton wanted everyone talking about her foreign policy experience -- and everyone is talking about it. Not quite the way the campaign envisioned.

Where's John McCain? He seems to have dropped out of sight. Maybe he's taking a crash course in foreign policy to learn the difference between Sunni and Shiite. That lifetime of experience Hillary Clinton bestowed upon him came up short. Or, McCain is probably in some top level meetings with his campaign staff (including Charlie Black who works with Mark Penn) trying to figure out how to further scam the campaign finance system. McCain has already broken the law by busting the FEC's spending cap.

Okay, let's just thread. Read the rest of this post...

1 in 10 Ohioans receiving food stamps

To make matters worse, the food subsidies just are not going as far as they used to go. Why is it that some people attach such a stigma to giving this kind of aid though have no issue with bailing out millionaires on Wall Street or giving massive handouts to corporate America? The money that we provide to help families in need is nothing compared to what we give away to business each and every day.

As for Ohio, after years of a complete lock on power, the state is going to take years to undo the problems created by Republican rule. McCain is going to have a tough time winning over the swing state, especially since his own economic policies and advisers are so closely tied to the kinds of policies that dragged the state down. Of course, Democrats are going to have to start pointing this out much more often. Read the rest of this post...

China extends Olympic spirit, offers baton twirling in court

Oh sorry, I meant to say "zapped with an electric baton in court." Sounds like the Olympics are going to be much more exciting than people might have imagined. Maybe we're all just misunderstanding and that this is a new Olympic year game called "Who will Beijing arrest, beat or throw in jail next?" Great business partner the world has. Really nice. Read the rest of this post...