All of us old, low information voters remember Harvey Korman. He passed away today. He was 81.

This is not his best scene in Blazing Saddles, a movie I love, but it is funny and somewhat political:

Harrumph! RIP, Harvey Korman.

CNN is doing a big segment tonight on how Barack Obama won his first state senate seat by booting Alice Palmer from the ballot. (Article here.)Palmer now supports Hillary Clinton.

Shorter version: How did Obama win his first Senate seat? By challenging his opponents' right to be on the ballot and succeeding, so he could run unopposed.

I wrote about this in detail in April when Palmer campaigned for Hillary in Indiana. Here's the back story, from the Chicago Tribune: [More...]

The Detroit Free Press reports that former Congressman and campaign manager for John Edwards, David Bonior and FL Rep. Robert Wexler will argue for Barack Obama at the Florida Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting Saturday.

Who is arguing for Hillary? The article doesn't say.

The hearing is televised and BTD and I will be live-blogging from our respective locations while TalkLeft commenter (and attorney) BackFromOhio will be TalkLeft's credentialed blogger at the meeting and live-blogging on scene.

Should be a big day, I hope you'll join us.

I've just been notified by the DNCC that TalkLeft will be a credentialed as a blogger at the Democratic Convention in August. From the e-mail:

Congratulations. The Democratic Convention staff has completed its review of blog credential applications and I’m writing to let you know that your blog will be credentialed at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver.

We’re excited to welcome so many blogs to the Convention (about 3 times as many as 2004). And we know you’re eager to make travel plans for August. We’ll contact you next week with logistical information regarding housing, credential distribution, and other key details. You probably have several questions. Please be patient – as our goal is to distribute this information to all credentialed blogs at the same time.

I'm very excited TalkLeft was selected. As one of the credentialed bloggers for the Boston DNC in 2004, I know how exciting it is to cover the convention live and to be in the hall during the evening speeches. [More..]

As a general rule, I do not like to judge an entire group of people by the e-mails that get sent to me. For that matter, I do not like judging an entire group of people because of comments from a select few.

That is why I like to name names when I criticize. I am criticizing the person I name, and no one else.

For that reason, I disagree with what Duncan Black chose to do in this post and in this post.

This is an Open Thread.

Speaking for me only

Comments closed

Update: Grits for Breakfast has a news and blog roundup and some commentary.

The Texas Supreme Court has upheld a Court of Appeals ruling that found there was no valid justification for seizing children at the compound of a polygmamous religious sect.

The Texas Supreme Court agreed with a lower court's ruling, that Child Protective Services did not present ample evidence that the children were being abused. The high court ruling could possibly clear the way for the children to be returned to their families. They were removed in April from the Yearning for Zion (YFZ) Ranch, near Eldorado.

"We are not inclined to disturb the court of appeals' decision," the ruling said. "On the record before us, removal of the children was not warranted."

Via How Appealing: Today's ruling of the Supreme Court of Texas consisted of a majority opinion and an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part. The majority opinion in a second, related case can be accessed here.

It's time to return these children to their parents. Background on the Court of Appeals ruling is here.

Great letter from Michigan to the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee:

. . . .While Michigan Democrats were disappointed that our state was not selected for one of the pre-window contests, we appreciated the new rule for adding a bit of much-needed diversity to the early nominating process, and as a first step toward breaking the Iowa-New Hampshire lock on the process. We notified the DNC that we would abide by the new calendar and its sequence provided that other states did the same. To be clear – the key issue which the new rule resolved was the sequence of the pre-window states, not just the number of pre-window states.

More...

On Saturday nights, Atrios invariably gave a listing of the guests expected on the Sunday shows and he would title that post "Document The Atrocities." Have you noticed how the Left blogs no longer document those atrocities anymore?

Bob Somerby still does:

Russert assembled a jury of six angry scribes—and not one juror spoke for Clinton! He didn’t have Romano there—Romano, who had conducted the interview. He didn’t have Marie Cocco there—Cocco, who had written a biting piece about the misogyny for the Washington Post. Were Cocco or Romano invited? We don’t know. (We e-mailed Cocco; she hasn’t answered.) But surely, Russert could have located someone to assert the Clinton view. Instead, he had a jury of six—and they all trashed Clinton for everything.

No one seemed to have any idea what the two Clintons were talking about. Matthews, Shuster, Olbermann, Carlson? Such names slipped all jurors’ minds.

Left blogs used to be outraged about this sort of thng. Not anymore. I wonder why. Nah, I know why.

Speaking for me only

At the Death House Door airs tonight at 9:00 pm ET on IFC, the Independent Film Channel: It is the story of a minister to death row inmates in Texas, who became convinced that the risk that even one innocent person will be executed justifies abandoning capital punishment.

One person who shares such a conviction is Carroll Pickett, minister to death row inmates at a penitentiary in Texas; for 15 years, Pickett had no reservations about presiding over executions, until that fateful day when his path crossed with that of a Hispanic man named Carlos de Luna, unjustly accused of homicide.

Shortly before this - his 96th official execution - was to occur, Pickett tape recorded much of his last day with de Luna. Listening to it, he became unshakably convinced of the man's innocence, and used his inner conviction as an impetus to team up with crime reporters from the Chicago Tribune and delve into the facts surrounding De Luna's highly questionable arraignment. With their documentary At the Death House Door, James and Gilbert both tell Pickett's heart-rending story and use it as a springboard into broader penetrative issues about capital punishment.

[More...]

No, I am not talking about Ricky Martin, I am talking about Jose Alfredo Hernandez Mayoral, the son of the still popular ex-Commonwealth Governor Rafael Hernandez Colon, who has endorsed Barack Obama. This is significant in my estimation, because after the current Commonwealth Governor Acevedo Vila, an Obama supporter, loses his reelection bid badly in November, Hernandez Mayoral will become the leader of the Commonwealth Party I predict. Hernandez Mayoral said:

[T]he Puerto Rican people are clear that Clinton's proposals on the economy, heath care, the environment and against crime are superior to her rival's.

An interesting development to me at least.

By Big Tent Democrat

I just spoke with some knowledgable folks on the Puerto Rico Democratic Primary (see my earlier post here and here is what I gleaned. These are not their predictions but mine based on what I heard. Warning, this is fairly uninformed bloviating by me.

First, some facts. The breakdown by Senatorial district is as follows: San Juan 6, Bayamon and Carolina 5, Ponce, Humacao, Mayaguez, Guayama and Arecibo 4.

Now, some bloviating. Turnout will likely be in the 500,000 range.

Clinton is almost certain to win and by a healthy margin. How healthy? No one really knows. She should win San Juan and Bayamon handily but will it be enough to gain the extra delegates? Not clear. Carolina will split 3-2. Ponce will be Obama's best district. Clinton could sweep the remaining districts.

More . . .

The Washington Post analyzes Barack Obama's campaign from an issues standpoint and finds he breaks little new ground.

When Obama changed his mind and decided to run for president after only two years in the Senate, however, he effectively dismissed the importance of policy proposals, declaring in one speech in early 2007, "We've had plenty of plans, Democrats," and in another: "Every four years, somebody trots out a white paper, they post it on the Web." He cast his "new kind of politics" in terms of his ability to transcend divisions and his unique biography and offered few differences on issues from Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and the other Democratic presidential candidates.

His "new politics" mostly refers to tone and leadership style. I found this statement by a campaign aide quite telling:

Obama aides, however, say their approach will work because most voters are looking not for a new vision for expanding health care but rather for a reformed political system such as the one Obama calls for, one that would solve problems rather than resort to bickering.

I think a new vision for expanding health care is exactly what Democrats are looking for.