Another facet to today's immigrant rights marches (Received by e-mail from America's Voice, which doesn't seem to have a website for me to link to]:

Immigrant rights supporters from coast to coast have been registering voters and helping people become citizens in unprecedented numbers—increasing civic participation in key states and Congressional districts in this exciting election year.

...This year’s rallies are just one snapshot of the intense voter mobilization effort around the country that we believe will play a central role in the 2008 election cycle. Already there has been a surge of immigrant voter participation in the early primary states that will likely spell doom or reward for politicians who seek to use anti-immigration as a wedge in the election.

Some quotes: [More...]

Part 2 of Bill O'Reilly's Fox News interview with Hillary Clinton airs tonight. It hasn't begun here yet, but some of you in other time zones may have seen it.

Hillary discusses the war in Iraq and says there's nothing left to be achieved. She also says torture doesn't work. Iran, Pakistan and immigration are discussed as well.

Be prepared to turn the channel when the interview is over. They've picked Laura Ingraham to provide analysis of it.

Here are the ratings for last night. Hillary scored big time with the 25 to 34 demographic.

Over objections by lawyers for Tony Rezko, Ali Ata testified today at Rezko's criminal trial. (Background on Ata, who pleaded guilty last week here.)

Ata testified Rezko told him "a plan was in place" to remove Patrick Fitzgerald as U.S. Attorney.

Mr. Rezko informed me that they had just finished meeting with Mr. [Robert] Kjellander and that there will be a change in U.S. attorney's office come the new administration," Ata said. And how would there be a change?

"Mr. Kjellander will talk to Karl Rove and make a change in the U.S. attorney's office," Ata said. He knew from Rezko that Kjellander was a GOP operative and had a direct relationship with Rove, at the time a top adviser to President Bush. Kjellander is Illinois' Republican national committeeman. Both he and Rove have denied the allegations.

Ata is singing for his supper. He's expecting a sentence of one year instead of eight for his testimony against Rezko.

Here's an assortment of the latest Rezko trial news.

The Pew Research Center: Obama's image is slipping. The AP discusses the poll here.

More polls:

• CNN: Obama losing ground

• Gallup Daily Tracking: Hillary 49, Obama 45.

• Teleresearch (Indiana): Hillary has a 10 point lead over Barack Obama

• In North Carolina:

  Raleigh's Public Policy Polling has found that Obama's one-time lead of 25 points has decreased to 12. A SurveyUSA poll shows him ahead by 5, while the Rasmussen Reports poll has Obama's lead at 14.

More....

For the third year in a row, immigrant rights rallies were held across the United States today.

From Washington to Miami to Los Angeles, immigrant rights activists demanded citizenship opportunities for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. and an end to raids and deportations.

"We come here to fight for legalization. We're people. We have rights," said Eric Molina, an undocumented factory worker who immigrated to Zion, Ill., from Mexico.

And no human being is illegal. Here's what's needed. [More...]

A radio segment I taped a few weeks ago on the newly passed Second Chance Act will air tonight at 6:00 pm ET on XM Satellite Radio Channel 169 -- the Power --it's also available now online at (The Urban Journal with Keith Murphy).

The channel is described as "Conversation about social, political, and economic issues from the African American perspective."

The actual audio of the segment is here. It starts about one minute in (after the intro music.)

Mr. Murphy is an excellent host and asked terrific questions.

mcjoan has the details:

So the question is, who's doing the tugging [on FISA capitulation] here, the frosh Blue Dogs or Hoyer? Obviously, the majority of the Blue Dog coalition can be controlled by leadership. They were back in March when only five of them defected on supporting the much better, telco amnesty-free House bill.

So why in the hell does this puny group of freshman concern trolls have a say in this at all? Why is Hoyer bending over backwards to find a "compromise" that will appease them?

Hoyer is doing what Hoyer wants to do. Do not kid yourself into thinking the Blue Dogs are forcing him to do anything.

The person who kidnapped Josh Marshall is at it again:

So why is it that when Howard Wolfson gets asked about Andrew's switching his endorsement from Clinton to Obama on MSNBC, he questions whether Andrews [sic] is really from Indiana. Why go there?

Are you freaking kidding me? This is the scandal of the day for Josh Marshall? Joe Andrew compares the Clintons to Rove and Lee Atwater and Marshall has the vapors because Wolfson mentioned in passing that Joe Andrew is a DC lawyer/lobbyist? Marshall has jumped the shark. Again.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

I'm on a lunch break from court but logged in and saw this sad news: Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the D.C. Madam, has taken her own life:

Local police responding to a call late Thursday morning discovered the woman's body in a storage shed to the side of the home, according to a statement released by the Tarpon Springs, Fla. Police. Hand-written notes were found nearby which "describes the victim's intention to take her life," according to the statement.

Palfrey was at her mother's mobile home in Florida. A note was found indicating her intent. Previously, she had vowed not to ever do another day in jail.

If you don't remember the details of her case,

A jury in Washington, D.C. found Palfrey guilty of money laundering, racketeering and using the mail for illegal purposes in connection with a prostitution ring she ran from 1993 to 2006.

R.I.P. Ms. Palfrey.

These are days of danger for the Obama nomination. Today he is the likely nominee. But what happens if next Tuesday he loses by 10 in Indiana and wins by 5 in North Carolina? Despite the decree from the now supposedly all important Joe Andrew, the race will continue. And what is up after Indiana and North Carolina? West Virginia on May 13. Clinton leads by 2-1.

On May 20, Kentucky and Oregon. Clinton leads by 36 in Kentucky and Obama leads in Oregon in the last polling there. Will he still on May 20? Oregon will become Obama's firewall. His must win I think. Right now, it seems unlikely that Obama can be be out of the woods until May 20 and Oregon. And only if he wins. If he loses Oregon, all bets are off I think.

By Big Tent Democrat

Comments closed.

Jonathan Singer cites Marc Ambinder's declaration that Barack Obama needs 283 delegates to clinch the Democratic nomination. I like the concept but I question the number.

Ambinder assumes the magic number is 2025, which excludes Florida and Michigan. That is simply unacceptable. 2209 is the magic number, which means Obama is 468 delegates away from the magic number. Clinton is about 600 delegates away. Florida and Michigan must be resolved before we declare that someone has clinched the nomination.

By Big Tent Democrat

The more we hear from Joe Andrew, the less I respect him. Undeterred by the fact that the Clinton campaign has said nothing about him, Andrew decides to go nuclear negative on the Clintons (and his HuffPo post is even worse):

In an interview with ABC News, Andrew says he knows what's coming from his friends at the Clinton campaign. He anticipates the Clinton campaign "will use the same words and the same language to attack me that Republicans used to attack me when I was DNC chair and I was defending Bill Clinton."

"I say this as a longtime participant in old politics," he says. "I've sparred with everyone from Lee Atwater to Karl Rove. . . .The same words will come out of the [Clinton campaign's] surrogates' mouths to attack me that the Republicans used — and that demonstrates the very hypocrisy of the old politics," he says.

More . . .