The ACLU and BlackElectorate.com have teamed up to start a new public awareness project focusing on the
"devastating effects of felony disfranchisement on this country’s African-American community."

How bad is the problem?

One out of every seven - or 1.4 million - African-American men is disfranchised and cannot vote due to a felony conviction. This rate is nearly seven times the national disfranchisement rate of one in 41 adults.

Consider the vote in Texas yesterday:

Over half a million Texan citizens will be unable to vote due to a felony conviction. Over 165,000 of those disfranchised Texans are black,” said Laleh Ispahani, Senior Policy Counsel with the ACLU Racial Justice Program. “Disfranchisement runs contrary to fundamental precepts of democracy, human rights, and of giving people a second chance, a chance at true rehabilitation.”

The ACLU's page on felon disfranchisement is here. A state by state guide is here.

Dr. Steven Hayne, Mississippi's medical examiner for hire, had his faulty forensic work exposed when two inmates, wrongfully convicted in separate child murders, were exonerated a few weeks ago after serving 15 years in prison. The Innocence Project has more on his background and on the two clients recently released.

There's more news today, as the Innocence Project has filed open records requests on Dr. Hayne.

The Innocence Project and the Mississippi Innocence Project today issued 23 formal Public Records Act requests that will show the extent to which discredited medical examiner Steven Hayne is using state facilities to conduct autopsies – and potentially using federally-funded crime labs for forensic work that is fraught with negligence and misconduct.

More...

A FISA compromise is in the works. At a meeting yesterday, sponsored by the American Bar Association, Kenneth Wainstein, assistant attorney general for national security, pointed out something that hasn't gotten wide attention: Foreign to foreign doesn't really mean that when it comes to e-mail.

At the breakfast yesterday, Wainstein highlighted a different problem with the current FISA law than other administration officials have emphasized. Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell, for example, has repeatedly said FISA should be changed so no warrant is needed to tap a communication that took place entirely outside the United States but happened to pass through the United States.

But in response to a question at the meeting by David Kris, a former federal prosecutor and a FISA expert, Wainstein said FISA's current strictures did not cover strictly foreign wire and radio communications, even if acquired in the United States. The real concern, he said, is primarily e-mail, because "essentially you don't know where the recipient is going to be" and so you would not know in advance whether the communication is entirely outside the United States.

Corrente Wire has more. And Raw Story reports the FBI wants the telecoms to get immunity even if they acted in bad faith.

By Big Tent Democrat

Via Blogometer, Mike Lux writes:

[W]e've reached that juncture where it seems better for us to turn our attention to defining McCain rather than carving up each other."

Due respect to Mike, what is stopping you? Unless the us is the candidates, I see no reason why any person, Media organ or blogger who wants to turn their attention to McCain can not do so. What's stopping them?

NBC and bloggers, from list A to Z, are all proclaiming Hillary can not win. Then do not sweat the contest. What's the worry? That Hillary is going to question Obama's experience? Oooooh. And gawd knows John McCain won't right? Morever, are you sure the Media will defend Obama as they do now when Hillary is not his opponent?

A lot of folks are going to be in for a rude awakening if/when Obama gets the nomination and they discover their new BFFs in the Media are not so nice when a Clinton is not the opponent.

By Big Tent Democrat

This is very interesting and very smart by Barack Obama. Apparently he called SNL's Lorne Michaels to complain about SNL's bias:

Complaining about the refs apparently worked a little bit this week. So in addition to my call to [Saturday Night Live producer] Lorne Michaels, hopefully now people think everything has evened out."

I do not think there is any doubt that Obama had his toughest week of Media coverage last week and Obama is right to see SNL is a primary reason for it. The Media does not like being ridiculed. Especially by SNL.

Working the SNL ref Michaels may well get Obama some negative stuff on Clinton and make the Media feel better about giving him good coverage. NOTE - Perhaps Obama was joking. That would make some sense. But the reporting does not indicate it was a joke. FURTHER NOTE - apparently Politico went back and asked if it was a joke. The answer is yes. Ok. I guess the joke was supposed to prove how he, Obama, is not a whiner. Hard to do when you are in the middle of whining BTW.

My view is that for pure comic relief, spoofing Tweety Matthews and Punchline KO Olbermann's incredible spluttering outrage that Clinton refuses to drop out after winning Texas and Ohio is a sure fire comedy classic. But it will be hard to top the original performance. Funniest thing I have seen all year. They could even do Fineman as the Grim Reaper. It was hilarious.

By Big Tent Democrat

Speaking for me only.

Donna Brazile has been the most divisive and destructive force in the Democratic Party this year. She engineered the Florida/Michigan fiasco, threatened to bolt the Party if the super delegates did not do her bidding and now has taken to publicly smearing the Clinton campaign:

By Big Tent Democrat

(speaking for me only)

People genuinely concerned with the will of the people regarding the Democratic Presidential nomination contest should be focusing on the popular vote. Here is a very flawed count (incl. FL and MI, WA primary not incl., 3 caucus states not incl.) from Real Clear Politics:

Clinton 13,563,192
Obama 13,522,829

The inclusion of Michigan is problematic as Obama was not on the ballot. Florida is problematic because campaigning was not allowed. Not including Washington state is problematic because there is no reason not to include it. 3 caucus states have not released their vote counts. Some of these problems can be resolved. Michigan and Florida should have a revote. Those caucus states can release their vote counts. The Washington state primary results can be included.

The bottom line is it is really close. The will of the people is undetermined as of yet.

By Big Tent Democrat

Speaking for me only.

I have said that after last night, I believe it is a virtual certainty that the ticket will be Obama-Clinton or Clinton-Obama. Jeralyn disagrees with me. Hillary Clinton provides some evidence to my surmise:

Asked on CBS's "The Early Show" whether she and Obama should be on the same ticket, Clinton said "[t]hat may be where this is headed, but of course we have to decide who is on the top of ticket. I think the people of Ohio very clearly said that it should be me."

That is exactly where we are headed.

By Big Tent Democrat

This morning I watched the appearances of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama on the Today Show. While there is much to remark upon about these appearances, I was most struck by the statements made by both candidates that they will agree to a revote in Florida and Michigan.

Clinton of course was emphatic that Florida and Michigan had to be seated. She must know that they will not be seated solely based on the January results that strongly favored her. Some type of revote will be necessary. Her position seemed like bargaining posturing to me. But she did accept the idea of a solution to seating the Florida and Michigan delegations that includes a revote.

Obama expressed no concern at all about seating the Michigan and Florida delegations instead saying he has abided by the rules and that he will abide by any ruling of the DNC, including the ordering of a revote.

There you have it. It is now up to Howard Dean and the DNC to fix the mess they have made. The two candidates have expressly accepted a revote concept. Now Howard Dean and Donna Brazile need to get it done. Again, if they need ideas, my solution is here.

By Big Tent Democrat

Speaking for me only.

So where are we now? Here's my take - we have two candidates who have strengths and weaknesses. Unlike a lot of people, I am not that enamored of either candidate but I feel confident that both believe in progressive Democratic values. I have always wished both would be more overtly fighting for Democratic values and against Republican values, but I have made my views known that I have found Barack Obama's approach on that quite wanting.

There are some realities that the Super Delegates should consider when deciding which nominee to throw their support behind. The first is that Hillary Clinton, while a fine Democrat, is and will be subjected to unfair Media coverage. Period. Nothing will change that. Barack Obama has been a Media Darling and is certain to get better Media coverage. This matters. I wish it did not, but it does.

More . . .

Check out the location.

Open thread, your turn.

Only 5% in, with Obama at 56% and Hillary 44%.

I'm just looking for Hillary to win the popular vote. That will give her superdelegates a reason to stay with her.

If Obama loses Texas and Ohio, in the popular vote, many Democrats will begin to question whether he can win the big states, especially Ohio, to beat John McCain.

I'm not that interested in the caucuses. I think it's very likely the superdelegates will be deciding this race. Ill be updating this primary vote thread, but here's a place for you to comment on them.

Update: Just heard from a reader who I wrote about this morning. Hillary won his caucus, his report is below: