Colin Powell endorses Obama

Colin Powell, a Republican who was President Bush's first secretary of state, endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president Sunday and criticized the tone of Republican John McCain's campaign.

The former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said either candidate, both of them senators, is qualified to be commander in chief. But he said Obama is better suited to handle the nation's economic problems as well as help improve its standing in the world.

"It isn't easy for me to disappoint Sen. McCain in the way that I have this morning, and I regret that," Powell, interviewed on NBC's "Meet the Press," said of his longtime friend, the Arizona senator.

But, he added: "I think we need a transformational figure. I think we need a president who is a generational change and that's why I'm supporting Barack Obama, not out of any lack of respect or admiration for Sen. John McCain."

Powell's endorsement has been much anticipated because he is a Republican with impressive foreign policy credentials, a subject on which Obama, a first-term senator from Illinois, is weak. Powell is a Republican centrist who is popular among moderate voters.

At the same time, Powell is a black man and Obama would be the nation's first black president. Powell said he was cognizant of the racial aspect of his endorsement, but said that was not the dominant factor in his decision. If it was, he said, he would have made the endorsement months ago.

Powell expressed disappointment in the negative tone of McCain's campaign, his choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as a running mate and McCain's and Palin's decision to focus in the closing weeks of the contest on Obama's ties to 1960s-era radical William Ayers. A co-founder of the Weather Underground, which claimed responsibility for nonfatal bombings during the Vietnam War-era, Ayers is now a college professor who lives in Obama's Chicago neighborhood. He and Obama also served together on civic boards in Chicago.

"This Bill Ayers situation that's been going on for weeks became something of a central point of the campaign," Powell said. "But Mr. McCain says that he's a washed-out terrorist. Well, then, why do we keep talking about him?"

Powell said McCain's choice of Palin raised questions about judgment.

"I don't believe she's ready to be president of the United States," Powell said.

McCain seemed dismissive of Powell's endorsement, saying he had support from four other former secretaries of state, all veterans of Republican administrations: Henry Kissinger, James A. Baker III, Lawrence Eagleburger and Alexander Haig.

"Well, I've always admired and respected Gen. Powell. We're longtime friends. This doesn't come as a surprise," he said on "Fox News Sunday."

Asked whether Powell's endorsement would undercut his campaign's assertion that Obama is not ready to lead, McCain said: "Well, again, we have a very, we have a respectful disagreement, and I think the American people will pay close attention to our message for the future and keeping America secure."

Obama called Powell to thank him for the endorsement, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

"I am beyond honored and deeply humbled to have the support of Gen. Colin Powell," Obama said in remarks prepared for a rally in Fayetteville, N.C. "Gen. Powell has defended this nation bravely, and he has embodied our highest ideals through his long and distinguished public service. ...And he knows, as we do, that this is a moment where we all need to come together as one nation — young and old, rich and poor, black and white, Republican and Democrat."

Powell said he remains a Republican, even though he sees the party moving too far to the right. Powell supports abortion rights and affirmative action, and said McCain and Palin, both opponents of abortion, could put two more conservative justices on the Supreme Court.

"I would have difficulty with two more conservative appointments to the Supreme Court, but that's what we'd be looking at in a McCain administration," Powell said.

Powell, 71, gained popularity while serving as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the nation's top military commander, during the first Gulf war under President George H.W. Bush. After retiring from the military, speculation mounted that he would run for president in 1996 — perhaps becoming the nation's first black president — but Powell opted against it.

As secretary of state, he helped make the case before the United Nations for the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, launched in March 2003.

Powell said the nation's economic crisis provided a "final exam" of sorts for both Obama and McCain.

"In the case of Mr. McCain I found that he was a little unsure as to how to deal with the economic problems that we were having," Powell said. "Almost everyday there was a different approach to the problem and that concerned me, sensing that he doesn't have a complete grasp of the economic problems that we had."

In contrast, Powell said Obama "displayed a steadiness, an intellectual curiosity, a depth of knowledge and an approach to looking at problems like this. ..."

"I think that he has a definitive way of doing business that would serve us well," Powell said.

Powell said he does not plan to campaign for Obama.

Greg Howard Can Keep His Job

MARIANNA­ ---A 3-2 vote by the School Board to uphold Jackson County Schools Superintendent Daniel Sims’ recommendations for disciplining a middle school teacher for writing a racial slur in class nearly caused an uprising Thursday night.

Nothing appeared to divide Jackson County’s families and School Board members more than what type of disciplinary action teacher Greg Howard should receive.

Howard is the Marianna Middle School teacher who wrote a racially charged comment on an erase board in his seventh grade social studies class. Howard altered the commonly used phrase from presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign from the word change to “C.H.A.N.G.E. – Come Help a (N-word) Get Elected.”

Sims recommended Howard receive a 10-day suspension without pay – worth about $2,500 and a written reprimand. Howard is required to write letters of apology to students, give up his coaching duties and any pay associated with coaching and take diversity sensitivity training. The vote was taken despite strong comments from the audience.

My response:

I don't really know how I feel about this. I mean, from everything I know about this incident, the man was joking. It was in poor taste, for sure, but it was a joke nonetheless. In fact, I received a text message from a friend with the same information in it. I laughed 'cause it was funny. The difference is, my friend is black so I wasn't offended. I don't know enough about this to say more but I will say this. Some people just want the spotlight and they will hop thier behinds in it no matter who they destroy in the process. Why don't we attend board meetins over the fact that our children are still scoring lower on standardized tests than their white counterparts. Why don't we stop allowing teacher's unions to lie to us and tell us that vouchers, charter schools, and other methods of school choice is bad for our kids when in reality it's only bad for them. This looks too much like the blind leading the blind. Yeah...I said that. Whatever.

MLK's Kids Fightin' Over Love Letters

Coretta Scott King kept the love letters beneath her bed, in a blue Samsonite suitcase.

The amorous writings of her husband, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., were among the most cherished possessions of a famously private person, said Lynn Cothren, Mrs. King’s special assistant for 23 years. “That’s why she kept them so close, in her room, underneath her bed.”

But Tuesday, those letters and other “intimate correspondence” between the Kings are expected to be in a far less private place: Fulton County Superior Court. The papers are caught in an increasingly bitter and public dispute among her three living children.

On one side is Dexter King, head of the corporation that handles the rights to his father’s works. In May, he negotiated a $1.4 million contract to publish a biography of his mother. It would be co-written by the Rev. Barbara Reynolds, a journalist-turned-minister who taped conversations with Mrs. King before she died in January 2006.

On the other side is Dexter King’s younger sister, Bernice King, who has refused to hand over the intimate correspondence between her parents for use in the biography. Bernice King says her mother didn’t want Reynolds to write the book and that the correspondence belongs to Mrs. King’s estate, which she controls.

The family corporation that Dexter King leads, called King Inc., is seeking a temporary restraining order that would force Bernice King to give the papers to Reynolds. A judge ordered her to bring the letters and photos to court Tuesday, though they are not expected to be shown in court. At stake is the book contract with Penguin Group, the New York-based publisher that has threatened to pull out should Bernice King fail to hand over the papers by Friday.

Cothren is among those watching from the sidelines — and wincing.

“Mrs. King deserves something that was just her and Dr. King without sharing it with everybody else,” Cothren said. “It was one of the few things just for her.”

Even Reynolds, who would be paid $200,000 under the Penguin deal, is having second thoughts. She had hoped to finish the biography with the blessings of all the children, not watch it fuel more litigation between them.

“This fight is about control and money and materialism,” she said from her home in Maryland. “These are the things that Dr. King preached against. I don’t know what I’m going to do at this point.”

Durn Shame...

Read the rest.

Bowden is Out

Clemson fired football coach Tommy Bowden today, four days after the Tigers lost to Wake Forest and fell to 3-3, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation.

They just told us. It's what he deserved," said senior quarterback Cullen Harper, who was benched after the Tigers' loss to Wake Forest loss and replaced by highly regarded sophomore Willy Korn. "Dabo Swinney is a fine man and will do an excellent job.

Harper struggled playing behind an inexperienced offensive line this season. His father, Jeff Harper, an offensive lineman on Georgia's 1980 national championship team, said Bowden's dismissal was justified.

"I'd call it karma," he said. "I thought it needed to be done. I think anytime a head coach or someone in a leadership position starts to place blame on his coaches and players, it weakens their respect on the team. His past experiences have shown he's done that."

Clemson running back C.J. Spiller had mixed emotions seeing Bowden let go.

"I'm shocked. We are 3-3 because we didn't make enough big offensive plays," Spiller said. "I'm shocked by our record and now I'm shocked that our coach is gone.

"I enjoyed playing for coach Bowden and I liked him, but in the end he was yelling at us to be leaders and it wasn't working. He did all he could to motivate us but guys weren't buying into what he was saying. And he said a lot of the same things over and over again.

"He let the offensive coordinator [Rob Spence] run the show and we got away from me and James [Davis]. I think part of the problem was when he benched Cullen. Some people wanted the offensive coordinator fired, [Bowden benched] the quarterback and then he got fired."

While the Tallahassee Democrat reports that Bowden was fired, ESPN.COM reports that he "resigned.

Um huh...he resigned...right after they fired him. But I ain't mad. Matter fact I'm glad. Now, I don't have to root for Clemson anymore. The only reason I tried to get with them was because Tommy was Bobby's boy. Now, I hope they lose every game they play. And how classless is Cullen Harper? He should have kept his mouth closed. The fact of the matter is that he deserved to be benched with that raggedy performance he gave Thursday night. Both he and his father need to learn when to talk when to shut the heck up.

Tommy is coming out of this pretty good too. Bowden will be paid through the end of the season, then get $3.5 million as a buyout negotiated in the contract extension both sides agreed to last December. Boy, white folks sho'll don't get fired like us.

Come on to Tallahassee, Tommy. We'll leave the light on for you.

Buckley's Son: 'Sorry Dad, I'm Voting for Obama'

The son of the late conservative thinker William F. Buckley is endorsing Barack Obama, though he still considers himself a conservative.

In an article entitled, "Sorry Dad, I'm Voting for Obama," on The Daily Beast, Christopher Buckley writes that Republican John McCain has betrayed his principals. McCain has changed positions on important issues, made promises he cannot keep, endorsed unworkable policies, and selected the inexperienced Sarah Palin as his running mate, Buckley writes.

The Arizona senator has lost his bearings, according to Buckley, while Obama has found his. Obama has demonstrated in the campaign that he has a "first-class temperament."

"I've read Obama's books, and they are first-rate," writes Buckley, a novelist and columnist for National Review, the conservative magazine his father founded. "He is that rara avis, the politician who writes his own books. Imagine.

"He is also a lefty. I am not,'' concedes Buckley. "I am a small-government conservative who clings tenaciously and old-fashionedly to the idea that one ought to have balanced budgets. On abortion, gay marriage, et al, I'm libertarian.

"But having a first-class temperament and a first-class intellect. Obama has in him, I think - despite his sometimes airy-fairy 'We are the people we have been waiting for' silly rhetoric - the potential to be a good, perhaps even great leader. He is, it seems clear enough, what the historical moment seems to be calling for."
What the moment is not calling for, according to Buckley, is the Alaska governor McCain has chosen as his replacement if he is incapacitated or dies in office. Buckley joins other conservatives - columnists Kathleen Parker and David Brooks - in harshly criticizing Palin over the last week. Brooks, a conservative columnist for The New York Times who was hired for his first job by Buckley's father at the National Review, has called Palin "a cancer on the Republican Party."

Buckley points out that he has written admirably about McCain and has known him since 1982. He has long thought that McCain would be great president. He also points out that McCain bravely supported the surge of U.S. troops in Iraq when Obama and other feckless politicians were "caterwauling."

"But that was - sigh - then. John McCain has changed," Buckley writes. "This campaign has changed John McCain. It has made him inauthentic. A once-first class temperament has become irascible and snarly; his positions change, and lack coherence; he makes unrealistic promises, such as balancing the federal budget 'by the end of my first term.' Who, really, believes that? Then there was the self-dramatizing and feckless suspension of his campaign over the financial crisis. His ninth-inning attack ads are mean-spirited and pointless. And finally, not to belabor it, there was the Palin nomination. What on earth can he have been thinking?"

RedNecks for Obama

Blacks Against Obama

Democratic U.S. Presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign rally in Coral Gables, Florida on Friday was interrupted by a group of African-American protesters, calling themselves “Blacks Against Obama”.

The “Blacks Against Obama” group, consisted of about 10 African-Americans that showed up at the Obama rally in Florida. The protesters held signs saying, ”Obama was for gay marriage and abortion, and said his candidacy was “endorsed by the KKK.” Another sign said, “Jesse Jackson hates Obama.”

Obama was going to allow the protesters to stay at the rally, but they kept on shouting and interrupting the rally, and had to be escorted out.

He better than me.

Hold The Hallelujahs

Thoough they state different reasons, this Time article discusses how well Evangelical Christians will really receive Sarah Palin.

McCain and his aides may not want to say hallelujah just yet. While Palin is inspiring rhapsodies from the lions of the Christian right, her appeal to more moderate and younger Evangelicals — as well as independent swing voters — may be limited.

There is no doubt that Palin will help calm the doubts of that core Evangelical base and leadership. While many pundits have wondered whether social conservatives will recoil from the news that Palin's 17-year-old daughter is five months pregnant, they're clearly not grasping the mores of that community. If Bristol Palin were the daughter of Democratic parents, she would undoubtedly be held up as an example of the failures of a liberal, permissive culture. Instead, she is viewed — as are the majority of teenage mothers in Evangelical churches — as a Christian who sinned, is forgiven, and needs to be embraced and supported.

The revelation about her daughter's pregnancy, and the fact that Palin herself chose to give birth to a baby with Down Syndrome, are just another part of the compelling picture Palin can paint of her faith. She was baptized in the Catholic Church and for most of her life belonged to an Assemblies of God congregation — a Pentecostal denomination. In high school, Palin was the local leader of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and most recently she moved her family to a nondenominational Evangelical church in her hometown.

That move away from the Pentecostal Church, which took place in 2002 when Palin first ran for lieutenant governor in Alaska, is the only potential sign she has given that her religious beliefs might be a political liability. Her spokeswoman now says that Palin does not identify herself as a Pentecostal. Historically Pentecostals and other Evangelical Protestants haven't always gotten along, largely because of theological differences. Pentecostal theology elevates the role of the Holy Spirit and includes belief in spiritual gifts, such as healing and speaking in tongues. But the groups have often been able to set aside their doctrinal disagreements for political purposes. Pat Robertson, a Pentecostal, and the late Jerry Falwell, a Fundamentalist, famously had bitter theological disputes but still joined forces as leading figures of the Christian right. (See photos of Jerry Falwell here.)

Palin's red-meat conservatism and Evangelicalism will almost certainly play well with those party faithful who attended the Republican National Convention this week. But with fewer than 60 days until Election Day (and a month before the start of early voting in many states), the McCain campaign's continued courting of the more traditional base spells trouble for any efforts to expand his appeal to independent voters and less conservative Evangelicals. If so, McCain may find himself quoting a bowdlerized verse of Scripture in November: What does it profit a man to gain the Christian right and lose the White House?

Read more of the article.

Florida Republican group to boycott Oprah?

The Florida Federation of Republican Women made the decision to boycott the Oprah Winfrey Show Saturday, after the media mogul refused to have Gov. Sarah Palin as a guest on her show until after the election wraps up.

"Women in Florida helped build Oprah into the icon she is today," Linda Ivell, President of the FFRW said in a statement. "We are deeply disappointed in Ms. Winfrey's decision to sit out the greatest political moment in the history of women since suffrage."

The talk show host denied accusations Friday, that she was even considering the vice presidential nominee as a guest.

"At the beginning of this presidential campaign when I decided that I was going to take my first public stance in support of a candidate, I made the decision not to use my show as a plat for any of the candidates," Winfrey wrote in a statement, responding to a story from The Drudge report claiming her staff was "sharply divided" on whether they should book the Alaska Governor.

Winfrey agreed Palin would be a "fantastic interview," but wouldn't invite her on until after the November elections.

The Florida Federation of Republican Women, the "largest political organization in Florida," celebrating the groups 58 year anniversary is also encouraging members to cancel subscriptions to O Magazine, Ivell said.

"We find it to be an abuse of her power -gained on the backs of our patronage of her advertising empire - to use her program to so blatantly support Obama in the face of this historic moment. So, we are tuning out and canceling our subscriptions to O Magazine and encourage other women to do the same," Ms Ivell said.

Winfrey came under fire from some of her supporters in December after campaigning with the Democratic nominee in South Carolina.

Ivell did not say the Florida Republicans would be tuning out indefinitely, but at least until 'after the election.' Adding, she and her members respect the decision to support Obama, "as every American is entitled to their personal opinion and vote."

My response:

Ummm...Oprah don't care. They better be glad I'm trying to be saved; otherwise, I'd say some real ugly words. The FFRW don't tell nobody what to do. Kick rocks.

Kilpatrick Shows No Remorse

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has plead guilty to two felony charges, will resign his office and pay a one million dollar fine.

The plea deal was announced during a court hearing and brings to an end a seven-month-long sex scandal that led to felony charges against Kilpatrick and plunged the city, region and state into political chaos.

My response:

I watched the proceedings and I was just...disgusted. Kilpatrick was cocky, he was arrogant, he was smiling, he was defiant. And to a certain extent, I understand...I do. He's trying to send the message that he is undeterred and unbroken. But that's the wrong message to send. He needs to be broken. He needs to be remorseful and contrite. That's why he's in this mess in the first place. His arrogance and need to be hard is why he has brought black folks to an open shame. He makes me sick. Dumb. Just dumb.

Read more of the story here.

Sherraye Speaks: On Sarah Palin...Barack Is In Trouble

You know, I hate to admit this but I’m listening to Sarah Palin – and I’m impressed. She is ticking me off because she is taking pot shots at Barack but I gotta tell you, if Barack wasn’t my candidate, I’d be a McCain supporter right now. I don’t want to, but I like her. She’s tough, she’s confident, she’s articulate – she’s a threat.

So what I am counting on are the Evangelicals because I know them. And what I know is that despite this feigned enthusiasm for the first female Republican VP candidate, the Evangelicals don’t like it and they will stay home. Because what I know about them is that they are more sexist than racist and, yes, they would rather see a black man in office than a white woman. And they hate her husband. That picture of him sitting there holding the baby and sitting with the kids while she is giving her grand speech ticks them off.

“Weakling!” they’re thinking.

I guarantee you, they think he’s a wimp. They won’t vote for Barack, but they won’t vote for McCain either.

Ut oh, she wants to fight the oil companies. McCain just lost.

Now, she’s talking about Barack again. I guess I shouldn’t get mad with her because I know she didn’t write this speech.

I’m looking at these white men…they have phony smiles plastered on their face. They don’t like her either. For once, the men get to fake it.

Obama Is In It To Win It

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is laying out his plan to lead the country into an era of change after what he called eight years of failed policies.

Obama was greeted by tens of thousands of cheering supporters chanting "yes we can."

He emphasized his humble roots and the example of his grandparents' service to the nation and their family.

"I don't know what kind of lives John McCain thinks that celebrities lead, but this has been mine," he said. "These are my heroes. Theirs are the stories that shaped me. And it is on their behalf that I intend to win this election and keep our promise alive as president of the United States."

He brushed aside critiques from his Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain, accusing him of being out of touch.

"It's not because John McCain doesn't care. it's because John McCain doesn't get it," he said of economic problems facing the country.

Point by point, he compared McCain's policies on the Iraq war, the economy, offshore drilling and health care, accusing him of pursuing the same policies as the Bush administration.

"Next week, in Minnesota, the same party that brought you two terms of George Bush and Dick Cheney will ask this country for a third," Obama said. "On November 4, we must stand up and say, 'eight is enough.' "

My response:

Let the haters say what they will, but Barack brought it tonight. I am impressed. The two things that impressed me the most is his plan to cut taxes and his plan to push Univeral healthcare. Now, I know my fellow Republicans have a problem with that but on that issue they can kick rocks. If they have ever been without health insurance and really needed it they'd switch parties faster than O.J. will jump on a white woman.

But, I know what it's like to be sick and have to grin and bear it. I know what it's like to watch your child suffer for two days because you are thinking to yourself, "I can't afford to take her to the ER just for them to tell me she has a stomach flu." So for two days I just kept giving my daughter gatorade and anti nausea medicine thinking she would get over it. But when I came home and found her in a coma, I had no choice but to go to the ER. I still thought it was a stomach flu -- a real bad one. When I got to the hospital, the doctor and the chaplain were waiting on me. They told me my child may not make it through the night. She didn't have a stomach flu. She had diabetes. My child almost died because I was worried about an emergency room bill. If I had taken her earlier she would not have gone into such a crisis. Normal blood sugar is around 120 to 140. Hers was 1200. Prayer is what kept her alive.

So, yeah, I'm a Republican, but on this one...I'm with Barack and the Dixiecrats... I mean the Democrats. And if these Republicans tick me off I'm switchin' parties -- again.

Say That!

"If 'activists' would spend less time makin[g] demands of government and more time demanding that 'the people' do the simple things needed for uplift — finishing high school, postponing parenthood and entering the job market, even if it's at minimum wage, and staying in it — those income statistics would rise dramatically. Unfortunately, our energy is still concentrated on outside forces rather than those within." — oldschoolfool, Booker Rising reader, responding to Black America's statistics in the just-released U.S. Census report about income, poverty, and health insurance

Sherraye Speaks: On Bill Clinton's DNC Speech

I cheered when Kendrick Meek introduced him. I forgot I was mad at him. Then I saw the look on Michelle Obama’s face and I remembered. Oh, yeah, we mad at him. But dang it, it’s hard to stay mad at one of the greatest President’s in the history of our country. Despite how badly he behaved over the last few months. I still love him. And so now, I’m not angry at him anymore…I’m hurt. I would have expected a lot of the things he said to come out of some other politician’s mouth, but not his.

Michelle is smiling now and I’m so glad because I want this Obama/Clinton rift to heal. I want to love the Clinton’s again. I want Hillary to be President (in 2012) and I want her husband’s legacy to remain intact. I’m hanging on every word. I want him to make it right. Much like a woman who has been betrayed by her man. We just beg them to say something that will make it easier to do what we want to do any way. We want to forgive them because we love them. That’s how I feel about the Clinton’s right now. I want to forgive them because they have meant so much to African Americans over the years. I want to go back to a time when I was enamored by them and in awe of them. Back to a time when we knew they were on our side.

“Come on, Bill!” I’m thinking right now.

“Say something that makes me love you again. Say something that makes me believe in you again.”

He’s saying all the right things, but despite the claps and smiles, Michelle is looking like she ain’t buyin’ it. And frankly, I hate to say it, but I’m not either. His words seem forced, contrived, rehearsed. You know, like when he looked in the camera and adamantly declared,

“I did not have sex with that woman.”

Michelle is still smiling and now it’s even wider and even brighter. Maybe it will be okay after all. Maybe.

Dang. I guess I still love you, Bill, but I’m sorry…I’m just not sure if I believe you…not yet. Make me believe.

Michelle Obama Rocked It

Michelle Obama took center stage at the Democratic National Convention on Monday night, stressing her love for the nation and making her case for why her husband should be the next president.

I come here as a wife who loves my husband and believes he will be an extraordinary president," she said of her husband, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, the presumptive Democratic nominee.

Michelle Obama -- who could be the nation's first African-American first lady -- pushed a theme of unity in light of controversial comments she made on the campaign trail that resulted in speculation about her patriotism.

"All of us are driven by a simple belief that the world as it is just won't do -- that we have an obligation to fight for the world as it should be," she said, closing the first night of the convention.

"That is the thread that connects our hearts. That is the thread that runs through my journey and Barack's journey and so many other improbable journeys that have brought us here tonight, where the current of history meets this new tide of hope.

"And you see, that is why I love this country," she said to a standing ovation.

Read the rest here.

I Believe, Coach Bowden...I Believe!

nolesports.com Tallahassee, FL: "Bobby Bowden was giving a speech in front of approximately 1,400 people at the Civic Center on Friday, but the Florida State head coach might as well have been addressing every single Seminole fan in the country during the 57th annual FSU Kickoff Luncheon.

'You have got to give us a home field advantage,' Bowden emphatically told the crowd. 'We go out there to warm up, nobody's there. Get into the dadgum game and start making some noise. And get that other team intimidated. That's what we need.'

This statement elicited the second-biggest cheer of the entire afternoon."

The biggest came a few moments later as Bowden was quickly going through the Seminoles' schedule for the 2008 season.

"We've got Miami in Miami," he said. "They're about like us. We're both trying to fight our way back up. Right now, Florida is a little ahead of both of us. But folks, we're going to be back. We're going to be back."

Click on the link (above) to read the rest...

At Home With Hallema

Since Fay is on the way I have made plans to camp out on the couch, light up the fireplace, munch on some popcorn, sip on some wine (non-alcoholic of course) and snuggle up with my BFF Hallema. Well, not her, but her book. Tee hee.

I had to jump through hoops to get a copy of this book because they were sold out. Even the author couldn't get her hands on a copy for me.

She is a hot mess but I love her like a sister. We'll be on her book tour in the near future.

For more information on her upcoming book, check Hallema out by clicking the link.

Dix Is Not Done

Dix won the bronze today because of two disqualifications but he's still not done. He will be competing in the 4x100 meter relay for a chance at another medal.

Click the link to read the rest...

Obama, Watch Your Back!

Newsmax.com – Hillary's Campaign Against Obama Continues:

By: Dick Morris & Eileen McGann Article Font Size



"Every speech should contain a line [saying that] you were born in the middle of America to a middle class family in the middle of the last century."

On May 10, 2007, Time magazine reported that Hillary's stump speech included the lines: 'I was born into a middle class family in the middle of the country in the middle of the last century.'

After Penn's memos were released to the media this week, Hillary's people spread the word that she did not take Penn's advice. But it is evident that she did."

The strategy Penn recommended was ridiculous. He somehow thought that by stressing Hillary's normalcy, Obama's unusual name, race, origin, parents, and skin color would redound to his detriment. In fact, the exact opposite proved to be the case. It has been his very novelty that has underscored his appeal. Penn missed the point.

But the larger point in his memos is that Hillary sought, from the beginning of the 2008 campaign, to use race as an issue against Obama. Her early willingness to wrap herself in the flag and marginalize Obama as an outsider bespeaks her efforts to inject race into the campaign. As soon as Obama emerged as her chief opponent, Hillary and Bill Clinton tried to make the election about race and to contrast her American roots with Obama's otherness.

It would be a mistake to think that Hillary's campaign against Obama is over. She and Bill both realize that if McCain wins, she would be the likely Democratic nominee against him in 2012.

At the age of 76, McCain might make easy pickings. Hillary's argument to win the nomination would be simple: I told you so. Her warnings that Obama was unelectable would have proven to have been prescient, and Democrats are likely to feel chagrined that they rejected her in 2008.

How will the Clintons undermine Obama? Not by any overt statement. In public, they will appear to be his biggest fans. Hillary does not dare incurr the wrath of Democratic voters by abandoning her party's nominee in the general election. But the Clintons will do what they do best: They will hog the spotlight. By speaking on Tuesday and Wednesday, this former first couple will spread themselves over the convention, usurping media, taking face time, and making the convention appear, for its first three days, as a Hillary Clinton gathering.

Remember how in 2004, Bill Clinton timed the release of his memoir "My Life" to coincide with the start of the John Kerry campaign. His swings through the nation, attracting lines and crowds at bookstores drew attention away from Kerry. His strategy of distraction culminated when he scheduled a book signing in Boston during the Democratic Convention, drawing mobs and pulling the spotlight away from Kerry.

By hogging the publicity at the Democratic Convention and by keeping the spotlight away from Obama, the Clintons are going to do all they can to stop the Democrat from getting a bounce from his Convention appearance. How will they hurt Obama down the road? Bill will make off-handed comments, seemingly mistakes. A lose cannon, he will appear to be undisciplined as he follows a game plan to undermine the candidate. Hillary will do her best to avoid campaigning for Obama and will undercut him in any way she can without getting caught.

Obama: Watch your back!

My response:
I absolutely agree with this assessment of the Clinton's and their plan to derail Obama's efforts. I sincerely hope that Barack supporters would come out in droves and vote for him. But regardless of the outcome of this election, Hillary Clinton has "torn her drawers" with me. And y'all know I was pulling for her. I thought Barack was stepping into the ring before his time and he should wait his turn. After all, the Clinton's had been our allies. Child please. As soon as the race got tight, THEY pulled the race card showing their true colors. If she had bowed out gracefully then she perhaps could have run again in 2016. But she didn't bow out gracefully and as far as I'm concerned, she has ruined her political career. Boo to her and her horny husband.

Dix Advances to 200 Meter Finals!

"FSU All-American sprinter Walter Dix advanced to Wednesday’s finals in the 200 meters at the 2008 Beijing Games.

Dix, seeking a second Olympic medal after winning bronze in Saturday’s 100 meters, finished third in his heat in the semifinals this morning."

A mere 0.14 separated the top four finishers in the heat, with all four moving on to the finals. Dix ran a 20.19, which was .02 behind former FSU sprinter Brian Dzinghai (20.17) of Zimbabwe.

The heat was won by Churandy Martina of the Netherlands Antilles. He set a national record with a time of 20.11Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, who set a world record in the 100 meters (9.69) on Saturday, won the other heat in a time of 20.09. Americans Shawn Crawford and Wallace Spearmon were right behind him.

Go to http://www.nolesports.com/ for local reaction to Dix’s quest for Olympic gold.


GO NOLES!!! OOOOH, OOOH, OOH, OOH...