Wednesday, February 27, 2008
School Bus Fight - video
A student on a school bus in Gilbert, Arizona gets into an argument with the driver when the driver won't let the student off the bus. The confrontation escalates, and the driver's daughter even gets into the action.
Report: Lewis to endorse Obama
WASHINGTON - Civil rights leader John Lewis has dropped his support for Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential bid in favor of Barack Obama, according to a newspaper report Wednesday.
Lewis, a Democratic congressman from Atlanta, is the most prominent black leader to defect from Clinton's campaign in the face of near-majority black support for Obama in recent voting. He also is a superdelegate who gets a vote at this summer's national convention in Denver.
"It's been a long, hard difficult struggle to come to where I am," Lewis told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an interview. "But when I am, as a superdelegate, I plan to cast my vote at the convention for Barack Obama."
Lewis' constituents supported Obama roughly 3-to-1 in Georgia's Feb. 5 primary. His endorsement had been a coveted prize among the Democratic candidates thanks to his standing as one of the last major civil rights leaders of the 1960s.
Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota endorsed Obama on Wednesday, citing his record on trade.
"Senator Obama has never felt ... that NAFTA was good for America," Dorgan said in a campaign conference call with reporters.
Dorgan said Obama has supported key trade issues. "He and I feel the same way. We both believe in trade and plenty of it. We just insist it that it be fair to our country — the rules be fair."
NAFTA, the free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, is unpopular with blue-collar workers whose votes are critical in the Democratic primary Tuesday in Ohio.
Obama has won 11 straight primaries and caucuses since Super Tuesday, increased his advantage in the all-important delegate count and has attracted the support of his congressional colleagues. On Tuesday, he secured the endorsement of one-time presidential candidate Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut.
Clinton has been endorsed by 13 of her Senate colleagues, Obama 10.
Dorgan was an ally of former President Clinton and a vocal critic of President Bush. As chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee, he has led hearings on government accountability issues related to the Iraq war and hurricanes on the Gulf Coast.
Dorgan has built a reputation for championing populist farm programs, criticizing Republican free-trade policies and assailing big business. He made headlines in 2005 when he called for a windfall profits tax on major oil companies.
Last year, he authored a measured to block funding of a Department of Transportation pilot program required under NAFTA that would have opened the U.S. to cross-border long-haul Mexican tractor trailers. The program was opposed by the Teamsters Union, among others.
Lewis, a Democratic congressman from Atlanta, is the most prominent black leader to defect from Clinton's campaign in the face of near-majority black support for Obama in recent voting. He also is a superdelegate who gets a vote at this summer's national convention in Denver.
"It's been a long, hard difficult struggle to come to where I am," Lewis told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an interview. "But when I am, as a superdelegate, I plan to cast my vote at the convention for Barack Obama."
Lewis' constituents supported Obama roughly 3-to-1 in Georgia's Feb. 5 primary. His endorsement had been a coveted prize among the Democratic candidates thanks to his standing as one of the last major civil rights leaders of the 1960s.
Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota endorsed Obama on Wednesday, citing his record on trade.
"Senator Obama has never felt ... that NAFTA was good for America," Dorgan said in a campaign conference call with reporters.
Dorgan said Obama has supported key trade issues. "He and I feel the same way. We both believe in trade and plenty of it. We just insist it that it be fair to our country — the rules be fair."
NAFTA, the free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, is unpopular with blue-collar workers whose votes are critical in the Democratic primary Tuesday in Ohio.
Obama has won 11 straight primaries and caucuses since Super Tuesday, increased his advantage in the all-important delegate count and has attracted the support of his congressional colleagues. On Tuesday, he secured the endorsement of one-time presidential candidate Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut.
Clinton has been endorsed by 13 of her Senate colleagues, Obama 10.
Dorgan was an ally of former President Clinton and a vocal critic of President Bush. As chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee, he has led hearings on government accountability issues related to the Iraq war and hurricanes on the Gulf Coast.
Dorgan has built a reputation for championing populist farm programs, criticizing Republican free-trade policies and assailing big business. He made headlines in 2005 when he called for a windfall profits tax on major oil companies.
Last year, he authored a measured to block funding of a Department of Transportation pilot program required under NAFTA that would have opened the U.S. to cross-border long-haul Mexican tractor trailers. The program was opposed by the Teamsters Union, among others.
Monday, February 25, 2008
CLINTON STAFFERS CIRCULATE 'DRESSED' OBAMA
CLINTON STAFFERS CIRCULATE 'DRESSED' OBAMA
Mon Feb 25 2008 06:51:00 ET
With a week to go until the Texas and Ohio primaries, stressed Clinton staffers circulated a photo over the weekend of a "dressed" Barack Obama.
The photo, taken in 2006, shows the Democrat frontrunner fitted as a Somali Elder, during his visit to Wajir, a rural area in northeastern Kenya.
The senator was on a five-country tour of Africa.
"Wouldn't we be seeing this on the cover of every magazine if it were HRC?" questioned one campaign staffer, in an email obtained by the DRUDGE REPORT.
In December, the campaign asked one of its volunteer county coordinators in Iowa to step down after the person forwarded an e-mail falsely stating that Barack Obama is a Muslim.
Obama campaign manager David Plouffe quickly accused the Clinton campaign Monday of 'shameful offensive fear-mongering' for circulating the snap.
Clinton campaign manager Maggie Williams responds: "If Barack Obama's campaign wants to suggest that a photo of him wearing traditional Somali clothing is divisive, they should be ashamed."
EDITOR'
S NOTE: Other leaders have worn local costumes:
Obama gains ground on Clinton in Ohio
By Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama gained ground against rival Hillary Clinton in the battleground U.S. state of Ohio on Monday as their race took a negative turn.
With a week to go until a potentially pivotal vote in Ohio and Texas on March 4, a Quinnipiac University poll said Clinton leads Obama in Ohio by 51 percent to 40 percent among likely Democratic voters.
This was a narrowing from 55 percent to 34 percent lead she held less than two weeks ago, and was a sign that Obama's momentum was paying dividends in Ohio.
New York Sen. Clinton needs big victories in Ohio and Texas to salvage her campaign to be the Democratic nominee in the November election after losing 11 straight contests to Obama, a first-term Illinois senator.
She was to give a foreign policy speech in Washington on Monday.
Independent Ralph Nader, 74, defended his decision to make a late entry into the presidential race. Nader was blamed by many Democrats for taking votes away from Vice President Al Gore in Florida in 2000, helping Republican George W. Bush win the presidency.
"I think the two parties have spoiled our electoral and political system," he told CBS.
Clinton's aura of inevitability has been shattered in recent weeks by her string of losses, and the talk of Washington was whether she would be able to remain a viable candidate if she registers more losses on March 4.
Robert Novak, a conservative who is a syndicated columnist published in The Washington Post, wrote on Monday that Democratic Party elders were asking: "Who will tell her that it's over, that she cannot win the presidential nomination and that the sooner she leaves the race, the more it will improve the party's chances of defeating (Republican) Sen. John McCain in November?"
Clinton, after a fairly civil debate with Obama last Thursday in Texas during which she said she was honored to share the stage with him, has spent the last couple of days complaining about Obama's tendency to deliver speeches long on hope and short on substantive details.
"I could just stand up here and say 'Let's just get everybody together, let's get unified.' The sky will open, the light will come down, celestial choirs will be singing and everyone will know we should do the right thing and the world will be perfect," she said at a rally on Sunday in Providence, Rhode Island, which also votes on March 4.
A photograph of Obama, dressed as a Somali elder with white headdress and matching robe, created a stir when it was posted on the popular Drudge Report web site on Monday and the accompanying article said it had been circulated by Clinton campaign staffers.
The Obama campaign was incensed.
The Drudge Report said the photo was taken in 2006 and shows the Democratic front-runner fitted as a Somali Elder, during his visit to Wajir, a rural area in northeastern Kenya. Obama has fought a whispering campaign from fringe elements that say erroneously he is a Muslim.
"On the very day that Senator Clinton is giving a speech about restoring respect for America in the world, her campaign has engaged in the most shameful, offensive fear-mongering we've seen from either party in this election," said Obama campaign manager David Plouffe.
Clinton campaign manager Maggie Williams said in a statement: "Enough."
"If Barack Obama's campaign wants to suggest that a photo of him wearing traditional Somali clothing is divisive, they should be ashamed. Hillary Clinton has worn the traditional clothing of countries she has visited and had those photos published widely," Williams said.
She called the flap "nothing more than an obvious and transparent attempt to distract from the serious issues confronting our country today and to attempt to create the very divisions they claim to decry."
(Editing by David Wiessler)
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Clinton: Obama 'change you can Xerox'
By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent
AUSTIN, Texas - Hillary Rodham Clinton accused presidential rival Barack Obama of political plagiarism Thursday night, but drew boos from a Democratic debate audience when she ridiculed him as the candidate of "change you can Xerox."
Obama dismissed the charge out of hand, then turned the jeers to applause when he countered, "What we shouldn't be spending time doing is tearing each other down. We should be spending time lifting the country up."
The exchange marked an unusually pointed moment in an otherwise civil encounter in the days before March 4 primaries in Texas and Ohio — contests that even some of Clinton's supporters say she must win to sustain her campaign for the White House.
The former first lady has lost 11 straight primaries and caucuses, and trails her rival in convention delegates. Obama has won a pair of big union endorsements in the past two days.
In a university auditorium in the heart of Texas, the two rivals agreed that high-tech surveillance measures are preferable to construction of a fence to curtail illegal immigration.
They disagreed on the proper response to a change in government in Cuba in the wake of Fidel Castro's resignation. Clinton said she would refuse to sit down with incoming President Raul Castro until he implements political and economic reforms. Obama said he would meet "without preconditions," but added the U.S. agenda for such a session would include human rights in the Communist island nation.
They also sparred frequently about health care, a core issue of the campaign.
Clinton said repeatedly that Obama's plan would leave 15 million Americans uncovered.
But he, in turn, accused the former first lady of mishandling the issue by working in secrecy when her husband was in the White House.
"I'm going to do things differently," he said. "We can have great plans, but if we don't change how the politics is working in Washington, then neither of our plans are going to happen."
Clinton was combative and complimentary by turns, and reflected on her well-known personal struggles in the debate's final moments.
"Everyone here knows I've lived through some crises and some challenging moments in my life," she said — a thinly veiled but clear reference to her husband's affair with Monica Lewinsky and subsequent impeachment. But she added that nothing she had been through matched the everyday struggles of voters.
Then, offering unprompted praise to her rival, the one-time front-runner said, "No matter what happens in this contest, I am honored to be here with Barack Obama."
Both candidates were plainly popular with the debate audience. During one break someone in the crowd shouted "Si se puede," Spanish for Obama's trademark phrase, "Yes we can."
Clinton largely sidestepped a question about so-called superdelegates, members of Congress, governors and party leaders who were not picked in primaries and caucuses. She said the issue would sort itself out, and "we'll have a unified Democratic party" for the fall campaign.
But Obama, who has won more primaries and caucuses said the contests must "count for something ... that the will of the voters ... is what ultimately will determine who our next nominee is going to be."
Clinton went into the debate needing a change in the course of the campaign, and waited patiently for an opening to try to diminish her rival, seated inches away on the stage. "I think you can tell from the first 45 minutes Senator Obama and I have a lot in common," she said.
Barely pausing for breath, she went on to say there were differences.
First, she said she had seen a supporter of Obama interviewed on television recently, and unable to name a single accomplishment the Illinois senator had on his record.
"Words are important and words matter but actions speak louder than words," she said.
Obama agreed with that, then noted that Clinton lately had been urging voters to turn against him by saying, "let's get real."
"And the implication is that the people who've been voting for me or are involved in my campaign are somehow delusional," Obama said.
Clinton also raised Obama's use in his campaign speeches of words first uttered by his friend, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.
"If your candidacy is going to be about words then they should be your own words," she said. "...Lifting whole passages from someone else's speeches is not change you can believe in, it's change you can Xerox."
The debate audience booed.
Obama said the entire controversy was evidence of a "silly season" that the public finds dispiriting. Besides, he said of his speeches at one point, "I've got to admit, some of them are pretty good."
The two rivals sat next to one another in swivel chairs in a University of Texas auditorium for the 90-minute debate, one in a dwindling number of opportunities for the former first lady to chart a new course in the presidential race.
She has lost 11 straight primaries and caucuses to Obama — including an overseas competition for support among Americans living aboard — and has fallen behind in the chase for the number of delegates needed to become the presidential nominee.
Obama's strong showing has made him the man to beat in a historic struggle between a black man and a white woman, and even former President Bill Clinton has said his wife must win both Ohio and Texas early next month to preserve her candidacy. New polls show Texas a dead heat, and give Clinton a lead in Ohio, but far smaller than the one she held in recent weeks.
Rhode Island and Vermont also vote on March 4, but offer far fewer delegates and have drawn less attention.
The encounter was the 19th in an episodic series of debates and forums, a run that has ranged from highly civilized to hotly confrontational.
The last time the two met, in Los Angeles, they sat side by side and disagreed politely. But in an earlier encounter last month, in Myrtle Beach, S.C., each accused the other of repeatedly and deliberately distorting the truth for political gain in a highly personal, finger-wagging showdown.
In The Associated Press' delegate count Thursday, Obama had 1,358.5 to 1,264 for Clinton. It takes 2,025 delegates to claim the nomination at this summer's convention.
In a further sign of his growing strength, Obama won the endorsement during the day of the Change to Win labor federation, which claims 6 million members. The Teamsters union announced its support for Obama on Wednesday.
The debate was sponsored by CNN, Univision and the Texas Democratic Party.
AUSTIN, Texas - Hillary Rodham Clinton accused presidential rival Barack Obama of political plagiarism Thursday night, but drew boos from a Democratic debate audience when she ridiculed him as the candidate of "change you can Xerox."
Obama dismissed the charge out of hand, then turned the jeers to applause when he countered, "What we shouldn't be spending time doing is tearing each other down. We should be spending time lifting the country up."
The exchange marked an unusually pointed moment in an otherwise civil encounter in the days before March 4 primaries in Texas and Ohio — contests that even some of Clinton's supporters say she must win to sustain her campaign for the White House.
The former first lady has lost 11 straight primaries and caucuses, and trails her rival in convention delegates. Obama has won a pair of big union endorsements in the past two days.
In a university auditorium in the heart of Texas, the two rivals agreed that high-tech surveillance measures are preferable to construction of a fence to curtail illegal immigration.
They disagreed on the proper response to a change in government in Cuba in the wake of Fidel Castro's resignation. Clinton said she would refuse to sit down with incoming President Raul Castro until he implements political and economic reforms. Obama said he would meet "without preconditions," but added the U.S. agenda for such a session would include human rights in the Communist island nation.
They also sparred frequently about health care, a core issue of the campaign.
Clinton said repeatedly that Obama's plan would leave 15 million Americans uncovered.
But he, in turn, accused the former first lady of mishandling the issue by working in secrecy when her husband was in the White House.
"I'm going to do things differently," he said. "We can have great plans, but if we don't change how the politics is working in Washington, then neither of our plans are going to happen."
Clinton was combative and complimentary by turns, and reflected on her well-known personal struggles in the debate's final moments.
"Everyone here knows I've lived through some crises and some challenging moments in my life," she said — a thinly veiled but clear reference to her husband's affair with Monica Lewinsky and subsequent impeachment. But she added that nothing she had been through matched the everyday struggles of voters.
Then, offering unprompted praise to her rival, the one-time front-runner said, "No matter what happens in this contest, I am honored to be here with Barack Obama."
Both candidates were plainly popular with the debate audience. During one break someone in the crowd shouted "Si se puede," Spanish for Obama's trademark phrase, "Yes we can."
Clinton largely sidestepped a question about so-called superdelegates, members of Congress, governors and party leaders who were not picked in primaries and caucuses. She said the issue would sort itself out, and "we'll have a unified Democratic party" for the fall campaign.
But Obama, who has won more primaries and caucuses said the contests must "count for something ... that the will of the voters ... is what ultimately will determine who our next nominee is going to be."
Clinton went into the debate needing a change in the course of the campaign, and waited patiently for an opening to try to diminish her rival, seated inches away on the stage. "I think you can tell from the first 45 minutes Senator Obama and I have a lot in common," she said.
Barely pausing for breath, she went on to say there were differences.
First, she said she had seen a supporter of Obama interviewed on television recently, and unable to name a single accomplishment the Illinois senator had on his record.
"Words are important and words matter but actions speak louder than words," she said.
Obama agreed with that, then noted that Clinton lately had been urging voters to turn against him by saying, "let's get real."
"And the implication is that the people who've been voting for me or are involved in my campaign are somehow delusional," Obama said.
Clinton also raised Obama's use in his campaign speeches of words first uttered by his friend, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.
"If your candidacy is going to be about words then they should be your own words," she said. "...Lifting whole passages from someone else's speeches is not change you can believe in, it's change you can Xerox."
The debate audience booed.
Obama said the entire controversy was evidence of a "silly season" that the public finds dispiriting. Besides, he said of his speeches at one point, "I've got to admit, some of them are pretty good."
The two rivals sat next to one another in swivel chairs in a University of Texas auditorium for the 90-minute debate, one in a dwindling number of opportunities for the former first lady to chart a new course in the presidential race.
She has lost 11 straight primaries and caucuses to Obama — including an overseas competition for support among Americans living aboard — and has fallen behind in the chase for the number of delegates needed to become the presidential nominee.
Obama's strong showing has made him the man to beat in a historic struggle between a black man and a white woman, and even former President Bill Clinton has said his wife must win both Ohio and Texas early next month to preserve her candidacy. New polls show Texas a dead heat, and give Clinton a lead in Ohio, but far smaller than the one she held in recent weeks.
Rhode Island and Vermont also vote on March 4, but offer far fewer delegates and have drawn less attention.
The encounter was the 19th in an episodic series of debates and forums, a run that has ranged from highly civilized to hotly confrontational.
The last time the two met, in Los Angeles, they sat side by side and disagreed politely. But in an earlier encounter last month, in Myrtle Beach, S.C., each accused the other of repeatedly and deliberately distorting the truth for political gain in a highly personal, finger-wagging showdown.
In The Associated Press' delegate count Thursday, Obama had 1,358.5 to 1,264 for Clinton. It takes 2,025 delegates to claim the nomination at this summer's convention.
In a further sign of his growing strength, Obama won the endorsement during the day of the Change to Win labor federation, which claims 6 million members. The Teamsters union announced its support for Obama on Wednesday.
The debate was sponsored by CNN, Univision and the Texas Democratic Party.
Bryant’s 41 helps Lakers spoil O’Neal’s Phoenix debut, 130-124
By BOB BAUM, AP Sports WriterAP - Feb 20, 9:55 pm EST
1 of 10 NBA Gallery PHOENIX (AP)—Kobe Bryant spoiled Shaquille O’Neal’s debut with Phoenix. The Suns believe with the big guy just getting started, there are better days ahead.
Bryant, despite his dislocated right pinkie, scored 41 points to help the Lakers to an intense 130-124 victory over Phoenix on Wednesday night.
Lakers newcomer Pau Gasol added 29, including a breakaway dunk that put Los Angeles up 123-117 with 1:15 to play. Lamar Odom added 22 for the Lakers, who won their sixth in a row to move into a tie with Phoenix atop the Pacific Division.
O’Neal scored nine of his 15 points in the final quarter and grabbed nine rebounds in 29 minutes against his old team in his first game in nearly a month.
“I’m in better shape than I thought I was,” he said, “the adrenaline factor and just being out there with the guys.”
O’Neal came to the Suns a week ago in an unexpected trade that sent Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to Miami. O’Neal played for the Lakers from 1996-2004.
“He did seem to get stronger as the game went on, which is incredible,” Suns coach Mike D’Antoni said. “I did really think he’d run out of steam sometime in the second half, and he really didn’t. Him not being used to anything that we do—124 points—I didn’t think we could put that many up, just starting out.”
Amare Stoudemire had 37 points and 15 rebounds for Phoenix, while Steve Nash added 26 points and eight assists, and Leandro Barbosa and Grant Hill each had 17 points.
“I think everyone was excited for the game and to lose is difficult,” Nash said, “but I think if you take a step back it’s encouraging. I thought Shaquille was great, and I think the possibilities are very exciting.”
The Lakers improved to 3-1 against the Suns, clinching the season series and knocking Phoenix out of a virtual tie with New Orleans for the best record in the West.
“The really important part of this is the season series,” Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson said. “We now have an advantage if this is going to be a tight race as it’s been. That’s all you get out of a game like that: momentum, obviously, and some confidence for our team.”
Bryant moved past David Robinson into 27th on the NBA’s career scoring list.
“It was a familiar energy in the building,” he said. “It felt like a playoff-type of environment. It was fun to be a part of.”
O’Neal’s debut came against the team he led to three NBA titles, and the visitors were in control most of the way.
Los Angeles, which routed Atlanta on Tuesday night at home, led by as many as 13 in the first half and was up 65-57 at the break.
Phoenix finally caught up when O’Neal forced a turnover, then scored on a short hook inside to make it 87-87 with 2:31 left in the period. Gasol’s hook shot at the buzzer gave Los Angeles a 95-91 lead entering the fourth.
After Bryant’s layup made it 105-97, rookie D.J. Strawberry twice passed to Barbosa for breakaway layups, then drew an offensive foul against Bryant. Stoudemire followed with a three-point play and Phoenix led for the first time since the early minutes 107-106 with 7:26 remaining.
The Lakers came back, though, and Gasol’s three-point play with 5:43 left capped a 9-2 spurt to put Los Angeles ahead 115-108 5:43 from the end. But O’Neal scored the next six points, the last two on a goaltending call against Bryant, to cut it to 115-114. O’Neal sprinted to the defensive end of the floor after the two points.
Phoenix Suns' Shaquille O'Neal…
AP - Feb 21, 12:27 am EST
Bryant scored inside to put Los Angeles up 117-114 with 4:04 to play. Moments later, O’Neal slammed teammate Raja Bell in the head with an elbow, forcing the Suns guard out of the game. O’Neal made one of two free throws to cut the lead to 117-115 with 3:40 to go.
Bryant’s 19-footer made it to 119-115 with 2:50 to go, but Nash’s two free throws, on Derrick Fisher’s fifth foul, cut the lead to 119-117 with 1:49 remaining.
Odom got free for a layup, Gasol got his breakaway, and it was over.
McCain says report on lobbyist not true
TOLEDO, Ohio - John McCain emphatically denied a romantic relationship with a female telecommunications lobbyist on Thursday and said a report by The New York Times suggesting favoritism for her clients is "not true."
"I'm very disappointed in the article. It's not true," the likely Republican presidential nominee said as his wife, Cindy, stood beside him during a news conference called to address the matter.
"I've served this nation honorably for more than half a century," said McCain, a four-term Arizona senator and former Navy pilot. "At no time have I ever done anything that would betray the public trust."
"I intend to move on," he added.
McCain described the woman in question, lobbyist Vicki Iseman, as a friend.
The newspaper quoted anonymous aides as saying they had urged McCain and Iseman to stay away from each other prior to his failed presidential campaign in 2000. In its own follow-up story, The Washington Post quoted longtime aide John Weaver, who split with McCain last year, as saying he met with lobbyist Iseman and urged her to steer clear of McCain.
Weaver told the Times he arranged the meeting before the 2000 campaign after "a discussion among the campaign leadership" about Iseman.
But McCain said he was unaware of any such conversation, and denied that his aides ever tried to talk to him about his interactions with Iseman.
"I never discussed it with John Weaver. As far as I know, there was no necessity for it," McCain said. "I don't know anything about it," he added. "John Weaver is a friend of mine. He remains a friend of mine. But I certainly didn't know anything of that nature."
His wife also said she was disappointed with the newspaper.
"More importantly, my children and I not only trust my husband, but know that he would never do anything to not only disappoint our family, but disappoint the people of America. He's a man of great character," Cindy McCain said.
The couple smiled throughout the questioning at a Toledo hotel.
The published reports said McCain and Iseman each denied having a romantic relationship. Neither story asserted that there was a romantic relationship and offered no evidence that there was, reporting only that aides worried about the appearance of McCain having close ties to a lobbyist with business before the Senate Commerce Committee on which McCain served.
The stories also allege that McCain wrote letters and pushed legislation involving television station ownership that would have benefited Iseman's clients.
In late 1999, McCain twice wrote letters to the Federal Communications Commission on behalf of Florida-based Paxson Communications — which had paid Iseman as its lobbyist — urging quick consideration of a proposal to buy a television station license in Pittsburgh. At the time, Paxson's chief executive, Lowell W. "Bud" Paxson, also was a major contributor to McCain's 2000 presidential campaign.
McCain did not urge the FCC commissioners to approve the proposal, but he asked for speedy consideration of the deal, which was pending from two years earlier. In an unusual response, then-FCC Chairman William Kennard complained that McCain's request "comes at a sensitive time in the deliberative process" and "could have procedural and substantive impacts on the commission's deliberations and, thus, on the due process rights of the parties."
McCain wrote the letters after he received more than $20,000 in contributions from Paxson executives and lobbyists. Paxson also lent McCain his company's jet at least four times during 1999 for campaign travel.
"Riding on the airplane was an accepted practice," McCain said Thursday, adding that he supported a change in rules since then. As for the letters, he said: "I said I'm not telling you how to make a decision; I'm just telling you that you should move forward and make a decision on this issue. I believe that was appropriate."
Since The New York Times story was published Wednesday night, the McCain campaign has sought to discredit it, distributing lengthy statements and deploying senior advisers to appear on news shows. The campaign calls the story a smear campaign to destroy the Republican nominee-in-waiting.
Robert Bennett, a Washington attorney representing McCain, told NBC's "Today" show that McCain's staff provided the Times with "approximately 12 instances where Senator McCain took positions adverse to this lobbyist's clients and her public relations firm's clients," but none of the examples were included in the paper's story.
"There is no evidence that John McCain ever breached the public trust and that is the issue and the only issue," said Bennett, who once represented former President Clinton, on Thursday.
McCain said he won't allow the reports to distract him from his presidential campaign.
"I will focus my attention in this campaign on the big issues and on the challenges that face this country," he said.
He defended his integrity last December, after he was questioned about reports that the Times was investigating allegations of legislative favoritism by the Arizona Republican and that his aides had been trying to dissuade the newspaper from publishing a story.
"I've never done any favors for anybody — lobbyist or special-interest group. That's a clear, 24-year record," he told reporters.
McCain and four other senators were accused two decades ago of trying to influence banking regulators on behalf of Charles Keating, a savings and loan financier later convicted of securities fraud. The Senate Ethics Committee ultimately decided that McCain had used "poor judgment" but that his actions "were not improper" and warranted no penalty.
McCain has said that episode helped spur his drive to change campaign finance laws in an attempt to reduce the influence of money in politics.
"I'm very disappointed in the article. It's not true," the likely Republican presidential nominee said as his wife, Cindy, stood beside him during a news conference called to address the matter.
"I've served this nation honorably for more than half a century," said McCain, a four-term Arizona senator and former Navy pilot. "At no time have I ever done anything that would betray the public trust."
"I intend to move on," he added.
McCain described the woman in question, lobbyist Vicki Iseman, as a friend.
The newspaper quoted anonymous aides as saying they had urged McCain and Iseman to stay away from each other prior to his failed presidential campaign in 2000. In its own follow-up story, The Washington Post quoted longtime aide John Weaver, who split with McCain last year, as saying he met with lobbyist Iseman and urged her to steer clear of McCain.
Weaver told the Times he arranged the meeting before the 2000 campaign after "a discussion among the campaign leadership" about Iseman.
But McCain said he was unaware of any such conversation, and denied that his aides ever tried to talk to him about his interactions with Iseman.
"I never discussed it with John Weaver. As far as I know, there was no necessity for it," McCain said. "I don't know anything about it," he added. "John Weaver is a friend of mine. He remains a friend of mine. But I certainly didn't know anything of that nature."
His wife also said she was disappointed with the newspaper.
"More importantly, my children and I not only trust my husband, but know that he would never do anything to not only disappoint our family, but disappoint the people of America. He's a man of great character," Cindy McCain said.
The couple smiled throughout the questioning at a Toledo hotel.
The published reports said McCain and Iseman each denied having a romantic relationship. Neither story asserted that there was a romantic relationship and offered no evidence that there was, reporting only that aides worried about the appearance of McCain having close ties to a lobbyist with business before the Senate Commerce Committee on which McCain served.
The stories also allege that McCain wrote letters and pushed legislation involving television station ownership that would have benefited Iseman's clients.
In late 1999, McCain twice wrote letters to the Federal Communications Commission on behalf of Florida-based Paxson Communications — which had paid Iseman as its lobbyist — urging quick consideration of a proposal to buy a television station license in Pittsburgh. At the time, Paxson's chief executive, Lowell W. "Bud" Paxson, also was a major contributor to McCain's 2000 presidential campaign.
McCain did not urge the FCC commissioners to approve the proposal, but he asked for speedy consideration of the deal, which was pending from two years earlier. In an unusual response, then-FCC Chairman William Kennard complained that McCain's request "comes at a sensitive time in the deliberative process" and "could have procedural and substantive impacts on the commission's deliberations and, thus, on the due process rights of the parties."
McCain wrote the letters after he received more than $20,000 in contributions from Paxson executives and lobbyists. Paxson also lent McCain his company's jet at least four times during 1999 for campaign travel.
"Riding on the airplane was an accepted practice," McCain said Thursday, adding that he supported a change in rules since then. As for the letters, he said: "I said I'm not telling you how to make a decision; I'm just telling you that you should move forward and make a decision on this issue. I believe that was appropriate."
Since The New York Times story was published Wednesday night, the McCain campaign has sought to discredit it, distributing lengthy statements and deploying senior advisers to appear on news shows. The campaign calls the story a smear campaign to destroy the Republican nominee-in-waiting.
Robert Bennett, a Washington attorney representing McCain, told NBC's "Today" show that McCain's staff provided the Times with "approximately 12 instances where Senator McCain took positions adverse to this lobbyist's clients and her public relations firm's clients," but none of the examples were included in the paper's story.
"There is no evidence that John McCain ever breached the public trust and that is the issue and the only issue," said Bennett, who once represented former President Clinton, on Thursday.
McCain said he won't allow the reports to distract him from his presidential campaign.
"I will focus my attention in this campaign on the big issues and on the challenges that face this country," he said.
He defended his integrity last December, after he was questioned about reports that the Times was investigating allegations of legislative favoritism by the Arizona Republican and that his aides had been trying to dissuade the newspaper from publishing a story.
"I've never done any favors for anybody — lobbyist or special-interest group. That's a clear, 24-year record," he told reporters.
McCain and four other senators were accused two decades ago of trying to influence banking regulators on behalf of Charles Keating, a savings and loan financier later convicted of securities fraud. The Senate Ethics Committee ultimately decided that McCain had used "poor judgment" but that his actions "were not improper" and warranted no penalty.
McCain has said that episode helped spur his drive to change campaign finance laws in an attempt to reduce the influence of money in politics.
Obama wins global primary
By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER, Associated Press Writer
33 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Barack Obama won the Democrats Abroad global primary in results announced Thursday, giving him 11 straight victories in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
The Illinois senator won the primary in which Democrats living in other countries voted by Internet, mail and in person, according to results released by the Democrats Abroad, an organization sanctioned by the national party.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has not won a nominating contest since Super Tuesday, more than two weeks ago.
More than 20,000 U.S. citizens living abroad voted in the primary, which ran from Feb. 5 to Feb. 12. Obama won about 65 percent of the vote, according to the results released Thursday.
Voters living in 164 countries cast votes online, while expatriates voted in person in more than 30 countries, at hotels in Australia and Costa Rica, at a pub in Ireland and at a Starbucks in Thailand. The results took about a week to tabulate as local committees around the globe gathered ballots.
"This really gives Americans an opportunity to participate," said Christine Schon Marques, the international chair of Democrats Abroad.
There is no comparable primary among Republicans, though the GOP has several contests this weekend in U.S. territories, including party caucuses in Puerto Rico Sunday.
The Democrats Abroad controls seven pledged delegates at the party's national convention this summer. However, the group's system of dividing the delegates is unique, and could create an anomaly in which Obama and Clinton end up with fractions of delegates.
The party will send 14 pledged delegates to the convention, each with a half vote. The primary was used to determine nine people, or the equivalent of 4.5 delegates. Obama won 2.5 and Clinton won two, according to Schon Marques.
The Democrats Abroad will hold a global convention in Vancouver, Canada, in April to select the other five people who will attend the convention. They will represent the remaining 2.5 votes.
The system creates the possibility that Obama and Clinton could each end up with an extra half vote at the convention, Schon Marques said.
Democratic parties in U.S. territories use similar systems, in which they send twice the number of delegates, giving them each a half vote. But their systems are designed to ensure that that candidates do not end up with fractions of delegates.
Heading into the Democrats Abroad primary, Obama led with 1,351 delegates, and Clinton had 1,262.
33 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Barack Obama won the Democrats Abroad global primary in results announced Thursday, giving him 11 straight victories in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
The Illinois senator won the primary in which Democrats living in other countries voted by Internet, mail and in person, according to results released by the Democrats Abroad, an organization sanctioned by the national party.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has not won a nominating contest since Super Tuesday, more than two weeks ago.
More than 20,000 U.S. citizens living abroad voted in the primary, which ran from Feb. 5 to Feb. 12. Obama won about 65 percent of the vote, according to the results released Thursday.
Voters living in 164 countries cast votes online, while expatriates voted in person in more than 30 countries, at hotels in Australia and Costa Rica, at a pub in Ireland and at a Starbucks in Thailand. The results took about a week to tabulate as local committees around the globe gathered ballots.
"This really gives Americans an opportunity to participate," said Christine Schon Marques, the international chair of Democrats Abroad.
There is no comparable primary among Republicans, though the GOP has several contests this weekend in U.S. territories, including party caucuses in Puerto Rico Sunday.
The Democrats Abroad controls seven pledged delegates at the party's national convention this summer. However, the group's system of dividing the delegates is unique, and could create an anomaly in which Obama and Clinton end up with fractions of delegates.
The party will send 14 pledged delegates to the convention, each with a half vote. The primary was used to determine nine people, or the equivalent of 4.5 delegates. Obama won 2.5 and Clinton won two, according to Schon Marques.
The Democrats Abroad will hold a global convention in Vancouver, Canada, in April to select the other five people who will attend the convention. They will represent the remaining 2.5 votes.
The system creates the possibility that Obama and Clinton could each end up with an extra half vote at the convention, Schon Marques said.
Democratic parties in U.S. territories use similar systems, in which they send twice the number of delegates, giving them each a half vote. But their systems are designed to ensure that that candidates do not end up with fractions of delegates.
Heading into the Democrats Abroad primary, Obama led with 1,351 delegates, and Clinton had 1,262.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Opiate For the Mrs. Mc Cain
When laws are broken, somebody's got to be punished. In the case of Cindy McCain, that somebody is Tom Gosinski
By Jeremy Voas and Amy Silverman
Published: September 8, 1994
You're U.S. Senator John McCain, and you've got a big problem.
Your wife, Cindy, was addicted to prescription painkillers. She stole pills from a medical-aid charity she heads and she used the names of unsuspecting employees to get prescriptions.
The public is about to find out about it.
Until now, you've managed to keep it all quiet. When Tom Gosinski, a man your wife fired, sued for wrongful termination and threatened to expose the whole sordid story, you didn't hesitate to call in the big guns.
John Dowd, the attorney who got you out of your Keating Five mess, worked on getting your wife a sweetheart deal with federal prosecutors. He also made Gosinski's lawsuit go away.
He didn't stop there.
To help maintain your reputation and discredit your wife's accuser, Dowd called Maricopa County Attorney Richard Romley and complained that Gosinski was trying to extort money. Romley, your Republican ally, promptly launched an extortion investigation.
But now New Times makes a public records request for documents in the extortion case. It's only a matter of days before the story gets out.
Here's what the senator does.
He calls in another big gun, political strategist Jay Smith, who conceives a rather remarkable plan.
On August 19--just three days before the records are to be made public--Smith parades your wife before a select group of journalist friends. She tells a tale of pain and triumph, and, incredibly, all the reporters agree to sit on the story until August 22. When Cindy McCain says her confession is intended to quell rumors and to inspire other druggies to turn their lives around, the journalists lap it up. They write about her "bravery." The first round of stories is one-sided. There is no mention of Tom Gosinski or Romley's extortion investigation.
But after a week, there is no glossing over huge gaps in the image that has been spun for the public:
• Cindy McCain lied about drug treatment she claims to have undergone. Although she told reporters she went into a residential drug treatment program earlier this year, she told investigators she had treatment during 1991 and 1992. Whom did she lie to--investigators or reporters?
• If Cindy McCain did undergo treatment before 1994, as she told investigators, the senator's claim that he didn't learn of his wife's addiction until this January simply defies credibility.
• Cindy McCain and Jay Smith lied about her status with federal prosecutors. She told a Tucson reporter she had already completed a pretrial diversion program. Smith told another reporter that the case had come to "resolution." In fact, Cindy McCain hasn't even been accepted into a diversion program.
• Jay Smith misled the Arizona Republic when he said that Gosinski had, in an act of retribution, tipped federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents after failing to get a cash settlement. In fact, Gosinski was talking to the DEA 11 months before he ever filed his wrongful termination claim.
• Tom Gosinski no longer has a civil lawsuit against Cindy McCain. It died of neglect this summer.
While the stories told by the senator, his wife and his hired guns are rife with inaccuracies and inconsistencies, everything Tom Gosinski says seems to check out.
John and Cindy McCain are now attempting to return to lives of privilege and prestige. If she gets into a diversion program and lives by its rules, she'll have no criminal record.
Meanwhile, one volunteer doctor who wrote prescriptions at Cindy McCain's behest is under investigation. He could lose his license.
And Tom Gosinski, the man who knew too much, is under criminal investigation, working two jobs and trying to put his life back together.
From September 1991 to January 1993, Tom Gosinski was the director of government and international affairs for the American Voluntary Medical Team, a nonprofit organization headed by Cindy Hensley McCain.
Gosinski says McCain started behaving erratically in the summer of 1992. He says he and other AVMT staff members became convinced she was addicted to the prescription narcotics Percocet and Vicodin. They believed she was obtaining these drugs illegally in the names of her employees and the public charity she founded.
Gosinski's multiple claims--the knowledge of which, he says, led McCain to fire him in January 1993--were central to a federal investigation, a civil lawsuit, the extortion investigation and, finally, a statewide media circus.
New Times obtained a copy of Gosinski's private journal. It covers the period from early July 1992 through January 1993. Gosinski did not grant New Times permission to print excerpts from the journal, but neither did he disavow their accuracy. The 52 journal entries, recorded during Cindy McCain's drug meltdown, paint a disturbing picture.
July 27, 1992: I have always wondered why John McCain has done nothing to fix the problem. He must either not see that a problem exists or does not choose to do anything about it. It would seem that it would be in everyone's best interest to come to terms with the situation. And do whatever is necessary to fix it. There is so much at risk: The welfare of the children; John's political career; the integrity of Hensley & Company; the welfare of Jim and Smitty Hensley; and the health and happiness of Cindy McCain.
The aforementioned matters are of great concern to those directly involved but my main concern is the ability of AVMT to survive a major shake-up. If the DEA were to ever conduct an audit of AVMT's inventory, I am afraid of what the results might be. . . . It is because of CHM's willingness to jeopardize the credibility of those that work for her that I truly worry.
During my short tenure at AVMT I have been surrounded by what on the surface appears to be the ultimate all-American family. In reality, I am working for a very sad, lonely woman whose marriage of convenience to a U.S. Senator has driven her to: distance herself from friends; cover feelings of despair with drugs; and replace lonely moments with self-indulgences.
By Jeremy Voas and Amy Silverman
Published: September 8, 1994
You're U.S. Senator John McCain, and you've got a big problem.
Your wife, Cindy, was addicted to prescription painkillers. She stole pills from a medical-aid charity she heads and she used the names of unsuspecting employees to get prescriptions.
The public is about to find out about it.
Until now, you've managed to keep it all quiet. When Tom Gosinski, a man your wife fired, sued for wrongful termination and threatened to expose the whole sordid story, you didn't hesitate to call in the big guns.
John Dowd, the attorney who got you out of your Keating Five mess, worked on getting your wife a sweetheart deal with federal prosecutors. He also made Gosinski's lawsuit go away.
He didn't stop there.
To help maintain your reputation and discredit your wife's accuser, Dowd called Maricopa County Attorney Richard Romley and complained that Gosinski was trying to extort money. Romley, your Republican ally, promptly launched an extortion investigation.
But now New Times makes a public records request for documents in the extortion case. It's only a matter of days before the story gets out.
Here's what the senator does.
He calls in another big gun, political strategist Jay Smith, who conceives a rather remarkable plan.
On August 19--just three days before the records are to be made public--Smith parades your wife before a select group of journalist friends. She tells a tale of pain and triumph, and, incredibly, all the reporters agree to sit on the story until August 22. When Cindy McCain says her confession is intended to quell rumors and to inspire other druggies to turn their lives around, the journalists lap it up. They write about her "bravery." The first round of stories is one-sided. There is no mention of Tom Gosinski or Romley's extortion investigation.
But after a week, there is no glossing over huge gaps in the image that has been spun for the public:
• Cindy McCain lied about drug treatment she claims to have undergone. Although she told reporters she went into a residential drug treatment program earlier this year, she told investigators she had treatment during 1991 and 1992. Whom did she lie to--investigators or reporters?
• If Cindy McCain did undergo treatment before 1994, as she told investigators, the senator's claim that he didn't learn of his wife's addiction until this January simply defies credibility.
• Cindy McCain and Jay Smith lied about her status with federal prosecutors. She told a Tucson reporter she had already completed a pretrial diversion program. Smith told another reporter that the case had come to "resolution." In fact, Cindy McCain hasn't even been accepted into a diversion program.
• Jay Smith misled the Arizona Republic when he said that Gosinski had, in an act of retribution, tipped federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents after failing to get a cash settlement. In fact, Gosinski was talking to the DEA 11 months before he ever filed his wrongful termination claim.
• Tom Gosinski no longer has a civil lawsuit against Cindy McCain. It died of neglect this summer.
While the stories told by the senator, his wife and his hired guns are rife with inaccuracies and inconsistencies, everything Tom Gosinski says seems to check out.
John and Cindy McCain are now attempting to return to lives of privilege and prestige. If she gets into a diversion program and lives by its rules, she'll have no criminal record.
Meanwhile, one volunteer doctor who wrote prescriptions at Cindy McCain's behest is under investigation. He could lose his license.
And Tom Gosinski, the man who knew too much, is under criminal investigation, working two jobs and trying to put his life back together.
From September 1991 to January 1993, Tom Gosinski was the director of government and international affairs for the American Voluntary Medical Team, a nonprofit organization headed by Cindy Hensley McCain.
Gosinski says McCain started behaving erratically in the summer of 1992. He says he and other AVMT staff members became convinced she was addicted to the prescription narcotics Percocet and Vicodin. They believed she was obtaining these drugs illegally in the names of her employees and the public charity she founded.
Gosinski's multiple claims--the knowledge of which, he says, led McCain to fire him in January 1993--were central to a federal investigation, a civil lawsuit, the extortion investigation and, finally, a statewide media circus.
New Times obtained a copy of Gosinski's private journal. It covers the period from early July 1992 through January 1993. Gosinski did not grant New Times permission to print excerpts from the journal, but neither did he disavow their accuracy. The 52 journal entries, recorded during Cindy McCain's drug meltdown, paint a disturbing picture.
July 27, 1992: I have always wondered why John McCain has done nothing to fix the problem. He must either not see that a problem exists or does not choose to do anything about it. It would seem that it would be in everyone's best interest to come to terms with the situation. And do whatever is necessary to fix it. There is so much at risk: The welfare of the children; John's political career; the integrity of Hensley & Company; the welfare of Jim and Smitty Hensley; and the health and happiness of Cindy McCain.
The aforementioned matters are of great concern to those directly involved but my main concern is the ability of AVMT to survive a major shake-up. If the DEA were to ever conduct an audit of AVMT's inventory, I am afraid of what the results might be. . . . It is because of CHM's willingness to jeopardize the credibility of those that work for her that I truly worry.
During my short tenure at AVMT I have been surrounded by what on the surface appears to be the ultimate all-American family. In reality, I am working for a very sad, lonely woman whose marriage of convenience to a U.S. Senator has driven her to: distance herself from friends; cover feelings of despair with drugs; and replace lonely moments with self-indulgences.
Obama wins big in Wisconsin and Hawaii
By David Lightman and Margaret Talev McClatchy Newspapers
MILWAUKEE — Barack Obama's bandwagon kept rolling Tuesday as he swept to a big Wisconsin primary win over Hillary Clinton, a victory that gives him an important boost as the Democrats head for what may be a final showdown in Ohio and Texas in two weeks.
In the Republican contest, Arizona Sen. John McCain easily beat former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
Obama claimed his victory at a rally in Houston , home of NASA, telling a jubilant audience: " Houston, I think we've achieved lift-off here."
Clinton, speaking in Youngstown , Ohio , didn't acknowledge her latest defeat or congratulate Obama. Instead she was highly critical of her rival, saying the election was about "picking a president who relies not just on words, but on work, hard work, to get America back to work."
Obama also won Hawaii’s caucus, making it 10 straight Democratic wins since Feb. 5. In Wisconsin, he rolled up solid majorities among whites, males and young voters — and by splitting the votes of women and the non-college-educated with Clinton, who looks to those last two groups as her base.
Voters were largely unmoved by Clinton's latest efforts to paint herself as the aggrieved worker's friend and to attack Obama for echoing someone else's speech lines. With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Obama had 58 percent of the vote to Clinton 's 41 percent.
In Hawaii , where he spent part of his childhood, Obama took 76 percent of the vote to Clinton ’s 24 percent, with all precincts reporting.
With 94 convention delegates at stake in the two states, Obama increased his lead over Clinton. The latest Associated Press count gave him 1,303 delegates to Clinton ’s 1,233. A total of 2,025 are needed to nominate.
McCain declared victory moments after the polls closed. He had no harsh words for Huckabee, whom he beat 55 to 37 percent in Wisconsin, with 99 percent of precincts reporting. But he wasted no time in taking a veiled shot at the Democrat who's now inescapably the front-runner to oppose him in the fall:
"I will fight every moment of every day in this campaign to make sure that Americans are not deceived by an eloquent but empty call for change," McCain said. Obama's crusade for change is the signature issue of his campaign.
"Will the next president have the experience, the judgment experience informs and the strength of purpose to respond to each of these developments in ways that strengthen our security and advance the global progress of our ideals?" McCain asked. "Or will we risk the confused leadership of an inexperienced candidate who once suggested invading our ally, Pakistan, and sitting down without preconditions or clear purpose with enemies who support terrorists and are intent on destabilizing the world by acquiring nuclear weapons?"
McCain should pick up the 56 delegates that were available in Wisconsin and Washington state. Washington 's Tuesday primary was another part of a complex system for picking delegates; the state's GOP held a caucus on Feb. 9, which McCain narrowly won. With 57 percent of the Tuesday Washington vote reporting, McCain led Huckabee, 49 to 22 percent.
He began the day with a total of 908 delegates to Huckabee's 245 and Texas Rep. Ron Paul's 14, meaning McCain can't immediately reach the 1,191 total needed to nominate. He can go over the top on March 4, when 265 delegates will be at stake.
Among Democrats, Obama won a race that had been considered close almost to the end and was viewed as a preview of the crucial March 4 contest in Ohio, which has seen its working classes battered by job losses and foreign competition. Texas, Vermont and Rhode Island voters also go to the polls that day, when 370 delegates are up for grabs. Clinton 's camp has said that Texas and Ohio are must-win states.
Clinton fashioned herself in Wisconsin as a sensitive populist, but she also showed that she's ready to play rough. She tore into Obama in TV ads for refusing to debate, and her staff kept telling the media that Obama deserved scorn for using lines in a speech that were first used by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.
But little of this seemed to click with the state's voters.
Exit polls showed Obama winning big among not only his usual supporters — he won nearly three-quarters of the 18-to-29-year-old vote and nine of every 10 votes from African Americans_ but also among whites and in suburban and rural areas. And he got a 2-to-1 advantage from independents, who made up about 28 percent of the Wisconsin vote.
Obama voters routinely said they liked Clinton but were alienated by her negative tone and pleased by Obama's call for change.
"I love both candidates, but I was looking for something different," said LaNell Gill, a Milwaukee teacher.
Arlene Czarnezki, a Milwaukee retiree, said she "really has had a hard time making up my mind," but found that she liked Obama's "energy and ideas."
Linda Morris, an unemployed Milwaukee worker, found that while "I voted for Bill Clinton twice, we need new blood."
Obama was in Texas for his election-night celebration, offering an estimated 20,000 supporters at Houston 's Toyota Center a lengthy speech detailing his views — and reminding supporters that he's still far from being the nominee.
"The change we seek is still months and miles away," he said.
The audience was heavily African-American, shouting, "Yes, we can!" as they waited for Obama and "Si se puede," the Spanish equivalent.
Jose Santoyo, a patient-care assistant munching on chili cheese fries from a concession stand, said he's not political and was a little surprised at himself for attending. He was at first for Clinton , but now, he said, "I'm probably 70 percent for Obama. I'm hearing good things about him."
Clinton spent election night in Youngstown, a battered manufacturing city in eastern Ohio that Obama visited Monday. She said she's been a "doer" for 35 years who can help people out of their economic blues.
"Right now, too many people are struggling," she said. "Working the day shift, the night shift, trying to get by without health care, just one paycheck away from losing their homes. They cannot afford four more years of a president who just doesn't see or hear them." (Lightman reported from Wisconsin, Talev from Houston. William Douglas contributed.)
McClatchy Newspapers 2008
Teamsters union to endorse Barack Obama
By JESSE J. HOLLAND, AP Labor Writer
WASHINGTON - Sen. Barack Obama is slated to pick up the endorsement of the powerful Teamsters, the second major union endorsement for the Democratic front-runner in a week, union officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Obama will meet with Teamster President James P. Hoffa in Austin, Texas, on Wednesday. The endorsement is expected to come soon thereafter, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the planned formal announcement.
The Teamsters represent 1.4 million members.
Union support will be key in the Democratic primaries in the next few weeks, particularly in Ohio on March 4 and Pennsylvania on April 22. Ohio and Pennsylvania have some of the nation's largest number of union workers, with more than 15 percent of the workforce unionized in Pennsylvania and just over 14 percent in Ohio.
The endorsement from the Teamsters is Obama's third from organized labor in a week. The 1.9-million member Service Employees International Union endorsed the Illinois senator last Friday, and the smaller United Food and Commercial Workers endorsed him last Thursday.
Rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton by far has a larger number of unions in her corner with 12 endorsements from unions affiliated with the AFL-CIO — the nation's largest labor federation — and the United Farm Workers from the rival Change To Win labor federation.
But Obama also has two AFL-CIO unions in his corner in the Transport Workers Union and the National Weather Service Employees Organization. And with a Teamsters endorsement, he will have four Change To Win unions in his corner: the Teamsters, SEIU, the United Food and Commercial Workers and UNITE HERE, who gave the Illinois senator his first national endorsement from a union.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Toshiba quits HD DVD business
By YURI KAGEYAMA, AP Business Writer Tue Feb 19, 7:02 AM ET
TOKYO - Toshiba said Tuesday it will no longer develop, make or market HD DVD players and recorders, handing a victory to rival Blu-ray disc technology in the format battle for next-generation video.
"We concluded that a swift decision would be best," Toshiba President Atsutoshi Nishida told reporters at his company's Tokyo offices.
The move would make Blu-ray — backed by Sony Corp., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., which makes Panasonic brand products, and five major Hollywood movie studios — the winner in the battle over high-definition DVD formatting that began several years ago.
Nishida said last month's decision by Warner Bros. Entertainment to release movie discs only in the Blu-ray format made the move inevitable.
"That had tremendous impact," he said. "If we had continued, that would have created problems for consumers, and we simply had no chance to win."
Warner joined Sony Pictures, Walt Disney Co. and News Corp.'s Twentieth Century Fox in that move.
Nishida said his company had confidence in HD DVD as a technology and tried to assure the estimated 1 million people, including some 600,000 people in North America, who already bought HD DVD machines by promising that Toshiba will continue to provide product support for the technology.
Both HD DVD and Blu-ray deliver crisp, clear high-definition pictures and sound, which are more detailed and vivid than existing video technology. They are incompatible with each other, and neither plays on older DVD players. But both formats play on high-definition TVs.
HD DVD was touted as being cheaper because it was more similar to previous video technology, while Blu-ray boasted bigger recording capacity.
Only one video format has been expected to emerge as the victor, much like VHS trumped Sony's Betamax in the video format battle of the 1980s.
Nishida said it was still uncertain what will happen with the Hollywood studios that signed to produce HD DVD movies, including Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation.
Toshiba's pulling the plug on the technology is expected to reduce the number of new high-definition movies that people will be able to watch on HD DVD machines. Toshiba Corp. said shipments of HD DVD machines to retailers will be reduced and will stop by end of March.
Sales in Blu-ray gadgets are now likely to pick up as consumers had held off in investing in the latest recorders and players because they didn't know which format would emerge dominant.
Despite being a possible blow to Toshiba's pride, the exit will probably lessen the potential damage in losses in HD DVD operations. Goldman Sachs has said pulling out would improve Toshiba's profitability between 40 billion yen and 50 billion yen ($370 million-$460 million) a year.
The reasons behind Blu-ray's triumph over HD DVD are complex, as marketing, management maneuvers and other factors are believed to have played into the shift to Blu-ray's favor that became more decisive during the critical holiday shopping season.
Once the balance starts tilting in favor of one in a format battle, then the domination tends to grow and become final, said Kazuharu Miura, an analyst at Daiwa Institute of Research in Tokyo.
"The trend became decisive I think this year," he said. "When Warner made its decision, it was basically over."
With movie studios increasingly lining up behind Blu-ray, retailers also began to stock more Blu-ray products.
Friday's decision by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the largest U.S. retailer, to sell only Blu-ray DVDs and hardware appeared to deal a final blow to the Toshiba format. Just five days earlier, Netflix Inc. said it will cease carrying rentals in HD DVD.
Several major American retailers had already made similar decisions, including Target Corp. and Blockbuster Inc.
Also adding to Blu-ray's momentum was the gradual increase in sales of Sony's PlayStation 3 home video-game console, which also works as a Blu-ray player. Sony has sold 10.5 million PS3 machines worldwide since the machine went on sale late 2006.
HD DVD supporters included Microsoft Corp., Intel Corp. and Japanese electronics maker NEC Corp.
Microsoft's Xbox 360 game machine can play HD DVD movies, but the drive had to be bought separately, and Nishida said about 300,000 people have those.
Worldwide sales of personal computers with HD DVD drives total about 300,000 worldwide, including 140,000 in North America and 130,000 in Europe, he said.
Recently, the Blu-ray disc format has been gaining market share, especially in Japan. A study on fourth quarter sales last year by market researcher BCN Inc. found that by unit volume, Blu-ray made up 96 percent of Japanese sales.
Sony said it did not have numbers on how many Blu-ray players had been sold globally.
Toshiba's stock slipped 0.6 percent Tuesday to 824 yen after jumping 5.7 percent Monday amid reports that a decision was imminent. Sony shares climbed 2.2 percent to 5,010 yen after rising 1 percent Monday.
Also Tuesday, Toshiba said it plans to spend more than 1.7 trillion yen ($15.7 billion) for two plants in Japan to produce sophisticated chips called NAND flash memory, which are used in portable music players and cell phones. Production there will start in 2010.
TOKYO - Toshiba said Tuesday it will no longer develop, make or market HD DVD players and recorders, handing a victory to rival Blu-ray disc technology in the format battle for next-generation video.
"We concluded that a swift decision would be best," Toshiba President Atsutoshi Nishida told reporters at his company's Tokyo offices.
The move would make Blu-ray — backed by Sony Corp., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., which makes Panasonic brand products, and five major Hollywood movie studios — the winner in the battle over high-definition DVD formatting that began several years ago.
Nishida said last month's decision by Warner Bros. Entertainment to release movie discs only in the Blu-ray format made the move inevitable.
"That had tremendous impact," he said. "If we had continued, that would have created problems for consumers, and we simply had no chance to win."
Warner joined Sony Pictures, Walt Disney Co. and News Corp.'s Twentieth Century Fox in that move.
Nishida said his company had confidence in HD DVD as a technology and tried to assure the estimated 1 million people, including some 600,000 people in North America, who already bought HD DVD machines by promising that Toshiba will continue to provide product support for the technology.
Both HD DVD and Blu-ray deliver crisp, clear high-definition pictures and sound, which are more detailed and vivid than existing video technology. They are incompatible with each other, and neither plays on older DVD players. But both formats play on high-definition TVs.
HD DVD was touted as being cheaper because it was more similar to previous video technology, while Blu-ray boasted bigger recording capacity.
Only one video format has been expected to emerge as the victor, much like VHS trumped Sony's Betamax in the video format battle of the 1980s.
Nishida said it was still uncertain what will happen with the Hollywood studios that signed to produce HD DVD movies, including Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation.
Toshiba's pulling the plug on the technology is expected to reduce the number of new high-definition movies that people will be able to watch on HD DVD machines. Toshiba Corp. said shipments of HD DVD machines to retailers will be reduced and will stop by end of March.
Sales in Blu-ray gadgets are now likely to pick up as consumers had held off in investing in the latest recorders and players because they didn't know which format would emerge dominant.
Despite being a possible blow to Toshiba's pride, the exit will probably lessen the potential damage in losses in HD DVD operations. Goldman Sachs has said pulling out would improve Toshiba's profitability between 40 billion yen and 50 billion yen ($370 million-$460 million) a year.
The reasons behind Blu-ray's triumph over HD DVD are complex, as marketing, management maneuvers and other factors are believed to have played into the shift to Blu-ray's favor that became more decisive during the critical holiday shopping season.
Once the balance starts tilting in favor of one in a format battle, then the domination tends to grow and become final, said Kazuharu Miura, an analyst at Daiwa Institute of Research in Tokyo.
"The trend became decisive I think this year," he said. "When Warner made its decision, it was basically over."
With movie studios increasingly lining up behind Blu-ray, retailers also began to stock more Blu-ray products.
Friday's decision by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the largest U.S. retailer, to sell only Blu-ray DVDs and hardware appeared to deal a final blow to the Toshiba format. Just five days earlier, Netflix Inc. said it will cease carrying rentals in HD DVD.
Several major American retailers had already made similar decisions, including Target Corp. and Blockbuster Inc.
Also adding to Blu-ray's momentum was the gradual increase in sales of Sony's PlayStation 3 home video-game console, which also works as a Blu-ray player. Sony has sold 10.5 million PS3 machines worldwide since the machine went on sale late 2006.
HD DVD supporters included Microsoft Corp., Intel Corp. and Japanese electronics maker NEC Corp.
Microsoft's Xbox 360 game machine can play HD DVD movies, but the drive had to be bought separately, and Nishida said about 300,000 people have those.
Worldwide sales of personal computers with HD DVD drives total about 300,000 worldwide, including 140,000 in North America and 130,000 in Europe, he said.
Recently, the Blu-ray disc format has been gaining market share, especially in Japan. A study on fourth quarter sales last year by market researcher BCN Inc. found that by unit volume, Blu-ray made up 96 percent of Japanese sales.
Sony said it did not have numbers on how many Blu-ray players had been sold globally.
Toshiba's stock slipped 0.6 percent Tuesday to 824 yen after jumping 5.7 percent Monday amid reports that a decision was imminent. Sony shares climbed 2.2 percent to 5,010 yen after rising 1 percent Monday.
Also Tuesday, Toshiba said it plans to spend more than 1.7 trillion yen ($15.7 billion) for two plants in Japan to produce sophisticated chips called NAND flash memory, which are used in portable music players and cell phones. Production there will start in 2010.
Clinton strives to stem Obama's surge
by Mira Oberman 1 hour, 9 minutes ago
MADISON, Wisconsin (AFP) - Democrat Hillary Clinton fought Tuesday to arrest her rival Barack Obama's stunning surge as Wisconsin became the latest battleground to vote in their bitter White House contest.
On the Republican side, John McCain was hoping to consolidate his front-runner status and woo wary conservatives after capturing the endorsement of former president George H. W. Bush.
Wisconsin was holding primaries for both parties. Hawaii was convening Democratic caucuses later Tuesday, while Washington state was electing 19 Republican delegates.
Obama was expected to win Hawaii, the Pacific islands state where he was born, but economically struggling Wisconsin was the far bigger prize with 74 Democratic delegates up for grabs.
Obama insisted that the country needs an inspirational leader to overcome a host of problems, and said he could knock Clinton out of the race when the heavyweight states of Ohio and Texas vote on March 4.
"Now we've got to campaign hard in Texas and Ohio. But after March 4th, I think the party's going to have to take a look and see if it's time for us to go ahead and move forward with a nomination," he said on NBC television.
Obama also rebuffed Clinton's argument that he would melt in the face of Republican attacks.
"First of all, I've had to go up against the Clinton machine. And it's not as if they're playing tiddlywinks, right?" he said. "So we've been battle-tested during the course of this primary."
If he does vanquish the former first lady in Wisconsin and Hawaii, the black senator from Illinois would lock in his 10th straight win in the fortnight since Super Tuesday's nationwide contests ended in a dead heat.
A Wisconsin win for Clinton would give the New York senator's faltering campaign a much-needed shot in the arm ahead of the showdown in Ohio and Texas, which offer a total of 334 delegates.
Clinton had been ahead by double digits in both states, but a CNN poll released Monday showed the race in Texas had narrowed to just two points, well within the margin of error.
And even decisive wins would not be enough to sew up the 2,025 delegates needed to cross the winning line -- leading to speculation of a convention brawl when the Democrats select their White House nominee in August.
Obama is ahead of Clinton by 1,302 to 1,235 delegates, according to independent political website RealClearPolitics.com.
With polls showing the Wisconsin race too close to call, both campaigns fired off combative television advertisements, and braved blizzards to shore up support across the chilly midwestern state.
The rival campaigns Monday accused each other of plagiarism in their speeches. Clinton laid into Obama over his soaring oratory.
"I have to say, there's a difference between speeches and solutions," Clinton told hundreds of supporters in Wisconsin's capital Madison.
"It is imperative that we have a president who is ready on day one, because the damage that will be waiting from the years of the misrule of George W. Bush deserves immediate action."
But while the Democrats fought over details and delegates, voters here struggled to choose between what many see as two highly qualified candidates with similar platforms.
Jeanne Parus, 62, did not decide until she reached her voting booth at a community center in Madison.
"I had to vote for Hillary because it was my first chance to vote for a woman," the ballet teacher told AFP.
Charles Leadholm, 58, also liked both candidates but voted for Obama because "he'll be able to inspire leaders" and create a groundswell of change.
While the Democrats slugged it out, Senator McCain basked in the elder Bush's endorsement. President George W. Bush has yet to endorse anyone, but has said he would help McCain if he wins the nomination.
McCain is almost assured to win the Republican nod, but former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee has refused to step aside despite trailing by hundreds of delegates.
The Baptist preacher has been reaching out to the party's conservative base as he campaigns for a share of the 37 Republican delegates in Wisconsin, where polls were to close at 0200 GMT Wednesday.
MADISON, Wisconsin (AFP) - Democrat Hillary Clinton fought Tuesday to arrest her rival Barack Obama's stunning surge as Wisconsin became the latest battleground to vote in their bitter White House contest.
On the Republican side, John McCain was hoping to consolidate his front-runner status and woo wary conservatives after capturing the endorsement of former president George H. W. Bush.
Wisconsin was holding primaries for both parties. Hawaii was convening Democratic caucuses later Tuesday, while Washington state was electing 19 Republican delegates.
Obama was expected to win Hawaii, the Pacific islands state where he was born, but economically struggling Wisconsin was the far bigger prize with 74 Democratic delegates up for grabs.
Obama insisted that the country needs an inspirational leader to overcome a host of problems, and said he could knock Clinton out of the race when the heavyweight states of Ohio and Texas vote on March 4.
"Now we've got to campaign hard in Texas and Ohio. But after March 4th, I think the party's going to have to take a look and see if it's time for us to go ahead and move forward with a nomination," he said on NBC television.
Obama also rebuffed Clinton's argument that he would melt in the face of Republican attacks.
"First of all, I've had to go up against the Clinton machine. And it's not as if they're playing tiddlywinks, right?" he said. "So we've been battle-tested during the course of this primary."
If he does vanquish the former first lady in Wisconsin and Hawaii, the black senator from Illinois would lock in his 10th straight win in the fortnight since Super Tuesday's nationwide contests ended in a dead heat.
A Wisconsin win for Clinton would give the New York senator's faltering campaign a much-needed shot in the arm ahead of the showdown in Ohio and Texas, which offer a total of 334 delegates.
Clinton had been ahead by double digits in both states, but a CNN poll released Monday showed the race in Texas had narrowed to just two points, well within the margin of error.
And even decisive wins would not be enough to sew up the 2,025 delegates needed to cross the winning line -- leading to speculation of a convention brawl when the Democrats select their White House nominee in August.
Obama is ahead of Clinton by 1,302 to 1,235 delegates, according to independent political website RealClearPolitics.com.
With polls showing the Wisconsin race too close to call, both campaigns fired off combative television advertisements, and braved blizzards to shore up support across the chilly midwestern state.
The rival campaigns Monday accused each other of plagiarism in their speeches. Clinton laid into Obama over his soaring oratory.
"I have to say, there's a difference between speeches and solutions," Clinton told hundreds of supporters in Wisconsin's capital Madison.
"It is imperative that we have a president who is ready on day one, because the damage that will be waiting from the years of the misrule of George W. Bush deserves immediate action."
But while the Democrats fought over details and delegates, voters here struggled to choose between what many see as two highly qualified candidates with similar platforms.
Jeanne Parus, 62, did not decide until she reached her voting booth at a community center in Madison.
"I had to vote for Hillary because it was my first chance to vote for a woman," the ballet teacher told AFP.
Charles Leadholm, 58, also liked both candidates but voted for Obama because "he'll be able to inspire leaders" and create a groundswell of change.
While the Democrats slugged it out, Senator McCain basked in the elder Bush's endorsement. President George W. Bush has yet to endorse anyone, but has said he would help McCain if he wins the nomination.
McCain is almost assured to win the Republican nod, but former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee has refused to step aside despite trailing by hundreds of delegates.
The Baptist preacher has been reaching out to the party's conservative base as he campaigns for a share of the 37 Republican delegates in Wisconsin, where polls were to close at 0200 GMT Wednesday.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
America's Most Underrated Cities
These must-see spots are too often overlooked by the masses
Everyone knows cities like New York, San Francisco, and Chicago are among the best in the United States, but there are many other fabulous – albeit smaller – American cities that just don't get their fair share of the limelight. Whether their proximity to a bigger city steals their thunder or a recent city makeover remains undiscovered by the masses, the cities on our list are oft-overlooked by even the savviest of travelers. If you're looking to broaden the scope of your trips to include some less-talked-about places with great art scenes, friendly locals, delectable cuisine, and rich history, add one of our most underrated cities to your "must-see" list.
1. BaltimoreNative blue crabs seasoned with Old Bay are reason enough to visit Baltimore, but there's much more to experience in this waterfront town. Take, for example, the city's revitalized Inner Harbor area; the upscale neighborhood of Mount Vernon, home to the original Washington Monument; and Harbor East, where a number of hotels and restaurants are opening their doors. Its new, contemporary look aside, you can still discover some 300 years of U.S. history along Baltimore's cobblestone streets. Not only was the "Star Spangled Banner" written here, but abolitionist Frederick Douglass lived and worked in the historic waterfront community of Fells Point in the 1830s. Track down the settings for John Waters' films – “Hairspray,” “Pink Flamingos,” and “Female Trouble,” among many others, were all shot here. Sports fans will also find no shortage of outlets, since Baltimore is also home to both the Orioles baseball team and Preakness, the second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown.
2. Fort LauderdaleSay goodbye to its days as a raucous spring-break spot – today's Fort Lauderdale is all about upscale beach chic, as confirmed by the string of swanky new hotels on the block, like the St. Regis Resort (opened May 2007) and W Hotel (set to open October 2008). Stroll the stunning seaside promenade and comb a strand of sand that rivals Miami Beach, then set out for some irresistible shopping, and finally cap off your day with a culinary feast at one of the city's stellar international restaurants. Combined with a surprisingly sophisticated arts and museum scene, an extensive yachting and golfing network, and one of America's top gay and lesbian scenes, Fort Lauderdale's status as Florida's fashionable destination du jour is long overdue.
3. HoustonHouston is proof that everything is indeed bigger in Texas. While better known for its big business and energy interests, this sprawling city also hosts top-notch orchestra, opera, and ballet companies, a dynamic theater scene, great museums, and the world- renowned NASA Space Center. Shopping reigns supreme here – you'll find a huge concentration of shops and above-par outlet malls – and its cosmopolitan restaurant scene expands upon the state's traditional Tex-Mex offerings. Bold and impressive architecture helps define the cityscape, too – including the mammoth Astrodome – making this fourth-largest U.S. city a true star in the Lone Star State.
4. Kansas CityWith downtown's multi-billion-dollar face-lift, pedestrian-friendly boulevards, and claim to having the most fountains of any city outside of Rome, Kansas City is definitely deserving of buzz. Plus, history buffs can learn about the city's pioneer roots at the Arabia Steamboat Museum, while sports fans can visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, a tribute to the excellent athletes forced to play in segregated leagues. Blues and jazz clubs also abound in this city, where musicians like Count Basie and Charlie Parker got their start, particularly in the historic 18th and Vine District, home of the American Jazz Museum . Once you've worked up an appetite, you're also in for a treat, as this Midwestern city also boasts some of the country's best barbecue.
5. LouisvilleThe Kentucky Derby may be its claim to fame, but the famous horse race isn't all Louisville has to offer. Nestled on the banks of the Ohio River, this Southern city has loads of small-town charm, a cosmopolitan riverfront district, a diverse art scene (thanks to the Kentucky Center for the Arts), and a growing foodie market with its own Restaurant Row. Sports lovers should make a stop at the Louisville Slugger Museum; thrill-seekers, take a ride on one of the world's longest stand-up coasters at Kentucky Kingdom. History lovers can sip mint juleps on a river cruise aboard the Belle of Louisville, a National Historic Landmark.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Belichick has been taping since 2000, Goodell tells Specter
By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press WriterFebruary 13, 2008
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Bill Belichick has been illegally taping opponents' defensive signals since he became the New England Patriots' coach in 2000, according to Sen. Arlen Specter, who said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told him that during a meeting Wednesday.
"There was confirmation that there has been taping since 2000, when Coach Belichick took over," Specter said.
Specter said Goodell gave him that information during the 1-hour, 40-minute meeting, which was requested by Specter so the commissioner could explain his reasons for destroying the Spygate tapes and notes.
"There were a great many questions answered by Commissioner Goodell," Specter, the senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, told reporters after the meeting. "I found a lot of questions unanswerable because of the tapes and notes had been destroyed."
Goodell said Belichick told him he believed the taping was legal; Goodell said he did not concur.
"He said that's always been his interpretation since he's been the head coach," the commissioner said. "We are going to agree to disagree on the facts."
Specter, from Pennsylvania, wants to talk to other league officials about what exactly was taped and which games may have been compromised.
"We have a right to have honest football games," he said.
Goodell noted that "we were the ones that disclosed" the Patriots' illegal taping of the New York Jets' defensive signals in Week 1 of last season. Further, Goodell said, they had an admission by Belichick.
"I have nothing to hide," Goodell said.
Goodell also told Specter that that he doesn't regret destroying the Spygate tapes or the notes.
"I think it was the right thing to do," Goodell said.
Still, Specter wants to know why penalties were imposed on Belichick before the full extent of the wrongdoing was known and the tapes destroyed in a two-week span. Asked if he thinks there was a coverup, Specter demurred.
"There was an enormous amount of haste," Specter said.
He scoffed at the reasons Goodell gave for destroying the tapes and notes, particularly about trying to keep them out of competitors' hands and because Belichick had admitted to the taping.
"What's that got to do with it? There's an admission of guilt, you preserve the evidence," Specter said. As for keeping the tapes out of the hands of others: "All you have to do is lock up the tapes."
Belichick was fined $500,000 and the team was fined $250,000 because of the Spygate incident. The Patriots also forfeited a first-round draft pick.
Specter has questioned the quality of the NFL's investigation into the matter and raised the possibility of congressional hearings if he wasn't satisfied with Goodell's answers. Specter also raised the threat of Congress canceling the league's antitrust exemption and reiterated that in the meeting with Goodell.
Goodell also said he has not heard from Matt Walsh, the former Patriots employee who performed some videotaping duties for the team.
Walsh told The Associated Press last week during the Pro Bowl in Hawaii that he couldn't talk about allegations that he taped a walkthrough practice by the St. Louis Rams before the 2002 Super Bowl. New England, a two-touchdown underdog, won that game 20-17.
Goodell said he has offered Walsh a deal whereby "he has to tell the truth and he has to return anything he took improperly" in return for indemnity. Specter said he, too, wanted to talk to Walsh and perhaps offer a different deal.
Goodell also said he reserves the right to reopen the investigation if more information is uncovered.
Updated on Wednesday, Feb 13, 2008 8:39 pm, EST
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Bill Belichick has been illegally taping opponents' defensive signals since he became the New England Patriots' coach in 2000, according to Sen. Arlen Specter, who said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told him that during a meeting Wednesday.
"There was confirmation that there has been taping since 2000, when Coach Belichick took over," Specter said.
Specter said Goodell gave him that information during the 1-hour, 40-minute meeting, which was requested by Specter so the commissioner could explain his reasons for destroying the Spygate tapes and notes.
"There were a great many questions answered by Commissioner Goodell," Specter, the senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, told reporters after the meeting. "I found a lot of questions unanswerable because of the tapes and notes had been destroyed."
Goodell said Belichick told him he believed the taping was legal; Goodell said he did not concur.
"He said that's always been his interpretation since he's been the head coach," the commissioner said. "We are going to agree to disagree on the facts."
Specter, from Pennsylvania, wants to talk to other league officials about what exactly was taped and which games may have been compromised.
"We have a right to have honest football games," he said.
Goodell noted that "we were the ones that disclosed" the Patriots' illegal taping of the New York Jets' defensive signals in Week 1 of last season. Further, Goodell said, they had an admission by Belichick.
"I have nothing to hide," Goodell said.
Goodell also told Specter that that he doesn't regret destroying the Spygate tapes or the notes.
"I think it was the right thing to do," Goodell said.
Still, Specter wants to know why penalties were imposed on Belichick before the full extent of the wrongdoing was known and the tapes destroyed in a two-week span. Asked if he thinks there was a coverup, Specter demurred.
"There was an enormous amount of haste," Specter said.
He scoffed at the reasons Goodell gave for destroying the tapes and notes, particularly about trying to keep them out of competitors' hands and because Belichick had admitted to the taping.
"What's that got to do with it? There's an admission of guilt, you preserve the evidence," Specter said. As for keeping the tapes out of the hands of others: "All you have to do is lock up the tapes."
Belichick was fined $500,000 and the team was fined $250,000 because of the Spygate incident. The Patriots also forfeited a first-round draft pick.
Specter has questioned the quality of the NFL's investigation into the matter and raised the possibility of congressional hearings if he wasn't satisfied with Goodell's answers. Specter also raised the threat of Congress canceling the league's antitrust exemption and reiterated that in the meeting with Goodell.
Goodell also said he has not heard from Matt Walsh, the former Patriots employee who performed some videotaping duties for the team.
Walsh told The Associated Press last week during the Pro Bowl in Hawaii that he couldn't talk about allegations that he taped a walkthrough practice by the St. Louis Rams before the 2002 Super Bowl. New England, a two-touchdown underdog, won that game 20-17.
Goodell said he has offered Walsh a deal whereby "he has to tell the truth and he has to return anything he took improperly" in return for indemnity. Specter said he, too, wanted to talk to Walsh and perhaps offer a different deal.
Goodell also said he reserves the right to reopen the investigation if more information is uncovered.
Updated on Wednesday, Feb 13, 2008 8:39 pm, EST
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Tax rebate checks in the mail by spring
By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer 1 hour, 14 minutes ago
WASHINGTON -
The checks aren't in the mail, but they will be soon. President Bush signed legislation Wednesday to rush rebates ranging from $300 to $1,200 to millions of people, the centerpiece of government efforts to brace the wobbly economy. First, though, you must file your 2007 tax return.
More than 130 million people are expected to get the rebates, starting around May. Congress, Bush, the Federal Reserve and Wall Street are hoping the money will burn such a hole in people's pockets that they won't be able to resist spending it. And the spending is supposed to give an energizing jolt to a national economy that is in danger of toppling into a recession if it hasn't already.
Whether people actually spend the money remains to be seen. A recent Associated Press-Ipos poll indicates most people have other plans. Forty-five percent said they planned to pay off bills, while 32 percent said they would save or invest it. Only 19 percent said they would spend their rebates.
The measure Bush signed — a $168 billion rescue package passed with lightning speed by Congress last week — includes not only rebates for individuals but also tax breaks for businesses to spur investment in new plants and equipment. That, too, would help bolster U.S. economic activity. The package also contains provisions aimed at helping struggling homeowners clobbered by the housing collapse and the credit crunch refinance into more affordable mortgages.
The emergency plan marked a rare moment of cooperation among political rivals fearful that an ailing economy during an election year would invite voter retaliation.
Bush, who called the measure "a booster shot for our economy," praised the bipartisan cooperation. "We have come together on a single mission — and that is to put the people's interests first," he said.
Who gets a rebate? Most people who pay taxes or earn at least $3,000, including through Social Security or veterans' disability benefits. Singles making more than $75,000 and couples with income topping $150,000, however, will get smaller checks, up to the top limits for any rebate: incomes of $87,000 for individuals and $174,000 for couples.
To get any rebate, you must file a 2007 tax return and have a valid Social Security number. If you already filed your 2007 return, the IRS says you don't need to do anything extra.
Most taxpayers will receive a check of up to $600 for individuals and $1,200 for couples, with an additional $300 for each child.
People earning too little to pay taxes but at least $3,000 — including elderly people whose only income is from Social Security and veterans who live on disability payments — will get $300 if single, or $600 if a couple.
The IRS will send out rebates — by mail or by direct deposit into your bank account — through the late spring and the summer. The rebates come in addition to any regular tax refund.
To pay for the rebates — which are estimated to cost about $117 billion over the next two years — the government will have to borrow more money, enlarging the budget deficit.
The Bush administration and some private economists are hopeful the rebates, tax breaks and aggressive interest rate reductions by the Federal Reserve will help the country narrowly dodge a recession. An increasing number of economists, however, believe the country has already fallen into its first recession since 2001, and they are simply hopeful the rescue package will limit the damage. Most people — 61 percent — say the economy is now in a recession, according to the AP-Ipsos poll.
"I do think this will give the economy a shot of adrenaline," said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group.
The National Bureau of Economic Research, a private research organization, looked at what people did with their 2001 rebates. The study found that "households spent about 20 to 40 percent of their rebates on nondurable goods" — which can include things like food and clothing — in the first three months. They spent roughly another third in the following three months.
With the current stimulus, the economy will log growth in the range of 2.25 percent to 2.50 percent in the second half of this year — roughly one full percentage point higher than without the bracing tonic, Hoffman estimated. That would be closer to a more normal rate of around 3 percent, he said.
That in turn should encourage businesses to step up hiring. Nervous employers cut 17,000 jobs in January, the first nationwide loss of jobs in more than four years.
Edward Lazear, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, predicted, "The stimulus will have the effect of increasing jobs by about half a million above the number that would have been the case in the absence of that."
Still, even with the rescue efforts, some analysts fear the economy could backslide and flirt with recession again in 2009.
To help the severely depressed housing market, the stimulus package would raise temporarily to $729,750 the limit on Federal Housing Administration loans and also raise the cap on loans that mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can buy.
Raising those limits, should provide relief in the market for "jumbo" mortgages — those exceeding $417,000. The credit crunch hit that market hard, making it very difficult, if not impossible, for people to get those loans. That has plunged the housing market even deeper into turmoil.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said the provisions will provide "families a second chance at the American dream of homeownership by helping them refinance their mortgages and avoid foreclosure."
WASHINGTON -
The checks aren't in the mail, but they will be soon. President Bush signed legislation Wednesday to rush rebates ranging from $300 to $1,200 to millions of people, the centerpiece of government efforts to brace the wobbly economy. First, though, you must file your 2007 tax return.
More than 130 million people are expected to get the rebates, starting around May. Congress, Bush, the Federal Reserve and Wall Street are hoping the money will burn such a hole in people's pockets that they won't be able to resist spending it. And the spending is supposed to give an energizing jolt to a national economy that is in danger of toppling into a recession if it hasn't already.
Whether people actually spend the money remains to be seen. A recent Associated Press-Ipos poll indicates most people have other plans. Forty-five percent said they planned to pay off bills, while 32 percent said they would save or invest it. Only 19 percent said they would spend their rebates.
The measure Bush signed — a $168 billion rescue package passed with lightning speed by Congress last week — includes not only rebates for individuals but also tax breaks for businesses to spur investment in new plants and equipment. That, too, would help bolster U.S. economic activity. The package also contains provisions aimed at helping struggling homeowners clobbered by the housing collapse and the credit crunch refinance into more affordable mortgages.
The emergency plan marked a rare moment of cooperation among political rivals fearful that an ailing economy during an election year would invite voter retaliation.
Bush, who called the measure "a booster shot for our economy," praised the bipartisan cooperation. "We have come together on a single mission — and that is to put the people's interests first," he said.
Who gets a rebate? Most people who pay taxes or earn at least $3,000, including through Social Security or veterans' disability benefits. Singles making more than $75,000 and couples with income topping $150,000, however, will get smaller checks, up to the top limits for any rebate: incomes of $87,000 for individuals and $174,000 for couples.
To get any rebate, you must file a 2007 tax return and have a valid Social Security number. If you already filed your 2007 return, the IRS says you don't need to do anything extra.
Most taxpayers will receive a check of up to $600 for individuals and $1,200 for couples, with an additional $300 for each child.
People earning too little to pay taxes but at least $3,000 — including elderly people whose only income is from Social Security and veterans who live on disability payments — will get $300 if single, or $600 if a couple.
The IRS will send out rebates — by mail or by direct deposit into your bank account — through the late spring and the summer. The rebates come in addition to any regular tax refund.
To pay for the rebates — which are estimated to cost about $117 billion over the next two years — the government will have to borrow more money, enlarging the budget deficit.
The Bush administration and some private economists are hopeful the rebates, tax breaks and aggressive interest rate reductions by the Federal Reserve will help the country narrowly dodge a recession. An increasing number of economists, however, believe the country has already fallen into its first recession since 2001, and they are simply hopeful the rescue package will limit the damage. Most people — 61 percent — say the economy is now in a recession, according to the AP-Ipsos poll.
"I do think this will give the economy a shot of adrenaline," said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group.
The National Bureau of Economic Research, a private research organization, looked at what people did with their 2001 rebates. The study found that "households spent about 20 to 40 percent of their rebates on nondurable goods" — which can include things like food and clothing — in the first three months. They spent roughly another third in the following three months.
With the current stimulus, the economy will log growth in the range of 2.25 percent to 2.50 percent in the second half of this year — roughly one full percentage point higher than without the bracing tonic, Hoffman estimated. That would be closer to a more normal rate of around 3 percent, he said.
That in turn should encourage businesses to step up hiring. Nervous employers cut 17,000 jobs in January, the first nationwide loss of jobs in more than four years.
Edward Lazear, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, predicted, "The stimulus will have the effect of increasing jobs by about half a million above the number that would have been the case in the absence of that."
Still, even with the rescue efforts, some analysts fear the economy could backslide and flirt with recession again in 2009.
To help the severely depressed housing market, the stimulus package would raise temporarily to $729,750 the limit on Federal Housing Administration loans and also raise the cap on loans that mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can buy.
Raising those limits, should provide relief in the market for "jumbo" mortgages — those exceeding $417,000. The credit crunch hit that market hard, making it very difficult, if not impossible, for people to get those loans. That has plunged the housing market even deeper into turmoil.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said the provisions will provide "families a second chance at the American dream of homeownership by helping them refinance their mortgages and avoid foreclosure."
Kidd traded to dallas
By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports
February 13, 2008
Jason Kidd was so determined to make his way back to the Dallas Mavericks, he has contemplated wearing No. 2 on his jersey to honor a return to where his career started in 1994.
Despite Kidd’s doubts that the Nets and Mavericks would ever come to an agreement, two league sources close to the negotiations said an agreement in principle has been reached on Wednesday. After wavering for weeks, Dallas owner Mark Cuban has sacrificed some of his franchise’s future to chase a championship in the short term. The agreement would send five players, including point guard Devin Harris, and first round picks in 2008 and 2010, for the future Hall of Fame guard.
The two teams are still exchanging insurance information and going through the normal procedures with the league office to finalize the deal.
Kidd, who turns 35 next month, goes to Dallas with an unmistakable mandate: Bring a title for a team and career that are desperately seeking it. As part of the trade, the Mavericks would also send Jerry Stackhouse, Devean George, DeSagna Diop, Maurice Ager and $3 million to New Jersey. Along with Kidd, the Nets send reserve forward Malik Allen to the Mavs.
In a separate deal, the Nets are sending guard Antoine Wright to Dallas for a future second-round pick and possibly other considerations, one source said.
For New Jersey, president Rod Thorn brought back the three elements he most wanted for Kidd: a good young player (Harris), expiring contracts (Diop and George) and draft picks. What’s more, the Nets plan to buyout the rest of Stackhouse’s contract. Stackhouse can become an immediate free agent, but must wait 30 days to re-sign with Dallas.
One league source expected Stackhouse to return to the Mavericks.
For the Nets, this clears cap space next season. It will allow them to re-sign forward Nenad Krstic and start rebuilding the franchise after seven straight playoff appearances with Kidd. The Nets are still discussing a Vince Carter-Jermaine O’Neal trade with the Indiana Pacers, but two sources close to those discussions placed odds below 50 percent. According to one source, the Nets have gone so far as talking to O’Neal’s doctors in Indiana about the state of his troubled knee.
Despite Cuban’s public dismissals, the talks between the two teams were restarted on Sunday when the Mavericks lost to the Nets in New Jersey. After watching the Lakers and Suns make moves for Pau Gasol and Shaquille O’Neal, the Mavericks could no longer sit on the sidelines. There was an element of toughness and leadership that had been missing in Dallas, and team officials believe Kidd transforms them. Immediately, this trade solidifies the Mavericks, who are 34-17 and holding the third spot in the Western Conference playoff, as a serious championship contender.
When motivated, Kidd can still play the point-guard position at the highest level. He desperately wanted this trade and Nets officials knew that they could no longer function as a franchise until they honored his wishes.
Adrian Wojnarowski is the NBA columnist for Yahoo! Sports. Send Adrian a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
February 13, 2008
Jason Kidd was so determined to make his way back to the Dallas Mavericks, he has contemplated wearing No. 2 on his jersey to honor a return to where his career started in 1994.
Despite Kidd’s doubts that the Nets and Mavericks would ever come to an agreement, two league sources close to the negotiations said an agreement in principle has been reached on Wednesday. After wavering for weeks, Dallas owner Mark Cuban has sacrificed some of his franchise’s future to chase a championship in the short term. The agreement would send five players, including point guard Devin Harris, and first round picks in 2008 and 2010, for the future Hall of Fame guard.
The two teams are still exchanging insurance information and going through the normal procedures with the league office to finalize the deal.
Kidd, who turns 35 next month, goes to Dallas with an unmistakable mandate: Bring a title for a team and career that are desperately seeking it. As part of the trade, the Mavericks would also send Jerry Stackhouse, Devean George, DeSagna Diop, Maurice Ager and $3 million to New Jersey. Along with Kidd, the Nets send reserve forward Malik Allen to the Mavs.
In a separate deal, the Nets are sending guard Antoine Wright to Dallas for a future second-round pick and possibly other considerations, one source said.
For New Jersey, president Rod Thorn brought back the three elements he most wanted for Kidd: a good young player (Harris), expiring contracts (Diop and George) and draft picks. What’s more, the Nets plan to buyout the rest of Stackhouse’s contract. Stackhouse can become an immediate free agent, but must wait 30 days to re-sign with Dallas.
One league source expected Stackhouse to return to the Mavericks.
For the Nets, this clears cap space next season. It will allow them to re-sign forward Nenad Krstic and start rebuilding the franchise after seven straight playoff appearances with Kidd. The Nets are still discussing a Vince Carter-Jermaine O’Neal trade with the Indiana Pacers, but two sources close to those discussions placed odds below 50 percent. According to one source, the Nets have gone so far as talking to O’Neal’s doctors in Indiana about the state of his troubled knee.
Despite Cuban’s public dismissals, the talks between the two teams were restarted on Sunday when the Mavericks lost to the Nets in New Jersey. After watching the Lakers and Suns make moves for Pau Gasol and Shaquille O’Neal, the Mavericks could no longer sit on the sidelines. There was an element of toughness and leadership that had been missing in Dallas, and team officials believe Kidd transforms them. Immediately, this trade solidifies the Mavericks, who are 34-17 and holding the third spot in the Western Conference playoff, as a serious championship contender.
When motivated, Kidd can still play the point-guard position at the highest level. He desperately wanted this trade and Nets officials knew that they could no longer function as a franchise until they honored his wishes.
Adrian Wojnarowski is the NBA columnist for Yahoo! Sports. Send Adrian a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
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