David Potts' Link Blog on NewsGator Online

Breaking: Former Star of Top Republican Blog Seen at Obama Organizing Event

Eric — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 02:57:14 GMT

I’ll have a full report later on the amazing Obama organizing event in Columbus I attended earlier tonight but I thought longtime readers of PB would want to see this right away. Toward the end of the event I wandered to the front prepared to leave before something caught my eye. It was [...]

John Glenn to Endorse Hillary: Today in Columbus

Bill Sloat — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 16:00:00 GMT

The Clinton campaign says that former Sen. John Glenn -- the astronaut and war hero -- will endorse Hillary today in Columbus. This is a major development because Glenn is an icon in his home state.

Audio, television re-run links/info for yesterday’s OH-10 debate

Jill Miller Zimon — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 16:02:09 GMT

You can listen to the debate here. Thank you, Plain Dealer.

You can read the live-blog of it here. Thank you, Rosemary Palmer and Anthony Fossaceca.

You can watch the debate according to this information from the PD:

The debate, moderated by Bob Conklin, host of “In the Spotlight,” will be aired several times on Time Warner beginning at 8 p.m. Wednesday on Channel 15 in Cleveland, Channel 23 in Akron and Channel 22 elsewhere.

…

The Time Warner debate will be shown 8 p.m. Wednesdays, 1 p.m. Saturdays, and 9 p.m. Sundays until the March 4 primary.

Whites to become minority in U.S. by 2050

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 14:26:13 GMT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Non-Hispanic whites will become a minority in the United States by 2050, with immigrants and their children driving 82 percent of U.S. population growth in coming years, a new study said on Monday.

GM offers buyouts to all U.S. workers

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 15:50:24 GMT

General Motors is offering buyouts to 74,000 employees -- its entire U.S. hourly workforce. The company said it will offer buyout packages worth up to $140,000 to all of its workers represented by the United Auto Workers union. GM had a $38.7 billion loss for 2007, the largest annual loss ever for an automotive company.

So Who's Shillin For Who in Ohio?

Jerid — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 16:57:33 GMT

As both the Clinton campaign and the Obama campaign start operations in Ohio today, staffers with an eye to the Ohio blogosphere have undoubtedly have asked themselves, "Ok, of all these rabble rousers, who's on my side."

Far be it from me to say definitively who's on what side of the fence. But sure, I've got some guesses.

BuckeyeStateBlog: Mixed (Strong Obama Tilt)
Jerid, admin.:       Obama
2010Buckeye:    Undeclared
DrTruth:              Obama
Modernesquire: Undeclared (despite my contentions he's for Hill-dog)
Tim Russo:          Obama

WritesLikeSheTalks: Clinton (guess)

While Jill will kill me for asserting she's on Team Hillary, but politics is about your gut, right? I think her passionate involvement with the White House Project and Gender Issues makes the Clinton ID a no-brainer. Since both Obama and Hillary are largely (but not entirely) similar substantively, Iequality issues might win out with Jill here. But who knows...

Plunderbund: Obama

Eric:    Obama
Joe:                    ???
Brian:                 ???

PsychobillyDemocrat: Obama

Just take one look at the upper right hand corner. See the Obama logo? Have anymore questions on who the 'Billy supports? Keep rockin' it, brotha'!

Blue Ohioan: Clinton

Susan has taken over BlueOhioan while Anthony runs Rosemary Palmer's race in the 11th Congressional District. Susan's a solid Clinton supporter, articulated through direct statements "[Obama] isn't ready for the job yet."

Ohio Valley Politics: Obama

David caucused for Obama during Ohio's Pre-Primary caucuses. That makes him a solid Obama lock.

Ohio Daily Blog: ???? (former Edwards)

Jeff Coryell was elected a Edwards delegate during the 11th Congressional District Pre-Primary caucuses in Ohio. However, his leaning now is unknown.

Into My Own: ????

I can't find anything on Ohio Dave's page which shows which way he's leaning. Dave's down in southwest Ohio near Montgomery County and the Third Congressional District.

Dispassionate Liberal: Mixed (fickle, oh so fickle)

Mark Adams was one of the folks involved early with the Edwards campaign. On Friday he came out for Hillary. But then just as quickly hedged his bets and said why he liked Obama so much. Clue to Mark - it's time to jump on the Hope Train.

That's it for now. May review some more later.

Rep. Tom Lantos dies at age 80

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 14:56:38 GMT

Read full story for latest details.

Nobel winner Lessing echoes Tri-C tow truck driver re: Obama & assassination

Jill Miller Zimon — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 02:32:48 GMT

I wrote this post last year about a conversation I had with a tow-truck driver in the Tri-C Eastern Campus parking lot the night in February 2007 when I attended a rally for Senator Barack Obama.

Okay - I made it in - I fed everyone in my family - the dishes will be there when I get back - the press table was GONE - they had nothing on me - but a nice tall woman who said she was the sleonard who had emailed with Wendell told me I could go in - and I saw Anastasia P.

It’s warm - not so loud yet - not back to the doors but very full. Mark Naymik is supposedly here somewhere behind me. And Jerid is supposedly here - I haven’t seen anyone else.

Now I just have to hope that they don’t drag my car away like they were doing to the car that had been in my spot. The tow guy - fascinating - said, you here for Obama? I said yeah. He said, “I wouldn’t want to be the first black president, no way. Just like Kennedy.”

Wow - I hope that’s not prescient.

Tonight, USA Today and others are reporting that:

Nobel Prize winner [for literature] Doris Lessing believes Barack Obama would be assassinated if he were elected U.S. president, the British writer said in a newspaper interview.

…

“It would be best if they ran together. Hillary is a very sharp lady. It might be calmer if she wins and not Obama,” Lessing was quoted as saying in comments translated into Swedish.

“He would probably not last long, a black man in the position of president. They would kill him,” Lessing said in the interview published Saturday.

She did not specify who she believed would kill Obama.

Lessing is 88.

Obama takes lead in Maine caucuses

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 22:10:12 GMT

Democrats overlooked the snowy weather and turned out in heavy numbers for municipal caucuses Sunday, giving Barack Obama a strong lead over Hillary Rodham Clinton in early tallies.

Ohio Political Journal blog predicts Obama, Clinton wins by congressional district

Jill Miller Zimon — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 22:01:39 GMT

I don’t think I know Brian G. from any other setting, but he is the author of the blog, Ohio Political Journal and has posted predictions about which Ohio congressional districts will go for which Democratic candidate.

How spot-on or off do you think he is?

Brian - don’t forget to do this for the GOP race.

Obama landslides could break deadlock (Ben Smith/The Politico)

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 16:45:00 GMT

Ben Smith / The Politico:
Obama landslides could break deadlock — Barack Obama's landslide victories in three mid-sized states Saturday suggest that he has the opportunity build a significant lead over Hillary Rodham Clinton among the locked-in “pledged” delegates before the candidates face off in the big battlegrounds of Ohio and Texas on March 4.

I Hear Things About Campaigns...

Jerid — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 18:55:59 GMT

Couple of the less than "full story" and rumor mongering notes...

The Obama Ohio campaign officially has a state Headquarters. It's on Ritch Street in Columbus, OH (near 5th Street). Please don't go rushing over their just yet. Let's give the campaign till Monday before we start calling them, and asking for help, and trying to get going. Afterall, a lot of those folks just got here. Monday's a good day to start moving on everything.

There are rumors abound regarding Ohio's SEIU District 1199. Specifically, folks are doing the endorsement talk. District 1199 has yet to make an official endorsement in the presidential race, but from the sheer amount of buzz I heard over SEIU on Friday alone, I'd say something's afoot. District 1199 is one of the strongest unions in Ohio and would be a huge injection of strength into either presidential campaign.

I'm hearing (and ODP later confirmed) that office space in Ohio Democratic Party owned offices were offered for rent to both the Obama and Clinton campaigns. Both campaigns appreciated the offer from ODP, but ultimately opted to find office space elsewhere. There were a few claims from folks that the Clinton campaign was offered office space with the party about 24 hours before office space was offered to the Obama campaign, but those claims aren't verified.

Expect to see a lot of Ohio activity from both Clinton and Obama starting around Monday. That's logical anyway, since both folks have been scrambling to get in state throughout the weekend.

Plenty of controversy still surrounds the Feb. 27th Ohio Debate. It appears both the Clinton and Obama Teams are willing to debate if their own respective demands are met. Some demands are more reasonable than others. There will be no word on ticket availability until all this stuff is sorted out.

That's it for now. I may have some more stuff along these lines later today.

Would it be torture if Iran used waterboarding on Americans?

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 06:10:05 GMT

The tortured debate on waterboarding; it's Kafkaesque:Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC): You mean you’re not equipped to give a legal opinion as to whether or not Iranian military waterboarding ...downed airmen is a violation of the Geneva Convention?Brigadier General Thomas W. Hartmann: I am not prepared to answer that question...

Survey: Internet is go-to source for candidate information

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 05:00:00 GMT

A recent survey found that Americans are relying on the Internet as a source of information about presidential candidates more than ever before. The poll found that the Internet is the primary source of information about presidential candidates for 48 percent of respondents. Younger people were even more likely to use the Internet to find out about candidates. But because candidates and their supporters are making more and more use of online video, people with slower Internet access or no access at all are being cut off from part of the conversation.

Memo Blasts State Dept. Iraq Effort

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 21:42:55 GMT

GOP loyalist worked at Baghdad Embassy: U.S. brought "worst of America" to Iraq.

New approach for US army manual

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 21:49:39 GMT

The US army drafts a new manual, which places as much emphasis on winning hearts and minds as it does force.

House Leaders Unite to Oppose Immunity for Telecoms

Rebecca Jeschke — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 20:38:35 GMT

Washington, D.C. - Today, a formidable trio of House Committee Chairmen sent a stern letter to their colleagues urging them to oppose immunity for phone companies that assisted in the NSA's warrantless wiretapping program.

The White House is demanding that immunity for the telecoms be included in Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) legislation pending in Congress. But in today's letter -- written by John Dingell, Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce; Ed Markey, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet; and Bart Stupak, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations -- the congressmen argue that the president is creating a "false choice" for lawmakers.

"By tying the question of lawsuit immunity to questions of national security and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) reform legislation, the President has created a false choice for Congress," the letter states. "The issue of immunity for phone companies that chose to cooperate with the President's warrantless wiretapping program deserves a separate and more deliberate examination by Congress. No special urgency attaches to the question of immunity other than the present Administration's general eagerness to limit tort liability and its desire to avoid scrutiny of its own actions, by either the courts or the Congress."

Earlier this week, more than two dozen House members sent a letter to the White House announcing their opposition to telecom immunity. Along with the Chairmen's letter, this may represent a significant shift in the political debate over telecom immunity. The Senate could complete work on the FISA Amendments Act, which includes immunity, as early as next week. In November, the House passed its own surveillance bill, the RESTORE Act, which does not grant immunity. The House will soon be negotiating with the Senate over how to reconcile those bills.

"Senators about to vote on immunity should heed the Chairmen's warning: tying the question of telecom immunity to that of FISA reform is unnecessary and dangerous," said Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Senior Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston. "But if the Senate complies with the Administration's pleas to cover up its illegal spying and bail out the phone companies, then it's time for the House to step up and block immunity for lawbreaking telecom giants."

EFF represents the plaintiffs in Hepting v. AT&T, a class-action lawsuit brought by AT&T customers accusing the telecommunications company of violating their rights by illegally assisting the National Security Agency in widespread domestic surveillance. The Hepting case is just one of many suits aimed at holding telecoms responsible for knowingly violating federal privacy laws with warrantless wiretapping and the illegal transfer of vast amounts of personal data to the government.

For the full letter from Congressmen Dingell, Markey, and Stupak: http://www.eff.org/files/nsa/dingell.pdf

For the letter from the House members to the White House: http://lee.house.gov/index.cfm?ContentID=1206&ParentID=0&SectionID=4&Sec...

For more on the telecoms' role in warrantless spying:
http://www.eff.org/issues/nsa-spying

Contacts:

Kevin Bankston
Senior Staff Attorney
Electronic Frontier Foundation
bankston@eff.org

Cindy Cohn
Legal Director
Electronic Frontier Foundation
cindy@eff.org

Patti Solis Doyle letter to David Plouffe on Ohio debate

Jill Miller Zimon — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 19:58:04 GMT

Hattip to Lynn Sweet for this post that includes the text of the e-mails sent by Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager, Patti Solis Doyle, and Barack Obama’s campaign manager, David Plouffe:

Dear David:

Congratulations again on your victories Tuesday night. As Senator Obama declared, it was a great evening for Democrats.

One of the things I’ve always appreciated about the Democratic Party is its willingness to engage the toughest issues facing our country, even if we don’t always agree on how best to solve them.

After seven years of a Bush administration that has left the economy struggling and our health care system in crisis, Americans are certainly facing their fair share of challenges and deserve to hear how the candidates for the nomination will address them.

As such, I was disappointed to see that Senator Obama rejected the idea of having more debates given the fact that he and Senators Clinton have had only a single one-on-one debate. I think we can do better and so does Hillary.

Senator Clinton believes voters should have more than one opportunity to see the candidates discuss the issues and has accepted five debates between now and March 4th from CNN, MSNBC, WJLA, ABC and Fox News.

To that end, we hope Senator Obama will join Senator Clinton for a debate a week beginning this weekend. I’m sure we can find a suitable place to meet on the campaign trail. There’s too much at stake and the issues facing the country are too grave to deny voters the opportunity to see the candidates up close.

As Senator Obama has said, “In an era when Americans are rightfully skeptical about the quality of our politics, let us set an example [they] can be proud of and give them the kind of campaign they deserve.” We couldn’t agree more.

Sincerely,

Patti Solis Doyle

Campaign Manager

###

Letter writer skews facts about Obama

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 13:09:00 GMT

I'm confused by John A. Hughes' Sunday letter "Don't take Oprah's word on Obama." As he suggested, I went to Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's church Web site, www.tucc.org, which Hughes found "a little disturbing."

Polls Open Today

Jerid — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:27:02 GMT

Quick Note to everyone out there in Ohio. You might've missed it, but the polls just opened. Yes, the polls are open.

Whether you like Obama or Clinton, you can vote now. In Ohio, in person (and via mail) absentee voting opens 25 days before a primary election. Twenty-five days before Ohio's March 4th Primary Election happens to be today, February 8th. Starting today, Ohio's polls are wide open.

So, How Can I Vote Today?
Great question. Spectacular question in fact (I'm so glad you asked).

In Ohio, anyone can vote early. No special reason is required. The easiest way to vote early and just get it out of the way is to simply walk into your Board of Elections today:

In person: You may go to the board of elections office of the county in which your voting residence is located during regular business hours after absentee ballots are available for voting, but no later than the day before the election, and request, receive and vote your ballot at the board office.

When you go to vote early, make sure you take ID (license, utility bill, etc.).

Don't know where your board of elections is located? Heck, BSB can help you out there too! Click here for a list of addreses of BoE's. See, just go stop by the BoE today. Go vote (you'll have more time to volunteer on election day if you vote early)! And make sure to reward yourself with something nice, maybe a milk shake.

How Can I Vote By Mail

Ok, let's say you're a little more laid back (read = lazy) than the folks who want to drive all the way to the BoE to vote today. You can still request an absentee ballot and vote from your home. And you can put that request in today. Here's the form for absentee ballot requests.

By mail: Unless you are a member of the U.S. armed forces, you must mail your properly completed absentee ballot application bearing your original signature to the board of elections of the county in which your voting residence is located. The board must receive your request by noon on the Saturday before the election. However, you should submit your request as far in advance of the election as possible.

Just make sure to mail it to the Board of Elections you're registered at!

What're you waiting around for? Ohio's the big show. Go vote!