Politics
Sep 28, 2008
Down pat

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler opened last night’s ep of Saturday Night Live again as they did a couple of weekends ago (where Fey played Sarah Palin and Poehler played Hillary Clinton). This time, tho, Tina played Palin to Poehler‘s Katie Couric (in a skit that mocked Couric‘s multipart interview with Palin which took place earlier in the week). Here for your viewing enjoyment is last night’s hilarious opening skit in full:


LOLOLOL. Not only was this skit insanely funny (and Fey‘s portrayal of Palin perfect in every way) but is scarily similar to the actual interview between Couric and Palin. Those of you who were able to watch the actual interview on the CBS Evening News know that Tina Fey managed to duplicate Palin’s confused and semi-meaningless answers. I mean, it’s funny but … really still very scary. In any event, I just love it when Tina Fey and Amy Poehler do skits together … they make SNL totally worth watching again :)

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Sep 19, 2008
Ken Cockrel, Jr. says 'this is our time for hope and renewal'
The City Of Detroit Swears In A New Mayor

Ken Cockrel, Jr. has been sworn in as the new mayor of Detroit, MI today as the city tries to move forward and heal the destructive shame brought about by the criminal actions of former mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. After being sworn in as the city’s new mayor, Cockrel asked for hope and patience as he works to move the City of Detroit towards a more positive and productive future. Here are a couple pics of Cockrel‘s swearing in ceremony at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Building in Detroit, MI this morning:

Newly sworn-in Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr. declared this morning after taking the oath of office that “this is our time for hope and renewal” after eight months of scandal that forced out former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. “From this moment on, the past is the past and we as a community, as a city, and as a region are moving forward,” he said. Some of the topics Cockrel addressed in the speech were Cobo Center expansion, mass transit for the region, cleanliness of the city and an environmentally friendly agenda. He also said he would fix the city’s troubled financial books. And he had a message for criminals in the city while promising to fight crime with the spirit of his late father, Kenneth Cockrel Sr., whose activist work led to the abolition of the STRESS police unit that was infamous for shooting black men. “To those of you out there who are bad actors, to those of you who are stealing gutters, air-conditioning units, and wires from our citizens and businesses, to those of you who are terrorizing our senior citizens,” he said. “We are coming after you. And we will get you.” The new mayor said he looked forward to working with new Council President Monica Conyers and the council to achieve the city’s needs. And he promised “full cooperation” with authorities in the continuing investigations of City Hall. There is a federal probe into city contracting, and it snared Cockrel’s former chief of staff who was caught on surveillance video accepting cash. Cockrel was greeted by a thunderous standing ovation from a jammed City Council auditorium that was standing-room only … Cockrel, an avid movie and television fan, confessed “I’m a geek” and quoted the famous line from “Star Trek”: “to boldly go where no one has gone before.” “I believe this is relevant because no one has ever had to assume the office of mayor under circumstances like this,” he said.

Surely the City of Detroit can benefit from the leadership of this avid Trekkie, right? I keed, I keed … this is actually the most hopeful development to happen in the City of Detroit in a very long time. Now that Kwame has been sentenced to jail and there is no hope that he can ever get his grubby hands on the governance of Detroit ever again, I am really looking forward to a better and brighter future for Detroit. I realize that Cockrel is not taking on an easy task of governing the city but I am confident that he will be able to undo some of the damage that Kwame has brought to the city.

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Sep 4, 2008
Detroit is free at last, free at last!!
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick Removed From Office, Going To Jail

Thank sweet Jebus above … Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has finally decided to plead guilty to two of the criminal charges against him and is in court right now confessing his guilt in open court in Detroit, MI as I type this post. Under the terms of his plea bargain, Kilpatrick will resign his office as Mayor of the City of Detroit, pay restitution fines and will submit to jailtime:

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s tenure as mayor of Detroit is over. He just entered into a plea agreement, according to prosecutor Lisa Lindsey. The deal calls for Kilpatrick to plead guilty to two felony counts of obstruction of justice by committing perjury, agreeing to serve four months in jail, pay up to $1 million in restitution, and serve five years’ probation. He also agreed not to run for office during that five-year span. The mayor will turn over his state pension to the City of Detroit, which paid $8.4 million to settle two whistle-blower lawsuits three former cops filed against the city. The mayor was charged with eight felony counts ranging from conspiracy to perjury to misconduct in office to obstruction of justice after the Free Press revealed that the mayor lied on the witness stand during a police whistle-blower trial and gave misleading testimony about whether he intended to fire a deputy police chief investigating allegations of wrongdoing by members of his inner circle. Just before huddling with his attorney, a smiling Kilpatrick jousted with reporters sitting in the first row of the courtroom. He, apparently good-naturedly, told them their reports were wrong and they needed to check their sources. He did not elaborate. He also shook hands with Christine Beatty, his former chief of staff and ex-lover. Beatty has left the courtroom with her attorneys, Mayer and Jeff Morganroth, and a man believed to be her pastor. First lady Carlita Kilpatrick is in the courtroom. This is the first time she’s been in a courtroom with Beatty since the scandal started in January … In January, the newspaper published text messages Kilpatrick and his then-chief of staff Christine Beatty exchanged on city issued pagers. Worthy cited the investigation in March, when he charged Kilpatrick with eight felonies and Beatty with seven.

Earlier this week, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy had offered the mayor six months in jail. That apparently was lowered to four months by Wednesday night. At one point Wednesday afternoon, Kilpatrick met with his department directors and staff at a regular meeting. The subject of his criminal cases was raised, said a source who spoke on condition of anonymity because it was a private meeting. The subject of the mayor’s leaving office came up, but Kilpatrick did not commit one way or the other and urged his top staff to remain focused, this source said. The mayor’s plea likely means Gov. Jennifer Granholm will cancel a second day of removal hearings for the mayor. The historic proceedings began Wednesday at Cadillac Place, the state office building located in the New Center, about 10 minutes from the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice where Kilpatrick entered his equally historic guilty plea … Kilpatrick is also facing two felony charges for allegedly assaulting deputies trying to serve a subpoena last month at the home of his sister, Ayanna. Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox’s office is handling that case.

I cannot express my extreme happiness at this news. Honestly, with as stubborn as powerhungry as I believe Kwame Kilpatrick to be, I never thought he’d actually plea bargain his way out of this … I have always contended that as long as he is removed from office AND serves some measure of jailtime, then I would be satisfied. Under the terms of his plea bargain, he will lose his pension, will pay the City of Detroit $1 million dollars and will serve 4 months in jail — I am satisfied. Enjoy jail Kwame, may you spend your time thinking about how much you hurt the City of Detroit with your criminal actions. It is now time for my beloved Detroit City to heal from this deadly cancer that was eating away at it for so many years. I choose to see this as a happy day for Detroit, not a sad one as some believe … the future begins now.

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Sep 2, 2008
Kicks off his bid for the presidency in fine Democratic style
Barack Obama Spends Labor Day In Detroit

In a Democratic tradition that goes all the way back to the campaign of Harry S. Truman, Senator Barack Obama made an appearance in Hart Plaza right in the heart of Detroit, MI to participate and speak at the Labor Day parade which took place there. Sarah, Mark and I had planned on attending this rally in Hart Plaza to see Sen. Obama speak but because of how late Sarah’s birthday party ran the night before (and because of my tight travel schedule) we were unable to attend. Here are a few pics of Obama in my hometown of Detroit yesterday morning:

Barack Obama cut short a Labor Day speech to an expectant, fired-up crowd at Detroit’s Hart Plaza, offering prayer instead of political punches to acknowledge concerns about Hurricane Gustav. “There is a time to argue politics, and there’s a time to come together as Americans,” he said in deference to distressed and evacuated gulf coast residents and a storm that threatened great damage but lost power as it slammed into Louisiana. In his first Detroit appearance as the Democratic presidential nominee, Obama surely disappointed many in the crowd — estimated at more than 20,000 in Hart Plaza and another 10,000 just outside along Jefferson Avenue — with less than 10 minutes of remarks, although people appeared forgiving. Many had waited hours in lines that snaked around buildings to see Obama after the annual Labor Day parade. U.S. Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan stirred their anticipation in speaking to the crowd before Obama arrived, comparing the event with John F. Kennedy’s Labor Day speech in Detroit during the presidential campaign of 1960. Obama apologized for his brevity and urged compassion and togetherness. He held a moment of silent prayer and asked for donations to the Red Cross. “I want all of us to remember that when we show solidarity with those folks in Louisiana and Mississippi and Texas and Alabama, that we are expressing the true spirit of the labor movement. Because the idea behind the labor movement is that you don’t walk alone, you’re not by yourself. “Each of us are vulnerable by ourselves. … But when we are unified, we come together in a more perfect union.” Still, Obama managed to serve up pro-labor sentiments, telling the crowd that he supports federal legislation that would make it easier for workers to unionize. In a lighter moment, he sang a few bars of Aretha Franklin’s “Chain of Fools,” while the singer looked on from the crowd. “I’m a labor guy, I believe in the labor movement,” Obama said. “It’s important to have a president who doesn’t choke on the word union. I believe we need a Department of Labor that believes in labor.”

Never fear y’all, I am not planning on regular political coverage, I just really wanted to go to this rally and would’ve made it downtown to Hart Plaza had Sarah’s birthday fun ended at a reasonable hour ;) After the jump, check out a short video of Sen. Obama singing Chain of Fools to the Queen of Soul herself, Aretha Franklin, who was in attendance at yesterday’s Detroit rally …

Aug 30, 2008
More watched Obama than the Olympic Opening Ceremonies or the 'American Idol' finale
40+ Million Watched Barack Obama’s Convention Speech

At last, it would seem that folks here in the US have gotten their priorities straight for once. The New York Times is reporting that at least 40 million folks here in the US tuned in to watch Senator Barack Obama give his nomination acceptance speech at Invesco Field in Denver, CO (which was packed with 80,000 people) on Thursday night to close out the 4-day Democratic National Convention (which means a total 40,800,000 people watched Barack Obama‘s speech in person or on TV alone). In a time where frivolities like American Idol and The Hills seems to rule supreme, more Americans tuned in to watch Obama‘s convention speech than did to even watch the Opening Ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics:

At least 40 million Americans watched Senator Barack Obama accept the Democratic nomination for president Thursday night, a record for convention viewership that exceeded even the expectations of his aides. The historic speech by the first African-American presidential nominee of a major political party reached 38.4 million viewers on 10 broadcast and cable networks, Nielsen Media Research said Friday. PBS estimated that an additional 3.5 million had watched its prime-time coverage. The ratings dwarfed the audience for the Summer Olympics and the season finale of “American Idol” in May, and added to what was already a sense of buoyancy within the Obama campaign that the night had gone better than planned. Despite Republicans’ advance ridicule of the enormous venue, Invesco Field, and the set, an elaborate, columned backdrop, Democrats went to bed having heard terrific reviews of the final night of their convention. Indeed, the backdrop, initially derided as resembling a Greek temple — playing into the Republican line of attack that Mr. Obama’s supporters had deified him — turned out to be something of a hit; television reviewers and commentators praised the overall staging. “The stagecraft was so phenomenal,” Andrea Mitchell said on MSNBC, adding, “I don’t know how they could have done it any better.” The four-night convention was the most-watched since 1960, when Nielsen began measuring the events. The 10 p.m. hour, Eastern time, from Monday to Thursday was viewed by an average of 22.4 million households, Nielsen said, surpassing by half a million the Republican convention of 1976, previously top-rated. The comparisons with prior conventions come with a number of caveats: convention coverage is shown on more channels now, and the coverage is shorter, at least on the broadcast networks. Regardless, Thursday night’s record was surely impressive. The television audience for Mr. Obama’s speech was half again as large as the viewership for the acceptance speeches by President Bush and Senator John Kerry in 2004. “Obama had an opportunity to get his message across to a record-breaking crowd of millions of American voters, and he used it effectively,” said Bill Burton, a spokesman for the campaign. Demonstrating the gradual shift in the political news audience from broadcast to cable, CNN attracted more viewers than any of the broadcast networks during the 10 p.m. hour on Wednesday and Thursday. (Fox News Channel defeated the broadcasters during the Republican convention in 2004.) Mr. Obama’s speech, which he gave in that hour, reached 8.1 million viewers on CNN, 6.6 million on ABC, 6.1 million on NBC, 4.7 million on CBS, 4.2 million on Fox News, and 4.1 million on MSNBC. Other viewers watched on additional channels … online the speech had been viewed more than 300,000 times on YouTube by Friday evening.

I cannot tell you how encouraged by this news I am. I am really comforted by the fact that so many folks here in the US are actually paying attention to this presidential election. I spent the lion’s share of yesterday evening watching various news programs about Obama‘s convention speech and McCain’s VP selection and even Obama‘s detractors had to concede that he gave an amazingly stirring speech. I must add, tho, that in all the coverage I watched about the new Republican nominee for Vice President, Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska, I was very alarmed to learn that prior to McCain picking Palin to be his #2 he had only MET HER IN PERSON ONCE … and that was just earlier THIS YEAR! Oh yes, I learned a lot about the new Republican VP nominee which only solidified my support for my candidate. In any event, again, I’m very encouraged that folks are paying attention to this election and it is my sincere hope that people will continue to educate themselves on the candidates who are campaigning to lead this country.

Click HERE to read the full transcript of Barack Obama‘s DNC nomination acceptance speech. After the jump, watch the You Tube video of his speech in full …

Aug 29, 2008
The 'New York Times' reports McCain has chosen a female running mate
Governor Sarah Palin For Vice President?

The New York Times is reporting that Senator John McCain will choose Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate, making her only the second woman to be nominated for Vice President of the United States of America (Democrat Walter Mondale chose Geraldine Ferraro to be his running mate back in 1984, she was the first):

Senator John McCain chose Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate on Friday, shaking up the political world with a surprise pick at a time when his campaign has been trying to attract women, especially disaffected supporters of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. In choosing Ms. Palin — a 44-year-old conservative Christian and self-described “hockey mom” who has been governor for less than two years — the McCain campaign reached far outside the Beltway in an election where the Democratic nominee, Senator Barack Obama, is running on a platform of change. The pick, confirmed by Republicans familiar with the decision, amounted to a roll of the dice, a gamble that an infusion of new leadership — and the novelty of the Republican party’s first female candidate for vice president — would more than compensate for the risk that Ms. Palin could undercut one of the McCain campaign’s central arguments, their claim that Mr. Obama is too inexperienced to be president. But Ms. Palin ran as a change agent when she was elected as governor of Alaska in 2006, and in a move that might have appealed to Mr. McCain, she took political heat from members of her own party for turning the spotlight on the failures of Alaska Republicans, some of whom had been beset by corruption scandals. She opposes abortion rights, which could help pacify social conservatives who were wary as rumors swirled that Mr. McCain might pick a running mate who supports them. But she differs with Mr. McCain on a controversial environment issue that centers on her home state: she supports drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve. Mr. McCain’s opposition to drilling — even after he changed positions and began advocating for off-shore oil drilling — has upset many Republicans. The choice of Ms. Palin was a closely guarded secret, and she flew under the political radar for months as Mr. McCain conducted his search for a running mate. Much of the public discussion in recent days had focused on Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and Mr. McCain’s one-time rival for the Republican nomination; Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota; Tom Ridge, the former Homeland Security secretary, and Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, the Democrat-turned-independent who was Al Gore’s running mate in 2000.

I gotta say, this choice was well-played by McCain. It’s a risky move, especially considering that he and she don’t have much in common. I was sure that McCain was going to pick either the turncoat Joseph Lieberman or the extremely scary Mitt Romney. I guess McCain felt that he needed to choose a running mate with a gimmick to try and bolster support for his campaign — a Pro-Life soccer mom who supports oil drilling in Alaska (one of our nation’s most valued natural resources), who won her governorship (an office she has held for LESS than 2 years) by denouncing her fellow Republicans (who, in her defense, were corrupt), was nicknamed “Sarah Barracuda” in high school and was first runner-up in the Miss Alaska Beauty Pageant back in 1984, when Geraldine Ferraro was the Vice Presidential nominee for the Democratic Party. Yeah, good luck with that :) This race for the White House just got a wee bit more interesting.

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'America, we are better than these last eight years.'
Barack Obama Formally Accepts The Nomination

It’s official. Senator Barack Obama, from the State of Illinois, has formally accepted the nomination by the Democratic Party as candidate for President of the United States of America. On the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr‘s I Have A Dream speech, Obama delivered a thundering speech (wherein he formally accepted his party’s nomination and explained to the crowd,the country as a whole and the world how he plans to bring change to the US) at Invesco Field in Denver, CO to close out the Democratic National Convention last night. Here are a few pics of Obama delivering his speech and a pic of Obama with his wife Michelle and his running mate Joe Biden (with his wife Jill) as they stepped forward together, into history, on the way to the campaign trail:

Barack Obama accepted the Democratic Party presidential nomination on Thursday, declaring that the “American promise has been threatened” by eight years under President Bush and that John McCain represented a continuation of policies that undermined the nation’s economy and imperiled its standing around the world. The speech by Senator Obama, in front of an audience of nearly 80,000 people on a warm night in a football stadium refashioned into a vast political stage for television viewers, left little doubt how he intended to press his campaign against Mr. McCain this fall. In cutting language, and to cheers that echoed across the stadium, he linked Mr. McCain to what he described as the “failed presidency of George W. Bush” and — reflecting what has been a central theme of his campaign since he entered the race — “the broken politics in Washington.” “America, we are better than these last eight years,” he said. “We are a better country than this.” But Mr. Obama went beyond attacking Mr. McCain by linking him to Mr. Bush and his policies. In the course of a 42-minute speech that ended with a booming display of fireworks and a shower of confetti, he offered searing and far-reaching attacks on his presumptive Republican opponent, repeatedly portraying him as the face of the old way of politics and failed Republican policies. He said Mr. McCain was out of touch with the problems of everyday Americans. “It’s not because John McCain doesn’t care,” he said. “It’s because John McCain doesn’t get it.” And he went so far as to attack the presumed strength of Mr. McCain’s campaign, national security. “You know, John McCain likes to say that he’ll follow bin Laden to the gates of hell, but he won’t even follow him to the cave where he lives,” he said. The speech loomed as arguably Mr. Obama’s most important of the campaign to date. It was an opportunity to present himself to Americans just now beginning to tune in on this campaign, to make the case against Mr. McCain and to offer what many Democrats say he has failed to offer to date: an idea of what he stands for, beyond a promise of change. To that end, he emphasized what he described as concrete steps he would take to address the anxieties of working-class Americans, promising tax cuts for the middle class and pledging to wean the country from dependence on Middle East oil within 10 years to address high fuel prices. With the speech, Mr. Obama closed out his party’s convention here and prepared for a quick shift of public attention to the Republicans as Mr. McCain moved to name his running mate and his party got ready for its convention in St. Paul on Monday. He delivered it in a most unconventional setting, becoming the third nominee of a major party in the nation’s history to leave the site of his convention to give his acceptance speech at a stadium. In this case, it was Invesco Field, set against the Rockies and about a mile from the arena where he had been nominated the night before. His aides chose the stadium to signal a break from typical politics and to permit thousands of his supporters from across the country to hear him speak. And it came on a night that offered — by the coincidence of scheduling — a reminder of the historic nature of the Obama candidacy: 45 years to the day after the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech on the Mall in Washington. Mr. Obama is the first African-American to be nominated for the White House by a major party, a fact that, for all its significance, has been barely mentioned over the course of this four-day gathering. Even in invoking the anniversary of the King speech, Mr. Obama only alluded to race. But he quoted a famous phrase from Dr. King’s address to reinforce a central theme of his own speech. “America, we cannot turn back,” Mr. Obama said. “Not with so much work to be done.”

Wow. I must admit, hearing Obama‘s speech gave me chills … and it had a strong significance for me. When Dr. King spoke of his Dream 45 years ago, it occurred to me that he was speaking of just this moment in time … when our country can finally realize that all men are created equal. I don’t know about y’all but I can deffo feel the winds of change blowin’ … and it’s about time. I remember when Governor Bill Clinton accepted his nomination for President of the United States back in 1992 … I could feel it then that he was going to win the presidency and put our country back on course. I got that same feelin’ this time, y’all … and it’s an amazing feeling … it’s called Hope.

After the jump, watch the entirety of Barack Obama‘s acceptance speech in case you missed it last night or want to hear it again …

Aug 23, 2008
That's the ticket!
Barack Obama Chooses Joe Biden As His Running Mate

With just days to go before the Democratic National Party convenes in Denver, CO for the 2008 Democratic National Convention (where the party will formally select its candidate for President of the United States of America) the presumptive nominee, Senator Barack Obama, has announced that he has chosen Senator Joseph Biden to be his Vice Presidential nominee. For weeks now, there has been speculation that Biden (known and respected for his foreign relations expertise) might be Obama‘s choice and late yesterday we learned that that speculation was correct. For the Dems, it’s gonna be Obama/Biden in the 2008 Presidential election come November:

Senator Barack Obama introduced Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. as his running mate on Saturday, a choice that strengthens the Democratic ticket’s credentials on foreign policy heading into the general election against Senator John McCain. In Mr. Biden, Mr. Obama selected a six-term senator best known for his expertise on foreign affairs — Mr. Biden spent last weekend in Georgia as that nation engaged in a tense confrontation with Russia — and his skills at political combat. Mr. Obama passed over other candidates, including Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana and Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia, who might have brought him a state or reinforced the message of change that has been central to his candidacy. He also bypassed Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, his main challenger in the primaries. It was perhaps the most critical decision Mr. Obama has made as his party’s presumptive nominee … Mr. Biden is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and is familiar with foreign leaders and diplomats around the world. Although he initially voted to authorize the war in Iraq — Mr. Obama opposed it from the start — Mr. Biden became a persistent critic of President Bush’s policies in Iraq. Mr. Obama’s acquaintance with Mr. Biden is in no small part a result of the fact that the two serve together on that committee, aides said. Mr. Biden, who sought the Democratic presidential nomination himself this year before pulling out after performing poorly in the first contest, in Iowa, has shown himself to be a tough political brawler, a characteristic that many Democrats say Mr. Obama has not displayed against Mr. McCain. That is something that presidential candidates typically look for in a running mate. Mr. Biden seems likely to fill in other gaps in Mr. Obama’s political appeal that became increasingly clear during the primary season and going into the fall. He is a Roman Catholic, a group with which Mr. Obama had trouble during the Democratic primaries; he has a blue-collar background, potentially giving him appeal among working-class voters, another bloc in which Mr. Obama ran poorly in the primaries; and he was born in Pennsylvania, a battleground state that could be vital to both parties. Mr. Obama announced his choice in text and e-mail messages that began streaming out of his Chicago headquarters at 3 a.m., hours after news of his decision began leaking out. “Barack has chosen Senator Joe Biden to be our VP nominee,” read the text message. “Watch the first Obama-Biden rally live at 3pm ET on www.BarackObama.com. Spread the word!” His e-mail announcement began: “Friend — I have some important news that I want to make official. I’ve chosen Joe Biden to be my running mate.”

With this choice, Obama chooses a running mate who is well seasoned and who brings to the ticket sort of knowledge and expertise that will help Barack Obama lead our country forward in a new direction away from the failures of the current administration. This is a very exciting time for the Democrats, the campaign is getting more solidified and very soon, things can be full steam ahead into November. I’m really looking forward to the upcoming Democratic National Convention … and I’m very much looking forward to watching the Obama/Biden ticket bring much needed change to the good o’l U S of A.

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Aug 22, 2008
Shares his thoughts on the importance of voting and barbershops in the community

Here is a great vid of Usher paying a visit to the Campaign for Change Headquarters in Detroit, MI:


I think Usher makes a great point about the importance of voting and how integral community barbershops are to helping spread the word about politics in neighborhoods, especially in areas like Detroit. It’s a great vid.

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Aug 8, 2008
Does not admit to fathering an illegitimate child
John Edwards Comes Clean About Affair

ABC News has managed to orchestrate a sit down interview with Senator and former Vice Presidential nominee John Edwards today in Chapel Hill, North Carolina where the man finally comes clean about rumors concerning an extramarital affair that have been plaguing him for the past couple of months. Excerpts from this interview will air tonight on ABC on World News with Charles Gibson and in full on Nightline at 11:35PM ET. Um, wow:

John Edwards repeatedly lied during his Presidential campaign about an extramarital affair with a novice filmmaker, the former Senator admitted to ABC News today. n an interview for broadcast tonight on Nightline, Edwards told ABC News correspondent Bob Woodruff he did have an affair with 44-year old Rielle Hunter, but said that he did not love her. Edwards also denied he was the father of Hunter’s baby girl, Frances Quinn, although the one-time Democratic Presidential candidate said he has not taken a paternity test. Edwards said he knew he was not the father based on timing of the baby’s birth on February 27, 2008. He said his affair ended too soon for him to have been the father. A former campaign aide, Andrew Young, has said he was the father of the child. According to friends of Hunter, Edwards met her at a New York city bar in 2006. His political action committee later paid her $114,000 to produce campaign website documentaries despite her lack of experience. Edwards said the affair began during the campaign after she was hired. Hunter traveled with Edwards around the country and to Africa. Edwards said his wife, Elizabeth, and others in his family became aware of the affair in 2006. Edwards made a point of telling Woodruff that his wife’s cancer was in remission when he began the affair with Hunter. Elizabeth Edwards has since been diagnosed with an incurable form of the disease. When the National Enquirer first reported the alleged Edwards-Hunter affair last October 11, Edwards, his campaign staff and Hunter vociferously denounced the report. “The story is false, it’s completely untrue, it’s ridiculous,” Edwards told reporters then. He repeated his denials just two weeks ago. Edwards today admitted the National Enquirer was correct when it reported he had visited Hunter at the Beverly Hills Hilton last month. The former Senator said his wife had not known about the meeting.

Well, I guess score one for The National Enquirer. And isn’t this just the crappiest news? I mean, you know that people aren’t perfect (and politicians are among the most imperfect people on Earth) but sometimes you just want to believe the best in people. This deffo changes my perspectives on John Edwards. And without a paternity test, how can he really be sure that he’s not the father? Blah. This is one confessional interview that I’m really not all that interested in watching … I think I’ve heard enough :(

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