What would you ask Scott McClellan?

Never mind those pundits and anchors who never seem to get it.  Don't settle for the lousy filter of the MSM. Ask him yourself.

And you have that opportunity, today, at 1:00 PST.

I don't have time to wright this diary--I've got to prepare for a conference and I am running late, but haremoor's diary My Dad and Dr. Wright moved me to do so.

Because one of the things that has been bugging me about the whole Reverend Wright firestorm is that it appears it isn't just Obama getting swiftboated here.  It seems that a good man is being painted as the worst kind of racist.

There have been some great diaries that have deconstructed different parts of this attack on the reverend, with laderrick's Lies of Omission taking on the "Chickens" and "God Damn America!"

But one point of received wisdom that I hear people constantly stating is that Reverend Wright thinks whites invented AIDS to kill black people. Even people on this site.

This, desipite the fact that I have never seen a quote that supports this statement.  So I decided to go looking.

No doubt you've heard the "typical white person" line from Obama's interview after the "More Perfect Union" speech:

"The point I was making was not that Grandmother harbors any racial animosity. She doesn't. But she is a typical white person, who, if she sees somebody on the street that she doesn't know, you know, there's a reaction that's been bred in our experiences that don't go away and that sometimes come out in the wrong way, and that's just the nature of race in our society."

The right has latched onto this as a sign of latent racism and is pounding him over the head with it as if he were both a racist and a ungrateful grandson.

In fact, it seems you can hear Obama, as he is speaking, realize he is about to step on a political land mine and re-phrase what he was going to say--that a 'typical white person' will sometimes react poorly when the see a black person they don't know.

It would have been an unfortunate phrasing, but it would have been true.

Seattle drivers have been treated to the following sight in at least two different locations:

Why?

And who is "Concerned Citizens for a Better America"?

Congratulations to Hillary on her victories.
Congratulations to Barack on doing what he needed to to put the pledged delegates out of reach.

Seventh grade Barry says, "Peace".

Let's remember what brought us all here in the first place.

So, I wen' read da kine Obama in Real Danger of Losing Hawaii, an I wen t'aught, "Bulai!  Howyufiggah?"

But den I wen realize somet'ing important: Obama stay wan rich haole.

Last night, as I ate dinner with my in-laws, we watched the returns come in and listened in to the Obama rally in WI.  I was a little let down by the speech (a little), simply because it was essentially a speech I had heard before--and at least once as given by Hillary. However, you can't deny the electricity in the crowd and the excitement.  Or the power of Barack as a speaker.

But about halfway through it the channel we were watching switched over to the McCain victory speech.

Oh. My. God.

The GOP is toast.

Last night, on the way home I had the radio on and they were replaying a stump speech by Hillary Clinton she gave shortly before the WA caucuses.  I was tempted to change the channel, because, you know, old news, right?

But it stayed on.  Because, well, she is so right on so many things.

This is going to be short, but CNN is reporting:

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, a Republican who served under President Bush, said Friday he may not back the GOP presidential nominee in November, telling CNN that "I am keeping my options open at the moment."

and then they go on to quote him further:

Powell also offered praise for Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, calling him an "exciting person on the political stage.

"He has energized a lot of people in America," said Powell, who briefly weighed his own run for the White House in the mid-1990s. "He has energized a lot of people around the world. And so I think he is worth listening to and seeing what he stands for."

Video clip here

What's the significance?

On Superbowl Sunday, the Seattle Times launches a broadside at the NFL.

...when politicians and the public learn how dismissively the NFL and union have treated the game's former greats, it will make jailed Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick's treatment of dogs seem tame by comparison.

It was this video that made me realize this:

If you haven't seen it, watch it.

This primary isn't about substance.  It's about inspiration

This is a diary of apology, of sorts.

Yesterday, I wrote a rec-listed diary Rush Limbaugh Smears Obama with Racist Language.  This diary generated a lot of heated discussion and created some arguments within our community that I regret.  And the irony is that I have pretty much stayed out of the whole racial discussion surrounding the Obama candidacy until this diary.

But Limbaugh's words were so inflammatory and over-the-line that I felt something had to be said.

And, of course, that is exactly what Limbaugh wanted.

There isn't much else to say: Crooks and Liars link with audio

Limbaugh:...Obama is holding his own against both of them–doing more than his share of the "spade" work. Maybe even gaining ground at the moment. Using not only the spade ladies and gentleman—that when he finishes with the "spade" in the garden of corruption planted by the Clinton’s, he turns to the "hoe." And so the spade work and his expertise using a hoe.

Listen to it.  You really have to hear the stress Limbaugh puts on the words.

Update: Please see update below the jump.  This is really aimed at Hillary.  And, well, all Democrats.

Now that Barack has been annointed by buhdydharma, it's time to ask one more tough question:

Will you make the investment to ensure our nation's security, economic prosperity, and preserve the worldwide environment?

Scientific American has published in their January issue an article called A Solar Grand Plan.  In it, authors Ken Zweibel, James Mason and Vasilis Fthenakis lay out a technical and a political framework for accomplishing a mind-bogglingly huge reduction in our nation's greenhouse gas emissions.  And they calculate a price.

The summary from the article:

   *  A massive switch from coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear power plants to solar power plants could supply 69 percent of the U.S.’s electricity and 35 percent of its total energy by 2050.
   * A vast area of photovoltaic cells would have to be erected in the Southwest. Excess daytime energy would be stored as compressed air in underground caverns to be tapped during nighttime hours.
   * Large solar concentrator power plants would be built as well.
   * A new direct-current power transmission backbone would deliver solar electricity across the country.
   * But $420 billion in subsidies from 2011 to 2050 would be required to fund the infrastructure and make it cost-competitive.

I just thought we all needed a little Johnny Cash.

One to laugh:

One Republican in particular--and on one particular issue:  The Republican: Representative Jeff Flake of Arizona; The issue: Earmarks.

Mr. Speaker, among the many downsides of earmarking and one that we rarely talk about on the House floor is the practice of circular fundraising. Campaign donations are given to Members, Members secure earmarks benefiting their contributors, and contributors in turn are able to give Members more donations. This cycle is repeated over and over and over.

Unfortunately, this is a bipartisan practice. The media has reported on many such arrangements for Members on both sides of the aisle. Legal issues aside, circular fundraising does not pass the smell test.

The Seattle Times Sunday edition has run an exposé of earmarking, entitled $4.5 Million for a Boat that Nobody Wanted.  If you ever want to see into the sausage factory on Capitol Hill, this should be required reading.

I love my new hybrid Camry.  

No, this isn't going to be one of those smug-fest diaries about how enlightened I am because of my new car.  It isn't going to be a love-fest extolling the virtues of the hybrid technology (which is cool) or the great feeling I have driving past gas stations (which is also cool).

Instead, I am going to extol a dial on my dashboard.  And why this could save oil by the tankerful.

Read on: