In a statement, Kennedy Jr. said: “It is clear from the context that Hillary was invoking a familiar political circumstance in order to support her decision to stay in the race through June. I have heard her make this reference before, also citing her husband’s 1992 race, both of which were hard fought through June. I understand how highly charged the atmosphere is, but I think it is a mistake for people to take offense.”

ABC News

And although this is the official statement from RFK Jr. , there are reports that the rest of the family are incensed by her lack of sensitivity to the subject. I think it’s appropriate outrage. But Obama gets the big picture and continuously beating on every misstep of the Clinton campaign will not only hurt her, it will hurt him. He again takes the high road proving again and again that he is worthy of our support. It’s why I support him, times have to change as well as our political tactics.

“I have learned that when you are campaigning for as many months as Senator Clinton and I have been campaigning, sometimes you get careless in terms of the statements that you make, and I think that is what happened here,” he said in an interview with Radio ISLA. “Senator Clinton says that she did not intend any offense by it, and I will take her at her word on that.”

Washington Post

Legislature’s budget analyst on Monday called Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s lottery proposal “flawed” and warned lawmakers that money for public schools could fall short of current levels under the plan.

Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill issued a critical reaction to the governor’s proposal to obtain $15 billion from future lottery revenues over the next few years to help fill a widening budget gap, now at $15.2 billion.

Currently, lottery profits benefit public schools, from kindergarten to community colleges. Hill wrote that the Schwarzenegger administration made “overly optimistic” assumptions about the potential growth in lottery sales. She warned that public education funding “would fall well short of their current levels — perhaps by $5 billion over the next 12 years combined.”

Sacramento Bee

But as he read the legal arguments, the 68-year-old moderate Republican was drawn by memory to a long ago trip he made with his European immigrant parents through the American South. There, the signs warning “No Negro” or “No colored” left “quite an indelible impression on me,” he recalled in a wide-ranging interview Friday.

“I think,” he concluded, “there are times when doing the right thing means not playing it safe.”

Yet he described his thinking on the constitutional status of state marriage laws as more of an evolution than an epiphany, the result of his reading and long discussions with staff lawyers.

The more I read about this judge the more I admire his reasoning for supporting such a ruling.  The last quote says it all for me, by striking the initiative down he is supporting the will of the people rather than subverting it.  The State Constitution comes before voting because just like our National Constitution it is the ultimate yard stick with which to measure our laws.  It’s also part of the whole “checks and balances” that is such an important part of our Government.

During the two-hour interview with The Times, he refused to disclose anything about the court’s internal deliberations and responded to a number of questions by reading aloud from the decision. His elegant and comfortable chambers had neat stacks of papers piled on the floor, all over his desk and on a long conference table.

Asked whether he thought most Californians would accept the marriage ruling, George said flatly: “I really don’t know.”

He indicated he saw the fight for same-sex marriage as a civil rights case akin to the legal battle that ended laws banning interracial marriage. He noted that the California Supreme Court moved ahead of public sentiment 60 years ago when it became the first in the country to strike down the anti-miscegenation laws.

California’s decision, in a case called Perez vs. Sharp, preceded the U.S. Supreme Court’s action on the issue by 19 years. Even after that ruling, Californians passed an initiative that would permit racial discrimination in housing. The state high court again responded by overturning the law, George said.

Rather than ignoring voters, “what you are doing is applying the Constitution, the ultimate expression of the people’s will,” George said.

I believe that the people’s “will” has shifted.  According to the survey taken with the article, 72% of readers support the decision while 28% do not and yes, this is the LA Times.  But the OC Register, even though much closer is not the outcome you would assume.  As it stands, 52% support Gay Marriage and 48% do not.  So, could there be a shift in how people feel about Gay Marriage in California?  I’m predicting that come November the new ballot initiative will fail, it will be close but it will not pass.

For the first time, Bush revealed a personal way in which he has tried to acknowledge the sacrifice of soldiers and their families.

“I don’t want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander in chief playing golf,” he said. “I feel I owe it to the families to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal.”

Bush said he made that decision after the August 2003 bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, which killed Sergio Vieira de Mello, the top U.N. official in Iraq and the organization’s high commissioner for human rights.

“I remember when de Mello, who was at the U.N., got killed in Baghdad as a result of these murderers taking this good man’s life,” he said. “I was playing golf — I think I was in central Texas — and they pulled me off the golf course and I said, ‘It’s just not worth it anymore to do.’”
Politico

Keith Olbermann gave a brilliant special comment about the absurdity of Bush’s “sacrafice” for the troops.  It’s insulting on so many levels and it mocks all those lives lost.  Keith’s special comments restore my faith in journalism, it’s good to see someone else who is able to express their disgust and disapproval for this administration.  His voice is a powerful one that speaks out against the administration that has benefited so much from a useless mainstream media that refuses to stand up to their bullshit propoganda.  It’s too much to bear at times.

And even worse, this strike is happening right outside my workplace.  I scanned the flier I received while walking to get my lunch.

That’s not too much to ask, is it?  Orange County, CA is one of the most expensive places to live in the US and the people who work theif forty hours a week should be able to afford to live here!

The dream of sending one’s child to College is an admirable one and it’s something that many parents aspire to.  It’s a basic right that can help lift an entire generation out of poverty and provide the strong work force that not only California needs to move into the 21st Century, but our entire Country.

And guess what?  Because the Governator is cutting Education budgets across the board the California State University system and the University of California system are raising their tuition fees.

Despite angry protests from students that led to 16 arrests at UCLA, California’s two public universities took actions Wednesday to charge higher fees for education in the fall.The trustees of the Cal State University system voted to raise annual undergraduate student fees 10%, or $276. A key committee of the University of California regents approved a 7.4%, or $490, raise per year for undergraduates that is expected to be endorsed by the full Board of Regents today.

Student expensesThe actions would bring average statewide undergraduate costs to nearly $3,800 at Cal State and to more than $8,000 at UC, not including housing, books and other expenses, which can total $12,000 to $16,000. Graduate students will face even higher increases.

“This is one of the most painful things we do. None of us wants to raise fees,” UC President Robert C. Dynes said at the regents meeting at UCLA. “We’re between a rock and a hard place. The state doesn’t support us the way they should support us.”

LA Times

Why don’t Republicans get it? Affordable education is what will allow people to care for themselves and to lift themselves out of the poverty they were born into, it’s practically the only way to do it.  Should not all our children have this opportunity?

The whole reason we have the CSU system is to allow lower income students the ability to get a higher education.  And the reason we have Unions is so that hard working families can care for their children and their dreams of having something better for themselves.  The Republican way of thinking is absolutely antithetical to their supposed core belief, they are so opposed to tax hikes that they would cut their nose off to spite their face.  

Don’t workers deserve a chance to make their children’s lives better?  Shouldn’t Government be part of that opportunity rather than an impediment to it?  

California’s public universities pay for themselves: For every $1 spent, about $3 comes back to the state as a byproduct.LA Times

You would think that conservatives would understand the importance of investing?  But they can’t let go of their personal beliefs of “I’ve got mine, screw everyone else”.  That’s what it comes down to.

So you see, I hate to see a strike.  It means that the people who help keep my office clean and workable are being asked to forgo their dreams for the children so that big corporations can have a higher profit margin for the few of the people on their board of directors.  The many must suffer so the few can prosper.

But if you do see a picket line, please take the time to say you support their dreams and you support their needs because in the end, this is about supporting everyone in our soceity and declaring that we all deserve a better life for not only ourselves but our children.  

Part I

Part II

I want to give my two cents about this endorsement.  I’ve been supporting Obama since just a couple of weeks after Edwards dropped out (and it has not been an easy path for me) but I also knew that I would respect Edwards’ choice no matter what way he went.

My admiration for his integrity and his ability to stick to the issues is imperative to the Democratic Party.  Edwards has been clear that Party unity is more important than an individual’s ego.  This endorsement is not a knock on Clinton, I sincerely believe that to be the case.  This endorsement is meant to be a knock on McCain.

John McCain must be stopped, he has to be questioned and forced to stand by the failed policies he wants to continue.  Elizabeth Edwards so far is the only Democrat to put such tremendous pressure on McCain regarding his health care plan.  I believe that this is the main reason for the endorsement now, uniting the party well before the primary.

Our Country cannot afford a third Bush term, none of us can afford this.  I just ask that you look at the big picture and that you give Edwards the benefit of the doubt, I think he’s earned that much from his supporters.

That’s the major buzz since the Obama Campaign announced a major endorsement to take place to night at a rally in Michigan.

And yes, I know how much Edwards supporters hate the speculation but it’s important, the endorsement, it’s a very important one to me and I do care.  But I won’t believe it until I see it.

Obama’s visit to Michigan is very important for more than a major endorsement, he’s attempting to woo the very important vote of the auto industry.  And Obama is talking with tough love, that Michigan needs to move much faster on green technology if we are to make an impact on the worldwide auto industry again.

Sen. Barack Obama said today that Michigan leaders should look for ways to save the state’s current identity, not search for a new one.”I don’t think that we need to give up on manufacturing,” he told me in a one-on-one interview this morning after he strolled through Sterling Heights’ Chrysler Stamping Plant. “We need to find new sources of manufacturing jobs. And I think creating green energy jobs and helping the auto industry to retool — those are all areas with enormous promise.”

Obama reaffirmed that he is committed — and will be as president — to spending $150 billion over 10 years “to create new opportunities for workers here in Michigan so new fields like biotech are centered here.”

“We have to invest in basic science so that new fields like biotech are centered here,” he said. “I’m confident about our ability to revitalize the economy here in Michigan, but it requires a partner in the White House who’s paying attention and the current occupant has ignored Michigan for a very long time.”

Detroit Free Press

No matter who the nominee is there has to be an emphasis on bringing manufacturing back to the US.  This Country has to start making things again rather than just consuming.  Our culture has to change if we are to survive the next century and part of that is expanding and investing in green technology.

UPDATE – According to Mark Halperin at Time, Edwards has boarded a plane to Michigan.  Wow.

I graduated over 10 years ago in 1997 and I can’t say I was crazy about Dr. Reeves class, it was memorable and my admiration grew for the man as I learned about the work he started to do for the Sudanese.

On May 6th, Smith College bestowed an honorary degree to Dr. Reeves. More details behind the cut…

Smith College to Honor Sudan Analyst, Faculty Member C. Eric Reeves

“Not a single person in the world has done as much for Darfur.”
- Samantha Power, Harvard University

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. — Smith College students may associate Professor C. Eric Reeves with his teachings about Shakespeare. But countless human rights workers, policy makers and journalists worldwide know him as the voice for the people of an African nation decimated by genocide.

In recognition of his tireless efforts during the past decade to end the human suffering in Sudan, Smith will award an honorary degree to Reeves, professor of English Language and Literature, at 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 6, in Sweeney Concert Hall, Sage Hall.

“Not a single person in the world has done as much for Darfur as Eric Reeves,” Samantha Power, Harvard University genocide expert, once told USA Today.

International Criminal Court representative Rebecca Hamilton will offer a tribute to Reeves prior to the honorary degree ceremony. Smith President Carol T. Christ will then award him the degree, after which Reeves will moderate a panel discussion called “Perspectives on the Darfur Genocide.” (See panelists below.) The event is free and open to the public.

Since his passion for Sudan was ignited 10 years ago by a representative of Doctors Without Borders, Reeves has integrated advocacy with his academic work, taking unpaid leave for several semesters to do so.

“It’s been difficult to work so intensely in two very, very different worlds,” said Reeves, a 28-year member of the faculty. “The honorary degree has a special meaning for me. It is a kind of ratification of my work — it’s Smith saying to me ‘we know where you’ve been.’”

A consultant to numerous human rights organizations operating in Sudan, Reeves has testified on several occasions before Congress and become a spokesperson on all aspects of Sudan’s recent history. His book, A Long Day’s Dying: Critical Moments in the Darfur Genocide, was published in May 2007.

In recent years, Reeves has simultaneously battled leukemia while using his leave from Smith to continue his humanitarian work from his home office; his compromised immune system prohibits his physical return to the country.

Said Reeves “Five years ago, I tried to resign from Darfur advocacy work but I simply can’t walk away…there is always more to be done. I’ll never leave Sudan.”

Smith College Press Release

read about this news in my Smith College paper I get called NewSmith, a favorite of mine and there was a small piece about Dr. Reeves and his honorary degree. I’m so glad that Smith has recognized the work that Reeves has done on behalf of a forgotten Nation that does not have oil or other natural resources that would justify our invading and ending the genocide that continues.

Just last year Reeves released a book on the genocide entitled, “A Long Day’s Dying: Critical Moments in the Darfur Genocide”.