Last night Hillary Clinton scored a big victory in West Virginia, winning the state by a whopping 67%-26% margin. A 41% victory by someone trailing nationally in polls by 4% to basically the presumptive democratic nominee.
Obama currently sits at 1,882 delegates, just 143 delegates short of the 2,025 needed to win. Of course, the Clinton campaign argues that he needs 2,209 delegates to win because of Florida and Michigan.
The Clinton campaign keeps stressing that even though Florida voters knew their votes wouldn’t count, the state democratic party had a record turnout. That’s an incredible overstatement and I haven’t heard or read the mainstream media calling them out on it-and they damn well should!
The reason turnout was so high in Florida was because of a statewide property tax amendment to cut homeowners taxes (at the expense of schools, fire departments, county jobs, etc.) This was a big issue in Florida and Gov. Charlie Crist was a big advocate of the tax cut, even appearing on billboards stating vote yes on the tax cut.
The amendment needed 60% to pass and it got it. Since then, the state universities have been scrambling to cut their budgets while at the same time raising tuition for students; fire stations have closed and state employees have been laid off. This was a tough issue and opponents of the tax cut (like myself) were against it because of the negative impact to the community.
Along with the property tax amendment there was something else on the ballot for Florida voters to decide on January 29th-the democratic and republican primaries. Since Florida is a closed primary, independent ballots only had the property tax amendment on them.
Sure, some people showed up mostly to vote for the candidates, but to say the record democratic turnout in Florida was because of them is a complete lie-but it’s the Clinton’s so could we possibly expect more?
Hey, remember that fiasco that happened back in 2000, when we elected Al Gore as president but got George “pretend cowboy” Bush instead. Well, now you can relive that moment on May 25th with the HBO film Recount starring Kevin Spacey, Dennis Leary, Laura Dern and Tom Wilkinson. What a great cast! I can’t wait to see how they’ve portrayed my home state at the moment we fucked up the world.
I don’t just blame other Floridians either as I had a stake in the mistake too. In 2000, as a protest vote I decided to vote for Ralph Nader (obviously having no clue it would be so close), then I watched the election coverage and rooted for Al Gore. My best friend still likes to remind me how I helped fuck everything up. Thanks Brian!
After a long day, Amsterdam fire fighters take a time out to enjoy some ice cream, before hitting up the parade to proudly display their giant rubber fists and pink feather boas.
SMS Fart for…Fart ring tones?
I hate holding my backpack on the train, that’s why I prefer to leave it stuck in the door.
Even though Barack Obama has pretty much sealed the deal, Hillary Clinton continues to motor on in her full speed crash to getting drunk on the White House lawn and being allowed to sleep on the couch. “Just for one night” please, she’ll say. Then at 3am she will go and grab the red phone and drunkenly nuke Iran.
It’s not a bad idea for Hillary to stay in the race because who knows, Barack could get assassinated or something, especially having to campaign in West Virginia and Kentucky, not exactly bastions of any kind of progressive thinking. Besides, those states are Hillary country, filled with lots of “Joe six packs” and she is leading Barack by a zillion points there.
So let’s have a look at West Virginia this week, specifically democratic senator Robert Byrd. Robert Byrd is the democratic version of Strom Thurmond when he was alive before dying at the ripe old age of a thousand. At 91 years old, Byrd is currently the longest serving member of the Senate, having represented West Virginia since 1959. He is also a former Klu Klux Klan member and get this, he is President pro tempore of the Senate making him third in line to the presidency behind Dick Cheney and Nancy Pelosi!
Senator Byrd was in the KKK during the 40’s and deeply opposed the integration of blacks into the army saying “Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds.” Yikes! He also said “I shall never fight in the armed forces with a Negro by my side.”
While Byrd left the KKK, he opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. While Byrd has apologized for these things, it was only a few years ago that on the Senate floor he said “there are white niggers. I’ve seen a lot of white niggers in my time.”
Congratulations on what will be a landslide victory in West Virginia on Tuesday Senator Clinton!
Here’s Johnie McNuts sitting next to his decrepit old mom as they banter away about when John was born. John thinks it was on Friday, his Mom says Saturday, but given that it happened during the War of 1812, it’s sometimes difficult to recount such things. “He’s not perfect” Roberta McCain says, but she thinks he’ll make a great president…of the AARP of course.
Whoever edited this deserves immense credit for the countless takes they had to cut to make it seem like a somewhat coherent conversation took place here.
It’s shocking that with John McCain coming up on his 72nd birthday that his mother is still alive. It reminds me of the Seinfeld episode involving the Mandelboms where they keep challenging Jerry to a TV lifting contest in the hospital. Each time the older Mandelbom throws his back out when he cannot lift the TV and Jerry is to blame every time for egging them on. Just when you think the oldest Mandelbom is in a hospital bed, an even older one appears to challenge Jerry for the Mandelbom name…Mandelbom, Mandelbom, Mandelbom!
And let me say, if my wife and I have a kid someday, she kindly requests 27 bottles of scotch, just like Roberta got for having Johnie!
All kinds of celebrities have endorsed Barack Obama, if celebrities were Super Delegates Hillary would be done already. He’s even winning fake pretend endorsements from fictional Sesame Street characters!
In other Obama celebrity endorsement news, the real Tom Hanks recently released a video on his MySpace page endorsing Barack Obama. It’s not very funny unless you count how goofy Hanks looks or the fact that he felt the need to mention that African Americans were once thought of as 3/5 of a person in American history (that’s not funny of course except that he makes it seem like that’s part of the reason he’s endorsing Obama). At least he warns you ahead in the video that it’s another celebrity political endorsement.
This week is World Cocktail week and Jon over at The DC Traveler has asked us to make up a city themed cocktail for a round-up that he’ll be doing on Saturday. I’m choosing Amsterdam since that’s where I currently reside.
The Amsterdam Green Haze Martini
1 ounce gin
1/2 ounce absinthe
1 ‘magic mushroom’
1 gram Willie Nelson sativa (can be substituted with a White Widow indica)
Drink makes:
1/4 part laughter
1/4 part paranoia
1/4 part obnoxious and annoying
1/4 stupefied fog
Take alcohol and ingredients and mix in blender, wait one hour for “haze” to kick in. Warning: Side effects may include jumping out a window.
Last night senior citizen John McCain left his cryogenic chamber to make an appearance with John Stewart to talk about the people that hate him. And in an old man Hanoi Hilton flashback, he also feels the need to quote the old communist leader of China.
Whether you are a veteran traveler looking for tips to make your life on the road easier, are dreaming of a far away vacation to get away from it all, or somewhere in between, the writers in the Travel & Culture Channel have information and ideas that will capture your heart, mind, and soul
Last night Hillary Clinton scored a big victory in West Virginia, winning the state by a whopping 67%-26% margin. A 41% victory by someone trailing nationally in polls by 4% to basically the presumptive democratic nominee.
The US gov’t has cremated American troops 
Even though Barack Obama has pretty much sealed the deal, Hillary Clinton continues to motor on in her full speed crash to getting drunk on the White House lawn and being allowed to sleep on the couch. “Just for one night” please, she’ll say. Then at 3am she will go and grab the red phone and drunkenly nuke Iran.
This week is World Cocktail week and Jon over at 
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