bitch is the new black!

for all you voters out there who are "uncomfortable" with voting for hillary clinton... not, of course, because she is a tough woman who gets stuff done, but because she is a "bitch."

senator obama, are you mad at me?

unfortunately, NBC/SNL has removed the full video clip of the mock obama/clinton debate from youtube and their own website. particularly absent is the moment when the debate moderators ask obama if he is comfortable, and if he needs another cushion.

still, this shows the gist of the skit:

full circle in texas

link

AUSTIN, Texas (CNN) -- Garry Mauro will never forget that night in 1972 when he says Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham ignored the post-election party surrounding them, instead preferring to huddle in a corner and talk about changing the future.

Hillary and Bill Clinton worked on George McGovern's 1972 campaign in Texas before they wed in 1975. The young then-unmarried couple, attending Yale Law, weren't interested in letting off steam with their Democratic colleagues in Austin, Texas, according to Mauro, who's now a strategist with Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

The three were among a group of Young Turk Democrats working that summer to register voters in Texas. The Clintons had just started dating, said Mauro, who years later became Texas land commissioner. "They obviously had a lot of respect for each other, and they would spend hours talking to each other."

Mauro recalls the night it was all over in 1972, after Democrat George McGovern lost to Republican Richard Nixon. He says he and the Clintons decided to let loose in lively Austin, paying $1.50 to see a Texas singer by the name of Willie Nelson before rambling back to a colleague's tiny apartment.

"It was 2 o'clock in the morning, and everybody else had probably had too much to drink, except for Bill and Hillary -- who were drinking [soda] and having this intense discussion about the issues," said Mauro. "I'm absolutely certain that 99 percent of what they were talking about was changing things in the future."

raul castro named president by cuba's parliament

link via huffington post

HAVANA — Cuba's parliament named Raul Castro president on Sunday, ending nearly 50 years of rule by his brother Fidel but leaving the island's communist system unshaken.

Cuba's parliament chose a new 31-member ruling body known as the Council of State to lead the country. The council's president serves as the head of state and government.

The vote ended Castro's 49 years as head of the communist state in America's backyard. He retains his post as a lawmaker and as head of the Communist Party. But his power in government has eroded since July 31, 2006, when he announced he had undergone emergency intestinal surgery and was provisionally ceding his powers to Raul.

"Transition in Cuba?" asked [Hugo] Chavez, whose country is now a major economic ally of Cuba. "The transition occurred 49 years ago, from that capitalism, dominiated by imperialism, (under which Cuba) was a colony, to a socialist Cuba. The transition will continue marching forward, always with Fidel at the forefront."

enter nader, stage left (right?)

Nader Enters US Presidential Race

This is [Nader'] third run for the presidency. In 2000, Nader - as the candidate of the Green Party - won just less than three percent of the national vote. Many Democrats still blame him for Al Gore's loss that year, saying he siphoned off just enough liberal votes to cost Gore a very close election.

Nader said he will not be deterred.

via voanews

there's a great take on this over at dailykos:

"...As Hannah Arendt wrote in Eichmann in Jerusalem, "holes of oblivion do not exist. Nothing human is that perfect, and there are simply too many people in the world to make oblivion possible. One man will always be left alive to tell the story. Thus, nothing can ever be `practically useless,' at least not in the long run." But exemplary acts are the acts of saints or those with nothing else left to lose in the short run, but they are ethically responsible only as long as--and this is crucial--other people do not have to bear the risks and potential costs of their actions.

"For making America and the world bear the risks and potential costs of his actions, Ralph Nader should be judged one of the most unethical politicians in America."

obama responds to to nader's announcement