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Mccain may have already picked a VP: Gov. Tim Pawlenty
Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan drew praise on this morning's Chris Matthews Show for having called the nomination races for John McCain and Barack Obama early, and for prescient reasons. Matthews gave Sullivan a chance to issue another pronouncement on the 2008 Veepstakes, and the Daily Dish scribe didn't disappoint, not just predicting that Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty would be McCain's pick for vice president, but insisting that the decision to do so had been "already made."
Oh, and then Chris Matthews tells one of the worst puns you've ever heard. And yes, a small piece of you will die when you hear it
MATTHEWS: Welcome back. Andrew, let me tell you something you already know. Some of your predictions are right on the money. More than a year ago, you sat in that chair and predicted Obama. Let's watch.
SULLIVAN (taped): I think most people want to move on. I think that's Obama's fundamental strength. If you look at the polling this week, 72%, wrong track. The highest ever reported. Who is the candidate that most represents change? Obama.
MATTHEWS: Score, Andrew. And then, well before Iowa, when McCain was running fourth, you predicted McCain would be the winner.
SULLIVAN (taped): There will be a moment probably in New Hampshire when John McCain emerges as the John Kerry of this cycle when the Republican party panics with all the people they have and swoop back to the old war horse.
MATTHEWS: There are going to be some horseraces in Washington next week. So Andrew, tell me something again I don't know.
SULLIVAN: I think the vice-presidential picks are both going to be boring and underwhelming. We hope for a big moment, but actually...neither candidate wants to mix their brand up with another strong brand. I think that Pawlenty will probably be McCain's number two - I think he's already made that decision, actually - and I think Obama has yet to pick, but he doesn't want someone that will outshine him.
MATTHEWS: So that ticket is going to be known as good and Pawlenty.
Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan drew praise on this morning's Chris Matthews Show for having called the nomination races for John McCain an... more -
16 yr-old survives lightning strike & family wins lottery the next day
The Michigan teen survived being struck by lightning and went on to win $20 in the lottery the next day.
Helsel was at her home in Blanchard, about 50 miles northeast of Grand Rapids, watching thunderstorms roll by on June 6 when she noticed rain entering an open kitchen window. The Michigan teen survived being struck by lightning and went on to win $20 in the lottery the next day. ... more -
A step backwards? Michigan pushes to open five new coal plants
Michigan opps to go to with non-renuewable CO2 producing Coal to expand energy production.
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MN Native American activist Thomas Dalheimer fights racist names, pushes state gen...
Thomas Dalheimer, Director of Rum River Name Change Organization Inc., in Wahkon, Minnesota fights to preserve heritage of a great river, and state apology for American Indian genocide.
“When we become aware of or able to look at our own history and acknowledge the painful wounds of ethnocide and genocide right here in Minnesota we will be inspired to go through a radical social, political and religious transformation. A peaceful cultural revolution will occur and we will be changed for the better," Dalheimer said.
Thomas Dalheimer, Director of Rum River Name Change Organization Inc., in Wahkon, Minnesota fights to preserve heritage of a great riv... more -
Turtle Island Project Director: Some rich think Indigenous Peoples are "expendable...
(Marquette, Michigan) - Many of the rich around the world view Indigenous Peoples, women and children as “expendable commodities,” said Turtle Island Project Director Rev. Dr. Lynn Hubbard during Northern Michigan University 2008 Indigenous Earth Day Summit.
Hubbard added he fears for the future of mankind and the planet because “we have lost any sense of the sacred.”
The summit was held on Earth Day 2008 on the NMU campus in Marquette, Michigan near the shores of Lake Superior.
The two-day summit - the first of its kind at NMU - was April 22-23.
Read more by clicking on link. (Marquette, Michigan) - Many of the rich around the world view Indigenous Peoples, women and children as “expendable commodities,” sai... more -
Plan your Lake Superior Day event: July 20, 2008 celebrate world's largest, cleane...
Residents of three states and Canada will celebrate the world's largest, deepest and coldest freshwater lake.
Lake Superior Day will be held on July 20, 2008 Residents of three states and Canada will celebrate the world's largest, deepest and coldest freshwater lake. ... more -
Turtle Island Project Director Some rich view Indigenous Peoples as "expendable co...
TIP Dir. Rev. Dr. Lynn Hubbard:
I think we have here two different forms of religion. Ands its this religion of my ancestors that I participate in that I think really has been the problem. I think we have to come to understand that religious consciousness evolves just like anything else does. It's not just the material world that evolves but also our cultural world evolves and the realm of the concept evolves. We are going now, as a people - there was a time from prehistorical religions to historic religions. the religions of the book Judaism, Christianity, Islam to this historic period. Now I think that is transending to this transrational understanding of spirituality. And as part of this transrational understanding of spirituality is an appropriation of this knowledge and spirituality of Earth-based cultures. I think we have to be open now to what John Trudell called ‘spirit making and escape.’ I love this idea. My spirit needs to make an escape from my religious consciousness. The racial and cultural genocide that still goes on today inside this country . Judaism is an inherently ethical religion except you have to be a Canaanite. You may get your ass kicked or your head cut off but basically it's OK. But sky Gods and cultures that worship sky Gods are traditionally barbaric - Read the Old Testament - Wow! Talk about patriarchy. But we are in a war. It is not a war of my choosing.But we are in a war I truly believe that - a war fore our hearts and our minds. We have to continually fight.It's multi-generational. We fight against great principalities and powers. It's amazing. If you stick your head up out of the foxhole just a little bit and you start speaking on behalf of the poor. Those bullets are flying. I said something about a corporation. I said we created these corporations and political structures that aren't moral entities because you have to say things like: ‘I'm sorry. I made a mistake.' You have to admit your humanness. When's the last time your heard a politician ever admit a mistake unless they were forced to? ‘I did not have sex with that woman - I did not inhale - yes I smoked but I did not inhale' And I said corporations are liked this too - they are not moral entities because they cannot do these things like apologize. Well, good Lord that's attacking a sacred cow - there's a guy in my congregation who just went ballistic - who quit the church because he had spent his entire life benefiting from, working for, a non-moral entity. I did not say all corporations were liked this - I just said some corporations are like this. Well that's all you have to say. Rev. Hubbard said Americans and all people who call Earth home need to protect the environment. He said we have lost the sense of the sacred - a lesson that can be learned from Native Americans and other Indigenous peoples. I understand this because I feel desperate. What John Trudell was talking about is the same way. We've lost our way. We do not have any spiritual sense because we have lost any sense of the sacred. A great historian of the religions Mircea Eliade who was at the University of Chicago where I for many years - I did his funeral. Mircea Eliade had this notion that in order to have a hierophany, an experience of the sacred, you have to have sacred space. If this Earth is not sacred to you, which it isn't to Mickey Mouse, then you can't have an experience of the sacred. I deal with people every day in my congregation who have lost or are losing any sense of the sacred. And it's not only - like you were saying this relationship between Earth and women - and the earth and man. If you do not have power in a capitalistic society, you become part of and you are thought of in terms of the Earth. Women who have less economic power, children who don't have any power at all unless somebody gives it to them, Indigenous communities, you are all thought of as expendable commodities. TIP Dir. Rev. Dr. Lynn Hubbard: ... more -
they can't do that. I protest!
What is the one thing you want when the heat is unbearable? That you need the A/C running all the time and it is soo hot that you can cook.... What is the one thing you want when the heat is unbearable? That you need the A/C running all the time and it is soo hot that you can ... more
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Augusta civil rights leader explains Kellogg project to reduce violence, improve l...
Several black-colleges in Georgia - including Paine College in Augusta - are partners in a new project to lower violence, reduce the influence of gangs and drugs, increase quality of life, proviide HIV/AIDS information and provide access to healthcare facilities for low-income and underserved residents
The three-year project is funded by a $255,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation,
"We have identified violence as a public health issue," said Rev. Terence A. Dicks, chairman of New Tools New Vision Augusta in an interview with the United Methodist News Service.
New Tools, New Vision is teaming the resources of the Southeast Community Research Center, the Research Center on Health Disparities at Morehouse College in Atlanta and four communities surrounding historically black colleges and universities in Georgia.
In addition to Paine (a United Methodist school), other colleges participating include Morehouse College in Atlanta, Savannah State University, Albany State University and Fort Valley State University.
The Kellogg grant will build problem-solving partnerships in several cities including Augusta where Paine College faculty will work with inner city communities residents are victims of violence, plagued by youth gangs and are witnesses to a dramatic rise in gun crimes (30901, 30906 zip codes).
Augusta is home to the prestigious and exclusive Masters Golf Tournament at the famous Augusta National Golf Club - that's a rich enclave located near some of Augusta's poorest communities.
The excellent story is written by UMNS Reporter Linda Green
Rev. Dicks is well known for his civil rights work in Georgia and recently served as chair of the Augusta Human Relations Commission and is chair of the Georgia Clients Council.
He co-organized the original 1986 James Brown Appreciation day in Augusta, the first time the town had honored the late Godfather of Soul. Several black-colleges in Georgia - including Paine College in Augusta - are partners in a new project to lower violence, reduce the i... more -
Earth Healing, EPA Great Lakes Challenge: Kalamazoo June 21 medicine collection fo...
Residents of the Kalamazoo and all of southwest Michigan can to their part to protect the Great Lakes during a free public pharmaceutical collection later this month.
Old and unwanted medicines and personal care products will be accepted on Saturday, June 21, from 9 a.m.-1:00 p.m. at the Loy Norrix High School in Kalamazoo.
The event is sponsored by Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that provided a grant for the project.
The collection is part of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge involving over 100 projects in eight states across the Great Lakes Basin.
Southwest Michigan residents can rid their home of unwanted prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals plus personal care products.
Items that will be accepted include:
Prescription medication, such as antibiotics, birth control, and insulin
Medication samples and over-the-counter medication, such as ibuprofen, aspirin, cold medicine
Personal care products, such as medicated ointments, lotions, and shampoos
Veterinary medications
Items that will not be accepted include:
Medical waste like sharps and syringes and products containing mercury like thermometers.
The collection is free to southwest Michigan households.
Organizers say the collection is important to protect Lake Michigan and other lakes/streams like Arcadia Creek.
An investigation by the Associated Press found a wide variety of pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, mood stabilizers and hormones, in the drinking water of 41 million Americans.
Most medications pass untreated through wastewater treatment plants because those facilities are not designed to remove the chemicals.
The pharmaceuticals are discharged into local rivers or groundwater.
For more info call 269-373-5211.
The goal of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge was collecting/recycling of one million pounds of e-waste plus the collection/proper disposal of a million pills. The goals were exceeded by 500 percent..
The Earth Healing Initiative (EHI) offered interfaith liaisons to volunteer and encourage members of local churches/temples to participate in the Earth Day events in their area.
This video on EPA Challenge projects was made possible by a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency, the EPA Region 5 office in Chicago, the EPA Great Lakes National Program Office in Chicago with the non-profit Interfaith EHI in Marquette MI
The EHI involves American Indian tribes and a coalition of churches, synagogues and other faith traditions joining together to heal, protect and defend the environment.
I’m Greg Peterson Earth Healing TV
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Related Links
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Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services
http://www.kalcounty.com/hcs
Kalamazoo County Environmental Health Bureau
http://www.kalcounty.com/eh/index.htm
Kalamazoo County
http://www.kalcounty.com
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EPA Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products
http://www.epa.gov/ppcp
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EPA Region 5 Office
http://www.epa.gov/region5
Interfaith Earth Healing Initiative
http://www.EarthHealingInitiative.org
Cedar Tree Institute
http://www.CedarTreeInstitute.org
Southwest Michigan First
http://www.southwestmichiganfirst.com/index.cfm
Kalamazoo Downtown Central City website
http://www.central-city.net
Wikimedia
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Kalamazoo%2C_Michigan
Kalamazoo River
www.kalamazooriver.net
Loy Norrix High School
http://www.kalamazoopublicschools.com/education/school/...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loy_Norrix
Interfaith graphics by Justice St. Rain (Baha'i Community) of Interfaith Resources - Special Ideas website:
http://www.interfaithresources.com
1-800-326-1197
1-847-733-3559
Residents of the Kalamazoo and all of southwest Michigan can to their part to protect the Great Lakes during a free public pharmaceuti... more -
Invincible feat. Finale- "Locusts" (docu-music-video)
Detroit based Hip-Hop artists Invincible and Finale rhyme about the impacts of gentrification on the Motor City. This piece includes interviews with community activists discussing displacement and predatory planning versus sustainable development in the D.
Both the song and video for "Locusts" by Invincible feat. Finale, (produced by DJ House Shoes) are from Invincible's debut album Shapeshifters available on www.EMERGENCEmusic.net and www.bling47.com). Detroit based Hip-Hop artists Invincible and Finale rhyme about the impacts of gentrification on the Motor City. This piece includes i... more -
Michigan gets 1/2
Michigan gets 1/2 of the votes.. and Clinton won both Michigan and Florida but because they moved up the dates or whatever.........
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Florida and Michigan have nothing to do with civil or human rights!
"Beverly Battelle Weeks, 56, said she got up before 4 a.m. to drive up from Richmond, Va. for the rally. She carried a black umbrella on which she had pasted letters spelling out "Count All Votes."
"The right thing to do is to seat all the delegates. Anything less is not democratic," she said."
and that is where I choose to disagree:
Listen all American who worry that not seating the delegates from Florida and Michigan represent un-democratic action; the choice was made before anyone knew who would be leading and ALL PARTIES involved agreed, which is the key to everything. It is not about anyones rights, its about a choice made 6 months ago to hold primaries that would conflict with the process and everyone agreed that there wouldn't be delegates. Play the game by the rules, if you wanted to protest it should have come 6 months ago, not now when the game has already been played.
"Beverly Battelle Weeks, 56, said she got up before 4 a.m. to drive up from Richmond, Va. for the rally. She carried a black umbrella ... more -
Bishop Thomas Skrenes - EPA Great Lakes Challenge: "We are all environmentalists"
Bishop praises interfaith success of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge
Marquette, Michigan - A Lutheran Bishop who has participated in interfaith Earth Day recycling projects for four years in a row said.
"Celebrate - what a great day Earth Day has been 2008," said Lutheran Bishop Thomas A. Skrenes of the Northern Great Lakes Synod (NGLS) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). "The Earth Healing Initiative has been a great success this year."
"Congratulations Earth Healers - you've done it, it has been a success," Bishop Skrenes said. "The EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge has been a great success."
"Computers have been recycled, pharmaceuticals have been brought together for proper disposal," Skrenes said. "Congratulations to those members of the faith communities and others who have been a part of this."
"We are all environmentalists," said Skrenes of Marquette, MI. "All of us want clean air to breathe, all of us want clean drinking water. We all enjoy the outdoors and nature."
"No matter our political understandings are, no matter where we are on the liberal and conservative line - no matter what we think of any of the big issues facing thee one of us - world today - all of us can agree that it is in all of our interests."
"We can all certainly conserve and save and bring back and then give to the next generation what has been given to us."
Bishop Skrenes said interfaith environment projects like the challenge ensure a better future for all humans.
"It is a sign of great significance that people can join hands and work together," Skrenes said.
Bishop Skrenes thanked the EPA, faith communities and "people of goodwill throughout the upper Midwest who have been a part of this work."
"Thanks to the Environmental Protection Agency for their help and assistance in all of this work," Bishop Skrenes said. The EPA challenge "has been a part of the lives and will be a part of the future of this whole area."
"It is a wonderful opportunity to begin to look at what it is that we hold in common," Skrenes said. "What we hold in common is this wonderful Great Lakes basin."
"This is a wonderful place with lakes and streams and forests everywhere in the Midwest, and the great plains and the great fields," Skrenes said. "We have been a part of saving some of this and making a difference."
"Sometimes we become so focused on what divides us, what disconnects us, what separates us - and there are important things that sometimes do that - but yet we can all have loyalty and allegiance to this world that has been our home and this of the world that we have been blessed with by God."
"God has given us the privilege of living here in the midst of these lakes and all of this beautiful nature," Skrenes said.
"When people of faith, whether they be of Christian traditions or of other traditions, gather together to work on what connects us. One of those things that connects us is respect and awe for the creation that surrounds us."
"We are part of a movement together in these early years of the Twenty-first Century to save what has been given to us by the generations before us and what God has provided to us," Skrenes said.
Bishop Skrenes is one of nine faith leaders who signed the Earth Keeper Covenant in northern Michigan in 2004 that lead to many interfaith projects.
The Cedar Tree Institute co-founded the interfaith Earth Keeper Initiative in Michigan's Upper Peninsula that works closely with ten faith traditions on a wide range of environment projects that include college students, at-risk teens, American Indian tribes and others.
The EHI is developing the same relationship with faith communities across the Great lakes.
The faith communities include Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist, Baha'i, Jewish, the Religious Society of Friends (commonly known as the Quakers) and Zen Buddhist.
"Everyday is Earth Day," Skrenes said. Bishop praises interfaith success of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge ... more -
Lutheran Bishop Thomas Skrenes praises interfaith work: EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth...
An Earth Healing message, thank you and congratulations from Lutheran Bishop Thomas A. Skrenes about the success of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge
A Lutheran Bishop who has participated in interfaith Earth Day recycling projects for four years in a row said "the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge has been a success."
Celebrate - what a great day Earth Day has been 2008," said Lutheran Bishop Thomas A. Skrenes of the Northern Great Lakes Synod (NGLS) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). "The Earth Healing Initiative has been a great success this year."
"Computers have been recycled, pharmaceuticals have been brought together for proper disposal," Skrenes said.
"What a great opportunity it has been to be part of the ecumenical work and interfaith work of assisting others to see the environmental concerns set before us," said Bishop Skrenes of Marquette, Michigan.
With hundreds of thousands of people participating across eight states in the Midwest and Northeast, Bishop Skrenes said interfaith environment projects like the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge will help ensure a better future for all humans.
"It is a sign of great significance that people can join hands and work together," Skrenes said. "So celebrate - it is a good day for the environment and it is a good day for all of us together."
Bishop Skrenes thanked the EPA, faith communities and "people of goodwill throughout the upper Midwest who have been a part of this work."
"It has been a great day, a great week, a great Earth day 2008," Skrenes said.
"The EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge has been a part of the lives and will be a part of the future of this whole area."
Bishop Skrenes is one of the original nine faith leaders who signed the Earth Keeper Covenant in Michigan's Upper Peninsula in 2004 that lead to many interfaith projects
Background: Earth Healing Initiative and the Michigan Earth Keeper Initiative
The Cedar Tree Institute (CTI) co-founded the interfaith Earth Keeper Initiative in Michigan's Upper Peninsula that works closely with ten faith traditions on a wide range of environment projects that include college students, at-risk teens, American Indian tribes and others.
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The CTI Earth healing Initiative is developing the same relationship with the same faith communities in northern Michigan and others across the Great lakes.
The faith communities include Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist, Baha'i, Jewish, The Religious Society of Friends (commonly known as the Quakers) and Zen Buddhist.
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For more information:
Interfaith Earth Healing Initiative
http://www.EarthHealingInitiative.org
906-401-0109
An Earth Healing message, thank you and congratulations from Lutheran Bishop Thomas A. Skrenes about the success of the EPA Great Lak... more -
EPA says e-waste, drug collections protect Great Lakes, environment and Earth
EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge removed a huge amount of electronic waste and pharmaceuticals from eight states.
The goal of the EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge was the collecting and recycling of one million pounds of electronics (e-Waste) plus the collection and proper disposal of one million pills.
These goals were exceeded many times over.
A few examples:
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In Milwaukee, WI: 32 tons of electronic waste and 3.5 tons of pharmaceuticals were turned in.
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At the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin near Green Bay: Approx. 4 tons of e-waste was collected plus thousands of pounds of other trash cleaned from reservation Tribal members turned in over 23 pounds of medicines including 100 bottles of pills, more than 25 computers and dozens of related components like hard drives, printers, keyboards and speakers; televisions, radios, DVD players, 12 cell phones and over 100 small batteries.
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In Traverse City, MI: Over 28,750 pounds (over 12.5 tons) of computers and other e-waste was collected.
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The electronic waste is recycled, and the pharmaceuticals are incinerated in state-of-the-art EPA -license facilities.
So why is this important?
The old and broken electronics - like computers, cell phones and TVs - contain heavy metals that can leach into the groundwater if dumped into landfills.
The unused pharmaceuticals can end up in your drinking water if they are flushed or poured down the drain.
That’s because most wastewater treatment facilities are not designed to remove chemicals from these pharmaceuticals including hormones, narcotics, seizure medication and many more - that end up back in your drinking water.
In an April 2008 press conference in Milwaukee, EPA and other officials explained why the Great Lakes Challenge and similar projects are important to protect the environment and your health.
Pharmaceutical chemicals are sent back out into the Great Lakes, rivers and other places were people recreate and are the intakes for drinking water.
Studies show that the chemicals are appearing in the nation’s drinking water in small amounts - the long term effects are not known - however they have been linked to mutations in fish and other wildlife.
Also - these medicines can be stolen, diverted or accidentally ingested by children - if they languish in your medicine cabinet.
Around the country many e-waste and pharmaceutical take back programs have been developed by governments and local businesses.
Please check with your local officials to find out details for your area.
Because every day should be Earth Day.
This video on the projects connected to the Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge was made possible by a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency in collaboration with the EPA's Region 5 office in Chicago the EPA Great Lakes national Program Office also in Chicago in cooperation with the non-profit Interfaith Earth Healing Initiative in Marquette, Michigan.
The EHI involves American Indian tribes and "a coalition of churches synagogues and other faith traditions joining together to heal protect and defend the environment" said EHI founder Rev Jon Magnuson of Marquette.
I’m Greg Peterson and you’re watching Earth Healing TV EPA Great Lakes 2008 Earth Day Challenge removed a huge amount of electronic waste and pharmaceuticals from eight states. ... more -
Obama: says sorry for 'Sweetie' comment
Barack Obama has personally apologized to a Michigan television reporter for referring to her as "sweetie" as she tried to ask a question.
The comment came earlier Wednesday when WXYZ reporter Peggy Agar asked Obama at a campaign stop, “How are you going to help the American auto workers?”
Obama told Agar to "hold on, sweetie," and said he would address that issue with her later. Agar said she never got an answer to her question.
According to WXYZ, Obama personally left a voice message for Agar Wednesday afternoon, apologizing for both not answering the question and for calling her "sweetie."
"That's a bad habit of mine," Obama said in the message. "I do it sometimes with all kinds of people. I mean no disrespect and so I am duly chastened on that front.
"Feel free to call me back. I expect that my press team will be happy to try to make it up to you whenever we are in Detroit next," he added.
Obama also took some heat in Pennsylvania last month for referring to a factory worker as "sweetie."
Barack Obama has personally apologized to a Michigan television reporter for referring to her as "sweetie" as she tried to ask a quest... more -
Obama woos working-class voters in Michigan
WARREN, Mich. - Democrat Barack Obama, campaigning in a state that poses several challenges for him in the fall, appealed to working-class voters Wednesday with a pledge to pump billions of dollars into efforts to revitalize the nation's manufacturing sector.
One day after blue-collar workers overwhelmingly rejected him in West Virginia's presidential primary, Obama came to this auto-making suburb of Detroit to announce plans to create an "advanced manufacturing fund" to promote industries likely to keep jobs in the United States rather than see them move overseas.
Obama couched it as part of his previously announced plan to spend $150 billion over 10 years to develop and deploy what he calls "clean technologies."
In a new initiative, Obama proposed spending $90 million a year to double the Manufacturing Extension Partnership. The program has helped manufacturers improve efficiency and growth, he said, but has been underfunded.
Another $100 million annually would launch the advanced manufacturing fund, which would award grants to businesses working with researchers to develop and expand products and efficient practices.
The Illinois senator spoke to union workers and their families at Macomb County Community College in Warren, Mich., after touring a Chrysler plant in Sterling Heights. The region is rich in so-called Reagan Democrats. These voters have often abandoned the party when it nominates candidates they view as too socially liberal, but they have rejected Republicans they saw as insufficiently concerned about working-class families living from paycheck to paycheck.
Strategists see Michigan as a must-win state for Obama. Democratic presidential nominees have carried it in recent elections, but by narrow margins, and McCain has campaigned here several times. WARREN, Mich. - Democrat Barack Obama, campaigning in a state that poses several challenges for him in the fall, appealed to working-c... more -
Obama heading to Michigan and Florida
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Barack Obama's surging presidential campaign announced Monday that he will visit politically neglected Florida and Michigan, as he focuses on a general election strategy with his primary race winding down.
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It will be Obama's first time in either state since signing a pledge nine months ago not to campaign in the two states that violated national party rules with early primaries. Obama will have to build relationships in the two critical general election battlegrounds if he wins the Democratic nomination.
The Obama campaign announced a five-state tour over the next two weeks that includes stops in remaining primary states South Dakota and Oregon but is dominated by swing states where he hopes to run strong against Republican John McCain once the marathon Democratic race ends.
Obama leads in delegates needed to secure the Democratic nomination, even though he's expected to lose badly on Tuesday to rival Hillary Rodham Clinton in West Virginia. He'll try to move on from the loss by campaigning in Missouri, a state that President Bush won in 2000 and 2004.
On Wednesday, he plans to make two stops in Michigan — the swing Macomb County and the GOP stronghold of Grand Rapids. He plans to spend three days starting May 21 in Florida, with stops in Tampa, Orlando, Palm Beach County and Miami. The area is a popular stop for political fundraising, but the Obama campaign says the candidate will mostly be appealing for votes.
"Our schedule reflects the fact that we are still fighting for votes and delegates in the remaining contests but also that we are going to places that are going to be competitive in the fall," said Obama spokesman Bill Burton. "John McCain has gone unchallenged for far too long, and we're going to make sure that voters in competitive states know the choice in this election between changing Washington and the third term of George Bush's failed policies that McCain is offering."
All the Democratic presidential candidates agreed on boycotting Michigan and Florida. Clinton won both states, but no delegates were awarded. Restoring the delegates is a major part of Clinton's longshot strategy for the nomination.
As she campaigned in West Virginia on Mother's Day, Clinton rejected any suggestion that she's dropping out of the race. She used campaign stops to remind voters of women who didn't give up in difficult situations, who fought for equal rights, broke into male-dominated professions and succeeded when others told them to quit.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Barack Obama's surging presidential campaign announced Monday that he will visit politically neglected Florida and... more -
Under Clinton's rules, Obama still wins
Barack Obama can fully accept Hillary Rodham Clinton’s terms on Michigan and Florida and still win a majority of pledged Democratic delegates on June 1, allowing him to lay claim to the nomination under the New York senator’s own rules.
A Politico analysis of the delegate numbers after Tuesday’s primaries in North Carolina and Indiana shows Obama can concede to Clinton’s position on Michigan and Florida and still claim victory — potentially forestalling the Democratic nightmare scenario of a floor fight at the Denver convention.
The Clinton campaign rejected the premise of Politico’s analysis, dismissing it as “artificial metrics” that “might make for interesting cocktail party conversation” but would give Obama no legitimate claim on the nomination.
But the numbers could add to Obama’s growing strategic advantage. Some background: The magic number of pledged delegates — excluding Florida and Michigan, which were stripped of their delegates for holding early, unsanctioned primaries — is 1,627 to have a definitive majority.
Obama will reach that threshold on May 20, after the Kentucky and Oregon primaries, and plans to declare victory.
The Democratic National Committee sets the clinching number at 2,025 pledged delegates and superdelegates, excluding Florida and Michigan. The rationale of the Obama camp is that hitting 1,627 means the candidate is a lock for the higher DNC number also, because superdelegates are unlikely to overturn voting results.
Many neutral Democratic strategists agree. “It’s not going to happen,” said Carter Eskew, the chief strategist for Al Gore’s 2000 campaign. “I don’t think anybody in Democratic circles, not aligned with either campaign, believes any different.”
Clinton’s campaign, however, has argued that Obama needs to clear yet another figure — 2,209 pledged delegates and superdelegates, a figure that includes the two rogue states. Clinton aides have said Obama won’t meet that target on May 20....... Barack Obama can fully accept Hillary Rodham Clinton’s terms on Michigan and Florida and still win a majority of pledged Democratic de... more
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