Buchan Blog

Thoughts?

Cross-posted from Freep.com

LANSING — Michigan Democratic leaders settled today on a plan to give presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton 69 delegates and Barack Obama 59 as a way to get the delegates seated at the national convention

Clinton won the Jan. 15 Michigan primary and was to get 73 pledged delegates under state party rules, while Obama was to get 55. The state also has 29 superdelegates.

The state party’s executive committee voted today to ask the national party’s Rules and Bylaws Committee to approve the 69-59 delegate split when it meets May 31. The plan would shrink Clinton’s delegate edge in Michigan from 18 to 10 and allow the state’s 157 delegates and superdelegates to be seated at the convention.

The state’s Democratic leaders also pushed back the date of the party’s State Central Committee meeting from May 17 to June 14 to give the rules committee time to act. The party is to pick 45 pledged delegates and two superdelegates at that meeting. It chose 83 pledged delegates last month at district conventions. Continue reading ‘Mich. Dems settle on how to split delegates’

Kimberly’s day yesterday…poor Kim!

How many consecutive times do you think you could listen to the Nutcracker Suite before completely losing your mind? If you would like to know, just call the IRS. Worried that you won’t have enough time to find out? Don’t fret! You will be on hold for at least 40 minutes and just as you are being transferred to the next available representative, a technical difficulty will occur and force you to call back at another time. Use that time before calling back to do something nice for yourself, like shower and put fresh clothes on and maybe even brush your teeth. Then while watching a favorite show on tv, call back and try to follow the storyline on tv while quietly listening to the dreaded Nutcracker Suite because it IS interrupted every 60 seconds with a lovely woman’s voice begging you not to hang up because you will just end up waiting even longer as calls ARE answered in the order they are received and if you aren’t listening, you might just mistake a real person coming on the line for this lovely recording and then you WILL have to start over. Continue reading ‘New cause of insanity’

Moira Welsh
Environment Reporter

It was one of the original green movements in Canada, created by environmental activists who had spent their lives protesting big companies that harmed the planet.

Today, Earth Day Canada is a registered charity that relies mostly on money from large corporations.

Founded in 1990, the charity encouraged ordinary Canadians to clear garbage from their communities as a means of understanding the earth’s fragility. Today, environmental awareness has blossomed.

Children speak of atmospheric carbon dioxide while lecturing their parents on the evils of the family SUV. Millions of Canadians turned off their lights during Earth Hour. And, corporations send out daily press releases advertising their commitment to green-ness.

Today, as Earth Day Canada marks its official date for the environmental inspiration of Canadians, a certain question begs for an answer: Is it still relevant?

Glen MacIntosh says no. Continue reading ‘Is Earth Day still relevant 18 years on?’

You heard it here first! Elliot who just turned one year old last month now has his very own blog! Kimberly and I will be posting his adventures from now on at http://elliotbuchan.com. Please take a peek, and post a comment now and then. We created this so family and friends all across the country could watch Elliot’s development, hear his stories, see his pictures and podcasts all in one convenient place. And when he grows up he will already have a virtual place to call “home”. Family and Friends are also invited to participate in this virtual journal of his life, so you can share your own stories too! If you would like to contribute just shoot an email to us and we will set you up. Enjoy!

Remaining Dem Races

(Number of pledged delegates at stake are in parentheses.)

April 22nd Pennsylvania primary (158)

May 3

Guam caucus (4)

May 6

Indiana primary (72)

North Carolina primary (115)

May 13

West Virginia primary (28)

May 20

Kentucky primary (51)

Oregon primary (52)

June 1

Puerto Rico primary (55)

June 3

Montana primary (16)

South Dakota primary (15)

Present Delegate Tally

Hillary Clinton: 1,250

Barack Obama: 1,414

(Numbers include unpledged delegates who say they will vote for Clinton or Obama. Delegates needed to win Democratic nomination: 2,025)

Cross-posted from EcoSpace

Conscious Consuming recently launched a discussion guide on their to make it easy to host local green living discussion groups. Readers can use the tools provided on the website to connect with people in their neighborhoods who are interested in “Slowing Down and Greening Up.”

The five-meeting discussion series provides activities, questions, and supplemental materials for meetings on Food, Time, Stuff, Green Living, and the influence of advertising on our buying decisions.

With the launch of the Discussion Guides, Conscious Consuming received a grant from the Sandy Hollow Arts and Recreation for the Environment, Inc. (SHARE) to encourage people to act on organizing these discussion groups in their local communities. Thanks to SHARE, Conscious Consuming will be able to offer the first 5 people who hold a Discussion Series a stipend of $100 for taking the initiative.

All you need to do is to hold your meetings and document your activities through blog postings, photos, or video clips. Email susan(at)consciousconsuming(dot)org with your results, or if you want help publicizing your event. The goal of the program is to support ordinary people who want to “think globally, but act locally.”

Marty Wrin, Executive Director of Conscious Consuming, is excited about the growth of their MySpace presence and web traffic in the past year, but connecting with a virtual community is only half the battle. He says, “The Discussion Guides are a great way to get people talking about sustainable living with their friends, neighbors, and co-workers. The environment needs us to start taking a second look at all of our consumption decisions, not just the stuff we buy. How we use our time, money, and media affects the earth as well. ”

Learn more at Conscious Consuming

Excerpt from John O’Donohue’s To Bless the Space Between Us

“There is a quiet light that shines in every heart. It draws no attention to itself, though it is always secretly there. It is what illuminates our minds to see beauty, our desire to seek possibility, and our hearts to love life. Without this subtle quickening our days would be empty and wearisome, and no horizon would ever awaken our longing. Our passion for life is quietly sustained from somewhere in us that is wedded to the energy and excitement of life. This shy inner light is what enables us to recognize and receive our very presence here as blessing. We enter the world as strangers who all at once become heirs to a harvest of memory, spirit, and dream that has long preceded us and will enfold, nourish, and sustain us. The gift of the world is our first blessing.”

His Interview from NPR

By Susan Crabtree
Posted: 03/25/08 07:01 PM [ET]

Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) is clashing with Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.) over the thorny issue of Indian gambling, setting up a standoff between two of the oldest bulls in Congress.

Conyers has stepped into an Indian gambling dispute that is dividing the Michigan delegation and the Democratic Caucus. After teaming up with Rep. Carolyn Kilpatrick (D-Mich.), who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), the 22-term House veteran has used his position as chairman of the powerful Judiciary Committee to oppose two bills that would settle tribal land disputes and clear the way for new casinos to be built near both lawmakers’ Detroit-area districts.

Conyers argues that the bills would change the way casinos are approved by allowing Congress to get involved in land dispute claims that the U.S. Department of the Interior routinely determines. He also cites the concern that the casinos would be located more than 350 miles from the tribes’ reservations.

“Without these constraints, there would seem to be no limit to how far Indian gaming could spread, far beyond reasonable bounds,” Conyers said at a hearing he held on the issue the day before Congress left for its spring recess.

On the other side, Dingell, a 27-term veteran of the House and its longest-serving member, has joined forces with Natural Resources panel Chairman Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.), along with a bipartisan group of Michigan lawmakers, to push for the bills.

Dingell argues that the cities where the casinos will be built — Romulus and Port Huron — are in dire need of the new jobs and economic stimulation that the casinos would provide. Romulus lies in his district, while Port Huron must compete with jobs right across the border in Canada, where a casino already exists.

But Conyers and Kilpatrick worry that the new casinos will cut into profits of existing Detroit casinos, including one owned by MGM Mirage, which is lobbying furiously against the bills. If built, the new casinos could cut into revenue that Detroit receives from taxes on those profits because Indian gambling revenues are exempt from local, state and federal tax. Continue reading ‘Conyers and Dingell face off over casinos’

http://www.stjudeheroes.org/goto/elliot.buchan

On March 22, 2008, we are celebrating Elliot’s first birthday! The awe and wonder of the past year is beyond words - watching this beautiful, little boy discover the world and fall in love with it. Elliot greets each day with a huge grin and eager curiosity, always ready to find out what is going to happen next. Since he was six weeks old, Elliot has used his adorable smile to bring happiness to everyone he meets, everywhere he goes. Of all the blessings that have been bestowed on our family over the past year, the greatest has been Elliot’s health. We are so thankful to be able to say that Elliot has had perfect health his entire life and this is something we never take for granted. To honor our blessings and Elliot’s first birthday, we invite our loved ones to contribute to those who work every day to increase the health and quality of life of children who are living with illness. Please help us make Elliot’s first birthday extra special by supporting St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in his honor. Thank you very much!

http://www.stjudeheroes.org/goto/elliot.buchan

St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, although he was born in Britain. Many miracles have been attributed to the bishop, including the driving of the snakes from Ireland. His sainthood derives from his conversion of the Irish celtic pagans to Christianity. He used the native shamrock as a symbol of the holy trinity when preaching and brought the Latin alphabet to Ireland. March 17 is the feast day of St. Patrick, of course.

The custom of imbibing alcohol on St. Patrick’s Day comes from an old Irish legend. As the story goes, St. Patrick was served a measure of whiskey that was considerably less than full. St. Patrick took this as an opportunity to teach a lesson of generosity to the innkeeper. He told the innkeeper that in his cellar resided a monstrous devil who fed on the dishonesty of the innkeeper.
In order to banish the devil, the man must change his ways. When St. Patrick returned to the hostelry some time later, he found the owner generously filling the patrons’ glasses to overflowing. He returned to the cellar with the innkeeper and found the devil emaciated from the landlord’s generosity, and promptly banished the demon, proclaiming thereafter everyone should have a drop of the “hard stuff” on his feast day. This custom is known as Pota Phadraig or Patrick’s Pot. The custom is known as “drowning the shamrock” because it is customary to float a leaf of the plant in the whiskey before downing the shot.

St. Patrick’s Day was first celebrated in America in Boston, Massachusetts in 1737, and is now celebrated nationwide as an opportunity to wear green and consume green libations. The celebration in Ireland is more of a religious matter, whereas in the U.S., it’s a festive occasion. The wearing o’ the green is a symbol of Ireland’s lush green farmlands.

Crossposted from the Congress Blog from The Hill

Recent events involving a bank in Liechtenstein once again demonstrate the problems presented by secrecy jurisdictions and tax havens that enable individuals to hide assets and evade taxes.

Liechtenstein’s LGT Bank, which is owned by the Royal family, has apparently harbored numerous secret accounts which hid the taxable assets of thousands of citizens from around the world. It is my understanding that many U.S. citizens have also hidden assets at this bank, which is a real injustice to the millions of working families in this country who honestly pay their taxes every year.

I intend to investigate this matter further, and urge the Senate to enact the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act, which I introduced last year. This legislation contains innovative provisions to combat offshore secrecy and end the use of tax havens such as Liechtenstein by U.S. citizens who are dodging their tax obligations, and ripping off America and honest American taxpayers in the process.

Offshore tax evasion produces an estimated $100 billion in unpaid taxes each year. It’s long past time to collect these taxes and stop the tax dodgers from offloading their tax burden onto the backs of honest Americans.

There is definitely some buzz going about, and now with the Apple Store site down, something important is afoot. Stay Tunned MacHeads!

Gizmodo Reports:

It’s starting. From New Zealand to Spain to the US, the Apple Store is down throughout the world. We will see if the rumors are right or wrong, and MacBook, MacBook Pros and other goodies materialize. We will be updating you through the day, but in the meantime, some people who claim to work at Best Buy keep sending us new printouts of new product stock manifests and god knows what:

I mean, come on, what the heck is an iFlip now? A codename for the MacBooks? Is someone at Best Buy flipping?

And from the German Blog Fscklog

(Translated poorly by Google)

The Apple Store is no longer accessible and today-in contrast to the last Tuesdays with iPod nano in pink, 32GB iPod touch + 16GB iPhone, Aperture 2 and 1 and 2GB iPod shuffle - it affects all Apple stores worldwide. Dies ist deutlich vielversprechender und könnte letztendlich die erwarteten Neuerungen bei MacBook Pro und/oder MacBook bringen. This is clearly promising, and could ultimately the expected new with MacBook Pro and / or MacBook. (Danke an alle Tippgeber!) (Thanks to all donors tip!) Continue reading ‘Apple to announce new MacBook Pro?’

From WSJ today…

“Mr. McCain’s ties to lobbyists have also come under fire lately with reports of his friendships and alliances with lobbyists, who make up a large portion of his top campaign staff. The McCain campaign reports a surge in donations following the story in The New York Times that has been widely pilloried for suggesting Mr. McCain may have had an affair with a female lobbyist.”

“The watchdog group Public Citizen has identified 468 McCain fund-raisers, about 60 of whom are lobbyists, nearly twice the number of any other candidate.”

“Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said the party plans to file a complaint today with the Federal Election Commission asking for an investigation into Mr. McCain’s decision to withdraw from the government’s matching-funds program.

Mr. McCain was approved for the program, which matches small donations, in August, when his campaign was in dismal financial health. His fortunes have since shifted, but the Commission lacks the quorum necessary to approve his withdrawal from the program. Being locked in could be devastating to Mr. McCain’s bid because it would limit his expenditures to about $54 million, a level he may have surpassed already.

Although Mr. McCain hasn’t received any of the federal money, he opened a $4 million line of credit in November for which the commission says he may have used federal matching funds as collateral. That loan could preclude his withdrawal from the program, according to a letter to the campaign from Federal Election Commission Chairman David Mason last week.”

Cross posted from Gizmodo

The EyeClops Night Vision goggles let you see in total darkness using infrared lights, all while giving you that special Terminator look. Two attachments allow visibility 10 or 20 feet ahead—the 10-footers give off no light, the 20s show some small red dots.

They’re $80, and they’ll be out sometime this fall. A giant game of Manhunt in Prospect Park will follow shortly after.

Crossposted from Newsweek

By Eleanor Clift

Al Gore on the second ballot: A scenario that a few weeks ago seemed preposterous is beginning to look plausible to some nervous Democrats looking for a way out of the deadlock between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. It goes like this: We love them both, but neither is a sure bet when it comes to electability. It’s not about gender and race, each has more mundane vulnerabilities. Hillary’s negatives will drive white men to John McCain; Obama’s inexperience will require a gut check on the part of voters. What if the super delegates decide not to decide, denying either candidate the requisite number of delegates to secure the party’s nomination. Democrats want to win. The new rallying cry: Gore on the second ballot.

The last time a political convention went to a second ballot was 1952, but this is a year with so many twists and turns that nothing is impossible. Gore would be tempted on so many levels. He would only have to endure two months of campaigning, not long enough for voters to remember what they didn’t like about him eight years ago. Gore has sat out the primary process, refusing to offer even so much as a hint of where his sentiments lie. Years of playing second-fiddle to Hillary in the White House no doubt precluded his endorsement for her. Surely he would happily take Obama as his running mate, ending the Clinton dynasty and positioning the Democrats for a potential 16-year reign at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. A Gore-Obama ticket would be unstoppable, the thinking goes, matching the presumptive Republican nominee, McCain, on national security and experience, while embodying a powerful message of change. Continue reading ‘Al Gore to the Rescue?’

From Steve Cobble, friend of ours and founding member of Progressive Democrats of America

PDA’s roots began in opposition to the Iraq War. PDA’s entire existence has been a daily fight to end a war that never should have been started. We all know that. And over the next few days, we have a chance to act in harmony with our antiwar roots.

Here’s the essence of the situation: if Senator Obama can make it through next Tuesday in decent shape-or better-the electoral terrain in the rest of the month of February seems very favorable to his candidacy. But Senator Clinton is going for a knockout punch right now, this week, trying to dominate in places where PDA has some strength, states like California and Massachusetts.

Why should PDA care? Well, since PDA’s top-ranked candidates, Kucinich and Edwards, have now withdrawn, PDA supporters who wanted to could still make a difference in the next few days for our third-ranked candidate, Barack Obama, especially in California and Massachusetts.

PDA supporters who wanted to could still make a difference in the next few days, especially in CA & MA. We could email our personal lists, call our friends, blog our support online, volunteer, vote. We could, if we wanted to, choose to act.

My own thoughts, as a lifelong antiwar activist, are pretty straightforward at this point. There are two main candidates left.

One of them, Barack Obama, spoke out against the war in October of 2002, before it started.

The other one, Hillary Clinton, voted to authorize that war only 8 days later.

Their speeches are worth reading. Obama got it right. Clinton got it wrong. I’m going to support the one that got it right.

Steve Cobble is a fellow at The Institute for Policy Studies, a founding member of Progresive Democrats of America, and political advisor to the 2004 & 2008 Kucinich Campaign.

Very sad news breaking this morning on John Edwards, he is dropping out of the race for president. As suspected the Obama and Clinton momentum is just to much to overcome for Edwards. This was suspected as you will see the story below I posted yesterday mentions he is returning to New Orleans, where John Edwards began his campaign for president. His message early on in his campaign was centered around a basic belief that together we can do better for America. Fighting to end poverty, fighting to end the senseless war in Iraq, and fighting for universal health care were among the highlights of his message, something I truly believe in. It will be sad to see John Edwards end this campaign, but I look forward to hearing about the work he will continue after the spotlight dims. I will now fight for Obama, whose campaign more closely resembles Edwards comparatively.

From the AP Wire

Edwards Nixes Campaign Stops for Speech
By CHARLES BABINGTON
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards postponed campaign events in Alabama and North Dakota to make a major policy address on poverty Wednesday in New Orleans, where he launched his presidential bid 13 months ago.

Campaign officials said Edwards wants to highlight the fact that President Bush did not focus on New Orleans, still reeling from Hurricane Katrina, during his State of the Union address. North Dakota and Alabama are scheduled to vote Feb. 5.

In a news release, the Edwards campaign called poverty “the great moral issue of our time.” In recent days, it said, “national discussion of important issues like ending poverty has given way to sniping and personal attacks between the two front-runner candidates. Ending poverty and fighting for the middle class is the cause of John Edwards’ life — and he will urge the nation to refocus on this important issue.”

Mudcat Saunders, who was campaigning for Edwards in rural Georgia, a Feb. 5 state, said Edwards wanted to refocus his campaign on poverty.

Advisers said Edwards was continuing his campaign to the 22 states holding nominating contests on Feb. 5, despite losses in the first four contests, in hopes of picking up more delegates. On Saturday, he finished a distant third in his native South Carolina, whose primary he won in 2004. Continue reading ‘Edwards focus returns to poverty’

From The Hill

Former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) has his sights set on playing kingmaker at the Denver convention in August, one of his most senior campaign officials hinted Monday.

While dismissing suggestions that this implied Edwards had accepted he was out of contention for the nomination, Deputy Campaign Manager Jonathan Prince said the candidate would probably get enough delegates to play a decisive role in tipping the Democratic nomination under party rules.

Party insiders could also give Edwards the nomination at a brokered convention if they judged him more electable in a match-up against GOP front-runner Sen. John McCain (Ariz.). “At a brokered convention, all bets are off,” said Prince. Continue reading ‘Edwards eyes a brokered convention’