Gas Prices… oh, you know the rest
This is just sad. Gas prices are at record high levels. Again. What has the government done today to help the consumer? Nothing.
From Reuters:
“The U.S. retail price for gasoline set a new high of $3.29 a gallon after rising 3.1 cents over the last week, the federal Energy Information Administration said on Monday.
The national price for regular, self-service gasoline is up 58 cents from a year ago as expensive crude oil continued to be passed on to consumers at the pump, the Energy Department’s analytical arm said in its weekly survey of service stations.”
In a related story, from WSMV:
“NASHVILLE, Tenn. — With fuel prices rising, a group of truckers said they are prepared to strike.
Diesel fuel has reached another milestone; it has surpassed the $4 mark across much of the nation, according to AAA.
In Tennessee, diesel fuel is going for around $3.95 a gallon, but in 24 other states, it’s at least $4.02.”
Superdelegate Convention
Here’s the latest brain storm to get this thing decided before the Democratic convention in August. Hold a Superdelegates Convention in June after the primaries and caucuses are over. Obama has urged a decision be made then as he doesn’t see what further information anyone would need once all the votes are in.
Politico.com reports:
“Party leaders such as Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen have urged a convention of superdelegates in June, after the caucuses and primaries are over.
The idea sounds exotic, but recent public declarations and Politico interviews with top Democratic officials have made clear that something like what Bredesen proposed is already underway — not with a big meeting but with an intensifying series of exchanges among party elites.”
Obama Dances, Wins Texas Two Step, Most Delegates
Yes, he won Texas. From the AP:
Sen. Barack Obama has won the overall delegate race in Texas thanks to a strong showing in Democratic county conventions this past weekend.
Obama picked up seven of nine outstanding delegates, giving him a total of 99 Texas delegates to the party’s national convention this summer. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton won the other two, giving her a total of 94 Texas delegates, according to an analysis of returns by The Associated Press.
Texas Democrats held both a presidential primary and caucus. Clinton narrowly won the popular vote in the state’s primary March 4, earning her 65 national convention delegates to Obama’s 61
At Least He Knows Who Obama Is
Unlike DMX who had never heard of Obama, 50 cent has switched his support from Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama.
CNN reports:
Rapper 50 Cent, who told Time magazine last September he was supporting the New York senator’s White House bid, now says he has decided to shift his allegiance to Obama.
The multi-platinum star, born Curtis Jackson, told MTV News Friday that Obama’s recent speech on race was the deciding factor for his decision.
“I heard Obama speak,” he said. “He hit me with that he-just-got-done-watching-’Malcolm X,’ and I swear to God, I’m like, ‘Yo, Obama!’
“I’m Obama to the end now, baby!”
Why I Don’t Like Digger Phelps
I’m taking a break from politics with this post because the Kansas Jayhawks are in the Final Four!
Last night on ESPN they were talking about how all the number one seeds made it to the Final Four for the first time in the tournament. They went on to say that three of the programs are the most storied programs in basketball history. Digger Phelps replied, “You’ve got North Carolina, UCLA and I guess you can include Kansas in that list.”
You guess you can include Kansas?? I have always disliked Digger and this cemented the deal. Let me give Digger Phelps a few examples of why Kansas should be included in that list.
1. The inventor of the game, James Naismith, coached at Kansas.
2. Dean Smith (second winningest coach of all time) played at Kansas (grew up in Kansas) under Phog Allen and used what he learned from Phog to build his dynasty at North Carolina (where some guy Roy he taught how to coach is now coaching).
3. Adolph Rupp (the third winningest coach of all time) played at Kansas under Phog Allen and used what he learned from Phog to build his dynasty at Kentucky.
4. Wilt Chamberlain played at Kansas.
5. National Championships in 1922, 1923, 1952, 1988
6. 13 NCAA Final Four Appearances: 1940, 1952, 1953, 1957, 1971, 1974, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1993, 2002, 2003 and 2008
7. 51 Conference Titles (the most of any school)
Thanks to KU University Relations for some of the specifics.
Bowling for Votes
Let’s hope the Commander in Chief test does not include a bowling competition. As someone who holds a Girl Scout badge in bowling (I dare you to laugh) I can correctly identify many of these as gutter balls.
Obama had this to say, according to CNN:
“My economic plan is better than my bowling,” Obama told fellow bowlers Saturday evening at the Pleasant Valley Recreation Center.
“It has to be,” a man called out.
Lieberman’s Senior Moment
Lieberman has decided that the candidate that’s most like JFK running for office this year (wait for it) is (no not him) McCain! From CNN:
“Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Connecticut, compared presumptive Republican nominee John McCain to a surprising figure on Sunday — Democratic icon John F. Kennedy.
‘I’m a Democrat who came to the party in the era of President John F. Kennedy,’ Lieberman told George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s ‘This Week.’ It’s a strange turn of the road when I find among the candidates running this year that the one, in my opinion, closest to the Kennedy legacy, the John F. Kennedy legacy, is John S. McCain.’”
Senator, he’s no John F. Kennedy.
Obama Still Winning in Texas
Despite Hillary’s win in the popular vote (by a small margin, 51% – 47%), Obama is cleaning up in the caucuses and will likely take more delegates from the state. The Associated Press has the latest results from the caucus count going on this weekend:
“Here is the apportionment so far of presidential caucus delegates to the Texas Democratic state convention based on reports from Saturday’s county and senate district conventions. A total of about 7,300 delegates were expected to be selected in this stage of the caucus process, according to the Texas Democratic Party.
These results are from 151 of about 280 conventions.
Clinton: 1,783 delegates, or 42 percent
Obama: 2,471 delegates, or 58 percent.”
Obama’s Lead Grows
Gallup has Obama up by 10 points today, his biggest lead since the Reverend Wright “crisis.”
“Barack Obama has extended his lead over Hillary Clinton among Democrats nationally to 52% to 42%, the third consecutive Gallup Poll Daily tracking report in which he has held a statistically significant lead, and Obama’s largest lead of the year so far.”
Worst Line of the Night
Hillary Clinton in the Washington Post:
“I know there are some people who want to shut this down and I think they are wrong,” Clinton said in an interview during a campaign stop here Saturday. “I have no intention of stopping until we finish what we started and until we see what happens in the next 10 contests and until we resolve Florida and Michigan. And if we don’t resolve it, we’ll resolve it at the convention — that’s what credentials committees are for.
