A Musically Beautiful Mind

By Steven Tavares

When John Dalcino’s short, thin fingers first hit the slick, white keys of a piano the room brightens.

At that moment, the demons go away and tranquility and grace fills his troubled mind.

“His eyebrows would raise and it was like he wasn’t there. He had this third eye that was channeling the music. If you looked at him straight in the eye while he’s playing, it was like he was looking at God. All he was seeing was the music in his head,” said rapper Shock-G, formerly known as Humpty Hump of the 80’s Bay Area hip-hop group Digital Underground.

Shock-G first met Dalcino in the early 1980s when he sold keyboards at a local music shop on East 14th Street in San Leandro.

Dalcino had a studio in his home at the time that was stocked with some of the best music equipment available, said Shock-G.

He had the hippest, most beautiful studio in the Bay,” said Shock-G.

Before Digital Underground fully formed they cut their teeth at Dalcino’s home, bouncing around rhymes and rhythms in a genre of music that was set to explode upon the nation’s consciousness.

“Back then there wasn’t many people rapping in the Bay Area yet,” said Shock-G, “Hammer was getting up there, but most were just getting started.”

While artists like Shock-G, Tupac Shakur and M.C. Hammer were gaining a large following, the career of John Dalcino didn’t falter because of the standard music stereotypes of drugs, booze and women, in his case, something fundamental was holding him back: his mind was sick.

They say there’s a fine line between genius and insanity and Dalcino crossed over that line in his early 20’s—in fact, in a clinical sense, his medical records would say he did it seven times.
His mother says she knew the baby growing in her belly during the winter of 1956 was going to be a musician when he would repeatedly kick in a constant rhythm.

When Dalcino was born, he was a quick learner.

“At six months old, I took John to the doctor and the doctor said, ‘Look at that. He has perfect control. So I put him on the toilet and he was potty trained. Nobody could believe it,” said Carolyn Dalcino.

By age four, Dalcino began playing around on the piano and vaguely discernible music started emanated from the room, said his mother, but she thought her son was too different than the other children and kept him apart from other kids.

“My mom would take the keyboard cover and slam it on my fingers,” said Dalcino, “Everybody was outside swinging on swings and making toy boxes and I couldn’t go out there and join in on the fun. She caught me looking out the window one day and she took the cover and broke three of my fingers.”

Dalcino says he can play the drums, bass guitar, clarinet and saxophone, but is most proficient playing the piano.

As he grew up in San Leandro, he excelled in music at every level of his public schooling.

He was so good that, at age 15, he played for Sammy Davis, Jr. at a concert in Lake Tahoe.

But, the mental breakdowns that would plague him throughout his life would soon begin to make themselves known through violent rants and erratic public behavior.

During one episode, he ran through the streets of San Leandro in front of a group of girls naked. Soon afterward, he was sent to a mental hospital for the first time.

“I was 20 and they committed me! I walked out, threw away my pills and snapped and they put me back in again,” said Dalcino.

Through the fog of numerous medications, Dalcino sat in with some of the most famous musicians of the 20th century.

Mingo Lewis, Woody Herman, Don Ellis, Carlos Vega and Harry Connick, Jr. all had Dalcino sit in on performance when they came to the Bay Area.

Today, after three heart attacks before the age of 50, he says he takes 22 different medications to treat his mental illness and to keep his heart ticking properly.

Luckily, he says because he worked a time as a garbage man, the local Teamsters union foots the bill for most of his medication that cost $3,450 a month.

As he orders a large coffee with eight shots of espresso, a customer in the coffeehouse raises an eyebrow and smiles.

The barista, Jose, says they limit the amount of shots of caffeine for health reasons, but he’s taken an order of nine before.

It’s clear, though, that without music, Dalcino’s eccentricities even show in his coffee order.

Sitting at a corner table, sipping his liquid defibrillator, the need for music’s mathematical order reveals itself.

It’s his habit to unload all his personal effects on the table in front of him.
It’s as if he’s placing the objects in a row similar to how a composer would place notes on a sheet of music.

To his left he places a worn, black wallet bulging with plastic cards, photos and raggedy pieces of small paper.

Next to that, placed slightly above the wallet, his keys. Next to that, again slightly higher than the keys, he places a blank compact disk, next to that slightly lower on the scale he counts out 10 one-hundred dollar bills, followed by 10 fifties and then 10 twenties placed as the low as the wallet.

The music in his head doesn’t flow as well as it once did. He says he barely plays the piano much anymore.

Walter Felis, a former tenant of one of his mother’s duplexes, says most of the time he doesn’t make any sense when he’s talking to you, just these long speeches that might mean something to him, but not to anybody else.

At the coffeehouse, he would end cogent answers to questions with peculiar non sequiturs, including a date witht Paris Hilton next week and story of dining with a local musician.

“I told him, you’re coming to my house for dinner. He said, ‘I didn’t know black people ate with white people’. I said, shut the f--- up and eat your pasta,” blurted Dalcino.

“When he starts playing the keyboards, he’s like Mozart,” said Felis.

“He used to be smooth back in the day,” said Shock-G, “Now, he plays like he talks, but in his music I can still hear genius.”

Music has always been his safe house from a world that seems too foreign for his ailing psyche to handle.

“When I get into a zone, everything is easy for me because I don’t have to talk,” said Dalcino.

“Stan Getz told me, some night it’s s--t and other nights it’s magic and I could never get away from that. Music is a drug,” says Dalcino.

It’s the only drug in his medicine cabinet that makes him feel himself.

Ferrell's Umpteenth Sports Flick Clanks The Rim

IN LIEU OF ACTUAL JOKES, JUST DROP F-BOMBS ALL OVER THE COURT

In Will Ferrell’s quest to blanket the history of film with comedies on every single sport known to man, comes an afroed former disco singer with a basketball team.

“Semi-Pro”, Ferrell’s latest ode to sports buffoonery is far from some of the great comedies of the past few years because it lacks a clever premise for the jokes to percolate and, of course, anything funny.

The sad sack Flint Tropics of the American Basketball Association need to finish fourth to be part of the coming merger with the National Basketball Association. Ferrell’s Jackie Moon is owner/marketer/power forward for the Tropics by way of a bouncy disco tune “Love Me Sexy” that proves to be his best performance of the movie.

The problem with “Semi-Pro” is director Kent Alterman doesn’t seem to know what kind of movie he wanted to make--a slapstick comedy or a romantic comedy.

Most of the confusion is the pairing of Ferrell and the grizzled vet Ed Monix played by Woody Harrelson. Is this movie about Moon’s Tropics or Monix returning to Flint to reunite with his old girlfriend played by Maura Tierney? Three-fourths through the film yet another plotline emerges with the team’s underachieving star fulfilling his dream of playing in the NBA.

This confusion of a leading man runs against what a paying customer would expect from absorbing a major marketing campaign that started on Super Bowl Sunday and included cross-promotions with Bud Light and Gillette.

This comedy is about Will Ferrell’s character as much as the 90’s sitcom “Family Matters” was about Steve Urkel. Sadly, Ferrell is just a constant distraction from the lack of any discernible focus.

Like a cross-court pass that is telegraphed and stolen by a quicker defender, many of “Semi-Pro’s” featured bits have punch lines that are anticipated a mile away.

When the team meets for a game of poker at Moon’s house, a misspoken “Jive Turkey!” forces the color analyst to brandish a pistol. The weapon turns out to be unloaded, so they think. The characters each grab the gun and perform their own improvisations, including Moon hilariously feigning, “I shot myself in the wiener.” From the first improv, it’s clear that someone is going to be accidentally shot.

There are some shining performances in Semi-Pro, though. Benjamin, who plays the cocky, but talented hoopster, who goes by many names, including Coffee Black, in an obvious nod to the late 70’s star World B. Free, actually looks like he can act.

Andrew Daly plays the straight-laced Tropics play-by-play announcer Dick Pepperfield to the highest laughs in the film. His by-the-book description of the first alley-oop in basketball history is a great movie quote in the making.

Sadly, “Semi-Pro” is a movie reminiscent of recent comedies like "Superbad" and “The Brothers Solomon” that isn’t based on a funny script, but comedians leaning on the film’s “R” rating to allow them to say pour out explicative for the sake of shocking the audience.

You can go to any bar or stand on any corner and hear a mildly funny person stringing together a litany of curse words and get a chuckle. For the high price of admission something just a bit more creative is due.

Muslims Sense Prejudice In Clinton's Campaign Tactic

DRUDGE REPORTS CLINTON STAFFERS PROLIFERATED TURBAN PHOTO

By Steven Tavares

When photos of Sen. Barack Obama wearing traditional garb of a Somali elder and turban, Muslims around the country saw what they feared: a presidential talking point disguised as a proxy against their religion.

In the days since the infamous photo appeared Feb. 25 on the website, “The Drudge Report” Muslims, including bloggers, have criticized the implication of Obama, who is Christian, being tied with extremist Islamic views.

“I don’t like it, but I knew it was coming,” said Nasir Mohammed, a 32-year-old mechanic from Fremont, “Bush dressed up in Chinese clothes and nobody said he was a communist.”

Matt Drudge, the conservative blogger, who also broke the Monica Lewinsky story in 1998, wrote on his website that the photo of Obama, taken during a visit to Kenya in 2006, was distributed by various staffers from the Hillary Clinton campaign.

On Obama’s campaign website, David Plouffe, the candidate’s campaign manager, described the tactic as “the most shameful, offensive fear-mongering we’ve seen from either party in this election”.

While the connotation that Obama is, in fact, Muslim was unsettling, some Muslims are more pragmatic.

Ahmad Helmand, a security guard from Hayward who immigrated to the U.S. from Afghanistan in the early 1980’s, believes that the Muslim world would look proudly to the United States if they voted someone of color or of a different faith than the majority of Americans.

“It doesn’t matter to me, because he said he’s Christian,” said Helmand, “If people want to believe he’s a terrorist, then so be, they’re probably racist anyway.”

A day after Drudge’s posting, conservative talk-show host, Bill Cunningham, introduced Sen. John McCain at rally for his campaign for the republican presidential nomination, by referring to Obama by his entire name, which includes his middle name Hussein.

McCain later apologized to the Obama campaigned, but the meme of the candidate with a middle eastern-sounding name wearing a turban has been set in the minds of many voters.

Juan R. I. Cole, the noted University of Michigan professor who specializes on middle east affairs, found the blatant use of Obama’s full name to be inappropriate.

On his website, he wrote, “Denigrating that name is a form of racial and religious bigotry of the most vile and debased sort. It is a prejudice against names deriving from Semitic languages,” said Cole.

He also noted that other famous Americans in history like World War II Gen. Omar Bradley and Benjamin Franklin also had derivations of middle eastern surnames.

“I don’t think people really care what a person’s name is as long as they have money in their pockets,” said Mohammed.

McCain Needs To Heart Huckabee As Veep

SOUTHERNER IS BATTLE-TESTED AND FUNNY...FOR A POLITICIAN

As fast as he could say, "Shazzam!" the Gomer Pyle-esque former Arkansas governor became a presidential player, again.


After winning the Iowa caucus last month, he went from Hucka-who? to “I heart Huckabee” before acting like a downright huckleberry.

The roller coaster campaign of Mike Huckabee was saved by the South and, maybe, Jesus himself.

 While he didn't sufficiently slow the John McCain Straight Talk (soon-to-be-less-candid-GOP-nominee) Express from streaking to the national convention in the Twin Cities, he did boost his chances for a place on the Republican ticket.


The McCain/Huckabee dynamic must be viewed as a mixed bag. The Republican came a step closer to anointing the latest heir to Ronald Reagan, but Huckabee's strong showing in Dixie again reveals an enormous fissure within the God-trumps-your-Constitution set and independent voters who enjoy McCain's willingness to reach across the aisle.

Is there another evangelical Christian in the Republican party up to the task of making conservatives feel whole other than Huckabee?

 If one existed it’s likely they would already be in the race where a bonafide red-meat-eating conservative is nowhere to be found.

Although he was successful early in Iowa, he never had the presidential purse strings or the willing donors to make much of a run, anyway, but his ability to preach to Southern values is his most valuable asset.

McCain has shown that he is unable to win in a Southern state other than South Carolina, where he has a unique history and a boatload of servicemen. Evidently, Huckabee has such sway south of the Mason-Dixon line that he easily won Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and his own state, Arkansas.


Obviously, it seems like a marriage made in heaven and they even like each other or share a common contempt for Mitt Romney.

 Such a ticket has inherent problem, though.


Many attribute McCain's earlier fall from grace, last year, to the fact he sold out his sterling reputation as a maverick politician when he courted President Bush's Christian cohorts. When he bowed at the altar of the late Jerry Falwell, he lost all of his street cred in Independentville, USA.


Now that "Mac is back", he might, again, be forced to court that same constituency or lose the general election. Without someone like Huckabee, McCain would have to cobble together an deadlocked electoral scenario without the GOP's main voting bloc, the Deep South.


McCain's version of the “Southern Strategy” forces a conundrum. Veer hard to right as he unsuccessfully did last year or softly shift to the center of left and make Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter blow steam from their ears.


Outside the political nuts and bolts, Huckabee as VP has many desirable traits. He battle-ready after honing his message on the stump for the last year. He folksy and, by the low standards of politicians, pretty funny.


What's not funny is some of beliefs. 

This is a candidate who, at times, sounds more like a West-hating cleric than an American Baptist preacher. Last week he said, 

"I believe it's a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God, and that's what we need to do is to amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards rather than try to change God's standards."


He also supports rewriting the 14th amendment by denying citizenship to children born to illegal immigrants.

 Behind his quick affable persona and quick-fingered bass playing lies something as poisonous to McCain's presidential aspirations.

It's a deal with the Devil that he flirted with before, but with the White House within his reach, McCain/Huckabee '08 may be his only chance.

Code Pink Awaits Pre-Dawn Protesters From Across Nation

POTENTIAL CLASH A PRELUDE TO CONTENTIOUS CITY COUNCIL MEETING

By Steven Tavares

BERKELEY, Calif - Members of the anti-war group, Code Pink, camped in front of the old Berkeley City Hall Monday night awaiting an early morning clash with pro-war groups angry over the city council’s stand against a Marines recruiting center.

The Berkeley City Council is slated to discuss the controversial decision to draft a letter declaring the Marines unwelcome in the city on Tuesday night.

In the meantime, both sides are girding themselves for a contentious display of protesting in front of the Maudelle Shirek City Hall beginning at 5 a.m.

Code Pink organized an emergency 24-hour demonstration starting at 7 p.m. Monday night that will lead into the city council meeting Tuesday night.

Organizer from the pro-war group Move America Forward countered with a pledge to arrive for their own demonstration at the crack of dawn.

“They believe they’re protecting our children. We’re not at odds with that. Some of us just have different ideas on how to do it,” says Berkeley resident, Patty Bailey.

Erik Freeman, who served time in the Vietnam War, drove his RV from Bakersfield as a member of Move America Forward and arrived early to witness the protesters beforehand.

“This whole thing is about picking on the Marines,” said Freeman, “Our thing is to make it clear to the city council that we’re unhappy with their resolution.”

Freeman was also unimpressed with the manner in which the protesters were behaving.

“For a war protest, they’re having a whole lot of fun,” said Freeman.

The scene on Martin Luther King, Jr. Way had elements of a carnival with protesters clad in pink shirts dancing on the sidewalk, singing protest songs and snacking on vegan meals donated by a local eatery.

“Code Pink showed up for a pajama party,” said Freeman.

Cynthia Papermaster, another member of Code Pink, expects the pro-war protesters, some of which are believed to be traveling from as far as Colorado, will be discourteous and aiming to provoke a physical confrontation.

“We’re planning on being peaceful and non-confrontational,” said Papermaster.

Others are surprised by the worldwide attention this topic has received and see it as a telling sign of how unpopular the war has become.

“This is an indication of how scared they are about losing the war,” said Zanne Joi, who has been affiliated with Code Pink since its inception.

“We live in a country of lies and spin and one of the most successful lies is that if you’re against the war, you’re against the soldiers. I’m proud that our city council did not buckle under the pressure,” said Joi.

Freeman believes these types of demonstrations against the war puts our troops at risk and shows our enemies our weakness.

“They’re just allowing our opponents across the ocean to say, ‘Look, America is against the war’,” said Freeman.

The organizer behind Code Pink has staged weekly demonstrations in front of the recruiting center located on Shattuck Avenue for months.

Using a bullhorn and motherly powers of persuasion they attempt to detour prospective men from enlisting.

According to Papermaster, they have been known to enter the center and dissuade the men on the spot.

Primarily made up of mothers against the war, they successfully closed down an Army recruitment center on Broadway Avenue in downtown Oakland last year after continual protests.

'Anonymous' Protesters Descend On Berkeley Scientologists

TWENTY GATHER AS PART OF GLOBAL PROTEST ORGANIZED ON WEB

BERKELEY, Calif. - A small, but boisterous group clad in black masks and calling themselves “Anonymous” protested the Church of Scientology in Berkeley yesterday with a globally-coordinated movement that grew momentum through the web and YouTube.

Yelling “You’re cruising for a bruising, Tom” and holding a sign that read “Honk if you are against Scientology”, the protesters, a majority in their in early 20’s passed out leaflets downloaded from the internet, but failed to attract confrontation from the Scientology building on Shattuck Avenue.

Many in the group said that this was their first demonstration of any kind and all were drawn to the protest through articles on the internet and the heavily viewed videos available on YouTube.

One demonstrator, a student who traveled from Cupertino with his friend and calls himself “Anonymous” as many in the group did said he was drawn to the hype that surrounded the viral video.

“I wanted to tag along,” he said, “I heard about it from my friend and it didn’t seem right what they’re doing.”

The original Anonymous clips have been viewed over 2 million times as of Monday night and consists of noir-style backgrounds of clouds and buildings with a soundtrack of a computerized voice detailing the faceless groups manifesto against the Church of Scientology.

A few of the demonstrators admitted that they knew little about Scientology before the YouTube videos or said their only exposure to the church was through the controversial “South Park” episode that told the story of the groups belief that an interstellar warlord named “Xenu” brought misery to Earth.

Anonymous recounted how when he found information about Scientology on the web, he realized there wasn’t much difference between what he found and the cartoon episode.

“Basically, what I saw on that South Park episode was the truth,” he said.

A Cal student named Liz had a different history with Scientology than the others.

Her uncle was a former Scientologist about 30 years ago who left the church when he ran out of money for the group’s dollar-tiered path to enlightenment.

She says that the church still routinely calls her uncle about returning decades later.

The Genesis of the confrontation began weeks ago, when an unauthorized internal video of Scientology’s most famous adherent, Tom Cruise, appeared on the internet.

The extensively edited video of Cruise detailing the pleasures of Scientology intended for followers of the faith was quickly pulled by YouTube after the church, known for being aggressively litigious, complained to the site on the grounds of copyright infringement.

But, what began as a protest by young, computer hackers angry over the suppression of information morphed into a spotlight on the many of the church’s controversial practices of including accepting money to further a believers standing in the group and its standing as a tax-exempt non-profit organization.

A man from San Leandro named Shandu disagrees with the church retaining a tax exemption since 1993 as religious non-profit.

“I have a problem with them having a non-profit status when they don’t help anyone,” said Shandu, “They don’t feed the poor or help children like other churches do,”

Shandu, who once protested Apartheid in the 1980’s, was not alone in being concerned about the church’s reputation for ruthlessly tamping down dissent through intimidation.

“I can’t afford to weather a big lawsuit. Even if it was a B.S. suit, you still have to get a lawyer and they can just keep the case going for years,” said Shandu, “They have that kind of financial power.”

Added Anonymous: “It’s why I brought the mask. I’ve heard rumors about them destroying protester lives.”

The protester named Liz was far more defiant.

“They can’t get me, but part of Anonymous is that they are afraid of Scientology’s power. That’s why we have to hide our identities,” she said.

The Anonymous movement, in fact, detailed a list of 22 rules that followers should adhere to, including, demonstrating across the street from Scientology buildings, cooperating with law enforcement and disguising their identities with masks, sunglasses and hoods.

Many at the three-hour demonstration believe representatives from Scientology were covertly watching the group.
They detailed a man clad in dark blue who intently watched the group for over 30 minutes while intermittently speaking on the phone.

Two women also intentively watch the demonstrators while one video taped the action and the other jotted down notes.
The two were masked similarly to the Anonymous protesters, but when asked to join the group, they said they were “independent”.

Later they handed demonstrators small pieces of paper with a handwritten e-mail address.

With the undercover and mysterious mood of the two groups, few said they were willing to act upon the e-mail address.

College Students Not Keen On Saving Rebate Checks

BILL'S EFFECTIVENESS BASED ON WILLINGNESS TO SPEND

HAYWARD, Calif. - The success of the $150 billion stimulus plan that President Bush and Congress agreed to last week depends on one thing: that people will spend the potential $1,800 rebate checks quickly, but many Cal State-East Bay students are not buying the premise.

“I would spend some and save some,” said Joe Pecoraro, a senior majoring in accounting, “I tell my friends to save, too, but they usually don’t.”

In interviews across campus, he and others expressed various preferences for the use of the possible funds, which the Bush administration hopes may jumpstart an ailing economy.

Freshman Aurelio Padilla travels from Oakland to school using BART and buses and might put a rebate check from Uncle Sam towards some new wheels somewhere down the line.

“I would probably save it and put it towards buying a car,” said Padilla.

Others like Angelica Gonzalez, freshman majoring in nursing, are inclined to save the money to use later in the year.
“I would probably save it for books in the fall,” said Gonzalez.

But, she also admitted that she might spend it during her yearly summer vacation in Mexico, which would benefit that country’s economy more than the U.S.

The problem is that saving the money or paying off a delinquent credit card bill is not what the stimulus bill is intended to do.
The Federal Reserve, which oversees the nation’s treasure chest, would rather have people spend, not save the checks, which could run anywhere from $300 to nearly $1,800 for taxpayers who have the maximum four dependents.

Most economists agree that the economy needs a quick injection of money to lessen the burden of a shaky housing market and a precipitous rise in foreclosure due to iffy sub-prime loans.

If the stimulus bill is passed by Congress, the rebate checks, which could arrive in the mailboxes of many households in May, will carry no conditions on how they are spent, but, instead, present a policy gamble by Washington that they will wiggle the economy out of the grasp of a possible recession.

CSUEB economics professor, Lynn Paringer, believes the best way to help the economy is to get the money into the hands of people with lower incomes.

“It’s fair to say that lower income people are more inclined to spend it more quickly,” said Paringer.

Depositing the checks in your savings account will help the economy in the long run, but not as quickly as the government wants.

“If it goes to a bank you won’t see it helping until after a cycle,” but Paringer added, “If you put it under your mattress, nothing happens.”

Paying your debts with the money will help your personal finances, but also won’t do much for the economy in the short term.

Graduate student, Moises De Loera, who is closing in on his teaching credential, might apply the check towards his school loans.

“I need to pay some bills and I have school debts,” said De Loera, “and it’s almost time to pay those bills.”

Paringer says if that paying off your bills will help the economy, but not until that money is able to be invested down the line.

She believes that the key to helping the economy is through targeting the stimulus towards businesses, but details of the stimulus bill will have to limit what areas they invest.

“What if your business is working at capacity? Will you invest? And what’s to say they don’t invest in the U.S.? Will this create incentive for businesses to build new factories or hire more workers,” said Paringer.

The agreement that President Bush; Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader John Boehner arrived at last week did not include demands from Democrats that the stimulus include extending unemployment insurance and bolstering food stamp programs, but did include tax incentives for small businesses that Republicans favored.

Senate Democrats said Monday that they will seek to include benefits for unemployment insurance and food stamps in their plan, both areas that economists believe people will quickly spend their checks on rent or staples food and clothing.

During his State of the Union speech, President Bush said any attempt to deviate from his agreement with Congress will “delay or derail” the stimulus bill.

He also reiterated that the bill must be passed quickly to have any effect on the economy.

Stark Pitches Stimulus Bill To Help Failing Economy

CHECK COULD BE IN THE MAIL FOR MILLIONS OF AMERICANS

SAN LEANDRO, Calif. - Rep. Pete Stark advocated a stimulus bill for the ailing U.S. economy Saturday in San Leandro that would put more money into the hands of people willing to immediately spend it.

A stimulus package that it “timely, targeted and temporary” will pushed through Congress within the next two months, according to Stark..

Last week, President Bush unveiled a $145 billion that illustrated his desire to avoid a prolonged recession during an election year that could further erode the Republican’s power in the legislative and executive branches come November.

Bush’s plan differs from previous ones that sought to make tax cuts for the richest Americans permanent, by focusing on one-time rebates for individuals and allowing businesses to quickly write-off certain expenses.

The bill that Stark is supporting includes extending unemployment insurance, bolstering programs for food stamps and possibly sending a check similar to what Bush attempted in 2001 to quickly inject money into the economy.

Stark, who is chairman of the Ways and Means Health subcommittee, admits his plan is one of many in Congress.

“There’s 535 members and 535 plans,” said Stark, “We hope we can narrow it down to one plan in the next month or so and proceed.”

Stark cited the opinion of many economists who believe the path out of this recession, whether the economy is in the midst of one or whether it’s impending, is through an immediate infusion of consumer spending.

To do that, he says one way is extend unemployment insurance to an extra 26 week and increase the amount of food stamps low-income families receive.

“They will spend that money. They will spend it for rent. They will spend it on clothes for their kids. They will spend it for food and that gets into the economy quicker,” said Stark.

The other idea would be simply sending a check directly to the people in the range of $200-$500 through the tax code, but Stark disagrees with that method.

“The problem I see with that is a lot of low-income people don’t file taxes, so they won’t get a refund,” said Stark.

Instead, by sending checks to those on the lowest end of Social Security payouts the benefits will be available to more people who need it most, according to Stark.

Any plan that is debated before Congress will likely need bipartisan support.

The combination of lame duck president already willing to reignite the economy and vulnerable Republicans in an election year means they may be in the mood to deal with Democrats.

One compromise could be allowing small business owners who invest in equipment to increase the amount of the tax dollars that are deferred over five years, said Stark.

The quickly expanding subprime mortgage problem, that in some ways, triggered the current recession fears, continues to grow as institutions like Citigroup, Merrill Lynch and other overseas banks report record losses and increases the fears of many Bay Area borrowers who received the shaky loans.

A former banker, himself, Stark says that “much depends on banks doing the right thing.”

Banks will save money by not foreclosing and letting borrowers maintain their own homes, instead of allowing a bad asset hurt their bottom line, said Stark.

“If you’re looking for work and you’re paying your taxes and insurance; stay in the house and we’ll add the missed payments to your mortgage. When you get a job, we’ll reset it,” said Stark.

Mayor Santos Still Believes Crime Is Down In San Leandro

SANTOS: 'I CAN'T WATCH EVERY CAR IN THE CITY'

When San Leandro Mayor Tony Santos asked a crowd of concerned citizens Tuesday night how many had been the victims of crime more than a majority raised their hand. “How many with two? How many with five or more? Anybody with more than 10?” The show of hands dwindled with each set until only the mayor’s hand was left.

“I’ve been there. I know the feeling. It’s no fun to be victimized. I lost thousands of dollars because of it,” said Mayor Santos.

San Leandro has been up in arms ever since an FBI report recently ranked the city as the ninth most dangerous city in the country and the infighting has centered on a distinct disconnect between what the mayor and police chief say are facts showing a drop in crime and what the public sees as a general demise of their quality of life.

“The perception is that everything is out of control, but the facts say the contrary,” Santos said.

While the FBI report contained data obtained solely from the city’s police department, the most recent date only goes back to 2005.

“We’ve all heard it. This town isn’t what it was 10 or 15 years ago. That’s true, because it isn’t. Ten or 15 years ago, the crime rate was about 25 percent higher,” Police Chief Dale S. Attarian said during Monday’s city council meeting.

In the last two years violent crime has dropped, according to Sgt. Attarian.

But doubts have been raised over the accuracy of the statistics the police are reporting to the FBI.

In a working session of the city council Monday night, Chief Attarian admitted that the computer system used to compile the crime statistics has given the department problems and is “not user-friendly”. The system was adopted in 2004.

Despite the figures that the mayor and police department give many in the city don’t buy the rosy state of affairs and have been uncommonly vociferous in the anger to the mayor’s stance that the furor is over a false perception of reality.

“This is the crux of the problem. We have elders. We have children. It’s not helping to give us statistics,” said Davis Street resident, Wafaa Aborashed.

In her neighborhood, a cyclone fence that separated Davis West and East was continually cut to allow criminals access to the area.

According to Aborashed, she waited a month for the city to fix the fence. In the meantime, the surrounding area was vandalized and tagged in numerous areas. It wasn’t until she called Cal Trans that the fence was repaired. She now says that crime and graffiti has subsided.

In the Mulford Gardens neighborhood adjacent to the San Leandro Marina the quality of life issue has also been more prevalent than the occurrences of violent crime.

Members of that home owners association voted to close a private, but well used park on Aurora Avenue across from Garfield Elementary School after gangs activity, small drug packets and used condoms were found on a regular basis.

The HOA had replaced the park’s wooden accoutrements with new slides, swings and bench and also made it compliant with the American with Disabilities Act.

“Kids say ‘Man, that’s not fair’ and I say, ‘You want me to go to your parents house and mess up your family room’,” said Mulford Gardens HOA president, Bo Johansen.

Down Aurora and on its bisecting streets frequently have teenagers loitering on street corners and bus stops after school and early evening.

Johansen admits there’s no other place in that area for kids to go, but will open the park on occasion. He also indicated that crime as decreased in the area after the park’s closure.

On Tuesday night, what was supposed to be a small meeting between the mayor and presidents of local HOA’s turned into, based on your perspective, an illustration of democracy at work or an example of mob government.

As the mayor continued to offer statistics to the overflow crowd of about 100 at the San Leandro Main library, many shouted disapproval or stood and made impassioned pleas to their concerns.

“We’re not being listened to. The people are upset,” said Johansen, “He skirts around the issue. This is what he always does.”

In some ways the mayor has opened himself up to the criticism that he’s not interested in people’s plight by only offering numbers and recommending people first must be proactive in their safety.

Al Lozano has lived in San Leandro for 43 years and works as a security consultant, took offense to the numerous times the mayor appeared to be smiling when people described their concerns.

“Look at him there grinning. Some of his comments were rude and disrespectful,” said Lozano.

Said Santos, “I was hoping to show empathy by saying, here I know the feeling.”

He also reiterated that the city trying to find solutions, but the public also needs to help themselves, especially in response to the city’s most notorious crime, car larceny.

Santos advocated making sure car doors are locked and put in the garage.

“I want people to say to themselves, ‘What should I do’,” said Santos, “I can’t watch every car in the city.”

Huckabee's Plays Both Sides of Immigration Fence

DOES HE REALLY WANT TO BAR IMMIGRANT'S CHILDREN FROM CITIZENSHIP

You can't be sure how credible a newspaper owned by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon can be, ...BUT...it was reported in the Washington Times that Mike Huckabee would attempt to stop children of immigrants from automatically becoming U.S. citizens.

The notion is utter nonsense and can be looked at in two ways.

The story was unequivocably stated by a Huckabee loyalist, James Gilchrist, who is a founder of the Minutemen Project, which calls itself "a citizens' Neighborhood Watch on our border" and characterized as correct by the Huckabee campaign. Huckabee has denied any plans to tinker with the Constitution.

What Huckabee is doing is spreading the meme, which only conservative, evangelical fundamentalist hear as a clear-minded proposal.

He's playing hide-and-go-seek with the truth. Which is it? Does he support such an amendment or not? At this point, it doesn't matter. Liberals and independents won't vote for him and whether he would actually run a test case up to the Supreme Court if he became president is not the point.

What it does to evangelical conservatives is say this guy is tough on immigration. By using a surrogate like Gilchrist he can stir up the right wing nutjobs profusely and still seem like the swell guy some in the media have begun to portray him as.

The other more troublesome angle is the case of history repeating itself. Many in the media are recycling the old 2000 George W. Bush bromide of "which guy would you rather have a beer with: Bush or Gore?"

In hindsight, it looks like neither and if anything you would share a bottled water with Gore.

Huckabee is creating this lovable, cool persona which is incongruent with any 50-something, Southern white man toting a tattered Bible ever created.

Sure, he plays the bass guitar and utters some rehearsed zingers, but he isn't cool and didn't we learn what happens to our government when we choose personality over competence?

Beyond the smile and jokes lies an agenda hostile to our Constitution, our civil rights and our national security.

Obama And The Beginning Of A Political Movement

OBAMA WINS AND BRINGS THE YOUNGLINGS WITH HIM

Clearly, Obama's victory in Iowa upends all conventional thinking. He may be black, but this win had nothing to do with race. That's a good thing. The statistic that a black man won in state that 95 percent lilly white is potent, though because it says in a profound way that his presidency is highly possible and gives credence that his candidacy is far more than a man running for office, but bonifide movement.

The most exciting development for his campaign and for American civics is that he delivered the youth and first-time caucus goers. It's a iffy proposition to count on the youth vote because it's so fickle and easily distracted by iPods, DVDs and MySpace, but Obama nearly double the number of participants in Iowa. A very exciting development and if he wins the Democratic nomination will prove deadly to the hopes of any Republican in the general election.

Unless Obama commits any unbelievable flub in the next four days in the Granite State, he will win New Hampshire and look very strong in South Carolina's primary which features a majority of black voters.

Romney Finishes Second Like Edwards Wasting Resources

McCAIN TRAIN REVS UP FOR RUN TO THE NOMINATION

Romney's final numbers in Iowa are not bad on the face of it. They only look ominous much like John Edwards's because so much time and, in Romney's case, money was spent for a distant second.

But, it was second and could look even better if he was somehow able to win the New Hampshire primary. He's in the running, but like Iowa he has candidate peaking at right time.

The Granite State loves tough-minded politicians like McCain, if Romney can't win a state bordering his own Massachusetts, the argument can be made that voters who presumably have been watching Romney for years in Boston know best and repudiated his candidacy.

FRED THOMPSON
The Politico website said Thompson would bail if he didn't win 15 percent. He didn't, but came close. He narrowly beat out McCain in Iowa and still has a strong third place standing in New Hampshire.

It still third with little outlook of moving up. If Thompson drops out, it could be argued that the rest of the field below him should do likewise. In any other race, his prospects are undeniably dim, but there isn't a candidate in the Republican field who can claim number one.

SEN. JOHN MC CAIN
The big winner in Iowa could be McCain. Imagine the kid who doesn't study for the big test and still gets a B+. That's McCain in Iowa, who didn't even campaign there and spoke against the state beloved ethanol subsidies. He still finish with a strong 12 percent and on to New Hampshire.

McCain made the huge bet on the war and it's finally beginning to payoff. That coupled with the lack of a candidate with true conservative credentials, makes the Arizona senator, the odds-on favorite to win the Republican nomination.

Huck Wins, But Apathetic Feeling Still Lingers

DAVID BEATS GOLIATH SOLELY WITH THE HELP OF BORN AGAINS

With his win in the Iowa Republican caucus, his candidacy becomes the latest example of how hard it is to prognosticate presidential politics a year in advance.

When Huckabee announced his candidacy a year ago, I wrote why someone with no chance whatsoever would waste their time in running. What a difference a year makes.

What's interesting though, is that this rousing victory where he was outspent by Mitt Romney by the tune of 20-to-1, isn't translating well to Tuesday's New Hampshire primary. Sen. John McCain's suddenly rise there with its proud independent streak is becoming the story.

Republicans are just not excited about this field. Normally an underfunded, but successful campaign gets a quick infusion of cash when people see it can actually win. Few have that sense with Huckabee and see his overwhelming support by Iowa born-agains was the reason he won there.

He won't win in New Hampshire and even though evangelicals reside overwhelmingly in South Carolina, there's still a great deal of servicemen who are loyal to McCain.

The bottom line is that Huckabee's win again underscores the lack of any strength and excitement in the Republican party. A Huckabee nomination might leave an opening for a third party candidate like Mike Bloomberg entering the race by Fourth of July

Edwards Finishes Strong Second, But It's Just Not Enough

LOW UNION TURNOUT COULD BE A DEATH KNELL FOR N.C. SENATOR

Finishing second in Iowa at first glance seems very encouraging. He beat out Sen. Hillary Clinton for second, but he also finish a distant second to Obama. Edwards garnered 30% of caucus goers which was about three or four percentage points less than a highly encouraging second. This is how far Edwards has come in the four years since a second place finish in Iowa probably buoyed his chance to be John Kerry's VP--not very far.

The big disappointment yesterday was not finishing so far off the pace, but that Edwards's union appeal was completely misrepresented. According to exit polling, the former senator from North Carolina was the third choice among Democrats.

Without a doubt, this fact is the death of Edwards's campaign. He made union involvement the linchpin of his populist campaign. The Edwards strategy was to parlay union-backing in Iowa and Nevada to start strong, but it's not happening. In hindsight, the writing could have been on the wall when one of the country's strongest union, SEIU, didn't endorse him across the board.

New Hampshire looks like a third place finish as does South Carolina. By the time, Nevada comes around, Obama's momentum will be huge over Hillary's comeback kids persona will have taken root.

THE REST OF THE FIELD
Another fact that lends credence to the Obama movement was the poor performance of Gov. Bill Richardson, who reportedly instructed followers to back the Illinois senator if he wasn't viable at a precinct.

These second choice caucus goers apparently fled to Obama and might account for the pre-caucus three-way tie in Iowa.

Sen. Chris Dodd and Sen. Joe Biden, the graybeards of the campaign said farewell. It's notable that Sen. Biden, whom many mocked for his pubic kissing up to Sen. Clinton. Was he auditioning to be the future Secretary of State? Apparently not, since most of followers were instructed to choose Obama as their second choice.

Inevitability Is Gone, But Hillary Still Has Money To Burn

THE CLINTON SPIN MACHINE FIRES UP FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE

The horrific third place finish that the LFR predicted two months ago became very real yesterday even before Iowans moved in droves to caucus. When Clinton's campaign began lowering the bar so starkly and columnists began criticizing her hubris in even trying in Iowa.

To political junkies this loss was less than shocking and doesn't mean her bid to be the first female president is in the trash. But, to the other 300 million-plus Americans, the enevitability of her campaign took a a huge hit. Just like the candidate herself, the reaction will be polarizing. Either it confirms suspicions that the country is not ready for a woman in the White House or it will be a call to arms for women and allies of the Clinton dynasty.

Clinton's advantage is that her coffers can go deep into Super Duper Tuesday on Feb. 5 even if she doesn't win much. It also could give rise to her campaign using her husband's "Comeback Kid" moniker in either New Hampshire or South Carolina. Do not underestimate the Clinton's ability to spin anything.

Remember, Bill Clinton lost by eight points in the 1992 New Hampshire primary to Paul Tsongas and was still able to claim victory.

Her candidacy took a major hit, but she's the only candidate to could significantly take on water and still continue sailing. She's not done and, in the end, the inevitable turnover in her campaign will bring a more steady and cogent message.

Obama Will Leave Iowa With More Than Hope

This is how the LFR sees tonight's Iowa Caucus:

DEMOCRATS

Sen. Barack Obama 37%

John Edwards 27%

Sen. Hillary Clinton 24%

Gov. Bill Richardson   6%

Sen. Joe Biden   5%

Rep. Dennis Kucinich  1%

Sen. Chris Dodd   0%

REPUBLICANS

Mike Huckabee 36%

Mitt Romney 33%

Rep. Ron Paul 11%

Fred Thompson  9%

Sen. John McCain 7%

Rudy Giuliani  4%

Rep. Duncan Hunter  0%

Iowa Caucus Primer

HOW DOES THE CAUCUS SYSTEM WORK?

WHAT'S A HAWKEYE?

HOW NIXON AND ETHANOL SUBSIDIES MADE AMERICA FAT

Thompson Likely Gone After Iowa Caucus

ENDORSEMENT OF McCAIN WILL HAVE NOMINAL EFFECT ON RACE

The Freddy Thompson Experience looks to be on its last legs.

The Politico is reporting tonight that the Law & Order actor is likely to drop out of the Republican race for the White House if he doesn't garner at least 15 percent of the caucus goers tomorrow.

It's likely that with Sen. John McCain's suddenly rise in Iowa, that Thompson will be hard-pressed to reach that figure.

In a race when it's beneficial to peak just before the caucus, Thompson peaked about three months before he even announced his candidacy. It was downhill from there. 

After announcing, he rose from seclusion noticeably slimmer and gaunt and was criticized for handing out lame, nondescript answers in tandem with a ubiquitous tut-tut and head shake.

Also, The Politico is speculating that Thompson will endorse Sen. McCain, who is good friend. The effects of such a endorsement should be nominal for McCain since he wasn't actively campaigning in Iowa and Thompson's popularity casted nary a blip on the New Hampshire radar.

Hillary Asks For Iowans Vote And To Buy Proactive

RUNDOWN OF CAUCUS EVE DEMOCRATIC ADS



SEN. HILLARY CLINTON
The message has been the same for months. She's about change both in government and gender and a rebuke of all things President Bush. I, frankly, strained to here that message because of the excessively white-washed senator that give the impression that the former first lady is hawking face cleansers. These are the wrinkles the harsh key light is successfully concealing.

JOHN EDWARDS
This ad is fairly effective in that conveys the populism that Edwards is predicating is campaign upon. When the Iowa man, Doug Bishop, begins to choke up, it's hard to not to do the same. Two problems, though. The least of which is wouldn't it be a bit creepy for a man to be telling a seven year old that he was fighting for dad's job. Aside from that, it's a bit of a gamble for the Edwards campaign to be featuring someone other than the candidate in its final campaign ad before tomorrow's caucus.

Dems Could Be Looking At A Virtual Tie In Iowa

SEN. CLINTON COULD BE LOOKING AT A CEILING OF 25 PERCENT

Salon.com columnist Walter Shapiro has been around Washington and political campaigns for decades, here's what he's seeing on the ground in Iowa:

At this point in 2004, just a few days before the caucuses, I had begun to pick up anecdotal evidence (from crowd size and interviews with likely caucus-goers) that Howard Dean was slipping and John Kerry and John Edwards were surging. But this time around, I have not seen or heard anything that prompts me to move away from the conventional wisdom that Obama, Clinton and Edwards are locked in a three-way tie.

Shapiro sees a dead heat in the Democratic Iowa caucus, but he also has uncovered some interesting nuggets.

While traveling with the Edwards campaign, Shapiro found the former senator's base is solidly in his corner, largely due to his time and organization in Iowa.

Sen. Barack Obama's popularity is hinged upon students caucusing faithfully for him. This, if true, might make the seven-point lead in today's Des Moines Register as tenuous. Rarely, does the youth vote make for a successful campaign, but that's not to say Sen. Obama is candidate many have ever seen.

Sen. Hillary Clinton's much derided brigade of Golden Girls are also a problematic demographic not because of their likelihood of caucusing, but because of health and weather. Shapiro does make this interesting point on Sen. Clinton, her constituentcy is either with her or against her, therefore unlikely to gain any new support.

Of all the polling out there, the safest bet is Hillary reaching a ceiling of only 25 percent of the caucus goers making the possibility of her finishing a very disappointing third.

If this happens, it will a clear indictment of whom Iowans believe is the real candidate of change--Obama and Edwards.

Huck's Playing With House Money With Leno Appearance

McCAIN IS CLOSING IN ON SURPRISING THIRD PLACE FINISH IN IOWA

As Mike Huckabee flies to Burbank to tape the "Tonight Show" with Jay Leno you've got wonder is the former Arkansas governor counting his chickens before they're hatched in tomorrow's Iowa Caucus?

This is definitely a national play for the thus far successful, but still cash-strapped campaign to parlay a likely win in tomorrow's caucus to next week's New Hampshire primary and beyond. It might backfire and give Mitt Romney stronger than expected second-place finish.

It can't look good for the self-described underdog to be gallivanting to Hollywood while his opponents are still pressing the flesh in the frigid Iowa winter.

Instead of finishing off their dramatic upset in Iowa, the Huckabee campaign is inexplicably using the credit earned there for the next race. The question is whether Iowa Republicans who were not solidly in Huckabee's column and I believe his popularity in the state is a bit soft and unable to transfer to the rest of the country, will not shift to another candidate.

I believe Romney will gain some of those votes and finish three to four points off the pace. The big winner, though, may be Sen. John McCain.

The religion question is being overhyped on the conservative side of the ballot. There still isn't a true evangelical in the race, despite what Huckabee tells you and while some may be leery of Romney's Mormonism, they really see him as secular, at best. Those religious voters may scrap their beliefs and go with Sen. McCain, the champion of foreign policy and backer of the surge in Iraq.

Amazingly, a strong third-place finish in Iowa without the benefit of any organization and opinions heretical to most ethanol-loving Iowans, would be a major story tomorrow. It would affirm the belief that McCain sticks to his beliefs and possesses the intuition of policies two years down the road.

When it comes to the Iraq War, he's the anti-Obama. He's the only candidate who can say that he didn't change gears a year ago when his support for the war nearly destroyed his campaign. Now, the war ain't so bad and neither is McCain's bid for the Republican nomination.

Huckabee Defends Without A Wink And A Smile

CANDIDATE USING BUSH'S 2000 PLAYBOOK

Does Mike Huckabee think his faux ignorance is charming, somehow endearing in its innocence?

First he garnered guffaws from the press when he announced he was foregoing planned attack ads against Mitt Romney and then showed the ads that he wasn't going show, anyway. Then, he claimed without a bit of irony in his voice that it was because the press wouldn't believe such ads existed.

Yesterday, Huckabee said he was "absolutely" backing the striking Writer's Guild, but will cross the picket line, nonetheless to appear on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno.

Later, he claimed erroneously, that the striking writers had made a deal with all of the late night programs. When he was corrected by reporters that only David Letterman's production company had secured a deal with the writers he said, "Oh", followed by "hmmm".

Was this another occasion where Huckabee's campaign has been sorely behind the news as when it was a day and a half behind the news that an NIE report said Iran was not actively producing nuclear weapons or is he plainly lying or spewing double talk about his support for labor.

How else could Huckabee answer a question about crossing the picket on a highly publicized strike and still appear to care about the working man? He can't truthfully and therefore he ducked the question with sound effects and quickly answered another question.

I believe Huckabee is not as unprepared as recent press accounts have made him out to be. That's not to say his candidacy is rooted in good policy, either. He feign ignorance on the Iran NIE account and the writer's strike questions because he can't answer them without rustling some feathers.

Many voters, I hope, will place their candidates attributes against the idealogy and personality of President Bush for guidance in how not to choose a president. If so, remember that Americans found a sly, smiling, personable double talker who glazed every issue over with Jesus in 2000 and the rest is history.

Romney's Mormonism Is Different Than Kennedy's Catholicism

AMERICA'S IGNORANCE OF MORMONS COULD RUIN ROMNEY'S RUN

On the HBO series, Big Love, the patriarch Bill Henrickson, played by Bill Paxton, juggles three wives, seven children and a home improvement chain of stores, while trying to shake the manipulative fundamentalist Mormon prophet, Roman Grant.

The series isn't about the Church of the Latter-Day Saints, but its rogue offshoot that still practices polygamy. Most Americans erroneously associate Mormonism with plural marriage, which was banned over a hundred years ago. Can Americans deviate the two and elect a Mormon president?

Former Massachusetts Governor, Mitt Romney, doesn't wear his religion on his sleeve. He doesn't claim to be a devout follower and his background takes him around the country. He's the son of the popular former Michigan governor, George Romney, saved the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake and became governor of the Bay State.

But, can Americans elect a person whose religion seems to illicit such mystery and controversy? Invariably, Romney's electability is compared to John F. Kennedy becoming the first Catholic in the White House in 1960.

Back then, the Pope was the bogeyman that would call the shots from Rome, they said. Like everything else nearly fifty years ago, we live in a different society, albeit more diverse.

That apparent diversity in our country doesn't quite equate to any sensibility. These are times when divisiveness is the paramount currency in our lives. The president equivocates that either "you're with me or you're against me."

If you're a Democrat, then every Republican is a dirty, rotten fool and every person speaking a foreign language or wearing ethnic garb is a terrorist.

Romney doesn't mention his religious views and he shouldn't. At times, he's courted his party's religious right on the grounds that Mormonism is just another religion based on Christianity. In the primaries, this tact has had some success in attracting conservatives who view the clean-cut, gentile politician as similar in looks and demeanor to their neighborhood pastor.

If Romney advances to the general election, expect things to get downright nasty. This is politics, afterall. He'll likely have to turn away a huge whisper campaign that will play off his religion's past and unsaid beliefs.

While Romney is not a polygamist, his family's history serves up plenty of fodder for opponents to link that dirty secret to Romney in the present.

In the same way that Kennedy's political rivals claimed he would take orders from the Pope, a connection could be made with the fundamentalist LDS belief that one can speak directly to God.

Not only would this be blasphemous to Christians, it would also cast Romney as crazed. Who talks to God, but crazy people?

Then, there's Christian extremists like televangelist Bill Keller who talked Salon.com's Michael Scherer and believe Romney's campaign is one big billboard paid for by the Mormons.

"A vote for Romney is a vote for Satan," Keller declared in his daily e-mail devotional last May. His reasoning went like this: Romney's election would serve as a giant advertisement for a competing religion, Mormonism, which Keller and others believe has falsely portrayed itself as another form of Christianity in an effort to find converts. "He would influence people to seek out the Mormon faith," Keller predicted of a Romney presidency. "They would get sucked into those lies and they would eventually die and go to hell."

This isn't 1960 and people just don't know Mormons outside of Utah. They're nice people. I know some, but others watch TV characters like Bill Henrickson and think how weird it is to be married to three woman and then look at Mitt Romney with a strange feeling in their guts--the kind that doesn't transfer to votes.

Happy Halloween From Dog The Bounty Hunter

Dog Takes Down The Burger King, originally uploaded by wonderbread74.

DOG TAKES DOWN THE BURGER KING. I took this opportunity to arrest The Burger King for selling high fat meals to children.

More On Rumors Of Hillary's Demise

I'm not the only person sensing a shifting of fortune for the presumed Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton.

Walter Shapiro, the former USA Today political columnist and Salon.com contributor adds to last week's plausible--albeit longshot campaign meltdown--with 10 possible Clinton "tank" jobs.
Number ten is actually the most intriguing--lady luck running out on the the perfect presidential campaign.

Surprising things happen. The future is not an unchanging extrapolation from today. "Expect the unexpected" is an expression that anyone over the age of 17 finds a cloying cliché. But when it comes to a presidential campaign -- more than two months before the Iowa caucuses -- it is also a perfect description of reality

Plainly, things never go so smoothly for any Democratic candidate in any election campaign. If you want the White House in 2008, you had better hope for the stumble to occur in the next few months rather than after Labor Day.

What If Hillary Finished Third In Iowa?

AFTER THE INITIAL SKIRMISH, EDWARDS WOULD CAPITALIZE

The idea seems inconceivable within the parameters of national polls or any casual conversaton with your neighbor, but the liklihood of Sen. Hillary Clinton finishing third in Iowa is very plausible.

A Newsweek poll last week had Sen. Barack Obama at 28 percent of likely Democratic caucus-goers, Sen. Clinton at 24 percent and John Edwards at 22 percent.

What if Edwards's formidable organization in Iowa eeks out a few percentage point from Clinton or, more likely, Obama's and drops the presumptive Democratic nominee to the bronze medal? What would be the ramifications and who would gain momentum in such an outcome?

Make no mistake about it, the political establishment would explode in this doomsday scenario. The Clinton inevitability factor is so omnipresent, that the shock could derail her campaign permanently like a third-place showing in Iowa did for Howard Dean in 2004.

Most likely, the nomination would be up-for-grabs in the short term, even pulling Bill Richardson, currently polling at around 10 percent, into the fray. Because of his huge reservoir of cash, Obama would get a second look from Democrats who yearn for a fresh face, despite their loyalty to all things Clinton, but it might not last long.

In this scenario, Edwards could continue to stay just under the radar while the ravenous Clinton campaign throws every sharp object in the kitchen at Obama. She would most likely gain some momentum back from him to the point where he would have to return fire or lose the top spot all together.

This would be a great point of contention in an Obama camp were the mantra has been to run a completely kind-hearted campaign. This strategy worked early on, but it's idealism will become a curse later because in the rough-and-tumble world of politics the nice guy will never win. If Obama stubbornly sticks to this plan he will regret it in exactly the same way Al Gore dropped the ball when he shunned Bill Clinton in 2000.

What's left then? Edwards. From the start the strategy has been to highlight the plight of the poorest Americans, continue to build strong union support in early primary states like Iowa, Nevada and South Carolina and, above all, hope Clinton and Obama begin to spar with each other.

Edwards not only runs third in national polls, but also in funding. The prevailing idea when it comes to Edwards' longevity is predicated on him parlaying his organization in early states like Iowa with labor's strong support in some of those same early states. A strong showing early would then feed upon itself.

This unique political stratagem has been what drew me back to Edwards' campaign, but also a bit of a hugh gamble. If Clinton stumbles in Iowa, it could make Edwards's campaign the stuff of election legend.

The Slippery Slope Of Low Expectations Politics

Thompson Is Not Dumb, He's Disinterested; So Beware

It's interesting that a seasoned Washington journalist like Roger Simon would bite on the Fred Thompson as the bumbling politician who surprises the capitol establishment meme. But he did in a column yesterday for Politico.com.

Thompson has been portrayed as disinterested, unprepared and downright dumb. Saturday Night Live even lampooned him saying, "I want to be your president...kind of." (Watch it here)

Is this a media creation by the Thompson campaign? Who is Fred Thompson? Is he dithering country fool who campaigned in Florida without knowing the issues and wore a baseball cap that read "Cocks", a reference the mascot of the University of South Carolina that could be easily misunderstood to anybody outside of the Southeastern Conference or the eloquent lawyer who made a name for himself during the Watergate hearings?

The lowering of the bar for Thompson is a purely political ploy by his campaign. His candidacy is an entire media creation from the beginning. Nobody knows him as a presidential candidate. What does he stand for? What is his record? His "character" is needed for conservatives because a true righty is not accounted for among the candidates.

Why would Thompson put himself before the electorate wholeheartedly when he already ranks second in the polls without doing a thing? Voters know Rudy Giuliani. They have an idea what Mitt Romney is trying to be and John McCain's appeal lies somewhere in the middle of the political spectrum.

To buy into Thompson's ploy is dangerous because of the precedent set by George W. Bush.

Bush the younger brilliantly played up the political dope persona against the erudite Al Gore. At the turn of the last century, Bush correctly read a growing perception that Gore was the smarty-pants kid everyone hated in school and surprised voters by actually showing up to the debates and even uttering simple sentences.

I think people are wise to this tactic in 2007 and they also see the tragedy of their decision to give him the White House. I also don't think the entire storyline is contrived by the Thompson campaign only because of this one reason: lowering the bar of expectations is wise for a weak candidate, but the perception that the candidate's heart is not in winning the office is political poison.

George Bush Hates Kids And So Do I

George Bush hates kids, correction; he hates poor kids. You have to hand it to the guy he knows how to kick a man--a kid--when he's down.

This is actually something W. and I can agree on. I don't hate kids, I just hate other people's kids.

When Bush used his extremely rare presidential veto on a bipartisan bill that would have funneled tens of billions of dollars from cigarettes to fund an increase in health care for poor children some thought the "Decider-in-Chief" had stepped over the line. (Watch John Stewart's take on this story on the Daily Show here)

First, Iraq now health care for kids. I can't agree with the first, but I can with the second.

Bush believes in bringing yourself up by the bootstraps. You know that ancient Republican line? Is there a shoe company that makes shoes with bootstraps anymore?

In this case, I can see where George is coming. Have you ever seen a snivelling, runny-nosed kid at the docktor's office? Crying because his ear is throbbing or his tum-tum is hurting. Quit being a baby (or are you actually a baby?)and stop crying and go to work. Those Dora the Explorer mitten aren't going to knit themselves.

You see, children need to learn from oppression. Kids these days are coddled more than my copy of Jenny McCarthy nude in Playboy (the December issue when she's sitting on Santa's lap). What will happen to kids these days when they grow up and think they're entitled to buying a mansion with no money down and $5 in the bank at age 18. Oh, sorry 24-year-olds already think they can do that.

Other than making Johnny boy resort to a cocktail of Tiny Tarts and Robitussin to combat his cold, we need to be tougher on our children and, at least in this case, follow our President.

Case in point, last Saturday while dining at Fuddrucker's in Emeryville I witnessed the sort of tough love the President is espousing.

At the air hockey table was a match between a woman in her late thirties and her eight-year-old son. The boy was slight and whiny and without health coverage. He was clearly peeved. The game started and his mother promptly drilled the plastic disc into the goal. She did it again and again and in the process completely annihilating her son's dreams.

He whimpered to his mother, "Can you let me score once." She said, "Why would I do that?" And that's exactly what George Bush is saying to kids this week, whatever doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.

Generations Of Women See Hillary In Oakland

IS HILLARY'S CAMPAIGN MORE IMPORTANT THAN POLITICS TO WOMEN?


Sen. Hillary Clinton speaks to over 14,000 people in Oakland Sunday.

As I waited for Hillary Clinton to speak last weekend in Oakland, I was inundated with gratuitious shout outs to every minute faction of the Democratic Party. The everpresent lone figure flashing sign language to the dozen or so deaf Democrats among the estimated 14,000 who attended the rally for Clinton. Don't forget the transgender folks who might of numbered three or four and the Democrats with cockateels, make sure they have recyclable bird stands to place their birds. Oh, and don't forget the lone guy in the crowd who decided to cram his large white husky into a 2x2 space. Make sure that guy has a litter box, not for the guy, but the dog.

Once the Hillary for President campaign kissed up to the subset of every subset in the party, the group that matters most is women. In recent months, Hillary has not shied away from courting this group and she should because the crowd was primarily made up of women, not just individual women and their girlfriends, but generations who took in the apex of their struggle for equality.

I saw numerous cases of elderly women with their daughters and granddaughters in tow. Three generations of women who roughly encompassed the entire 20th century when they went from not having a vote to having, by century's end, two senators from California.

Many may fawn over the idealism and exeptional speaking ability of Barack Obama, but the feeling of awe, excitement and wonderment in the eyes of these women towards Hillary trumps anything from the second place Democrat. In fact, the feeling that we were seeing something important was prevalent. Maybe like seeing Elvis Presley or John F. Kennedy.

This very real belief that a major historic moment is likely to happen will be interesting to watch if Hillary can win the nomination. Will this phenomenom translate to garnering more than moderate women voters and reach into solid conversative territory.

The feeling in that crowd gave me the impression that Hillary's campaign in female eyes might trump the political spectrum. What I'm saying is a lot of Southern conservative women just might lie about whom they vote for come November.

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