The “Who painted it?” Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Cross-posted
Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. If you would like your post included in next week's Carnival please email me, faustaw2 "at" gmail "dot" com.


I chose the "Who painted it?" theme for today's Carnival since it's yet another sign of the current administration's ignorance of the history and traditions of the region. "You have a marvelous virgin!" indeed.

LATIN AMERICA
Central America: An Emerging Role in the Drug Trade

The 'Axis of Lula' vs. the 'Axis of Hugo'

Nuclear Watchdog Inks South America Deals, U.S. Congress Should Scrutinize Closely

“New Eve” encounters her snakes?

Changes in Earnings in Brazil, Chile, and Mexico: Disentangling the Forces Behind Pro-Poor Change in Labor Markets

Biden travels South

Commentary: Can fading Caribbean island-states thrive in the world of alternative energy?

Latin political calendar puts recovery at risk

Americas summit's draft declaration is hard to take seriously

Has the G-20 Learned the Lesson?

ARGENTINA
Argentina's election: The Kirchners make a dash for it, Hoping it’s not the exit

BOLIVIA
Bolivia Military Makes Biggest Drug Bust in a Decade

BRAZIL
Lula knows he screwed up on Venezuela and Chavez

Via The Anchoress "Excommunication" in Brazil

Rogues Gallery – the PMDB Comes "Clean" at Last

Governors under fire: A rash of impeachment cases against state governors is probably a good sign

COLOMBIA
FARC plot to kill Colombia defense minister foiled

A un año de la muerte del "faraon" de las FARC

Colombia's FARC Drops Condition For Hostage Negotiations

The siege of “Mono Jojoy”

CUBA
Youth unemployment

No AARP in Cuba

Embargo stays but 'review' of bans is on

Ahhh..That Fiendish “Blockade!”

Rodolfo Barthelemy Cobas and Alejandro Jiménez Blanco, Cuban Political Prisoners of the Week, 3/29/09

ECUADOR
Correa Threatens Jail for Spreading Rumors on Ecuador Currency

Ecuador's Correa Rejects De-Dollarization; Warns On Rumors

Ecuador's Correa: Dolarization Stays

Correa Leads Ecuador Electoral Vote

EL SALVADOR
Obama curtails successful drug interdiction program in El Salvador

MEXICO
Another Blooper... Hillary Lays Flowers at Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine Asks "Who Painted It?"

Washington continues to play ostrich about Mexico

A Mexican standoff with reality

The Southern Neighbor

LOWRY: The big truck turnaround
Teamsters prove borders can be policed, despite treaties

Mexico Goes Medieval

Mexico's Juarez surge is working so far

Via Instapundit Obama targets flow of guns, profits from U.S. to Mexico

Via Instapundit, Drug cartels' new weaponry means war

Army desertions hurting Mexico's war on drugs

US to Boost Forces on Mexico Border

Mexico's Dinosaurs Exploit the Crisis
A cautionary tale for those who see an opportunity to take over key elements of the economy.

Hezbollah uses Mexican drug routes into the US.

Hillary's Mexican Reality Check

John Kerry:
Mexico's war must be our war
Helping Mexico take on the drug cartels helps us, but the effort will require unprecedented cooperation between our two countries.

NICARAGUA
The Many Stories of Carlos Fernando Chamorro

PUERTO RICO
Jury clears Puerto Rico police in Marine's beating

Puerto Rico Gets a Little Richer With New Quarter from U.S. Mint

VENEZUELA
Tirofijo honored in Caracas

Yes, Hugo cheated

Venezuela's budget cuts
Hard landing: President Chávez’s spending cuts will bite deeper than he admits

As expected swap market ground to a halt, here is why…

Venezuela to take over 30 fishing boats

Panic in the swap market

Alí, meet Bernie. Bernie, Alí.

Special thanks to Ada, Dymphna and the Baron, Eneas, Maggie and SamK.

The week's posts and podcasts:
If you can call it "vindication"
Hezbollah using Mexican drug routes into the US
"We won't pay for their crisis"
Hiding the story with the headlines
More on Lula's "people with blue eyes"
Lula: “White people with blue eyes” created the financial crisis
Venezuelan Military Takes Control of Transportation Hubs
Clinton: US shares blame for Mexican drug war
Today’s podcast at 11AM Eastern: Argentina Downgraded to Kazakhstan on Foreign Fund Restrictions
At Real Clear World
Lula's 'White People with Blue Eyes' Spices Up G20
Venezuelan Military Takes Control of Transportation Hubs

Obama, the Trophy Wife?

Last month I was wondering if Geraldine Ferrarro was right in explaining that many women who support Hillary totally identify themselves with Hillary's current situation: an older dowdy woman who has sacrificed everything for her career and who perceives herself as being more experienced and qualified, more intelligent and better prepared, losing the top job to a younger nice looking inexperienced man who's just good at BS. And she knows this is her only chance.

Today The Anchoress has an additional explanation: Obama the Trophy Wife

The anger of Ms. Christian and her Democrat sisters has perhaps less to do with the fact that Barack Obama is an "inadequate black male" than that he is the trophy wife for whom Mrs. Clinton - and by extension, her graying, menopausal supporters — has been thrown over.

A trophy wife, of course, is the younger, less shopworn, unlined, doe-eyed, and sometimes opportunistic woman some middle-aged men marry upon achieving the measure of worldly success that puts them in more "elite" company. Mixing with a "higher caliber" of people, such men know what they wish to present to the world: energy, a tuned-in trendiness, a certain sleekness of manner, and above all, youth! If they can’t quite project all of that with their comb-overs, their sagging jowls, and their reading glasses, why, a pretty young wife and pretty young children are just the accessories to help the illusion along.

To the curb goes the first wife, who worked his way through college, raised the children, kept the house tidy, blended the families, and played hostess to the bosses and hangers-on; she made him look good. The first wife laughed at the stale jokes, refilled the glasses, endured the late nights alone, and gazed in dewy-eyed worship as he took his bows. She learned to turn a blind eye to his follies — and perhaps his fillies — in the belief that one day it would all pay off. She believed in him and all he stood for; she espoused his cause and made his arguments, only to discover that if she Botoxed herself into mummification and submitted to looking as perpetually surprised as Nancy Pelosi, she was still a middle-aged woman - a little too wise and weary to impress his new, superficial friends, or to be impressed by them, and not terribly interested in a helpmeet/sidekick do-over.

And let's not ignore the fact that Hillary stuck by her man while he was cheating on her with a gaggle of women, just so she could attain the nomination. Now she's been dumped.

If you look at the comments at Hillary For President, hundreds of women are furious over the current state of things. They know what's going on. As The Anchoress says,

Harriet Christian and the angry women who support Hillary Clinton and who vow to vote for John McCain in November see Obama the trophy wife. In the party, they see an insecure man reassuring himself and his cronies that he is successful, relevant, and energetic, even if some of that is illusory. They expect that the untried trophy wife - let loose upon the world and eager, so eager, to get ahead - will eventually make him nostalgic for the maddening but dependable first wife, who knew him, liked him, and understood how to restrain him from his own excesses. Having abandoned her for the expensive and exhausting "new" wife and the "new" family and the flashy friends, he will - in the wee, small hours - miss the dependable old gal he threw aside for glamour, but he’ll never admit it.

But it's going to be an interesting Summer: Hillary suspended -not ended - her campaign. And there's a new development in the works: in this morning's top story at the Wall Street Journal, Hillary is now the subject of the kind of "divine light" photographic treatment we've seen exclusively on the Obama side:


There's still fight in the old gal yet...



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Hillary's speech right now endorsing Obama

Hillary's on TV endorsing Obama.

She's wearing black and blue. Bruised, indeed!


1:04PM: Nagging tone to her "That's why we must elect Barack Obama!"
"We were asked, Can a woman be Commander in Chief? Well, I think we answered that one."
And the answer was no, Hillary?

1:10PM: It's all about Hillary, Hillary, Hillary, suffragettes and bellyaching, "When the moment comes that we elect a woman for President... we will all stand taller".
Until then, her campaign is suspended, not ended.

More
Was the deal made an Obama-Clinton ticket?



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Three speeches

All of them via Memeorandum,

Hillary's speech:

Even when the pundits and the naysayers proclaimed week after week that this race was over, you kept on voting. You're the nurse on the second shift, the worker on the line, the waitress on her feet, the small business owner, the farmer, the teacher, the miner, the trucker, the soldier, the veteran, the student, the hardworking men and women who don't always make the headlines, but have always written America's story.

You have voted because you wanted to take back the White House. And because of you we won, together, the swing states necessary to get to 270 electoral votes.

And you know — In all of the states, you voted because you wanted a leader who will stand up for the deepest values of our party, a party that believes everyone should have a fair shot at the American dream, a party that cherishes every child, values every family, and counts every single vote.

She's definitely NOT going away. That speech sounded like a victory speech to me. Jules Crittenden's examining the situation as the night of the living dead, which pretty much sums it all.

Obama's speech:

The other side will come here in September and offer a very different set of policies and positions, and that is a debate I look forward to. It is a debate the American people deserve. But what you don't deserve is another election that's governed by fear, and innuendo, and division. What you won't hear from this campaign or this party is the kind of politics that uses religion as a wedge, and patriotism as a bludgeon—that sees our opponents not as competitors to challenge, but enemies to demonize. Because we may call ourselves Democrats and Republicans, but we are Americans first. We are always Americans first.

Obama, listen to what you're saying:
Don't Bill Ayers and his wife Bernardine Dohrn, both former Weather Underground members, believe in governing by fear?
You are willing to meet Iran without preconditions, even when Iran has consistently said that Isreal will be anihilated. Isn't it foolinsh of you to meet with leaders of a country whose regime is predicated on fear?
Isn't the PLO an organization created to propagate fear and destruction?
You attended for twenty years a church that has relentlessly preaching racial and class hate from the pulpit. Isn't that divisive?
Doesn't the endless creation of a new class of victims foster demonization?
Why won't you meet with General Petraeus? Is it because of his patriotism?
If you believe that using religion for political purposes creates a wedge, why the hey are your doing this:

In view of your statements, if we are "always Americans first", why are you proposing economic policies that can place an even higher burden on the consumer?
Do you believe that equality comes with the redistribution of wealth, or with creation of opportunity?
Last but not least, how do you explain your change of mind regarding the Palestinians?


McCain's speech:

The sweeping reforms of government we need won't occur unless we change the political habits of Washington that have locked us in an endless cycle of bickering and stalemate. Washington is consumed by a hyper-partisanship that treats every serious issue as an opportunity to trade insults; impugn each other's motives; and fight about the next election. This is the game Washington plays. Both parties play it, as do the special interests that support each side. The American people know it's not on the level. For all the problems we face, what frustrates them most about Washington is they don't think we're capable of serving the public interest before our personal ambitions; that we fight for ourselves and not for them. They are sick of the politics of selfishness, stalemate and delay, and they have every right to be. We have to change not only government policies that have failed them, but the political culture that produced them.

Of the three, Hillary and Obama both will continue to wallow in the political culture of divisiness. Only McCain has a record of being a uniter. And only McCain emphasizes cutting government spending. He'll have my vote.



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The first Monday in June Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. If you would like to have your posts included in the Carnivals, please email me at: faustaw2 "at" gmail "dot" com.

The biggest story this week: Hillary Clinton's campaign and victory in Puerto Rico. However, a story that will affect the Caribbean more directly and immediately is the airlines' cancellation of flights serving the Caribbean. The BBC Radio Caribbean reports that American Airlines' schedule reduction will heavily affect the Caribbean, including 400 jobs cut in Puerto Rico. Officials from Caribbean nations will be meeting in San Juan later this month to discuss this problem.

LATIN AMERICA
Country Reports on Terrorism 2007: Western Hemisphere Overview – I, from already published sources.

Bull Connor and Stalin worship

South American defence: Speak fraternally but carry a stick
Is there a new arms race—or just overdue retooling of armies?

ARGENTINA
Protesta ante la embajada Argentina en Washington DC

Deadlock: Angry farmers v an obstinate president

How to Be Barbie for a Day: The Opening of the Casa de Barbie

About that $800,000 suitcase that Hugo Chavez was sending the Kirchners:
the Argentinian prosecutor wants Venezuela to extradite a former PDVSA executive and his son for their part on a money laundering investigation: Caso Antonini: la fiscal pidió la captura de dos venezolanos
Se trata del ex vice de PDVSA y su hijo, quienes esta semana no se presentaron a declarar ante el juez.
La historia de cómo llegó al país la valija del escándalo
Salió de la sede de Pdvsa y fue custodiada en el vuelo

BOLIVIA
Chump Change: Like Bill Richardson, Sen. Chris Dodd seems to be running for Barack Obama's secretary of state. Junketing to Bolivia on Wednesday, he vows "change" in hemispheric relations. We'd like to know what kind

EVO-WATCH: Evo Makes Really, Really Stupid Statements Part XVIIXIII

Campesinos afines a Morales anuncian bloqueos en rechazo a los referendos de autonomía

Lex Magazine of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, published an interview with Eneas Biglione on XXI century socialism and its influence on Bolivia's Future.

BRAZIL
Via Patrick Ruffini, Brazil: First blog falls victim to electoral law

South America to Have Single Currency in the Future, Lula Says

COLOMBIA
Trade vs Terror

At Iberian Notes:

The Colombian had tentative plans to murder anti-FARC Colombians living in Madrid, according to the computer files captured during the raid into Ecuador. Interpol confirms that the information is authentic. Can our local moonbat left please stop kissing the feet of this gang of kidnappers, extortionists, drug traffickers, and murderers, and the clownish Mafia don Chavez who bankrolls them?

After Sureshot: Without its veteran leader, the FARC's defeat looks to be only a matter of time

Venezuela: Hugo Chavez es el jefe de las FARC

Dems vs. Latin American Democracy
Congress is set to rebuke a democratic ally — and reward a tinpot dictator.

The FARC's Foreign Friends


CUBA
Castro's President

An encounter with Yoani Sanchez in Havana

The "Spirituality" of Communist Oppression

Cuban blogger censored by Raul Castro is accused of being paid by CIA

(r)aul's New BFF?

ECUADOR
Heroin Grows in Ecuador

MEXICO
Scenic Sinaloa: The Center of Mexico's Drug War

Ford to open new plant in Mexico

NICARAGUA
Latin America File: Ortega to testify of FARC links before National Assembly, US State Dept. monitors FSLN leader's terror connections

Crazy woman to move to Nicaragua; Kate waves good-bye

PERU
Mass grave uncovered in Peru

PUERTO RICO
Will Puerto Rico make or break Hillary?

VENEZUELA
The Enabling Bill: Students raise awareness of its dangers

The latest anti-terrorist weapon from the yanks, Makuna-Matata

Getting off Hugo Chavez's payroll

Ley del Sistema Nacional de Inteligencia y Contrainteligencia, propuesta por el macacón

The collapsing Venezuelan oil industry

Chavez boosting his loyalist candidates
Venezuela's opposition political parties have been unable to settle on which candidates will face President Hugo Chavez's candidates in key November elections.

Hugo Chavez cold-shoulders disciple claiming to be his son

PSUV Primary election from the ground

AMERICAN ELECTION
Victor Davis Hanson addresses one of Obama's gaffes:Europe to an American

"Since the Bush Administration launched a misguided war in Iraq, its policy in the Americas has been negligent toward our friends, ineffective with our adversaries, disinterested in the challenges that matter in peoples' lives, and incapable of advancing our interests in the region.
No wonder, then, that demagogues like Hugo Chavez have stepped into this vacuum."

But all that hardly seems either accurate or fair: (1) The "misguided" war was "launched" only after a majority ratification vote of the US Senate, including a majority of the Democratic Senators. (2) The current administration is currently desperately trying to craft a free-trade agreement with Colombia, and ensure that Nafta continues with Mexico-over protectionist sentiment of the sort voiced by Obama. (3) Hugo Chavez came on the scene well before the Bush administration, taking office in 1999 and then being reelected in 2000. His shredding of Venezuela's constitution and interference in Latin American politics were well under way during the last years of the Clinton administration.

Matt Sanchez writes for El Norte about Hillary.

20 Civil liberties laws every American should know.

ENTERTAINMENT
Capitalizing on Che Guevara's image

Special thanks to Kate, Maria, Larwyn, Maggie and Eneas.



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Will Puerto Rico make or break Hillary?

UPDATED
Last Monday Bill Clinton was in Puerto Rico telling crowds of a couple of hundred people that the Sunday primary is important for the Puerto Ricans living in the island. Bill was telling the small gatherings that you should vote "not for her, but for yourselves, for your future, and for Puerto Rico."

The entire Clinton family was bringing the Hillary message to the island.

Interestingly, in the same video above, Bill emphasizes that "Puerto Ricans should be free to express their decision about the future status of Puerto Rico." Puerto Ricans have been doing exactly that for the past sixty years or so, and Puerto Rico has remained a Commonwealth.

Both Bill and Hillary appear to believe that Commonwealth status is "unresolved".

Over the weekend, Hillary was promising "to work for a resolution to Puerto Rico's status by the end of my first term in office" while at the same time promising to give Puerto Ricans in the island the right to vote in the general elections (Puerto Ricans living in the 50 states already do), a pie-in-the-sky promise if there ever was one: If Puerto Rico's status was changed to independent, Puerto Ricans would be citizens of a different country, and would cease to be American citizens therefore losing the right to vote in US elections. Hence, for Hillary to propose granting the right to vote for Presidential elections and resolve the status, she would have to make Puerto Rico a state. Of course the President does not have the power to do any of this.

Obama, on the other hand, waffled on the status issue. Waffling was the wise thing to do. Instead, his is a "feel good, vote for me" message.

Obama is running a TV ad where - speaking surprisingly clear Spanish - he says, "I was born on an island, and I understand that food, gas, and everything costs more. Puerto Rico has a right to a better future."



Obama campaigned in Puerto Rico last weekend, bringing governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico, who campaigned for him in Ponce.

Both Hillary and Obama camp are fighting for the 63 delegates Puerto Rico sends to the Convention. 55 are "pledged" to back a candidate and eight are unpledged "superdelegates". This PDF file explains the delegate selection plan.

On Hillary's favor: The Clinton machinery has been cultivating their contacts in Puerto Rico since the days when Bill was first running for national office. Hillary is Senator for New York, where nearly a million Puerto Ricans live; they regard her as their Senator.

At the same time, Bill Clinton ended many of the corporate tax breaks that kept US manufacturers in the island and Bill and Hillary both pushed NAFTA, which made a lot those employers move to Mexico, where labor is much cheaper than Puerto Rico's and goods can be shipped tariff-free to the US.

While Bill Clinton pardoned the FALN criminals in his last day in office, this doesn't appear to be a factor. I haven't read or heard anyone mention this at all.

On the issue of identity politics, Obama's skin color may actually be an asset, with many Puerto Ricans having African ancestors. Puerto Rico already had a woman governor and most Puerto Ricans will thell you they don't consider gender as the deciding factor. While they might find a black candidate interesting, they're not going to vote for or against anyone because of their gender.

Until recently, the only Puerto Rican superdelegate that was in Obama's camp was the Governor, who is now under Federal indictment for 19 charges stemming from financial dealings in three political campaigns. Obama has picked up a couple of more delegates recently.

Polling has been scarce and informal. For instance, a Vocero/Univision poll on the front page of daily El Vocero (in Spanish) has Hillary winning by a margin of 13% over Obama. However, fifty percent of people surveyed stated they will not vote on the primary, and the survey also does not make clear basic information about the poll itself, such as sample size, whether they surveyed registered voters, residents, or just anyone. American Taino also questions the impartiality of the survey since Univision is owned by Hillary supporter Haim Saban. The results of the poll are similar to what other newspapers in the island have been saying: the public favors Hillary over Obama, but the margin appears to be narrowing.

Hillary really needs to win big in Puerto Rico. She is committed to staying in the race until the Convention, and to do that she needs the popular vote. Puerto Rico has nearly twice the combined total of delegates of Montana and South Dakota, the last two states in the primary season. Additionally, the delegates from Puerto Rico, which is not a state, will have full votes at the convention, while Michigan and Florida delegates will have half-votes.

Hillary is betting that a larger turnout will favor her because she wants to run up the popular vote total.

Is that why she and Bill were talking about granting Puerto Ricans in the island the right to vote in general elections and "resolving" the status?

Puerto Rico has held several plebiscites and referenda on the Commonwealth/statehood/independence issue several times in the last fifty years, every time generating passionate debate and at times huge turnout. Anyone familiar with island politics knows that the "status" has been the hot-button issue for decades. But Puerto Ricans are not interested in the national primaries because of one simple reason: they can't vote in the general election.

The "status" issue is not the factor that will decide Puerto Ricans go to the polls to cast their vote for Hillary or for Obama. While unemployment and entitlements are hot issues, and also (if one goes by the Vocero survey) restitution payment to residents of the island of Vieques, which the US Navy used for target practice until 2003, Puerto Ricans know that all those issues are not going to be decided on a primary - campaign promises to the contrary.

Therefore, Puerto Ricans are not going reward either campaign with massive turnout. Puerto Ricans are uninterested enough that Democrat Party of Puerto Rico officials could not find volunteers to staff 1,000 polling stations and have requested the election authorities to close them.

Hillary will win the Puerto Rican primary, but she's not going to get the large popular vote she's after. The Democrat nomination will not be decided by the results in a Commonwealth where the residents can't vote in the general election after all.

UPDATED
Clinton Beats Obama in Puerto Rico; as predicted, the Democrat nomination will not be decided by this.

Welcome, Red State, Gateway Pundit and Memeorandum readers.



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Nancy does it again, and other roundup items

Never shy of stealing the show by cozying up to the tyrants, Nancy Pelosi, after her Hermes tour of Syria and giving Colombia the "Chavez rule", now Nancy
Hails Iranian Goodwill in Iraq.

But let's not question whose side she is on!

Betsy:

Pelosi is so hung up with trying to prove that the Iraqi government is failing because to acknowledge otherwise would be to hint that something has gone right in the past year with our new strategy in Iraq. And she can't do that because she is politically invested in that strategy's failure and her party's efforts to pull the rug out from under those efforts. So her solution is to praise the "goodwill" of those who are behind a lot of the violence that we see in the entire Middle East. Her ignorance and partisan approach to reality is breathtaking.

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Turk Receives Death Penalty in Saudi Arabia

A Turkish-born barber, living and working in Saudi Arabia, was recently convicted for the ‘crime’ of apostasy and has been sentenced to death. The man, Sabri Bogday, had a quarrel with a person from Egypt and a Saudi during which he seemingly cursed the name of God. This is of course unacceptable in Saudi Arabia and… as a result, the judges of that country have decided that Bogday deserves to die.

Read all of it.
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Does Hillary have manhands?
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The Chinese may have copied the contents of the Secretary of Commerce's laptop when he was visiting China (h/t the Baron)
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Israel, Heart of the Middle East
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Not chump change: Mega-Scandal in Iran: $35 Billion in Oil Money Missing from State Coffers. That's billions with a "b"
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Forget the Tupperware—let’s have a miracle fruit party
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Yes, it's porch blogging weather, a joyful day indeed.





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Hillary drops pantsuit, Barack waffles in Puerto Rico

There you have it: In Puerto Rico, Hillary goes courting the votes at an evangelical church, and then hits the beach. The photo on the right shows the enthusiastically born-again singing and dancing with Hillary in their midst.

While at the beach Hillary was not wearing the pantsuit but was promising the moon, disguised as Presidential vote:
Clinton Brings Message of Equality to Puerto Rico

In her first official visit here as a presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton came with one promise: that if she is elected president, one of her top priorities will be to give Puerto Ricans equal standing as Americans, primarily by giving them the right to vote in the general election.

"I think you should be treated equally, nothing less," she said. "That is the core of my agenda in Puerto Rico, a passionate belief in your right to equal treatment. This is the 21st century, we need to treat every person equally and certainly the United States government should be the model and set the example."

I promise you that if the "equal treatment" means having Puerto Ricans pay Federal income tax, the average Jose on the street is going to say, "No, gracias".

Fernando Suarez, CBS's correspondent, continues

Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory and doesn't share some of the same rights as American citizens, such as being unable to vote in the general election. Puerto Ricans, instead, are allowed to vote in the primaries and are allocated delegates who can cast votes for the nominee. But one key issue that has prevented the full right to citizenship has to do with taxes – Puerto Ricans are not required to pay federal income taxes, although they do pay payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare.

Suarez is correct.

Now comes a part no one is talking about: Hillary appears to have - inadvertently or not - promised statehood to the island:

"I promise you this I will work for a resolution of Puerto Rico's status by the end of my first term in office," said Clinton drawing thunderous applause from the crowd.

If she is saying that she's going to grant Puerto Ricans in the island to right to vote in the presidential elections (Puerto Ricans who live in the 50 states already can), and is committed to "a resolution of Puerto Rico's status" by the end of her first term, surely she has to realize that she would be granting statehood to the island.

I mean, Puerto Rico is already a Commonwealth. From her statement, Hillary believes that she considers the island's Commonwealth status as unresolved. If Puerto Rico's status was changed to independent, Puerto Ricans would be citizens of a different country, and would cease to be American citizens therefore losing the right to vote in US elections. Hence, for Hillary to propose granting the right to vote for Presidential elections AND resolve the status, she would have to make Puerto Rico a state. Of course the President does not have the power to do any of this.

So I must conclude that she's just an ignorant liar, because when she was at the church she said she had "no preference" on status.

Obama, on the other hand, waffled:

"We don't want to get too political here on the issues that are obviously so controversial here in Puerto Rico, but what I will say is that I am absolutely committed to making sure that Puerto Rico has the right to make a decision and to have self determination when it comes to its status, and making decisions about how they're interacting with Congress and the President of the United States. In the meantime, I will make sure that you are represented in these issues."

Which shows you that you can eat your waffle, and have it, too.



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The ears have it!

Drudge says that a movie from Kazahstan won a prize at Cannes:

A first feature-length film by Sergey Dvortsevoy, the film is about a young man returning to the steppe after military service in the hope of becoming a shepherd.

But Asa must first marry and his potential bride apparently thinks his ears are too big.

A light-hearted comedy that features camels as well as sheep, Asa's friend tries to convince the bride's parents his ears are normal-sized by showing them a picture of Britain's Prince Charles.

"Is he an African prince?" they ask. "No, American," he replies.

Camels, sheep, and Prince Charles's American ears. All it's missing is the "swimsuit".
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Also via Drudge, Camille Paglia hits Hillary with the big stick

The next major female presidential candidate will be well advised to stuff any errant husband into a rucksack and chuck him down a laundry chute. If they are to be truly equal, women must fight their own fights and not rely on a borrowed spotlight.

Hillary has tried to have it both ways: to batten on her husband's nostalgic popularity while simultaneously claiming to be a victim of sexism.

Well, which is it? Are men convenient sugar daddies or condescending oppressors?

To the angry older dowdy woman who has sacrificed everything for her career and who thinks the world owes her something, the answer is, both.
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The WSJ's Summer Book Guide is up.

This week's Five Best Books, works of war poetry, selected by James Winn,



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Today's shoes: Franco Sarto's comedy espadrille, available in nine colors.

Not sure how they pick names for shoes, but at least it sounds better than "tragedy espadrille".



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Hillary's Freudian slip?

Transcript:

Hillary Clinton today brought up the assassination of Sen. Robert Kennedy while defending her decision to stay in the race against Barack Obama.

"My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California. I don't understand it," she said, dismissing calls to drop out.

Obama probably does.

This reminds me of a woman I knew who once told me she decided to get a divorce when she started daydreaming that her husband was dead.

Nah, Hillary was just thinking about the Kennedys.



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Hillary won't be biting the bullet

The other day Geraldine Ferraro was explaining how many women who support Hillary totally identify themselves with Hillary's current situation: an older dowdy woman who has sacrificed everything for her career and who perceives herself as being more experienced and qualified, more intelligent and better prepared, losing the top job to a younger nice looking inexperienced man who's just good at BS. And she knows this is her only chance.

As it so happened, a week or so earlier two women were explaining to me why they are staunch Hillary supporters. Their description matched Ferraro's almost to the letter. Neither one could possibly understand that men routinely face the same situation in their careers, too, and when that happens they have to bite the bullet as second in charge or take early retirement. Unfortunately both my friends are also as angry as Hillary.

Hillary's anger is reaching a higher pitch: Clinton compares the Florida and Michigan fight to civil rights movement

Hillary Clinton compared her effort to seat Florida and Michigan delegates to epic American struggles, including those to free the slaves and win the right to vote for blacks and women.

And she's taking it all the way:

Hillary Rodham Clinton says she is willing to take her fight to seat Florida and Michigan delegates to the convention if the two states want to go that far. In an interview with The Associated Press, Clinton was asked whether she would support the states if they continue the fight.
The presidential candidate said Wednesday, "Yes I will. I will, because I feel very strongly about this."

And if that doesn't work, Allahpundit wonders,

Is she ... encouraging them to vote Republican if the delegations aren't seated?

Whether she is or not, Hillary ain't bitin' no bullet. She's taking this one to the Convention.

UPDATE
And if that isn't enough, there's always histrionic hyperboles: Clinton Desperate to Count Votes, Compares Fla. Primary to Zimbabwe.

Robert Mugabe was not available for comment.


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Non-politics politics Friday morning

While there are lots of interesting posts about Obama and all the rest of the Rezko, and some Republicans are total morons, today I probably won't be posting on American politics.

You can say that, at least for today, I'm "up to here" with all the bs.

Look at it:
The 2-year long Presidential campaign is a thudding bore. No matter the facts, the media is intent on bringing about Obamatopia (Ed came up with Obamatopia). Hillary's not throwing the towel until there's blood on the Convention floor. McCain's embraced global warming. Worst yet, there's an excruciating five and a half more months of this stuff to endure, and then the politicians will start on the 2012 campaign.

Peachy, isn't it? Just thinking about it makes you warm all over, doesn't it?

Then you have four judges in California overturning the law and the statewide initiative approved by the voters in 2000 (both of which had defined marriage as limited to unions between a man and a woman). Reason enough for Baldilocks to leave California - but don't come to New Jersey, Baldilocks, because where California goes, NJ follows. Forget about Seattle, too.

It's enough to make a woman want to go out and buy some nice shoes to take her mind off things. Even today's horoscope for Virgo says so:

Buy something that makes you feel stylish, now that the Moon is in your 2nd House of Self-Worth. Taking extra time to look good allows you to feel good, too. This can seem like a superficial indulgence, but when you see yourself in a more flattering light, you're likely to be more confident on every level.

Since I only own one house, I'm not sure where my 2d House is, but shoes are always good retail therapy. All the same, you can be assured that my Self-Worth is doing very well, thank you.

Luckily there's NeoNeocon's grandma to read about and another of The Anchoress's Q & A sessions (which does include a bit of politics).

Of course there's always food: In this morning's podcast Siggy and I will be talking about food - join us at 11AM Eastern


Speaking of food, now that polar bears are in the endangered species list, GM has the list of Top 10 Uses For Polar Bear Fat, and Flip's got The Lumbering Delicacy: Tasty Polar Bear Recipes.

Yum!



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Today at 11AM Eastern: Why will or why won't Hillary quit?

Today at 11AM Siggy and I will talk about why or why won't Hillary quit.

Chat's open by 10:45AM and the call in number is (646) 652-2639. Join us!


UPDATE
We also talked about Lebanon: here's Siggy's post.

More on Hillary,
Via Ed's podcast,

Hillary: Big rewards?

Hillary may not want to stop until there's blood on the Convention floor, but apparently Big Rewards Await Clinton If She Ends Campaign Now. Like a Discover card, there are cash rewards,

One of the most inviting is the near certainty that the Obama campaign would agree to pay back the $11.4 million she has loaned her own bid, along with an estimated $10 million to $15 million in unpaid campaign expenses.

$25 million bucks.

(Let's not forget we've been hearing this question for a while now.)

Ponder that:
On the one hand, you have lived in the hintherlands so you were married to a future President, put up with the most abject humiliations from him, clawed and lied and scraped and cannived to get where you are. You have put in $11 million of your own money. Your entire life, your very identity is predicated on being the Democrat presidential candidate because you think that if you get to be, you will be The President.

On the other hand, $25,000,000.

What would you choose? Going out like Al Gore?

If Al Gore is the model, Hillary can stay in past the convention, demand a recount, and wait until the Supreme Court tells her it’s over. Which, come to think of it, might be exactly her plan.

Or the money now?

What ship is the Hillary Kamikaze crashing?



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The game-changer

Last night's primary results are in, and Betsy correctly calls them a game-changer

With a decisive loss in North Carolina and just a narrow win in Indiana, I don't see how Clinton can even make a straight-faced argument to the superdelegates that she should be the real winner in this nomination fight.

Rick Moran, writing at Pajamas Media, asks,

Is this the end of the line for Hillary Clinton? The consensus among the talking heads on cable appears to be coalescing around the idea that she should wind her campaign down and get out of Obama’s way. No doubt it will be an extremely difficult and emotional decision. She has fought as hard as any candidate I have ever seen for the nomination. But the votes aren’t there, the money’s not available, and time has run out.

Hillary right now has to weigh wheter she's going to hold on for long enough to pull an October surprise, or give up.

There are two big factors:

1. The loss of power factor: Richard Fernandez wonders,

Hillary's decision will probably hinge on whether she can afford to give up now, having gone so far. In the early days of aviation, pilots who attempted to cross oceanic distances would calculate a "point of no return" beyond which it made no sense to turn back. Hillary crossed that line long ago. Against the uncertainties of going on against Obama is the equally bleak prospect of returning to a diminished political future -- sans reputation, sans friends, and sans the protection of the Oval Office.

She has lived all her adult life trying to get herself elected President of the United States. She's counting on thousands of women who stood by their men to stand by her.

2. The Obama's unscripted words factor: With Obama's penchant for putting his foot in his mouth

"The man I met in Pennsylvania who lost his job but can't even afford the gas to drive around and look for a new one. He can't afford four more years of an energy policy written by the oil companies and for the oil companies; a policy that is not only keeping gas at record prices but funding both sides of the war on terror and destroying our planet... He needs us to take a permanent holiday from our addiction for oil by making automakers raise their fuel standards, corporations pay for their pollution and oil companies invest their record profits in a clean energy future. That's the change we need."

Hillary might (yet) still find inspiration to carry on.



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Hillary, "A good ol' girl"

Two headlines from Memeorandum:
With Right Props and Stops, Clinton Transforms Into Working-Class Hero, where Hillary is referred to as "a working mom" and "A good ol' girl."

Yeah, right.

And this one, Clinton disclosures didn't list $24 million of Bill's income

The Clintons' tax returns show that Bill Clinton earned nearly $51 million from 2004 through 2006. His wife informed the Senate of about $27 million of it, consisting almost entirely of fees from his globe-trotting speaking tours, from which he has fetched as much as $400,000 for a single appearance.

Reporting rules for senators and presidential candidates allowed Hillary Clinton to describe the amounts of her husband's other income sources as ``over $1,000." These included his more than $10 million in advances and royalties from two book deals, as much as $11.5 million from offshore partnerships that invested in a Chinese media company and more than $2 million from a Nebraska firm whose chairman reportedly spent $900,000 flying the Clintons aboard corporate jets for personal, business and campaign trips.

The sketchy disclosures on Clinton's statements might help explain why many Americans were surprised to learn, upon release of the couple's tax returns and a summary of their 2007 income, that they earned $109 million over the last eight years after leaving the White House buried in debt in 2001.

Working class alright, but in a whole different scale.



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The No Fun League

Ed Morrissey has it right: the Dems have no sense of humor left in them.

One of their guys (DNC director of research Mike Gehrke) has been reprimanded for twittering this:

"Mike is twittering: You know what you call someone who digs up dirt on John McCain? An archeologist."

I kid you not.

Someone in the DNC repeats a Leno joke and gets reprimanded. Unbelievable.

TigerHawk gets to the root of the problem:

The problem, of course, is the hideous identity war going on within the Democrats. With each of the Obama and Clinton campaigns applying the unnatural standards of corporate diversity training to the other while spinning furiously to induce people to vote on the basis of the color of their skin or the contours of the genitalia, any joke that can be contorted into grounds for outrage has been. The Democrats have become even more anti-humor than they are anti-war, which tells you what we are in for if they capture the White House. If you think our "national conversation" is stilted and hyper-sensitive now, just wait until the donks control every branch.

Let's add to that the groaning and gnashing of teeth we're going to get once their economic policies and global warming hairshirts get handed out.

UPDATE
Check out Porretto's excellent screed, Cause people.



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Bias at the Beeb?

Blame Israel, read later,
Fuel crisis threatens UN Gaza aid. The Beeb declares,

Israeli sanctions imposed in an attempt to force the Palestinian group Hamas to stop rocket fire have caused shortages

Having made that assertion, the Beeb then mentions the Hamas-generated strike by the Gaza oil distributors as "Israel says":

But Israel says Hamas is deliberately preventing fuel from being distributed.

It says there are a million litres of fuel at a border terminal which Gaza fuel distributors, with the backing of Hamas, have refused to collect in protest at the Israeli restrictions.

It's not until paragraph #15 that you read

The fuel shortages have been compounded since 7 April by a strike by Gaza's fuel distributors and petrol station owners, who have been refusing to pick up about 1 million litres that Israel has pumped into the Nahal Oz fuel terminal, saying the quantity is insufficient.

Not that that had anything to do with shortages...



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Suffering from ED?

Suffering from ED (excessive dishonesty)? Denny has the cure!

Gun tottin' double-fisted drinker! You mean, Hillary?

Crown Royal
Yes: Gun tottin' double-fisted drinker.

Next thing you know she's going to say she's from Pennsylvania.

The Carnival of Latin America's coming up in a moment.



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