Just Powers

The Clinton campaign reports that they raised $27 million this quarter. $5 million of that is for the general election, leaving her total for the third quarter at $22 million. The Obama campaign reports that they raised $20 million in the third quarter. $1 million of that is for the general election, leaving his total for the third quarter at $19 million.

But here’s the thing. Obama doesn’t accept donations from lobbyists or PAC’s. Hillary does. Obama has made breaking with politics as usual (and the influence of money that comes along with it) a centerpiece of his campaign, while Clinton is about as entrenched in the D.C. establishment as you can get. That seems like a significant thing to mention when talking about a $3 million dollar difference.

The fact that no one in the media is talking about this is frustrating.

Emma’s teeth have finally arrived!!! We had a rough weekend, but the teeth are here. Pretty much every symptom of teething you can think of, Emma had. The drooling has not slowed down though, leading me to think there might be a few more pearly whites where these came from.

Oh and also, Emma met Barack Obama! And she definitely did NOT burst into tears when everyone around us started cheering and screaming. And he did NOT look at me and saw “awww!”.

Oh and also, Emma got to hang out with her Poppy - who looks an awful lot like that Captain K2 guy. Which would be cool. To have a pirate for a grandpa.

Un. Be. Lievable. My mouth hung open for a good minute after watching this. Please watch it, and then make sure everyone you know sees it. These assholes are just amazing.

Here is a photo of my awesome license plate. It seems fitting to post it now given the news last week about the President’s latest lie. I still enjoy watching the reactions I get on the road.

Skye is doing great and we have decided to officially adopt him - which most of you saw coming a mile away. The house has gotten a little smaller with the addition of a 50 pound dog, but it is worth it. He continues to be really sweet and trots around behind his *big* brother Moose whenever they go outside.

Oh - Happy Birthday today to one of my best friends from college - Carol Anne - and the son of my best friend from high school - Isaac. Hope you both had a great day!!

Today isYesterday was Blog Against Sexism Day and International Women’s Day.

There are times when sexism can be a hard thing to put your finger on, and other times when it is not. In any case, what is clear is that sexism still exists, and it is up to all of us to be on the lookout for it.

My hope for today is this - I would like to go to the list of bloggers who participated in Blog Against Sexism Day and see just as many male bloggers on the list as female. So if you are reading this post and you have a blog - please, take just a few moments to post something today and spread the word that women rock.

Update: Ok, so I was one day off. But shouldn’t EVERY DAY be blog against sexism day? Please join me today on “The Day After Blog Against Sexism Day” and speak out for all women everywhere.

Huge congratulations go out today to Chris Bell and all the folks working on his campaign for Texas Governor. Chris won a big victory yesterday in the Democratic primary, winning the nomination with 64% of the vote.

Mike and I had the pleasure of working with the Bell campaign for about six months last year, helping them with their website and blog and even doing a few podcasts. Chris and his team are great people - funny, smart as hell and really interested in making things better in Texas. Ok, ok, and I may have just the slightest crush on Chris.

If you know anyone in Texas, do me a favor and make sure they know about Chris and the campaign. He definitely has a shot in November against current Governor Rick Perry, but he can use all the help he can get. In fact, if you have a little spare change to send Chris’s way that would be great too.

The winner of the competition to be the new voice of Metro will be announced today. Is it me or is there an outstanding lack of color in the pool of finalists?

Call me crazy, but the photo of the finalists doesn’t look like a city where 70% of the population is African-American, Hispanic, and Asian.

The latest news from the White House absolutely requires a post here on Just Powers, although I can’t imagine what I can add to the conversation that you haven’t already heard from the New York Times, CNN, or dailyKos. There is one thing I could use some clarification on however.

I was listening to the President’s “no-no-we-really-DO-need-to-spy-on-you” press conference yesterday and heard him say this:

“…the Iraqi people now enjoy constitutionally protected freedoms, and their leaders now derive their powers from the consent of the governed.”

Well hell, even though he was removed from my holiday card list, I was darn proud of the President for quoting the Declaration of Independence, which is, after all, one of our favorite documents here at Just Powers.

So I sat down today to write a blog post about it, and wanting to make sure I got the words right, I went to the White House website to get an exact quote of what the President said. Imagine my consternation when I saw this:

“…the Iraqi people now enjoy constitutionally protected freedoms, and their leaders now derive their powers from the consent of the government.”

Um. I am no Declaration of Independence scholar, in fact I think I used the Cliff’s notes in AP history in 11th grade, but I am pretty sure that “governed” and “government” are not interchangeable. In fact, I think doing so pretty much makes the sentence mean exactly the opposite, as in “the government is now doing whatever they want regardless of what the governed say”.

Now maybe that kind of hinky treatment of antiquated charter documents works here in the old U.S. of A. Mr. President, but surely not in Iraq. Iraq is a place for DEMOCRACY — it is for the ‘ed’ not the ‘ment’. Please tell me you just misspoke…

UPDATE: Well phew. Dick Cheney has set me straight. Turns out I did actually hear what I thought I heard. Even though he needs to look into hiring some new transcriptionists it seems the President is as big a fan of the Declaration of Independence as I am. The verdict is still out on his feelings about the Constitution.

I think I may have gotten the best license plate ever.

I applied for this plate a few weeks ago, after seeing a similar one in Virginia. When I searched for it I assumed it was taken, and then when I found it I assumed they would not approve it. But lo and behold, a few days ago I received a letter from the DC DMV telling me that I can pick up my new license plate in 6-8 weeks. Holy crap.

Now I am wondering what will happen once the plate is on my car - will my car be keyed? Will the plate be stolen? Will there be parades in my honor as I drive around DC?

Oh the stories I will have to tell…

Dick Cheney got a taste of his own medicine this morning during an interview with reporters. His response was to make a joke about it: “Must be a friend of John…, er, ah - never mind.” Maybe not the BEST time for a joke dick…