Feb. 13: Obama's cult following?

*Does Obama have the "Big Mo?"

Interesting sentence by John Zogby in this column:


"There is also an almost cult-like quality to Obama's following."


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7243036.stm


Too fast and too soon for a man who hasn't clearly communicated his stands on hot button issues or how he would lead....I can't help but feel that Democrats are doing to Hillary Clinton this year what Republicans did to John McCain in 2000. We know how that turned out......



*Bond or Sharpton: Who would you listen to?


Julian Bond recommends seating Democratic delegates from Florida and Michigan. Rev. Al Sharpton says no:


http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jBJoIRU0gvxVNHPg5taMC5AaxnKQD8UPGUN00



Speaking as a Floridian, I have one word to say to Sharpton: Hush.





*Senate Dems play Charlie Brown to Bush's Lucy


They voted to expand spy powers:


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/13/us/13fisa.html?_r=1&ref=technology&oref=slogin


No wonder Congress gets even lower ratings than President Bush......Will the House

cave in, too?

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Terrorist-Surveillance.html





*Open up!


From Nieman Watchdog:


http://niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=ask_this.view&askthisid=00321


Let's hope whoever wins the presidency means it.



*Britney law?



Los Angeles may be considering a law that restricts where the paparazzi can go:


http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article3341791.ece


The problem with this, as with many laws seeking to curtail the tabloid folk, is that it also affects the legitimate reporters and photographers trying to do their jobs in other circumstances. Would such a law mean that reporters can't follow, for instance, L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa if a story breaks?



*Subtexts in the steroid hearings


Check out the entry under 1:54 p.m.:


http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/13/live-analysis-of-hearings/index.html?hp


Politics takes an undertone in Major League Baseball; a lot of money has been donated by the sport and its owners (and some prominent players) to political candidates. Haven't found anything given by Roger Clemens, but maybe it just means fan worship is blind.

Still, with all the baseball books around, maybe someone can write about the game's political shadows.





*Writers' strike over


Before the writers' strike, I watched PBS, DVDs and video. During the writers' strike, I resorted to watching PBS, DVDs and video. Now that the strike is over, I can go back to watching PBS, DVDs and video.



*Cool story of the day (Well, maybe not for the horse)


Riding across Israel:


http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1202625819405&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull



*Photo of the Day


From the Web site 236.com. Click and enjoy:


http://www.236.com/news/2008/02/12/former_us_ambassador_to_the_un_4365.php