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Month: April 2008

Penn Steps Down

Clinton chief strategist Mark Penn is quitting the campaign. His departure is controversial to say the least.

After it was discovered that Penn had been hired by the Colombian government to help secure a trade deal, one that Sen. Clinton has said she opposes, he realized he needed to step down, sources told ABC News.

Penn’s resignation came under pressure from an angry Sen. Clinton, who believed that Penn had recused himself from any clients who might pose a conflict for her campaign.

This is key. Hillary Clinton isn’t in control of her campaign, or the people who run it.

Clinton spoke about her opposition to the Colombia trade deal last week in her speech to the AFL-CIO in Philadelphia, and on Saturday seven labor unions that are part of the “Change to Win” coalition called for Clinton to fire Penn.

“The Penn situation — and the lack of action by you — raises serious questions about the veracity of your claims of what you would do should you become President,” the unions said in a statement released Saturday.

Again, that’s key. Did Hillary know about Penn’s conflict of interest and if so, how long has she known? If he wasn’t ‘found out’, would Penn still be in charge?

Hillary already has a credibility problem, and this mess only adds fuel to the fire. She can’t be trusted. Watch for this to be THE major issue for the Obama campaign this week.

Technorati Tags:
Hillary Clinton, Mark Penn, Controversy

Scary Stuff

The trial of eight British men accused of plotting to blow up seven airliners using liquid explosives is underway in London. Details of the terrorist’s plan are now becoming public.

The prosecution claimed that the explosive was planned to consist of hydrogen peroxide mixed with a powdered version of the fruit drink Tang. The addition of Tang, “which is an energetic compound”, would aid detonation, said Wright. He claimed that the mixture was intended to be dyed to match the colour of a soft drink, then substituted for the contents of 500ml bottles of Lucozade and Oasis. The original contents of these would be extracted without breaking the seal by means of a syringe, and the resulting hole in the base of the bottle sealed with superglue.

The jury was told that the bombs were to have been detonated using hexamethylene triperoxide diamine (HMTD), an explosive compound prepared using hydrogen peroxide and hexamine. This mix would be concealed in hollowed out batteries, and put together with the liquid explosives and a power source, possibly a disposable camera, once the flight was airborne.

A diary which Wright said was found on one of the accused gave details of the planning. “Mouthwash, blue, red. Calculate exact drops of Tang, plus colour. Make in HP.” And: “Lucozade, red, 1.5 drops, one teaspoon Tang, one teaspoon orange, 12 drops. Oasis, red. On, red dye. Orange, two times mango.”

The men were arrested in August 2006 leading to a worldwide clamp-down on liquids in carry-on baggage, with the ban initially extending even to jam sandwiches, and leading to debates over the relative explosive capabilities of hard and soft cheeses.

This is why we need the patriot act. This is why we need a strong CIA. This is why we need Homeland Security.

These guys got caught (and in the nick of time, I might add). Yet, some would believe their capture is yet another deterrent to other would be terrorists. They couldn’t be more wrong. Radical islamic terrorists won’t stop just because a few of their brothers got caught. They’re planning, plotting, and scheming right now.

They must be stopped.

Technorati Tags:
Radical Islam, Terrorism, Terrorist, London, Plot, Homeland Security, Patriot Act

Publishers Believe Kindle Has Helped eBook Market

The eBook reader hasn’t actually revolutionized the market, but some publishing officials are willing to concede that they’ve seen increased eBook sales.

Sales for the most popular books are in the hundreds, comparable to the number for the Sony Reader, which came out in 2006.

“The Kindle has increased awareness. Publishers have told me that in some cases the Sony numbers were double or triple to what they had been,” says Michael Smith, head of the International Digital Publishing Forum, which tracks e-book sales.

While Kindle owners are loving the device and reading more because of it, the eBook reader hasn’t come close to reaching critical mass just yet, most likely due to its steep price. The Kindle sells for $399.

Public sightings of eBook devices like the Kindle remain rare compared to iPods and even iPhones. But, the industry has jumped in. Companies like Hachette, Simon & Schuster and Random House use Sony Readers to review book manuscripts.

eBook sales are growing. The market was $6 million in 2002 and is now measured at around $33 million. Still, eBook sales are less than 1% of the $35 billion dollar publishing business.

More: Why eBook readers don’t stand a chance.

Technorati Tags:
eBooks, Publishing, Amazon, Kindle, Industry, Sony Reader

New Global Publishing Program?

Or yet another publisher driven internet strategy bound for failure?

Hyperion President and founding publisher Robert S. Miller is bailing on that company to “launch a new global publishing program based on a non-traditional business model” at HarperCollins.

According to the press release, “Miller will publish approximately 25 popular-priced books per year in multiple physical and digital formats including those as yet unspecified, with the aim to combine the best practices of trade publishing while taking full advantage of the internet for sales, marketing and distribution. Authors will be compensated through a profit sharing model as opposed to a traditional royalty, and books will be promoted utilizing on-line publicity, advertising and marketing.” Translation, probably: Whatever it is that Bob will be publishing will be printed on demand, or you will be able to read it on your Kindle-type device, or, eventually, by using implanted technology in your eyeballs that will allow you to turn pages by blinking.

Knowing as much as I do about the publishing industry, Emily at Galleycat probably isn’t too far off with her guesstimate of Miller’s plans. Here’s hoping though that whatever Bob Miller accomplishes at HC, it leans heavily toward the new business model side of things. New ideas are few and proactivity is low in publisherland. I’ll be watching…

UPDATE: You gotta love this headline from the Wall Street Journal. Is that a way to freak out authors or what?

More: P.Viktor chimes in with an authors opinion on HarperCollins’ new program.

Technorati Tags:
Bob Miller, Hyperion, HarperCollins, Publishing

Obama Bribes Voters

If you were a University student and you had a choice to go listen to Bill Clinton, or get free Dave Matthews concert tickets courtesy of Barack Obama, what would you do?

(IndyStar) It was an unexpected showdown of surrogates for Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton here Wednesday, and it sure looked like Obama’s representative whipped up the most excitement.

As former President Bill Clinton was extolling his wife’s credentials, Obama’s campaign office in Bloomington began giving away tickets to Sunday’s Dave Matthews concert at Assembly Hall.

Jason Schechtman, 19, Deerfield, Ill., a student at IU, got his tickets about 8 p.m. after waiting more than three hours. He met folks in line who said they’d left the Clinton rally to wait for tickets.

“I was leaning toward Obama, but this sealed the deal for sure,” he said. “The Obama campaign announced this right as (Bill Clinton) was about to speak, and it brought everyone from over there to over here.”

Barack Obama, a president for the shallow and superficial.

Technorati Tags:

2008 Election, Barack Obama, Bribe

Even Steven

Obama pulled even with Clinton in endorsements from top elected officials.

Obama yesterday won the backing of Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal, who became the sixth head of a Republican-leaning state to come out for him in his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. In the past week, Obama picked up support from first-term Senators Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania. Clinton, backed by two governors from Republican states, gained no superdelegates in that time.

Obama, 46, is endorsed by 16 U.S. House freshmen to Clinton’s 6, and 40 percent of his congressional allies are from “red states,” or those that voted for President George W. Bush in 2004, compared with one-quarter for Clinton. That bolsters the Obama campaign’s argument that he would have broader backing in the general election.

At the end of the day, do endorsements really matter anymore? Sure it signals party solidarity, but in the voters mind, is one endorsement more significant than another? The media goes crazy when a party stalwart like Ted Kennedy decides to align with Obama, but we now know it really didn’t matter that much to the voter. The same might be said about Bill Richardson’s endorsement. Will Hispanics suddenly love Barack just because Bill does? I don’t think it works that way anymore. Mostly, I think the public’s disconnectedness is to blame. Not enough people follow the primary race, or current events in general. They have name recognition with the candidates, but they aren’t necessarily familiar with the daily jousting. I just can’t believe the media pomp and circumstance around this endorsement or that one really amounts to much, today.

Technorati Tags:
2008 Election, Barack Obama, Bill Richardson, Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy, Hispanics, Voters, Electorate, Endorsements

Obama Puckers Up

Barack feels the need to give Algore a big ‘ol sloppy wet one. You can guess where.

Democrat Barack Obama said Wednesday he talks regularly with former vice president Al Gore and would consider putting him in a Cabinet-level position or higher. A woman at a town hall asked the Illinois senator if elected president would he consider tapping the former vice president for his Cabinet, or an even higher level office, to address global warming. “I would,” Obama said. “Not only will I, but I will make a commitment that Al Gore will be at the table and play a central part in us figuring out how we solve this problem.

Obama knows about the animosity that remains firmly entrenched between the Clinton’s and the Gore’s, so he’s trying to do everything possible to sweeten (and stir) the pot here. Watch Hillary on this one. If a member of her campaign provides an in-kind offer to this blatant pandering by Obama, it’ll be an indicative measure of her desperation.

Technorati Tags:
2008 Election, Al Gore, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton

Howard Dean Feeling the Heat

The DNC chairman is out this morning with words of comfort for the Clinton campaign.

Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean said Wednesday the party was committed to seating Florida’s delegates at this summer’s convention as long as any agreement is supported by the party’s two presidential contenders.

“We are committed to making sure that we do everything in our power to seat a delegation from Florida,” Dean said. “We believe we will seat a delegation from Florida.”

But the party chairman said it was critical that Obama and Clinton were “comfortable with the compromises that have to be worked out.” The two campaigns did not have representatives at the hourlong meeting.

And therein lies the problem. Up til now, Hillary has be the only one banging the ‘voter disenfranchisement’ drum, for obvious reasons. Obama has been comparatively silent. Why? The conventional wisdom is his campaign will not benefit from the seating of Florida or Michigan. Yet, current polling in Pennsylvania shows Obama might have a better chance this time around than in early February.

But, remember this. Obama doesn’t have to do agree to anything right now. His delegate and popular vote lead effectively protects him. Depending on how things go in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Indiana, Obama might not have to say a word about Florida or Michigan. Hillary, on the other hand, absolutely needs Florida and Michigan. Her 5% percent chance of capturing the nomination goes to zero rather quickly without these two states.

It’s clear that Howard Dean is caught in the middle of these two, and their huge constituencies. Pressure demands that he does something. Problem is, he’s damned if he does, and damned if he doesn’t.

Technorati Tags:
2008 Election, Barack Obama, DNC, Hillary Clinton, Howard Dean, Florida, Michigan

YO ADRIAN!!!

Hillary Clinton thinks she’s Rocky.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton says she has something in common with legendary film boxer Rocky Balboa — she’s not a quitter. Recalling a famous scene on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art from the 1976 Oscar-winning film “Rocky,” Clinton said that ending her presidential campaign now would be as if “Rocky Balboa had gotten halfway up those art museum steps and said, ‘Well, I guess that’s about far enough.'”

“Let me tell you something, when it comes to finishing a fight, Rocky and I have a lot in common. I never quit. I never give up. And neither do the American people,” Clinton said in excerpts of prepared remarks to be given Tuesday to a meeting of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO.

Yeah, she never quits, and she’ll make sure no one is left alive either. At least in the movie, you got a sense that Rocky was fighting for Philly, and the guys in his neighborhood, and for Mickey, and (in later movies) the memory of Apollo Creed, etc. Hillary is fighting for no one but herself.

Technorati Tags:
2008 Election, Hillary Clinton, Rocky Balboa