Saturday, February 02, 2008
Gerald Patrick Hemming Dies at 71
Feb 1, 2008: Gerald Patrick Hemming, founder of InterPen and a continual subject of interest among JFK assassination researchers, died on Jan 29 at the age of 71. For more information on Hemming, see his Spartacus Educational page, a biographical form at Gordon Winslow's cuban-exile.com, FBI files on Hemming made available to the HSCA, and Hemming's HSCA testimony at History Matters. The HSCA's Segregated Collection of CIA files contains voluminous material on Hemming. In this Youtube video interview, Hemming repeats his claim that he was repeatedly offered money to assassinate President Kennedy.
Gerald Patrick Hemming, Jr., a swashbuckling six-foot five ex-Marine turned soldier-of-fortune, who personally knew many of the prominent personages of the tumultuous sixties, and whose name appears with regularity in the books and articles on the Kennedy assassination, died Monday at his home in Fayetteville, North Carolina after a lengthy illness. Born in Los Angeles on March 1, 1937, Hemming was 71.
After he left the Marine Corp in the fall of 1958, Hemming travelled to Cuba and assist the newly formed Castro government in military training. In Cuba, Hemming worked as an instructor in a Cuban parachute regiment and was later named adjutant of the San Julien air base. Hemming claims while at San Julien he thwarted an assassination attempt by a disgruntled Cuban soldier who intended to shoot against Fidel Castro while he toured the air base with Soviet envoy Anderi Mikoyan.
In Cuba, Hemming met and worked with another American named William Morgan who in April 1961 was brutally executed by Castro forces for being a traitor. Hemming stated that he met Jack Ruby at Morgan's residence. Morgan's US citizenship was restored in 2007. In Cuba he also met Frank Fiorini, also known as Frank Sturgis who gained notoriety in 1974 as one of the Watergate burglars.
Hemming met and liked Che Guevera who he described as a man of his word. Hemming claimed he had a secret meeting with Guevera during the height of the Cuban missile crisis.
Hemming fled Cuba in the fall of 1960 and was extensively debriefed by the CIA regarding Castro's military operations. He then started a paramilitary organization named Intercontinental Penetration Force or Interpen, which trained first in the Everglades and later on No Name Key, a small, mosquito-infested island thirty miles north of Key West. The group was sometimes known as "Patrick's raiders".
Hemming's group was heavily funded by right-wing Caribbean dictators but some believe there was secret funding from the CIA. Hemming claimed to be reporting to James Jesus Angleton, the controversial chief of the CIA's Counterintelligence arm. Hemming also had familial ties to the intelligence community: his uncle had been a business partner with John McCone, JFK's Director of the CIA.
In December 1962, Hemming and a dozen of his Interpen group were arrested in the Florida Keys shortly before leaving on a secret mission to Cuba. Jailed overnight in Key West, the group was bailed out by a Miami attorney who flew them to Miami on a chartered seaplane. Hemming stated that when they arrived in Miami, Oswald attempted to infiltrate their group but Hemming instructed his men to remove Oswald. Several months later when Hemming and his lawyer participated in a Miami radio talk show, a man identifying himself as Lee Oswald called the show. A week after the assassination, the talk show host reported the incident to the FBI. In 1978, Hemming testified to the House Select Committee on Assassinations that he had met Lee Harvey Oswald outside the Cuban Consulate in January 1959, was suspicious of Oswald's motives and the information he was seeking. Subsequently, Hemming advised his Cuban friends to get rid of Oswald.
On bail restriction arising from the arrest in the Florida Keys, Hemming was unable to return to Los Angeles for a Christmas reunion with his family. A short time thereafter, his father, who owned a television repair shop, died. Hemming always regretted missing that last Christmas with his father. He told one writer that for months after his father died he would call his father's business after hours just to listen to his father's voice on the recorded announcement of the business hours.
In March of 1963, Hemming traveled to Dallas, Texas seeking financial support for his Interpen group. One of the person contacted included former Gen. Edwin Walker, who was shot at by Lee Oswald a few weeks later.
Hemming testified to the HSCA that in the summer of 1963 he was personally offered money to arrange the murder of JFK; specifying one such offer was made in the home of New Orleans private investigator Guy Banister and another in the Dallas Petroleum Club.
In the late 1980s Hemming and two of his Interpen associates served as consultants to Oliver Stone's movie "JFK". He can be seen briefly in the film as the man co-coordinating the assassination. Although some speculate that members of Interpen may have been involved in the assassination, Hemming always denied that charge, but has suggested that several years later he learned the details of the assassination from persons who were involved. Among his controversial claims was that Kennedy assassination was funded in part by members of the family of Rafeal Trujillo, the Dominican Republic dictator assassinated in April 1961, and that there was a separate shooter in the Texas School Book Depository with a contract to kill Governor John Connally. He also claimed that the conspirators had planted a bomb in a car parked near the triple underpass that could have been used to blow up the entire presidential limousine had the shooters been unable to deliver a fatal head shot.
Hemming may have given us the answer to some of the mysteries of the assassination. For instance, he has identified the Mexico City mystery man as German born Mario Tauler Sague, recruited for the CIA by Bill Harvey while Harvey was the Berlin station chief. Sague was involved in one of the earliest attempts on Castro's life.
At the conference in Dallas, Hemming claimed to know Sylvia Odio's visitors were. He stated that one of them had once saved his life. In 2005, he finally revealed the names. The man who saved his life was Angelo Murgado, the "Angel" in the Odio story, and "Leopoldo" was Bernardo DeTorres, a name familiar to most students of the assassination. The names were first publicly identified in an article written by Mark Howell and Tim Gratz for the Key West Citizen. Murgado was interviewed in person by Prof Joan Mellen (in the presence of Hemming) and she tells the story in her book "A Farewell to Justice". Murgado was also interviewed by David Talbot for his book "Brothers". In "Brothers", Talbot states that Murgado told him that he, Murgado, had shown Robert F Kennedy the newspaper article and photo of Lee Oswald passing out literature in New Orleans, leading to the disturbing conclusion that when RFK learned of the arrest of Oswald for the murder of his brother, he recognized Oswald's name and photo.
Howard K. Davis, who served as an Army ranger in the Korean War and worked with the Castro forces in 1958 before the abdication of Batista, was the second in command of the Interpen group and worked closely with Hemming for many years. Davis, who now works for Homeland Security at the Miami airport, said of Hemming, "Hemming was at heart an idealist who longed for freedom for the Cuban people and like so many was disappointed that Castro betrayed the stated goals of his revolution. Gerry loved the Cuban people, spoke Spanish fluently and he is remembered with great fondness in the Cuban exile community. He named one of his sons after a Cuban exile who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the fight against Castro."
Hemming has been interviewed by various JFK researchers, and was a featured speaker at the JFK Lancer November in Dallas Conference in 1996. Hemming's HSCA testimony given on June 17, 1993, was donated by Noel Twyman to JFK Lancer for distribution. There are many who believe that most of Hemming's stories were nothing but the creation of a clever mind while others are equally confident that he carried some secrets of the assassination to his grave. Perhaps the epitaph that should appear on his grave is the description once given him by an assassination writer: "Valedictorian in a Guerilla Suit.
Friday, February 01, 2008
Commentary on Oswald's Ghost
This is taken from Mary Ferrell.
Robert Stone's film Oswald's Ghost aired on PBS recently, earning rave reviews from some and less-than-favorable response from others. The film grapples with the effect of the JFK assassination on American society, though leaves the strong impression that the resulting tumult was unnecessary, as Oswald killed JFK by himself.
Mainstream sources' positive reviews include the Boston Globe, LA Times, Dallas Morning News, and Miami Herald.
Here are a few longer pieces which take issue with the film from different perspectives:
Kennedy's Ghost, by Rex Bradford.
Oswald's Ghost, by Jim DiEugenio.
What Oswald Wrought: Lament of a Generation, by Max Holland.
Night at the Museum, by David Lifton.
See also this piece by David D'Arcy: Robert Stone and Oswald's Ghost, which includes an interview with the filmmaker where Stone voices more directly some of his thoughts on the assassination.
Robert Stone's film Oswald's Ghost aired on PBS recently, earning rave reviews from some and less-than-favorable response from others. The film grapples with the effect of the JFK assassination on American society, though leaves the strong impression that the resulting tumult was unnecessary, as Oswald killed JFK by himself.
Mainstream sources' positive reviews include the Boston Globe, LA Times, Dallas Morning News, and Miami Herald.
Here are a few longer pieces which take issue with the film from different perspectives:
Kennedy's Ghost, by Rex Bradford.
Oswald's Ghost, by Jim DiEugenio.
What Oswald Wrought: Lament of a Generation, by Max Holland.
Night at the Museum, by David Lifton.
See also this piece by David D'Arcy: Robert Stone and Oswald's Ghost, which includes an interview with the filmmaker where Stone voices more directly some of his thoughts on the assassination.
Gophers in Rivals Top 5 Surprise Recruiting Classes
Every year it seems that the usual suspects are always near the top of the Rivals.com team rankings. With the success on the field, it's no surprise to see teams like Florida, Oklahoma, Ohio State, USC and LSU always up there with the best of the best.
But each recruiting year, there's a crop of surprise teams that come out of nowhere and finish with great classes. Rivals.com takes a look at the five biggest surprises in recruiting this season.
RIVALS5: RECRUITING SURPRISES
KANSAS JAYHAWKS
Current Class Rank: No. 35 overall, No. 9 in Big 12
It's hard to call the Jayhawks a surprise in anything anymore as this season's effort on the field proved that. There is no question that the Kansas coaching staff has a great eye for talent. They've taken players that were lightly recruited in some cases or needed a little extra time to develop, and transformed them into all-conference players. But this year, the Jayhawks took some major strides, riding the wave of momentum of the Orange Bowl victory, and will finish with the highest ranked class in Mark Mangino's time in Lawrence. The Hawks did a great job in their own backyard, snagging four of the top nine players in the state. Plus, they did some major damage with key junior college players like national offensive player of the year, running back Jocques Crawford.
MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS
Current Class Rank: No. 25 overall, No. 4 in Big Ten
Tim Brewster and his staff have flat out gotten it done this recruiting season. It was just over a year ago that Brewster was brought on board, and even with the struggling season, Minnesota football has made tremendous strides in the recruiting wars. The Golden Gophers under Brewster have a legit shot at finishing in the national top 25 – something that's never been done before at Minnesota. Stars like MarQueis Gray at quarterback, Brandon Green and Vincent Hill at receiver and Traye Simmons in the defensive backfield could be household names in the Big Ten rather quickly. And so should Minnesota's losing seasons.
PITTSBURGH PANTHERS
Current Class Rank: No. 21 overall, No. 1 in Big East
The Panthers have to rank right at the top as one of the most pleasant surprises nationally this recruiting season. Not only did they make strides on the field late in the season, they've continued to make strides forward in the recruiting wars. Landing five-star receiver Jonathan Baldwin is something that should help spark the offense even more next season. And they've done a tremendous job also on the defensive side of the ball with guys like Shayne Hale expecting to compete for early time. Their offensive line is also going to get a big boost with Lucas Nix coming aboard.
SOUTHERN MISS GOLDEN EAGLES
Current Class Rank: No. 49 overall, No. 1 in CUSA
The Golden Eagles have made tremendous strides rather quickly under new coach Larry Fedora. Fedora assembled a great coaching staff that features great coaches and great recruiters like Tony Hughes and Darrell Wyatt. The Eagles are going to finish ahead of several quality teams from the Big 12, ACC, Big East and Pac 10. Wyatt is most well known for recruiting Adrian Peterson to Oklahoma, but his effort at Southern Miss quickly garnered a lot of attention. And Hughes quickly reeled in many of the Eagles top prospects, including star linemen Willie Packer and Quin Sanford. While this class might not register in the top 25, there is definitely a new team to watch out for in Conference USA and things are going to be more difficult for out of state teams to come into Mississippi and get kids away.
WASHINGTON HUSKIES
Current Class Rank: No. 22 overall, No. 5 in Pac-10
Tyrone Willingham is flat out getting it done in Seattle this recruiting season. UDub might shock some people to be where its ranked, but it shouldn't be a true surprise because the Huskies have a tremendous recruiting base to recruit to – major urban area, great facilities, good tradition and a great fan base. The Huskies have done most of their damage this season in the Northwest with the key additions of stars like Kavario Middleton, Everrette Thompson, Alameda Ta'amu. But stealing Chris Polk away from USC also had to be exciting for the UDub coaches. The Huskies have a young nucleus to work with and adding even more high-level talent from this year's class is sure to help them be even more competitive in the Pac-10.
But each recruiting year, there's a crop of surprise teams that come out of nowhere and finish with great classes. Rivals.com takes a look at the five biggest surprises in recruiting this season.
RIVALS5: RECRUITING SURPRISES
KANSAS JAYHAWKS
Current Class Rank: No. 35 overall, No. 9 in Big 12
It's hard to call the Jayhawks a surprise in anything anymore as this season's effort on the field proved that. There is no question that the Kansas coaching staff has a great eye for talent. They've taken players that were lightly recruited in some cases or needed a little extra time to develop, and transformed them into all-conference players. But this year, the Jayhawks took some major strides, riding the wave of momentum of the Orange Bowl victory, and will finish with the highest ranked class in Mark Mangino's time in Lawrence. The Hawks did a great job in their own backyard, snagging four of the top nine players in the state. Plus, they did some major damage with key junior college players like national offensive player of the year, running back Jocques Crawford.
MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS
Current Class Rank: No. 25 overall, No. 4 in Big Ten
Tim Brewster and his staff have flat out gotten it done this recruiting season. It was just over a year ago that Brewster was brought on board, and even with the struggling season, Minnesota football has made tremendous strides in the recruiting wars. The Golden Gophers under Brewster have a legit shot at finishing in the national top 25 – something that's never been done before at Minnesota. Stars like MarQueis Gray at quarterback, Brandon Green and Vincent Hill at receiver and Traye Simmons in the defensive backfield could be household names in the Big Ten rather quickly. And so should Minnesota's losing seasons.
PITTSBURGH PANTHERS
Current Class Rank: No. 21 overall, No. 1 in Big East
The Panthers have to rank right at the top as one of the most pleasant surprises nationally this recruiting season. Not only did they make strides on the field late in the season, they've continued to make strides forward in the recruiting wars. Landing five-star receiver Jonathan Baldwin is something that should help spark the offense even more next season. And they've done a tremendous job also on the defensive side of the ball with guys like Shayne Hale expecting to compete for early time. Their offensive line is also going to get a big boost with Lucas Nix coming aboard.
SOUTHERN MISS GOLDEN EAGLES
Current Class Rank: No. 49 overall, No. 1 in CUSA
The Golden Eagles have made tremendous strides rather quickly under new coach Larry Fedora. Fedora assembled a great coaching staff that features great coaches and great recruiters like Tony Hughes and Darrell Wyatt. The Eagles are going to finish ahead of several quality teams from the Big 12, ACC, Big East and Pac 10. Wyatt is most well known for recruiting Adrian Peterson to Oklahoma, but his effort at Southern Miss quickly garnered a lot of attention. And Hughes quickly reeled in many of the Eagles top prospects, including star linemen Willie Packer and Quin Sanford. While this class might not register in the top 25, there is definitely a new team to watch out for in Conference USA and things are going to be more difficult for out of state teams to come into Mississippi and get kids away.
WASHINGTON HUSKIES
Current Class Rank: No. 22 overall, No. 5 in Pac-10
Tyrone Willingham is flat out getting it done in Seattle this recruiting season. UDub might shock some people to be where its ranked, but it shouldn't be a true surprise because the Huskies have a tremendous recruiting base to recruit to – major urban area, great facilities, good tradition and a great fan base. The Huskies have done most of their damage this season in the Northwest with the key additions of stars like Kavario Middleton, Everrette Thompson, Alameda Ta'amu. But stealing Chris Polk away from USC also had to be exciting for the UDub coaches. The Huskies have a young nucleus to work with and adding even more high-level talent from this year's class is sure to help them be even more competitive in the Pac-10.
Update on MarxistGophers Super Tuesday Predictions
I wanted to post an update to my Super Tuesday predictions before I go home. I have Obama picking up Alaska, Idaho, and North Dakota, but I flipped California back to Clinton. Obviously, given the number of delegates involved, this is not good for Obama if this scenario plays out. Keep in mind, however, that the Democratic primary isn't winner-take-all in states. Delegates are awarded proportionally. I think it's shaping up for a Hillary lead coming out of Super Tuesday, but it won't be a crushing blow that will knock Obama out of the race. Which means this could continue into March. The only question will be what size the Hillary lead is in delegates after Super Tuesday. If it's close Obama will still have a realistic chance, but if Hillary can open a bit of a lead Obama isn't likely to catch her....
2004 Democratic Primary Vote by County
Another in my continuing series of political maps. The 2004 Democratic primary wasn't that interesting after Iowa, but I thought it would be cool to compare it to the 2008 map that is still in the making.
If anyone has any requests for other maps you want to see me do, please let me know in the comments section of this post.
If anyone has any requests for other maps you want to see me do, please let me know in the comments section of this post.
UPDATE: Republican Primary Vote by County
Democratic Primary Super Tuesday States
For those who don't know I created this lovely map showing the 22 states that will be voting on Super Tuesday (February 5th), along with the number of delegates at stake in each state. None of the delegates are awarded in winner take all format, as some of the republican states are, but are all proportionally awarded.
Here are my predictions for the upcoming Super Tuesday vote. I think I'm being slightly favorable to Obama, and this still shows a Hillary "win" on Tuesday. This is depressing....
Here are my predictions for the upcoming Super Tuesday vote. I think I'm being slightly favorable to Obama, and this still shows a Hillary "win" on Tuesday. This is depressing....
Thursday, January 31, 2008
2006 Minnesota Senate Vote by County
2006 Minnesota Governor's Race by County
Polls, Polls, Polls
Thought I'd post some recent poll results that have come out since the Florida primary. They all show Obama closing the gap with Clinton, but don't show him going ahead. If this is indeed the trend, and it continues through Super Tuesday it could be a very good day for Obama. It's very hard to keep this kind of momentum going for any period of time. It should be noted, however, that all of these numbers are before John Edwards announced he was dropping out of the race. And we don't yet know how that will affect the race.
California (Rasmussen)
Clinton - 43
Obama - 40
McCain - 32
Romney - 28
Huckabee - 11
Connecticut (Rasmussen)
Clinton - 40
Obama - 40
Edwards - 11
McCain - 42
Romney - 26
Giuliani - 12
Illinois (Rasmussen)
McCain - 34
Romney - 26
Huckabee - 16
Massachusetts (Rasmussen)
Clinton - 43
Obama - 37
New York (PPP)
Clinton - 45
Obama - 33
Edwards - 10
McCain - 34
Giuliani - 20
Romney - 19
Tennessee (PPP)
Clinton - 43
Obama - 32
Edwards - 16
Huckabee - 30
McCain - 26
Romney - 22
Minnesota (MPR/Humphrey Institute)
Clinton - 40
Obama - 33
Edwards - 12
Undecided - 13
Other - 2
McCain - 41
Huckabee - 22
Romney - 17
Guiliani - 6
Paul - 5
Undecided - 10
Election day is still more than nine months away, and the presidential nominees are far from decided. But Larry Jacobs said the poll results on head-to-head match ups show Minnesota could heavily favor the Democratic candidate in November.
"Obama and Clinton have opened up sizeable double digit leads over all the Republican candidates," Jacobs said. "Obama is ahead of McCain by 13 points. Clinton has got a 10 point advantage over McCain. And then when you turn to the Huckabee and Romney and Giuliani matchups, the leads are substantially larger."
California (Rasmussen)
Clinton - 43
Obama - 40
McCain - 32
Romney - 28
Huckabee - 11
Connecticut (Rasmussen)
Clinton - 40
Obama - 40
Edwards - 11
McCain - 42
Romney - 26
Giuliani - 12
Illinois (Rasmussen)
McCain - 34
Romney - 26
Huckabee - 16
Massachusetts (Rasmussen)
Clinton - 43
Obama - 37
New York (PPP)
Clinton - 45
Obama - 33
Edwards - 10
McCain - 34
Giuliani - 20
Romney - 19
Tennessee (PPP)
Clinton - 43
Obama - 32
Edwards - 16
Huckabee - 30
McCain - 26
Romney - 22
Minnesota (MPR/Humphrey Institute)
Clinton - 40
Obama - 33
Edwards - 12
Undecided - 13
Other - 2
McCain - 41
Huckabee - 22
Romney - 17
Guiliani - 6
Paul - 5
Undecided - 10
Election day is still more than nine months away, and the presidential nominees are far from decided. But Larry Jacobs said the poll results on head-to-head match ups show Minnesota could heavily favor the Democratic candidate in November.
"Obama and Clinton have opened up sizeable double digit leads over all the Republican candidates," Jacobs said. "Obama is ahead of McCain by 13 points. Clinton has got a 10 point advantage over McCain. And then when you turn to the Huckabee and Romney and Giuliani matchups, the leads are substantially larger."
California: Clinton 43%, Obama 40%
More evidence of Obama gaining on Hillary in California and nationally. This is from Rasmusson Reports...
The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in California shows Hillary Clinton with a very narrow three-percentage point lead over Barack Obama. The survey was conducted in the hours immediately following Florida’s Presidential Primary and before John Edwards dropped out of the race.
Two weeks ago, Clinton led Obama by five percentage points in California.
The survey found Edwards with 9% of the vote while 4% said they would vote for some other candidate and another 4% were not sure.
Obama had a narrow 43% to 41% advantage among the party’s liberal voters while Clinton held a 45% to 35% edge among moderate voters.
Obama held a three-point lead among white voters in the state while Clinton had a twenty-seven point lead among Hispanic voters.
Clinton trailed by eight points among men but led by ten among women.
Obama is viewed favorably by 83% of California’s Democratic Primary Voters, Clinton by 79%.
Sixty-nine percent (69%) of the state’s voters were certain they had settled on their final choice. That meant nearly a third could still change their mind, a figure that grew when Edwards left the race.
Forty-six percent (46%) said the top voting issue is the economy while 29% mentioned the War in Iraq. Clinton led by fifteen among those who view the economy as the highest priority. Obama led by eight among those who view the War as the top voting issue.
A Rasmussen Reports analysis of the Democratic race notes that “The numbers still favor Clinton. But, as every sports fan knows, sometimes the numbers don’t matter. Sometimes things just fall into place for an upset. More often than not, the underdog comes up a bit short—but not always.”
Clinton continues to hold a modest lead over Obama in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Obama closing on Hillary in CA and Nationally; Ties in Connecticut
from SFGate.com:
On the Democratic side, the combined results of three nightly samplings of 400 different voters - for Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday - found Hillary Rodham Clinton at 36 percent, Obama at 31 percent and John Edwards at 12 percent.
But when taken alone, Sunday's tracking - just a day after Obama's big win in the South Carolina primary - had Obama leading Clinton, 35 percent to 32 percent, with Edwards' share growing to 16 percent. And pretty much the same numbers came up Monday.
One caveat: A prominent political consultant following the numbers emphasizes that while a single night's tracking isn't considered statistically reliable, it does show movement and direction.
Any way you slice it, the source says, the presidential race here is definitely heating up.
Nationally, a Gallop poll shows Obama closing to within 6 points of Hillary, and in CT a Rasmusson poll shows a tie at 40% to 40%.
2008 Presidential Primary Vote by County
I put this together over the last few days. It shows the winners county by county in the states that have voted so far in the presidential primary.
On the Democratic side, Michigan and Florida were uncontested "beauty contests." Both states moved their primaries up against the wishes of the National Democratic Party and all candidates agreed not to campaign there. In Michigan, Hillary was the only one on the ballot and uncommitted was the only alternative. In Florida, Hillary was the only one to campaign there even though all three were on the ballot. I hope that helps to explain the Hillary "anomalies" in those states. Wether or not delegates from those states will be seated could lead to a huge credentials fight at the convention. There is an extended discussion of the Michigan and Florida situation on electoral-vote.
On the Republican side, the party settled the dispute with those states by cutting their delegate numbers in half, instead of eliminating them as the Democrats did. In Wyoming there was no total vote number, only the results of the county conventions delegates awarded (Romney-8, F. Thompson-3, D. Hunter-1). So I decided to just color the entire state for Romney since we don't know actual vote numbers.
I will be updating the maps and posting them as the primaries continue. The next update will be on February 6th, after super-duper Tuesday.
On the Democratic side, Michigan and Florida were uncontested "beauty contests." Both states moved their primaries up against the wishes of the National Democratic Party and all candidates agreed not to campaign there. In Michigan, Hillary was the only one on the ballot and uncommitted was the only alternative. In Florida, Hillary was the only one to campaign there even though all three were on the ballot. I hope that helps to explain the Hillary "anomalies" in those states. Wether or not delegates from those states will be seated could lead to a huge credentials fight at the convention. There is an extended discussion of the Michigan and Florida situation on electoral-vote.
On the Republican side, the party settled the dispute with those states by cutting their delegate numbers in half, instead of eliminating them as the Democrats did. In Wyoming there was no total vote number, only the results of the county conventions delegates awarded (Romney-8, F. Thompson-3, D. Hunter-1). So I decided to just color the entire state for Romney since we don't know actual vote numbers.
I will be updating the maps and posting them as the primaries continue. The next update will be on February 6th, after super-duper Tuesday.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
UIC Workers Vote to Authorize Strike
from Fight Back News Service
By Joe Iosbaker
Chicago, IL - From Jan. 15 to Jan. 23, hundreds of clerical and administrative workers at UIC (University of Illinois - Chicago) turned out for a strike authorization vote. 94% of them supported the call from their elected bargaining committee to walk out of work if negotiations fail to reach an agreement.
The workers, members of Local 73 SEIU (Service Employees International Union) have gone without a contract raise for over two years. Sirlena Perry, a member of the bargaining committee as well as Local 73's executive board, said, "We've never had a strike at UIC, but we can't accept what's on the table. There is no raise for the first year, no retro pay back to the August start date of this contract year and no language to give us job security."
Another major issue is the disparity in wages between the Chicago campus and the sites in Rockford and Peoria. For many years, Chicago workers had been paid less than those at the campus in downstate Urbana. After a decade long fight to win parity for Chicago, the workers at the other sites are striving for this goal as well.
Bargaining is scheduled with a federal mediator on Feb. 6. If this fails to bring the two sides together, the union will go forward with their plans. To show their determination, many of the voting workers wore on their lapels a sticker that read, "UIC won't work without us!"
KS WR Brodrick Smith commits to Gophers
3-star WR Brodrick Smith from Garden City, KS committed to the Gopher Football program yesterday after a long recruiting process. Smith was also recruited by Nebraska, Arizona, Kansas State, Illinois, and Oregon. Smith is the 4th WR in the 2008 class, the 17th 3-star recruit, and the 30th commitment overall.
This is really looking like an impressive class for Tim Brewster.
Signing day is February 6th.
Kennedys, roaring crowds give Obama rally '60s feel
Reuters
By Andy Sullivan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With Kennedys on the stage and Beatlemania-like screams from the crowd, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's campaign stop on Monday took on the aura of the early 1960s.
As members of the prominent political family took turns endorsing the Illinois senator, their words were often swallowed up by ear-piercing screams from the crowd of several thousand gathered in a gymnasium at American University.
Like the ecstatic throngs that welcomed the Beatles when they first visited America, the cheers of thousands of young supporters often outmatched the voices of those holding the microphone.
They emptied their lungs at every mention of Obama's name, drowning out Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, his son U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island and Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the slain President John Kennedy.
After the rally, Sen. Kennedy and Obama gave a second speech to hundreds who had waited for hours outside in the cold, shut out of the packed arena.
"We love you Obama!" young women screamed from nearby dormitory windows.
Obama, who would be the first black president, hopes America's best-known political dynasty will help him fend off rival Hillary Clinton, who would establish a dynasty of her own if she took the White House eight years after her husband Bill left it.
Several in the crowd said they were turned off by the Clintons' attempts to paint Obama as "the black candidate" over the past two weeks.
"You didn't need to bring that into the equation," said retiree Carol Belkin, 62, who said she had planned to support Clinton until last week. "I want to see this country brought together. I think the pair of them are divisive."
"I thought it was really below the belt," said Howard University graduate student Anita Wheeler, 24.
Obama's charisma and youth have drawn comparisons to the late President Kennedy, who in 1963 delivered a famous speech at the same school calling for a ban on nuclear weapons testing.
Obama offered no new policy proposals as he devoted much of his 15-minute speech to praise of the Kennedys.
But he also made sure to ask for the votes of those in the crowd -- an unusual event for a national politician in the capital city, which has no representation in Congress and rarely plays a crucial role in presidential races.
This year could be different. Along with neighboring states Virginia and Maryland, Washington's primary is scheduled for February 12 and many observers expect the race will still be competitive at that point.
"My vote's going to matter for a change," said chef and Washington resident Karen Hayes, 42.
For others, seeing Obama in person seemed to be enough.
"You know how close I was to him?" gushed one young woman as she showed off her digital photos to a friend. "I was, like, right there!"
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