Leave it up to the nerds of Weezer to  make a video filled with youtube pop culture references. I think when you get parodied, that means you made it? Way to go youtube! Now lets just hope you can win your suit for copyright infringement against Viacom…

What would Martin Luther King say today with a headline like this: AP Tally: Obama effectively clinches nomination.

More than 40 years ago, King announced to the world that he had a dream:

In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the “unalienable Rights” of “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Many in this nation are overjoyed that an African-American man has the best chance ever to be the next president of the United States. White people voted for Barack Obama, African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, possibly a representative from every nation on this earth voted for him.

Obama’s wife said this: “for the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country because it feels like hope is finally making a comeback” several months ago. I, like her, am also proud that my country is trying to shed 400 years of oppression through slavery, racism and segregation. Perhaps America will continue this momentous occassion and propel Obama to the White House and make Dr. King’s declaratory statement that we, America, will be “free at last.”

UPDATE: Democrats reach a deal and seat the Michigan and Florida delegates with half a vote each. More interesting than the decision was the mini-fight that occurred after the decision was announced. From the New York Times story:

The deep wounds among Democratic partisans — and the unification challenges awaiting the party — were laid bare when the committee voted on Saturday evening. Supporters of Mrs. Clinton jeered the decision, loudly booing and hissing the members of the group as their faces were shown on a large screen in the room.

One woman, wearing a blue “Team Hillary” shirt, shoved a man in a suit and tie wearing a small Obama button on his lapel. Another woman in a white Clinton shirt hung her head in her hands.

Democrats today are protesting themselves as committees from Florida and Michigan debate on what should be done about how to award delegates to both Senators Clinton and Obama. While both candidates agree both states’ delegates should be seated, Clinton thinks that all the delegates should count, thus resulting in a large delegate gain for her. Obama, on the other hand, wants only half the delegates to be seated. The protests bring up questions about how unified the Democratic party really will be once Clinton or Obama has been named president.

The New York Times today said that the Clinton campaign realizes the race is over, no matter how Florida and Michigan decide to seat their delegates. The article specifically mentions that she will end it with a speech:

Mrs. Clinton has kept her counsel about what she might do to draw her campaign to a close and when she might do it. Her associates said the most likely outcome is that she will end her bid with a speech, probably back home in New York, in which she would endorse Mr. Obama. Mrs. Clinton herself suggested on Friday that the contest will end sometime next week.

Once she has dropped out of the race for president, there is speculation she will start the race for vice-president.  She must work to heal the Democratic party and help it prepare for a tough and possibly dirty fight this November against John McCain and the Republicans.

A long, long time ago, blogs were born as a way for people to create online diaries and provide intricate details into who they were dating or what they had for lunch that day. Now, blogs are ubiquitous and are written about every topic under the sun. And like all young children that reach adolescence, they become a little bit ornery and rebellious. Parents establish guidelines to keep their teenagers in check and out of trouble. Nobody wants to hear about the police picking up their child, or lawyers calling bloggers to say “You’ve been served” with a libel lawsuit. And so, that’s why there needs to be a code of ethics established in the blogosphere.

1. What happens when your child, a student, copies another person’s work, or publishes something false on a research paper? If they get caught, they could face disciplinary actions for plagiarism or falsifying research material. These penalties follow that student from the classroom to the boardroom or newsroom. Bloggers’ big daddy, the journalists, have to follow these rules, or else suffer the consequences, which could be getting fired. So blogs acting as journalists need to develop the same set of guiding principles that other journalistic organizations follow.

2.When youngsters get upset at something, they may not know how to accurately air their complaints. They may yell, scream, or lash out for the wrong reasons. Forbes discussed how attack blogs can go a bit beyond their civil scope:

A supposed crusading journalist launched an online campaign long on invective and wobbly on facts, posting articles on his Web log (blog) calling Halpern “deceitful,”"unethical,”"incredibly stupid” and “a pathological liar” who had misled investors.

Bloggers need to show transparency when they go “on the attack” of whatever issue they find discomfort with.

3. Finally, the last point doesn’t necessarily deal with ethics as much as it deals with legitimacy. Every teen wants to prove to their parents that they are going to follow in mom and dad’s footsteps, or even do better. For example, parents love when their child brings home A’s on the report card – it shows that their son or daughter is going to make it in this brutish world. So if bloggers are going to demand that they are considered the “press” and fall under the 1st Amendment protections, then they need to step up and show their parents, the journalists, that they will adhere to the same standards that newswriters must pursue. First Amendment Center.org brings up this discussion.

We all want to see blogs succeed. It is absolutely wonderful that millions of Americans have taken to blogs to provide insights and examples into whatever issue they fancy. But life is not so simple. You don’t just get behind a car and start driving; you have to learn how to do it properly. There are traffic signs and laws in place so that drivers do not cause unnecessary harm to others. This is the same as what is needed by bloggers – a code of ethics in place so that our young adults can be honest, rebellious and free, but also have the ability to grow gracefully with age.

Questions:

1. How can bloggers differentiate their code of ethics from journalists?

2. As blogs become engrained in peoples’ daily lives, how can the education system teach subjects like libel, defamation, copyright violations, etc.?

The Senate is voting on the 21st century GI Bill today and will aid in deciding the fate of increased educational benefits for thousands of veterans. Last week, the House approved the Sen. Jim Webb’s (D-VA) bill that the Associated Press said would:

“…guarantee a full scholarship at any in-state public university, along with a monthly housing stipend, for anyone who serves in the military for at least three years. It is aimed at replicating the benefits awarded veterans of World War II and would cost $52 billion over 10 years.”

 

However, the bill only passed the House by 90 votes, and it is expected to narrowly pass the Senate now that Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain’s watered-down version of the bill has been tabled. Republicans are against the bill for reasons beyond political, they say. The congressional Budget Office did a study that said Webb’s GI Bill would cost almost $52 billion and cause military troops to only serve one enlistment term and then leave the service because of the educational benefits.

Veterans groups advocating for the bill question this logic, though. President of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America Paul Rieckhoff, an Iraq war veteran himself, wrote in the Huffington Post:

“This bill has the extraordinary bipartisan support of 57 Senators and 278 Representatives and the endorsement of every major Veterans Service Organization from the American Legion to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). About ten pieces of legislation in Congress today have that kind of bipartisan support — and half of those bills authorize new stamps and coins. That a bill of this magnitude has such overwhelming support is almost unheard of.”

 

The future of the bill looks very iffy, though. Even if the Senate does pass the bill with the narrowest of margins, President Bush has said he’ll veto any spending bill that ties his hands to Iraq.

As for some speculation, once Bush defeats it, the House should have enough sponsors to override the veto, but depending on the vote today in the Senate, there’s a good chance Democrats won’t get the 60 votes needed for it to ultimately pass.

This bill is greatly needed, and Democrats need to use the Republicans’ recalcitrance to support the bill as not “supporting the troops,” which was the old attack Republicans used on Democrats. Veterans in Iraq and Afghanistan deserve the opportunity to serve their country knowing that their country will serve them when they come home. It’s a sad day for our nation when things like GI Bills don’t come through, and our service members become statistics like this.

The bastion of American reason, the New York Times, wrote an editorial dictating that only Hillary Clinton can make the decision to leave the race. They excoriate her for making racist remarks and ads about Barack Obama, but because of their very early endorsement of Clinton almost a year ago, they are still backing their favorite dog in the presidential fight. The Times’ staff should stop drinking the Clinton kool-aid and start backing the person who will try to end the war in Iraq, provide some much needed relief for homeowners, and most importantly, try to get this country’s reputation back up. We have been the laughing stock of the world for too long.

Tip

While many soldiers are stuck in airports right now trying to come home, Staff Sgt. Matt Maupin has finally made a hero’s return to Ohio. Maupin has been declared Captured/Missing in Action for the past four years.

I wonder if Balad Air Base in Iraq will now rededicate the Staff Sgt. Matthew Maupin Library and Computer room. I spent quite a few hours in that room talking to family and friends – its only fitting that now he can be with his own.

The Air Force Times has posted a sad story , and one that I can relate to. With the airlines declaring bankruptcy due to the cost of rising gas prices and the laissez-faire economic policies of the Bush Administration, some military personnel coming home from Iraq for leave or for good are having their flights cancelled. Soldiers could be sitting in airports for up to a week.

I guess I should be glad when I came home on my leave that I only waited 45 minutes for a flight. After flying for 23 hours from Kuwait to Dallas, another 5-hour flight to Seattle wasn’t a problem!

Please write your airline and tell them to expedite getting the troops home – after 15 months of daily combat, waiting in the airport for another week would feel like an eternity for them.

Thanks David and Newsweek: Soldier’s Home

At CNN.com, a soldier filed a lawsuit against the Army over religious harrassment for being an atheist.

Spc. Jeremy Hall has been called “the atheist guy” by fellow soldiers, and has claimed persecution for his atheist beliefs while serving in both America and Iraq. Hall said:

“I see a name and rank and United States flag on their shoulder. That’s what I believe everyone else should see,” he said.

This is a problem because the troops in Iraq are already thinned out as it is, and we can’t lose another soldier to something as ridiculous as this. Right now, the Army can’t meet its recruiting quota, so they need every soldier they can get, atheist or not.

Every American has the right to practice whatever religion he or she wants, and that includes to practice the lack of a religion, as atheism would classify as. The Army should not allow this kind of behavior to happen from other soldiers. I hope Jeremy wins this case and receives the needed justice he deserves.