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The BBC headline reads: Clinton aide quits over race row. The truth is an old and honored Democrat was subjected to a media campaign that spun what she said into what some people wanted to hear, and not for the first time.

Let’s take a short video break with a classic, The Byrd’s Turn Turn Turn, because spin is all there is. When someone presents reality, they must be beaten down and driven out.

Kevin Drum talks about Obama’s Luck and says: “Contra Ferraro, if Obama were a white man he’d still be getting plenty of attention.” Right, you mean like Edwards got, is that right, Kevin? Or maybe, the most experienced individual in the race, Bill Richardson, who unfortunately doesn’t have an Hispanic name to go with his roots, or he might have been a contender.

The media decided the Republicans would provide the white male, because that’s all they have, so the Democrats must supply the contrast with a woman and a black man. The decision was made, and discussion of white males running for the Democratic nomination evaporated.

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Via August J. Pollak, everyone needs a clean monitor.

These are the flags of Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador. They are similar because, at one time, they were part of a single country. They now have troops facing each other on their borders, and, of course, this is an excuse to raise the price of oil.

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The BBC chronicles the stupidity: Abbas breaks contact with Israel

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has suspended contact with Israel in protest at an assault on Gaza which has killed about 100 people, an aide says.

The suspension came amid demonstrations in Gaza and fresh clashes with Israeli troops in the West Bank.

Israeli PM Ehud Olmert vowed to carry on the assault, which came in response to militant rocket attacks on Israel.

Olmert wins nothing. He is a disaster for Israelis and is doing real damage to the country’s military with his refusal to deal with reality. If he keeps this up, the other Arab countries will be forced by their populations to respond. The Knesset had better do something quickly to end this, or there will be a major war in the region and not just an intifada which Olmert’s actions have certainly guaranteed.

While 96 teams made the ceremonial start in Anchorage, only 95 will be racing out of Willow. Veteran G.B. Jones(45) of Wasilla, Alaska has pulled out for health reasons. He entered hoping to be well for the race, but he isn’t, so he decided to run in the 11-mile Anchorage parade and then scratch.

CNN reports that the Armenian president declares state of emergency

(CNN) — Armenian President Robert Kocharian declared a state of emergency Saturday night after a day of clashes between police and protesters, a spokeswoman for the Armenian Foreign Ministry said.

The protesters claim last month’s presidential election was rigged.

The state of emergency will “hopefully bring some order” to the capital, Yerevan, said Salpi Ghazarian, assistant to the Armenian foreign minister, who spoke to CNN early Sunday.

The state of emergency could last until March 20, she said, but the government hopes “that it will be lifted sooner.”

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Update: Thanks to the media Harry withdrawn from Afghanistan.

The BBC reports that Prince Harry in Taleban fighting

Prince Harry has been fighting the Taleban on the front line in Afghanistan, the MoD has confirmed.

Harry, 23, who is third in line to the throne, has spent the last 10 weeks serving in Helmand Province.

The prince joked about his nickname “the bullet magnet”, but said: “I finally get the chance to do the soldiering that I want to do.”

The deployment was subject to a news blackout deal, which broke down after being leaked by foreign media.

Cornet Wales is serving with a Ghurka unit as a forward air/artillery controller. He’s obviously serious about his career in the military and pushed hard for a combat assignment. It’s too bad the media couldn’t let him serve out his tour unmolested.

Once again we must endure the arrival of the Turdus migratorius [the accent is on the first syllable] or American robin as they descend in their horde to strip a local variety of tree of its purple berries which are rapidly processed and deposited on everything.

Things are always brighter after their visit, because if you don’t scrub everything down almost immediately the stains from the partially digested berries are damn near impossible to get off. The berries are slightly fermented, so you end up with a neighborhood of loud avian drunks – sort of a cross between The Birds and Animal House.

In normal years we could expect things to start getting warmer, but they are arriving on a day when the overnight temperature will dip below freezing. This year is much wetter than normal and cooler.

Or this this case, legislators, they act according to their inherent nature. they propose laws, with no regard to reality or possible unintended consequences.

Declan McCullagh writing in the CNet blog, The Iconoclast, reports Senate antiphishing bill outlaws…what’s already illegal

Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson (Fla.) and Republicans Olympia Snowe (Wash.) and Ted Stevens (Alaska) introduced a bill this week called the Anti-Phishing Consumer Protection Act. It contains 31 pages of new regulations that could raise the cost of doing business for legitimate companies–but will do little to stop the malcontents behind phishing attacks.
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Some people would have used this picture, but that would be tacky, offensive, and Republican, so I didn’t, even though it was dropped in my lap by I Can Has Cheezburger?.

The main reason is that I am no longer part of the kindergarten campaign season that skippy, Frederick, and Dave are talking about. With McCain’s campaign finance problems and the schoolyard garbage on the other side, this will probably be one of the lowest turn out elections ever. The scary part is we may end up with President Ralph.

The Dallas Morning News reports the Southern Methodist University has agreed to be site of the library and public policy center of the current resident of the White House.

Since I like to be helpful, I looked for some plans for this new development in the Dallas area. If they are in a hurry, this model has all the conveniences and is certified as an American with Disabilities Act compliant design.

If they would like something of a more historic design, there is always this gem of a building which is a display of traditional American craftsmanship and values.

Kevin Drum cuts to the chase on involving the insurance industry in a universal coverage plan, in a post about DNA testing, DNA and the Insurance Industry

It’s worth saying this over and over: insurance companies don’t discriminate because they’re evil. They do it because it’s what insurance companies do. It’s a core part of their business, and if they don’t do it they’ll go belly up.

This is the biggest reason for wanting to get private insurance companies (mostly) out of the healthcare business. If it were just a matter of their being corrupt or evil, that actually wouldn’t be so bad. We could figure out ways to regulate them into good behavior. But it’s harder than that. The kind of behavior that most of us want — comparable coverage for everyone under nondiscriminatory pricing rules — is flatly not something an insurance company can offer. If they do, they aren’t being an insurance company. And if they aren’t being an insurance company, then what good are they doing?

That’s the problem with the Obama and Clinton plans – they want to include the insurance industry. The insurers only want to issue policies to people that will never make a claim, and they spend millions every year determining who these people are. We are almost at the point where anyone the insurance industry is willing to sell a policy to, can be fairly certain they won’t need one for an extended period. This isn’t a bug, it is the design of the system that will produce a profit for insurance companies, which is the reason they are in business.

[Added personal aside: based on their performance after Katrina, I feel that insurance companies are both corrupt and evil.]

The BBC report: Fowl Eurovision entry for Ireland

Eurovision Song Contest feathers may be ruffled by Ireland’s decision to be represented in May’s cross-continental competition by a puppet bird.

Dustin The Turkey was plucked from a rafter of six finalists, winning a televised vote on Saturday night.

The cult figure’s gobbled rendition of Irelande Douze Pointe – a parody of the Eurovision voting system – secured his place at the top of the pecking order.

Dustin now aims to restore Irish pride battered by recent Eurovision failures.

But while Dustin beat off national opposition in broadcaster RTE’s Eurosong on Saturday, he now faces a pressure cooker environment at May’s Eurovision, where he will have to fight off competition from all over Europe.

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The Associated Press reports that a Stealth bomber crashes on Guam

HAGATNA, Guam – A B-2 stealth bomber crashed Saturday at an air base on Guam, but both pilots ejected safely and were in good condition, the Air Force said.

It was the first crash of a B-2 bomber, said Capt. Sheila Johnston, a spokeswoman for Air Combat Command at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.

Thick, black smoke could be seen billowing from the wreckage at Andersen Air Force Base, said Jeanne Ward, a resident in the northern village of Yigo who was on the base visiting her husband.
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Each B-2 bomber costs about $1.2 billion to build. All 21 stealth bombers are based at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, but the Air Force has been rotating several of them through Guam since 2004, along with B-1 and B-52 bombers.

It is highly unlikely this aircraft will be replaced, they are too expensive. The “advantage” they have over a B-52 is not worth the money. You stand off and use cruise missiles, there’s no need to endanger a crew and a billion dollars.