Register to Vote on Facebook

That's right, if you're on Facebook you can register to vote online. Thanks to a group of students at University of Washington, the app 'Your Revolution' can now be added to your Facebook page. Check it out.

You can also invite your friends to vote. Hat tip to Jack and Jill Politics for the link.

Breaking News: NY Cops found Not Guilty

CNN just reported that the three cops involved in the Sean Bell shooting were found not guilty.

Sean Bell, 23, was killed hours before he was to be married on November 25, 2006 in a 50-shot barrage that also wounded his friends.

I pray that there will be calm in New York City this weekend.

Latest Indiana & North Carolina Polls - Obama vs. Clinton

Not to put too much weight into polls, but here are the most recent ones from Indiana:

UPDATE: New numbers are posted as of Friday May 2nd (link)

In this poll, the Clinton number is first.

RCP Average 04/10 - 04/24 45.5-44.3 Clinton +1.2

Research 2000 4/23 - 4/24 400 LV 47 %- 48% Obama +1.0
Downs Center 4/14 - 4/16 578 LV 45 - 50 Obama +5.0
LA Times/Bloomberg 04/10 - 04/14 554 LV 35- 40 Obama +5.0
SurveyUSA 04/11 - 04/13 571 LV 55- 39 Clinton +16.0

LV = Likely voters

How could one poll be Clinton +16%, when the others are so close? Who knows.

Now if you take out the one SurveyUSA poll, then the avg is Obama +3.7%

Survey USA is the only poll that went up for Clinton, and they don't publish all of the questions. The last poll they took had Clinton +9%. But still, they haven't polled in almost two weeks. Research2000 is the first poll taken post-PA, and it has Obama +1%

Now if you take out the one SurveyUSA poll, then the avg is Obama +3.7%

Survey USA is the only poll that went up for Clinton, and they don't publish all of the questions. The last poll they took had Clinton +9%. But still, they haven't polled in almost two weeks. Research2000 is the first poll taken post-PA, and it has Obama +1%

Here are the North Carolina polls:

In this poll, the Obama number is first.

RCP Average 04/10 - 04/21 51.3 %- 35.8% Obama +15.5

SurveyUSA 04/19 - 04/21 734 LV 50 -41 Obama +9.0
PPP (D) 04/19 - 04/20 962 LV 57-32 Obama +25.0
InsiderAdvantage04/14 541 LV 51-36 Obama +15.0
LA Times/Bloomberg 04/10 - 04/14 691 LV 47-34 Obama +13.0

Facts and Figures: Obama vs. Clinton

These numbers have been grabbed from various sources.

Pennsylvania Results: 99.44% Reporting

Clinton 1,258,748 54.7%
Obama 1,042,962 45.3%

Total Votes 2,301,710

Delegates: 158 tied to April 22 primary, 29 superdelegates

Delegates Gained in PA primary (est): Obama 74 Clinton 84 (Clinton +10)

Est % of remaining delegates needed to clinch:
Obama 30-32%, depending on the source
Clinton 68-70%.

Average of Polls for May 6th primaries:
North Carolina (115 delegates) - Obama +15.5%
Indiana (71 delegates) - Clinton +2.2%

(Guam has four delegates for their May 4th primary but no polls are available).

Some additional analysis from Robert Creamer of Huffington Post:

The fact is that to whatever degree Hillary might have more appeal among independent rural and blue collar voters, Obama more than makes up in additional appeal to independent suburban voters. Obama's ability to mobilize new young and African American voters in the general election is indisputably greater than Clinton's.
And of course, Obama will not go into the General Election burdened by the towering Clinton negatives that her own negative campaign strategy increases daily.

and...

Finally is a fact that is generally overlooked by pundits. At the close of the primaries, Obama will not need a stampede of Super Delegates to clinch the nomination. In fact he will only need about 40% of those that remain today.

Let's make the most conservative assumptions about the outcome of the remaining races: Guam, even; North Carolina, 58%-42% Obama; Indiana, 54%-46% Clinton; Kentucky, 60%-40% Clinton; West Virginia, 60%-40% Clinton; Oregon, 56%-44% Obama, Montana 56%-44% Obama; Puerto Rico, 60%-40% Clinton. That would leave Obama at 1,846 delegates at the close of the Primaries.

He would need only 41% of the Super Delegates remaining today to clinch the nomination with 2,025. And let's remember, he has picked up almost one Super Delegate a day for the last month. There is no reason to believe he won't keep picking up Super Delegates as the contest continues. So by the end of the primaries he will need an even lower percentage of the Super Delegates that remain.

Clinton has a tough road to go, and with the number of states left she is essentially out of opportunities to overtake Obama.

Manufactured Distractions are put on Notice

This is from the Colbert Report last week. Have a look:

2505 Turtle Creek is gone

Earlier today, 2505 Turtle Creek which was just noted as one of the city's finest examples of midcentury architecture in today's DMN is now a pile of rubble.

As one of the people that voted against the plan to turn the building into a hotel and condos with a liquor-serving restaurant, I can say that I voted against it because I thought various aspects of the plan needed work e.g. the traffic plan and having liquor near the park. We can only vote on land use and not issues of preservation (except in landmark commission appeals).

I realize that the building wasn't protected, but this still sucks. And yes, maybe preservationists didn't buy the building to save it but this still sucks.

I often vote for developers in many cases if I feel a zoning change is merited, but this ones burns me a little bit.

Maybe next time it would be nice to take the asbestos and freon out first before they demo the building. And oh yeah, post the demo permit next time. Nicely done.

Thanks for the Love

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DISD Bond Election Townhall Meetings

Here are the remaining townhall meeting being held by various trustees. Hopefully all interested people can attend. The dates are as follows.

Host	Date	Time	Place

Trustee Lew Blackburn Monday, April 21, 2008 6:30pm Tommie Allen Recreation Center Trustee Ron Price Wednesday, April 23, 2008 6:30pm MLK Jr. Recreation Center, 2922 ML King Dr. Trustee Nancy Bingham & Trustee Ron Price Monday, April 28, 2008 6:30pm Pleasant Grove Library, 1125 S Buckner Blvd. Trustee Jack Lowe Monday, April 28, 2008 6:30pm Skillman Southwestrn Branch Library, 5707 Skillman Street Trustee Carla Ranger Monday, April 28, 2008 6:30 PM Thurgood Marshall Recreation Center, 5150 Mark Trail Way Trustee Leigh Ann Ellis Tuesday, April 29, 2008 7pm Central Luther Church, 1000 Easton Rd. Trustee Ron Price Tuesday, April 29, 2008 6:30pm Lakewood Branch Library, 6121 Worth Street Trustee Dr. Edwin Flores Tuesday, April 29, 2008 6:30pm Marcus Rec Center, 3003 Northaven Rd. Trustee Leigh Ann Ellis Tuesday, May 06, 2008 7pm Owenwood United Methodist Church, Lakeland R. (by SS Conner ES) Trustee Lee Ann Ellis & Trustee Jack Lowe Wednesday, April 23 7pm Ridgewood Recreation Center, 6818 Fisher Rd.

More on Imus

I thank all of you that sent your responses from all over the country.

It seems that the prevailing attitude is to ignore Imus and render him irrelevant.

This is exactly why I wanted to bounce this off of my nationwide people. To get a perspective. One of my favorite responses came from the AAPP, who said “forget about Don Imus he is yesterday's news, unless we make him today's news,” and Eddie Griffin who said, “another Imus boycott would be a standoff and a lot of time and energy wasted, plus the negative repercussions on the election.”

After some thought I agree with them – many of you have called him on his remarks but he doesn’t deserve our pub. Maybe he’s trying to inject himself into the conversation and get unmerited attention.

By the way, I hope you saw that Barack drew 35,000 people at his Philadelphia rally on Friday. My hometown made me proud; now it’s on to watching the PA primaries and beyond.

Don Imus is at it Again

This time, Imus uses expletives to describe Barack Obama on his radio show, words that we don't use on this website.

Imus wanted attention, and now he's got it. It's time we ended this nonsense and ignorant discourse in what should be a great time in our nation's politics.

I am calling on my political blogger nation (and we are deep, believe me) to put an end to Don Imus' career, once and for all. The nationwide political blogger groups should be called into action.

Link to the video is here (from MediaMatters).

Please link to this post and put the info out to your readers and sources. Just like Dunbar Village, the war against B.E.T. and other topics, it's time for us bloggers to take the lead and make the establishment stand up and take notice. Join us in calling for the end of Imus' hate-radio career.

Tighter Sex Business Regulations in Dallas

On Wednesday, the Dallas City Council passed new laws that will further regulate the sleazy strip clubs and other sexually oriented businesses in the city.

Among the highlights:

*An automatic one-year revocation of licenses for sexually oriented businesses found to be employing or entertaining minors.

*Prohibiting the operation of closed-door VIP rooms in which sexual performances or activity is taking place.

*Requiring any sexually oriented business owner to designate an official club operator who’s present during club operating hours and responsible for activity within the club.

*Requiring sexually oriented clubs to keep on file detailed records of all employees, including dancers. The employee records must include the person’s age, an original photo, valid driver’s license copy, fingerprints and a Texas criminal history report.

*A business can be shut down within 10 days after being cited for violations. Before it was 30 days.

Sharon Boyd of Dallas Arena also weighs in with some of the behind-the-scenes info and history of the fight against these types of businesses.

The businesses that are closed can appeal to the Permit License and Appeal Board and ultimately to District Court. However, as being privy to a similar process with the motels we've shut down, I can tell you that these seedy spots will only succeed in buying a few months until they are forced close for good.

These new rules will take effect on Monday! This change in laws wasn't published by all local news sources; maybe they were busy on other things.

It's a great day for the city when swift action can be taken against businesses that seek to harm our communities and the people within them.

Peace

Sometimes, taking a little time away is required to refresh and re-energize. I did just that.

When you travel to different countries you realize the peace that exists in other lands, how the people manage to do more with less in terms of money and natural resources, and how blessed we are to live in America.

It allows you to focus on what's really important in life. Now it's time to get back to work, with a new perspective.

A Time of Reflection

In honor of the 40th anniversary of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination, Dallas Progress will take a hiatus. I'll catch y'all around the middle of the month.

Martin Luther King Jr's Assassination - 40 years later

On this day 40 years ago, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis.

If Dr. King were alive today, I think he would be puzzled by the mixed messages in our country.

He would be proud of a Barack Obama or a Cory Booker, that possess the education and desire to improve their country and city respectively. He would be appalled at the BET's and Bob Johnson's of the world, that used their opportunity to have a large impact on the minds of youth but did it in such a destructive manner and had the nerve to call it Black Entertainment Television.

I believe that Dr. King would wonder why the dropout levels are where they stand, and why many of our neighborhoods still harbor a crushing level of poverty. King would be appreciative at the strides made in the halls of political power, but stunned at some elected officials that use their positions to pat themselves on their back at every opportunity and make themselves rich instead of affecting real change.

King would wonder why some people that have great wealth because of the foundation that was laid by him and other social drum majors have not used that wealth to improve the lives and opportunities of the neighborhoods from which they came. Do you think Dr. King and others died so you could walk around with your pants hanging off of your behind and disrespect women, to sell crack rock, and to use your political power to oppress your own people? No! They sacrificed so you could make the most of the economic, educational, and social opportunities afforded to us.

I feel that Dr. King would have been proud of the opportunities for people of all races to integrate, but disappointed at what some of us have done with the opportunity.

Growing up as a child of the 70s and 80s, we didn't have the luxury of having a Robert Kennedy, a JFK, and a Martin Luther King Jr in our midst. That's why many of us in younger generations look up to Barack so much. As a student at Morehouse College, seeing Dr. King's statue on campus as I walked to class reminded me of the opportunities that are available to me.

I feel that Dr. King would lean on his faith and hope that someday we as a country could realize our past wrongs and look at the positive progress we have made and build on it for the future.

Earlier this week, a mayor of a small town in Alabama summed it up in this way:

“I think we’d be a lot further ahead than we are now if he had not been assassinated. Dr. King made some great, great inroads not just to changing the issues of segregation, but changing the issues for us as a whole, about being kind to people, recognizing people’s worth, to realize that all human beings are created equal by God, and he would want us to treat each other with dignity and respect because of that.”

Remember, Dr. King died at the age of 39 years old. If he had listened to a bunch of his detractors, some of which were black and withdrew support of King in the last year of his life, and "waited his turn" we would have never had a King legacy to follow. Fortunately, Dr. King had great mentors like Dr. Howard Thurman to encourage his pursuits. For those of you that haven't heard of Howard Thurman, he was a valedictorian graduate of Morehouse that went on to become a noted preacher and educator and helped to establish the first racially integrated, multicultural church in the United States.

One of Dr. Thurman's famous quotes urged you "meet the man that will challenge you to grow tall enough to wear the crown that God has placed above your head.”

It is not just about having the opportunity, it's about what you do with that chance. It's not about blaming everyone else, but looking in the mirror and seeing what you can do to make this a better place. My heroes are made up of all colors of people, and I believe that Dr. King shared that same philosophy.

In terms of economic, educational, and social opportunity, we need to look at our own lives and make the decision that we can do more to improve our city and country. Our opportunity in the country is boundless, let's make the best of it for our generation and those coming up behind us.

Code Compliance has Great Plans

I just read the briefing that was presented by Dallas' Code Compliance department. They are really moving forward!

Code Compliance Director Forest Turner and his team are really putting some progressive plans together to improve and monitor code compliance. They include:

• Putting code department areas in five area community offices and having them work specific geographic areas in divisions, similar to DPD (although DPD has seven divisions it's the same concept). Four of the five areas, with the exception of Central, will have three sub-areas.
  
• Working with DPD to create more safety for code officers. Being a code officer is a risky job, and sometimes they need law enforcement backup.
• Building community relationships to mitigate issues before they become neighborhood nuisances.
• After hours enforcement of code.
• Maintaining a Top 500 list of the worst properties and constantly monitoring and abating the problems with respect to those properties.
• Re-initiating the crushing of seized junk vehicles so they don't return to the neighborhood.
• Broadening the definition of 'urban nuisance' to eradicate repeat code offenders.

A couple of Dwaine's campaign ideas are also coming to pass:

• A forthcoming proposal to amend the sign ordinance so that stores aren't covered in cigarette, liquor, and other advertisements.
• Having animal control patrolling neighborhoods from 6-9AM, when dangerous stray dogs are more prevalent.

As I always tell Forest and Assistant Code Compliance Director Faye Williams, we can talk tough about enforcing code in our neighborhood meetings but their attentiveness and execution is what makes it possible. Here's hoping that they get the money they need to execute this plan.

Political Campaigning 101 - Dealing with Tough Questions

This week, once again, Chelsea Clinton was asked a Lewinsky-related question. Once again, she gave the college student the "none of your business" approach.

If you're going to be one of the top surrogates for a presidential candidate you should expect to get such questions. And you should have a polite, not arrogant, answer for such questions. I won't give the proper answer, because I'd never help that campaign.

Now the dilemma: Chelsea's dealing with college students. When you're in college, all of you probably had a little provocateur in you that made us ask 'that question' to get a rise out of the presenter. When I was at Morehouse, I remember I did that to Terry McMillan since she was really hot at the time. Everybody went "oooooh" and I got a rise out of her. Great..something we can laugh about later in the college cafeteria.

That is the situation Chelsea is in right now. These college students are going to keep goading her and pushing her buttons.

No, she doesn't have to answer. But her lack of political savvy is showing as well as coaching by Clinton's campaign strategists. Y'all weren't ready for this...TWICE?!

And she won't catch a break for it in the press since she doesn't talk to them; which doesn't allow you to defend yourself. I'm an appointed city official, and I always answer to the press because you give yourself a chance to speak about the issue (in your own words).

At worse, they have to use a quote from you to make the story look even. YOU WIN.

She could've used it to her advantage, and blew it.