What Caught My Eye Today

2008 Presidential Race - Hillary Clinton was jolted by the defection of one of her longtime superdelegate supporters, a former national party chairman who urged fellow Democrats to "reject the old negative politics" and unify behind Barack Obama. "A vote for Hillary Clinton is a vote to continue" a long, self-destructive Democratic campaign, Joe Andrew said. Andrew not only challenged Clinton's claims about electability, but he also bluntly denounced the type of campaign tactics practiced by some in the Clinton circle. That's gonna leave a mark--metaphorically speaking--on the Clinton campaign. Andrew was one of five superdelegates to swing behind Obama during the day, compared to four Clinton netted. The result was to trim the former first lady's once-imposing advantage among party luminaries who will attend the convention to 268-248. Indiana has 72 convention delegates will be at stake. Polls point toward a close race in a state that even some of Clinton's supporters concede is critical to her campaign. North Carolina, with 115 delegates at stake, looks to go to Obama whose has long held a lead in part because black voters are expected to account for as much as one-third of the ballots cast. And let's not forget about the 9 delegates from Guam. I'll say it again. While I'm sure there is some good that comes out of the Democratic race getting all this press coverage, I think we've gotten about as much good as we're going to get at this point. How much more vetting is needed at this point? Maybe someone should point out the concept of diminishing returns to the Democratic National Committee.

Somalia - U.S. missiles destroyed the house of the man identified by the U.S. military as the top al-Qaida commander in Somalia, killing him and 10 others in a pre-dawn attack that analysts warned could torpedo peace talks. Interesting choice of words, don't you think? The attack comes amid escalating fighting and a spiraling humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa nation. The United States has repeatedly accused Islamist Somalis of harboring international terrorists linked to al-Qaida, which it also blames for the deadly 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The U.S. has backed Somali warlords promising to fight the insurgents, including some accused of human rights abuses. But the strategy has deepened anti-American sentiment. Seriously, when has this strategy ever worked? Somalia has been without an effective government for nearly 20 years. That's okay. Some would content that we've been without an effective government for the past 8 years.

China - Tibet activists said China has stepped up persecution of Buddhist monks with mass detentions as it prepares to take the Olympic torch to the top of Mount Everest. The International Campaign for Tibet said groups of Buddhist monks have been detained from several Lhasa monasteries, which have been sealed off by armed troops. Mass anti-government riots and protests in Lhasa last month — and the subsequent crackdown — have drawn worldwide attention to China's human rights record and its rule in Tibet ahead of the Beijing Olympics. Just what the organizers were hoping for, I'm sure. Chinese mountaineers were making final preparations to take the Olympic torch up Mount Everest but a brewing storm made a climb in the next three days unlikely. The Everest torch, specially designed to burn in frigid, windy, oxygen-thin Himalayan air, is a sister flame to the one that made its way around the world. Its planned ascent to the 29,035-foot summit has been criticized by Tibetan activists as a symbol of Chinese domination of Tibet. I'm torn on this one. On one hand, you have to be impressed at the lengths these guys are going to in order to pull this climb off. On the other hand (you know, the one where reality is based), this is Mount Everest we're talking about. Even under the best conditions this is an extraordinarily dangerous ascent. What are these dudes thinking?

Air Travel - This nonsense is starting to get out of hand. Drivers have long known that slowing down on the highway means getting more miles to the gallon. Now airlines are trying it, too — adding a few minutes to flights to save millions on fuel. This translates into an average flying speed of 532 mph, down from the usual 542 mph. Fliers, already beleaguered by higher fares, more delays and long security lines, may not even notice the extra minutes. The extra flight time is added to published flight schedules or absorbed into the extra time already built into schedules for taxiing and traffic delays. Yeah, that'll work, seeing as the traffic delays are almost non-existent. When a patient is bleeding out on the operating table, do the doctors rely on band-aids to address the problem? Of course not. Yet the airlines seem to be doing just that to cope with rising costs. I just don't get it.

American Idol - American Idol removed much of the suspense early in the results show. Jason Castro was sent to the sofa of safety immediately. Front-runners David Archuleta and David Cook unsurprisingly joined him quickly. That clearly left the vulnerable Brooke White and Syesha Mercado in jeopardy once again, and Brooke, sobbing, was sent off. Not that it should come as any surprise that I picked the wrong person yet again, but unlike the past couple of weeks, I think the voters got it right. Brooke has been floundering of late, and you cannot stop your performance--not once, but twice--without it coming back to haunt you. Of the 4 remaining finalists, I'd love to see Cook go head-to-head against Mercado, seeing as they are the only ones left with any sort of range, but I'm thinking a battle of the Davids is much more likely. And if by some miracle, Jason Castro walks away with the title, the producers should seriously consider retiring this show.