How much do you love Barack Obama?

Because a whole lot of people, particularly, it seems, young folk, love him to death.

Do you love him enough to go to bat for Israel?

SEN. BARACK OBAMA: Tim, I have some of the strongest support from the Jewish community in my hometown of Chicago and in this presidential campaign. And the reason is because I have been a stalwart friend of Israel’s. I think they are one of our most important allies in the region, and I think that their security is sacrosanct and that the United States is in a special relationship with them, as is true with my relationship with the Jewish community.

(From the debate with Tim Russert, 2/27/08)

It's getting ugly.

FT.com / In depth - Clinton camp under fire for photo

Once considered the denizens of the Republican side of the aisle, race baiting and fear mongering have crashed the Democratic party. Hillary's campaign got nailed for two simply ugly ploys this week. The first, and more well-known of the two, was the discovery that her campaign had dug up a picture of him in traditional Somali garb, as if we should be horrified at his display of cultural appreciation.

The best part of this whole flap is this quote from Clinton's campaign:

Maggie Williams, Mrs Clinton’s campaign manager, said: “If Barack Obama’s campaign wants to suggest that a photo of him wearing traditional Somali clothing is divisive, they should be ashamed. This is nothing more than an obvious and transparent attempt to distract from the serious issues confronting our country.”

As if they were merely circulating that photo in an effort help out his campaign by showing voters how worldly he is.

The other tempest was really the kicker, though. Turns out that horribly stupid email that was widely forwarded across conservative America claiming that Obama was in fact a radical muslim terrorist (I am not making this up) was the brainchild of two Clinton staffers. Hillary Clinton, who voted for two wars of aggression against Muslim countries, had staff people that concluded that the best way to beat Obama was apparently by convincing the American people that we should bomb him too.

Pretty sick.

(Go Nader.)

Celebrating the Semicolon in a Most Unlikely Location - New York Times

“The burgeoning of punctuational literacy in unlikely places."

Sure there's a lot going on. Pakistan is deciding its future, McCain had a questionable relationship with a woman who had questionable plastic surgery, Fidel Castro resigned (sorta), and Lindsay Lohan did a nude spread in a magazine.

But this is an entire article, at NYT standard length, about punctuation. You can't beat that.

Happy Valentine's Day

This one's for you, Edgar.

aaaaahh portland....

The only thing I like more than our fair town is the scorn and prejudice it evokes in the rest of the country. While the constant influx of kids from Wisconsin who heard about a liberal mecca with temperatures above freezing gets a little tiresome, the great image we convey to the outside world doesn't.
My previous favorite desription came from a man from Georgia who was in my cab recently. He told me that when he began to consider moving to Portland, his friends would get very concerned, and tell hium in the most serious voice they could muster "Portland! They don't even wear clothes in Portland! The streets are full of naked people!"
But today, I heard some other descriptions that took the organic vegan cake. They were from one of my favorite blogs, Bikesnob. Here's what the snob has to say about good old portland:

As a New Yorker my image of Portland is that it’s some kind of moist cycling paradise, and this was furthered by the handmade bike show coverage. Apparently, the streets are lined with custom bike builders, and you can get one made while you wait. Just pop in, place an order, go next-door and spend 15 minutes shopping for organic hemp underwear or whatever it is that people wear out there, and then come back and pick up your new frame. Between the emails I get and the articles I read it seems like Portland is a place where cyclists frolic in ample bike lanes, race cyclocross in dresses, and lock their exquisitely-crafted bikes not with chains and u-locks but with trust and love. Of course, I should be happy for them, but instead I catch myself wanting to bring them here so they can choke to death on some reality.

And what’s with all those townies and commuter bikes? Sure, I’m all for the marriage of craftsmanship and practicality, but is there a city on Earth where you can actually leave a bike like that outside? And if so, is it Portland? I think any city benign enough to ride bikes like that in would eat me alive—with kindness. Here in New York we’ve learned not to grow attached to our bikes in the same way that the gazelles of the African savanna know not to get too attached to their young.

Also funny was one of the reader's perception of portland:

Portland is like the Rivendale of Middle Earth. Everything moves in slow motion while your Liv Tyler like barista hands you fresh coffee with soft, warm eyes.

Oh, if only...

Remembering Sheldon

Two days ago, Sheldon Brown died as the result of a heart attack that was related (I think) to his MS. If you are not familiar with Sheldon Brown, he was the proprietor of a website by the same name that is undoubtedly the biggest and best resource for cyclists on the web, despite its low-tech appearance. His page represents thousands of hours of work, all of it done not for money, but for the love of bicycles. A quick survey of some bike blogs and forums reveals his importance to the greater cycling community. Between bikesnob NYC, trackosaurus, bikeportland, the fixed gear forum, and bikeforums.net, there are over three hundred comments of fans and admirers. Probably people that never met him, but people like me who have visited his many pages dozens of times every time we ever had any sort of question about bikes.

He will definitely be missed.