Monday, February 11, 2008

Your Morning News 2.11.08

Posted by Josh in Barack Obama, Death Penalty, Election 2008, Grammys, hillary clinton, Iraq, K*ville, Kangaroo Courts, President Bush, Shakeups, Writers Strike, Your Morning News

Apparently, while I was in New York, there were like 4 caucuses and primaries or something. Who knew right? I thought we had another week or something. Anyway, Senator Obama this weekend won caucuses in Maine, Washington State, and Nebraska. He also won the Louisiana Primary and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These wins make him the leader in delegates and gives his campaign momentum and energy going into the week. There will be more primaries on Tuesday, including delegate-rich Virginia.

Word also came out yesterday that Senator Clinton’s campaign manager, Patti Solis Doyle, has been replaced. She is still on the payroll as a senior advisor. It is kind of like when my friend in high school was made a senior adviser at Burger King because he kept giving us free burgers — Oh wait no — He was fired. Apparently Mrs. Doyle’s days have been numbered since Sen. Clinton came in third in the Iowa caucuses. The Clinton campaign is saying that they think they will lose all of this week’s primaries and are focusing their efforts on the big states like Ohio and Texas.

The President, the Grammeys, and the Teevee after the jump.

The President made his first remarks on the 2008 race in an interview Sunday. In the interview he gave an oblique endorsement to Sen. McCain, calling him a “true conservative.” Most people see this as a sign that the Republicans are eager to close ranks after a divisive primary.

The US will seek the death penalty for six Guantánamo detainees who are charged with playing central roles in the September 11th attacks. Apparently the process will be complicated by the fact that they are being tried in the military commission system set up by the President in 2001 (because “courts” with all of their “legal rights” were too complicated). The commission system has so far tried a single successful case, which was a plea bargain.

Today’s Iraq War forecast: “Draw downs, we don’t need no stinking draw downs.”

The Grammys were last night. Kanye West and Amy Winehouse, who each had the most nominations, took home a bunch of awards but not the coveted “Album of the Year.” That award went to Herbie Hancock, as did the award for “Guy with the Vaguely Familiar Name Whose Album I Will be Buying on itunes Later.” Both Kanye West and Amy Winehouse gave solid performances, even though many expected (hoped?) for Spearsian breakdowns from either artist. Finally, Barack Obama beat Bill Clinton out for best spoken word album. Early reports say that the former President’s agent will be moving to a new role as “Senior Advisor.”

Finally, good news for those of you who have been forced into actual human interaction by the writers’ strike. The Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) Executive Board has approved a temporary deal. It looks like the deal is relatively fair even if it only lasts for three years, and if it is approved by the WGA membership at-large then shows may go back into production as soon as Wednesday. USA Today has a great list of what shows will have new episodes this spring, what shows will be delayed until the summer or fall, and what shows the strike may have killed. Oh K*ville, we hardly knew thee.

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