Gilmore Drops Out Of Race

James Gilmore III has ended his campaign to be the Republican candidate for president in 2008. What do you think?

Fernando Ortiz,
Packager
“Well, I guess the ‘nobodies no one’s ever heard of’ vote is up for grabs again.”

Patricia Noble,
Taxi Driver
“Hope he realizes Pfizer’s going to want its $50 back.”

Ron Brown,
Translator
“Looks like America has already spoken. We will take nothing less than a black man, a white woman, or a non-Gilmore white man as President.”

Today’s photo of the day shows Tom Brady, who not only led the New England Patriots to a perfect season, but  broke the single season touchdown passing record and helped Randy Moss do the same for receivers. This just goes to show that anyone in America, even a rich and handsome white man, can accomplish their dreams!

Today’s video of the day is actually Skillz’ 2007 Wrap Up. As always, Skillz reminds us how crazy a year it’s been. Enjoy!

Here’s what’s in mine:

Jay-Z – American Dreaming
Lupe Fiasco – Gold Watch
Talib Kweli – Stay Around
Amy Winehouse – Tears Dry On Their Own
Kindred – Stars
India Arie – Wings of Forgiveness
Hootie and the Blowfish – Goodbye Girl
Nas – Surviving the Times
Kanye West – Bittersweet
Beres Hammond – They Gonna Talk
Beanie Man & Mya – If I Could Be Your Girl
Brownstone – If You Love Me
Floetry – Superstar
Beanie Sigel & Styles P – You Ain’t Ready
Alicia Keys – Teenage Love Affair

Mike Huckabee’s conservative and religious views are both radical and frightening.

The Best Moments in Mike Huckabee’s Extremism
By Avenging Angel (Daily Kos)

As former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee catapults to the top of the 2008 Republican presidential race, amazed media on-lookers ponder his meteoric rise.  The authentic, charismatic former minister, they say, is swaying disheartened conservative voters, especially the legions of evangelicals in Iowa and other states, disillusioned with President Bush and unimpressed with his potential successors.  But despite emerging stories from his checkered past such as the Wayne Dumond affair or his past AIDS bigotry, a true portrait of Mike Huckabee as a radical reactionary and dangerous extremist has yet to be painted.

Here then, are the Top 10 Moments in Mike Huckabee’s Extremism:

1. Huckabee Calls for the Quarantine of AIDS Victims
In 1992, then Senate candidate Huckabee advocated the isolation of AIDS patients. Labeling homosexuality “an aberrant, unnatural, and sinful lifestyle” which could “pose a dangerous public health risk,” Huckabee called for draconian — and discriminatory — action:

“If the federal government is truly serious about doing something with the AIDS virus, we need to take steps that would isolate the carriers of this plague.

It is difficult to understand the public policy towards AIDS. It is the first time in the history of civilization in which the carriers of a genuine plague have not been isolated from the general population, and in which this deadly disease for which there is no cure is being treated as a civil rights issue instead of the true health crisis it represents.”

Despite the clear understanding of AIDS transmission that emerged years earlier (even an AIDS demagogue like Ronald Reagan spoke publicly about it in 1987), Huckabee still insists (wrongly) that “we didn’t know.”  And speaking to Fox News on Sunday, Huckabee refused to “recant” or “run from” his words in 1992.

2. Huckabee Enables the Politically-Motivated Parole of Repeat Rapist/Murderer
As Murray Waas documented at the Huffington Post, Mike Huckabee might claim to be a man of God, but he acted a pure partisan operator in the parole of Wayne Dumond in Arkansas.

The expanding scandal surrounding Dumond, a convicted rapist, is not limited to Huckabee’s direct personal involvement in securing his parole.  Nor is Huckabee’s disgrace merely compounded by his later denials that he had no way of knowing the dangers posed by Dumond, who went to rape and murder against after his release.  (Waas produces extenstive documentation, including letters to Huckabee from Dumond’s past victims.)  Huckabee’s abominable role is all the more shocking because it was done at the behest of conservative zealots like Steve Dunleavy and Guy Reel furious because Wayne Dumond’s victim was a distant cousin of Bill Clinton who also happened to be the daughter of a prominent Arkansas Democrat.

For the rest of the story, click here.