The Dish

Alex Knapp proposes eliminating direct subsidies to oil companies in lieu of a windfall profits tax.

From Vanity Fair, a bull’s eye to cheer up your afternoon:

I’ll be live-blogging the results from Indiana and North Carolina. Here’s what I fear: regardless of who wins or loses and by what margin, race will emerge as a core issue. I sure hope not. But what Obama has been subjected to is a classic pincer movement: the Clintons have attacked from the right, subtly and not-so-subtly framing Obama’s candidacy as a racial one, and evoking Bill’s own Bubba identity and Hillary’s totally fabricated working class white credentials. And Jeremiah Wright has attacked from the left: desperate for attention, alternately demonizing Obama for selling out and projecting his own clownish-left sensibility onto the first serious black contender for the presidency. Wright has given white voters permission – and an alibi – not to vote for Obama on racial grounds. The Clintons have given the same voters a Fox News-approved, Rove-blessed alternative to racial transcendence.

Of course, many voters will not have their decision affected by this racial side-show. But some will. Quite how many we will find out. I just hope the last few weeks have not resulted in too stark a racial polarization. It’s bad for the country, for Obama, for the Clintons … and for the future.

The key fact about the Obama candidacy is its bottom-up focus on popular empowerment. He was, after all, a community organizer. I haven’t thought about this at any length from the perspective of foreign affairs, but this story caught my eye:

Rebels who have stepped up attacks on Nigeria’s oil industry in the last month said on Sunday they were considering a ceasefire appeal by U.S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has launched five attacks on oil facilities in the Niger Delta since it resumed a campaign of violence in April, forcing Royal Dutch Shell to shut more than 164,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd).

"The MEND command is seriously considering a temporary ceasefire appeal by Senator Barack Obama. Obama is someone we respect and hold in high esteem," the militant group said in an e-mailed statement.

MEND did not say when or where Obama, the leading candidate for the Democratic ticket for November’s U.S. presidential election, made the appeal. It said it hoped the government would use any ceasefire to improve conditions for its detained leader, Henry Okah.

           

It’s a straw in the wind, but we may be under-estimating the transformative potential of just electing this man president. Can you imagine actors in the developing world taking any cues from president Bush?

The New York Times Magazine’s demeaning photos for their young gay married couples piece is not, alas, out of the ordinary. The struggle of gay couples for basic equality and treatment must always be illustrated by camp, must it not? Dan Savage notes another depressing example:

And how does the AFP illustrate this story about marriage rights and discrimination and religious intolerance? Why, with a picture of shirtless men dancing at the annual Mardi Gras Parade in Sydney.

Sydney isn’t even in the Australian Capitol Territory! This is so typical of the straight media. Illustrate a serious story about gay rights with a picture of gay people partying—because all gay people are silly queens dancing around shirtless or running around in bad drag. The subtext is this: Gay issues are just as silly as gay people are.

Sigh.

Dares assassins to try something. From the Onion:

They were interested in good policy – a long time ago.

That’s from 2005, before she felt the need to pander to the anti-war base. Her formula – it’s casualties that count – is entirely McCain’s. What, one wonders, would they have to debate in the fall? Both want to stay in Iraq for a hundred years and both are prepared to "totally obliterate" Iran. I guess he could karaoke the message.

The details are heart-rending:

Deborah Jeane Palfrey, convicted last month of running an elite prostitution ring in Washington, D.C., wrote to her mother that she could not "live the next 6-8 years behind bars for what you and I have come to regard as this ‘modern day lynching,’ only to come out of prison in my late 50s a broken, penniless and very much alone woman." …

One of the notes said, "Do not revive. Do not feed under any circumstances."

In the note to her younger sister, Bobbie, Palfrey expressed her love and told her to "be strong for mom."

"Also, you must comprehend that there was no other way out, i.e., ‘exit strategy,’ other than the one I have chosen here," she wrote. "Know I am at peace, with complete certainty, I believe Dad is standing watch – prepared to guide me into the light."

She came to this because she ran a business allowing some consenting adults to have sex with other consenting adults for a price.

A reader writes:

Like you, I’ve been down-in-the-dumps regarding all the peripheral noise (Rev. Wright controversy) regarding Sen. Obama. I decided to go downtown yesterday to hear him speak.  Let me tell you, once I came back from the event I feel even more enthusiastic regarding his candidacy. While I waited in the crowd (around 10,000 or so) I talked with a number of younger voters.

The repeating theme I heard was that Obama had drawn their interest into the political process and that he was the only candidate who they didn’t feel was the same old politician. When I was their age (I’m 42) I voted but was never overly enthusiastic about any particular candidate—ok, maybe Reagan.  I told them a lot of pundits don’t think they’re serious and won’t show up to the polls.  Something tells me from all the support I witnessed, and the young people I talked to yesterday, this will change. This is something Hillary Clinton or John McCain lack: a link to the future generation. 

Clinton especially needs to tread lightly on these newly potential voters.  If she and Bill take this fight to the convention and some how take the nomination by force over the super delegates I’m afraid that not only will the Democratic Party falter but they’ll alienate a new generation of voters. It’s amazing how much positive influence I felt yesterday.  Emotions swept over me as I witnessed the crowd embrace the senator.  Not once did I hear any divisive arguments from Sen. Obama.  I could see from the gathering many different people from all walks of life.  Perhaps I’m being naive or emotional but what I felt yesterday did in fact give me, what you call “know hope!”

And of course, it was great to hear Stevie Wonder.