On To New Hampshire

So I was a bit upset last night with the prospect of losing another presidency to the Republicans. This morning having had the night to think about the Iowa thing I am less upset by the results. The thing to remember is that the balloting in that caucus is done openly not in private in a room where everyone knows for whom you are voting. Now no one wants to be thought a racist and to some the idea if they vote for Edwards or Clinton would appear as a racist vote, a sort of self intimidation. So they went to Obamas side of the room so to speak. Obama says he is against affirmative action but last night he was the recipient of it. This won't happen when the vote is in the privacy of a voting booth. Oh sure there will be some of it but not like last night. If in the event he gets the nod I will vote for him, but I believe America is still racist and that he could not win in the national election.
I believe it is still Hillary's to lose even though I would prefer Edwards and I think in the end she will prevail. But here again is the country ready for a woman president? I am not sure, if she gets the nod she gets my vote.
As I said a month or so ago that Huckabee was a guy to watch and last nights results showed that to be a good thought. He would be an easier opponent then say McCain or Guiliani or even Romney.
Now a word on this whole election process it is a mess. What is needed is a national primary day say in mid May or early June. All registered voters of a particular party vote in private and the winner in each party gets to run for the job. Five months of campaigning is enough oh and no campaigning until Jan2 of the election year before the primary cut down on all the crap as it has been this past year 24/7 candidate news well not news really but you know what I mean.
I have never seen such interest in an election before this one. Last night about 10 PM Brian Williams of NBC was on talking as if Iowa was a national election I am guessing this reflects the fact we have a different gender and color in the mix. ABC flashed on at 10:15 that Obama won ABC wanted to be the first in the nation with the results for bragging rights.
Another word about the media they are owned by conglomerants who would hate to see a Democrat in the presidency and so thinking that Obama is the easiest to beat will make sure that the TV, radio and news papers they own give him lots of face time. And they will continue not giving Edwards the coverage he deserves as he has declared war on big business. So on to New Hampshire no rest for the weary public.
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Bush's War goes on.

U.S. death toll
As of Thursday morning, 3,896 U.S. servicemembers and eight Defense Department civilians had been identified as having died in the Iraq war: 3,178 from hostile action and 726 from non-combat-related incidents.
Latest deaths identified:
•Army Pfc. Joseph R. Berlin Jr., 21, Chelsea, Ala.; died Sunday in Baghdad of injuries suffered in a non-combat-related incident; 4th Infantry Division.
•Army Sgt. Reno S. Lacerna, 44, Waipahu, Hawaii; died Monday in Qaiyara of a non-combat-related illness; 3rd Infantry Division.
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COLD??

Spare a thought for Siberian village freezing at -50C
By Shaun Walker in Moscow
Published: 04 January 2008
Before complaining too much about the current cold snap, spare a thought for the residents of Artyk, a small village in deepest Siberia. Temperatures on New Year's Eve got down to -50C, and have plummeted further still in recent days.
Weather this cold is not out of the ordinary for the Yakutsk region, in eastern Siberia, but a pipeline leak on 26 December shut down the local heating system, and nearly 200 residents were left to battle the inhuman temperatures without central heating. Wood and coal stoves were shipped in from nearby towns, but as of yesterday, several of the houses had yet to have their mains heating restored.
Even when there is heating, the region isn't exactly a tropical paradise. Artyk is less than 150 miles away from Oimyakon, known as the "Pole of Cold" – the world's coldest inhabited place, where temperatures can get down to -70C. In a separate incident in the same region, a lorry drove into a heating pipe in the village of Markha on 28 December, which left nearly 2,000 people without heating over the new year. The pipes are above ground because the permafrost makes it impossible to lay them underground.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Emergencies told Russian television yesterday that teams had been dispatched to the villages and heating should be restored soon. He confirmed that more than 100 children are living in the apartment blocks affected. Another official said that most of those without heating had managed to move in with friends and relatives temporarily.
Moscow was also experiencing its coldest day of the winter so far yesterday, with temperatures down to -17C. But Russians are accustomed to dealing with the cold. Even in temperatures of -30C, planes land, public transport runs like clockwork, children go to school, and market traders continue to work outdoors.