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The problem? Bloody Sunday took place on March 7, 1965. Obama was born on August 4, 1961.

What a long, strange trip it's been!

... U.S. Senate hopeful Al Franken's inability to provide workers compensation for his employees brought to light Franken's failure to receive twelve (or more) missing pieces of mail delivered to his NY residence.

Even more peculiar, however, is the certified mail receipt signed by "J. Gauthier", Franken's doorman.  Following much speculation, it is now clear that Gauthier was indeed Franken's doorman.  However, when confronted with receipts -- Gauthier shockingly responded that the signature that appears on the mail receipt is not his!

Which raises the question:  Why would anyone on Team Franken forge Gauthiers signature?

... The mystery is unsolved, and this campaign just keeps getting weirder and weirder.

On Sunday, residents of Hugo, Minnesota were hit hard by an EF-3 class tornado, with gusts of wind at the speed of 136-165 mph. Tragically, a 2 year boy was killed during the disaster. The initial assessment of damage to personal property is estimated to be $25 million.  Fifty homes are so devastated that they are uninhabitable.  Another 159 homes suffered tornado damage, and 61 homes suffered storm-related damage.  The local communities estimate that they will have substantial clean-up costs as well.

While tragedies like this are never anticipated, it’s how we react that’s important. I issued a statement yesterday informing the media should Governor Pawlenty make a disaster declaration, I would do all I could to ensure that the full array of federal aid and resources are available to the families, businesses, farms, and communities affected.

I have sent a letter to both the Administrators of FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration asking that should the threshold be met and the Governor request federal aid their offices be prepared to step in promptly.

To give you an update on where we stand with funding, Gov. Pawlenty’s office contacted my office this morning to tell us that after an examination of the area, the damage sustained to public infrastructure does not meet the threshold for FEMA assistance because most of the damage was to personal properties and insured by private insurance. SBA can separately declare a federal disaster because they have different thresholds for assistance, and it remains unclear as to whether they will reach those benchmarks.  

The greatest public need at this time is for clean-up assistance.  For those wishing they could lend a hand, please consider a donation to help Hugo’s families.

WCCO has compiled a resource guide for those looking to contribute to the cause:

The city of Hugo has opened a relief fund. Monetary donations may be sent to:

Lake Area Bank
1400 East Highway 96
White Bear Lake, MN 55110
(651) 653-9619

Monetary donations are also being accepted by U.S. Banks. You can drop off donations at any U.S. Bank. For information you can call (651) 429-7758.

Volunteers at the Hugo Fire Department are accepting donations of water, food, personal care, bedding and other items for the storm victims.

The Hugo Fire Dept.
5323 140th St. N.
Hugo, MN 55038
(651) 429-6366

Donations are also being accepted at the Hugo Public Works Department.

Public Works Department
6900 137th Street
Hugo, MN 55038

The city is asking for volunteers to help clean up the area affected by Sunday's tornado. As of this writing, the city's web site only says volunteers should plan on meeting at 8 a.m. this coming Saturday, May 31. A meeting place has not been set, but will be posted on their site in the future.

Red Cross

The Red Cross Service Center opened at 9 a.m. Monday in Hugo at Oneka Elementary School. The Red Cross is also asking for emergency donations. They may be made either online by clicking here, or checks may also be sent to:

Twin Cities Red Cross
NW 5597
PO Box 1450
Minneapolis, MN 55485-5597

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

"In Washington, some people say the presidential primary in South Dakota doesn't much matter. That your voice doesn't really count," the announcer says in the spot. "But you know what? Tuesday, we can show 'em. We can pick a president. After all, just because South Dakota comes last in the primaries doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be heard loud and clear. And we can pick the candidate who'll stand up for us. Hillary Clinton."

"It's no longer going to be that we are in the lead and everyone follows us. Full partners not only listen to each other, they also occasionally follow each other," the adviser said. 

So according to Barack, sometimes, we should be following other countries.  But wait.  In his recent "72 degrees" remarks, he essentially defined "leadership" as hewing to standards that are "OK" with the rest of the world for what we eat, how cool we stay, and what we drive (in 2008, a "global test" isn't just for going to war anymore!).  

So sometimes we should simply follow; other times, we should lead . . .  by following.  Sounds like there's a whole lot of "following" in an Obama presidency.

Of course, such an approach makes sense if a president has a nagging suspicion that he isn't actually experienced enough to lead. But such faux humility is also a convenient way to justify foisting a lot of (leftist) policies onto Americans who clearly don't want them, whether it's through adopting global standards for "climate change" or meekly submitting to the diktats of multinational bodies like the U.N. 

Someone needs to ask Barack:  Under an Obama presidency, just whom would we be committing to "follow," and where?  And when is leading by following actually leading -- as opposed to just following?

"... if we had played by the rules of the Democrats, I would have won, and if the Democrats have played by the rules of the Republicans, Hillary would have won this long ago."

"The greatest threat to classic Republicanism is not liberalism; it's this new brand of libertarianism, which is social liberalism and economic conservatism, but it's a heartless, callous, soulless type of economic conservatism because it says "look, we want to cut taxes and eliminate government."

...... Fred Thompson's presence took votes from me. We would have won by 10 points had Fred not been in the race. We would have won handily in South Carolina, but because the conservative vote split, in essence, three ways, and even though I had more than Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney combined, the fact is, their presence kept me from the two points I needed to beat John McCain in South Carolina. [He lost 29.9 percent to McCain's 33.2 percent.]  

The Hager/Bush family may be united, but the Virginia GOP "family" is badly fractured -- and in need of repair. 

Jenna Bush's new father-in-law John Hager is in a contentious election battle, which will take place at the VA GOP Convention this coming weekend.  In yet another signal the VA GOP is in decline, that same convention will likely see the nomination of former governor James Gilmore, a man whom almost everyone agrees will lose the U.S. senate seat in November to Mark Warner -- meaning that both Virginia's senators will be Democrats.

Hager, the incumbent Chairman of the VA GOP (he took over when Ed Gillespie left to work at the White House, last August),  is being challenged by Jeff Frederick (32), a young conservative Virginia state senator delegate who is blaming Hager for for losing four senate seats in Virginia. 

As the WaPost wrote back in April, the race has gotten nasty.  

It's bare-knuckle politics at its finest, and the outcome could determine the direction of a state party that has been reeling from a string of losses, most recently in the November election for General Assembly.

... Since then, the race has only intensified.  On Friday, Hager fired off this email, accusing Frederick of lying about his record:

"Desperate and losing, Jeff Frederick is resorting to outright lies. 
 
            Jeff Frederick's most recent attack mailing accuses me of being endorsed by Democrat Mark Warner at this year's Shad Planking.  It's not true - and Jeff Frederick knows it is not true because Jeff was there and heard the speech. 
Read More...

".... the vice presidential pick is not really a campaign decision. It’s the first governing decision — and a way to see who is thinking seriously about how to succeed in the White House."

"...this man who is doubtless, from the social and human points of view, the most progressive candidate to the U.S. presidency...

Were I to defend him, I would do his adversaries an enormous favor."

Pamela Anderson, actress, philosopher and theoretical physicist, recent demonstrated her commitment to redefining marriage by staging an intimate celebration in her household. According to Parade Magazine, she purchased two doggie tuxedos at the posh Beverly Hills Mutt Club (known for its jewel-encrusted $1,000 collars) and then dressed her own two prized pooches (both male, of course) in the match9ing tuxes. With the puppies properly attired, she invited her closest friends to celebrate their "Gay Holy Muttuals" ceremony in Malibu.

It remains unclear whether this unique event meant to support or insult the idea of same sex marriage, to dismiss matrimony itself, or to somehow express contempt for human kind in general. In any event, it provided further evidence that some of Hollywood's most talented performers (no true movie fan can ever forget the excellence of Pam-MEL-a in :"Borat") also count as our culture's most daring provocateurs.

"How do you replace a Tom Ricks, one of the best Pentagon reporters ever? Or a Sue Schmidt, the investigative reporter who revealed Jack Abramoff's dirty dealings? Or Robin Wright, who's covered the Middle East for a quarter-century? What about battle-scarred editors with deep knowledge and a light touch?

I know, I know. The future is digital. The Web is a cornucopia of fast-moving video and blogs and bulletins and gossip, while newspapers are old, slow and less than hip. That's why The Post (and every other paper on the planet) is beefing up its online presence and why I write a daily blog for the Web site."