Headlines (Now it's official; Sidekick; They love the stuff in Hawaii; Shame; B-Easy)

Obama nomination makes U.S. history

Barack Obama clinched victory Tuesday night in the Democratic presidential race, defeating Hillary Clinton after a marathon primary campaign and becoming the United States' first black presidential nominee from a major party. -- Calgary Herald

Now it's over and now it begins.

As I've covered in my blog for the last couple months, I've enjoyed every minute of Hilary and Obama's race to the nomination of the Democratic Party. Regardless of how much I like Obama and dislike Hilary, I wanted to see them fight it out for as long as humanly (and rationally) possible. It was inspiring to see two candidates so publicly and graciously represent two separate demographics that have been oppressed and marginalized for so long. And as unaesthetically pleasing as Hilary is, I've give her all the credit in the world for her fighting spirit and refusal to concede a race that I'm sure she sincerely felt that she could eventually win.

With that being said, I'm glad the (non)suspense is over and we can finally get behind the Democrats' choice for the White House. The entire Republican party, with all its members and resources, have been able to rally around John McCain for what has already seemed like a lifetime. But now, we can do the same. For as much fun as Obama-vs-Hilary was, it was detrimental to the best interest of the party. Kind of like cutting off your nose to spite your face. The party was divided, one side advocating one candidate and one side advocating the other. At any given time, either of those sides were only capable of operating at half strength. But with last night's decision, we can consolidate our energy and put it entirely into a strong '08 campaign.

Now with THAT being said, I still expect McCain to win the presidency. Generally, people like the same old, same old; the status quo. We might suggest that we like change, but we don't. We prefer comfort over adventure. Old habits die hard, and considering that we voted President Bush to two consecutive terms, it isn't a stretch of the imagination to expect us to nominate a man that will bring more of the same.

Clinton's Vice Presidential Campaign

Hillary Clinton is "absolutely ready" to discuss the vice presidency with Barack Obama and has authorized supporters to encourage Obama to pick her if he feels that will help unify the party and help Democrats win the White House, according to Robert Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television and a prominent Clinton supporter.

Johnson said he began discussing the vice presidency with Clinton last month and that they talked about it at a dinner in Puerto Rico last Saturday and again by phone and e-mail on Tuesday. "Let me be clear," Johnson said in a telephone interview Wednesday morning. "She said if asked to do this, she must accept because she believes that it is in the best interest of the party that the party come together and win in November." -- Washington Post

This seems like a pretty good spot to segue into this story.

If Hilary is seriously considering the Vice Presidency and being Obama's running mate, good for her. That means she's willing to swallow her pride and do what's best for her party. After all, when all of this began, she was the odds on favorite to represent the Democrats. So if you pair up the candidate who actually won the nomination with the candidate who came the closest to winning the nomination, all logic points to that being a pretty strong duo.

I actually think they could compliment each other really well; Obama charisma can make up for Hilary's rigidity, while Hilary's years in the White House (alongside Bill) and Senate can make up for Obama's relative inexperience. And they cover a lot of ground together. There are definitely enough minorities and women in this country living with quiet desperation to make a real push for a change, make a real impact at the polls on Election Day. These two amassed a whole lot of support criss-crossing across the countries during these past primaries, and those numbers can be used to their advantage if they were so inclined. It's up to them. I think they can do a lot of good by teaming up.

And anyone at Vice President will beat having to look at Dick Cheney's snarled, evil face for the next four years.


Don't laugh -- Sales of Spam rising

Love it, hate it or laugh at it — at least it's inexpensive.

Sales of Spam — that much maligned meat — are rising as consumers turn to lunch meats and other lower-cost foods to extend their food budgets.

What was once cheeky, silly and the subject of a musical (as Monty Python mocked the meat in a can), is back on the table as people turn to the once-snubbed meat as costs rise, analysts say. -- Sun-Sentinel

People are sheep. Everyone likes to rag on Spam, but I'd wager most of those same people have never even TRIED it. Yeah, it's way too salty (although Spam Lite would remedy that) and not overly nutritious and is made up of less-than-desirable cuts of meat, but it's not that bad. With the way some people react to Spam, you'd think it was chopped up puppies or human entrails something equally as paranoid. But really, it's just ground up and cured meat, similar to hot dogs or sausages or bologna. It's not a big deal, just an overly-processed product filled with additives -- much like the rest of the other stuff we eat.

People need to stop being babies and just give different kinds of food a try. Spam is actually pretty good for breakfast, with fried eggs and white rice.

Ex-Coral Springs mayor gets prison for molesting girl, 5

From dignified ex-Coral Springs mayor and family man to convicted child molester. That's the turn John Sommerer's life track took Tuesday.

Looking haggard and drawn in jailhouse blues, Sommerer received a 4½-year prison sentence after pleading no contest to charges he molested a 5-year-old girl.

Upon his release, Sommerer, 60, must also serve 30 years of sexual-offender probation.

From April 1, 2006, to Oct. 31, 2007, Sommerer inappropriately touched the child, forced her to skinny dip with him, had her spray his exposed genitalia with a water hose and made her ride a motor scooter while wearing a skirt without underwear, records show. -- Sun-Sentinel

What a freak.

I feel bad for the victim, of course. I also feel bad for the family; I went to high school with one of his sons. We had 6th period English together senior year. And he was a good guy.

But I guess what's important is our former mayor molested a child, and will now be molested himself in prison. It's the circle of life, just like The Lion King.

Heat President Pat Riley says Michael Beasley measures up

When it comes to measuring up, Michael Beasley apparently meets Heat standards as a power forward.

While the official numbers from last week's measurements and testing at the Orlando draft camp have yet to be released, Heat President Pat Riley said Monday that Beasley measured in at 6 feet 8 1/2 inches in shoes. -- Sun-Sentinel

I'm a little disappointed that Beasley measured out to be that short (he was listed at 6'10" while playing at Kansas), but that isn't enough to dissuade me from taking him #2 overall...assuming Chicago takes Derrick Rose. As far as I'm concerned, he's still the most talented, most complete player in the entire draft. And besides, I believe his wingspan and standing reach measured out to be well above average. The importance of height is often overstated when it comes to basketball, but in actuality, wingspan and standing reach (or in other words, the length of your arms) is far more important in the grand scheme of things. You don't grab rebounds with the top of your head, you grab them with your arms fully extended. So assuming the measurements are accurate and Beasley really does have super-stretched out limbs, I think he'll be able to play power forward just fine at 6'8". Because of his exceptional reach, I don't think he should have any problem with snaring high rebounds, blocking shots, and getting his own shots off cleanly over defenders.

As it stands now, B-Easy is still our choice.