Hillary and McCain win today

Today it was the turn of Florida to have their primary. Hillary Clinton easily won for the Democrats with 50% of the vote, and Obama second with 33%. It didn't mean much for the Democrats as they had their delegates removed for this primary, but I'm sure it will be a confidence boost to Hillary.

It was a different story with the Republicans. John McCain narrowly won with 36%, and Mitt Romney second with 31%. It was a winner take all so McCain got all the delegates. This now puts him into the lead over Mitt. I'm terrified of McCain getting the nomination for the Republicans. He's such an old fuddy-duddy. I doubt he will represent change. It'll be like a 3rd Bush term if he became president! The Iraq war would carry on forever!

Rudy Giuliani has really stuffed his campaign. He was leading in the polls before the primaries, but he decided not to worry about the earlier primaries and concentrate on Florida. However, it backfired on him and he came 3rd today! I guess it's the end for him. But if he decides to support McCain then it's probably all over for Mitt.

I liked one thing Mitt said today. He said we don't want to put the same people back into Washington and just move their seats around. I guess he was talking about McCain. I'm glad Mitt's taking time off his campaign to attend President Hinckley's funeral this weekend.

Next up is the Republican Maine caucuses on Saturday (NZ Time), and then of course it's SUPER TUESDAY next Wednesday. I think we'll really know the state of play after then.

More about President Hinckley

Here's some more website articles about President Hinckley's passing:

http://www.thespectrum.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080128/NEWS01/80128004

http://origin.sltrib.com/news/ci_8096896

http://www.kpvi.com/Global/story.asp?S=7781608

http://www.sltrib.com/News/ci_8095754

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/01/28/romney-responds-to-death-of-lds-president/

http://religion.lohudblogs.com/2008/01/28/lds-president-hinckley-got-things-done/

http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2008/01/28/news/doc479e25dfd899d710014176.txt

http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/news/?NewsID=1513

http://origin.sltrib.com/faith/ci_8095453

http://www.thespectrum.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080128/NEWS01/80128005

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23123145-663,00.html

http://dayofpraise.blogspot.com/2008/01/gordon-b-hinckley-beloved-prophet-1910.html

http://whimsybooks.livejournal.com/67199.html

http://762justice.com/2008/01/28/gordon-b-hinckley-passes/

http://www.digtriad.com/news/top/article.aspx?storyid=97001

President Hinckley passes away

A great, great leader died earlier this afternoon - our beloved prophet President Gordon B Hinckley. He was 97 years old - the oldest ever prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I guess we have been expecting this for the past couple of years, but of course it is a shock when it happens. The church has gone through incredible growth during his presidency, including membership growth, increased number of temples, and many more great things.

I have seen his death mentioned on CNN this afternoon, and the following are some websites that mention it. It's great to see it's one of the main news stories on world news web sites.

http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=e419fb40e21cef00VgnVCM1000001f5e340aRCRD

http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/beloved-church-president-gordon-b-hinckley-dies-at-97

http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695247765,00.html

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/01/27/obit.hinckley/?iref=hpmostpop

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7212488.stm

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080128/ts_nm/mormon_leader_dc

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/27/national/main3757332.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_3757332

http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2008-01-27-obit-hinckley_N.htm?csp=34

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=4198473

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,325890,00.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22873523/

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=auNWJiw5gu.M&refer=us

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/28/us/28hinckley.html?ref=us

http://news.smh.com.au/mormon-church-president-gordon-hinckley-dead-at-97-officials/20080128-1olm.html

Heath Ledger dies

Australian actor Heath Ledger died today at only 28 years old - it was probably of a drug overdose (why do these actors get into drugs??).

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/22/heath.ledger.dead/index.html

He was one of the actors in the gay cowboy movie "Brokeback Mountain". Perhaps his death was a "Brokeback" incident??!!

Wananga Tutors Refresh Model Classes

Here's a blog post I found about the hui I am attending in Ngaruawahia this week. It's from the Waatea 603AM blog. Just scroll down to where it says "WANANGA TUTORS REFRESH MODEL CLASSES"

http://waatea.blogspot.com/2008/01/tuwhare-laid-to-rest.html

Nevada and South Carolina today

The race for the Whitehouse continues with the Nevada caucuses and the South Carolina primary (for the Republicans) today.

I'm glad that Hillary Clinton won Nevada for the Democrats and Mitt Romney won for the Republicans. I'm not so happy that McCain won in South Carolina. If he became president it would be like a third Bush term!

Watching CNN and Fox News today it appeared that McCain and Huckabee are the only main contenders in the Republican race (just because they were the top two in South Carolina today). But they seem to forget that Mitt is still the front runner. He has won more primaries/caucuses than any of the others! But of course, there's still a long way to go.

Next up is the Democratic South Carolina primary on January 27th (NZ Time), then the big Florida primary on January 30th!

Photos of me from 2007

Mitt Romney's new ward?

Here's an email someone sent me today. It's quite clever...

So....if Mitt Romney became President of the US (from this point forward referred to as POTUS), won't we have something we've never had before - a president who goes to a specific church? All other presidents belonged to religions that didn't have tight congregational boundaries. Now, think about that: What Ward would POTUS be in? If you are his new Bishop, here are your top 10 questions:
1. Will you allow an inaugural ball to be held in the cultural hall? Do you mount security cameras on top of each basketball rim and have a secret service detail stationed on the stage?
2. Can you call Mitt and Ann as the Nursery leaders... even if you really feel inspired?
3. Who is going to home teach them? Will you call someone who needs activation but may not pass the vetting and national security screening?
4. If Harry Reid and Mitt Romney are in the same High Priest group, will you need to be there to keep order?
5. Exactly how will tithing settlement work? Will the Secretary of the Treasury come, too?
6. Will you be inviting the new Romney family to speak in Sacrament Meeting... and if they go a little over, at what point do you ask them to sit down?
7. Will the Secret Service do a sweep of the building before each meeting? And if the Romney's always leave before Sunday School, will the Sunday School president need to interview them? If they stay, where will you hold the class?
8. Can you call the Secret Service agents to help out in Primary?
9. If you give Mitt a calling and the two Democrats in the Ward raise their hand AGAINST sustaining him - partly out of habit - does the Supreme Court need to be involved?
10. If you can't give them a calling (job), and they don't attend very often (for presidential stuff), will that mean they're 'inactive?' If they're not active, can you give them a Temple Recommend? And if you do, can they go? Will the Secret Service have to screen the temple too?
11. If the President wants to hold Sacrament Meeting at Camp David or the White House for security reasons, is that a conflict of Church and State?

If you're assigned to be the Romney's home teacher:
1. Can you just drop by, no appointment?
2. Can you even call them for an appointment, or do you have to go through the Chief of Staff?
3. Can you bring by Christmas sweets and cookies? Will they be analyzed? And for how many people - family, secret service details?
4. If you don't come, can the IRS do an audit on you?
5. Will they want to do a national security background check?
6. Do you have to have a permanent companion who has been vetted? Can you just grab any teacher or priest to come with you? And what if that priest has been a little wayward? Do you need to search him first?
7. Do you have to help him move in and out of the White House?
8. If Ann Romney gets sick, are you allowed to bring in meals or at least tell the Relief Society about it?
9. What can you share with the Bishop about the Romneys?
10. Do you have to ask them about their year's supply?
11. If you get a late night call for a blessing, will reporters follow you around wanting to know what was wrong and what you said?

If Mitt Romney is assigned to be YOUR home teacher:
1. Is telling the group leader you haven't been home taught a national security breech?
2. If he wants to come at the end of the month, do you accept his reason, 'I've been out of town'?
3. Will he drop by unannounced, or will the media crews give him away?

Sir Edmund Hillary has died

Very sad news today for New Zealand. One of our greatest New Zealanders has today died - Sir Edmund Hillary:
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/newsdetail1.asp?storyID=130460

I heard it as breaking news on Newstalk ZB at about 11:30 this morning. It was a statement from the Prime Minister read out. Among the many great things he did in his life he was the first person to climb the highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest - someone from little ole New Zealand! And of course he was the only living person (besides the Queen) to be featured on our currency. He was 88 years old so has had a very good innings. Perhaps there will be a state funeral if the family allows it.

It's been the main news item on Sky News Australia for the past hour or so (wouldn't be surprised if the Aussies claim him for their own!)

There's no mucking around on Wikipedia. It already mentions his death:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Edmund_Hillary

More Star Trek movie spoilers!

As you probably know by now a new Star Trek movie is being released at the end of this year. Here's some more spoliers about the movie that I came across (some of it could be true and some could be rumours). Some things sound good, but some not so good - like Kirk being a "bad boy" at the academy.

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/35208

Hillary wins in New Hampshire today!

The New Hampshire primary is all over and I’m very happy that Hillary Clinton was able to come back and win it for the Democrats today! It’s going to be very close between Clinton and Obama over the next few weeks until one of them shows a clear lead. I like both these candidates but I feel Hillary would be better as president as she has had much more experience in politics than Obama (and she has Bubba to back her up!)

Now over to the Republican side today. Well, old fuddy-duddy John McCain won that one. Hell – he’s like 90 or something! Is the Republican Party so desperate that they would nominate some old over-the-hill man like McCain? Still, I’m glad Mitt came second, and even though he didn’t win today he now leads over all as he has been the most consistent so far – one win (in Wyoming), and two 2nds (in Iowa and New Hampshire). I really hope Mitt wins the Republican nomination – all their other candidates are complete nut cases!

So apart from the top three in each party (Clinton, Obama, and Edwards for the Democrats, and Romney, Huckabee, and McCain for the Republicans) the rest of the candidates need to think seriously about whether it’s worth carrying on (and yes, I include Giuliani in that). Is there any point for these lower ranked candidates to spend any more money after not doing very well in the first week of caucuses and primaries? Sure, there is a long way to go in the campaign, but who says these other candidates will do any better elsewhere?

So now it’s on to Michigan on January 16th (NZ Time) and Nevada on January 20th.

For more information on the state of play so far see:
http://edition.cnn.com/POLITICS/

Late night talk shows back!

One of my favourite TV programmes, "The Late Show with David Letterman", is back on after two months! His company was able to make a deal with the writers so he could go back on air. (Don't know about his new beard though!)

http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/tv/bal-latenight0103,0,6878018.story?coll=bal-features-columnists

Meanwhile his rival, Jay Leno (not to be outdone by Letterman), also came back on, but without his writers, so essentially he and his guests are crossing the picket line. Jay's guest on his first show was Republican candidate Mike Huckabee - I am so glad this show is not screened in New Zealand! (I always knew that Leno was a Republican).

Speaking of American politics today is the day of the start of voting rounds for the presidential race with the Iowa Caucasus. I was watching Fox News but got sick of the Republican bias (even though they claim there is none), so now I've switched over to CNN. So go Hillary for the Democrats, and go Mitt for the Republicans.

Response to TV Guide letters

I always read the readers letters in The TV Guide (New Zealand) every week and sometimes I agree with their comments, but most times I don't. There's a couple of letters in the TV Guide which came out today (Jan 12-18) which I'd like to reply to.

The first letter is "Doctor is wrong prescription". This person complained about the Doctor Who marathon on Prime on Christmas Day. I thought it was a great idea. TV isn't usually watched on Christmas Day, but I enjoyed relaxing watching some of these episodes after having a big Christmas dinner. I can't imagine anyone glued to the telly all Christmas Day as this reader implied. One comment they made I disagree with, "who could stand to watch hour after hour of repeats which are still fresh in the memory?" They must have a very good memory - these particular episodes were screened almost three years ago! Then they go on to say "This also applies to Star Trek on Prime on Sundays". What???!!! Don't rubbish the greatest sci-fi of all time! I am very glad that Prime screens Star Trek episodes on Sundays. Until this started up last year no Star Trek was been screened in NZ at all! (Star Trek is treated very well in other countries). When most of these Star Trek episodes were last screened in NZ we didn't have digital TV, so it's good to watch them in digital quality at last.

The other letter is "Favourite soap has gone too far". They were complaining about the trailers of Coronation Street showing too much of the programme. Get over it! I don't see what the big fascination is with Coronation Street anyway? The only countries where it is popular are Britain, Canada (where it is eight-and-a-half months behind), and New Zealand (where it is 13 months behind!) It can't be very popular in Australia as it's only on Pay TV over there (and 18 months behind). I guess all the NZers moving to Australia aren't Coronation Street fans! I think also it's popularity is to do with the country's "TV One" mentality - how if a programme is on TV One then it must be good. I heard a few years back that Prime were looking at purchasing Coronation Street off TVNZ. Even though Prime is available to most of the country I reckon that viewer numbers would have dropped because the show would no longer be on TV One - crazy!!

Meanwhile, the soap that I watch, "Home and Away", is popular in Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Ireland, Estonia, France, Norway, Sweden, Israel, and many Asian countries! (And has won 27 Logie Awards!)

New Years TV coverage

Happy New Year 2008 to everyone! Now a quick round up of New Year's coverage on some of the TV channels.
Last night I was watching to see which New Zealand TV channels would have a countdown to the new year (remember the new years parties they used to have on TV on New Year's Eve?) I had been watching the music on C4 and at midnight they had a countdown to midnight. A quick switch over TV3 and they interrupted their movie to show the fireworks live from the Auckland Sky Tower. Good on these two CanWest channels on acknowledging New Years. Now I was assuming that state broadcaster TVNZ would try to outdo this for New Zealand viewers. But no (not surprisingly). Their programmes just continued right through midnight without any mention that it was now 2008 - very pathetic!
Now a brief run down of the international news channels. Sky News Australia has by far been the best. They have shown very good coverage of New Year's fireworks from around the world. They started off with showing the fireworks from the Sky Tower in Auckland at midnight (NZ Time) then a couple of hours later the amazing fireworks at Sydney Harbour. I also saw Moscow at 10am this morning, London at 1pm, Rio at 3pm, and New York at 6pm. CNN, Fox News, and BBC World have shown little bits of fireworks from around the world, but of course CNN and Fox News had extensive coverage of new years celebrations in New York at 6pm (NZ Time). And I've just seen fireworks on CNN for the central states (at 7pm NZ Time).