Many readers of BCB may already read Pam’s House Blend, but for those who don’t, Pam has highlighted a great video out of The Bronx, where high school kids have frank discussions about race and politics and are genuinely inspired by the possibilities offered in the 2008 election. Specifically, they are reacted to having just watched Barack Obama’s “A More Perfect Union” speech.

Three students at Cedar Ridge High School in Hillsborough were sent to an in-school suspension classroom when they refused to take a military aptitude test.

More than 300 juniors at the school took the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) on Feb. 13. According to the News & Observer, “The military provides the tests, proctors and grading without charge. In exchange, the scores are sent to military branch recruiters and the school.”

Principal Gary Thornburg is quoted as saying, “I don’t have a lot of patience with people who are refusing to take the assessment — or refusing anything that their entire grade level is participating in.”

N.C. Department of Public Instruction spokesperson Linda Fuller says that the state does not encourage schools to give the ASVAB to students who have not expressed an interest in the military.

In other Triangle school districts — including Durham, Wake and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, as well as Orange High School — students must sign up for the test voluntarily rather than opt out of the exam.

Even though Principal Thornburg insists that the three students were not being punished by being sent to the ISS classroom, is it fair to force the entire junior class to take this military exam instead of offering the exam to only those students who want to take it and be considered for military service?

What do you think the relationship between our local schools and military recruiters should be?

Confused about Super Delegates? The 2008 Democratic Convention Watch blog is doing a pretty good job of tracking who is pledged to whom, and having more fun than the mainstream media sites. They do a pretty good job of tracking total delegates, too.
(Electoral-vote.com also does a fine job tracking delegate totals, as well as providing recent polling data.)

“Learn While You Burn (Dinner)“–the 10AM, Feb 11th episode of the Diane Rehm Show was all about Super Delegates.

Are the presidential candidates ever part of your dreams? A new dual-blog web site collects the dreams of ordinary citizens in which either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton make an appearance. [Read more →]

The News & Observer published the following report in their “Under the Dome” section today:

Sen. Elizabeth Dole knows how Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton feels. Before the Wake County Republican Party’s annual Presidents Day Dinner in Raleigh this week, Dole was asked whether she sees any parallels between her failed 2000 bid for the Republican presidential nomination and Clinton’s current run for the Democratic nomination.

“I think that in terms of her husband’s participation, maybe he’d better draw back a little bit,” she told Dome, laughing. “I don’t think he’s been that helpful to her.”

Dole, who is running for re-election to the Senate seat she has held since 2002, said a Clinton nomination would help the GOP.

“I think that if Hillary Clinton is the nominee, it will draw out a lot of Republican voters in the state of North Carolina, no question about it,” she said.

This was in the inbox tonight:

“On behalf of Robert Seymour, Rollin Russell and members of the Devout Democrats you are invited to join us for a most intriguing symposium entitled ‘Poitical Values and Religious Convictions’ on Saturday, March 1st. Our keynote speakers are Barry Lynn of Americans United and U.S. Representative David Price. Together they will address timely issues regarding the separation of church and state. Please take a moment and go to www.radfordprofessionalmeetings.com to explore the program.”

This is circulating around:

“We’ve got a meeting scheduled for Obama volunteers in Durham! It’s Monday night, February 18th, at 7PM at the Main Durham Library (Roxboro and Holloway Streets). This will be an organizational meeting to figure out what we want to do in Durham–things like register new voters, organize phonebanking parties to call Ohio, Penn, and Texas, get yard signs distributed. So people will meet each other and figure out who wants to do what. The meeting is for anyone who wants to participate at any level–not just people who want to spearhead an effort. So please come! “

“Research finds geographic link between conservative Christian population and high-interest loan locations.” Now with maps! Bad science, good science?

Roll call vote results from the FISA bill amendment votes, specifically the Dodd-Feingold amendment stripping retroactive immunity for telecoms, are here.

Last night, Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) said “This is our defining question, the question that confronts every generation: The rule of law, or the rule of men?”

Republicans unanimously voted for the rule of men. Every last one of them, except for Lindsay Graham, who wasn’t present. Democrats were split. Thirty Democratic Senators, plus Bernie Sanders (I-VT), voted for the rule of law. Seventeen Democrats, plus Joe Lieberman (I-CT) voted with the Republicans. Hillary Clinton was not present. Got that? Once again, Republicans voted unanimously to support their party’s principles. Democrats split, with almost 40% abandoning our party’s principles.

This was not one of those issues about which it can be said that reasonable people can reasonably disagree. This vote gets down to core big D and little d Democratic principles and values. If we can’t have a party line that says the rule of law is a bedrock principle of governing, never to be violated; if we can’t expect our most powerful representatives to profess and uphold this most basic principle, then what exactly is it that we’re asking the American people to trust us to do when we ask for their votes?

The primary process has whittled down the once large field of Democratic contenders to just two. And one thing’s for sure. The Democratic Party will make history with this year’s nominee.

Whether you will support the first black male Democratic presidential nominee or the first female Democratic presidential nominee, most Democrats agree that come November they will unite behind the Democratic candidate, which is a good thing.

As many of you know, the Durham Democratic Women held a wildly successful Raucous Caucus on Jan. 30. More than 100 people attended, and most of these folks were from the community at large and were new to our local Democratic Party events. At the beginning of the night, there was a large group of undecideds (myself included) because John Edwards had just pulled out of the race that afternoon. By the end of the evening, all but about 14 people had placed themselves in the Clinton or Obama camps. At final count, Obama had the largest number of delegates at the event. (I didn’t write down the final numbers, but please report them if you know the score.) Click here for an article in the Duke Chronicle or here for the Daily Tar Heel version.

Until the official delegate count gives us a clear victor, let’s discuss who you support and why. If you were a supporter of Edwards, Kucinich, Biden, Dodd or one of the other candidates, tell us who you are supporting now and how they compare with your original choice.

Me? I’m still undecided. Why won’t Obama commit to universal healthcare? Will Hillary really do more to energize the GOP base than their own Republican nominee? Tell us what you think.