Daily Polichicks - Tuesday

Let us be among the first to bellyache: Gas is high!  Man, is it high!  We went to "fillerup" at our neighborhood gas station yesterday, and we saw people with even the tiniest cars paying $60, $70, $80 bucks to fill their tanks!  As our dad would say, that's highway robbery!

Here at Polichicks Online, we are sensitive to the tough times caused by a struggling economy.  So we're not raising our prices; a subscription to the Daily Polichicks is still free.  Just sign up for our email list above, and you can chat with us every morning over burnt toast and coffee (or if you want to be all yuppie about it, muffins and Starbucks).

Now here's your Daily Polichicks.

Campaign '08:

In 1964 in Philadelphia, Mississippi, African Americans were told they couldn't vote unless they correctly answered how many bubbles are in a bar of soap.  Three student civil rights workers, Michael Schwerner, James Chaney and Andrew Goldman went down south to help blacks register to vote. The locals weren't pleased, so with the help of law enforcement, the Ku Klux Klan shot the 3 young men to death. Today Philadelphia is still racially divided and it may seem like things haven't changed much, but the county in which it's located cast the of majority its votes for Barack Obama. [The Los Angeles Times]

Barack Obama and John McCain agree, "shake your money maker" is a good camaign strategy.  But neither candidate can shake it too hard, as both claim to support campaign finance reform. [The Washington Post]

First Lady Laura Bush said that although she wants the first woman president to be a Republican, she admires the "grit and strength" that Hillary Clinton showed on the campaign trail.  She also had some supportive words for Michelle Obama. [The Washington Post] 

Virginia - our home state, y'all - is likely to be a major player in this year's presidential election.   Both candidates say they're fixin' to win that increasingly blue red state, and to that end, both are sweating Virginia voters. [The Washington Post]

U.S. News:

What's black and light and cool all over? Apple's new and improved (and cheaper) iPhone, coming to a store near you on July 11th. [The New York Times]

If Barack Obama is elected president, the nation will lose it's only African American senator (and only the 3rd in history since Reconstruction). At the senate staff level, African Americans and other minorities have been virtually non-existant.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is leading an effort to diversify the senate staff, and some say it's working. [Politico]

Girl power at the box office. Women fans made "Sex and the City" a box office winner (to the tune of $57 million its opening weekend), and young girls are expected to boost "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl" to a similar level of success. [The New York Times]

World News:

Just like the U.S., Spain is trying to figure out how to handle illegal immigration. [The New York Times]