Times are tough. People are having trouble paying basic bills -- food, fuel, utilities -- not to mention those adjustable-rate home mortgages. So, what does Washington, do, if anything, to get this train-wreck of an economy back on track?

 OK. History was made Tuesday night when Barack Obama became the "presumptive" presidential nominee of the Democrat Party -- the first African-American to do so. In fact, he's the first African-American to become the presidential standard-bearer of any major U.S. political party.

 But can he seal the deal in November?

 He will have to overcome much, including that 20 or so percent of white America that never will vote for an African-American. So far, the racists have managed to fly below the national media's political radar. Will that continue?

 Of course, not every vote against Obama will be racially motivated.

 But if he ultimately realizes victory, I'll wager it won't be the landslide one might expect, given the overwhelming repudiation of President Bush and his policies. Americans, according to the pollsters, are united like never before in their demand for change -- significant change.

 Well, folks, change is here. It's time to put up or shut up.    

Good evening.

 Feel free to add to the thread that began Monday, Obama and the Preachers, Parts I and II.

 Also realize, however, that my earlier blog is about to be overtaken by history. Barack Obama is poised to become the first African-American presidential standard-bearer of a major U.S. political party.

 But is America up to the task at hand -- actually electing an African-American to what, arguably, is the most powerful political office on the face of the Earth? Can we bridge, once and for all, the nation's long-standing racial divide?

 For months, everyone's been talking about the need for change -- major change. Well, America, here's your chance to shake things up like never before. Do you have the courage to make the dream a reality? 

Question: When did we make presidential hopefuls responsible for what preachers say from the pulpit?

Answer: When an African-American became a viable candidate to win election to the nation's highest office.

Barack Obama's so-called "preacher problem" is yet another example of this country's hidden racism. In fact, Obama is no more responsible for the ideas expressed from the pulpit of his church than you are responsible for what your preacher says on any given Sunday. Remember this: Tolerance of religious differences is one of the cornerstones upon which this Republic was built. The often absurd statements made by Rev. Wright merely provide a fig-leaf for what the racists among us -- especially here in the Central Valley -- fear most: the very real possibility that an African-American soon will become president of the United States!     

Night-life in Modesto, built around live music -- mostly jazz and rock music -- once was all the rage. Then the music died, along with much of the downtown itself. Today, however, a rebirth of sorts is under way. But does today's scene match or surpass what the city offered from, roughly, 1949 to the end of the 1970s? Were the clubs of yester-year better than what we have today? Do we need more live music? Less? And what about dancing? Does anyone care?