Signs of Things to Come - Obama's Transparency Hypocrisy

Barack Obama’s campaign tries to play “count the lobbyist” with John McCain. Now I don’t accept the lobbyist = bad equation, and so I think that this is all a little trivial.

But hypocrisy is not trivial. Let’s do a little recount of the lobbyists around Obama.

There’s Jim Johnson, who I have previously written about. Johnson has represented the former Prime Minister of Senegal, and as CEO of Fannie Mae, he improperly disclosed profits that resulted in him getting a big bonus he didn’t deserve. Obama put this lobbyist-fundraiser-foreign-agent in charge of picking his Vice Presidential candidate.

There’s Francisco J. Pavía, his Puerto Rico state director, and a lobbyist for the Government of Puerto Rico. That violates Obama’s lobbyist policy. What have they done about that?

There’s his chief strategist David Axelrod, may not be exactly a lobbyist but certainly represents a lot of those corporations that Obama condemns. Obama said “I am in this race to tell the corporate lobbyists that their days of setting the agenda in Washington are over.” I guess that the corporate lobbyists are elemental evil, while corporate admen and astroturfers are all good.

Read it here

God Damn America Obama Style

Obama and Pfleger
Greg Pollowitz

Houston, we have a problem:

Typical of Mr. Obama’s earmarks was a $100,000 grant for a youth center at a Catholic church run by the Rev. Michael Pfleger, a controversial priest who was one of the few South Side clergymen to back Mr. Obama against Mr. Rush.

Father Pfleger has long worked with South Side political leaders to reduce crime and improve the community. But he has drawn fire from some quarters for defending the Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and inviting him to speak at his church. Father Pfleger, who did not return calls for comment, is one of the religious leaders whose “faith testimonials” Mr. Obama has posted on his presidential campaign Web site.

David Axelrod, the chief strategist for the Obama presidential campaign, said that Father Pfleger was “remaking the face” of Chicago’s South Side and that all of Mr. Obama’s earmarks went to worthy programs like his.

Judgment.
Here

Obama and Health Care

So, my question is, since I can't figure it out, WHAT DOES OBAMA REALLY SAY?

Will he price individual insurance by risk? (like he says he will in his FAQ on healthcare, read the part about businesses who have that one sick employee and how he might be able to help them) This would apply to everybody who isn't employed by a generous employer who supplies healthcare..If you are on the uninsurables list or even have a common chronic condition like hypertension or asthma.. you may be basically uninsurable outside of a group plan -i.e. THROUGH AN EMPLOYER or similar, because, as you probably already know, you are a bad risk, because you are already sick, its not a gamble (THE BASIS OF HOW THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY WORKS IS BY IMITATING GAMBLING) with you, they KNOW you will be expensive. So they DON'T want you unless you can pay to make it worth their while.
For example, see this article

Or, does Obama mean it when he says that he will make insurance available to everybody who wants it and can pay the premium they ask'? (people who think they might get sick or who think that they have something to lose, not those who think they could get sick and be a write off or who think they won't get sick, or who can't afford insurance at any price, ALL of who would be covered by Hillary AFFORDABLY)
Note: If Obama does do THAT, insurance will be MUCH more expensive for TWO SEPARATE reasons..
1.) Because the risk pool will be smaller and much sicker because there won't be a mandate.
2.) Because insurance companies jack the price up a lot when they can't charge by risk
So, could you help me out in figuring out what Obama really means???

Read it here

Political Fable

Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs

The seven dwarfs always left to go work in the mine early each morning. As always, Snow White stayed home doing her domestic chores. As lunchtime approached, she would prepare their lunch and carry it to the mine.

One day as she arrived at the mine with the lunch, she saw that there had been a terrible cave-in. Tearfully, and fearing the worst, Snow White began calling out, hoping against hope that the dwarfs had somehow survived.

'Hello!...Hello!' she shouted. 'Can anyone hear me? Hello!'

For a long while, there was no answer.

Losing hope, Snow White again shouted, 'Hello! Is anyone down there?'

Just as she was about to give up all hope, she heard a faint voice from deep within the mine, singing . . .

'Vote for Barack Obama! - Vote for Barack Obama!'

Snow White fell to her knees, crossed herself and prayed.

'Oh, thank you, Goddess! At least Dopey is still alive...

John Lennon - Woman is the nigger of the world

Woman is the Nigger of the World

John Lennon

Woman is the nigger of the world
Yes she is...think about it
Woman is the nigger of the world
Think about it...do something about it

We make her paint her face and dance
If she won’t be a slave, we say that she don’t love us
If she’s real, we say she’s trying to be a man
While putting her down we pretend that she is above us

Woman is the nigger of the world...yes she is
If you don’t believe me take a look to the one you’re with
Woman is the slave of the slaves
Ah yeah...better scream about it

We make her bear and raise our children
And then we leave her flat for being a fat old mother then
We tell her home is the only place she should be
Then we complain that she’s too unworldly to be our friend

Woman is the nigger of the world...yes she is
If you don’t believe me take a look to the one you’re with
Woman is the slave of the slaves
Yeah (think about it)

We insult her every day on TV
And wonder why she has no guts or confidence
When she’s young we kill her will to be free
While telling her not to be so smart we put her down for being so dumb

Woman is the nigger of the world...yes she is
If you don’t believe me take a look to the one you’re with
Woman is the slave of the slaves
Yes she is...if you believe me, you better scream about it.

We make her paint her face and dance
We make her paint her face and dance
We make her paint her face and dance

Tom In Paine: THE RFK ASSASSINATION, CHARACTER ASSASSINATION, AND OBAMA'S ASSASSINATION OF THE TRUTH

Tom In Paine: THE RFK ASSASSINATION, CHARACTER ASSASSINATION, AND OBAMA'S ASSASSINATION OF THE TRUTH

Count the Votes!

And check out the graphs over at Democratic Wings. Simply amazing.

WTF?

Hillary Clinton has sent out secret code that she wants Obama assassinated so that she can win the nomination and I am a racist. Do I see a pattern here? You bet I do.

Every stinking thing that happens in this campaign is perceived as anti-Obama. It is twisted and turned and spun around until it get spit back out as a racist remark.

Let me set the record straight. Hillary did not send out the silent dog whistle remark in order to have Obama assassinated. And I did not place the Obama poster in the right sidebar because I am a racist.

Obama is a snob. But, calling him a snob is not calling him a uppity black man. I'm sorry if that is where youR brain leads you, because it is not the intention from my end. Obama made a remark about "typical" white people clinging to their guns and religion. A snotty, snobby statement. If you choose to twist the Soul Searching post below away from the horrible sexism that plainly exists in that photo and make it about the side poster and racism, that's your problem. But don't call me a racist.

I think you better do some "soul searching" of your own.

Memorial Day Weekend

I'm off to our camp in the Southern Adirondacks. I need to sit under the pine trees, walk along the lake, feed the chipmunks and soothe my soul.

Yesterday, my husband and I went to four cemeteries and planted flowers for our family members who have passed on. My husband's great grandparents are buried at Indian Castle Church, which was built in 1769. The burial ground behind the Church is right at the edge of a huge forest, on a hill overlooking the Church. It is beautiful beyond belief. The Church is a very simple wooden structure. Neither of us are inspired by organized religion, but one cannot help but feel a quiet peacefulness when standing in this historical old Church.

At my grandparent's cemetery, we met up with the father of one of my high school friends. Phil and his wife are staunch Democrats in our small community, having held both elected and appointed positions and were both very active in the party. In fact, they were very supportive of me when I ran for both terms on the Town Council.

This 80 year old staunch Democrat noticed my Hillary button and after some talk of the RFK remark, he let loose. He and his wife are livid over the way Hillary has been treated. He stated that they will become Independents if she is not the nominee. He also said he would vote for McCain, to which my husband replied he couldn't do that, he just would refrain from voting. Phil proceeded to explain why that wasn't good enough. We all agreed that Obama is not experienced in foreign policy or economics and that he would be a terrible President at a time when we need a strong leader. To simply not vote for Obama would take away one vote. To vote for McCain would put Obama behind by 2 votes. What was extraordinary in this whole conversation is that you could see and hear the disbelief from this war horse Democrat and how mad and sad it made him feel and how very disappointed he was in the Democratic party.

So, DNC, you've screwed this up royally. You are are alienating the very base of your party. I've thought about what Phil said and he's right. I'm voting for McCain if Hillary is not the nominee, along with my husband and the rest of our family.

Soul Searching

I am saddened to say that I've deleted one of the first women that I met on a blog, due to her bumper sticker on facebook. I knew she was an Obama supporter and we seemed to get by that and remain friends. She is progressive, an amazing person who loves animals, music and she recently went through the death of her beautiful mother, who she had taken care of and nursed at home.

This woman is someone I love, respect and admire.

That's why this sucks.

Do it now!!

Right now. Go to Tennessee Guerilla Women and read egalia's post,watch the video and sign the petition. Do it now. For your mother, your daughters, your aunts, your nieces, your grandmothers, do it for yourself. Hurry up. Get over there now. It's the most important thing you will do today. And make sure you watch that video. And donate to Hillary.

And then go read Hating Hillary and donate some more.

Vets for Freedom

Watch the Video

Gov. Paterson

Kiss My Ass

From your history of extra marital affairs, to fancy suits and bar tabs paid for with campaign funds, you are a HUGE disappointment.

With friends/supporters like you, Hillary doesn't need enemies.

Oh, and then there is THIS

The back-and-forth was lighthearted, but it underscored a new partnership that has political benefits for both men. It is a shift that is turning Albany upside down and making some of Mr. Paterson’s fellow Democrats privately uneasy. Mr. Paterson has quietly declared a political truce with Mr. Bruno and his party, and though he is committed to raising money for the state’s Democrats, he has been reluctant to recruit candidates to run against incumbent Republicans at a time when the Democrats appear tantalizingly close to taking over the Senate for the first time in more than 40 years.

The shift is noticeable in many ways. Mr. Paterson waved through pork-barrel spending bills that provided $350 million apiece to Mr. Bruno’s Senate and to Assembly Democrats. Mr. Paterson’s predecessor, Eliot Spitzer, held up the legislation for months. Mr. Paterson has also abandoned Mr. Spitzer’s insistence that Republicans agree to legislation limiting campaign contributions.

A Couple of Things

I heard clip from a show with Geraldine Ferraro talking about sexism. She brought up the man (Obama supporter?) who yelled and held up a sign saying "iron my shirt" during a Clinton rally. Can you imagine what the MSM would do if a woman stood up and yelled "shine my shoes" during an Obama rally? Think about it.

The other thing is that I'm hearing all the time about Hillary's vote for the Iraq war. It's so easy for Obamabots to exploit the vote for their purposes. However, as the the economy worsens and oil/gas skyrockets, I think we should focus on Obama's vote for the Bush/Cheney 2005 energy bill written by the energy lobby.

The way I see it is if Obama can blame the Iraq War on Hillary, I can blame the startling rise in oil/gas prices on Obama.

Not So Fast

Stolen with permission from Pagan Power Pass it Along!
Click poster to enlarge.

Anglachel's Journal: Legitimacy, Not Unity

"Lack of legitimacy means relying on force to win. If you have to bully people to make them be quiet, you have lost legitimacy. If you have to remove votes from the contest in order to win, you have lost legitimacy. The objection Hillary supporters have to "teh Rulz" to exclude Michigan and Florida is how nakedly they are used to force the numbers themselves into submission. The rules, as Hillary made clear in her incredible speech today, have a legitimacy problem just like Obama himself because of their instrumental use for the benefit of a particular candidate, not just to the detriment of a competitor, but to the detriment of democracy itself. Insisting on unity as a substitute for legitimacy corrodes the institutions meant to defend democracy. Insisting on unity in order to avoid dealing with dissent is self defeating."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You gain legitimacy by being willing to risk power. This is the root cause of Obama's failure to be a unifying figure even as he preaches Unity. Obama would have lost some power in relation to Clinton early on by being willing to seat Florida and revote Michigan (I have said before that had he agreed to an immediate MI revote he would have won that state), but he would have gained an immeasurable amount of legitimacy with the voters, which would be paying off now. Clinging to a formal numbers count and defending that as the measure of victory rather than leaping for the chance to be affirmed by the voters is may garner a party nomination, but it makes Obama look like a beleagured dictator bleating about how he won an election that everyone knows was dirty and compromised."

"Unity is power to quell dissent, legitimacy is power under conditions of dissent."

Read it here

So what is a super delegate?

“The super delegates should only ratify the popular vote,” Capps said. “We should only confirm what the public wants.

read more | digg story

Nestle's Homophobic Sexist Candy Bar

From Wikipedia

Cultural References

The Yorkie campaign was prominently featured as a plot-point in episode three of the second series of Lewis ("Life Born of Fire"). In the episode, DS James Hathaway protests at a reductive view of sexuality wherein men are defined as men by an affinity for 'Yorkie bars and Loaded'. This diatribe forms his response to the direct question "Are you gay?" from his superior, DI Robbie Lewis, which he ultimately fails to answer. At the end of the episode, Hathaway is seen producing a Yorkie bar and handing it to his superior - although given the attitudes of both men throughout, this rather creates than clears up ambiguity.

I smell a boycott...

Obama on Hanford from a Republican Ad

A very effective Republican ad showcasing Obama's total lack of knowledge on this important subject.

Hickory, Dickory, Dock

Hickory Dickory Dock
Time's running out for Barack
He can't close the deal
'Cause he's not for real
And Hillary's cleaning his clock

Hickory Dickory Dock
Time's running out for Barack
The voters have spoken
His campaign is broken
And Russert and Tweety are shocked.

Hickery Dickory Dock
Hillary cannot be stopped
Michelle is a'screeching
'Cause Hillary is reaching
Voters who know he's a crock

THANK YOU KENTUCKY!! GO, HILLARY!!
UPDATE: Get thee to Delilah's Place to find out why The Chosen One was in Iowa last night.

Milestone or I Can't Count

A milestone is a significant event. Obama lost Kentucky (by fill in the blank HUGE)%. Yeah, I'd say that's a milestone.

H/T to blu1 at Don't Call Me Sweetie for her photoshop abilities displayed above.

If Obama's So Confident, Why The Desperate Behavior?

Hat Tip to Blogger Lorraine

Two recent incidents suggest that, despite the lying media hype that Senator Barack Obama has already secured the Democratic nomination, nothing could be further from the truth, and the Obama backers and some Howard ``Scream'' Dean people are now resorting to desperate tactics, including heavy-handed pressure and outright bribery, to try to stop Senator Hillary Clinton's building momentum, going into the final series of primary elections.

Sources close to the Obama camp have reported that the May 14 endorsement by former Senator and Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards, came at a heavy price. According to one source, Edwards was put under tremendous pressure to endorse Obama now, or face total isolation by the Obama camp.

Read the rest

Is it all just a huge sham?

From John: South of Melrose

Something deeply disturbing has gone down in the Democratic Party over the course of the last year. 50% of the Democratic electorate is being thrown overboard by the elites. It is now evident that this was planned by numerous people high up in both party's power structures with the assent of some powerful media outlets. Not to mention George Soros. Below I list the evidence for my allegation that a fix was put in to stop Hilary Clinton. All of it is either MY inference or can be easily found with some basic google searches. This post goes to my suspicions. There may be rebuttals on all counts. Feel free to refute me on any point.

Read it and see what you think.

Obama is Clueless - Stumped by question on WA nuclear cleanup

WASHINGTON -- Democrat Barack Obama was stumped this weekend when a woman asked him about cleanup at the nation's most contaminated nuclear area: the Hanford site in Washington state where scientists helped create the atomic bomb.

Obama admitted he didn't know much about the problem, but promised he would learn about it.

"Here's something that you will rarely hear from a politician, and that is that I'm not familiar with the Hanford site, so I don't know exactly what's going on there," Obama said Sunday at a campaign stop in Pendleton, Ore. "Now, having said that, I promise you I'll learn about it by the time I leave here on the ride back to the airport."

Clueless
Wow, this is really telling. I bet he was peeved.

Little Sister

My sister Diane, as captured by my very talented brother-in-law, Chris. You can view (and purchase) his wonderful masterpieces here.
Especially these...

Devil in a pantsuit: The demonization of Hillary Clinton

Is the notion of a powerful, driven, influential woman such a hideous threat?

read more | digg story

Painful lessons

Women voters are not factored into the decision making of the Democratic National Committee. The DNC is concerned that black voters will protest and stay home if Senator Clinton gets the nomination, even though she is the stronger and more electable candidate. But the DNC doesn't worry that white women, three times larger than the combined black vo

read more | digg story

DNC: Fractured Fairy Tales

Obama is Peevish

peevish

Pronunciation: \ˈpē-vish\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English pevish spiteful
Date: circa 1530
1 : querulous in temperament or mood : fretful 2 : perversely obstinate 3 : marked by ill temper
— pee·vish·ly adverb
— pee·vish·ness noun

Querulous in temperment? Moody? Fretful and perversely obstinate? Ill tempered, you say? Oh, yeah.

Peevish is the word that came to mind watching Obama's Appeasement Press Conference on Friday. I am beginning to hate listening to Him as much as I hate listening to Bush, but it was a "deer caught in headlights" moment. I was mesmerized listening to the Grand Ego, chastizing the Ninny President for having the unmitigated gall to question Him. He is Obama for Christ's sake. He was peeved to have to answer questions from reporters. Apparently, I'm not the only one who saw this.

That's enough. That – that's a show of disrespect to me."

That was Barack Obama, a couple of weeks back, explaining why he was casting the Rev. Jeremiah Wright into outer darkness. It's one thing to wallow in "adolescent grandiosity" (as Scott Johnson of the Powerline Web site called it) when it's a family dispute between you and your pastor of 20 years. It's quite another to do so when it's the 60th anniversary celebrations of one of America's closest allies. Mark Steyn

Now, Bush may have been goading Obama, although his official version is that it was about Jimmy Carter. But Obama sounded like a whiny little baby and looked anything BUT Presidential. It gave an insightful look into a BO presidency. Instead of the "What the Hell do Ya'all Care" tone of this administration, it'll be the "I am the Supreme Being and Get Testy When I'm Questioned" era.

If Hillary doesn't win the nomination, don't blame me when He loses the GE in November. I didn't put him in this the race.

Clinton Election Juggernaut Accelerates

After Hillary Clinton’s historic 41-point victory in the West Virginia primary, two questions loom: How long will Barak Obama cling to his shattered dreams of the presidency, and how much damage will be done to the Democratic Party by his stubborn and divisive refusal to accept the obvious?

read more | digg story

Heidi Li's Potpourri: Superdelegates, math, and electing Senator Clinton POTUS '08

Heidi Li's Potpourri: Superdelegates, math, and electing Senator Clinton POTUS '08

Barack Obama: the new Great Redeemer

A brutal assessment of the Democratic Party by Gerard Baker, United States Editor and an Assistant Editor of The Times.

The alert among you will have noticed by now that what all these spiritually uplifting leaders have in common. They are all Democrats. Never in any of the chapters of this hagiography does a Republican, a conservative, appear in a remotely similar light. These alien creatures by contrast have always been portrayed as cartoonish representatives of the Dark Side of humanity, or, if they were really lucky, simply idiots, failed B-movie actors and irredeemably ignorant hicks with embarrassingly neanderthal views on women, religion and communism.

Mr Obama is portrayed throughout as an immanently benevolent figure. Not human really, more a comforting presence, a light source. He is always eager to listen to all aides of an argument, always instilling confidence in the weak-willed, resolutely sticking to his high principles and tirelessly spurning the low road of electoral politics. I stopped reading after a while but I'm sure by the end he was healing the sick, comforting the dying, restoring sight to the blind and setting prisoners free.

You Broke It, You Own It - Obama Style

Kristen Breitweiser, 9/11 widow and activist, is known for pressuring official Washington to provide a public accounting to the American people of what went wrong on the morning of September 11 and in the months leading up to the disaster that claimed the life of her husband and more than 3000 others.

Breitweiser did not seek to be an activist. She was a stay-at-home mother in suburban New Jersey and a George Bush supporter. Yet Breitweiser and the other so-called "Jersey Girls" transformed by their grief and outraged by a lack of accountability are widely credited with forcing the creation of the 9/11 Commission and were instrumental in insuring the passage in Congress of the national security reforms it recommended.

She testified before the Joint Inquiry of Congress in September 2002 and the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee in August 2004 with regard to national security reforms. She campaigned as a primary surrogate for the Kerry-Edwards

Those who are responsible for putting Democrats in the broken place we are in right now with regard to Barack Obama had better own it to the end. Leave those bumper stickers on and wear those campaign pins until the bitter end folks because YOU OWN IT. And people are going to want to know whose to blame.

And as for the superdelegates, just an FYI, we have the list with your names, you will be held accountable on Election Day and beyond, too. This time around, everybody's going to be looking for accountability.

Read It Here

Pacific John Update from Springfield

5/16/08: Another good night. We have recruited every available warm body in the county, so even I had time to use Activate. I was on the final two hours, and had a ratio of 5/3 in our favor.

As you all have probably heard, ARG confirmed SUSA's earlier poll that we are tied in ballots that have already been returned. My prediction last night that the polls would rapidly move in our direction happened a couple of days early. I can't be right about everything ;)

But still, for ARG to be right that we will end down by 5, we will hit a wall at our phone banks. Here's my bold prediction: there is no wall. The result will be close. We will exceed expectations in Oregon,and it will be a blow to Obama. We will win if we have volunteers on the phone. Period.

I have one more day on the ground here. My work is done. Crazy, huh? The election is still 4 days away, and I've already made my impact by recruiting enough vols to keep the phones busy. I'll do vis at the Farmers' market for the third time tomorrow (with one last chance to recruit vols), and I'm out of here. I'd love to stay because there is an increasing chance that my buddies will have the best victory party ever, but I have obligations at home. And like I said, with this paradoxical mail-in election, I've already done what I can. I could have left last weekend, without much difference.

I feel good. I'm satisfied that we have done great work, and I couldn't be happier than to be tied among all actual votes four days out. If we take the late surge, we not only take Oregon, we should take the White House.

I love this campaign.

J

Obama makes a fool of himself over Bush remarks

Obama owns appeasement

Obama and his surrogates drew those connections themselves. Instead of acknowledging the historical truth of appeasement’s failures, they chose to argue with it. Obama could have taken the smart route and embraced it to explain how he understands the lessons of appeasement, which is why his talks with Iran would not result in it. Instead, he got volcanically defensive, which suggests that even Obama sees the parallels between his everything’s-on-the-table approach and the Chamberlain diplomacy which resulted in dismantling Czechoslovakia.

And if Obama considers discussion of foreign policy “divisive”, then he should hie himself right back to Academia. Guess what, Senator? Presidential elections focus on foreign-policy principles, and if you can’t defend yours, then you have no business running for office.

Go ahead. Read it. You won't be sorry.

Misogyny

Much has been written by many bloggers as to why millions of women will not support Obama in the GE. Lots and lots of so-called progressive democrats don't seem to "get it". Well, I could direct you to any number of wonderful blogs that go to great lengths to explain why. However, if you read the list from Violet, via ericanbarnett below, maybe you will start to understand.

Hillary Clinton is a bitch. A big ol' bitchy bitch. And a cunt. A "big fucking whore." Fortunately, you can "call a woman anything." She's "Nurse Ratched." She'll castrate you if she gets a chance. She would like that. She's a "She-Devil." She's a madam, and her daughter's a whore. She's frigid, and she can't give head. She's a "She-Devil." A lesbian. A nag. When things get tough, she cries like a big dumb GIRL. In fact, she's just that -- a "little girl." In FACT, she wants to "cry her way to the White House." To be, ahem, "Crybaby-in-Chief." That proves that she's not tough enough. But she's also not feminine enough. She's "screechy." She's an "aging, resentful female." She's "Sister Frigidaire." She really ought to quit running for President and stick to housework. She basically spent her entire times as First Lady going to tea parties. She's a monster whojust won't die. In fact, she really should just die. You can buy a urinal target with her face on it to express what you really think of her. OMG she's got claws! She's crazy. In fact, she's a lunatic. She's petty and vindictive and entitled. She's a washed-up old hag. She's "everybody's first wifestanding outside probate court." She's a "scolding mother." She's shrill... shrill... shrill. She can't take it when people are mean to her. She's a "hellish housewife." She's Tanya Harding. She CAN'T be President, what with the mood swings and the menses.Any woman who votes for her is voting with her vagina, not her brain. Women only like Hillary because she's a fellow Vagina-American. And because they vote with their feelings. Frankly, anyone who still thinks we need "feminine role models" should get over it and move on, already. Oh, and men who supporters are castratos in the eunuch chorus. You shouldn't make her President because she wants it too much. She's totally just banking on support from ugly old feminists. And she looooves to "play the victim." She cackles! And cackles. And cackles. It's like she's a witch or something! She's definitely"witchy." And now you can buy her cackle as your ring tone. Her voice, too, is "grating"--like "fingernails on a blackboard" to "some men." She's hiding behind her gender. She isn't a "convincing mom" because she's too strident. She never did anything on her own. Her husband keeps her on a leash. She hates men. Her campaign is a "catfight." She makes people want to kill themselves, is like a "domineering mother," and is cold. And OMG she has boobies! All of which are reasons to hate her.

Oh, and if you even mention any of this, you're either silly or a bad person.

And this, my dear reader, is just the tip of the iceberg. Taylor is right. Hell hath no fury. I'll leave you with the Worldwide Guide to Women in Leadership.

Oregon Update from Pacific John

May 15th

We don't have the insanity of the Texas Two Step here, so my OR reports are a lot less colorful. Mail-in, like here and CA, is all about phoning voters, and getting them to turn ballots in for Hillary. There are no polling places, per se. Like in CA, we don't have much visibility or canvassing.

That said, we are still kicking ass on the phones. The disparity between what I see and what is in the polls is too great to make any sense. Mark my words, the polls will magically close by Monday morning, reflecting the fact that people have already mailed in a lot of ballots for Hillary.

Here's a popular piece of information: today was the last day to safely mail-in ballots to get to elections offices on time. How do the rest get turned in, including the large, late rush? We have secure drop boxes all over Oregon, and voters are trained to use them. They are old fashioned steel post office mail boxes, painted white. You can locate them here.

Another oddity of this election is that it is all front-loaded. It is all about recruiting phone bankers days or weeks ahead of the election, and watching the early momentum build and carry itself. Today was very hands-off for me, primarily taking care of vols I recruited a week ago. My major contribution to the office now is recruiting walk-in to work shifts. I have polished my "ask," and snag quite a few new vols. It's not that hard, though: we have a great atmosphere in the phone bank, and the work is satisfying. If I have a terrified introvert, I use the psychological ploy of walking him/her to watch our champion phone banker, Jennifer (who earned a meet and greet with Hillary), work her magic. We are kicking ass.

Heidi Li's Potpourri: Maintain concentration; remain calm

Heidi Li's Potpourri: Maintain concentration; remain calm

Astrology 101 - 2008 Presidential Race

From the website of Christopher Kevill, a neo-Vedic astrologer specializing in predictive astrology. Chris earned his M.A in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is currently completing his Ph.D in Sociology at the University of Toronto.

And, yes, I am a believer.

Despite this apparent resolution in this fractious and hard-fought race, I believe that this situation will be thrown into chaos in the weeks ahead as some very malefic alignments form in the Obama campaign chart. (Feb 10 2007 10.13 a.m. Springfield, IL). Given the uncertainty that surrounds Obama's actual birth time (and Hillary's, too, for that matter), the campaign launch charts have been fairly reliable indicators of the ebb and flow of the race. Although I've made some interpretive mistakes here and there, I can think of no better confirmation of the usefulness of this chart than the Jupiter station that occurred exactly on the Midheaven (unequal 10th house cusp) during last week, when Obama was flying high coming off the convincing win in NC. While I saw him doing well on May 6th, I underestimated the power of this configuration. The Jupiter station has raised him from frontrunner to de facto nominee as most observers agree that his lead cannot be surmounted by Hillary and the race is essentially over.

While I am reluctant to argue against something as powerful as a Jupiter station on the 10th house cusp, I can't help but see that Obama is going to be sideswiped very soon. One of the distinguishing features of the his campaign chart is a t-square involving Saturn (27 Cancer) , Moon (0 Scorpio), and a conjunction of Neptune (25 Capricorn) and the Sun (27 Capricorn). This is a negative influence as I see it, and suggests the failure or loss (Saturn) of a popular (Moon) dream (Neptune) of a leader (Sun). This potential will be realized through the movements of two key planets -- Rahu/Ketu and Mars. The Lunar Nodes, Rahu and Ketu, are fast approaching this Sun-Neptune-Saturn configuration. While the nodes have a changeable influence, they are more neutrally associated with breaking down structures and normal patterns. Rahu will soon conjoin the natal Sun-Neptune and produce exaggerated and distorted sense of idealism, overconfidence and entitlement, while Ketu comes to the Saturn and will tend to erase boundaries and structures of power. It's important to note that Hillary Clinton has a similar architecture of planets that will be subjected to this nodal influence in June and July. In her case, however, the Moon and Venus take the place of Obama's Sun. So it's clear that the nodal transit to this point (25-27 Capricorn) will cause great changes to the dynamic of the race. I think the effect of this transiting Rahu will be more damaging to Obama because his natal planets are aligned with that Moon in the first degree of Scorpio.

This is a potentially difficult placement since the Moon is debilitated in Scorpio and is associated with excessive and unpredictable emotions, weakness and sickness (especially with the Neptune influence) and difficulties involving women and sexuality. While this may simply refer to the fact that his main opponent in this race is a woman, I think there is also the possibility that he may be embarrassed by some kind scandal, perhaps one that involves sex. Another possible explanation might be some kind of unethical real estate dealings that come to light, because the debilitated Moon, as 4th lord of home and land is placed in the malefic 8th house. I know there has already been some talk of real estate transactions involving the shady Chicago political mogul Tony Rezko, so it's possible that something like that might come back into the picture. Still another possible scenario involves an exogenous event such as a sudden geopolitical or military development that compels people to rethink their confidence in Obama. In such a event, his perceived softness in foreign policy might be compounded by ill-considered comments. The most obvious time window to watch for these events to unfold is when transiting Mars moves into the first degree of Leo around June 21. This difficult and disturbing situation may in fact manifest earlier, say starting around June 14 when transiting Mars conjoins the transiting Ketu to conjoin the natal Saturn.

While there is likely going to be a single event that changes the race, I am also expecting Hillary's fortunes to improve perhaps as soon as the last week of May. This may not correspond to much improvement in her chances of winning right away, but look for hints of better coverage and small successes. This will be partially due to the retrograding of Mercury then, which occurs on May 26th, which his is often associated with reversals of established trends. The first significant indicator that Hillary's fortunes are looking up should come around June 3rd when transiting Mars conjoins its natal position in Hillary's chart. With Mars in her 10th house of status and leadership, this looks like a bold, assertive, in-your-face sort of move. This corresponds with the date of the last primary, so it likely has something to do with delegate counts and possibly the ongoing dispute over the Michigan and Florida delegates. It seems unlikely that Hillary can reverse this Obama coronation at the convention through purely tactical and legal means, since her aides admitted said that she still trails Obama even when potential delegates from MI and FL are included in the count. I think for the race to be recast, I think the scandal/big event scenario seems more likely. And yet, there is also a sense of a gradual shift in momentum that happens here over the course of June and beyond. I'll see if I can post something else if details become clearer to me.

Two other dates to watch out for are July 28th and August 5th. On July 28th, transiting Mars conjoins the natal Ketu of the Obama campaign chart. Since Hillary's chart has more or less the same placement of the nodes, this looks to be a sudden situation that catches people off guard, perhaps in both camps. What's worse for Obama is that this Mars will oppose his Venus which is often a sign of conflict, anger and loss of happiness. As I've mentioned before, the first week of August, These looks extremely volatile as tr Mars opposes tr Uranus. This will negatively activate the Mars in the Democratic Party chart as well as the Mars in Obama's birth chart. This appears to be the time of the most intense conflict and state of upset and division between the two rival campaigns. This fight may threaten the very existence of the Democratic Party.

In a nutshell, this race is far from over. And I still think Hillary Clinton will somehow emerge as the Democratic nominee.

More here

The Republicans Are Coming, The Republicans Are Coming

And, they are coming for Obama!

Milli Vanilli Endorses Obama

Priceless! Via uncorrelated

Well, OK, not Milli Vanilli, but the political equivalent--hair with no actual political talent.

Its pathetic but it works. Obama was desperate to change the media narrative, which is that core Democrat voters are racist. Its not brilliant apologetic; that's certain, but as bad as it is, its better than telling the truth--the Emperor has no clothes.

Getting John Edwards to endorse him accomplishes that, if little else.

Kathleen Parker observes that its pretty much a consensus.
Here's what John Davis, president of the e North Carolina Forum for Research and Economic Education and editor of The Almanac of North Carolina Politics, recently told Politico about the value of an Edwards endorsement: "It would carry no weight. He didn't help carry any state in the Southeast, his own home county or even his home precinct in 2004."

Jonah Goldberg points out exactly how much Edwards underwhelmed in 2004.
...in 2004 Democrats insisted that John Edwards would make the Kerry-Edwards ticket competitive throughout the South. Not only was that not true, not only did Edwards not deliver North Carolina, but he didn't even improve Kerry's share by a single percentage point over Gore-Lieberman in 2000.

I'd have to call this a hail Mary. If Obama had better options, he would have exercised them--apparently all he had was John Edwards.

He's in worse trouble that I thought...

Dear Mr. Obama

I don't care if Mother Earth endorses you. You won't ever get my vote.

Dear Senator Edwards

Dear Senator Edwards:

As a former supporter of your 2008 Presidential bid, I can't believe you sold us out. I was one of your staunchest supporters, worked hard for your campaign and donated money I really couldn't afford because I believed in you and your campaign. I was sorry when you dropped out because I believed in your voice for the less fortunate among us and I know that health insurance for all Americans is an important issue. After you left, I picked myself up and began studying the remaining candidates. That's where I found that the campaign issues that were most important to me were issues also held by the Hillary Clinton camp.

Since you've dropped out of the race, I have emailed you several times outlining my support for Senator Clinton. I understood when you replied that you wanted to stay out of the campaigns and let the process work without giving either candidate any advantage that your endorsement may hold. I respected your decision to let the voters decide and the process continue.

That's why the recent news story that you have decided, after a landslide win for Hillary in West Virginia, to endorse Senator Obama hit me like a ton of bricks. You see, Senator Edwards, I respected you and took you at your word. I was wrong. It turns out you are nothing more than another member of the John Kerry, Ted Kennedy faction of the Democratic party. The faction that makes deals in back rooms and is swayed by the same old rotten political machine. You've just joined the ranks of Former Male Presidential Candidates that couldn't stand to be beaten by a female.

You caved, Senator. And that makes me sick.

PS, I rec'd your letter today about making a donation to your new cause. I won't be donating and I think you know why.

A WTF Post and A Call to Action

In one of the most unbelievable press releases I have ever had the misfortune to read Naral Pro-Choice has endorsed Obama for President (see below). This is a call to action. The person I spoke to at the NY Naral told me that their chapter was not involved in the decision, NY was not endorsing either democratic candidate and directed me to the second article below. She also gave me the telephone number of the National Naral - 1-202-973-3000 where I was transferred to the "Political Department". Naturally, no one was available to take my call, but there is voice mail. Call them. This isn't ONLY about Hillary being the far better choice, it's the fact that an organization involved with woman's reproductive rights is endorsing a man who voted "present" on several critical abortion issues.

"As a State Senator, Barack Obama voted `present' on seven abortion bills, including a ban on 'partial birth abortion,' two parental notification laws and three 'born alive' bills. In each case, the right vote was clear, but Senator Obama chose political cover over standing and fighting for his convictions.

" -- IllinoisNOW.org

"To be clear, voting "present" on those bills was a strategy that IL NOW did not support. At that time, we made it clear to the legislators that we disagreed with the strategy. We wanted legislators to take a stand against the harmful anti-choice bills being brought to the floor of the Illinois State Senate.

Voting "present" does not demonstrate leadership and does not send the clarion signal that one is unwavering in their support of a woman's right to choose. IL NOW knew that those bills were unacceptable to women. Except for these present votes, Senator Obama's record on choice has been excellent, but he has not taken leadership on the issue at the same level that Hillary has.

Ms. Brett asserts that the strategy to vote "present" was devised to give political cover to legislators in conservative districts. State Senator Barack Obama did not represent a conservative district and he could have voted "no" with little negative consequence in his district."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Cyn

I'm excited to announce that today, NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC is endorsing Sen. Barack Obama for president!

We have been so fortunate to have two fully pro-choice candidates running for the Democratic nomination, and we praised both Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama for their leadership in standing up for women's reproductive rights. But only one candidate can advance to the general election.

NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC is making our endorsement now because every day that passes, Sen. McCain gets a free ride on the issue of choice. That free ride ends today.

Too many voters think that McCain is a moderate. Can someone who's voted anti-choice 125 times out of 130 opportunities on abortion and other reproductive-rights issues be a moderate?

It's time to put that myth to rest. To win in November, NARAL Pro-Choice America will educate swing voters who can tip this election: Republican and Indepdendent women. And we cannot let one more day go by without comparing Sen. Obama's fully pro-choice record to Sen. McCain's anti-choice record.

On one hand, we have Sen. Obama—who has been a fully pro-choice ally from day one and whom women can trust.

And on the other hand, we have Sen. John McCain—who has gone even further than George W. Bush in his anti-choice rhetoric by directly calling for the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade.

I believe that Sen. Obama is the leader who can unify our country behind commonsense ways to prevent unintended pregnancy.

We need you to be a part of our work to defeat Sen. McCain and elect Sen. Obama.

Send an ecard to your friends to educate them about Sen. Obama's record on choice.
Make a donation to our work to elect Sen. Obama, other pro-choice candidates, and protect choice at all levels.

Thank you for your support and I look forward to working with you for a pro-choice White House in 2008!
Nancy Keenan
President, NARAL Pro-Choice America
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NARAL Pro-Choice NY Doesn't Follow National's Lead
In a show of loyalty to its home state senator, Hillary Clinton, NARAL Pro-Choice NY declined to follow the lead of its national organization in endorsing Barack Obama, proclaiming it "premature" to pick a favorite in the Democratic primary contest.

In a terse statement, the NY-based abortion rights group said the decision by NARAL Pro-Choice America to back Obama was made in Washington, D.C. and "without the consultation" of state affiliates.

"NARAL Pro-Choice New York will not be issuing an endorsement at this time," continued the statement, which isn't attributed to anyone in particular.

"NARAL Pro-Choice New York believes that this endorsement in the Democratic primary is premature. We are fortunate to have two pro-choice candidates in Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Senator Barack Obama."

"When a nominee is named, NARAL Pro-Choice New York will stand proudly with the pro-choice Democratic candidate in order to defeat anti-choice Republican candidate John McCain in November."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CALL THEM NOW!! 1-202-973-3000

Hillary!

Thank you West Virginia! And, a special thank you to Heidi Li for all of her hard work on the ground in WV and her amazing fundraising ability.

Onward and upward, Hillary soldiers. We've got lots more to do. Oregon is going to be very important.

Oh, what a beautiful morning!

Pacific John - Update from Oregon!!

John says:
Our field operation - and all of you who are making calls - is continuing to kick ass in Oregon. As you may have seen, of all ballots cast, with about half received so far, SUSA has us tied. If we continue to over perform at this rate, we will win Oregon, in the biggest upset of the campaign.

As most of you who have been making calls know, we are continuing have a strong response and are raking in Hillary votes.

All we have to do is mimic our usual pattern with late deciders, and we will blow through Obama's firewall.

What I'd take from those pictures is that the media is bending over backwards to hide the fact that Obama could lose every major remaining contest and the nomination.

"Never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might..." ~ Winston Churchill, 29 October 1941

If I don't win, I'm taking my toys and going home

via Liberal Rapture the story of the spoiled little boy who plays by the rules that favor him only:

Though he's actually trying his level best to stay in step with the media herd riding Hillary Clinton into the ground, Jonathan Alter unwittingly dropped this interesting tidbit in the May 19 issue of Newsweek.

"For all the talk of numbers, there's one that will be most important for superdelegates: 1.5 million. That reflects the 1.5 million names of donors that the Obama campaign has on file. Because no contribution below $200 is publicly reported, the vast majority of those names are in Obama's exclusive possession, to be shared as he wishes. As Graham Richard, the longtime mayor of Fort Wayne, Ind., explained it to me last week, it's all about the Benjamins. Local officials (that's who most superdelegates are) need the tens of thousands of Democratic donors on that list who come from their states. Their re-election depends on successful fund-raising. No Obama at the top of the ticket, no list. No list, and you may be back selling insurance after November."

You read it right. This, in effect, is threatening to cripple the fundraising ability of the Democratic party if Obama is not given the nomination. He is telling superdelegates, "give me the nomination or risk losing your office for lack of campaign funds."

The unmitigated gall of this man. Threatening to weaken the party and cost the Democrats offices, all if he doesn't get the nomination he feels so entitled to. Clinton supporters are lectured about unquestioning support of the party, yet Obama threatens to cripple Democratic fundraising efforts if he doesn't get his way. It's this type of arrogance, greed, and entitlement that are turning so many people off. Some party man.

CLINTON VS. OBAMA: Mediating a Solution to the Democratic Nomination Battle

ABSTRACT: Momentum seems to be an unlikely solution to the Democratic nomination because the candidates are almost tied in total delegates. They are also running neck and neck in the public opinion polls for the few remaining state primary contests as well as the national polling. Party leader Howard Dean plans to let the situation resolve itself according to established party rules. Other senior Democrats have floated possible endgame scenarios, but all have stopped short of endorsing an actual solution. Thus, another process is needed to negotiate an end to the nomination, one through which the candidates’ interests will be explored and fairly addressed. Using traditional mediation principles, this article explores how mediation might be successfully used to settle the dispute between Senators Clinton and Obama of who will be the Democratic nominee for President this year.

Matt Bailey is a third-year law student at The George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC and will graduate this May. An aspiring mediator, he recently completed a course in Mediation taught by professors and local practitioners Carolyn Lerner and Amy Wind. Matt will start his career working as a Legislative Assistant for a United States Senator after graduation. A native of Jena, Louisiana, Matt graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Political Science from Northwestern State University of Louisiana.

Now, just suppose...
Mock Mediation

Curtain Time For Barack Obama - Part I

Republicans have enough damaging information against Barack Obama to knock him off the ballot before the November election. Those at the top of the Democratic Party know this by now and voters need to recognize that if they nominate him they are throwing the election. Nothing else can explain why they would allow this disaster to happen.

read more | digg story

Stop Believing Obama

THROUGHOUT THE CAMPAIGN, Obama and his staffers have dismissed any scrutiny of his views on Israel with a blend of outrage and sarcasm, as if his record of support for Israel is so extensive, so undeniable, that anybody who raises doubts about his actual views is launching an inquisition.

But as is the case with most issues, Obama is such a blank slate, and has such a thin public record, that voters are forced to parse his statements, sift through his past, and examine those he chooses to associate with to get a better sense of his underlying philosophy.

Read the rest

From Pacific John in Oregon! Go Hillary!

This evening, I had the best recruiting nights I have ever had on any campaign ever. Those of you who know me in real life know what this means. Holy cow.

We had a great day. HV'er Alison was here through the weekend. She did great last evening with our team recruiting at the Darth event. I think our campaign blew her away. We are a bit of a stationary tornado.

I may not post tomorrow evening since Bill will be here. It's his last event of the day, so we'll run late and run long. We'll recruit a small army of people for the phone bank.

Man, I love this campaign.

We had NOW Pres Kim Gandy, Ann Lewis and Erika (?), a wonderful actress from the Cosby Show at the HQ this evening. It was all any of us could do to hold back the tears as they all talked about the unsung values that Hillary, and women generally, stand for.

We're in this to win, kids, and I think we will.

J

Clinton gaining momentum: Huge leads in upcoming primaries.

Not only is Clinton leading Obama 59.5% to 40.5% in upcoming primaries, she leads Obama in every matchup in key battleground states Ohio, Florida, & Pennsylvania against McCain. Clinton wins all 3 states against McCain, while Obama LOSES both Ohio & Florida. Clinton also leads Obama in margin of victory against McCain in the general election.

read more | digg story
Click the photo to enlarge

Happy Mother's Day

Anti-Feminist Backlash Out in Full Force
By Katha Pollitt, The Nation

Washington University is giving Phyllis Schlafly an honorary doctorate. Let me run that by you again. Washington University, the distinguished 155-year-old seat of higher learning in St. Louis, is giving an honorary degree to Phyllis Schlafly -- archfoe of the Equal Rights Amendment, the United Nations, Darwinism and other newfangled notions, and the promoter of innumerable crackpot far-right conspiracy theories who called the Bomb "a marvelous gift that was given to our country by a wise God." Her eighty-two years haven't mellowed her one bit: last year she blamed the Virginia Tech massacre on the English department; called intellectual men "liberal slobs;" advocated banning women from traditionally male occupations like construction, firefighting and the military; and defended men's property rights over their wives' vaginas ("by getting married, the woman has consented to sex, and I don't think you can call it rape"). The campus is in an uproar, and no wonder. After four years of hard work, female seniors get to watch their school honor someone who thinks they should park their diplomas in the kitchen sink. Washington U might as well bring in mad misogynist Chris Matthews as commencement speaker. Oh. You mean...? No! Yes.

Tell me the backlash against feminism isn't crackling up a storm. I try to keep my eye on the big picture and the bottom line: education, employment, autonomy, power. Surely, I tell myself, the fact that half of all new med students are female is more important than Paris Hilton's omnipresent visage; that a woman has made the first viable run for the presidency says more about the United States than that media clowns like Matthews basically call her a crazy castrating bitch on a daily basis; or that Caitlin Flanagan, smarmy enemy of working mothers (and another big believer in compulsory sex for wives), won a National Magazine Award for reviews and criticism.

But sometimes I think we're truly going backward, as Republican hegemony, conservative Christianity and anti-feminist media propaganda take their cumulative toll. All those judges, all that money, all that shock jockery, all those magazines obsessively following stars' weight and baby bumps: it would be strange if they had no effect. As far as concrete setbacks go, look no further than the case of Lilly Ledbetter, whose right to sue for pay discrimination was denied by the Supreme Court last May. In a 5-to-4 decision, the Justices overturned the standard interpretation of existing law to declare that Ledbetter was twenty years too late: the victim of pay discrimination must sue within six months of the initial discriminatory act -- never mind whether she knew about it (many employers, including Ledbetter's, forbid workers from discussing their salaries; she found out she was paid less than any man at her level from an anonymous tip). Given the realities of life, the Court has given employers the nod to pay women less, as long as they can keep the women in the dark for 180 days. In April a bill to restore women's right to sue failed in the Senate, 56-to-42, because for some reason everything now needs sixty votes to become law. John McCain said the bill would lead to too many lawsuits (hello? all it would have done was restore the law we'd lived with for forty-four years); what women needed was more "education and training." Because right now, women are just too dumb to merit equal pay. As Dahlia Lithwick wrote in a coruscating piece in Slate, if women take this sitting down, maybe they really are dumb.

The suspicion that women are dim would explain why Oklahoma has just passed a law requiring not only that women seeking abortions be forced to view sonograms of their fetuses but that the picture be taken in the way most likely to reveal the clearest picture--often up their vaginas. In other antichoice news, an abortion ban will be on the ballot again in South Dakota, this time with narrow exceptions for rape and incest. And mark June 7 on your calendar -- it's Protest the Pill day, brought to you by the American Life League and other antichoice groups, which claim, despite the evidence, that "the Pill kills babies" by preventing implantation of fertilized eggs. Maybe it's good that the antichoice movement is outing itself as opposed to contraception, as prochoicers have long maintained and not many pundits have noted -- but it also shows that they believe they can come out of the closet and not be dismissed as lunatics. Look for more struggles over government birth-control funding -- already way down, thanks to budget cuts and inflation--as the antichoicers move the goal posts of how "life" is defined.

Yes, women are still making gains in education and -- slowly -- in politics and other areas. But longstanding feminist gains are eroding: battered women's shelters, for example, are closing for lack of funds. And the advances haven't made the difference once hoped for. There are more powerful female Hollywood executives than ever, but as Manohla Dargis pointed out in a splendid rant (her word) in York Times, the movies are relentlessly male-focused: the conventional Hollywood wisdom is "Women can't direct. Women can't open movies. Women are a niche." Culturally, there's misogyny wherever you look: Grand Theft Auto IV, which offers players the opportunity to have sex with prostitutes and kill them, got rave reviews and is expected to have $500 million in sales its first week out. If there's a pro-woman cultural event with that kind of reach and impact, I'd like to hear about it. It certainly wouldn't be Vanity Fair's photo of tween icon Miley Cyrus, clad in nothing but a bedsheet at all of 15 years old -- or the daily media onslaught urging women to focus on their babies like a Zen master contemplating a rock -- when not taking pole-dancing lessons, getting Botoxed or catching up on the latest "studies" purporting to prove that they lack the drive and brains to do anything better with their brief time on earth. Feminism, please call home!

Katha Pollitt is a columnist for The Nation.
© 2008 The Nation All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/84984/

The Feminist Reawakening

"Not so long ago, it was possıble for women, particularly young women, to share in the popular illusion that we were living in a postfeminist moment. There were encouraging statistics to point to: More women than men are enrolled at universities, where they typically earn higher grades; once they graduate, those who live in big cities might even receive higher salaries—at least in the early years of employment. The Speaker of the House is female, as are eight governors and 16 percent of Congress (never mind that this is 11 percent fewer than Afghanistan’s parliament). Many women believed we had access to the same opportunities and experiences as men—that was the goal of the feminist movement, wasn’t it?—should we choose to take advantage of them (and, increasingly, we just might not). There was, of course, the occasional gender-based slight to contend with, a comment on physical appearance, the casual office badminton played with words like bitch and whore and slut, but to get worked up over these things seemed pointlessly symbolic, humorless, the purview of women’s-studies types. Then Hillary Clinton declared her candidacy, and the sexism in America, long lying dormant, like some feral, tranquilized animal, yawned and revealed itself. Even those of us who didn’t usually concern ourselves with gender-centric matters began to realize that when it comes to women, we are not post-anything."

Read it here

Uppity Woman

I would vote for a cockroach before I'd vote for Obama

Comment by foreignwoman | 2008-05-11 04:42:27

Watching from Europe what goes on in your country at the moment is really scary, and you’re spot on about the totalitatarian regimes that used the same kind of bullying to get their charismatic leaders into power. Remember Mussolini and Hitler and their thugs, exactly the same kind of process going on in your country right now. The main difference is that there seems to be such a lack of historical awareness in the most powerful nation on the planet that you could actually end up with a president who can indeed move the masses. The testimonies from the caucuses are scary, as are a number of other incidents such as the delaying of votes that kept Clinton’s victory in Indiana on hold. They are really sure of themselves when they can do such an utterly undemocratic thing on national TV and none in the media follows it up! You have my fullest sympathy and I dearly hope something comes up that make the American people wake up to what is about to happen before it is too late for you, and for the rest of us!

Obama thinks there are 59 States in the USA

UPDATE: Because Obama cannot be wrong Texas Fred has updated the flag pin above

This morning I listened to CSpan's Washington Journal. A guest by the name of Henrietta Fore, the U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator, was on regarding the Myanmar (Burma) relief efforts. She was on to discuss the efforts in Myanmar (also known as Burma) after a cyclone hit the region more than a week ago. She is also Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance. Here is the website

In case you live under a rock, cyclone Nargis tore through Burma leaving estimates of between 60,000 to 100,000 dead and possibly one million homeless. I was shocked at the number of callers that compared this disaster to Katrina and were against sending any aid to Burma. It was staggering. Some callers said that America's money should stay at home and help Americans. Some of them wanted to know what this agency did for Katrina victims.

I'm not advocating the agency, as I'm no expert on US relief efforts for third world countries, but I am saying that the tenor of these calls was selfish and sickening. Katrina was a horrible example of how America responds to tragedy, but to deny starving people a meal because one believes he or she got a bad deal is abominable. It's the "you didn't do anything for us, so we don't want to do anything for you" syndrome and it is frightening to know that there are people in America that feel this way.

Action Alert - Pass Around

From Reclusive Leftist

Voter Suppression in West Virginia happening NOW

I just got this on an email list:

Could you pass some info on to the rest of the callers that are calling into WV?

I’ve been talking with some people already on the ground in WV and the Obama camp is calling voters, NOT to get out the vote, but to ask for money - campaign donations. The gist of the call is that its not important that they vote, because the election is over, and then they ask for money to help put this primary campaign to an end and move on to the general election. Basically, they are telling voters its over. Then they ask for $400 donations. What the dollar amount is about, I don’t know. Perhaps they are just getting greedy.

Posted by Violet under Politics, Hillary on May 9, 2008, 7:13 pm EST

Shout it far and wide. This is war.

Election Coverage: Demand Substance NOT Sexism

Sign the NOW petition here

Obama Money Laundering

"Since the law firm had no relationship with Blackwell, running Obama's fees through the firm was false and fraudulent. Since Obama had nothing to do with the law firm's other clients, using a list of hundreds of unrelated clients to obscure that only one of those "clients" was paying him money was federal criminal mail fraud as well as a corruption of the ethics rules in Illinois. That Cynthia Canary tries to whitewash such blatant corruption shows that she has lost all sense of ethics".

Read it Here

One of my earlier posts will give you some background on this whole sordid affair. Obama for Sale

Dear Mr. Obama

May 8, 2008

Senator Barack Obama
Obama for America
P.O. Box 8102
Chicago, IL 60680

Dear Senator Obama,

This has been an historic and exciting campaign. Millions of new voters have been brought into the process and their enthusiasm for the Democratic Party and the principles for which you and I have fought and continue to fight is unprecedented.

One of the foremost principles of our party is that citizens be allowed to vote and that those votes be counted. That principle is not currently being applied to the nearly 2.5 million people who voted in primaries in Florida and Michigan. Whoever emerges as the Democratic nominee will be hamstrung in the general election if a fair and quick resolution is not reached that ensures that the voices of these voters are heard. Our commitment now to this goal could be the difference between winning and losing in November.

I have consistently said that the votes cast in Florida and Michigan in January should be counted. We cannot ignore the fact that the people in those states took the time to be a part of this process and to make their preferences known. When efforts were untaken by leaders in those states to hold revotes to ensure that they had a voice in selecting our nominee, I supported those efforts. In Michigan, I supported a legislative effort to hold a revote that the Democratic National Committee said was in complete compliance with the party’s rules. You did not support those efforts and your supporters in Michigan publically opposed them. In Florida a number of revote options were proposed. I am not aware of any that you supported. In 2000, the Republicans won an election by successfully opposing a fair counting of votes in Florida. As Democrats, we must reject any proposals that would do the same.

Your commitment to the voters of these states must be clearly stated and your support for a fair and quick resolution must be clearly demonstrated.

I am asking you to join me in working with representatives from Florida and Michigan and the Democratic National Committee to arrive at a solution that honors the votes of the millions of people who went to the polls in Florida and Michigan. It is not enough to simply seat their representatives at the convention in Denver. The people of these great states, like the people who have voted and are to vote in other states, must have a voice in selecting our party’s nominee.

Sincerely,

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Let's get going

Thursday: Make them earn it
Posted on May 8, 2008 by riverdaughter

Many of you Conflucians are starting to realize that the time to act is now, not after the primaries are over or when the nomination is set in stone. You have the power, right now, to turn this train wreck around. Here is the opportunity for Barack Obama to show his quality. If he really wants the nomination, he has to come to YOU and address YOUR needs. If isn’t your responsibility to give up YOUR hopes and dreams to quell the panic of a bunch of Obama supporters who are trying to shove Obama down our throats whether he’s good for the country or not. Are the Obama supporters more afraid of McCain or Hillary? Time to make a choice.

On Tuesday night, the DNC mouthpiece essentially disowned us, the “Old Coalition” for the newer, fresher, young, affluent and post partisan. But we’ve been told that we have to put aside our concerns about Obama’s electability and qualifications and vote for him anyway. We’re on a path to disaster in the fall when the media gloves come off and Obama’s lack of qualifications are exposed for all the world to see. And the American people will never trust the Democrats again for giving the country yet another weak candidate who is going to get crushed by the GOP machine.

Well, “now is the time for all good Conflucians to come to the aid of their party’ and help it avert this speeding train. We have to unite ourselves and tell the DNC that we are leaving if they don’t come to reason. Here’s what you can do:

1. If you live in a state that has already voted, re-register as an “unaffiliated” voter. Tear up your current voter’s registration card and mail it to the DNC with a little note to tell them that if they don’t resolve the FL and MI delegation issue immediately, they can not count on your vote now or in the future. Also, encourage them to push Hillary and Obama to form a joint ticket with Hillary on top as this is the only viable option for averting an electoral disaster in November. They created this rift in the party. It’s their responsibility to unify it. Not ours.
2. Have a news moratorium for the next two weeks. For the next week, turn off every network and cable news program and catch up on your gardening. Watch only C-Span. If you have TiVo or a DVR, the cable and satellite companies do disk diagnostics every night to determine what you’ve watched and they pass this info onto the networks for ad sales purposes. You will make an impact if you abstain for the next week.
3. Friday Fast: Save your breakfast, lunch and dinner money tomorrow and send it to Hillary. The Big Boyz have been very effective in discouraging people from donating and volunteering for her. If you send in $10 on Friday and everyone reading this does the same, we can help refill her coffers. Also, one day of fasting will give you presence of mind and remind you of what is so important here. There are millions of Americans who are one paycheck away from insolvency, who have to use a food pantry every month to feed their families and these people are going to get written off by the “new coalition”.
4. Volunteer for Hillary in West Virginia and Kentucky if you live in one of those states or one of the surrounding states. Hell, you don’t even need to do much. Just go there and stand at the side of the road with a sign. Let the country know that you aren’t going down without a fight.

Stop the speeding train.

Pass it around.

Note to Obama Supporters: You have a choice. If roe v wade is so important to you, if you dread 4 more years of Republican rule, you have an obligation to put you words into action and put the candidate most likely to beat McCain st the top of your ticket. It is not our obligation to continue to indulge you in your fantasy. We are backing the strongest candidate and if you continue to try to drag us down the road to destruction of our chances in November and our party, we are standing firm and will not join you. Savvy?
There are still three choices in this race. Choose wisely. It is not too late to seat MI and FL and save face.

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Politically Drunk On Power!: THE NEW AMERICAN DISENFRANCHISEMENT.

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