On Tuesday, the 19th of January, our little ol' state of Massachusetts will be holding a special election to replace the seat once held by Senator Ted Kennedy. Democrat Martha Coakley is in a tight battle with Republican Scott Brown. The thing is, this should've been an easy win for Coakley, but I honestly think someone was whispering in her ear that "it's in the bag" so she hadn't been doing much campaigning until the polls started tightening. Brown on the other hand has been pretty aggressive and has had money pumped into the state from outside sources. I will be shocked and dismayed if our state elects a Bush-clone to the seat once held by Kennedy.
To me, this is about so much more than the health care debate. Brown’s positions are actually lock-step with what Bush and Cheney did…tax cuts for the wealthy, protections for business, he’s against the fees Obama has proposed on big banks to get bailout money returned in entirety, health care for all as long as it’s done through private insurers, doesn’t care about the environment, etc… On gay marriage: "Marriage issues should be left up to the states, so long as they reflect the people’s will as expressed through them directly, or as expressed through their elected representatives.” In other words, keep letting the majority decide on the rights of a minority. He’s been endorsed by the hate group, MassResistance. I wonder what would’ve happened in 1967 if inter-racial marriage was put up for vote as a popularity contest? I’m a bit confused about his stance on abortion since it seems to change depending on his audience. At one point he stated: “While this decision should ultimately be made by the woman in consultation with her doctor, I believe we need to reduce the number of abortions in America. I believe government has the responsibility to regulate in this area and I support parental consent and notification requirements and I oppose partial birth abortion.” First, let me just say that I hate the term partial birth abortion, just as much as I resent being called pro-abortion. The anti-abortion crowd just keeps on coming out with terms to place fear in women. As a very pro-choice individual, I also recognize that late term abortions are no longer a clear cut decision between a woman and her doctor. At a certain point, you’ve taken on some responsibility whether you realize it or not. I’m not a believer that life starts at conception, rather at individual viability. That is when the decision becomes tricky since the woman has had several months to decide, life/health of the mother obviously excluded. However, Brown also sponsored an amendment to a 2005 bill on emergency contraception that would have let emergency room doctors or nurses turn away rape victims if they had religious objections to providing emergency contraception. Rape victims! They’ve already been violently victimized once and now they’re going to get victimized by the very people who are supposed to help them? My feeling has always been you need to leave your personal feelings at the door in any profession. If you can’t do your job every single day in every single way, you need to find another line of work. It’s as simple as that.
Here’s what I find somewhat interesting. In June of 1982, Scott Brown won Cosmopolitan’s “America’s Sexiest Man” contest and posed nude for the centerfold. Isn’t this the family values party? Didn’t fellow Tea-bagger Sarah Palin say her former, future son-in-law Levi Johnson was doing porn by posing in Playgirl? What’s the difference? Enquiring minds want to know. I’d also love to hear the roar if it was the Democrat who had done the nude layout. It would’ve been scandalous! What I think is mind-boggling is in their ongoing hypocrisy. Their defense is that it’s ok because he’s good looking! So what, Obama is too. The right wing went nuts over a photo just as old as this one, of Obama smoking a cigarette because of the message that it sends to the youth of America. Conservatives really are one dimensional cretins.
Today President Obama will arrive in Boston to help gin up the base to turn out on Tuesday. I’ve been getting robo-calls from Obama, Bill Clinton, Martha Coakley and sadly Scott Brown (I’d love a live call) who’s been endorsed and heavily funded by the Tea Party Express. I hope it’s not a question of too little, too late. Martha Coakley is not an exciting candidate by any stretch, but the alternative is not acceptable. What a sick twist in irony it will be when Houston, TX just elected a lesbian Mayor and liberal Massachusetts ends up with a Tea Bagger in the senate if this doesn’t go well. If that happens, I hope the Democrats find a strong candidate to run for the full term in 2012.
While I applaud Obama for deciding on a date to bring troops home from Afghanistan, I would have preferred there wasn’t an eighteen month escalation preceding it. Of course critics say that the only thing Obama’s 18 month plan does is create a month 19 plan for the terrorists. Well, maybe so, but realistically we can’t capture and kill them all so just how many more American lives need to be wasted as we stumble around looking for a clear path to a perceived victory? How many times in the last eight years has the mission been changed just to keep us there? Even though I never viewed Bush as a legitimate President, I supported his decision after 9/11 to go into Afghanistan with the mission to capture and/or kill Osama bin Laden. I wanted the man responsible for the attack on our country “dead or alive”. On March 13, 2002, the part-time resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue stated in regard to bin Laden, “I am truly not that concerned about him. I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority." That was just six months after the worse attack ever on US soil. Clearly, W’s heart wasn’t in it as he discovered they had no oil, so he shifted his attention to Iraq where he forced unfounded ties to Al Qaeda and the Taliban and used them to sell to congress and the American public the need of a pre-emptive war. Of course for the Bush administration, it was a financial windfall to keep the war going and capturing bin Laden was never a priority because it would have destroyed any way of justifying going into Iraq. Cheney’s lifetime ties to Halliburton and the millions he's made from them are rarely included in this sad story either. When Keith Olbermann or Rachel Maddow bring it up, they're assailed as enemies of "real" America. Who is the real enemy? U.S. Marines allegedly had bin Laden trapped in Tora Bora in December of 2001 and asked for additional support. A decision to not deploy those requested American forces to go after him or block his escape was made by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and his top commander, Gen. Tommy Franks. Why would they do that if not to prolong the war and start another one? How many American lives could have been saved.
Wednesday night on The Rachel Maddow Show, Rachel was joined by our U.N. ambassador, Susan Rice. The two had a very respectful back and forth as Rachel believes there’s an undeclared war in Pakistan while Rice denies that is the case and explains the differences in our Middle East involvements. It’s informative to watch two adults talk about U.S. policy. The two parts are about 23 minutes combined:
This interview should be enlightening for those of us truly trying to understand our mission and goals. Unfortunately, we have an electorate that, for the most part, has no real intellectual curiosity and in fact dislikes anyone who does. Surely, 23 minutes of two smart women (gasp) talking about military strategy can not be taken seriously by the "right". They see this type of discussion reserved for conservative white males only and it wouldn't have taken 23 minutes, just six words, "bomb the hell out of them." They much prefer the primal instinct of war over a well reasoned peaceful policy discussion and decision. In their eyes, "fight makes right" and anyone who disagrees is viewed as a traitor or weak. These people agreed with McCain and his 100 year war idea. Most of our low information voters rely on “key” words/topics like; liberal, socialist, fascist, czar, Marxist, Nazi, Hitler along with Kenyan, ACORN, abortion, same-sex marriage, etc…to get them fired up -- no thought needed. These words are delivered on a nightly basis from Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity on Fox and Rush Limbaugh on the radio. The fact that their listeners/viewers repeat these words after hearing them on these shows even though many of the terms are contradictory certainly doesn’t deter them, that’s for sure! They applaud the untrained, unsophisticated views of their hero's. The only one in that group who completed what he started is O'Reilly (Marist College). The people that hang on to their every word, despise Maddow (Stanford & Oxford), Olbermann (Cornell), Ed Schultz (Minnesota State) and Thom Hartmann (Michigan State). I'm not sure when having an education became a bad thing in this country. Except for the occasionally bombastic Schultz, have you also noticed that our commentators have a much calmer demeanor? I'm also not buying that being a "liberal" is the profanity that conservatives have turned it into. By definition, we favor progress and reform, the protection of civil liberties. Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded. Those aren't bad things!
Anyhow...
Obviously President Obama has more information about the situation than we do, but I’d love to see our service members come home. I'm just not sure that the goals that Susan Rice explained are realistic. These wars have done nothing positive for our country and there’s so much more we need to focus on. I did not vote for Obama to follow in Bush's footsteps in any manner, including Iraq and Afghanistan. We live in a world of microwave ovens and high-speed internet so we’ve grown accustomed to wanting everything now…if not sooner! Besides the war, President Obama is being criticized a lot for not accomplishing anything in his first year because we can’t see sure evidence. The stimulus appears to be working, yet because unemployment didn’t immediately fall to 5%, conservatives call it a failure. The health care impasse has been caused by "just say no" Republicans and conservative Democrats. Granted, Obama should take a more active role, but with the eight year mess he was handed, there remains only so many hours in a day. George W. Bush was most likely the worst leader (I won’t call him Prez) this country has ever had and his legacy is quite possibly going to destroy Obama’s as well unless giant steps are taken. I think one of the things that has caught him off guard is there is no longer a "no drama Obama." Everything he does is getting ridiculed and scrutinized by the right in ways that they weren't totally prepared for, so they've taken some heat. He came out of the gate strong with broadening stem cell research and passing the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. He appeared to be a strong, quiet, no frills Commander-in-chief when he ordered the Navy Seals to kill three Somali pirates who were holding an American cargo ship captain hostage. Then the health care debate began, Sarah Palin spoke of death panels, the crazed fringe took over informational town hall meetings and all the wonderful momentum and hope we had for this young President came to a screeching halt. I hope he can clean up most of the damage before the 2010 elections. While I don't think the Democrats will lose the majority in the House, it may no longer be a strong majority.
Sarah Palin Update: Since my last post was on Thanksgiving, I wasn't yet aware of The Turkey Trot To Nowhere. Evidently Sarah agreed to run the 5k Kennewick “Turkey Trot.” But she quit 40 minutes in! She wanted to avoid the adoring masses at the finish line. The article is linked above from "The Mudflats." It appears that the infamous Palin bus tour is a hoax. Joe McGinniss reports she's in fact flying around America on a private jet, specifically a luxurious "Gulfstream II 12-passenger jet rented from Universal Jet Aviation of Boca Raton, Florida, at a cost of more than $4,000 per hour." Yes indeed, her fans say she's "just like them!" In addition, camera's and recording devices are being banned from her book signing stops, BUT for a fee, you can get a photo taken of yourself with the former Alaska Governor for the following size/prices: 5x7 $15.99, 8x10 $20.99, 8x12 $23.99, 11x14 $35.99. Has any of her "fans" figured out yet that she's just in this for the money? Speaking of the former Governor, the Minnesota Mall of America announces she wants to be called Governor and wants only English speaking press when she appears there. Why should they call her Governor? Honestly, the way her gaffe filled book signing tour is going, you'd think she'd ban English speaking press so her never ending flow of ignorance wouldn't be reported daily!
Palin has also called on President Obama to boycott the Copenhagen climate conference since she feels the hacked emails from the the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England prove that man-made climate change is a hoax.
"Policy decisions require real science and real solutions, not junk science and doomsday scare tactics pushed by an environmental priesthood that capitalizes on the public's worry and makes them feel that owning an SUV is a 'sin' against the planet."
In some ways Palin's sudden enthusiasm for science comes as a surprise, since she has suggested evolution is not real and wants creationism taught in schools. Then again this gives her the chance to once again recite "Drill baby, drill."
Quick Thoughts: On the Tiger Woods' ongoing saga: You know, the story seemed pretty conflicted right from the start, and has unfolded exactly as I expected it too, including my vision of the night in question and how the window of the Escalade was smashed. I am the last person who will condone any form of domestic violence, but as more and more information comes out, don’t you get the feeling that he probably wishes he just stayed in the house and took the beating?...On Thursday, Republican Senators David Vitter (R-La.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla) introduced the gimmick filled "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act". "The idea, broad-brush, is that whatever government option is in the bill, every senator and every representative should be enrolled in it," Vitter told 'The Hill'. "No other possibilities, no other choices." "It's called leadership," Coburn said. "If it's good enough for everybody else, we ought to be leading by example." Funny thing happened though, Democrats called their bluff. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) who tried to become a co-sponsor and was given the cold shouldar, was joined by Sens. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), and Al Franken (D-Minn.) in support. These are the kind of Democrats we need -- one’s with a spine! I like Sherrod Brown a little more every time I see him. ...You will love thisheadline: "Arlington, Tennessee Mayor Russell Wiseman Assails 'Muslim President' For Pre-Empting 'Peanuts": Seriously, this guy believes that President Barack Obama's West Point address, in which he announced his intention to escalate the war in Afghanistan, was intentionally timed to prevent Christians from watching Charlie Brown, stating, “Ok, so, this is total crap, we sit the kids down to watch 'The Charlie Brown Christmas Special' and our muslim [sic] president is there, what a load.....try to convince me that wasn't done on purpose”: The Peanuts Christmas show? Really? Now I could see if it was Rudolph or Frosty, but...These conservative fools weren’t embarrassed by eight years of a court appointed corrupt Presidency with the Bush-Cheney Regime, but they still can’t get over the fact that the young, black Hawaiian (yes Republicans, it was a state in 1961) won. Southerners get upset that they're perceived as uneducated, but they keep electing people like this. In fact, they should be embarrassed that people like Wiseman (ironic, isn't it?) continue to pop up on television and other media and make every southern stereotype be proven true. Snarky comment of the week from Huffington Post commentator MCISMetal: "I can't comment on the Kyoto Accord as I've only ever seen the Honda" - Sarah Palin
In case you missed it... News of the "get a life -- and a new iron": Nov. 27 METHUEN, Mass. (AP) -- A Massachusetts woman who recently separated from her husband and had her hours cut at work says an image of Jesus Christ she sees on her iron has reassured her that "life is going to be good." Mary Jo Coady first noticed the image Sunday when she walked into her daughter's room. The brownish residue on the bottom of the iron looks like the face of a man with long hair. The 44-year-old Coady was raised Catholic. She and her two college-age daughters agree that the image looks like Jesus and is proof that "he's listening." Coady tells The Eagle-Tribune she hopes her story will inspire others during the holidays. She says she plans to keep the iron in a closet and buy a new one.
The "image of Jesus" that she sees has only reassured me that what's going to be good in her life is not burning down her house. The good news is she's going to put it in the closet and buy a new one. Since it looks like it's very old and well used, this is a good call...although I'll be expecting it to be up for bid on Ebay!
UPDATE 12/6/09: Just did a quick search on Ebay and there already is an iron with Jesus alleged image listed! The reasonable seller zinsanemods (amazingly the same person also has an Ozzy Osbourne iron - what are the odds?!) has allowed a $3000 Buy It Now.
An American Fable - 17 November 2009
With the release of theocrat Sarah Palin's ghost written book Tuesday, and the sheer excitement from the right, it has made me think about the differences in how liberals versus conservatives value women. Liberals view women as an equal part of society. Conservatives think women are baby making machines destined to be subservient to men. Look at the women the left appreciates compared to the right; On the left we admire MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. On the right, they adore unemployed serial quitter Sarah Palin, unemployed breast implant recipient Carrie Prejean, and fictional writer Ann Coulter(?). Why does the left respect their women? Maddow was a Rhodes Scholar who earned a PhD from Oxford in Political Science, Pelosi is the first female Speaker of the House and Schultz easily won re-election last November while quietly fighting breast cancer. Why does the right enjoy their women? Palin despises women and once won a beauty contest, Prejean despises gays and once won a beauty contest, and Coulter despises liberals and wishes he won a beauty contest. It feels like the country is really at a crossroads. Conservatives want to go back to the days when men were men and women knew their place. They want Christianity taught in schools to force their beliefs on all children. Liberals want to move forward when men can love men and women know their place is as Speaker of the House. Liberals believe your spirituality should remain a private matter, to be taught freely within one’s own home if so desired. The discrepancy between the left and the right is obvious. The left is methodical, open minded, very accepting of equality, change and look forward to the future without fear. The right are reactionary, afraid of change, feel aversion against anything that doesn't look or act like them, clinging to the status quo (and guns & religion) while looking back wistfully at the past. As a progressive woman, I can not relate to people like Palin. How can any woman, especially one with daughters punish a woman who's been the victim of rape? In just one example of her leadership, as Mayor of Wasilla, she directly shifted the cost of the rape kits from the police department to the victims. Sarah Palin represents everything opposite of what I believe in. The fact that blow up dolls with her likeness were being manufactured during the election, and possibly still are, told me all I needed to know about why men were voting for her, but the women? I'm still confused. Some women who supported Hillary Rodham Clinton instead of Barack Obama actually switched alliances to Palin which sickened me. I'm sorry, I hope a day comes when I see a woman President elected, but I will not vote for any candidate without regard to their politics just because they urinate while sitting. That's irresponsible, ignorant and a whole new type of profiling.
Fact Checks - Oh My!
Immediately upon release of her book Tuesday, Facebook politician Palin started complaining about the AP doing fact checks on her book.
"Imagine that," she declared, "11 AP reporters dedicating time and resources to tearing up the book, instead of using the time and resources to 'fact check' what's going on with Sheik Mohammed's trial, Pelosi's health care takeover costs, Hasan's associations, etc. Amazing.”
I guess Sarah doesn’t realize that the AP employs over 4100 journalists. So instead of setting the record straight and clearing up any “misinformation”, she chose deflection and her dedicated supporters never even noticed that she didn’t dispute that the book is full of lies, just that she was incensed that it was being reported! Palin relies on the fact that her fans unwavering worship isn’t based on intellectual capacity, it’s based on the presentation. She is going to make a lot of money while laughing behind the backs of her most ardent supporters. Furthermore, if she wrote a truthful memoir, why would she care about a fact check being done? In fact, it’s not just the AP; the McCain campaign staff has virtually and unanimously stated that the book is a complete work of fiction. In fact, former McCain campaign senior adviser Nicolle Wallace told “The Rachel Maddow Show” that Sarah Palin's book "Going Rogue is "based on fabrications," and that the basis for Palin’s depictions of her and former McCain campaign director Steve Schmidt as villains "took place entirely in her imagination.” My take from the excerpts I’ve read, the interviews she’s done and the statements from everyone not Palin is that the ghost written book is how she wants the public to remember her version of what happened/didn’t happen, not as they actually happened. And gosh darn it, if it’s printed, it must be true. I laughed out loud when I read that she did the Katie Couric interviews out of sympathy for supposedly low self esteem Katie. I was never a Couric fan until those interviews, but she’s been on the “tv machine” for a very long time. Sarah, not so much…although it feels like it. I will say though, her fans…they don’t get any more loyal. The fact that the woman is being defended by her followers as if she parted the sea is a true phenomenon of the human condition. I really want to know what she’s done to deserve this admiration. Obama was beat up for his ties to Pastor Jeremiah Wright, but Palin got a free ride over a visitor from Kiambu, Kenya (ironic isn’t it?) named Thomas Muthee. Muthee's popularity took him to Wasilla Assembly of God in May, 2005, where he prayed over Palin and called upon Jesus to propel her into the governor's mansion and beyond. Muthee also begged Jesus to protect Palin from "the spirit of witchcraft." Can you even imagine if Obama had even been in a building with this taking place?! Palin Gets Protection From Witches (Palin "prayer" at about 7:00)
Future...and Past, Unknown
The fact that this woman attended 5 different colleges to get a degree makes me think that she had to move on to easier schools each time. The conservative base thinks that, that means, she’s really, really smart! And considering she got her degree in journalism, you’d think she could have written her own book! Instead she chose to tell her fable to far right Evangelical Lynn Vincent to spin the book towards Palin's favor. I challenge any of the Palinites to explain any policy that Palin has spoke of with authority. I mean policy, not opinion. We know how she feels about Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers, ACORN, that she’s wants to rule the country with Christianity, she hates gays and thinks women are second class citizens. I dare any of her cult followers to tell me where she stands on issues of national security, world policies, how to improve trade equality, how to create jobs, etc… She has NO ideas and no clue. Conservatives have deemed anyone with an education, an "elitist". When did being educated become a bad thing? If Palin ever did get into the White House, make no mistake, the likes of Karl Rove and Dick Cheney would be running the show with their “pretty little thing” keeping a low profile. Conservative leadership has mastered mass manipulation and discourages individual thought. It seems that if conservatives hear something enough times, it becomes the truth (fair and balanced, fair and balanced). The leadership feels that by keeping the electorate ignorant, excessively reporting distortions of truth from the "left", they will thrive and return to power since undereducated voters are very primal in their beliefs. This is why educating young people is so important. They need to be able to assess a situation themselves instead of being brainwashed by a certain network that only Republicans and conservatives are good Americans. Other countries are racing past us in every facet of life, we must not elect politicians based on false fears or a candidate's alleged "hotness", nor let religion dictate our future or we are doomed to failure. This particular candidate falls into every single one of those categories. We need to think about policy!
Backlash from the Queendom!
I thought I was done writing for this week, but the former Miss Wasilla didn’t let me down! Twittering quitter Palin left a Noblesville, Indiana book signing with many angry (ex)fans who stood outside in a cold rain for several hours to meet their idol. In what shouldn’t have been a surprise, Palin got tired and quit, disappointing hundreds that spent about 3 hours getting wristbands and another 3 hours waiting in line to get their book signed. Some people took the day off from work and walked away empty handed! Borders bookstore had announced that they would give out 1,000 wristbands (1 per book, 2 maximum per person) which would guarantee them getting their books signed and many didn’t even get one signed. The cold, wet, angry crown gathered outside the nice warm tour bus that Palin retreated to, chanting "Sign Our Books! Sign Our Books!" They also shouted "Quitting on the job! Quitting on the job”. This is one way to anger and lose your base. If she can't run a book tour, how can she run a country? I'm sure by Sunday, it will be someone else's fault.
Quick Thoughts: In the spirit of my usual article ender, I thought I’d share some of Huffington Post’s unofficial “Going Rogue” index (because Palin’s book was literally rushed out without one) along with my take, since anybody reading my blog isn’t any more likely to read this dollar store drivel than I am. Here's a few examples: 4 pages (384-388) dedicated to common sense conservatives which I would say is an oxymoron; 10 pages dedicated to smearing Couric (255-256, 271-279), psst Sarah, we have video now and you can keep it on file to view repeatedly!; Creationism vs. evolution (217-219), You betcha The Flinstones were based on a real life family; Debate preparation (281-289) Why prepare when you “weren’t necessarily going to answer the questions asked”?; Election night speech and faceoff with McCain camp (332-337) No VP loser has ever been allowed to speak, but then again, SHE was the reason people voted for that ticket; Ethics attacks, loss of reputation (372-375), that bias liberal media found out what she did and that just wasn’t right. Only Democrats are to be investigated; Getting a D in college once (112), Just once? Really?; Charlie Gibson interview: (270-271) In what regard Charlie? And also too, how was she actually supposed to know what the Bush Doctrine was therefore?; Joe the Plumber, Tito the Builder (305-308) What?! No Rosie the Riveter?; Lobbyist who gave rides to Willow and her basketball team (137) Nothing good can come of me commenting; Obama's mistakes (388-394) 6 pages, 10 months in. Dubyas mistakes would require another book; Pregnant and the birth of Track (50-54)-Track, almost naming him "Zamboni"(53). Early on I joked that she chose her kids' names out of a “snow machine” parts catalog. Who's buying the first round?; Trig, pregnancy results - "Holy geez!"(171-174), Is that folksy enough for you?; Trig, water breaking and delivery (191-196) Everybody knows the best thing to do is get on a 3000 mile, 8 hour plane ride when your water breaks so you can call the kid a native Alaskan.
Take a deep breathe, count your blessings and keep in mind that this woman was 8,538,559 popular votes away from becoming the Vice President to a 72 year old, three time cancer survivor!
Have a great week and keep looking forward!
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