Pink Liberty

The Right to Life Begins at Birth

2012-01-17T22:14:00.000-08:00

On February 5th, Randal Terry will be putting pictures of aborted fetuses, arranged in morbid tableus, on prime-time television.

In his portraits of the unborn, he doesn't discuss the women who bore those fetuses; he does not tell us if the abortions happened because a woman was poor, a woman was raped, a woman already had five children, a woman was not capable of bearing a child, or a woman was dying. The physical and legal reality that exists between a woman and what's inside her womb, and her family, doesn't matter to him. Or anyone who is willing to compare a fetus to a Holocaust victim.

When I was a child in the 1980s my preacher father vehemently defended a woman's right to legal abortion within our church and within our community. He deeply understood with compassion that women do not always control how they get pregnant, and that they and their families bear the moral choice to continue or, very tragically, end a pregnancy. He and other ministers exchanged impassioned letters arguing both sides of the issue. As a child I observed what often gets ignored: those arguing to outlaw abortion rarely considered the liberties or life of a pregnant woman. Their compassion stops outside the womb.

Citibank and the 1%

2011-11-14T11:25:00.000-08:00

I dressed in my best coat and went to Citibank. It is in my wealthy neighborhood, well, at least the neighborhood directly south of us has many 1%ers. I went to transfer my measly $2000 IRA CD to another bank. My husband has more savings, and we have good life insurance. But because I've been a stay-at-home mom for years, and had part-time jobs for a decade before that, I'm lucky to have $2000 for retirement! My Social Security future securities have been decimated because Americans MUST be on a PAYROLL to accumulate even the measliest individual retirement security!!

The Citibank employee sat with me and gave me a lot of information, but could not do one blimmin' thing to help me make this transfer. Momentarily I actually have to make a call to a Citibank 800 number TODAY to make sure there aren't any IRS charges applied to my transfer--a call the bank employee could not make on my behalf.

I said, "What's the point of a branch office if employees can't do things like this?"

No response, instead she asked, "Why are you transferring the IRA to another bank?"

I said, "Well, at the new bank I can actually trade the funds myself. I can control the investments and it's not locked up."

And she said, "You can do that here! Over here in our 'Wealth Management' corner, we have people who can help you invest, there's no charge for their advice!"

I said, "Oh, I did not know that."

Then her, "How much are you transferring?"

I said, "Oh it's not a lot, about $2,000."

And her response was, "Oh, well, they really only work with people who are investing large amounts of cash..."

So I said, "Oh, I guess we're not rich enough! Okay, thanks anyway."

And I think she knew at that point that I would never be back.

And I think $2000 can help a lot of women's small businesses and sustainable farmers, so I hope I can invest in those kind of things!

Islamophobes

2011-08-31T10:02:00.000-07:00

I've been debating some Islamophobic bloggers (although one I saw shakes off that label because it describes "irrational" fear and he thinks his hate is justified...but I digress).

They take the Koran (Quran?) literally (and it basically allows the same horrific elements that some parts of the bible does: murder, slavery, rape, incest, etc.) and they believe it is a world-domination plan for every Muslim.

They interpret world history as a power play by Muslim Arabs to dominate the Western world (citing massacres in India and Turkey). And they think that everyone is controlled by the Saudis.

I must admit, our relationship with the Saudis freaks me out. But if the Saudi's didn't have oil, would we have any reason to have a relationship?? Really?

Sat Sept 3
Op Ed today in New York Times from a faculty member at Yale calling out right-wing legislation against "Sharia Law." I sent him an e-mail thanking him, asking if he knows of any religious groups integrating Muslims successfully, and warning/or recognizing that he's about to be abused by the Muslim-haters.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/03/opinion/dont-fear-islamic-law-in-america.html?src=tp&smid=fb-share

Conservatives are turning any expression of Muslim religion into Jihad

2011-08-29T19:09:00.001-07:00

If anyone is interested, I'm trying to stay reasonable with these guys, but it's hard. There's just so much desire to fear, to hate, to spread it...

Ron Paul and Chris Christy

2011-08-29T11:49:00.000-07:00

I asked a Ron Paul supporter on Facebook to explain/defend/articulate his position against the mere existence of the Fed. Chirp. Here is Mr. Paul discussing hurricane aid: http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/ron-paul-thinks-hurricane-aid-wasteful-tout

I give kudos to Chris Christy for calling all the hype about "Sharia Law" what it is, crazy BS!!! Kudos to rational Republicans!

Have you read that book about Godless liberals?

2011-08-28T22:02:00.000-07:00

I hate to admit this, but I want to read that Ann Coulter trash (I won't BUY it, I'll get it from the library) unless you've found someone who has taken that perspective and exposed her, the Republican policies, the legislation against labor, the poor, children, etc.?

This is fun (I have to re-read one or two of his points!): http://www.theliberal.co.uk/hitchens.htm

Manchurian Transnational Oil Candidate or Weak-kneed corporatist?

2011-08-27T10:21:00.000-07:00

My blogging friends, I'm sorry to have been out of the loop. I value your opinions a lot, and your wise analysis would have forced me to give up on Obama a long time ago. Alas, I am late and feel foolish for trusting him for so long.

Last night Schmog and I both admitted that Obama has lost our support. Schmog dumped him when he refused to use the leverage of the debt ceiling (which Republicans actually WANTED to raise) to raise revenue from the rich. Obama never called their bluff. He should have used the debt ceiling as leverage, instead of leaving it to the tea party! So, tactically now, he wins if the Republicans do nothing and taxes get raised, but if Obama wants to pass, say, a jobs bill, or ANYTHING at all, the Republican, hell, the "bi-partisan" congress will attach "keep the Bush tax cuts" to any legislation. And just like in December, Obama will "be forced to pass it."

So, continuing to predict the future of our predicament. Obama has lost me because he is about to allow the dirty oil from the 2nd largest pit of carbon in the world (in Canada) to be rerouted from an existing pipeline, to an inexplicably needed new one that now has to be built under organic farmland in the Midwest (from 4' to 25" deep under rivers...) by a transnational oil company (hated by it's own country) to refineries in Texas. The press reports that this will create 100's of thousands of jobs, or 10's of thousands of jobs, according to this company, depending on which press report I read. Really? More oil jobs? Oh yeah, and Canada is creating a new method of tar pit oil extraction which will cause less harm to the environment (and I'm about to create some magic beans...).

Now I come to you to help me forge a new path of hope for our nation's future. And today, all I can foresee is either a Perry/Palin presidency, or four more years of "capitulating" (wink, wink) Obama.

Is there another way? The Democratic PARTY will nominate Obama and try to kill any challengers. The Republicans will win if progressive parties run a third candidate. But what if we "the disgusted people" ran a candidate that equally challenged both the Democrats and the Republicans?

Who would that be?

What one or two people in this country could lead both liberals (civil rights) and conservatives (religion) and independents (libertarians)?

Can you name some names?

Not that I'm ruling them out, but here's why I think these guys DO NOT work:
Ron Paul (loses civil rights supporters)
Elliot Spitzer (loses religious right supporters)
Sen. Bernie Sanders (calls himself a Socialist--loses the socialist-denying masses)

I'm back. F!@#@ Obama (unless he nukes the XXL Pipeline and the Banks)

2011-08-26T21:23:00.001-07:00

Amazon sucks

2011-07-01T08:08:00.000-07:00

If Amazon is going to kick California businesses to the curb for paying state taxes, then I'm going to kick Amazon to the curb for continuing our civic race to the bottom. What? They don't have the tech savvy to incorporate a state tax? Bollocks!! They are taking an ideological position that business owes nothing to society.

Asleep

2011-06-12T17:29:00.000-07:00

New Painting (-:

Asleep
2011
Watercolor on Paper

Palin dissing the press she needs in the "Lower 48"

2011-06-01T08:36:00.000-07:00

Just considering Palin's frequency in calling the media "lazy" and not giving them "handouts" like a schedule of events. I find this interesting name-calling considering every Alaskan still receives a state "handout" from the government-run Alaska Permanent Fund every year (taken by the state from oil profits), and most Alaskan families who moved there before 1986 received their land for FREE (by no means were they lazy), through the federal Homestead Act--including a neighbor of mine back then. Perhaps the media can say, "We're rubber, you're glue..."

Having fun with Wall Street Journal Comments!

2011-05-24T12:47:00.000-07:00

This was fun, following up Wall Street readers that are trying to blame Obama for slowly climbing out of the economy Bush trashed and lied about, even accusing Obama of only helping his friends! Following Boehner's tweets brought me to the article below.

The Election of 2012 will be NOTHING like what has come before.

"The-obama-slowdown"

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/may/23/the-obama-slowdown/

"And how does this compare to Bush and Wal Street getting us into this outrageous ditch to begin with? Jobs? Now we are finally getting back to work after 30 years of Republicans shipping our jobs to Mexico, China and India. But we still need our corporations to pay a decent wage, instead of paying half of what they used to. Look in the mirror, rich, international business, not at Obama. Don't think you're patriotic if you're your tax responsibilities lie on a foreign isle!! "

Gingrich reveals the truth of GOP hypocrisy regarding Health Insurance!!!

2011-05-24T09:53:00.000-07:00

Obama insists on investigating those who TORTURED!

2011-05-05T19:38:00.000-07:00

Ya know, I just realized that Fox News is a good source to see what Obama is doing that UPSETS the right wing!!

I wouldn't believe it about Liberals.

2011-05-02T18:56:00.000-07:00

Okay, there are very few times (I hope) that I see the world in black and white. I have a painting of a green circle called "and," and a painting called "or" and it's a black and white square. But today I'm rarely in the black box of "or"

We can blame ourselves for 9-11, or we can blame the guy who joyfully took credit for killing 3,000 people.

We could let bin Laden live in peace, or we could have tried to arrest him.

We can imagine that we should have arrested and tried bin Laden, or we can understand that this religious nut was never going to raise a white flag.

We can hope that such a dramatic defeat of the Master of Terrorism will give stateside peace to more people in the world, or we can dwell on the fact that violence sucks and complain that we haven't yet figured out how to live without weapons of destruction.

Isn't all the "if only it were a better world" ALWAYS obvious?

Okay, I hate violence, I hate guns, I hate intolerance, and I hate military solutions; but I'm f-ing glad when the good guy fighting the criminal has a GUN. Period.

Next mission? Wall Street, K Street...

One Nation

2011-05-02T16:21:00.001-07:00

One Nation, a set on Flickr.

Who said it? Osama bin Laden OR, Rush, Hannity, Newt, etc!!!!!!!

2011-05-02T13:00:00.001-07:00

So did Socialism kill Osama?! Who said this? Bin Laden or Rush Limbaugh?! “So I shamelessly say no, I want him [U.S. President Obama] to fail, if his agenda is a far-left collectivism, some people say socialism, as a conservative heartfelt, deeply, why would I want socialism to succeed?”
– Rush Limbaugh in an interview with Sean Hannity, January 21, 2009 (7:17 into video)

Who are OUR oligarchs, OUR TALIBAN???

Will this shut them up?

We win!!!!!

2011-05-02T10:40:00.000-07:00

AMEN!!!!!!

2011-05-01T21:57:00.000-07:00

Promises kept.

Republicans oppose welfare for people, but not corporations

2011-04-06T10:22:00.000-07:00

I heard Rep. Ryan say today that government is meant to "encourage" not "support" people. Our rights, he said, don't come from government, they come from nature and G-d (thrilling, isn't that?). According to him, being on Medicare and using OUR social security is equivalent to being on "welfare" from cradle to grave. This guy has a screw loose.

How progressives can outline the importance of government:

The Failure of antigovernment conservatism
http://prospect.org/cs/articles?article=the_failure_of_antigovernment_conservatism

No more sacrifices for us, no BALANCE

2011-04-05T20:41:00.000-07:00

President Obama, I WANT you to point fingers of blame. I WANT you to pick a side. I WANT you to stand up to the forces of evil that are trying to dismantle every force of good in this country and every last corrupt politician who does not represent the ordinary workers in this country.

For I will cease to believe there are differences in you and those politicians until you focus on those differences in stark detail.

No games, just straight talk about who represents who.

No balance, no shared sacrifice; ordinary people fund this government, and we need representation in Washington.

Truth and reality

2011-04-05T12:19:00.000-07:00

My gut wants Obama to be President so that he can protect women's rights in America--there is NO other option; but I am so disappointed about his inability to change Wall Street. I have no basis for this hope, but if anyone is going to change it, it could be him in a second term. I know, it's foolhardy and childlike in it's logic...

Silver spoon spawn

2011-04-05T10:56:00.000-07:00

I followed a link to a Wall St Journal video criticizing Obama's energy speech (one I would call unenthusiastically practical and business as usual), but wow, that's not the opinion of Dartmouth's recent all-in conservative talking points graduate...who found it "incoherent."

http://online.wsj.com/video/opinion-journal-the-energizer/8C8EF69D-0F6D-449B-B14F-2FF10B3233B9.html

I couldn't believe J. Rago is a "senior" writer at the WSJ. He just spews talking points, and ooo, surprise, the oil industry has the better argument? And why do electric cars make gas prices go up?? Funny, really, because I happen to know that some business leaders (e.g. Mr. Newscorp) actually implements that "blue sky" stuff with his own employees.

Wow...insular conservative Dartmouth graduates are bad news!!!

REVOLUTION! Red, White and Blue

2011-03-31T11:50:00.000-07:00

Ya know, the American flag has been used as such a patriotic supremacy weapon by the right wing, so much so that many people on the left used to feel that it was a symbol of bullying nationalism.

But today, for this leftist, the American flag symbolizes those Americans who want to bring equity to our nation. Those Americans who realize we need a revolution to restore prosperity to our communities and culture. Those Americans who put American lives before money. Those Americans who think American companies should pay American taxes.

Dissecting the babble around Libya

2011-03-29T10:14:00.000-07:00

Obama has said all along that he and NATO want to remove Gadafi, there’s no hiding that. Both Clinton and Obama, and the military, have admitted that this isn’t just humanitarian, it’s in NATO’s interest and our interest for Middle East stability. We failed in Somalia, so we avoid ground wars in the Ivory Coast, et al. Yes, we are making a difference when we CAN. The other option is isolationism and not making a difference at all.

Destroying Gadafi’s military is both practical and moral when he was about to kill thousands of people with the machines NATO sold him!!! Other dictators are working with us to find enemies of our country, so we’re not bombing them (and anyway, do we really want to bomb every leader that sucks?)

I think the hard left imagined a dove and ignored (or never supported) the hawk that is Obama (and Clinton, by G-d). And they are pissed, rightfully, at our bloated military spending compared to our social spending. Yeah, that sucks, but it doesn’t make our actions in Libya unjust, and I’m actually relieved that the military had a slush fund to join NATO to bring justice to some Muslims. That’s very important, I think, to strengthen peace within the Muslim world.

So I find it hard to stomach people on the left advocating that we shouldn’t have intervened here because we aren’t intervening in the Ivory Coast, and that we can’t afford any of it. This is exactly the same position as people on the right who don’t give a flop about humanitarian issues. How can they all ignore a chance to stop a massacre?

So the right (and left) are rightfully complaining that Obama should have had a debate in the House, yet every House member is untied to this action and is willing to take whatever position in the winds on this issue. But only the left really consistently demands this Constitutional process. Many on the right want and would defend the commander in chief acting unilaterally whenever he f-ing wants to bomb somebody–just not when the CIC is a Democrat. During the campaign, Obama and Clinton joined all the right wing candidates reassuring America that each had the ability to start bombing on a moment’s notice! MOST Americans wanted that comfort and now act angry that he used the power they want! COME ON!

Obama is making good decisions (except for violating the Constitutional process–but that’s arguable too) and he’s using our military wisely, and NO ONE can predict or plan for all the “WHAT IFS.” That’s a hollow criticism. The other argument on the right is that we should not be a contributing member of NATO. They code this in comments like, "This is what England and France wanted, are we their lap dog?" sort of thing. They really think we don’t need allies and we’ll still have influence in the world?? Illogical, irrational, unobservant, frustrating nonsense!

The Wrath of Fools

2011-01-10T17:17:00.001-08:00

Professional Climate Deniers

2010-11-08T09:43:00.001-08:00

Okay Net Roots,

Are all these scientists paid off by the oil industry or what? I'll do some research on them, but I'm a bit stunned by this web site.

Thanks,
Urban Pink

Someone on TPM said 6 men own over 60% of U.S. GDP (I haven't found anything to prove that yet), but it also looks like 6 scientists (are they all scientists?) are responsible for climate denying based on irrelevant data.

Research:

Mr. Corbyn
A U.K. astronomist and former squatter that claims to predict the weather 11 months ahead with what appears to be the accuracy of flipping a coin. Owns a privately owned weather forecasting company and "Clients include gas and electricity companies..."
http://omniclimate.wordpress.com/2008/01/23/corbyn-admits-being-wrong/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/1999/nov/24/14

What's the best way to send Obama a message?

2010-11-05T10:22:00.001-07:00

Kick Republican butt and don't keep selling us out to the rich! Propose a huge JOBS BILL and MIDDLE CLASS TAX CUT and take it to the matt.

Who supports Nancy Pelosi?

2010-11-05T10:20:00.000-07:00

ME! And every fighting Democrat for every American patriot.

Are, or were, vaccines the left's climate denial?

2010-10-15T19:26:00.000-07:00

I can't say I wasn't ever scared of the stories surrounding vaccines when faced with sticking needles in my first baby. I spoke to a lot of people who worked with Autistic children who were convinced that vaccines were NOT the cause, and I'm there too now. I also consulted my guru Andrew Weil who recommended it, and felt gratified and awed when I watched what vaccines used to be like in the John Adams series. UGH!

In an attempt to put my chidren less at risk, I spaced out their vaccines and asked about Mercury (most of which was removed by 2003, I believe). It did show up last year in the flu vaccine! But I couldn't help but wonder the game of deadly roulette the people who I knew who didn't vaccine were playing. How would or could they insulate their children from the diseases of our global world? Especially in a major city like L.A.? Their sheltered kids would go to school with protected kids who could bring germs from anywhere. I would bet a lot of home school parents didn't vaccinate their kids...and perhaps they will get vaccinated now.

For me, the anti-vaccine movement was the left extremist belief in risks we could not prove, but we knew the greater risks--grounded in history. So the left believed in an unproven risk (a major disease caused by vaccines), and the right denies a proven one (global warming). They don't seem to have the same deadly weight, but sometimes they can.

Hypocrisy

2010-09-02T20:06:00.000-07:00

Seems to be the word of the week for Democrats about Democrats. It's often being used simply because people had expectations for Obama to do things that he never actually promised (single payer, an end to all American wars). Since he has not fulfilled these fantasies (he never promised single payer, only hoped for it knowing it was unrealistic, and he clearly stated that he would put troops from Iraq into Afghanistan) some leftist bloggers are jumping to the conclusion that he wants war with Iran.

If his prompt attention to the Palestinian-Israeli peace proves anything, it is that he would like to avoid war with Iran. Why didn't Bush even try? For one thing it would have complicated the Neocon map of engagement. You can't work toward peace AND use Palestinians as a reason for war. Yet Democrats are today calling Obama a "Neocon."

Can we simply ask ourselves before we speak, "Is this true?"

And can we point out the true hypocrites that have mastered it so well that people often accept it without comment? Like when conservatives say they hate "group politics" when the left protects them, but then work hard to have us hate many different groups?

The GOP is giddy because they think they are going to have a sweep

2010-09-02T19:39:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons are "unenthusiastic" Democrats.

Maybe we can be enthusiastic in our ability to give Obama a DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS like Clinton had when he DID GREAT THINGS.

Divided government will mean 4 years of no legislation, Presidential proclamations, and a Republican President in 2012.

Conservative philosophy

2010-08-03T17:30:00.000-07:00

I can be very biblical about my concern for the poor and the American laborer. If we really look at the philosophy of corporate power, it is not religious at all, it is pure greed and they use deception and hatred to recruit religious people for their own advancement.

I just had this thought, though, spawned by a Dr. Oz facebook post that discusses how some states are trying to make their public school cafeterias healthier. It takes a lot of education and restructuring to do so, so in other words, money. Health=investment. Isn't this the truth with every aspect of our society?

The party of No, and Tax Cuts, gets what it pays for--nothing. And worse, really, that party gets poverty, uncritical, uneducated, low wage workers. So my question for them is:

What, you want a healthy, happy, rich, country, town, and neighborhood, but you're not wiling to pay for it (and don't get me started on the war)?

Ha ha, love the commentary on TMZ!

2010-07-27T11:09:00.001-07:00

The Best Life

2010-07-11T21:39:00.000-07:00

I just put this link on my website because this program is really helping me get more energy, stay in a good mood, and channel more art. It's free for a month to see if it works for you, and then 9.95 after that which I consider an addition to my much healthier grocery bill.

Best life to all!

Bush 2

2010-06-25T08:19:00.000-07:00

Check it out, she's a narcissistic, perfectionist, bully who doesn't have the moral responsibility to say, "I was wrong, paid my 200K fine, and said I was sorry."

Watch out California.

Tea Bag motifs

2010-06-08T18:11:00.000-07:00

Thanks Teeluck,

I adopted the "Don't Tread On Me" symbol during the Bush years when his bullying example was encouraging police abuse and crimes against our civil rights (some even remain to be corrected).

I believe that the Tea Bag groups don't have any idea why they use it. It's much more fitting for the oppressed than elitist oppressors who seem incapable of clarifying what they do want...but scream for what they don't want, like taxes on the rich, or liberals teaching in public schools, and regulations on companies like BP.

UP

Spanish Politician criticizes foes of Israel

2010-06-08T13:14:00.000-07:00

I do believe that many leftists have a double standard when it comes to Israel. It's okay for the U.S. to imperfectly defend ourselves against our enemies, but Israel has to be perfect. I've been there, too.

Mission Accomplished: Martyrs might lift the blockade.

2010-06-08T12:53:00.001-07:00

Helen Thomas

2010-06-07T17:47:00.000-07:00

Yuk. This whole issue stinks. I don't like what she said, I don't like how she's being treated, and I just come away with this thought:

She is angry at war, our war, their war, war, war, war, war.

But are we going to go there?

Are we going to ask the real questions that effect us all or are half of Americans going to think she's a Jew hater and the other half going to say Jews are too powerful (neither one of which is true), and then we'll bounce on to the next free speech controversy?

Israel and Turkey's extremist muslims' deadly actions in the past week directly led to Helen's comment.

I for one, want to do more research into the situation in Israeli, Turkish, and Egyptian waters.

What is legal? What is moral? What is feasible to protect the state of Israel?? At what point should America stop supporting Israel? Philosophically? Morally? Over this???? Really?

In 2010, what makes Israel any more war-like that our own?

Whoa, this looks so random and interesting...

2010-04-23T13:18:00.001-07:00

How will you spin it when one of your members kills somebody?

2010-04-23T12:58:00.000-07:00

Geico voice actor loses his job for that. Wow. Somebody interview him!!

What does Alaska do when the protected prey outnumbers the predator?

2010-04-23T00:27:00.000-07:00

Kill the prey.

Alaskan authorities have been killing wolves to keep moose and caribou populations preserved for human hunting, at rates of 60% to 75% sport. When moose and caribou populations get so high they are unsustainable (because of course, the authorities over hunt the wolves), the authorities shoot the moose and caribou. MMMM, hunting.

A thousand points of death

2010-04-23T00:04:00.000-07:00

Ted Rall is a facebook friend of mine, I hope to enter the field of political caricature when my children are both in school!

He does a GREAT job of defining why the Tea Party folks are losing steam. I try to be honest about what people seem to want from the other side, from the conservative side, because I think it makes sense to try to bring people together.

But what I've seen from them, their arguments, their paranoia, their HATE for whatever Glenn Beck defines for them as worth hating, their eagerness to criticize rather then understand, are what they are wrapped up in, and it's not reality.

If they could make a coherent argument that wasn't based on the hatred of liberals or the president, or Nancy Pelosi, or Democrats, or whatever straw man they've created, they might be believed. But they are so absolute in their partisanship, talking points, and unscientific dogma, that they hit most people exactly like the press is portraying them--as radicalized idiots with no basis in fact. e.g. Taxation without representation? Really? If anything, the corporations get over represented and pay no taxes (and it's not new)!! But it's the millionaires Beck and Limbaugh, working for billionaires, that threaten middle class Americans with job losses if folks don't support big corporations not having to pay taxes. A brilliant scheme, isn't it? And the rich get richer, and the middle classes pay the taxes.

And the truth is, the right would have a point if they didn't try so hard to place blame on the shoulders of half of America, but not the true monsters, or themselves.

Our country is in debt, and we're spending too much, so what are WE going to do about it?

Woes of a Tea Party Christian candidate for Governor...

2010-04-12T21:27:00.000-07:00

Really??

Tea Parties In Beverly Hills!

2010-03-30T23:01:00.000-07:00

I am very curious about the push back that is occurring toward the Bush thugs that have emerged from the MSM and the ivory tower of Berkley and the Whitehouse; now they live with the rest of us, the masses that they've successfully fooled.

First John Yoo gets verbally harassed at a speech about his book. Now Karl Rove suffers verbal abuse from a handcuff-bearing pink hat. John Yoo didn't flee, but a larger share of the audience wanted to hear him speak (cough), and there was security to help him.

What was the Beverly Hills bookstore thinking? That Karl Rove isn't controversial?

2010

Congressmen get verbally abused and spit upon by tea partiers.

Former administration officials get threatened with a citizen's arrest from an anti-war organization.

People are waking up!

What a beautiful world!

Truthiness

2010-03-30T18:11:00.000-07:00

Of course, it would have behooved Cantor to point out that the guy who targeted him had actually targeted BOTH sides of the political spectrum, but no, instead he offers that the bullies are ON both sides of the spectrum. Big of him.

Why Now?

2010-03-30T07:30:00.000-07:00

The paranoid corrupted Christian militia group that was arrested Saturday had leaders about my age. They were 45 and 44, respectively.

Yesterday, I was considering how, for the most part, my generation has escaped serving in a war. I have one friend in the Air Force in South Korea, another is a national guard member who serves in law enforcement in Missouri. Neither have been to Iraq or Afghanistan, whose soldiers are our young generation, boomer's children and sometimes our children.

I know that most of the Tea Party activists are boomers, still grinding out a battle with the hippies that they hated in the 1960s. Even Jon Yoo at Berkeley is still fighting that fight with his rhetoric. But he is my age, the oldest child of the youngest boomers.

I believe that he, and the militia group in Michigan, are on the same page in that they have an abstract view of life and war.

This separation from the real horrors of war and cruel death allow both a civilian policy of torture for the unrepresented accused and a plot to kill innocent American policeman. It seems so departed from human rationality because it is.

Even the "break windows" guy doesn't support busted militia

2010-03-29T11:13:00.000-07:00

Exactly why words matter

2010-03-29T10:55:00.001-07:00

This is why it matters, Glenn Beck, when you start calling your political opponents the anti-christ.

This isn't about free speech and this isn't about being politically correct; it's about being morally responsible for what we say.

It's about being without sin with our words, impeccable with our words.

Believe me, I need to work on that, too.

Taxes

2010-03-26T23:36:00.001-07:00

I grew up with people assuming that my family did not pay taxes because we were foreigners--even had a fellow college student and roommate assume this about me.

They were wrong. All residents pay taxes whether or not they are citizens. It's called taxation WITHOUT representation.

Now I keep seeing bloggers accusing liberals of being tax evaders!! I don't get that! Most rich people are conservative, and I think most tax evaders are rich, so why are liberals and hippies getting that rap?

It ticks me off, because man, do we pay our taxes. A lot of taxes.

Glenn Beck promises policy solutions!

2010-03-26T18:06:00.000-07:00

"We must be independent. These pressures keep building and the vise gets tighter and tighter and tighter. There are — I was going to say easy — there are not easy long-term principles. But there are long-term principles that will solve these issues. We've talked about them at length many times. We're going to talk about them in the next few weeks. I'm going to solve some of these things.

And you've got — I'm telling you, you don't have to agree with my answer. But you've got to be behind something that makes sense."

Oh goody, I can't wait to see what his solutions are!!!!

A very good summary of hate activity and quite alarming.

2010-03-25T21:13:00.000-07:00

A plan to do nothing

2010-03-23T23:13:00.000-07:00

#1. Even if you get a majority and vote to repeal, Obama is unlikely to sign it.

#2. You condition your reform ideas on a repeal instead of suggesting how the reform could be molded to your ideas.

#3. Either you didn't think of that, or you're plan is actually to do nothing (unless Obama signs your repeal, if you get a majority in November...).

Also, I will do everything I can to help an oppenent beat Sen. DeMint's reelection bid in the fall. Even funding a different Republican. Not only do I oppose him for successfully blocking a national security appointment that I personally knew to be incredibly valuable for our security, he thinks gay people shouldn't marry because they would spread disease. Even if that were as true as the fact that straight married people can spread disease, doesn't marriage STOP the spread of disease? This guy's logic is really skewed. He also use the term "break him" for Obama that I've since heard South Carolinians say is an old reference to "slave breaking" [I incorrectly wrote lynching earlier]. I will refrain from calling him names, but wowsy do I want to.

Heard about the Parliamentarian on Thom Hayden today!

2010-03-23T23:07:00.001-07:00

Appointed by Republicans!!!!

Yeah we never cared when Bush spent our money, but not YOU

2010-03-23T22:23:00.000-07:00

YOU'RE GOING TO BANKRUPT AMERICA!! They cry, and again, just like Clinton, the Democrats will fix the problems the GOP made, and the GOP will attack us the whole time, and then they'll get elected and f*$@##@ things up again. Or will they?

We do have the internet now.... (-:

Not to mention:

OBAMA IS GOVERNMENT TYRANNY!!! When it was Bush that WAS tyrannical when he disabled the bill of rights, and had the authority to kill anyone (not sure if Obama has reversed this) and they just didn't care. Everything they say about Obama is really about Bush.

Rich.

Bliss if you want talking points that hit home...

2010-03-23T21:20:00.000-07:00

The Senate takes steps to declare war with Iran

2010-01-31T12:55:00.000-08:00

Main actors: Chris Dodd, Richard Shelby, Lieberman, John Kyl, and Mitch McConnell.

Pols in paradise: RNC in Hawaii - Jonathan Martin - POLITICO.com

2010-01-31T10:17:00.000-08:00

Pols in paradise: RNC in Hawaii - Jonathan Martin - POLITICO.com

Oh look, I'll point out hypocrisy on both sides. But I find Republicans do it openly, and with months of planning.

From the L.A. Times

2010-01-30T10:03:00.000-08:00

China owns a huge percentage of U.S. debt.
China buys oil from Iran.
U.S. wants China to sanction Iran.

Watching Daniel in the Lions' Den

2010-01-30T09:57:00.000-08:00

LOVE it. Great opportunity to correct the rhetoric Republicans use to try to keep Bush's policies alive...you know, like those economic policies that wrecked our economy and led to so many job losses. Including those "across the board" tax cuts...

Looking back to July

2010-01-26T20:46:00.000-08:00

I was just checking some old videos and came across this one. I'm not that familiar with Michelle, and am not impressed, wow, what B.S. (notice how much she says, "everything," "always," "entire," and what an apologist for racial intolerance), but I stopped watching the Today show when Bush was president because that guy beside Michelle, Matt and the Today producers, seemed so out-of-reality-enamored of Bush. What is fascinating about this video is how clearly disgusted Matt is by the words spewing out of Michelle's mouth. Look at Matt's face! Worth a watch to me!

One reason why I distrust big companies...

2010-01-26T10:08:00.000-08:00

Haliburton acting inhumanely, thanks to Dick Cheney and thank God for Franken...

Here's a list of who did and didn't vote for the Franken Amendment to allow workers a fair trial. I notice that Senator DeMint, who I will actively campaign against, voted against it. I believe he severely compromised our national security over his anti-union theocracy.

Hillblogger 3: President Obama finally gets tough

2010-01-26T09:30:00.000-08:00

Hillblogger 3: President Obama finally gets tough

Cultural Climate of Hate

2010-01-23T18:09:00.000-08:00

I watched Glenn Beck's documentary on Stalin et. al. and I realized how distracting it is from today's climate, that he contributes to. I think Beck's a bully who is campaigning to make progressive/liberal values an American enemy. My conservative friend is just laughing off his lies as "opinions" and tells me it "wakes" her up. I've told her he's trying to scare her and me and he's inflammatory and dangerous for my family; and that I will speak up when I see hate.

The Bush administration raised the status of bullying and government control in this country and the world and I don't think we've seen the end of it among our people. I sense that the election of Obama has emboldened hate groups and we've recently seen proof of that. The guy who killed 3 cops in Philadelphia was a skinhead who actually posted a clip of Glenn Beck on a neo-Nazi website that confirmed a conspiracy theory the killer had.

I don't think Hitler's funny (see the site above; the blogger thinks I'm being "politically correct"). You may want to check out Southern Poverty Law Center's Hate Map to find the skinheads in your state.

Healthcare, Massachusetts, and the House

2010-01-19T21:25:00.000-08:00

Schmog's wise comments and a great link to an article are linked here.

I just want to say that no Massachusetts voter in their right mind would vote in a Senator that would vote to undermine the progressive, universal healthcare that they receive in Massachusetts. The plan that Brown voted for, not against. Get it?

Brown voted for Universal Healthcare

Civil Rights Irony

2009-12-23T11:15:00.000-08:00

Wow, the right's talking about Civil Rights now. I've got to say this. They were silent when left wingers were being arrested and thrown out of Bush "townhalls." And left wingers are the guys that get assassinated in our history (Kennedy, King, Kennedy, Lennon, etc.) The right wingers are the ones that often go out of their minds with hate speech and pray for the death of Congress people. So I'm cutting the White House a lot of slack. I do give this guy credit for asking for Cheney's info, too, though.

Health Care Game

2009-12-22T11:40:00.000-08:00

Schmog and I were discussing the demise of the Public Option last night. He pointed out that the current health care bill is basically what Clinton and Co. tried to pass against all that opposition back then. So if Obama's goal was to simply accomplish what they did not, he's about to do so. And perhaps the Public Option was a brilliant red herring for the Republicans and the tea parties.

Global Warming

2009-12-17T22:05:00.000-08:00

Have you met someone one who thinks that car and factory emissions are not responsible for global warming? I did today. He wasn't stupid. He watches Fox News.

Healthcare

2009-12-17T21:02:00.000-08:00

I'm giving my facebook friends a break from my ranting about healthcare. I never get any comments anyway. Either I'm preaching to the choir or they don't care.

So I'm looking at the Rasmussen poll that puts 56% of Americans against the current healthcare bill (Pew has 47%). I could throw this bill out, my only caveat is that it seems to make some major insurance reforms (allowing pre-existing conditions).

The reason I found this poll was because I got into a very interesting argument with an "independent" man who doesn't believe government should run healthcare and that the private sector could take care of it (I knocked that position down from every angle I could think of). He also puts a lot of stock in the "facts" he gets from Fox News. He was really pissed that Obama might sign a healthcare bill that "60% of Americans don't want." So I found this poll from June very interesting:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/21/health/policy/21poll.html?_r=1>New York Times

85% said our healthcare system needed to be changed or fundamentally rebuilt. 76% said they supported something like Medicare for those under 65!

It's maddening that our Congress and our President isn't even close to giving us what we actually need and want.

Labels II

2009-08-13T16:06:00.000-07:00

I saw this video last week and really liked it. At first taken back by her vulgarity, but then my art has been too, so I can't judge that at all!

Peace.

Feminism is just a label...

2009-08-12T21:44:00.000-07:00

A thoughtful article about what Feminism means today. It is a teachable moment for me...the next time someone asks me if I'm a feminist I'll say, "Why do you ask?" And then, "I'm not sure what that label means to you, but I do believe all people are equal, and that we all deserve respect and to control our own lives"

Peace.

Obama's Reading List (Political Wire)

2009-08-12T10:31:00.001-07:00

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2009/08/12/obamas_reading_list.html

Shared via AddThis

Considering our heroes

2009-07-08T11:30:00.000-07:00

I've said recently that we choose weird heroes. I waver between seeing the truth of Michael Jackson as a perpetrator and a victim. People are choosing to see Michael Jackson as a misunderstood artist who has been falsely accused of crimes he did not commit (even though he settled a case for millions of dollars).

Was Michael like Woody Allen? Or Mike Tyson? Mike actually went to jail and people still see him as a hero. He was recently given a movie roll in The Hangover (I guess he's served his time).

I used to question why people supported Woody Allen and Mike Tyson in the face of such damning testimony. Usually, the victims were written off as setups, or temptresses.

It often seems that the real victims, mostly women and children, get ignored or worse, accused of false accusations, while the perpetrators get forgiven (even when they are obviously NUTS).

Maybe the truth is that we are each both perpetrators and victims; and this is what we really want and recognize in our heroes. Is this what I tell my children? Is this the epitome of lost innocence?

So Michael, may he rest in peace, may have victimized children, but he was an amazing talent that was definitely victimized by his father, by his industry, by the press, and by his AWFUL plastic surgeons (does anyone talk about how disrespectful his surgeries were and who was responsible for that?). And this same family and this same industry and this same press glorified Michael's death yesterday.

I wonder, where were these glorifications these past 15 years?

Debbie Rowe

2009-07-08T11:18:00.000-07:00

I'm not a fan. I don't like the deal she made with a superstar, and if I were a judge I would question her motives in entertaining custody again, especially without "Blanket." But I bristle at the attacks such as, "No real mother would do this to her children!"

She was an egg donor. What's the difference between her and a sperm donor? Would we have this much vitriol for an absentee father who wanted to reenter his children's life? Maybe?

If you were Debbie Rowe and you could pull your biological children away from the custody of the Jackson family, would you? What better options do these children have?

America's Children?

2009-05-30T20:47:00.001-07:00

I often consider what is the best use of the modest charity funds we distribute every year. Childhood illnesses? Homelessness? It is usually a local charity, helping those most vulnerable. But lately I've been thinking a lot about hunger. And perhaps there are those in our society, especially soon, who are starving and need help. But I also think of the United States as having many safety nets. Our churches (I grew up in one), our government (my family got foodstamps for awhile), WIC, and our land (food grows well and fast here).

Don't cry when you read this but tonight when I was rocking my 15-month old baby to sleep in my arms I was thinking about the very real but not actually threatening fears he experiences upon every separation from his caregivers. I was thinking about how he's probably reassured by his room and his (getting older) mom's image. This image I had of myself as an older and tired mother quickly brought up one I get every once in awhile, that of a mother that would have lived in a holocaust camp. It is much easier to type this than to actually speak it...but I think of how unbelievably unbearable it must have been for mothers to comfort their children then.

And this leads me to this: Are there mothers like those Holocaust mothers now in The World? Are there infants who are not safe? Are there families who are threatened every day? Who are not comforted by their rooms, their mothers, or their food? And this is where I want to help, in addition to America's children...for I am so thankful for the freedoms for our own children.

Peace.

Later thoughts: Looking at the BBC News I see images of children injured in Pakistan (our weapons?) War torn Palestine, Africa, etc.

Wow

2009-03-09T21:39:00.001-07:00

So many of these people's stories and words have brought me to tears, but the courage of this one really moved me to blog. Wow, may we all be as incredibly brave as these folks!!

Tax us!

2009-02-18T09:47:00.000-08:00

Maybe it will take higher taxes to make our citizens PAY ATTENTION and TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for our government. Maybe THAT's why Republicans are against actually FUNDING instead of BORROWING for our state's services.

Rush Limbaugh and his like are not really advocating for Joe the plumber (or Joe the painter), who can't pay for private Fire Fighters, or for private teachers, or for private nurses and doctors; Rush Limbaugh and the FUNDED conservative press corp are advocating for millionaires and billionaires who CAN afford their own private life bubble. They're just smart enough to get the working class to fight their battles for them.

I would like a team to target every district that these anti-tax-but-happy-to-spend Republicans represent and SHOW how state funds help their community. And show how their community's state taxes FUND or don't fund them.

Peace.

A Prayer from Jefferson City Missouri

2008-10-28T08:43:00.000-07:00

I received this from my sister-in-law who is an active part of the growing peace movement.

Greetings,
Please see below. If you can spend anytime at all in prayer, meditation or intention with the words in quotes below..., and especially at the same times 8am &/or 8pm Central Standard Time now through Nov. 6... Pass the word. Thanks.

----- Original Message -----
Subject: say a prayer, meditate

Hi Everyone,
A group of us have decided to join in on a global non-partisan program that centers around the upcoming election. No matter what your beliefs are or who you will vote for, it doesn't matter. I believe this will be time well spent for the planet and everyone on it. (You can find more info on this an other global events at gaiafield.net). We will devote 10 minutes each day at either 8am or 8pm from now until Nov. 6 to hold the following in prayer, meditation, or intention.

“We the people, the ancestors of our great, great grandchildren, call forth the deepest wisdom and the highest compassion from the heart and soul of America, for the benefit of the entire Earth community and the next seven generations. May Wisdom Prevail in the USA. May Peace Prevail on Earth”

If these words resonate in you please join in at either time, and ask a friend.

Liberal Courage

2008-10-15T22:53:00.001-07:00

Wow, despite Obama leaving McCain's Ethanol gaff unchallenged (What? You're saying you're "Country First" and you're willing to import Brazilian Ethanol without tariffs and unfund Iowans alternative fuel subsidies? Schmog caught this.) I was so proud at all the shout outs Obama made to women and even labor leaders in Columbia.

McCain had his clock cleaned. That was WONDERFUL. I especially enjoyed the moment when McCain pressed Obama to repudiate John Lewis (I'm proud to say I lived near him in Atlanta and we used the same dry cleaner!!) and Obama wouldn't!! He even had the courage to slam the Palin rallies for being so hateful as well!! I was actually thinking that, surprisingly, Obama's response here would appeal to Midwestern rednecks because most rednecks do not want to be seen as extremists. It was a BRILLIANT moment. I'm dying to ask my Ohio Republican friend if she's voting for Obama yet...I think this is a generational moment, not a party moment.

My Seat Comes First

2008-09-29T21:26:00.000-07:00

More Republicans voted against the Bush Bail Out (I'm against it whole heartedly) because they are the ones at risk of losing their seats in Congress. This means that we need to make it clear to Democrats that just because they have a D after their name, does not mean that they support a progressive agenda and we will find candidates who do, if not now, then soon.

Money to the cause

2008-09-17T20:57:00.000-07:00

I think this is amazing. I donated $20 and then the website revealed to me who my matching donor was, someone named Tina M, retired Air Force!! MSgt and CPA! I hope she e-mails me back. I had no idea the matching donor would be revealed, wow!!

Summing up Palin

2008-09-16T21:42:00.001-07:00

She's a nightmare. She looks like Wall Street, talks like a populist, and has a heartless, dictatorial core that only reserves love (but not attention*) for her own family. She's infectious, exciting, folksy, fun, approachable, determined, focused, and CERTAIN about God's world.

We need to do all we can to peel away all this disarming attitude and to reveal the actions of the fear-ridden little dictator underneath that beautiful sunshine.

*I've been thinking often about Palin and the way she brought her infant onto the brightly lit, noisy, overwhelming stage at the convention--something I wouldn't have done with either of our babies. But was I being too critical? Then I was reminded about Phyllis Schlafly and how she's always been the conservative symbol for feminists who think women should be no more than wife and mother. This isn't quite accurate, I think Schlafly's position was pro wife-and -mother, but not anti-work. But in either case, the biggest argument today is "what's best for children." And that's a whole can of worms for feminists and Phylis Schlafly who was really discussing a woman's sense of happiness, not a family's happiness (which often requires self-sacrifice). I grew up with a father who dedicated his life to the ministry and was out of the lives of his children most of the time. So when I look at Sarah Palin, I see a parent, and a mother, who is putting most of her attention elsewhere in a BIG WAY. I'm not saying she's wrong, but I am saying that she's not pro-family by any stretch of the conservative imagination. If the right was saying this about John Edwards' campaign, then they can darn well say this about Palin.

Peace.

Blogger chaos

2008-09-16T21:39:00.000-07:00

It's hard to figure out which brand of feminism bloggers subscribe to, it's all over the map. We've got conservatives calling leftists sexist, and leftists calling Palin anti-woman. I think they are both right and wrong; which is why feminism is still a much needed philosophy and legal goal in this country.

Yesterday

2008-09-16T20:51:00.000-07:00

I wonder if these banking failures will make conservatives more willing to control greed than they are so willing to control women's wombs.

She's a "Feminist for Life" member? How is she either?

2008-09-16T20:33:00.000-07:00

I'm writing this winded piece on feminism as a response to a conservative windbag who wrote an irresponsible piece about women recently, and then I was going to tie it all to Palin, when I saw this. Enough said.

CNN and MSNBC: VP festival

2008-09-14T20:32:00.000-07:00

I watched a painful "Biden Revealed" on CNN tonight. The family basically danced for the cable "news" network, while the CNN producers cut Biden down with innuendo, biased commentary that related skewed "facts," (e.g. they made Biden's well informed "partitioning of Iraq" advocacy and lack of support for the surge sound like lunacy and a recent failing in foreign policy). Most of the piece had this ridiculous music that sounded full of dread and fear--it was usually played during an "if they win..." moment and it was run long and hard while they showed footage from the convention in Denver.

Contrast this with the MSNBC show on Palin. I was initially skeptical because they glowingly interviewed her family and friends and spent minutes on childhood photos and high school videos, and it all seemed so perfect. But the report has been professional otherwise, reporting accurately the criticisms and problems with her candidacy. Noticeabley, MSNBC refrains from extensive "commentary" on the candidate's "situation" which CNN was unable to stop doing. In other words, they show Palin f-ing up without discussing how or interviewing partisans to help point it out. They give her a fair shot, but don't gloss over the real problems she's been having and might have.

If only the MSM gave liberals the same treatment.

Our values rule

2008-09-14T20:17:00.000-07:00

I have a very close (well, formerly close) conservative friend who is always pointing out how different our worldviews are even though we grew up together in the same small town, shared the same library (hmmm, actually, my father did take me to a city library close by...), had the same teachers, knew the same people, went to the same college... I always wind up saying, "We're not that different." Which either bugs her or leaves her puzzled. We used to get into arguments and I would always point out the ramifications of the policies that she advocated on poor people, or less educated people, or different people, which just made her catholic soul feel guilty, but rarely changed her mind. We don't discuss politics anymore.

We just found out that Sarah and Todd Palin had their first child 8 months after they were married. Perhaps the child was a bit early, but it sounded like she had created a path that her daughter was following. Where's the outrage? Well, where would it come from? The left doesn't judge that. The right wing? I guess they give their own a pass, but "other" women are somehow worse? If Biden had an out of wedlock pregnancy would we ever stop hearing about it?

The right wing benefits from OUR inclusive, accepting, "life happens," values (you know, the compassionate values that Jesus advocated), and THEIR exclusive, choice limiting, judgmental "values" condemn us as we forgive them.

Fun, Stella, thanks for tagging me (-:

2008-09-11T19:23:00.000-07:00

1. Where was I ten years ago?

Atlanta, Georgia establishing artistic cred. I was living in a cheap condominium in Midtown (a great neighborhood) with two cats and working at a private university with the wear-my-ego-issues-on-my-sleeve ex-husband. My father had died in February of that year.

2. What was on my To Do list today?

Eat breakfast, catch a column in the paper, squeeze in a shower, empty the dishwasher, two loads of laundry (a drop in the bucket), water the plants on the balcony, feed the baby (at one point nursing the baby directly opposite the McDonald's at the mall) and 3-year old, entertain both and exercise both, download I-Tune and Quicktime updates for my 3-year old's "applications", this tag list, discuss the counter-offer on the condo we want to buy that costs 6 times more than the one I had in Atlanta. It was a light day.

3. And my favorite number. What would I do if I were a billionaire?

Wow. Like, Stella, I would want a self-sustainable house and garden, but in a nice neighborhood near lots of shops, and that would include a big, light art studio and reception area. I would set up personal retirement and education funds for our children, and fund children's health charities, research into environmental issues that effect health, as well as alternative medicines. I would vigorously support progressive candidates and transparent, efficient government.

4. Five places I've lived.

Beverly Hills, California
Brooklyn, New York
Columbus, Ohio
St. Louis, Missouri
Eastbourne, England

5. Bad Habits. Numerous!

Procrastination; putting off the stuff I don't enjoy doing.
Distraction; doing the stuff to the detriment of the stuff I should do, and even WANT to be doing, and Peripheral focusing (which isn't focusing at all, it's multi-tasking ALL THE TIME).
Chocolate binges.
Anger; a short temper (I profusely apologize when this happens to my sweet kids), and raging against things I have no control over (right wing idiocy) to those who also have no control over it (and occasionally to those who do, but I try to keep my composure then).
Budget busting (I'm trying to get better at this!)
Using TV like a babysitter (okay, not for THAT long...).
There's more...

Bull Shit McCain/Palin

2008-09-03T20:17:00.000-07:00

I didn't want to watch this. We're house hunting with 2 kids under 4, so it's not like we don't have anything to do.

Country First. No.

Power First.

Let's ask Palin why she belongs to a secessionist group and why she censors public libraries. And let's ask John McCain exactly where it is in the Constitution that innocent Americans can be RAIDED because they use cameras. And we'll all ask the MSM why they haven't covered this fascist police action!!

Family Values. No.

Willful Ignorance.

I'm sorry, but if abstinence education and advocacy "works" then...what happened there at ground zero?

I stopped watching it, I only caught the end where she endorsed a "great man" for President. That would be Obama. She supported Pat Buchanon in 2000...

I haven't had the stomach to watch the key note speech, how many times did he lie or mention 9-11?

Peace.

2008-08-30T23:27:00.001-07:00

Hey McCain, if Hillary's so great, why didn't you pick her?

Reckless choice

2008-08-30T23:00:00.000-07:00

The more we learn about the charming Palin, the less she has going for her. It makes me think that not only is John McCain ambitious without good judgement, and disdainful of government, in particular the office of the Presidency, but perhaps he could find no other takers. As my charming and absolutely qualified husband pointed out, McCain could have picked any number of better qualified Republican women for the ticket--was his "choice" really a slap in the face to them? Or was it a slap in a face to him? I'm still shocked he didn't pick Rudy, I was sure of it...

Any news that Democrats are fighting/revealing this?

2008-08-30T22:12:00.001-07:00

Backfire

2008-08-30T11:48:00.000-07:00

Everything of which McCain accuses Obama, McCain is. He puts politics before country, HE wants to be President out of ambition, not patriotism, he isn't trustworthy; McCain is insane. He's volatile, reactionary, desperate and this "maybe I'll get lucky" choice reminds me of that scene in "Nemo" when Gill hatches yet another plan to escape the fish tank...all his fish followers say, "Okay," except the last guy who says, "I think you're nuts!!" But McCain doesn't listen to that guy.

A Republican Woman VP, what now?

2008-08-30T08:29:00.000-07:00

I think there are good reasons Republicans have waited so long to put a woman on the ticket. It raises issues for conservatives...just think about Coulter's cheery evaluation of women (we should not vote). McCain, reportedly, has been very disrespectful to his wife; I'm not sure how he is toward women professionally, except that he's generally seen as insane. So, how is he going to handle a strong, vocal woman on the ticket? She may very well have her own agenda--and his reaction to her rising up from her place in the hierarchy might sink his candidacy without word one from Obama.

The only choice argument, for the GOP VP candidate

2008-08-29T14:17:00.000-07:00

Abortion happens, whether it's legal or not. Do we make it illegal and dangerous, even for victims of rape and incest, or the critically ill, who have the greatest moral imperative to abort? Or do we do everything we can to make unintended pregnancies rare? Period.

Update: I've heard a lot of conservative women on NPR saying how happy they are that Palin is so strongly "pro-life." I wrote this last night:

I don’t know the governor of Alaska, but I find her extreme position on abortion severely lacking in compassion for women who are raped, victims of incest, or who simply don’t want to risk their lives in an unintended pregnancy (esp. if they are already mothers). Both times I was pregnant I was keenly aware that my life could end, especially at my age (600 women in America die from childbirth). And in any case, women always seek abortions whether they are legal or not, so the question is, will we keep women who do it safe in this country; and do we try to make them rare? I’m not so dismissive of more moderate pro-life positions (setting some legal limits for those who are not in the situations I mentioned above), but not that one—and I wonder if she supports the use of contraception (sigh). I guess she’s a libertarian on other issues (just not for all women I guess!).

The MSM hammer

2008-08-27T20:48:00.000-07:00

Obama's "inexperienced" BS! Yes, Vigilante, can we please tear McCain's corrupt, unethical, pandering experience apart sometime soon? And, more important, can we hear over and over and over about Lugar Obama? And transparent government?

Change

2008-08-27T20:39:00.000-07:00

Leaving Iraq
green jobs
alternative energy
equal rights
equal pay
constitutional rights restored
healthcare availability
successful schools
efficient government (the bureaucrats and white collar military know it's coming)
help for the poor
transparent government
less power to the lobbyists (the lobbyists know it's coming)

CHANGE

The Evolution of Peace

2008-08-27T08:51:00.001-07:00

I keep goading my husband into agreeing with me that violent and non-violent people are biologically different. He's not buying it and keeps poking holes in my theories (he's awesome). But that description is the closest I've gotten to getting his approval..."liberal" vs "conservative" didn't cut it for him and he quickly gave me an example of a violent liberal and a peaceful, patriotic conservative. I myself have been a very angry liberal, a "fighter" and now that I have kids I'm trying to check myself so that they will be more like their father, a judicial, playful, principled and peaceful man (of course, both of my children know this about their father already!).

There are a few reasons I keep thinking about violent vs. non-violent. It has always bothered me that the liberals have been assassinated so much more than the conservatives (attempts were made on Regean, but the liberal list is long: John Lennon, MLK, JFK, RFK, and even the recent killings of the Democratic chairman and the Unitarians.)

It's like the peace symbol is a target for some people, and it helps me to realize that there are just some people who think that peace is threatening to their future. It helps me realize that peace is really something we need to advocate, stand for, and educate each other about. It means that I no longer take it for granted that people want to be good...being in a state of goodness, tranquility, and peace is a battle inside each one of us to some degree. A peaceful world is worth securing for the safety and health of our families and country.

We have to lie about Cindy to get John elected...

2008-08-23T12:01:00.000-07:00

Wow, I'm stunned. I'm adopted and I just see this political lie as a line that should never be crossed. "Daddy, why did YOUR campaign get my adoption story wrong?" Bizarre.