Shakesville: 05/01/2008 - 06/01/2008

Rules, Bylaws, and Halvsies

Here is a quick post to announce the results.

As expected, the Democratic National Committee Rules and Bylaws Committee decided to seat Florida and Michigan delegates with half-votes.

So now the magic number is 2,118 delegates to secure the Democratic nomination. According to the TV version of CNN, Obama has 2,050; Hillary has 1,877. The CNN site still has the old numbers.

According to the Miami Herald:

The Clinton campaign will use Florida's new legitimacy to argue that her victory in the nation's largest battleground state makes her the stronger nominee. Though she will get fewer delegates than she sought, her campaign appeared resigned to the Florida resolution. Suggesting that the campaign will not contest it, one of her top advisors who serves on the DNC rules committee, Harold Ickes, said he was ''disappointed'' but would vote for the compromise.

But Ickes took a more combative stance when it came to Michigan, which also voted early and appealed its loss of delegates Saturday. The rules committee agreed on a compromise offered by Michigan Democrats to give Clinton 69 delegates and Obama 59, though each delegate, as in Florida's case, will get a half vote.

Clinton's camp had argued Obama shouldn't get any delegates in Michigan since he chose to take his name off the ballot and Ickes argued that the deal ''hijacked'' four delegates from Clinton.

''Mrs. Clinton has instructed me to reserve her rights to take this to the credentials committee,'' Ickes said, signaling the campaign intends to push the matter up until the nominating convention.

It ain't over kittens.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Obama Quits His Church

From the NY Times Caucus:

Senator Barack Obama is ending his membership at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, a congregation he has belonged to for about two decades and one that had become a lightening rod in his Democratic presidential bid.

Mr. Obama informed his campaign advisers of his decision today, according to people familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak for the candidate. Mr. Obama is scheduled to explain his decision tonight in South Dakota.

Taking over Iraq and stealing its oil does't make it World War II

President George W. Bush, who was too gutless to fight in the unpopular war of his era, is still trying to convince the soldiers under his command that they are fighting a battle akin to World War II.

President Bush, linking the wars of his tenure to the deadliest one in history, is asking the country to commit anew to postwar rebuilding.

In an address for Wednesday to more than 1,000 graduates of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Bush frames their futures by harking back to the World War II generation. He links the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to postwar Germany and Japan six decades ago.

"America has assumed this obligation before," Bush said in prepared remarks released by the White House. "After World War II we helped Germany and Japan build free societies and strong economies. These efforts took time and patience, and as a result Germany and Japan grew in freedom and prosperity and are now allies of the United States."

The result, Bush says, was "generations of security and peace" in the United States.

Here's a quick primer on World War II via Wikipedia:

World War II or the Second World War[1] was a global military conflict, the joining of what had initially been two separate conflicts. The first began in Asia in 1937 as the Second Sino-Japanese War; the other began in Europe in 1939 with the German invasion of Poland.

This global conflict split the majority of the world's nations into opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. It involved the mobilization of over 100 million military personnel, making it the most widespread war in history, and placed the participants in a state of "total war", erasing the distinction between civil and military resources. This resulted in the complete activation of a nation's economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities for the purposes of the war effort. Over 70 million people, the majority of them civilians, were killed, making it the deadliest conflict in human history.[2] The financial cost of the war is estimated at about a trillion 1944 U.S. dollars worldwide,[3][4] making it the most costly war in capital as well as lives.[5]

The Allies were victorious, and, as a result, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as the world's leading superpowers. This set the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 45 years.

One nation taking over another nation does not make it World War II. In fact, the importance of rebuilding Iraq and the "Global War of Civilizations" will end the moment their arms are twisted enough to hand over all their oil to the multinationals.

So enough with the charade. This isn't World War II. Bush just needs to keep his lame-duck beak closed so he doesn't turn it into World War III, though.

--WKW

Internet opens advertisers' eyes to lunatic fringe - but they're still cool with rampant sexism

In its Business section, the New York Times spent 1,000 words discussing the insipid, make-believe controversy that is the Dunkin' Donuts ad featuring popular TV show host Rachael Ray wearing a (gasp) scarf.

The non-issue kept Michelle Malkin and a great many of the right-wing fringe sect busy most of last week, horrified that somehow the ad was promoting Islamic Jihad. Because we all know, when Jihad comes to America, it will come with a billion-megawatt smile and holding an iced coffee from Dunkin' Donuts.

Anyway, the Times' article - "For Dunkin’, a Tempest in an Iced-Coffee Cup" - goes on to talk about how the Internet has such great power when it comes to advertising and that Dunkin' Donuts pulled the ad to "stop the pain."

"When it comes to issues like this," said Eric Dezenhall, the head of the crisis public relations firm Dezenhall Resources, corporations "don’t want to be anywhere near them and they will cave very, very quickly — anything to stop the pain, anything to stop the press from calling."

The article talks about a couple other controversial ads that either were pulled or not, eventually coming to the groundbreaking conclusion that all PR is good PR.

One Internet executive suggested the mudslinging could be a good thing.

"You need to find and do something that is a bit edgy, that is polarizing, that provides some water-cooler conversation," said Bob Parsons, chief executive of GoDaddy.com, the Web site registrar that likes to run racy Super Bowl ads. “One of the ways to know that your advertising is working is there will be a segment of the population that is upset by it."

What really struck me, however, was once again seeing the incredible sexism-opia in the media and advertising world. Dunkin' Donuts pulled an ad due to complaints by Little Green Footballs and Michelle Malkin. Because in their twisted minds a scarf equals submission to terrorism.

Now, if you watch television at all today, you are very likely to see at least a dozen or so commercials and TV shows that overtly flaunt sexism. And no one will apologize, or pull ads, or say anything, or be questioned about anything. Only us lunatic leftists will see a corollary that really exists, as opposed to the invented scarf one. That corollary being - dehumanizing women equals violence toward women. In the real world. In reality. Not in the mind of paranoid delusionals, but in the real world. Every day, over and over again.

I can't add more but to say to read Melissa's series "Assvertising" on how the media and advertising firms portray women. It's a powerful series, that hopefully will someday get the same attention that someone like Malkin gets by just writing the words "Jihadi chic."

--WKW

C-O-N-G-R-A-T-U-L-A-T-I-O-N-S, Sameer!

I always love when I have the opportunity to celebrate a fellow Hoosier! Indiana boy wins national spelling bee:

After watching his sister try three times to win the Scripps Nationals Spelling Bee, Sameer Mishra put himself on a mission. "I told my mom I was going to do the bee," Sameer said. "And if I was going to do it, I was going to win it one day. And I guess it happened."

Did it ever. With the sister coaching him, Sameer augmented his spelling talent with a sense of humor that often kept the Grand Hyatt Ballroom audience laughing. The 13-year-old from West Lafayette, Ind., was finally all business when he aced "guerdon" — a word that appropriately means "something that one has earned or gained" — to win the 81st version of the bee Friday night.

"I'm not used to people laughing at my jokes — except for my sister," Sameer said.

...Sameer was a crowd favorite throughout the tournament. When told one of his words in the semifinals was a dessert, he deadpanned: "That sounds good right now." He rolled his eyes and muttered "wonderful" when told that one of his words had five different language roots. He once asked "Are you sure there are no alternate pronunciations?" and later uttered "That's a relief" after initially mishearing the word "numnah" (a type of sheepskin pad).

And what did he have to say while hoisting the heavy trophy? "I'm really, really weak."

Sameer, who won more than $40,000 in cash and prizes, likes playing the violin and the video game "Guitar Hero" and hopes one day to be a neurosurgeon. He tried to watch the movie "Ratatouille" during the long wait before the finals but found he "couldn't really relax that much." His sister, Shruti, cried after her brother's victory on a day in which she received her own big news: She was accepted to Princeton.

"A big day for the family," said Sameer's father, Krishna Mishra, who moved to the United States from central India and teaches microbiology.

Awesome. Way to go, Mishra clan!

The Virtual Pub Is Open

I don't know about you, Shakers,
but I needs me a fooking DRINK.

Thank fook it's Friday.

Belly up to the bar
and name your poison!

No and More No

Normally, I'd be excited as hell to see an article in the Boston Globe headlined "Healing the wounds of Democrats' sexism." But I don't guess I need to explain why Geraldine Ferraro is so not the person to write that article.

And there is potentially a legitimate point to be made that the Obama campaign was actually casting Hillary Clinton as a racist before any of the incidents of racism attributed to her during this primary. But I don't guess I need to explain why Geraldine Ferraro is so not the person to make it.

No and more no. That is all.

P.S. Who the fuck uses "reverse racism" anymore? I was under the impression that most thinking people acknowledged quite some time ago that racism is racism, irrespective of whence it emanates, and that "reverse racism" was typically a phrase employed by the sort of ignorant doofuses who don't get why it's okay to say George Bush looks like a chimp but not okay to say the same of Barack Obama. Did I miss a memo?

Oooh, interesting.

Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, wants the McClellaton 3000 to testify before Congress:

Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Florida, said McClellan, who served as the president's press secretary before leaving the White House in 2006, would be able to provide valuable insight into a number of issues that the House Judiciary Committee is investigating.

[...]

"The administration has always called for different kinds of privileges to avoid their officials testifying, but because Mr. McClellan has put all this information in a book, these privileges, I do not believe, would be available to the administration, so we would have a free flow of information," Wexler said.

Oooh, game on! And what are they investigating? The firing of the eight attorneys, the (mis)use of intelligence for the war, and the leaking of Valerie Plame's identity.

The White House came out huffing and hissing:

Bush spokeswoman Dana Perino, however, said Friday that the White House says it could invoke executive privilege and prevent McClellan from testifying before the committee, but it has not decided whether to do so.

"The law would allow for that," Perino said, "but by saying that I am not suggesting that's what would happen or not.

"We don't have a formal request yet," she said. "It's not a decision we would make prior to getting a formal request."

Oh please, when have you waited for any formal anything? Anyway, Wexler farts in their general direction:

But Wexler said that any White House claims of executive privilege would be invalid because McClellan had put much of the information in the public domain with book and multiple television appearances.

[...]

Wexler said McClellan should testify because the public has a right to know what went on behind closed doors.

"The American people deserve to know under oath what is true and what isn't [and] what this administration engaged in in terms of a conspiracy to obstruct justice."

Oooh, snap! I hope it works, Wexler. I really do.

The McClellaton 3000 said he is willing to testify.

Dennis Hastert joins law firm that wants to destroy everything Republicans believe

Former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert has joined the law firm of Dickstein Shapiro as an adviser and consultant.

Seems harmless enough at first glance, but when you delve deeper into what Dickstein Shapiro LLP is all about, a horrid, nightmarish, apocalyptic fact leaps out at you. Dickstein Shapiro is committed to diversity. And not just any old diversity, either. They're accepting of trangeder individuals, as well.

From the Dickstein Shapiro web site:

Dickstein Shapiro’s innovative solutions and superior client service come from the talent and diversity of our attorneys and staff. Our Firm has a steadfast commitment to fostering a diverse work environment in which racial and ethnic minorities, women, people with disabilities, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals enjoy an atmosphere of inclusion and respect. The well-balanced workplace and diverse culture not only enrich the quality of life for Dickstein Shapiro employees, but also enhance the exceptional service our Firm provides our clients.

Dickstein Shapiro supports a variety of initiatives to ensure that diversity at our Firm is embraced and enhanced. These initiatives include recruitment, retention, and mentor programs geared toward the advancement of diverse employees; a women’s leadership initiative; support for research projects focused on diversity in the legal industry; a diversity speakers series featuring respected community leaders; and scholarship opportunities for minority law students. Our commitment to building a diverse workforce is yielding positive results. Dickstein Shapiro continues to be recognized as a leader in law firm diversity by both our clients and numerous independent publications.

M. Thomas Eisenstadt of the prestigious(?) Harding Institude for Freedom and Democracy and a member of John McCain's campaign team (see below), is personally horrified by this. Or maybe just horrified by transgenders. Or maybe he's just a dick.

Shame on Dennis Hastert for joining tranny lobbyist firm

... But going to work for transgender-friendly Dickstein and Shapiro? Well, I know I said I’d let bygones be bygones and focus on the present but my friend Stanley Rubin has told me stories about that operation that would make your blood curdle. And even though I fully endorse John McCain, I remember (like I remember Amalek) the dirty tricks campaign waged against my candidate at the time, Rudy.

Dennis, come on, buddy. I know you can do better. I defended you in the Mark Foley scandal, and now you’re just perpetuating stereotypes of the GOP. We’re going to have enough trouble this fall defeating Obama and heading off another Democrat landslide.

Eisenstadt, who has appeared on ABC’s World News, Crossfire, CBS Reports, NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Nightline and The Today Show and has been called one of the Neoconservative's "bright lights, so far appears to be the first to jump on this story. But with Michelle Malkin seeing her jihad on Rachel Ray coming to its conclusion, one can only imagine the upcoming storm of fauxtrage about to come from the right-wing-fringebot-osphere for Hastert's incredibly insensitive decision to work with a company that attempts to be sensitive.

By taking this job, Hastert has truly proven to be a traitorous, RINO. Because diversity truly goes against everything the Republican Party and their fascist base believe. Set your watch, in the next 24 hours or so you should be seeing about 278,000 right-wing blog posts all screaming "OMG, Hastert has teh Gay!!!"

UPDATE: Forgot to mention that Eisenstadt is on John McCain's staff as "a Liaison with the Jewish community" and "foreign policy advisor."

HT Kareem

--WKW

Friday Blogaround

Time for some sexy link lovin'!

Recommended Reading:

Echidne: "A" Is For Ambition

Elle: "the penalty for being poor and a child and hungry in africa is to be raped"

Kathy G: Michelle Obama and the Silence of the Feminists

Dave: Obama calls out Dobbs and Limbaugh

Melissa: Where are the Women of Color in Film?

Andy: Macy's Celebrates Same-Sex Marriage, Wants your Registry

Leave your links in comments.

Somerby

There are basic interpretive rules you must apply if you’re searching for truth—for the facts. And if you are a decent person, you won’t rush to imagine the most evil things about candidates you may not prefer.

Increasingly, those basic interpretive rules are honored in the breach. We’ll suggest you try to obey them:

No, you can’t read people’s minds (not reliably). If you intend to be even modestly decent, you can’t make up any “paraphrase” you like. You need to be especially careful when you tell us what someone “really” said. You ought to be especially careful about saying what somebody “meant” or “thinks.” (Or about reporting the “impression” they somehow “gave” you.)

[...]

In large part, our Democratic race has badly degenerated because people have played by the rules of young children. We play with our candidates as kids play with dolls. We make up things and pretend that they “said” them. “It’s really not that hard to figure out,” we proclaim. In our perfectly banal minds, we turn our candidates into monsters.

He's talking specifically about the outrage over Clinton's RFK remarks -- but the principles he articulates here have wider applications.

Quote of the Day

"When guys are persistent, it's romantic, they make movies about that. If it's a woman, then they cast Glenn Close." - Ally McBeal

Misogyny/Rape/Murder Are Hee-larious!

[Trigger warning.]

Shaker Jeremy forwarded me the below video, currently ranked in the top 10 at Vimeo, and I really debated posting about it, because I wasn't sure I wanted to give it more attention. But, in the end, that concern was outweighed by the consideration that if I didn't post about it, there might be no direct counter-balance to it. So, teaspoons.

In the video, a group of male co-workers bored at work begin to chant Boys v. Girls as a challenge. Thing is, there's only one female in the group, so it's essentially all the boys ganging up on one girl to torment her...brutalize her...violate her...and eventually kill her. Then they're seen dragging her body into a storage area for the dead bodies of all the other female co-workers with whom they've evidently played this fun game.

If it were ironic, it would be a pretty devastating commentary on misogyny, the rape culture, male privilege, and female tokenism. But it's not ironic—or, if it is, that objective has been lost on most viewers, as the 126 comments and counting reveal; it's just "hilarious." Which shows, at best, why this sort of "comedy" is a dangerous game to play.

I don't even know what I can say anymore, that I haven't said at least 21 times or so already.

[Rape is Hilarious: Parts One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One.]

When States Attack

by Shaker Sarah in Chicago

In all the joyous celebration happening in California regarding the brief appearance of reality, a certain degree of privilege was being evidenced to me.

Don't get me wrong ... when the news popped up on my phone as friend and I were shopping our way for summer clothes down State Street here in Chicago, and we both whooped and high-fived, grinning broadly and laughing. There's not much on earth that feels as wonderful as having your basic rights be granted to you. Kinda sad to have to write that, but it's still true.

The images that we've seen come out of California since have been incredible ... just the basic and overwhelming joy and beauty of people so used to being denigrated and dehumanised, being told that they are recognised in their own country as worthy of what everyone-else takes for granted.

And therein lies the privilege. Because despite our celebrations that embarrassed us in that store on State Street, there is one fundamental difference between my friend and I; she's an American citizen. I'm not.

But back to California.

Not long after the decision came down to rapturous acclaim, Ellen Degeneris announced that she was marrying her long-time girlfriend, Portia de Rossi (otherwise known as Hotty McHot). Ellen teared and choked up making the announcement, and her girlfriend was moved to, with I think tears down her cheeks. It was an amazing and perfect cap to such a wonderful decision.

And then Republican presidential candidate John McCain came onto her show some days later, and Ellen (to my surprise given her history of avoiding LGBT politics in general, but to her credit) brought up the CA decision, and her own pending marriage to Portia (McHot). McCain, being the mealy-mouthed piece of shit he is, managed to basically say that he thought Ellen and Portia were less than he was, AND that he expected to be respected for his bigotry. All with a smile on his face.

'Straight Talk' indeed.

McCain has always said that he opposes same-sex marriage, but that he also opposes the federal anti-gay "marriage" amendment (which, of course, has nothing to do with marriage, and everything to do with ensuring that us uppity queers don't think we deserve to not be stoned to death or anything crazy like that), in saying we should "leave it up to the states" (which, ironically enough, is what California is doing, but we all know the aversion wingnuts have to things like logic and consistency). This, admittedly, is a better position than that of the current occupier of the big swivelly chair in the Oval Office ... but that's like saying fresh shit is better than week-old shit because it hasn't decomposed quite as much.

The thing is, the "leave it up to the states" thing is also effectively the position of both Obama and Clinton as well. Sure, they support civil unions and/or partnership recognition of some sort for us pinkos, but they've shied away from federal recognition like it's a bloody third rail. Which, I suppose it is, politically at least.

I've noticed that when a lot of straight people talk about same-sex marriage in places like California and Massachusetts, or Civil Unions in New Jersey and Vermont, they just assume that such things are exactly the same as their own unions in such states. But the thing is, they're not. One can have all the equality that is humanly possible within a state when it comes to marriage, one can hold a big huge state-equality party, we can throw state-equality around like it's bloody confetti, but it doesn't matter one iota when it comes to federal recognition. Thanks to the federal DOMA (Defence Of Marriage Act) a state can stamp its feet all it wants, but Washington is a closed door to us queers, and it reads "Breeders Only" (and you can be damn skippy it's not a nice colour-coordinated door either).

And a lot of people have said "Okay, well, we'll get a critical mass of states together, and then, eventually, we'll get it on the national stage." And this seems like a perfectly rational and reasonable long-term strategy. Doesn't it? Slow and steady, after all. Don't want to piss off the straights; they get all pissy and nervous when you aggravate them, and while our riots may be fabulous (I mean, drag queens throwing stilettos? Hello?) straights seem to have downright NASTY riots.

But there's one problem with this strategy (well, there's more than one, but I'll focus on one at the moment ... hey, I have a syllabus and a dissertation proposal to write here!) and that gets back to my friend and I dancing around an Urban Outfitters (hey, SHE wanted to be in there, NOT me!). While she marrying her girlfriend (and they are VERY cute together I have to say, and I should know, I used to date my friend ... yeah, yeah, I know, I'm sooooo a lesbian) would actually mean something substantial to them, if I were to find some American woman insane enough to not only date me but want to marry me, said substance would very quickly drain down the hole that is immigration recognition.

No matter how much I may love said hypothetical insane woman, and she hypothetically me, for all extents and purposes, our wonderfully equal state marriage would be so much packing-paper in me not being able to stay in the country to be with her. The fundamental privilege of the "leave it to the states" approach is that it is one that only citizens can access; it leaves non-citizens out in the cold.

Not that straight federal partnership recognition is a box of cookies. Ask 'Liss and Mr Shakes about the hoops of varying colour, size, shape, etc that they've had to jump through. There's even a section on the form to specify the detailed type of arse-kissing you're particularly proficient in.

But that's still a country mile ahead of where us queers are (do country people travel slower or something? Are there bumpkin-measures? Never got that particular idiom).

I personally don't know if once I've finished my seemingly endless doctoral studies that I'll stay in the US or not, and given that I now actually can reasonably see the end, it is something I am thinking about. But there's one thing I am definitely certain of; if I do, it won't be because of the woman I may have hypothetically fallen in love with. Because to the US federal government, that love might as well not exist; WE don't exist. She's just her, and I'm just me, the alien; there is no we.

So, as wonderful, incredible and groundbreaking as the California decision was, and is, it's always going to also be a tad bittersweet. There exists, at the federal level, legislation called the 'Uniting American Families Act', which is in both houses of Congress, which would provide immigration rights to same-sex couples regardless of federal recognition of marriage. But none of the three presidential candidates have co-sponsored the bill in their senatorial capacities, and it's been largely ignored by both the (straight) immigrant-rights and gay rights communities.

Bi-national same-sex couples may celebrate alongside everyone else at the California recognition of our inherent humanity, but it's a hollow celebration, as it does nothing for us in reality.

I know we talk a lot about privilege recognition on this blog, and a lot of you here may react "oh dammit, not ANOTHER privilege?!" but the thing is, citizenship IS a privilege, as any immigrant will tell you, gay or straight. The thing is, being a gay foreigner in this country you realise that even in this, you're still on the border, knocking on the fence.

They just don't need to patrol this one.

[Here's some more info on partnership immigration.]

(Cross-posted.)

McCain knows nothing about economy and has crooked lobbyist as advisor - and Americans trust that

Sometimes, there's little more one can do than shake one's head. Or, slam it repeatedly against a wall.

McCain Trusted More Than Obama on Economy, Iraq, National Security

When it comes to the economy, 47% of voters trust John McCain more than Barack Obama. Obama is trusted more by 41%. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey also found that, when it comes to the War in Iraq, McCain is trusted more by 49% of voters. Obama is preferred by 37%. McCain has an even larger edge 53% to 31% -- on the broader topic of National Security. These results are little changed from a month ago.

It's shocking enough that anyone would trust McCain more on the Takeover of Iraq and National Security, being it's been made perfectly clear he'll be the Third Bush to hold the Presidency. But the economy??

“The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should,” McCain said. But, “I’ve got Greenspan’s book."

Luckily McCain has Phil Gramm to guide the economy for him:

Even as John McCain struggles to preserve his image as a reformer by dismissing a few of the Washington lobbyists who dominated his presidential campaign, the futility of that effort suddenly became painfully obvious. Dire bulletins in the financial media warned of many billions in rotting mortgage paper held by UBS, the financial conglomerate that just happens to employ former Texas Sen. Phil Gramm, McCain's campaign chairman and chief economic advisor. Until two months ago UBS listed Gramm as a federal lobbyist on housing and mortgage issues.

So there at the shoulder of the Arizona maverick is perched yet another special-interest shill, in this instance not merely an errand boy for various dictators but the vice chairman of a Swiss bank whispering advice on how to cope with our economic woes. Or how not to cope, as in McCain's do-nothing approach to the foreclosure crisis, which displayed the strong influence of the financial lobby on his campaign.

Undoubtedly Gramm is promoting the agenda of those who subsidize him, as he has done ever since he entered politics as a servant of oil interests in his home state. He took hundreds of thousands of dollars from energy and financial interests as a congressman and then as a senator, rising to the chairmanship of the Senate Banking Committee, where he could really perform major favors. He is famed for slipping in an amendment desired by Enron Corp. back when his wife was on that doomed company's board. His employment by UBS, a company that recently warned some of its executives to avoid entering the United States for fear of criminal prosecution, demands fresh scrutiny of him as well as McCain.

Here's a little economic advice from your pal Bill, should McCain somehow become President - buy Euros.

--WKW

Killing Time

The other day Liss and I were talking and she said "Doesn't it seem like we don't even have a government right now? When was the last time there was a major piece of legislation worth discussing?"

I replied, "It's totally like working someplace that is going out of business, and it's like the last couple weeks and everyone's sort of sitting around wondering, hey, should we maybe sweep up or something, but then they think, fuck it, why bother."

Liss added, "It's like we're all just waiting for January Twentieth of next year so the country can start again. Political purgatory."

234 days until something happens.

Minute Sixteen

So, I wrote yesterday about trans-bashing airhead Christian Siriano, and I was surprised to discover that he's already issued an "apology." I can only assume someone close to him managed to penetrate the cloud of Aquanet to get it through his thick skull that you don't fuck with trans people and drag queens. They were the soldiers in your revolution; show some respect.

"I wish that my words were not taken in that way," Siriano told GLAAD today. "When I was speaking, some comments that I made were not used in the article. I completely support the fabulousness and amazing fashion inspiration that most transgender people provide."

Yes, I'm sure whatever words you used that weren't used in the article totally made up for your sexist, classist, racist, transphobic attempt at being clever. But I see your brief turn in the spotlight has taught you that old "I was taken out of context" trick.

You gotta love that "most," too. Why, could you possible mean "most" transgender people, except for the "trannie messes?"

But it gets even more special; you're going to love the familiar friend he brings along to the party.

"I know plenty of trans people," he says. "Some of my best friends had the struggle finding themselves. As did I considering that I am a very flamboyant gay man. I mean no disrespect to the transgender population and I never will. Some of my close friends happen to be transgender and I think they are some of the most inspiring people in my life."

Yep.

He said it.

"Some of my best friends are."

Look, you offensive, spoiled little twit: Yes, it is difficult living life as a flamboyant gay man. But trans people have it infinitely more difficult than you do as a "flamboyant gay man" living in New York City, possessing tons of privilege, money and media attention. They hold courage you cannot begin to comprehend. And how dare you use that bigoted "some of my best friends are" canard to casually dismiss your constant mockery? Do you have the slightest fucking clue how often that very statement has been used to excuse homophobia and violence against LTBTQ persons? Christ.

On Project Runway, the designer practically invoked the word "trannie" at every turn, an offensive slur he is now actively working to remove from his vocabulary as he becomes more involved working with and representing the LGBT community.

Wow. That sounds like a sentence that should be written about a privileged heterosexual person that had never come in contact with an LGBTQ person in their lives, not an openly gay man. He truly is clueless. And he doesn't represent me.

And you all laughed at me for loving Ricky. Snort. Harrumph.

(Update: I realized I forgot to rant about his "I completely support the fabulousness and amazing fashion inspiration that most transgender people provide." statement. Trans people don't exist to provide fashion inspiration for you. Not everything is about fashion. Trans people aren't dressing as their desired gender just to look good, you jackass; they're trying to live their everyday lives. And what, you support them when they look good, but not other times? Shut up while you're not ahead.)

(Much love and an Energy Dome tip to Damon at CineQueer. Siriano could learn a lot from GLAAD. He probably thinks it's a cling wrap company.)

Boston TV Host Fired for Criticizing Bill O'Reilly

Welcome to America 2.o, Barry Nolan:

CN8 host Barry Nolan, who publicly complained a few weeks ago about Bill O'Reilly receiving an award from the Boston chapter of National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, has been fired by the Comcast network. ... The host of "Backstage With Barry Nolan" had argued that O'Reilly, the volatile Fox News host and former Channel 7 anchor, was unworthy of the Governor's Award. (Past recipients include the likes of Mike Wallace, Ken Burns, and Natalie Jacobson.) "The idea of honoring someone who does their job with constant factual errors, name-calling, and mangling of the truth ... It's ridiculous," said Nolan, [who] was warned by his bosses at CN8 to pipe down, but at the May 10 dinner honoring O'Reilly he handed out a six-page document listing some of O'Reilly's wackier errors, utterances, and information about the talk-show host's sexual harassment settlement. ... He was immediately suspended without pay for two weeks and then fired over the phone Tuesday.

Love that Nolan handed out pamphlets detailing O'Reilly's idiocy; can't believe he got shitcanned for it; really can't believe they did it over the damn phone.

Nolan blogged about the experience at Think Progress:

O'Reilly was an appalling choice, not because of his political views, but because he simply gets the facts wrong, abuses his guests and the powerless in general, is delusional, and, well, you might want to Google: Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

Plus there was that whole sexual harassment thing – the lawsuit he settled for an estimated $10 million. Not the kind of guy you normally think of when it comes time to pass out honors.

I found that most of my colleagues felt the same way. So, on May 10th at the Emmy Awards dinner, I quietly passed out a document that contained – not my opinion – but O'Reilly's own words and quotes from his sexual harassment lawsuit. And that is what got me fired. I got fired from my job on a news and information network for reporting demonstrably true things in a room full of news people.

I don't have anything particularly brilliant to add to that, although perhaps CN8 would benefit from hearing from some polite, teaspoon-wielding folks who don't appreciate their decision to fire someone for reporting facts. Email or call toll free: 1-877-862-9374.

Two-Minute Nostalgia Sublime

Solid Gold: 1984

Read These Now or the Chinese Will Destroy the Black Truffle

Pope says Vatican will excommunicate women priests. (Telegraph)

The Myanmar Junta is a cesspool: "The Myanma Ahlin newspaper, a government mouthpiece, said cyclone victims from the hardest-hit areas could get by without foreign handouts."

"A leading gay rights organisation has been ordered to dissolve itself by a court in Turkey. A department of the Istanbul Governor's office responsible for non-governmental organisations alleged that the group, Lambda Istanbul, violates Turkish laws on morality." (Pink News)

Jeff Gannon and McLellan. (The Princess Sparkle)

VIDEO: Vatican's Pagan Tomb Reopened. (NG)

Obama distances himself from another clergyman. See Liss' post for the problem.

"Texas overstepped its authority when it removed some 460 children from a polygamist ranch last month, the state's Supreme Court said on Thursday." (Reuters)

Op-Ed: Some Historical Perspective on the FLDS. (Digital Journal)

"Star Trek" theme composer Alexander Courage dies.

The Chinese are EVEN affecting the Perigord black truffle. Do you know what is tasty? Truffle oil drizzled over potatoes fried in DUCK FAT.

On the 17^th of each month, the Eames Office will host an event in honor of Charles Eames's centennial year. (Eames Gallery)

Parents say sex education went too far inside the classroom full of 8th-graders at Fort Herriman Middle School. Suzanne Johnson told us, "She explained how the teacher talked about masturbation. Girl masturbation, boys, the wrong ways … the right ways to have sex, the wrong ways to have sex. How long to make it last. I mean, disgusting." "What bothered me is that, not only did we get into discussions of masturbatory activity, but we got into explicit descriptions of homosexual acts," Smith said. (KLS)

Looking Tired Or Angry May Have More To Do With Facial Aesthetics Than How You Feel. A little Botox will make that go away.

Scientists Hold Seance For Supernova.

E. coli bacteria-run computer solves math puzzle. (Discovery)

La Scala to stage Gore's 'Inconvenient Truth'.

A new tell-all about the White House.

Need Lasik? Do it yourself!

When I am not using school learnin' to masturbate properly, I listen to something called music while I compile the morning readings. This evening/early morning, (DAMN YOU INSOMNIA!) I am listening to the new album, Ana Hina, by Natacha Atlas with the Mazeeka Ensemble. The cd is only available in the UK right now, but Amazon has it available as a mp3 download. I guess I am a terrorist because she sings mainly in Arabic. Oh well... The Guardian describes the album as:

She starts with cool, mature reworkings of songs made famous by the Lebanese diva Fairuz and the Egyptian star Abdel Halim Hafez, with her controlled, slinky vocals matched by a tight, gently rhythmic backing. Then she moves on, bringing a Middle Eastern edge to the folk song Black Is the Colour, before adding Latin influences on La Vida Callada and brassy swing on the cheerful El Asil. It's a mature, varied and entertaining set, and it promises to transform her career.

Atlas often does her version of classics; from I Put A Spell on You by Screamin' Jay Hawkins to Mon Amie La Rose by Françoise Hardy to James Brown's Man's World. Her rendition of Black is the Color does not disappoint. I am a happy Amazon shopper. And no DRM. The tubes are miraculous sometimes. HA!

Here is Natacha Atlas' version of Whatever Lola Wants from the movie of the same name.

Hillary Sexism Watch, #104

This is just getting fucking ridiculous: Chicago Priest, Father Michael Pfleger, guest ministering at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, gives a sermon on white privilege and entitlement (cool) and uses the occasion to tear into Hillary Clinton with wanton misogyny and accusations of racism (not cool):

Transcript from 1:58: I don't really want to make this political, 'cause you know I'm very unpolitical [laughter], but when Hillary was crying, and people said that was put on, I really don't believe it was put on. I really believe that she just always thought: "This is mine." [applause] "I'm Bill's wife; I'm white; and this is mine! I just gotta get up and step into [sic] the plate." And then outta nowhere came: "Hey, I'm Barack Obama." And she said, "Aww, damn! Where did you come from?! I'm white! I'm entitled! There's a black man stealing my show!" [cheers and applause] Waaaaaaaah! [pretends to weep and cry; wipes face with hankie] Waaaaaaaah! She wasn't the only one crying; there was a whole lotta white people crying!"

Pfleger's apology was about as mature as his original offense: "These words are inconsistent with Senator Obama's life and message and I am deeply sorry if they offended Senator Clinton or anyone else who saw them." If. The ultimate non-apology apology. And of course no acknowledgement that what he said is just intrinsically fucking wrong, aside from whether they're "inconsistent with Senator Obama's life and message."

Meanwhile, given yet another opportunity to specifically denounce the misogyny being wielded against Clinton, Obama chose yet again to wholly ignore it: "As I have traveled this country, I've been impressed not by what divides us, but by all that that unites us. That is why I am deeply disappointed in Father Pfleger's divisive, backward-looking rhetoric, which doesn't reflect the country I see or the desire of people across America to come together in common cause."

He didn't even mention Clinton by name.

And, no, I don't think that Obama ought to be held responsible for what gets said at his church, no less by some visiting minister. What I do think is that, given that he was nonetheless asked about it, he could have taken time to say a couple freaking words at long last about the misogyny that has been used repeatedly and unabashedly against his opponent, even if it's just something as simple as, "As a husband to a woman, a father to two daughters, and a person who believes in the fundamental equality of women, I abhor that kind of rhetoric being used to demean any woman." Dammit, I just really don't understand why that's so fucking hard.

I am so sick of this shit.

[Hat tips to Shaker DD and my local news. Video via Talk Left.]

[Hillary Sexism Watch: Parts One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One, Twenty-Two, Twenty-Three, Twenty-Four, Twenty-Five, Twenty-Six, Twenty-Seven, Twenty-Eight, Twenty-Nine, Thirty, Thirty-One, Thirty-Two, Thirty-Three, Thirty-Four, Thirty-Five, Thirty-Six, Thirty-Seven, Thirty-Eight, Thirty-Nine, Forty, Forty-One, Forty-Two, Forty-Three, Forty-Four, Forty-Five, Forty-Six, Forty-Seven, Forty-Eight, Forty-Nine, Fifty, Fifty-One, Fifty-Two, Fifty-Three, Fifty-Four, Fifty-Five, Fifty-Six, Fifty-Seven, Fifty-Eight, Fifty-Nine, Sixty, Sixty-One, Sixty-Two, Sixty-Three, Sixty-Four, Sixty-Five, Sixty-Six, Sixty-Seven, Sixty-Eight, Sixty-Nine, Seventy, Seventy-One, Seventy-Two, Seventy-Three, Seventy-Four, Seventy-Five, Seventy-Six, Seventy-Seven, Seventy-Eight, Seventy-Nine, Eighty, Eighty-One, Eighty-Two, Eighty-Three, Eighty-Four, Eighty-Five, Eighty Six, Eighty-Seven, Eighty-Eight, Eighty-Nine, Ninety, Ninety-One, Ninety-Two, Ninety-Three, Ninety-Four, Ninety-Five, Ninety-Six, Ninety-Seven, Ninety-Eight, Ninety-Nine, One Hundred, 101, 102, 103.]

OMG Lost: Obsessive Discussion Thread

In case it's not obvious, herein lie SPOILERZ!!!

Feeling a little Squirrelly

I hope you enjoyed this photo essay entitled "Dude, Nut Me!" Taken at the City of Hope Hospital, where the abundant wildlife only adds to the healing process.

--WKW

Help wanted: Large, powerful nation needs media that's not sold out

The "liberal media" line bleated out by Conservatives like so many Orwellian sheep has always perplexed me. They will fight you tooth and nail on Exxon making $40 billion a year in profit because "that's what corporations are supposed to do, that's capitalism." Yet when it comes to the media, they seem to have this unshakable belief that the corporations running the mainstream media are hellbent on destroying the U.S., profits be damned. It's senseless and stupid.

Currently, our mainstream media is so dreadfully bad, so corrupt, that it's actually starting to border on criminal. And today, it appears some in the media are starting to sheepishly come out of hiding to let the world know that their corporate overlords have been using them as puppets for some time. First, ABC's Jessica Yellin:

"The press corps was under enormous pressure from corporate executives, frankly, to make sure that this was a war presented in way that was consistent with the patriotic fever in the nation and the president's high approval ratings," Yellin said.

"And my own experience at the White House was that the higher the president's approval ratings, the more pressure I had from news executives--and I was not at this network at the time--but the more pressure I had from news executives to put on positive stories about the president, I think over time...."

But then a shocked Cooper jumped in, asking, "You had pressure from news executives to put on positive stories about the president?"

"Not in that exact.... They wouldn't say it in that way, but they would edit my pieces," Yellin said. "They would push me in different directions. They would turn down stories that were more critical, and try to put on pieces that were more positive. Yes, that was my experience."

Then NBC's Brian Williams:

In Katrina the evidence was right next to us. Sadly we saw fellow Americans, in some cases, floating past, face down. We knew what had just happened. We weren't allowed to that kind of proximity with the weapons inspectors. I was in Kuwait for the build up of the war and yes we heard from the Pentagon, on my cell phone, the minute they heard us report something that they didn't like. The tone of that time was quite extraordinary.

And this adds to New York Times running a story the hidden ties between the Pentagon and the supposedly neutral military analysts, and how they all worked as one to foist the Iraq war onto the public, one interview at a time.

Expect to have Yellin's story die, much as the military analyst story has died. As Will Bunch said: "The response? The next story about this on NBC, ABC or CBS -- which normally take their cues from the front page of the New York Times -- will be the first."

These stories will die because the U.S. is a nation run by corporations, and those corporations aren't about to investigate themselves. The mainstream media is a farce, and journalism in the U.S. is only alive at the most local of levels.

Other than shake in anger and frustration, all I know to do now is to point you in a couple areas where level headed writers will explain it all better, and investigate those who should be investigating: Glenn Greenwald and Will Bunch.

If you'd like to add some other real reporters in comments that we should we watching, please do. Because I'm still an optimist when it comes to the U.S. I still believe things can improve and we can move away from a corporate-fascist state. But we can't do it with a media that is neither independent, nor competent.

--WKW

Question of the Day

Because I am a huge romantic, this is my present to Iain for our upcoming anniversary. I was so excited about it that I had to be a spoiler and show it to him immediately; he has already declared it his new favorite t-shirt:

WWHMD? How awesome is that?
So, today's QotD is: What's your favorite t-shirt? My favorite has to be a Lost (ZOMG Lost finale tonight!!!11!) t-shirt reading "Dharma University" with a picture of a polar bear. Tied with my Atari t-shirt.

Harvey Korman - 1927-2008

From CNN:

Comic actor Harvey Korman has died at 81, according to the UCLA Medical Center.

Harvey Korman's death comes after complications from the rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Korman died at the center four months after suffering complications from the rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm.

"It was a miracle in itself that he survived the incident at all. Everyone in the hospital referred to him as 'miracle man' because of his strong will and ability to bounce right back after several major operations," said Korman's daughter, Kate Korman. "Tragically, after such a hard-fought battle, he passed away."

Korman was a regular on "The Carol Burnett Show" from 1967 through 1978, for which he won Emmy awards in 1969, 1971, 1972 and 1974. He also won a Golden Globe for his work on the series.

The lanky Korman also appeared in Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles" (as the sneering Hedley Lamarr), "High Anxiety" and "History of the World, Part 1."

What an amazing talent, what a wonderful comedian, and what a loss. I used to watch Carol Burnett just to see if she could crack him up, and I loved him in all of Mel Brooks' movies.

God speed, Hedy Lamarr. ("That's Hedley!")

(Cross-posted.)

Need a Laugh?

Shaker Rowan passes on this gem from Jacki Schechner at AmericaBlog:

John and Joe invited me to podcast again with them today, and we addressed the issue of sexism and misogyny in the current Democratic primary. I personally haven't seen or heard of any... Give me an example. Like I said, I can't think of any time that Clinton's being female has come up in conversation as a reason to vote against her. Where's this sexism taking place? Not on TV. Not online where I read and communicate. Point it out. I'll be happy to speak up against it.

Well, gee, I can think of A HUNDRED AND THREE EXAMPLES right off the top of my head. Eric Boehlert's got some more here that aren't included in my list. And, say, here's a thread with about a billion more examples!

Btw, I love the construct that sexism only matters if it's used specifically in the context of "a reason to vote against her." Right. And everyone thinks the Curious George "Obama in '08" t-shirt is fine and dandy since it doesn't explicitly say "Don't vote for Obama." Christ.

You See? You See?

Twit. Oh, you all pooh-poohed me. When I was driven to fist-clenching by his grating voice, his obnoxious behavior and his constant, constant, CONSTANT trilling of "That's fierce!" you all laughed at me. You laughed! I said he was a privileged, spoiled, offensive little brat, and everyone cooed "But his clothes are so beautiful!"

Well, who's laughing now? Ah-ha-ha!

Christian Siriano: If you think of heterosexuals, they have white-trash women and trailer parks, and we have drag queens and trannies. I don’t know if I’m the one who can explain it. It’s, like, drag queens are just there. These answers are hard!

Wow, sexist, classist, racist and transphobic. This is the bozo that Time Out New York decides to quiz regarding gay "culture," as if he'd know culture if it fell out of the sky, landed in his lap, and did the chicken dance. (Seeing him in the company of the other LGBTQ activists in that panel is frankly embarrassing.) This is a guy that thinks "Too Wong Foo" is, ahem, fabulous. Blech. I'm amazed he was able to keep himself from saying "fierce," it's his catchphrase, after all!

And please, spare me the "he's only 23" stuff. I was an asshole when I was in my early 20's and I would never consider calling drag queens and trans people "trash." Not all people in their 20's are this repugnant. If it weren't for the fucking drag queens on Christopher Street, you wouldn't have your sweet little five minutes of fame, Christian. (Tick, tick, by the way.) I love how when asked an interesting question of actual substance:

Why do we all seem to end up in our own little niches in the city—the leather queens over here, the gay Asians over there, the lesbians on the other side, etc.?

He has nothing to say. Literally; it's the only question he didn't answer. I guess he couldn't work in a way to call someone a "tranny mess." Wow, color me shocked. In fierce pink.

Forgive me, Shakers, I just have to indulge in this little bit of schadenfreude. Nothing pisses off this queer like gay men that happily exploit the freedom given to them by the most marginalized members of our community while trashing those same people. And I hate it when people use "tranny" as an insult or mocking adjective. Let's face it, his clothes had Drag Queen written all over them; they'll be paying his salary in the future, if he's lucky.

And I still say everything he made was the same damn outfit.

(Energy Dome tip to (and photo stolen from) Feministe; although I flinch at the "drive-by" snark.)

One Small Step

Adding my two cents to Petulant's post...

New York Gov. David Paterson has instructed state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages from other states.

In a directive issued on May 14, the governor’s legal counsel, David Nocenti, instructed the agencies that gay couples married elsewhere “should be afforded the same recognition as any other legally performed union.”

The revisions are most likely to involve as many as 1,300 statutes and regulations in New York governing everything from joint filing of income tax returns to transferring fishing licenses between spouses.

In a videotaped message given to gay community leaders at a dinner on May 17, Mr. Paterson described the move as “a strong step toward marriage equality.” And people on both sides of the issue said it moved the state closer to fully legalizing same-sex unions in this state.

This is the way that same-sex marriage will become the law of the land: not by some landmark legal decision handed down by the Supreme Court, but in incremental and manageable steps like this, city by city, state by state. It's less dramatic and it takes longer, but it also makes it harder for the opponents of equality for the gay and lesbian community to fight back; it's like playing Whack-A-Mole.

It's also ironic; this is the same modus operandi that the Religious Reich used to win support for their agenda thirty years ago: infiltrate at the state and local level, the momentum will build from below. We learned, more's the pity, that it worked for them. Now it's our turn.

(Cross-posted.)

Love It

Teaspoon Chandelier!

Thanks to Shaker Tracey.

Don't Caption this Photo

Via CuteOverload

Oof

George Bush Authorized the Leak of Valerie Wilson's Identity: "Scottie McC doesn't know it yet. But that's basically what he revealed this morning on the Today Show. During the interview, Scottie revealed the two things that really pissed him off with the Bush Administration. First, being set up to lie by Karl Rove and Scooter Libby. And second, learning that Bush had—himself—authorized the selective leaking of the NIE."

Oof, I say again.

Beep Beep!

Well, we've got a new car.

I like how the gauges and the steering wheel look like a smiley face.
Those aren't pictures of our actual car. They're just pictures of some other 2006 Ford Fusion in "Dune Pearl" (ooh la la) that I found online, because I was too lazy to walk my fat arse out to the driveway and take a picture.

Random Thoughts: It's such a load off our minds. With gas prices threatening to spike this summer and our Behemoth POS threatening to need costly repairs in the very near future just to keep it running, we started to feel like we were in a race against time before the dominoes starting falling. Neither of us fully realized how subliminally stressed about it we each were until we were riding home in the "new" car with a Mozza CD christening the CD player and no worry that we were going to break down at any moment.

And because we'd been driving a Behemoth POS, the better mileage on the newer, smaller car and better insurance rate will make the higher car payment a wash. Wheeeeeeeee!

When we were just at the dealership, the guy doing our financing said that some dude just bought a new Ford Expedition the other day and it cost them $113 to fill it for him. "And he probably ran out of gas before he pulled out of the parking lot!" He was actually laughing at his own customer for the idiocy of buying a giant gas guzzling SUV when everyone else is buying smaller and smaller cars. Ha.

Finally: This was a great car-buying experience. Aside from just being a low pressure, casual salesperson, the guy who helped us treated me like I had a brain and was an equal partner; he never made me feel like "the wife." I felt extremely comfortable with him, way more comfortable (and respected) by a long shot than I have ever felt with any car salesman in the past. He's going to get a nice email thanking him for that, and his boss will be getting a letter complimenting him for it, too. I'm also going to recommend him to anyone I know who's looking to buy a car.

It pays to be cool to uppity bitchez.

Quite possibly the most annoying thing I've read all day

I'm not entirely sure whether this one belongs in the Hillary Sexism Watch, but I am most displeased with this piece from the Politico about potential female VP candidates. And not just because there's a sense of "any pair of boobs will do." No, it's mostly this:

Like Hillary Rodham Clinton, the three other women most frequently mentioned as possible running mates for Barack Obama are widely recognized as shrewd, trailblazing politicians who would provide critical ballast to an Obama-led presidential ticket.

But according to interviews with Republicans in their home states, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano and Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill differ from Clinton by two important measures: They’ve managed to win elections without developing polarizing personas, and they’ve shied away from emphasizing gender in their campaigns.

Let's just leave aside, for now, this "polarizing persona" nonsense, because frankly, Clinton didn't do a damn thing to "develop" a polarizing persona except not be a doormat.

No, let's look at that bolded bit. "They've shied away from emphasizing gender in their campaigns." With the necessary implication that Clinton has emphasized it.

Clinton's not done a whole lot to "emphasize gender" other than note the historic nature of her campaign (as Obama has done for his). But more importantly, she's running to become the first female president of the United States. Gender can't be avoided in such a campaign (and certainly it hasn't been, viz. "Iron My Shirt" guys).

Not to mention, this is the first campaign she's run where gender has been a factor. I'm a New Yorker; I know that she didn't "emphasize gender" in her Senate races in 2000 and 2006 (the only time I can remember it coming up was when Rick Lazio charged her podium during a debate, but others "emphasized gender" in that encounter, not Clinton, who laughed it off). Nor, I would suspect, had Claire McCaskill "emphasized gender" when she ran for Senate or Janet Napolitano or Kathleen Sebelius when they ran for governor. Why? Because they weren't the first female Senators or governors. There was nothing groundbreaking about their candidacies.

Hate to break this to you, Politico, but a female VP candidate would necessarily "emphasize gender," even though Geraldine Ferraro broke the ground of being the first female VP candidate for the general election.

Quote of the Day

"Total crap."—Former White House Counselor Dan Bartlett on The McClellatron 3000's allegation that the media was soft on the White House in the run-up to the Iraq war.

He's right. That is total crap. They weren't soft; they were shamefully, despicably, criminally irresponsible.

I suspect that's not what Bartlett meant though, heh.

Army Suicides on the Rise

WASHINGTON - The number of Army suicides increased again last year, amid the most violent year yet in both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Two defense officials said Thursday that 108 troops committed suicide in 2007, six more than the previous year. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the full report on the deaths wasn't being released until later Thursday.

About a quarter of the deaths occurred in Iraq.

The overall toll was the highest in many years, and it was unclear when, if ever, it was previously that high. Immediately available Army records go back only to 1990 and the figure then was lower — at 102 — for that year as well as 1991.

[...]

The increases come despite a host of efforts to improve the mental health of a force stressed by long and repeated tours of duty. Increasing the strain on the force last year was the extension of deployments to 15 months from 12 months, a practice that is being terminated this year.

What really frustrates me about reading this is my feeling of helplessness. Here I am, a recently graduated mental health professional having difficulty finding a job, and I can't get a job at the VA, due to DADT.

I'd be interested to know what these "efforts" to improve mental health actually are, and how much they could possibly be helping when Army personnel are continually faced with extended deployments and multiple tours of duty. I read news like this and I wonder how people can still be pushing that "no one talks about the good things coming out of Iraq" pap.

Obama's Webb?

Over the past couple of weeks, I've been seeing little things here and there about the possibility of Virginia Senator Jim Webb, the Democratic convert who beat George "Macaca" Allen in 2006, being a great potential running mate for Obama, provided he's the nominee. Yesterday, there was a piece in the New York Observer, "What Jim Webb Is Worth to Obama," that detailed the pros and cons of an Obama-Webb ticket, ultimately finding: "[I]n a national campaign, what seemed dull in '06 might instead register as sober, responsible and reassuring. And, really, when the Republicans start calling him a weakling and a lightweight, is there anyone Obama would rather have by his side than Jim Webb?"

Huzzah...?

Not mentioned, of course, is that Webb's baggage includes a 1979 essay in the Washingtonian, "Women Can't Fight," in which Webb argued that there was no place for women in combat and therefore no place for them at the Naval Academy. (What's rarely been cited from that piece is his alarming claim that rape and domestic violence against women are attributable to "the realignment of sexual roles." Um, wow.) Webb also penned a piece for The Weekly Standard in 1997, "The War on the Military Culture," in which he said: "Political and military leaders must have the courage to ask clearly in what areas our current policies toward women in the military are hurting, rather than helping, the task of defending the United States."

And despite the widely-disseminated talking point issued by the Dems that Webb doesn't believe that shit anymore, he wasn't exactly running away from it with fervent regret when asked about it on Meet the Press in 2006:

Russert: Now you issued a statement, said, "to the extent my writing caused hardship," you were sorry. And Ms. Murray has sent me a letter saying, "That's not enough." It's not to the extent that "my writing caused hardship." The content of the article was just plain wrong, and Mr. Webb should say that. Do you agree?

Webb: Um, this article was written from the perspective of a marine rifle platoon company commander, and, to that extent, I think it was, uh, way too narrowly based.

Russert: But was it wrong?

Webb: I don't think it was wrong to participate in the debate at that time. It's been 27 years, it's a magazine article, and, uh, it's something, if I may say, I'm fully comfortable with the roles of women in the military today; I've been all around the world and, uh, at the request of many women commanders, this issue was vetted twice, in, uh, Senate confirmation hearings, 1984, 1987, uh, and both times I expressed my views on, uh, women in military billets, and when I was Secretary of the Navy, on my own initiative, I put together a task force that, where we ended up opening up more, uh, more billets, operational billets to women than any sector—

Russert: When you say [crosstalk] the Naval Academy is a horny woman's dream, you regret that?

Webb: Well, I do regret that.

This is the look on Webb's face as he says how he "regrets" saying a placement at the Naval Academy is a horny woman's dream:

Yeah, he regrets that like I regret voting for Al Gore.

I cannot begin to express what a terrible, terrible, terrible idea it would be for the Democratic Party to allow Jim Webb onto the national ticket after this primary season, for reasons I'm guessing I don't need to explain. I resent the idea that sticking any old pair of boobs in the veep slot is going to mollify the women who are rightfully angry with the way Clinton has been treated by her own party during this primary (yeah, I'm looking at you, Leahy, just for a start), but I resent even more the notion that it doesn't matter at all. Handing the veep slot to Webb on an Obama ticket would be a huge slap in the face to feminists. I can think of almost nothing that would prevent me from voting for the Democratic ticket this November, but putting Webb's name on it would send me screaming Green without reservation—because it wouldn't just be about Webb; it would be about the Democrats signaling that they just don't give a shit about my vote.

And, realistically, that's part of why the whole Roe v Wade cudgel isn't working to batter feminists into line like it used to; the Democrats have been weak on protecting choice—and, hence, women's autonomy—for fucking years now. Sure, Roe's still in place, but the GOP has successfully chipped away at abortion rights on the federal and state levels for two decades. The point is, certainly the Democrats will nominate and approve justices who will protect Roe, but if they aren't willing to protect it from being rendered an impotent and largely symbolic statute because it's been hollowed out by "partial-birth abortion bans" and "parental consent laws" and state legislatures that refuse to fund clinics offering abortions, what does it really matter if they protect Roe? Feminists who are paying attention to what's happened to practical choice in this country know that the Roe card is already functionally meaningless at this point in large swaths of the country.

Empty promises to guarantee Roe aren't going to do it. The Dems are falling down on the job of serving their feminist constituents in general and women specifically. Putting Webb on the ticket would not reassure us; it would only hasten the process of driving us from the party, once and for all.