There's got to be some reason that this experienced and talented former diplomat and assistant secretary of state is reportedly only being considered for deputy national security adviser or UN ambassador, as opposed to, say, Secretary of State, but I just can't quite put my vagina finger on it.
(Please note "reportedly." This may be a problem with the Times' reporting, it may be that whoever's been tasked with leaking this sort of shit to the media is underselling the possibilities, it may be that she's really not being considered for a more serious position, or some combination thereof. I don't know which, so I'm not pointing vaginas fingers. All I know is that a man with the same résumé would probably be identified as a contender for director at NSA or State, even if he was more likely to end up as a deputy.)
Hmm
I Find It Really Interesting...
...that in response to the Great Blame-the-Dumb-Slutathon of 2008, there are a good few people who are calling out McCain campaign staffers as hypocrites (see Campbell Brown here, for example), but McCain himself is largely being exempted from criticism.
If what the staffers are now saying about Palin is true (and I'm not convinced it is, but it is certainly being reported that way), it means that the man who ran a campaign under the slogan "Country First" while traveling on the "Straight Talk Express" told the nation with reckless disregard for the potentially disastrous consequences that a patently and dangerously unqualified candidate was prepared to be president in his stead, if necessary.
And if what the staffers are now saying about Palin is not true, it means that the man who told us over and over and over that he is a man of honor and integrity is letting his former running mate be smeared in a pathetic bid to save his own tattered reputation.
The reality is that probably some of what is being said is true and some isn't, which means that McCain is both colossally injurious liar and unctuous scoundrel.
It would be nice if I heard half as much about that as I've heard about Sarah Palin's wardrobe dysfunction.
Action Item: No Larry Summers
Blog Note
It will be another light day for me, as we're still on holiday. As to the important question, however, yes, there will be a Virtual Pub tonight!
Please feel free to use this thread as the blogaround: Leave links to what you've written, what you're reading, what you'd like to talk about...
Coming Out -- Again.
When I started my blog, nearly a year and a half ago, I did so under the pseudonym "PortlyDyke" for a number of reasons.
First, the impetus for starting the blog was basically that I had become an obsessive commenter at Shakesville, and my comments had started to get really, really, really long (this should come as no surprise to those of you who have waded through my rants both at Teh Portly Dyke and at Shakesville -- succinct is not my middle name).
I really loved my commenter handle at Shakesville, and I kept it when I started my home blog.
The second reason that I chose to blog as PortlyDyke, rather than under my real name, was that I am a minister for a rather -- shall we say: "alternative"? -- religious organization. I wanted to keep those worlds separate, because I feel strongly about the separation of church and state, and I didn't want any political commentary that I might make at PortlyDyke to wash over into my work as a minister.
I haven't been absolute about my anonymity -- Melissa has known my true identity since I started blogging at Shakesville, and I've outted myself to a few folks that I've become close to in comment sections, virtual pubs, and chatty-chats online. If you had ever done a "select all" on my old blog template, you would have seen the copyright notice at the bottom (which I cleverly hid with white text on a white background so you would only see it when highlighting) -- and you would have known my real name. I've revealed my true name to those who have wanted to reprint blog-posts and credit me. I've linked to some of my own songs and poems. If you really wanted to know who I was, it wasn't impossible to suss it out.
Initially, the anonymity was both comforting and liberating. I felt a bit safer in the meat-world knowing that my name and address weren't exposed to a possible plethora of trolls, misogynists, and homophobes. I had a sense of being able to put my opinions out there without having a whole load of personal history attached to my name and my real world personality. I found it intriguing to see what people would make of me if I were judged solely by my words -- no attendant baggage of assumptions based on my past or my circumstances. I also found it interesting to see what I chose to reveal and what I chose to withhold.
Pretty quickly, though, the structure became somewhat limiting. I realized that there were things about me that would be very difficult to relate without identifying my offline life, and I found that the self-editing that I did sometimes decreased my ability to really connect with others that I met online.
Also, my particular ministry is all about power and responsibility, authenticity, and full integration of the self, so I was constantly in question about my real motivations for blogging psuedonomysly -- a) Was I attempting to avoid responsibility for my words? b) Was I hiding out of fear? (blech) c) Was I worried that people who seemed to respect me online would lose respect, judge, or reject me because of what I do for a living? (More on that later.)
I kept asking these questions internally and checking in with myself the whole time, and tried very hard to address them honestly. The answers were usually a) sometimes, b) sometimes, and c) often.
This summer, the whole thing got a lot more complicated for me. I took a long hiatus from blogging as I worked on my video project, and when I returned, people often asked me what the project was. I usually hemmed and hawed, and mumbled something vague and non-identifying, but occasionally I revealed myself with those I felt safe with (digging into the virtual pubs, you could find hints and cues to link me to real-world events -- evidence that a late Friday night and a few beers will, in fact, loosen my already unrestrained tongue). Sometimes, I would wonder next morning if I shouldn't have been so free with my information, but I usually comforted myself with the thought that most people don't have the stamina to read through the entire pub thread anyway.
I did start to notice something, though. I found that the constant second-guessing and self-editing required to maintain partial or complete anonymity was beginning to slow my blogging down. If I had an idea for a post, but it would require a lot of fancy footwork to tell the story well and still keep my PortlyDyke persona intact and separate, I would sometimes just bag it, because it was too much fucking work.
I talked with 'Liss at Shakesville about the pros and cons of anonymity -- about her own process with revealing her real-world identity after beginning as simply "Shakespeare's Sister", how it has impacted her life, and her writing.
The whole situation is a bit ironic for me, because in real life, I'm known for being completely outspoken about stuff that other people are uncomfortable with (sex, farting, my mental health history, etc., etc., etc.). Many and many a time I have been greeted with the Universal Sign for Too Much Information.
I find that I'm genuinely fond of my PortlyDyke persona, and don't want to lose her -- she's been Superman to my Clark Kent in some way. I would sometimes wonder if someone I was commenting with might be someone in my home-town, or who might have known me in real-life in a previous this-life incarnation (and I've had many of them). I would wonder if the ultra-liberal checker at my food coop might be a secret Shakesvillian. I loved it when Melissa and I would talk on the phone and she would still call me "Portly", even though she knew my real name.
However, the time has come for me to come out. Again.
I came out to my parents as queer when I was 24, although my mom had suspected (and even asked about it -- I lied) since I was 19 and getting love-letters from my first girlfriend. I was terrified, but it all turned out much better than I expected.
In 2000, I came out to my parents about my current work (which I had been doing for two years) -- I was less terrified, then (probably because I had a better sense of myself), but in many ways, it was much more difficult than coming out as a lesbian.
In a few more paragraphs, you will probably understand more as to why coming out about my work might be a little unnerving for me. It's actually one of the things that I've angsted about the most, as I've considered coming out on the blog. My work is of the type that some people poo-poo and scoff at, or think is so weird that they automatically discount me as an absolute nutcase (which, come to think of it, isn't exactly an unfounded assessment). I feel scared that some of my online atheist friends will now decide that I am just a silly ninny whose spiritual beliefs mean that she can be relegated to the "pay her no mind" bin.
I'm nervous about this. My hands are sweating right now. (Of course, it could just be the hot-flashes.) However, I know from my first coming out 28 years ago that there is never really a "good time" to dive off a diving board into a pool that might hold sharks or chocolate mousse -- if you wait for that "good moment", you will probably never do it.
That said, I do know why this is the right time for me -- the election is finally over, with results that I adore and results that I abhor -- but as I found myself saying in an email exchange with someone the day after the election, the truth is, I don't have much faith in elections.
I do think politics can change some things, but at the end of the day, I think that the transformational impact of individual human beings, acting in integrity, is more far-reaching than we can imagine. When hundreds, thousands, or millions of individuals act in integrity, we see the political and social tides that make big changes, but without those individual droplets, there is no ocean.
In truth, the little nigglings in my gut about straddling the philosophical chasm between anonymity and complete authenticity (a pet project of mine) have grown to rumbles as I realize just how important it is to me to be fully aligned with my own principles about showing up, taking responsibility (and the power attendant to it), and bringing the full energy of who I am to everything I do.
So here goes.
I've been cheating on you. I have another blog.
My name is [Redacted] and I make my living as a psychic and full body channeler.
The video project I've been working on is -- wait for it -- called Psychic Hygiene, and yes, it's just as out there as it may sound.
I'm a wild, weird, wacky woo-woo babe.
There. I said it.
That's it for the gaggle. Now I'll take a few questions.
What's that? No, I already told you -- my middle name is not "succinct" -- as a matter of fact, it's "Lee" -- but you can still call me . . . . .
PortlyDyke
Question of the Day
Aww. Poor guy can't catch a break.
Publishers Not Interested in Producing Bush's MemoirOkay, Shakers- What should be the title of Bush's memoir, if it ever gets published?
When George W. Bush leaves office in January, he’s likely to join other past presidents and write a memoir. However, publishers aren’t that interested in producing something from history’s most unpopular president at this point and are suggesting that he “take [his] time.” Even Marji Ross of the conservative Regnery Publishing said, “Certainly the longer he waits, the better.”
I'm thinking: Nope, No WMD's Here!!
Alternate title: Heh, heh. Suckers.
Rahm Emanuel Chosen as Obama's Chief of Staff
The bad news: There's stuff not to like about Rahm Emanuel.
The good news: There's stuff to like about Rahm Emanuel.
My feelings about Emanuel, with whom I've been familiar for a loooooong time by virtue of his Chicago background, are probably best summarized in this Photoshop I did a few years ago for reasons I don't remember:
The fact that I can't recall whether it was intended to be a compliment or a criticism really says everything I need to say about the guy.
If you don't know much about him, this 2005 Rolling Stone profile is a good place to start.
One thing that's encouraging: Picking Emanuel is almost certainly a signal that Obama is serious about governing toward the left.
As Predicted, Republicans' Feminist Awakening Was Short-Lived
I've been predicting for two months that if/when McCain lost the election, the Republicans who were so keen to use their funhouse version of feminism both to defend Palin against genuinely sexist attacks and to mendaciously attempt to insulate her from legitimate attacks by calling them sexist, would immediately excise the words sexism, misogyny, and feminism once again from their vocabularies and throw Palin under the bus using vicious sexist attacks.
File this under Unhappy to be Right:
(If anyone can find a transcript, please drop a link in comments.)
Everything about this video is disgusting. Bill O'Reilly affects minimal concern for Palin only as a bridge to get to Carl Cameron's next vicious report about her "tantrums," her ignorance, her "shopaholism," her greeting McCain campaign operatives wearing a bathrobe (the original report actually says "wearing nothing but a towel, with another on her wet hair"). O'Reilly offers a paternalistic, patently disingenuous defense after every new revelation, hardly able to contain himself from gleefully salivating at finally being able to throw Palin to the wolves after having to pretend to respect her for oh-so-painfully-long. Being able to bask in misogyny again is such a relief.
O'Reilly is nothing if not a Republican water carrier, and this, then, is the official GOP talking point: Palin is a dumb slut and that's why we lost.
Classy.
Shaker Gourmet: Murgh Kaju
Also known as: Coconut Chicken with Cashews. This is really good and even better the next day.
When I made this, I used bone-in thighs. I de-skinned them and cooked it a bit longer. I took the chicken pieces out and pulled the meat off with a fork before serving (just stirred it back into sauce). You can use raw or roasted--as the recipe says--but you get a really nice color with the roasted cashews.Murgh Kaju (Coconut Chicken with Cashews)
1 cup roasted or raw cashews + 1/4 cup roasted cashews for serving
4 whole dried red chiles
1 1-inch cinnamon stick
6 whole cloves
3 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 medium onion, chopped
8 garlic cloves
1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled & sliced
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp black pepper
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut crosswise into thirds
2 cups water
1 tsp salt, or to taste
--Process the one cup of raw or roasted cashews into a fine powder in a food processor.
--Combine chiles, cinnamon stick, cloves, coriander, cumin, onion, garlic, ginger, coconut, and 3/4 cup of the just-ground cashews in large sauce pan or casserole over low heat. Cook, stirring, until the cashews and coconut have turned light golden, about 10 minutes. Cool and process into a paste in the food processor.
--Wipe out pan or casserole and put it over medium heat. Add the oil, spice paste, and black pepper, and cook, stirring, until mix turns a deep golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add some water by the teaspoon to prevent the spice mix from sticking to the bottom of pan and burning.
--Add remaining ground cashews and cook, stirring, about five more minutes. Add chicken and cook, stirring, until it turns opaque, about 5 minutes.
--Add the two cups of water and salt, stir well, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer, partially covered, until chicken is tender, 15 - 20 minutes. Taste for salt and sprinkle with the 1/4 cup roasted cashews. Serve hot with pita and rice.
If you'd like to participate in Shaker Gourmet, email me at: shakergourmet (at) gmail.com
Happy Birthday, Iain!!!
It's my burfday!
No cake for the stinkabetes birthday boy; the delectable concentration of sweetness in that utterly adorable picture of the wee bairn we now know as our resident Scotsman will have to suffice!
I've told this story before, but not for a long time, and it's still as true as ever...
Once upon a time, I mentioned to my friend Sam that Anne Bancroft and Mel Brooks had always been my favorite Hollywood couple. "Not Bogart and Bacall?" he asked. "Not Newman and Woodward?"
"Nope," I replied. "Definitely Anne Bancroft and Mel Brooks."
He asked why. It was because of something Anne Bancroft once said. Yes, that Brooks made her laugh. And this: "When I hear his key in the lock at night my heart starts to beat faster. I'm just so happy he's coming home. We have so much fun." I can totally relate.
I'll never get over my crush on Iain.
He's all the things that anyone would hope to be able to say about their partner—kind, intelligent, loyal, admirable, talented, affectionate, witty. But then there's this other thing…this completely bizaare and wonderful thing that leads him to believe that his primary role as my partner is to annoy the shit out of me in the most hilarious way.
"Hey," he'll say. "Did ye see that poll that CNN did today?"
"No," I'll reply.
"Oh, it was really interesting," he'll tell me. "They foond oot that Joodge Toobbs is the moost brilliant chooby wifel in the entire universe."
Then he'll give me that wicked grin with the raised eyebrow, and I'll tell him to shut up, to which he'll reply, "Hey, dinny tell me. I'm joost repoorting the news, Chunkles." And on and on we'll go until I'm laughing so hard my sides hurt.
Which reminds me of something else Anne Bancroft once said about Mel Brooks. "I'd never had so much pleasure with another human being. It was that simple."
I can totally relate to that, too.
I love you, Iain. Happy Birthday.
Okay, I Didn't Take the Whole Day Off...
I've got a new piece up at The Guardian's Comment is free America about some of the conventional wisdom that should go the way of the dodo in the wake of Obama's victory:
And while we're at it, there's one more bit of conventional wisdom I'd like to dispatch to the nevermore: any suggestion that more democracy is somehow bad.Read the whole thing here.
Hillary Clinton was not mentioned much tonight; she wasn't on Obama's list of thank-yous, but she probably should have been. Despite the frenetic din of pleading, scolding, haranguing, begging, admonishing and outright mockery that was aimed at Clinton during the primary as she stubbornly refused to concede a primary that she hadn't actually lost, and despite the grim hand-wringing that a long primary would irreparably damage presumed nominee Obama, none of the grave warnings of the take-your-boobs-and-go-homers came to fruition. In fact, by engaging late-primary states like Indiana which haven't helped choose a nominee in decades, the extended primary actually helped wake up Obama voters sooner than usual. It forced them to pay attention to the minutiae of Democratic policies early in the election, and gave the Obama campaign the opportunity to test and perfect its ground operation. The result? Indiana is blue for the first time in 40 years.
Maude knows if Obama had lost, Clinton would be to blame. So a little credit where credit is due. Hillary ought to get a bit of the acclaim now that Obama has won. She was a tough competitor – and Obama emerged from his primary ready for a challenge, while McCain emerged from his as the hapless default victor of a dismal field of candidates, not the strongest contender, just the only dude left standing when the rest fell away. He was the best of a bad lot. The Democratic primary was a rigorous gauntlet that transformed the already effective Obama campaign into an unstoppable machine. The Republican primary was a clown car that picked up the McCain campaign in Disarrayville and dropped it off at Mount Meltdown.
More democracy was good for Obama, good for the Democrats, good for everyone who voted for him in the general election. Let us never suggest again that better candidates are forged in less democracy.
Question of the Day
Up until last night, I never thought in my lifetime I'd see a POC in the White House.
What have you seen that you never thought you'd see in your lifetime?
The Palin Blaming Begins
On CNN right now, the story being discussed is how "some Republicans" are blaming Sarah Palin for McCain's loss. Yes, it's all her fault. I'm sure you're all shocked.
On video, Sarah Palin said (I'm paraphrasing) that our disastrous economy had much to do with the McCain campaign failure, and added "If I caused John McCain to lose even one vote, I'm sorry."
As much as I dislike Palin's policies, watching this forced "apology" made me sick. While her addition to the ticket certainly caused problems with his campain, she is hardly the sole reason for his failure, and she shouldn't have to apologize as if this were true. But it's always easier to blame the woman, isn't it?
I'll post video later if I can find it.
This.
It's terrific that we are seeing a decline in racism to the extent that we are able to elect a black president. We've come a long way and there's no taking anything away from those who waged the struggle over all these centuries. But our society is not truly changed if it's still writing discrimination into law.Read the whole thing.
It's as if we just can't be America unless we are taking active steps to marginalize somebody.
It's not as if the moment Obama was elected, racism in America vanished off the face of the earth (regardless of what some would have us think), but it's great to see how his candidacy and (now) Presidency has opened up discussion of, and challenged racism in America. Hopefully progress will continue to be made.
We need to start doing more with LGBTQI issues. This is simply unacceptable.
The Whiffy GOP
I don't have a lot to add to what's already been said below. I'm happy about Obama's win, I'm upset about Prop 8 and that apparently, while we may be "ready" for a POC as President, queer people are still oogy, I'm awed that we finally have a POC as President, I'm amazed by the sheer numbers (mandate THIS, Bush!), I'm overjoyed by the states that "went blue," and holy fucking shit, I can't describe to you how joyful I am to have a person as President that is intelligent, passionate, acts like an adult, and knows how to pronounce nuclear.
On top of all of this, I'm so interested to see what this will mean for the Republican party. I was very intrigued by the opening of McCain's concession speech last night:
Maybe it's just me, but McCain looked completely fed up with his "supporters." As soon as the booing started (stay classy, Republicans!) and he held up his hands, I saw the entire campaign reflected in his face. He looked exhausted. He looked embarrassed. And when the booing began, it seemed to me as if he was mentally removing himself from the people representing the worst in his party; the people he was all too willing to suck up to in order to attempt a win.
He looked embarrassed to be a Republican. It was as if hearing those boos made him finally realize that he had sold his soul.
This morning, when flipping around channels, pundits were buzzing about why McCain lost the election, to my complete lack of shock. Of course, no one could bring themselves to admit that Obama was simply a better candidate, so fingers were pointed at redundant scapegoats like "the economy." If the economy hadn't tanked, apparently McCain would have won. If George Bush wasn't teh suxxors, McCain would have won. Yadda, yadda. But I found it interesting that no one mentioned McCain's campaign. The fact that Mister "Respectful Campain" ran one of the dirtiest, nastiest campaigns in history (and certainly one of the nastiest I've ever seen), and that "the Maverick," who was so proud of going against his party, fell back on tradition and appealed to the worst parts of his party out of desperation, somehow had nothing to do with voters turning away from McCain in droves.
While Republicans desperately push a new pile of bullshit that this election somehow proves that we are a "Center-Right Country," (while simultaneously contradicting themselves) it's becoming more and more obvious that the GOP stinks on ice. Even Republicans are waking up and realizing they need to evolve.With Democrats expanding their control of the Senate to a solid majority, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Ensign (R-NV) is arguing that Senate Republicans need to “re-establish what the Republican Party is all about.” Calling for a return to a “big tent Republican Party,” Ensign says that issues like abortion and gay rights “should not be at the core of the party“:
Of course, in order to evolve, they'll have to get away from those folks that insist evolution is a myth. Har de har.
I wonder what this, apart from the Obama Presidency, means for our country. Will the Republican party split? Will the "true conservatives" go one way while the wingnuts go another? Is this finally the death of the old GOP? During the primaries, there was a lot of wailing going on that the Democratic party was going to somehow splinter and be destroyed. Obviously that hasn't happened, the party has newfound strength, and it's the opposition party that looks as if they're going to have trouble staying together.
It's too early to tell, of course. But I like where this is going.
And meanwhile, the schadenfreude part of me is enjoying that, to the wingnuts, Obama's speech last night probably looked like this:
I'm sick and tired of watching Presidential speeches filled with sick horror; let them quiver for a while.
My President is Black!
Last night, I was in Grant Park for a little while, but I left shortly before CNN (which was showing on the Jumbotron) officially called it, because it occurred to me that A) I was so far back in the crowd, I'd only be watching Obama on TV anyway, and B) if I left then, I could actually get home in under an hour, and watch Obama on TV there with Al, who had staunchly refused to go anywhere near Grant Park. (Much as I was enjoying the celebration, I am so happy about that decision. I keep hearing reports of people who stayed having to walk miles away from the Loop before they could get any form of transportation, and not getting home until the wee hours. I would have been a miserable, blubbering mess by the end of that, instead of the happy, blubbering mess I already was.)
So, when the networks actually did call it, I was in a cab headed north on Michigan Ave. Al called to tell me, but I'd already guessed, since all of downtown Chicago was exploding with shrieks of joy and blaring car horns. A few minutes later, I was stopped at a red light, and a car full of young black guys pulled up next to us, hooting and hollering like mad. I was on the opposite side of the car, with the windows up, so I just gave them the biggest grin/thumbs-up/vigorous nod I could. And then the guy in the passenger seat laughed with pure glee and shouted, "MY PRESIDENT IS BLACK! MY PRESIDENT IS BLACK!" At which point my grin turned to laughter, and I screamed, "WOOOOOO!" without really thinking about the fact that all the windows were closed, and I'd just made the cab driver's ears bleed.
That was my Most Memorable Moment of Election Night in Chicago, right there. So you can guess how fucking awesome it was to click through the Trib's photos of the celebration this morning and find this one right at the beginning:
His president is black. Mine too. Despite last night's horrible disappointments, that is so mind-blowingly exciting.
Words of Hope from a Middle-Aged Queer
By Guest Blogger Shaker Faith
Yesterday I woke up at 3:45 a.m. I had pre-packed my car with boxes of snacks and water for my volunteers, a box of donuts for the poll workers and some extra rain gear because of course, the one day I have to be outside during the day is the one day a year it rains in Los Angeles.
I spent the day 150 feet (just to be safe) in front of a polling place reminding people to vote NO on California Proposition 8. I was only threatened by 5 or 6 out of thousands of voters that came through that polling place. All of them were men who aggressively did not want me to be there. Most people were supportive though and a few people asked me, "Is anyone even voting YES?".
Saturday, I performed a wedding of two beautiful and thoughtful men who have been through and survived an extremely life-threatening bout of cancer and have an 11 month old son who they adore.
Throughout the last two months, I have fretted about the passage of Prop 8 and despite attempting to dig trenches with my teaspoon, I had an inkling that the measure would pass and discrimination would be written into my state's constitution, so I did a little advance research. Here's what I came up with.
1. Nowhere in the proposition language, nor in the language of the amendment does it retroactively revoke the marriages that have already taken place.
2. California Attorney General Jerry Brown confirms this.
3. We now have three classes in California:
a. Opposite sex couples who are allowed to marry
b. Same sex couples who are married
c. Same sex couples who cannot get married.
This is utterly unconstitutional (not that it wasn't before) and will have to go to the Supreme Court of California before going to SCOTUS. I am not a prognosticator and yet, I believe we will prevail. Despite the sheer intolerance and ignorance of 53% of Californians, I believe this pain will lead to rights for more of us than ever.
I have hope.
EDITED TO ADD: EQCA has indicated that this cannot be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court -- however, the California Supreme Court can review this amendment, and no doubt will.
Gone Fishing
Space Cowboy and Space Cowgirl flew in last night to watch election returns while imbibing enormous amounts of sushi and champagne, so today I'm taking a much-needed day off to spend with Iain and the Space Cowpokes.
See you tomorrow, Shakers.
