Displaying 4,261 To 4,290 Of 5,146 Comments Woke up this morning to find the utility-backed proposition that would assure that PG&E and other for-profit generators would have virtually NO challenge from municipally-owned generators is neck and neck. In one Op Ed some solitary guy dismissed all candidates with “everybody lies”. Big money ruled the outcomes on several CA campaigns. In other words – there is a sucker born every minute, and he votes. How can we reform anything with too many people either NOT voting or voting stupidly in the face of evidence that a given measure or person is not good for them or the society? My job is to mobilize voters with intelligent reflection on what non-partisan propositions mean. My particular membership does well, I think, but we’re a drop in the bucket – about 2 million out of whatever number is voting. Was it always this way? I don’t think so. Media has a role in dumbing down the issues and misrepresenting them. One “analysis” in the Sacramento Bee about the utility initiative waited until the very last line to point out the lies. The “analysis” was a screed against government overspending which had nothing at all to do with demanding a 2/3 vote on utility changes – public money or tax money is not spent by municipal utilities to move into new areas. Rather than refuting the utility company lies, the “analysis” more or less supported the impression that taxpayers were being gouged. Not true. I fear for my state and for our nation with the degree of utter ignorance that is in play. Orly Taitz did NOT win, but the guy who did has voted only once (two years ago) and has not got a clue what the office for which he’s running actually DOES. He thinks he can make rules for voting which, in fact, are up to the Legislature or courts, not to that office of Secretary of State. He’s a Black man demanding now that voters have to show ID at the polls which has been overturned by the courts. Never mind his historical ignorance of barriers to voting that affected whole Black populations and would again. Like Arnold, he thinks what he wants is his to demand. And apparently a whole lot of voters agreed that personal fiat trumps law. Great. Just great. You know my favorite saying – “you can’t fix stupid” but when Stupid is dominant then you also can’t fix anything else. CA used to be a good place to live, but in many ways it no longer is. Now we’ve adopted the open primary where Big Money will be absolutely essential to name recognition. Thanks for nothing, voters. With the knee jerk reaction that parties are “bad”, we’ve now opened the door to stealth candidates, undue influence, and lack of representation from people we might really want if we paid attention to anything but fluff and glossy PR. If Stupid wants to defend itself against leadership because it’s been brainwashed, then how will we ever reform the state, bring back democracy, and start living sensibly? If the supermajority vote on the budget engenders gridlock AND illegal vote trades, why do we keep it? Because “they” might get away with something. Don’t know what that something is, but it probably benefits someone other than Stupid – except Stupid doesn’t know what that is, who that is, or what the alternatives are. Buying the Republican mantra – “well, it COULD be true” – as they lie and fearmonger, voters like Stupid keep sucking it up, but we all die because of it. I am tired and don’t know how much more we can take as a state or I can keep doing as a person. I have great hope from GROW and our possibilities, but the worry I have is – is it too late? I hope not. » Posted By choicelady On June 9, 2010 @ 8:29 am Free Speech! Supplies Are Limited! I used to get so hurt when I would blurt out a very rare criticism of someone, and get smacked down for it. I asked a friend why another friend, who was chronically cranky, got a pass on everything he said, and I never did. He mulled it over and then said, “We don’t expect it from you.” I’m not sure that made me happy, but it did make some sense. The reason Beck et al. never engender the firestorm is that it’s ALL they do. They also have safe havens. Helen Thomas said something so out of keeping with her standards that it was shocking. She also worked for a news organization that (at least these days) is reputable. Fox is not. Double standard? Absolutely. I seriously doubt the WH got her released. I think public opinion may have had an influence, but I see no hand by the WH to remove her. Oppose what she said, sure. But not do her in. The WH could not have any influence with Murdoch or their ilk, but I doubt they pulled the plug on Helen just because they could. I am not particularly shocked by what she said since the equation with Black Americans is not right. The voluntary movement of people to settle a new nation imposed on an old is world’s different from people forcibley dragged to this one, kept in chains, and then told to “go home” as if they had HAD a choice in the first place. That said, it’s simply stupid. Many if not most Israelis are sabras – it’s their native land. It also dismisses the essential discussion of the two state solution and restoration of confiscated territory. However thin, Jews have a claim on heritage in these parts – albeit not for centuries before the Zionist efforts of the 19th C. – which is why the efforts to repatriate Jews to Uganda or even Grand Island, NY were absurd. I am unaware of Helen Thomas’ heritage. I do think she blurted that out in frustration with the Israeli recalcitrance and in reaction to yet another brutal, deadly, and utterly inhumane act against unarmed people, and no “national security” issue will make those actions be OK. But for her to lose her position over one comment is, yes, hypocritical. It’s just that she had the “bad” fortune to work for a more reputable organization that would Beck or Limbaugh. And thus is the time honored distinction between responsible journalism and the hype and theater that passes for same. The Right gets a pass because it’s what they do and with whom they do it. We did not expect it of Helen. » Posted By choicelady On June 7, 2010 @ 11:18 pm There were three or four killed by a white supremacist in Pittsburgh. There have been quite a number murdered by white terrorists last year. Marion – I agree with you. I hate Beck and Limbaugh, Coulter, and company, but I am very wary of the censorship screed from “my” side. Throughout the prochoice movement, there was a whopping double standard by prochoice people – WE should be free to ignore police orders, to be in the streets, to cross police lines because OUR ideals are noble. The opponents should not be allowed to utter a word or hold a sign. Somehow, somewhere, we have to stop the double standard. I am sympathetic to the Muslim students who took on a crass Zionist near her a few months ago – but they did NOT try to stop his appearance. They called him OUT, and it was worthy. Silencing the right is hypocritical on one hand and gives them ammunition for martyrdom on the other. One caveat – they do NOT get to appropriate governmental institutions for their RW religious views. There are time and place restrictions on ALL free speech, and that is one of them. But that would go for me, too. I have no more right to preach at the Pentagon than does Franklin Graham. That said, if someone distasteful is invited to talk somewhere that is an open forum, even if they are paid, and that payment is not extraordinary, then LET THEM TALK and stand up in opposition! I’m not sure when we got to be as rigid as the right, but it benefits NO one to be that way. If Orly Taitz had been silenced, she’d not be the laughingstock she is today. So what if some people follow her? They’d follow anyone with the views they share. Nothing does away with hate and prejudice and nuttiness faster than sunshine. Let them air their wackiness. And let’s hold Bill and his ilk to the same standards of criticism. He’s a bigot, I HATE his pretenses, and his racist “insider” comments that try to make him look as if HE can say these things ’cause he’s COOL. He’s not. He’s a brat, and deserves to be called out just as much as Glen Beck. » Posted By choicelady On June 7, 2010 @ 7:47 pm WTS- It’s heartening to be on the Planet since over the past few weeks, it’s become obvious to me that we need thoughtful critique not rant. I’m mad enough at the tea party phonies who. as with its founder, rant against “government run health care” while waiting to get her hips replaced with Medicare coverage. I am far more angry at the Dems, the lilly livered Dems, who, yes want to take their toys and go home because things did not become perfect overnight and, ickier yet, Obama did not extract revenge on Bush and Cheney. Bottom line for me – as there was a bottom line in 1980 – and brava, escat, for owning up to the lure of the anti-Carter feelings you had – bottom line: there is a cabal out there, made up of ultra RW Christians, one of whom is Sarah but the others are largely unseen. The “Christian Embassy” abounds with its work to penetrate every governmental institution and “Christianize” it. It’s not Pat Robertson and company, the ones you see on TV, it’s people you never heard of. And they’re dangerous. If you read Jeff Sharlet’s “The Family” then go back to “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man” by John Perkins, a former civilian CIA op, you will begin to see the pattern. The extent of their power and determination NOT to lose control is incredible. And if we piss on Obama for not being perfect, we will put these people BACK in power. This time we won’t get rid of them. What happened in 2000 will become the norm – theft of democracy. They are a conjoined twin of corporate America. They have contempt for each other but cannot separate since each wants global domination for both the material and the philosophical hegemony. Each wishes death to the other, but they cannot live without each other. What they CAN live without – MUST live without – is democracy and equality of all people. Obama’s refusal to race into armed conflict over every foot stamping is incredible – and being called “weakening” America. Well, it all depends on what your values are, doesn’t it? His work embodies a bumper sticker I love: the American flag with “These colors don’t run – the world.” Respecting sovereignty of other nations is strengthening us, not weakening us. It diminishes our ability to imperialize, true, but that’s a GOOD thing. The idea that we have “legitimate interests” in every island and gallapago is overwhelmingly self destructive. Any good historian will tell you that imperialism is the death of any nation that spends its birthright on acquiring it and keeping it. It’s our doom. But it also means that US corporations cannot wage war on defenseless people anymore. And that, to the Christian and secular right, is horrible. I fear for this nation. I knew in 1980 that electing Reagan would be a disaster for millions. Carter was not a LOT better, but he was better, and for those of us who believe from contemporary and past accounts that Reagan made a deal with Iran to keep the hostages, that act of sheer treason alone means Reagan was the absolute worst president EVER since he set up the course that the Bush family continued. We cannot permit its restoration. The very survival of democracy is at stake. When people reduce their politics to predictions of what MIGHT happen with Obama (he’s gonna take our guns) they have voted with all the intensity and knowledge that lurks behind “American Idol” and no more. Dems have to acknowledge progress even when it’s not all they want. We have to vote smartly this time and in 2012. Our entire nation is on the line. » Posted By choicelady On June 7, 2010 @ 10:30 am WTS – solid questions we all must face. Great illustrations, too, as per your usual outstanding contributions. I am NOT disillusioned with Obama. Of course I wish he were more bold, but there is a fundamental disconnect in this nation between democracy and the secret admiration for robber barons. In the middle, add the pervasive power of the religious right – not over abortion, etc. but over corporate hegemony – and you will find that at least for now people are not sure where their loyalties lie. Over at the Other Site, I am horrified at the comments about how “Obama has failed to….” add in your own pet peeve. The massive victory over health care was entirely the work of democracy. We know, from conversations with Pelosi’s office, with Sherrod Brown, and several others in both houses, that it was democractic voices that made the votes happen. It is as is should be! Too many of us did NOT hear Obama when he said it was not up to him but up to us. We don’t like democracy because it’s hard work. I watch him sail into a contentious issue – and he marches in too often alone. The power of the RW is awesome because it resonates with people; we are slaveringly devoted to the “lifestyles of the rich and famous”. We secretly want to BE those people. Too many people retain the Reagan notion (compounded by Oprah) that your life is entirely in your own hands. We have lost the power of critical thinking. I DO want Obama to BE more audacious, but I fear for him if he is. My own recent threats – and I’m NOBODY – let me know that if you peeve the RW enough, they have no limits to what they think they have the right to do to you. By leaving a lot of the decision making to Congress, by doing what we claimed we wanted in ending the Imperial Presidency, Obama has discovered we did not really mean it. We want a bold, decisive, in-charge leader who will change via Executive Order rather than through the slower way of Congress and the courts. We claimed that’s what we wanted, but we don’t. Partly it’s the times. We need FDR more than we need Adlai Stevenson. Too many problems to wait. I am horrified that Congress will not act to extend more unemployment – they HAVE to or we’re headed for a Depression. When you read that hiring ads say no one unemployed will be considered (Reagan lives – you’d not be unemployed if you were any good; it’s all YOUR fault) you know the situation has gotten much, much worse. I like so much of what Obama has done. I’m peeved about the hidden successes such as the role of the DOJ in helping to stop the religious right from taking over government (not at all obvious but a success nonetheless). I see wholesale movement in some areas that get absolutely NO attention from the media such as the brand new authorization of B corporations – companies that charter to be socially responsible unlike the existing SEC laws for C corporations that were rammed through over the past 30 years forbidding concern for the environment, communities, workers, charitable giving, etc. The SEC would never have allowed this in previous times. HUGE step forward! Obama may be a one term president, but whoever succeeds him – let it be someone to carry on the reform. I keep screaming that what he needs is vastly better PR for what has been done – thought David Plouffe (sp?) would do that, but I see little evidence of it. I’d like Obama to declare the Gulf a national emergency, get out supertankers to start sucking up the oil, and hit BP with daily fines via an injunction. They tried to fine the United Mine Workers $1 million a day for their Pittston strike in 1989. Surely we can do this to BP? I think the questions are justified. I watch the polls though, and I believe people are beginning to make a slow turn back to those people, including Obama, who act in our interest. Patience is NOT an American virtue. Dirtiest 4-letter word in the English language: But I still believe, Yes – WE can! » Posted By choicelady On June 6, 2010 @ 9:32 am Makes me long for the days of Trudeau! I saw him once in Ottawa, crossing the street all alone. It was 11 years after Kennedy’s assassination, and it made me SO admiring of Canada that the PM could wander around Capitol hill and be not afraid. Wow. I know everyone hopped on the free market bandwagon; I taught in Cape Breton in 1990 and even then the folks I was with were afraid of the government’s press to close Sidney Steel, to shut the mines, and limit the fishing determining that “tourism” would make up the difference. What a joke! I’ve not been back but do know they succeeded. The mill is gone and with it all those jobs. Most of the mines are idle. Don’t know about the fishing. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Reagan, Thatcher, and all the supply side fanatics have SO much to answer for! “Trust us” – HAH. » Posted By choicelady On June 5, 2010 @ 11:35 am Mighty- I am so sorry! I always expect more from your smart and reasonable nation. I guess some things are too rich and important for even good governments to handle well. I AM sorry about their recalcitrance since the science is in, and we all know the truth. » Posted By choicelady On June 4, 2010 @ 2:35 pm Thank you, Bobrien! VERY well said! Pepe – I’d begin with Carter and the Trilateral Commission’s study on all the things that have to happen to “free up” the global marketplace work by gigantic corporations. In the 1970s there were Senate investigations into corporate power led by SD Senator James Abourezk that occurred precisely as the notion of “deregulation” became the mantra for “freeing” small competitive business. Well deregulation is simply the first step toward monopoly or oligopoly. Once the “too big to fail” companies got their hands on more and more smaller businesses through mergers and acquisitions, they more the big players could dominate legislation giving them MORE, not less, control. The person who ushered that in was Carter, not even Reagan. Carter drank the deregulation Kool Aid, and the world began to crumble from there. “Trust us” became the mantra for – stay out of our way and don’t bother us with your piffling regulations. We are Godzilla, and you’re nothing under our feet. So we now reap what got sown. The handful of us hollering against the global market and its destruction of people, environment, small business, and democracy were told we were Luddites. Well to me that’s not an insult – the Luddites were right! So whatever we have now, thank Carter, and whatever he is today, he wasn’t that back in his presidency. He made this all possible, including Three Mile Island, so why the HELL should we trust any of them now? Been there, done that. Never again! » Posted By choicelady On June 4, 2010 @ 2:33 pm K and KQ – I think there are deep similarities to the Irish “question” (which it wasn’t to the Irish!). Michael Hechter’s book, Internal Colonialism looked at a situation very similar with respect to the British treatments of the Irish – up to and including starving them to death during the potato famine. Meat and other goods that might have saved lives were blockaded. And from that you raise up, quite predictably, armed resistance that evolved into the IRA of our times. History notes that unless you DO impose genocide, colonial masters cannot win this. And the legacy of genocide itself ultimately defeats the master anyway. From Rome to the present, the tactic of oppression, even without genocide, simply does not work. Israel is in massive decline as Jews and gentiles alike rally against the Zionism of its conservatives. What alarms me is the role people such as Franklin Graham and Hagee and other Christian Zionists play in the persistence of our pro-Israel policies. Never forget that Hillary is an admirer of Doug Coe, leader of The Family who see Israel NOT as a manifestation of prophecy (I don’t think they really believe one damned thing) but of neo-conservative control of the resources and tactical space of the Mid East they wish to dominate. Even if Obama stands by the call for an investigation of this incident, I wonder if Hillary can get the words out of her mouth? Whom does she serve? Coe or the country? It may turn out that this assault on the flotilla is a major turning point. Israel’s “bridge too far” that set most of the world – and I think most of liberal America – against their tactics and bullheaded assault on Muslims. I hope this is an important historical moment and that cooler heads both here and in Israel will move to the higher ground and begin working on a two state solution. And then – throw the Christian radicals seeking ownership of Israel OUT. » Posted By choicelady On June 3, 2010 @ 7:18 am Well said, AdLib! Principles must flourish, not bias, or even faint hope. Very well said indeed! Thank you! » Posted By choicelady On June 2, 2010 @ 5:17 pm Hi everyone- My beloved friend, a rabbi who is deeply involved in Mid East peace issues, linked me to the “J Street Lobby”, a Jewish, anti-Zionist and pro-peace lobbying group in Washington. The antithesis of the “K Street lobbyists” (there is no J Street in Washington!) they work to find a solution. Not a common ground or a middle way but a just way. Here is their statement: They are mindful that the flotilla MAY have been intentionally provocative. They also find that excuses precisely nothing with respect to Israeli actions. They cast no real stones at the people ON the flotilla who, they agree, were trying seriously to help the Palestinians behind the inhumane blockade. The world is turning on its axis. Muslims in groups with which I work are constantly denouncing extremism (though the US media rarely report that denunciation. I have BEEN there at unreported press conferences, so I know that to be true.) Jews are increasingly working for human rights, not Israeli rights alone; peace at any price is not much in favor; Zionism is dwindling. But the time must come NOW for a two state solution. And there can be no bars and walls and blockades against the people of Palestine to be – they are suffering dreadfully. On the other hand, NO one must EVER forget the Holocaust and the persistence of anti- Israel must not, however, become what it abhors. It cannot impose the torture, lack of law, visceral hate that was visited upon their forebears. We cannot wait. It must end with a two state solution, and the land taken in 1967 and later must be restored. Nothing calms extremism more than nation building. Palestine would not be a threat if their attentions were toward creation rather than retaliation. And both sides MUST repudiate the Christian extremists! They are the ones stirring the pot! It’s past time for that mystical falsehood of the End Times to dominate global politics! Beware the Family, the New Apostolic Reformation, the Call, the Watchmen on the Wall, Samaritan’s Purse, Joel’s Army, Hagee, and all the rest who come as wolves in sheep’s clothing to kill both Muslim and Jew to fulfill a fanciful prophecy that has no meaning in the world or in faith. It’s time to end the pact between them all. » Posted By choicelady On June 2, 2010 @ 5:14 pm I cannot sort a lot of this out historically because, as boomer points out, it’s the vile side of Hatfield-McCoy – who started what, who hit first, who did what atrocity to whom. I was raised as very pro-Israel by gentile parents with Holocaust consciousness. I was deeply influenced by what I understood to be Israel’s “miracle” defense in ’67, the ’72 Olympics raid and reports of bombings of buses full of children. I was in my 30s before that changed – when I met a woman whose husband was Palestinian. They had been in Lebanon in ’83, and the stories she had to tell me of his family were incredible eye openers. Once I understood the inequalities of power, the actions of Israel, etc., I could no longer have blind loyalty. On the other hand, a woman who supports Palestinian rights blithely told me Israelis had to “get over” the Holocaust – which sent me into a fury, too. No! Not EVER! I do believe the moral horror of the Holocaust gives Obama one of his strongest points to use – Israel must stop replicating the acts perpetrated so horrifically on Jews. It’s got to be the end. No more torture, ghettoization, ethnic cleansing. No matter what – the nation state of Israel MUST rise to a new level of morality and action and stop these practices. They are no longer victims. They are perpetrators. Obama can build on a moral base as a first step. Then – and I think I’m right about this – Israel must break off with Christian Zionists who, I strongly suspect, are largely behind the blockade, the fear mongering about Hamas, and the refusal to achieve a 2-state solution, especially with a shared tripartite Jerusalem. I wonder if Israel would have descended so far into the dark side of torture and violence without these evil people whispering in their ears and providing large sums of money for arms. I may be over-reacting to the influence of the Christian Dominionists, but I think their influence IN Israel is huge. So we might need to confront this in the US before we can make a dent in Israel. And I think blood will be shed here for our defiance. These people are NOT giving up power easily! » Posted By choicelady On June 2, 2010 @ 7:39 am Amazing adaptation, Questinia! I hope there’s some way to get that version out in the world! Maybe you could sell it to the Capitol Steps – sounds like it’s right up their alley. I think it’s precisely the disconnect between the original and this that would make people THINK about how casually we kill in the name of peace. Wow = thank you! » Posted By choicelady On June 2, 2010 @ 7:23 am Indeed, Pepe! I lived in Cape Breton for a summer teaching there, and I loved it. I got to know people as people and colleagues, with the oddest moment spending the 4th of July with people who did not – and found it rather funny since their forebears had sometimes been the Loyalists. It’s an easy place to be, kind and forgiving of foibles of Americans, and rife with the kind of political discussions one just does not have in the US. The acceptance of the Socialists as well as the Tories is markedly invigorating. That said, the nastiest comment ever directed to me was from a Canadian who said the Salem witch trials were THE WORST persecution known to the human race. Huh? Since witch trials and witch burnings were occurring all over Europe about the same time (we hanged them – markedly less awful, IMHO), and since the world had had this “little” event known as the Holocaust much more recently, I found that vitriol basically stupid and pointless at best, ahistorical and bigoted at worst. But that was one, just like AmandaBC, and every society has some. If these are all the icky people we can find, then Canada is still doing well. I would also not be surprised if AmandaBC will turn out someday to be an American ex-pat who has not gotten over Nixon. The US has much to answer for, but AmandaBC should REALLY talk with Richard Cardinal, leader of the “aboriginal people”, as the Canadians so oddly call indigenous persons, what HE thinks Canadian superiority is all about. Bet he would see slim difference. We ALL have much to answer for. » Posted By choicelady On May 31, 2010 @ 9:33 am 13-year-old climbs Everest. Amazing? Or disturbing? But kes – some of them eat their young. I don’t have kids, so I really don’t know. I am quite sure I’d be a helicopter parent not to push them to overachieve but to protect them from – everything. At the same time, after teaching some GREAT kids in preschool, I also realized I love them but don’t particularly want to be in their company for long stretches. So I was smart enough to know I’d not make a good parent. Why inflict me on someone who had no choice in the matter? Since I already flunked parenthood, I don’t think I’m a good judge. But I think the bottom line here is precisely what Pepe wrote – it’s one thing to know and evaluate your own risk as an adult. It’s quite another to put your Kiddo into a situation he or she cannot yet handle. Whatever happened to pacing as a part of growing up? Why rush kids into life threatening situations when you don’t have to? Successful outcomes don’t change that equation. I suspect Pepe that you’re right – it’s about the parents, not about the kids. Even if the kids want to, it doesn’t mean they should. If highly experienced climbers die, then putting an inexperienced climber in the same position is heartless at worst, thoughtless at best. Glad it all came out well. Hope they don’t throw him out of a plane next time. » Posted By choicelady On May 29, 2010 @ 8:13 pm Indeed, kes! There are surviving conscientious objectors from WW II, and their lives were especially difficult since it was, and I agree, the “good war”, in which opposition was seen as cowardice or treason. Their principles were not respected at all. I so admire the veterans. I so admire those who refused to kill. I am speechless with anger at the Dick Cheneys of the world who “had other priorities” but gleefully sent others into peril. One man who’d gotten a pass as an aeronautical engineer, loved the war and hated the COs. He said to me that he was “too good” to be cannon fodder, so sitting in his fancy apartment sipping white wine from long-stemmed glasses was what was just and right for him to do. Those people – deemed “chickenhawks” by late columnist Mike Royko – are the scum of the earth. They do no justice to the veterans or the men of conscience. They are parasites and the lowest form of humanity. But – this is the weekend to remember the honorable and good, and they live in our hearts and society with our thanks that can never be enough. » Posted By choicelady On May 30, 2010 @ 9:56 am …and please remember those who fell after the war, victims of Agent Orange and other horrors. I’ve lost two beloved friends to lymphoma traced directly to that defoliant. And to all the men and women (nurses in Vietnam, combat vets now) who came home wounded in spirit and mind if not body. Remember how many are living on the streets, people whom we failed over and over again. Remember how many still can’t keep a job because they cannot ease their minds of what they saw. And did. We support the revocation this week of DADT, but one minister wrote to me and said we really needed DADT – to force ALL people out of the military. There’s the rub. Of course, until the entire bulk of humanity grows up, we need a military and people make livings and careers from it. But how sad that we still send them to kill and be killed even in the 21st century. How do we balance these things? To all those who served to whom we never said thank you – thank you. You did the horrible, hard work, and the fact it was not a “good war” has no meaning in respect to who YOU are, what YOU did, and what YOU sacrificed for us, for your country. You are our brother, father, uncle, neighbor, friend – and we do care. Memorial Day. Remember the fallen but also remember the living. We don’t need to wait until November to say again, we’re glad you’re here with us. You fought to keep us free, and we need to work to keep you free. It’s the very least we can do in thanks. » Posted By choicelady On May 29, 2010 @ 3:16 pm Ten reasons why the Stanley Cup Finals beats the NBA Finals Thanks Pepe! I love hockey! Of course, I always thought the “group hug” sent you to the penalty box with a bloody nose and ripped shirt. That must be our ethnic diversity issue? All in your point of view? I think save for baseball that has its own beauty, hockey is the only sport that is constantly entertaining. It’s always edge-of-the-seat fun. I loved the Blackhawks (hometown) and Bruins (adopted hometown) and agonized over the Sabre (third place to live, lousy team) but the game is always interesting, no matter what. I am glad, though, that I was NOT at the game when the Sabres’ Malarchuk got his throat cut from a blade. Some things are NOT exciting. Thanks for the tribute to a sport that gets too little respect. I realize that when fights break out every 3 minutes, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but when it’s being played well – and it usually is – it’s endlessly fascinating and brilliant to watch. Wow. And it has SO little respect that charities can generally get a hockey celebrity to their fund raisers almost FREE. And Bobby Orr and I share a birthday. Not the year but the day. Who can ask for more? » Posted By choicelady On May 28, 2010 @ 6:48 pm New Rule for White F(l)ighters Hi- Now my dander is up, nellie! I wanted to like the Young Turks until they arrogantly and dismissively said all hate crimes laws were bad because “they punish thought”. That simply is not true – it punishes acts based on MOTIVE, and ALL crimes go to motive as elements in their prosecution. As one who has been stalked four times by RW supremacists and today had the FBI at her door over a phone threat that seems (!!!) related to the laser lights directed at her last week, I can attest to the fact that hate crimes laws are critical to our security. So the Young Turks are doing what people of privilege often do – they make their own lack of need for such laws the standard for ALL people, then trash the law because it will never apply to them. If you want to know who is dominant in America – just try to find a racial or ethnic slur for WASPs. “Honky” doesn’t count – it comes from “Hunky” that WASPs created for Eastern Europeans (Bohemians, Bohunks, Hunkies). Hard to be offended at your own word. I am a lapsed Episcopalian – what hate symbols are you going to shove at me? Pictures of Cromwell? Riiiiight. Race is utterly irrelvant on a personal level and the most important thing going societally, all rolled into one. White people have to ask – why does white skin confer superiority if the person “inside” that skin is nearly illiterate, fat, ugly, unwashed, mean, selfish. Why would we not trade any literate and smart, funny, compassionate Black person for said white person? What do we get out of our whiteness save something utterly without merit – a false sense of superiority we can’t even sustain. Makes no sense to me. » Posted By choicelady On May 28, 2010 @ 6:38 pm Hot damn! That is JUST GREAT! I had forgotten the Senate had already voted so it makes it twice as sweet!!! Hooray for SANITY. I did see that 2 Republicans voted to repeal it, so there’s a twinkle of hope there, too. » Posted By choicelady On May 27, 2010 @ 7:35 pm javaz- When Arnold became governator of CA, everyone whooped and hollered that it was the largest “landslide” ever. Well – not so much. The NY Times reviewed our Secretary of State’s figures and found that it was a fairly significant percent of those who VOTED and even pretty OK for those who were REGISTERED, but his vote numbers represented only 18 percent of all the ELIGIBLE voters in CA. That is a crisis. » Posted By choicelady On May 27, 2010 @ 7:33 pm Oh Bluestatesman – what a beautiful tribute! I was not familiar with him, but I love what you’ve written. There are kind and decent people everywhere, and I’m so glad you’ve brightened our world by sharing him with us. I’m sorry he’s gone but glad you, his friend, remain. Thank you so much. » Posted By choicelady On May 25, 2010 @ 8:53 pm Wow, Kalima – I had an ear infection, too. I never thought to blame the President for the five weeks of diminished hearing! What a blown opportunity! After all, he IS all powerful, is he not? Hope it gets better. Maybe we should turn all this over to Michelle? » Posted By choicelady On May 25, 2010 @ 9:04 pm Hi AdLib- I am in agreement with your assessment that Obama MUST act and do so now. I fear it’s terribly too late for any real salvaging of the environment of the Gulf Coast, but it cannot go on. I remember, KQ (I think it was you) said that oil disaster experts were fuming that no one had demanded BP crimp the pipes as they do in well fires in the Mid East and elsewhere. Am I remembering this correctly? From the underwater pictures, it would appear that crimping the pipes would be feasible – there is enough pipe above the seabed. Why is this not an executive order NOW? I realize that BP has to do this – or someone in the industry does. But the order to DO it should come NOW from the White House. I don’t see how anyone will not blame this administration even if it’s illogical. So please – is this NOT the thing to do? I’d love to have a “call to action” so we could be focused in what we want from the government – and from the industry. » Posted By choicelady On May 25, 2010 @ 9:01 pm Oh MW – God forbid we blame White Christians for Tim McVeigh! The zealots “know” all Muslims are alike, but McVeigh was a rogue actor, doncha know. Blah. Keep praying for the cold. My hope is that since he/they were up in a tree (I KNOW how stupid this sounds, but it’s the ONLY spot from which they could see my house and not BE seen) that they will slip and plummet to the ground. Not seriously hurt, just stunned enough to get caught. I’m not beyond vindictive, either. It’s not my best thing, but I am SERIOUSLY pissed. » Posted By choicelady On May 25, 2010 @ 9:20 pm Hi javaz- well, I was NOT so visible before April 30. I’d spent over a decade being an activist without showing my face publicly in the media. (In person – kinda hard NOT to, you know?) But after accepting the First Amendment Award for Jeff Sharlet given him by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, the founder of MRFF put my photo on the main page to illustrate my acceptance of the award for Jeff but did so without my permission. My organization is the only Christian one that supports MRFF because it challenges the religious right’s domination of way too much in the US military. It has infiltrated government via a number of routes, and the work to end their domination culminated a couple of weeks ago with MRFF getting zealot Franklin Graham, a rabid anti-Muslim preacher and end Times believing son of Billy Graham, disinvited from leading the National Prayer Day (ick) at the Pentagon. MRFF maintains, and we believe, that religion is NOT the first priority of the military (defending the Constitution is their only job), and that government has no damned business forcing views down anyone’s throats, especially our folks putting their lives on the line for this country. So with that on the table, furiously pissing off the religious extremists, my photo allowed someone(s) to follow me home and know where I live and threaten me. It’s not the first time but I want to make sure it’s not the LAST either! We’ve not gotten hate mail, but MRFF has gotten hate mail about our support of them, and one made very clear they knew who I was and where I was. So that’s what happened. The FBI is on the case, so I feel better. But it has entirely changed the way I live, and I’m seriously peeved, to say the least. » Posted By choicelady On May 25, 2010 @ 9:16 pm Kes – if you want to be doubly gobsmacked (thank you Molly Ivins for such great words!) go online and look at “Jesus with Guns”. They think he will come back armed with assault hardware. Disgusting. But since they believe there is a “code” in the Bible that tells them the Beatitudes are no longer operative, I guess they can believe anything they choose. Delusion and religion too often go hand in hand. There was a cult of yuppies that gave ALL their money to some wacko woman who told them huge robots from outer space were coming, and they had to join with her to prepare. Now anyone whose “theology” consists of the old Rocky and Bullwinkle “Six Foot Metal Munching Moon Mice” script are pretty loosely wrapped, but hey – freedom of religion is a glorious thing. You can believe any damned thing you want. » Posted By choicelady On May 25, 2010 @ 9:53 am Hi Mighty! Thank you so much. I find it intellectually appalling that one can become a hated enemy for advocating religious FREEDOM for all people. Boggles my mind. Of course I find it personally appalling, too! But yesterday the FBI got involved, are taking it seriously, and I’m breathing again. Since the stalkers are high up in a TREE (yes, a TREE) and it’s going to rain for the next four days, I have a certain satisfaction in knowing that if they come back, they will be miserable. I won’t be, and I WILL STAY SAFE! Thank you SO MUCH everyone. But you all be careful, too. Kes (below) is right – the Muslim community has powerful worries right now, and I am dreadfully scared for them and for all people who have a loving, inclusive, progressive view. We keep saying we fear a civil war. I think it’s here. » Posted By choicelady On May 25, 2010 @ 8:58 am Kes – that was one of the really odd parts of the alliance. Each would confide to us about how the others were wrong and thus eternally damned. How pro choice escorts became the confessors to the extremists was a phenomenon I cannot readily explain. Life is just weird. » Posted By choicelady On May 25, 2010 @ 8:53 am Hi BT – that’s right, but Kopp was also a member of the Army of God, mostly Dominionists who aren’t Catholic. He crossed those lines readily. And the name of the group was changed from Lambs of God to Lambs of Christ because the acronym was LOGs which we used readily. They HAD been (I am NOT making this up) “The Victim Souls of the Unborn Christ Child” which was V-SUCC, and they dropped that pretty quickly to when we started calling them V-Suckers. You do what you can to keep yourself amused. » Posted By choicelady On May 25, 2010 @ 8:51 amComments Posted By choicelady
W-A-I-T. Sometimes, though, it’s inevitable. Obama cannot change everything we put in place since 1976 overnight. WE have to demand that change. For me, the hopey changey thing is working, and it’s my job to make sure it continues. I just hope I don’t run out of steam because democracy is sure messy. And I’m not getting any younger!
http://jstreet.org/campaigns/in-wake-flotilla-tragedy-j-street-urges-stronger-us-leadership-end-conflict-now
Semitism. It is a fact of global life, and Israel must exist to protect a Jewish people whom the world would still drag and away and murder. Even now.
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