Friday, April 25, 2008

Hillary Is Seeking The Green Party Nomination


The Democratic Party decided that Michigan and Florida may not hold contests before February 5, and if they do, they are not going to count in the nomination fight. All Dems running for president complied. Or at least that is what Hillary said back then. But that was then.

Michigan, Florida, And Sniper Fire

Sniper fire did not happen in Bosnia. Elections did not happen in Michigan, Florida. Wake up, Hillary. If two big states can be disbarred by the Democratic Party, one candidate running for president can also be disqualified by the Democratic Party. Either Hillary should stop acting like elections did happen in Michigan and Florida, or the party should consider disallowing her very candidacy. Rules are rules.

You Had Your Fun

Hillary, you had fun. Now leave. We are going to spend the summer on John McCain, not on you.

People are giving you money so you can pay off your campaign debt, all those unpaid bills. That is not money to keep campaigning.

Shameless

Bill Clinton has been shamelessly using the race card. He has been playing dirty. The 1990s are never over, that is what Bill Clinton is saying. He just does not get the new kind of politics. Barack is ahead in delegates, votes, and number of states, and Bill Clinton thinks his brand of slash and burn politics is still working.

If he loves his wife so much, he should go ahead and build her a Taj Mahal - he sure seems to have the money - instead of trying to play the race card on her behalf. A hundred million? Guys like Bill Clinton are not supposed to end up with a hundred million. Look what you did. Now Hillary thinks middle class is when you make $250,000 a year.

The Osama ad the day before the Pennsylvania primary: that was Bill Clinton's idea. The phone ringing three in the morning right before the Ohio primary: that was Bill Clinton's idea. The idea is that if you can get white, working folks scared, they will not take a second look at the black guy. Black guys are supposed to be scary. Shame on you, Bill Clinton.

For Bill Clinton to compare Jesse Jackson to Barack Obama would be like if I were to compare Bill Clinton to Mahatma Gandhi: apples and avocados.

McCain: Never Ready

If just getting older means you are ready to be Commander In Chief, there are tens of millions of seniors out there, many of them vets. What is Hillary doing trying to suggest McCain is more ready than Barack? Is that her way of suggesting she is young? Just look at old man McCain.

McCain was a lowly soldier in another war that should never have been waged. He was never Commander In Chief material, not then, not now. The guy does not understand economic issues, he does not understand military issues either. A hundred year long war? Was that not in ancient Greece? Times, they are a changing.






Thursday, April 24, 2008

Taking Race Head On: A Speech



Lessons From PA: Race And Globalization Must Be Addressed
Another Speech On Race Will Bring Victory In PA
Talking About Race, Finally
The Need For A Race Gender Coalition
Tackling Race As An Issue The Average Person Way

Yo, this is Barack Obama. Whassup? I know, I am cool like that.

Today I wanted to talk about race. I feel like I am on my way to becoming the first black president of America. I mean, I am not strictly black. If you do the math, I am half white. My mother who birthed me and who raised me, my grandparents who raised me were all white. My father was black, as in African. But then I am one of those guys, I have blood relatives on all continents, and if you will believe Lynne Cheney, in a few different parties.

Race is for real, but if you have my perspective racial differences and prejudices and divides just come across as so superficial and plain stupid. I would like to believe my face, my diverse background, my open minded perspectives are the future of this country. We are one people. Diversity is a good thing, otherwise they also have skyscrapers in Shanghai, but only our biggest cities can boast of diversity unmatched on earth. Diversity is strength.

Globalization and the internet are here very much to stay. We were once primarily an agricultural nation. Then we became an industrial nation. Overall most people won through that transformation. But while it happened, many people went through a lot of pain. We are now on our way to becoming a full fledged knowledge economy. We have to envision the industries, companies and the jobs of tomorrow. We have been losing the old industrial jobs for decades now. People have been hurting. I am not opposed to the economic transformation that is underway, for it will create more wealth for most people. But I am opposed to not helping people through that transformation.

It does not matter if you are black or white. If you are hurting, you are hurting. I just want you to know help is on its way. In a knowledge economy, human capital is king. You can't imagine a knowledge economy without universal health, without lifelong education. When you move from one job to the next, one career to the next, you should not have to lose your health care. You should be able to take health care for granted, that it will be there as you move about and on on your career paths.

There are many high school graduates who grew up thinking after a certain age your doors to college are permanently shut. That need not be true. It is never too late to take a college course or two. But not everyone will end up a rocket scientist. We are not about to become a nation of Ph.D.s. Many industrial jobs have been unfairly shipped abroad to nations that have gross human rights records, ugly environmental standards, and outright criminal child labor laws. I am a democrat, heart, body, mind and soul. I intend to use trade laws as tools to spread democracy and human rights and environmental renewal across the globe. And we are not just going to create the knowledge jobs of tomorrow, although that we are. We are also going to create the green industrial jobs of tomorrow that people with only high school degrees can hope to hold. Those green collar jobs, by definition, can not be exported.

I am very much for the economic transformation underway that will create more wealth for all of us. But a slice of that future wealth belongs to all of us, equally. We will use that slice to achieve the knowledge economy goals of universal health and lifelong education, and to help people with job retraining so their individual transitions are as smooth as possible.

I do not take the anxieties of the working white Americans or the working black Americans for granted. If I can not address those anxieties as president, I will not be able to tackle chronic poverty in the inner cities, something I very much intend to do.

Our economic anxieties are not white or black, they very much cut across the race lines. To blame the traditionally marginalized groups of people would be cowardice. If we have the guts to face our challenges like they are supposed to be faced, I think we are in a great position to create a win-win situation for most people. This is a new century. We stand at the cusp of a new millenium.

There is not a town in America today where globalization has not already made its presence felt. The thing about globalization is people who work towards achieving natural comfort around diverse people end up making more money. Diversity pays. Diversity fattens your bank account.
We do need to take race relations in America to the next level. Race has to be talked about. Race relations are like a marriage. There is no marriage if there are no conversations.

There is a need to forge a new, positive black identity, one that is not about slavery and segregation, grave historical injustices that can never be forgotten, but then disease can't be identity. The new black identity has to be about digging deeper into our African heritage for its art, music, culture, religion, language, cuisine, and just plain heritage. The new black pride has to be about engineering a total debt relief for Africa. Your African heritage is not about the past centuries, although that it is. Africa is still there, vibrant, alive, very much there. To this day Africa is shortchanged like no other continent on earth. We have to turn things around there. As long as Africa is destitute, in the grip of corrupt dictators, disease, ignorance, black pride in America will always have a sore thumb. We have to make Africa an active part of our black identity in America. The hard work the Africans will do on their own for the most part, but our reaching out can make all the difference.

It is going to be a win win situation, it always has been in the past. Blacks earning the right to vote did not dilute white democracy. China and India doing well economically for the past few decades means we are not in a deep recession today.

We head towards a common future. Our biggest problems and challenges no one country can solve. And so we have to rise up above our old prejudices. That is the only way to create a better future for our children and grandchildren. That is how we will turn this into a more perfect union.

Let's go win this one.

JFK, Obama Parallels: Catholic, Black



In The News

Maoist Ex-Rebels Are Likely Leaders of Nepal Transition New York Times
they appear to have won 217 seats, double that of their closest competitor, the centrist Nepali Congress ..... Prachanda, said he sought to advance peace efforts but could not “renounce every kind of violence,” only what he called “reactionary violence.”
For Obama, a Struggle to Win Over Key Blocs his weakness among blue-collar voters, older voters and white voters. ...... racial attitudes in this country are changing at a breakneck pace ....... “Race is intertwined with a broader notion that he is not one of us” ....... “They react negatively to people who are seen as different.” ...... “Our problem has less to do with white working-class voters,” Mr. Obama told reporters Wednesday in Indiana. “In fact the problem is that — to the extent that there is a problem — is that older voters are very loyal to Senator Clinton.”
Actor Snipes Gets 3 Years for Tax Charges New York Times three misdemeanor convictions of failure to file his income taxes. ...... an unlikely public face for the tax denier movement ..... he had a years-long record of defying the tax laws. ...... Mr. Snipes was indicted in October 2006 for filing a false claim for a $7 million refund (of taxes paid in 1997, before he stopped paying taxes) ...... Since 1986, Mr. Snipes has appeared in more than 50 films, earning at least $103 million, court papers showed, including more than $58 million in the years covered by the indictment, 1999 through 2004.
McCain to New Orleans: Never again The Associated Press
Indiana Primary Likely a Crucial Test in Democratic Presidential Race
Voice of America Clinton has an uphill climb to the Democratic nomination, even with her convincing win in Pennsylvania. ...... until I see a collapse of Obama in North Carolina and a collapse in Indiana, I remain deeply skeptical that she has a path to this nomination ...... Clinton may be able to reduce his margin in the popular vote. ...... a disturbing trend for Obama, his inability to win over working class white voters. ...... roughly 300 remaining uncommitted superdelegates ..... more delegates, more votes and more states ..... it is toughening up Obama ...... no one has entered presidential politics with less experience than Obama ...... "Democrats are still winning the enthusiasm contest, they are clearly winning the [voter] turnout contest, they are winning the money contest, they are winning the congressional recruitment game, and they are also winning the expectations game. McCain's strength in the face of all of this is quite impressive"
Youth vote growing, supporting Obama Boston Globe 70 percent of Democrats ages 18 to 24 favor Obama, compared to 30 percent for Clinton ..... margins were similar regardless of whether or not the voters attended four-year colleges. ..... the upward trend in youth participation in politics has been building since 2000, he said. "This is a lot bigger'' than Obama
Clinton's Win in Pennsylvania Helps Raise Millions in Campaign Funds Voice of America more than $10 million to her bid for the Democratic nomination in the 24 hours after her victory ...... 100,000 donors, including 80,000 new donors ...... Obama rejected Clinton's new method of measuring voter support ...... opinion polls indicate a very close race in Indiana.
Clinton Claims Popular Vote Lead - Sort Of FOXNews
'Gang of Four' could decide Obama's fate after May primaries
Independent John Edwards; the former vice-president Al Gore; the Democratic Party leader Howard Dean; and the House speaker Nancy Pelosi – to intervene after the primaries on 6 May. ...... call on the superdelegates to make a commitment within 10 days .... the submerged racial prejudice of older white voters ....... poorly educated white voters have grave doubts "about a young, inexperienced African-American guy with an Islamic-sounding name and a highfalutin fluency with language". ......... Indiana's population is concentrated in the smaller cities like Gary, where he has a high profile ...... a nine-percentage point victory ..... A big part of Mr Obama's problem is race. The exit polls in Pennsylvania revealed that 20 per cent of voters think race is important and heavily backed Mrs Clinton.
Lingering Doubts About Obama TIME Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio and Florida--the Big Four that so often decide a presidential election. ...... on four separate primary days has failed to drive Hillary Clinton from the race, each time exhibiting a touch of entitlement and defensiveness rather than a fighting spirit. ....... Obama's college-town and urban strength
The Incredibly Shrinking Democrats George W. Bush has been a historic screwup as President ..... Her campaign had been an assault on Obama's character flaws, real and imagined, rather than on matters of substance. ....... entered the primary as a fresh breeze and left it stale, battered and embittered — still the mathematical favorite for the nomination but no longer the darling of his party. ....... he was "friendly" with an American terrorist who had bombed buildings during the Vietnam era, and that he seemed to look on the ceremonies of working-class life — bowling, hunting, churchgoing and the fervent consumption of greasy food — as his anthropologist mother might have, with a mixture of cool detachment and utter bemusement. ........ you have to get the social body language right if you want voters to consider the nobler reaches of your message ........ most people make their choice on the basis of "low-information signaling" ....... Bill Clinton was the lone Democratic master of low-information signaling — a love of McDonald's and other assorted big-gulp appetites gave him credibility that even trumped his evasion of military service. ......... the relentless vulgarity of its questions, with the first 40 minutes focused exclusively on so-called character issues rather than policy. Obama was on the defensive from the start, but gradually the defensiveness morphed into bitter frustration. ....... Too often, Obama has seemed unwilling to get down in the muck and fight off the "distractions" that are crippling his campaign. ........ as a black man, he wants to send low-information signals that he is neither angry nor threatening ....... "Why aren't you guys wearing pins? Why isn't Hillary?" ...... He seemed fed up with campaigning — as any reasonably sane human being would be at this point — and embittered by the turn the race had taken. ......... I'm not sure that Bill and Hillary Clinton are reasonably sane human beings, at least not when they are running for office: they become robo-pols, tireless and seemingly indestructible. Senator Clinton was on fire in the days before the Pennsylvania primary, as energized as I've ever seen her. ........ She had embraced the shameless rituals of politics, including some classic low-information signals ..... threatening to "obliterate" Iran ...... It helps to be a warrior, for one thing. ...... the only way to reach the high-minded conversation he wants, and the country badly needs, is to figure out how to maneuver his way through the gutter.
Next Stop for the Dems: Indiana Obama slightly ahead of Clinton, 40% to 35%. ...... in March, Indianans gave some $218,800 to Obama's campaign, and $79,600 to Clinton's ..... hoping to connect with nearby Obamanistas ....... His first neighborhood captains meeting drew just 5 people. Last week's drew 160.
Why Do Women Need To Be Perfect? Kim seemed to have everything — a happy marriage, four well-adjusted kids, a well-to-do lifestyle, good health and a trim figure. ..... It turns out that Kim was distressed by the messiness in her house. She told Domar, "Every time I open a drawer or closet and see the clutter, I feel like a miserable failure." ....... your average, everyday woman who feels uncomfortable going to bed if there are dishes in the sink. ...... men on average worry about three things every day, but women on average worry about 12 things every day ....... I have never in my career seen a woman — and I've seen patients who are models and celebrities and such — who would look in the mirror and like everything they saw. What we do, no matter what we look like, is look in the mirror and zero in on the flaws. ....... I've treated a lot of young women in my practice with anorexia and bulimia. That's a pathological need to control one's body. ........ When she comes home, she looks right past the fact that the kids are fine and she focuses on his unshaven face and the pizza boxes in the garage and the laundry. She knows she's wrong but she can't help herself. She worries her husband is going to leave her for somebody who loves him for who he is and the fact that he doesn't drink and he doesn't beat them and he brings home a good paycheck. So I think it can be toxic in a relationship. ........ jotting down what that day you are grateful for, can have very significant positive impact on your mental and physical health
Somalia Takes a Turn for the Worse foreign reporters and volunteers have been held for ransom by gangs, to the south, where they've been executed to show the low regard their Islamist captors have for the West. ....... the 17 years since it last had a functioning government ...... ecent fighting, and especially the latest in Mogadishu, are signs that Somalia is entering its bleakest chapter yet. ....... fundamentalist fighters will capture a town in a lightning raid and then retreat, more to show off their muscle than anything else ....... the al-Shabab, a band of mostly young men who adhere to Taliban-style Islamic codes. ...... the civilian suffering that has made Somalia one of the world's greatest and most ignored humanitarian disasters.
Clinton Goes After Obama's Strengths CBS News attempting to re-write the presidential campaign narrative using a new two-pronged argument ...... The two talking points - pushed by campaign aides to reporters in conference calls, impromptu gaggles on her campaign plane and by Clinton herself in a round of network interviews, a morning speech in Indianapolis and a call with donors - are intended primarily for the consumption of the superdelegates who will decide the nomination. ......... at the end of March he’d raised $236 million for his campaign compared to $195 million for Clinton and $72 million for McCain ....... After the rally, she told donors on a conference call: “we’ve been just runnin’ on fumes.”
Clinton, Obama each arguing that they are ahead in the popular vote CNN
Clinton Not Too Sleep Deprived for a Debate
ABC News
Top House Democrat denounces Clinton campaign tactics Reuters speculation that Clinton is staying in the race only to try to derail Obama and pave the way for her to make another White House run in 2012. ..... the Clintons know that she can’t win this. But they’re hell-bound to make it impossible for Obama to win” in November
Clinton's Pennsylvania win seen as giving her momentum Xinhua the former first lady "is on a roll." ...... has Democrats wondering, if not worrying, about what role race may be playing

Maoists sweep Nepal polls: final results AFP

For Democrats, Questions Over Race and Electability
New York Times
Clinton ratchets up the rhetoric against Obama
Globe and Mail
Should Obama Play Rougher?
TIME
Clinton wins Pennsylvania Jewish vote with surprising ease Ha'aretz
Fresh Off Pennsylvania Victory, Clinton Raises Millions, Mostly Online
New York Times
Seizing on Primary Win, Clinton Says Tide Is Turning New York Times
Party leaders don't seem to care Clinton has taken the big states San Francisco Chronicle
Obama, Clinton add endorsements Boston Globe

Clinton 'Confident' After Pa. Win ABC News
Analysis: Obama still struggling to win key constituencies The Associated Press
Clinton buys time with Pennsylvania primary win Dallas Morning News
Don't Call It a Comeback: Hillary Clinton's PA Primary Victory
Village Voice
Obama Shifting Focus From Clinton to McCain New York Times
Clinton Clearly Outduels Obama in Pennsylvania
New York Times In his concession speech, he kept the focus on the presumptive Republican nominee, Senator John McCain, a subject Mrs. Clinton avoided in her address. ...... her strong performance among women, older voters and less affluent and less educated voters; among white union members with no college education, she won almost three-quarters of the vote ........ they were having their best night ever in fund-raising online, bringing in $2.5 million in less than four hours ...... her campaign is essentially out of money, with unpaid bills piling up ...... “I want the Iranians to know that if I’m the president, we will attack Iran,” she said. “In the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them.”
Obama congratulates Hillary after Pennsylvania primary loss NDTV.com
Victorious Clinton pleads for cash
The Australian

Obama Site Visitors Redirected to Clinton Campaign Washington Post According to Symantec, someone embedded computer code into a posting on the Obama blog. The content in this case targeted a cross-site scripting flaw (XSS), an exceedingly common type of vulnerability that can be used to automatically redirect Web browsers viewing the affected page to another site.


Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Lessons From PA: Race And Globalization Must Be Addressed


  • All 50 states will get to vote, Hillary is not dropping out. It is a good thing that all 50 states will have a say in the nomination process. When was the last time that happened? Perhaps this is what Howard Dean meant by his 50 state strategy a few years back.
  • The superdelegates will decide. I hope they decide not long after the final primary/caucus. I hope they don't wait until the convention.
  • Barack will be the nominee.
  • Hillary will be his running mate.
These are the obvious observations to be made. And then there are other macro ones.
  • That superhit speech on race was not really about race, it was about Jeremiah Wright. The first black president to be has yet to give a speech about how he will take race relations in America to the next level. So far his strategy on race is to not talk about race. I disagree with it. That is like saying marriage does not need conversations.
  • I guess you could say these two by sheer presence in the White House will take race and gender to the next level. I disagree. I saw Indira Gandhi at the helm in India. India remained as sexist as ever. (Another Speech On Race Will Bring Victory In PA)
  • The biggest thing the next president and the president after that will do is help turn America into a full fledged knowledge economy. Hostility on trade might give solace to the "bitter" folks, but there is no turning the tide. An agricultural America became industrial, an industrial America will become a knowledge economy. There is more wealth in the future for most people, but you do have to manage the transition well. It has been done before, it can be done again. Major economic transformations are possible.
  • Who will tie the bell round the cat's neck? Who will tell the small town voters? Barack tried. Hillary pounced on him for trying.
  • Universal health, lifelong education: those are the buzzwords. But you need something more immediate for those already hurting. Better trade deals will help. I like the idea of using trade deals to spread democracy, human rights and unionization, better child labor laws, and so on in other countries. Better trade tools than W's berserk military.
  • Globalization has so far favored capital in both the rich and the poor countries. We progressives have to design a globalization that puts human capital on par with financial and physical capital.
And then there are basic political gimmicks. That Osama ad was Bill Clinton's idea. He pulled dirty on Barack also in New Hampshire. Obama 2008 made the mistake of crying foul. What it instead should have done is said it was Hillary's misadventure in Iraq that got America's eyes off the Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan.



Bottom line is Hillary was going to win PA, it was only a matter of narrowing her margin. We did narrow it from 20 points to 10 points in just weeks.



In The News


Clinton Captures Pennsylvania San Francisco Chronicle exit polls show nearly 70 percent of Pensylvanians think Clinton went too far in attacking Obama. .... 55 percent, have not gone to college ...... Clinton won among white men 55-45 percent, less than in Ohio but a strong showing. She won overwhelmingly among white women 64-36 percent. ...... Obama has a huge advantage with more than $40 million in the bank; the Clinton campaign is in debt. A narrow win in Pennsylvania will undermine her ability to raise cash and impose its own hard reality. ...... Gun owners, church goers and rural residents went for Clinton about 60-40. ...... Clinton wins the overall white vote -- 80 percent of the electorate -- by 20 points. ...... The one in five voters deciding in the final week went for Clinton 58 to 42. ...... Seniors, another big voting bloc, went for Clinton overwhelmingly, 61-38. ...... Obama won amost all African American voters, 92-8. He is also winning among upper-income voters and recently minted Democrats. ...... Essentially, the race is where it was six long weeks ago. ...... The idea that superdelegates would hand her the nomination while he has more pledged delegates elected by voters sounds as crazy today as it did two months ago, and as disastrous for Democrats. ...... Neither she nor Obama were included in the country's founding documetns, she said in her first mention of her rival. "This generation will grow up taking for granted that an African American or a woman can be president." .......... She vows to turn "promises to action," "words to solutions" and "hope to reality." ...... Obama: He looks upbeat and confident. He's in Indiana, the next "decisive" state. ....... two wars, an economy in recession, a planet in peril. ...... With 85 percent of the Pennsylvania vote in , Clinton has the double-digit lead she fought for, ahead 55 to 45 percent.
Clinton wins another primary - Democrats shrug San Francisco Chronicle Al Gore, who is estranged from the Clintons. ....... Obama's argument that he will win California hands down in the fall ....... he can put in play smaller ones like Virginia that she can't touch. ...... Obama's glaring weakness among the working-class whites Democrats ..... Obama's almost insurmountable lead in pledged delegate votes rests to a surprising extent on his victories in small caucuses, involving comparatively few voters, in deeply Republican states like Alaska and Idaho. His bigger primary victories are heavily weighted to Southern states such as Georgia and Mississippi that have large African American populations but are highly unlikely to vote Democratic in the fall. It is a point Clinton, her husband and her campaign have made with rising exasperation. ........ "If anybody thinks that I'll lose New York and California in the general election, there's no chance of that happening," Obama said today. ...... a victory that not only allows us to take over the White House but also will allow us to govern ...... Obama has won six swing states (Virginia, Missouri, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Colorado and Iowa) to Clinton's four (Pennsylvania, Ohio, Nevada, New Mexico and New Hampshire), leaving Obama with more potential electoral votes. ..... Obama is polling better than Clinton in California against McCain.
Clinton gets make-or-break win in Pennsylvania Boston Globe "Don't write her off," her campaign chairman, Terry McAullife, told CNN from the ballroom. "She's fighting every day." ..... He started the month with more than $41 million on hand to spend on the primary campaign, while Clinton was $1 million in debt. ...... Obama is favored in four states -- North Carolina, Oregon, Montana, and South Dakota, which award a total of 198 pledged delegates. Clinton is expected to do well in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Puerto Rico, whose delegate counts total 134. Guam and Indiana appear to be toss-ups. ...... The battle for Pennsylvania grew especially testy in the last days. Clinton ran a TV ad featuring an image of Osama bin Laden and implying that Obama is not tough enough to be president. Obama countered with an ad accusing Clinton of running a campaign of "fear.'' ....... Despite a frenzied, six-week campaign to shake up each other's base, the electorate largely split as expected. ..... No matter who they voted for, 54 percent of Democratic voters said they believe that Obama will be the eventual nominee, while 43 percent said Clinton will win the nomination, according to the exit polling.
Barack Obama's team stays buoyant Los Angeles Times
Why Clinton Won Pennsylvania
CBS News an electorate consistently divided on factors like education, race and income and also newly divided along religious lines. ..... intense media coverage of Obama's recent statements regarding small town voters, and a consistent characterization of him as an elitist both by the media and by the campaigns of Clinton and John McCain, these pre-existing social divides grew larger in this first contest since the story broke. ....... Clinton won 75 percent of the vote from white Democrats with a high school diploma or less - three times Obama's vote among these voters - compared to 56 percent of those with more education. ....... Part of Obama's ability to close the large lead Clinton initially had in Pennsylvania was a concerted voter registration effort - one which paid off for him. Among today's Pennsylvania Democratic voters 14 percent reported that they had newly registered as Democrats. Among these new Democratic voters Obama bested Clinton by 20 points - 59 percent to 39 percent.




Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Gender Talk: Coming At It From The Future


Sexism Bothers Me Directly

If you think about it, it is kind of weird that Hillary had to make the baking cookies comment in 1992. It makes no sense that women had to struggle to have careers. Careers make economy sense for the larger economy. Careers make money sense for the family. Careers make happiness sense for the individual.

Women do 60% of the work on the farm in a country like Nepal, but they have been deprived of power. Poverty complicates an already supremely sexist situation.

Often time we settle for incrementalism. We look at the weigh of the past as to how things were much worse than they are today. That time travel is supposed to justify the sorry state we are in today. Women still are nowhere close to parity.

The equal pay might feel like it is a nuanced issue. But domestic violence is concrete, and the two are related.

Only a few decades back most women were expected to stay home and "bake cookies" and rear children - all wonderful things to do - while men out there and made asses of themselves at their jobs.

But most college graduates today are women. There will come a tipping point. It will be like when a lake freezes. It is 35 degrees and men are still chugging down their beers. 34, fine. And then, boom, it is 33, and the lake freezes.

Scientific progressivism says you work to go up the political consciousness level. If you go high enough, you don't see gender as an issue for women, let them deal with it. You see it as a progressive issue. You are into it as a progressive, regardless of gender. You are not in it to do women a favor or anything like that. Ultimately you are just trying to get their votes. The act of voting is sacred to a progressive.

You come at it from the future. You model behavior. What will a nonsexist workplace look like? What will a nonsexist relationship look like? How do you curb gender violence like Giuliani went after crime in NYC? How do you end the global trafficking of women? Now that one will be in the same league as Lincoln ending slavery.

Overall I am optimistic that progress will be made. I am just a little impatient that progress will not come as fast as desired. So you try and do things to speed things up.

I must admit there is a certain selfishness to my take on gender. I feel like the rising tide will lift all boats. Women are just so large in number. There is no telling how much social progress they can make together. Gays, and ethnic and racial minorities can expect to ride the rising tide. Women are best positioned to lead of all the political - as opposed to numerical - minorities.

Barackface: The Spectrum On Gender
Barackface: Race, Gender, Progressive, Conservative Divides
Barackface: The Spectrum/Dialogue Concept Is Key To Power



In The News

Obama, Clinton deadlocked in US Senate, 13-13
Reuters
Hillary Clinton edges lead over Barack Obama ahead of Pennsylvania ...
Telegraph.co.uk a lead of five to ten points in the state ..... "The bottom line for me is that we have a lot of contests yet to go. This is a really close race." .... close the 20-point lead she held a month ago, thanks in part to an onslaught of advertisements paid for by his vastly superior funds. ...... Obama has now raised $234 million, mostly from small online donations ..... Nine more contests are scheduled before the campaign concludes on June 3.

Cash Struggle Continues for Clinton, Filings Show New York Times

Carter Says Hamas and Syria Are Open to Peace New York Times found the Syrian leadership eager for a full peace treaty with Israel. ..... “The problem is not that I met with Hamas in Syria. The problem is that Israel and the United States refuse to meet these people.” ..... Carter said he found the Hamas leadership, including Mr. Meshal, to be clear-thinking, educated people who gave no sign of fanaticism ........ “They are just as rational as you are,” he said, adding, “The thing that Meshal and I have is that we are both physicists.”
Widespread Political Violence Reported in Zimbabwe's Rural Areas Voice of America
Beyond Pa., a Weakened Clinton
Washington Post Her campaign has the aura of a march toward inevitable disappointment.
UPDATE 1-Obama struggles to win white vote in rural Pa. Reuters hurt by his comments on small town bitterness and his association with an outspoken pastor ....... Local people called the Illinois senator arrogant, unpatriotic and un-Christian ..... "There's no work here," he said. "You have to drive 30 to 40 miles to find a job." ..... comments about small-town Pennsylvanians, made during a closed-door session in San Francisco. .... "The guy demonized the U.S. and Obama still likes him." Bressler said. "We don't need him as president."
Clinton, Obama Hit Each Other Hard In New PA Ads CBS News
Clinton lead hits double digits in new poll Boston Globe A new poll out this morning gives Hillary Clinton a 52 percent to 42 percent lead over Barack Obama in Pennsylvania .... Clinton is within striking distance of the double-digit win she badly needs to build new momentum for her candidacy

Young Pennsylvania voters take a shine to Obama Reuters
Prachanda to head new government in Nepal Hindu
New Pa. poll has Clinton holding lead
MSNBC
Clinton scrambles to hold onto waning lead in Pennsylvania
Los Angeles Times

Obama fights for every vote to close on Clinton Guardian the critical Pennsylvania primary could end in humiliation for Hillary ..... Barack Obama was closing fast on Hillary Clinton for the vital Pennsylvania primary on Tuesday, as he emerged from the ugliest week in their 15-month race intact - and, using a memorable gesture borrowed from hip-hop, literally 'brushing off' her last-ditch attacks. ....... she is slipping rapidly in most polls ...... some predicting a photo-finish and one a long-shot Obama victory. ..... goal is to shrink Clinton's margin of victory to the point where it looks humiliating, even terminal. ...... Obama's crowd of 35,000 on Independence Mall in Philadelphia on Friday is not quite up with the Pope's expected congregation of 60,000 in New York's Yankee Stadium today, but gave him the look of being both populist and presidential. ....... he still won the endorsement of six more super-delegates and rock idol Bruce Springsteen. ....... Gary Hart, a former Democratic presidential candidate, who has endorsed Obama ...... he recovered on Friday in North Carolina by using hip-hop moves taken from rap mogul Jay-Z ....... Then he mimed brushing dirt off each shoulder, a move that Jay-Z, one of his musical heroes, uses to dismiss the negative sentiments of anyone ill-disposed towards him or what he stands for. The crowd went wild and commentators declared it a seminal moment in the campaign, combining his charisma, feel for popular culture, youth and resilience.
For Clintons, a Time to Find Truest Friends New York Times “She is a delightful young woman who loves her mother very much,” Mrs. Larson said. “She was really pushing me. She kept asking me why I was doing this. She just kept asking, ‘Why? Why?’ ” ..... nearly two decades building relationships with a generation of Democrats ..... a lot of Clinton fatigue in the party and in the country today ...... “These are people that the Clintons gave an opportunity to serve,” said Mr. Panetta, speaking generally. “They helped give them the titles they now have, and made them a lot of money. I think the Clintons probably feel they are owed something.” ....... Reich, who had said he would not formally endorse Mr. Obama out of “loyalty” to Mrs. Clinton, a friend for over four decades whom he actually went out on a date with in their college days. ..... while Mr. Clinton was a great leader, “I don’t want my daughter near him.” ...... “if Hillary’s campaign can’t control Bill, whether Hillary’s White House could.” ..... people around the Clintons practiced “gutter” politics and that they felt entitled to the presidency ....... “The relationship has become very strained,” Mr. Richardson understated in an interview. ....... former supporters like Mrs. Larson, people who revered the Clintons in the 1990s and still regard them highly ...... “There was something about Senator Obama that I found really fresh and exciting,” she said. “I like how positive he has been.” She also spoke of “the destructive negativity” of the Clinton campaign. ...... “I just told her it was something I had to do.”
Clinton Cabinet Member Reich Backs Obama Yahoo! News
Clinton hoping to capitalize on slim lead in Pennsylvania
Chicago Tribune "Hillary is my age group. She's a woman. She's me. She's my goals. She's my aspirations. She's a goal that I could attain." ..... no-win criticism for a woman. ...... We women are strong. We are focused. .... "I want to change them. I don't want to become them."
Obama, Clinton trade barbs over negative tactics Reuters

Clinton and Obama debate who is the tougher candidate Boston Globe
Obama Fights On Two Fronts Washington Post
Primary Lures Those Too Young to Vote New York Times
Vote recount underway in Zimbabwe CNN International
Ex-Labor Secretary Reich backs Obama
Los Angeles Times the fifth former Clinton Cabinet member to endorse

Clinton's Campus Backers Resist Draw of `Cool' Obama Phenomenon Bloomberg
Obama Meets Jay-Z in YouTube Mashup Slamming Clinton & Debate Yahoo! News
How Obama Fell to Earth
New York Times
Obama faces road test for November election fight Reuters
Obama's Bitter Lesson TIME
Obama's Tax Evasion
Wall Street Journal
Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, many others hold forth on the ABC debate Los Angeles Times
Obama says debate focused on 'gotcha,' not policy issues The Associated Press
Superdelegates Unswayed by Clinton’s Attacks New York Times
Obama and Clinton Campaign for Laughs on Comedy Central Show
Bloomberg
Clinton, Obama, Edwards visit 'Colbert Report' Newsday
Clinton is Ms. Fix-It, Obama a media critic on 'Colbert' The Associated Press
MoveOn.org criticizes debate between Clinton, Obama as “gotcha” Reuters
McCain Plans for $3.3 Trillion Tax Cut, Balanced Budget at Odds
Bloomberg
Maoists extend lead in Nepal polls, re-voting smooth
AFP

जनजाति महासंघ गठन Kantipur
कपिलवस्तुमा पुरानै अनुहार खासै संगठनात्मक आधार खडा नभएका मधेसवादी दलको पक्षमा यहा“ जनमत प्रकट भएको छ ....... भर्खरै उदाएकार् इश्वर दयाल मिश्रा तथा २५ वर्षा सम्भवतः सबैभन्दा कान्छा संविधानसभा सदस्य अभिषेकप्रताप शाहको विजय ........ कपिलवस्तु घटनाबाट बढी प्रभावित क्षेत्रं ५ को प्रतिस्पर्धामा अन्तरिम संसदमा विधायकमा मनोनित भए पनि पदत्याग गरी मधेस आन्दोलनका पक्षमा खडा भएका युवा अभिषेकप्रताप शाह विजयी भए । उनले वयोवृद्ध ठूलोबाबु कांग्रेसका डा. रुद्रप्रताप शाहलाई पराजित गरे ।
सुनसरी-२ मा एमाले र महोत्तरी-२ मा फोरम सुनसरीमा मधेसी जनअधिकार फोरमले ३, एमाले २ र माओवादीले एक स्थान ...... यसअघिका संसदीय निर्वाचनमा ८० प्रतिशत परिणाम आफ्नो पक्षमा पार्दै आएको कांग्रेसले यसपाला सुनसरी-१, ५ र ६ मा तेस्रो स्थान र २ मा पा“चौं स्थानमा चित्त बुझाउनुपर्‍यो
'मधेसलाई अलग राखी देश चलाउन सकिन्न' लाहान, वैशाख ४ - मधेसी जनअधिकार फोरमका संयोजक उपेन्द्र यादवले नेपालको राजनीतिबाट फोरमलाई अलग राखी कसैले देश चलाउन चाहेमा त्यो दिवा स्वप्न मात्र हुने बताएका छन् । ...... 'संविधान निर्माण गर्दा मधेसको एजेन्डालाई सन्तुलन कायम गरी अगाडि बढ्नु फोरमको उद्देश्य हो ।' ...... सरकारस“ग भएको स्वायत्त मधेस एक प्रदेशसम्बन्धी सम्झौतालाई कायम गर्न फोरम अडिग रहेको ...... 'सुजाता हार्नु दुःखको कुरो हो, तर उहा“ प्रधानमन्त्रीपुत्री भएर हार्नुभएको छ ।' ...... यादवले तत्काल फोरमले माओवादीस“ग मिलेर सरकार बनाउने सोच नराखेको पनि बताए ....... यादवले बुधबारै लाहानको सहिदचोकमा गई मधेस आन्दोलनका क्रममा सहिद हुनेहरूप्रति श्रद्धाञ्जलि अर्पण गर्दै मधेसलाई एक राज्य एक स्वायत्त प्रदेश बनाउन फोरम कटिबद्ध रहन ...... सिरहा-१ बाट विजयी फोरम उम्मेदवार लक्ष्मण मेहता
अबको मधेस राजनीति मधेसवादी दलहरू मुख्यतः मधेसी जनअधिकार फोरमले सम्मानजनक स्थान हासिल गरेको छ ..... कांग्रेस र एमालेले सारा देशभरि पाएको स्थानको हाराहारीमा मधेसी जन अधिकार फोरम पुग्नु भनेको जनताको भरपुर र्समर्थन पाउनु हो ..... उपेन्द्र यादवमा कम्युनिस्ट राजनीतिको रङ छ भने विजय गच्छेदार समूहको कांग्रेसी पृष्ठभूमि छ । ...... अझै पनि रमेश महतो र गौरमा मारिएका माओवादी र्समर्थकका परिवारहरूको घाउ ताजा नै छ । ...... तर्राईमा कांग्रेस र एमालले भोगेको हार ...... सुशील कोइराला र्सवदेव ओझास“ग माधव नेपाल रौतहटमा देवेन्द्र पटेलस“ग सुजाता कोइराला उपेन्द्र यादवस“ग झापामा कृष्ण सिटौला पर्ूण्ाप्रसाद राजवंशीस“ग त्यस्तै मोरङमा शेखर कोइराला विजयकुमार गच्छादारस“ग महेश आचार्य भीमलाल चौधरीस“ग पारजित हुनु ....... प्रचण्डजीले जनयुद्धको बेलामा लाल तर्राईमा लेख्नुभएको लेखमा मधेस उपनिवेश हो र यसको स्वायत्तका लागि संर्घष्ा अपरिहार्य छ भन्ने अभिव्यक्तिलाई अब आफैं सत्तामा पुगेपछि कति इमान्दारिताका साथ पूरा गर्नुहुन्छ भन्ने प्रश्नको उत्तर भविष्यले नै दिनेछ । ...... काठमाडँैंका हरेक गल्लीमा "गर्व से कहु हम मधेसी छी" भन्ने नारा लेख्न मातृकाले ठूलै कसरत र साहस देखाएका हुन् । ........ माओवादी र मधेसी जनअधिकार फोरम अन्ततः सत्ताको नजिक पुगेकोे छ ...... संघीयताको सवाल सबैभन्दा सशक्त ढंगले मधेसले उठाएको हो ...... कञ्चनपुरदेखि झापासम्म एक स्वायत्त क्षेत्र स्थापित हुनुपर्ने धारण ...... माओवादीबाहेक अन्य दलले स्पष्ट खाका दिन सकेका छैनन् ....... संघीयतामा सबैभन्दा बढी मधेस बिर्ता कांग्रेसलेनै गुमाउने कुराको संकेत संविधानसभा चुनावको परिणामले देखाइसक्यो

Philadelphia paper backs Obama Boston Globe
Philly newspaper: Judge Obama by his campaign
USA Today
Clinton, Obama in crunch debate
The Australian



Sunday, April 20, 2008

Skyward Bound


The life breath of thy music runs from sky to sky.
Skyward Bound

Break open
The possibilities
The will to perform
To outdo
To stretch
The imagination

Let go
The shackles
The cobwebs
Of limitations
Assumptions
Presuppositions

Take a deep breath
To lay it all out
To stake a claim
To success
To roaring success
Here is to you

Hear the beckonings
From across the horizon
They call upon you
Stay in tune
Even when
You sleep

Reach out
To the reservoir
Of your inner strength
And endless dreams
Rejuvenate
In yourself

There is a future
To answer to
Past is prologue
At best
This time is yours
Drink it

Take full measure
Of your troops
Rally support
Survey the scene
As you march
To victory

Deny
The naysayers
Blow away
The dream stealers
Adios is to
False friends

For you are
Skyward bound




Mother, it is no gain, thy bondage of finery, if it keeps one shut off from the healthful dust of the earth, if it rob one of the right of entrance to the great fair of common human life.


The PROPHET, by Kahlil Gibran Table of Contents

On Love

Then said Almitra, "Speak to us of Love."
And he raised his head and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them. And with a great voice he said:
When love beckons to you follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.
For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.
Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.
He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant;
And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God's sacred feast.
All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart.
But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure,
Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor,
Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.
Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love.
When you love you should not say, "God is in my heart," but rather, I am in the heart of God."
And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.