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Friday, February 29, 2008

A Little Night Blog Surfing ...


This is such a tragedy.
h/t to SueJ

And be sure to read:

Why would it be OK for non-Democrats to pick the Democratic candidate?
by Lambert

Oopsie
by Lambert

Hillary Clinton to appear on ‘The Daily Show’
by John Amato

100 Reasons to Support Hillary
by Taylor Marsh

What Will Gay and Lesbians Get for Their Obama Cash?
by Taylor Marsh

CTV on NAFTA Story ... here, here, here, and here
at Taylor Marsh

Scientists
by Miss Cellania
Okay, I'll admit it. After starting over a few dozen times, I finally scored a "B" on the scientist test ... which only demonstrates my ability to memorize answers. ha

A Leap of Faith ... or not

As we celebrate "leap" day, I thought I would tease you a bit with just a hint of what I've been working on recently.



More later ...

"the true voice of spring"


As I mentioned a while back, I've been reading RTP's Wild America, written with James Fisher, and I promised to give you some excerpts. Here's one that's been percolating in my mind since I first read it a few weeks ago.

After dinner that evening we had walked across the damp fields toward the clear plaintive birdlike peeping until the myriad voices almost shouted at us from the dark pool and then fell silent. To easterners this nostalgic sound more than than any other--more than that of any bird--is the true voice of spring. It is a voice of resurrection: "Spring is come!" Everyone knows the voice and is glad, but few have ever seen the tiny inch-long singer. Tonight, with the peepers, there were multitudes of cricket frogs rasping out their strident notes, and here and there a green frog gave its single croak, like the plucking of a loose string on some instrument....

These sounds that pipe and trill from a hundred throats on evenings in spring are love songs of the swamp. They are ancient music, for the frogs sang their songs ages before the birds did; they were here first.... This orchestration of frogs and toads is one of the outstanding things about spring nights in eastern North America.

I read that passage again last night as I snuggled under my six layers of covers in bed, and I could almost hear the peepers and the toads and the green frogs playing their symphony; I could almost feel the warm breeze and smell the damp earth of the marsh. We leave our windows open in the summer, and each night we fall asleep to the sweet sounds of the peepers.

Once last summer, a friend came over and we went out on the marsh at dusk with flashlights to look for peepers. We saw a beautiful brown one, his throat blown up with each peep, his tiny body dwarfed by both his huge bubble of a throat and the loudness of his call.

Photo credit

Some people in PA are already hearing peepers, even though the ground is still covered in snow. I haven't heard any calls yet, nor have I seen any red-winged blackbirds, the other harbinger of spring on the marsh--though others in Central PA have seen some. I guess Penns Valley is a little behind the rest of the area, under its thin blanket of snow. But this passage, and the thought of the coming warmth and beauty and new life, makes me happy.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Busy, busy, busy

I am so busy that I simply do not have the time to respond to every comment. Just wanted to make this general comment:

Dean Wormer -- Thank you! I've been an organizer for most of my life, working to advance progressive issues, and I don't plan to stop. And since I live near and work in the vortex of evil, Washington, DC, there is no doubt I will have my shovel ready!

Comrade Kevin and John J -- I absolutely could not disagree with you more ... but hey, knock yourselves out trying to get me to change my mind! ha

And to SueJ -- I'm so glad you found Yikes! It's nice to have a "sister" around!

I'll be posting later about what I'm working on that is keeping me so busy these days. And hopefully, on this, we can all agree!

This Race is Not Over

from The Hillary 1000:

Contrary to what the talking heads would like us to believe.

Despite Obama outspending Clinton anywhere from 3-to-1 to 4-to-1 in the upcoming states, he is having difficulty pulling away from her. Keep in mind that he outspent her 5-to-1 in Wisconsin. The spending blitz he’s on and his subsequent victories has been woefully underreported.

Meanwhile, Clinton supporters, especially the working and family women who love her, have a serious challenge on their hands in the upcoming Texas caucus.

Finally, the MI and FL delegates issue remains unresolved, but the majority of superdelegates agree with Clinton: they should be seated.

The stork has arrived!

and he's dropped off the newest addition to the beginningtobird family, Alan Rickman!

Here he is in one of my favorite performances, Severus Snape in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. "Page three-hundred-and-ninety-FOUR...."

I loves him.

Wilentz on Who Played the Race Card



Sean Wilentz has written an article called Race Man -- How Barack Obama played the race card and blamed Hillary Clinton.
A review of what actually happened shows that the charges that the Clintons played the "race card" were not simply false; they were deliberately manufactured by the Obama camp and trumpeted by a credulous and/or compliant press corps in order to strip away her once formidable majority among black voters and to outrage affluent, college-educated white liberals as well as college students.
Watching Obama national co-chair Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. following the New Hampshire primary, it seem clear to me that HE was certainly playing the race card. It kind of makes you wonder why no one called him on it.

Couple this with the MSM (and many progressive blogs) acting like cheerleaders for Obama, and it's not surprising the most qualified candidate for president is in a virtual tie with a lesser qualified candidate for the nomination.

...but clouds got in my way


These are a favorite: low-tide sandflats clouds:

For comparison to real low-tide sandflats, see this picture from Lillian and Don Stokes' blog.

Pet sounds

I took some pics of Nibble and Kisses and wanted to share with you.

I call this one "EveryNibble is Illuminated" in honor of the Jonathan Safran Foer novel and movie:

He's happily eating his "crack" or this special bunny mix I get him for treats--it has smashed nuts, dried fruit, sunflower seeds, etc. mixed in with pellets. Someday I'll try to video him doing his crazy dance when he knows he's getting his crack. Boy, can that bunny move!

Kisses has the cutest little paws, and I lucked out and got her asleep for these shots:


Sweet Kitty Kisses!

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Ellen asks Hillary the Tough Questions

The Media's Obama Lovefest


I have talked about this often, as have other bloggers such as Taylor Marsh. For whatever reason the media seems to be giving Obama a free pass. Will that continue, should he become the nominee? I'm not the only one who would like to know.
After several weeks of swooning, news reports are finally being filed about the gap between Senator Barack Obama's promises of a pure, soul-cleansing "new" politics and the calculated, deeply dishonest conduct of his actually-existing campaign. But it remains to be seen whether the latest ploy by the Obama camp--over allegations about the circulation of a photograph of Obama in ceremonial Somali dress--will be exposed by the press as the manipulative illusion that it is. ... ..

... .. To a large degree, the campaign's strategists turned the primary and caucus race to their advantage when they deliberately, falsely, and successfully portrayed Clinton and her campaign as unscrupulous race-baiters--a campaign-within-the-campaign in which the worked-up flap over the Somali costume photograph is but the latest episode. While promoting Obama as a "post-racial" figure, his campaign has purposefully polluted the contest with a new strain of what historically has been the most toxic poison in American politics.

More than any other maneuver, this one has brought Clinton into disrepute with important portions of the Democratic Party. A review of what actually happened shows that the charges that the Clintons played the "race card" were not simply false; they were deliberately manufactured by the Obama camp and trumpeted by a credulous and/or compliant press corps in order to strip away her once formidable majority among black voters and to outrage affluent, college-educated white liberals as well as college students. ... ..

Race Man
by Sean Wilentz
How Barack Obama played the race card and blamed Hillary Clinton.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Diebold Accidentally Leaks Results Of 2008 Election Early



You've gotta love The Onion!

Spinning that could make you dizzy


Is anyone besides me dizzy over the way campaign spokesperson David Wilhelm tried to spin what was clearly one of Obama's weaker moments?

Wilhelm said: "... among the strongest parts of his debate performance were on the areas related to national security ... you saw somebody grow, in front of all of our eyes, take real command ... I thought part of the strongest part of his debate performance was national security.

Were we watching the same debate? Foreign policy was clearly one of the weaker areas for Obama in this debate, but I guess the strategy is to SAY it was his strongest, and then let the MSM keep playing the clip over and over again - as Keith Olbermann didn't challenge him on this point.

It might have work except for the fact that Sen. Clinton's spokesperson, Lisa Caputo quickly responded by saying: "... I disagree slightly with my friend David Wilhelm, I think Hillary Clinton showed a far superior knowledge on foreign policy issues. Even Sen. Obama admitted he hasn't held an oversight committee hearing on the issue of Afghanistan. And it was Sen. Clinton who went into the long expose on the potential successor to Vladimir Putin."

Obama's campaign was clearly trying to do is turn a negative into a positive, and thank God Caputo was right there to set the record straight. Otherwise, a complicit media would let them GET AWAY WITH THIS.

In the next segment, Rev. Jesse Jackson was asked about the two candidates, and while he thought Obama did well on trade policy questions he said, "Hillary showed a mastery of foreign policy."

Now, back to the issue of Afghanistan. Wouldn't a logical follow up question be "why haven't you held a hearing?" Since Afghanistan seems to be imploding.

Taylor Marsh says this:

Finally. Somebody brings up the NATO committee Obama co-chairs, but hasn't called one single meeting. It was Clinton, not the moderators.

"It is true we haven't had oversight hearings," Obama admits. Somebody going to follow up on this one? No oversight, while Afghanistan is going to hell in a hand basket. Anyone? ... .. [...]

EXCUSE ME... Obama says he's too busy to conduct a hearing on his NATO sub-committee, but no follow up? Hello? Journalism anyone!!??
It's clear Obama is a quick learner, because he keeps parroting Clinton's talking points. But he couldn't quite pull off the ending. There was a desperate attempt to have the same touching moment in this debate that Hillary achieved in the last debate ... but he couldn't pull it off ... he fell on his face.

And finally, could Keith Olbermann be more of a cheerleader for Obama? Chris Matthews seems to have toned his down a bit, but it's hard for him to completely let go of his love. But Olbermann has clearly picked up the pom pom's.

On the Question of Experience


We won't be able to say we weren't warned!

Monday, February 25, 2008

"No time for blogging today!"

As one of my favorite bloggers, Dr. Zaius, would say..."No time for blogging today!" It's been a very hectic day, but I didn't want the day to pass without put something up! Isn't that why YouTube was invented? In case you missed the Academy Awards last night, here is a bit of Jon Stewart.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Bitch is the new black


NBC isn't making enough money to allow free access to this clip on YouTube!

h/t to SueJ for finding this

What a Nader Candidacy Looks Like

Everyone has heard that now famous Bushism: "Fool me once, shame on you ... fool me twice, you can't get fooled again!" Does Ralph Nader think the American people are going to fall for his divisive tactics again?

Nader has announced is intension to run for president yet again. Does he have a new book coming out? Is he just bored? What could he possibly add to the race, other than divisiveness?

My email address somehow ended up on an email list, of people who support Ralph Nader. I didn't realize it until I received a message a few weeks ago announcing Ralph's intension to run. In my most diplomatic voice I responded by saying: Anyone who votes for Ralph Nader is crazy. Of course I was 1) attacked and 2) kicked off the list. Both were fine with me. (In fact, I asked to be taken off the list, so it was kind of a mutual thing.)

Let me add here that I have met Ralph Nader, and I used to respect the man, but I lost that respect in 2000. What I had always liked about Nader was his willingness to stand up to Corporate American, in defense of "the little guy." He always seemed to me to be an honest, sincere public advocate. But that impression of him changed dramatically in 2000.

He actually said there was "no difference" between Al Gore and George W. Bush. What? NO DIFFERENCE????

Let's start with the obvious. Gore is an intelligent man. He served his country honorably in Vietnam. And he cares about the environment. He also has a good record on issues of importance to me like women's rights and LGBT civil rights. I have never heard a bit of scandal attached to him -- he doesn't appear to be a womanizer, use drugs, or engage in any of the other activity that seems to have plagued other elected officials.

George W. Bush, by his own admission, has a substance abuse problem. There is compelling evidence he went AWOL during his time in the National Guard. And he just doesn't seem all that bright.

So I'm sorry Ralph. It was completely disingenuous of you to claim there was "no difference" between these two men. You lost me on that one.

The stakes are very high this year. Regardless of who you support on the Democratic side, John McCain has said we will be in Iraq for 100 years. He has admitted his lack of knowledge about economics. And he has pledged to religious conservatives that he will appoint Supreme Court Justices like Alito and Roberts. That ALONE makes McCain unfit for the job!

I know this is harsh, but if you or anyone you know is even thinking about supporting Ralph Nader, seek professional help now.

And in closing let me say that it's not the concept of a third or alternate party that I disagree with. It's simply that under the current system there is no way for an alternate party to have any real power in this country, other than in their role as a "spoiler." We would need to change from a "winner-take-all" structure for alternate parties to truly have a voice -- and I don't see that happening in my lifetime.

So Ralph, I urge you to go back to your role as an advocate and work to restore your credibility.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Sunday Funnies




"Don't Mess with Hill"

Obama's "Rove" Campaign

The last time we heard a presidential candidate promise change, and that he would be a "united" we ended up with seven years of George W. Bush! Can we take that chance again? You know the saying ... "fool me once, shame on you -- fool me twice, you can't get fooled again."

It's amazing to me how the candidate of "hope" -- the one who wants to "change politics as usual" is engaging in the SAME politics as George W. Bush! Am I the only one bothered by this?

The Obama campaign is back with the 2008 version of "Harry and Louise" -- a tactic straight out of the Rove play book. Which is, when you have little to offer voters, slam your opponent with lies and distortions! Hey, it worked for Bush/RoveCo.!

Obama must still be stinging from the excellent closing remarks by Sen. Clinton in the debate. Why else would he be dragging up this garbage? And why else would he sit on a stage and call charges of plagiarism "silly politics" and then ENGAGE IN IT HIMSELF within minutes of the debates ending?

You can't have it both ways "Mr. Hope" ... it's either "silly" or you are a hypocrite!

If you are going to run as someone who is going to change the way we do politics in this country, then buddy you need to be leading by example -- and right now you're not!

Senator Clinton has every right to call you out on your lies.

Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday that a pair of mailings sent to voters by rival Barack Obama's campaign criticizing her health care plan and trade views are false, misleading and a betrayal of his pledge to practice a new style of politics.

"Shame on you, Barack Obama. It is time you ran a campaign consistent with your messages in public — that's what I expect from you," Clinton said angrily, waving the mailings in the air.

"Meet me in Ohio, and let's have a debate about your tactics," she added. [...]

On February 3 Irwin Redlener, M.D., posted a response to Obama's campaign tactic.

Obama Hires 'Harry and Louise' to Attack Hillary's Plan for Health Care: Republicans Thrilled!

Here's a top contender for the most egregious political strategy of the current campaign season: the Obama Campaign is now circulating a mailer that resuscitates the images of "Harry and Louise," the notorious stars of a political ad that was part of a $300 million campaign by the health insurance industry and others to bring down the Clinton administration's health reform proposal in 1993. The photograph of a middle-aged couple looking troubled as they pour over a pile of papers on their kitchen table adorns the first page of the Obama mailer -- but it looks like it could have been a screen shot taken from the original Harry and Louise piece.

But there's more. The accompanying copy in the mailer is nothing more than a list of untrue assertions and seemingly deliberate misrepresentations of Senator Clinton's positions on health care. It is simply false that Senator Clinton's plan would "force everyone to buy insurance, even if you can't afford it." In fact, Senator Clinton's plan not only includes nearly twice the resources for health care tax credits as the Obama campaign but would cap premiums at a low share of a family's income, to ensure that everyone could afford to be in the system. And according to the Commonwealth Fund, the best way to maximize cost reductions in health care is to make it truly universal, with an individual requirement as part of the shared responsibility needed to make the whole system work.

Yet if Hillary becomes the Democratic nominee, the Obama campaign has just packaged an ad that could be used, essentially unedited, by the Republicans next fall. To make matters worse, Barack Obama's resuscitation of Harry and Louise ad also helps bolster the cause of those who, at all costs, oppose meaningful health reform. [...]

While we can only speculate on Senator Obama's personal motivations, what is perfectly clear is that he ended up proposing a plan that would not require individual citizens to do anything and, according to many independent experts, would leave at least 15 million Americans out of the system. That means 15 million people out of the insurance pool, jacking up costs for the rest of us. It also means millions of people still crowding up the emergency rooms, getting care that, to them, is "free" but actually gets paid for by the rest of us through tax-based support to the hospitals and doctors who actually provide care to the uninsured.

Senator Obama is a very smart guy, and I would like to think that he wouldn't mind a re-do on this issue. But, of course, that is a no-no in American presidential politics. So, Obama is left in the extraordinary position of now having to defend a position that most progressives would never embrace -- in essence leaving large numbers of people without health care. And to top it off, he's now attacking universal health care and making a reincarnated Harry and Louise to do the dirty work. I suspect that many Democrats will simply see this as a desperate "go Republican" strategy that could have the unintended consequence of setting back the cause of universal health care.
Haven't we had a "Liar-in-Chief" long enough? Can we afford to elect another? I think not!

This is such an honor!

My favorite Blue Gal has graciously bestowed this honor, which was given to her by Skippy the bush kangaroo -- who BG reminds us is the only blog mentioned on-air by Jon Stewart.

And to quote Skippy, "the rules of the excellent blog award stipulate that once a blog receives it, that blog must then pay it forward to ten other worthy blogs, thus spreading the accolades around blogtopia and yes, we coined that phrase."

And I'm with Blue Gal in saying "only ten?"

So here are my selections, in no particular order:

Mock, Paper, Scissors

PoliTits

Nailing Jello to the Wall

all the way from oy to vey

Taylor Marsh

Tennessee Guerilla Women

The Carpetbagger Report

Miss Cellania

FranIAm

Zaius Nation

Friday, February 22, 2008

Take Action NOW

from a NOW action alert:

Oppose Change Limiting Federal Contracts for Women-Owned Businesses

They're at it again! The Bush administration is moving to further limit equal economic opportunity for women through a critical change in the Small Business Administration (SBA) regulations [Proposed Rule, 13 CFR Parts 121, 125, 127 and 134, Dec. 27, 2007] relating to the Women's Procurement Program.

Action Needed:

Please send comments to the SBA opposing this regulatory change that would virtually eliminate the "set-aside" program in federal contracts for women-owned businesses.

Take action NOW -- comments are due by Monday, Feb. 25! Comments should be submitted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal and identified by 3245-AF40. (The middle box on the main page, cut and paste 3245-AF40, and then click "go".) You may use our sample message or compose your own statement.

_____________________

For Background go here
_____________________

Sample Message:

Robert C. Taylor
Office of Contract Assistance
Office of Government Contracting
U.S. Small Business Administration
409 3rd St., SW
Washington, D.C. 20416

RE: 3245-AF40 - Proposed Rule, 13 CFR Parts 121, 125, 127 and 134 - RIN 3245-4F40 [Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Assistance Procedures, 72 Fed. Reg. 73,295 (Dec. 27, 2007)]

Dear Mr. Taylor:

I oppose a change in the Small Business Administration's Women's Procurement Program that would limit women-owned businesses' eligibility to only four relatively narrow industry sectors and to further limit the contract amounts to no more than $5 million for manufacturing and $3 million for other areas. There is no evidence to support SBA's assertion that only those industries (intelligence; engraving and metalworking; furniture and kitchen cabinet manufacturing; and motor vehicle dealers) are underrepresented in women-owned businesses.. Instead, the agency's determination of underrepresented industries should be based upon National Research Council findings that 87 percent of business and industry is not adequately represented with women-owned businesses. An additional study, by RAND Corp., came to the same conclusion about widespread underrepresentation. Clearly, the SBA is attempting to substantiate its case for the rule change on a set of false assertions.

Further, businesses in the SBA's four named industry sectors have not been attributed small business size standards, thus making them ineligible for the Women's Procurement Program. The cruel result is that no industry will be eligible for the Women's Procurement Program - unless governmental agencies undertake special studies to determine whether there has been government discrimination. The likelihood of such future study initiatives is low.

This rule change is unnecessary and flies against what federal statutes require of the agency. The proposed alteration is wholly contrary to Congress' intention that more federal contracts -- not fewer-- be awarded to qualified women-owned businesses across a broad spectrum of industries. Discouraging discrimination against women-owned businesses is in the fundamental interest of the federal government, as well as enhancing equal opportunities for women business owners and preventing their annual loss of millions of dollars. I urge you to withdraw this unfortunate and damaging regulatory change.

Sincerely,
Act NOW -- comments are due Monday, Feb. 25!

More Cooper's pics!

Here are a couple more photos from yesterday's raptor excitement at work. He first landed at my pal Niki's window; the light wasn't good on that side of the building, but I managed to get a decent shot of him through the window:

Look at how far around he can turn his head! I kept hoping he would turn his body around so I could see his front, but he didn't. Right after I took this pic, I pulled my camera down from my face (I always look through the little image thingie rather than the big LCD screen, because my old eyes can't focus on that tiny screen). Just at that moment, he lifted his tail and pooped! I missed it! I was so bummed.

So after about ten minutes, he flew to a spot a hundred or so yards away--right near the parking lot. I missed this, as there were about a million cubicles in the way, but he stayed low to the ground, maybe three or four feet high.

Here's the wide view of his landing spot:

He's there in the center. Cars were driving by every few minutes, and people were walking on that sidewalk, but he stayed in this spot for at least twenty minutes. This is where I got the bulk of my photos. Look, he blinked!


And here, I think he blinked his nictating membrane thingie:

Cool!

I waited and waited, hoping he would stretch his wings and take flight so I could get pictures of that, but he just kinda hung out there. Finally, I had to get back to work, so I left. I went back about five minutes later, though, and OF COURSE he had gone and I had missed it.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

"Heart of a Champion"

Alegre offers a wonderful post following last Tuesday's primary vote on why she supports Hillary Clinton.

We had a rough day yesterday to be sure. I finally called it a day around 1am and as I was clearing out the dishes hubby left in the sink (sigh, again) I paused for a minute - leaned on the sink and thought... how in the HELL does Hillary keep on going in the face of the hate, the anger, the unfair media coverage, the sexism, and - tonight especially – this latest disappointment?

What drives this sister with the heart of a lioness?

Getting back into the White House?
Nooooo. She’s been there before.

Receiving more adulation and love from the MSM & the press (Tweety & Russert)? Hardly!

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that she is the very definition of a public servant. She sees how much work there is to be done and she knows she’s the one person who’ll actually get results. She’s got a long history of public service and sticking up for those without a voice.


Over the summer I attended a state-wide meeting of volunteers, and a woman from Hillary’s staff mentioned something that really stuck with me. She said they were getting Hillary ready for a debate and there was this briefing book full of the things she’d accomplished in her career. That book was 312 pages long (single spaced)!

No I won’t list everything here, but take a look at a few little known facts about her record...

As a law student Hillary worked to identify children who were victims of abuse and neglect and volunteered at the New Haven Legal Services offices. Her first job out of law school was going door-to-door with the Children's Defense Fund to find out why children weren’t enrolled in public schools. Her findings prompted Congress to pass laws ensuring that kids with disabilities were accommodated and taught in our public schools (setting up programs in which my son and countless others have benefited enormously).

When Reagan was President, Hillary was Chairman of the Legal Services corporation - legal services for the poor. In a head-to-head battle with the President, she successfully fought Reagan off when he tried to shift $300 million legal services to defense spending.

In Arkansas Hillary ran the University of Arkansas's legal aid and prison projects; reformed Arkansas' education system; instituted a model parent education program; created new scholarships for single parents; and expanded medical facilities in Arkansas' poorest areas.

As First Lady Hillary helped create the State Children's Health Insurance Program; spearheaded efforts to double child care spending, dramatically expand Head Start, and create Early Head Start; and expanded the federal after school program to a $1 billion formula grant program that reaches every state.
She could have gone back into private life when she and Bill left the White House. It would have been easy and she could have gotten a job that paid a boatload of money with her mind, intellect and background. Any law firm, foundation or University would have jumped at the chance to put her name on their letterhead.

But she didn’t. She wanted to keep doing what she does best – helping folks as a public servant.

But instead she thought "I still have work to do on behalf of the people of this world" and she realized she could continue her work as a Senator from NY. So she put together a campaign staff, rolled up her sleeves, put on her boots and took her message to the people of NY. She even headed up state when the "experts" told her not to bother.

Six years later she ran for and won re-election with 67% of the vote. She could have won re-election without the margin of victory in the City - that's how much the folks upstate (the people she was told to write off) loved, respected and trusted her. And they still do.

She’s done a great job for her state and for the people of this nation from that post...
Hillary created a teacher recruitment program to bring outstanding teachers into low-income communities.
She sponsored legislation to grow childcare funding to $11.2 billion.
She fought off dramatic cuts to Medicaid and SCHIP.
She passed legislation with Lindsay Graham for expanded health services for military families.
She made sure that six million children have health insurance through the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
She fought for and won health benefits for our troops in the National Guard and Reserves.
She fought to preserve combat pay for injured National Guard and Reserve soldiers and passed a law establishing health tracking for returning soldiers.
She passed the Kids Car and Safety Act.
She successfully stopped efforts by the FDA to keep Plan B off the market.
She led the effort to get rid of the head of the FDA.
She held the Senate's first committee ever on environmental justice.
She fought to extend unemployment benefits, and won.
She successfully advocated for education reform.
She fought to make abortion safe, legal and rare.
She wrote and secured passage of legislation to assist family caregivers in accessing affordable and high quality respite care.
She fought to make sure the medicines we give our children are safe.
She was the first US Senator to label what was happening in Darfur genocide.
Her work on behalf of the environment and the health of first responders after 9/11 is nothing short of heroic.
She fought for and got enhanced body armor for our troops.
She got the Pentagon to respond to the Congress in terms of planning for Iraq withdrawal. The list goes on.
Alegre ends her post by saying: "I plan to stand by her every step of the way – and I know I won’t be standing alone."

You certainly won't!

Clinton Closes Strong in Texas

Obama Trying to Bamboozle You?


Gene Lyons, in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, says:
It’s also not the first time that Obama’s been accused of lifting others’ words. Announcing his own presidential candidacy in 1993, Sen. John Edwards said, “I haven’t spent most of my life in politics... but I’ve spent enough time in Washington to know how much we need to change it.” For months, Obama has been saying, “I know I haven’t spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington. But I’ve been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington must change.” An Edwards aide commented dryly, “Next thing you know, he’ll be rooting for the Tar Heels.” Of course, they all run against Washington, except Sen. Clinton, who’s touting her experience. There are a limited number of ways to say it.

But did you catch Obama in South Carolina, warning African American audiences, “Don’t be hoodwinked, don’t be bamboozled” ? You can also Google those words and watch actor Denzel Washington deliver them in Spike Lee’s brilliant film “Malcolm X”: “You’ve been hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astray, run amok.” The irony of Obama’s borrowing the fictive words of Malcolm X, a black Muslim, to rebut a scurrilous e-mail campaign calling him a secret Islamist would be almost disabling, except for the greater one: All this was going on while Obama’s media acolytes were accusing the Clinton campaign of “playing the race card.” (A brilliant tactic to guarantee landslide defeat in South Carolina.)
Hummmmmm ...

Raptors invade my work!

Well, a single raptor, and he was sitting outside the window right next to the building!

Here are some pics I got (way to go Delia, for remembering her camera!):


My ID is an adult Cooper's Hawk. Susan Gets Native -- what say you? And is that some recent blood/flesh on the beak? He sat out there for a while--maybe digesting?

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

puppy break



h/t to SueJ at Nailing Jello to the Wall

Women Know the Drill

About Hillary: Women Have Seen this Movie, We Know the Drill

"As I’ve always said, this election has one person running for President and everyone else running as the man who can defeat her." -- Anglachel

"All I know is if Hillary Clinton cannot win the presidency, then face it ladies, there will NEVER BE A WOMAN PRESIDENT!! I know there won't be in my lifetime for sure! If a brilliant woman who has all these qualifications cannot break the ultimate glass ceiling, then WHO CAN???" -- AlwaysforHillary

"American culture dictates that demeaning women is acceptable behavior. But by remaining silent, Obama is either knowingly profiting from the bigotry, or he is part and parcel of a cultural belief that it is acceptable to heap all manner of abuse upon women. Those are the only two alternatives, and they are both disturbing." -- Diane Elayne Dees

"We see Hillary, we see Barack, and we see our own version of hell: Here is this amazing woman, top of her class, implausible marriage to impossible man, works as hard as the day is long, masters all the forms and spreadsheets of governing, even manages to raise a pretty darn good kid -- and then along comes this guy, this groovy Obamarama, with his pleasing mien, his high style, his absolute fabulousness, and he wants the top floor, corner office that she earned. And women -- women have seen this movie, women have heard this story, women know the drill."
-- Elizabeth Wurtzel

"There is no "going back" on the deep damage inflicted by Kos, Atrios, TPM, FDL and HuffPo (to name only the most prominent) when they made opposition to the Clintons on everything the litmus test of belonging to their club. When Paul Krugman is being called names and trash-talked because he won't join in the witch hunt, you know things have become seriously unhinged. It is not going to get better after the nomination." -- Anglachel

"You know the Day the Blogosphere Died? It was when it decided to defend NBC's sexism and misogyny in order to score points against Hillary Clinton. There was a time when the Netroots agreed with me that we needed Fighting Dems, that Obama was not measuring up on that score. But the Obama Cult has taken over in its entirety. . . The Netroots are dead." -- Big Tent Democrat

"She is singularly qualified to be the person to lead us out of the wilderness of the Bush nightmare; to put the pieces of our broken, corrupt government back together and move it forward in a positive direction." -- Mike Plaisted

"For a lot of blue-collar guys over 40, Hillary Clinton is a poster child for everything about the women's movement that they don't like -- their wife going back to work, their daughters rebelling, the rise of women in the workplace." -- Gerald Austin, Ohio political strategist

"[M]ake no mistake, much of the Hillary-hatred is fueled by the zeal of Obama supporters for the one they’ve evidently been waiting for." -- Virginia Bergman

"When I think of a leader, I think of someone who is visionary, tough, savvy, intellectual, experienced, and creative. I think of someone who has proven over a period of time what her values are, and what she does to stand up for them. I think of Hillary Rodham Clinton, who–despite having been humiliated, jeered at, and treated to a misogynistic frenzy of abuse by the news media–is still standing, values and sense of humor intact. And I want her as my president." -- Diane Elayne Dees

stolen from Tennessee Guerilla Women

Name One Accomplishment

It's an outrage!


Okay, The Onion has officially gone too far! What did owls ever do to them!?


Wonder how much it costs... just kidding! It's an outrage!

Friday Night Nibble on Wednesday afternoon

Oh, how I've missed you all! My opportunities to blog have been severely limited by work, school, and dial-up slowness, so here's a little Nibble to get you through the rest of the week:
Isn't he a handsome little devil? Apologies for the blurriness on the carrot photo.

Chris Matthews Humiliates Obama Supporter


stolen from Taylor Marsh:

Chris Matthews Humiliates Obama Supporter State Senator Kirk Watson

What has Senator Barack Obama accomplished in the Senate?

**crickets**

Seriously, you'd think the Obama campaign would prep these people, because it's not like this is the first time this has come up.

Can you name any, can you name anything he's accomplished as a congressman?

"Nah, I'm not going to be able to do that. ... " adds Watson, stuttering.

"That's a problem, isn't it?" - Chris Matthews
Yeah, you'd think that would be a problem. But, evidently, Democrats in 2008 don't care about action, they prefer speeches, promises, and fairy tales.

Not me.

However, the Republicans would agree. They'll eat this stuff up.
Please note this isn't a video featuring a FOX News focus group, here is an Obama spokesperson -- and an elected offical -- in Texas. I agree with Taylor, the campaign had to expect this kind of question.

It points again to my concern that Obama is simply not ready for prime time.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Is it just me ....

or did Obama sound a little frightened tonight? I must confess that I have not listened to him much over the past few months, but I decided to watch his entire speech tonight. What I took away from it is a guy who thinks he's going to win the nomination, and is at the same time frightened by the thought of being the nominee.

Who will he plagiarize from once he's out there on his own?

He was promising everything tonight ... everyone in America will get a new car, a laptop and a puppy. Okay, maybe that's not exactly what he promised, but pretty darned close!

How Original is Obama?


You've heard the talk about Obama lifing entire passages of a speech from Deval Patrick. We know he's been parroting talking points from the Clinton campaign for a while now. But there is a new wrinkle to this story. It seems Obama has also been "borrowing" ideas from John Edwards.

From Taylor Marsh:

No doubt John Edwards can sympathize with Clinton today. Obama's ripoffs are real.

Just recently, Barack Obama was accused of "stealing" Hillary Clinton's economic plan.

"He basically took Clinton's words and Clinton's policies and called them his own," Hassett said. "If I were a professor I'd give him an F and try to get him kicked out of school for something this terrible ... I remember Mrs. Clinton saying shared prosperity and I remember the bill that she introduced in August for infrastructure. The fact is these are things Obama has taken as his own without crediting the source of the ideas which was Mrs. Clinton."
Sun-Times: Obama takes hit on economic policy - Campaign's a ripoff of Clinton's, her supporters, McCain adviser maintains.

It's hardly a first.

Edwards said Obama was using stolen ideas:

Edwards’s campaign also blasted Obama for parroting the former senator in a foreign policy speech he gave Tuesday in which he said he wanted to work towards ending nuclear proliferation. They said the senator has followed Edwards on a number of issues this campaign year, including healthcare, poverty and now nuclear proliferation.

“If you need any more proof that John Edwards is shaping the race for the Democratic nomination, you don’t need to look any further than Senator Obama, who has followed Edwards’s lead on healthcare, poverty and, today, eliminating nuclear weapons,” Murray said in an e-mail to The Hill. “Next thing you know, he’ll be rooting for the Tar Heels.”

Obama copies line from Edwards 2003 announcement speech. "For months, Obama has been telling crowds, 'I know I haven't spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington. But I've been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington must change.' Edwards gave a similar spin to his short political resume when he announced his candidacy in September 2003, declaring, 'I haven't spent most of my life in politics, but I've spent enough time in Washington to know how much we need to change it.'"

Obama borrows from Edwards
Elizabeth Edwards on Obama:

In the Aug. issue of Progressive magazine Elizabeth Edwards goes so far as to call Obama an outright copycat, accusing him of "lifting her husband's best lines." E. Edwards: "You listen to the language of what people say, particularly Obama, who seems to be using a lot of John's 2004 language, which is maybe not surprising since one of his speechwriters was one of our speechwriters, his media guy was our media guy. These people know John's mantra as well as anybody could know it. They've moved from 'hope is on the way' to 'the audacity of hope.' I'm constantly hearing things in a familiar tone."

... ... Edwards: "We are not the party of Washington insiders. We are the party of the people, and so from this day forward we say no -- no forever to the money from Washington lobbyists."

The only difference -- Obama beat him to it that day, towing the same anti-lobbyist line at an earlier event that day in central Iowa. Obama: "We've got to have a president in the White House who sets bold targets and sets broad goals and isn't intimidated by the barriers and the roadblocks and isn't driven by those who already have an investment in the status quo - somebody who can overcome the lobby-driven, divisive politics that characterizes this issue."

Meanwhile, back at the labor forum, Obama used another token Edwardian statement: "We need a president…who is not afraid to mention unions."
Would "borrow" make the Obama fans feel better?
Good grief ...

Monday, February 18, 2008

Celebrating Susan B. Anthony Day

Okay, everyone else has the day off to celebrate "Presidents Day" -- but at Yikes we are celebrating Susan B. Anthony Day instead! For those unfamiliar with Susan B., Wikipedia offers a nice overview of this amazing woman's life:

Susan Brownell Anthony (February 15, 1820March 13, 1906) was a prominent American civil rights leader who played a pivotal role in the 19th century women's rights movement to secure women's suffrage in the United States. She traveled the United States and Europe, and gave 75 to 100 speeches per year on women's rights for some 45 years. Susan B. Anthony died in Rochester, New York in her house at 17 Madison Street on March 13, 1906, and is buried at Mount Hope Cemetery.
Anthony traveled so extensively on behalf of women's rights that she had the train schedule for the entire country committed to memory.

In 1851, on a street in Seneca Falls, Anthony was introduced to Elizabeth Cady Stanton by mutual acquaintance, as well as fellow feminist Amelia Bloomer. Anthony joined with Stanton in organizing the first women's state temperance society in America after being refused admission to a previous convention on account of her sex in 1851. Stanton remained a close friend and colleague of Anthony's for the remainder of their lives, but Stanton longed for a broader, more radical women's rights platform. Together, the two women traversed the United States giving speeches and attempting to persuade the government that society should treat men and women equally.

After the first American women's rights convention took place on July 19 and July 20, 1848, in Seneca Falls, New York, Anthony took the opportunity to attend and support the women's rights convention held in Syracuse, New York, in 1852. It was around this time that Anthony began to gain widespread notoriety as a powerful public advocate of women's rights and as a new and stirring voice for change. [...]

In 1869, long time friends Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony found themselves, for the first time, on opposing sides of a debate. The Equal Rights Association, which had originally fought for both blacks’ and women’s right to suffrage, voted to support the 15th Amendment to the Constitution granting suffrage to black men, but not women. Anthony questioned why women should support this amendment when black men were not continuing to show support for women’s voting rights. Partially as a result of the decision by the Equal Rights Association, Anthony soon thereafter devoted herself almost exclusively to the agitation for women's rights.

Sadly, Anthony died 14 years, 5 months and 5 days before passage of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote. Women today owe a debt of gratitude to Susan B. Anthony, and to all the women who literally worked their entire adult lives to secure our right to vote. Thank you Susan B.!

We're rollin' at Yikes!

This idea was stolen from DCup and her MathMan.

It appears that the rules by which Technorati, Google and other important social websites and search engines rank blogs do not take blogrolls into consideration but do count links within posts.
So make your blogroll count!

all the way from oy to vey
Americans United
AMERICAblog
Angry Girl
Atomic Romance
Bad Astronomy
Bad Catholic
Beautiful Day Rule
Being Jane
Mrs. Betty Bowers, America's Best Christian
Beyond Satire
black feminism
Blog Against Theocracy
Blue Gal
Boxer Rebellion
Buzz Flash
Cap'n Dyke, Pirate Queen & Rogue Blogger
Carnival of the Liberals
Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster
coffee messiah
Comrade Kevin's Chrestomathy
Corrente Wire
Crooks and Liars
Culture Kitchen
Culture Shocks
darkblack
DIRELAND - Doug Ireland
Disciples From the Left
distributorcap NY
Don't Amend.com
d r i f t g l a s s
Falafel Sex, And Other Things Best Left Unsaid
Feministe
firedoglake
FranIAm
Freedom to Marry
Freida Bee
Gendergeek
Green LA Girl
Heart, Soul & Humor
Howling Latina
Hullabaloo
I can't believe it's not a democracy!
Impeachment and Other Dreams
Indecision 2008
Infidel753
I, Splotchy
I was just wondering
Jesus Politics
Jonestown
Kelso's Nuts
Last left turn before Hooterville
L'ennui mélodieux
Life's Journey
Liberal Oasis
Liberal rage
Little Bang Theory
Mainstream Baptist
Mauigirl's Meanderings
MEDIA girl
Mental Detritus
Miss Cellania
Mock Paper Scissors
Monkey Muck
My Left Wing
Nailing Jello to the Wall
Neural Gourmet
NEWSCOMA
Newseum
No Smoking in the Skullcave
NPR
OBJECT
One Pissed Off Veteran
Pam's House Blend ... always steamin'
Pharyngula
PoliTits
PSOTD
Reclusive Leftist
Republic of Sestakastan
Rock Ridge Institute
Rotus
Scrutiny Hooligans
Shakesville
Skippy the bush kangaroo!
Straight, Not Narrow
Stealth Lesbian
Tanya Espanya
Tanya Espanya (no, you're not seeing double)
Tapped
Taylor Marsh
Tennessee Guerilla Women
The Carpetbagger Report
The Dean's Office
The Disenchanted Forest
The Divine Democrat
The Largest Minority
The Nation
The Nefarious Lair of LGPPP, Inc. (Lesbian Gangs Packing Pink Pistols)
The Omnipotent Poobah Speaks!
The Onion
The Ostroy Report
The Otherwhirled
The Political Compass
The Quaker Agitator
The Rachel Maddow Show
The Randi Rhodes Show
The Smoking Gun
The Squirrel Queen
Think Progress
Tom Paine
Viva La Feminista
wishing for wisdom
Wonkette
Zaius Nation

Sunday, February 17, 2008

"Senator Clinton made the difference"


Dr. Susan Wood, former Assistant Commissioner for Women's Health at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has a guest post up at Taylor Marsh. I heard Dr. Wood speak last year, and was moved by her passion for integrity in science. So passionate that she resigned in protest when the Bush Administration politicized science. Dr. Wood writes:
Although stories about reproductive health and politicization of science have made headlines recently, stories of how these problems are solved are less often told. On August 31, 2005 I resigned my position as Assistant Commissioner for Women's Health at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) because the agency was not allowed to make its decisions based on the science or in the best interests of the public's health. While my resignation was widely covered by the media, it would have been a hollow gesture were there not leaders in Congress who stepped in and demanded more accountability from the FDA. Today, women are able to access emergency contraception, a safe, second chance option for preventing unintended pregnancy in a timely manner without a prescription. Senator Clinton is the leader that made this happen*, and I can tell the story from having watched it unfold.

I have been working to improve health care for women and families in America for nearly 20 years. In 2000, I became the Director of Women's Health for the FDA. I was rather quietly doing my job when the debate began in 2003 over whether or not emergency contraception should be providedover-the-counter (OTC). As a scientist, I knew the facts showed that this medication, which can be used after a rape or other emergency situations, prevents an unwanted pregnancy. It does not cause an abortion, but can help prevent the need for one. But it only works if used within 72 hours and sooner is even better. Since it is completely safe, and many women find it impossible to get a doctor's appointment within two to three days, making emergency contraception available to women without a prescription was simply the right thing to do. As an FDA employee, I knew it should have been a routine approval within the agency. [...]

When it became clear that FDA scientists would continue to be overruled for non-scientific reasons, I resigned in protest in late 2005. I was interviewed by news media for months and traveled around the country hoping that many would stand up and demand that FDA do its job properly. But, although it can help, all the media in the world can't make Congress or a President do the right thing.

Senator Clinton made the difference. The FDA suddenly announced it would approve emergency contraception for use without a prescription for women 18 and older - one day before FDA officials were to face a determined Senator Clinton and her colleague Senator Murray at a Senate hearing in 2006. No one was more surprised than I was. I hope all of those who benefited from this decision know that it wouldn't have happened if it had not been for Hillary Clinton.
We need someone who can make a difference in all the challenges we face today as a country. That person is, without question, Sen. Hillary Clinton.

*emphasis mine.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Sunday Funnies











Mr Hope's National Co-Chair Strong Arming Superdelegates

Remember this:


It didn't stop there. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. has been busy lately -- threatening African American elected officials to back Sen. Obama, or else. The or else is that they will face a challenger in their next election if they don't get on board with Obama.

Jackson is calling superdelegates who have pledged their support to Sen. Clinton and threatening them. The Associate Press reports:
One black supporter of Clinton, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri, said he remains committed to her. "There's nothing going on right now that would cause me to" change, he said.

He said any suggestion that elected leaders should follow their voters "raises the age old political question. Are we elected to monitor where our constituents are ... or are we to use our best judgment to do what's in the best interests of our constituents."

In an interview, Cleaver offered a glimpse of private conversations.

He said Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. of Illinois had recently asked him "if it comes down to the last day and you're the only superdelegate. ... Do you want to go down in history as the one to prevent a black from winning the White House?

"I told him I'd think about it," Cleaver concluded.

Jackson, an Obama supporter, confirmed the conversation, and said the dilemma may pose a career risk for some black politicians. "Many of these guys have offered their support to Mrs. Clinton, but Obama has won their districts. So you wake up without the carpet under your feet. You might find some young primary challenger placing you in a difficult position" in the future, he added.
Sounds like a threat to me.
"My strong belief is that if we end up with the most states and the most pledged delegates, and the most voters in the country, then it would be problematic for political insiders to overturn the judgment of the voters," Obama said recently.

But Clinton said superdelegates should make up their own minds. She noted pointedly that Massachusetts Sens. John Kerry and Edward Kennedy have both endorsed Obama, yet she won the state handily on Feb. 5.
As Taylor Marsh said:
It's understandable that Rep. Lewis would be influenced by the district he represents, which went overwhelmingly for Obama.

I'm sure Mr. Jackson will feel the same about Senators Kennedy and Kerry, both of whom will now have to switch to vote for Clinton given that she took Massachusetts by a mile, right?

But the story being told through the Obama campaign is that Lewis and others should be influenced to lean towards Obama out of racial solidarity.

However, they don't stop there. Vote for Barack Obama, or you just might "find some young primary challenger" stepping in to take your job. It's hard to know where to start, but considering Jesse Jackson Jr. has done this sort of race baiting before for the Obama campaign, I cannot say that I'm surprised. There is, however, something so offensive about his threat that it smacks of the same type of hierarchical control African Americans, especially John Lewis, have always fought against, only this time it's a black man in the position of power telling people how they must use their vote or else.
Good grief ...