Balls..

Balls. Something lacking in most post-Clinton Democrats. Today, my favorite crazy, Blago, dangled his balls before the world and they were monsters. He dared to use his legal authority as an unindicted governor of Illinois. Senator Harry Reid, whose sac has been dried up and shriveled for years now, tsked, tsked and said no, no, no. Following closely behind, President-elect Obama, kept his boys sheltered and used Sen. Reid's raisins, thereby demonstrating an astonishing lack of leadership yet again. Doesn't Barack have a pair of his own?
Come on guys. You didn't threaten Ted Stevens or Larry Craig's seats, did you? You are letting Joe Lieberman retain his coveted chairmanship after his treasonous behavior. George Bush and Dick Cheney are walking away scot free after ruining the country and destroying the Constitution and Obama and Reid are not making even a weak peep.
Roland Burris is hardly a convicted criminal, is he? And neither is Rod Blagojevich.
He must be taught a lesson by those who cannot measure up due to their lack of testicular fortitude. Balls.

Refrigerator soup...

Needing a copy of my Social Security card for the new outfit which took over my previous employer, I innocently walked into the local office expecting maybe a half hour or so wait. Hah! That office was a distillate of what is wrong with our country. There were 50 people crammed into a small area seated on plastic chairs which were all connected and had no room between them. There was only one service window open, but we were well protected by two security guards (One has to appreciate how fast the 300 pound young man jumped up to tell a woman to quit smoking in front of the building). Few people had any preparation and asked the same questions repeatedly. Repeatedly. A young Hispanic couple was there with their soon-to-be anchor baby seeking to get a Social Security number for the baby. They spoke no English. The clerk spoke no Spanish. They played a game of Charades until another Hispanic gentleman came in and graciously interpreted for both parties. They were number 227. I was number 228. They took 30 minutes by themselves. Seated next to me was an unfortunate woman who had apparently had a stroke and she was deaf as well. Her hair was matted and filthy and she kept inspecting me and even sniffed me at one point. She was no more than six inches away. That might have unnerved me but the man across the room who came in to get a card so that he could get a photo ID from DMV was pontificating loud and strangely clear in one of those voices nurtured by nights spent in a whisky bottle and smoking tens of thousands of cigarettes. He was number 225. He couldn't get an ID from DMV without a Social Security card or a birth certificate. Social Security wouldn't issue a card without either a DMV photo ID or a birth certificate. He seemed to think he could argue his way into getting his card. He was fucked. And in his loud boisterous way, he let everyone in the joint know it wasn't the first time in his life either, sharing with us all some of his life experiences including time spent in prison for attempted murder. He started the unraveling of my nerves.
Seated on the opposite side of the grayheaded lady from me was number 226. I had not really looked at him as my focus was on the front of the office. He made a joke about "You wonder how some of these people tie their shoes in the morning" and I cracked back "I wonder how some of them even recognize "morning". He laughed and I looked at him and he was Karl Rove. Okay, not the real one (I think), but he was a dead ringer. That unnerved me. He was there to apply for Social Security and to find out if he could keep on working. He didn't want to do it online because he didn't trust the Internet. !.
So there it was. The good, the bad and the ugly. America. All crammed into a little office in Fredericksburg, VA.

Making turkey soup....

Before dipping my foot back into the political soup I let myself drift back in time when all I cared about were events immediate to my personal life. The leaves have fallen off the trees which blocked my reception of the horse racing channels and I rediscovered HGTV. Getting back into these elements brought me right back to current events, however. Everything I am interested in is being hampered by the economy or lack of it. How can I avoid the politics which now interferes with my life in a negative way and it makes it imperative that I take my part in stepping up and doing something about it. How that will manifest itself is a work in progress. More later.

In praise of elastic waist band pants....

I love Thanksgiving. It gives me the opportunity to do what I like best in my dotage and that is to pig out on good food surrounded by good company. This year I have much to be thankful for and that includes meeting (via cyberspace) many new, interesting and some downright crazy people. It's been great. I also have my mother and the lovely little Kayla all to myself on this day. It's just joy.
We are having honey smoked turkey, cornbread and giblets dressing, garlic mashed potatoes, turkey gravy, collard greens, broccoli and cauliflower, cranberry relish, flaky biscuits and condiments. Desert will be either sweet potato or pecan pie, whipped cream optional. Simple. Comfort food. I love it and I love it a lot. That is why I will wear my fat guy drawstring pants with the elastic waist. Another thing to be thankful for.
I wish you all the best and let's all try to think the glass is half full today.

My Call to Action Revisited..

Now that Obama has won the presidency, it is up to the governor of Illinois to appoint a replacement to fill the senate seat left by his vacancy. There is a very eligible woman I would like to see him choose and that would be Tammy Duckworth, an Iraqi War veteran with an amazing story.
Please contact Governor Rod Blagojevich at:

Office of the Governor
207 State House
Springfield, IL 62706

Phone: 217-782-0244 or 312-814-2121
TTY: 888-261-3336

Governor's Online Contact Form
Governor's Website

Sexism by any other name is not a rose....

I haven't had a whole lot of time to digest what is going on with the possible appointment of Senator Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. What I have noticed is that the media buzz is that whether she gets it or not is dependent upon her husband? WTF? How many other candidates for cabinet positions have to jump through this hoop? Do we even know if they are married or not? Can you tell me the name of any one of them's spouse off the top of your head?
I can see that much of this nonsense is media driven, but I can also see that behind the scenes manipulation is also going on. "If Bill can't pass muster, you guys, let's give the little lady a made-up faux power position in the Senate". I'll write more about this later.

It's better to be pissed off than....

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. -- A 35-year-old man faces charges after allegedly driving drunk and then urinating in the back of a squad car and on the arresting officer. A criminal complaint said the man was pulled over early Wednesday after an officer saw him driving erratically and striking a pole at a gas station.

The complaint said the man failed field sobriety tests and when he was being taken to the police station, urinated in the back of the squad car and sprayed the officer, hitting him in the back of the head.

The man is facing four felony charges and two misdemeanors. He faces a maximum of 15 years in prison if convicted.

The misdemeanors include a fourth-offense operating while intoxicated.

---

Information from: The Sheboygan Press, http://www.sheboygan-press.com

It wasn't your fault, Governor Palin..

The day after the election, Sarah Palin made a comment about how she would regret it if she cost John McCain one single vote. Let's put her mind at ease. It's not her fault; it's John McCain's own fault for the blatant display of poor judgement in selecting you, Governor Palin. And indeed it did cost him votes. I can name names. Oh, yes I can.
Going forward, I have a wee bit of advice for Sarah. If you are indeed a "maverick", let other people say it; it's more seemly. If you have to tell your audience "it's not mean or negative to talk about, blah, blah, blah", then it probably is mean and negative.
Have a safe trip back to Alaska and don't dwell on the loss too long. Hey, look at all the swag you got! Enjoy it and then think about how that spending spree impacted the election as well. What I really don't get, Sarah; may I call you Sarah, is why you accepted the candidacy to begin with. Did you honestly think you were qualified to be one heartbeat away from the Presidency? It suggests to me your ego is larger than your common sense.

After words...

It is a rare moment in history where one can witness the manifestation of sheer joy and happiness by so many marked by so much diversity of populace. Those of us who are less than exuberant can at least appreciate the phenomenon. In my opinion, those who cannot appreciate this moment will never appreciate any moment.
Senator Obama steps into the biggest pile of muck ever to greet a new President in my lifetime. Let him enjoy the red carpet while it is there. Let him be swayed by his own rhetoric and let him endeavor to live up to those soaring words. Let him lose his pettiness and his arrogance. The burden this young man now carries on those thin shoulders is staggering. It is up to each of us to decide whether to push, pull, shove or lift him. History is waiting, and watching.

Grab your crystal balls...

It's late on election eve. We've all done our best; distributing flyers, knocking on doors, phone banking and the like. We deserve some fun.
Let's return to an old friend's home and play a nice parlor game, namely who's going to win and by how much. There will be rewards. So, kick off your shoes, put down the phones and let your fingers walk on over to Taylor Marsh's page and join the fun.
Drinks are optional.

Voter incentives, baby!

Given the choices,this may be the best we can expect from this election. Make mine chocolate chip cookie dough, please.

ROFLPMP and scared the cats.....

Oh Sarah, did those nasty Canadians violate your First Amendment rights?

BWAAAAAHAAAAHAAAA!

Conspiracy to commit fraud is ILLEGAL.

Or at least it ought to be. If you knowingly make a robocall, Laura Ingraham, that tells a flat out lie, then you and the McCain campaign which approved it are frauds.
If you cannot win this election on your merits or by pointing out actual flaws with your opponent, then you ought not to be in the race to begin with. The Republicans have been perpetrating myths and lies for months now. According to the RNC, John McCain and his surrogate and supporters, here is the truth about Barack Obama.

He is a Muslim who attended an anti-American Christian church for twenty years because he was having a homosexual affair with the minister. He has a "mystery" lover who supplies him coke and when that dude runs low, Obama cruises the street in search of studs like Larry Sinclair to snort with. Obama wants to kill your babies and quite possibly eat them since he is a native born Kenyan and probably a cannibal. He is a socialist who wants to kill small businesses by taxing them to death with a 3% increase in their tax rate. He wants to fine you millions if you don't have health care for your children. What's up with that? He wants to kill them anyway. Of course, we all ignore this because he has some kind of hypnotic power to make you vote for him (courtesy of Lynn Samuels' radio show) through "beer can" gestures. ?
Oh we could go on and on couldn't we but according to Sarah Palin I may be violating the First Amendment.

This is a must read. Can we as a nation tolerate 4 more years of this?
Please read this.

Over the rainbow

The other day one young woman, Ashley Todd, managed to encapsulate two of society's problems in one ugly act. First, she exposed overt and inate racism by her actions. There were those who gleefully wanted to exploit it as a weakness in Barack Obama's campaign and those who acclaimed it as proof of some flawed character in African-Americans. The shameless hawking of the story by the McCain campaign to the news media speaks for itself. To me it is a loud cracking slap to the face of those who would exploit race and a glaringly bright spotlight on naked racism. We need to stop this nonsense and we need to stop it now. If you care about human decency and equality for all I urge you to visit the Anti-Defamation League to learn more and learn how to fight it and end it.
Ashley's actions, ginned up by unscrupulous politicians, demonstrates the clear lack of available and affordable mental health care, where someone like Ashley would be able to seek out help and learn how to channel her passions and her hatred into non-destructive behavior. It should be universal, easy to find and comfortably accessible. Like racism, all the negative myths and connotations must be eliminated. To learn more about mental health, I refer you to the National Mental Health Association.
These are among issues we as a society have let fester and boil over long enough. Take a look in the mirror and ask yourself, "What was my initial reaction to the original story?", and answer yourself honestly. I can honestly say I did not buy into it for one minute longer than it took to read it. What about you? Did it give you hope that it might impact the Obama campaign in a negative way? If so, check out the ADL and NMHA and educate yourself and step up to a higher ground.

Ready, Aim...

Barack Obama is the nominee of the Democratic Party for President of the United States. The way he became "that one" is by now a familiar story to most of us, debated and argued all over the Internet and the media. It is a tale of collusion, conniving and ultimate disenfranchisement of voters. We all agree we have some hard work to do to ensure this doesn't happen again.
Some of us want to punish or "teach a lesson" to those responsible by defeating Senator Obama in the general election. I have two problems with that approach. One is you end up punishing the general population as well by handing the keys to the hen house back to the fox who decimated it for eight very long, very unpleasant years. Our fellow citizens need help, not revenge. My other problem is rewarding the Republican Party who have yet to be punished or taught a lesson for stealing the last two general elections through disefranchisement and other more devious, illegal methods. I mean, what is the entire point of a Presidential election anyhow? Someone?
I think we need to work within the system; the exact same way those who engineered the appointment of Barack Obama as the candidate. They put people in place and worked behind the scenes to get it done. They modeled how to do it and they did an excellent job, from their perspective. Some of us sat back complacently, let it happen and didn't even notice until it was beyond our control. Some, like the Denver Group, tried valiantly to sound the alarm, but, sadly, it turned out to be too little, too late. They couldn't do it alone.
There are millions of us, unsatisfied, pissed off,if you will. I believe negative energy only creates more negativity. If we all come together with a common postive purpose to work, and I mean work, for change within our Party, we can achieve the positive outcome we desire.
Otherwise, we are forming that famous Democratic circular firing squad and once more throwing the baby out with the bath water.

Shout out to Senator McCain..

Senator McCain deserves credit for finally stepping up and attempting to end the irrational and ignorant discourse spewing forth from a few of his supporters before some crazed zealot took his previous silence as assent to perpetrate violence. Now if we could only get Governor Palin to stop deliberately ginning up emotions and anger by her misleading speeches, we could actually believe John McCain meant what he said.
How what she says matters

Cindy McCain, STFU

This will be brief. Cindy McCain's exploitation of her son, the soldier, to take a snipe at Barack Obama was low rent. Who among the others who voted with Senator Obama also "chilled" her? Did she get "chilled" when her husband voted against funding? This faux self-righteousness on this subject is nasty and uncalled for.
She loves that son so much that she wants to keep him engaged in a war with an open ended timeline or does the idea of him coming home within a given period truly cause her so much angst? Keep the mock outrage under wraps, Mrs. McCain. This is hard to swallow from someone who committed adultery with a married man whose wife was an invalid. You want to claim the moral high ground; make sure you are standing on it first.

Not choosing the lesser of two evils....

I am gratified to have so many nice people concerned about my vote. The addendum at the end of my last post stated people had a month to change my mind and I invited debate. In the interest of sparing feelings and cooling down the rhetoric, let me restate my decision.
I look upon my vote as a defensive manuever. We are engaged in a monumental conflict in this country at the moment. Few battles are won by dismantling one's army during the fight. Handing victory to the other side is not an option, especially when that side started the war, chose the weapons and picked the battlefield. If we succeed in securing the battleground, we can then focus on fixing the personnel problems within our own ranks. One firm step at a time; one problem at a time. My vote for Obama is a footprint and not a step.

The fox is in the henhouse now; save the chickens.

My vote for President.

Love me, love my dog or in this case, my vote.
If you have been following the comments on this site, you might have noticed the debate I had with an old friend regarding my decision at that time to write in Hillary Clinton's name. He tried very hard but couldn't make me budge.
I started thinking about what he could have said to make me choose one of the two mainstream candidates. What I came up with was, if you held a gun to the head of a loved one and told me to pick a candidate or else, then I most definitely would choose one.
That is when it hit me. The Republicans have been holding that gun to our heads for eight years; four more years of the party which gave us FISA, the Patriot Act, the Iraq war, $4.00 gasoline, the Military Commissions Act and the overall destabilization of the Constitution might well lead to irreparable damage, and since I would hardly consider voting for a Republican even without those conditions before this year, now is not the time to change. Obama is a seriously flawed candidate with many unanswered questions and seems to possess a cavalier attitude about civil liberties as well. But there remains a wealth of good Democrats in Congress, including Obama surrogates, who will insure a Democratic president will not stray too far from the path which led them there. I am aware of the risks. The other choice is not a risk; it is a proven disaster.
Therefore, I, will willingly step into that booth and grudgingly cast a dimpled chad for Barack Obama; go outside, scream and then go home and drink.
After that I will work very hard to unseat the current weak-kneed leadership in the party.
All comers have a month to change my mind. Forget about McCain/Palin. That ain't going to happen.

Mrs. Moneypenny or Stepford Wife? UPDATED

Naturally I am talking about Governor Palin here. I have heard her referred to as Mrs. Moneypenny, a Stepford wife and the "hot" teacher of Van Halen's fantasy. All of that is about image and is only sexist BS. What she is, in reality, is a bright attractive woman with some genuine talent and a whole bunch of good fortune. What she is not is a qualified person for the second highest office in the nation. Who is kidding who? Along with the cultish devotion to Obama, this is one of the best examples of mass projection I have witnessed in my lifetime.

What do we have here?

1. Less than 2 years experience as governor of a state isolated from the nation with less than 700,000 population.
2. Ongoing investigation into abuse of power charges and her subsequent suppression of evidence. Update: Found guilty of abuse of power by independent commission in Alaska.
3. A 17 year old daughter forced into a shotgun wedding for political expediency.
4. No foreign policy experience other than living near Russia according to her own words.
5. Virulently anti-choice.
6. Supports the deliberate gunning down of wildlife. I am not talking about hunting either.
7. Supports drilling for oil whenever and wherever it may be available. Not one word about oilco's using up their current leases.
8. Repeated lies about the so-called "bridge to nowhere". Spun and spun but still a lie. Do we dare ask about the $26,000,000 road to nowhere?
9. Out of the mainstream religious beliefs. Her church supports gay conversion therapy and speaking in tongues.
10. No recent press conferences. What is she afraid of? The truth may slip out?
Update: Well, we sure found out the reason for this one, didn't we?

One or two of these might be something I could deal with. The last one multiplies the others by 10 fold. It is very Nixonian and Bush tactic wise.

Those came right off the top of my head and one might note they are not gender specific. There are other things which can't be articulated so easily, such as her vapid beauty pageant demeanor during her speeches which is probably sexist on my part, but it doesn't imbue confidence in me. Honestly,the thought of Sarah Palin anywhere near the Oval Office other than as a visitor freaks me out.

Has half the nation lost it's mind? Seriously. When did people stop thinking for themselves? I.E.; We all saw John McCain shoot his own principles in the back when he embraced George Bush after that man smeared him during the SC primary in 2000. This man has spent the last 6 months compromising every position he has ever stood for, except two. He is anti-gay and wants to repeal Roe v. Wade. Maverick? More like a Pinto. You know, the car that would catch on fire sitting in your driveway.

As for those who supported Hillary and immediately jumped on the Palin bandwagon when her candidacy was announced. What principles guided them to Ms. Palin? Please. How do you turn around and support someone who is the polar opposite in all categories but one? By doing this, they are perpetuating the media image of them as bitter, old lonely women, while making a mockery of their support for Hillary Clinton. How sad.
They dumped all over Senator Obama when he called a reporter "sweetie", yet they now turn a blind eye and make excuses for Senator McCain's repeated worse than sweetie sexist remarks. Again I ask; who is kidding who?

Yes, Governor Palin, you can smear lipstick all over that pit bull, and you may have a "hockey mom", but you don't have a qualified Vice Presidential candidate.

Personality versus candidate; emotion versus reality..

The "conventions" are done. We now have official candidates to represent each of the two major parties. But do we?
Do we have candidates or do we have personalities? Obama has been marketed and presented like a rock star offering lots of sparkling rhetoric while mocked as being famous for being famous. Joe Biden is being pushed as the grounded mature father simultaneously being called a drunk by the other side. John McCain is the "rebel", no one's patsy and being portrayed as a Johnny One Note and a befuddled old fool. Governor Palin is Joan of Arc and a terrible mother at the same time. When do McCain and Palin talk about issues and not attack the Democrats for policies implemented by the Republican party? How are Obama and Biden going to convince us they are the change candidates when they are the ones who turned their backs on public money and are seeking the big money donors?
Do we not vote for people who stand for anything anymore? Are we so easily swayed by speeches and hairdos and wardrobes and wrinkles and wives and husbands and their kids? What about substance?
Who is going to give us universal health care? Who is going to stop the bleeding dry of the Social Security fund to pay for wars? What about NAFTA? SCHIP? Stem cell research? Are the civil liberties our ancestors fought so hard to give us going to be restored? By whom? When? Are we going to give more drilling rights to Big Oil before they even drill into the ones they already have? Is it time to integrate the Church into the Federal government? Who will stop that? Who is going to keep a check on the private militia re: Blackwater permeating our land? Do we care? Is it even possible to fix this mess?
Or is Governor Palin's pregnant daughter more important? What would happen if we threw out the rumors and conjecture about Obama? Biden? McCain? Can we even do that? That is a legitimate question as exemplified by the results of the last Presidential election. As that British newspaper headline said "How could 59,000,000 Americans be so stupid?".
Are we going to vote selfish or vote smart? Principles, core values or hurt feelings? Or are we going to do what we have done all along? Vote for the packaging, ignoring and condoning the negatives or doing just the opposite for the person who we like the most this week? Are we going to fix this mess or are we going to choose to dig the hole deeper?
There are people out there right now who were 100% behind one candidate last week and this week are 110% behind a candidate who is the polar opposite? We saw another candidate get cheered for sneezing. Personality or candidate? Style or substance? Principles or packaging?

Another place and time....

I am saddened. I knew this day would have to come; and it came way too soon.
I have chosen to remain a Democrat and withhold my vote in the Presidential election this year. I will be writing in Senator Clinton's name but it will be counted as a no-vote in my state. Given the shenanigans fomented by the DNC regarding this season's primaries, I cannot, at this moment, cast my vote for Senator Obama with a clear conscience. I believe I have stated my case for this on my blog several times over.
Having said that, I will not jump aboard the Republican bandwagon.. This nation has suffered eight years of sheer hell under the leadership of Republicans. Millions have lost their livelihoods; their homes; and in many cases, their lives, due to lack of medical care. The Constitution has been trashed; thousands of militia and civilians have lost their lives in a corporate instigated war; our country is in debt to foreign nations; medical research is stymied; GLBT issues are still political footballs; the cost of everyday basic living is over the top and electing another Republican to take the helm of a Republican constructed ship is inviting the fox into the hen house. There is no evidence in recent history to believe otherwise.
We have been pushed up to the edge of economic free fall in this country and the threat of another middle-east war has been jokingly serenaded by the erstwhile Republican candidate. I found it as offensive and shameful and disrespectful as the sexism schism on the other side and just as tolerated by the media.
Hence the reasons I have chosen not to stay and debate over at bitterpolicz. Since the convention, I had ventured to make some comments mildly critical of the Republican nominee and some others, in their enthusiasm, attacked my intelligence and my motivations. I loved my time with these people and I am not about to argue with them because, like me, their minds are pretty much made up. So now I choose to fade away. It took me several tries to say goodbye for which I also took some grief. It was very hard and is sad for me. I kept thinking about the movie Ole Yeller, but I couldn't really pull that off. So I leave them at peace with one another and maybe in four years we'll meet up again.
That is my story. And hearts......

Ask not what your party can do for your country...

Years ago, I recall the inaugural speech of John F. Kennedy where he declared the torch had been passed to a new generation of Americans. Over the last several nights, I have borne witness to the extinguishing of that torch by the children of that generation. Indeed change has manifested itself but hope left the building along with the presidential aspirations of Hillary Clinton. This carefully scripted television event was laughingly called the Democratic Convention. In a moment of rare courage, Hillary accepted her fate and gently gave the wink and nod to the group which perpetuated this fraudulent travesty upon the American public and more especially the well intentioned Democratic primary voters. Make no mistake, Obama did not defeat Senator Clinton; she was done in by slick politicos in a carefully planned coup to take over the Democratic party and turn it into nothing more than a slick money making machine for it's hierarchy. The current leadership of the DNC and Barack Obama have taken no real steps in the last two years to enact the programs they now promise. They have been too busy indulging in this power play; the result of which is this trumped up extravaganza to crown their selected One. I see little there for the blue-collar guy. Now I am bitter and I can't see that I can do much about it, but believe that miracles do happen. Because if we ever needed a miracle; now is the time. It's dark without that torch to guide the way.

Just sayin' part II

I have been overwhelmed by the level of hate speech by Obama supporters; the intensity of which parses every act McCain does as evil or stupid or, God forbid, old. They rank on his wife and his lifestyle and even question his service to country. I despise this demonetization of McCain as much as I did that of Hillary. Then a funny thing happened. I noticed Hillary supporters doing the same to Obama and thought; it's okay; good for the goose, good for the gander. But this sudden outpouring of adulation for a right-wing hack like McCain and the repetition of Republican talking points disturbs me. People are quoting Fox asshats like Hannity and O'Reilly as if they were suddenly Gandhi. But those pundits wisdom equates only to their dislike and hatred of Barack Obama and the Democratic party, something my comrades have adopted. Again I cautioned my peers to familiarize themselves with the true character and record of their new love. I cautioned them to cast their vote at they will, but make sure you know how deep the shit is before you step in. Many of them believe that it is cut and dry and that not voting for one or the other is a no vote for the vanquished. I maintain my no vote is a good and honorable choice.
I cannot indulge the hysterics or manic drama some parlay in. I refuse to throw the baby out with the bath water by voting for John McCain. It's like telling me to decide between drinking a glass of bleach or a glass of lye because it's a matter of life or death. Duh! Some attempt to guilt me into voting by declaring I won't have a say in the coming years. That's just BS. Otherwise those who didn't vote for Bush have no say about what he has done. The logic is that simple.

Here is my previous post on this subject.


I noted this morning good people who believe in the same principles of democracy I do are donating money to John McCain's campaign. I would have no problem with that after the conventions are held. But why right now? The Denver Group needs money, Hillary's debt still needs to be retired, down ticket Democrats could use some dough.
I see people extolling Republican talking points and I know these are caring passionate people but in their fervor to defeat Obama, some of them, if not crossing, are stepping all over a line that I will not go past.
Why does it bother me? Because I want us to reclaim our party, the Democratic party, the party of choice, privacy, TLC, compassion, equality, sharing - you know, the right party, not the right-wing party.
If you must vote for McCain, I have no problem and you can do that in November. Right now, I am focusing on choosing a Democratic candidate

Man in the Mirror

I have observed a new meme over the course of the past few weeks. Barrack Obama is not arrogant. Barrack Obama is a black man and there apparently is no such thing as an arrogant black man. The reasoning behind this dictum,I have learned, is that arrogant is code for uppity and uppity is racist.

Fortunately, Webster's doesn't color code it's definitions, and according
to that source uppity means taking liberties or assuming airs beyond one's station; presumptuous; disposed to exaggerate one's own worth or importance often by an overbearing manner. I don't have an overwhelming desire to be labeled racist, yet I am inclined to be a truth seeker and truth requires examination in order to see if the shoe fits.

Does a man who boasts about himself while claiming other's accomplishments, who declares himself as an icon for his nation and has a official quasi-presidential seal constructed suggest hubris at all? Is a man, who sat in a church pew for 20 years listening to hate filled rhetoric from his self-proclaimed mentor, so haughty he believes a simple denial of that would suffice to a ignorant public whose intellect he eagerly insults? Does positing that his supporters probably wouldn't vote for Senator Clinton while hers would most certainly vote for him smack of self-confidence or of ego? How about the casual tagging of voters as bitter and spiritually needy? Is elitism uppity or is it racist? "Typical white person" anyone?

Perhaps a clue lies with his surrogates and supporters? Those of us who
unfortunately received those profane rambling emails from an angry impatient Donna Brazile definitely got a whiff of self importance. She certainly let us know how important she is by her suggestion that her one vote would make up for the the delegate votes she and the rules committee stole from the citizens of MI and FL. Indeed, Ms. Brazile informed many of us that our vote was neither desired nor required. Michelle Obama declared that this will be our only chance at sending her precious husband to the White House after she finally decided she is proud of her nation at the age of 44. The brazen Ms. Pelosi's arrogant declarations on a wide range of subjects including dismissing a dream team early on and minimizing sexism were cavalier statements especially galling coming from a woman in her position which is supposed to represent the electorate. Even the media horned in on the uppity act. We watched a self righteous Keith Olbermann "forgive" Senator Clinton for her so-called misdeeds in one of his self proclaimed special comments. Dear Dr. Dean had to hop aboard this arrogance train as well with his trivializing of rampant misogyny with his too precious for prime time words "I don't watch cable TV" rationale for failure to do his job to ensure a fair and equitable primary process. Who set the tone for this deluge of arrogance? Who made arrogance palatable?

Does Obama actually consider himself a new savior born to inherit the world? Is there any hidden humility he is able to expose? Certainly he had done nothing to discourage the image by giving that speech in Berlin; the Invesco Field staging; the new snappiness with the press; having his name and image plastered about the landscape like a Western Mao. All speak to a hyper-indulged ego with too many willing acolytes eager and able to keep it fed.

To paraphrase poet Jorge Luis Borges, has Barack Obama replaced the image of the Lord with a mirror? Has he gone beyond arrogance? I think the answer is clear.

Just sayin'

I have been overwhelmed by the level of hate speech by Obama supporters; the intensity of which parses every act McCain does as evil or stupid or, God forbid, old. They rank on his wife and his lifestyle and even question his service to country. I despise this demonetization of McCain as much as I did that of Hillary. Then a funny thing happened. I noticed Hillary supporters doing the same to Obama and thought; it's okay; good for the goose, good for the gander. But this sudden outpouring of adulation for a right-wing hack like McCain and the repetition of Republican talking points disturbs me. People are quoting Fox asshats like Hannity and O'Reilly as if they were suddenly Gandhi. But those pundits wisdom equates only to their dislike and hatred of Barack Obama and the Democratic party, something my comrades have adopted. Again I cautioned my peers to familiarize themselves with the true character and record of their new love. I cautioned them to cast their vote at they will, but make sure you know how deep the shit is before you step in. Many of them believe that it is cut and dry and that not voting for one or the other is a no vote for the vanquished. I maintain my no vote is a good and honorable choice.
I cannot indulge the hysterics or manic drama some parlay in. I refuse to throw the baby out with the bath water by voting for John McCain. It's like telling me to decide between drinking a glass of bleach or a glass of lye because it's a matter of life or death. Duh! Some attempt to guilt me into voting by declaring I won't have a say in the coming years. That's just BS. Otherwise those who didn't vote for Bush have no say about what he has done. The logic is that simple.
Here is my previous post on this subject.


I noted this morning good people who believe in the same principles of democracy I do are donating money to John McCain's campaign. I would have no problem with that after the conventions are held. But why right now? The Denver Group needs money, Hillary's debt still needs to be retired, down ticket Democrats could use some dough.
I see people extolling Republican talking points and I know these are caring passionate people but in their fervor to defeat Obama, some of them, if not crossing, are stepping all over a line that I will not go past.
Why does it bother me? Because I want us to reclaim our party, the Democratic party, the party of choice, privacy, TLC, compassion, equality, sharing - you know, the right party, not the right-wing party.
If you must vote for McCain, I have no problem and you can do that in November. Right now, I am focusing on choosing a Democratic candidate.

The Big Chill...

He's youthful, attractive to some and well spoken when prepared. He seems personable. So why do I feel a sense of foreboding whenever I see or hear this man?
My 87 year old mother jokingly refers to him as the Anti-Christ. Others have met him and shaken his hand and felt the same sense of something "wrong". I know it just chills me sometimes picturing this man at the helm of the most powerful corporate/government on the planet.
Something took a peek at us when he calmly and coldly remarked "You're likable enough". The unblinking story of his never having heard his preachers make hate filled statements about his country and race baiting gave us another look. His carefully worded condemnation of his grandmother and indeed all typical white people made me sigh instinctively. The soulless backstabbing eradication of all the competition during his early political outings while pretending regret at the process all stated clearly, calmly "above the fray". His personal associations with known terrorists and criminals all dismissed with the same innocence and coolness. His unreported desire to rid our country of an electocracy; his complete reversal on FISA; his denial of pandering to each and every group while asking us to disbelieve our lying eyes and ears, coolly maintaining his positions don't waver. Routinely taking credit for other's work without apology. His "I'll leave it to others to think about that" and in the next breath " but I would like to point out" as if that absolved him of playing dirty politics. There is something not real about him and even pointing out what I wrote above, I cannot put my finger on it. Things don't add up and at the level of power he seeks, that is frightening and gives me the chills.
Maybe it's nothing more than his breathtaking arrogance which writes itself on the chalkboard of my sensibilities with a hair raising screech. I need to read more. Maybe history will have the answer.

Faux unity is just that....

I have a tough time wrapping my head around "forgetting" the last 7 months. The absolute dehumanization of the Clintons, the distortions, the character assassination, not only by the passive-aggressive Obama campaign, but by the MSM, constantly undercut Hillary's message portraying her in the worse possible light, to the point all of the lies and innuendos were being used as conventional wisdom for further trashing by Obama loyalists.
I have a very difficult time pretending that didn't happen.
The incredible, undeniable truth is that, despite all of that, Senator Clinton won the popular vote and nearly triumphed outright, a testimony to her strengths and genuine character. We wanted her as our leader; why should we change that even if she has to throw her support to Obama? That is the difficult question I have to answer.
Force-feeding Obama to me by anyone including Hillary only makes me gag at this point. I can't do it. I won't do it.

In regards to Party loyalty. My mind drifts way back to May 31, 2008. That orgy of self-indulgence where Hillary's case was dismissed and tossed like last week's garbage.
Not to mention that, we, the voting public were playing second fiddle to some arbitrary rules designed to "punish" other Party officials. Who ended up being punished? The Party showed their disdain for the electorate, exposing their own greed for power and authority. We're expected to cozy up to that?

I can even let my mind wander back even further as the echoes of Nancy Pelosi's "impeachment is off the table" clearly demonstrated the DNC's self-interests and not those of country and, we the people, who are seemingly only useful when they need us to gain or retain power. Where have they been when we need them? I only see their backs and my appeals being ignored.
Try not to notice that the price of gas has dramatically increased since our Party took back Congress. This current beta version of the Democratic Party stands for what? Power? Money? We worked hard to put them in office in 2006. Is Blackwater still making money? Does Dubai still run our ports? Has gas almost tripled since they (our party) gained control of Congress? Have impeachment proceedings begun? Did Haliburton move their HQ off shore?
What does the party stand for? They funded every cent Bush asked for the war, didn't they? FISA got passed. So where does this one sided allegiance come from? Who owes who an explanation? The Constitution frees me to vote or not vote for whomever I choose. Now the party I supported for over 40 years is subverting that very basic right. Shame on them.

Me, me, pick me...

Dear Dr. Dean,
I understand the DNC is giving away MI delegates this season. I am enquiring as to whether or not they are still available. It's okay, I am not a typical white woman, I am a male, albeit white and in the age group you and the rest of your star chamber rules committee are offended by. Please hear me out as you may need me come November. I will need full delegates and I would say about 69 of them should suffice. Or you may call for a unanimous vote at the convention with no roll call thus hiding the fact that I haven't actually won any primaries and have zero popular votes. Please, don't tell anyone, but you could take about a third of the vote from Senator Clinton as you say you won't be needing them. Let's keep it just between you and I and Ms. B.
You know, if we plan this whole thing out; by slipping me some delegates on a daily basis, I could be the Democratic Party's standard bearer come November. You might note my negatives, I have no criminal associates, my pastor preaches love of country, not hatred; I have no elitist spouse; my bills are paid on time and I even managed to get the mortgage on my shoebox house on my own merit. On the plus side, I did smoke pot in the 60's, not quite up to snorting coke but still illegal. If you wish, I could write a "autobiography" making up a lot of stuff to enhance and spin my past. I could call it "The Dreaminess of Audacious Fluff".
Dr. Dean, I just thought I would float this by you, in case you suddenly understood that you have a really flawed candidate on your hands and you needed another unqualified person as the Party seems bent on rejecting the best Presidential candidate this country has seen in years, Hillary Rodham Clinton.
God bless,
PUMA

Winner, winner, chicken dinner...

Ignoring the fact that I had to bribe you people into reading my blog, I am thrilled to announce the winner of the Hillary Clinton tee-shirt. Last night's mega ball number was 34 and the matching post belonged to....ta da....There is no Great Lake in Oregon. She was dedicated and a strong advocate for winning. Eh. What'd I say? Oh. Anyway, I will need a name, an address and a shirt size sent to democraticjack at gmail.com. I will be doing more of these in the future, so you need to check back here once a week. Heh. I love you all.

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to...

There is a whole lot of rhetoric being spun around the notion that Hillary supporters are somehow not "true" Democrats if they choose not to vote for Barack Obama in the general election. The failure to understand that choice is, in actuality, the correct one for "true" Democrats is an indication that the Obama pushers are more interested in party unity than in Democratic principles.
Those principles were buried on May 31, 2008 by a group of elitist party "elders" who took it upon themselves to anoint a favored candidate as presumptive nominee of the party. We all know what went on then and I honestly don't have the stomach to regurgitate it. The arrogance, the diminution of voter input, the abandonment of democracy by the "Democratic" party were the rotten cherry on the top of a sour-milk sundae the DNC in concert with the MSM had been attempting to feed us for months. Like 9/11/2001 and 12/7/41 it is another date which will live on in infamy.
The party of the common people rejected those people in favor of a candidate who belittled the common voter as bitter, racist and spiritually needy. The party which protects and defended our civil rights has selected a man who now believes government spying on it's citizens without oversight is a good thing. The party which gave us Social Security and could bring about universal affordable health care has chosen not to discuss those issues any longer as the fish have already taken the bait. The party which allows us freedom of privacy and choice brings us the new improved Obama who would define those concepts according to whichever audience he is speaking to at the moment. That party is not the Democratic party I once knew and I now denounce and reject this new "fresh" stammering, stuttering version of something I was once so proud of.
So, for all those who care about party unity and think demeaning millions of people is the best solution to that problem; quit wasting your time. I am broken-nosed and battered and I will be as bitter I want to be and the "true" Democratic party would have had a place for me.

No value meals on the menu....

Dear Rep. Pelosi,
Two years ago, we the people of the United States, invited you and several of your colleagues into our House.
During the courtship, you declared that impeachment was off the table. We, being eternal optimists, took that to mean "at this moment".
As it turned out that was a true statement you made. Your menu is absent impeachment, reform for health care, Social Security, and government corruption. In fact, Madam Speaker, you have set an empty table. With the exception of the minimum wage appetiser, the table is bare, removing even the so-called Dream Ticket months before the convention.
On the other hand, we note that you, and those colleagues we worked for and paid for, dine at the table of the Bush administration. There we have an a la carte menu with items such as FISA and funding for an illegal war, with immunity for the telecoms being a late entree.
Again and again, we turn to your table and there is nothing, no justice for outing a CIA agent, firing Attorneys General at will, voter fraud in FL and OH, torture here and abroad. There is nothing there for the mind or the soul.
Now, we are asked in the name of Party loyalty, to help elect an inexperienced candidate because he is "fresh" and goes to church. We are told sexism can have benefits and doesn't really matter much, after all. Those cavalier statements and others make it increasingly clear that Party loyalty is a one-way street.
Aghast, we glance at the table again. How about the cost of gas? Milk, maybe? Heating oil? Pet food even? Are they on some phantom agenda as well; served up as bait to get us to the polls and get duped again? They certainly are not on your empty table.
In closing, I want you to enjoy your time off next month . Feast upon the convention's fare. Just remember, we are setting up hundreds of little tables of our own and, trust me, they will not be empty. We will have a feast of our own, turning out the old and bringing in the truly fresh and not supporting the spoiled candidate you and your colleagues are trying to force feed us.
PUMA

Getting real....

Heidi Li Feldman came down to visit me and my family yesterday. It was such a pleasure to meet the woman I have come to admire online for her energy, her skills, her perseverance, her brains and the considerate postings to one and all. She is a staunch warrior for Hillary Clinton and other causes she believes in as well. I will call her a Beautiful Dynamo.

She gave my niece a beautiful pearl ring as a keepsake. It was a memorable moment. My mom showed her the rogue's gallery of pictures in the hall of our family. She played catch with Kayla.
We chatted a bit more and she treated us to dinner at a local restaurant, the Riverboat. We had some cold beer and some forgettable food but a great wide ranging conversation. We talked about family, family secrets, love, friends, religion, the camillians, and of course, politics. Heidi does not have one disingenuous bone in her body and she has great insight and focus. She also has a skill, missing in so many these days, and that is listening. I guess I could gush on forever, but I will just conclude that I feel very fortunate to have crossed paths with her and I feel I have made a new lifelong friend. Even if that doesn't develop, the day will sustain itself forever.
Heidi Li, the tallish, petite woman with a heart as big as a mountain and a smile to match.

Gearing Up

Let's start the engine, turn on the AC and the radio and get this process rolling again. This week, Hillary and *61 will make their first joint appearence since he was annointed by the DNC and the RBC. She will be gracious, quasi-enthusiastic and say just enough to convince the Obamabots, who think they don't need us, but want that "landslide" the OMSM is predicting now.
Our new quest on this journey will be to retire her debt, free her up so she can engage the bastards full strength and not shackled. We can rest assured that Hillary will be working for OUR best interests, not you-know-who's, when she campaigns up to the convention. Wherever she goes, or Bill goes, we must turn out in full PUMA regalia. We must let her know, we haven't forgotten. To paraphrase Bette Davis in All About Eve "Fasten your seat belts; it's going to be a bumpy 6 weeks".
I plan to infiltrate, go undercover, gather data and then 4 weeks in, start dropping the PUMA bombs. I am going to do to the Obamabots what they did to Hillary. First gear........

Getting by...

Another day rolls by and I seem locked into a state of ennui. My creative process has all but dried up and I feel as if I lost something I never had. I miss Hillary.
I see Al Gore has bellied up to the bar in a rather anti-climatic way. I suppose they think he is the designated driver who will round up all of us stray deadenders and take us home to Obama.
Sorry, we don't fit into that particular lockbox.
Happily, my current favorite horse, Curlin came back home after a succesful venture into Dubai and made his 2008 US debut a winning one scoring easily in the $1,000,000.00 Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs. They are thinking of trying him on grass and running him in the Arc in France. Being by Smart Strike, he does have the breeding. His current earnings of almost 9.4 million place him in third behind Skip Away and Cigar. A win in the Arc or the Breeder's Cup will leapfrog him to over a cool 10 million and into first place.
So now we are not only making over homes, we are doing candidate's wives. My only comment is how down to earth of MO to wear an off the rack dress when she has a designer she works with back home. The Obamas elitist? Where did that idea come from?

Life can turn on a dime...

The tragic deaths of four Boy Scouts, the stunning death of Tim Russert and Mother Nature's own angry statements remind us of how fragile we really are and how what is important one moment can become trivia the next. I believe it is our own inner list of "trivia" determines our character and guides us on to the next "big thing" in our lives. My abiding principle is to learn, live where I am, keep my eyes straight ahead and try to watch where I put my feet when I choose to move forward .

My super-duper little friend Kayla, over there to your left turned four this week! On Friday the 13th. She wanted to go for a ride and chase the moon last night, through the trees, avoiding the dragons.
Then we danced a bit and sang Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World". We had us some fun, me and Kayla and my Mom. I say a big old shout out to God! Thanks, buddy.

My friends, the deadenders and idiots..

Well, Hillary-bashing being forsworn in the interests of party unity, the Obama supporters are now trashing those of us who haven't jumped on the hopeychangey bandwagon. I have heard remarks like "are you effing crazy", "you're an idiot" and from one whom I have great respect, we are now "deadenders". We are repeatedly assaulted with Roe v. Wade and every women's issue under the sun. They are laying the Iraq card on the table, along with the health care and economy cards. At first they cajole us with a nod to Hillary and then we are told we need to move forward. It makes me think "who is not getting who"? Us or them?

Here is my view. First, and foremost in my book, is that Barack Obama is decidedly unqualified. He has displayed spectacularly bad judgement beginning with his drug usage in college and continuing with his personal and business associations. He wrote a quasi-autobiography designed to ward off any true investigation into his background and people do indeed use it as a reference guide to his life, as if every word in it were true. And that is not the case. This is a man who has been "mentored" into where he is now, never paying the dues one wants to see from someone seeking a leadership position. His campaign, with cooperation from the MSM, was one of the sneakiest, race baiting ever run by a Democrat on this level, painting Senator Clinton as something evil and anything other than what she really was. The spin and distortions were despicable. We all know who ran the "scorched earth" campaign. Watching CNN and MSNBC on the night Obama won Iowa was a real eyeopener for me, as the "panelists" were chortling and joking with glee and abandonment, making snide and sarcastic comments about Senator Clinton. It was embarrassing, like watching a pundit circle jerk. That kept on throughout the campaign and Obama fed it, either through his surrogates or with his sarcastic comments "Who does she think she is? Annie Oakley? In a duck blind with a six-shooter?". Meantime, the MSM would gloss over or defend Obama and instruct us on how we should think or feel. Their guy "rose above" the fray.

We all know what happened on May 31. Throw that in the mix. Toss in Nancy Pelosi and Howard Dean's scurrilous interference in the process and we have a soup which is entirely unpalatable for my tastes.
Sometimes, in order to reorder, one needs to clear the decks, knock the walls down and make a mess. Sometimes, even a little sacrifice is necessary. That's my rationale going forward. No vote for Obama. No money to the DNC. No money to SD's who switched during the primary season. In further escalation of the preservation of my principles, I will not donate to the RNC as well or to any of their candidates. The sacrifice?
I might touch that box next to McCain's name. Lessons need to be taught and sometimes the bullet must be bitten. To me, voting for McCain is taking a bullet and I have really grave concerns about doing that. I am not there yet.
As long as the DNC displays it's lack of concern for the voters and plays power over people, it doesn't justify one moment of guilt to dismiss all their placating and "concern" and fear tactics trying to coax me into supporting Obama. I said before, Obama should apologize, the RBC should give Hillary her delegates, give "uncommitted their delegates and have the DNC issue a condemnation of the way the MSM denigrated her, and then, I just might consider their pleas for my vote.

Let's chill...

As my daddy oft said on days like these, "It's hotter than a two peckered billy goat". How he ever came to that knowledge is unknown, but the phrase is apt.

I want to echo Heidi Li Feldman's call to retire the debts rung up by Senator Clinton's primary run to become the first female President of the United States. Heidi gives logical reasons on her site http://heidilipotpourri.blogspot.com and I urge everyone to go there and donate via her link.

It occurred to me that the hate merchants in the media who so enjoyed trashing Hillary are almost as disappointed as her loyal supporters are, albeit for a different reason. Watching what little I can take of them these days, I see they are still bitterly clinging to their sarcasm and diminution whenever her name comes up. They are having difficulty letting go and turning that hatred of a woman onto one of their own, John McCain. How they gonna accuse him of playing the gender card? Does he have cankles? Are they going to accuse a man with an adopted black child of racism?
What are they going to do? Attack him on the economy, the war, gas prices? Democrats have been in charge of the funds and the legislature for the last two years and things have not only not changed, but have gotten worse. This is going to be very interesting going forward.

Coming down

The week saw the defeat of two champions and the shattering of millions of dreams and hopes. Both survive and live to fight another day. Hillary Clinton, especially, will continue her campaign to champion the underpriviliged and the unspoken for. Her light has lost no luster and incredibly shines brighter and more focused day by day. As we honor her, she honors us. Thank you, Madame President. In my heart, that title is yours.
Big Brown, too, lost little honor in defeat. The heat, the 1 1/2 miles of deep sand, the hoof problem all were factors. Today he is fine and will likely run at Saratoga in the $1,000,000 Travers Stakes enroute to a fall meeting in the Breeder's Cup Classic with Curlin.
The past is done, today is today and the future awaits with our attitudes adjusted a bit to reflect our new knowledge of how the world runs. That's my story.

A race of a different color

Tomorrow, Big Brown seeks to step into the shoes of some mighty giants in his quest to become the first Triple Crown winner in 30 years. After back-to-back winners, Seattle Slew (1977, and Affirmed (1978), there have been many who just failed in their grab at the brass ring of Legend. The ease with which BB won the first two legs speaks well of his class and he seems to be what is known as a "freak" in the thoroughbred world, which is a high compliment.
A cautionary note must be given as I remember what I consider one of the best racehorses I ever saw, Spectacular Bid, go down to defeat in the Belmont to horses who never beat him again. He had a bruised hoof and could not overcome that obstacle.
Big Brown has bad feet and is wearing a patch to bind cracks in the hoof when he runs tomorrow. If the Belmont were a shorter race, I would not be concerned, but I worry about that last eighth of a mile when the hoof might start stinging him. We'll see. I am certainly no expert nor a vet.
Another interesting facet of the race is the presence of another undefeated colt in the race, that being Casino Drive. CD has made two starts, one in Japan and the other in the traditional prep for the Belmont, the Peter Pan Stakes, winning easily despite a slow start. Casino Drive is a half-brother to the last two Belmont winners, Rags to Riches and Jazil being out of the same mare with different sires.
This would be an unprecedented accomplishment if he were to win tomorrow. It certainly adds to the drama. I wish them all a safe trip and sound return to the barn after the race.

My longshot pick: Icabod Crane. Yeah, that is spelled right. Third in the Preakness, coming on, never out of the money and a top jock and trainer. I mean, who bets a 1-10 shot?

UPDATE: More drama. Casino Drive has sustained a bruised hoof and his status is questionable. His connections will decide early tomorrow morning.

Sexism by any other name...

Interesting for me to watch a CNN panel of talking heads mull over whether or not sexism played a part in this campaign. At that very moment, the Drudge Report was running an ad for a Hillary Nutcracker. Very tasteful, Matt. The panel, all female, said there was a little bit of sexism, but it didn't affect the outcome. Personally, I don't care how you label it; there was pervasive, aggressive, unrelenting bashing of Senator Clinton every day, every evening on virtually every talk show on MSNBC and CNN. I don't watch FOX. It was also prevalent on talk radio, particulary on the Ed Schultz show, under the guise of vetting the candidates. This did not go on with any depth or critical insight when it came to discussing anything which might hurt Obama, even the negative associations with Rev. Wright, Rezko and Ayers, among others. Indeed, these stalwarts of neojournalism actually provided escape for Senator Obama, defending him on occasion and mother-henning the poor lad to keep him from harm, sometimes even blaming the Clintons for Obama's misfortunes. It was blatant. It was constant. It certainly played a part in the image projected to the public of Mrs. Clinton; witness callers and bloggers repeating almost verbatim the points from the talking punditry. I call a foul on them, Senator Obama, who let it go on, and the DNC who stood in silence, while working behind the scenes, virtually crouching down behind the knees of Senator Clinton so that she would fall and fall hard when the media pushed.
My point? I don't know if all of that is called "sexism", but I do know the difference between a man and a woman, and I say the woman was treated historically shameful. All I can feel at this moment in time is that my ass is going to have to be kissed big time to make me vote for Senator Obama in November.

Breaking the surface

This blog is a result of the rape of the democratic process by the DNC and the media. Several of us came together at Taylor Marsh's web site and found common purpose. We recognise the reality of the situation and we want to put our voices together to find ways to remedy the most blatant dehumanization and public demonisation of one of the strongest, most compassionate leaders in modern history, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

This blog is an open forum for supporters of true democracy and believers in a system which is transparent, just, applies equal standards to all participants and one which abides by the principle of one citizen, one vote.

If you can advance the dialogue, carry on. If you come here to willfully agitate, rest assured, I will not give you any more respect than you give others. Fair warning.

My anthem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYxjAEIHzQQ