It comes down to who I really am

The toxicity of politics (and the people who thrive on this sort of thing) in my life has reached an intolerable level, and it's time for me to walk away.

I learned about active citizenship from my mother's example when I was growing up in the 1960's. She kept herself informed and involved in government and other local organizations. She backed up her opinions with W-O-R-K, by rolling up her sleeves and leading efforts to make our community a better place. As our Scout leader, she even involved us kids in hands-on service to others. One of the most memorable projects was a massive one of sewing stuffed animals, wrapping them, and delivering them to the local Children's Home for Christmas.

I caught the bug for bigger issues with the unrest over civil rights and Vietnam exploding on our TV screen night after night, but my true passion has always been volunteering on the community level, where it is possible to see real results for your efforts, rather than getting a headache from banging your head against a brick wall.

I was an inner city Scout organizer for ten years. I was a Big Sister. I was a volunteer in a Cleveland middle school. I got out of my suburb and went where I was needed. At the same time, I was very much a suburban soccer mom and Mom Taxi. Our house was always the place where the kids hung out. Obviously, my career got put on the shelf and forgotten, but I worked part-time as my kids got older. I loved being a high school substitute teacher. Nobody loves being a substitute, but I really did. Teens are some of the best, and most underappreciated, people on the planet. They have so many ideas that haven't yet been beaten into submission by years of "can't" and "that's not how things work," and they deserve to be listened to. It was during these years that I became "den mother" to a group of kids who formed a gay-straight alliance "to promote respect and equality for all students"--six of the most challenging, aggravating, rewarding, wonderful years of my life. These kids had a big idea, and I challenged, "What are you going to do about it?" They showed me, and the whole community, real leadership, while I endured vilification by religious conservatives for encouraging them.

Then George Bush and his Insane Foreign Policy Clown Posse pushed national politics back to front and center in my life. My anger at his misuse and destruction of the Army in which my son serves has been driving the bus since then. I've gotten more deeply involved in the political process than ever before, but I've learned just how stacked the deck is. I want to see results for my efforts, and at this level, it's just banging my head against the wall and dodging pies from other head bangers.

Enough. ENOUGH.

My son is in the Army and there's nothing I can do about it except cope, one day at a time.

I'm a grandmother now.

My mother is in a nursing home and I'm about to become her guardian.

I don't need to be drowning in political poison. It's time to focus on the people who matter most to me and get on with my life.

Wright throws Obama under the bus...

and Obama returns the favor.

The Obama drama continues. Damn, its getting crowded under that bus.

Test your Barack Obama IQ

From the Chicago Tribune.

Why Obama isn't electable

He got cocky. Now something in the media has shifted. And when they get through with him, his name will be synonymous with "terrorist" or "traitor." And McCain will walk to the White House.

See Charles Krauthammer's latest.

And then watch Bill Moyers' interview with Jeremiah Wright tonight on PBS.

It's just beginning.

Nail. On. Head.

Why isn't Obama winning the working class vote? Paul Krugman suggests:

... maybe his transformational campaign isn’t winning over working-class voters because transformation isn’t what they’re looking for.

And a blogger responds:

You know what? This is it, isn't it? It's really that simple. I don't WANT a fucking glorious, shining new dawn of transformation from my government. I don't want the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. I don't WANT THE FUCKING RAPTURE, OKAY? I just want the fucking garbage to get picked up, the mail to go through, not to get buttraped by Big Oil when I fill up my car, not to live in a country that has fucking concentration camps, and not to worry about paying for my healthcare even though I fucking HAVE INSURANCE. OKAY?!

I don't WANT A FUCKING MENTAL SPIRITUAL REVELATION from my fucking GOVERNMENT! My spiritual health is MY BUSINESS, not the fucking government's! I'm not IN THIS to fall to the ground and start speaking in tongues! I just want kids to get vaccinated and learn how to fucking read!

I ended up getting angry at this topic last time it came up between me and an acquaintance who kept trying to tell me that someone she knew at work liked Obama because she remembers the Glorious Sixties and "she misses having that passion in her about something."

So why the fuck doesn't she GO GET LAID? Government isn't about your sacred Passion, it's not about giving you a really good buzz or a wild trip. It's about making sure that families don't get thrown out of their houses when they can't afford them anymore. CHRIST, how self-centered can you get?

"I want passion!"

You want it from something outside of yourself? Are you that emotionally crippled that you need the permission of some plastic dude in a shiny suit to allow passion into your life? You can't just get the FUCK UP OUT OF THE BARCALOUNGER AND GO GET IT ON YOUR OWN?

Jesus, these people are goddamned emotional cripples. And they're trying to pick our next preznit!

"She wants passion." Tell her to buy a fucking vibrator! FUCK YOUR PASSION, honey! What the hell is wrong with you that you don't find passion in providing health care to people who need it, to balancing paycheck inequities, to understanding how our government works?!

Emotional. CRIPPLES. And intellectual cripples for all their backpatting about how much smarter they are than we simple fools who support Hillary.

"I want passion." Go jerk the hell off and get it out of your system. The rest of us just want to make sure the country runs smoothly so that we can get on with the business of GETTING OUR OWN TRANSFORMATION FOR OUR DAMNED SELVES THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

Don't worry about the party being divided this fall. We're already there.

Cleveland Winner to be Selected in AFL-CIO First-Ever Online Video Contest to “Turn Around America”

Brought to my attention and possibly of interest to some readers:

(CLEVELAND, Apr. 10) The AFL-CIO today launched the “Turn Around
America” video competition -- its first-ever online video contest.
Winners will be announced nationally and in Cleveland. The Cleveland
winner will win $1,000 and the video may be featured at AFL-CIO rallies
and as a television ad. The effort is meant in part to engage voters and
2008 political candidates in a dialogue about what is necessary to get
America back on track.

The video contest, found at www.turnaroundvideocontest.com, is part of a larger AFL-CIO initiative to “Turn Around America” which will run through the summer. The “Turn Around America” initiative will feature a major event in Cleveland and build grassroots momentum to elect leaders who will fight for health care, good jobs and an economy that works for all. The idea was inspired by retired Steelworker Steve Skvara’s question last summer at the AFL-CIO presidential forum -
“What’s wrong with America and what will you do to change it?”

“Every day we hear from working people like Steve who believe that in order to America work, we need to do a complete 180 degree turn,” said AFL-CIO Exec. Vice President Arlene Holt Baker. “This video contest is meant to inspire people to envision how we can create a better nation.”

While the contest prohibits videos which mention specific candidates or
political figures, it is meant to give average people a way to influence
our wider national conversation - - including the plans and visions of
the 2008 candidates for office, from City Council to the White House.

Participants will be invited to submit online videos in any creative form that will answer the question of how to turn around America. The contest will run Apr. 10 through May 20 and winners will be announced in early June. The categories include a national winner, who will receive $2,000 and the chance for the video to appear in national TV ads. A “young activist” category will also be awarded to the best video made by someone between the ages of 14 and 25. The contest is open to the public.

The judges include Gillian Grisman, director and producer of "Grateful Dawg” and "Keeping Time: New Music from America's Roots"; Robert Greenwald, director and producer of "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism" and "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price"; Barbara Kopple,director of "Shut Up and Sing"; Dawn Laguens, president of the political media firm Laguens Kully Klose Partners; Craig Minassian,a producer and consultant for HBO, Comedy Central and MTV; Chris Moore, producer of "Project Greenlight" and "Good Will Hunting"; Mel Nieves, an actor, playwright, and screenwriter; Ed Redlich, executive producer of "Shark" and "Without a Trace”; Steve Skvara, retired steelworker; and Cherene Snow, a television and movie actress.

“I’m honored to be one of the judges for the AFL-CIO’s Turn Around America Online Video Competition,” said Director and Producer Gillian Grisman. “Like so many Americans, I have been asking myself the same questions that are posted in this contest. I’m looking forward to seeing the creative responses to the challenge because I believe art speaks truth to power and will spark a meaningful dialogue about how we can turn this country around.”

In addition to the national winners, winners will be announced in the
following cities and states: Philadelphia, Pa.; Pittsburgh, Pa.;
Columbus, Ohio; Cleveland, Ohio; Cincinnati, Ohio; Denver, Colo.;
Detroit, Mich.; Portland, Ore.; New Hampshire; Maine; St.
Paul/Minneapolis/Rochester, Minn.; St. Louis, Mo. and Chicago, Ill.
These cities and states are where Turn Around America rallies and events are being planned for the summer.

Obama starts whisper campaign against Wes Clark

This is a good way to end up on my shit list forever.

Reported in the Jerusalem Post

"Clark has been at the top of the pack of Clinton's military cadre, appearing with her at major foreign policy addresses and surfacing in rumors as a possible running mate.

Yet Clark could pose a potential liability among Jewish voters, just as the Jewish Rendell poses a benefit.

At least, that's something the Obama campaign is quietly suggesting, mentioning Clark's name as Obama himself comes under attack for ties to people who don't sit well with certain segments of the Jewish community."

Democracy

If average voters were even halfway aware of the behind the scenes DIRT that goes on before they are finally presented with candidates that they are "allowed" to "choose" from...

We'd probably have a freaking revolution.

Leftwing Limbaughs

This is what I'm talking about:

"The Clinton campaign describes Hillary's voters as older, white, and undereducated. Or as we called them in my neighborhood: white trash."
--Randi Rhodes

How can this kind of shit from those in the tank for Obama possibly be good for the Democratic party?

Scary stuff from John McCain and the GOP

Check out the mailing that went out this week:

STAND UP FOR AMERICA SURVEY

Survey Questions

1. Senator Barack Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton have advocated raising taxes to pay for their new big government plans. Senator John McCain will fight those efforts to raise taxes by making the tax cuts permanent, lowering corporate rates from 35% to 25% and ending the Alternative Minimum Tax. Which presidential candidate's positions do you support?

2) John McCain has promised to reduce the size of the federal government as President. Senators Obama and Clinton have many proposals to increase the size of government. Which presidential candidate's positions do you support?

3) John McCain will not sign a bill with earmarks in it, he will fight for the line item veto and he will not expand entitlement programs that are bankrupting us. Senators Obama and Clinton are among the top "earmarkers" in the Senate and have proposed expanding entitlements and as much as $800 billion per year in new spending. Which presidential candidate's positions do you support?

4) Senators Obama and Clinton support abortion and oppose overturning Roe v. Wade. Senator McCain has a twenty-five year pro-life record and supports overturning Roe v. Wade. Which presidential candidate's positions do you support?

5) John McCain will nominate judges who enforce -- not make -- the law, judges of the quality and character of Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito. Senators Obama and Clinton voted against Justices Roberts and Alito and favor liberal activist judges. Which presidential candidate's positions do you support?

6) Senators Obama and Clinton have made it a centerpiece in their campaign to call for the arbitrary and reckless pull out of our troops from Iraq. Senator McCain called for a change in strategy four years ago and fought for the successful surge policy that has turned the tide in Iraq. Which presidential candidate's positions do you support?

7) Senators Obama and Clinton both have received "F" ratings from the NRA for their opposition to Second Amendment rights. John McCain has a track record of supporting the Second Amendment, including votes against waiting periods, bans on so-called "assault weapons" and illegitimate lawsuits targeting gun manufacturers. Which presidential candidate's positions do you support?

8) On education, Senator MCain supports school choice [i.e., school vouchers] and wants to empower parents with the opportunity to choose schools that are best for their children. He believes that improving the American education system requires more accountability and responsibility. Senators Obama and Clinton oppose real school choice and will be heavily influenced by the status quo teachers' union. Which presidential candidate's positions do you support?

9) Senators Obama and Clinton have both proposed health care reform plans that would impose mandates on individuals and/or businesses and move America's health system closer to European style socialized Medicine. Senator McCain's health care plan focuses on free market solutions with respect for individuals to make important choices for themselves. Which presidential candidate's positions do you support?

10) Taking into account everything you know about the individuals running for President in 2008, which candidate do you plan to support for President?

Now...are you SURE you want to boycott the November election if your candidate doesn't get the nomination? Neither Clinton nor Obama was my first choice, but you gotta play the cards you're dealt and hope for the best.

I might be done with the Democratic party forever after this ridiculous primary cycle, but I'm not stupid enough to cut off my nose to spite my face in the voting booth.

Obama fails to close the deal again

Despite having THE MONEY and THE MEDIA SHILLS and the OLD Party Establishment behind him...

Earth to Democrats! There's a message here you aren't getting yet.

Pennsylvania

Ohio

Texas

California

New Jersey

Massachusetts

Florida and Michigan, even

Hillary on Countdown tonight

Gutsy.

These people just don't look positive and upbeat

Seems like they should be ecstatic with hope at this point.

Obama blows Dem strategy, says McCain would be better than Bush

"You have a real choice in this election. Either Democrat would be better than John McCain," Obama said to cheers from a rowdy crowd in central Pennsylvania. Then he said: "And all three of us would be better than George Bush."

Hillary Clinton has also compared McCain's "lifetime of experience," and come up with some parallels that don't include Obama, which is illustrated in this video. But her arguments make the case why McCain is a formidable opponent in the general election, not why McCain would be a better president than Bush. It's a huge difference.

Guess the Dem Party is going to have to scrap its strategy to paint a McCain presidency as a third term for George W. Bush and go back to the drawing board.