post-race era my ass

Wow. Just wow.

Some people concluded that the election of a black man for president would be the beginning of a post-race era in this country. I think the criticism of Sonia Sotomayor has proven that is not the case.

FYI: I'm a woman and Latina and I cried tears of joy when Obama announced Sotomayor as his SCOTUS nominee.

Maybe I did buy into the post-race hype because I still can't believe how far the GOP has gone to discredit her simply because she is female and Latina. I don't remember race being an issue when Clarence Thomas was nominated (his sexism and incompetence were).

Let's discuss the cartoon. First off, it's from the Oklahoman (I like to source...this is not an implied judgment of Oklahoma). Second, it appears that Sotomayor is supposed to be a piñata. However, she looks like she's being lynched. Moreover, piñatas are Mexican and Sotomayor is Puerto Rican. Not the same country.

This cartoon is NOTHING compared to what the GOP/conservatives are saying. Here's a small sample:

Mike Huckabee: "The appointment of Maria Sotomayor for the Supreme Court is the clearest indication yet that President Obama's campaign promises to be a centrist and think in a bipartisan way were mere rhetoric." Obviously all Latinas are named Maria. Also, Maria and Sonia totally sound the same.

Newt Gingrich: "Imagine a judicial nominee said 'my experience as a white man makes me better than a Latina woman.' Wouldn't they have to withdraw? New racism is no better than old racism." Context is everything. Here's the quote, spoken within the context of the issue of diversity on the bench, "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life." I hate that Obama excused this statement by saying that she misspoke. Also in the same speech: "I am reminded each day that I render decisions that affect people concretely and that I owe them constant and complete vigilance in checking my assumptions, presumptions and perspectives and ensuring that to the extent that my limited abilities and capabilities permit me, that I reevaluate them and change as circumstances and cases before me requires."  Yup, totally hating on White males.  Regardless, I completely agree with her 'controversial' statement. Women judge differently than men.  The best example I can provide is the SCOTUS decision on "partial-birth" abortion. In the opinion, Justice Kennedy said that the State should make the final decisions about pregnant women’s healthcare, because the State knows better than the woman herself that her “ultimate” role is as a mother. You think a woman would've agreed with that? Heaven forbid that there is one more woman on the SCOTUS that believes women are more than incubators.

Rush: "Here you have a racist — you might want to soften that, and you might want to say a reverse racist. The libs, of course, say that minorities cannot be racists because they don’t have the power to implement their racism. Well, those days are gone, because reverse racists certainly do have the power. … Obama is the greatest living example of a reverse racist, and now he’s appointed one." Ummm...Rush? WTF is a 'reverse racist'? Are rich, White males so oppressed these days? Also, your White male privilege is showing.

Tom Tancredo: "If you belong to an organization called La Raza, in this case, which is, from my point of view anyway, nothing more than a Latino -- it's a counterpart -- a Latino KKK without the hoods or the nooses." FYI, Tancredo, Raza doesn't just mean Race, it means family or community. Also, NCLR works to improve opportunity for Latinos so that they can achieve the American Dream but not at the expense of other, non-Latino types. You know, that whole bootstrap pulling sh*t you Republicans like.

G. Gordon Liddy: 'Let's Hope That The Key Conferences Aren't When She's Menstruating." Yes, women are irrational creatures that go insane once a month.  First off, Sotomayor is probably old enough to be menopausal. Secondly, ummm, seriously? Liddy, your misogyny is showing.

Fred Barnes: "I think you can make the case that she’s one of those who has benefited from affirmative action over the years tremendously." Right. So, that whole getting the top academic prize while in Princeton and being the editor of the Yale Law Review have nothing to do with her abilities/intelligence. Next thing you'll tell me is that George Bush Sr had nothing to do with W getting into Ivy League schools. Because W is a Mensa member.

Go ahead and attempt your filibuster. It won't do a damn thing. Sotomayor is going to be a Supreme Court Justice, much to your chagrin. So just take it like a man and deal with it.

another day, another reason to hate sarah palin

Feminism has become such a subjective term recently.  According to Websters, feminism is the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.  Back in the day, I didn’t consider myself a feminist because I always thought women were better than men so why should we be equal when we should get more?  Despite probably being alone in my just-stated theory, I began to realize that women are so far from being considered a man’s equal that perhaps I should focus on equality first before going for ‘more.’  And thus, a feminist was born.

Since the nomination of Sarah Palin as GOP VP candidate (BTW, has anyone heard from McCain lately?  Seems to be all Palin, all the time lately), the Republicans have usurped the word ‘feminist’ for their own purpose to promote Palin as a woman for all women (for the GOP, a feminist is someone with a vagina).  Except she’s not.  A feminist, that is.

Some people out there think that feminism, as the liberals define it, is about abortion rights.  I say to those people who feel that way that your view is short sighted.  It’s not about securing a safe abortion for all women who want one.  Feminism, if it relates to abortion, is about choice.  Women have the right to decide what to do with their own bodies, make their own choices over how often to reproduce and how to plan a family (if they want one).  NO ONE questions a man’s control over his penis.  NO ONE.  How is it fair that a woman’s control over her reproductive organs is fair game for criticism and control?  Sarah Palin is against all abortions, even in the case of rape or incest.  How is this woman a feminist when she is denying victims of rape and incest control over their own bodies (thus allowing the rapist to win)?

Feminists are fighters.  It’s about standing up for what you believe in (in this case, equality) and promoting equal rights for women.  Yet, there is Palin, standing next to John McCain as his VP candidate and staunch supporter.  John McCain is the same man who called his wife a ‘cunt’ in public and opposed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act , a law that is supposed to protect women and racial minorities from pay discrimination.  McCain’s rationale for his opposition?  Women just ‘need more training’.  Right, McCain.  Just like your VP candidate, maybe?

Speaking of fighting (and training), where has Palin been lately?  She came out swinging with her acceptance speech, criticizing community organizers (if Martin Luther King, Jr. were alive, I’m sure he’d be offended by her remarks) and Democrats in general.  Yet she didn’t offer one constructive solution to the nation’s problems (except DRILL, DRILL, DRILL).  And since then, she’s been in seclusion.  No interviews at all except with the hard hitting journalists of People magazine.  The McCain campaign said she would talk to the media when the media was ready to show Palin some respect.  HA!  If all the candidates felt that way, we’d have no interviews.  So it’s ok for the male candidates to take the hard hitting questions with no respect, but Palin can’t take the heat?  Her avoidance of the press is kinda wussy and very antifeminist.  Can you imagine if Hillary had gone into hiding when she cried during the primaries, facing all that criticism?  Despite all the sexism Hillary faced during her campaign, she never avoided the media.

Speaking of sexism, feminists fight it every day.  Instead of denouncing it, Palin is going with it.  According to the right wing media, being a working mother, being beautiful, wearing skirt suits instead of pant suits all qualify you for office.  I’m sure Condi Rice might have something to say about that. 

Right now, Palin is all appearances and no substance.  Palin may appear to be the GOP definition of a feminist.  But she certainly doesn’t act like one.