Meghan McCain is making waves in the GOP yet again

Meghan McCain is making waves in the GOP yet again, this time with a speech to the Log Cabin Republicans at their recent annual convention. Meghan continued on her "GOP must change" campaign and repeated her socially progressive ideas. I certainly don't need any new reasons to like Meghan McCain. As a liberal, I love how she's leaning left socially and I especially love how she's stirring sh*t up in the Republican Party.

Meghan is to the GOP what Obama was to voters in the 2008 presidential campaign--CHANGE. However, this post isn't about that. I'm confused about something. At some point in her speech, she declared herself a 'pro-life, pro-gay marriage Republican'. But is she really pro-life?

In her Larry King interview (shortly after Laura Ingraham called Meghan 'fat'), she stated, "I personally am pro-life, but I'm not going to judge someone that's pro-choice. It is not my place to judge other people and what they do with their body." Hmmm.

In her speech to the LCR, she said, "I think government is best when it stays out of people's lives and business as much as possible."

I hate to break it to you, Meghan, but you're really pro-choice.

Pro-choice doesn't not mean pro-abortion. A LOT of us want to reduce the number of abortions. In fact, some of us would probably never elect to undergo an abortion (like me). While we may choose not to abort, we do not judge those who do. We believe that the government has no place in our private lives. We believe that when a woman finds herself pregnant, she has the RIGHT TO CHOOSE to keep the baby, give it up for adoption, or get an abortion.

People who get abortions are not baby-killers. Some elect to abort in the event of a rape. Some abort because their child has no chance of living more than a few days because of a degenerative condition. Others abort because they cannot afford to feed the children they already have. Still others abort when they are 9 years old and pregnant with twins because of a step-father's sexual abuse (I'm referring to that case in Brazil).

Meghan says that government needs to stay out of our private lives and she wouldn't judge people and what they decide to do with their bodies. That's basically standard pro-choice speak for defending our positions.

So, Meghan, it's ok to admit it. "Pro-choice" is not a dirty word. So what if you piss off a bunch of Republicans?

Clearly, you've already done plenty of that.

i hate myself for liking meghan mccain

It's not often that I admire a Republican for...well...anything really. So, I'm actually quite shocked to find myself liking Meghan McCain more and more.

I love a good political debate with the other side. However, I can't get into a good debate with most of the Republicans I know (note that I mention the ones I know; I'm aware that not all Republicans are like this) because they simply repeat the party talking points or they repeat often-misleading garbage that comes out of the pundits' mouths or they repeat whatever they hear on Faux News (you know, that bastion of honesty and balance on cable TV). I want to debate a Republican that can think for him/herself and believes in what he/she says with passion. I don't want to hear that Obama sucks because he shouldn't even be president due to the fact that he wasn't born here (I'm curious. Is Faux still pushing that BS? If not, why am I still hearing this crap?)

So then I start reading Meghan's postings on the Daily Beast (I read her personal blog once and found that all of the comments in the one post I read were complimentary to Meghan and her dad, which led me to believe that comments were moderated and only the ones that agree with Meghan were allowed on the blog). Holy crap, she sure is smart and articulate. At once, I think Dude, I would love to pick her brain. After reading more of her stuff, I realize that I can't debate Meghan because I already agree with most of what she says.

Which is strange for me. I mean, how often do I find myself agreeing with a Republican?

Personally, I think Meghan is more of an Independent than she realizes. I get that she wanted to support her father in the campaign, but she supports stem cell research and gay marriage. She's most certainly a little left on the social side. To be honest, I don't know about her stance on fiscal issues. Yeah, she obviously supports the military, but I don't think the GOP has a monopoly on this.

Regardless of her true political affiliations, she has made some great points as far as what the GOP needs to do to stay relevant. Look, I get that they are the party without a unifying message or leader (ummm...Rush is anything but unifying) at the moment. But honestly, now is the time for a makeover.

Meghan wrote a thoughtful piece on how the GOP needs to jump on the internet bandwagon. I mean, no sh*t. This is how you reach young people with your message. The Obama campaign used and abused the internet. His message was everywhere. The campaign even had its own personal 'myspace' type of thing, where volunteers could connect with other volunteers to organize grassroots efforts. As a frequent user, I found it awesome to connect with people who believe what I believe in and had the passion to act on behalf of those beliefs.

Recently Meghan wrote the now controversial piece on how Ann Coulter sucks (no, that's not the title, but the gist of the piece). She writes about how dangerous it is that Ann Coulter is the face of the GOP (personally, I think Rush is more detrimental). Because of her extreme views and the GOP-ers that sing her praises, she is alienating potential Republicans. With Ann, it is such an 'us vs. them' mentality at a time when the GOP needs to be more inclusive.

So here is Meghan, a young woman who can eloquently describe the issues within her own party and what must be done to gain prominence once again. And what does the GOP do? Well, conservative blow hard Laura Ingraham calls her fat. Rather than get into a thoughtful debate with Meghan, she labels her as a hater whose fat (and Laura's not the only one; go to her Daily Beast postings and read the comments about how Meghan is stupid and fat). Really? That is the extent of intelligent discourse in the GOP these days? See?  It's an 'us vs. them' mentality (and sexist too, seeing as that intelligent women are being told to shut up).

And therein lies the problem. And as a proud Dem, I'm pretty happy to see the infighting in the GOP. But I can definitely appreciate what Meghan is trying to do.

Lucky for us libs, the GOP isn't listening.

why i'm voting for Obama and, no, it's not the economy or abortion

One week from today, I will be voting in my first presidential election in the state of Virginia (after voting absentee in CA for enough years). Seeing as that this election seems to have lasted about two years, I really am looking forward to finally pulling the lever for Obama/Biden.

Long time blog peeps know that I'm an Obama supporter and I have been for a while. I've been volunteering for the campaign and will do so again tonight (Tuesday is Latinos for Obama night). When I volunteer, I encounter a number of undecided voters. At this point, I sometimes wonder how people can still be undecided. And then I speak to the undecideds and it's clear that they are often one issue voters. And they feel that the candidates haven't really addressed their issue during the campaign. For many Latino voters, that issue is immigration.

Granted, I have many issues (pun intended). But if I had to pick one it would be HIV/AIDS. Considering I manage an HIV prevention program, considering one in 20 people in DC have HIV, a candidate's stance on HIV/AIDS issues is incredibly important to me. And speaking of stances, here is where the candidates are at:

McCain:

• Has only just recently said he was committed to a National AIDS Strategy (this came out in a Washington Blade interview, so I have to wonder if he was simply pandering to the gays) despite never having supported it in the past.
• Supports abstinence-only-until-marriage sex education, which has been proven time and time again to be ineffective in preventing teen pregnancy and STD/HIV transmission and whose curricula promotes homophobia and lies about the effectiveness of condoms.
• Voted against the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Amendment to the Child Custody Protection Act of 2006 which would've provided comprehensive sex education.
• Has not indicated whether he supports syringe exchange as a means to reduce HIV transmission among injecting drug users.
• Did not support the Microbicide Development Act which would provide federal funding to the development of a microbicide (for more info on microbicides, click here).
• In 1991, he voted for an amendment to imprison HIV-positive health care workers who performed surgery
• In 1991, he voted for an amendment to involuntarily test patients for HIV (this amendment was courtesy of Jesse Helms and you all know how I feel about that bastard, may he rot in hell)
• In 1993, he voted to prevent people living with HIV to immigrate to the US
• Supported PEPFAR II
• Co-sponsored the Ryan White CARE Act in 1990, but not in 2000.
• Did not support the Early Treatment for HIV Act
• Co-sponsored the 2008 PEPFAR reauthorization
• Could not confirm nor deny whether condom use is effective in prevention HIV transmission
• Perhaps the most telling of his stance on HIV/AIDS issue, McCain's advisor on this is Sen. Tom Coburn who is very anti gay rights, is reponsible for abstinence-only sex education and is responsible for the prostitution restrictions in PEPFAR.

On the other hand, there's Obama who:

• Has committed to developing a National AIDS Strategy on several occasions and has already outlined some details of the strategy
• Co-sponsored the Prevention First Act which provides funding for comprehensive sexuality education
• Opposes federal funding for abstinence-only sex ed programs
• Would repeal the ban on federal funds for syringe exchange
• Is the original author of the Microbicide Development Act
• Supports the JUSTICE Act which would provide access to condoms in prisons
• Supported the repeal of the HIV travel and immigration ban (which was repealed recently)
• Co-sponsor of the Early Treatment for HIV Act
• Supports increased funding for HOPWA (Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS)
• Co-sponsored the 2008 PEPFAR reauthorization
• Supported lifting the requirement that 1/3 of Global HIV Prevention funds be dedicated to abstinence-only programs
• Perhaps the most telling of Obama's position on HIV/AIDS issues is that, when he traveled to Kenya in 2007, he and his wife were publicly tested for HIV (in a country ravaged by AIDS and the stigma that comes with it, this act was groundbreaking).

Obama feels that "AIDS is not an issue of either science or values--it is both. Yes, there must be more money spent on this disease. But there must also be a change in hearts and minds, in cultures and attitudes. Neither philanthropist nor scientist, neither government nor church, can solve this problem on their own--AIDS must be an all-hands-on-deck effort."  (check out this post to see where this quote came from)

Having personally heard Obama speak on HIV/AIDS and women, I had never, ever heard a politician speak so eloquently and decisively about an issue that I am so passionate about. Do I think that voting for Obama will solve the domestic AIDS crisis? No. Will he make my job easier? Possibly. Domestically, AIDS has been virtually ignored while HIV infection rates are increasing. The creation of a National AIDS strategy is a start to solving our problems at home. Obama's support of a strategy (and the fact that he's already come up with some things he wants to do) is certainly a step in the right direction.

And that's one change I can believe in.

Sources: AIDSvote.org and Gay Men's Health Crisis

fun, frisky felines: BARACK WINS! BARACK WINS!

I know the headline is a little premature (knock on wood) what with the election still 11 days away but today is Friday which means it’s time for Fun, Frisky Felines. And besides October 18th being the celebration of the anniversary of my birth, this year it also marked the start of the Cat Fanciers’ Association (which I hope to be a member some day) Cat Show in NYC. And considering the election this year, they decided to get political.

They held a contest between ObamaCat and McCainCat. Here’s ObamaCat:

Image courtesy of Reuters
And here’s McCainCat:

Image courtesy of Reuters
McCainCat is looking a little grumpy.
And ObamaCat won with an overwhelming 65% of the vote! Now, I’m not sure who voted, but if the voters were the cats at the show, then I’ve got to give them some credit for their intelligent votes.  If not, well then CRAZY CAT LADIES FOR OBAMA!!! 

Anyhoo, who would’ve guessed that I have my own ObamaCat:


Don’t they look strikingly similar? Although Nicky is not an entirely black cat. He does have some tiny white patches on his chest and belly.

And here is the overall winner of the Cat Show.

Image courtesy of Reuters
Contestants are judged on looks and agility.

Personally, I think my Russian Blue is way cuter than the winner.


Except she clearly would’ve lost out on the agility points seeing as that sleeping is her favorite pastime.


And lastly, you know how they say pets often look like their owners? Well, I know I don’t look anything like my two furbabies, but this lady certainly looks like her cat.

can the mccain campaign be any more negative?

So...did anyone watch Sarah Palin on SNL this weekend? I LOVE how she found time for SNL but can't make time for Meet the Press, This Week, Late Edition, or any of the Sunday morning politics shows.

Anyhoo, Palin and Co. have been working hard to appeal to Joe Six Pack, Joe the Plumber, and God-only-knows what Joe is next (and there's also, of course, Joe the Racist, who is never mentioned in these speeches but he's definitely there). The McCain campaign has been all about the politics of fear, casting Obama as 'the unknown', 'the other', the guy who goes 'pallin' around with terrorists'. Every time I hear McCain ask, "Who is Barack Obama?" I wonder, What ever happened to the Old McCain? You know, the one with integrity. He's been replaced by this man who has no problem inciting an angry mob with his campaign rhetoric.

Oh sure. McCain did denounce such reactions ONCE. Yup, just the one time. Oh, and he did mention during the debate that EVERY TIME this happens, he denounces it. Apparently, McCain, despite various news reports and videos on YouTube, thinks it only happened once. I know you've seen the videos. The ones that clearly show people yelling 'kill him!' when McCain brings up Obama's name. I have abolutely no problem with Rep. John Lewis's comments regarding McCain's campaign and the politics of race. None whatsoever. Why? Well, if anyone knows what kind of horrible things can come from an angry mob, it would be John Lewis.

Apparently, Obama is now a socialist because he wants to spread the wealth (sorry, GOP, but not all Americans have an equal shot at the American dream). And apparently, I'm a communist for supporting him. Yup, at a rally in Loudon County a few weeks ago, Joe McCain (John's bro) called Arlington and Alexandria, VA "communist country."  And so began the politics of division. As Gov. Palin would say, "Say it ain't so, Joe!" I happen to live in Arlington, VA and, seeing as that it's a pretty liberal county with pretty liberal policies and hardly any crime, I kinda like being a communist. And I have no qualms about voting for Obama. Communists for Obama!

Moreover, according to Palin, I am un-American. Why? Because I don't live in a small town.  Palin thinks that only small towns breed American values and send troops off to war to fight. How about we bring back all of those soldiers from large metropolitan areas then? I wonder how'd the conflict in Iraq would turn out then if only the 'real Americans' were out there to fight and who exactly would comprise the Surge.

Being 'American' is such a subjective description, but I'm pretty sure Palin's definition sucks because it alienates most of the country. Still, there goes the McCain campaign with their politics of division. By saying only small towns are pro-American, what does that imply about big cities? And seeing as that her husband was a card-carrying member of the Alaskan Independence Party, maybe she should be asking her partner how he feels about America before dismissing others as not pro-America.

We need someone who can reach across the aisle and work with the other side. McCain has burned so many bridges at this point, I don't think Dems would ever want to work with him again. If anything, McCain and Palin are constantly pointing out that which divides us as a country. Yeah, urban areas are different from rural areas. Liberals and conservatives have differing policies. But what would a McCain/Palin administration do about these differences? How would they bring us together?

Well, if their campaign is any indication, it appears they would only divide us further. And honestly, that is not the change America needs right now.

hey, mccain campaign! any mud you can sling, i can sling back

The REAL no-spin zone is right here, folks. If the McCain campaign wants to go negative, the Obama campaign has plenty of ammo. Let's talk domestic terrorism*, shall we?

The McCain campaign, through the Pitbull-with-Lipstick, wants to bring up all sorts of exaggerations about Obama's connection to Bill Ayers, a man known for education reform and his ties to the Weatherman group (in the most simplist terms, it is a leftist movement known for bombing federal buildings during the 70s in protest of the Vietnam War). So, somehow Obama, who was 8 when these bombings happened and was certainly not in cohoots with them, is somehow tied to the Weatherman group because he worked with Ayers on education reform and happened to live 3 blocks from him in Chicago. Hmmm...that's quite the leap.

So, according to Palin, this indicates that Obama is "palling around with terrorists."

Let's take a Palin-like leap here and talk about domestic terrorists. When I hear domestic terrorists, I think Timothy McVeigh or Eric Rudolph (responsible for the Oklahoma City bombing and the Centennial Park bombing at the Atltanta Summer Games in 1996, respectively). You know what else Eric Rudolph bombed? Family planning clinics. He killed several innocent people with those bombs too. You know, 'real Americans'.

And how does McCain feel about violence against family planning clinics?

• McCain voted against the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE), which makes it a crime to forcibly interfere with women's access to reproductive-health facilities.
  
• McCain voted to allow perpetrators of violence or harassment at reproductive-health clinics to avoid paying the fines assessed against them for their illegal acts by declaring bankruptcy.
  
• McCain said he opposed Colorado’s “Bubble Law,” which prohibited abortion protesters from getting within 8 feet of women entering clinics [Denver Post, 2/27/00]. The law was later upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
  

For sources and more examples of McCain's anti-choice record, check this out.

It's one thing to pal around with domestic terrorists who have since changed their ways and become community activists. It's a whole other thing to use the law to support domestic terrorists for the sake of pandering to your base.

*Also, this whole 'terrorism' crap Palin's spewing?  It's totally the politics of fear.  When will the GOP learn that voters are over that sh*t?

tales from the obama campaign front lines: male PUMAs? they do exist!

Last week, I volunteered again for the Obama campaign. Latinos for Obama volunteer night is on Tuesdays and because of my work schedule, I had not been able to participate before. But I was free last Tuesday, so I walked into the Arlington office hoping to put my Spanish language skills to good use.

I worked the phone bank again. As I was getting my assignment, I saw NotFunny from my first volunteer experience and we greeted each other like old friends. Between my first volunteer experience and my latest, I noticed that much had changed. First off, there were a lot more people available to canvass. Secondly, there were tons more volunteers! The phone bank had tripled in size and every phone was manned by a volunteer. This was definitely an encouraging development. And the diversity of the volunteers was inspiring. It was so wonderful to see people from all different backgrounds and ages and skills coming together to help elect Obama and turn VA blue!

My job that night was to call likely voters (most of them were Spanish-only speakers) and determine who they were leaning towards voting for. Of all the calls I made, only 3 people were voting for McCain and those who had already decided to vote for Obama felt very strongly about doing so (I spoke to lots of Undecideds). I sat and listened to a few women going on and on about how McCain is just like Bush and how upset they are about Palin and how she's significantly set back the feminist movement. I could completely relate to how they were feeling and encouraged them to put their anger to good use by volunteering or donating to the campaign.

Of the three McCain supporters, only one of them was nice to me (one of them hung up on me after telling me she was voting for McCain and the other one said in Spanish, "I could never vote for a Black man.") He was a Democrat, originally from Arizona, and a former Hillary supporter. He explained how he had been a lifelong Dem and was pulling for Hillary during the primaries and was disappointed when she ended her campaign. The PUMA said, "You know, Obama hasn't really convinced me to vote for him, so I'm going to vote for McCain." In the background while he was explaining his position, I could hear someone chanting, "McCain sucks!" I wasn't sure what was going on.

The PUMA explained, "You might want to talk to my wife though. She's voting for Obama." She wasn't on my phone list, but I asked the PUMA to put her on the phone. PUMA's wife got on the phone and, before I could say anything, began to go on a rant about how McCain is just like Bush and Palin is a complete joke. I patiently listened to her rant (as I've been known to go off on plenty of my own) and didn't say a word until she asked me, "Why are you calling here again?" I told her I was an Obama campaign volunteer and I was just doing some surveys. At this, PUMA's wife got really excited. "I'm so happy you're doing this!" she said. "We've got to make sure Virginia goes to Obama." I assured her that there were many like-minded individuals who were fighting the good fight and I encouraged her to join in either by volunteering or donating. She responded, "You know what? I'm going to donate right now!  And maybe I can still convince my husband."

I can't tell you enough how rewarding it is to volunteer for the campaign. I've met many passionate individuals who feel the same way I do that change is really what America needs right now and the REAL candidate for change is Obama.

As we're going into the home stretch (4 weeks left until election day!), things are going to get ugly. The McSame/Vagina campaign has already announced that they intend to attack Obama's character over the next 4 weeks (Palin already did so by linking Obama to terrorists this past weekend, using the politics of fear tactics perfected by Karl Rove and his chronies) in order to distract voters from the real issues. I honestly hope that Americans can see through the ruse.

Still, nothing is going to stop me from volunteering for the campaign again. In fact, I just might face my fears head on and actually canvass the neighborhoods this weekend. Wish me luck!

mccain and US troops/vets: friend or foe?

I could go on and on about last night's debate between Palin and Biden but I won't. Instead, I will focus on one topic of the debate.

While debating Iraq strategy, Palin said that Obama had voted against funding for troops. Biden said that was simply not true and that McCain had done so as well. Palin argued that McCain had done a lot for troops and veterans.

I already know that McCain voted against Jim Webb's (Virginia Senator--Dem) GI Bill that would expand benefits for vets. But someone who has claimed the following in regards to veterans--I love them, and I'll take care of them, and they know that I'll take care of them--should probably take care of them, don't you think? Especially since McCain is a war veteran himself.

So, I needed to know McCain's real records in regards to the troops in Iraq and caring for our veterans. I did some searching and found an incredible post at VetVoice.com, the blog for VoteVets.org. Here are some highlights:

• McCain Voted At Least 28 Times Against Veterans' Benefits, Including Healthcare. Since arriving in the U.S. Senate in 1987, McCain has voted at least 28 times against ensuring important benefits for America's veterans, including providing adequate healthcare.
  
• McCain Opposed $500 Million for Counseling Services for Veterans with Mental Disorders. McCain voted against an amendment to appropriate $500 million annually from 2006-2010 for counseling, mental health and rehabilitation services for veterans diagnosed with mental illness, posttraumatic stress disorder or substance abuse.
  
• McCain Voted Against Adding More Than $400 Million for Veterans' Care. McCain was one of 13 Republicans to vote against providing an additional $430 million to the Department of Veterans Affairs for outpatient care and treatment for veterans.

There's more. Trust.

Also, I love how someone who claims to support our troops apparently doesn't give a sh*t about them when they come back from war. You know, when they start to suffer from PTSD, anxiety, substance abuse, etc.

As far as troops go, here are some highlights:

• McCain voted Against Establishing a $1 Billion Trust Fund for Military Health Facilities. McCain voted against establishing a $1 billion trust fund to improve military health facilities by refusing to repeal tax cuts for those making more than $1 million a year.
  
• McCain voted against a ban on waterboarding--a form of torture--in a move that could eventually endanger American troops. According to ThinkProgress, "the Senate brought the Intelligence Authorization Bill to the floor, which contained a provision from Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) establishing one interrogation standard across the government. The bill requires the intelligence community to abide by the same standards as articulated in the Army Field Manual and bans waterboarding." McCain voted against the bill.
  
• McCain Also Supported Outsourcing at Walter Reed. McCain opposed an amendment to prevent the outsourcing of 350 federal employee jobs at Walter Reed Army Medical Center--outsourcing that contributed to the scandalous treatment of veterans at Walter Reed that McCain called a "disgrace."
  
• McCain said it's "not too important" when U.S. troops leave Iraq. This exchange occurred on NBC's Today Show with Matt Lauer:

LAUER: If it's working, senator, do you now have a better estimate of when American forces can come home from Iraq?
McCAIN: No, but that's not too important.

The waterboarding thing really gets to me. How can someone who was tortured in a time of war not be against waterboarding?

Again, there is definitely more. And sources for this info can be found at my source for this post.

I'm so over all the lying in McCain's campaign. It's getting pretty ridiculous.

palin: open mouth, insert foot, endorse obama

One day, I'm going to stop blogging about VP nominee Sarah Palin. But as long as she continues to appear on TV saying stupid things I am going to be more than happy to point them out.

Last night in the latest installment of Couric's month-long interview with Palin (seriously, will Katie ever stop talking to her?), Palin said this regarding Dem VP Nominee Sen. Joe Biden:

I’ve never met him before, but I’ve been hearing about his Senate speeches since I was in, like, second grade.

Joe Biden is 65. John McCain is 72. I'm assuming she's been hearing McCain's speeches since she was in her mother's womb.

Here is Katie Couric calling Palin out on that comment:

You have a 72-year-old running mate, is that kind of a risky thing to say, insinuating that Joe Biden's been around awhile?

And Palin's response:

Oh no, it's nothing negative at all. He's got a lot of experience and just stating the fact there, that we've been hearing his speeches for all these years. So he's got a tremendous amount of experience and, you know, I'm the new energy, the new face, the new ideas and he's got the experience based on many many years in the Senate and voters are gonna have a choice there of what it is that they want in these next four years.

So basically, voters want new energy, a new face, and new ideas? Voters don't want all of that experience, all of those years in the Senate, and being a part of the Washington establishment crap.

Gosh, darn it. Sounds to me like she just described Barack Obama.

'gotcha' journalism and how the GOP must put an end to it

I see the Republicans have a new catch phrase. 'Gotcha' journalism. If you watched This Week with George Stephanopolous this past weekend (yeah, some people go to brunch; I spend my Sunday morning's absorbing political news for breakfast), McCain was the featured guest and Georgie asked McCain about an encounter poor, little Palin had with a VOTER (yes, voter...not a journalist, not a pundit, maybe not a blogger):



Here's a video of Palin's latest interview with Couric, this time with McCain as interview proctor (gotta keep those 'gotcha' moments to a minimum, you know):



And suddenly the term 'gotcha' journalism is born. From what I can gather, 'gotcha' journalism means that a media person asks a question which is meant to purposely stump the person they are interviewing. So, in this case, the voter stumped Palin on her foreign policy stance on Pakistan (who responded pretty much like so: hey, we've got to do what we need to do to protect America from terrorism--I believe this is memorized talking point #11). Kinda like how Katie Couric stumped Palin on foreign policy and the economy during her various interviews with her (still trying to figure out how the bailout will help health care reform and I'm hoping Palin will explain that during the debates). And how Charles Gibson did the same (but she can see Russia! From Alaska! And that's why she is experienced in foreign policy!).

Except the voter who shouted out the question to Palin is not a media person. He's not a newscaster or a journalist of any kind. Just your Average Joe with a question about a candidate's view on a particular policy. If the average voter can stump Sarah Palin, I think that says a lot about how little she knows about anything outside of the talking points she has so obviously memorized.

I have a suggestion for the McCain campaign. Since they are SO against 'gotcha' journalism that they even had to create a term for it, how about you just avoid it all together? If Sarah Palin were knowledgeable of the issues that any VP candidate would be expected to know, then you can avoid this whole 'gotcha' journalism phenomenon. It's that easy.

Basically, Palin needs to know what she's talking about. Since that has not been the case since she became the nominee, now she has to CRAM, BABY, CRAM! Hurry up and memorize those catch phrases, Sarah!

Since she's clearly NOT qualified to even be the VP nominee (let alone hold that office), those 'GOTCHA' moments are here to stay. And I personally I'm looking forward to more during the VP debates.

if you can't take the heat, get OUT of the race for president

Damn you, McCain! I had this nice little post for today about why I wasn't going to vote for you but then you go ahead and did what you did yesterday and now I need to vent.

So, apparently the media and McCain are on the outs. I believe it all started when his campaign declared that Palin wouldn't speak to the press until they showed her some respect (so many weeks later, I'm still laughing my ass off over that one). And then it continued with a statement against the NY Times and how it's Pro-Obama and Anti-McCain and how dare it call itself a news source. Hey, cut the NY Times some slack for reporting the truth about McCain's lobbyist advisors. The truth hurts, doesn't it, GOP?

AND then the McCain campaign successfully lobbied (word seems appropriate here) to get a stricter format for the VP debate--structured questions, little time for rebuttal. Hmm. So Gov. Palin is ready to lead this country but she's afraid of getting into a war of words with Sen. Biden? But I thought she had so much experience, more than any senator, what with her being mayor and governor and in charge of the Alaska Reserve. And let's not forget her crash course in foreign policy this week. How could she be afraid of debating Biden now?

AND NOW, McCain wants to suspend his campaign and postpone the debates  in order to flock to Washington to fix the economy. Really? Isn't this the same man who said the fundamentals of our economy are strong? Isn't this the same man who has missed over 60% of his votes in Congress this session? Suddenly, he wants to interject his wisdom into the economic bailout plan that Congress is trying to work out (yup, the same plan he admitted to not having read two days ago). He's not even on the Senate Banking Committee.

So, right now, with 5 weeks left in this crucial election, McCain wants to stop campaigning (save that interview with Katie Couric last night and his appearance at Clinton's Global Initiative meeting today) and stop talking about the issues so he can singlehandedly save the economy? According to those already working to solve the crisis, McCain wouldn't be much help:

"We are pleased to report we are making bipartisan progress on a rescue proposal for our financial markets," said Chris Dodd and Sen. Chuck Schumer in a joint statement. "During these discussions, we have received significant cooperation and constructive feedback from the other side of the aisle -- with one notable exception. Apart from his unproductive criticisms made from afar, we have heard nothing from Senator McCain on these critical issues. Now is certainly not the time for him to inject presidential politics into these delicate discussions."

Couldn't he just hop on one of Cindy's planes and fly to Ole Miss after he votes? I'm confused as to why McCain couldn't save the economy and show up just in time for the debates. Can the man not multitask?

If he can't attend the debates, perhaps Palin can take his place.

Oh right, she's only had two media interviews (besides the Gibson and Couric interviews, I know that she spoke to Sean Hannity of Faux News but his bending over for her to spank does not an interview make). How can Palin not be media ready right now? How much of a delicate little flower is she if she must be so protected from the Big Bad Media? I thought she was a pit bull with lipstick. Well, she's not ready so NOW McCain's camp says, we must postpone the VP debate too! Oh lordy. Whatever happened to the Straight Talk Express?

Hey, McCain and Palin: GROW A PAIR. If you can't handle the heat, get out of the damn presidential race. It's only going to get worse if you're in office (heaven forbid).

Still, despite my frustration, I have to admit that nothing makes me happier than a GOP campaign imploding.

confessions of an obama campaign volunteer

Not sure if you've noticed, but I've been really fired up about the elections lately. I've been having a hard time getting over all of McSame's lies in his commercials which seem to air every 10 minutes and just Palin in general (there is nothing about the woman that I admire and please don't give me the "hooray for working mothers" speech because people seem to forget that Hillary was a working mother too and yet the two women have nothing in common).

So, after stewing in my own anger over the last few days, I finally decided to do something positive with my negative energy--I volunteered for the Obama campaign.

To give you an idea of why this was important to me, I should preface my story with the following:

I have never donated to a political campaign before.
I have never volunteered for a political campaign before.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into before I actually went out and did it. But all nervousness and fear of any less-than-perfect experiences in political volunteerism aside, I rushed over to the Arlington campaign headquarters last week to do whatever they needed me to do.

They needed me to make some calls. I give good phone (take your minds out of the gutter) so I felt comfortable giving it a shot.

I sat at a table of fellow Obamabots (hey McSame/Vagina '08 supporters! you wanna use that word as an insult? well, I'm taking it back!): two older women and a gentleman with an ObamaPride shirt on. ObamaPride boy was clearly a long time Dem and had lots of useful information about past elections. One of the older women, let's call her NotFunny, kept on saying under her breath between calls, "This election is not funny any more." I don't remember it being funny in the first place, but NotFunny was so clearly angry about all the lies coming from the McSame/Vagina camp that she just had to do something. Apparently, she had been volunteering for weeks.

The other woman has a special place in my politically cynical heart. I'll call her MyHero because she is a DC resident and stay at home mom who had seen one too many negative McSame ads that day and, after watching one, she got up, looked for the local VA Obama headquarters and metro-ed over to offer a hand. When I showed up at 5 pm, she had already been at the phone bank for 4 hours. When I left several hours later, she was still there.

MyHero showed me the ropes and ObamaPride fed me the information. And while I had a script to follow, I felt more comfortable giving it a personal touch. Not every call went well. I had a couple of hang ups the minute I revealed myself to be a volunteer for Obama. However, the tons of people I spoke to who were passionately supporting Obama more than made up for the random hang ups.

Several calls stand out to me now. There were a number of people I called who had previously identified as Democrats who were now unsure of whom to vote for. They were all women and were all pro-Palin. Seeing as that Palin is anything but remotely liberal, I kinda questioned their dedication to the party to begin with. But for whatever reason, they were confused because McSame had thrown Palin into the mix.

I reminded them that the election should be about the issues, not the impressions candidates give. I tried to answer their questions to the best of my ability. And I hoped I helped them come to a conclusion they felt comfortable with. I'd hate for anyone to vote for someone because they can relate to them personally and completely ignore the issues for which they stand. What can I say? I'm an idealist.

My final call was by far the best. The person answered the phone by saying, "What are you trying to sell me?" I was shocked, and stuttered, "Uh, nothing. I'm not asking for money." She replied in a very unfriendly manner, "What do you want?" And then I gave her my speech, saying who I was and what I had hoped she would do. With MyHero looking on, the caller replied, "Well, are you going to thank me for my donation to the campaign?" I thanked her profusely despite the fact that I didn't know she had donated until she mentioned it.

And then, her tone changed. She began to tell me how frustrated she is with the dirty campaign McSame's running and how she just had to donate (several times) because she was so mad. We talked for several minutes about what we did for a living and where we were from and where we went to college and what to do in Arlington for fun. Turns out, she is from Southern California and had attended USC (eek! a fellow Trojan!). She had recently moved to Arlington and was missing big city life. And she was livid about the elections and wanted to do anything she could to get Obama in office.

I convinced her to come in and volunteer with me in the phone bank and to canvass Alexandria over the weekend. The call ended much better than it began.

After that call, it was hard to leave but Jesse was waiting for me outside. I said my good byes to MyHero, ObamaPride, and NotFunny and told all of them, "I'll be back again soon."

I've convinced my assistant at work to volunteer for the campaign and she canvassed this past weekend. I've already signed up for various activities like phone banking, translating, reaching out to Latino voters, and post card making. Yeah, it's a lot of time but it's so worth it.

I'm fired up about this election and I feel as though I finally have the power to do something about it.

This may be my last post of the week. I'm leaving for the US Conference on AIDS and will be out of town for until Sunday. If I don't respond to any comments right away, I will do so as soon as I can.

what 9/11 has become

Wow. I can't believe today is the anniversary. I still remember that day like it was yesterday. The shock. The sadness. The desperation to feel nothing over feeling so sad. The anger. The patriotism.  The ensuing war.

But 9/11 isn't about those brave people whose lives were so tragically cut short anymore. The GOP has succeeded in politicizing such a tragic event and people don't even realize it. They rule by the politics of fear. And they're really good at it. Why? Well, because the American public lets them.

We heard it last week in Minnesota, we’ve heard it off and on since January but Senator McCain said it most concisely in June.

“Look,” he said. “I know the area, I’ve been there, I know wars, I know how to win wars, and I know how to improve our capabilities so that we will capture Osama bin Laden - or put it this way, bring him to justice. We will do it. I know how to do it.”

Sen. McCain seems to be quite serious, that he and he alone, not the CIA, nor the U.S. Military, nor the current President can capture bin Laden.

Thus we must take him at his word, that this is no mere ludicrous campaign boast.

We must assume Sen. McCain truly believes he is capable of doing this, and has been capable of doing this, since last January. “We will capture Osama bin Laden… we will do it. I know how to do it.”

Well then, Senator, you’d better go and do it hadn’t you?

Because, Sir, if a man or woman in this nation, Democrat or Republican, had a clear and effective means of capturing or killing Osama bin Laden…

If that person had been advertising his claim, Senator for eight months.

But if that person not only refused to go to responsible authorities in government and advise them of this plan to catch bin Laden, but further announced he would not even begin to enact this secret plan to corral the world’s most hated man until the end of next January.

What would be your description of such an individual, Senator? Charlatan? Do-nothing? Opportunist?

source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26645619/

I'm sorry 9/11 happened.  I'm sorry that many lives were lost.  I'm sorry that people lost their mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts and uncles.  I'm sorry that these loved ones have left voids that can never be filled.  I'm sorry that children will grow up, not knowing who their mom or dad are because their lives were taken from them on that horrible day.

And I'm sorry that this tragedy has been reduced to a political ploy by the GOP for their own gain.  The victims and their families deserve better than that. 

so much for hard hitting journalists! the media turns wussy for palin

The media has been sucking big time this election.  Sarah Palin has decided to end her media silence and sit down for an interview with Charlie "Looking for Knee Pads Now In Order to Kneel Before Her Majesty Palin" Gibson.  If I were you, I'd skip that crap just so that ABC won't get the ratings win they are hoping for.  I'm sure the toughest question Gibson will ask her is: What is your favorite gun for hunting?

It's funny how the Right accused the media of liberal bias when they accused journalists of drinking the Obama Kool Aid.  They all seem to be drunk on Sarah Palin.  Oh no! The media can't interview her until they are ready to show her some respect.   Yeah, honey.  I'm sure Hugo Chavez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (in case Palin hasn't been prepped yet on these people, they are the leaders of Venezuela and Iran respectively) are ready to show you some respect should you become leader of the free world (God forbid). 

My co-worker and I recently noted that the only unbiased journalism we've seen as of late is on The Daily Show (their mockery of Obama's nomination video was awesome).  I don't know about you, but that's pretty pathetic.  Fortunately, I am knowledgeable about politics enough to be able to separate the fact from fiction on a comedy news show.  I'm not sure if I have enough confidence in the rest of the viewing public.  The following videos (although very funny) are pretty good at getting the facts down. 

Just skip to the 3 minute mark on this one.




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Oooh...this one is REALLY good.




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You know, one day this blog will go back to light-hearted fair instead of being a cheap imitation of Wonkette.  I promise.

But until then, I'm mad as hell and I'm not taking it any more.  I've decided to turn my negative energy into something positive.  I'm volunteering for the Obama campaign!  Tonight!  If you're pissed too, I encourage you to do something positive for the campaign.  I refuse to let McSame/Vagina '08 win.

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.    

McCain selects poor man's Hillary as running mate

You know, the last thing I wanted to do was post something remotely negative right before a nice long weekend (and the day before a USC game too), but this is what McCain drives me to do. 

As a real feminist, I am offended by McCain's choice.  Sarah Palin is definitely not qualified to be VP, let alone President in the event that something happens to McCain should he be elected.  And considering all the brouhaha from McCain's camp about how 'inexperienced' Obama is, I am shocked that McCain would select Palin as his running mate considering these qualifications:

• She's 44 (age ain't nothing but a number)
  
• She was mayor of an Alaskan town with a population of about 800
• She has been Alaska's governor for less than two years.
• She was runner up in the Miss Alaska pageant.  However, she did win Miss Congeniality (no joke, kids).
• She has 5 kids, one of which is 17 and pregnant.
• She doesn't think the polar bears are in any danger of extinction.
• She favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
• Her husband works for the oil industry.
• She's being investigated for possible abuse of power (damn, she hasn't even been in office that long!).
• She's staunchly pro-life and her claim to fame is making a big deal over not aborting her youngest son who has Down Syndrome.
  

At this point, Mike Huckabee is more qualified to be VP and you all know how much I hate him. 

I can't help but thinking that McCain's decision is based on one thing only.  No, not Palin's beauty pageant good looks.  No, not her affinity for skirt suits (which the pundits at Faux Fox News appreciate).

Obviously she was picked because she has a vagina.

And McCain presumes that this means all those PUMAs and other bitter Hillary supporters will flock to him.

Well, guess what.  This feminist, who actually prefers the government not telling me what to do with my body and wouldn't mind an equal wage and equal treatment, will not be voting for Palin's vagina just to put McCain's ass in the White House. 

I expect other true feminists to do the same.  In the words of another true feminist: No way, no how, no McCain.