LOLRobinSmith

moar funny pictures

Robin Smith totally set herself up for that one.

(H/t Kleinheider for the photo)

And On The Eighth Day, God Created Irony

The week before the Democratic National Convention, Stuart Shepard of Focus on the Family (James Dobson's outfit) released a video encouraging people to pray for rain "of biblical proportions" on the Thursday night of the convention, when Obama was to give his acceptance speech at Mile High Stadium:



The sky was, of course, perfectly clear in Denver last Thursday night. But Focus on the Family appears to be getting their wish for rain of biblical proportions...in the form of Hurricane Gustav hitting New Orleans. It will distract everyone from this week's Republican Convention.

Now, I wouldn't be so presumptuous as to claim that God is punishing the Republicans. But there does seem to be a bit of karma at work here. You shouldn't generally pray for something bad to happen to something else, because it will inevitably backfire on you.

The Sunday Liberal Blog Roundup, 8-31-08

This past week was dominated by the Democratic National Convention and the historic nomination of Barack Obama. The morning after Obama accepted the nomination, John McCain announced his selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate. Because of the wide variety of headline-grabbing topics, this week's roundup of liberal Tennessee bloggers is divided into three sections: the first on the Democratic Convention, the second on Sarah Palin, and the third on other subjects.

We have some great content this week, so sit back, grab a beverage, and spend some time reading what Tennessee's progressive blogosphere has been saying.

On the Democratic Convention:

10,000 Monkeys and a Camera: Brother Bill & Fightin' Joe and Obama! and Of all people, Pat Buchanan

55-40 Memphis: Blew me away ("He topped the Big Dog. He topped them all.")

Because I Said So: Obama's speech

Cup Of Joe Powell: My Speech to the 2008 Democrat Convention and Talking About Michelle Obama ("A solid image of families whose lives are measured in small and large moments, sometimes historic, sometimes mundane, leaves critics with nothing to fight about.")

Don Williams: Hillary supercharges convention with electrifying support for Obama ("Her body language, that sparkling smile, expressive hand gestures, all helped loft her speech to summits of high eloquence as she delivered her crucial, headline grabbing message in wave after wave of galvanizing scorn for the politics of John McCain and electrifying support for Barack Obama.")

Enclave: No Way. No How. No McCain. ("[Hillary Clinton's] was a huge speech, and I have no doubt that when I reflect on the more impressive convention speeches that I've heard in 30 years, this will rank among the most memorable.")

KnoxViews: [Ed. note: No blogger in Tennessee had a better seat than Randy Neal, who was seated with the Tennessee delegation. All of the Denver dispatches from Mr. and Mrs. Neal are collected here.] Unity! Clinton works the crowd ("In walking through the center, from the Tennessee delegation down to Florida, over to New Mexico and New York, everyone appeared to be ready to work together to win the presidency in 2008.") and Thursday Tennessee delegate breakfast recap [Ed. note: Also see here] and Center stage: Can Democrats elect a rock star candidate? ("The Obama campaign's masterful job of juxtaposing stodgy, old-school GOP politics and the image of their fossilized leadership with the spectacle of last night's stadium-rock-fueled 21st Century politics gets one thinking "maybe we can," which is the first step to closing on "yes we can."") and "Women voting for McCain is like chickens voting for Col. Sanders"

Lean Left: The Speech

Left Of The Dial: Elvis Obama

Left Wing Cracker: Remember again why we got on board months ago

Nashville for the 21st Century: F.L.A.W.L.E.S.S. ("While he didn't bust out with pie charts and 10 point plans, he laid out in no uncertain terms the choice we as Americans face this year.")

Newscoma: MSM Coverage Of The Democratic Convention ("Iím one of those crazy chicks that wants to see what is actually being said in the speeches, not the pundits talking about their impressions of what is being said.") and An Air Of Unity and First Night In Denver ("I want my own Camelot.")

Progressive Nashville: America catches up ("As historic as this event is, America is late coming to the party.")

RoaneViews: Did you watch Obama's speech? ("The folks I've talked to in Denver are coming back with a huge smile on their faces.")

Russ McBee: Dennis Kucinich and the "Wake Up America" speech ("This man needs to replace Pelosi as Speaker of the House.")

Sharon Cobb: Maybe Barack Obama Is The Real Deal ("So now is the time for Presiden Barack Obama. It's time. We need him. The world needs him. The politics of business as usual has got to end, because it's killing us, and by us, I mean America.") and How About That Beau Biden? ("Beau Biden is off to Iraq. I can't even type that without crying.")

Silence Isn't Golden: Democratic Convention Day One In One Thought and Democratic Convention Day Two In Two Thoughts and Democratic Convention Day Three In Three Thoughts and Democratic Convention Day Four In Four Thoughts

Southern Beale: UNIFIED!!!

Tennessee Guerilla Women: Obama's Mile-High Speech and Tribute to Hillary Rodham Clinton (Video) and Hillary's Speech: The President We Should Have Had (Video) ("We can't call her Madame President yet, but at long last, the women of this country have a beloved national leader who is actually a woman.")

Tiny Cat Pants: "Liberal" Candidate? ("This is not a "very liberal case" for anything. But it tickles me that you think it is.") and Hurray, Clinton! ("The main thing about Clintonís speech last night that sticks with me is how very, very young we still are as a nation and, really, how rapidly change happens.")

Vibinc: So Pundits, Where are the Fireworks?

West Tennessee Liberal: I'm Proud to Be a Democrat ("Although this campaign won't be easy, we could well be on the verge of a political realignment that could last for years.")

Women's Health News: Planned Parenthood's Cecile Richards at the Democratic National Convention

On Sarah Palin:

55-40 Memphis: OMG I can't take it

Because I Said So: The vice presidential debate just got a lot more interesting and And she IS ready? ("His choice of 44-year-old, one-term governor is going to make it a lot harder for McCain to effectively hit Obama on the whole "he's not ready" thing.")

Carole Borges: Palin choice an insult to women ("Hillary supporters were eager to see her become president because of her ideals, not because she has a bouffant hairdo.")

The Crone Speaks: McLame Doesn't Get it: Women Will Not be Insulted

Cup Of Joe Powell: McCain Picks Who? An Alaskan Perspective

Enclave: Republicans Resort to Identity Politics with Palin Pick ("If "identity politics" is one of the most heinous mortal sins exclusive to liberalism as conservatives are prone to argue, then why is John McCain banking on gender and genitalia to get him elected in November?") and Below the Beltway: Wasilla Ain't Washington

KnoxViews: Palin is insensitive to drunk driving, domestic violence, and is only recently "Christian" in her politics

Lean Left: It's Palin ("So after criticizing Obamaís inexperience, McCain picks someone with even less experience.")

Left Of The Dial: Meet Sarah Palin

Nashville for the 21st Century: Perspective and Palin for Former Veep Nominee? ("[O]nce the novelty wears off, I don't see women moving en mass to see Roe v. Wade overturned.")

Newscoma: Girl Politics ("[W]hy has this entire race become about girl parts?")

The Pesky Fly: If Palin can't handle a roughing up by Joe Biden how will she handle the terrorists?

Progressive Nashville: Sarah Palin?? ("Can you smell the desperation?")

Russ McBee: McCain's momentous blunder ("John McCain made a stupefyingly wrong-headed strategic mistake today by naming Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate.")

Sharon Cobb: Will Any Vagina Do ? ("I knew McCain was going to pick a woman, but I thought he'd at least pick a qualified woman like Kay Bailey Hutchison.")

Silence Isn't Golden: Feel Good Weekend--Sarah Palin Edition ("Hasn't she ever heard the old adage that politics is show business for ugly people?")

Southern Beale: Alaska Is Next To Russia? and Wrong Again

Tiny Cat Pants: Palin ("I also think it's interesting that [this] election marks the end of a long line of Southern administrations. No matter who wins, there won't be a Southerner among them.")

Vibinc: Playing for the PUMA's - Updated

WhitesCreek Journal: A Game of Risk ("With the choice of Sarah Palin as his Vice Presidential candidate, John McCain has done what Democrats could not. This election is now about him and his decision making ability...And how long he can live.")

On Other Topics:

10,000 Monkeys and a Camera: Del Martin

Because I Said So: Nearly one quarter of Tennessee children live in poverty

Carole Borges: Metal detectors in schools now?

The Crone Speaks: Last Executed Witch Exonerated ("Unfortunately, this abuse of power stemming from religious fanaticism and closed-mindedness continues across the globe in many fashions, from shooting up a church to modern day Crusades.") and Income, Poverty and Health Insurance: Census Report Shows Us the Boom ("Let's note that if participation in government health insurance programs have increased, that means people cannot afford to pay for private insurance.")

Enclave: Eric Crafton V. Metro Taxpayers: The Proper Pronunciation of "Frivolous" ("Crafton is playing around with other people's money, which pretty much disqualifies him from criticizing "freeloaders who pick the pockets of taxpayers" as he has done in the past. ")

Fletch: Smoky Skies

KnoxViews: Sneak preview of new Knoxville Writers' Guild anthology cover [Ed. note: Go check out the huge list of authors in this anthology. Wow.] and Local Humane Society Refuge for Displaced Pets

Lean Left: McCain's Solution to Uninsured Crisis: ("This is, quite simply, a giant middle finger to every American suffering without health insurance. The McCain camp does not think that there is a real problem and intends to do nothing to help correct it.") and George Will Makes Brief Foray Into Reality-Based Community, Gets Stopped at the Border ("Nothing is lamer than when one of the "reasonable" conservatives tries to make a fact-based argument about politics.")

Loose TN Canon: The judgement to be Commander in Chief: John McCain was wrong, Barack Obama was right and The Myth of a Conservative America

Newscoma: Rural Voting Key In Presidential Race

The Pesky Fly: The Difference Between Republicans, Democrats, and the Washington Media

Progressive Nashville: Keep your eye on the ball

RoaneViews: The Tennessee Conservationist

Sharon Cobb: Please Join Both Sides Of the Aisle In Asking What Their Plan Is To Stop The Genocide In Darfur. Join New Facebook Site

Silence Isn't Golden: Marsha Blackburn--A Living, Breathing Logical Fallacy

Southern Beale: American Morans, V.2 and Strange Notions Of Public Service ("Here's a clue: if it's too easy and money is involved, you're not doing it right.") and Sinclair Broadcasting: They're Baaack ("What's truly reprehensible is that a corporation like Sinclair will misuse the public airwaves to spread lies and deception to further a political agenda. That's a violation of public trust. ")

Tiny Cat Pants: Youíve Got to Walk that Uncanny Valley ("If people can come to believe that a group is almost, but not quite human, they will feel a gut revulsion towards that group and the terrible treatment of that group seems justified and natural.") and Blues Women

West Tennessee Liberal: Change Memphis-Volunteer Activities

WhitesCreek Journal: Privacy? and Will we let John McCain start World War Three? ("Getting shot down on a mission may be nothing more than an indication that he is a bad pilot, and the additional evidence of his numerous other lost aircraft would seem to support that finding.")

Women's Health News: Commenting Now Open on Proposed HHS Regulation

Dear Media Types

Former GOP Presidential candidate Ron Paul will be having a "counter-convention" next week in Minneapolis to coincide with the Republican National Convention. During the Democratic Convention, all of the former primary contenders (except for John Edwards...yeah...) were given prominent speaking roles. But Ron Paul went so far off the party line in his campaign that they won't let him speak at the Republican Convention, forcing him to hold his own convention. So far they've sold nearly 10,000 tickets.

I repeat--10,000 people attending this "counter-convention." That means there will be far more devoted Paulies in Minneapolis than there were PUMAs in Denver. And I'm sure plenty of them will tell you that they're not sold on McCain just yet.

So I'm sure we can look forward to stories on the news all last week about how divided the Republicans are heading into the election, right? RIGHT?!

Pondering Palin

I haven't yet had time to get all of my thoughts together on John McCain's Vice-Presidential pick. So here they are in list form:

1. The obvious point--he's using the woman as a gimmick. Newscoma has an excellent post on this, but I'd like to expand on it. If McCain had wanted to go with a strong, conservative woman as his VP, he had plenty of options. What about Kay Bailey Hutchinson? Liddy Dole? Condoleezza Rice? Hell, even Marsha Marsha Marsha Blackburn would have been a more credible pick. But the fact that he went with someone like Palin, with such a thin record, indicates that he was looking for someone young and pretty to add some excitement to the ticket.

It shouldn't even need to be said, but Palin is no Hillary Clinton. As much as I opposed her during the primary, there was no questioning Hillary's credentials to be Commander-in-Chief. I do hope that most Clinton supporters will see this for the cheap ploy that it is. Granted, there will be some, like the Tennessee Guerilla Whiners, who will never be persuaded (although if you've ever read the comments on that blog, which I would not recommend without wearing a Hazmat suit, you'll soon realize that there are a grand total of four people claiming to speak on behalf of all Tennessee feminists. And for all we know, it could very well be the same person commenting under four names. Hell, I could probably round up three friends to comment on every post I make and then we can claim to speak for all Southern Jews. But I digress). I'd be willing to bet that most Hillary supporters are smarter than that, and see that this is a woman who is dedicated to promoting anti-woman policies.

2. The Vice-Presidential debate takes place here at Wash U in October. Regardless of whether or not I get a ticket through the lottery, I certainly cannot wait for it. Does anyone doubt that Joe Biden will crush Palin? He can discuss foreign policy issues that she's probably never heard of. He'll demonstrate, in no uncertain terms, that he's far more ready to lead than she is if something should (God forbid) happen to the President. In fact, there is something about this that concerns me--what if he destroys her so badly in the debate that she actually garners sympathy from it, i.e. that mean old man shouldn't attack the little lady like that? I guess I shouldn't be too worried about this--if the Republicans can dish it out on Michelle Obama, they should be perfectly willing to take it right back on Sarah Palin on legitimate policy grounds, right? RIGHT?

3. Another reason I'm looking forward to this campaign is that she is a female Dan Quayle, as I hinted below. It's only a matter of time before she says something as epic as the "Jack Kennedy" quote. Her history gives us some hints:

On capital punishment:

"My goodness, hang 'em up, yeah,”

On Hillary Clinton:

"any kind of perceived whine about that excess criticism...I think, man, that doesn't do us any good, women in politics, women in general, wanting to progress this country."

On Ron Paul:

"He's a good guy," she continued. "He's so independent. He's independent of the party machine. I'm like, ‘Right on, so am I.'"

And then I was like, "OMG, wtf?" and she was like, "I know right?"

As you can see, Sarah Palin is concise and well-spoken. She also called the woman whose supporters she's trying to win over a "whiner" and praised the Republican Party's biggest internal headache. McCain's handlers can't keep a lid on their candidate, what makes anyone think they'll be able to do so with her?

4. Sarah Palin is NOT some independent, corruption-fighting maverick. She's under investigation herself for corrupt hiring practices. But as McCain has shown, as long as you say "maverick" enough times, you can eventually get the media to go along with it, even if it flies in the face of reality.

5. She has a baby with Down's Syndrome. It's quite admirable. I would be willing to bet that we never see that baby on the campaign trail. Even if the baby were older, we probably still would never see him. It might make some "pro-life" conservatives uncomfortable, don't you know.

6. According to Facebook, an acquaintance of mine joined a group called "I'd Totally Do Sarah Palin". Pardon me while I go throw up now.

Feel Good Weekend--Sarah Palin Edition

Law school is already causing me to lose sense of days of the week and the time of day. Answering a question in Contracts and then freezing up on the follow-up question as you feel your face turning bright red and it suddenly dawns on you that you were completely wrong on the first question is an experience I would not wish on anyone.

But I finally have an opportunity to talk about the beauty pageant winner who (God forbid) may very well be one heartbeat away from the Presidency come January. Hasn't she ever heard the old adage that politics is show business for ugly people?

More on this in a bit, but Sarah Palin reminds me of another fresh, young Vice-Presidential candidate:

And Suddenly, I Look Really Smart

Unfortunately, I can't really take credit for the decision to gamble on drafting him. Thanks for the advice Ben!

Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall had his suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy reduced from three games to one on Thursday.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Marshall for a series of off-field issues. At the time, Marshall was told the suspension could be cut to two games if he stayed out of trouble and kept in touch with a league-appointed counselor.

Marshall’s suspension begins Saturday. He can return to Broncos headquarters Sept. 9.

The one-game suspension was better than I was hoping for. It now looks like I got an enormous steal by getting him in the fifth round of a 16-team league.

The rest of my fantasy team is as follows:

QB: Derek Anderson, CLE--my stud last year, although I'm a little worried about his concussion.

WR1: Larry Fitzgerald, ARI

WR2: Derrick Mason, BAL, for Week 1, Brandon Marshall, DEN, after that

RB1: Brian Westbrook, PHI (Did anyone who voted in my poll two weeks ago honestly think I was going to waste the third overall pick on Peyton Manning?)

RB2: Kenny Watson, CIN*

TE: Dallas Clark, IND

W/R: Chris Johnson, TEN (*depending on what happens in Week 1, I may bench Watson, move Johnson up to the second RB slot, and move Mason to the W/R slot once Marshall gets off his suspension)

K: Robbie Gould, CHI

DEF: New England

Ultimately, I think I've pulled together a solid team. We'll find out soon enough though, I have to go against the guy who got LaDainian Tomlinson in Week 1.

ALSO: Go Vandy! Biggest road win since 1991! Now we just have to do that 6 more times and we're going to a Bowl!!

Help A Mensch In Chattanooga

Andy Berke, a nice Jewish boy from Chattanooga, will officially kick off his re-election campaign to the State Senate this Wednesday, September 3, with a BBQ dinner at Bessie Smith Hall. You should go if you'll be down in the area, I certainly wish I could be there.

And I certainly must agree with this blogger; if you're not currently friends with Andy Berke on Facebook, you should add him as a friend. He updates his status quite a bit, so it's a nice insight into what our legislators actually DO.

Democratic Convention Day Four In Four Thoughts

1. God damn, I wish the TSEA and the AFL-CIO hadn't rigged the delegate selection process in the the Fifth District so that I could have gone to Denver. I mean, I know I really couldn't have gone anyway because of the first week of law school, but still...

2. Al Gore's speeches don't pack the same punch for me anymore. Maybe it's a result of all the excitement surrounding his surprise visit to Netroots Nation back in July, and spending his whole speech hyping his website.

3. I am, however, still blown away by Barack Obama (call me a Kool-Aid drinker, but it's some damn good Kool-Aid). Obama did everything he needed to do tonight--he gave the inspiring, soaring speech to give red meat to the base, while giving the policy specifications that he's been criticized for so long for not providing. He managed to strike a credible populist note, and demonstrated that he will fight against McCain. He's willing to be bipartisan while not comprosing core Democratic principles. And "Bush says he'll follow Bin Laden to the gates of hell, but won't follow him to the cave he lives in" was easily the best line of this convention.

4. I eagerly await the statement from Governor Bredesen about why this speech would have been better if it had been delivered to truckers in a Waffle House somewhere in East Tennessee. On that note, has Bredesen ever been in either a Waffle House or a Wal-Mart in his entire life?

Democratic Convention Day Three In Three Thoughts

1. Bill Clinton did exactly what he needed to do tonight. He came out and said, in no uncertain terms, that Barack Obama is ready to be President. His saying it as the former Commander-in-Chief carries far more weight even than Hillary saying it. However, I'll admit it was a little weird at the beginning of the speech when he kept trying unsuccessfully to shush everyone.

2. Beau Biden = my new political crush. And likely the next Senator from Delaware.

3. As much as I enjoy the convention, I kind of need it to be over because it's a huge distraction from Torts and Contracts reading.

On Law School

I woke up this morning to go to my first day of law school, and quickly discovered that I am back in high school. Here's why:

• You have all your classes with same group of people, and assigned seats in all of those classes. And in our case, those classes go from 9 to 3. Furthermore, you can definitely already see little cliques forming within each section.
  

• We have to use lockers all over again. We're expected to store our huge books in the lockers when we're not using them. Some of us girls were talking today about how we're going to decorate our lockers like we used to. One of the other girls is going to do a "High School Musical" theme. I think I'll go with the Jonas Brothers. Or maybe Hannah Montana.
  

• The cafeteria food kind of sucks so you have to either pack your lunch or go off-campus. For the first time in more than four years, I have a new lunchbox (and it's actually really cute. Seriously, those of you in Nashville don't know what you're missing without having The Container Store).

Somehow I feel like it's only a matter of time before I'm asking people to join Model UN or Quiz Bowl!

Democratic Convention Day Two In Two Thoughts

1. Hillary Clinton has far more class, grace, and dignity than the PUMA freaks who protest in her name. She ripped McCain as Bush's twin in the Twin Cities, and reminded her supporters that they should not have been in the race just for her. And "No way, no how, no McCain" is a line that will last beyond this week.

2. Immediately after the speech, Andrea Mitchell of MSNBC cornered an older woman from Alleghany County in Pennsylvania who was crying. You could tell that Mitchell wanted to hit on the "Democratic disunity" meme. But the woman stated in no uncertain terms that she was a proud Democrat who was supporting Barack Obama, and she was simply proud of Hillary. So much for that media narrative.

Memo To The Media re: Bob Casey

As we're awaiting a speech from Senator Bob Casey Jr. of Pennsylvania, I keep hearing that his late father, former Pennsylvania Governor Bob Casey Sr., was not allowed to speak at the 1992 Democratic Convention because he opposed abortion. The implication is, of course, that those mean Democrats shut down freedom of speech and dissenting views. The reality, is of course, the exact opposite:

According to those who actually doled out the 1992 convention speaking slots, Casey was denied a turn for one simple reason: his refusal to endorse the Clinton-Gore ticket.

Is the nuance really that difficult to understand?

UPDATE: Another memo, once more with feeling--national polls mean JACK SHIT in an electoral college system.

Marsha Blackburn--A Living, Breathing Logical Fallacy

I don't envy Jeff Woods for having to be a part of this conference call:

“Let me just give you a couple of examples, anecdotes from women I’ve talked to,” Blackburn says. “Some of my friends who are Democrat voters have expressed concern over the experience angle with Obama. You know, when you have a woman who is like me in her 50s and has had a career and maybe got passed over by the person who was supposed to be the next great thing for the company and then 18 months later he’s gone …”

First of all, what are "Democrat voters"? I know of a Democratic Party and of Democratic voters, but should we call our opponents the Republic Party and Republic voters? Honestly, that sounds like something out of Star Wars.

But lest my eyes deceive me, is Marsha Blackburn not playing identity politics here? Is she making a play to female voters not by highlighting the issues on which the Republicans can help them, but by victimizing them? Isn't that what Republicans constantly accuse Democrats of doing?

I thought our society was a meritocracy! If the woman was passed over in favor of the man, well then OBVIOUSLY the man was better qualified for the job despite her experience. We're an equal society, why does the woman expect special treatment?

Isn't the above argument what Republicans are supposed to make?

I guess it's not too terribly surprising that they're doing this. The "victim card" may very well be the only way the Republicans have of appealing to female voters. Enacting actual pro-woman policies would piss off that portion of their base that believes that women are nothing more than maids, chefs, and baby incubators.

Democratic Convention Day One In One Thought

I dare any conservative to now say that Michelle Obama hates America. Go on, say it.

A French Lesson For Bill Clinton Perhaps?

Not entirely related to the convention, but here's one of the greatest FAIL-blog entries of all time:

see more pwn and owned pictures

Excellent Question

MSNBC's Nora O'Donnell just asked in the interim of the Democratic Convention coverage if "we in the media are making too much of the 'disunity' between Obama and Clinton supporters."

Uh...

Is the sky blue?

Is the Pope Catholic?

Do Jewish mothers nag a lot?

What a stupid question. Of course the media are trying to blow up a story where there really is none. It makes for better TV.

You'll Have My Birth Control When You Pry It Out Of My Cold, Dead, PMS-ing Hands

Southern Beale already has an excellent post on this, but I would like to reiterate it.

Would you let a pharmacist tell you that you're not really sick, that it's all in your head, and that all you need to do is eat some chicken soup and you'll be fine? And if you complained that said pharmacist wasn't doing his job, wouldn't it piss you off if he claimed that his Jewish religious beliefs meant that he morally couldn't fill your prescription?

We'd NEVER allow that. So why would we allow "Christian" pharmacists to impose their worldview in overriding the will of the patient and the patient's doctor?

The move by three Christian Tennessee colleges to create pharmacy schools isn't on its face problematic. It's not surprising that any college would want to expand its academic programs. And I'm sure that some excellent pharmacists will graduate from these schools.

But some of them will certainly be the sort who equate birth control with abortion, who will refuse to fill prescriptions for the women who need it the most. They are the ones who, knowing nothing of a patient's medical history or life situation, will pass judgment upon them.

Oh, and by the way, while there are plenty of stories of women being denied birth control by religious pharmacists, I still have yet to hear one story about a man being denied Viagra on the grounds that it leads to sexual recklessness.

I still don't understand why you would go into a profession knowing in advance that you would have moral objections to fulfilling some of your professional obligations. I know full well that as a lawyer someday, I may have to represent unsavory characters. But I'm willing to accept that as a trade-off of going into a career I was born to do. SoBeale expands on that point:

There aren’t too many vegans working at the butcher shop at Kroger, are there? See any Scientologists working as psychotherapists? How about Mormons working at beer distributorships?

You almost have to wonder if there's something more sinister at play here. Maybe some of these people are going into this field deliberately, seeing a way to proselytize and further clamp down on reproductive rights.

It's an old political cliche, but your rights end where my rights begin. Using contraception is my right.

John McCain, One Trick Pony

To those who have been amazed over the last few weeks by John McCain getting out of every gaffe and scandal by saying it's ok because he was a POW (and also by the media who give him a free pass every time he does it), bear in mind that it's not a new thing. He did the same thing against his possible VP Mitt Romney during the primary:



Not a word about the economy in that answer. Just the "noun, verb, and POW" standard answer.

(h/t Jed Report)

The Sunday Liberal Blog Roundup, 8-24-08

Perhaps the biggest story of the week broke in the wee hours of Saturday morning, when Obama named Joe Biden as his pick for Vice President. So far, the reaction across the progressive blogosphere in Tennessee seems to mirror that of liberals nationwide: reaction covers the spectrum from hot to tepid to cold. Given the large number of blog posts discussing the choice of Biden and the diversity of opinions on the topic, this week's roundup is devoted exclusively to that subject.

10,000 Monkeys and a Camera: Biden! and Senator O'Biden [Ed. note: The RSS feed for 10,000 Monkeys and a Camera has moved to this link.]

55-40 Memphis: It's official now

Carole Borges: Joe Biden is perfect! I'm excited once again.

The Crone Speaks: Obama Says it is Biden, I Say More of the Same

Don Williams: Obama-Bidenís a brilliant ticket, but only if they win, natch

Enclave: Wealthy Elite vs. Middle Class: Pick Your Biden Scorecard and Biden His Time: Delaware Senator Brings Commoner Cred to the Ticket

KnoxViews: Joe Biden

Lean Left: Hello, Joe! (Whadda ya know?)

Left Of The Dial: Hey Barack

Left Wing Cracker: I think it's going to work..

Nashville for the 21st Century: Asshatery at Fournier's "Associated Press"

Newscoma: Obama Chooses Biden and LA Times Gets Its VP Story Wrong and Breaking Down The Biden Factor

Russ McBee: A quick thought on Joe Biden

Sharon Cobb: BREAKING: Obama Picks Joe Biden!

Silence Isn't Golden: It's Definitely Biden

Southern Beale: So It's Biden and IOKIYAR: Veepstakes Edition

Tennessee Guerilla Women: Obama Picks a Bro: It's Biden

Vibinc: The Veep-Stakes Fiasco [Ed. note: OK, the Vibinc post isn't a reaction per se, since it was written on Friday, but it's still relevant. Sue me.]

And finally, Katie Allison Granju blogs on the subject from her new home at KnoxNews.com, "Because I Said So":

Because I Said So: Obama didn't get this one right

It's Definitely Biden

The Secret Service has been dispatched to his house.

Also, there's a brand new Obama-Biden Facebook profile that you can friend.

Now all that's left is the shoutin' (or in this case, the textin')

You know, I'm happy about this. Picking a VP just to swing one state like Tim Kaine's Virginia isn't guaranteed to work, and a boring moderate whose only purpose would have been to appease the primary losers Hillary supporters would have only undercut Obama. With Biden, you get the experience factor, the national security credentials, and blue-collar appeal.

I cannot wait to welcome him to St. Louis on October 2 for the Wash U Vice-Presidential debate. And I definitely cannot wait to see him eat Mitt Romney alive in said debate.

A Big Leap

After careful consideration, upon approaching the Law School Democrats table at the student organization fair today, I filled out the form to register to vote in the state of Missouri.

It's a big leap for me. I registered to vote in Tennessee the day I turned 18 back in 2004, and voted absentee for all four years of college in New York. But given the choice between voting for Obama in a state where he's down 5-7 points, and voting for him where he's down 24, barring any other high profile races (and no, Tuke-Lamar! doesn't count), I don't see how I could in good conscience NOT vote in the swing state. I'm definitely looking forward to not voting absentee this year, filling out the form isn't anywhere near as satisfying as pushing the button (and praying that the computer got your vote right).

Note to the TNDP: I can always re-register in Tennessee in 2010. My parents' house is still considered my "permanent address" right now. But unless I move back to Tennessee upon graduation, that'll be the last election cycle where I'll be able to claim residency in two different states.

And if I don't get better options in the 2010 Democratic gubernatorial primary than Harold Ford or Lincoln Davis, I'll keep my registration in Missouri, thank you very much.

Feel Good Friday--More St. Louis Edition

There's a famous bar in St. Louis called Blueberry Hill, where Chuck Berry, at 81 years old, still plays once a month. His September show is already sold out, but I'm trying to get tickets for October. In the meantime...

Good!

Poor babies. Literally:

The International Olympic Committee is launching an investigation into Chinese gold-medal-winning gymnast He Kexin's age, the Times of London is reporting. Mounting allegations that Chinese authorities covered up the Olympian's age triggered the IOC to act.

Mike Walker, a U.S. computer expert said on Thursday, that he had uncovered Chinese documents that prove He is just 14, making her ineligible to compete. Officials in China insist she is 16.

Those girls are incredible gymnasts. And yes, they outperformed the U.S. in the team round. But there is no way in hell they're 16. And if they broke the rules, they should be stripped of their gold medals immediately.

ALSO: Did you know that 41-year old swimmer Dara Torres is in fact a nice Jewish girl? I didn't know that either until today. I've been undergoing law school orientation this week and it worries me that I'm retaining information about the Olympics more easily.

Needless To Say

If Michelle Obama had told a whopper like this, we'd be hearing about it non-stop. But since it was Cindy McCain and since her husband was a prisoner of war, we can only shrug our shoulders, because we wouldn't want to question their integrity, now would we?

The McCain campaign had also put out the story that Mother Teresa “convinced” Cindy to bring home two orphans from Bangladesh in 1991.

Mrs. McCain, it turns out, never met Mother Teresa on that trip. (Once contacted by the Monitor, the campaign revised the story on its website.)

In fact, I'd bet the closest that she ever got to Mother Teresa would have been the pastry form the last time she was in Nashville.

Credit Where It's Due

Here's a very interesting article from Jennifer Brooks of the Tennessean on the state of the Tennessee blogosphere, on both the right and left sides. It's a good read, very accurate, although they probably could have provided links to the blogs they mentioned.

However, I did notice one glaring omission (and no, not the fact that my blog isn't mentioned in there; I'm well aware that I'm still relatively low on the food chain in this game). There was no mention of arguably the single most important person in the Tennessee blogosphere, Adam C. Kleinheider. Post Politics is a huge help to those of us who didn't have time to read 50 blogs a day by highlighting the most important stories of the day. It's also a great way of letting people know about new blogs and bloggers in Tennessee, something that was crucial for me in my first few weeks last year. I know that when Volunteer Voters went down back in March and we were without Kleinheider for a few weeks, I pretty much went into withdrawal.

Maybe the Tennessean simply didn't want to mention someone who works for a rival newspaper company. But still, I think this is a pretty glaring omission.

I Honestly Don't Care About The VP Pick

I feel as though I should care more, but I can't get that worked up about it. I'm just ready to find out, get the whole she-bang of the convention over with, and start with some real general election campaigning.

There are several people Obama could pick. Each one has their own pros and cons, and none of them are a deal-breaker for me:

• Joe Biden--He's got the national security and foreign policy credentials, but he's not as well-known outside the East Coast.

• Evan Bayh--He has Midwestern appeal, but his full-fledged support of the Iraq war would provide a discomforting contrast to Obama's opposition. Also, he's incredibly boring.
  

• Tim Kaine--A well-respected Southern governor, but again largely unknown outside of his own region.

• Wesley Clark--A great Democrat with the best security and foreign policy credentials of anyone. The only problem is that he dared to tell the truth about John McCain, so we'll never be able to own that media narrative.
  

• Kathleen Sebelius--See above, just replace "Southern" with "Midwestern." And the PUMA crowd would bitch and moan about how ONLY Hillary Clinton should be allowed to crack the glass ceiling.

• Bill Richardson--Good credentials, would help put the Southwest in play. And it would all be for naught as he's the WORST campaigner.

• Hillary Clinton--Ok, scratch that. I do have my limits.

My point is, Obama's VP selection is not going to be perfect. There will be plenty of people who are going to be angry tomorrow (at least, we hope the announcement will be tomorrow). But we're electing a President, not a VP. I honestly can't see Obama allowing his VP to have the level of power and influence Dick Cheney had. It's time to stop with the hand-wringing and get this show on the road.

My Girl Crush Gets Her Own Show

Yay!

Just in time for the closing rush of the presidential election, MSNBC is shaking up its prime-time programming lineup, removing the long-time host –- and one-time general manager of the network — Dan Abrams from his 9 p.m. program and replacing him with Rachel Maddow, who has emerged as a favored political commentator for the all-news cable channel.

Keith Olbermann himself broke the news earlier today on Daily Kos.

This is another great move by MSNBC. Rachel Maddow is smart, sharp, and wickedly funny. And I, a heterosexual woman, am fully willing to admit I've got a girl-crush on her.

Mazel Tov!

Dear Phil Bredesen--STFU

That's not a very nice thing to say to your governor, but I don't have a whole lot of patience for so-called Democrats who continue to use right-wing frames:

“Instead of giving big speeches at big stadiums, he needs to give straight-up 10-word answers to people at Wal-Mart about how he would improve their lives.”

He might as well have said, "I'm a Democratic governor and I fully agree with John McCain's Paris Hilton ad. Obama just gives big speeches in big stadiums and can't relate to common folk." That may not have been what Bredesen MEANT to say, but that's exactly how it will be interpreted.

Obama has done quite well by acknowledging that voters are not children, they don't need everything boiled down into little sound bites. And Bredesen himself isn't capable of giving concise answers to questions. Hell, Bredesen resents it when you even ask the question.

“I would really like to see him do things in Tennessee that would help in other working-class and blue-collar places, like Ohio,” Mr. Bredesen said. “Job security and health care are huge here. He needs to come to the aisle of Home Depot and show them that a Harvard graduate — which I am as well — knows how to help them.”

I've got a better idea. Maybe Obama should go do all that...IN OHIO. I understand that it's Bredesen's job to promote Democrats in Tennessee, but somehow I don't think Ohio and Tennessee are in exactly the same situation here.

Also, I would challenge Bredesen to do what he's proposing Obama do. Go to Home Depot and confront the people whom he cut from TennCare, and let them say whether or not they think that particular Haaaahvahd graduate has helped them all that much.

I hear "advice" like this directed at Barack Obama, and I can't help but think back to Harold Ford going to that bar with the Confederate flag while dressed in camouflage. He went directly to those voters and told them that he could relate to them. And they still didn't vote for him. Voters know bullshit when they see it.

I don't have a whole lot of hope for Bredesen's last two years. All I ask is that he doesn't hand Bill Frist the governor's office on a silver platter.

I Stand Corrected

One of the arguments I've always made in favor of legalizing the sale of wine in grocery stores in Tennessee is that if you're the type of person who spends a great deal of money on wine and buys premium labels, you'll still go to the liquor store to purchase your wine because what you like wouldn't necessarily be available in the grocery store.

But I do admit when I'm wrong. So let the record show that my grocery store in St. Louis sells Dom Perignon champagne.

I didn't buy it, but I did buy a few reds. The clerk asked for my ID and I didn't get into a drunk-driving accident on the way home. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Tennessee liquor lobby.

How To Decipher A Jewish Mother--Lesson 2

What a Jewish mother says:

This is your very own apartment. You get to furnish and decorate it however you want!

What a Jewish mother actually means:

You have no say whatsoever over how this apartment gets decorated. And if your potholders don't EXACTLY match the dishtowels, the whole world will come to an end.

Feel Good Friday--The Lou Edition

I've been in St. Louis for 24 hours now. And it's HOT SHIT!

Programming Update, 8-14-08

Within the hour, I'll be hitting the road to go to St. Louis for law school at Wash U. I'm looking forward to it with a mix of excitement at moving to a new city and meeting a new group of people, and of trepidation at the idea that for the first time in my life, I'll be forced to do things like study and take notes and not start papers the night before.

To that end, I don't know to what extent I'll be blogging in the coming weeks and months. I'll do my best to update when I can, if only for my own sanity. But I have to figure out what my workload will be first.

So goodbye Tennessee, see y'all Thanksgiving!

How Many Times Can The Straight Talk Express Derail?

Shouldn't it have derailed so many times by now that it's been rendered useless?

John McCain, in an attempt to backtrack from his bluster over Russia and Georgia:

In the 21st century, nations don’t invade other nations.

You know, except for when we do. I guess this must mean that either the U.S. is an abstract rather than a nation, or that McCain is truly too senile to have his hand on the red button.

I Heart The TNGOP

Just when I worry that I'm entering into a second day of writer's block, the TNGOP gives me something to write about. Thanks for all your hard work, Bill Hobbs!

Between the revelations that Obama is EXACTLY like an imprisoned ex-mayor of Detroit and that non-Christians cannot be Republicans, this was a great day. So great, in fact, that I've posted it to a more national platform.

I Have Nothing To Write About

And that makes me very sad.

All of last week, when I was out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, I got a little agitated that I couldn't check my email on my phone every five minutes, and even more so during the brouhahas over the Tennessee primaries and the John Edwards scandal.

Now I'm back home, I have my Internets back, and I can't come up with anything to write about. Also, I'm too preoccupied with trying to get all my stuff together to move to St. Louis to think about much else (seriously, how is it that I have all these clothes and I still never seem to have anything to wear?)

I guess someone should just send me back here:

Not In Charlie Tygard's Backyard

Metro Councilman Charlie Tygard is looking out for you, even if it means that you won't be able to cut down on your energy bills and live a greener lifestyle. Someone might be inconvenienced, don't you know.

Tygard is sponsoring a bill that would put restrictions on wind towers that produce energy.

He said he wants the public to remember when cell phone towers started popping up and how it caused residential complaints. The councilman said the city needs to make sure that doesn't happen with the wind machines.

"What are the height, aesthetic, noise regulations? What if somebody quits using them? Does it have to be taken down," said Tygard.

This is, of course, the same Charlie Tygard who, as the District 35 Councilman, would not be satisfied until every inch of green space in Bellevue was razed under and replaced with either a strip mall or a condo development. I guess it's nice to see now that he's an at-large Councilman, he cares about SOMEONE'S sense of aesthetics!

I Think I'd Rather Be A Turtle

Yeah...



I did my first ever scuba dive in Bora Bora. This was actually on my second dive, where we swam with sharks and turtles and one really nasty barricuda that came a little too close for comfort.

So I came back to the surface, put the lime in the coconut, and twisted it all up:

Down Millionaire's Row

My good friend Adam Bonin wrote a column for the Philadelphia Inquirer several days ago describing the problems with the recent Supreme Court decision to overturn the "Millionaire's Amendment" to the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. Under the amendment, when a Congressional candidate chooses to self-finance his or her campaign beyond a certain threshold, the contribution limits for other candidates are relaxed. If a self-funding House candidate spends more than $350,000, other candidates can receive up to three times the $2,300 limit from inidividual donors.

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the Millionaire's Amendment infringed upon the First Amendment rights of the "millionaires". However, Justice John Paul Stevens argued in his dissent that the amendment doesn't silence anyone; it levels the playing field and gives all voices a chance to be heard.

The Millionaire's Amendment has already prevented some instances of potential office-buying:

It takes more than a large checkbook to get elected. For every Michael Bloomberg, there are many more like Mitt Romney, Katherine Harris and Tom Knox who spent their own millions and were soundly rejected.

One cannot, however, discount the role of the Millionaire's Amendment in these outcomes. In 2004, options trader Blair Hull spent more than $28 million to seek the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate from Illinois, only to be defeated by then-State Sen. Barack Obama, who was able to raise an extra $1.9 million because of the increased limits. Michael Nutter and others have done the same.

You have to wonder how many more Blair Hulls you'll see now that this amendment has been overturned. The decision silences those who do not have millions to pour into a political campaign, but the amendment as it was in no way silenced those who do.

Bonin mentions some possible solutions for addressing the unequal playing field, such as allowing candidates to receive public grants in exchange for forgoing private fund-raising. Candidates could receive additional grants if their self-financing opponents spend more than the amount of the original grant.

But even that solution is problematic. If self-financing opponents spend too much overtime, public grants could completely overwhelm the public financing system. The original amendment may not have been perfect, but it was the best possible solution. I'm not optimistic for the future of campaign finance reform.

The Sunday Liberal Blog Roundup, 8-10-08

Special thanks to Russ McBee for volunteering to put the roundup together for the rest of the month.

10,000 Monkeys and a Camera: Regarding Edwards ("Perhaps if he had taken a look around once in a while, at all the good people who were helping him up, he might have realized that he didn't get where he was all alone. Then perhaps he wouldn't have felt so much like superman.") and Wordless Wednesday

Andy Axel: Wires and Wood

BlountViews: South Blount Utility: Consider bottled drinking water ("A resident in the South Blount Utility District said they got a notice of violation of safe drinking water standards indicating their drinking water was contaminated with high levels of lead.")

Carole Borges: First Lady aka Miss Buffalo Chip ("It was a touching moment and a lovely display of Republican family values. Cindy blushed of course and looked flattered. You could almost see her already measuring the thongs she will wear in the White House.")

The Crone Speaks: Racism Thriving?!? ("The very sad thing is, there are people that one wouldnít readily categorize as being racist in any other situation, that do feel that Obama being president would "end" this country.")

Cup Of Joe Powell: Davis Not Conceding To Roe ("One thing about Davis - he has consistently blamed Democrats for all the national and regional ills, and now he blames them for not being re-elected. Perhaps there were some cross-over votes, but he simply need look in the mirror to discover the reason for his loss. His inability to accept the outcome of the vote, to accept responsibility for himself, says volumes about his failings.") and Thoughts on Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Don Williams: Bush puts Double-I brand on the OlympicsñInsulting Incoherence ("Taking a stand against Chinaís big redemptive PR show by declining to attend wouldíve been consistent and coherent. But complaining all the way to the show, and even at his reception in China this morning, smacks of incoherency, bad manners and outright hypocrisy.")

Donkey's Mouth: The Dems Respond

Enclave: But the tallest candle stick ain't much good without a wick ("Let's set aside the question of whether our expectations have sunk so low that we actually give kudos to politicians for just doing the right thing.")

Fletch: Elkmont In August and Cool

KnoxViews: KAG, signing off ("Katie Allison Granju signed off for the last time at Knoxville Talks yesterday. She did a fantastic job creating a great new local media sponsored blog and set the bar high for her successor.") and WBIR declares Bryant winner in Commission 6-A? ("Katie's only been gone one day and look what happens!") and Green Route Alert, Again! ("There is too much money to be made "developing" and paving the state for people who care about sprawl and the ruination of east TN to stay indifferent.") and Technology corridor not working out ("High tech companies aren't going to move to an area that doesn't support education and only graduates people qualified to work in call centers.")

Lean Left: Send a Message in a Language They Understand ("Glenn Greenwald, along with Jane Hamsher of firedoglake and a variety of other pro-democracy bloggers and activists, is helping establish a new organization dedicated to targeting vulnerable Democratic candidates who work against progressive interests and civil liberties.")

Left Of The Dial: Olympics Freak ("Only I would be watching judo, badminton, Chinese women lifting weights and some dude trotting around on a horse doing half-circles simultaneously, live from Beijing on a Saturday morning.")

Left Wing Cracker: An open letter to Nikki Tinker ("How amazing it was to watch as you turned within 48 hours from an attacking Congressional candidate to a national pariah; "Worst Person in the World", indeed. As Vito Corleone once said, how did things ever get so far?")

Liberadio(!): The Not-So-Veiled Partisanship of Congresswoman Blackburn ("And speaking of honesty, she and her friends standing in the dark in the House chamber might want to stop claiming that off-shore drilling will give us immediate relief from high gas prices. 'Cause it won't.")

Loose TN Canon: Republicans obstruct vote to lower gas prices ("Once again, the GOP leadership sided with oil profiteers and used their power to help keep oil prices and profits high, while hurting the average American.")

Nashville for the 21st Century: Election Day Is Here ("If passion alone won elections, it would be a landslide for Tuke this fall should he get the nomination.")

Newscoma: Grief Brings Out The Best In People ("This is my second funeral in three weeks of people I grew up with. We drove our cars fast, hid out on back roads talking about our future and drank beer bought by those a couple of years older than us in corn fields still smelling of a fresh harvest. We were going to take on the world. We wanted to own it.") and Personal Reflections On Edwards Scandal ("Baby Boomers in politics amaze me. Iím not one of them, but I have to say, they have changed the world. I donít necessarily mean that as a compliment.") and Advice To The Young 'Uns ("Don't sweat the small stuff. Treat other people the way you want to be treated. Do things you are afraid to do. Don't listen to Bill Hobbs, and eat more fruit.")

The Pesky Fly: Delusions of Adequacy ("If this is the Chairman's take on the craziest sh_t to come down the pipe since, oh, I don't know, a member of the TNDP Executive Committee accused the Democratic presidential nominee of ties to terrorism, it will be very revealing indeed when Mr. Sasser finally does find something that puts a fire in his belly.")

Progressive Nashville: Thank heavens for the white kids ("Thank heavens the white kids in Nashville's public schools are doing so well academically. If they weren't, our schools would look much worse.")

Resonance: CBS News: "Bicycle Mania!" ("The piece discusses the increased interest in bicycling that has accompanied higher gasoline prices. I have noticed more people riding on the roads this summer; unfortunately, a few of them appear to have not yet mastered safety rules on riding with traffic.")

RoaneViews: My letter from the Roane Alliance ("I have trouble understanding the separation between the Roane Alliance, a County Government function supported by our tax dollars, and the Chamber of Commerce.")

Russ McBee: Knox County voters fall asleep ("Today's message is simple: all the GOB's have to do is wait long enough, and the voters of this county will forget whatever transgressions may have angered them in the past.") and Justice denied ("To shield itself from public accountability, the White House crafted rules which ignored centuries of legal precedent and tossed aside even the barest semblance of justice in favor of a system automatically tilted toward the prosecution.")

Sharon Cobb: John Edwards: You're A Piece Of Sh*t ("Politics aside, let me tell you about Elizabeth Edwards.") and Let The Games Begin ("Also, please ask whomever is your choice for President why he bought 5-6 million dollars in advertising during the Olympics, knowing what China is doing in Darfur, Tibet, Berma, and other human and animal rights violations.")

Silence Isn't Golden: Tyson Caves To...Someone ("Sorry wingnuts, you still lose.")

Southern Beale: Tyson Plant Revises Holiday Plan AGAIN ("Of course the Malkin-tents are going to claim another victory, but hey, look at it this way: we liberals can snicker at them for defending a holiday with communist/socialist origins founded by the evil labor unions.") and 22 Days & Counting ("Here in Nashville I saw $3.69 at a Pilot station earlier this week. Thatís a 40-cent drop from the high of $4.09/gallon back in July. Funny none of the stories about that Republican kabuki theater on offshore oil drilling bothers to mention that.")

Tennessee Guerilla Women: NBC Says Bill Clinton Will Speak at Convention in Order to Get Media to Shut Up ("Gawd. Can we please get term limits for the pundits?") and Hillary: 18 Million Cracks in the Glass Ceiling (Video)

TennViews: The ballots are set and we're off to the races ("We've updated the TennViews 08 Candidate Central database to advance the primary winners and set the field for November.") and Volunteer State 39th in Volunteering ("Forty-five percent of volunteering in Tennessean is performed in the religious sector, whereas that number is 63% in Utah. Are Tennesseans heathens or is that just a Mormon thing?")

Tiny Cat Pants: Like a Coat You Somehow Slip On Without Noticing ("This, this I believe explains the virulent anti-Mexican sentiment here in the South. Who doubts Faulkner, right? And when he says "The past is not dead. In fact, it's not even past." don't we believe him?")

Vibinc: Cashing in at MCS ("In an editorial over a the CA newly installed Superintendent, Kriner Cash lays out his plan to help the districts most at risk students find success. The prescription, 2000 college aged tutors. I have to say, this is a brilliant idea.")

West Tennessee Liberal: I'm Proud of Memphis ("I'd hate to be an incumbent Republican in two years. It's going to be a bloodbath.")

WhitesCreek Journal: Yeah! ("The whole world loves Barack Obama. He's really popular. That's why we shouldn't vote for Obama.")

Women's Health News: HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt Issues Blog Post on Proposed Regulation ("Regardless of intent, the regulation certainly could functionally allow the defining of contraceptives as abortion.") and Lying Liars Who Lie (About Reproductive Health) ("I've come across several blog entries recently that recount stories of women being lied to by their healthcare providers and/or being lectured on the basis of their provider's personal values.")

Feel Good Friday/Saturday/Sunday Oh I Don't Know

Live from the departure airport of the Tahiti International airport...I forgot to do a Feel Good Friday video, but it's Saturday in Tahiti meaning it's Sunday back in NashVegas. We leave for Los Angeles in about an hour and a half, but don't get in to Nashville until tomorrow evening because of the time difference.

In the meantime, here's my offering. It's not the most uplifting song ever, but the sentiments have been on my mind a lot lately:

Tyson Caves To...Someone

The Tyson plant in Shelbyville has reversed its decision about offering Eid-al-Fitr as a paid holiday to its Muslim employees...sort of:

In a news release on Friday, Tyson said it had asked the union to revise the plant’s contract and restore Labor Day as a paid holiday because some Shelbyville employees had expressed concern about the contract’s provisions.

The revised contract again makes Labor Day a paid holiday but also keeps Id al-Fitr (pronounced eed-al-FIT-tr) — which marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting — as a paid holiday for those who want it.

The right-wing loony-sphere is taking credit for pressuring them into re-instating Labor Day. But really, the company was wrong in the first place for forcing employees to choose between the two. Now, the employees can take off BOTH the pro-labor holiday AND the Muslim holiday if they so choose.

Sorry wingnuts, you still lose.

Oh John Edwards

(Note: Forgive me. Until Sunday morning I'm still six hours behind on the news)

I wish I could say I'm surprised by this latest turn of events, but I can honestly say that I'm not.

First of all, to all of the conservatives who are probably gloating now over a fallen Democratic politician and over how the National Enquirer got the story right--my original point against Phil Valentine still stands. If the National Enquirer really IS getting all of these stories right, then how much more imperative is it now that we fully investigate their allegations about the Bush marriage and the President's affair with Condoleezza Rice?

In all seriousness though, the problem with John Edwards, and with all of these politicians who get caught, is not the sex part. As far as I'm concerned, who you're schtupping is a private matter and not really any of my business.

Instead, the problem is the sheer hypocrisy of it all.

The problem with David Vitter and Larry Craig was not that they were chasing after hookers or gay sex in airport bathrooms, the problem was that they were lecturing others about "the sanctity of marriage" at the same time. Newt Gingrich scolded Bill Clinton while carrying on an affair of his own (and of course, Bill Clinton was responsible for DOMA and DADT).

John Edwards' hypocrisy is even worse now. He's the one who made his seemingly perfect family the centerpiece of his campaign, and made his own wife into a martyr in the process. Moralizing others, and accusing those who disagreed of elitism, was how he got his message across. Let's not forget his own statements on Bill Clinton and infidelity.

John Edwards was probably well out of Vice-Presidential consideration even before his admission today, but his entire political career is probably over now. And I don't mourn it. He had a good message, but he's revealed himself to be the lying sleazeball that I always thought he was. Good riddance.

Lawyers. They're all slimy SOB's. Why would anyone want to go down that career path?

Make A List, Check It Twice

I've said several times before that there are several feminist organizations, EMILY's List chief among them, who will need years to recover any sort of credibility from the bad decisions made during this election cycle. After Steve Cohen's crushing defeat of EMILY's List-backed candidate Nikki Tinker, I'm wondering if we have an even deeper problem than that.

I'm wondering if groups like EMILY's List have outlived their purpose.

I'm not disputing the need to get more women involved in politics, not by any means. What I am disputing is the notion that only female politicians can fully serve the needs of women. If we have a viable pro-choice female candidate, then we as feminists should absolutely support her. But in the absence of that, if your choice is between a not entirely pro-choice woman and a male who is quite possibly the most pro-women's rights male politician in a given state, why shouldn't feminist organizations throw some of their resources into helping that man?

We saw some of this play out during the Presidential primary. While I still don't understand why anyone who calls herself a feminist could honestly consider supporting McCain over Obama, there was no disputing Hillary Clinton's pro-choice and pro-women's rights credentials. But in a race like the one between Nikki Tinker and Steve Cohen, you have to really question the logic of groups like EMILY's List. The support they gave to Tinker was strictly because she was a woman, even though Cohen's record speaks for itself.

In short, they sent the message that Cohen can't represent women's issues because he's a man.

Just like how Tinker tried to say that he couldn't represent African-American issues as a Caucasian, or how he couldn't represent Christians as a Jew.

It's flawed, ridiculous logic. And in a case like this, it could have proven extremely detrimental to the cause of women's equality and reproductive rights.

I believe wholeheartedly in getting more women involved in politics, but not if it means throwing pro-women male candidates under the hypothetical bus. I'm a feminist, not a misandrist.

Congratulations Are In Order

First, a very hearty Mazel Tov to the Memphis mensch Steve Cohen on his resounding primary win against Nikki Goebbels Tinker. Congratulations to the city of Memphis too, for getting something right for once!

Congratulations also to Bob Tuke, for winning quite possibly the most confusing Senate primary in years. I'm in Moorea, French Polynesia right now, and after our tour today, I called my friend in Bristol to get the results, and she told me that some unknown named Gary Davis was winning the Senate primary, nearly causing me to have a heart attack in the middle of a mountain. On my way back to the boat, I was already mentally composing a post about why Gray Sasser needed to step down over this. We thankfully dodged a bullet, and can go against Lamar! Alexander with someone who has at least some money and name recognition.

On that note, Jeff Foxworthy once said that if you can name the entire cast of "The Dukes of Hazzard" but not your Congressman....well then, you might be a redneck. Apparently, Democrats in Districts 1 and 4 must have thought they were voting for Lincoln Davis (I HOPE that District 1 realizes that David Davis is a Republican at least) instead of Gary Davis.

Districts 1 and 4 FAIL. Common surnames WIN.

Seriously though, it is pretty sad when so many people confuse their Congressmen with a gadfly Senate candidate. We're proving everyone right about our fair state.

A huge congratulations to Alan Coverstone for his election to the Metro School Board.

Congratulations to Tim Barnes, for coming within 19 votes of defeating Rosalind Joe Lieberman Kurita. With that small of a margin, Barnes should absolutely challenge it and ask for a recount.

And finally, congratulations to Mike Stewart in House District 52, for causing Matt Pulle's head to explode. Maybe the Scene will consider going after real stories now.

On Nikki Goebbels Tinker

I'm a day behind on the news so I'm probably the last one to see the Nikki Tinker ad attacking Steve Cohen for not being "one of us":



A lot has already been written about it today and I don't mean to be repetitive, but...OF COURSE it's fucking anti-Semitic! It's not even a "dog whistle" or "code words", it's clear as day. Nikki Tinker has said that because of religion, Steve Cohen can never truly be "one of them."

It's one of the reasons why I'm pessimistic about the prospects of a Jewish politician getting anywhere beyond Cohen's level in the South. Even people who may not normally be anti-Semitic will not be able to resist the urge to use that exact framing--"So and so is not one of us, can never really be one of us."

You come to expect that from Republicans, but I guess we've reached the point where we can expect that from Democrats as well. Autoegocrat took the thoughts right out of my head--I don't know if there is anyone really in charge at the TNDP right now. Between this and the Fred Hobbs episode, we have no organization and no clear message.

Is this how we plan on winning in 2010?

Memphis, don't fucking screw this up tomorrow.

Bellevue Blues--Argh

So it looks as if they're going forth with the idiotic plan to move the Bellevue library to the new mall campus:

After months of negotiations, Dean agreed to give Carlsbad, Calif.-based Four square Properties Inc. $12 million in tax-increment financing to revitalize the stagnant mall just off Interstate 40 and turn it into an open-air "lifestyle center."

The company would use up to $4.5 million of that money to build a 32,000-square-foot library by December 2010 in the old Dillard's department store space.

And all for what?

Yes, the library needs to be expanded, but taking it away from where it is now, near the community center and the park, is just idiotic. It won't be a true neighborhood place anymore, it'll be the afterthought in the middle of all the mall traffic.

And that's assuming there IS mall traffic!

Has anyone considered what might happen if the "new and improved" Bellevue Mall goes bust as well? The reason why the first Bellevue Mall went down is because it didn't offer anything that malls in other parts of town didn't already have, and because they didn't follow it up with any new development. So far, we haven't seen any indications that Bellevue Mall 2.0 is going to correct either problem. Most of the recent construction and development in Bellevue has taken place around Highway 100 between Natchez Trace and Old Hickory.

So in the best case scenario, we'll have a nice new mall and an incredibly inconvenient library. At worst, you'll have a library sitting in the middle of yet another empty parking lot.

Is it possible that this didn't occur to ANYONE else?

In The True Spirit Of Labor Day

What is Labor Day?

Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September. The holiday originated in 1882 as the Central Labor Union (of New York City) sought to create "a day off for the working man".

It's a day in which we honor the workers who are the backbone of the American economy. It's not just a day off from school and from work in which we get to have picnics and set off fireworks.

An obvious point? Apparently, not so much here in Tennessee.

Workers at the Tyson Foods poultry processing plant in Shelbyville will no longer have a paid day off on Labor Day but will instead be granted the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr.

According to a news release from the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, a new 5-year contract at the plant included the change to accommodate Muslim workers at the plant.

Union leaders say implementing the holiday was important for the nearly 700 Muslims, many of them Somalis, who work at the plant that employs a total of 1,200 people.

We have a fairly large population of Somali immigrants in Middle Tennessee. They escaped from their war-torn country in the hopes of being able to live and work in freedom.

I don't know about anyone else, but I look at this story and I see the true spirit of Labor Day come to life. The workers preferred to work on Labor Day and instead have a day off a month later. Through their union, they negotiated the change with the company. It may seem like a small change, but one that was extremely important for the workers. Isn't having a strong enough union to be able to effect such changes what Labor Day is all about? I look at this and think that the founders of Labor Day would be proud.

Of course, the wingnuts don't see it that way. They only need to see the very mention of a Muslim holiday before they go apeshit:

On one hand I’m torn. A private business should be able to give everyone 365 days off a year if they want. On the other hand, replacing Labor Day for a holiday to placate the most violent, intolerant, misogynistic religion on the planet may not be the greatest idea. And while it shows a politically expedient gesture to their employees where the company has financially given up nothing, it may not play as well to their customers.

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This is a frightening example of incrementalism, the process by which groups achieve partial means to an ultimate end. For those who believe that the current fight in the Middle East is religious in nature, this concession by Tyson brings us one step closer to accepting Sharia Law as the law of the land in the U.S.

OMG, they're refusing to honor an AMERICAN holiday and asking to honor their own traditions! We're all gonna die!

I would ask these conservatives though--what the hell do you care? It's a privately-owned business doing what they feel is in their best interest. Besides, it's not like any of you give two shits about American workers or organized labor. To you, Labor Day is exactly what I said it's not--a day for fireworks and picnics, nothing more. Workers are just those people who whine and make imposing demands and drive down stock prices, they're not real people who deserve a day of commemoration.

Oh, and by the way, Cornell University never gave us students Labor Day off either. You know why? Because Labor Day always falls near the High Holy Days, when many Jewish students (myself included), go to synagogue instead of class. There was no outrage then over how those Jews were imposing their beliefs on everyone else and how we weren't respecting an American holiday.

No, that kind of outrage is reserved strictly for the Muslims.

Personally, I would prefer to celebrate the true spirit of Labor Day. And I would like it if these wingnuts would not shove their anti-American lifestyle down our throats.

Whoops

Kathy Hilton, mother of Paris Hilton and a maxed-out McCain campaign donor, on the now infamous ad linking Paris and Britney Spears to Obama:

It is a complete waste of the money John McCain's contributors have donated to his campaign. It is a complete waste of the country's time and attention at the very moment when millions of people are losing their homes and their jobs. And it is a completely frivolous way to choose the next President of the United States.

Ouch.

If I were a McCain donor, I'd be royally pissed off, and not just because it's a frivolous ad. This whole dust-up goes to show that there really is no one in charge at the McCain campaign. Do these people not know who their big donors are?

Sounds like the $2300 donors are getting a rude awakening, and are beginning to realize that they've wasted all this money on a candidate and a campaign that are completely oblivious to the reality around them.

Oh, and by the way McCain campaign, Paris Hilton is so 2007. This ad could have been a lot more effective with an Amy Winehouse comparison.

How To Decipher A Jewish Mother

What a Jewish mother says:

"This is your last vacation before law school. I just want you to relax and enjoy yourself."

What a Jewish mother actually means:

"Get out of bed! We're going on a tour and then you're getting your hair done. Don't forget that I expect you to work out at some point today, you didn't really need that ice cream at dinner last night! And I'd better not catch you on that computer again! Why do you always have to be so anti-social?!"

CNN International Gets Boring After A Few Days

I've now seen the CNN story of how everyone in Copperhill, TN thinks that Barack Obama is a Muslim multiple times on the CNN International loop. It's driving me crazy and further contributing to my inability to truly relax on vacation.

My first problem with it, at the risk of "playing the race card", is that for a good deal of these people, I would venture to guess that the real problem is not that they think Obama is a Muslim:

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Barack Hussein Obama just doesn't sound an Anglo-Saxon
name to me.

Well, no shit, he's not Anglo-Saxon! His mother's family is Irish, if I recall correctly. So is their problem with Obama is that they think he's a Muslim, or that he's not Anglo-Saxon? Obama supporters constantly get accused of "playing the race card," but it's true--for some folks, "Muslim" is just a stand-in for "scary black man."

But there's a larger problem with the story, and that's with the media narrative. You could go anywhere in the country, even to New York City, and you could find people to go on camera and say that they think Obama is a Muslim. But they pick people in these random towns like Copperhill because it fits into the narrative of "Obama's problems" with white Appalachian voters. This was the story throughout the primaries as well. Not only do you get to put a dramatic spin on it by making it look as though Obama has fatal flaws, you also get to go "Haha, look at those simpletons in the South!" Two narratives for the price of one!

Should Obama go to places like Copperhill to clear up the misconceptions? Perhaps, if he's campaigning in Georgia and wants to make a quick swing across the border. But the days of elections hinging on the South and on Appalachia are over. It's not elitist to say so, just the truth. A handful of people in Copperhill believing that Obama is a Muslim is no reason for panic.

Feel Good Friday--The Lime In The Coconut Edition

It occurred to me today that while some young women worry that they're turning into their mothers, I worry that I'm turning into my dad. He and I both lack the ability to just fully relax on vacation, and just cut ourselves off from the cell phones and the Internet (hence my being on the computer right now). I do feel bad about it--I'm in Bora Bora, one of the most beautiful places in the world, and I genuinely wish I could just tear myself away from all technology for 10 days (although in my defense, as beautiful as it is here, there isn't much else to do at 9:00 at night. I'm not good at just sitting and relaxing unless I'm in a lounge chair with UV rays pouring directly down on me). I've got plenty of pictures from today that I'd like to upload, but the Internet here is patchy so you can't really upload anything. Hopefully I'll be able to do so once we're on the cruise.

At any rate, since it is 2 a.m. Central time, I figured I'd do my Feel Good Friday entry. Earlier today, I drank some coconut milk straight out of the coconut. While I can't yet post the picture of it, I can show you the song that was going through my head at the time: