keep it up guys, sexism just makes us stronger

Sexist coverage of Hillary brings women to her corner

"Take a look at the pictures news outlets run (above). Typically, Hillary looks like a crazy person, her mouth agape, her eyes as bug-eyed as the runaway bride’s. Meanwhile, Barack Obama typically looks cool, calm, collected - or, better yet, pensive and reflective.

"Then there’s comparisons between Hillary and the “nagging housewife” or "everybody’s first wife.” There are the constant adjectives: angry, shrill, divisive, polarizing. They’re really just “code words for bitch,” said Hillary supporter Andrea Cabral, the sheriff of Suffolk County.

"It’s analogous to the reaction among blacks when Bill Clinton was running around South Carolina making racist remarks. Thousands reacted by voting for Obama. Women’s reaction to sexist slurs is just as visceral. And they’re voting in record numbers for Hillary.

"Meanwhile, the unspoken rules say you can still publicly trash women in a way you can’t publicly trash African-Americans. “Imagine if somebody said Barack Obama was pimping out his wife,” says Andrea Cabral. “What would never be said about race is the sport of kings when it comes to gender.”

link

Assessing Obama's Super Tuesday Performance

Bob Burnett offers ten advantages that Barack Obama holds over Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination.

1. Senator Obama came out of Super Tuesday in a virtual tie with Senator Clinton in terms of votes and delegates; it's clear he has a real shot at winning the Democratic Presidential nomination. A year ago, few of us would have predicted this would happen. He's run a surprisingly strong campaign; many would say a better operation than that of the vaunted Clinton machine.

2. He has proved his candidacy has broad appeal. On Super Tuesday, Senator Obama won more "pledged delegates" and more states than Senator Clinton. And, he won in "red" states, places like Alabama and Kansas.

3. By winning the majority of male voters in most primaries, regardless of race, Senator Obama dispelled the myth that he is a strictly a black candidate - he won 46 percent of the white votes in California and 52 percent of the white men. At this writing New Mexico is a virtual dead heat, as 1100 votes separate Clinton and Obama; he carried 55 percent of all White voters.

4. Senator Obama has overcome the huge advantages of the Clinton campaign: high name recognition and having prepared for three years. Senator Clinton's California campaign had been well organized for more than a year. While Senator Obama had fundraisers here since February of 2007, he did not have a campaign infrastructure in place until January; therefore it's not surprising he lost. After his wins in Iowa and South Carolina, there was a rising wave of enthusiasm for the Illinois Senator but it came too late to translate into the substantial infrastructure needed to carry California.

5. While Senator Obama did have a gender and race problem in California - he carried only 34 percent of women overall, 29 percent of Latino voters and 23 percent of Asians - this was not the case in New Mexico. He did significantly better among Latinos in New Mexico than he did in California, which suggests that when Hispanic voters get to know him, they will support him.

6. Senator Obama has proved to be a terrific fundraiser. In January he raised more than $31 million while Senator Clinton collected only $13 million and was forced to lend her campaign $5 million. There's little doubt that Senator Obama will have the funds to continue the contest for as long as necessary. Indeed, there are many who suggest the Clinton strategy was to secure the Democratic nomination on Super Tuesday and, since she didn't, she is now at a financial disadvantage because Senator Obama has a larger number of donors.

7. The Democratic presidential race has been reduced to two contenders. As we go forward, Senator Obama's name recognition will improve. This will help him garner more support, as increased public familiarity will dispel the notion he is less experienced than Senator Clinton.

8. Ultimately, the Democratic candidate will face Senator John McCain. National polls indicate Senator Obama runs ahead of McCain, while Senator Clinton does not. Political observers posit that in a campaign pitting Obama versus McCain, the relative youthfulness of the Illinois Senator is a big factor, as he wins young voters by decisive majorities regardless of race or gender. Furthermore, Obama runs stronger in the south and mid west than does Senator Clinton. (This can be seen in Tuesday's results from Georgia where the total votes cast for Obama exceeded the combined totals of the two leading Republican candidates: Huckabee and McCain.)

9. Senator Clinton has high unfavorability ratings. Political observers argue the reason Senator Obama runs better against McCain than does Senator Clinton is due to her strong negatives, particularly the antipathy felt by Republican voters. It is widely believed that if the November contest were to pit McCain versus Clinton many Republicans would show up at the polls in order to vote against Senator Clinton - her presence on the ticket would improve the chances of the Republican candidate.

10. Many political insiders believe Senator Obama's nomination would be better for the Party as a whole; they argue he will "have coat tails" - help the entire ticket - whereas Senator Clinton will not. They note she will run well in blue states such as California and New York, but point out that Senator Obama will run equally well in those areas and much better in red states such as Georgia and Kansas, and purple states such as Colorado and Minnesota. And, in the final analysis November is not just about Democrats winning the presidency, it's also about increasing Democratic majorities in Congress.

The bottom line is that Barack Obama will remain in the race for the Democratic Presidential until the August convention, where he could prevail if delegates recognize he is a better fit for the entire ticket

a light at the end of the tunnel?

link

"An end to Hollywood’s long and bitter writers’ strike appeared close on Saturday, as union leaders representing 12,000 movie and television writers said they had reached a tentative deal with production companies.

"The strike, which began Nov. 5, remains in effect until the governing boards of the two writers’ guilds gauge the sense of their membership this weekend and decide whether to end the walkout. The boards are expected to meet as early as Sunday, and the strike could be over by Monday morning."

via the new york times

republican debate - tripleR (ronald reagan redux)

they've brought out the crazy guns against mccain now...

Unhinged Coulter Compares McCain to Hitler, Clinton to Stalin

Speaking before the Young America's Foundation, who invited her over CPAC's* objections, the conservative author spent most of her time viciously attacking her party's new presumptive presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain.

"A serious case could be made to support Hillary Clinton," she declared, offering the analogy of Winston Churchill backing Stalin in the fight against Hitler in WWII. "I'm not equating Hillary Clinton to Stalin, and if I did I apologize to Stalin's decedents... I'm not comparing McCain to Hitler. Hitler had a coherent tax policy." Later, she added, "The only way I can promise that I won't vote for Hillary Clinton is if John McCain appoints her as his vice president."

*CPAC = Conservative Political Action Conference


via huffingtonpost

Obama, others respond to Romney's concession speech

On Thursday, February 7, 2008, Mitt Romney dropped out of the 2008 presidential race, declaring that:

“If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror.”

One questions whether in fact, Romney's concession is instead the result of his poor showing on Super Tuesday at the hands of McCain and Huckabee. The West Virginia "backroom deal" was a particularly disappointing loss for his campaign... and solid proof that the other candidates really hate him.


Barack Obama responded to these accusations with this statement:

“No Democrat has suggested that we surrender to terrorism. Democrats have suggested that we start withdrawing out of Iraq so we can focus our attention on terrorism. But, you know, it’s a classic example of trying to conflate the war against real enemies with the failed strategy of the Bush Administration in Iraq. ” Obama said in response to a follow-up question. “It’s those sort of glib statements that I think got Romney consistently in trouble in this race.”

A very well-reasoned response.



Here's Jon Stewart's take on Romney's concession speech.





Next is a video of the full Romney concession speech, including almost 19 minutes in the beginning before he finally gets around to conceding. The concession part starts around 18.55.

Text of Romney's concession speech here, if you'd rather read it than watch it.



Quick story: i was in a suburb of boston yesterday, and my taxi driver told me a story of how mitt romney's daughter in law sideswiped him a few years ago, when romney was still gov of massachussets. she took off his side mirror, smashed in the door, and would have taken off his hand or arm, had he not just in time brought his arm back inside the car window, after putting it outside to toss a cigarette butt. he said he had to chase her for more than 80 feet before she stopped. she wanted to hit and run. very american of her.

chinese balloon fashion show

these are fab!

















click here to see more.



link via dunn

living in nyc gives this website a whole new meaning...

via overheard in new york


Unassailable Logic: A NYC Short Story

Conductor: Ladies and gentlemen, our train cannot proceed because of the passenger on the tracks.
Young black dude: If he is on the tracks, he is not a passenger. Let's go!

--N train

Overheard by: Julia

... Updating God's MySpace Profile for Him

Bald white monk in orange robes: [Mumbling to himself.]
Bimbette, to friend: I guess he's, like, praying for a safe journey.
Bald white monk in orange robes: No, I'm on the phone [shows BlackBerry].

--Metro-North

Overheard by: jharris

Shut Up, T!

Old lady: My grandson Brad and his Jewish wife had a baby.
Old man: That's very nice. And they're all doing well?
Old lady: I guess.
Old man: What is the baby's name?
Old lady: I don't know. Some long Jewish name.
Teenager: They named her 'Amy,' Grandma. Her name is Amy.

--M42 bus

I Got Yer Rhapsody In Blue Right Here!

Tourista #1, about street sign with large bend in middle: Why does the Gershwin Way sign have a curve in it like that?
Tourista #2: I think it's to symbolize Gershwin's music.
New Yorker passerby: A truck backed into it, ya stupid bitches.

--NW corner, E 50 St & Broadway

Overheard by: Big Larry

Where Have You Been?

Drunk, to queer: Fag!
Queer: ... Dad?

--14th & 8th

Overheard by: Ray

Our Bad

Girl #1: So, we have a bet -- if I have sex first, then I have to wear a shirt that she's written all over, but if she-- [looks around].
Girl #2: If she what?
Girl #1: ... I'll tell you later. I feel like people are listening, and I don't want to end up on some website.

--Starbucks, 51st & Broadway

stop a bush war with iran

from moveon:

"We've got a lot to figure out when it comes to the threat of war with Iran. But one thing is absolutely clear: we don't need the same administration that bungled the war with Iraq leading us into a new crisis with Iran.

"Bush has proven to be a reckless leader, and if we don't draw a line in the sand, he could start another war before we know it. There are bills in Congress that make it perfectly clear that the President has no authority to go to war with Iran. But folks need to speak up and be heard before it's too late."

click here to sign the petition.

wonder what mccain will say about this one?

CIA Director Michael Hayden testified before Congress on Tuesday that government interrogators used waterboarding, often described as simulated drowning, on three suspects captured after the Sept. 11 attacks of 2001.

Defending the harsh interrogations, Hayden told reporters on Tuesday the questioning of Mohammed and Zubaydah accounted for one-quarter of human intelligence reports on al Qaeda from the time of their capture in 2002 and 2003 until they were delivered to Guantanamo Bay prison in 2006.

perhaps they thought this news story would go unnoticed on super tuesday. not so... sorry guys.

i wonder what that "intelligence" was? (it wasn't us, it was intelligence! bad intelligence!) i'm surprised they didn't make something up about how this "intelligence" directly prevented a planned attack against the us. of course, even if they had collected such information (doubtful imo), telling us about it would be giving the american people information, something this administration has consistently refused to do.

until now, for some reason. wonder why they finally released this info. maybe bush and his cronies are finally just giving up. or maybe they really want mccain to lose.

still, with al-qaeda growing stronger in pakistan, iraq, and throughout the world, and bin laden still un-captured (as far as we know), one wonders exactly how useful that torture-derived "intelligence" really was.

regardless of its "usefulness," torture is clearly unacceptable, as amnesty international said in its response to hayden's announcement.


mccain's comments on waterboarding from september 22, 2006



let's see if he changes his tune...

super tuesday live thread

12:55 am ~ and obama wins alaska.

ok, it's bedtime folks. bye for now.


12:45 am ~ romney wins colorado.
huck wins tennessee.

i think that makes 5 wins for each of them tonight.


12:40 am ~ obama is "apparent winner" in missouri!


12:15 am ~ clinton wins california. so does mccain.

i was hoping that california would go to obama. ny too.

probably the substantial latino population in california had a lot to do with clinton's win.

oh well. it's not over yet. and clinton is pretty awesome too, so either way, i'm happy, as long as whoever it is beats mccain (which i think either of them can do).


11:51 pm ~ so... DHinMI, a very wise person over at dailykos has posted the very real fact that the democratic delegate counts should be ignored, and here's why:

"Until the votes are completely tallied, we won't know the proportion of the votes won in a given state by Hillary Clinton and the proportion won in that
state by Barack Obama. Furthermore, about 75% of the pledged delegates awarded based on tonight's results will be parceled out by Congressional District, with the other 25% awarded proportionally based on the statewide totals. Are any states completely done tallying the statewide totals and the congressional district by congressional district breakdowns? No. Therefore, it's impossible to know what the delegate count is."

sooo... please disregard all the democratic delegate counts i have posted below ;) sorry!


11:50 pm ~ obama is making an awesome speech. and he just won colorado.

YES WE CAN!


11:33 ~ romney wins minnesota... i think that's his 4th win tonight. huck's won 4 states as well. interesting.


11:15 pm ~ clinton wins arizona

the democratic delegate count hasn't changed, but check out the gop count:
mccain - 367
romney - 127
huckabee - 91 (there's georgia)

of course these counts are sans california. we'll see what happens when they call that race.


10:56 pm ~ as clinton speaks in new york, the screen announces that obama has won minnesota and idaho. california is too close to call for both parties.


10:49 pm ~ one more casualty from the severe weather, this time in tennessee


10:45 pm ~ huck wins georgia. that was a close race all night - a three way tie since the polls closed. very interesting. a repeat of west va? or just good ol' georgians?

one last delegate count update before the next big wave at 8 pm PST.

clinton - 160
obama - 138 (9 more than the last count, perhaps those were from KS and CT)

mccain - 314 (!)
romney - 127
huck - 58 (i expect this will change soon with the georgia win)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

let me take a quick break from my election obsession to say this:

I LOVE MY BOYFRIEND SO MUCH!!!

and now back to your regularly scheduled program...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

10:30 pm ~ obama wins kansas and... connecticut!
let's take a look at that delegate count now.

clinton - 160
obama - 129

so i guess obama got 20 delegates from north dakota and utah? perhaps kansas and CT but i don't think they're counted yet.


10:03 pm ~ obama wins north dakota. and utah! what the heck?


9:52 pm mccain wins oklahoma. the pundits joke that it's the first non-coastal state he's won. because, you know, he's so liberal. ha. ha.


9:43 pm ~ the delegate counts at this hour:

clinton - 160
obama - 109

mccain - 291
romney - 91
huck - 58

wow... mccain is kicking ass.


also... a news story lost in the super tuesdayness of it all...

elections don't kill people, tornadoes kill people.
that really sucks :(


9:20 pm ~ mccain wins NY.
clinton wins new jersey.

chris matthews just compared mccain to an amtrak train. he is so lame. thank god olbermann is there to shut him up.


9:09 pm ~ with the NY win, the democratic delegate count has changed...
clinton - 141
obama - 106
edwards - 26 (that ain't gonna change, not tonight anyway)


9:00 pm ~ clinton wins NEW YORK! that surprises me.
obama wins delaware.

chris matthews keeps saying that clinton "has beaten the kennedys in massachusetts." annoying.


8:58 pm ~ clinton wins massachussets. sorry teddy.


8:54 pm ~ the democratic delegate count is currently:
obama - 106
clinton - 83
edwards - 26

does edwards get to give those delegates to obama or clinton? or do they just go away?

current republican delegate count:
mccain - 172
romney - 91
huckabee - 58

8:53 ~ huck wins alabama (not a surprise)

8:30 pm ~ clinton and huckabee win arkansas. i wonder if huckabee got thrown more votes this time or if it was a legitimate win?

mccain wins new jersey, illinois and delaware.

an interesting note - polls are showing that evangelical voters only slightly favor huckabee (33%) over mccain and romney (both 30%). it's kind of nice that they aren't biased against romney for his mormonism. i guess christianity is christianity when you're facing "the threat of evil islamic terrorists who want to destroy our country!" (sarcasm mine)


8 pm ~ big poll closing time...

clinton wins oklahoma
obama wins illinois
romney wins massachussets
mccain wins connecticut
clinton wins tennessee

all other races too close to call or too early to call.


7:47 pm ~ why do latinos lean towards clinton vs obama? the so called "black-brown divide"?


7 pm ~ barack obama projected to win in georgia! gop too close to call between mccain, romney and huck. can't wait to see what happens in ca and ny... although georgia was an "expected" win for obama, i have a feeling this is going to be a big night for him everywhere.


5:34 pm ~ ooh, romney is PISSED that huckabee won west va, he's blasting mccain for making a "washington backroom deal" and stealing his votes!

"Governor Romney had enough respect for the Republican voters of West Virginia to make an appeal to them about the future of the party based on issues. This is why he led on today’s first ballot... Sadly, Senator McCain cut a Washington backroom deal in a way that once again underscores his legacy of working against Republicans who are interested in championing conservative policies and rebuilding the party.” - Beth Myers, Romney’s national campaign manager

mccain scoffed at these accusations, saying he knew nothing about any of these deals.

well all's fair in love, war and politics... besides i love watching these guys bitching at each other. the other republican candidates seem to have formed a "we hate romney" club. poor little millionaire.

click here to read the details of how these fellas bought and sold their delegates in west virginia. ron paul, for example, threw his delegates to huckabee in exchange for 3 of the 18 west va delegates that huckabee would win (republican primaries are traditionally "winner take all"), while mccain, with a primary goal of stopping the romney threat, had his staffers start "parading around the hall carrying signs telling their delegates to vote for Huckabee."

caucuses are interesting.


2:33 pm ~ huckabee wins west virginia.

wow. i wonder how many other southern states he's going to win? he may not be written off tonight. or he will. we'll see!


1:11 pm ~ california is going to determine this whole thing... it's going for obama. even delegate wise. that's my prediction. (update 2/6/08 ~ ok so i was wrong...)

the ted/carolyn kennedy endorsement is also going to help obama a lot. you gotta wonder what kind of personal relationship exists between the clintons and the kennedys, and whether the obama endorsement is a reflection of that relationship, especially give that the kennedys themselves are split on clinton and obama.

funny how ted's family is for obama, and bobby kennedy's family is for clinton.
(update 2/6/08 ~ bobby's family is clearly superior ;) )

12:42 pm ~ so, mother nature doesn't want us to vote? i wonder if this affects anyone... probably obama and huckabee, since the "tornado" states are in the south...


12:05 pm ~ ok, so it looks like the coastal states (california, new york, new jersey) are going to go for obama. ESPECIALLY california. the question is, will obama draw even with clinton, or will be far surpass her? could he be the clear winner tonight in terms of delegate numbers? i'm going to research that.

the colbert/conan/stewart battle - a video summary

this is so classic. these guys are so nutty without writers... i love it!

i've embedded all the videos below so that they are all in one place for your watching pleasure...


the show that started it all

tuesday, january 29, 2008




the story

(you can read this or just skip to the rest of the videos below...)

in the video above, a clip from the colbert report on tuesday, january 29, 2008, stephen gives us the background of the feud. when huckabee won the iowa caucus, stephen colbert claimed responsibility for this, saying that he had given huckabee the "colbert bump." not long after, conan o'brien claimed that in fact HE made huckabee, by energizing walker texas ranger, therefore energizing chuck norris, who in turn energized huckabee.

colbert responded to this claim with threats to conan's person, and conan responded to these threats by saying that just by mentioning colbert's name on his nbc show, he was breathing life into colbert's career... therefore, if conan made colbert, and colbert made huckabee, then conan made huckabee!

hang on, it gets even more ridiculous. ah, syllogisms.

at this point, colbert becomes sad and is almost ready to concede defeat, but just as he is about to, jon stewart appears on colbert's stage! jon has brought an incriminating vhs tape (yes, vhs) that proves that he, jon, made conan, and therefore, as conan made colbert, and colbert made huckabee, it must be inferred that jon stewart actually made huckabee!

jon then goes on to suggest that conan may perhaps have a response to this - "to waste time on all three of our shows!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

the following monday (yesterday), colbert comes onto jon's show to thank him, and the two of them are gloating over their victory, when suddenly... a sinister looking conan appears on the stage. the beginnings of a rumble ensue, but jon says he has to finish his show before the fight, so colbert and conan must go into the hallway to wait (to jon's immense relief).

monday, february 4, 2008




jon's moment of zen... he goes to join the battle, but finds conan alone, as stephen has already left to start his own show. and so the rumble moves on over to colbert's show...





that same evening, on colbert's show, stephen seems to have forgotten about the feud, and begins to claim that by the transitive property of huckabee, stephen colbert is john mccain! stephen then goes on to reiterate his position that all of this is due to the fact that he, colbert, made huckabee. however, jon stewart, overhearing this from next door (which is amazing, given that his show is actually taped about 10 blocks away!), bursts onto colbert's stage to rebuke him, and further, to claim that he, jon stewart, is actually jon mccain.

just then, an angry looking conan strides onto the stage... all 3 of them begin to take off belts and shoes, and the fighting is just about to get good... when colbert tells them that the fight must wait until the colbert report is over. and so jon and conan go out into the hallway to wait... again.





colbert finishes his show and goes outside to fight... however, he finds jon alone, as conan has left to do his show, so jon and stephen must wait for conan to finish his show.





and later that night, on conan's show, the battle - finally - ensues.




the end (or is it?)




**this post is dedicated to my mom, who was the one who made me aware of this whole silly thing! thanks mama :)

california DTS voters - don't forget to mark box 6!

californians take note - if you registered to vote as DTS (decline to state), you can still vote in the democratic primary on february 5.

When you do, be sure to mark box 6 (see sample ballot below). otherwise, your vote may not be counted.



in an informative little post entitled I Know, Let's Make Voting Harder , dday over at digbys reveals that...

... in Los Angeles County, if a DTS voter requests their Democratic ballot and casts their vote, but does NOT mark "Democratic" in the appropriate space, will indeed not be counted. The ballot will go through the scan-tron machine, not register as a counted vote, AND will not spit back out for the voter to fix.

i know there's a lot you cali folks who are NOT in LA, but if you are registered DTS, i suggest taking a look at the ballot sample above (just in case) and make sure you mark box 6 when you cast your vote in order make certain that your vote is counted!

if you were wondering, californian DTS voters cannot vote in the republican primary as they have "closed" elections.

i love stevie wonder

stevie wonder endorses barack obama... and sings!

who are you voting for tomorrow (or whenever your state's primary is)?

i am still undecided.

clinton has a better (imo) health care plan.

obama gives more inspiring speeches and seems to represent more authentic change. and will bring out the youth vote like never before in recent history. for just one example, check out this amazing video... yes we can!

but then, having a woman for president would be a bigger change than just having another man of a slightly different skin color. that would be an essential change and one i think would have far-reaching positive consequences for women in the us and, to a lesser extent, throughout the world.

however, i think a black man is more "electable" - in this country right now - than a woman. especially with all the misogyny against hillary clinton that has been in our popular culture for at least 16 years. someone said that she "reminds baby boomer men of their first wives." like this should matter. but of course, it does.

but the last clinton years were so good - and her policies would be very close to his i think... and we know that works really well for most people.

so, according to my tv, obama is now leading in massachusetts. the effect of the kenney endorsements, they say.

i still don't know.

what do you think?