Late Night: Lux perpetua

I saved this video for some reason.  It spoke to me, or, rather *sang* to me.   I think the music is from Mozart’s unfinished Requiem.  But the images of the waves crashing on the upright lighthouses was strangely stirring.

Let your little lights shine, PUMAs.  This too shall pass.

Saturday: A House Divided

I got a call from Quinnipiac this morning.  Whoo-hoo!  I’ve been *polled*.  I’m now just another statistic.  The poll questions didn’t allow for much elaboration.  I answered neither to more than one question.  I went off on a tangent about Frank Lautenberg.  He really ticked me off when he threw his support to Barack Obama.  And I will never forgive Jon Corzine for giving my vote to Obama at the Convention.

The party is at war with itself.  It’s not even a “civil” war.  Those of us who are witholding our votes from Obama have been subject to pressure, ridicule and sometimes threats of violence.  I have never seen a presidential nominee so contemptuous of voters.  First it was contempt for his own party’s base.  Now, it is extending to independent and Republican voters.  If you embarrass The Chosen One, his free PR machine, the media, will dig up details of your personal life to display to the rest of the country.  If you are a supporter of the opponent, you can be subject to beatings.  If you are a woman, you’re nothing more than a brainless vagina.  Obama is responsible for this.  If it wasn’t working for him, he’d call off his dogs.

Back in June, right after the RBC hearing, we made a decision to separate ourselves from the Hillary campaign.  We admire and respect her but we made a choice to stick up for ourselves.  Let us be clear: we are Democrats and Democrat leaning non-affiliated voters.  If any newcomers to this blog have any doubts about that, please visit my Credo in the tabs at the top of the page.  That is what we are trying to preserve.  We believe in the social safety net.

I’ve heard a lot of speculation that Obama is a socialist.  Some of us who have followed Democratic politics for a long time are pretty convinced he is not.  The evidence seems to suggest that Obama is a political opportunist.  He doesn’t run on any particular principle.  He is a chameleon who adapts to the environment of the people who can give him a boost up to the next rung of the ladder.  And he is very comfortable with using un-Democratic means to eliminate his opponents.

As a Democrat, who is presently unaffiliated out of protest, I am very distressed that an organization like ACORN has become a touchpoint of controversy.  It should not be controversial to assiste citizens in registering to vote.  We should all be applauding this.  Even David Iglesias suggests that the reason he and other US Attorneys were dismissed is because of their principled stance against prosecuting groups like ACORN for alleged voter fraud.  Unfortunately, ACORN may have been the tool by which Obama gamed the primary caucuses so the present claims of voter fraud are all too believable.  And now, this organization and others like it, who are assisting the poor, elderly and minority groups in voting, may be compromised in their mission.  Republicans must be absolutely delighted.

They must be delighted that they are about to reap the benefits of the DNC pitting women against African-Americans as well, not to mention the Whole Foods Nation against the working class.  But one thing we can be sure of is that after this election, the Democratic party will never be the same.  Our eyes have been opened.  Those of us in the Obama demographic who are women who voted for Hillary will have a hard time believing that the party has any interest in our issues.  The misogynism that was allowed to be unleashed by Obama’s campaign will haunt us for generations to come if he and the DNC are not held accountable.  If the most powerful woman in the nation can be taken out by a bunch of thugs, what is to stop businesses around the country from discriminating against us?  What will happen to women who compete with men for jobs?  What will happen to women on maternity leave coming back to work?  What will happen to women suffering from domestic violence?  If Obama is president, no one will be held accountable for the treatment meted out by testosterone poisoned men who have been given the green light to take what they want.

I recently spoke to a moderate Republican at a wedding who said that he thought that the reason we ended up with Obama was because the Democratic party had come together at the convention in the name of party unity.  I had to dispel that notion.  No, what actually happened was that the Democratic party took a little more than half of its pie and threw it away.  It suppressed us and called it unity.  But no unity can exist when no attempt is made to acknowledge or honor our will.  Even today, 17 days before the election, the Democratic nominee has made no attempt to reach out to us and the antics of his supporters continue to push us away.

We do have other places to go.  In fact, it is our obligation for us to do something other than acquiesce.  As Edmund Burke said, ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph [of evil] is for good men to do nothing.’ If we allow ourselves to be divided, with the Whole Foods Nation in their triumph cutting the poor, working class, minorities, elderly and women out of the process to become second class citizens, we give our permission to further acts of degradation.  We create a permanent underclass.  And this underclass may never again have enough wherewithal to achieve adequate representation in government to achieve its goals.

This is what Obama represents.   I am very sorry to have to disappoint Senator Clinton but when the pollster asked me if I would vote for Obama, I said “No”.  This is my choice and I take full responsibility for it.  If Democrats don’t all go forward into the future together, they shouldn’t go forward.  We should not allow the privieleged in the Democratic party secede in order to unburden itself from its obligations towards the common good.

What Abraham Lincoln said about the Union could apply to the Democratic party today, “”‘A house divided against itself cannot stand.'(Mark 3:25) I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other.”

Between Barack and a hard place – My open letter to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton

(Speaking for myself only)

Distinguished and Honorable Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton:

I am one of the 18 million people who voted for you, currently a resident of Florida, which is one of the many swing states you won during the Democratic primaries.  I voted for you because I believe in your “Solutions for America.”  I’ve scrutinized and scoured your plans and felt that you were the most qualified and most committed to solving the problems that our nation face at the result of the catastrophic 8 years of George W. Bush and his adminstration. 

My parents immigrated to the United States fleeing from a Caribbean dictator with that promise of freedom  for themselves and for their children in their hearts, so am I well aware as a first-generation American the value of Democracy and Liberty.  I am also one of those “invisible” people that you’ve fought for all your life, as I am a divorced single mother caring for an elderly parent.  Any change in gas prices, utility bills, milk, eggs, bread impacts my budget.  I’m also a lifelong Democrat and my first vote proudly was given to your husband in 1992, to which I am endebted for boosting the economy which allowed me to earn more income in my chosen career.  I know the great things you’ve accomplished as a Senator from NY because most of my family are your NY constituents.  They can’t be more thrilled to have you represent and fight for them in Washington, D.C.  

I, like you, believe in the tenets of our party of equality and social justice.  I believe in one person/one vote.  I believe in equality across the board of our diverse humanity, I believe in women’s reproductive rights, I believe in separation of church and state and I believe in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  I believe that despite its flaws, the United States is a country that has her arms open to anyone and everyone who wants to live in peace, who will work hard to achieve their potential and live in the freedom that was promised to us by our founding fathers (and mothers!) 

Your presidential platform soundly and realistically represents everything that I and the majority of Democrats want: Universal Healthcare, economic reform,  environmentally and economically sound energy independence, secure diplomatic platform while maintaining national security, comprehensive immigration reform, protecting women’s reporductive rights, pro-child and pro-teacher public education platform, etc.   You won my vote and 18 million votes, NOT because you are Bill Clinton’s wife and NOT because you are a woman, but because out of all the Democratic candidates, YOU have the best grasp to what the majority of Americans need and what will solve our nation’s problems.   You have a breadth of experience and gravitas and a PLAN that will help people like me and help heal the economic rift in our nation. 

Recently, you said in an interview to Fox and Friends that you were disappointed that people who voted for you are not supporting Barack Obama.   I’m sorry you feel that way, but would you like to know what I am beyond disappointed?  I’m disappointed that our party stole votes from you to cushion a neophyte panderer with ZERO experience.   The Democratic Party that you want me to support betrayed you, they betrayed the Democratic tenets of one person/one vote, they betrayed 18 million votes that were thrown away at the convention all for the sake of “party unity.”  Is Party Unity worth more than Democracy itself?  I don’t think so.  “Party Unity”is not why our soldiers bravely fight, nor why our civil rights heroes march, and not what made you become an honorable and exceptional civil servant for 35 years.    There are many people in this country who are not wealthy, but the one thing that they have, just as much as any rich man, is the right to vote.  If the right to cast a vote is marred in any way, then the United States can no longer consider itself a “Democracy” and no longer a source of pride and honor for its citizens.   And that is much more important than the price of gas, the lack of jobs and most definitely much more important than “party unity.”

At the Democratic Convention when you gave your brilliant speech that I call the “Keep Going Speech,” you asked your supporters “are you in this for me?”  My answer to you is NO, I’m not in it for you, I’m in it for me, my family and my country.   You want us to stand beside you in supporting Barack Obama, a man who was not elected by the majority of the Democratic Party and who stole votes and delegates from you to “win.”  Despite my respect and admiration for you, Senator Clinton, I cannot follow your lead.  You promised to work your heart out for the Democratic candidate, but I never promised to vote for that candidate especially when said candidate employed the tactics of George W. Bush of voter fraud to “win” his candidacy.

I understand that you are caught between a Barack and a hard place and you have to say what you are saying to appease the DNC overlords, but I own my vote and I will not reward a party that undermined Democracy.  I will not reward voter suppression and voter fraud.  I will not reward rampant misogyny.  I will not reward “faith-based initiative” pandering.  I will not reward a candidate that states that a woman has to consult a committee to decide on her own reproductive rights.  I will not reward the Democrats with a vote that was mutilated in the primaries, at the RBC and at the Democratic Convention in Denver. 

I hope that after this election, lifelong Democrats who are opposing the candidacy of Barack Obama can reform the party so that this disregard for Democracy and for Democratic tenets does not happen again.  

You’ll hear from me again on November 5th, 2008.

Respectfully yours (and until the Democratic Party keep acting like a rabid band of locusts eating away Democracy), I remain,

 

 

 

 

SM – Tampa, FL

¡Que Viva los PUMAs!

Friday Night Open Thread

So how are things with you?

Will the Pen be mightier than the Chad?

Remember the nightmare of the Hanging Chad in 2000 (or “Chads” if you’re Dennis Leary in this scene).   Here’s a reminder (language NSFW, hey it’s HBO):

I’m pleased to announce that the era of the “Hanging Chad” is behind us.  Ladies and gentlemen, I present you, THE PEN!

The following announcement is the new “paper trail” system that Floridians voted for and were penalized by the DNC in the January 29th primaries to ensure error-proof and transparent elections.  I’m still bleeding from the irony of it all.     

The Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Office is dedicated to providing Hillsborough County voters with the most reliable means of tracking voter intent.  The new optical scan voting system provides total security for every vote. It is supported by Supervisor of Elections Buddy Johnson and approved by the Florida Legislature and the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners.  From encryption of results to complete control of access, the new optical scan voting system ensures your vote is safe and counted.  Please view our video about the new voting system in English or Spanish

I gave the optical scan system a run on the August 26 elections for Circuit Court Judges.  Pretty nifty.  But  will a mistaken pen mark be the new “hanging chad” moment?

Overvoting and Undervoting

The tabulator will reject your ballot if you “overvote,” or select more than one choice in a contest. Tell the Precinct Election Official you want to request another ballot to make a revision.  If you “undervote,” or forget to make a choice in a contest, the tabulator will accept your ballot as is. If no ovals are filled in, the tabulator will reject the ballot and you may mark it.  To learn about other ways to vote in this year’s elections, visit the Early Voting and Request-A-Ballot^SM page.

So before the machine scans your ballot, check your homework.  If you’re the type to draw outside the lines, start practicing on lotto number sheets like these here: —>

After the RBC Fiasco, I decided that I would write-in Hillary’s name as a protest vote.  But if you are planning to write in Hillary’s name in Florida, PLEASE DON’T DO IT.  I called the Hillsborough County Board of Elections and a kind gentleman instructed me that any Write-In Candidate that requests to be counted by the Electoral College must submit paperwork before a specific date (which Hillary’s campaign did not do).  He also said that any Hillary Clinton write-in vote will be counted as a Barack Obama vote because they belong to the same party.  I urge all PUMA/Clinton Democrats to visit this link to find out your state’s write-in rules:  http://www.writehillaryin.com/Write_In_Facts_by_State.html and/or call your local elections board to find out what are the rules for write-in candidates.  We cannot afford to give Barack Obama more votes just because we wanted to write-in Hillary’s name.

Issues on the ballot include ownership of real estate by foreigners (wonder how that’ll fly with so many Canadian snowbirds),  a gay marriage ban (they put this on the ballot every election – I want equal rights for all!) and other land/tax issues that I really have to research before I make a decision how I’ll vote. 

Also curious, there are more Democrats than Republicans this year in my county.  Maybe Mickey Mouse, Jou Mama and Ima Bore moved to Tampa.  Here are the stats from Hillsborough Board of Elections webiste banner on each page:

Registered Voters as of 10/17/2008

Republican : 232,325

Democratic : 298,714

Other : 165,019

Total : 696,058

Hillsborough County is a major swing county – and as we’ve seen in previous elections, not all Democrats will vote for Democrats, and Republicans won’t just vote “Republican” and those pesky “Other” voters can swing it one way or the other.   If you already have you sample ballots online in your state, leave me a link in the comments section. 

After the jump is the sample ballot for Hillsborough County FL, with bolded names for the 30% solution vote.  Remember to choose your protest strategy wisely. 

Que viva los PUMAs!

Pesky Facts vs. Preferred Narratives

For over a week we have been hearing how McPalin rallies resemble lynch mobs screaming for the blood of Teh Precious.  Even His Excellency Paul Krugman said it:

Something very ugly is taking shape on the political scene: as McCain’s chances fade, the crowds at his rallies are, by all accounts, increasingly gripped by insane rage.

There’s one small problem with this media narrative:  IT’S NOT TRUE:

The agent in charge of the Secret Service field office in Scranton said allegations that someone yelled “kill him” when presidential hopeful Barack Obama’s name was mentioned during Tuesday’s Sarah Palin rally are unfounded.

Our friend gqmartinez put up a post at Corrente pointing out that these allegations are unfounded, and the reaction of the resident Obama supporters there is both revealing and disturbing:

Younger people, such as you, know of the JFK and MLK and RFK assassinations in the abstract, as things out of history, events that happened in another time and place of which you have only anecdotal knowledge and no visceral sense of context. Some of us writing here, including Sarah and myself, are old enough to have actually lived through them. We know, not just have heard about it but actually know, what those time sounded like and how it felt, the hatred and the fear and the violence and the sorrow.

Condescend much?  By the way, Robert Kennedy was killed by a Middle-Eastern immigrant who was angry over Kennedy’s support for Israel, not by a conservative Republican upset about the economy.

The point I’m trying to make is the SS found “no evidence” regarding the Scranton incident, only. That single data point got strewn all over the media echo chamber as refutation for ALL the incidents, and I find that suspect.

Except that “single data point” was the basis for all the original stories.  As Lambert quite rightly points out, the number of stories means nothing if they are all derived from the same source.

While most Correntians agreed with gqmartinez, the reaction of the Obama supporters at Corrente is typical of those who slurp the Kool-aid.  They engage in rationlization rather than rational thought:

. . . but there are multiple videos available of crowds chanting, and there is video available of the crowd booing McCain when he asked them to respect Obama.

I guess to the Sippy-Kup Kidz booing Obama is the same as shouting “Kill him.”  Of course Obama supporters think that “fairy tale” is racist and calling him “arrogant” or “presumptuous” is just another way of saying he is “uppity.”

Although it was off-topic, I was totally blown away by this comment in the thread at Corrente:

The phrase “taken into a room and only one of them comes out” is coarse and crude indeed but it is used all the time in regard to men and no one bats an eye. It certainly doesn’t mean “kill” in any way. In the macho mind the use with Hillary was an expression of equality – I know, but they’re weird in many ways – and could be seen as a sign of progress.

Welcome to Topsy-Turvyland!  As a man who watches sports and violent movies, I’ve never heard that phrase used in a nice way before.  The original and most often used version is “Two men enter, one man leaves” which comes from “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome” and it refers to a deathmatch between two people. 

Lambert’s response was more succinct: “Denialism.”

UPDATE

The reality:

 . . . here is a real district attorney’s complaint documenting an unprovoked assault by an enraged Democrat against a McCain volunteer in midtown Manhattan: “Defendant grabbed the sign [informant] was holding, broke the wood stick that was attached to it, and then struck informant in informant’s face thereby causing informant to sustain redness, swelling, and bruising to informant’s face and further causing informant to sustain substantial pain.”

The Clampdown: Coming To Your Neighborhood

According to FOX News’ anchor and attorney, Megyn Kelly, the GOP said that Ohio Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner should “fork over the list,” and Jen said no, she didn’t want to prepare the list. Apparently the SOS had better things to do with her time than to make sure voter registrations were not fraudulent. An Ohio Federal Court said she had to, but today the US Supreme Court said she didn’t.

So these registered Ohioans get to cast a real ballot and vote, not just a provisional ballot. The problem is that 200,000 of 666,000 who have registered since January 1, 2008, do not match.

From Ohio’s WBNS 10TV, October 17:

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat, faced a deadline of Friday to set up a system to provide local officials with names of newly registered voters whose driver’s license numbers or Social Security numbers on voter registration forms don’t match records in other government databases.

Ohio Republicans contended the information for counties would help prevent fraud. Brunner said the GOP is trying to disenfranchise voters.

The US Supreme Court ruled procedurally that they did not have jurisdiction over this matter and now time is running out.

One by one, as we see our curbs of freedom abated even BEFORE a potential Obama presidency, what will come to pass if this pretender assumes the throne? Be afraid, be very afraid. Take action. Speak up and speak out!

. . . and for every hung up person in the whole wide universe, and we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing. —Bob Dylan, 1964

UPDATE: The Cleveland Plain Dealer Politics Blog, in their updates, quotes both Brunner and the McCain campaign.

Brunner was elated with the ruling. “That’s it,” she said, noting that Republicans could not take their argument any further than the highest court in the country.

Brunner said the high court’s ruling shows that the state Republican party had no right to file the suit to begin with last week in an Ohio federal court.

“There was no private right of action here,” she said.

However, sounds like the Repubs aren’t done with this.

John McCain’s campaign, responding to the court decision, suggested Brunner cannot be trusted to make nonpartisan decisions in this election.

“Today’s decision by the United States Supreme Court does not address violations of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) by Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner,” McCain campaign manager Rick Davis said. “Rather, the court ruled that Congress had likely not authorized private individuals or political parties to bring suit under the section of HAVA requiring voter registration verification through data-matching. It remains our belief that American citizens should be guaranteed that their legitimate votes are not wiped away by illegally cast ballots. What is no longer in question is the partisan nature of Jennifer Brunner’s efforts to minimize the level of fairness and transparency in this election.”

How Dare You Question Dear Leader?

What The Heck Did I Do?

Poor Joe The Plumber. All he wanted to do was make an informed decision in this year’s election. So, he asked Barack Obama whether or not Obama’s proposed tax plan would affect him if he should buy a business that makes $250,000 – $280,000 a year. It’s a normal question for today’s taxpayer worried about the rising costs of living. Everyone’s freaking out about taxes these days – even my hubby, who is scared spitless by McCain’s proposal to tax health benefits paid by his company.

Unfortunately, Obama was without his teleprompter, and said something that triggered massive alarms throughout the land. Here is the whole interview without all of the editorial commentary that’s been added to it. The key moment is at 4:46.

Whooooops!

Friday: Jocularity! Jocularity!

The economy is in serious trouble and we’re looking forward to a Japanese style ‘recovery’.  The times desperately call for an FDR or a Hillary Clinton.  The DNC has given us Barack Obama.  Thanks for nothing, Howard Dean.  It goes without saying that none of us want 4 more years of Republican style economics so I hope John McCain gets religion.

After the stock markets closed yesterday, the two candidates, and Madame President Clinton, went to the Al Smith Dinner to roast one another.  As expected, Senator Obama’s roast was all about, er, Senator Obama.  He poked fun of his famed humility and the fact that he wasn’t really born in a manger.  No, the truth is, he was born on Krypton and his father is Jorel.  (Does he have the birth certificate???)  Well, you can guess the rest.  Yawwwwwwn.

John McCain, on the other hand, appears to be painfully aware of the actual dynamics of this year’s campaign and his own underdog status.  His roast was funny, sarcastic and a not very subtle indictment of the media.  The last bit about setting unreasonably high expectations skewered Obama and the pundits alike.  Hillary seemed to enjoy herself more during McCain’s speech.  Why not?  She’s not going to have to worry about managing the economy next year.

So, for the Friday Funnies, here is McCain’s roast:

McCain roast, part 1

McCain roast, part 2

Conflucian Cocktail Party: Dig Deep

This has been a very expensive election season.  The candidates may have racked up over a billion dollars in donations.  John McCain took public financing for the general, which makes me feel good because I’ve been checking off that damn box on my tax return for as long as I can remember.

But the election season isn’t over yet and there are still a lot of downticket races that could use your help.  If you can’t send money, consider donating your time.  You can do phone banking from home or canvass during the weekends.  It will all be over soon.  Just a little more effort and we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief.

And clean our houses.

Welcome to the Conflucian Cocktail Party.  This is the time of day where we collapse in a heap and chill with a drink.  The bar is to the left of the door and is manned by Rico, our bartender with flair.  Tonight’s special drink is a Coup de Grace.  We are also offering Causmos at $10.00 a piece.  Tonight, you can purchase a causmo for Democrats for Principle before Party to help them buy ads to run during the World Series.  Or you can help our ActBlue candidates.  Or help us reach the 30% solution by contrbuting to The Fab Four (Stender needs some yard signs.)  OR, you can help Hillary’s candidates through HillPac.  (Just skip the first guy)

Tonight’s entertainment is the Canadian with the smokey voice, Diana Krall.  Here’s the perfect song for the holdouts who still love Hillary in spite of her indentured servitude to the Obama campaign:

Ladies and gents, we have a classy joint here.  There will be no emotional manipulation or peer pressure applied here.  If you feel the need to convert someone, please go directly to Florence, our lovely checkroom attendant and she will be happy to take your trigger words for you. The waiters will be circulating shortly with samosas and chicken sate and peanut sauce. Please drink responsibly and tip your wait staff generously.

And join us at 10PM EST for Conflucians Say on PUMA United Radio (PURrrrr)