Laid Back Thursday

I’m taking the evening off to watch some TV and just veg a bit.  But I found this hillarious video over at Cannonfire that I couldn’t pass up:

Yes, Obamaphiles, this is really the way the world sees you.  It was that bad.  Time for rehab.

This is an open thread.  What’s on your mind?

Voting Clusterf_ck of mass proportions in Tampa

FIRST, this is what the Board of Elections reports for Hillsborough County, FL – 87% counted so far:

PRESIDENT/VICE PRESIDENT	Vote type summary	Precinct detail map
384 of 384 Precincts Reporting
Percent Votes John McCain (REP) 46.60% 228,323 Barack Obama (DEM) 52.40% 256,753

NOW, read this fromTBO.com and notice where they decided to skew the story and do the math:

A Tale of Two Parties: Myths, Realities and Strategies in the General Election

What Happened?

Now that the shock and disbelief of Election Night have passed (and I must admit, I feel no small relief to finally have the matter decided), I find myself more able to analyze what happened on Tuesday. And unsurprisingly, it isn’t the tale the media told us.

We are all supposed to believe that the Democratic turnout was enormous and unprecedented. The youths and the AA’s came out in droves. It was an outpouring never seen before for the most Unifying and Post-Partisan Candidate Ever! We are also supposed to believe that Obama’s electoral strategy of expanding the map into the South and West through that turnout was successful, and that his Holy Awesomeness was recognized throughout the land. Yea, verily, he is the President of All The People! (Yes, I heard a pundit on MSNObama actually say words to that effect on Election Night.)

Yet, in fact, none of these things are actually true. All the assumptions above are based on nothing but pretty stories – indeed, I might say, with a hat tip to Bill Clinton, “fairy tales.”

Commenter Cognitive Dissonance mentioned this yesterday, but I had already seen bloggers State of Disbelief and Edgeoforever mentioning it on PUMA sites during the day. From EOF’s site, let’s take a look at the actual turnout numbers this year, compared to the numbers in 2004, the election between the Worst President Ever and Senator John Kerry, a man for whom I gladly voted.

2004
62,040,606-Bush
59,028,109-Kerry
411,304 Nader

2008
63,507,800 – Obama
56,151,859 – McCain

Youth voters only ^ 1%
AA voters ^ 2%

So, this enormous and unprecedented turnout for Obama was only unprecedented for a Democrat. It amounted to 4.5 million more votes than John Kerry, and only 1.5 million more than Bush. The PUMA factor is being estimated at between 2.7 million and 2.9 million, and we must not forget the role of the much-investigated ACORN in registering all those new voters, some as many as 72 times each. As usual, stories of election fraud will be suppressed by the corporate media, since their favored candidate has won once again; but I suspect that ACORN contributed greatly to those surprising numbers in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida. In any case, the PUMA numbers were very close to matching the “massive turnout” numbers for Obama.

One myth down.

The second myth is that Obama could win without PUMAs because he was going to “expand the electoral map.” He felt he even had a chance in deep red states like Kansas, but counted on states like North Carolina, Iowa, Colorado and Virginia to make up for his possible losses in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida. Obama’s map held up, and even improved in the General Election (although many of the red states Obama thought he would win stayed red).

However, in the primaries Hillary Clinton disputed that map, and so did we. The numbers were simply not there for Obama. But we didn’t realize that he would have a lot of help – not just from ACORN, but from…Republicans.

As we know, Barack Obama is the most scandal-ridden Democratic Party nominee in recent memory. He is our Rudy Giuliani, whose mob ties, failures of judgment on 9/11 (putting the emergency response center in the World Trade Center so he could see it from his bachelor pad) and inveterate and classless womanizing caused him to self-destruct in the primaries. Yet where were the 527 ads against Barack Obama this year? They wouldn’t even have had to lie this time, the way they shamefully did in 2004 about John Kerry’s military service.  Obama repeatedly insulted working-class voters, cementing his elitist creds in a way Al Gore and John Kerry never did or could. Obama really DOES hang out with domestic terrorists. Obama’s pastor, mentor and friend of 20 years is an unrepentant, America-hating misogynist and racist, who is close friends with renowned anti-Semite and whackjob Louis Farrakhan. Obama’s associates in Illinois are being investigated and indicted. His birth, his education and most of his life are shrouded in mystery. The slightest bit of investigation uncovers a mountain of dirt and doubt. In addition, his choice for Vice President made Dubya look well-spoken. So why did the Republicans not do what they do best, and destroy the opposition?

There is nothing else to conclude other than this: the Party hung McCain and Palin out to dry. They threw the election. Influential conservative commentators pulled their punches, and some even backed Obama openly. KKKarl Rove was on the teevee saying that an Obama win was inevitable. The media leaked stories of chaos within the campaign regarding McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate. The Republican Party allowed Governor Palin to be savaged in the press (and it is still happening), despite the brave statements of a few Republican women when she was first introduced to the public. Senior Republicans snarled that she was not ready, inexperienced, an embarrassment. Key Bush figures like Colin Powell and Scott McClellan endorsed Obama. The evangelical base never supported McCain, despite the addition of a Christian conservative to the ticket. This behavior was a shocking departure from the Party of the past, which had always followed Reagan’s Eleventh Commandment.

The effect of all of this undermining was undeniable: 56 million voters came out for McCain, and 62 million voters came out for Bush.

We don’t know what the PUMA factor was, since a lot of PUMAs voted third party, left the top of the ticket blank, or wrote in Hillary. Some even stayed home in protest. Those PUMA votes would neither have gone to McCain nor Obama. However, if we assume for theoretical purposes that about a third of PUMAs voted McCain, that means that at least 7 million fewer Republicans voted for McCain than Bush.

The short-sightedness of these voters astonishes me, for John McCain and Sarah Palin were the only shot the Party had at redemption. They were rebranding the Party as the Party of feminism, tolerance, government oversight and responsible spending. That brand is now lost to the Republicans. The Democrats will never regain that brand either, because they trashed the person who exemplified it, Bill Clinton, in order to gain Barack Obama. The Republican Party Leaders found themselves a Democratic George Bush, and they did everything in their power to help him win.

Some well-meaning Republicans think they can rebuild the Party by going “back” to conservative principles. Sorry, but wow! Get a clue, guys: Republicans never govern the way they say they will. George W. Bush was beloved by the base, and he was completely anti-conservative. The government grew huge under his Administration; spending was out of control; and he all but destroyed the Constitution with his faith-based initiatives and unprecedented seizing of executive power in the name of “National Security.” Of course, he “kept us safe” too; that is, if you forget that 9/11 happened on his watch and so did the anthrax attacks, and that he created thousands of NEW terrorists by instigating two invasions and occupations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Well, if Bush is what you love, oh Republican voters, have no fear: Barack Obama seems poised to continue smoothly in the tracks laid so deeply by George W. Bush. There will be no oversight of anything, with a one-Party government in power; out-of-control spending will certainly continue; and faith-based initiatives and warrantless wiretapping are both enthusiastically supported by the Senator from Illinois. Oh, and Joe Biden promises us death and destruction within six months, so you may get your terrorist attack too. Well-done, folks! And I feel so lucky, living in New York! Golly gee, I sure hope I live through Obama’s first term, unlike 3,000 of my compatriots in Bush’s first term, and so many, many thousands more in his second. But hey, what does it matter as long as you all get what you want?

Poor John McCain and Sarah Palin. Poor Bill and Hillary Clinton. They are career politicians without a Party. Both Democratic and Republican Party Leaders teamed up with the media to elect Barack Obama this year. No one else ever had a chance.

I am sure that within a few months of Barack Obama’s inauguration, we will know a lot more about what he intends to do to, er, for, America. One thing we know for certain is that the media never, EVER likes the candidate that is good for our country. They liked Reagan. They liked Bush. How’d those guys work out for us?

As I said before, I understand the joy that so many Americans are feeling. But if you look at the reality of what happened on Tuesday, you will see that it was a very ominous sign. Yesterday, Russia felt emboldened to announce a very aggressive move that they had been threatening to make for months. The stock market fluctuated wildly yesterday, but ended up down 145.44 points – an extremely unusual event on the day after an election – and today, it is plummeting further. I fear that things are going to get worse for Americans before they get better.

I do have faith that our democracy will survive, however; but only if enough of us are willing to discard our party loyalty and work together to make it happen. I invite everyone of all political stripes to join us in the effort to become more than hopeless pawns of the corporations that run our media and our political parties. I will have an updated blogroll soon, which will provide more information about things you can do to help.

In the meantime, while we organize and focus, stay strong, my fellow Americans, and remember this quote:

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

Margaret Mead
US anthropologist & popularizer of anthropology (1901 – 1978)

PUMA POWER!!!

Both Sides Now

I’m feeling a bit numb, but not comfortably. Just letting everything settle in. Although I had Patron on election night and not Southern Comfort like madamab, I’m moving a bit slowly, but no migraine!

I thought that November 5th would be the day that my life would return to normal, and mark my political devotional journey’s end. One way or the other, I could return to civilian life. Heh. Hasn’t happened yet. Tomorrow. Apparently, it’s hard to get moving, or declare a direction for myself after stopping short.

The morning after, Riverdaughter congratulated Obama and his supporters, whose dreams were fulfilled, saying she understood their joy. She made some waves! I get what she was feeling, because I saw it wash over her at our NYC election night gathering. Congratulations to Obama and The Democrats! And really, would we have wanted them to be sore losers? (Whoops, I forgot: they already were–to Hillary.) From what we’re seeing, Obama’s election to the Presidency is a huge participatory be-in where African Americans can finally be vindicated, feel and see that there’s a way up for them, and that we respect them.

Baby boomers who fought in the civil rights movement are celebrating that they don’t have to leave the country, that their sixties spiritual dreams are fulfilled, and that anything is possible. Even some of my mom’s generation, who were born eighty-something years ago and live in Florida, went for Obama. Hard-core feminists disliked and demonized both Clinton and Palin, and went to Obama. I’m writing, keeping to myself at home, so they don’t see the tread marks up my back.

By any measure of my life up to this year, I’d be as happy as a clam at the big win. Instead, I feel let down. I’m an emotional being. My beef all along has been about the means, the dirty means, the integrity-less, back-stabbing, issue-equivocating, race-baiting, misogynistic, homophobic, money-mongering, combo far right/left MEANS. Period.

Had either Hillary or Sarah gone to the White House, I don’t see that women and men would have universally and spontaneously rejoiced in the streets all over the country like they did for Obama. Do you? Reclusive Leftist wrote that women are just supposed to wish that everyone else does well, regardless if it’s to their own detriment. I’m thinking about that, thinking and wondering.

Some ardent feminists are such fishes in water that they can’t really tell they’re in the tank. Gloria Steinem was on post-election Oprah, and the gist was: Palin had no content, wasn’t fit to be VP or President, and it’s McCain’s fault for choosing her. Gloria said that the more people found out about Palin, the more they went away from her. (These days, I’m feeling that way about Gloria.) She pontificated that women’s issues are about substance not form, it’s what you’re for that matters, not just being a woman. It’s not that she’s wrong, I just don’t like the holier than thou attitude. Hmmm, more tread marks from another feminist who’s absolutely confident within herself, and elated that Obama’s in.

The MSM and FOX News are doing entire segments about Palin’s reported temper and refusal to be coached before the debates. Perhaps they’re right, who knows, but I feel that once again a woman is being scapegoated by Looooo-sers. Her governor rating WAS over 80% BEFORE the MSM, pundits, and Obama got a-hold of her. I guess I should be glad that Obama won, because Hillary’s treatment would have been far worse had he lost.

Although the spiritual and progressive Left are elated, and Obama’s background agendas and means to power have escaped their horizons, I don’t fault anyone’s celebrations. I understand their genuine joy, but am saddened by what they chose to see and what they chose to gloss over, ignore, or spin. Michelle’s Narciso Rodriguez dress got more perusal than Obie’s record. Yet, a majority of Democrats complained that Republicans ran a more negative campaign. They thought that questions about background, associations, decisions, and policies were extraneous, old-style politics, and off-the-mark. They were all for women in high office, just “not those women.”

I don’t see that Hillary Clinton will be supported by the Dems for Majority Leader. David Gergen was also on Oprah I-didn’t-use-my-TV-show-to-promote-Obama. Gergen said that Hillary Clinton came so close but did not make it through the door this year, but that she made 70 different appearances for him, and women will have their time. Obama’s alliances are made, and despite her generosity, it will never be enough. Just like he treated Alice Palmer. It’s rumored that Rahm Emanuel will be Chief of Staff, and that he and the Clintons are enemies. Right now, Hillary’s rise to Majority Leader or President seems as probable as Obama’s choosing her for VP. (But, I’d love to be proven wrong.)

I always “made the holidays” for my kids. When we lived in a collective household, I’d cook and prepare and engage others to help, and we’d celebrate the Jewish holidays (along with all the other holidays of whomever lived there) — Passover, Chanukah, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur. After the Farm, when my kids were growing up, and even after they were on their own, I kept up with our traditions, inviting friends and family. It was always lovely and warm.

When I moved to New York three years ago, I expected it would be the same. However, when I called to make plans, they said, “Mom, we have our own thing, with our group of friends. You’re welcome to come, though.” Well, as a parent, that was a whole re-orientation—a “mother, please! I’d rather do it myself” moment. I wasn’t in charge of the family holidays anymore, which was a surprise but good for two reasons: 1) my apartment and kitchen are teeny, making complicated meal prep tricky, and 2) I must have passed on the holiday tradition in such a way that they wanted to carry it on themselves, with no prodding or guilt from me.

In Obama’s acceptance speech, I didn’t hear an attempt to lower expectations, I heard a call to action, an exact echoing of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We may not get there in one year or one term . . . It’s your moment, your time, and get ready to work. Everybody who voted for Obama, everybody who was dancing in the streets and cried for that moment: You’re on! Let’s see who steps up. YOU can make the holidays for us now.

I’m an optimist. Maybe it’s good. Obama got people to move on his behalf for whatever they thought he stood for, and Obama says that brothas should pull up their pants. (Maybe my son will do it, too. Sorry, dear.) Now that’s something that just might happen in an Obama administration!

I don’t mean to make light of the serious problems ahead, and I’m not saying people aren’t allowed to make mistakes, and I hope for every success, because we’re all in this together now. Some voters, though, might be a little surprised when and if they discover what they actually bought. To them: you wanted it, you got it. And I’m glad you’re going for it. Enjoy! God bless us all, and God bless America!

PUMAs, Conflucians, we still have work to do! Thank you for reading my stuff, helping me keep my sanity, being here to raise each other up, and remaining a strong, clear voice for truth and fairness.

[cross-posted at Lady Boomer NYC]

A message to the GOP: Palin was your only bright spot this year

Barack Obama didn’t win because Sarah Palin doesn’t know Africa is a continent. Barack Obama won because people really, REALLY hated Republicans, even the ones who were kinda reasonable.

It’s not like you guys don’t understand this. And I sure as Hell don’t intend for you to get away with it. You guys were so bad that it is criminal. Your asses should have been impeached a zillion times over by now. The stock market is tanking again and your outrageous behavior was so over the top that the American people overlooked corruption in the Democratic party just to avoid voting for you. They preferred to hand the country over to a complete neophyte who cheated his way to the top rather than put the country in the hands of a more seasoned and less Republican Republican.

People without family ties don’t get to be governors of major oil producing states by being stupid. It’s a nice scapegoat that the media has provided you guys but I don’t buy it. Sarah Palin had nothing to do with the fall of the Republican party.

You need to acknowledge how loathesome your legacy is. Feel the gritty realness of what your reprehensible behavior has wrought. Shut up for several years until you have had time to reflect on the hardships you have caused to ordinary men and women. We will be cleaning up after you for generations so the next thing I want to hear out of your mouth is mea culpa.

And get the f#%^ off of Sarah’s case. You’re making fools of yourselves.

I Refuse to Be Invisible; I Will Not Be Silenced.

On election night I followed the returns on The Confluence. I simply couldn’t stand to watch television or even listen to Fox News on my XM radio receiver. Watching the electoral votes pile up for Barack Obama, I just felt numb. I went to sleep knowing that I cannot do what I did after Reagan was elected or after the debacle in 2000.

Back in the ’80s, I simply shut off the media and ignored politics completely. I went into my shell, read books, went to movies and just tried to stay sane as my country was dismantled before my eyes. Even though I tried not to pay attention to what was happening in Washington D.C., I saw the results of Reagan’s policies as homeless people appeared in the streets of Boston and surrounding towns. Early in the morning, even in the dead of winter, I saw people sleeping in their cars in a Star Market parking lot in Porter Square and a big open space next to Memorial Drive near Harvard Square.

After the debacle in Florida in 2000 and George W. Bush’s appointment by the Supreme Court, I again shut of the TV and refused to read newspapers for awhile. But this time I couldn’t shut it all out. What was happening was just too scary. Especially fter 9/11, I had to pay attention. What I saw was a bloodless coup by large, multinational corporations. I realized that my country was really an oligarchy now. Elections are only a pretense, a sop to the masses to make us feel as if we actually have something to say about what happens in our country.

Thursday: The problem is still the media

Beware innocent looking paperboys

We don’t know what they’re up to but they got the candidate THEY wanted, not the candidate WE wanted. They did it in 2000 and 2004 and they only way we will ever have a choice going forward is if we neutralize their toxic messages.   The progressive blogosphere was supposed to be the cure to that but they failed utterly, eventually being subsumed by the media itself.  Had Clinton won the primary, the media would have suffered a devastating blow and I think the political power brokers knew that.  So, I think we can assume that they maintained the current system so that they could use it in the future.

Who do we trust?  First hand accounts are always valuable.  There are also indicators that can’t be spun by the networks.  The Dow, for instance, reacts to economic data, not media commands.  We could also keep an eye on the foreign press, which if not necessarily more reliable will certainly present a different point of view.  InsightAnalytical has a page of foreign press resources.

It would be nice to think that now that the media got what it wanted that it will do its job and report on the presidency of Barack Obama with a more critical eye.  Anyone who is thinking that should pass the bong because I don’t think that’s going to happen.  The people who elevated Obama are going to want something in return and if what Biden reported a few weeks ago is true, it’s a good bet that the rest of us peons are going to hate it with such intensity that we’ll be sharpening the pitchforks and lighting the torches by this time next year.

Keep alert.  Keep skeptical.  Find a buddy, hold hands, look both ways before you cross the street.  We’ll still be here.  We’ve got lots of friends and we’re going to work together to fix the misogyny in the media, broken election systems, the scarcity of women in political office and the millions of broken hearts in the GLBT community who were let down by the same people who put their favorite in the White House.  The country needs to be inclusive of all of its citizens.

The media needs to be reminded of that.

One last time

Why?  Because she’s so damn cute!

Is this an open thread?  Oh, you betcha!