The last time I saw Paris...
Before we get to the cafe au lait and croissants, I’d like to relate an encounter with the remnants of what *used* to be my party. A few days ago, the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, the DSCC, called me at home to hit me up for a donation. Almost immediately, I told them to save their breath. I had no intention of contributing money to any arm of the Democratic party after what transpired during the primaries last year. I told the phone guy (and it’s ALWAYS a guy) that I had left the party over the primary debacle. He sounded confused, like a boyfriend who can’t possibly understand why you are mad at him for acting like a jerk. He asked me to explain so he could pass the information on. So, I told him: I voted for Hillary in the NJ primary, a primary she won by more than 10 points, and watched every one of our delegates go to Obama during the convention. Does my vote count or not? If it doesn’t count, then why does the party expect me to give it money? I’m not stupid.
The guy laughed at me. It was a laugh of both nervousness and contempt. Contempt, I suspect, because old, uneducated, working class, sino-peruvian lesbians aren’t supposed to really count even when they are not old, not uneducated, and are professional straight, scientific researcher women such as myself. If you’re not twenty three and impressionable, I guess you might as well apologize for living and forcing people to gaze upon your aging visage. Your intellect is of no interest to the guys of the Democratic party.
The nervousness was new. Yep, the guy tried to pull off a mocking laugh, the kind you reserve for losers, but there was something behind that mockery that belied the confidence. I don’t know how many women had turned this guy down on the phone but maybe I was the first that gave him an actual reason that made sense. It must suck to find out that you’re no longer the guy you thought you were and women are on to your lies and your secret viagra stash.
Get a clue, guys. You took our votes and forced Obama down our throats in your primary rape fantasy and we’re not ever going to forget it. He turned out to be exactly what we said he was: an overly ambitious, shmoozing, political opportunist without a political philosophy, experience and hard earned relationships necessary to get things done. There’s no 11 dimensional chess going on here. Just a bunch of jerks who thought they could write off the votes of millions of people, many of them women, and get away with it. Go ahead and laugh. You’ll never get a penny from me. And you may never get my vote again. You don’t have to be a crazy nutcase birther to know the devils by the look in their eyes.
Now, onto the news:
Slate’s The Big Money is behind the curve when it comes to Sheila Bair. I believe we covered this months ago. (In January, and July, not to mention Dakinkat‘s stuff from two days ago) But, hey, it’s nice to see other media types are getting with the program and realizing that sexism costs.
The NYTimes reports White House Affirms Deal on Drug Prices. I’m not sure what that means ultimately. As I have pointed out before, the pharmaceutical industry has some very legitimate reasons for wanting to work with Congress and the WH on issues concerning the drug industry and health reform. But it’s really cutting its throat going with a lobbyist like Billy Tauzin and jumping in with the health insurance industry’s public relations team. Big Pharma’s concerns are not the same as the health insurance company’s concerns. We actually produce something of value, remember guys? Ah, Jeez, there are those *guys* again the ones who run the drug industry. The clueless ones who still think that the most important activities in a pharma company happen in marketing, advertising and acquisitions instead of the lab. Just forget it. Lay us all off now and get with dismantling the US research community and moving it overseas. Just get it over with already.
Jon Corzine is still behind and Christie’s lead seems to be widening. Cue the schadenfreude. {{snicker}} Corzine’s campaign is planning to launch a spot featuring Pres Barack Obama himself when he came to NJ to rally for the governor. Polls indicate Obama’s appearance mattered not a whit. But this little bit from Obama on Corzine’s accomplishments had me laughing:
“Jon Corzine has not only protected funding for New Jersey schools, he reformed them with tougher standards and now students in New Jersey rank at the top of the country in reading and math because of Jon Corzine.”
Yes, indeedy. If your kid is an average to bright learner in NJ, or if you have a special needs kid, NJ public schools are pretty good. Not the best with clear, concise, non fuzzy standards that over romanticize the child. But not bad.
However, if you have a kid who is very gifted, you enter into a Kafkaesque nightmare of educational ideology exacerbated by almost complete lack of funding from state and local governments. How much non-funding of the state’s gifted and talented program is unclear at this time. There is no information on whether there was any funding for these underserved students for 2009 but recent years indicate that these programs in the state of NJ got zip, zilch, nada. There are also virtually no standards or mandates regarding their education, leaving them at the mercy of teachers who have never been trained in the care and feeding of gifted youth.
Yep, here in NJ, the home of Einstein and Edison, the birthplace of telecom, the home to research laboratories that crank out cures for cancer and schizophrenia, the gifted and talented students are treated as inconveniences. As the mother of one of these kids, who absolutely hates school here, I can attest to the whack-a-mole approach to getting her educated at her developmental level. I and many of my colleagues have had to scramble to meet our gifted kids’ educational needs through a series of summer courses at local prep schools, distance learning through programs for gifted youth at Stanford University and by homeschooling. That’s what my outrageous property taxes in NJ buy me in NJ- a school system and education department that is completely unresponsive to the needs of my kid. And Corzine during his tenure, has done less to improve this situation than many states in the south to service this population of students who could potentially solve the energy crisis, invent a new cure for cancer or be our next political leader. Your gifted kid gets better treatment in Texas and Georgia than in NJ. NJ ranks right down there with Alabama.
Gifted by State
Thanks for nothing, Jon. It’s just one more reason to skip the election this year.
Well, that and the clueless idiots of the Democratic party.
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Filed under: morning news | Tagged: DSCC, gifted and talented, Jon Corzine, Pharmaceutical industry, Sheila Bair |
The Confluence 
Wow. When you consider that Obama carried NJ by 25 points or so, to have Corsine down by double digits is one helluva dive in 6 short months. Also, I understand the problems you are facing. Florida spends very little on education (I think that we are 49th. Our best bet is for Guam to become a state so that we are 2nd from the bottom.) and I have a gifted grandchikd that we have played hell with.
They haven’t called me in ages. Maybe I gave them an earful often enough that I’m off the list.
I wish they would call me. I would pledge a sizable donation contingent with the Demos passing single payer medicare for all. I am not above buying a vote for a good cause. Maybe we should all call the DSCC and make them the offer. Do you think they would get the idea?
Are you ready for the latest example of the embarrassing “New Dems” propaganda talking point? I am so glad I left the Party if this is what they call representation of the people:
Nancy Pelosi claims protesters are “carrying swastikas and symbols like that to a town meeting on healthcare.”
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2009/08/05/pelosi_town_hall_protesters_are_carrying_swastikas.html
Speaking of clueless idiots…
Jeez, like anyone who thinks Obama is a poor Democratic president is either a racist or conspiracy theorist. There are no other possibilities. It can’t be that half the party got royally screwed by Pelosi and her ilk during the primaries and convention last year.
They have no idea.
And he’s done such a piss poor job of crafting the health care legislation to meet some phantom notion of “bipartisanship” (and to keep his health care insurance lobbyist friends on speed dial for 2012), and now he can’t explain this piece of crap, so people are reacting with anger and suspicion at Town Hall meetings supposedly set up for them to voice their concerns.
Headline from the NYT: “White House Affirms Deal on Drug costs.”
As Yves said on her blog: “Health care reform is dead on arrival. If the US is not going to push for lower drug prices, what’s the point.”
Go Yves!
I heard that (in Colorado, I think it was?) evidently there truthfully was someone with a Nazi symbol on a sign. Um…. because the sign showed Hitler, and GWB, and Obama.
So it was not a neo-nazi thing, or endorsing nazi-ism. It was a protest to the fascist-style policies of BOTH Bush and Obama. Whether you agree that that is in poor taste, or violates Godwin’s law or not, it was certainly not “these are neo-nazis protesting” as Pelosi implied. Quite the opposite.
But don’t let a little thing like the truth get in your way, Madame Speaker.
It’s such an obvious attempt to belittle and insult (and thus, marginalize) all of the people attending Town Halls who have actual questions about the health care bill. There will always be “colorful” and extreme characters at any large event, but to suggest that they are all Nazis and/or Republican plants (like the Palin events) is so Rovian. They continue to disgust me with how low their standards have sunk.
heh… speaking of demonizing your political opponents… Chris Matthews, yesterday, along with a couple of his guests labeled Sarah Palin as the face of racism in America.
LOL. and the hits just keep on coming.
The Obama people must be really worried about Palin, despite the lefty bloggers who really think she’s a joke. The Obama folks and their media cohorts have gone after her relentlessly in much the same way the did Hillary: She’s a RACIST! So, they are worried.
Huh. And what was their convoluted reasoning (if there was any)? What horribly racist things has Sarah Palin ever done or said that they claimed make her the Queen Raycist?
Alaska has all that white snow.
It’s the new corporate MSNBC meme, BPD.
Eugene Robinson is calling the birthers racists, too. Apparently ALL birthers hate Black presidents.
They all have their new talking points from Gibbs & Axelrod.
Notice, folks, for those who like Joan Walsh, she’s right in there amongst em. She knows which side her bread is buttered on.
And the more the MSM attacks Palin, the higher her favorables go. I swear that there is a growing anti-elitist movement afoot.
Vive La France
Mary, it’s a fundamentally discriminatory way of looking at things. So I cannot hate a black president, the same way I can hate a white president like Bush? I fully understand that I cannot express that displeasure using raycist memes, in same the way that sexist memes are often excused as “okay” because you despise that female politician. No, raycist or sexist themed critiques are NOT OKAY, even if the politician in question “deserves it”. But I am not allowed to have the same level of contempt for him as I would a white man doing the same things? I am not allowed to mock or ridicule him just as much as I can Cheney or Rumsfeld?
What they are in effect saying is that a black man has no identity, no actions, no policies, no morality, no self, other than his blackness. And that his blackness makes him somehow more fragile, less able to stand and deliver, so we ought to give him a pass. Because after all, one can’t really hold a black man to the same standards as anyone else – it would be cruel to do so.
And they are not saying this about a poor, inner city, ill-educated guy who might, perhaps, be need to given a break not so much because of his color as because of the obstacles he faces. While still wrong IMO, that might at least be understandable. But that’s not who they are talking about. They are talking about the President of the United States, arguably the most powerful human being on the entire planet. And even HE has to be defined by his blackness, and (tacitly and quietly) not expected to measure up? Because after all…. he’s black.
“Because after all, one can’t really hold a black man to the same standards as anyone else – it would be cruel to do so.”
Isn’t that the true racism – to expect so little from a black man?
Martin Luther King’s dream has NOT been realized, because “men” are judged not on the CONTENT of their character, but on the COLOR of their skin.
That is the most politically stupid thing they have done yet. Palin will not sit still for that, she will go after them with both barrels and she can bring up everyone else who,s been scapegoated too. Bill held back out of party loyalty, palin sure won’t. What are they thinking? They want to make her a folk hero?
MMW, I have been around a lot of people in my life who hold those views, and you know what? From observing them over the years, and watching their subtle statements, their body language, etc, I have come to a conclusion.
Some are just blindly sincere, but a good many of them really do betray that deep in their hearts, in the corners of their minds, they do not believe that a black person can achieve the same as a white person, even given a level playing field. Or perhaps “do not believe” is too strong – let’s say they really fear, deep down, that it isn’t true. It’s a very secret fear.
Me, I am going to respect a black man enough to tell him he’s a fucking disaster if he is demonstrating that he is a disaster. You reflexively coddle and protect children, and 3/5 persons. You tell the truth to fully-equal adults.
Okay, I know I am ranting today, but let me finish my thoughts. I am not by any means denying that the “usual” forms of racism do not still exist in this country. Of course they do. Some personal, some the remnants of structural, and those things must continue to be addressed, strongly.
But the bigotry that automatically assumes “the black man really can’t cut it” is just as prevalent. And BOTH forms of racism need to be fought, with the same degree of vehemence and scorn, because one is just as damaging, and just as crippling to society as the other.
He was marvelling that in the south, even among black voters, there is a reluctance to declare Obama ‘one of us.’ Guest, Kathleen Parker, noted in her latest column;
A telling anecdote recounted by Pat Buchanan to New Yorker writer George Packer last year captures the dark spirit that still hovers around the GOP. In 1966 Buchanan and Richard Nixon were at the Wade Hampton Hotel in Columbia, S.C., where Nixon worked a crowd into a frenzy: “Buchanan recalls that the room was full of sweat, cigar smoke, and rage; the rhetoric, which was about patriotism and law and order, ‘burned the paint off the walls.’ As they left the hotel, Nixon said, ‘This is the future of this Party, right here in the South.’ ”
That same rage was on display again in the fall of 2008, but this time the frenzy was stimulated by a pretty gal with a mocking little wink. Sarah Palin may not have realized what she was doing, but Southerners weaned on Harper Lee heard the dog whistle.
Well, okay, how long before the town halls are filled with fake racist and crazy dems pretending to be republican “extremists”? Or, I mean, sneaky obots pretending to be crazy republicans who then pretend to be outraged democrats? Astroturfer astroturfing the astroturf. uh.
They.re already laying the ground work, cnn is doing pieces on how nefarious forces are orchestrating the whole thing for an evil agenda.
Yes, I am waiting for the obot plants to pretend they are extra extra crazy extremist rightwing loons…I’m sure it will be captured on tape for primetime.
These representatives are SUCH cowards. They have just a few weeks to deal with citizens face to face and they have to make it into this bizarro circus conspiracy.
Sure there are some astroturfing republicans. And why wouldn’t there be astroturfing obot plants there just to applaud the reps and boo down opposition in return? They are there too. But how can they DARE think that average Americans wouldn’t be vocal about this heated healthcare issue considering it has always and forever been a hot button issue.
Meanwhile, they are crapping all over their OWN party constituants who are opposed to obama’s plan for their own reasons–by ignoring their concerns and discarding them as just the same as republican wackos. What a stupid plan.
Plus, there are a million other things to be very upset about beyond healthcare reform. Did they expect to just get their asses kissed at the town hall meetings? Very out of touch. Delusional.
I would expect nothing less from the Obots at CNN and at MSNBC. They better do a lot of pieces because FOX draws more viewers than the two of them together.
And since it is to their benefit they are bringing ordinary citizens that attend the Tea Parties and Town Hall Meetings on, Neil Cavuto has had quite a few, and point out the lies being told.
“Jane, you ignorant slut…..”
Does anyone else see a problem with this?:
We don’t have a name, location or date of this alleged assault, nor a description of the incident. But the Kool-aid blogs aren’t questioning the story.
Yeah, I have a problem with that. Define physically assaulted. What exactly happened? Was he actually assaulted, or just alarmed by the size and anger of a close crowd?
Yes, big problem . It hasn’t been verified or proven , but all the lefty A-listers (check out Memorandum) are frothing at the mouth.
Dday over at Hullabaloo is having a “Violence” orgasm.
Good grief.
I wouldn’t be surprised to learn it’s the same as usual type tactic I’ve seen before when it comes to how they put out info like this. Put it out there without verification front page, work up the Obots to a frenzy, then put out the real details as a back page story or never bother to confirm it. That way more people than not still think the worst happened and it continues to shape public opinion.
If it really happened they’ll play it out as far as they can, and then make commercials out of it and even distort what did happen a bit
Check out NORML’s “Yes We Cannabis” poster:
I think that poorly informed dishonest Republican oppostion is inadvertently helping W2.
When they claim that Jrjr’s (I am loving using all my new bad names for Teh 0ne) health plan is a socialized medicine, single payer, stealth plan trojan horse, the people they fool are the people on the left who think they are getting Universal Helath Care or something like it.
When they call George III “socialist” they do him a huge favor with lefties who still think maybe, maybe, maybe the CORPORATE TOOL they see in the White house is a mirage.
God if they would only attack the real weakness of the horrible plan.
I feel the same way. It’s also becoming an “You’re either with Obama-Care, or with the teabaggers”. It’s frustrating.
You know, I might just like Obamacare if anyone could explain to me what the actual terms would be.
Obama doesn’t even know. The bill hasn’t been written yet.
Can’t imagine why people are confused and angry…
RD, perhaps they spoke to you after they called me – I gave him a very specific earfull about how we had 149 delegates for Hillary go to Denver and Corzine handed them over – with our lunch money- to Obama – told him I will never again vote Democrat – that I left the party and am a registered Independent – oh, and please don’t call me again.
He was speechless – just didn’t say a word – until I told him to have a pleasant day – he then said “thank you”
Ron – I got an email last night from a colleague who has bought the notion that what Obama is selling is what we need – I carefully explained to him the dangers of this current plan – hopefully he understood the difference between what he thought he would get and what is really in this montrosity
I think that the only real “benefit” to the plan is a legislative win for Teh 0ne.
I am afraid that in all the acrimonious back and forth a significant portion of voters are going to conlude (accurately) that they are all a bunch of liars, and that they will also conclude (inaccurately) that universal health care is an impossible dream.
Mary, on August 6th, 2009 at 10:16 am Said:
It’s the new corporate MSNBC meme, BPD.
Eugene Robinson is calling the birthers racists, too. Apparently ALL birthers hate Black presidents.
They all have their new talking points from Gibbs & Axelrod.
Notice, folks, for those who like Joan Walsh, she’s right in there amongst em. She knows which side her bread is buttered on.
On this one, I think there is some truth to that. I doubt if this were a white President born in Hawaii there would be so many people believing he was not a natural citizen. There are actually still racists out there.
Sure there are. But they’re in the minority.
You’ll have to show me some DIRECT quotes that prove Sarah Palin is a racist.
Otherwise, it’s MSNBC working the talking points, and playing the race card falsely for Gibbs and Axelrod, JUST LIKE THEY DID TO HILLARY.
I mean, God forbid that the MSNBC media whores say anything decent about Sarah, or ignore the Obama talking points, and jeopardize GE’s government contracts, right?
I have no doubt that black or white, he was born in Hawaii. I just have to wonder why the initial reluctance to release it. You have to produce a birth certificate to register for kintergarten, why not so for the presidency? Just have some sort of credentialling process prior to running.
I think what is really getting to people is not just the BC but the mere fact that there are NO credentials – we’ve not seen any health records, school transcripts, etc.
The press really messed up on this big time by not getting any history on this guy.
He released a certificate of live birth. As far as I can see, that should be enough.
You know, Masslib, I thought the same thing until I learned how much money he’s been spending on defending against suits throughout the country – WHAT is going on?
My guess, because these things never end. He’ll show them that and then there will be all sorts of rumors that it is phony anyway. You can’t really feed these things by trying to prove a negative, ie I was not born in Kenya.
yah – What’s the big deal about showing your bith certificate?
Unless you want people to LOOK/SEEM nuts.
Shite – I want to know the secret now – SHOW ALL THE RECORDS.
I think Mr. and Ms. Middle America are asking that same question.
If you insist that everything is just fine about your birth certificate, just release the d*mn thing and get it over with. Satisfy any doubt.
But I think the birth certificate will reveal something he doesn’t want it to reveal, something that will show that he lied in his very special autobiographies (cue surprise). Besides that, I think the birthers are a nice shiny object in the room to take away from a completely ineffective (for the citizenry) presidency…. (while completely effective for the corporations).
I want to see ALL his records!
How can anyone be satisfied with a president that will not want the people to feel comfortable about his background? What must he think about this country and the people to want to keep all his information a secret. Are we supposed to be impressed?
I do wish the DNC would give me a call. That would be fun. I am sure their to call list has decreased to the point where it takes little time to make their calls. That’s a good thing.
Oh, I heard the craziest thing on the radio today. An analyst was talking about the Obama admin. They said they are feeling good about the economy, and then, I kid you not, she said “well, except the jobs”. Unbelievable. It’s always the jobs, stupid! I don’t know if you’ve heard but jobs grew at 2/3’s the pace this May as they did last May. That’s very bad. What’s worse, there are several reports that employers do not intend to hire up for at least the short-term. Casinos, for example, laid off their change counters, and replaced them with machines. Hourly work week is down to 33 1/2 hours, the lowest on record!
Basically, if you’re in a voting bloc that Axelface thinks the administration can take for granted, the next three years are going to be a nightmare.
RD, you’ve probably already thought of this. And I guess Brooke is also too young. And the financing is impossible. And I know absolutely nothing about it … ! Still, I’ll throw the suggestion out here: Is there any possibility for letting her attend an International school in Europe for a period? Maybe your company would be able to help with contacts and scholarship?
It really breaks my heart to learn about her and other gifted children who aren’t challenged and giving the opportunity to live up to their full potential.
Just a suggestion as I really know nothing about it.
“He turned out to be exactly what we said he was”
and…
what he said he was.
The thing that bothered me the most throughout the entire elex season is how both parties and the media seemed to insulate Obama as they had done for Porgie.
Right On, Riverdaughter.
Not a penny from me until the DNC publicly acknowledges what happened during the primary and take responsibility for all their corrupt practices, including manipulation of the early voting rules, re-allocation of delegates, ignoring complaints of caucus fraud and intimidation, and intimidation and strong-arming of convention delegates.
I want a public denunciation of every bit of it, and a public pledge to clean house and move forward without ever letting that happen again.
Not a penny or a vote from me until then.
Do I think they’ll do it?? Considering that they are reworking the primary rules right now and who’s in charge of that–I doubt it.
Hmmm, I wonder why my comment is in moderation?
Does spammy need a snack?