arse poetica

Dean in Durham, Pt. 2

What an energizing night! I love Howard Dean! I hate the Dems! Your humble correspondent (the big head floating just above) is conflicted to say the least.

First things first, we crashed that party like plates at a Greek wedding. Actually, we just walked right in like we had business there, and, just like that, we were in w/ nowhere to sit and little space to stand. All the other bright people in Durham (and environs) who'd heard of Dr. Dean's visit had decided to come early, too, to grab some nosh and a good table in advance of the main event. We were probably the 200th people in the door. Hey, so what? We're in!

Lots of volunteers, NC Dem Party folks, people I recognized from Dean meetups and other Dem functions, folks selling homemade silk screened t-shirts, folks passing out flyers and stickers and buttons, and disgruntled Dems like me cursing the national party all milling around excitedly. Funny that I'm so excited to see Howard Dean, because just yesterday, as the last nail into the coffin of the Civil Rights Era was being nailed w/ Coretta Scott King's death and Sam Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court, I'd decided (again) the Dems were beyond hope, and I was forced to make my home w/in national politics elsewhere.

But I love Howard Dean, who came in, fired us up w/ a recognizable stump speech emphasizing Republican abuse of power, the need for campaign finance reform, and how imperative it is to give back to the party by participating -- volunteering, donating, running for office. He then launched into my favorite part of his talk -- how the fight for social justice cannot be won on the internets, how this struggle is long and brutal, how Coretta Scott King and Dr. King suffered and yet fought everyday, even giving their lives to the cause, how we need to remain engaged, the young people especially, and not forget what those who came before us were fighting for in the CRM. He mentioned that tomorrow is the anniversary of the Greensboro sit-ins, and that we need to remember and carry on the legacy of the 4 brave students at NC A&T who stood up against an entire corrupt system. We must do this, because the other side is well-organized and they have the money (= power) to get what they want. [Did y'all know that the oil industry's profits this year exceed the GDP of Saudi Arabia? WTF!]

Then, whoosh! He was gone to his next commitment. JM, Pablo, and I were finally able to secure some seats then, retrieve our cold pizza from behind the bar -- where the nice, harried barkeep had been stowing it, having lost me in the crowd -- and alternately compliment Dean and decry the Dems. God, the contrast could not be more stark.

Dean in Durham!

Oh, plans have changed, my friends. We are so crashing this party.

dent: Howard Dean in Durham update.

DNC Chair Howard Dean will be in Durham tonight at Satisfaction Restaurant in Brightleaf Square to address the Durham Dems (precincts 8 and 9 represent!) at 8 p.m.

Then he’ll eat pizza, drink beer and watch the State of the Union Address on the big-screen TVs. (Thank god there’s not a Duke game on tonight — awkward.) Afterwards, he’ll get on the DNC conference call to take the president’s speech apart.

Now the bad news: The event is full. It was full by the time we got the email that had all of these details. Sorry.

There are other Dem-sponsored SOTU watching parties in the area, however. Go here to find one. Or you could head to Devine’s or The Federal across the street–they have big-screen TVs, too.

Good luck, and remember: Friends don’t let friends watch Bush alone.

Coretta Scott King

Coretta Scott King, 78, Widow of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Dies - New York Times.

In a statement, the King family said that "Mrs. Coretta Scott King, first lady of human and civil rights, died overnight." Mrs. King rose from rural poverty in Heiberger, Ala., to become an international symbol of the civil rights revolution of the 1960s and a tireless advocate for a long litany of social and political issues, ranging from women's rights to the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, that followed in its wake.

She was studying music at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston in 1952 when she met a young graduate student in philosophy, who on their first date told her: "The four things that I look for in a wife are character, personality, intelligence and beauty. And you have them all." A year later she and Dr. King, then a young minister from a prominent Atlanta family, were married, beginning a remarkable partnership that ended with Dr. King's assassination in Memphis on April 4, 1968.

Mrs. King did not hesitate to pick up his mantle, marching before her husband was even buried at the head of the garbage workers he had gone to Memphis to champion. She then went on to lead the effort for a national holiday in his honor and to found the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change in Atlanta, dedicated both to scholarship and to activism, where Dr. King is buried.

Tune In, Turn On

UPDATE: This online conversation will be held Thursday, Feb. 2.

Though I cannot imagine that Kate "Men Are Our Masters And That's How It Should Be" O'Beirne will have anything meaningful to add to the discussion, it will be gratifying to have a strong voice for women in the person of Kate Michelman online tomorrow. Send your questions or comments!

Kate vs. Kate: Michelman, O'Beirne Face Off.

Kate Michelman, former president of NARAL Pro-Choice America and author of "With Liberty And Justice for All: A Life Spent Protecting the Right to Choose," and Kate O'Beirne, former vice president of the Heritage Foundation and author of "Women Who Make the World Worse," will be online Tuesday, Jan. 31, at 12:30 p.m. ET to answer your questions and face off on some of the most controversial issues facing women.

In "With Liberty and Justice For All: A Life Spent Protecting the Right to Chose," Kate Michelman examines the controversy surrounding Roe v. Wade and the changes that have taken place in the decades since. Michelman says these changes are in danger of being overturned in the Supreme Court, which the possibility of one or more judges on the bench who oppose abortion. She argues that it is crucial to preserve legal rights for abortion.

In "Women Who Make the World Worse," Kate O'Beirne says that the battle to eradicate any differences between the sexes has gone too far and that the radical feminist revolution has left a weakened family, denigrated motherhood and damaged marriage in its wake. She points to the lesser treatment of boys in elementary schools and and bitter man-hating as the unfortunate legacies of the 1970s.

I simply cannot resist responding to O'Beirne's inanity:

1. Feminists did not battle to "eradicate any differences between the sexes." What the hell does that even mean? Feminists battled to achieve for women equal rights and protections under the law.

2. Feminists recognize the multiplicity of women's lives and are, as a result, champions of motherhood, including supporting a woman's decision not to be a mother. We have consistently agitated for children's rights, maternity and paternity benefits, reproductive rights -- medically accurate information, access to birth control, emergency contraception, and medical services -- and social programs supporting women's needs in work, daycare, and healthcare.

Last time I checked, our opponents were pushing prescriptive notions of womanhood on all of us. In their world, women are chaste and/or married helpmeets, w/ a token (Stockholm Syndrome-suffering) tool paraded by to parrot the party line every so often. Feh.

As for "weakening the family," how dare women remain unmarried, have premarital sex, work outside the home, and reject social and sexual subjugation? The horror! They're supposed to be sacrificing helpmeets! Didn't they get the memo? Might I humbly offer that O'Beirne take a long look at the policies and power structures her svengalis sponsor? Tax cuts for the rich, reduced spending on social programs, the lack of a living wage, the sad scarcity of health care, the relentless perpetual war, and ever-devolving educational standards, not to mention a little thing I like to call patriarchy, have played a bigger role in fragmenting society, strangling good will, and "weakening the family."

Now if she's talking about Heather having two mommies, which, in addition to those sluts taking the Pill, she is, she'll just have to get over it. Genie's out of the bottle.

3. Lesser treatment of boys in elementary school? Even if I could believe such a wingnut-ready faux phenomenon is a pervasive social ill, I am relieved to find that, you know, boys grow up and they're a part of the dominant class in a patriarchal system that redundantly reinforces their authority, so, yeah, they'll be okay. As for "bitter man-hating," such that this exists, it's perfectly likely the person exhibiting such vitriol has a valid axe to grind. How 'bout that? See: patriarchy. I mean, even as I love many individual men, I could make the case for hating "men" quite easily, I think.

God, I Love Molly Ivins

If y'all haven't seen this, run, don't walk. I could've spared myself the rant in the post below and just pointed everyone to this latest example of clear thinking from Ms. Ivins. Damn skippy.

I Will Not Support Hillary Clinton for President.

The recent death of Gene McCarthy reminded me of a lesson I spent a long, long time unlearning, so now I have to re-learn it. It's about political courage and heroes, and when a country is desperate for leadership. There are times when regular politics will not do, and this is one of those times. There are times a country is so tired of bull that only the truth can provide relief.

If no one in conventional-wisdom politics has the courage to speak up and say what needs to be said, then you go out and find some obscure junior senator from Minnesota with the guts to do it. In 1968, Gene McCarthy was the little boy who said out loud, "Look, the emperor isn't wearing any clothes." Bobby Kennedy -- rough, tough Bobby Kennedy -- didn't do it. Just this quiet man trained by Benedictines who liked to quote poetry.

What kind of courage does it take, for mercy's sake? The majority of the American people (55 percent) think the war in Iraq is a mistake and that we should get out. The majority (65 percent) of the American people want single-payer health care and are willing to pay more taxes to get it. The majority (86 percent) of the American people favor raising the minimum wage. The majority of the American people (60 percent) favor repealing Bush's tax cuts, or at least those that go only to the rich. The majority (66 percent) wants to reduce the deficit not by cutting domestic spending, but by reducing Pentagon spending or raising taxes.

The majority (77 percent) thinks we should do "whatever it takes" to protect the environment. The majority (87 percent) thinks big oil companies are gouging consumers and would support a windfall profits tax. That is the center, you fools. WHO ARE YOU AFRAID OF?

That is the $64,000 question. I am bound by the laws of history to note the following axiom in moments of political chicanery: Follow the money. These jerks are quite obviously corporatists in sheep's clothing. Throw the bums out!

Read the rest. Every syllable is worth it.

 

If the No-Good Weaselly Namby Pamby Milquetoast Shoe Fits...

Senate Moves Alito Close to Confirmation

If*ckinghatethe"Democrats"IcouldknockthemallsidewaystonextweekandbackIsweartoGodthey'llneverfindtheirintegritywithanelectron
microscopeandcertainlydon'tgiveonehotdamnaboutwomensof*ckthemI'mgoingGreen. Thanks for nothing, assholes.

Blogs Attack From Left as Democrats Reach for Center.

Democrats are getting an early glimpse of an intraparty rift that could complicate efforts to win back the White House: fiery liberals raising their voices on Web sites and in interest groups vs. elected officials trying to appeal to a much broader audience.

Holy mother of Zeus, Batman! What in the mofo'n hell are these yahoos talking about?? An early glimpse? We've been yelling for 6 years, you tone deaf morons! And a broader audience? Whither this "broader" audience? And what's the appeal? Hey, you give us your civil liberties, privacy rights, air and water quality, trust in the function of democratic processes, an expectation of a functional, equitable educational and health care system, and we'll give you inertia, handwringing, and hyena-mad grins in turn. Fair, no?

These activists -- spearheaded by battle-ready bloggers and making their influence felt through relentless e-mail campaigns -- have denounced what they regard as a flaccid Democratic response to the Supreme Court fight, President Bush's upcoming State of the Union address and the Iraq war. In every case, they have portrayed party leaders as gutless sellouts.

Mm hmm. We calls 'em as we sees 'em.

Note to all rich, wishy-washy, pandering "centrist" "Dems" whose eyes can't leave their corporate handlers' weathervanes for one ever-lovin' moment lest they accidentally stumble over their own convictions en route to gauging the poll winds: Since you platitude-spouting attention junkies can't even be bothered to shed a calculated photo-op tear for the poor girls and women who will now have to fend for themselves w/ unwanted pregnancies and limited or no access to birth control, pre- and post-natal care, medically correct sex ed information, not to mention a social contract in its last throes, I humbly entreat you to Kiss.My.Fat.Feminist.Ass.

For only one minute longer, I will give the following 25 Dems a break. A mini-break. They're on a short leash, because I'm on a short fuse.

Bayh, Evan (D-IN)
Biden, Joseph R., Jr. (D-DE)
Boxer, Barbara (D-CA)
Clinton, Hillary Rodham (D-NY)
Dayton, Mark (D-MN)
Dodd, Christopher J. (D-CT)
Durbin, Richard (D-IL)
Feingold, Russell D. (D-WI) 
Feinstein, Dianne (D-CA)
Jeffords, James M. (I-VT)
Kennedy, Edward M. (D-MA)   
Kerry, John F. (D-MA)
Lautenberg, Frank R. (D-NJ) 
Leahy, Patrick J. (D-VT)   
Levin, Carl (D-MI)
Menendez, Robert (D-NJ) 
Mikulski, Barbara A. (D-MD)
Murray, Patty (D-WA)
Obama, Barack (D-IL)
Reed, Jack (D-RI)   
Reid, Harry (D-NV)
Sarbanes, Paul S. (D-MD) 
Schumer, Charles E. (D-NY)
Stabenow, Debbie (D-MI)
Wyden, Ron (D-OR)

With any luck, I won't have to hear about any of these bloviating poseurs if I can get to my fantasy homeland where I'll be happily ensconced in the warm embrace of a real democracy.

Somebody Help Me

I swear to effin' (deity of choice), do I have to give up on Obama, too?

Sen. Obama Criticizes Filibuster Tactic.

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., predicted on Sunday that an effort to try to block a final vote on Alito would fail on Monday. That would clear the way for Senate approval Tuesday of the federal appeals court judge picked to succeed the retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Democrats fear he would shift the court rightward on abortion rights, affirmative action, the death penalty and other issues.

"We need to recognize, because Judge Alito will be confirmed, that, if we're going to oppose a nominee that we've got to persuade the American people that, in fact, their values are at stake," Obama said.

"There is an over-reliance on the part of Democrats for procedural maneuvers," he told ABC's "This Week."

Have I missed those procedural maneuvers? Have I missed the free ride we're giving Alito such that we know he will be confirmed?  Have I missed the part where using the filibuster option is not showing the Murkan Sheeple that their values are at stake? What is this noisome doublespeak? Clinton/Obama in '08? No, thank you.

[Forehead slap!]

Why didn't we ever think of this before? All those years commuting -- buses, subways, trains, flights, family vacations, looooong road trips, even short jaunts in want of a quick read ... would've come in handy.

Bonus purpose: poking the annoying person next to you. Moooom, she's looking at me!

[via]

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Finally, a headline I can deal with. It only took 6 years.

More Americans favor impeaching Bush, poll says.

(A) poll released last week by Zogby International showed 52 percent of American adults thought Congress should consider impeaching Bush if he wiretapped U.S. citizens without court approval, including 59 percent of independents and 23 percent of Republicans. (The survey had a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points.)

Given those numbers, impeachment could become an issue in this fall's congressional elections, and dramatically raise the stakes. If Democrats win control of the House of Representatives, a leading proponent of starting an official impeachment inquiry, Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., would become chairman of the House committee that could pursue it.

From your keyboard to God's inbox. [Fingers and toes crossed.]

For the Love of All That Is Holy and Just

Friends, if these assholes won't act like Democrats, they have to go. No exceptions. None. Goodbye, farewell, auf wiedersehn to you. They should, at the very least, see the business end of our boots on their asses.

via Tennessee Guerilla Women:

Bob Fertik reports that Kerry wants to lead a filibuster and is working on rounding up the votes.

Fertik also provides a breakdown on the numerical obstacles - 8 Democrats Who Are Blocking a Filibuster.

Developing....

I've said barely a word about all this, because I have been green-gilled and light-headed w/ anxiety. Either we live in a fascist state or we don't. No time for f*cking around, people.

Please call your senators! See also: another v. good unsigned editorial in the NYT.