Charlotte Front and Center

My Take On "The Wild Wordsmith of Wasilla"

I could write an article on "The Lame Late-Night Host of the 60's"!

So the great Dick Cavett chooses to join in on the sliming of Sarah Palin. Though not the first in doing so, you would think he wouldn't stick his neck out with this article so late in the game. He really trys to be clever but fails. Whenever he mentions Palin's "slang", I simply think: America really does say things like "betcha". So what?  It's better than Obama speaking unrehearsed with his agonizing pauses, and then slewing out seven or eight "uhs" before he makes his point.  Cavett is a true elitist. Yes, Palin had a few bad sentences. I remember her great speeches as well, and they were very inspiring. So what's wrong with having a happy, energized woman?  Cavett couldn't find a way to end his article without commenting on her good frontal looks. Sarah Palin isn't going to change her "common talk" to please you or anyone, Mr. Cavett. That's what we like about her....Redwine

Here is the latest liberal slam from The New York Times

November 14, 2008, 10:00 pm

The Wild Wordsmith of Wasilla

Dick Cavett

Electronic devices dislike me. There is never a day when something isn’t ailing. Three out of these five implements — answering machine, fax machine, printer, phone and electric can-opener — all dropped dead on me in the past few days.

Now something has gone wrong with all three television sets. They will get only Sarah Palin.

I can play a kind of Alaskan roulette. Any random channel clicked on by the remote brings up that eager face, with its continuing assaults on the English Lang.

There she is with Larry and Matt and just about everyone else but Dr. Phil (so far). If she is not yet on “Judge Judy,” I suspect it can’t be for lack of trying.

What have we done to deserve this, this media blitz that the astute Andrea Mitchell has labeled “The Victory Tour”?

I suppose it will be recorded as among political history’s ironies that Palin was brought in to help John McCain. I can’t blame feminists who might draw amusement from the fact that a woman managed to both cripple the male she was supposed to help while gleaning an almost Elvis-sized following for herself. Mac loses, Sarah wins big-time was the gist of headlines.

I feel a little sorry for John. He aimed low and missed.

What will ambitious politicos learn from this? That frayed syntax, bungled grammar and run-on sentences that ramble on long after thought has given out completely are a candidate’s valuable traits?

And how much more of all that lies in our future if God points her to those open-a-crack doors she refers to? The ones she resolves to splinter and bulldoze her way through upon glimpsing the opportunities, revealed from on high.

What on earth are our underpaid teachers, laboring in the vineyards of education, supposed to tell students about the following sentence, committed by the serial syntax-killer from Wasilla High and gleaned by my colleague Maureen Dowd for preservation for those who ask, “How was it she talked?”

My concern has been the atrocities there in Darfur and the relevance to me with that issue as we spoke about Africa and some of the countries there that were kind of the people succumbing to the dictators and the corruption of some collapsed governments on the continent, the relevance was Alaska’s investment in Darfur with some of our permanent fund dollars.

And, she concluded, “never, ever did I talk about, well, gee, is it a country or a continent, I just don’t know about this issue.”

It’s admittedly a rare gift to produce a paragraph in which whole clumps of words could be removed without noticeably affecting the sense, if any.

(A cynic might wonder if Wasilla High School’s English and geography departments are draped in black.)

(How many contradictory and lying answers about The Empress’s New Clothes have you collected? I’ve got, so far, only four. Your additional ones welcome.)

Matt Lauer asked her about her daughter’s pregnancy and what went into the decision about how to handle it. Her “answer” did not contain the words “daughter,” “pregnancy,” “what to do about it” or, in fact, any two consecutive words related to Lauer’s query.

I saw this as a brief clip, so I don’t know whether Lauer recovered sufficiently to follow up, or could only sit there, covered in disbelief. If it happens again, Matt, I bequeath you what I heard myself say once to an elusive guest who stiffed me that way: “Were you able to hear any part of my question?”

At the risk of offending, well, you, for example, I worry about just what it is her hollering fans see in her that makes her the ideal choice to deal with the world’s problems: collapsed economies, global warming, hostile enemies and our current and far-flung twin battlefronts, either of which may prove to be the world’s second “30 Years’ War.”

Has there been a poll to see if the Sarah-ites are numbered among that baffling 26 percent of our population who, despite everything, still maintain that President George has done a heckuva job?

A woman in one of Palin’s crowds praised her for being “a mom like me … who thinks the way I do” and added, for ill measure, “That’s what I want in the White House.” Fine, but in what capacity?

Do this lady’s like-minded folk wonder how, say, Jefferson, Lincoln, the Roosevelts, et al (add your own favorites) managed so well without being soccer moms? Without being whizzes in the kitchen, whipping up moose soufflés? Without executing and wounding wolves from the air and without promoting that sad, threadbare hoax — sexual abstinence — as the answer to the sizzling loins of the young?

(In passing, has anyone observed that hunting animals with high-powered guns could only be defined as sport if both sides were equally armed?)

I’d love to hear what you think has caused such an alarming number of our fellow Americans to fall into the Sarah Swoon.

Could the willingness to crown one who seems to have no first language have anything to do with the oft-lamented fact that we seem to be alone among nations in having made the word “intellectual” an insult? (And yet…and yet…we did elect Obama. Surely not despite his brains.)

Sorry about all of the foregoing, as if you didn’t get enough of the lady every day in every medium but smoke signals.

I do not wish her ill. But I also don’t wish us ill. I hope she continues to find happiness in Alaska.

May I confess that upon first seeing her, I liked her looks? With the sound off, she presents a not uncomely frontal appearance.

But now, as the Brits say, “I’ll be glad to see the back of her.”

**********

PS: Lagniappe for English mavens: A friend of mine has made you laugh greatly over the years. David Lloyd is a comic genius (I can hear you wince, David) who wrote for “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Cheers,” “Taxi,” “Frasier,” Jack Paar, Johnny Carson and me, not necessarily in that order. As a language fan, he has preserved many gems for posterity in his prodigious memory bank. Here comes my favorite:

A Navy lecturer was talking about some directives on the blackboard that he said to do something about, “except for these here ones with the asteroids in back of.”

Even David couldn’t make that up.

Obama and President Lincoln

There are some interesting similarities between Obama and Lincoln:

1)  a lawyer;2)  an Illinois state legislator;3)  lost an election  to represent Illinois in the U.S. Congress;4)  spent only two years in the U.S. Congress before running for President;5)  risked political damage in opposing a war in which the U.S. invaded a foreign country;6)  delivered a famous speech on national unity as a candidate to represent Illinois in U.S. Senate, elevating his political career to the national level and paving the way for  a Presidential run; 7)  sought his Party’s Presidential nomination by challenging the establishment candidate, a Senator from New York, also a lawyer, who was widely expected to easily secure the nomination;8)  was viewed by Party delegates as a talented speaker able to attract moderates and newer voters;9)  viewed by some in his Party as a better candidate more likely to secure critical states in the  general election as his rivals, especially those with  “experience” had accumulated  more political enemies;10)  the opposition party was fractured and in complete disarray;11)  March 4th is a very significant date in his political career etc.  

But I am thinking about character....redwine

The National Review

Honestly, Another Abe?

That ain’t what America is like today — and thank God for it.

By Jonah Goldberg

In an attempt to dial down expectations for his administration, President-elect Barack Obama’s supporters have dropped much of the “messiah” talk. No more talk of him being The One (Oprah), or a Jedi Knight (George Lucas), or a “Lightworker” (the San Francisco Chronicle), or a “quantum leap in American consciousness” (Deepak Chopra). Instead we have more humble and circumspect conversation about the man. Now he’s merely Abraham Lincoln and FDR and Martin Luther King, combined. It’s a step down from divine redeemer, but you have to start somewhere. Read More

Obama Playing Hooky From Church

Politico reports:

Obama has been heading to the gym instead of  Church on Sunday since his election. Actually , he only attended for the most part when campaigning in S.C.

Anyone should know the bad things that happen when you play hooky. Remember Homer missing church?

The Left Is Grumbling...So Soon?

It seems The Left is is beginning to see the reflected results from their own "blank slate".  They also seem to be holding true to form in what their critics say about them..."whiners". "The Daily Kos" is fretting that the Obama honeymoon will be over sooner than expected because it's wake-up time, and it is business as usual now that the election is over. The Clinton team is barreling in with their version of "change".  Makes you wonder who they were expecting anyway.  Of course, the new cabinet is what has them voicing little spurts of displeasure.  Glen Greenwald, of Salon.com tells his progressive readers that Obama has clearly been centrist in his views and senate actions for the past two years. Really? The Left doesn't seem to think so. Greenwald believes that Obama always made it clear that he was not ideological, and wants only to do "what works". So that can't be change, can it?  It seems that journalists have been victims of the "blank slate" as well.

Back to the "Daily Kos" as it finds its footing with political reality in a plea to liberals from this post:

Obama Bashing

by Joshs Mom Kalebs Aunt

Sun Nov 23, 2008 at 01:45:21 PM PST

Americans have a new sport. Or to be more precise a new variation of an old one.  What is suprising is not so much its creation but those who are so willingly participating in it. 
  
Politician Bashing is an old and honored tradition in the U.S. and has been honed over centuries to a fine art. While in recent years it has accomplished very little, it is the right of all Americans to complain about those who have been chosen to head our country. What is so amazing about this inning is that the bashee has not even taken office yet.  

read more

Hillary, A Journey From Rival To Cabinet Post

According to Bumiller, a Democrat who is close to both senators said the thawing in relations began after the primary on the flight to Unity, New Hampshire. Bumiller says the working relationship of Obama and Clinton has grown to the point they both have acquired a "working chemistry."  In short, while Hillary's supporters and donors were still angered over the outcome, Hillary and Obama had begun a new relationship of mutual respect. Afterall, Bumiller says Hillary doesn't have the "unbridled ambition" of Bill Clinton. Yet keep in mind while reading this that the information was gathered from Obama aides.  Bumiller wants to leave us thinking how gracious Obama has been taking Hillary under his wing of rivals in spite of the ever- lurking ambitious Bill....redwine

Article in its entirety from The New York Times

By ELISABETH BUMILLER, The New York Times

Published: November 22, 2008

WASHINGTON — The thaw in the resentful relationship between the most powerful woman in the Democratic Party and her younger male rival began at the party’s convention this summer, when SenatorHillary Rodham Clinton gave such a passionate speech supporting Senator Barack Obama that his top aides leapt out of their chairs backstage to give her a standing ovation as she swept past.

Mr. Obama, who was in the first steps of what would become a strategic courtship, called afterward to thank her. By then, close aides to Mrs. Clinton said, she had come to respect the campaign Mr. Obama had run against her. At the least, she knew he understood like no one else the brutal strains of their epic primary battle.

By this past Thursday, when Mr. Obama reassured Mrs. Clinton that as secretary of state she would have direct access to him and could select her own staff, the wooing was complete.

“She feels like she’s been treated very well in the way she’s been asked,” said a close associate of Mrs. Clinton, who like others interviewed asked for anonymity because the nomination will not be formally announced until after Thanksgiving.

Few are predicting that this new relationship born of mutual respect and self-interest will grow into a tight bond between the new president and the woman who will be the public face of his foreign policy, though some say it is not impossible. They argue that a close friendship between the two powerful officials is useful but not essential, and is not a predictor of the success of the nation’s chief diplomat.

While James A. Baker III was extraordinarily close to the first President George Bush and is widely considered one of the most successful recent secretaries of state, Dean Acheson was not a friend of Harry S. Truman and Henry A. Kissinger did not particularly like Richard M. Nixon.

“Two of the nation’s greatest secretaries of state in the modern period, Dean Acheson and Henry Kissinger, were not personally close but were intellectually bonded to their presidents,” said Walter Isaacson, the author of a biography of Mr. Kissinger and the co-author, with Evan Thomas, of “The Wise Men,” a book about America’s postwar foreign policy establishment. “I think that Obama and Clinton could form a perfect partnership based on respect for each other’s view of the world.”

Colin L. Powell, who was President Bush’s first-term celebrity secretary of state, would appear to be a cautionary tale for Mrs. Clinton since his relationship with the president was strained, and he left office an unhappy man. But Mr. Bush’s second-term secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, is generally not viewed as having the success her unusually tight bond with the president might have engendered.

read more at New York Times under Politics

AP: Blogging is Lobbying?

Wash. regulators ask: Can blogging be lobbying?

11/22/2008, 12:00 a.m. PST By CURT WOODWARD The Associated Press

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Blogger beware? State regulators are wondering whether online political activism amounts to lobbying, which could force Web-based activists to file public reports detailing their finances.

In a collision of 21st century media and 1970s political reforms, the inquiry hints at a showdown over press freedoms for bloggers, whose self-published journals can shift between news reporting, opinion writing, political organizing and campaign fundraising.

State officials are downplaying any possible media rights conflict, pointing out that regulators have already exempted journalistic blogging from previous guidelines for online campaign activity....end excerpt...

new excerpt-----

For most bloggers, Goldstein said, the work "is a hobby, a sideline. And yet they contribute greatly to the public debate and to the new journalism."

"When you start talking about regulating Internet activity, you open up a Pandora's Box," he said.

read more

The "New Racial Politics" of the South

 

A few weeks ago we did a truthful but scathing (post read here) on Adam Nossiter's article in the New York Times.  It needed to be addressed because Nossiter was reinforcing old prejudices against the South with an extra jab at the 'dumb, redneck, uneducated southerner'.  The present political situation is more complicated than what appears to those outside its inner operations.  Thankfully, someone has done an excellent job of analyzing the current state of southern political affairs.  There is a four-part series  written by the Editor of the Birmingham Weekly, Glen Browder.  Browder takes us from the beginning of the old political south to the Election of 2008 and the resulting aftermath.     This subject has not been explained fully until now.  All links to his articles are below.  Browders series of articles is enlightening and simply interesting.  

Other Articles By: Glen Browder

Stealth Politics -- Alabama’s New Racial Order – Part 3
Stealth Politics -- Barack Obama and Alabama’s new racial order
Alabama's new racial order – Part 2 -- A first-person account of where we are and how we got here 
Alabama's new racial order -- A first-person account of where we are and how we got here
Buying the black vote -- Anniston’s candid new mayor sends a bizarre but useful message to Alabama and America

Hillary's Republican Allies

from The Daily Beast.. by Ana Marie Cox

Neocons, right-wing scribes, and impeachment managers are in rare agreement with Obama —Clinton is a great choice for Secretary of State.

Hillary Clinton has found some unlikely allies and supporters in her journey to becoming Secretary of State: neoconservatives, contributors to theNational Review, even a former manager of her husband's impeachment proceedings. You might call it a vast right-wing conspiracy.

How to explain the generally positive take Republicans have on Clinton's nomination? Her willingness to veer right in international policy. While she all but—all but—apologized for her pro-war vote in the Democratic primaries, Republicans are counting on her toughness in the days ahead. As one consultant put it: "We all know that secretly, she's a hawk." Writing in The Weekly Standard's blog, Michael Goldfarb wrote hopefully about Clinton "even present[ing] the case for war with Iran to an insubordinate United Nations in the event that Obama's personal diplomacy somehow fails to deter the mullahs from their present course." His editor, Bill Kristol, responded to the news with a giddy email: "I look forward to working with her!"

read more

Obama Plan to Create 2.5 Million Jobs by 2011

What Obama said in his radio address on 11-22 (this is a two year plan)  backs up what his advisors have been telling him, and that is to give a laser focus to the economy. Let the Clintons deal with the world, and guarantee that this administration deals successfully with the economy...redwine

from Voices of America

During Saturday's weekly Democratic radio address, Mr. Obama says his plan will put people back to work rebuilding the nation's infrastructure, modernizing schools, and developing new energy technologies.

President-elect Obama says the economic turmoil of the last week proves swift action is needed to restore the nation's financial health.

He acknowledged passing the plan will not be easy, and asked for support and input from both Republicans and Democrats...end quote

Coping With A Recession-Depression

Turkeys Have Stroke During Palin Interview

While Gov. Palin was interviewing (after pardoning Tom Turkey) several turkeys were noted to have heart-attacks or stroke in the back drop.  Tom Fowler, the owner of these ill-fated turkeys, said they had been particularly stressed this November with the election results and the prospect of the upcoming holidays.

The event was a sad day in the news especially if you had to see David Schuster's mortified response on MSNBC.

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Herzog's "Faith and The Uniform"

The reason my Mother and Father had all six children reared in a strict Catholic environment was due to the presence of the chaplains during WWII.  It was my Father's belief that the Cathloic priests were the first on the front lines in the thick of battle.  Now that was how he saw it, but the fact remains, the presence of ministries during wartime did have long lasting affects. Today, a lawsuit and an open letter to Barack Obama goes out from atheists and freethinkers. Things are changing...Redwine

read below:

From The Washington Independent

Faith and The Uniform

• By JONATHAN PATRICK HERZOG 11/17/08 6:00 AM

Last week, on the eve of Veterans Day, the Secular Coalition for America and the Military Assn. of Atheists and Freethinkers held a news conference in Washington to present an open letter to President-elect Barack Obama. Citing a report that found 21 percent of those in the armed forces identifying themselves as atheists or having “no religion,” the groups called on the new administration to pursue a military policy more open to nonbelievers. end excerpt...

continued here:

U.S. martial leaders have long prayed before and after battle: George Washington at the close of the Revolutionary War; George Dewey after his victory against the Spanish fleet at Manila; and Dwight D. Eisenhower on the eve of D-Day. Chaplains have also been key components of U.S. fighting forces, from the ragtag colonial militias to the highly professional units of today.

So when Americans learn that soldiers are being evangelized on military bases, that religious materials are often circulated among troops and that depictions of Washington kneeling in prayer are ubiquitous in military circles, they might likely see all this as an organic part of a venerable tradition.

But these incidents are anything but organic — and not nearly as deeply rooted as one might imagine. In fact, they are largely the residue of a forgotten footnote to U.S. military history during the late 1940s and 1950s — a time when civilian and military leaders attempted to imbue the armed forces with religious zeal and purpose.

At issue today, however, is not the place of religion in the military. Rather, it is the official sanction that government gives it. While this matter is given special weight by those who see America in the midst of a modern holy war against terrorism, it has precedent in the nation’s last great quasi-religious crusade — the battle against atheistic communism.

More than 60 years ago, when the Cold War was menacing but still unnamed, U.S. leaders faced the luckless dilemma of picking their own poison. If they demobilized the military after World War II, as their predecessors had done after previous wars, the Soviet threat might become unmanageable. But maintaining a large standing military would betray a national principle. It was considered profoundly un-American to maintain a powerful armed force in a time of peace. According to a long line of patriots, from Samuel Adams on down, standing armies threatened liberty and smothered virtue.

read article in its entirety:

Democratic Party Changed Forever?

Perhaps the Democratic Party is fundamentally changed...and for a lifetime at least. Dionne talks about a large independent apparatus that will continue to operate from Obama's website. It is all based on "community organization."  Obama's method is old time politics mixed with community organization, and all of this is married to the internet. Obama has taken the best of old fashioned politics and has produced a town square on the web. It won't dismantle because the election is over; it is too powerful.  Republicans, Independents, and exiled Democrats are not organized. There is no real base for an opposition to operate from until someone understands these dynamics and begins to build something similar. I suppose the Gothic King Alaric attacked while the poor Romans were distracted. We are surprised, and it doesn't make sense to us...Redwine

read excerpt from The Post:

from The Washington Post....E.J. DionneJr.

Turning the Obama network into a vast national party organization could give Democrats durable advantages that the party has not enjoyed since the New Deal era, when Franklin Roosevelt built an alliance between local political machines and a growing labor movement.

But Plouffe himself has been much affected by the new way of campaigning he oversaw. His regular video reports to the troops turned him into something of a hero to the Obama faithful.

Moreover, Steve Hildebrand, Obama's deputy campaign manager, has argued that members of the network include many who are averse to traditional party politics: young people with weak party loyalties, independents and even some Republicans. He has been suggesting at Democratic gatherings that the Obama apparatus might instead constitute itself as an independent political organization -- friendly and parallel to the Democratic Party but a separate entity nonetheless. Obama supporters are also discussing how local networks could integrate into their communities through various forms of service work and activism. Obama's Web site is raising money for the victims of the Southern California fires....continue

Baby-Boomers: Beware Obama Administration

Just had to touch on this topic of ageism.  I know there are plenty of Puma Boomers, and we don't address it much, but I think it will be a big topic in the not to far future. Many of us have been thinking about it, but other pressing issues have called for the focusing of our actions and attention. Ageism hasn't yet received the status of a serious prejudice in American society. Myrna Blyth does a guest article on Wow and covers it, but not with a positive out look on the future. (Not really what we want to hear....not at all!) but as I read the article, I could remember telling my friends, children, and other family members that Boomers would be the one to radicalize the definition of "old"... or getting older. A lot of this prejudice is our fault. Who else helped to perpetuate the "youth culture" except us?  It was quite acceptable to refer to Mccain's age as being an obstacle during this election cycle. Obama kids took that one to the hilt even though their great leader is himself a Boomer. No matter, Obama has a cool fresh look, and he is all about the internet. Boomers didn't come off looking good in that respect, but a lot of that type of thinking has been a label stuck on Boomers and quite erroneously at that...and thanks to the Obama campaign. There is a lot to think about since Boomers have suffered most with the biggest loss in savings to date in 401ks. We will have to truly think this one out.  There is a good chance the next generation will pay 50% in income tax to keep us on the rolls. That in itself scares me...maybe that facet of socialism won't be so popular. Then on the other hand, we could work on getting those traitorous Boomers who voted for Obama on our side and have a wild revolt with our dangerous canes. I know we would win because we still outnumber any other generation. go over to wowowow.com and read Blythe's article.

Hillary and This Tough Decision

The women at Wow have pieced this together perhaps better than anyone else.  It probably all boils down to Hillary being very conflicted...read below.

Clinton Two-Step: Will Hillary Actually Accept Secretary of State Post, if Offered?

By The Staff at wowOwow.com

© Shutterstock

Will she or won’t she?

There are mixed reports out today as to whether Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, will in fact accept the secretary of state job if President-elect Obama offers it to her.

A person familiar with her thinking told The New York Times that Clinton has reservations about accepting the post, although she is flattered by Obama’s reported interest. She’s apparently agonizing over the decision. Clinton likes being her own boss and is reluctant to give up the independence that comes with that, said the adviser.

“If you are secretary of state you work for the president,” the adviser said in an e-mail to the Times. “If you are a senator, you work for yourself and the people that elected you.”  Read More on Politics At  wowowow.com

Misogyny,Clinton-Palin

Merkin gives a stark look at sexism, but it doesn't come as a shock, it is a topic that has been opened widely for discusssion thanks to these two politicians. Women owe Clinton and Palin more than they know ...they have helped us. It is not a problem solved, but the issue of misogyny has our focus.

The Sexism Revival

by Daphne Merkin

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The treatment of Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin exposes a streak of misogyny that runs deep in American culture.

Now that the election is over and racism is ostensibly down for the count, has sexism gotten a new dispensation? Has the "unlikability" (not to mention "unfuckability") of Hillary not only cost her the presidential nomination but brought out the streak of misogyny that runs deep in American culture, affecting the way men think about women and the way women think about themselves?

And what about Sarah Palin, the breeding babe who has emerged as a comely figure of fun with seemingly not a mote of self-doubt in her constitution? Has she furthered men's natural instinct to write off women as light entertainment, chattering nitwits with a shaky hold on the hard facts, and also triggered the self-hatred mechanism in the women who refused to go along with her as a "you can have it all" representation of how far feminism had come? (Legs! Clothes! Family! Career!)

Once again, it seems to be OK to talk about women as risible in their aspirations to leadership.

Read More

Chanting 'Jesus Is A Homo' Gays Protest

Our org. has certainly done their share of protesting, and it is our right to peacefully protest, but the intention to interrupt services interferes with a citizens right to worship and believe as they please. We have the right to peacful assembly.  Though I support gay rights, I do not want to see the rights of others infringed upon no matter how strongly I disagree with them...redwine

'Jesus is a homo' Homosexuals Disrupt Church Service

By Deacon Keith Fournier 
11/12/2008

Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Using megaphones for amplification they shouted epithets at those entering the service such as “Jesus is a homo”. They also mockingly carried an upside down pink cross.

In a news release, Bash Back referred to Mt. Hope Church as “a deplorable anti-queer mega church.” They further elaborated their disdain for the Christian community at Mt. Hope on their web site.

LANSING, Michigan (Catholic Online) - Dr. Dave Williams is the Pastor of a large evangelical Protestant Church in Lansing, Michigan called the Mount Hope Church. The Church web site informs the visitor of Pastor Williams that “He has served for 25 years, leading the church in Lansing from 226 to over 4000 today.” The Pastor is respected in the broader Christian, religious and civic community and the Church has extensive outreaches. 

This past Sunday, during a Worship Service at the Church, a group of loud and intentionally disruptive homosexual activists stood outside of the sanctuary of Mount Hope dressed in strange pink attire. Using megaphones for amplification, they shouted epithets at those entering the service such as “Jesus is a homo”.They also mockingly carried an upside down pink cross. 

Reports filed with the Eaton County Sheriff’s office indicate that other demonstrators had staged a further action intended to disrupt the Sunday Worship at Mount Hope. Dressed in clothing which would not have indicated their intention, they entered into the sanctuary and were seated with the community. Then, in an orchestrated manner, they left their seats, pulled fire alarms, distributed anti-Christian literature and stormed the Pastor’s pulpit waving a rainbow colored flag and shouting “It’s Okay To Be Gay! Bash Back”. 

Gen. Jones, Very Critical of Israel (Obama Cabinet?)

This summer Jones, a retired general whose previous positions included US Marine Corps commandant and NATO supreme allied commander, was reportedly on Barack Obama's shortlist of vice presidential candidates, and has since been mentioned periodically as a possible national security adviser in an Obama administration.

US Middle East security coordinator James L. Jones, long expected to produce a document spelling out Israel's security needs after the creation of a Palestinian state, will not in the end present the Bush administration with a large-scale report, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

Retired Marine Gen. James Jones accompanied bySecretary of State Condoleezza Rice, speaks at the State Department in Washington.
Photo: AP

SLIDESHOW: Pictures of the week

"There is not going to be any Jones report that lays out the whole strategic vision of what a post-agreement reality would look like," one US official said. "There is not going to be one consolidated report." Jerusalem Post

The Worry Is This: During the final debate with McCain on October 15, 2008, Obama said this about Jones: "Let me tell you who I associate with... If I'm interested in figuring out my foreign policy, I associate myself with my running mate, Joe Biden or with Dick Lugar...or General Jim Jones, the former supreme allied commander of NATO." Redwine

 

Daily Beast Poll Tells Truth On Palin Bias

Maybe we are finally getting somewhere. We certainly have not prevented the media from attacking Palin or Clinton, but the fact that the public has such an awareness of media bias is a very good start to preventing these misogynistic attacks. The problem is: The media no longer has ethics regarding women candidates in any branch of its services....Redwine

read from NewsBusters:

Poll: Sexist Media Far Harsher On Palin Than Clinton

By Noel Sheppard (Bio | Archive)
November 19, 2008 - 10:56 ET

• 
• 

A new poll released Tuesday found that most people believe the media's treatment of the women involved in the presidential campaign this year was highly sexist, and that Sarah Palin was not only treated far worse by the press than Joe Biden, but she was also covered much more harshly than Hillary Clinton.

"The Daily Beast" poll also found that very few women consider themselves to be feminist, with a virtually equal minority wishing that a current or future daughter would become a feminist.

Here are some of the interesting highlights:

• All Americans, and particularly women, are exercised over the treatment of women in politics and the press. By an overwhelming 61% to 19% margin, women believe there is a gender bias in the media. While women thought that Barack Obama and Joe Biden received fair media treatment, only 48% thought Hillary Clinton did and only 29% believed Sarah Palin was treated fairly. In contrast, nearly 8 in 10 voters thought the press gave fair treatment to Obama and Biden.

  So the media had a huge opportunity this fall to overcome these perceptions of bias, and it seems they failed the test—especially with the older generation. Women over 50 said Palin was asked questions and subjected to unfair comments by a remarkable 2/1. They are more likely to recall stories being written about Palin’s hair and clothes than Obama’s healthcare plans.

• Voters reject the term and the category of being a “feminist,” with only 20% of women willing to use that word about themselves. Nor do they want their daughters to become feminists—only 17% of voters said they would welcome their daughters using that label.

Interesting stuff. Those interested can view the complete results here.

Censorship on its Way (Fairness Doctrine)

Not since 1987 have we dealt with this. Before this, neither did the Media until its transformation into gateway to views of the radical left...redwine

Excerpt from NewsBusters

Democrats are serious about trying to reinstate the long-defunct FCC regulation, which can more aptly be described as the “Censorship Doctrine” because of its chilling effect on free speech. In effect from 1949 to 1987, the Fairness Doctrine was an obstacle to open discussion of public policy issues on the radio; its removal in the Reagan years spawned the robust talk radio marketplace of ideas now enjoyed by millions.

While talk radio hosts often warned during the campaign that free speech could be trampled by an all-Democratic majority, the broadcast networks have failed to react to this dangerous threat to the First Amendment. A review shows the broadcast networks — whose affiliates could also be regulated — have failed to run even a single story mentioning the push for a new Fairness Doctrine. The most recent mention of the Fairness Doctrine was on May 30, 2007, when in an interview on CBS’s The Early Show, Al Gore bizarrely called it a “protection” that was removed during the Reagan years.

But there has been news to report, as Democrats have been more than candid about their plans. On Election Day, for example, New York Senator Charles Schumer justified regulating political speech. “The very same people who don’t want the Fairness Doctrine want the FCC to limit pornography on the air,” Schumer told the Fox News Channel. “You can’t say, ‘government hands off in one area’ to a commercial enterprise, but you’re allowed to intervene in another. That’s not consistent.”

An Election Is Not A Football Game

by Marc, from Marc's Musings

The 2008 election cycle is finally over and none too soon. I was really getting tired of the football game syndrome that the election seems to have brought on. You would have thought with the interesting candidates and very definitive issues, we could have had a real dialogue on where we want this country to go. But instead of a dialogue, we got more of a football game atmosphere where the spectators chose their teams and rooted for them. As in a football game, when you root for your team, everything your team does well is good and everything the other team does well is bad. This doesn't lead much to dialogue. The fact is that we aren't supposed to make an intelligent decision about which candidate we should vote for. Rather the campaigns are designed to coerce the voters to vote for their candidate just because it "feels good". Whichever campaign makes the voters feel better about their candidate and worse about the other one finds success.

For example, take the case of the economy. In the final stages of the presidential campaign, everyone knew the economy was the main issue. This was the time for Obama and McCain to offer their visions about the causes of the current crisis and their plan to fix it. But we didn't get much of that. Rather, on the economy, the incumbent Republicans took much of the blame even though the Democrats didn't offer much of an alternative. Even now, after we know the results of the election, both parties are grasping for positions to take without really knowing what they are doing.

When we elect a president, we aren't electing a national cheerleader. We are electing the head of the executive branch of the government. We saw with Bush II what electing a cheerleader can do to the country. President-Elect Obama appears to be intelligent enough to give it a good shot at trying to remedy the country's problems. But his campaign was very long on generalities and very short on specifics on how that is going to be done.

The other effect of the election becoming like a football game is that, as in a football game, people supporting opposing candidates start opposing each other, tearing apart otherwise strong friendships and even families. Why can't we have intelligent discussions about issues and candidates without attacking each other? This kind of polarization can't solve any problems. It's the reason why the federal government hasn't worked very well for quite some time. Democracy is about compromise. You don't always get everything you want, or you rarely get everything you want. But you should always have a voice.

My experience at the Democratic National Convention was that Barack Obama treated the Democratic Party as his personal property and everyone had to dance to his tune. As a delegate for Hillary Clinton, I didn't feel any outreach from the Obama campaign to include us in his party. It was and still is my fear that if Obama runs the government in the same way, we will get more gridlock. However, the initial observations are that at least for appearances he is trying to look inclusive. It remains to be seen if this is just superficial or a real change in his approach.

--
Posted By Marc to Marc's Musing at 11/18/2008 05:06:00 PM

Captialism Is Dead. Long live… (what?)

by Marc at Marc's Musings

Regardless of what the "experts" are saying, the recent economic crisis means that capitalism as we know it is dead. While congress debates where billions of U.S. treasury dollars are going to be spent in the name of saving the economy, this massive intervention in the economy spells the end of the "free market". Government bailouts of financial institutions have already given the government unprecedented control over private institutions. It remains to be seen how the government will use that control, as a major problem is that those very institutions have been injecting huge amounts of money into politicians campaigns that it becomes somewhat like the fox guarding the henhouse.

It is inevitable that the government take a bigger role in managing our economy. For too long we have left that to the private interests. Robert Reich, President Clinton's former labor secretary, notes in his recent book Supercapitalism that in the past, the people who ran the major corporations in the past had managed the economy. However, in recent years the control of the corporations has moved to the shareholders and Wall Street, who demand increasing shareholder value at any price. This really changed the dynamics of the economy forcing corporations as well as investors to take a very short term view of their investments causing whatever discipline there was in the economy to break down. Now it is the job of the government to impose some discipline on our economy. But is the government up to the job?

I don't believe so. There is so much money going into campaigns that politicians are more than ever forced to dance to the tune that their big contributors play. Until we get the money out of politics by creating mandatory publically funded election campaigns, we won't be able to get a government that really represents the voter's interests.

But back to capitalism and the bailouts. The big discussion this week is whether to give a bailout to U.S. auto manufacturers. Here is a chance to give the power to the people. The government should force the ailing automakers into bankruptcy. Then the government should buy these companies and turn the ownership of the factories over to the employees. It would be interesting to see what kind of employment contracts we would see in Detroit if the employees themselves owned the factories they worked at. This isn't my idea though. It's an idea I heard from economist Ravi Batra who is a professor of economics at Southern Methodist University, author of The New Golden Age: The Coming Revolution Against Political Corruption and Economic Chaos and Greenspan's Fraud. He's been predicting the demise of capitalism for 20 years and is a big proponent of "economic democracy".

The idea of employees owning their own factory is not new either. There is an excellent example at Springfield ReManufacturing Corporation where employees of an International Harvester factory bought the factory rather than have it shut down and lose their jobs. Over the years SRC has been so successful that they have become a model for employee owned businesses.

We are going to have to do some more thinking "outside the box" in order to fix our economy.

--
Posted By Marc to Marc's Musing at 11/18/2008 05:51:00 PM

Obama Like 'Ole Country Abe?

No elitist seen.

Chris Matthews Opens Big Mouth...Again

from NewsBusters

Read Article Below

Chris Matthews Caught Bad-mouthing Hillary Clinton Aboard Train
By P.J. Gladnick (Bio | Archive)
November 18, 2008 - 07:21 ET
It looks like Chris Matthews of MSNBC's Hardball needs to learn that it isn't a good idea to speak out of class. As relayed by the New York Post's Page Six, Matthews was caught mouthing off on the subject of Hillary Clinton during a train trip:

"HARDBALL" host Chris Matthews and the other "castratos" at MSNBC shouldn't hold their breath waiting for a Hillary Clinton interview.

Matthews, who once opined that men who supported Clinton were "castratos in the eunuch chorus," forgot the cardinal rule for those who are often mentioned on Page Six - he didn't take a good look around on the Acela train from Philadelphia to Washington Saturday before he started bad-mouthing the New York senator.

Read More About Big Mouth

Bobby Jindal Begins With Iowa

No doubt Jindal has political ambitions and that is why he is in Iowa this week. They say he is a master of back room political haggling. Jindal is also in the midst of working with health care providers on a plan for Lousianna's youth and elderly. The plan is known as "Louisianna Health First". Jindal makes the rounds but he doesn't neglect making the stops in his own state. Jindal was in Shreveport to show his support for "Safety Town", Jindal spent an hour at the center. It is a program where second-graders will learn about everything from avoiding strangers to how to cross the street. Jindal defintely keeps the youth welfare in mind, one of his biggest priorities...Redwine

more on Jindal:

from New Orleans, New Orleans City Business


Jindal stumps in Iowa, makes new friends in GOP
by Jeff Crouere
excerpt...
For presidential candidates, no state is more important than Iowa, so it is very interesting that Jindal will be at a high profile event Saturday in the Hawkeye State. He will be the main speaker at the Iowa Family Policy Center’s Celebrating the Family banquet.
This trip will help Jindal increase his profile in a state that kicks off the presidential campaign every four years. A candidate that wins in Iowa automatically becomes a major contender, if not the frontrunner, in the nomination battle...end quote

Media Fairness

Note: Guardian Reports "Hillary Clinton Will Accept Secretary Of State" Former rival well placed to become country's dominant voice in foreign affairs, replacing Condoleezza Rice...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ewen MacAskill | guardian.co.uk

IceRocket Tags: Hillary Clinton,Secretary Of State

Ayers Surfaces in Washington

"Everyone of us is a full human being deserving of our respect and our rights," ...quote Bill Ayers on Nov.17, 2008.  Outrageous, isn't it? We will hear a lot more from Ayers and his ilk. Erase the fact he had a friendship of some to degree with Obama. This terrorist finds no shame in having a book signing in Washington this evening with a re-issued edition of "Fugitive Days." Mr.Ayers has benefited plenty from this capitalistic republic...Redwine

Monday, November 17, 2008

Ayers Delivers Speech at Georgetown Law

Posted by: Amanda Carpenter at 4:41 PM

Domestic terrorist William Ayers spoke about his “brush with celebrity" and the criminal acts he committed as an anti-war activist with Georgetown Law School Students Monday afternoon.
That "celebrity," of course, is President-elect Barack Obama whom Ayers worked with on social justice issues in Chicago. This relationship became a major point of contention from the GOP during the presidential election.
"I can't watch the crap," Ayers said of the media's attention to their friendship.  "And I certainly can't watch anything about myself."
Ayers encouraged the audience to clap to celebrate Barack Obama's election, calling his November 4 acceptance speech "an extraordinary event" that was "not only unforgettable, but inevitable." He described the feeling in Grant Park on Election Night as "overwhelming joy and a large dose of relief."
He spoke on a variety of current events, saying it was time to "get rid of the insane metaphor of the war on terror" to close Guantanamo Bay, to "fight for gay rights in California and everywhere else."
During the question and answer session of the event a student who identified himself as someone pursuing a career in the military asked Ayers "Do you wish harm on me? Do you wish to kill me?" The student, named Luke, told Ayers it was a "disgrace" he was allowed to speak on campus.
"It's not a sad comment on the university to allow me to speak here," Ayers answered. "You cannot move forward as a society unless you engage in a dialogue with people you disagree with...you have to be willing to accept there are a range of opinions across the board." Ayers said it would be a "disaster" for the university to sanction student groups from allowing him on campus. He said most of his opposition was comprised "mostly of  middle-aged men who are ventilating on their computer in their mothers basements who are sweating profusely."
(The event was hosted by Georgetown Law National Lawyers Guild as a part of the groups “progressive speaker series.”  A National Lawyers Guild organizer introduced Ayers as a person who has “maintained his commitment to social justice in different ways, in different contexts.”)
As for the charge about him being dangerous Ayers responded, "If you ingest way too much Fox News you are going to be confused by a lot of things." He said former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's charge Obama "palled around with terrorists" was a "lie on every level."
"I am a little bit stunned that the grown up media didn't put an end to and that was the guilt by association," he said. "It doesn't matter who you talk to."
Ayers denied ever committing any terrorist acts. "Not only did I never kill or injure another person, but the Weather Underground in its six years did not injure or kill another person." He said he did things that were "certainly illegal, but to call it terrorism stretches the door to mean anything you don't approve of."
He expressed no remorse of his actions. Of the extreme, violent actions he  and his colleagues committed Ayers said, "I don't think anyone was brilliant and I don't think anyone was horrible. Each one did what they did."
Rather, Ayers said US actions in Fallujah and Vietnman were acts of "terrorism."
Ayers was booked to discuss his forthcoming book “Race Course Against White Supremacy” authored with his wife Bernadine Dohrn, whom he described as "cute" for visiting with convicted inmates for their research.
Security was high at the event, with police guarding all exits.  Roughly 80 people attended. Two male students Austin Tice and John Masslon, stood in the back of the room with their backs turned to Ayers in silent protest of the speech. The men were among several members of the audience who were angered Ayers was speaking on campus.

Ayers opened his discussion by talking about the serial killer John Wayne Gacy. Ayers said he was disturbed by the media hysteria celebrating his court-ordered execution. “There was something about it that was sickening to me, there was something about the glee….what were we being happy about?" This, he said, is part of what inspired him to begin opposing capital punishment.

Ayers called for a more "balanced view of justice."

"Everyone of us is a full human being deserving of our respect and our rights," said the man who helped plan the bombings of several federal buildings.

This is the second major appearance Ayers has granted, breaking his silence since Barack Obama was elected president. In a reissued edition of his tome, “Fugitive Days” Ayers describes the President-elect as a “family friend.” Last Friday, Ayers granted an interview to Good Morning America to discuss his reissued book

Ayers is also scheduled to attend a book signing at a liberal Washington bookstore and bar, Busboys & Poets, Monday evening.

Political Blogs, Conservative Blogging, Republican Bloggers, The Politics Blogspot: Townhall.com

IceRocket Tags: Bill Ayers,Ayers,Obama,"Fugitive Days"

Greenville, S.C. Priest Amends His Words

I guess Father Newman is a conservative, but I wonder why he got so partisan after the election?  It is a tough world in Cafeteria Catholic America. I don't think we ever finished the birth control discussion that was going on when I was in grade school. It just kind of faded away...redwine

 

...off the wire from The Post and Courier in Charleston, S.C.

S.C. priest clarifies anti-Obama stand

Minister says column on abortion written in haste

Wire report

Monday, November 17, 2008

GREENVILLE — A South Carolina priest told his parishioners he was too hasty when he told parishioners who voted for President-elect Barack Obama to refrain from taking Holy Communion because of the politicians stance on abortion.

The Greenville News reported that during a Mass at his church Saturday, the Rev. Jay Scott Newman received a standing ovation.

When the applause stopped, Newman said he wrote his column in haste and would have done a better job of explaining his position had he taken his time.

Newman said he wrote the column "at the last moment and right at the deadline." He said he regretted the attention his Web posting has drawn.

Newman said all future comments should come from South Carolina's Roman Catholic Diocese in Charleston.

On the church Web site early last week, Newman wrote to parishioners at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Greenville that they are putting their souls at risk if they take Holy Communion without first doing penance for voting for the Democrat.

"Our nation has chosen for its chief executive the most radical pro-abortion politician ever to serve in the United States Senate or to run for president," Newman wrote, referring to Obama by his full name, including his middle name of Hussein.

"Voting for a pro-abortion politician when a plausible pro-life alternative exists constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil," he wrote.

Newman told The Associated Press on Thursday his missive was not intended to be partisan.

"If the Republican candidate had been pro-abortion, and the Democratic candidate had been pro-life, everything that I wrote would have been exactly the same," he said.

On Friday, the Diocese of Charleston issued a statement rebuking Newman, saying his comments did not "adequately reflect church teachings."

 

IceRocket Tags: Rev. Newman,Greenville,S.C.

Murdoch Tells The Media "like it is"

PUMAS, perhaps more than anyone else, keep a skeptical eye on the media and with good reason. They have seen how lousy journalists and news anchors operate as of late.  Newpapers can't blame their descent all on the Internet. If the public felt they could get fair and accurate reporting, they would still take the time and scour the papers. Murdoch who has been in the business since 1952 tells us what they can do before they totally go down the tube...Redwine

"It used to be that a handful of editors could decide what was news-and what was not. They acted as sort of demigods. If they ran a story, it became news. If they ignored an event, it never happened. Today editors are losing this power. The Internet, for example, provides access to thousands of new sources that cover things an editor might ignore. And if you aren't satisfied with that, you can start up your own blog and cover and comment on the news yourself. Journalists like to think of themselves as watchdogs, but they haven't always responded well when the public calls them to account."

To make his point, Murdoch criticized the media reaction after bloggers debunked a "60 Minutes" report by former CBS anchor, Dan Rather, that President Bush had evaded service during his days in the National Guard.

"Far from celebrating this citizen journalism, the establishment media reacted defensively. During an appearance on Fox News, a CBS executive attacked the bloggers in a statement that will go down in the annals of arrogance. '60 Minutes,' he said, was a professional organization with 'multiple layers of checks and balances.' By contrast, he dismissed the blogger as 'a guy sitting in his living room in his pajamas writing.' But eventually it was the guys sitting in their pajamas who forced Mr. Rather and his producer to resign.

"Mr. Rather and his defenders are not alone," he continued. "A recent American study reported that many editors and reporters simply do not trust their readers to make good decisions. Let's be clear about what this means. This is a polite way of saying that these editors and reporters think their readers are too stupid to think for themselves."

Article in its entirety....Murdoch to media: You dug yourself a huge hole | Coop's Corner - CNET News

 

IceRocket Tags: media,newspapers