the cumulative effect

Terrorism trial in New York causes chaos?

2010-10-12T09:21:00.003-06:00

Not sure why it's not displaying properly. Here's the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6I-W3JXAHBU&feature=player_embedded

Way to go, Al

2009-10-10T10:40:00.005-06:00

On Tuesday, new Senator Al Franken introduced an amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill (a typically underhanded move to pass unpalatable legislation that wouldn’t fly on its own, but in this case, related and appropriate) that would punish contractors if they "restrict their employees from taking workplace sexual assault, battery and discrimination cases to court."

This long-overdue amendment was in response to the gang rape of Jamie Leigh Jones by her KBR co-workers in 2005 while she was working in Baghdad. After her horrific ordeal, Jones was, under the orders of KBR, confined by armed guards to a shipping container containing only a bed, and denied food, water, and medical treatment for at least 24 hours. In addition, she was warned that if she left Iraq for (desperately needed) medical attention, she would lose her job.

Ironically, (sadly, almost unbearably, sickeningly) Jones was prevented from bringing charges in court against KBR because her employment contract stipulated that sexual assault allegations would only be heard in private arbitration.

Of course, some Republicans weren't pleased with Franken's attempt at justice, because, you know, anti-gang rape = anti-business. Jeff Sessions (R-Dickweed) called Franken’s effort a "political attack directed at Halliburton." The amendment, to anyone who's head resides outside of their rectal cavity, applies to all organizations.

Jones expressed her appreciation to Franken after the vote. “It means the world to me,” she said. “It means that every tear shed to go public and repeat my story over and over again to make a difference for other women was worth it.”

It’s sad enough to see so many elected representatives vote against the public good on issues like health care reform to ensure their corporate gravy train keeps rolling, but opposing this legislation goes a step further by signaling an acceptance of workplace assault and denial of corporate responsibility. Luckily, 68 senators did the right thing and the bill passed. The following is a list of senators who voted against it, and therefore, are proponents of brutal sexual assault.

Alexander (R-TN)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Gregg (R-NH)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Kyl (R-AZ)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Wicker (R-MS)

Ulterior Motives

2009-10-05T19:20:00.002-06:00

Juan Cole, in his blog Informed Comment, has had a thread of commentaries in the last few weeks which have really helped ground the Israeli vilification of Iran for me. For the sake of explanation, I've changed the timeline of his original posts. First, here are some statistics he posted from Globalfirepower.com:

Population Israel: 7.2 mn. Iran: 70 mn.
Wars launched on neighbors: Israel: 1956, 1967, 1982, 2006, 2008-9 Iran: 0
Nuclear Warheads Israel: ~200 Iran: 0
Military Budgets: Israel: $13.4 bn. Iran: $7.4 bn.
Per capita military expenditure: Israel: $1,805 Iran: $105
Total Aircraft Israel: 1,220 Iran: 84
Active Military and Reserve Personnel Israel: ~600,000 Iran: 875,000
Total land-based weapons: Israel: 14,200 Iran: 5,499

Now, why would a country with an estimated 200 operational nuclear warheads (and the capacity to create many, many more, be worried about a neighbor that is racked with its own internal crises (double-digit inflation (28% in 2008), civil unrest over failed subsidies programs, and due to a lack of refining capacity, has to import gasoline, despite having the 4th largest oil reserves in the world). And, although Iran's active military and reserve personnel outnumber Israel's, Israel has the second most advanced and well-armed military in the world (thanks, in part, to your tax dollars - $3 billion a year, no strings attached), for which Iran's "mangy" army is no great challenge, according to Cole.

Here's where things get interesting. Haggai Ram, professor of Middle East studies at Ben Gurion University in Negev, Israel, and guest blogger on Informed Comment, theorizes that Israel's hyping of the threat posed by Iran is a smokescreen, allowing Israel to break previous agreements and flaunt international laws by continuing to build settlements in the occupied territories. In the words of Israel’s incumbent Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, "What [do] you think is the first most strategic threat to Israel," Lieberman responded: "Iran, Iran, Iran… As long as there’s no solution to the Iranian problem we will deal with neither the settlements nor the settlers... Only after we will have taken care of... Iran it will become possible to talk about... the problem in Judea, Samaria, and the Golan Heights."

There are only two things the Obama administration can do to stop Israel from thumbing their nose at the U.S. and the rest of the international community. First, tie aid directly to stopping settlement construction and dismantling current illegal settlements. Second, declare that on January 1, 2011, the United States will recognize Palestine as an independent, sovereign nation. These things, alone or in combination, are the only things that will stop Israel from committing more war crimes against the Palestinian people and stop disrupting their lives with so called, "natural expansion".

The fact is, the U.S. has acquiesced to the Israeli leadership and lobbying groups to the point that Israel doesn't have to do anything it doesn't want to. They have the U.S. under their thumbs, and I'm doubtful that we'll grow the stones and really deal with the issue before Israel has completed its goal of wiping the Palestinian people off the map.

Great speech, but...

2009-09-10T15:18:00.005-06:00

I don’t understand why the President had to address the nation to explain the healthcare plan floating through congress because “people are frustrated because they don’t understand what’s being proposed.” What? Anyone who has read a newspaper, blog, watched TV, or listened to NPR in the last three months knows the basics of the Democrat’s proposal. Look, here it is in a tweet. [1. Have health ins? Like it? Keep it/stop getting scrwd by ins co. 2. No ins + no $? Govt ins. 4 cheap/$0 3. No ins + $? Req. like car ins.] There you go. The problem is, the country still seems to be run by obstructionist, lying (Obama’s word) politicians (read: Republican’ts) who were voted in by this segment of the population:

Seriously, the ability to tell fact from fiction should be a prerequisite to vote. This guy’s waiting for the big, black U.N. helicopters to swoop in and take his guns and kidneys to give them to Obama’s secret Muslim brothers and sisters in Kenya.

For a split second there, I thought as a country, we had moved past this policy of fear. Death panels? Really? Obama compared to Hitler? Really? Socialism, Fascism, Communism? Really? Do you even know what these terms mean? And for Rep. Joe Wilson (R) Douchebag, you yell at the President in the middle of an televised address to Congress, “You lie!” Really? Where do you think you are, a Sarah Palin rally? (I’ll bet you wish you were). Obama said he was going to call out people who spread misinformation about his healthcare plan. He should have called out this Turrets-stricken frat boy, stopped the speech, made him stand up, and said "OK everyone, whose side are you on, his? or those who can rationally discuss one of the most important pieces of legislation in the last forty years?

Regrettably, until the Democrats grow a collective pair and shout down these false accusations, we’re stuck with the birthers, deathers, and their ilk.

Meet Robert Reich,

2009-09-09T15:36:00.001-06:00

Secretary of Labor under President Clinton. I’ve listened to Mr. Reich on NPR and frequently read his blog at (http://robertreich.blogspot.com/), and he’s long been an advocate of reigning in corporate influence and income inequality through sensible government policy. Not surprisingly, he is also an advocate of the dreaded health insurance ‘private option’. Check it out and pass it on to your less informed friends...

The Health Care Debate

2009-09-02T10:12:00.003-06:00

as described on the back of a napkin...

Healthcare Napkins All

View more documents from Dan Roam.

Net Neutrality and Fake Grassroots Organizations

2009-08-20T09:53:00.003-06:00

I follow media policy and one of the issues that comes up over and over is Net Neutrality. Big telecom companies are doing everything they can to control the internet so they can charge you more money and limit access to small internet developers who then turn into thriving companies they have to compete with. These companies try over and over to push through legislation and regulation that would limit free and open access to the internet and as you can imagine, each time they try to do it their is an enormous public outcry.
Now they're putting together their own fake grassroots organizations to combat the will of the people (something like political astroturf). Check out the widget below to see what some of the biggest media companies have done and are doing to mess with your internet. Click on the puppeteer hands for information.

Go get 'em Barney!

2009-08-19T09:52:00.000-06:00

One of the coolest things I have ever seen,,,

2009-08-13T14:39:00.001-06:00

And the healthcare debate rages on...

2009-07-17T17:43:00.000-06:00

Study: Most Children Strongly Opposed To Children’s Healthcare

Don't let Oklahoma hit you in the ass on the way out!

2009-04-23T10:15:00.001-06:00

2009-03-06T12:52:00.003-07:00

Waltz with Bashir, the Academy Award nominated film from Israel, tells the story of Ari, a former Israeli Army soldier who fought in the first Lebanon War of the early eighties. When an old friend tells Ari about his nightmares, Ari realizes he can’t remember anything about his own time in the war. The film follows Ari as he interviews his old friends and comrades to try and fill in the gaps. It was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, and now its director of animation Yoni Goodman has released a short film titled Closed Zone about the effects of Israel's Gaza blockade on Palestinians. Enjoy.

In case you missed it...

2009-02-27T16:45:00.002-07:00

I wanted to watch President Obama's speech to the joint session of Congress last Tuesday, but I missed it. Fortunately, I got to watch the highlights online. Check it out if you missed it too.

38 Cute Animals, 1 Cool Screens, 8 Different Uses

2009-02-22T18:22:00.001-07:00

2009-02-19T14:31:00.002-07:00

The good folks behind http://bacolicio.us/ have created a way to add bacon to any website you desire. Just put their url in front of an address to add a crispy strip to its front page. For example, check out the Cume enhanced with the crack cocaine of meats!

Please Don't Divorce Me

2009-02-17T10:17:00.002-07:00

On March 5th, the California Supreme Court will hear arguments in order to decide whether or not to forcibly divorce the 18,000 same-sex couples that were married in California last year.

"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

You can sign a letter to the state Supreme Court asking them not to do this here.

Getting Political Again

2009-02-08T23:35:00.003-07:00

I have to admit, I burned out a little. After the election of President Obama (hooray!), and then the Prop. 8 debacle (boo!!!) I just didn't want to think about it for a while. I was fairly active on the Obama campaign, making several small donations, staying up to date on the day to day news, posting an occasional blog entry or twitter post that might boost support, etc... But I've been reluctant to throw the same sort of support to the post-election Obama machine. I'm getting the emails, but they've been going largely unread.
But, I'm starting to come out of my post-election stupor and I'm hoping you will too (if you are similarly affected). I think one of the reasons I'm feeling the need to re-engage is not just the particulars of the battle over the various economic stimulus plans (like what even are they?) but in something more fundamental. Something that the Obama campaign addressed, namely the nature of our political culture.
I think many of us get sick to our stomachs when we think about the political culture of this country over the past twenty years. What the Obama campaign tried to do was to move us out of the usual mud-slinging, party-centric bunker mentality of us vs. them. I think to some extent, (though not perfectly) he succeeded. Doing the same thing in Washington will prove much harder I imagine, but my hope is that we can move beyond this hyper-polarized ideological culture toward one that is both more practical and more civil.
It's apparent to me that politicians are not going to do it on their own (at least not the ones that have been well-served by employing these culture war tactics to get elected... which is a huge majority of them). What it's going to take is a highly informed and highly engaged group of citizens to build this new political culture. We are called upon at this moment, with a small window opened up by the election of President Obama, to demand that our representatives work together to make sensible policy, to engage each other respectfully, and to disagree with civility.
We also need to turn our backs on the crap opinion political spinfotainment--even the stuff that's on "our side." The pundits cannot be a substitute for our voice.
I urge you to bookmark the email contact forms of your Senators and Congressmen, both federal and state. Write them a short note to let them know that you expect more from them than the usual party-line ideological nonsense. Then keep using those bookmarks. Stay informed and write them often.
Let's build a political culture that will serve us well through the necessary governmental reforms of the next twenty years.

Did you support California's Proposition 8?

2009-02-02T16:48:00.002-07:00

No? Well here is the official list (from Debra Bowen, California Secretary of State) of people who did.

Boss' Hog

2009-02-02T10:46:00.002-07:00

One Superbowl highlight that won't soon be forgotten, Bruce Springsteen really giving it to his fans!

Back to Sundance for one final review

2009-01-29T09:17:00.001-07:00

Most of you probably know John Krasinski as the loveable Jim Halpert on the American version of The Office. Brief Interviews with Hideous Men is Krasinski’s screenwriting and directorial debut, in which he adapts David Foster Wallace’s 1999 collection of short stories into a sometimes funny, sometimes intense story of one woman’s attempts to understand the underlying motives of men’s behavior. Sara is a doctoral candidate in anthropology who, after her boyfriend Ryan (Krasinski) leaves her for another woman, focuses her anthropological dissertation on discovering what makes men act the way they do. She does this by conducting a series of one-on-one interviews, in which her subjects reveal a more complicated set of motives for their behavior than she had expected. The story is told mostly through nonlinear flashbacks, which tend to convolute the message, but was overall very interesting and well acted. That is, until the last scene, in which Sara demands that Ryan elaborate on his reasons for leaving her. Krasinski’s diatribe sounds as if he is reading directly from one of Wallace’s stories, word for word. It’s an entirely unrealistic conversation that sounds like a bad stump speech. I would have had an overall positive impression of this film, but this last scene really ruined the whole thing. Honestly, Krasinski’s performance was so bad, I don’t think I’ll even watch The Office in the same way from now on.

Back to reality…

2009-01-22T10:48:00.004-07:00

As the number of (mostly civilian) casualties rises in the aftermath of the Israeli aggression in the already ravaged Gaza Strip, personal stories of those affected by Israel’s brutality are emerging. On Democracy Now! this morning, Amer Shurrab tells the heart-wrenching story of how his two brothers were killed in an example of the Israeli Army’s indiscriminate killing of civilians in their ruthless invasion of Gaza. I urge you to listen to this segment if you want to gain a better perspective of what happened on the ground.

Also, as Israel denies the use of white phosphorous (a war crime if used in dense civilian populations), the U.N. has released pictures of the white phosphorous bombing of one of their Relief and Works Agency compounds, killing two Palestinian boys ages five and seven. Israel has said they will perform an internal investigation to determine if their forces used white phosphorous illegally and if war crimes were perpetrated. I’m no fortune teller, but I can, with certainty, tell you the results of these internal investigations. The Israeli Army will be exonerated, and what’s more, the real investigations of international human rights organizations will be ignored by Israel like so many U.N. resolutions.

Links! And a comical film review!

2009-01-21T13:48:00.003-07:00

As you may have noticed, I’ve added some links to the blog, and I encourage our other contributors to do the same. McSweeney’s is a place for writers to exorcise their satiric demons; The Huffington Post, well, it’s The Huffington Post; Fuck You Penguin is a blog that tells cute animals what is what; Democracy Now! is the premiere independent news site on the web (I recommend daily listening); Crossfit is a kick ass daily work out that will put you in the best shape of your life if you follow it with some regularity; and, while last on the list, first in my heart, Wise Ax (you know you want to read it!)

Now on to the Sundance movie review of the day. At first, I was going to write about Afghan Star, but you can already find an excellent review and trailer at Wise Ax. I will, however, take this opportunity to review the short film that preceded it called Theresa’s Story. Some of you may have read my review of My Surfing Lucifer at the end of Saturday’s rant, in which I now feel I spoke too soon when I said it was, “the worst thing that has ever graced the big screen.” Teresa’s Story - now this “film” is not only a steaming pile of wasted resources, it seems like its sole purpose is to annoy. Watching it was like having an epileptic orangutan shave away at my soul with a cheese grater. The entire “film” (it hurts me to even use that word, because it denotes at least an attempt to create something artistic or socially redeeming) consists of a split screen of a child sitting on a staircase telling an obnoxiously overlapping, incoherent story punctuated by random, shrill screams and shouts. It’s basically an intensive case study of everything a child should NOT do, unless they want to get smacked upside the head by an attentive parent. My only solace after seeing this is hopefully, this is the filmmaker’s child, and that he or she will be tortured by this little “artist” until the day they die.

Slovenia is shaped like chicken

2009-01-20T15:06:00.002-07:00

The film Big River Man follows Martin Strel in his quest to swim the length of the Amazon river. Strel, however, is far from what you would picture as an endurance athlete. Infamous in his native Slovenia, Strel is 53 years old, overweight (5-foot-9, 253 pounds), and drinks two bottles of wine a day. His previous accomplishments include swimming the Mississippi, the Danube, and the Yangtze, all to bring attention to the world’s polluted waterways. During his swims, Strel has encountered deadly rapids and whirlpools, water predators, and toxic pollution and bacteria (including floating corpses in the Yangtze). Strel’s latest adventure is led by his son, who serves as Strel’s manager, logistician, promoter, and as the swimmer himself in interviews with Western media. Strel’s chosen navigator is a young, American friend of his, whose river navigating skills are limited to finding fishing holes in his native Wisconsin. Over the course of 66 days, history's longest, most perilous swim takes its toll on Strel mentally as well as physically as the filmmakers deftly draw the audience into the world of these colorful characters and their extraordinary expedition.

Sundance review #2

2009-01-19T19:38:00.002-07:00

The Glass House

The title of the movie references a center in Tehran started by Marjaneh Halati, an Iranian expatriate schooled in London. Marjaneh returned to Iran to start the center, whose social workers, teachers, and staff psychologist teach young, lower class Iranian women the skills they need to enter the work force and become independent. The movie follows a handful of the girls through their eighteen months of training, probing into their private lives as well as their time at the center.

Sussan, beaten by her temporary husband and raped by her older brother, finds it hard to accept the concept of self reliance, and believes security can only come from being wed. Sixteen year old Mitra works to break away from her existence as cook and maid to her verbally and physically abusive father and brother through her writing. Nazila is fiercely independent, finding an outlet in writing rap songs and recording them in an underground studio (women singing in public is illegal in Iran).

Overall, The Glass House is a fascinating look into Iran’s fiercely patriarchal social structure and the traditional place that women hold in this Islamic theocracy. Check out the trailer below.

Let’s talk about movie theater etiquette.

2009-01-17T10:16:00.001-07:00

A wide variety of people attend the Sundance Film Festival (including yours truly and Mrs. Libertine). While many are movie fans, anxious to take advantage of the opportunity to see documentaries and feature films that they may otherwise never get a chance to see, it seems that some come merely to annoy the general Sundance populous. For those people, I have put together a short list of movie etiquette.

1. Even if you think you’re more important than everyone else standing in line in front of you, it is still considered a common courtesy to say, “Pardon me” or “Excuse me” when you blithely push others aside in order to tell the ticket taker that you have to get into the screening (and attempt to push past them as well, forcing them to chase after you, thus, leaving the rest of us peasants waiting even longer).

2. The same applies when, after the tickets are taken and people are moving in an orderly fashion into the theater, you push past those in front of you, only to stop dead in your tracks, bottlenecking the entire procession, while having some sort of extended discussion with their girlfriend about where you should sit. Those who know me know that I am no xenophobe (or Euracist?); however, I would like to take this opportunity to say the following: HEY EUROPEANS! LEARN SOME FUCKING MANNERS! Every year you I’m-so-cool-and-important-I-wear-my-sunglasses-inside douchebags think you own the fucking place and butt in line in front of me or throw your $3000 ski coat on my lap if I’m sitting next to you while yammering to each other for the entire fucking movie. If I spoke your language I would tell you to SHUTTEN DER FUCKEN UPPEN!, because you don’t seem to respond to the more subtle REALLY!?! stare. Let’s move on.

3. If the movie starts at 3:15, and for whatever reason you get there when the movie is just about to start and the theater is pretty much full (for example, you’re last in the wait list line, or you’ve never been to one o’ them picture shows in a big fancy movie theater so you don’t know you have to get there before the movie actually starts to get a seat), the fact is, YOU’LL HAVE TO SIT IN A CRAPPY SEAT! and/or split from your companion and find single seats! So, in the interest of saving other moviegoers some time and frustration, here’s what to do: (1) If the uber-patient Sundance volunteers tell you that the only seats are in the front section and stand blocking the access to the upper section to emphasize the point, don’t walk to the other side of the theater and spend five minutes wandering around the upper section looking for a seat, because the volunteer ALREADY SAID THERE WEREN’T ANY SEATS UP THERE! So guess what – YOU HAVE TO SIT IN A CRAPPY SEAT! Accept your fate. If you wanted to get a good seat, you would have planned ahead like the rest of us. (2) If you have to separate from you movie going companion because there are only single seats left, don’t sit down and immediately start asking the people around you if they would like to trade seats with your wife/husband/girlfriend (or whoever would go to the movies with an over bearing, uncouth motherfucker like yourself). This breeds animosity among those who were, again, forward thinking enough to get to the theater on time. And (3), just because you have put your Blackberry on silent mode, doesn’t mean it’s any less distracting when you are sitting in front of me, constantly text messaging for the entire movie. News flash – YOU ARE NOT THAT FUCKING IMPORTANT! GET OVER YOURSELF YOU POMPOUS, SELF-CENTERED JAGG-OFF! I HOPE YOUR FUCKING THUMBS FALL OFF SO YOU’RE NO LONGER ABLE TO HOLD A FORK AND FEED YOURSELF AND SLOWLY STARVE TO DEATH! And when that happens, I shall text you and say LOL! UR 1 S2PD FKR! CNT W8 TILL UR DED!

OK, now onto the first movie review, more to come.

The first short we saw at Sundance yesterday was called, “My Surfing Lucifer”, and let me just say, this could possibly be the worst thing that has ever graced the big screen. This abbreviated look at an upcoming documentary about Bunker Spreckels, a teenage surfing phenom turned millionaire Los Angeles party boy who died at age 27 in 1977, is like a poorly thought out Hunter S. Thompson vignette. In it we get to see Bunker surfing, smoking, big game hunting, parading around in tight jeans, and yes, urinating (full frontal, now that's art!). The score (if you could call it that) is straight from a bad 1950's sci-fi movie, and the psychedelic video effects are just pointless. Really, crap is too kind a word. It was directed by experimental filmmaker Kenneth Anger, and let me just say, Mr. Anger should experiment instead with mixing bleach and ammonia and save the rest of us from anymore of his cinematic disasters.

Barak Obama on the Inauguration

2009-01-14T13:03:00.002-07:00

In this short video, Obama outlines some of the inaugural events to take place next week and how you can get involved. My favorite is that you can text 'open' to 56333 for news, transportation updates, and way to participate in the inauguration.

Here we go again…

2008-12-29T13:33:00.004-07:00

“War is the terrorism of the rich and powerful; terrorism is the war of the poor and powerless.” Peter Ustinov

With shades of Lebanon 2006, Israel is ramping its policy of collective punishment against the citizens of the Gaza Strip. Dropping 2000 lb. bombs into one of the most densely populated places on earth ensures that the already battered infrastructure will be destroyed and innocent civilians will be killed (which I would argue is part of Israel’s intentions). Even the U.N. Secretary general has warned Israel that it is using excessive force. Israel has prohibited reporters and journalists from entering the Gaza Strip to help cover up its crimes, but the pictures and voices of the Palestinian people still leak out.

Since 9/11, we have been constantly bombarded with the “us vs. them” rhetoric of terrorism, in which people can be divided into two stark categories: peace-loving, citizens with nothing but love in their hearts who only want to live their lives in peace and who do no harm to their neighbors; and blood-thirsty, suicidal terrorists whose only goal is to destroy this peaceful existence and sow violent chaos throughout the world. This hyper-inflated dichotomy leads many people to believe that when the U.S. or Israel says it has killed X number of suspected militants in a bombing or raid, these were the bad people, and only the bad people. A glaring example of the U.S.’s record for getting their man is, of course, the Guantánamo Bay detention center. Since October 7, 2001, 775 detainees have been brought to Guantánamo. Of these, approximately 420 have been released without charge, and of the approximately 270 detainees that remain, more than a fifth are cleared for release but must nevertheless remain indefinitely because countries are reluctant to accept them or the Bush administration refuses to release them. Only three have been convicted of any charges. Israel holds more than 8,000 Palestinians in its prisons; I’m curious what percentage of those are really criminals.

Ali Abunimah is the author of One Country: A Bold Proposal to End the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse and a fellow with the Palestine Centre in Washington, DC. I find his most recent article, We Have No Words Left to be a realistic description of the current situation.

Gideon Levy, an Israeli journalist for the Haaretz newspaper (Israel’s oldest daily paper), where he is also an editorial board member, also wrote this response to Israel’s attack.

2008-12-24T23:57:00.002-07:00

I see your neo-new wave and raise you el hardcore espanol. oh yeah, HERE

Watching closely...

2008-12-23T13:24:00.003-07:00

I haven’t been overly impressed with Obama’s cabinet picks so far (aside from Stephen Chu), and choosing unapologetic homophobe Rick Warren to deliver the invocation is really just sad. But I saw something on the news this week that just downright shocked me. The animal cruelty record of this cabinet pick really has me asking, where’s the change?

I swear I'll get back to being political...

2008-12-19T20:47:00.002-07:00

but in the meantime, how about a video from my favorite Mexico City neo-new wave band.

The Libertine despises oppression and systematic brutality of the innocent

2008-12-11T08:33:00.004-07:00

While listening to Morning Edition last week (when I wrote and should’ve posted this), I heard a rather disturbing story of a group of young Israelis who bought a building from an Arab man in Hebron, and shortly after moving in, began terrorizing the Palestinians in the area. Hebron is the largest city in the West Bank, located in the south, 30 kilometers south of Jerusalem. It is home to some 166,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Israeli settlers. Although Hebron continues to be the site of numerous acts of violence from both sides, a couple of things in this story stood out. The first being, if the situation were reversed, and it were Palestinians being required to evacuate the building, how quickly do you think they would be removed (and not by using water hoses and non-lethal stun grenades)? The second was the Israeli father who was rabidly overzealous in his use of the false argument that if you criticize absolutely anything Israel or Israelis do, you are an anti-Semitic Jew-hater (even though the reporter seemed purely neutral, I can only surmise the father thought that giving the oppressed Palestinians a voice put the reporter in this category). “The government refuses to recognize the right of Jews to own property in the land of Israel” the father said. Disgusting? Evil? Is this guy serious? After looking around on the internet for more on this situation, I came across another story that pointed out how widespread these attacks are. I then found this video on the BBC that shows one of these attacks taking place (Warning: you may find it disturbing). I ask you, who are the real terrorists? These settlements have become a symbol of the Israeli occupation, and are a tactic to incrementally rob the Palestinians of their land, while confining the 2.5 million Palestinians living in the West Bank into what is fundamentally a concentration camp. Take the most recent story of the Libyan ship carrying 3,000 tons of aid that was turned back by the Israeli Navy. This, along with arbitrarily closing border crossings is collective punishment, a violation of the Geneva Conventions. This is a widely used tactic by Israel, as more broadly witnessed in the 2006 Lebanon War* when large parts of the Lebanese civilian infrastructure were destroyed, including 400 miles of roads, 73 bridges, and 31 other targets such as Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport, ports, water and sewage treatment plants, electrical facilities (the Israeli Air Force bombed the Jiyeh power station, 19 miles south of Beirut, resulting in the largest ever oil spill in the Mediterranean Sea), 25 fuel stations, 900 commercial structures, up to 350 schools, 2 hospitals, and 15,000 homes. Some 130,000 more homes were damaged, and over a million Lebanese were displaced. A 2007 Human Rights Watch report found that most of the civilian deaths in Lebanon resulted from "indiscriminate Israeli airstrikes," and found that Israeli aircraft targeted vehicles carrying fleeing civilians. In addition, the Israeli Navy imposed a naval blockade, ensuring that no aid would reach the civilians they had targeted and indescriminately (or perhaps a more concise term would be purposefully) killed, injured, and displaced.

I’ve spent a lot of time researching the “Israeli-Palestinian conflict" as it is called in the main stream media. Jimmy Carter, I believe, has a more realistic definition in his excellent and well-balanced book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. In an interview with Amazon.com, Carter explains the use of the term this way: “The book is about Palestine, the occupied territories, and not about Israel. Forced segregation in the West Bank and terrible oppression of the Palestinians create a situation accurately described by the word. I made it plain in the text that this abuse is not based on racism, but on the desire of a minority of Israelis to confiscate and colonize Palestinian land. This violates the basic humanitarian premises on which the nation of Israel was founded. My surprise is that most critics of the book have ignored the facts about Palestinian persecution and its proposals for future peace and resorted to personal attacks on the author. No one could visit the occupied territories and deny that the book is accurate.”

I, on the other hand, think apartheid is not the correct term. The Israeli action against the Palestinian people, in my opinion, is nothing short of genocide.

*I personally think calling this atrocity a “war” is incongruent with the facts. This unbridled agression by Israel was literally overkill as retribution for the Hezbollah attack on seven Israeli soldiers, killing three, injuring two, and kidnapping two.

Further reading: British politician George Galloway in the Monthly Review

Happy Holidays Bill O' Reilly

2008-12-09T10:32:00.002-07:00

Wow, I haven't uttered these words in a while, but wow, I completely agree with the catholic priest.

Prop 8: The Musical

2008-12-03T19:46:00.001-07:00

A little comic relief from Jack Black and friends while I figure out where to go with the most recent Buttar's non-sense.

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Wanted: Employment in West Jordan

2008-11-26T13:33:00.006-07:00

I'm not sure what they put in the water in West Jordan but some pretty astonishing things seem to go on there (politically speaking anyway). The City Manager, Gary Luebbers, has resigned from his position to take another job in California and will be getting $360,000 for unused sick time, vacation time, and executive pay. Trust me, that number isn't a typo, he's getting paid out an amount that for most of us would take damn near a decade to earn. Most salaried employees that I know get paid their annual salary regardless of the number of hours worked but Luebbers apparently managed some sweet clause in his employment contract. Another kicker, he's been on the job since 2000. He's 'earned' that incredible amount in eight years. You don't have to take my word on it though, read the Salt Lake Tribune article for yourself.

Milk Looks Amazing

2008-11-25T17:45:00.000-07:00

Check out the trailer for 'Milk' starring Sean Penn. The reviews have been excellent. I can't wait to see it.

2008-11-13T13:32:00.003-07:00

Let’s talk about the Republican “retreat and pillage” strategy

As if it weren’t bad enough that the massive $700 billion bailout has been shown to be a giveaway to the financial institutions that caused this crisis by their greedy, reckless investing, we now learn that oversight for where taxpayers’ dollars are going is virtually nonexistent. Not only is the current administration lining their pockets while ensuring the soon-to-be Obama administration has no capitol to implement the sweeping reforms needed to pull this country out of its neocon death spiral, but they are attempting to gut environmental and workplace regulations while giving one last push to an exceedingly unpopular anti-choice ideology.

OMB Watch, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization that reports on the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in order to, “lift the veil of secrecy shrouding the OMB,” issued a report last week on a number of regulations the Bush administration hopes to finalize before its time in power expires.

Some regulations that the current administration is trying to ram through:

· Make it easier for power plants to avoid installing pollution controls
· Allow trucking companies to force their drivers to work 11-hour shifts
· Ease restrictions on mountaintop mining companies allowing them to dump their waste into rivers and streams
· Make it more difficult for employees to claim unpaid leave for family and medical emergencies (part of the request of the National Association of Manufacturers, a lobbying group)
· As part of the above rule change, employers would be allowed to speak directly to an employee's health care provider
· Exempt factory farms from reporting air emissions from animal waste (here’s to you, poultry, pork, and turkey farm lobbies!)
· Allow factory farms to self-police their runoff into bodies of water (circumvents the Clean Water Act)
· Subject fewer facilities to the EPA's New Source Review program, which requires new facilities or renovating facilities to install better pollution control technology
· Transfer the responsibility for examining the environmental impacts of federal ocean management decisions from federal employees to advisory groups that represent regional fishing interests
· Require health care providers receiving federal funds to allow their employees to opt out of providing health care services they find morally objectionable (or risk losing federal funding)
· Ease current restrictions that make it difficult for power plants to operate near national parks and wilderness areas
· End the 25-year-old ban on carrying loaded weapons in national parks
· Broaden the scope of activities state and local law enforcement agencies could monitor to include organizations as well as individuals, along with non-criminal activities that are deemed "suspicious."

Let’s hope the Obama administration moves quickly and decisively to undo the damage done in the last eight years and that to come in the next eight weeks.

Olbermann on Gay Marriage....Wow!

2008-11-10T20:34:00.001-07:00

I'm Coming Out as a Gay Rights Supporter

2008-11-09T12:33:00.010-07:00

On Friday, November 11, 2008 I attended a rally and march in Salt Lake City to protest the LDS Church's involvement in the passage of California's Proposition 8.
Some facts: Prop 8 amends the California constitution to effectively ban gay marriage. Last year California's Supreme Court found such a ban unconstitutional and stated that same-sex marriage was a fundamental right. Since that time, more than 18,000 gay and lesbian couples have gotten married in California.
Prop 8 passed 52.3% to 47.7% with a difference of about 500,000 votes.

Since the passage of Prop 8 there have been massive protests which are continuing as I write. Yesterday (11/8/08), police estimated that 12,500 people gathered in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles. Protesters claim the number was much higher. Many of the protests, (including the one seen in the above video of the Nov. 7th protest in Salt Lake City) have coalesced around LDS church headquarters, buildings, and places of worship.

Many Mormons are confused, hurt or angry that protesters seem to be singling out the LDS Church in their anger and frustration over Prop 8's passage. However, the LDS church took a prominent and active role in championing the proposition, issuing a letter that was read in all of its congregations in California. It reads, in part:

We ask that you do all you can to support the proposed constitutional amendment by donating of your means and time to assure that marriage in California is legally defined as being between a man and a woman.

Members of the church, both in California and elsewhere, responded with donations that are estimated between $15-$22 million. That makes up an astounding percentage of the total $35 million raised in support of the measure. For a list of confirmed donations from Mormon sources, check out Mormons for Proposition 8.
Many opponents of Prop 8 feel, with considerable justification, that the LDS church's involvement was the critical factor in the proposition's victory.

My own response to the passing of Prop 8 and the LDS Church's involvement has been both passionate and complex. I was brought up in an active and happy LDS family and I understand the intense devotion to family that most Mormons share. For Mormons, the idea of salvation is intimately connected to families, and not just any family will do. Families must conform to an eternal plan for salvation to be effective. In recent years, the church has clarified this doctrine with an official statement called The Family: A Proclamation to the World. Consider a passage from the document:

The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Most Mormons embraced "The Proclamation" and were encouraged to think of it as scripture on the same level as the Bible. They found it supported what they already knew from experience--that their families were sources of joy and spiritual fulfillment. Others received the statement with despair as they found themselves in circumstances outside those outlined and endorsed by the church. Those included not just gays and lesbians who obviously did not conform to the phrase, "between man and woman" but also single parents, divorcees, and people who had married outside the faith.
"The Proclamation" also served as a justification for extending the church's doctrine into public policy opposing same-sex marriage. It states:

...we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.
We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.

The document was first issued on September 23, 1995, the same year the church had involved itself with a number of different legal and legislative actions in opposition to same-sex marriage (the most notable being in Hawaii).

Soon after "The Proclamation" was issued, I left the Mormon church--due both to the internal conflicts of my own beliefs with church doctrine and also to the way I saw church leaders marginalizing people outside the established ideals and norms they sought to promote. Since then I have walked a fine line trying to live my life on my own terms while assuring my Mormon family and friends that my departure from the faith was not aggressive or "anti-Mormon," doing what I could to heal the strain that my leaving the church had on those relationships.
So it was with some trepidation that I found myself walking to the protest on Friday. Not that I was unsure of how I felt, but knowing that I could no longer be silent about it. In my adult life I have always been sympathetic to gay issues, but ultimately felt they weren't my battles to fight. With the passing of Prop 8, I feel differently. I feel the strong conviction that gay rights are now my rights.
I am engaged to be married next summer and I have been thinking a lot about what it means to get married. It is deeply troubling to me that I can still build a life with the partner of my choice, with all the legal and social benefits and privileges that come with marriage, while many of my closest friends can not. I find it outrageous that well-meaning people would make it more difficult for their fellow citizens to build their own stable, productive families. It makes me angry that the community I grew up in took the lead in denying people the legal rights associated with marriage. I believe very strongly that in a pluralistic democracy every citizen should have equal access to legal rights and protections.

I am glad I went to the protest, because not only did it provide me a place to make my support of gay rights known but it also helped temper the anger I was feeling. There were certainly a lot of angry people there. There were angry words spoken, and angry slogans on placards. But these were in the minority. The speeches given at the rally emphasized the need to reach out to members of the church and explain the positions we hold. To foster dialogue. As Utah State Senator Scott McCoy said in his speech, "We need to love more, not hate."
In that spirit, Mormons should know that the protesters don't hate Mormons. We are not anti-Mormon. We oppose Mormons only insofar as they seek to take away the civil liberties of their fellow U.S. citizens. No one contests the church's right to set forth doctrine and policy for its own members, but it is wrong for it to extend its beliefs and doctrines into the public sphere where it affects people who have nothing to do with the church. In order for a pluralistic democracy to work there must be a separation of church and state--doctrine cannot be the basis for public policy. We must all be free to follow our own spiritual paths, and allow every other citizen the same right.

And so, I am coming out as a supporter of gay rights. I urge all of my straight readers, who have stayed in their closets, secretly cheering on their gay friends and family members to come out as well. It is time for gay rights to be our rights. It is time for us to demand equal rights for all citizens of the United States of America. It is time to allow all people who wish to be productive members of our society the opportunity to do so.

For more resources to demand marriage equality for all, check out overturnprop8.com or join Repeal CA Proposition 8 on facebook.

*crossposted on my personal blog themattblack.com

Let's talk about getting your war on

2008-11-07T19:01:00.001-07:00

I don't know, doesn't seem too unreasonable...

Get the latest news satire and funny videos at 236.com.

Update on Prop 8

2008-11-04T15:02:00.004-07:00

Let's hope LDS church leaders receive another "message from God" telling them to accept homosexuals as human beings instead of second class citizens (like when they were forced to accept African-Americans into the priesthood because of that pesky civil rights thing).

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/11/3/15369/3779/711/651188

Let’s talk about having the stones to tell it like it is

2008-11-04T10:46:00.002-07:00

As of two weeks ago, 44% of the total money raised to help promote California’s Proposition 8 came from the LDS church and its supporters. The Courage Campaign Issues Committee (CourageCampaign.org) have rightly, in my opinion, represented the church’s activism on California’s Proposition 8 this way:

Would The Economist endorse a socialist?

2008-10-30T19:04:00.006-06:00

I can't tell you how many times I've heard people call Barack Obama a socialist (today on two separate occasions). I'm baffled. Is rational healthcare policy socialism? Because if it is we're about the only rich industrialized country that wouldn't qualify. Does investment in energy innovation count? Is Marx's ghost whispering in Obama's ear... "educate your children so they'll be more competitive in global markets"?
Well today, that ugly socialist rag, the Economist, came out and endorsed Barack Obama. They write...

"For all the shortcomings of the campaign, both John McCain and Barack Obama offer hope of national redemption. Now America has to choose between them. The Economist does not have a vote, but if it did, it would cast it for Mr Obama. We do so wholeheartedly: the Democratic candidate has clearly shown that he offers the better chance of restoring America’s self-confidence."

Click here to read the entire text.

Let’s talk about voter fraud and suppression

2008-10-29T10:05:00.000-06:00

Mark Crispin Miller, author of “Loser Take All: Election Fraud and The Subversion of Democracy, 2000–2008” was on Democracy Now! last week talking about the Republican efforts to steal yet another election. His most interesting theory is that the Republicans are setting up an excuse for Obama’s win by promoting the idea that ACORN (the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) is perpetrating mass voter fraud, so theoretically, if Obama wins, it will be illegitemate and can be challenged aka 2000. On the other hand, the story of the “Bradley Effect” (voters telling pollsters that they will vote for Obama, only to pull the lever for the white guy) is also being pushed in the media so if Obama loses, it can be contributed to this phenomenon, thus negating an investigation of massive voter supression. The following is a movie by Brave New Films about the attacks on ACORN.

The Moral of the Story: Don't Elect an Old Dude

2008-10-27T18:16:00.002-06:00

Derek Waters has done a number of films in which he interviews actual historians retelling historical incidents while completely drunk. This is the story of William Henry Harrison, the ninth president of the United States. I think you'll agree it has a message for us today.

If you liked this, you may enjoy other films in the Drunk History series.

Fixing Government: Looking Past the Next Election

2008-10-21T17:39:00.008-06:00

You may know Lawrence Lessig's work in intellectual property issues. He's the guy behind creative commons licensing. Last year he left the media reform movement to focus on making government work better. He's involved with a new group called Change Congress. You can check them out at

http://change-congress.org/

Here's a powerpoint presentation that argues that the U.S. Congress has basically failed its constitutional mandate--consistently making bad public policy because of it's reliance on campaign contributions. It's got the usual horrible powerpointy stuff going on (bad art, excessive text, clever puns, etc.) but I find it well worth the attention investment. If you're sick of the way government is run but still unwilling to give up, throw up your hands in disgust, and hunker down into a cynical anti-social bliss, then check this out.

Safari users can see the full video here.

Colin Powell explains why he's endorsing Barack Obama

2008-10-20T00:23:00.001-06:00

Let’s talk about poverty and under representation

2008-10-15T14:19:00.005-06:00

The following is Merriam-Webster’s definition of Democracy:
1 a : government by the people; especially: rule of the majority. b : a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections.

Now here is the definition of Oligarchy:
1 : government by the few
2 : a government in which a small group exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish purposes

Which defines the current U.S. system of government? Sadly (but not surprisingly) it’s the poor who fall by the wayside when a handful of corporations and pocket-lining oilmen and war profiteers make the laws. The conservative agenda has always (in my memory) been about taking away from the poor and giving to the wealthy. Taking away money by revoking entitlements or taking away power in the form of increasingly harsh offenses for non-violent offenses and voter suppression. Just today, the 6th U.S. District Court of Appeals in Cincinnati upheld a ruling in a case brought by Republicans who argued that Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner’s methods of verifying new voter registrations is insufficient. Voter registration information in Ohio is double checked through the Ohio DMV and Social Security records. The appeals court, in essence, said that Ohio DMV and Social Security records cannot be trusted. Things like this are going on across the country in an attempt to invalidate the voice of new and existing Democratic voters, whose candidates we know typically fight for the rights of the poor.

Another egregious tactic is the Republican effort to smear ACORN, or the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. ACORN is a community-based organization that advocates for low- and moderate-income families by working on neighborhood safety, health care, and other social issues. The organization added voter registration to their efforts in 2004 and is subsequently being accused of submitting tens of thousands of false voter registration forms and discarding forms of people who indicated they are Republican. Several investigations across the country have found these allegations, outside of a few isolated incidents with individual staff, to not be true. You also may remember David Iglesias, the former U.S. attorney of New Mexico who was fired for refusing to pursue voter fraud against Democrats when his investigation showed there was no evidence to support the allegations. That's right, the investigation was of ACORN.

My advice to help those stricken by poverty in this election season is to 1) donate to your local food pantry, and 2) call your friends in battleground states and encourage them to become poll workers. I fear (and am sure) that we will again see disproportionately few voting machines in poorer voting districts and those less educated on election law being turned away for invalid reasons. Today is Blog Action Day 2008 (see link below). Take a minute to join the chorus of those who see the war against the poor and who want to turn the tide.

Let’s talk about the uninformed electorate

2008-10-09T12:21:00.003-06:00

This video was taken outside of a Sarah Palin rally:

Sadly, this combination of vitriol/ignorance mixed with Republican voter suppression efforts may very well take the day on November 4th. Having strong opinions about the issues and voting for the candidate you believe will be the best president for the country and all of its citizens is one thing; accepting propaganda as fact, voting for a candidate based on their personality, and voting against the other candidate instead of voting for your own, is another. This uninformed electorate would be happy to vote against their own self-interest and go back to listening to their favorite pundit tell them that everything is fine while the world crumbles around them. I, for one, would be happy to see this segment of the population suffer under the burden of foreclosure, loss of civil liberties, stagnating salaries, and perpetual war. The problem is, they’re dragging the rest of us down with them. While trying to enlighten the uninformed electorate is difficult, there are baby steps we can take. For example, get familiar with www.snopes.com and help shut down the ignorant propagandistic e-mails forwarded to you by friends, or check out http://www.gregpalast.com/sbyv/ and help educate people on their voting rights. Smart voters unite!

Oh yeah, and for the reverend’s spiteful minions – BOO! Abortion!

Let’s talk about ideology

2008-10-01T15:21:00.005-06:00

Here is my generalization of the difference between progressives and conservatives: While the conservative says, “You need to do what I believe is right, period.” the progressive says, “I’m going to do what I believe is right, you do what you believe is right, and we’ll both respect the others’ decision.” In other words, conservatives believe that one standard should be used for everyone, regardless of their needs, beliefs, or circumstances. Progressives, on the other hand, believe that everyone should have the right to live their lives as they wish. While these are, again, generalizations, I believe the record (and rhetoric) prove my theory. Let’s take perhaps the most divisive issue between the two, abortion. Conservatives believe, to varying degrees, that all women should be prevented from having abortions. Progressives believe that if you’re against abortion, fine, then don’t have one, but at the same time, don't infringe on my right to do so. The Utah legislature is another shining example. Its archaic alcohol laws, and its attempts to ban gay marriage, gay clubs in high schools, and violent video games are all decisions that limit personal choice. The fact is, time marches on and attitudes change accordingly based on scientific discovery, technological advances, and what I call the maturation of acceptance. Progressives realize this and attempt to grow and modify social mores to incorporate these transformations. Conservatives, on the other hand, would prefer to drag society back to a time that, quite simply, no longer exists. And to that time of blatant and systemic racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia - I say good riddance.

Do You Like These Odds?

2008-10-01T11:55:00.002-06:00

This AP story appeared today on the Huffington Post. Whether you're a mathmatician or gambler those are pretty scary odds given who will be the commander-in-chief if he croaks. Please, I'm begging everyone, get out there and VOTE!

Create Your Own Protest Slogan!

2008-09-17T11:48:00.003-06:00

Here is a list of signs seen at the recent protest against Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin when she spoke in Anchorage, Alaska. Submit your ideas for anti-Palin protest slogans and we'll add them to the list!

Bush In A Skirt
Palin: She Be Failin'
Jesus Was a Community Organizer
Palin: Thanks But No Thanks
Smearing Alaska's Good Name One Scandal @ a Time
Candidate To Nowhere
Rape Kits Should Be Free
Voted For Her Once: Never Again!
Community Organizers are the Real Patriots
Barbies for War
I Shall Not Be Pandered To
Give Palin Your Vote AND Your Draft Age Child
Sarah Palin: So Far Right She's Wrong
Coat Hangers for McCain
Sarah Palin, Undoing 150 Years of American Feminism
I Don’t Vote For Liars
Fess Up About Troopergate
Keep Your Vows Off My Body
Sarah, Please Don’t Put Me On Your Enemies List
McCain + Palin = McPain
Alaska Women for Choice
I’m Bailin’ on Palin
Pro-Woman, Anti-Palin
Polar Bear Moms Say No to Palin
Iraq War is a Fraud, Palin is a Puppet

And my personal favorite:
(Wearing a clothes hangar) This is Not a Surgical Instrument. Keep Abortion Safe and Legal.

Films to See Before You Vote...

2008-09-14T18:43:00.002-06:00

The City Weekly is running an ad from KUED this week entitled Films to See Before You Vote. Seemingly, an impressive array of films on social issues. I'm going to try to dog practice a few nights and check some of these films out. You should do the same....

The Press Corpse

2008-09-10T17:03:00.004-06:00

"Excuse me, can I ask you a question? Who would you rather see in the position of vice-president, literally a heartbeat away from the presidency?

A lawyer who became a senator in 1973 at the Constitutional minimum age of 30, who has been a member of the Foreign Relations Committee for 11 years and serves as current chairman, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1987 until 1995, and who has served on the following subcommittees: Antitrust Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, Human Rights and the Law, and Technology Terrorism and Homeland Security, and who spearheaded many government policies including the Violence Against Women Act, which contains a broad array of measures to combat domestic violence and provides billions of dollars in federal funds to address gender-based crimes.

-OR-

A person who served for two terms on the city council of a town of just over 9,000 people from 1992 to 1996, became mayor of the same town from 1996 to 2002, and who was then elected governor of the fourth least populated state in the U.S. two years ago."

"How dare you be so blatantly misogynistic? That question just reeks of sexism. You should be ashamed, delving into peoples' personal lives like that. You people in the media, it's all smears with you! Ugly, hateful lies!"

"Oh, you're right, I'm sorry. How could I possibly ask questions about the qualifications of someone who may one day be in charge of the most powerful nation on Earth, being a mere citizen of that nation? It won't happen again. I’m going to go crawl back in my subservient, post 9-11/pre-Iraq War hole for another four years."

2008-09-02T11:59:00.002-06:00

On August 25, 2008 federal agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, or ICE, raided the Howard Industries transformer plant in Laurel, Mississippi. Almost 600 suspected undocumented workers (read: Latino) were separated from their white and black co-workers, and 475 were taken to a detention center 200 miles away in Jena, Louisiana (I won’t even get into the irony of that choice of destination), while a smaller group was released with electronic monitoring ankle bracelets on “humanitarian” grounds.
Aside from what I believe is a cruel and racist immigration policy, does it strike anyone else as suspicious that this raid would come at the start of the Democratic National Convention? This reeks of a Roveian plot to draw attention away from the Democrats and emphasize Republicans’ tough stance on immigration in an attempt to maintain a divided electorate. My guess is that we’ll see more of these raids before the election, especially since we’ve got detention centers to fill (a $385 million contract was awarded to Halliburton subsidary Kellogg, Brown, and Root on February 3, 2006 to build temporary immigration detention centers). Watch for this to become the gay marriage of the 2008 election, and for the fear-baited lower class (intellectually lower, that is) to fall for it and vote for McCain.

Sarah Palin, really?

2008-09-01T17:52:00.002-06:00

Alright, since Hillary won't be president and the only consideration is gender, my vote will be for Sarah Palin. NOT! Who are the Republicans kidding? I believe that they've seriously over estimated the lenghts women will go through to get one of their own in office. I just can't imagine any Hillary supporter thinking that the abortion-opposing, creationism-teaching, political newbie Palin is a viable option. But heaven knows that American voters have shocked me twice before.

You Should Watch This

2008-08-29T19:55:00.002-06:00

On Sunday afternoon, August 31, at 5:30 on KUED you should watch Utah Conversations with Ted Capener. He is profiling Natalie Gouchner, a local (and totally rad) woman. Natalie is neighbor and resident of the Mur. Natalie worked in Governor Leavitt's office starting out as a spokesperson (yes, even though she's a republican she's still amazing). She stuck with Leavitt all the way to Washington after he became HHS Secretary. Natalie is back in Utah working for the Chamber of Commence with the Downtown Rising project. She also took my place on the Murray City Power Department's Advisory Board when I resigned in February. :)

Since it didn't make it into the paper...

2008-08-27T14:54:00.001-06:00

I was sickened to read about the Bush administration’s latest moral crusade to shield health care workers from a so-called “moral quandary” (Health care workers to get sheild from moral quandry, Salt Lake Tribune, August 22, 2008). A health care worker who refuses to provide health care should have their license revoked immediately. To let one’s personal prejudices guide their medical treatment is akin to supporting suffering. When one agrees to serve others, he or she should do so without narrow-mindedness and ignorance, words which aptly describe Mike Levitt’s promotion of this purposefully cruel and disastrous policy.

Not this year

2008-08-26T20:56:00.004-06:00

I can't help feel a bit of sadness tonight as I listen to Hillary Clinton speak at the Democratic National Convention. I'm part of a generation who has wanted a woman to lead this country. While Hillary might not be the ideal candidate due to the immense amount of baggage, she was for a time the most viable candidate that we've seen. As a young girl the dream seemed a bit far-fetched but for the last few years it seemed completely within reach. Not taking anything away from Obama who WILL win this fall, I'm still looking forward to 2016 when some Madame President may very well take the oath.

Rest in Peace Katie

2008-08-25T08:23:00.001-06:00

Earlier this month Utah lost a woman whose passion and convictions blazed a trail for Utah women in politics and leadership roles. Katie Dixon held the County Recorder position in the state from 1975 until 1995. She not only held office long before many women thought about running for office but while in office she took steps to enable women to enjoy both family and professional lives. Katie was instrumental in securing funding for a daycare center for county employees in the Salt Lake County Government Center.

I had the pleasure of meeting Katie at a luncheon 7 or 8 years ago at the University of Utah. She was warm and witty and she charmed all of her dining companions with her funny stories. Her passing leaves a hole in our community but her commitment to laying the groundwork for women to become successful professionals will live on.