Good Idea, Powell! Lets Respect ALL Americans

I just returned from Pittsburgh where I am happy to report I saw twice as many Obama bumper stickers as McCain bumper stickers. I also came home to see many more Obama yard signs springing up in the neighboring town, not known for its progressive populace. In general though I must say that I have not seen many bumper or street signs for either candidate. 

I can't help wondering if maybe people are keeping their choice to themselves because the don't want their neighbors to know who they are voting for. So many conservatives and Republicans are jumping camp, I suspect there are a bunch of closet Obama supporters.

Republican Colin Powell, the most famous fence-jumper,  made a statement today endorsing Democratic Obama and providing  a great analysis of both candidates.

But he did more than that. He criticized some of the anti-American aspects of the ugly turn this campaign has taken of late. He decried the anti- Muslim sentiments being expressed by the McCain campaign and more generally by conservatives in this country- especially via email and talk radio. Everybody is afraid to defend Muslims and to remind people that it is a mistake to disparage  a whole religion just because the United States has enemies who are also Muslim.

I for one am sick of hearing all the anti-Muslim rhetoric. Hate speech is hate speech regardless of who you are taking hatefully about.

Many Americans are Muslim and they deserve just as much respect as Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, Native American Church, Spiritualist, Vodun, and Daoist Americans.

The word American is NOT synonymous with white or Christian. All Americans deserve respect.

Thank you, Secretary Powell for reminding Americans that derisive and divisive demagoguery is always a bad idea.

Election Drama Betties and Bobs

Am I watching the news or have I inadvertently switched to a soap opera? There is no way to tell for sure. I see lots of white men wearing suits and sounding serious. Looks likes the news...maybe they are covering a soap opera? Hmmmm.

Lets see...one of the presidential candidates picked a VP candidate whose teenage daughter is pregnant (and who despite being anti-choice, thinks that in the case of her daughter, the family should have a private choice), is under investigation for abuse of power (as a governor) and is refusing to cooperate with investigators. In case that was not enough drama for one politician's family, she has a preacher who is an avowed modern day witch-hunter. No, I am not making this up!

In recent news, much buzz has been made of her apparent cluelessness regarding foreign policy, after failing in an interview to be able to answer a question about the Bush Doctrine because she had no idea what it was. Now, she actually thinks that running the executive branch of a state that shares a border (land or maritime) with a foreign country gives her foreign policy experience. This may sound like old news but believe it or not she is still repeating this foolishness even after all the laughter had died down after the first three times she said it. Check out the Katie Couric interview (linked above).

According to this logic, the governors of: Washington, Montana, North dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Maine, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California all also have foreign policy experience. In fact, according to this logic, Alaska is a lot like a third of all the states in the US. They all share a border with another country.

But she shouldn't feel bad. Her running mate thinks Spain is a Latin American country. He also thinks, "the fundamentals" of an economy that is currently crumbling before our eyes, are strong.

In recent drama, presidential hopeful John McCain decided to "suspend " his campaign so he could rush to Washington to solve the nation's financial crisis. By suspend, he did not mean close his election offices, stop running election ads, or stop giving interviews. It seems he did not even mean that he would literally fly to Washington. Although he eventually (two days later) did end up in Washington, he did not bother to actually read the Paulson proposal being debated before he arrived and was unable to contribute any substance at the photo-op presidential meeting.

He vowed not to debate Barack Obama in Mississiippi until a "deal was brokered." Then, after various senators went on camera to report that his arrival in Washington not only did NOT help the process but that in fact it hindered it, he continued to claim he was busy helping to get his party behind the proposal and would stay until the job was done. Then without a deal being made, without the job being done, he changed his mind and said OK I will debate Obama after all.

But his inability to make a decision and stick to it is nothing new. Despite a long career of being a deregulator of Wall Street, he now claims he supports the regulation of the economy by the government. Really?

But reversing his positions on major political issues is nothing new to McCain. He has been doing it for years. He has flip-flopped on his positions on Immigration, gay marriage, abortion, terrorism, torture, the Iraq war, tax breaks for the rich, windfall profits tax, offshore drilling, MLK day, South African disinvestment, the confederate flag, and teaching creationism in schools, among others.

Isnt there a drug for that kind of moodiness? Is the man addicted to drama?

Having a Vagina Doesn't make You a Feminist

Having a Vagina doesn't make you a feminist, thought admittedly, it ought to.

The mere possession of a vagina goes a long way in determining what kind of life you are allowed to live in today's world.
First of all, if you have a vagina in the United States you will only earn 72 cents on every dollar persons possessing a penis will earn. Since the only jobs that actually require the use of a particular sex member are all illegal, its not at all clear how one's genitalia explains the unequal pay problem in the United States.

But it may make sense for those in possession of a a vagina to band together and fight for equal pay for equal work.

Obama and Biden, both lacking the essential female member ( and no doubt envying those of us who do possess it) will fight for equal pay for women.

Palin, though possessing a vagina, will not.

Having a vagina means that regardless of your politics, you are at risk for being raped, getting pregnant without intending to, and being forced to give birth to children you may not be physically, psychologically, or economically prepared to care for.

Sarah Palin's running mate, Mccain, voted against the Violence Against Women Act. Palin herself has dne nothing to address the epidemic rape and violence against women rates in this country

One in four women in the United States will be raped in their lifetime, regardless of age, color, class, size, religion, beauty, activities engaged in, clothing worn, amount of alcohol consumed.

Distinguishing features of your average rape victim? Possession of a vagina. Other distinguishing features? None.

Palin thinks that if you get raped you should be required by law to give birth to your rapist's child. But don't expect any help from a McCain/Palin government while you are struggling to afford your pregnancy. Palin voted against Alaska funding for teen mother housing just this year.

A person possessing a vagina can also count on a lifetime of having strange men and women in white coats probe the inner most regions of their body in the interest of health. Women are expected to get annual gynecological exams and can be subjected to gynecological exams anytime they go to the hospital. If you are a working class or poor woman (which includes the majority of women of color), and you have less than adequate health insurance you can count on fewer choices in whose hands end up in your vagina. You can also count on being subject to rushed, less qualified hands.

Number of times a person possessing a penis can expect to have his genitalia probed during his lifetime by a stranger? Zero times.


If you have a vagina, your vagina is not a private matter. It is a part of the public domain.

But, according to Sarah Palin, health care is a private matter and a capitalist concern. Let healthcare companies fight for your business in a fair market, she says. And besides, according to Palin, we are not women in need of compassionate medical care but are "consumers [who] should take more responsibility for their own health." (New York Times, 8/30)

A person possessing a vagina is also required to sacrifice her sexuality and to risk her life when her government deems it necessary. She does not have a right to use her vagina for pleasure without paying a price.

Chances that a person with a penis will be required to undergo excessive pain, give up his job, quit school, lose a scholarship, be kicked out of his home, or be labeled a whore, as a result of having sex? None.

If at any time in this person's life, a person with a vagina opts to have sexual relations with a member of the opposite sex, she is at risk of getting pregnant and in a no-choice world, being required to carry to term the fetus, despite the risks involved. Pregnancy can kill you, it can disable you for life, and it is one of the most intensely painful events the human body can go through.

Circumstances where a person with a penis will be forced to undergo excessive pain, risk to life and limb, and possible permanent disability without their consent? Only one: a draft.

Sarah Palin thinks no pregnancy should be terminated no matter the circumstances and no matter the risk to women's health.

Having a vagina doesn't make you a feminist but it ought to. Caring about the rights of people regardless of what genitalia they are born with may not make you a feminist either but it will make you a supporter of human rights.

Whether or not you possess a vagina, please remember to protect the rights of persons with vaginas when you vote in this election.