america

The Koch Brothers Billionaires Club

01/29/2011 by Debra

Isn’t it great when a few friends can gather together for a couple of beers, shoot the shit, bitch about class warfare and control an entire country?

the two-day event is not just “fun in the sun”. This will be a meeting of “doers”, men and women willing to fight the Obama administration and its perceived attack on US free enterprise and unfettered wealth.
As the invitation says: “Our goal must be to beat back the unrelenting attacks and hold elected leaders accountable.”
The reference to the accountability of America’s elected leaders is ironic, bearing in mind that the gathering has been convened by two brothers who have never been elected to public office and are among the most unaccountable and secretive political players in the country.
David and Charles Koch enjoy a combined fortune of $35bn (£22bn), run the second largest private company in the US, Koch Industries, and are increasingly using their fabulous riches to push their special interests within America’s political process. Nobody knows precisely how much they spend on influencing elections and lobbying Congress, but it is thought to be scores of millions of dollars.
By similar vein, the guestlist for their gathering on Sunday is unknown. Past attendees at the twice-yearly event include supreme court judges, rightwing media celebrities such as Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, prominent governors of southern states such as Bobby Jindal (Louisiana) and Haley Barbour (Mississippi), as well as leading figures from Wall Street and energy companies, and titans of industry.

But you can be sure there won’t be any of them there elites in attendance! Just us regular folk nothing to see here..

Connecticut Ok’s Gay Marriage

11/12/2008 by Debra

Judge Jonathan Silbert ruled same sex marriage legal basing his decision on a Supreme Court ruling in October.

The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled 4-3 on Oct. 10 that same-sex couples have the right to wed rather than accept a civil union law designed to give them the same rights as married couples.

This was fantastic news for those who had challenged the law against same sex marriage.

The judge’s order marks “the end of a very long journey toward equality,” said their attorney, Bennett Klein.
“Each of the plaintiffs asked me to convey to the court how proud they are to be citizens of this state,” Klein said.

Not everyone was happy of course,

The Family Institute of Connecticut, a political action group that opposes gay marriage, condemned the high court’s decision as undemocratic.

Undemocratic!? Ok then.

Answers.com gives 4 definitions of democratic,

1. Of, characterized by, or advocating democracy: democratic government; a democratic union.
2. Of or for the people in general; popular: a democratic movement; democratic art forms.
3. Believing in or practicing social equality: [believe this applies best]
4. Democratic Of, relating to, or characteristic of the Democratic Party.

none of these definitions seem to fit those of the Family Institute of Connecticut. psst maybe consulting a dictionary before releasing press statements would help

A Historic Moment for America

11/05/2008 by Debra

November 4th, 2008 a history making night for the United States of America, as for the first time ever Americans elected a black man to the highest office in the land. News footage showing tears steaming down the faces of those who never thought they would live to see such a thing could have failed to touch only the hardest of hearts.

President Elect Barack Obama gave an acceptance speech with a message of hope, of inclusiveness, of an awareness that he represents all the people not just those that voted for him, that has not been seen for some time.

Of course the American economy is tanking, there are wars, there is a level of hatred toward those not seen as “true Americans” reminiscent of the McCarthy era and so President Obama faces a great many challenges. He may not wholly live up to the hopes and dreams that have been pinned upon him. For now though there is joy and celebration. Hope for an end to blatant corruption, abuses of power and an almost sociopathic disregard for the well being of the people.

Congratulations to Barack Obama, his family and all the black families in the U.S. who can now say to their sons and daughters that one day you too could become President.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

Cross border neoConservatism

09/16/2008 by Debra

Two excellent examples of why we must guard against allowing neoconservatives to achieve positions of power.

First a post by skdadl at pogge which includes a youtube of a Biden speech. Well worth 30 minutes out of your day. He outlines the total disregard for the average American that both the outgoing Bush administration and the hopeful McCain administration share. Though it deals with the American government it is a window into the thinking of the Republican wanna-be that is Harper.

One of my favorite lines from the speech is this; “We’ve seen this movie before and we know that the sequel is always worse than the original.”

You can bet that the sequel to a Harper government, most especially if there is an increase in seats, will be much worse than the original. And this line is particularly significant to those of us here in Ontario struggling to regain ground after the Harris debacle. And let us not forget that Flaherty, Devolin and others were part and parcel of that governmental fiasco.

The second example is a post written in the Hamilton Spec by Tom Cooper (I don’t usually and don’t like copying large passages but hope Cooper will forgive me as it is just so important that this message be heard.)

Three and a half million Canadians (including 800,000 children) live in poverty, and yet there is no sign of the creation of a national anti-poverty strategy.
Tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs have been lost in southern Ontario over the last several years. In just the last week there were 800 job losses in Welland, 500 in Oakville and 93 at Hamilton’s Coppley’s Apparrel.
Hundreds of thousands of laid off workers cannot access Employment Insurance benefits after losing a job because criteria discriminate against those, notably women with young children, who work irregular hours.
Many low- and middle-income families don’t have access to affordable child care. And no, a $100/month benefit doesn’t cut it.
A national housing strategy is nonexistent, and homelessness remains dire in many urban centres. The federally funded Homelessness Partnership Initiative is set to expire March 31, 2009, which will have a dramatically negative impact on homelessness in Hamilton and across the country if it is not renewed.

How many of the people affected thought politics didn’t affect them? How many thought–perhaps still think–that their vote doesn’t matter? How many have lost so much there may be no regaining even what they had?

In Biden’s speech he talks about how poverty isn’t just a lack of money. It means a lack of respect, of confidence of ability to properly care for your family or keep your home.

When asked about social programs Harper opines that we can’t afford them. BUT we can afford 5 BILLION dollars in ~~welfare payments~~ tax cuts to corporations? Easy to see where his priorities lie. Easy to see that he like the person mentioned in Biden’s speech could be one to say that middle class is someone making less than 5 million a year.

This is not a time to turn away in apathy. Your country needs you. VOTE!

Palin’ in comparison

09/15/2008 by Debra

If one wonders how Alaskans feel about the VP choice of the American fundamentalist movement, one might feel that everyone thinks she is wonderful. A saviour of the right. Odd considering that any other woman in her situation would be tarred and feathered for not choosing to stay home and raise the children. Isn’t that what they say is best? Isn’t that why they don’t support daycare initiatives?

Interesting blog post here detailing the background to an anti Palin rally and how the media chose only to highlight the pro Palin crowd.

It is necessary that the media falsely spin this to look like she has the support of the majority of women. The reality is the majority of women do not want anyone else telling them what to do with their bodies. Someone who appears not to believe in the concept of rape at all, even going to the extreme of expecting women to pay for their own rape kits. Most women are perfectly happy to support a pregnant teenage daughter, provide her with an actual choice, support her in WHATEVER that choice is and not parade her around like a walking billboard of their ideology.

Palin says she recognizes that not everyone agrees with her beliefs. Yet she and McCain would choose to foist their culture of tyranny on them nevertheless. This is a common thread with ultra – conservative – fundamentalists, their complete inability to recognize that choice doesn’t change their lives. If some women have abortions or some same sex partners get married it affects their day to day life not at all. Certainly laws which forbid discrimination and blatant hate mongering do. However, a careful reading of the bible also dismisses such behaviour as sinful [the story of the good Samaritan, turning the other cheek and many more examples]and any etiquette book will tell you it is just plain bad manners.

Both the Canadian and American media have much to answer for presenting Harper, McCain, Palin and others like them as though they were just another politician another choice. This is not politics as usual. First they came for the feminists…….

Sarah Palin: Not Pretty in Pink

09/01/2008 by Debra

Sarah Palin aka McCain’s running mate.

Though much seems to center on her private life; questions of Trig’s parentage and name, whether she is trying to get her ex-brother-in-law fired are all voyeuristically amusing but allow far more serious personal and political concerns to be swept under the rug.

People who believe strongly that a woman’s place is in the home and that babies are meant to be raised by their mothers and who called Hilary a ball breaker for daring to aspire to the highest office of the U.S. are now touting Palin, mother of 4 month old Trig, as the Saviour of the GOP.

“We know from recent voting patterns that women are the key voting group that will elect the next president of the United States,” Cindy McCain says on her husband’s Web page for outreach to women. “So it is vitally important that Republican women get involved. . . You can’t win this election without the women’s vote.”

SOURCE
Having suddenly discovered the importance of women the GOP in the twisted way they so excel at, choose a woman bent on setting women’s rights back to pre-right to vote era times.

Palin is part of the extremist anti-choice crowd and an affiliate of Feminists for Life who believe that abortion should be outlawed regardless of any extenuating circumstance including life of the mother. They also believe that all forms of contraception should be illegal.

The decision to have a baby can be wonderful. A woman may feel more in touch with herself than at any other point in her life. The act of giving birth can give you a whole new appreciation of life and of your own strengths and abilities. And even with all that 1 in 5 women will experience post partum depression.

Imagine then forcing this process, which is fraught with dangers on someone who has not made the choice. A young teen exchanging sex for love, a college student whose birth control failed, a wife and mother already struggling to house and feed the children she has, a victim of rape or incest or a woman with a medical condition for which pregnancy would kill her.

People like Palin believe biblical allegories to be life truths;
“Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” (Genesis 3:16)
“The bible teaches that women brought sin and death into the world, that she precipitated the fall of the race, that she was arraigned before the judgment seat of Heaven, tried, condemned and sentenced. Marriage for her was to be a condition of bondage, maternity a period suffering and anguish, and in silence and subjection, she was to play the role of a dependent on man’s bounty for all her material wants, and for all the information she might desire… Here is the Bible position of woman briefly summed up.” –Elizabeth Cady Stanton. And here is the position of evangelical anti-choicers like Palin summed up.

Hand in hand with her anti-choice sentiment is her desire to force her particular brand of religion on everyone with her belief that creationism should be taught in school, and other beliefs of dominionism.

Dominionism is summed up thusly by George Grant;
“Christians have an obligation, a mandate, a commission, a holy responsibility to reclaim the land for Jesus Christ — to have dominion in civil structures, just as in every other aspect of life and godliness. But it is dominion we are after. Not just a voice. It is dominion we are after. Not just influence. It is dominion we are after. Not just equal time. It is dominion we are after. World conquest. That’s what Christ has commissioned us to accomplish.”

This is not a time to think we are seeing politics as usual. America while it forces it’s citizens eyes toward scary brown people over there, is in the midst of a holy war from within. The bible quotes Jesus as saying to his disciples “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves.” Dominionists set their disciples out as wolves in sheep’s clothing seeming to be “just people of faith”.

Those who at any other time decry sisterhood are asking why feminists aren’t rallying around Palin, why they don’t recognize her valuable contribution to women in politics. Well the simple answer is because though we support her right to advance her political career we don’t condone her doing so by stripping other women of their rights. Just as men don’t vote for men they see as being antithetical to their beliefs and best interests.

To the disappointed Hilary supporters who are giving any thought to voting for this anti-woman anti-democracy duo–please please do not let your disappointment cloud your judgment.

The ‘Pink Elephant’ campaign not only cruises on the back of dumbing down women’s politics like pink lego™ it, by hiding the true intent of the GOP, conforms completely to the definition of the term;

Something so large and obvious (like a pink elephant), but nobody says a word- like it doesn’t even exist, making the the whole circumstance very akward.

Their desire to take away your rights does exist. Ignore that at your peril.