Women's Media Center proclaims in blue at the top of their site, "Show Me the Women 2008 Presidential Debates" and, apparently, that's a plea so that they can have some targets to hurl abuse at. They're really making themselves into a joke at Women's Media Center and they need to get their shit together pretty damn quick.
"Show Me the Women: The Presidential Debates" is the sort of non-action that Democratic partisans (posing as feminists) wallow in. See, the girls are a little upset about women being represented in the debates. No, they're not calling for the McKinney - Clemente ticket to be invited. They just suck up to the Democratic Party. They're not capable of doing anything else. So they whimper and whine about the moderators and argue it a 'success' that Gwen Ifill was picked to 'moderate' the Democratic and Vice Presidential debate. That's not a 'success.'
It's a conflict of interest, of course. Most importantly, Gwen was happy to call out Don Imus for racism but, you'll note, she never said a damn word about sexism. The small number of broadcast women who actually called out sexism include Katie Couric, Bonnie Erbe and Cokie Roberts. 'Success' might have been one of them being moderator but it's not the hapless Gwen.
Calling Gwen a 'success' operates on the "at least she's got a vagina!" principle. You know the one that's so very important when it's someone they like but the one that's not at all important when they dislike the woman?
It's the same double-standard that leads to Carol Jenkins embarrassing herself with praise for Rachel Maddow. Maddow does possess a vagina. She's also a War Hawk and, Carol, sell yourself out somewhere else because this crowd ain't buying your bullshit. Our own Elaine called out Maddow's War Hawk ways (for those not aware, Maddow spent her entire year of Unfiltered arguing on air that the US should not leave Iraq -- some voice of peace) and it resulted in an on air meltdown. Rachel was born sucking up to the establishment, she'll die the same. (Just as she called out Chris Matthews for almost a 24 hour cycle . . . until MSNBC offered her a contract and suddenly she was telling the press how wonderful Chris was.) And, no, we don't find her Chachi male-drag act attractive. (For those who forget, some of the 'progressive women' Carol cites ripped Hillary apart for her 2002 vote re: Iraq, however, Maddow's 2004 to 2005 public support for the illegal war goes unquestioned by the same little girls.)
WMC Offers "Majority Post" -- a so-called blog they bill as "A Forum for the No-Longer-Invisible Majority." A laughable claim considering the number of women who left comments to Robin Morgan's insulting garbage last week only to never be let out of moderation. Our own Betty left her comments and they've never made it to the site. She figured they wouldn't (and plans to post on that next Friday) so we'll share what the "forum for the no-longer-invisible majority" wouldn't:
Calling it what it is: Garbage.
I understand WMC has refused to allow some women to post. Go for it with me, girls. This Black feminist has her own site and intends to reply there. But get it through your insulated heads, Bash the B**ch is never an acceptable game to play and WMC allowing falsehoods, long disproven by FactCheck.org, to be printed helps no one. I find it hilarious that in the name of ’sisterhood,’ you largely White girls continue to prop up bi-racial Barack while ignoring our Black sister Cynthia McKinney.
I’ve got 75 angry e-mails from my readers (predominately Black) who are feminists and don’t tailor their opinions to this year’s talking point. They are offended by Robin Morgan’s writing and they should be offended. Bash the b**tch is queen bee behavior, it is not feminist behavior.
I’ll check back later to see if I too was never let out of moderation. If that becomes the case, I will be posting on that and, you can be sure, my post will be reposted at many other websites.
Thank you, Robin Morgan, for explaining how very little women matter. I will be sure and toss your books in the trash because my youngest is a girl and she certainly doesn’t need to grow up reading your "Sisterhood is Powerful" or "Sisterhood is Forever" when your own actions prove that Cynthia McKinney can bust her rear for feminism and it will never matter to the largely White feminists of WMC.
Yeah, we got e-mails as well. Funny that the forum is happy to render all those women invisible.
The top four stories at WMC currently all attack Sarah Palin -- you know, the woman.
Take High Priestess of Male Gaze Avis (she's a rental) A. Jones-DeWeever who wants to ask, "Where Have Our Standards Gone?" "Sit your ass down, Avis," says Marcia. "No one needs your high yellow face this early in the morning."
Avis wants to question Palin's competency. Repeating, wants to question Palin's competency. It's amazing the gas bags hanging out under the street lights trying to peddle that one. Governor Palin is a v.p. nominee and she has more experience than Barack Obama who is running for the highest office in the land. "Sit your tired ass down, Avis," says Betty with an "amen" from Cedric.
Peggy Simpson shows up insisting "Pundits and Viewers Give Palin a Pass" -- yeah, Pegs, it's a conspiracy. Poor Peggy Lu, she carries so much water for the Obama-Biden ticket, she might throw out her shoulders:
Biden also scored the emotional moment of the vice presidential debate against the younger mother-of-five Palin.
"Look, I understand what it's like to be a single parent. When my wife and daughter died [in a 1972 car crash] and my two sons were gravely injured, I understand what it is like as a parent to wonder what it’s like if you kid's going to make it."
Palin not only didn't react to that or give even a glance toward Biden. She changed the subject and talked directly into the camera.
It's really something to hear a so-called feminist gloss over Joe Biden's choked up moment -- really something to watch as she praises it and doesn't even raise the issue of the sexist pile up on Hillary following her New Hampshire moment. But it takes a special kind of STUPID to then blame Palin for moving on.
Pegs, what was she supposed to have done? Pulled the cry baby to her bosom and patted his head? Was she supposed to meet your sexist definition of 'nurturing female'? Or was she supposed to call attention to Biden's embarrassing moment?
Let us know, Pegs, because, as C.I. pointed out Saturday, there's no win for a woman in this no matter how she behaves. The treatment of Hillary and the treatment of Palin proves it.
And then there's Robin Morgan and her awful "When Sisterhood Is Suicide and Other Late Night Thoughts." As Betty pointed out, the title rips off Gloria Steinem's "Night Thoughts of a Media Watcher." C.I informs that Robin's using a fear tactic and ripping off the ultra-right Richard Posner ("Not a Suicide Pact: The Constitution in a Time of a National Emergency"). What a proud moment for Robin.
Robin opens her column with, "I screwed up. I started writing this weeks ago as a Letter to Undecided Women Voters . . ." Well, she got it right in her first sentence, she screwed up. But why Robin Morgan thinks undecided voters needs to hear from her on how to vote goes to her own huge sense of self-importance and her own disdain for what we'll assume are the 'common folk.' Yes, Robin Morgan, it's election time! Please, please, don't just tell us how you will vote, tell us how we should vote!
Does she not grasp not only how insulting that is, not only how self-aggrandizing that is, but it how makes it appear to the outside world that the feminist movement is filled with a bunch of nimrods who can't think for themselves?
Well anyone who could say "Sisterhood Is Suicide" has a few screws loose. Try that for the title of your next opus, Robin. We're sure Bill O'Reilly and the others of Fox "News" will happily book you as a guest.
Robin confesses, "By now, my short tolerance for willful ignorance is as spent as Wall Street while socialism-Republican-style tries to nationalize it." Uh, you mean like the man you're trying to push women into voting for (trying to push women around is more like it)? Barack Obama. He and Joe Biden voted for what you're calling out. That's some ticket you're supporting, Robin.
She offers, "So many dolts and liars, so little time." Well, by all means, make the time to include yourself on the list of "dolts and liars."
Here's a lie from Robin: "She’s broad-minded, willing to have evolution taught alongside creationism."
Here's reality from FactCheck.org: "Palin has not pushed for teaching creationism in Alaska's schools. She has said that students should be allowed to 'debate both sides' of the evolution question, but she also said creationism 'doesn't have to be part of the curriculum'."
Don't expect WMC to correct the error because . . . Well frankly, they never do. Surprisingly, considering the number of female journalists involved in the project, accuracy isn't apparently an aim or even a goal to strive for. Which explains how Robin can get away with being 'creative' in her own quotes. Hey, don't look at WMC as journalism, okay, it's a creative writing class! And who's more creative than Robin Morgan?
We would call her outright lies and her 'creative' quoting "toxic viciousness" were it not for the fact that she claimed to say goodbye to all that back in January.
Hey Robin, some women support Governor Palin. And there you are tearing her down to build up Barack. It makes no sense.
So why should all women not be as justly proud of our womanhood and the centuries, even millennia, of struggle that got us this far, as black Americans, women and men, are justly proud of their struggles?
Uh, Robin, "So . . . struggles?" is you writing in January.
In fact, Robin, you might want to re-read your "Goodbye To All That No. 2" because it reads like another woman wrote it.
*an era when parts of the populace feel so disaffected by politics that a comparative lack of knowledge, experience, and skill is actually seen as attractive, when celebrity-culture mania now infects our elections so that it’s “cooler” to glow with marquee charisma than to understand the vast global complexities of power on a nuclear, wounded planet.
*Goodbye to some women pouting because she didn’t bake cookies or she did, sniping because she learned the rules and then bent or broke them. Grow the hell up. She is not running for Ms.-perfect-pure-queen-icon of the feminist movement. She’s running to be president of the United States.
Robin, are you pouting because Sarah Palin learned the rules and then bent or broke them? Do you need to grow the hell up?
(We think you at least need corner time.)
Here's Robin last week, "She’s patriotic--well, except for attending that secessionist Alaska Independent Party conference during the seven years when First Dude was a party member pulling down DWI convictions on the side." DWI convictions on the side? That's Sarah Palin's problem? Hey, remember back in January when you were decrying the women who were leery of Hillary (or openly hostile) because "she couldn't 'control' him"? Shoe's not on the other foot, Robin, it's up your ass. That must make thinking very difficult for you. And, by the way, Todd Palin's conviction is over 20 years old. As for her attending the conference, FactCheck.org notes "she attended at least one party's convention, as mayor of the town in which it was held." Yeah, Robin, she had actual responsibilities. Maybe she could have just told them to consider her "present" the way Barack voted on abortion issues in the Illinois state legislature?
And what's with the attack on Mary Matlin? Matlin's long considered herself a feminist. There's nothing "surreal" about her making that claim, nor anything new. You really need to get out more. A little sun would do wonders.
Robin declares, "Sarah Palin is to all women what Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is to African American women and men." How very right-wing of you, Robin. Any woman you disagree with is actually a man. How very 'liberated' of you.
Robin then wants to advise the media to look for John McCain making homophobic remarks. Like Barack did about the AIDs test in the televised debate? Or how about putting homophobes on stage, Robin? You do grasp just how thin the walls of your glass house are, don't you?
Robin then proves her 'maturity' (or thinks she does) by dashing off, "Do not crucify Bristol Palin for being a pregnant, unwed teen. Do note the irony that her mother opposes sex ed and funding for pregnant teens." First off, Robin, we're talking about a 17-year-old girl. If you truly feel any sympathy for her, the last thing she needed was to be included in your bad column. She certainly didn't need your ha-ha.
Guess what, Robin, feminists should grasp that a 17-year-old girl is not a trophy to be pulled for in a cultural war. Any comments about the need for sex education can be made without dragging a child into the discussion. Or do you think you're 'liberating' Bristol Palin with your garbage?
Robin received loud laughter from Ava and C.I. with this little jotting, "Do not present more all-pale-male panels shamelessly unfazed by pontificating on gender and race. Do be embarrassed that all three presidential debates are anchored by white men. Gwen Ifill, a two-fer—female and African American--landed the VP debate. She’s great. Two-fer’s not. Be ashamed. Be very ashamed. " Uh, Robin, it was PBS that presented eight male voices weighing in on women during the Republican Convention -- and, for the record, they weren't all pale faced. But calling out PBS is so very, very hard for some feminists who have sucked up to it for years always sure that someday, somehow, PBS would be there for feminism. Never happened, but hey, keep hoping. (That actually describes the relationship of some feminists to the Democratic Party as well.)
By the way, Robin, a number of feminists sit on the boards of The Nation and FAIR. Both have lousy representation of women. FAIR's CounterSpin has three hosts, two White males and what you dub a "two-fer" (Janine Jackson). In 2006, FAIR was calling out PBS for their low number of women when FAIR's own CounterSpin had a worse ratio. And of course The Nation published 149 female bylines in 2007 and 491 males. When might we expect you to work on that? (Or do you plan to join the many other name feminists egging us on to continue doing so?)
Robin had us all laughing with this one, "Do not keep humoring the tiny minority of woman-hating, lesbian-and-gay 'curing,' science-denouncing, religious-fanatic troglodytes in this country. Do not dignify them by 'equal time' 50-50 coverage when the reality is 6 (them)-94 (the rest of us)." Gee, Robin, how about we ask that candidates don't put those "lesbian-and-gay 'curing'" homophobes on stage? Of course that would require your calling out your 'sister' Barack Obama for putting homophobes on stage in South Carolina back in November as well as currently with his 'values' tour in swing-states. Again, the the walls of your glass house are very, very thin.
While you're happy to rail against 'faith-based' programs (funded by tax payers), you're unable to rail against Barack's use of homophobia. Ourselves, we've railed against both. That doesn't make us "better" than you, just smarter and more honest.
Robin, you tell so many lies and we have so damn little time.
But we must note this one because C.I. says it's a lie and actually made a call to find out:
Remember that at the Sturgis motorcycle rally, McCain mortified his wife by saying she should enter the Topless Miss Buffalo Chip contest. Remember that, responding to a comment Cindy made about his thinning hair, he guffawed, “At least I don’t plaster on makeup like a trollop, you c**t.”
Cindy McCain (who you dismiss elsewhere as a beauty queen and never mention that she's pro-choice) is suddenly a topic of concern for you? The sudden nature of your concern must explain both lies. Cindy McCain was not mortified. Like her husband, she didn't realize that it was a topless contest. As for the "c" remark? Never made. Our position all along has been, if a couple in a relationship are fine with their relationship, it's nobody's business from the outside what they do or do not do. But that remark never was made. A reporter created it and has no backup for his claim. It's also rejected by someone present. So shove that up your shoe-containing-ass and smoke it.
One more thing, Ty and Marcia are gay and want it noted that your "tired ass" refused to call out Barack's homophobia and you're now lying and calling Palin a homophobe. Palin opposes same-sex marriage, as does your ticket of Barack-Joe. Palin is not saying sexuality is "curable" and you're a damn liar for saying so. Marcia wants it noted that with 'friends' like you, the LGBT community is going to need a lot of help. (For Robin's lies regarding Hillary's campaign, see C.I.'s
"I Hate The War.")
Women's Media Center is becoming the mouthpiece of the Sour Grapes Girls. They could cover other topics but they're so damn determined to elect the bi-racial, sexist and homophobic candidate that they can't stop lying, day after damn day. It's pathetic. It's not feminism. But, hey, let's all play by the WMC rules. As such, we'll be offering our own "Goodbye To All That" (WMC style) and, if Robin and others are offended, hey, it's humor.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Goodbye To All That WMC Style
[It's funny! Isn't that what Robin Morgan would say if called out for her attack on candidates not from the two party system? So chuckle. Ava and C.I. did not write any part of this. C.I. did agree to look over it at Rebecca and Elaine's request to make sure that they were remembering correctly.]
*Goodbye to bitchy, gap-teethed, overweight women who think they can go to town on another woman just because she happens to be attractive.
*Goodbye to women who claim to be feminists but exist solely to prop up the patriarchy.
*Goodbye to women who service Barack Obama and Joe Biden so thoroughly that no one need wonder the age-old question: "Does she swallow?"
*Goodbye to women who see 'liberation' as grabbing the pom-poms and tights to stage non-stop pep rallies for a sexist man.
*Goodbye to women who sold other women out for Bob Packwood and now do so for Barack Obama.
*Goodbye to women who claims they'll help another woman but somehow always 'forget' those promises.
*Goodbye to women who bored us all with their aggrandizing tales of "I just tasted my first pussy" back in the seventies only to be unable to call out homophobia today. (We're referring to straight women who had a lesbian phase when it was the vogue and now not only won't call out homophobia, refuse to own up to that phase.]
*Goodbye to one woman who made that "first" claim in the seventies even though it wasn't the first judging by the way she was described throughout the sixties and Shelley was never shy telling everyone and anyone just how talented the woman indeed was. (Or that, after, she needed to call Shelley "Mommy" and asked Shelley to comfort her.)
*Goodbye to women who refuse to stand -- possibly because age makes bending over so difficult and it's so much easier to service a man when on your knees.
*Goodbye to the victim mentality which embraces abuse by ignoring it.
*Goodbye to non-feminists put on the payroll who can't even give a televised shout-out. [Ava and C.I. will out that fool next week.]
*Goodbye to desperately attempting to fit in -- to the point where you sell out your own belief system.
*Goodbye to women fronting an organization dependent upon the whims of men.
*Goodbye to women who make claims of the need to support an "African-American" man when they should be supporting an African-American woman and not a bi-racial, sexist male.
*Goodbye to liars.
*Goodbye to a "center" that refuses to employ a much needed fact checker.
*Goodbye to the pathetic women who dream of only speaking frankly when out of the sight of rest of the world. That need to hide goes a long way towards explaining the nature of Womens Media Center.
*Goodbye to women who define as "Democratic Socialists" but always lick the balls of the Democratic Party. (May you choke on hairballs, 'sisters'!)
*Goodbye to women who should be aware that they're in the final acts but ignore that fact and destroy their own legacies by disgracing feminism.
*Goodbye to women who preach sisterhood for all but practice it for none.
*Goodbye to the tired and fermented minds who try to cast a woman emerging today as Phyllis Schafly -- the better to pretend that you're still 'contemporary'?
*Goodbye to women who insist Sarah Palin's not the right kind of woman thereby joining with the other gender traitors who insisted the same about Hillary Clinton before.
*Goodbye to women who sit on the boards of some of the most sexist Panhandle Media outlets and NEVER say a DAMN word.
*Goodbye to women who pimp empowerment when it's time to sell their books and spend the rest of their time trashing any woman whose empowerment they disagree with.
*Goodbye to the most bitchy of all non-feminist poses: "I actually feel sorry for her and let me prove it with my following paragraphs of snark and bitchy lines."
*Goodbye to women who insist "non-partisan" when it's time to get bodies assembled in protest but prove they see "feminism" as boiling down to "Democratic women only" (with a pass for "Democratic Socialists").
*Goodbye to the cheesecake who started as such and ends as such. [No, we're not talking about Gloria and C.I. and Ava would kill us if we didn't make that clear.]
*Goodbye to the crazies who brought us "scandals" that never, in fact, existed. You know who you are.
*Goodbye to the friends of Norman Mailer who called out every man for his sexism but gave Norman a pass because he was a close, personal friend.
*Goodbye to do-as-I-say-and-not-as-I-do feminism.
*Goodbye to liars who rip apart a woman for her performance in a debate but never call out the 'emotional' male she debated.
*Goodbye to liars who try to destroy a woman with disproven lies.
*Goodbye to all the cover-ups.
*Goodbye to would-be-Mose-ettes who would rather continuing wandering in the desert than stake a claim for women right here, right now.
*Goodbye to bitchy, gap-teethed, overweight women who think they can go to town on another woman just because she happens to be attractive.
*Goodbye to women who claim to be feminists but exist solely to prop up the patriarchy.
*Goodbye to women who service Barack Obama and Joe Biden so thoroughly that no one need wonder the age-old question: "Does she swallow?"
*Goodbye to women who see 'liberation' as grabbing the pom-poms and tights to stage non-stop pep rallies for a sexist man.
*Goodbye to women who sold other women out for Bob Packwood and now do so for Barack Obama.
*Goodbye to women who claims they'll help another woman but somehow always 'forget' those promises.
*Goodbye to women who bored us all with their aggrandizing tales of "I just tasted my first pussy" back in the seventies only to be unable to call out homophobia today. (We're referring to straight women who had a lesbian phase when it was the vogue and now not only won't call out homophobia, refuse to own up to that phase.]
*Goodbye to one woman who made that "first" claim in the seventies even though it wasn't the first judging by the way she was described throughout the sixties and Shelley was never shy telling everyone and anyone just how talented the woman indeed was. (Or that, after, she needed to call Shelley "Mommy" and asked Shelley to comfort her.)
*Goodbye to women who refuse to stand -- possibly because age makes bending over so difficult and it's so much easier to service a man when on your knees.
*Goodbye to the victim mentality which embraces abuse by ignoring it.
*Goodbye to non-feminists put on the payroll who can't even give a televised shout-out. [Ava and C.I. will out that fool next week.]
*Goodbye to desperately attempting to fit in -- to the point where you sell out your own belief system.
*Goodbye to women fronting an organization dependent upon the whims of men.
*Goodbye to women who make claims of the need to support an "African-American" man when they should be supporting an African-American woman and not a bi-racial, sexist male.
*Goodbye to liars.
*Goodbye to a "center" that refuses to employ a much needed fact checker.
*Goodbye to the pathetic women who dream of only speaking frankly when out of the sight of rest of the world. That need to hide goes a long way towards explaining the nature of Womens Media Center.
*Goodbye to women who define as "Democratic Socialists" but always lick the balls of the Democratic Party. (May you choke on hairballs, 'sisters'!)
*Goodbye to women who should be aware that they're in the final acts but ignore that fact and destroy their own legacies by disgracing feminism.
*Goodbye to women who preach sisterhood for all but practice it for none.
*Goodbye to the tired and fermented minds who try to cast a woman emerging today as Phyllis Schafly -- the better to pretend that you're still 'contemporary'?
*Goodbye to women who insist Sarah Palin's not the right kind of woman thereby joining with the other gender traitors who insisted the same about Hillary Clinton before.
*Goodbye to women who sit on the boards of some of the most sexist Panhandle Media outlets and NEVER say a DAMN word.
*Goodbye to women who pimp empowerment when it's time to sell their books and spend the rest of their time trashing any woman whose empowerment they disagree with.
*Goodbye to the most bitchy of all non-feminist poses: "I actually feel sorry for her and let me prove it with my following paragraphs of snark and bitchy lines."
*Goodbye to women who insist "non-partisan" when it's time to get bodies assembled in protest but prove they see "feminism" as boiling down to "Democratic women only" (with a pass for "Democratic Socialists").
*Goodbye to the cheesecake who started as such and ends as such. [No, we're not talking about Gloria and C.I. and Ava would kill us if we didn't make that clear.]
*Goodbye to the crazies who brought us "scandals" that never, in fact, existed. You know who you are.
*Goodbye to the friends of Norman Mailer who called out every man for his sexism but gave Norman a pass because he was a close, personal friend.
*Goodbye to do-as-I-say-and-not-as-I-do feminism.
*Goodbye to liars who rip apart a woman for her performance in a debate but never call out the 'emotional' male she debated.
*Goodbye to liars who try to destroy a woman with disproven lies.
*Goodbye to all the cover-ups.
*Goodbye to would-be-Mose-ettes who would rather continuing wandering in the desert than stake a claim for women right here, right now.
Roundtable
Jim: This isn't a fullblown roundtable. But there are several issues that we were supposed to bring up in a roundtable. We're going to stick to a very strict time limit. Participating are The Third Estate Sunday Review's Dona, Ty, Jess, Ava and me, Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude, Betty of Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man, C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review, Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills), Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix, Mike of Mikey Likes It!, Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz, Ruth of Ruth's Report, Wally of The Daily Jot, and Marcia SICKOFITRDLZ. I'm going to start with the topic of race and toss to Betty because not only did she put this down as a roundtable topic, the way her site's structured, she has to remain in the character of Betinna which can make it difficult sometimes to say exactly what she'd like to. Betty wasn't the only one who put this topic down and it was also a topic in a number of e-mails, especially following Marcia's posting of "Ralph Nader, HB Melissa, and more" last week. Illustration by Betty's oldest son. Betty?
Betty: We're doing this late so people will have to Google -- I'm not going to ask Dallas to look it up. But at the start of the primary season, I brought up some attacks on Erica Jong, a White woman, and how I wasn't expecting her to write specifically about Black women and, honestly, would have been offended if she'd come of as though she was speaking for us. By the same token, I share with Marcia -- and many others -- serious concerns regarding many but let's talk Melissa McEwan because she's pissed off a number of Black community members. I think McEwan gets her props from the White people for being oh-so-f**king-sensitive-and-wonderful that she writes a "racism" watch. I call bulls**t on that. I really am getting sick of being the accessory for the White left whenever they need to prove how 'soulful' and 'wonderful' they are. There is something grossly offensive about a White person attempting to tell the world what it's like to be Black and what racism against Black people is. McEwan makes an idiot out of herself everytime she attempts to pinpoint racism because (a) she doesn't know the Black experience and (b) White girl, Melissa, the Black community has never had the stick up its ass that you so obviously do.
Cedric: Amen! You better know Betty's pissed --
Betty: I damn well am.
Cedric: -- because she's swearing and I have never heard her swear in my entire life. Not even when we were in Mexico for Rebecca's wedding and Betty hurt her shoulder catching her youngest son who was attempting to play daredevil. You could tell Betty was in real pain and all she said was, "Darn." Over and over, she said it, but that's the strongest word she used.
Betty: My kids were present.
Cedric: So Betty's pissed and she's not the only one. Let's be really clear here, a White person trying to talk about what racism is to African-Americans is always going to come off uninformed and patronizing. And McEwan's calls have been laughable repeatedly. For her to do a racism watch --
Ty: And she does no homophobia watch!
Cedric: And she does no homophobia watch, for her to do a racism watch plays out to many African-Americans like, "White girl riding our sorrows and struggles to fame." To be really clear, she could certainly call attention to a post by a person of color. That would be different.
Ty: But it wouldn't prove how groovy she is in all her Whiteness and how she just so gets us. I'm appalled by her. If you're not African-American, shut your damn mouth and let one speak. Quit hogging the attention, quit trying to control the conversation. And carry this over to Democracy Now! where Amy loves to bring on one White or many Whites to sit with her, she's White, and discuss the 'Black experience.' If you're really interested in discussing it, you invite on an African-American.
Betty: It's bad enough they done stole our music now the White Missuh Melissa won't even let us be speaking! Please Missuh Melissa, let a Black woman speak.
Cedric: I'm laughing so hard at Betty's comment. I hope we put that in for the audio version of Hilda's Mix. Betty just did an impersonation that sounded like --
Betty: It was Prissy from Gone With The Wind.
Cedric: Thank you. There is this really offensive take within the African-American community that Whites think they know every damn thing. And when some people, like McEwan, decide they are also experts on the "Black experience," it just amplifies the hostility. As Betty pointed out, and that was probably in January, she defended Erica Jong for not attempting to speak specifically for African-American women. There's no reason Jong should. There are many African-American women capable of speaking. But McEwan's not interested in that, she's interested in coming off like someone who's an expert on being African-American and, let me break it down for her, she will never be that. She needs to sit down and let someone else speak. It's insulting.
Jim: Marcia, this was your topic at your site -- in fact, it's been a topic at your site many times for months now. Would you like to jump in?
Marcia: My site is so named because I truly am Sick of It. Of all of it. And I sometimes feel like, "Oh, do I have to spew tonight?" So I'm actually enjoying listening to what's being said. I agree with all of it. And, to be clear, it's not that they can't write about race, it's that they need to credit. And if they're so damn concerned about racism, how about shutting their damn mouths and highlighting African-Americans. We do know how to speak and to read, Melissa McEwan. We've been doing it for longer than you been alive.
Ty: I don't mean to cut you off --
Marcia: You're not, that's all I really wanted to say. You and Betty are the two who need this format to speak up the most, so have at it.
Ty: Well, I want to be clear about what we're saying here. Rebecca will frequently quote her friend T -- who is African-American -- and she'll also put in something Betty asks her to. But otherwise, Rebecca's bringing up the topic as she does any other. And it's not, "I'm the world's biggest expert on this matter." Or take C.I. Especially in the early days of The Common Ills, people expected C.I. to cover every injustice. And C.I. would step up to the plate. With new sites emerging, there was less pressure on C.I. to cover everything.
Betty: Except from my father who still regularly calls C.I. each day and I will say, "Dad, she doesn't have time for this right now." Due to health.
Ty: Right, Betty's father can get anything up at The Common Ills. Betty's father just has to ask. And it's generally noted, "Betty's father asked me to . . ." unless there's just not time for it.
Betty: Or C.I. doesn't want my father to get the fallout. Which is when I end up taking Rebecca up on her standing offer to blog at her site and will go there and say, "My father called C.I. and begged for that to be included." But the distinction you're making Ty, it is important. But in terms of people like McEwan, it's a different level. With her "racism watch" she is setting herself up as the voice on "racism" against Blacks. And let's not pretend it's on all "racism," because she only covers racism against Blacks. And it is highly offensive to me that a White woman wants to carve out the life I live, carve it up, to get some cred. I mean, what's the Diana Ross line. I'm blanking because I'm angry, someone help me!
C.I.: "You have turned my life into a paperback novel."
Betty: Thank you! "Mirror, Mirror." That is exactly what it feels. My very real experiences are nothing but fodder for a White woman to use and carve out as her grounds when, damn it, she doesn't know the first thing she's talking about. I'm sick of it. It's offensive.
Marcia: I'll jump back in. I mean, I don't expect to be highlighted outside the community so this isn't "Please link to me!" but Melissa McEwan, there are plenty of African-American men and women and, SURPRISE!, we do write about actual racism. So we really don't need you playing Elvis and stealing our moods to advance yourself. That's Ty's point, shut up and highlight actual victims of racism, Melissa McEwan. Shut your damn mouth and stop playing White Princess entitled to chatter on about every damn thing under the sun because, being White, you know it all. And like Cedric pointed out, she writes about racism with a stick up her ass. If African-Americans were as easily offended as Melissa, we would have all slit our wrists a long, long time ago. And that's really the point. Ty and I were talking about this so I'm tossing to Ty if he wants it.
Ty: Sure. A waffle 'advertisement' about Barack? It's the end of the world! Or that's what Melissa tells you. And you look at the drawing and you think, "Huh?" I mean, does Melissa know a single African-American? We have lips a lot bigger than in that ad and those are not pop-eyes. What the hell is that woman's problem? Her problem, I'll tell you what her problem is, she doesn't know what she's talking about and she's trying to present herself as an authority on something she knows nothing about.
Cedric: She's on the outside looking in!
Ty: Betty's about to bust a gut laughing right now and that's because Cedric just nailed it. She's like that Mad TV skit, where the White woman is with the African-American man and she has no idea what's what or that she herself frequently comes off racist. That is Melissa McEwan.
Betty: That was a good one. I want to use Rebecca as an example of how to do it. When we do these roundtables, if the topic's race, anyone can participate. Usually it's those of us who are Black if it's a Black issue -- Ty, Cedric, Marcia and myself. Rebecca will take part in those discussions but she waits until they are established. Rebecca doesn't say, "Hey, I'm a White woman so let me kick things off and let me tell you about racism this week . . ." We're talking about someone who wants all the credit for her bad writing on racism against Black people. It's not her topic. She doesn't need to be 'leading' on the issue. There are plenty of Black bloggers, as Marcia pointed out, writing about the topic. McEwan would offend few if she linked to one, quoted him or her and said, "That's interesting and what I would like to add . . ." But that's not what she's doing. What she's doing is setting herself as the authority and the sole voice on what being Black in today's United States is like. And, White Melissa, you just don't know. Sit down already, you're embarrassing yourself with your Boo-Boo the Clown like ways.
Ty: If I could haul Ruth into this, Ruth, you're Jewish. What do you feel like when Gentiles are talking about the Jewish experience? Is it anything like this?
Ruth: No. But that's because Jews are well represented in the chattering class. As one pointed out during the convention coverage, David Brooks, Mark Shield and Jim Lehrer were speaking, and one of them, not Brooks, pointed out that all three in the segment were Jewish. So while we are a small perecentage of the total population, we are represented and I think that's why I can say "no" to the question. What's being discussed right now is the shutting out of African-American voices and a White woman claiming their topic for herself. Were Jews shut out of the debate and a Gentile repeatedly speaking for us, I would be just as offended by it and I agree with everything the four of you have said.
Jim: Okay, Ava? How about you?
Ava: Well . . . It seems like I'm always telling C.I., "Don't forget she's talking Latino issues again with Anglo Whites." And I'm always referring to Amy Goodman. I do know what Betty, Cedric, Marcia and Ty are talking about. It is very offensive. And it's especially offensive when an Anglo tries to be an expert -- Joan Walsh comes to mind -- on Latinos and doesn't know what the hell she's talking about and not only stereotypes us but does so negatively. It's irritating and it's frustrating and just makes you want to scream because we are so shut out of the media and to hear Anglos talking about us as if we're things -- I mean that's what Melissa's really doing with her "racism watch" to African-Americans. She's saying they're not strong enough or human enough to defend themselves so here comes White Anglo on her horse, riding to save them. That's exactly how she self-presents.
Cedric: I'm jumping back in because I was thinking something similar but not sure how to put it into words. Ava's exactly right. McEwan's attitude is patronizing. It's as though she's saying, "People! There is a problem for the Blacks! And I will save them!" Hey, we didn't ask you to save us. We're working on saving ourselves. And if you actually linked to our conversation, that would prevent you from hogging to the goodness credit, now wouldn't it?
Jim: I'm not trying to close down this topic, but I do want to bring some more people in because race may end up being our only topic for the roundtable. I'm thinking Wally, Mike or Rebecca.
Wally: I'll go first. Race is a tricky thing in America to navigate because people aren't honest about it. And you can't be honest about it if the person tossing out opinions is always some other race than the one being discussed. Sometimes, you have to know enough to shut up and listen. Sometimes, that's the most intelligent thing you can do.
Cedric: And Wally and I do joint-posts all the time. Now something we do is bound to offend someone. But we do take a lot of care in where we aim our anger and our humor. And I will ask, "Wally, is this clear enough or do we need to make it more clear so White people don't think we're coming down on them?" And Wally will ask me, "Are we going to far on that?" Meaning in terms of the African-American community. I'm African-American. I am not an expert on race. I don't pretend to know the White experience or the Latino experience or the Asian-American or bi-racial, or Jewish or whatever. And there are a lot of things we bounce off each other that are funny but we kill them from our piece because we know they could be taken the wrong way. Even so, there's always going to be someone offended. But we've done the work in listening to one another. And we also test it out on C.I. She's our test audience.
Wally: And it's that exchange that's missing when McEwan stands on high, floating on her White cloud, issuing her 'racism' watch. There's no exchange, it is what Melissa says it is and it's a White person opinion of what is racist towards African-Americans and the woman doesn't usually seem to have a clue. I'll ask Cedric, "What am I missing?"
Cedric: And I'll say, "Not a damn thing, Wally. She doesn't know what she's talking about."
Marcia: Jim, if I could, Rebecca's written about how falsely charging someone with racism has been repeatedly used this year to shut down discussion.
Jim: Good point. Rebecca?
Rebecca: Well who knew we had so many full blown racists in the US and on the airwaves? My goodness, from 1992 to 2001, if you believe the lies, a racist occupied the White House! I mean, that slander hasn't gone away. And I can remember the roundtable where Betty was talking about that and about to cry.
Betty: Bill Clinton's not a racist and it is not only hurtful to him to lie like that, it is hurtful to the Black community. Bill Clinton never played "I'm the expert on the race." He wasn't offensive like that the way some people can be. And he always listened. You may not agree with some of his policies or decisions, but there is no question that Blacks were listened to under Bill Clinton and I'll assume the liars pretending otherwise are not only White, they're too damn young to remember the two previous presidents before Bill Clinton was sworn in. I can't talk anymore, somebody grab it before I start crying.
Ty: Okay. Well, the point Betty's so often made is that we, African-Americans, are in the minority population wise and that's only going to become more so in the next ten years. We need our allies and when we start falsely smearing someone like Bill Clinton as a racist, we hurt him and we hurt ourselves. We're in the minority, we need to pull together and we need our real friends to pull together with us. Bill Clinton is a real friend. And a message is sent to White politicians by the false smearing of Bill Clinton. The message is: Step back because you don't know when they'll turn on you.
Kat: Right and I'm jumping in, White woman here, because Betty has talked to me about this topic many times on the phone and in person. She is seriously concerned because you are talking about a small population out of the general population and there is serious work that needs to be done so that progess is made. She was highly offended that a bi-racial man promising the African-American community nothing resulted in attacks on someone she sees as a friend to the Black community. She feels a very supportive and, yes, powerful friend who used that power to lift up the Black community in a manner that did not take place under George H.W. Bush or Ronald Reagan was being spat upon and scorned for a politician -- we're not talking the primary outcomes here, by the way -- who has little to offer but trashing African-American fathers in public over and over.
Marcia: If I can jump in, let me own my guilt. I should have started blogging a lot sooner. I was sick of all the crap being hurled at Hillary and that's why I finally started blogging. But Maya Angelou, a great African-American woman, poet, writer, human being, was not afraid to stand with the Clintons. And what we saw were a lot of people who weren't Democrats -- this is true in the White race as well, by the way -- start screaming these charges at the Clintons that had no basis in reality. And they were posing as 'friends' and as Democrats. Bill Fletcher, your ass ain't Black, it's Red. Why a semi-closeted Communist thinks he can stick his non-Democratic nose into a Democratic Party primary is beyond me but his ass should have been called out.
Cedric: And African-American, White or whatever, what you saw was Panhandle Media's fringe radicals come out presenting as Democrats over and over and making these radical critiques against the Clintons. No problem with that, if they don't pretend they're Democrats. If they're honest about who they are, then people can listen and evaluate for themselves. But when all the Closet Communists wanted to pretend to be Democrats, they made it appear that the entire Democratic Party condemned the Clintons.
Elaine: Well let's use one outlet, Democracy Now! because Ava and C.I. have well documented how various actual Democratic voices were shut out and how these non-Democrats who wanted to pose as if they were -- hello, LIAR FRANCES FOX PIVEN who, if she votes Democratic this year will be doing so for the first time since what, 1992? -- brought on repeatedly to pose as Democrats. As Ava and C.I. long ago said, Amy Goodman poisoned the well.
Cedric: And started bringing on Barack supporters in 2007, supporters for his presidential run, I'm talking about African-Americans, whom she would allow to lie about that. In January 2008, she was still up to that practice with Melissa Harris-Lacewell. Bringing on this woman who's been campaigning for Barack the entire year prior as an objective, unvested party to comment on the New Hampshire primary. And Amy Goodman knew all about the work Melissa Harris-Lacewell was doing and didn't tell it and we all know damn well LIE FACE Melissa can't tell the truth.
Marcia: Off topic, but she looks like a buffoon in those braids she just started wearing. Whoever did her 'hair' -- it's not all her hair -- gave her a White girl look. Or maybe that's what Melissa asked for.
Jim: Okay, Dona just handed me a note saying, "Wrap up." We heard from everyone but Mike. I'm going to let Mike grab the wrap up unless anyone wants to jump in.
Mike: I'll take it. I'm Irish-Catholic. It wasn't all that long ago that Amy Goodman and others launched their war on Ireland. Like the entire community knows, Bill Clinton was visiting Ireland in 2005 and talking to them. And, like we all know, FAIR's Steve Rendall promised it would get a mention on CounterSpin because the American press was refusing to cover it. This was when they were all on their slam the Catholics in Ireland kick. Well there's nothing FAIR about FAIR as well all now know. But I do remember the rage I felt as these non-Irish and non-Irish-Americans were weighing in and invited on by the likes of Goodman and others. And that's really what we're talking about in this roundtable, I think. We're talking about how the people directly impacted are shut out of the conversation repeatedly. We're talking about how outsiders are repeatedly allowed to define us and to take some credit for doing so -- for defining us, mis-defining us, and for shutting us out of the conversation. It's been said repeatedly here, but it bears repeating: Sometimes the biggest sign of intelligence is knowing when to shut up and listen.
Jim: And on that note, we'll close. We had other topics but we just don't have the time. Rush transcript.
Betty: We're doing this late so people will have to Google -- I'm not going to ask Dallas to look it up. But at the start of the primary season, I brought up some attacks on Erica Jong, a White woman, and how I wasn't expecting her to write specifically about Black women and, honestly, would have been offended if she'd come of as though she was speaking for us. By the same token, I share with Marcia -- and many others -- serious concerns regarding many but let's talk Melissa McEwan because she's pissed off a number of Black community members. I think McEwan gets her props from the White people for being oh-so-f**king-sensitive-and-wonderful that she writes a "racism" watch. I call bulls**t on that. I really am getting sick of being the accessory for the White left whenever they need to prove how 'soulful' and 'wonderful' they are. There is something grossly offensive about a White person attempting to tell the world what it's like to be Black and what racism against Black people is. McEwan makes an idiot out of herself everytime she attempts to pinpoint racism because (a) she doesn't know the Black experience and (b) White girl, Melissa, the Black community has never had the stick up its ass that you so obviously do.
Cedric: Amen! You better know Betty's pissed --
Betty: I damn well am.
Cedric: -- because she's swearing and I have never heard her swear in my entire life. Not even when we were in Mexico for Rebecca's wedding and Betty hurt her shoulder catching her youngest son who was attempting to play daredevil. You could tell Betty was in real pain and all she said was, "Darn." Over and over, she said it, but that's the strongest word she used.
Betty: My kids were present.
Cedric: So Betty's pissed and she's not the only one. Let's be really clear here, a White person trying to talk about what racism is to African-Americans is always going to come off uninformed and patronizing. And McEwan's calls have been laughable repeatedly. For her to do a racism watch --
Ty: And she does no homophobia watch!
Cedric: And she does no homophobia watch, for her to do a racism watch plays out to many African-Americans like, "White girl riding our sorrows and struggles to fame." To be really clear, she could certainly call attention to a post by a person of color. That would be different.
Ty: But it wouldn't prove how groovy she is in all her Whiteness and how she just so gets us. I'm appalled by her. If you're not African-American, shut your damn mouth and let one speak. Quit hogging the attention, quit trying to control the conversation. And carry this over to Democracy Now! where Amy loves to bring on one White or many Whites to sit with her, she's White, and discuss the 'Black experience.' If you're really interested in discussing it, you invite on an African-American.
Betty: It's bad enough they done stole our music now the White Missuh Melissa won't even let us be speaking! Please Missuh Melissa, let a Black woman speak.
Cedric: I'm laughing so hard at Betty's comment. I hope we put that in for the audio version of Hilda's Mix. Betty just did an impersonation that sounded like --
Betty: It was Prissy from Gone With The Wind.
Cedric: Thank you. There is this really offensive take within the African-American community that Whites think they know every damn thing. And when some people, like McEwan, decide they are also experts on the "Black experience," it just amplifies the hostility. As Betty pointed out, and that was probably in January, she defended Erica Jong for not attempting to speak specifically for African-American women. There's no reason Jong should. There are many African-American women capable of speaking. But McEwan's not interested in that, she's interested in coming off like someone who's an expert on being African-American and, let me break it down for her, she will never be that. She needs to sit down and let someone else speak. It's insulting.
Jim: Marcia, this was your topic at your site -- in fact, it's been a topic at your site many times for months now. Would you like to jump in?
Marcia: My site is so named because I truly am Sick of It. Of all of it. And I sometimes feel like, "Oh, do I have to spew tonight?" So I'm actually enjoying listening to what's being said. I agree with all of it. And, to be clear, it's not that they can't write about race, it's that they need to credit. And if they're so damn concerned about racism, how about shutting their damn mouths and highlighting African-Americans. We do know how to speak and to read, Melissa McEwan. We've been doing it for longer than you been alive.
Ty: I don't mean to cut you off --
Marcia: You're not, that's all I really wanted to say. You and Betty are the two who need this format to speak up the most, so have at it.
Ty: Well, I want to be clear about what we're saying here. Rebecca will frequently quote her friend T -- who is African-American -- and she'll also put in something Betty asks her to. But otherwise, Rebecca's bringing up the topic as she does any other. And it's not, "I'm the world's biggest expert on this matter." Or take C.I. Especially in the early days of The Common Ills, people expected C.I. to cover every injustice. And C.I. would step up to the plate. With new sites emerging, there was less pressure on C.I. to cover everything.
Betty: Except from my father who still regularly calls C.I. each day and I will say, "Dad, she doesn't have time for this right now." Due to health.
Ty: Right, Betty's father can get anything up at The Common Ills. Betty's father just has to ask. And it's generally noted, "Betty's father asked me to . . ." unless there's just not time for it.
Betty: Or C.I. doesn't want my father to get the fallout. Which is when I end up taking Rebecca up on her standing offer to blog at her site and will go there and say, "My father called C.I. and begged for that to be included." But the distinction you're making Ty, it is important. But in terms of people like McEwan, it's a different level. With her "racism watch" she is setting herself up as the voice on "racism" against Blacks. And let's not pretend it's on all "racism," because she only covers racism against Blacks. And it is highly offensive to me that a White woman wants to carve out the life I live, carve it up, to get some cred. I mean, what's the Diana Ross line. I'm blanking because I'm angry, someone help me!
C.I.: "You have turned my life into a paperback novel."
Betty: Thank you! "Mirror, Mirror." That is exactly what it feels. My very real experiences are nothing but fodder for a White woman to use and carve out as her grounds when, damn it, she doesn't know the first thing she's talking about. I'm sick of it. It's offensive.
Marcia: I'll jump back in. I mean, I don't expect to be highlighted outside the community so this isn't "Please link to me!" but Melissa McEwan, there are plenty of African-American men and women and, SURPRISE!, we do write about actual racism. So we really don't need you playing Elvis and stealing our moods to advance yourself. That's Ty's point, shut up and highlight actual victims of racism, Melissa McEwan. Shut your damn mouth and stop playing White Princess entitled to chatter on about every damn thing under the sun because, being White, you know it all. And like Cedric pointed out, she writes about racism with a stick up her ass. If African-Americans were as easily offended as Melissa, we would have all slit our wrists a long, long time ago. And that's really the point. Ty and I were talking about this so I'm tossing to Ty if he wants it.
Ty: Sure. A waffle 'advertisement' about Barack? It's the end of the world! Or that's what Melissa tells you. And you look at the drawing and you think, "Huh?" I mean, does Melissa know a single African-American? We have lips a lot bigger than in that ad and those are not pop-eyes. What the hell is that woman's problem? Her problem, I'll tell you what her problem is, she doesn't know what she's talking about and she's trying to present herself as an authority on something she knows nothing about.
Cedric: She's on the outside looking in!
Ty: Betty's about to bust a gut laughing right now and that's because Cedric just nailed it. She's like that Mad TV skit, where the White woman is with the African-American man and she has no idea what's what or that she herself frequently comes off racist. That is Melissa McEwan.
Betty: That was a good one. I want to use Rebecca as an example of how to do it. When we do these roundtables, if the topic's race, anyone can participate. Usually it's those of us who are Black if it's a Black issue -- Ty, Cedric, Marcia and myself. Rebecca will take part in those discussions but she waits until they are established. Rebecca doesn't say, "Hey, I'm a White woman so let me kick things off and let me tell you about racism this week . . ." We're talking about someone who wants all the credit for her bad writing on racism against Black people. It's not her topic. She doesn't need to be 'leading' on the issue. There are plenty of Black bloggers, as Marcia pointed out, writing about the topic. McEwan would offend few if she linked to one, quoted him or her and said, "That's interesting and what I would like to add . . ." But that's not what she's doing. What she's doing is setting herself as the authority and the sole voice on what being Black in today's United States is like. And, White Melissa, you just don't know. Sit down already, you're embarrassing yourself with your Boo-Boo the Clown like ways.
Ty: If I could haul Ruth into this, Ruth, you're Jewish. What do you feel like when Gentiles are talking about the Jewish experience? Is it anything like this?
Ruth: No. But that's because Jews are well represented in the chattering class. As one pointed out during the convention coverage, David Brooks, Mark Shield and Jim Lehrer were speaking, and one of them, not Brooks, pointed out that all three in the segment were Jewish. So while we are a small perecentage of the total population, we are represented and I think that's why I can say "no" to the question. What's being discussed right now is the shutting out of African-American voices and a White woman claiming their topic for herself. Were Jews shut out of the debate and a Gentile repeatedly speaking for us, I would be just as offended by it and I agree with everything the four of you have said.
Jim: Okay, Ava? How about you?
Ava: Well . . . It seems like I'm always telling C.I., "Don't forget she's talking Latino issues again with Anglo Whites." And I'm always referring to Amy Goodman. I do know what Betty, Cedric, Marcia and Ty are talking about. It is very offensive. And it's especially offensive when an Anglo tries to be an expert -- Joan Walsh comes to mind -- on Latinos and doesn't know what the hell she's talking about and not only stereotypes us but does so negatively. It's irritating and it's frustrating and just makes you want to scream because we are so shut out of the media and to hear Anglos talking about us as if we're things -- I mean that's what Melissa's really doing with her "racism watch" to African-Americans. She's saying they're not strong enough or human enough to defend themselves so here comes White Anglo on her horse, riding to save them. That's exactly how she self-presents.
Cedric: I'm jumping back in because I was thinking something similar but not sure how to put it into words. Ava's exactly right. McEwan's attitude is patronizing. It's as though she's saying, "People! There is a problem for the Blacks! And I will save them!" Hey, we didn't ask you to save us. We're working on saving ourselves. And if you actually linked to our conversation, that would prevent you from hogging to the goodness credit, now wouldn't it?
Jim: I'm not trying to close down this topic, but I do want to bring some more people in because race may end up being our only topic for the roundtable. I'm thinking Wally, Mike or Rebecca.
Wally: I'll go first. Race is a tricky thing in America to navigate because people aren't honest about it. And you can't be honest about it if the person tossing out opinions is always some other race than the one being discussed. Sometimes, you have to know enough to shut up and listen. Sometimes, that's the most intelligent thing you can do.
Cedric: And Wally and I do joint-posts all the time. Now something we do is bound to offend someone. But we do take a lot of care in where we aim our anger and our humor. And I will ask, "Wally, is this clear enough or do we need to make it more clear so White people don't think we're coming down on them?" And Wally will ask me, "Are we going to far on that?" Meaning in terms of the African-American community. I'm African-American. I am not an expert on race. I don't pretend to know the White experience or the Latino experience or the Asian-American or bi-racial, or Jewish or whatever. And there are a lot of things we bounce off each other that are funny but we kill them from our piece because we know they could be taken the wrong way. Even so, there's always going to be someone offended. But we've done the work in listening to one another. And we also test it out on C.I. She's our test audience.
Wally: And it's that exchange that's missing when McEwan stands on high, floating on her White cloud, issuing her 'racism' watch. There's no exchange, it is what Melissa says it is and it's a White person opinion of what is racist towards African-Americans and the woman doesn't usually seem to have a clue. I'll ask Cedric, "What am I missing?"
Cedric: And I'll say, "Not a damn thing, Wally. She doesn't know what she's talking about."
Marcia: Jim, if I could, Rebecca's written about how falsely charging someone with racism has been repeatedly used this year to shut down discussion.
Jim: Good point. Rebecca?
Rebecca: Well who knew we had so many full blown racists in the US and on the airwaves? My goodness, from 1992 to 2001, if you believe the lies, a racist occupied the White House! I mean, that slander hasn't gone away. And I can remember the roundtable where Betty was talking about that and about to cry.
Betty: Bill Clinton's not a racist and it is not only hurtful to him to lie like that, it is hurtful to the Black community. Bill Clinton never played "I'm the expert on the race." He wasn't offensive like that the way some people can be. And he always listened. You may not agree with some of his policies or decisions, but there is no question that Blacks were listened to under Bill Clinton and I'll assume the liars pretending otherwise are not only White, they're too damn young to remember the two previous presidents before Bill Clinton was sworn in. I can't talk anymore, somebody grab it before I start crying.
Ty: Okay. Well, the point Betty's so often made is that we, African-Americans, are in the minority population wise and that's only going to become more so in the next ten years. We need our allies and when we start falsely smearing someone like Bill Clinton as a racist, we hurt him and we hurt ourselves. We're in the minority, we need to pull together and we need our real friends to pull together with us. Bill Clinton is a real friend. And a message is sent to White politicians by the false smearing of Bill Clinton. The message is: Step back because you don't know when they'll turn on you.
Kat: Right and I'm jumping in, White woman here, because Betty has talked to me about this topic many times on the phone and in person. She is seriously concerned because you are talking about a small population out of the general population and there is serious work that needs to be done so that progess is made. She was highly offended that a bi-racial man promising the African-American community nothing resulted in attacks on someone she sees as a friend to the Black community. She feels a very supportive and, yes, powerful friend who used that power to lift up the Black community in a manner that did not take place under George H.W. Bush or Ronald Reagan was being spat upon and scorned for a politician -- we're not talking the primary outcomes here, by the way -- who has little to offer but trashing African-American fathers in public over and over.
Marcia: If I can jump in, let me own my guilt. I should have started blogging a lot sooner. I was sick of all the crap being hurled at Hillary and that's why I finally started blogging. But Maya Angelou, a great African-American woman, poet, writer, human being, was not afraid to stand with the Clintons. And what we saw were a lot of people who weren't Democrats -- this is true in the White race as well, by the way -- start screaming these charges at the Clintons that had no basis in reality. And they were posing as 'friends' and as Democrats. Bill Fletcher, your ass ain't Black, it's Red. Why a semi-closeted Communist thinks he can stick his non-Democratic nose into a Democratic Party primary is beyond me but his ass should have been called out.
Cedric: And African-American, White or whatever, what you saw was Panhandle Media's fringe radicals come out presenting as Democrats over and over and making these radical critiques against the Clintons. No problem with that, if they don't pretend they're Democrats. If they're honest about who they are, then people can listen and evaluate for themselves. But when all the Closet Communists wanted to pretend to be Democrats, they made it appear that the entire Democratic Party condemned the Clintons.
Elaine: Well let's use one outlet, Democracy Now! because Ava and C.I. have well documented how various actual Democratic voices were shut out and how these non-Democrats who wanted to pose as if they were -- hello, LIAR FRANCES FOX PIVEN who, if she votes Democratic this year will be doing so for the first time since what, 1992? -- brought on repeatedly to pose as Democrats. As Ava and C.I. long ago said, Amy Goodman poisoned the well.
Cedric: And started bringing on Barack supporters in 2007, supporters for his presidential run, I'm talking about African-Americans, whom she would allow to lie about that. In January 2008, she was still up to that practice with Melissa Harris-Lacewell. Bringing on this woman who's been campaigning for Barack the entire year prior as an objective, unvested party to comment on the New Hampshire primary. And Amy Goodman knew all about the work Melissa Harris-Lacewell was doing and didn't tell it and we all know damn well LIE FACE Melissa can't tell the truth.
Marcia: Off topic, but she looks like a buffoon in those braids she just started wearing. Whoever did her 'hair' -- it's not all her hair -- gave her a White girl look. Or maybe that's what Melissa asked for.
Jim: Okay, Dona just handed me a note saying, "Wrap up." We heard from everyone but Mike. I'm going to let Mike grab the wrap up unless anyone wants to jump in.
Mike: I'll take it. I'm Irish-Catholic. It wasn't all that long ago that Amy Goodman and others launched their war on Ireland. Like the entire community knows, Bill Clinton was visiting Ireland in 2005 and talking to them. And, like we all know, FAIR's Steve Rendall promised it would get a mention on CounterSpin because the American press was refusing to cover it. This was when they were all on their slam the Catholics in Ireland kick. Well there's nothing FAIR about FAIR as well all now know. But I do remember the rage I felt as these non-Irish and non-Irish-Americans were weighing in and invited on by the likes of Goodman and others. And that's really what we're talking about in this roundtable, I think. We're talking about how the people directly impacted are shut out of the conversation repeatedly. We're talking about how outsiders are repeatedly allowed to define us and to take some credit for doing so -- for defining us, mis-defining us, and for shutting us out of the conversation. It's been said repeatedly here, but it bears repeating: Sometimes the biggest sign of intelligence is knowing when to shut up and listen.
Jim: And on that note, we'll close. We had other topics but we just don't have the time. Rush transcript.
Bail Out Barry screws the tax payers
Last week the Senate and the House both passed a bill that will float corruption and soak the tax payers. How did it happen?
Last Monday on Democracy Now!, Dennis Kucinich explained which way the winds were blowing and why:
Amy Goodman: Congressman Kucinich, can you explain how it is that the Democrats are in charge, yet the Democrats back down on their demand to give bankruptcy judges authority to alter the terms of mortgages for homeowners facing foreclosure, that Democrats also failed in their attempt to steer a portion of any government profits from the package to affordable housing programs?
Dennis Kucinich: Well, I mean, those are two of the most glaring deficiencies in this bill. And I would maintain there was never any intention to -- you know, well, many members of Congress had the intention of helping people who were in foreclosure. You know, this -- Wall Street doesn't want to do that. Wall Street wants to grab whatever change they can and equity that's left in these properties. So --
Amy Goodman: Right, but the Democrats are in charge of this.
Dennis Kucinich: Right. You know, I'll tell you something that we were told in our caucus. We were told that our presidential candidate, when the negotiations started at the White House, said that he didn't want this in this bill. Now, that's what we were told.
Amy Goodman: You were told that Barack Obama did not want this in the bill?
Dennis Kucinich: That he didn't want the bankruptcy provisions in the bill. Now, you know, that's what we were told. And I don't understand why he would say that, if he did say that. And I think that there is a--the fact that we didn't put bankruptcy provisions in, that actually we removed any hope for judges to do any loan modifications or any forbearance. There's no moratorium on mortgage foreclosures in here. So, who's getting --who's really getting helped by this bill? This is a bailout, pure and simple, of Wall Street interests who have been involved in speculation.
Amazingly, everyone worked overtime to avoid what Dennis said. Kucinich's remarks shouldn't be surprising to anyone. As Democratic 'leaders' have repeatedly indicated, they are happy to do Barack's bidding. So Bail Out Barry gets his way and the tax payer's get screwed.
Last Monday on Democracy Now!, Dennis Kucinich explained which way the winds were blowing and why:
Amy Goodman: Congressman Kucinich, can you explain how it is that the Democrats are in charge, yet the Democrats back down on their demand to give bankruptcy judges authority to alter the terms of mortgages for homeowners facing foreclosure, that Democrats also failed in their attempt to steer a portion of any government profits from the package to affordable housing programs?
Dennis Kucinich: Well, I mean, those are two of the most glaring deficiencies in this bill. And I would maintain there was never any intention to -- you know, well, many members of Congress had the intention of helping people who were in foreclosure. You know, this -- Wall Street doesn't want to do that. Wall Street wants to grab whatever change they can and equity that's left in these properties. So --
Amy Goodman: Right, but the Democrats are in charge of this.
Dennis Kucinich: Right. You know, I'll tell you something that we were told in our caucus. We were told that our presidential candidate, when the negotiations started at the White House, said that he didn't want this in this bill. Now, that's what we were told.
Amy Goodman: You were told that Barack Obama did not want this in the bill?
Dennis Kucinich: That he didn't want the bankruptcy provisions in the bill. Now, you know, that's what we were told. And I don't understand why he would say that, if he did say that. And I think that there is a--the fact that we didn't put bankruptcy provisions in, that actually we removed any hope for judges to do any loan modifications or any forbearance. There's no moratorium on mortgage foreclosures in here. So, who's getting --who's really getting helped by this bill? This is a bailout, pure and simple, of Wall Street interests who have been involved in speculation.
Amazingly, everyone worked overtime to avoid what Dennis said. Kucinich's remarks shouldn't be surprising to anyone. As Democratic 'leaders' have repeatedly indicated, they are happy to do Barack's bidding. So Bail Out Barry gets his way and the tax payer's get screwed.
Green Party Women's Caucus stands up
Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney is a woman. Somehow that's 'news' to NOW (and Robin Morgan and assorted others). Cynthia never gave a "present" vote on abortion or any other issue pertaining to women's health (unlike Barack Obama). Cynthia does not use homophobia to scare up votes (unlike Barack). Cynthia has not made sexist statements (unlike Barack). Cynthia has a long track record in office of accomplishments (unlike Barack) and of standing up when it's time to stand up (unlike Barack) -- even if that made her the only one standing up.
Her thanks for that is to have feminist 'leaders' and leaders stab her in the back. The sisterhood can wait! Apparently. There's always some man Kim Gandy, Robin Morgan, et al need to give a hand job to first. Do it right, girls. Otherwise your pimp Howard Dean might get really pissed off.
The above is our introduction to the following public letter (the opinions above are ours, the ones below are the Green Party National Women's Caucus' words):
Green Party National Women's Caucus challenges NOW to support the historic McKinney/Clemente presidential campaign
Monday, 29 September 2008 19:38
Distributed by the Green Party of the United States
National Women's Caucus of the Green Party of the United States
For Immediate Release
Monday, September 29, 2008
Contact:
Morgen D'Arc, Spokesperson, 207-761-7797, morgenizer@yahoo.com
Linda Manning Myatt, Spokesperson, 248-548-6175, lmmyatt@wowway.com
Green Party National Women's Caucus challenges NOW to support the historic McKinney/Clemente presidential campaign
WASHINGTON, DC -- The National Women's Caucus of the Green Party of the United States has sent an open letter to the National Organization for Women urging support for the Green Party's presidential ticket. The text of the letter is appended below.
The letter cites Green nominee Cynthia McKinney's six terms in Congress and her unmatched dedication to the principles of equality and human rights championed by NOW. The National Women's Caucus emphasizes the historical role that alternative parties have played in the struggle for women's suffrage and rights, and notes that NOW has failed even to recognize the significance of America's first national campaign by two women of African descent: Ms. McKinney is African American and running mate Rosa Clemente is Black Puerto Rican.
OPEN LETTER TO NOW, THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN
National Women's Caucus of the Green Party of the United States
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Dear National Organization for Women leadership and members:
The National Women's Caucus of the Green Party of the United States is dismayed that your recent endorsement of Senator Barack Obama for President of the United States did not acknowledge the first all-female ticket in recent U.S. history. Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente are running for President and Vice President, respectively, on the Green Party ballot line.
Cynthia McKinney served six terms in the U.S. Congress and two terms in the Georgia General Assembly. She is a global human rights and peace activist with a substantial voting record supporting women. Rosa Clemente is a community organizer and journalist who was one of the founders and primary organizers of the first national Hip Hop political convention. Their "Power to the People" campaign goal is to ensure that public policy reflects the Green Party values of ecological wisdom, social justice, grassroots democracy, and nonviolence.
Cynthia McKinney has been a steadfast supporter of full reproductive rights for women throughout her legislative career, including funding for contraception and UN family planning, and opposition to "abstinence only" sex education. Rosa Clemente has been an outspoken advocate on issues affecting people of color, particularly women, and has directed her campaign toward the 48% of young people who don't vote, to encourage participation in the electoral process. Additional positions of the McKinney/Clemente campaign that will benefit women include:
- Equal Rights
- End to forced sterilization and coerced or uninformed consent procedures,
- Immediate end to the War in Iraq and reinvestment of the money into our communities
- Single-payer, universal "Medicare for All"
- Election integrity where every vote is counted
- Right to same-sex marriage
- Free higher education
- End to the drug war
- Right of return of survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
- Withdrawal from corporate trade agreements such as NAFTA that are devastating economies worldwide
- Promotion of renewable energy (no coal or nuclear) to create hundreds of thousands of new manufacturing, construction and service jobs
Neither Obama nor his Republican opponent John McCain support these positions. The National Organization for Women PAC repeatedly praised Congresswoman McKinney during her six terms in U.S. Congress; and her record, on every relevant issue, surpasses those of the male endorsees. But now, these two women of color -- powerful and power-challenging, real choices, and nominated by a political party that proudly boasts Feminism & Gender Equity among our Ten Key Values -- don't even receive acknowledgment.
The National Organization for Women, at all levels, has long struggled over diverging feminist paths -- choosing either to press for change within the existing power structure, and its institutions, or to step outside of the expected and challenge the institutions themselves.
In the view of the National Women's Caucus of the Green Party of the United States, NOW has best served women when NOW has recognized, in the words of Audre Lord, that "when you look back on the road you've come, and see pain, and look forward to the road you're on, and see pain, then, step off the road, and make a new path."
We recall when NOW distributed buttons proclaiming that "Women were not born Democrats, Republicans, or YESTERDAY." We recall when the heroines of our heritage were Belva Lockwood, Alice Paul and Sonia Johnson, each willing to form her own political party, or run for president independently, or both. They were willing because that path provided fewer barriers to telling the plain truth, the truth that needed to be heard, than did service to the establishment parties. We even recall when NOW announced the formation of its own, alternative, political party, the "Party for the 21st Century," with Dolores Huerta at its head. We rejoiced when NOW sought to make a new path, because the old political road was simply too filled with the pain of condescension and compromise, deferment and settling for what was offered.
Even when NOW, through its political action committee, decided in the last two decades to bestow its endorsement on candidates from the over-represented political parties, it was to reward them for actually moving closer to the day when a woman might be president, with a Geraldine Ferraro and a Hillary Clinton sitting in the candidate car, and not just trudging behind it, pushing. But this past week, that endorsement reward was offered without even that, out of the same "fear of the alternative" that has driven women to set our own hopes, dreams and destinations aside, time and again, to let the men drive the car.
Belva, Alice and Sonia did not become president of the United States, but, with the support of the feminists of their time, speaking truth, each re-formed the vision that America had about women. While men can be feminists too, their institutions can only be deemed feminist if they produce equality. The dearth of elected women, at every level, is its own condemnation of the party structures that are the paved road of American democracy. It disappoints us greatly, that earlier this month, NOW has not made a new path. By failing to commend, or even comment on, the presidential candidacy of Cynthia McKinney and her Green Party running mate, Rosa Clemente, NOW is driving on the wrong side of history.
We invite the National Organization for Women, and feminists everywhere, to support the Green Party and the McKinney/Clemente campaign. Come walk the walk with us, and make a new path. Sincerely,
National Women's Caucus, Green Party of the United States
Nan Garrett, Co-Chair
Ginny Marie Case, Co-Chair National Women's Caucus Member
Claudia Ellquist, National NOW Board member, 1990-94,
participated in the drafting of this letter
National Women's Caucus
Green Party of the United States
1711 18th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009
202-319-7191
202-319-7192
MORE INFORMATION
Abortion and contraception: McKinney is a firm supporter of abortion rights, appearing on EMILY's List of pro-choice women.
She has also supported federal funding for contraception and U.N. family planning programs.
Quite a long statement on Women, Families and Children [. . .]
* Voted YES on reducing Marriage Tax by $399B over 10 years. (Mar 2001)* Supported funding child care, child health, & child housing. (Jul 1999) McKinney immediately challenged Georgia House rules requiring women to wear dresses by wearing slacks
Green Party of the United States
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193
Cynthia McKinney/Rosa Clemente 'Power to the People' Campaign for the White House
http://votetruth08.com
http://www.runcynthiarun.org
Cynthia McKinney on video
http://www.youtube.com/user/RunCynthiaRun
http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=RunCynthiaRun
• Press conference, September 10 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_5ivgS4asc
• Speech in Denver, August 24:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPxgcjOjUEc
• Music video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx1NPlQjkqo
Her thanks for that is to have feminist 'leaders' and leaders stab her in the back. The sisterhood can wait! Apparently. There's always some man Kim Gandy, Robin Morgan, et al need to give a hand job to first. Do it right, girls. Otherwise your pimp Howard Dean might get really pissed off.
The above is our introduction to the following public letter (the opinions above are ours, the ones below are the Green Party National Women's Caucus' words):
Green Party National Women's Caucus challenges NOW to support the historic McKinney/Clemente presidential campaign
Monday, 29 September 2008 19:38
Distributed by the Green Party of the United States
National Women's Caucus of the Green Party of the United States
For Immediate Release
Monday, September 29, 2008
Contact:
Morgen D'Arc, Spokesperson, 207-761-7797, morgenizer@yahoo.com
Linda Manning Myatt, Spokesperson, 248-548-6175, lmmyatt@wowway.com
Green Party National Women's Caucus challenges NOW to support the historic McKinney/Clemente presidential campaign
WASHINGTON, DC -- The National Women's Caucus of the Green Party of the United States has sent an open letter to the National Organization for Women urging support for the Green Party's presidential ticket. The text of the letter is appended below.
The letter cites Green nominee Cynthia McKinney's six terms in Congress and her unmatched dedication to the principles of equality and human rights championed by NOW. The National Women's Caucus emphasizes the historical role that alternative parties have played in the struggle for women's suffrage and rights, and notes that NOW has failed even to recognize the significance of America's first national campaign by two women of African descent: Ms. McKinney is African American and running mate Rosa Clemente is Black Puerto Rican.
OPEN LETTER TO NOW, THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN
National Women's Caucus of the Green Party of the United States
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Dear National Organization for Women leadership and members:
The National Women's Caucus of the Green Party of the United States is dismayed that your recent endorsement of Senator Barack Obama for President of the United States did not acknowledge the first all-female ticket in recent U.S. history. Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente are running for President and Vice President, respectively, on the Green Party ballot line.
Cynthia McKinney served six terms in the U.S. Congress and two terms in the Georgia General Assembly. She is a global human rights and peace activist with a substantial voting record supporting women. Rosa Clemente is a community organizer and journalist who was one of the founders and primary organizers of the first national Hip Hop political convention. Their "Power to the People" campaign goal is to ensure that public policy reflects the Green Party values of ecological wisdom, social justice, grassroots democracy, and nonviolence.
Cynthia McKinney has been a steadfast supporter of full reproductive rights for women throughout her legislative career, including funding for contraception and UN family planning, and opposition to "abstinence only" sex education. Rosa Clemente has been an outspoken advocate on issues affecting people of color, particularly women, and has directed her campaign toward the 48% of young people who don't vote, to encourage participation in the electoral process. Additional positions of the McKinney/Clemente campaign that will benefit women include:
- Equal Rights
- End to forced sterilization and coerced or uninformed consent procedures,
- Immediate end to the War in Iraq and reinvestment of the money into our communities
- Single-payer, universal "Medicare for All"
- Election integrity where every vote is counted
- Right to same-sex marriage
- Free higher education
- End to the drug war
- Right of return of survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
- Withdrawal from corporate trade agreements such as NAFTA that are devastating economies worldwide
- Promotion of renewable energy (no coal or nuclear) to create hundreds of thousands of new manufacturing, construction and service jobs
Neither Obama nor his Republican opponent John McCain support these positions. The National Organization for Women PAC repeatedly praised Congresswoman McKinney during her six terms in U.S. Congress; and her record, on every relevant issue, surpasses those of the male endorsees. But now, these two women of color -- powerful and power-challenging, real choices, and nominated by a political party that proudly boasts Feminism & Gender Equity among our Ten Key Values -- don't even receive acknowledgment.
The National Organization for Women, at all levels, has long struggled over diverging feminist paths -- choosing either to press for change within the existing power structure, and its institutions, or to step outside of the expected and challenge the institutions themselves.
In the view of the National Women's Caucus of the Green Party of the United States, NOW has best served women when NOW has recognized, in the words of Audre Lord, that "when you look back on the road you've come, and see pain, and look forward to the road you're on, and see pain, then, step off the road, and make a new path."
We recall when NOW distributed buttons proclaiming that "Women were not born Democrats, Republicans, or YESTERDAY." We recall when the heroines of our heritage were Belva Lockwood, Alice Paul and Sonia Johnson, each willing to form her own political party, or run for president independently, or both. They were willing because that path provided fewer barriers to telling the plain truth, the truth that needed to be heard, than did service to the establishment parties. We even recall when NOW announced the formation of its own, alternative, political party, the "Party for the 21st Century," with Dolores Huerta at its head. We rejoiced when NOW sought to make a new path, because the old political road was simply too filled with the pain of condescension and compromise, deferment and settling for what was offered.
Even when NOW, through its political action committee, decided in the last two decades to bestow its endorsement on candidates from the over-represented political parties, it was to reward them for actually moving closer to the day when a woman might be president, with a Geraldine Ferraro and a Hillary Clinton sitting in the candidate car, and not just trudging behind it, pushing. But this past week, that endorsement reward was offered without even that, out of the same "fear of the alternative" that has driven women to set our own hopes, dreams and destinations aside, time and again, to let the men drive the car.
Belva, Alice and Sonia did not become president of the United States, but, with the support of the feminists of their time, speaking truth, each re-formed the vision that America had about women. While men can be feminists too, their institutions can only be deemed feminist if they produce equality. The dearth of elected women, at every level, is its own condemnation of the party structures that are the paved road of American democracy. It disappoints us greatly, that earlier this month, NOW has not made a new path. By failing to commend, or even comment on, the presidential candidacy of Cynthia McKinney and her Green Party running mate, Rosa Clemente, NOW is driving on the wrong side of history.
We invite the National Organization for Women, and feminists everywhere, to support the Green Party and the McKinney/Clemente campaign. Come walk the walk with us, and make a new path. Sincerely,
National Women's Caucus, Green Party of the United States
Nan Garrett, Co-Chair
Ginny Marie Case, Co-Chair National Women's Caucus Member
Claudia Ellquist, National NOW Board member, 1990-94,
participated in the drafting of this letter
National Women's Caucus
Green Party of the United States
1711 18th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009
202-319-7191
202-319-7192
MORE INFORMATION
Abortion and contraception: McKinney is a firm supporter of abortion rights, appearing on EMILY's List of pro-choice women.
She has also supported federal funding for contraception and U.N. family planning programs.
Quite a long statement on Women, Families and Children [. . .]
* Voted YES on reducing Marriage Tax by $399B over 10 years. (Mar 2001)* Supported funding child care, child health, & child housing. (Jul 1999) McKinney immediately challenged Georgia House rules requiring women to wear dresses by wearing slacks
Green Party of the United States
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193
Cynthia McKinney/Rosa Clemente 'Power to the People' Campaign for the White House
http://votetruth08.com
http://www.runcynthiarun.org
Cynthia McKinney on video
http://www.youtube.com/user/RunCynthiaRun
http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=RunCynthiaRun
• Press conference, September 10 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_5ivgS4asc
• Speech in Denver, August 24:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPxgcjOjUEc
• Music video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx1NPlQjkqo
Authoritarina Fool of the Week
Robin Morgan needs to take a vacation. A long vacation. Ever wonder why the so-called Women's Media Center won't cover the campaign of Cynthia McKinney? Because, in her old age, revolutionary Robin's gotten meek, tired and scared. Thereby explaining this garbage she penned last week in "When Sisterhood Is Suicide and Other Late Night Thoughts:"
Pollsters claim "disaffected white women," including "unregenerate" HRC supporters, will make the difference on November 4. In fact, groups like PUMA (Party Unity My Ass), though linguistically ripping off big cats and sneakers, may have tried to play a meaningful role pre-Democratic Convention, but at this point are boding to become 2008's Naderites. (Oh wait! There still are actual Naderites out wandering the desert, sighted somewhere near Roswell.)
Robin, after your last bit of nonsense, we're willing to wager that Ralph Nader has a lot more supporters in this country than you do. And if there are any Naderites who want to let Robin know they are out there (and not just in Roswell), her e-mail address is info@RobinMorgan.us and, after the obvious decline in her writing on display last week, we doubt she gets many e-mails.
Robin Morgan, so weak and so attracted to the authoritarian that if this week she wrote a column saying women should stay with the men who abused them (which she basically did with her last column), we wouldn't be surprised. Stand in the shadows Robin and refuse to dream big.
Pollsters claim "disaffected white women," including "unregenerate" HRC supporters, will make the difference on November 4. In fact, groups like PUMA (Party Unity My Ass), though linguistically ripping off big cats and sneakers, may have tried to play a meaningful role pre-Democratic Convention, but at this point are boding to become 2008's Naderites. (Oh wait! There still are actual Naderites out wandering the desert, sighted somewhere near Roswell.)
Robin, after your last bit of nonsense, we're willing to wager that Ralph Nader has a lot more supporters in this country than you do. And if there are any Naderites who want to let Robin know they are out there (and not just in Roswell), her e-mail address is info@RobinMorgan.us and, after the obvious decline in her writing on display last week, we doubt she gets many e-mails.
Robin Morgan, so weak and so attracted to the authoritarian that if this week she wrote a column saying women should stay with the men who abused them (which she basically did with her last column), we wouldn't be surprised. Stand in the shadows Robin and refuse to dream big.
Sponsor a Team Nader volunteer
Jim and Dona here. Ava and C.I. are finishing a feature we asked them to write (in addition to their TV commentary). It's on Sarah Palin, Cynthia McKinney and Ralph Nader. As the only two of the core six of this site (or for that matter, of all that help out on each edition) who haven't endorsed a candidate (yes, even Dallas is supporting Ralph), they're their only ones who can write it without causing a panic among some readers of, "Oh, they're not supporting Ralph!" We are supporting Ralph (Jess, Ty, Jim and Dona of the core six; Dallas, Rebecca, Betty, Kat, Cedric, Mike, Ruth, Wally and Marcia). But this edition really has a theme and it's been a pain in the ass to write. Due to theme, Ava and C.I. suggested we post something from the Nader campaign's blog to make clear that we're still supporting Ralph, so we're noting this.
Sponsor a Volunteer!!
Posted by The Nader Team on Saturday, October 4, 2008 at 12:54:00 PM
ShareThis
Hey, my name is Rob. I'm the National Fundraiser for the Nader/Gonzalez Campaign.
I have come up with a great way for you to both contribute to the campaign and help our most dedicated volunteers. I ran the idea by Ralph and he agreed -- it is an excellent idea.
Each time we put out an e-mail about an upcoming fundraiser, I get many e-mails like this one, received yesterday:
Rob,
As an "un-monied" volunteer working on behalf of the Nader Campaign, would it be possible to attend the Nader reception at the Steam Brewery this coming Saturday in Hartford? Would be willing to work in any capacity if such is needed at the reception. Have done a substantial amount of campaign work before, both as a volunteer and as a staffer and would be glad to speak with you as to how I can be of assistance.
Look forward to hearing back from you.
Guy West
These e-mails come in every day.
From volunteers dying for the opportunity to spend time with Ralph.
Who would like to sponsor Guy and others like him to attend upcoming fundraisers?
For an exact donation, received by midnight tonight, of:
$30, you can send a volunteer to a fundraiser in Waitsfield, Vermont.
$100, you can send a volunteer to a fundraiser in Hartford, Connecticut.
$250, you can send a volunteer to a fundraiser in New York City.
So, give whatever you can today.
And we'll use your donations today to get our hardworking volunteers quality time with Ralph on the road, sometime in October.
If this effort is successful, we will create other opportunities in the future to sponsor a volunteer who needs your help.
If you have any questions about our "sponsor a volunteer program," give me a call anytime at 202-471-5833 in the DC Nader/Gonzalez office.
Onward to November
Rob Socket
The Nader Team
ShareThis
Sponsor a Volunteer!!
Posted by The Nader Team on Saturday, October 4, 2008 at 12:54:00 PM
ShareThis
Hey, my name is Rob. I'm the National Fundraiser for the Nader/Gonzalez Campaign.
I have come up with a great way for you to both contribute to the campaign and help our most dedicated volunteers. I ran the idea by Ralph and he agreed -- it is an excellent idea.
Each time we put out an e-mail about an upcoming fundraiser, I get many e-mails like this one, received yesterday:
Rob,
As an "un-monied" volunteer working on behalf of the Nader Campaign, would it be possible to attend the Nader reception at the Steam Brewery this coming Saturday in Hartford? Would be willing to work in any capacity if such is needed at the reception. Have done a substantial amount of campaign work before, both as a volunteer and as a staffer and would be glad to speak with you as to how I can be of assistance.
Look forward to hearing back from you.
Guy West
These e-mails come in every day.
From volunteers dying for the opportunity to spend time with Ralph.
Who would like to sponsor Guy and others like him to attend upcoming fundraisers?
For an exact donation, received by midnight tonight, of:
$30, you can send a volunteer to a fundraiser in Waitsfield, Vermont.
$100, you can send a volunteer to a fundraiser in Hartford, Connecticut.
$250, you can send a volunteer to a fundraiser in New York City.
So, give whatever you can today.
And we'll use your donations today to get our hardworking volunteers quality time with Ralph on the road, sometime in October.
If this effort is successful, we will create other opportunities in the future to sponsor a volunteer who needs your help.
If you have any questions about our "sponsor a volunteer program," give me a call anytime at 202-471-5833 in the DC Nader/Gonzalez office.
Onward to November
Rob Socket
The Nader Team
ShareThis
Highlights
This piece is written by Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude, Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix, Kat of Kat's Korner, Betty of Thomas Friedman is a Great Man, Mike of Mikey Likes It!, Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz, Ruth of Ruth's Report, Marcia of SICKOFITRADLZ and Wally of The Daily Jot. Unless otherwise noted, we picked all highlights.
"I Hate The War," "Iraq snapshot," "Economic melt in the Kitchen," "Robin Morgan, kiss my Black ass.," "Robin Morgan better get her act together," and "Thoughs on Robin Morgan" -- Sucks to be Robin Morgan. Whether it was C.I., Trina, Betty, Marcia or Elaine writing, the entire community was calling her penis waxing ways out. Oh well, maybe she'll get something out of it. A half and half? Who knows. But no one will ever perk up when her name is mentioned in the hopes that she has something worth saying to express. Big disappointment. And how old is she? How old does she think she's going to live to be? Going out like a coward. What a sad, sad day.
"When feminist 'leaders' lie," "katha pollitt and other bitches," "Monday feminist post," "Sexism and classicism" and "Naomi Wolf needs to get medical help" -- Marcia, Rebecca, Elaine, Mike and Ruth weigh in on feminist issues . You know the ones Women's Media Center can't cover because they're too damn busy dedicating themselves to ripping apart a woman. What a proud moment for the Sour Grape Girls.
"The unlistenable KPFA"and "KPFK: Disaster" -- Kat and Ruth weigh in on public radio -- the so-called people's radio -- which, when not begging, is perfectly willing to LIE and LIE some more.
"Plane ride reactions and inept Scott Shane," "Why I think Palin won the debate," "My grandparents say Palin won (I agree)," "My focus group scores Palin the winner," "Biden gets a big topic wrong" and "THIS JUST IN! PRECONDITIONS THROWS JOE!" -- Mike, Marcia, Kat, Cedric and Wally weigh in on the Democratic-Republican debate last week.
Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Boys Do Cry" -- Isiah's comic about the tearful Joe Biden.
"Kat's Korner: Chris Martin's cold play," "Kat's Korner: Hold Me Down" and "Kat's Korner: Aimee Mann ain't smiling" -- the first is Coldplay and went up Sunday (we noted it last week), the second is Augustana and went up Monday and the third is Aimee Mann and went up last night. Three CD reviews from Kat. And, keep it on the down low, she thinks she may have another review this month. We're not joking. A new CD has captured her attention. And, if she can ever find the notes she did on Madonna's Hard Candy, she may type that up as well. (Ava and C.I., on the road with her when she wrote it, say it was hilarious.)
"Gaffe prone Biden" & "THIS JUST IN! BIDEN MAKES ANOTHER GAFFE!" -- Cedric and Wally cover the political equivalent of Danger Prone Daphene from Scooby Doo.
"ralph nader, the lenny bruce of politics " -- And the second most requested post of the week (C.I.'s "I Hate The War" was the most requested), drum roll please, Rebecca's post on independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader.
"I Hate The War," "Iraq snapshot," "Economic melt in the Kitchen," "Robin Morgan, kiss my Black ass.," "Robin Morgan better get her act together," and "Thoughs on Robin Morgan" -- Sucks to be Robin Morgan. Whether it was C.I., Trina, Betty, Marcia or Elaine writing, the entire community was calling her penis waxing ways out. Oh well, maybe she'll get something out of it. A half and half? Who knows. But no one will ever perk up when her name is mentioned in the hopes that she has something worth saying to express. Big disappointment. And how old is she? How old does she think she's going to live to be? Going out like a coward. What a sad, sad day.
"When feminist 'leaders' lie," "katha pollitt and other bitches," "Monday feminist post," "Sexism and classicism" and "Naomi Wolf needs to get medical help" -- Marcia, Rebecca, Elaine, Mike and Ruth weigh in on feminist issues . You know the ones Women's Media Center can't cover because they're too damn busy dedicating themselves to ripping apart a woman. What a proud moment for the Sour Grape Girls.
"The unlistenable KPFA"and "KPFK: Disaster" -- Kat and Ruth weigh in on public radio -- the so-called people's radio -- which, when not begging, is perfectly willing to LIE and LIE some more.
"Plane ride reactions and inept Scott Shane," "Why I think Palin won the debate," "My grandparents say Palin won (I agree)," "My focus group scores Palin the winner," "Biden gets a big topic wrong" and "THIS JUST IN! PRECONDITIONS THROWS JOE!" -- Mike, Marcia, Kat, Cedric and Wally weigh in on the Democratic-Republican debate last week.
Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Boys Do Cry" -- Isiah's comic about the tearful Joe Biden.
"Kat's Korner: Chris Martin's cold play," "Kat's Korner: Hold Me Down" and "Kat's Korner: Aimee Mann ain't smiling" -- the first is Coldplay and went up Sunday (we noted it last week), the second is Augustana and went up Monday and the third is Aimee Mann and went up last night. Three CD reviews from Kat. And, keep it on the down low, she thinks she may have another review this month. We're not joking. A new CD has captured her attention. And, if she can ever find the notes she did on Madonna's Hard Candy, she may type that up as well. (Ava and C.I., on the road with her when she wrote it, say it was hilarious.)
"Gaffe prone Biden" & "THIS JUST IN! BIDEN MAKES ANOTHER GAFFE!" -- Cedric and Wally cover the political equivalent of Danger Prone Daphene from Scooby Doo.
"ralph nader, the lenny bruce of politics " -- And the second most requested post of the week (C.I.'s "I Hate The War" was the most requested), drum roll please, Rebecca's post on independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader.
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