Big Daddy Sweet Baby Cheesecakes

Suck it, Ms. Magazine

2009-01-13T10:56:00.005-05:00

No, THIS is what a feminist looks like.

"Investing in our common humanity through social development is not marginal to our foreign policy, but essential to the realization of our goals. More than 2 billion people worldwide live on less than two dollars a day. They’re facing rising food prices and widespread hunger.
We have to expand civil and political rights in countries that are plagued by poverty, hunger and disease, but our pleas will fall on deaf ears unless democracy actually improves people’s lives while weeding out the corruption that too often stands in the way of progress.
Our foreign policy must reflect our deep commitment to help millions of oppressed people around the world, and of particular concern to me is the plight of women and girls, who comprise the majority of the world’s unhealthy, unschooled, unfed, and unpaid. If half the world’s population remains vulnerable to economic, political, legal, and social marginalization, our hope of advancing democracy and prosperity is in serious jeopardy. The United States must remain an unequivocal and unwavering voice in support of women’s rights in every country on every continent."
Hillary Rodham Clinton
United States Senator (D-New York)
Secretary of State Designate
January 13, 2009

Hope. Change.

2008-11-19T11:46:00.004-05:00

So much for that Rainbow logo.

2008-11-08T00:36:00.004-05:00

Somewhere over the rainbow...

2008-11-01T18:15:00.001-04:00

http://logobama.com/

2008-07-29T10:55:00.009-04:00

Jackson v. Jackson

2008-07-09T20:51:00.007-04:00

But Reverend Jackson, you're assuming the guy has any.

[***resists the urge to say, "you can borrow my ~~tweezers~~ exacto-knife, reverend."***]

The most offensive part of this family feud is that Junior is actually trying to make us think he's above making offensive comments.

Right. Junior would never do that.

A new kind of politics

2008-06-15T10:43:00.004-04:00

Hope. Change. Greed.

Rendell, who plans to campaign on Obama's behalf and raise money for him, said tonight's event in Philadelphia is a joint fundraiser for Obama and the cash-strapped Democratic National Committee.
But in a sign of the urgency to raise campaign cash, Rendell said Obama didn't want to reschedule tonight's fundraiser, even though the governor warned him that many Philadelphia donors were headed to the New Jersey shore for the weekend. Rendell said Obama told him: "We don't need the people. We just need the checks."

Not ready to make nice

2008-05-19T23:16:00.004-04:00

So now they're supposed to be nice to us.

Fuck that.

The audacity of blatant pandering

2008-05-19T00:59:00.004-04:00

Here's a quick and easy way to read Barack Obama's Audacity of Hope:

click to enlarge

The Senator mentions his own suits with the same frequency as either feminists or Hillary Clinton--but those are all mentioned half as often as dogs.

This is the word of the lord

2008-05-18T20:30:00.002-04:00

So now he's a school parent who volunteers for watching the sandbox during recess:

"That means all of you have to be nice to Clinton supporters."

--Senator Barack Obama, to 300+ of his ~~disciples~~ supporters, 5/17/08

What eloquence. What caring. What compassion.

No, seriously...

WHAT eloquence?

WHAT caring?

WHAT compassion?

I tell ya, he's a real sweetie.

The son-of-a-mill-worker is a whore

2008-05-15T13:10:00.011-04:00

Did Senator Obama pay for just a one-time performance, or did he spring for the whole week?

A new kind of politics, indeed.

And John, if you start to have doubts, just remember that you're doing it for the handbags:

Jesus F. Christ

2008-05-15T11:07:00.009-04:00

~~Defecating on~~ Blurring the separation of church and state, one pandering brochure at a time.

Let's play count-the-phalluses. Ready? GO!

The greatest of these is ~~love~~ ... change?

[as in changing your image, just like Madonna]

If you look closely, you can see Jesus (the original) trying to give Jesus (the actor) a high-five... and being denied:

This reminds me of the art activist installation I whipped up on the day of the Pennsylvania primary. We had Obama people coming to our door 3 times that day (on the 3rd visit the campaign worker actually admitted that she would keep coming back until my partner voted):

Having a stuffed Jesus doll comes in handy.

Hatred of women is just like biting your nails or smoking

2008-05-15T01:12:00.008-04:00

"That's a bad habit of mine. I do it sometimes with all kinds of ~~women~~ people. I mean no disrespect and so I am duly chastened on that front. Feel free to call me back."

--~~Typical response from an abuser~~ Senator Barack Obama, doing damage control once again [5/14/08]

So infantilizing a professional journalist is just a bad habit, like fake scratching your cheek with your middle finger when talking about your opponent.

And it's "okay" because he's an equal opportunity prick, blindly disrespecting "all kinds" of people. Anyone have that footage of when Chris Matthews was called sweetie? Yeah, I didn't think so.

Boy

2008-05-14T17:57:00.007-04:00

This must be the kind of feminist sensibility that wooed Nancy and the sweeties over at NARAL.

The Catholic School phallus is large, firm, and intact

2008-05-13T01:11:00.006-04:00

So I was visiting with most of my immediate family this weekend, in part to celebrate Mother's Day. 6 of my nieces and nephews were there, and it was great to spend time with them since I live at least 3 hours away from all of them.

So after dinner and dessert we were doing the usual hanging out and playing, and somehow the election came up. I think it was because one of my nephews had to finish homework for Monday, and the assignment was to come up with 10 facts on a U.S. President. By the way, all of the school-age kids in the room at the time all go to Catholic grade school.

He chose Ronald Reagan. So without judging his choice, I tried to give him some "legitimate" facts. I did a fairly good job of biting my tongue and editing myself. The first ones I could come up with were...

• he was shot while President

• he was old / the oldest one (so far)

• he starred in movies

• he rode horses

• he made at least one movie with a monkey

• his full name has 6 letters (first), 6 letters (middle), and 6 letters (last), and that often is the mark of the beast

• his full name is an anagram of INSANE ANGLO WARLORD [I don't think my nephew understood was "Anglo" meant]

• this one I said too fast for him to fully hear: he would have wanted your mom to stay in the kitchen and make your food

So my better half, the former elementary school teacher, went into to teacher mode and did a much better job communicating with and helping my nephew with his assignment.

And then more of the little ones ended up in our conversation and talk quickly switched to the election.

And at one point my nephew says to me,

"Kids at school said that if Hillary is elected then she will say that if you have a baby you will be able to shoot it or kill it if you want to."

Now, as someone who teaches college students primarily about race and gender, I had to refrain from going into one of my presentations about choice and reproductive justice. The best I could muster was something to the effect of "actually, no, that isn't true."

What I wanted to say included things like:

"Oh yeah?!? Well so does Barack!"

"John McCain wants to force your sisters and mother to give birth against their will."

We did end up having a pretty good talk about rumors and not believing everything you hear. But in the end 4 out of 4 of my nieces and nephews who are all in school would rather see Obama OR McCain elected president. Yeah, because they have so much in common (besides the alleged genitalia?).

Although--and I'm not completely proud of this--I can also report that 4 out of 4 of my nieces and nephews are better at U.S. Geography than Senator Obama. And yes, I couldn't resist showing them the clip; they giggled and maybe they'll take it back to the dishing that takes place during recess.

Sigh...

All the more reason to keep fighting.

Dalton Hatfield for President (in 2036)

2008-05-12T13:23:00.004-04:00

Dalton should be old enough to run in 2032, but my niece has dibs on the ticket then. They always could team up, though.

I'll take U.S. geography for 100, Alex...

2008-05-10T20:31:00.005-04:00

Either he has already declared himself not just the Democratic nominee, but the winner of the general election as well, and he already has started emulating George W. Bush...

or, this is one of those moments when he's periodically feeling down....

or, he has lost his bearings...

And, by the way, what's the problem with Alaska and Hawaii that "his staff would not justify" going there?

So, so far he's snubbed Michigan, Florida, Alaska, and Hawaii.

That just leaves 56 states.

p.s. Visualize what the media response would be had Senator McCain had a moment like this. Or Senator Clinton. Exactly.

I've arrived!

2008-05-08T21:21:00.047-04:00

I have received what I think is my first substantive anti- comment ever. I feel so tingly inside. Not as tingly as Chris Matthews, but tingly nonetheless.

It would have been easy to just delete it, but I figured that would be too easy. And I feel like procrastinating, so here we go:

You probably haven't notice but Hillary IS A RACIST.She wants to play with Guns.She seen getting drunk. She did everthing but burn a cross.You have a lot of lies on this sight. The U.C.C church is tollerant of gays.The new minister at Trinity gets death threats.The funniest thing that I heard on election night was Hillary has to appeal to uneducated,rural,gun owning voters.Oh Klansmen huh.Many of these site repeat Sen.Obama middle name ,call him gay,anti-gay, Muslim,Christian,too black,not black enough.Admit you're a racist.If youwant to learn about black people listen to black radio,Tom Joyner and Michael Baisden are excellent,later.

Let's break it down.

First disclaimer, though: as a teacher I instinctually choose to acknowledge the writer's spelling and grammar mistakes. I fully claim the elitism inherent in that statement. But I know for me, the more fired up I am when typing (ESPECIALLY about things I'm passionate about), the more I mess up. I'm just excited that someone took the time to write something. Moving on...

You probably haven't notice but Hillary IS A RACIST.

Did your talking points memo tell you to put it in all capital letters for a more dramatic effect? Bill O'Reilly, is that YOU?!? Because the louder you scream it, the more true it is. Riiight.

I challenge you to a duel, kind commentator. Senator Clinton's alleged racism versus Senator Obama's demonstrated hypermasculine posturing, sexism, and misogyny. Following Senator Clinton's example I'll even spot you two frames' worth.

She wants to play with Guns.

And that's one of the few parts of the Constitution that Governor Bush hasn't wiped his ass with over the past 7 years. Did you intentionally borrow the capital "G" from god to spell that word (thereby making it more sacred, of course)?

It isn't clear to me whether you think putting "Hillary Clinton" and "guns" in the same sentence is somehow marring her character or her candidacy, like how many of my older relatives often say, "Poor Sharon, she's got...[whispers]...cancer." The President is sworn in with the promise to defend the Constitution. I'm not sure what the problem is here.

She seen getting drunk.

And it would be just blatant pandering for a candidate for political office to stage an appearance like that just to court voters.

Barack Obama raises a glass of Pabst Blue Ribbon at the Raleigh Times Bar in Raleigh, NC

(at the weekly meeting of White Guilt Anonymous, Raleigh Chapter)

Senator Obama drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon. Pabst. Blue. Ribbon. 'Nuff said. By the way, when I saw this picture the first thing I thought of were my friends Sally & Johnny.

She did everthing but burn a cross.

Response #1:
And if I said something in reference to Senator Obama like, "He's done everything but kill the hooker after taking back his money." then what do we think the response would be to that? Yeah, that's what I thought.

Response #2:
EVERYTHING but?!? Wow, she IS the more experienced candidate!

I don't know how she finds time to campaign when she's so busy doing everything. She sexually harassed an elderly woman while courting her for her vote? She murdered a choir director? She had oral sex in the back of a limo while getting high? She voted for legislation in her state that screwed over her constituents? Hypothetically speaking, If those were true of a candidate I could not imagine ever voting for them.

You have a lot of lies on this sight.

Point them out and I'll be happy to consider a retraction. It IS my blog, though, so I get to treat it the way Governor Bush treats this country (but with fewer murders and much less nonconsensual exploitation) and do whatever I want. If there are any, they are unintentional. I DO know that there are fewer lies, omissions and half-truths on this blog than in this document.

The U.C.C church is tollerant of gays.

Yeah, because in an ideal world underrepresented and marginalized groups should be tolerated.

Tolerate:
• digest: put up with something or somebody unpleasant
• have a tolerance for a poison or strong drug or pathogen
• allow

I tolerate one of my cats peeing where he shouldn't be. I don't like it and it pisses me off (no pun intended). I tolerate it because I've owned him for a long time and I love my cats. But I own him. I control when and how much he eats. I control his health maintenance. I allow him to live with me. I allow him to sleep wherever he wants. But, ultimately, I still have control over him.

Yeah, tolerance is what we should be striving for.

The new minister at Trinity gets death threats.

Response #1:
I'm going to (try to) always forfeit any competitions in the Oppression Olympics. You DO get that the more we invest time and energy into battling over "whose oppression is worse", WE ALL LOSE--unless of course you're part of, or benefit from, the white supremacist capitalist heterosexist patriarchy?

Snarky, sarcastic, and somewhat childish Response #2:
That is deeply troubling. He should contact Bishop Gene Robinson for advice and as a kindred spirit (pun intended). Bishop Robinson usually has to wear a bullet-proof vest when making public appearances. He had to wear one at his own ordination. If only we lived in a world where these men could just be [or be just] tolerated! Maybe we should find a lesbian Chicana hearing-impaired minister who can trump all of them and teach us what real oppression is!

The funniest thing that I heard on election night was Hillary has to appeal to uneducated,rural,gun owning voters.

Response #1:
Oh yeah? Well on election night this week I heard that John McCain was peeling a potato but it turned to actually be a kitten.

Response #2:
I can't tell whether you're implying that that intersection of identities is somehow "less than" or "of lesser value." Last time I checked, my formally-educated-suburban-pro-gun-control vote was worth the same as anyone else's. Although I lived in a mobile home for 8 years, so maybe my vote isn't at 100% value...? And then there's the gay thing. Woe is me, if only one of the major party candidates had an official gay logo, THEN I would know who I'm supposed to blindly vote for.

Oh Klansmen huh.

So if you don't have access to formal education, and live in a rural area, and own a gun, then by definition you're in the Klan.... but I'm the bigot? You. Make. An. Excellent. Point.

There are no formally educated, city-dwelling, gun-owning people worthy of Klan membership. None whatsoever.

And we ALL know how making generalizations or stereotyping is ignorant.

Many of these site repeat Sen.Obama middle name ,call him gay,anti-gay, Muslim,Christian,too black,not black enough.

Let's make a deal. I will vocally and passionately spend time, energy, and voice on critiquing and dismantling the racist, classist, and xenophobic attacks on Senator Obama--and I could theoretically, possibly, potentially imagine the chance that I might actually vote for him if he is the nominee--when you and your candidate commit to honestly, earnestly, and consistently speaking out against--AND cease committing, condoning, and remaining silent about--the blatant, pervasive, and obscene misogyny in the media and (all) other social institutions. Until Senator Obama does so, I unproudly channel Vice President Cheney here and say, in the angriest way possible: go fuck yourself.

Admit you're a racist.

Response #1:
You first. Well, bigotry at least. Let's clarify how you're defining racism.

Response #2:
No shit, sherlock. I was neither raised nor socialized in a test tube, or alone on a desert island, so of course I'm racist. As a multi-ethnic person who has often been able to pass as white, I have enjoyed white privilege more than I realize. But do us all a favor and please stop buying into the convenient politicized attack of "critical of Obama = racist". Pretty please. It is disingenuous and it ignores, devalues, and protects institutional and systemic white supremacy.

Response #3:
How about we take a ride to the airport and spend some time in baggage claim together? There's due to be long lines for the flight arriving from White-Guilt-Ville, but my bags will be easy to spot--they're the ones without any "O" stickers on them.

Response #4:
Cue the music...

If youwant to learn about black people listen to black radio,Tom Joyner and Michael Baisden are excellent,later.

Response #1:
How phallocentric and classist of you. Following your candidate's example, you keep women invisible.

Response #2:
Tom Joyner--been there, done that. I'm vaguely familiar with Baisden. You forgot Tavis Smiley (but he's on the Obama Shit List, so I'm assuming you're penalized everytime you mention his name). I see your Joyner-Baisden combo and raise you 1 cup of Michael Eric Dyson and 1 heaping scoop of Eduardo Bonilla-Silva.

Response #3:
I was never a boy scout [and not just because I wouldn't be allowed to be] but I offer the most authentic pledge possible, that I will spend as much time listening to more Joyner and Baisden as you spend reading some bell hooks. E-mail me your mailing address and I will send one of her books. Seriously. I will. No strings attached. Actually, make that two books. I use them in one of the classes that I teach, so I have extra copies.

Why should it be any different with women?

2008-05-08T13:21:00.003-04:00

All hail Reclusive Leftist's powerful articulation.

That’s why I won’t vote for Obama. I’ll be sending a message to the Democratic party: if you want my vote, then you need to earn it. If you throw me under the bus — me and my sisters and my grandparents and my friends and everybody in this country who isn’t a rich man — then to hell with you.
Go on, Democrats, try to get elected without me — me or any of my friends. See how far you get. Go on with your bad self.
And when you figure out that you need my vote, give me a call.

Testify!

Keep fighting for Hillary...

2008-05-08T02:00:00.005-04:00

...because she keeps fighting for us.

STRONGER

Christina Aguilera

After all you put me through
You'd think I'd despise you
But in the end I want to thank you
Because you made me that much stronger

When I, thought I knew you
Thinking, that you were true
I guess I, I couldn't trust
Called your bluff, time is up
'Cause I've had enough
You were, there by my side
Always, down for the ride
But your, joy ride just came down in flames
'Cause your greed sold me out in shame, mmhmm

After all of the stealing and cheating
You probably think that I hold resentment for you
But, uh uh, oh no, you're wrong
'Cause if it wasn't for all that you tried to do
I wouldn't know just how capable I am to pull through
So I wanna say thank you

'Cause it makes me that much stronger
Makes me work a little bit harder
It makes me that much wiser
So thanks for making me a fighter
Made me learn a little bit faster
Made my skin a little bit thicker
Makes me that much smarter
So thanks for making me a fighter

Ohh, ohh, ohh, ohhhh, ohh-yeah ah uhhhuh

Never, saw it coming
All of, your backstabbing
Just so, you could cash in
On a good thing before I realized your game
I heard, you're going around
Playing the victim now
But don't, even begin
Feeling I'm the one to blame
'Cause you dug your own grave

After all of the fights and the lies
Yes you wanted to harm me but that won't work anymore
Uh, no more, oh no, it's over
'Cause if it wasn't for all of your torture
I wouldn't know how to be this way now, and never back down
So I wanna say thank you

'Cause it makes me that much stronger
Makes me work a little bit harder
Makes me that much wiser
So thanks for making me a fighter
Made me learn a little bit faster
Made my skin a little bit thicker
It makes me that much smarter
So thanks for making me a fighter

How could this man I thought I knew
Turn out to be unjust so cruel
Could only see the good in you
Pretended not to see the truth
You tried to hide your lies, disguise yourself
Through living in denial
But in the end you'll see
YOU-WON'T-STOP-ME

I am a fighter and I
I ain't gonna stop
There is no turning back
I've had enough

'Cause it makes me that much stronger
Makes me work a little bit harder
Makes me that much wiser
So thanks for making me a fighter
Made me learn a little bit faster
Made my skin a little bit thicker
It makes me that much smarter
So thanks for making me a fighter

Thought I would forget,
Though I, I remember,
I remember,
I remember

'Cause it makes me that much stronger
Makes me work a little bit harder
Makes me that much wiser
So thanks for making me a fighter
Made me learn a little bit faster
Made my skin a little bit thicker
It makes me that much smarter
So thanks for making me a fighter

Clinton leads Obama by more than 3400...

2008-05-07T11:21:00.003-04:00

...in number of "anti" images being sold at CafePress.com*.

I'm not an expert on U.S. political history, but does anyone out there know how many times a presidential candidate has been targeted with such attacks--simultaneously, not just as isolated individual attacks, by the way--as:

Bitch
Liar
Hates America
Will eat your children
Beat her
Bitch
Throw rocks at
Urinate on
Anti-Christ
Bitch
If only O.J. had married
Deceitful
Bitch
Delusional
Deranged
Bitch
Not wanted even by their spouse
Needs to get back in the kitchen
Cries like a baby
Scares me
The Devil
Sucks
Cow
Mad Cow
Communist
Rotten
Bitch
Can suck my conservative dick

The goal is here is NOT to advocate for more offensive slogans targeting Senator Obama. That's not the kind of "equality" I'm fighting for.

But it is noteworthy that the masses seem to know that certain things just aren't okay. I haven't seen any t-shirts with

white hoods, or
nooses, or
rope tied to the bumper of a pickup truck, or
burning crosses, or
calls for the Senator to return to the cotton field...

and the list could go on.

*This is far from a scientific study. And granted, many of the same slogans are listed in both "Anti-Hillary" and "Anti-Obama" sections. But just by perusing both sections you can't help but notice some interesting distinctions.

Words of wisdom

2008-05-06T01:03:00.007-04:00

[Feeling antsy waiting for Tuesday's primary results.]

"We come together in fields and factories, in village markets and supermarkets, in living rooms and board rooms. Whether it is while playing with our children in the park, or washing clothes in a river, or taking a break at the office water cooler, we come together and talk about our aspirations and concern. And time and again, our talk turns to our children and our families. However different we may appear, there is far more that unites us than divides us. We share a common future, and we are here to find common ground so that we may help bring new dignity and respect to women and girls all over the world, and in so doing bring new strength and stability to families as well...

What we are learning around the world is that if women are healthy and educated, their families will flourish. If women are free from violence, their families will flourish. If women have a chance to work and earn as full and equal partners in society, their families will flourish. And when families flourish, communities and nations do as well. That is why every woman, every man, every child, every family, and every nation on this planet does have a stake in the discussion that takes place here...

At this very moment, as we sit here, women around the world are giving birth, raising children, cooking meals, washing clothes, cleaning houses, planting crops, working on assembly lines, running companies, and running countries. Women also are dying from diseases that should have been prevented or treated. They are watching their children succumb to malnutrition caused by poverty and economic deprivation. They are being denied the right to go to school by their own fathers and brothers. They are being forced into prostitution, and they are being barred from the bank lending offices and banned from the ballot box...

We need to understand there is no one formula for how women should lead our lives. That is why we must respect the choices that each woman makes for herself and her family. Every woman deserves the chance to realize her own God-given potential. But we must recognize that women will never gain full dignity until their human rights are respected and protected...

Tragically, women are most often the ones whose human rights are violated. Even now, in the late 20^th century, the rape of women continues to be used as an instrument of armed conflict. Women and children make up a large majority of the world’s refugees. And when women are excluded from the political process, they become even more vulnerable to abuse. I believe that now, on the eve of a new millennium, it is time to break the silence. It is time for us to say here in Beijing, and for the world to hear, that it is no longer acceptable to discuss women’s rights as separate from human rights..."

Hillary Rodham Clinton

United Nations 4th World Conference on Women

Beijing, China

September 5, 1995

Due respect to non-elitist eunuchs

2008-05-05T02:50:00.004-04:00

This is NOT a negative attack on the part of one of Senator Clinton's supporters:

"If she gave him one of her cojones, they'd both have two."

--James Carville (Newsweek article, 5/2/08)

In fact, James Carville is speaking waaaaaaaaaaay too complimentary of Senator Obama.

Sure, condoning this kind of hypermasculine posturing is just buying into the patriarchy. And it does veer close to stooping to the level of negative personal attacks. And yes, I have been/would be/shall be offended at all of the attacks questioning Senator Clinton's identity, femininity, body, or personal qualities. But you know what? Fuck it. I'll do my feminist penance and say 10 Hail Andrea Dworkin's on November 5. And with President Clinton's swearing in in January it will be that much easier to dismantle the white supremacist capitalist heterosexist patriarchy. James Carville is just reminding us that one shouldn't try to send a boy into to do a woman's job. BAM!

Pop (goes the patriarchy)!

2008-05-04T16:03:00.005-04:00

Could you imagine a pregnant Donald Rumsfeld?

2008-05-03T21:43:00.009-04:00

I'm sorry for creating any visuals of ole' Rummy...that don't involve being tried and convicted as a war criminal.

But take a look at this:

Spain's Defense Minister Carme Chacón

(who happens to be 7 months pregnant) inspects the troops.

I took French in grade school and high school, so I don't know how to say YOU GO, GIRL! in Spanish.

Spain's Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was elected in 2004. "In his first term, he passed a sweeping law against domestic violence, legalized gay marriage, eased divorce laws, and required political parties to practice gender parity. He also appointed equal numbers of men and women to cabinet positions" [read more here].

And, what's more, he was reelected on March 9.

Now THAT is change I can believe in.

Can you just envision President Hillary Rodham Clinton and Prime Minister Zapatero getting together next year and opening some serious transnational whoop-ass on the patriarchy?!?

Learning Microsoft Word with Barack Obama

2008-05-02T10:42:00.010-04:00

If Senator Clinton was foolish enough as to take one of her policy positions paper for one state and pass it off for another, then Arianna Huffington, Chris Matthews, and Keith Olbermann would simultaneously have multiple orgasms while their heads exploded.

When Senator Obama does it, no one seems to notice or care.

Change we can believe in, my ass. I didn't know he meant "Change the word 'Pennsylvania' to 'Oregon'."** There are probably a lot of bitter folk in Oregon, anyway, so they don't count.

What's funny (offensive, really) is that the Obama campaign even fails miserably at trying to scam voters. Apparently the folks in "the movement" don't know the difference between "REPLACE" and "REPLACE ALL" when doctoring their own documents.

Oh yeah, and the Great Lakes are nowhere near Oregon.

What. The. Fuck.*

Could you imagine this happening during a general election? Holy shit, the other party would pounce on this.

*I find myself cursing more and more these days. I blame Barack Obama.

**UPDATE: Surprise, surprise! The "Change Oregon Can Believe In" paper was unexpectedly removed from the Obama campaign web site. Good thing I downloaded it ahead of time.

This month's winner...

2008-04-30T00:09:00.013-04:00

of the Madeleine-Albright's-Special-Place-In-Hell-For-Self-Loathing-Misogynist-Women Award is...

Kellyanne Conway.

First, our gal Kellyanne goes for the "back of the bus" metaphor, and fails miserably. Yet more recently, Kellyanne goes for the "Hillary as the chief white woman in this country" commentary.

In both cases in seems like she is either...

(1) campaigning for Obama ("if you don't want him to win, you must be a racist"),

(2) assuming Clinton is the presumptive nominee and is trying to get anti-racist voters to choose McCain ("because Hillary is such a racist").

(1) means Kellyanne is *really* bad at her "job." (2) means the conservatives behind/above Kellyanne are desperately clueless (and racist), and Kellyanne is still really bad at her job.

Is it just me, or do you feel kind of bad for Kellyanne? It's like she's playing Jan Brady to Ann Coulter's Marcia Marcia Marcia.

For those of you already committed to going to hell, enjoy some commentary on Ann Coulter by Kathy Griffin:

I believe a woman can work hard and succeed...

2008-04-28T23:56:00.011-04:00

Sing it, Melissa!

WHAT HAPPENS TOMORROW

Melissa Etheridge

I believe if I look hard enough
I will see
That there can be enough
I believe I can think clear enough
To conceive
A place where there's enough

If not now, when
If not today then
What about tomorrow
What happens tomorrow

I believe a woman can work hard and succeed
And we could be content
To believe that she could be in charge
Of the free
And be the president

If not now, when
If not today then
What happens tomorrow
What happens tomorrow
If you become the change
You want to see you change
What happens tomorrow
What happens tomorrow

I believe that we are waking up from the spell
That those that profit from the fear
Cast so well
And good people of the earth now can tell
There is no us and them

If not now, when
If not today then
What happens tomorrow
What happens tomorrow

All is love
All is choice
Everyone and every voice
All of life that you see
All are possibilities
As above so below
To wed the sense into the soul
This is truth I believe
I believe I believe

Truth is of the people
By the people
For the people

White House Herstory

2008-04-28T20:38:00.006-04:00

If you don't get at least a little misty eyed, then you're just dead on the inside:

'Nuff Said

2008-04-28T19:36:00.002-04:00

Senator Obama doesn't want to debate anymore. Wah! What's he so afraid of? Is he suddenly feeling inadequate?

You go.

Okay, I'm stumped here..

2008-04-25T11:07:00.005-04:00

Now I'm all about the importance of context. Years ago someone in the entertainment world uncovered a scandal concerning movie reviews. Part of the problem was that the quotes plastered on movie posters, ads, and trailers were attributed to people who didn't exist or who weren't entertainment journalists. The other part of the problem was that many of the reviews were factually accurate but taken out of context.

For example, a hypothetical response to a film like Showgirls could have been

"This is the farthest thing from one of the year's best films!"

"The day that this film is worthy of an Oscar nod is the day monkeys fly out of my butt."

BUT the published reviews end up being

Showgirls:

"...one of the year's best films!"

"...worthy of an Oscar nod..."

Reverend Jeremiah Wright thinks that his words have been twisted. Could someone please tell me how to "untwist" the following:

"Hillary was not a Black boy raised in a single parent home... Hillary ain't never been called a nigger..."?

What is the missing context of statements like that, that couldn't be grounded in divisiveness and misogyny?

What's the missing context that warrants this tidbit be part of a larger sermon?

Seriously. These are NOT rhetorical questions. I am actively seeking answers to these questions.

The agenda here is not to deny racism, of course. In fact, it is to further address the white supremacist capitalist patriarchy.

And to be fair, I think it is a safe assumption that Hillary Clinton has in fact never been called a nigger.

However, I don't think we can assume that no one has referred to Barack Obama as a bitch, a cunt, a whore, or a cocksucker.

Make of that what you will.

starring Barack Obama as Hardy Jenns

2008-04-25T00:30:00.012-04:00

WARNING: This post is overflowing with popular culture references. Proceed with caution. And hey, let's be careful out there.

The title does in fact date me. As a child of the 70s and someone who was raised in part on the popular culture of the 80s, I find myself going to these references to help make sense of the frustration, rage, and overall disturbance I've been feeling in the force concerning the candidacy of Senator Barack Obama.

The thing is, for some reason(s) I've missed joining "the movement." It may have been because his campaign (I'm not going to give just him all the credit for what has happened) tried to package his campaign as a movement. If you think that it is, you may as well save your time and click somewhere else.

Don't get me wrong. I too was mesmerized by that convention speech in 2004. In fact, at 5:13pm on Wednesday, November 3rd, 2004, as a way to grieve over the election results I opened up Word on my Mac and made three campaign buttons (seriously, I have the file creation date to prove it):

My, how things have changed. Plus, I tend to be wrong about these predictions (in my world, the Junior U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania would be Chuck Pennacchio and not that tool of an anti-choice "Democrat" Bob Casey).

But there's some thing(s) about Candidate Obama that just rubs me the wrong way. And I've been trying for months to figure out what exactly that is. When you spend too much time perusing the blogs (or even starting your own) you (1) end up finding comfort in realizing that there are people out there who share your views and your frustrations, (2) realize that the ongoing misogyny in general (and for a particular presidential candidate) is more obscene that you could imagine, and (3) it often makes life in the real (non-blog) world more challenging--i.e. you find yourself feeling even more bat-shit crazy than usual, especially when you witness more folks still in "the movement" than you should rationally expect.

To be fair, it's hard to care about what some snobby, condescending, egomaniacal politician said to a room full of privilege in some shhhhhwanky mansion in San Fran, when you can't pay your rent, you're trying to find the nearest county that actually provides abortions, or you're trying to decide between paying a utility bill and an overpriced medication that will literally keep you alive.

So, in my attempts to wrap my head around trying to figure out this politician who came ostensibly out of nowhere, and who is now closer to the White House than I am currently comfortable, the best I can come up with is this:

I've seen this guy before.

He's not the bully per se. He's the guy that the bullies look up to, need, and/or have a secret crush on. He's the guy who has the bullies wrapped around his finger; he's behind the bullying but you'll never find his fingerprints anywhere on/near the victim(s).

He's the new guy at school--the one who shows up in the middle of the year and becomes the talk of the town in part because everyone wants to know what his story is, but no one really knows--there's just lots of fantastic rumors.

Barack Obama isn't really a complicated man. He's just a composite of the charismatic yet despicable and flawed characters to grace the screens of not-too-recent TV and movies. He is...

5% Mr. Horton

Diff'rent Strokes

(yes, the bicycle shop pedophile guy)

[I'm NOT saying Senator Obama is a pedophile. I AM saying he is a charismatic predator and exploiter of the young, naïve, and easily swayed.]

5% Hilary Faye

Saved

[Over-exaggerated emphasis on, and self-serving abuse of, religion.]

10% Heather Chandler

Heathers

[Insecure bitch who thrives on being the center of attention AND head of the clique.]

10% Regina George

Mean Girls

[Narcissistic and shallow Queen Bee who derives pleasure from hurting others; would do anything to keep her throne and allegedly high-status position.]

10% Rip

Less Than Zero

[Deceptively charismatic slimeball who would exploit defenseless and/or addictive personalities, even if it kills them--figuratively or literally.]

20% Chas Osbourne

Back to School

[Self-absorbed, entitled, and overly cocky leader-of-the-pack who, when it comes down to the wire, would rather claim to be seriously injured than actually compete on his own alleged talent.]

40% Hardy Jenns

Some Kind of Wonderful

[Basically just a dick. He's lived his life blind to his own male and class privilege. He obsessively devises an elaborate plan to further exploit, embarrass, and destroy a woman he used to care about. He's high and mighty until the regular folk band together and call him out on his shit, after which he becomes a scared child who hides behind the proverbial "my mom and dad will be home soon."]

What an ending... not just one slap, but TWO!

And this isn't about Obama's supporters per se. In fact, I don't think that his supporters are delusional. I think that they either see themselves in the character he is playing, or they see that which they aspire to, or they simply think he's a cool trend (e.g. Guitar Hero, Troll dolls, or parachute pants), or they rationalize that supporting and voting for him will appease their white liberal guilt ["See! I'm not racist (anymore), because I'm voting for change!"]

It's just that they think

he's Daniel "Daniel-San" Larusso,

and I think

he's Johnny "sweep the leg" Lawrence.

Johnny is not used to losing and has always had easy access to resources and status. He is the product of a patriarchal, militarized (literally AND figuratively) training, and about to lose the big match, he suffers a lapse in judgement (with pressure from above) and executes an unethical move that is sure to result in a win. Daniel survives the deadly assault, wins the match, and in the end Johnny grabs the trophy so HE can present it to Daniel: "You're alright, Larusso -- great match!"

Dare we dream for such an ending?

12:58pm on Tuesday, April 22, 2008

2008-04-22T12:58:00.004-04:00

Doing my part to capture history with my cell phone...

Reverse alphabetical order?

(...and the last shall be first...)

This one's for you, Alice Paul.

My friend Hillary came to see me on Sunday night

2008-04-20T23:00:00.005-04:00

It was raining, and getting chilly out, and there was a long line. And I would do it again ANY DAY just to see her and hear her in person.

After she was introduced, they took away the podium. She spoke without any written notes. She fired up the crowd. She laid out specific campaign issues. She kicked ass.

pretty good quality for a cell phone picture

I must have missed the memo

2008-04-18T15:12:00.013-04:00

Silly me. I didn't realize that progressive folk have to choose between an accomplished politician, feminist, human rights activist...

...and a infantile, self-absorbed, entitled, passive-aggressive, condescending tool*.

As a former two-term President of my 8th grade class**, I can attest that there wasn't this much crap going on at that level. Our teacher would have opened an industrial sized can of whoop ass if we even hinted at pulling that kind of tactic. But then again, most 8th graders have bigger balls, and fewer hang-ups, than this guy.

* His apparent "prank" is too juvenile even to stereotype it as frat boy humor. Shout out to progressive, enlightened, profeminist fraternity brothers everywhere.

** That doesn't mean I repeated 8th grade. We had an election every quarter or trimester or every report card period.

the fucker did it again

2008-04-13T20:59:00.007-04:00

On CNN's Compassion Forum, Barack Obama got a question about whether "pro-choice and pro-life" (a fucking false binary if there ever was one) could ever reach a common ground.

Once again he whipped out his "those of us who are pro-choice don't talk about" what a tough moral decision this is.

Yeah, thanks to the Senator for enlightening us and sharing his "discovery" that this pro-choice crowd is just a bunch of clueless ignorant cannibals.

This must be a talking point that his campaign has tested... to seduce anti-choicers.

It's not about the bitterness, dumbass

2008-04-13T20:37:00.004-04:00

Kudos to the caller on CSPAN.

What. A. Fucking. Douchebag.

2008-04-11T23:58:00.012-04:00

It's just like UppityWoman recently pointed out, Barack Obama has been excelling at alienating more and more people with his choice words o' wisdom. It seems like he has been speaking extemporaneously more and more lately--and clearly, it's not working out for him. He should go back to copying off of his neighbor.

Now he's stepped in it once again and it doesn't smell pretty. Let's break it down:

Obama notes anti-abortion supporters

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Barack Obama said anti-abortion Democrats are backing him because they feel he respects their opinion on the issue despite disagreement on it.

Sounds like someone's pandering [yet again] to me.

From Wikipedia: "In politics, pandering is to portray one's views to fit in line with a certain crowd of voters the candidate is attempting to impress, when often, these are not the candidate's true beliefs. A candidate may engage in pandering out of desperation if s/he is already losing a race, or if polls taken prior to an election show others as being in the lead."

I think that speaks for itself. But wait, there's more. Also from Wikipedia:

"Procuring or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. Pimps are known under the law as procurers. Examples of procuring include:

bringing a prostitute into a country for the purpose of soliciting sex
operating a prostitution business,
transporting a prostitute to the location of their arrangement, etc."

I'll leave it to you to finish the metaphor in terms of who's likely to get fucked here.

The Democratic presidential candidate favors abortion rights, but he noted his support from former Rep. Tim Roemer of Indiana and Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania who are anti-abortion.

Senator Obama has a growing habit of using the but-I-can't-be-a-bigot--because-I-have-Black-friends argument to remind us (maybe he's trying to reassure himself more than anyone) of all the support he has from "so many diverse people." So because he's got Bob Casey on board, then he therefore is the obvious pick for anti-choice democrats (oxymoron, anyone?)?

He's still trying to pull the wool over queer eyes with his homo-pandering: he just gave The Advocate a reach-around, so now he's the anointed LGBTQ candidate? If he thinks I'm naive enough to be mesmerized by that rainbow logo [tell me that no one would have a problem if he had a special logo for his white voters. or his black voters. Yeah, that's what I thought.] then he must take me for some superficial nelly who would say something catty... like

But girlfriend, I'd much rather pose for a picture with Gavin Newstrom over Bob Casey any day; sure, everyone is beautiful but good hair and two eyebrows are just so fierce! [add a finger snap for emphasis]

Puhleeeze.

He's only a few weeks away from becoming the epitome of the spoiled, insolent, egomaniacal politician who gives himself a woody by blatantly disregarding the views of others.

But I digress.

"It may be that those who have opposed abortion get a sense that I'm listening to them and respect their position even though where we finally come down may be different," he told reporters at a news conference.

This rises from pandering to a poor attempt at a Jedi mind trick. First he sets up this artificial line and creates this category of "those who have opposed abortion." Hmmm, let's go out on a limb and call these folks, oh, i don't know, anti-abortion.

"The mistake that pro-choice forces have sometimes made in the past, and this is a generalization so it has not always been the case, has been to not acknowledge the wrenching moral issues involved in it," he said.

I suppose we should give him credit for admitting that he's generalizing, this time. He doesn't always seem willing to admit that, though. But, NOT ONLY is he generalizing, but he also has the audacity (go fucking figure) to simultaneously speak for women AND silence them. See, ladies? Sometimes you just don't get it. Maybe it's when you're periodically feeling down you may not realize what's involved in all of this.

How's the view from up there, on your moral high ground, douchebag?

How many more warnings of Barack Obama trying to name women's feelings and experiences for them is it going to take? I really wish this were a rhetorical question. Seriously, folks, how many more times of him keeping women in their proper place before NARAL or Planned Parenthood calls him out on his shit? Enough is enough already. Cue Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer.

"Most Americans recognize that what we want to do is avoid, or help people avoid, having to make this difficult choice. That nobody is pro-abortion, abortion is never a good thing."

Wait a minute, I think he just tried to pull a fast one on us. First he humbly said that he has enormous appeal to those who are anti-abortion. Then he says that nobody is pro-abortion. He magically has just pulled out of his ass that, therefore, everyone is for Obama.

That, dear friends, is the ultimate in douchebaggery.

He's got the pro-choicers in a codependent, cycle-of-abuse relationship

(he didn't really mean it... it'll never happen again... he still loves us... promise!)

WHILE

having an affair with anti-choicers.

Plus, the anti-choicers do feel dirty and guilty about it but they just can't help it cuz he's so charming, especially when he rubs up against them.

And, for the second time in one weekend, all I have left to say is:

Seriously?!?

2008-04-11T19:50:00.013-04:00

Don't blame him. I mean, come on, he would have no concept of how ignorant (maybe even, I dunno, prejudiced?) it would be to make sweeping generalizations about entire groups of people...

"You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them...And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not.

And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

--Senator Barack Obama, at a fund-raiser in San Francisco (4/6/2008)

As a pro-gun-control, critical-of-organized-religion, son-of-an-immigrant, feminist educator and resident of central Pennsylvania with a bowling average of 181, all I can say is this:

Imagine this...

2008-04-09T11:58:00.007-04:00

a president who uses the word misogyny:

"But there is no weapon as powerful as that of an idea whose time has come. A woman will serve in the highest level of the executive--simple as that!"

from The Contender

Madame Secretary's Words of Wisdom, part 2

2008-04-09T02:59:00.009-04:00

"...I stepped out of what is a 'normal' role for a woman my age... I love to be involved. I'm definitely an activist. So, making a difference is what motivates me. It took me a long time to develop a voice. Now that I have it, I'm not gonna shut up."

--Dr. Madeleine Albright, Diplomat (2007)

The episode of Iconoclasts (Sundance Channel) featuring Madame Secretary and Ashley Judd is a must-see.

Coming soon: The "Tonal Inaccuracy" Telethon

2008-04-09T01:50:00.017-04:00

I think we're on to something here.

Chris Matthews has bravely come out as someone suffering from Tonal Inaccuracy. It's a pandemic, afflicting men (and some women) all over the world.

Matthews says the notion that he is sexist has been pushed unfairly by blogs, women's groups and, to some degree, the Clinton campaign. His remark that Clinton benefitted because her husband "messed around" triggered much outrage from the Clinton team. Matthews eventually apologized in a rambling on-air explanation, but he hardly sounds contrite now. "I was tonally inaccurate but factually true," he told me. I had asked him earlier if he was forced into the apology. "Oh, yeah, of course I was forced into that," he said, laughing. "No, no, no .... Phil [Griffin] asked me to do that."

In severe cases, tonal inaccuracy also affects one's rhythm and balance.

A fellow [literally] survivor of tonal inaccuracy, John McCain, takes to calling his wife the name of a must-read book. It's not a big deal; he was just being tonally inaccurate. Or he was just rehearsing for his cameo in The Vagina Monologues. Yeah, that's it.

And poor Senator Obama, he also seems to be afflicted. We shouldn't be offended when he says that Hillary attacks when she's feeling down, or that she has to hurl a kitchen sink at him. That's not sexism. That's not misogyny. It's the dreaded tonal inaccuracy.

So reach deep into those pockets, folks, and start contributing. We can someday hope to eradicate this disease.

Do it for poor Chris. He's counting on us. And somebody warn Olbermann that it might be contagious.

Props to the Asian woman in the back row...

2008-04-09T01:20:00.011-04:00

Michelle Obama at Carnegie Mellon University, covered by their student newspaper:

"While the crowd was indeed diverse, some students at the event questioned the practices of Mrs. Obama’s event coordinators, who handpicked the crowd sitting behind Mrs. Obama. The Tartan’s correspondents observed one event coordinator say to another, “Get me more white people, we need more white people.” To an Asian girl sitting in the back row, one coordinator said, “We’re moving you, sorry. It’s going to look so pretty, though.”

“I didn’t know they would say, ‘We need a white person here,’ ” said attendee and senior psychology major Shayna Watson, who sat in the crowd behind Mrs. Obama. “I understood they would want a show of diversity, but to pick up people and to reseat them, I didn’t know it would be so outright.”

Golly gee, there just aren't enough white folk in U.S. politics...

Overcompensating for his... shortcomings

2008-04-09T00:19:00.012-04:00

"I know more and understand the world better than Senator Clinton or Senator McCain"

--Senator Barack Obama, 4/7/08

The only thing missing here is a condescending pat (channeling sexism and/or ageism) on the head.

Senator Clinton, do you want to take this one?

“I’m somewhat shocked by that since I don’t see any evidence of it,” Clinton said, chuckling. “This is, you know, kind of hard to square with his failure ever to have a single policy hearing on the only responsibility he was given, chairing the European and NATO subcommittee on the Foreign Relations Committee.

“And as he admitted in the last debate, he was too busy running for president to pay attention to what we needed to do to improve our chances in Afghanistan and get NATO more involved. So, you know, I, I ,I don’t, I don’t know, I’m speechless. I mean, you know, making an assertion like that belies the facts and the record.”

--Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, 4/7/08

'Nuff said.

This month's winner...

2008-04-08T01:54:00.014-04:00

...of the Madeleine-Albright's-Special-Place-in-Hell-For Self-Loathing-Misogynist-Women Award is...

Randi Rhodes.

Runner up: Donna Brazile

Madame Secretary's Words of Wisdom

2008-04-08T01:48:00.016-04:00

I'm going to have to tattoo this on my forehead. From an interview with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright:

"I have this saying that I use quite frequently, which is that there is a special place in hell for women who don’t help each other."

Testify!

Democratic Primary or Domestic Violence?

2008-03-26T03:04:00.014-04:00

This is the saddest post I could (n)ever imagine doing about a primary election campaign, of all things.

First, read Anglachel's recent post.

Then, look at this [replacing "children" with "voters"] and decide for yourself. The key here is not to minimize or trivialize men's violence against women. The point is that it is another symptom of the larger systemic problem--the white supremacist capitalist heteronormative patriarchy.

For a smart man...

2008-03-23T01:32:00.006-04:00

I'm not sure which one of these is the most troubling...

Why is Barack Obama keeping women hidden?

2008-03-21T23:06:00.023-04:00

So today I stumbled upon zuzu's interesting critique of Senator Obama's record on women and reproductive justice. At the end of this must-read, zuzu says:

Then there’s the way he doesn’t talk about them — his campaign website doesn’t have these issues listed anywhere I can find (Faith? Yes. Women? No).

Following zuzu's lead, I popped over to the Obama campaign website, and I came across something interesting.

On the Issues page, there are 20 specific topic areas plus 1 catch-all called Additional Issues which combines Art, Child Advocacy, Katrina, Science, Sportsmen, and Transportation. Now, why those issues are deemed marginal or less important... that's a separate conversation we could have. Although I'm hard pressed to figure what what voter wouldn't care about at least one of these [a creationist pedestrian pedophile from the northern U.S.?]?

So,

Observation #1: "Women" do not appear anywhere on the Issues section of the Obama campaign web site.

Observation #2: Senator Obama's Blueprint for Change, the downloadable .pdf file, DOES have a "Women" section in it.

In this section in the blueprint, the Senator lays out his agenda on issues such as pay equity, reproductive choice, health care, and domestic violence--all critical issues, in my opinion.

Observation #3: There is only one topic that appears as its own section in the Blueprint but does NOT appear on the Issues web site.

You guessed it.

Women.

So here's the obvious question: why would the Senator's platform on women appear in the printed document BUT NOT be readily accessible on the website?

Well I can't speak for zuzu (obviously) but I think we both would agree that part of the rationale for omitting a "woman's issue" [problematic term] such as reproductive justice from the web site might be to (1) avoid having to be drawn into the "abortion debate," and (2) avoid having to be held accountable for his (actual?) position, and (3) try to court more of the misogynist vote? [I wish I were being sarcastic about (3).]

Quite a strategic move, actually: you can't say he doesn't have a position on something 'controversial' like abortion, you just have to dig a little to find it (I'd be curious to know how many supporters of the Senator have, in fact, downloaded and read his entire Blueprint. If you never looked at the printed Blueprint, you would, as zuzu found, have no real clear sense of where the Senator stands on crucial issues such as reproductive justice.

It would be absurd to think this is somehow just a haphazard oversight, wouldn't it? Perhaps a justification exists out there. I'm just not so certain.

What I am certain of, however, is that Senator Clinton doesn't keep women hidden--on her web site, or in her actual work.

I am Hillary Clinton.

2008-03-20T01:08:00.037-04:00

Pocochina's post literally made my day/week/month/season/election year. So the least I can do to show my gratitude is to pay it forward and join this real movement. I've created my very first blog ever in order to state that I, too, am Hillary Clinton:

I am Hillary Clinton.

I am dumbfounded that "Why does Hillary Clinton wear such bad clothes?" actually appears in a newspaper.

I am outraged that googling "hillary cleavage" will produce articles written by people pretending to be journalists published in outlets pretending to be newspapers. Googling "barack cleavage" gives articles... about Senator Clinton. And no, getting equally offensive results from "barack bulge" is NOT the kind of equality I'm striving for [don't waste your time doing it... you'll read about how much money his campaign has raised].

I find it hypocritical for Senator Obama to put his own campaigning ahead of important Democratic constituents. (Yes, Senator Clinton took time to be there.)

I find it hypocritical and disingenuous for Senator Obama to refuse to pose for a picture with the (straight--and I shouldn't have to point that out) mayor of San Francisco and outspoken LGBT advocate, but then try to actively court LGBT voters when it is safer, convenient, and self-serving. He has the audacity to first pair up with a homophobic minister and then think that by simply making an extra campaign logo with a rainbow on it (separate is never equal) will make things all better.

I find it hypocritical and disingenuous and abusive for Senator Obama to advocate bullying U.S. House Representative and super-delegate Sheila Jackson-Lee to change her endorsement.

But wait, there's more on that one.

The posting on the campaign website was changed. Now when you see it it says:

"We are encouraging Houstonians for Obama to call the office of Sheila Jackson Lee to request that vote according to the request of her constituents.... Please call Congress Woman Sheila Jackson Lee... and request that she change her vote to Obama."

But only a few days ago, the message had a different tone to it:

"We are encouraging Houstonians for Obama to call the office of Sheila Jackson Lee to request that vote according to the demand of her constituents.... Please call Congress Woman Sheila Jackson Lee... and demand that she change her vote to Obama."

I suppose we should thank him for making that change. Not. One of the many problems with the patriarchy is it supports, condones, and values naming women's choices for them. And If Senator Obama really wants super-delegates to "vote with their constituents," then Senators Kennedy & Kerry need to follow the will of Massachusetts and support Senator Clinton.

I am outraged that U.S. House Representative and Obama National Campaign Co-Chairman Jesse Jackson, Jr. can equate the democratic primary with O.J. Simpson and Nicole Brown Simpson... and no one points it out.

I find it absurd and suspicious to try to equate one man's quest for a promotion with a 'movement'.

I find it troubling that when Geraldine Ferraro and Barack Obama each say that Barack Obama benefits from his race, all hell breaks lose for her, but not him (and he even has the audacity to do it on his own Senate web page).

When you try to tell me that Senator Obama's recent speech in Philadelphia on race was "campaign-defining," what you're really telling me is that his campaign is defined as damage control. When Senator Obama, or any politician, wants to talk about race while campaigning, I am suspicious. How about politicians talking about race just for the sake of talking about race? I want to hear politicians talk about race in the course of just doing their job, not when they're still trying to court me for my vote.

I am a feminist. I am an educator. I am an activist. I am an uncle (a really cool one). I am the partner of an another amazing feminist/educator/activist/cool uncle. These identities are not mutually exclusive, and I can't separate them.

I know that if two of my students copied off of each other (let alone on more than one occasion) and submitted the same essay, that would be a violation of academic integrity. It doesn't matter if they knew about it, or were okay with it, or gave their approval. It is still cheating. We should hold our students and our elected officials to the same standards of ethical behavior.

I know that sexism is harmful for women and for men. The institution of patriarchy confines all of us. Refer to the examples of George W. Bush, or Sean John Puff Daddy P Diddy Diddy Combs, or Donald Trump, or Tim Hardaway, or Toby Keith (the list goes on) on how to perform and reproduce dominant raced, classed, masculinities.

I have an agenda. You could even say that I'm calculating. But as a male feminist I enjoy the luxury (let's call it, oh, I don't know, male privilege) of never being written off as being too emotional, or bitchy, or whiny.

I don't know what it's like to be a woman. I cannot directly relate. I cannot speak for women. I cannot and must not name their emotions, ideas, or experiences for them. That doesn't mean I cannot listen to them, talk with them, believe them, support them, respect them, and care about them (even the ones I've never met).

I don't have to do anything on a daily basis to prevent from sexually harassed, assaulted, or raped.

I don't care when you think life begins. "Pro-life" is a useless term (when was the last anti-life rally?). I do care whether you want to force women and girls to give birth against their will. Yes or no. Pick one. Right now. I wish everyone else remembered that pro-choice doesn't mean pro-abortion. My platform on reproductive justice is this: if you're against abortion, then don't have one. And let's take the money used to reimburse viagra prescriptions and spend it on actual health care for people who can't afford it.

I want the first question that comes to your mind to be "why is he beating her in the first place?" and not "why doesn't she just leave him?"

I know that rape will stop when men stop raping.

I know that the consequences of some guy catcalling a woman are different than when a woman catcalls a guy. Again, I'm not advocating for an "equality" where women and men get to victimize each other equally.

When I say that men rape/beat/mutilate/harass women, I don't mean that all men do. All men are not part of the problem of gender violence, but all men are part of the solution.

I magically get special credit or extra credit or bonus points for talking about radical things such as double standards, women's rights, sexism, misogyny, or any other overlapping and intersecting forms of oppression.

All too often, when I talk about these things, you hear it better because it's packaged in the false authority of a male voice [*cough* Mission Accomplished! *cough*]. But nothing I say here is particularly innovative or original, and I certainly can't do it any better than the women and feminists who came before me.

I am not going to settle for a candidate because you (singular) forward a scripted campaign e-mail telling me to, or because you (plural) bully me into doing it.

I am not going to compromise my standards.

I am not going to vote for a candidate simply because of their gender, ethnicity, rhetorical persuasion, or anointment by Oprah.

I am going to vote for a candidate who truly advocates for social justice, who particularly confronts misogyny--a candidate who can spell it, define it, pronounce it, and use it in public.

I am

passionately,

unconditionally,

and

unapologetically

Hillary Clinton.