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Taylor Marsh has been writing on line since 1996, with the archives provided here a representation of that work.

Archive | July, 2011

Senators Merkeley & Udall: ‘Let’s Not Linger in Afghanistan’

By Taylor Marsh on 05 July 2011

As a liberal who supported Pres. Obama’s Afghanistan plan when he first began it, I simply do not understand how anyone can support it today, at least not when judging what’s in U.S. interests.

From their New York Times op-ed today:

Nineteen months ago the president announced the surge strategy in hopes of stabilizing Afghanistan and strengthening its military and police forces. Today, despite vast investment in training and equipping Afghan forces, the country’s deep-seated instability, rampant corruption and, in some cases, compromised loyalties endure. Extending our commitment of combat troops will not remedy that situation.
Sometimes our national security warrants extreme sacrifices, and our troops are prepared to make them when asked. In this case, however, there is little reason to believe that the continuing commitment of tens of thousands of troops on a sprawling nation-building mission in Afghanistan will make America safer.
National security experts, including the former C.I.A. director Leon E. Panetta, have noted that Al Qaeda’s presence in Afghanistan has been greatly diminished. Today there are probably fewer than 100 low-level Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan. Al Qaeda has a much larger presence in a number of other nations.
Our focus shouldn’t be establishing new institutions in Afghanistan, but concentrating on terrorist organizations with global reach. And our military and intelligence organizations have proved repeatedly that they can take the fight to the terrorists without a huge military footprint.

It’s easy to understand why our troops being in Afghanistan is good for the Afghans, because Pres. Karzai simply isn’t doing his job and there’s no evidence he will. Women continue to suffer in Afghanistan, an issue to which Karzai is indifferent, even as real progress has been made, because the women and girls had only one way to go and that’s up.

In the past, I’ve argued with people over staying in Afghanistan, but after herculean efforts on the part of our troops, it’s simply not worth one more life, not one. I feel the same way about Iraq, too, but I felt that way from the beginning the Bush-Cheney misadventure that distracted the U.S. from getting bin Laden.

It’s also not as if we won’t continue to be involved in Afghanistan, because they’re sitting next to Pakistan in an important region. This begs the question of when regional powers, including India, China and Russia, will start doing their part? The U.S. is leaving Afghanistan, so they’d better step up.

Senators Merkeley and Udall are correct, Pres. Obama should change course, but he won’t because he’s prosecuting this war like a Republican, which is one reason why Afghanistan is starting to look like a bigger disaster than ever, because the same stubbornness that kept Bush in Iraq is keeping Obama from drawing down faster in Afghanistan.

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‘John’ and the ‘Anatomy of a Lead’

By Taylor Marsh on 05 July 2011

Spectacular tale from the AP:

Again and again, John and his team asked themselves who else might be living in that compound. They came up with five or six alternatives; bin Laden was always the best explanation.
This went on for months. By about February, John told his bosses, including Panetta, that the CIA could keep trying, but the information was unlikely to get any better. He told Panetta this might be their best chance to find bin Laden and it would not last forever. Panetta made that same point to the president
Panetta held regular meetings on the hunt, often concluding with an around-the-table poll: How sure are you that this is bin Laden?
John was always bullish, rating his confidence as high as 80 percent.
Others weren’t so sure, especially those who had been in the room for operations that went bad.

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Frank Rich Awakens

By Taylor Marsh on 05 July 2011

It’s good to new Mr. Rich back, this time in New York magazine, but he took the time in his first piece to not only revisit recent history, but also prove why his political analysis is going to take a while to recover. From “Original Sin”:

The ultimate indignity, though, was a Washington Post / ABC News poll showing Obama in a dead heat with Mitt Romney. Mitt Romney! If any belief unites our polarized nation, it’s the conviction that Romney is the most transparent phony in either party, no matter how much he’s now deaccessioning hair products. It’s also been a Beltway truism that a Mormon can’t win the Republican nomination, let alone a Massachusetts governor who devised the prototype for “ObamaCare.” But that political calculus changed overnight. That this poseur could so quickly gain traction, even if evanescently, should alarm Obama.
It was on Monday, June 13, that the new state of play crystallized. That morning, Immelt unveiled his vacuous op-ed and rendezvoused with Obama in Durham, North Carolina, for a double-feature dog-and-pony show: a meeting of the otherwise invisible White House jobs council (only its second to date) and yet another small-bore presidential photo op promoting yet another green-tech employer illustrating the latest dim-wattage administration slogan, “Winning the Future.” Unfortunately for the White House, the Times front page delivered another message above the fold that morning: OBAMA SEEKS TO WIN BACK WALL ST. CASH. Among the objects of Obama’s affection interviewed was an unnamed Democratic financier who found it ironic that “the same president who once criticized bankers as ‘fat cats’ would now invite them to dine at Daniel, where the six-course tasting menu runs to $195 a person.”

There’s no doubt that Mitt Romney is a phony. The evidence comes in video tape from years prior to this latest revamp on his political style.

Rich’s real problem is making piece with his own part in making the case for Barack Obama, which was predicated on the embarrassment of Bush-Cheney that was fueled by fury, that allowed him to completely ignore the type of politician Obama has been from the start.

Writers like Frank Rich are important, because people trust him. But he’s got a long way to go to get back to the place he once held, as no one was more blinded by candidate Obama, a person that simply only existed in Mr. Rich’s mind.

If Barack Obama had been the man Rich thought he was, wrote that he was, he wouldn’t be staring down at a “dead heat” with Mitt Romney right now.

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Sister of of Ousted Thaksin Shinawatra Wins in Thailand Landslide

By Taylor Marsh on 05 July 2011

Yingluck Shinawtra could be the country’s fist female prime minister, though this only skims the dynamics that have recently roiled Thailand.

The win comes after “red-shirt” protests of last year that turned violent, billed as the people versus the establishment. From the AP:

The woman poised to become Thailand’s first female prime minister acknowledged huge challenges in reconciling her divided country, after an election landslide seen as a rebuke of the military-backed establishment that ousted her brother in a 2006 coup.
Preliminary results from Sunday’s poll showed 44-year-old Yingluck Shinawatra’s Pheu Thai party winning the majority it needs to form the next government. If confirmed, the large mandate will likely boost Thailand’s stability in the short term and reduce the chance of intervention by the coup-prone military five years after it ousted Yingluck’s fugitive brother-in-exile, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
The photogenic Yingluck is widely considered the proxy of her brother, who has called her “my clone.” [..]
His overthrow touched off a schism between the country’s haves and long-silent have-nots that continues to this day. The struggle pits the marginalized rural poor who hailed Thaksin’s populism against an elite establishment bent on defending the status quo that sees Thaksin as a corrupt autocrat.
Last year’s violent demonstrations in Bangkok by “Red Shirt” protesters – most of them Thaksin backers – and the subsequent crackdown marked the boiling over of those divisions. [...]

Thaksin Shinawatra is in exile in Dubai. More background and the drama surrounding the elections from Reuters.

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Queer Talk: He was gay. He was a soldier. He was a son.

By Joyce Arnold on 04 July 2011

Joyce Arnold is a liberal Independent activist whose column “Queer Talk” appears regularly on Saturdays, and occasionally on other days of the week.

On this past Saturday, CNN ran a story under the headline: “Soldier leaves legacy much larger than ‘he was gay.’” It was widely picked up by blogs and other media, and so very likely, you’ve seen it. But just in case you haven’t, and because it is so powerful, I decided to write about it here, on this July 4.

Although there are many differences, the story of Cpl. Andrew Wilfahrt, and of his parents, Lorie and Jeff Wilfahrt, reminds me of meeting the mother and step-father of Pfc. Barry Winchell — Pat and Wally Kutteles, who lived in Kansas City — at the Nashville Pride Festival. Cpl. Wilfahrt is believed to be the first gay servicemember killed in the Iraq / Afghanistan wars since Obama signed the repeal of DADT, which continues to be enforced as the process plays itself out – as of today, according to SLDN, it’s been 194 days since Obama signed the repeal. The president recently said it will be “weeks, not months,” when the repeal process will be completed.

1999

Pfc. Winchell was murdered, while he slept, by a fellow soldier who struck him in the head with a baseball bat. Winchell did not identify as gay, as Wilfahrt did. But he dated Calpernia Addams, a transsexual (her preferred term) who worked as a nightclub performer in Nashville, about 50 miles south of Ft. Campbell, where Winchell was stationed. When that relationship was discovered by fellow soldiers at Ft. Campbell, and with DADT recently implemented, the “faggot” label was applied, and harassment became routine. After his murder, his mother and step-father became activists, determined to see DADT repealed.

They were fairly new to the activism world, much less the LGBT world, when they came to the first Nashville Pride Festival following their son’s death on July 6, 1999. Later, Pat told Michael Rowe

When I found out what happened to Barry, and why – that it was a hate crime – I went after the military… . If we don’t fight against hate crimes, and for those people who are targeted, I feel as if we’re letting Barry down.

2011

Twelve years later, Lorie and Jeff Wilfahrt attended their first Pride parade in Minneapolis – St. Paul, a few months after their son’s death in February of this year. From the CNN story (and I strongly encourage you read the whole piece, if you haven’t already):

The red Toyota Corolla eases through the streets of downtown Minneapolis. The Wilfahrts are entering a part of their son’s world that was distant to them. They’re headed from their home in suburban Rosemount to the Twin Cities Gay Pride Parade, an annual event their son loved.
‘It’s new for us,’ Lorie says .

According to the CNN story, Andrew had come out to his parents at 16. He knew, in high school, what it felt like to be called “fag.” Joining the army at 29, Andrew knew, of course, as have so many other lesbian and gay people, that he was joining under DADT. He wanted to serve.

Andrew was so well-liked his comrades named a combat outpost for the soldier with the infectious smile. COP Wilfahrt sits 6 kilometers from Kandahar. To his buddies, it is not named for a gay soldier, but for one who fought with valor.
‘Mom, everyone knows. Nobody cares,’ he told his mother in their final conversation, a phone call from Afghanistan on Thanksgiving.

And even though there are many differences, like Pat and Wally Kutteles, Lorie and Jeff Wilfahrt became activists for LGBT rights.

Andrew fought for his nation in a foreign land. His parents’ war is being waged in their home state of Minnesota. To them, it’s about defending the Constitution … .
In a state that has produced GOP presidential hopefuls Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty – who have made careers fighting gay marriage — these parents of an American hero present a major challenge to the establishment. …
On a recent spring day, the couple stood outside the (state) Capitol while lawmakers inside prepared to debate marriage. The legislators voted, largely along party lines, to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot for November 2012 to define marriage as solely between a man and woman. …

During that debate, “Republican Rep. John Kriesel, who lost his legs while serving in Iraq, sent Andrew’s photo around the floor …,” saying, “I cannot look at this family and look at this picture and say, ‘Corporal, you were good enough to fight for your country and give your life, but you were not good enough to marry the person you love.’”

Not long after, the day of the Twin cities Pride Festival arrives.

On this day, in the grandstands of the pride parade, the Wilfahrts will celebrate their son’s identity as both a gay man and a soldier. It’s the type of event that would stun Bachmann and Pawlenty: More than 100,000 gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders and straights gathered in their home state … .
Soon, a float goes by carrying two poster-sized photographs of Andrew in Army camo. ‘That’s our boy!’ Jeff says.
He and Lorie embrace. Their heads tilt toward the ground, two exhausted parents missing their son.

Their son was a soldier. Their son was gay. Most importantly, of course, he was just their son, a man who happened to be gay, who chose to be a soldier. And like other parents before them, Lorie and Jeff honor their child by becoming activist for equality.

(Photos via CNN, Cpl. Andrew Wilfahrt, Afghanistan, and Lorie and Jeff Wilfahrt, Twin Cities Pride, holding flag signed by son’s comrades.)

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’1776′ John Adams: One Useless Man is Called a Disgrace; Two are Called a Law Firm; Three or More Become a Congress

By Taylor Marsh on 04 July 2011

… Lincoln saw an unresolvable tension between the Constitution of a democratic republic and the policies of aggrandizement and intemperate self-interest that lead from the manners of freedom to the slavish love of power. He spoke of the difference between the work of establishing a constitutional republic and the longer task of maintaining it. But maintaining it against what? Lincoln’s answer was always the same: against the internal pressure of greed, and the external pressure of war. The predicament of the country in 1861, he said, “forces us to ask: ‘Is there, in all republics, this inherent, and fatal weakness? Must a government, of necessity, be too strong for the liberties of its own people, or too weak to maintain its own existence?’”
We are now ten years into a policy shared by two successive administrations to plant a new understanding of the spirit of the laws in America. That policy has pretended there is a “trade-off” between liberty and security, and that in a time of crisis, security ought to have the upper hand. The Cheney-Bush and Obama administrations have accustomed us to laws and language concerned above all with the “protection” of citizens — as if there were something higher or more worth protecting than the liberty that is guaranteed by our laws and the framework of laws, the Constitution. [...]
To Maintain a Republic, by David Bromwich

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Queer Talk: Barbarians, Termites and Bathrooms

By Joyce Arnold on 03 July 2011

Joyce Arnold is a liberal Independent activist whose weekly column “Queer Talk” appears on Saturday.

Back in April I wrote about Dan Ramos, Bexar County, Texas, Democratic Party Chair, who compared “homosexuals” to termites — “white termites who have infiltrated the party much like termites infiltrate your house.” I said at the time that I didn’t think, as a lesbian, I’d ever been called a “termite” before. The more extreme anti-LGBT folks are often boringly predictable, but “termite,” that shows some kind of creativity. I thought about the Ramos and termite thing recently because of another label applied to Queerdom that I don’t recall ever hearing before, either: barbarian.

You’ve likely heard the story. Republican presidential candidate contender Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) has said a lot of not-very-nice things about LGBTs. But it was her husband, Dr. Marcus Bachmann, who made the connection between “the homosexuals” and “barbarians.” Sarah Bufkin, guest blogging at Think Progress first reported the story on June 29. Here’s an excerpt:

When trying to figure out where presidential candidate Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) gets her stringent, anti-gay views, you only have to look as far as her husband. Dr. Marcus Bachmann, who has described himself as his wife’s ‘strategist,’ runs a Christian-based counseling center in Minnesota that has been rumored to offer reparative treatment for those looking to ‘ungay’ themselves.

Dr. Bachmann was offering advice to parents who think or know, and probably fear, that one of their children is gay or lesbian or bisexual or transgender.

We have to understand: barbarians need to be educated. They need to be disciplined. Just because someone feels it or thinks it doesn’t mean that we are supposed to go down that road. That’s what is called the sinful nature. We have a responsibility as parents and as authority figures not to encourage such thoughts and feelings from moving into the action steps …
And let’s face it: what is our culture, what is our public education system doing today? They are giving full, wide-open doors to children, not only giving encouragement to think it but to encourage action steps. That’s why when we understand what truly is the percentage of homosexuals in this country, it is small. But by these open doors, I can see and we are experiencing, that it is starting to increase.

This is a “where to start” kind of thing. First, “barbarian”? As in uncivilized or brutish? Or maybe Bachmann is thinking more of the foreigner or outsider meaning. I could certainly see him thinking “outsider,” and wanting to be the doorkeeper who maintains the purity of the “insider” space. There seems to be some hope offered the uncivilized outsider “homosexuals,” because Bachmann is talking about education and discipline. Maybe those speculations about his possible use of “reparative therapy” and unqueering are accurate. What such education and discipline looks like … well, I guess only the civilized and insiders are in a position to determine that.

One other comment by Bachmann leaps out at me, when he uses the familiar “be very afraid” tactic, by claiming that the “percentage of homosexuals in this country … is starting to increase.” Because, you know, the door to the inner sanctum of those who deserve equality isn’t being appropriately guarded. He doesn’t go to the “homosexuals have to recruit our innocent children” line explicitly, but the implication is certainly there. It’s an argument that the adamantly anti-LGBTs can’t afford to lose. They have to maintain the “it’s a choice” argument as foundational, even when some are willing to acknowledge there may be a “born with” trait that contributes to the “homosexual condition.” It’s still a “lifestyle choice,” see, because you can fight it. You can “leave” it, if you just pray hard enough, and position yourself so that your “natural” opposite-sex attraction can kick in. And if such positioning coincidentally includes some paid time at a “Christian counseling center” you and your wife happen to run …

As Cher tweets: (via JoeMyGod ) “omg! Is This true? He has a Christian clinic where he de-programs gay Boys & Girls! I’m gonna strangle him with my Boa!”

I doubt Cher could get close enough to the not-only-good-but-better-than-you-homosexual-barbarians doctor to make use of her “Boa”. His wife, after all, once ran screaming from a women’s bathroom when two women tried to talk with her. As reported last month by The Daily Beast, via The Advocate, “Rep. Michele Bachmann … had claimed in 2005 that she was almost abducted by two women in a bathroom,” a “lesbian and an ex-nun.” Bachmann had “refused to speak about gay rights at a constituent forum,” and the women in the bathroom “questioned her on the subject.”

Pamela Arnold, a 5-foot tall lesbian now in her 50’s, began a conversation with the then-senator, when Bachmann screamed out, ‘Help! I’m being held against my will!’
Arnold stepped aside and opened the door. Bachmann rushed to an SUV waiting outside and shortly after, filed a police report stating that she was ‘absolutely terrified … .’
No charges were filed in the case, as the Washington County attorney deemed the incident to be a simple conversation between a politician and her constituents.

Remember Bill Clinton saying, during his initial run for the WH, that with Hillary, voters would get a “two-fer”? Well, I’m wondering what a two-fer Bachmann presidency would look like. And then I think, maybe we homosexual barbarians would storm the White House. We could use the opportunity to release swarms of gay termites. And maybe hold both Bachmann’s hostage in an Oval Office bathroom.

I’d be happy to hear about any ideas you might have, even if you aren’t one us barbarians. We’re fairly civilized that way, wanting to include others.

(Photo of Marcus and Michele Bachmann via the LA Times)

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The Sunday Early-Bird News Round-Up: The Red, White and Blue Addition

By Stacy on 03 July 2011

Good morning and welcome to Sunday. Happy July 3rd, pre-Independence Day!

I’ve even managed to find a red, white and blue bird, the Crimson Rosella (at left)

On this day in history, July 3, 1863, the Civil War Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania ended in a major victory for the North.

For those of you who are not off doing something amazing on this long holiday weekend, I’ve rounded up some news for you to peruse:

~Of course we are!: The U.S. says we are willing to keep troops in Iraq if Iraq would like us to stay! I mean, it’s only been what? Eight years?

~Don’t even get me started on the U.S., Israeli and Greek bullying of the U.S. Boat to Gaza, aka the Freedom Flotilla. Whether or not one agrees with their mission or their tactics, the U.S. and Israel just look like a bunch of bullies. Interestingly, Haaretz was reporting yesterday that Greece agreed to prevent the boats from leaving Greek ports in due to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s lobbying the EU to toss Greece another huge bailout.

~Thirty Afghan civilians have been killed in 48 hours as a result of IED’s.

~The battle over raising the debt ceiling has been totally mismanaged by the White House. That the GOP can basically sell the idea that cutting services and programs for the working class is acceptable in order to continue lining the pockets of wealthy special interests, is a damning indictment of this administration’s policies and political messaging.

~The governor of Rhode Island, Lincoln Chafee, signed a controversial bill legalizing gay civil unions. It’s controversial because the tide has clearly turned- after New York, many want the states to go further with a full recognition of gay marriage, not just civil unions. Governor Chafee, for his part, supports gay marriage and says that the bill will get them one step closer to legalizing gay marriage. Perhaps, but it’s debatable.

~Ok, this YouTube ad from the National Republican Senatorial Committee really just wrote itself:

~This opinion piece by Leonard Pitts Jr. caught my eye. He calls out Obama for his disingenuous word games in refusing to throw his support behind gay marriage. But what struck me is how honest Pitts is- he describes how he used to support civil unions while opposing gay marriage. He goes on to say that he finally realized that doing so was illogical and based on the presumption that the relationships of gays and lesbians were somehow less worthy than those of heterosexuals.

~I know Taylor covered this last night but it’s so annoying I just have to chime in. Is Ben Smith serious? One of the most biased pieces of non-Journalism I’ve seen in a long time. Seriously, it just screams “I’m a planted story!” The reason it’s so annoying is that Politico has been beating this drum for about 3 years now. I could write an article that reaches the exact OPPOSITE conclusion by selectively interviewing Jewish people that I know support Obama’s Mideast policies. Oh, and granting them total anonymity. But would it be newsworthy? No, it wouldn’t be. It would just be selective, agenda-driven drivel.

~Tim Pawlenty isn’t raising much money. Goodbye Tim, we hardly knew ye.

~Secretary Clinton has called on Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to step down.

~Another Republican nobody has ever heard of is entering the Presidential race. But at least he has a catchy name.

~Justin Elliot does some follow-up journalism and asks Jeffrey Goldberg what happened with his prediction that Israel would go to war with Iran? Naturally, Goldberg dances and weaves. Predicting and promoting the next neocon war is sort of a part time job for Goldberg.

~Pinkwashing has been in the news a lot and it’s in the news again! This time in relation to bad Israeli PR about the Flotilla and false accusations that the Flotilla participants are homophobic. Never mind that quite a few are openly gay. If you aren’t familiar with the whole Pinkwashing phenomena, that article I linked-to is a good run-down of recent events.

~If you didn’t read this Greenwald piece about the ridiculous show State Dept. legal adviser Harold Koh put on in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week, go read it. Basically, defending Obama’s Executive power grabs with respect to Libya is getting more difficult, even for those in his own administration. This is actually embarrassing- it’s a short video of Sen. Risch reading a quote from Senator Obama about war powers and Koh responding.

~Mental illness and gun rights.

~Contrary to popular perception, the repeal of DADT has not taken place and GLBT soldiers continue to be booted out of the military and some are even requesting to be discharged as a result of ongoing harassment and discrimination.

~The son of actor Rob Lowe will be interning for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

~An ExxonMobile oil pipe burst in Montana releasing oil into the pristine Yellowstone River.

~The Strauss-Kahn case is one big mess but alleged rape/sexual assault cases often are. I don’t know what happened in that hotel room, obviously, and so I can’t speak to that, but I will say this- people who are sometimes dishonest and lack credibility in the usual sense can still be sexually assaulted. Yes, someone could make up an allegation, but the credibility of the victim is a very thorny issue. It’s important to note in this story that as of right now, that prosecutors have not dropped the rape charges.

~The deterioration in U.S.-Pakistan relations is resulting in the U.S. having to use costlier supply routes to Afghanistan due to fears that Pakistan may decide to block more direct routes that wind through their country.

The End. Have a nice weekend and safe holiday!

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Let’s Play ‘Who’s More Pro-Israel?’

By Taylor Marsh on 03 July 2011

Let’s see, Gaza or gossip, which shall it be? For almost every news outlet this week it was the latter, while the former is where the action is. From James Zogby writing over at Huffington Post:

When it comes to issues involving Israel, politicians in Washington can become quite hysterical, making the dumbest remarks or doing the most illogical things. Evidence of such bizarre behavior abounds, and this week provided several examples.
Taking top prize would be newly-elected Republican Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois. Kirk wants the U.S. to use military assets to stop the humanitarian flotilla on its way to Gaza. He wrote that the United States should “make available all necessary special operations and naval support to the Israeli Navy to effectively disable flotilla vessels before they can pose a threat to Israeli coastal security or put Israeli lives at risk”.
[...] … All this might just be dismissed as “political pandering” or more “harmless hot air” from politicians who specialize in both. But it is dangerous and has consequences. In the first place, actions and statements like these send absolutely horrible messages overseas about the inability of American politics to deal fairly with any Middle East issue that involves Israel. And so these behaviors end up undercutting U.S. diplomacy. Secondly, these actions, and the bizarrely skewed, one-sided politics they reflect, tie the hands (or, at times, force the hands) of Administrations, negatively impacting the ability of policymakers to act. And finally, in the end, these comments and actions embolden hardliners in Israel and the Arab World, who both come to believe that there are no restraints on Israeli behavior and no way that Arab concerns will be heard or respected in U.S. policy debates.

However, it’s just not on the radar of the American media. Too dangerous. Controversial. Inflammatory. It makes network heads uncomfortable.

Instead it’s all about Who’s more pro Israel?, one of the most dangerous political games we play in this country. But at every presidential election, play it we do. Stacy has an “In the News” diary up about Sec. Clinton announcing administration talks with the Muslim Brotherhood, which on cue is freaking out the Right.

There’s nothing more serious than Middle East politics and it shouldn’t be treated as a political parlor game, but that’s exactly what Politico did this week. In a long, gossipy piece, Ben Smith traded on 2008 canard that Obama is an iffy friend of Israel by mining staunchly pro Clinton Jewish quarters to stir the currents of discontent. It’s a continuation of the conservative campaign to discredit Pres. Obama and portray him as soft on Israel, which is a falsehood, but some media outlets just can’t resist.

Smith has written about this before. Here’s an example of the well from which Smith drew his alleged proof:

“I’m hearing a tremendous amount of skittishness from pro-Israel voters who voted for Obama and now are questioning whether they did the right thing or not,” said Betsy Sheerr, the former head of an abortion-rights-supporting, pro-Israel PAC in Philadelphia, who said she continues to support Obama, with only mild reservations. “I’m hearing a lot of ‘Oh, if we’d only elected Hillary instead.’”
Even Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who spoke to POLITICO to combat the story line of Jewish defections, said she’d detected a level of anxiety in a recent visit to a senior center in her South Florida district.
[...] The qualms that many Jewish Democrats express about Obama date back to his emergence onto the national scene in 2007. Though he had warm relations with Chicago’s Jewish community, he had also been friends with leading Palestinian activists, unusual in the Democratic establishment. And though he seemed to be trying to take a conventionally pro-Israel stand, he was a novice at the complicated politics of the America-Israel relationship, and his sheer inexperience showed at times.

Why does being “friends with leading Palestinian activists” make Obama less pro-Israel?

It takes a friend to tell you the truth sometimes, with Obama’s stance on Israeli settlements something that most experts agree must be dealt with by PM Netanyahu, though on the denial goes.

All of this precipitated by anxieties from a very small but vocal minority, with all hell breaking loose again when Pres. Obama stated, then defended, that Israelis and Palestinians should begin with the 1967 borders, with land swaps.

Now it appears Obama’s supporters are readying to hit back at this continuing media meme. From Greg Sargent:

A group of well-known figures in the Jewish community has been in discussions with senior Obama adviser David Axelrod about how to respond to the criticism, which is expected to intensify as the campaign heats up. Among them: Alan Solow, the former head of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations; former Congressmen Mel Levine and Robert Wexler; and executive Penny Pritzker.
“We will have highly credible spokespeople and surrogates speak out in a general manner in support of what this administration has done, and articulate it in a way that we think will resonate with voters who care about this issue,” Solow said in an interview. “We will meet with supporters who have expressed concerns or want to be briefed on these issues on a one-on-one basis.”
“We got close to 80 percent of the vote among Jewish Americans in 2008, but we had to aggressively bat down efforts to divide the community and to inflame,” David Axelrod told me. “Plainly we have to be at least as assiduous about it this time. If we’re passive in response it would be a mistake.”

Politico’s Smith got in the usual comments, with divisions quickly revealed or satisfied when the name of Dennis Ross is invoked:

The qualms that many Jewish Democrats express about Obama date back to his emergence onto the national scene in 2007. Though he had warm relations with Chicago’s Jewish community, he had also been friends with leading Palestinian activists, unusual in the Democratic establishment. And though he seemed to be trying to take a conventionally pro-Israel stand, he was a novice at the complicated politics of the America-Israel relationship, and his sheer inexperience showed at times.
A Philadelphia Democrat and pro-Israel activist, Joe Wolfson, recalled a similar progression.
“What got me past Obama in the recent election was Dennis Ross — I heard him speak in Philadelphia and I had many of my concerns allayed,” Wolfson said. “Now, I think I’m like many pro-Israel Democrats now who are looking to see whether we can vote Republican.”

Pres. Obama has deep challenges for 2012, but “pro-Israel Democrats” voting Republican isn’t a main one.

Our media is incredibly juvenile when it comes to covering the Middle East. Intramural political gossip substituting for serious mining of the challenges in the region continue to be the norm.

James Zogby noted what’s said around here a lot.

And so, far from being harmless hysteria or just plain dumb, all this posturing can be damaging and dangerous. It is a good part of the reason why we are in the mess we are in the Middle East and why a just resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict appears to be so intractable.

Every time the media chooses gossip over big stories like what’s happening surrounding the Gaza flotilla, solving problems in the Middle East gets a little further away, which doesn’t help anyone, especially Israel.

That President Barack Obama would have popularized the phrase “audacity of hope,” after which we named our boat, now seems a cruel hoax, particularly as many of us recalled the high hopes we had once harbored for Obama the candidate. Instead of an “audacity of hope,” Obama the president has often displayed a “paucity of courage.” – Ray McGovern

The politics of “Israel versus the Palestinians,” which is the way the U.S. media reports on this region, as well as how our politicians play it, puts Pres. Obama in an untenable position.

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Sound Familiar?

By Taylor Marsh on 03 July 2011

This is truly a tragedy: the great progressive hope (well, I did warn people) is falling all over himself to endorse right-wing economic fallacies. – Herbert Hoover Obama (by Paul Krugman)

I’ve been writing this for four bloody years.

It took flight during the “debate” on health care.

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Progressive Notes: ERA!, NAACP Among those Pushing WH for No Cuts, Rats Greet Walker, and Other Happenings..

By Art Pronin on 02 July 2011

Art offers his perspective as a movement progressive activist.

Progressives are pushing on the Hill to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. In wake of the Supreme Court ruling against women in the Walmart case we need now more than ever the ERA. Rep. Maloney (D-Ny) and Sen. Menendez (D-Nj) have reintroduced it again.

You need 38 states to approve it. In 1982 it fell 3 states short ,which was the year of the deadline to ratify ERA. Congress gave 10 years to ratify the amendment. But many scholars say if 3 more states ratified it today ERA would be part of our Constitution because the Constitution gives no deadlines for ratification of amendments. Maddow had a must see piece on ERA this week and how we need it more than ever and that ERA would lead to equal rights for gays also:

Key civil rights and poverty advocacy groups have written to the WH and Congress warn against cutting any social programs. La Raza, NAACP and many more are part of this push. Here are some statements:

QUOTES:
Deepak Bhargava, Executive Director, Center for Community Change
“Our families are struggling to make ends meet and our communities are suffering from record levels of unemployment and increasing poverty. It’s time to get the country back on track and that means focusing on job creation and supporting our families. Protecting the programs that serve families in need is a vital component of any budget negotiations. It’s time to move beyond the partisan gridlock and to the real solution, good jobs for unemployed and underemployed workers and adequate support for families in need.”
…
Nancy Duff Campbell, Co-President, National Women’s Law Center
“Unless programs for low-income people are protected in the budget negotiations, women and their families will bear the brunt of deficit reduction. Women are more likely than men to be poor because they still face discrimination on the job and take on more of the responsibility for unpaid caregiving. So women disproportionately rely on Medicaid, SNAP (Food Stamps) and other safety net programs to meet their own and their children’s basic needs – and on programs like child care assistance and Pell grants for a chance to get ahead and give their children a better life. Maintaining supports for low-income women and their families isn’t just fair – it’s a smart investment in our common future.”
Marian Wright Edelman, President, Children’s Defense Fund
“Children are the poorest age group in America and hunger, homelessness and poverty have risen dramatically for them in the last two years. Two-thirds of the 15.5 million poor children live in families in which at least one person is working. We must protect children, their families and other vulnerable people while finding ways to reduce the deficit that reflect moral sense, common sense and economic sense. We urge the President and Congress to reject all cuts that would increase poverty and inequality to ensure children and other vulnerable people are better off tomorrow than they are today. We all need to stand together for what’s morally right; the future and soul of our country is at stake.”
Vicki Escarra, President and CEO, Feeding America
“With more of our nation’s men, women and children facing hunger today than ever before, it would be unconscionable for the Congress and the Administration to cut the first line of defense against hunger in America. Feeding America food banks are already overburdened as we struggle to keep pace with historic levels of need for emergency food assistance and private charity cannot fill the gap if nutrition assistance programs are cut. We must recognize the reality that federal nutrition programs are the difference between having enough to eat and not for one in four Americans, and we must find solutions to our nation’s economic challenges that do not send millions more people into the grips of hunger and poverty.”
Ambassador Tony P. Hall, Executive Director, Alliance to End Hunger, United States Congressman, Retired
“America faces tough choices about its long term fiscal health. We owe it to future generations to cut the deficit, which threatens future prosperity for all, and especially the poor,” said Ambassador Tony Hall, a former Member of Congress and Executive Director for the Alliance to End Hunger. “But how you cut a budget or reduce a deficit is also a moral issue. Poor and hungry people didn’t get us into the current mess and hurting them isn’t the right way out of it. It’s not only morally wrong, it ignores the bigger problem.”
Robert Greenstein, President, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
“President Obama and Congress should enact a plan sooner rather than later to put the nation on a sustainable fiscal course, and the recent history of deficit reduction makes clear they can reduce deficits without increasing poverty and hardship — as policymakers did in 1990, 1993, and 1997. That’s particularly important now, with inequality in the United States at its highest in over 80 years and poverty considerably higher here than in most other wealthy nations. In designing deficit reduction plans, policymakers should follow a core principle of the Bowles-Simpson Commission – to design them in ways that protect low-income people and do not increase poverty.”
Wade Henderson, President and CEO, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
“With millions of low-income Americans struggling to gain economic stability – including millions of women, minorities, and people with disabilities – reducing the deficit in ways that increased poverty or added to their hardships would be contrary to our national values. Our leaders would be wise to follow the precedent of previous administrations and Congresses and refuse to cut any programs that strengthen economic security for low-income families.”
Alan Houseman, President and Executive Director, CLASP
“The current debate over the nation’s deficit is incomplete,” said Alan W. Houseman, executive director of the CLASP, the Center for Law and Social Policy. “We have to make tough choices about how the nation spends and raises money to keep the government functioning, but we also must consider deeper questions such as what kind of nation we want to be now and in the future. As lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have said, deficit reduction should protect the truly needy. Lawmakers must do more than pay lip service to this principle. They must commit to it, and they must ensure that the decisions they make don’t increase poverty and inequality.”
John Podesta, President and CEO, Center for American Progress
“Long-term deficit-reduction is a critical goal, which can, indeed must, be accomplished in a way that strengthens the middle-class and ensures adequate protections for the most vulnerable.”
…
Hilary O. Shelton, Director, NAACP Washington Bureau & Senior Vice President for Advocacy and Policy
“A nation’s budget is, in its aggregate, a statement about the values and priorities of its people,” said Hilary O. Shelton, the Director of the NAACP Washington Bureau and the Senior Vice President for Advocacy and Policy. “The NAACP fully believes that it is incumbent upon the federal government to meet the unique needs of the most vulnerable Americans among us and that they are allowed to engage in their Constitutional right to the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. We therefore strongly encourage everyone involved in the budget negotiations to do all they can to ensure that essential services are not cut and that no American goes hungry, is undereducated, underemployed or homeless or suffers from a preventable illness. Not on our watch.”
James Weill, President, Food Research and Action Center
“One in five Americans reported they were unable to afford enough food for themselves or their families in 2010. Given the economic struggles that Americans continue to face, our nation’s leaders must refuse to even consider reckless cuts that harm the most vulnerable. Any proposal to cut or otherwise restructure valuable safety net programs would roll back a generation of progress in this nation against very deep hunger and poverty, and would destroy a bipartisan compact that for two generations has developed and sustained a strong and effective safety net.” …

You can read the letter here.

Big news in Ohio. History has been made in one of the largest petition drives in American politics:

Opponents of Ohio Governor John Kasich’s push to strip public employees of collective bargaining rights—as part of a national push by newly elected Republican governors to silence opposition to their cuts in funding for public education and services — needed to collect 231,000 valid signatures to force a referendum that would override anti-labor legislation enacted by Kasich and his allies.
That was a tall order. But the labor and community groups that have come together to defend public employees, teachers, schools and services have exceeded it —by more than one million signatures. [1]
With petitions carrying 1,298,301 [2]signatures packed in 1,500 boxes carried by a semi-truck, organizers of the We Are Ohio [2]campaign and thousands of their allies marched to the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office in Columbus Wednesday—one day before the deadline—to file the paperwork necessary to force a November vote on overturning Ohio Senate Bill 5 and Kasich’s attack on labor rights.

1.2 million people signed petitions to get a chance to vote to repeal Kaisch’s attack on unions. The election likely is in November and polls show voters 2 to 1 in favor of repealing the anti-union law. Democracy lives.

Poor Governor Walker. He went to New York City for a GOP fundraiser. And New York gave him a grand welcome- with giant inflated rats:

Riots have been sweeping Greece against austerity cuts. If Greece does not comply with austerity it defaults. It cannot get the loan needed from the EU otherwise. How did Greece wind up so troubled? Part of it is revenue and extra low taxes for corporations:

..the Greek corporate tax rate is very low, the corporate tax, is .. 25%, TEN PERCENT lower than the U.S.A.
On top of all of this tax information, low corporate taxes and tax dodgers that are rampant, the unemployment rate in Greece is 14.1%. According to the Republicans running for President here in the U.S. we need to lower corporate taxes to 25% or lower to increase employment. Seriously?
This brings me to the second country that is being watched for default, Ireland. Ireland has a corporate tax rate of 12.5%. The unemployment is Ireland is 14.7%. the European Union has been approached by Ireland asking for a bailout, but Germany and other countries have told them to essentially pound sand until it raises it’s corporate tax rate to the average percentage of all EU countries, which sits around 25%.
The conservatives continue to blame social programs for the financial troubles of these countries, but the one thing they DO NOT bring up is the fact that their tax rates are a lot lower than ours. They also never talk about their unemployment being higher than ours even though their taxes are lower. They won’t bring this up obviously because it runs contradictory to their talking points.

Democratic Senator Inouye of HI is not buying this austerity crap and says cutting domestic programs must be off the table in any debt dealings. Oh and he chairs the Appropriations Committee:

“Are we really spending too much on non-defense programs? The answer is clearly no. Non-defense discretionary spending levels are essentially unchanged from 2001. There is no reason we shouldn’t be able to afford them today,” Inouye said.
“The focus of our deficit talks should not be on domestic discretionary spending, but on the real reason why we are not running a surplus: historically low revenues, soaring mandatory spending, and the cost of war,” he added.
Inouye called for more investment in highways, rail, levees, bridges and dams.
“In short, domestic discretionary investments are not the problem; they are in fact a vital part of the solution to our economic and fiscal challenges,” he said.
Inouye told The Hill Thursday that there is waste that can be trimmed from domestic discretionary spending since “there is waste in everything,” but said it should not be the focus of the debt-ceiling talks.

And in the Right wing nut files is a funny. The author of Ohio’s voter ID bill would have just taken away his own voting rights if the bill were actually law:

On April 23, an Indiana state trooper pulled Rep. Robert Mecklenborg over for a burned out headlight on a 2004 Lexus he was driving. After failing three separate field sobriety tests, Mecklenborg allegedly refused to take a breath test and was placed under arrest. A blood test later revealed that he had recently taken a Viagra.
“Given that he likely is not in possession of his own drivers license (it should have been confiscated and suspended in accordance with Indiana DUI law and procedure), perhaps he will opt to arrest his drive to repress voting rights,” the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee’s Carolyn Fiddler wrote in a blog post.

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Study Shocker: 25% American Women’s Life Expectancy Plummets

By Art Pronin on 02 July 2011

This study out is beyond appalling. Our nation is better than this. The richest nation on earth has life expectancy for women and blacks plummeting by over 25pct. We have the best healthcare in the world right? Wrong. Too many have no access to it and the government is too keen to cut the safety so now even fewer will. And more will die way before their time because of it:

Researchers at the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation this month published a county-by-county analysis of life expectancy. From 1987 to 1997, there were 227 counties where female life expectancy dropped. From 1997 to 2007, the number of counties where women’s life expectancy dropped exploded to 737.
Comparisons with the rest of the developed world are more appalling. Of the nation’s 3,147 counties, nearly two-thirds — 2,054 — fell further behind life expectancies for women in the 10 longest-living countries. This is despite the United States having the world’s highest per-capita health spending.
Christopher Murray, the director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, said his research team expected to find regional and racial disparities, but the overall breadth of the backward movement was stunning…

Where healthcare is most accessible, as in Massachuessetts, life expectancy is higher. But in the South especially if you are a woman or a minority odds are you won’t live as long a life. Things can be done to stop this of course, but it will take a real fight:

At this point, the nation needs a health-promotion system that considers a range of options. They include regulation of trans-fats and salts in commercial food, higher tobacco and alcohol taxes, greater access to and affordability of healthier foods, environments that encourage exercise, and expanding the number of primary-care physicians.
“A health system push on preventable causes would not be easy, but it is a target that is technically possible and could make a major impact,’’ the study said.
Murray said he hopes the county-by-county data will help health and political leaders better target their policies. What the data should do is end any boasting about the greatness of our health care system. There is nothing to brag about when three times more counties are seeing big drops in life expectancy for women.

If there ever was a rallying cry for universal healthcare in this country this study should be it.

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Queer Talk: “Self-evident truths” about equality vs. transgender reality

By Joyce Arnold on 02 July 2011

Joyce Arnold is a liberal Independent activist whose weekly column “Queer Talk” appears on Saturday.

I found out I know someone who attended the June 30, Pride Reception at the White House. Marisa Richmond, Ph.D., is one of the people I think about when considering grassroots activism. Her many years of work at the local level, in Nashville, TN, are also filled with work at the state and national levels. Sometimes I’m too quick with the “Insider & Access” generalization, applied to DC advocacy work. I know better, because I know Marisa, and others like her, whose consistent work toward LGBT equality isn’t about gaining an “elite” status, but about gaining equality.

Marisa does this work in multiple ways, including as president of the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition, Secretary of the National Center for Transgender Equality, and at large board member of Davidson County (TN) Democratic Women. She was a member of the Transgender Delegate Caucus at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. That’s just a sampling, but it should give one “this is what an activist looks like” picture.

Before listening to Marisa, some context.

Studies consistently show that transgender individuals are the targets of discrimination far more frequently than anyone else in the LGBT communities. For example, in February of this year, The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality released “Injustice at Every Turn: A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey.”

The EXECUTIVE SUMMARY begins:

This study brings to light what is both patently obvious and far too often dismissed from the human rights agenda. Transgender and gender non-conforming people face injustice at every turn: in childhood homes, in school systems that promise to shelter and educate, in harsh and exclusionary workplaces, at the grocery store, the hotel front desk, in doctors’ offices and emergency rooms, before judges and at the hands of landlords, police officers, health care workers and other service providers.

The study provides stories, not just statistics. One recent story comes by way of a June 23, 2011 article by Eliza Gray, “Transitions: What will it take for America to accept transgender people for who they really are?” :

On April 18, a transgender woman named Chrissy Lee Polis went to the women’s bathroom in a Baltimore County McDonald’s. When she came out, two teenage girls approached and spat in her face. Then they threw her to the floor and started kicking her in the head. As a crowd of customers watched, Polis tried to stand up, but the girls dragged her by her hair across the restaurant, ripping the earrings out of her ears. The last thing Polis remembers, before she had a seizure, was spitting blood on the restaurant door. The incident made national news—not because this sort of violence against transgender people is unusual, but because a McDonald’s employee recorded the beating on his cell phone and posted the video on YouTube.

That a member of the transgender communities was at the WH Pride reception is obviously significant. That there is much more work to be done is just as obvious.

And so, from Marisa (with her permission), via a July 1 e-mailing of the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition,“The Dichotomy of Transgender Lives”:

This week, two events have reminded us of the dichotomy of the lives of transgender Americans.
On Wednesday, I had the honor and privilege of being one of several hundred who attended the LGBT Pride Reception at the White House. Just prior to the public remarks made by the President of the United States, I was one of 13 attendees, and the only transgender representative, who was ushered in the Diplomatic Reception Room for a personal meeting with President Barack Obama. After our private meeting and the President’s public speech in the East Room, I also got to meet and chat briefly with Vice President Joe Biden.
While I was in the White House talking with the two highest ranking officials of the United States government on behalf of the transgender community, back in Nashville, a local transwoman named Forresta Bee was speaking up about a reported transphobic incident.
According to Ms. Bee, she was at the All-White Affair at LP Field (home of the TN Titans) on June 4, when 101.1 The Beat Jamz DJ Dolewite, of the weeknight radio show Dolewite & Scooby, requested her removal from the makeshift dance floor.
‘Dolewite invited everyone on stage to dance (after the fashion show),’ she says. ‘Everybody was taking pictures and doing videos. The next thing you know, he was saying ‘If you don’t get your Amazon, Shaquille O’ Neal-looking (expletive) off the stage, you better now.’ Then some heavyset guy was tugging my arm and telling me to get off the stage. …’
The incident reported by Ms. Bee occurred just one day after Tracy Morgan’s highly publicized rant at the Ryman Auditorium, also in Nashville.
When several LGBT community leaders met with Mr. Morgan on June 21, I pointed out the problems of harassment and violence against transpeople. …
I concluded my remarks that day by saying that transphobia and homophobia plagues many in the African-American community, and, thus, African-American leaders and spokespeople have a responsibility to stand against bigotry, not make fun of it.
So, at a time when an African-American transgender activist from Nashville got to shake hands and talk with the nation’s first African-American President, another African-American transwoman …, also from Nashville, was standing up for respect and dignity from her own community after being insulted, and made to feel vulnerable and humiliated, at an event she paid to attend.
As we gather together this weekend to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence with those inspirational words ‘we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal,’ let us not forget that not all Americans are yet truly equal.
The Transgender community is making progress, but serious challenges remain, and that is why the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition exists to do the work we do.

Marisa is among the LGBT activists who really can take a local and state, grassroots level knowledge and activism, to DC. And she, and activists like her, from across issues and concerns, help provide the much needed accountability in the fight toward making equality “evident” in fact, and not just in words.

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My $0.02/Saturday: Females are Fabulous (all the moreso during Fourth of July weekend)

By Wonk the Vote on 02 July 2011

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskaite attend the international conference "Women Enhancing Democracy: Best Practices" in Vilnius on June 30, 2011 AFP PHOTO PETRAS MALUKAS (Click photo to read a transcript of Dalia's and Hillary's post-bilateral remarks.)

Morning, news junkies.

Do you remember the I Love Lucy episode where Lucy goes on “Females are Fabulous” (game show which the announcer says is “based on the theory that any woman is willing to make an idiot out of herself in order to win a prize”)? Well, I was watching that episode while I was on the treadmill yesterday, a little after I saw the picture to the right, of Hillary and Dalia, which I instantly knew would be my Saturday intro pick. I figured this roundup is as good a time as any to turn that concept on its head… So here’s to the modern fabulous woman, based on the theory that women can compete in a man’s world instead of having to do stupid pet tricks to be recognized! For this weekend’s roundup, I’m going to stick mostly to items about women who are doing just that. Which means–you guessed it–a whole lotta Hillary.

Hillary in Lithuania…

…on Thursday, heralding the fight for women’s rights as “the great struggle of the 21st century” at the Women Enhancing Democracy Event (great applause/laugh line in bold):

Sometimes dignity means nothing more profound than to walk safely to fetch water or visit a friend without fear that you’ll be beaten, harassed, or kidnapped. But for too many women in too many places, even these most basic rights remain a distant dream. Whether you are a woman in downtown Cairo or a mother in a small Indian village or a girl growing up right here in Vilnius or in New York City, we have to send a clear, unmistakable message that young women, just like young men, have the right to their dreams and their dignity in the 21^st century.
When you look back at the last 300 years of history, you can see a pattern. You can see that the 19^th century, the great human rights struggle was against organized slavery; the 20^th century, the great struggle was against totalitarianism; the great struggle of the 21^st century is to ensure that women are fully given the rights they have as human beings – in their families, in their societies, and in the world.
So let us work together, day by day, to make sure that when we meet again 10 years from now, we will be able to look back on progress, not only continuing progress in my country, which someday, perhaps, will match Finland and Lithuania with having a woman president – (laughter) – but in every country everywhere – (applause). And particularly, let those of us who enjoy the benefits of freedom, for whom legal restrictions and barriers have been broken down, and what remains are more internal, more psychological – let us be sure that we keep opening doors for those elsewhere. We cannot take any solace in our own freedoms when women elsewhere are denied those same rights.

…and on Friday, still in Lithuania, issuing remarks on Women’s Rights in the MENA region. (“As one woman put it, the men were keen for me to be here when we demanding that Mubarak should go, but now that he has gone, they want me to go home.”) The New Age, a South African paper, headline on Hillary’s remarks: “Clinton warns against sidelining women in Arab Spring.” Hillary gave a news conference with remarks specifically on Syria as well.

And, here’s a neat interview she did with a female journalist in Lithuania:

QUESTION: Secretary Clinton, former First Lady of the United States Eleanor Roosevelt only allowed female reporters to her press conferences, forcing – so editors to hire women. Do such methods – should be taken in our days for similar reasons, for – strengthen positions of women?
SECRETARY CLINTON: I think that’s a very interesting question. Eleanor Roosevelt is someone whom I admire greatly, and because she would only be interviewed by women reporters, she forced newspapers to hire more women. I think that that is probably not necessary in today’s world because you’re sitting there and I am frequently interviewed by very able women reporters. But I do think that focusing on women’s rights and equality for women remains a very big issue for the world today.

Kat also sent me this great extensive writeup from Bloomberg on Hillary’s remarks about women at the African Union during her travels last month: Clinton Tells African Leaders Economies Would Fail Without Women’s Toil, which I want to excerpt a bit from:

For Clinton, the plight of women has helped drive an aggressive travel schedule that her office says has clocked up more miles than any of her predecessors. She’s gone 567,305 miles, visiting 85 countries in 232 days on the road since taking office in January 2009. She makes it a point to meet local women in impoverished nations.
In Zambia, which hadn’t hosted a secretary of state since Henry Kissinger in 1976, Clinton was met by a singing and dancing chorus of local businesswomen who had taken part in a U.S.-funded program to train female entrepreneurs on how to tap financing and export their goods.
“Have you been to a market? Have you looked at fields being tilled? Have you watched children being raised?” Clinton told her hosts at a meeting in Lusaka, Zambia to discuss a U.S. trade agreement with 37 African countries. “Women are holding up half the economy already.”
‘Anything is Possible’
Among those listening was Linda Moono, part of a group that set up the only Mexican restaurant in Lusaka and helps young entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground.
“I was inspired, particularly by her focus on young women,” she said in a June 9 interview. “She makes one believe anything is possible.”

Earlier this week, Madame Secretary gave an exclusive to Jim Clancy of CNN International’s Freedom Project on the release of the 2011 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report: Sec. Clinton on slavery: “Unforgettable and unforgivable” (full transcript at the link):

Watch Sec. Clinton describe her passion for fighting 21st century slavery, which she calls ‘unforgettable and unforgivable’, here.
Watch the full interview here.

Fiercest advocate-in-chief that she is, Hillary also co-hosted an LGBT Pride month event at the State Department with GLIFAA (Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies). From On Top Magazine’s coverage of Hillary’s remarks at the event–“Hillary Clinton Cheers New York Gay Marriage”:

At the event co-hosted by the Department of State and the affinity group Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies (GLIFAA), Clinton called the law a historic victory for human rights.
“If you followed closely, which I’m sure all of you did, the debate in New York, one of the key votes that was switched at the end was a Republican senator from the Buffalo area who became convinced that it was just not any longer fair for him to see one group of his constituents as different from another. Senators stood up and talked about nieces and nephews and grandchildren and others who are very dear to them, and they don’t want them being objectified or discriminated against. And from their own personal connections and relationships, they began to make the larger connection with somebody else’s niece or nephew of grandchild and what that family must feel like,” Clinton said.
“So I ask all of you to look for ways to support those who are on the front lines of this movement, who are defending themselves and the people they care about with great courage and resilience. This is one of the most urgent and important human rights struggles of all times,” she added.

BBC News and other outlets also reported on Hillary’s comments about the US envoy in Rome helping Lady Gaga secure Europride show:

“Organisers of the EuroPride event desperately wanted her to perform, and a letter to her from Ambassador Thorne was instrumental in sealing the deal,” Mrs Clinton told a group of gay and lesbian state department employees on Monday.

Fox News, oddly enough, ran this headline… SMART POWER: Hillary Brokers Lady Gaga Gay Pride Gig for Rome.

Shifting the human rights gears back to Hillary’s signature issue… Hillary sent a video message to the “Women Leaders as Agents of Change” Colloquium. Teaser:

Hello and welcome to this colloquium dedicated to empowering women as agents of change. I want to thank the Prime Minister for hosting this important forum. As Trinidad and Tobago’s first female prime minister, she is a role model for women not only in her own country, but throughout the region.
In the United States this month we are celebrating the unique contributions by Americans of Caribbean descent. Caribbean-American women have added in ways large and small to the story of America. We have seen them act as agents of change in our own country.

On Friday, Hillary had this to say about the first meeting of the Lifeline Donor Steering Committee (NGO initiative):

And I think our seven NGO partners are creating a virtual SOS warning platform to improve our abilities to identify where and when people are in danger. So we can get a response as quickly as needed.

In other Hillaryland-related news… from Ann Lewis’ NoLimits.org… Congress: Fair Pay Deserves a Vote:

The devastating ruling in the Wal-Mart v. Dukes case highlights the importance of The Paycheck Fairness Act, which calls for an end to pay secrecy and sex-based pay discrimination. The bill, reintroduced this year by Senator Barbara Mikulski and Representative Rosa DeLauro, would strengthen the equal pay laws, and help take equal pay from the law books to our checkbooks.
The Paycheck Fairness Act would prohibit punishment of employees who voluntarily share wage information; require gender-based data collection, allow employees to compare their wages to the wages of others who hold their job, even outside the workplace, and strengthen compensation and punitive damages for victims of sex-based wage discrimination.
Think of the impact that The Paycheck Fairness Act would have had on Lilly Ledbetter and the women of Wal-Mart. Let’s pass The Paycheck Fairness Act for millions of working women in the U.S.
Click here to contact your representative about The Paycheck Fairness Act.

And, here’s another shero milestone to be proud of this Fourth of July weekend… Last month, the US Army made Pratima Dharm the first Hindu chaplain in US history. I caught a profile of her in an Indian American periodical this week, but I can’t find the article online. The Huffpo piece (from earlier last month) that I’ve linked to is pretty good, though:

“Our motto is priest to some, chaplain to all,” states Chaplain Dharm. She acknowledges her cultural background makes her uniquely qualified to take on the challenge of being the first Hindu Chaplain. She was born and raised in India, and can read and write Sanskrit, the language ancient Hindu scriptures were written in. “The basic principles of Hinduism make being a ‘chaplain to all’ an ideal endeavor. Hinduism by its very nature teaches tolerance, acceptance and respect for all religions, a key characteristic of successful military chaplains.”

I have some other items I want to link to briefly:

Draft Rick Perry peanut gallery seeks spot at Iowa straw poll.
the inimitable Little Isis: Ohio Lawmakers are Special People (and everybody give Little Isis a big round of applause for becoming section editor of her university newspaper and racking up a nice scholarship in this crummy economy for students! Way to go, sister! What an accomplishment.)
Pres. Clinton talks to Wolf Blitzer.
And so the flip flop season is well under way already, via Think Progress: Romney Repeatedly Said Obama ‘Made The Recession Worse,’ Now Claims ‘I Didn’t Say That Things Are Worse’
Daily Beast: Is July 4th a Republican Holiday?

Amelia Earhart 74 years ago. (Click to go to the article.)

I have a few different historical trivia reads to cover, but there’s a bit more Hillary stuff all the way at the end, so stay tuned.

This Day in Women’s History:

July 2 marks anniversary of Earhart vanishing in 1937:

Donning a helmet and goggles, one 10 minute flight in an open-cockpit biplane was all it took. She was hooked for life. Amelia Earhart is possibly the world’s most famous female aviator. On July 2, it will be 64 (editor note sic 74) years since she was last heard from over the Pacific Ocean. It was one of the last legs of her attempted flight around the world when her radio went silent.

Oh and of course, Today in American History…some milestones to remember this weekend:

Via National Geographic’s 9 Fourth of July Myths Debunked:

Independence Day is celebrated two days too late. The Second Continental Congress voted for a Declaration of Independence on July 2, prompting John Adams to write his wife, “I am apt to believe that [July 2, 1776], will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival.”
Adams correctly foresaw shows, games, sports, buns, bells, and bonfires—but he got the date wrong. The written document wasn’t edited and approved until the Fourth of July, and that was the date printers affixed to “broadside” announcements sent out across the land. July 2 was soon forgotten.
(Related: “U.S. Independence Celebrated on the Wrong Day?”)
In fact, no one actually signed the Declaration of Independence at any time during July 1776. Signing began on August 2, with John Hancock’s famously bold scribble, and wasn’t completed until late November.

Marching Towards Equality: Remembering the Civil Rights Act of 1964…

On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act, which prohibited any form of discrimination in public places, as well as authorized the integration of public facilities. To this very day the Civil Rights Act remains one of the most important pieces of legislation, not just for people of color but for all Americans of different gender, religion, and socio-economic status.

New Connecticut (Vermont) declares independence:

One month later, on July 2, 1777, a convention of 72 delegates met in Windsor, Vermont, to adopt the state’s new—and revolutionary—constitution; it was formally adopted on July 8, 1777. Vermont’s constitution was not only the first written national constitution drafted in North America, but also the first to prohibit slavery and to give all adult males, not just property owners, the right to vote.

I’ll close with a snippet from Hillary’s Video Message for Independence Day:

February 26, 2008 (John Kuntz / The Plain Dealer)
Today is a time to celebrate the birth of our nation and the values that have sustained us for 235 years – equality, opportunity and the rights enshrined in our founding documents.
This year, we have been reminded again that these are not just American values, they are truly universal values. And as people across North Africa, the Middle East and around the world risk their lives to claim these universal human rights and freedoms, Americans are proud to stand with them. We are united by our common hopes and aspirations for a better world.

Chelsea, Hillary, and Dorothy Rodham... Pennsylvania 2008

I love the above pic of Hillary ’08 against the blue part of the flag and the stars…I also love this pic to the right with the red and white stripes backdrop for three generations of American women.

Happy Fourth of July weekend everyone! If you get a chance, let us know what’s on your blogging list.

[originally posted at Let Them Listen; crossposted at Sky Dancing and Liberal Rapture]

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C’est Magnifique

By Taylor Marsh on 01 July 2011

If you love Paris, you’ll fall head over heels for this film.

It will eventually take it’s place as one of Woody Allen’s finest. As “Manhattan” was a love letter to New York City, “Midnight in Paris” is to this magical city.

The premise of the film is something that’s blown through my mind innumerable times, as I’ve been having an affair with Paris for quite some time. It started long ago, because of my artistic beginnings, but once I set foot on French soil I was a goner.

How many times have you walked through Paris and ended up lost? It’s a right of passage for anyone perusing the Persian streets.

It’s the 4th of July weekend, see a movie. Start with “Midnight in Paris.”

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Ponder This on the 4th…

By Art Pronin on 01 July 2011

Art offers his perspective as a movement progressive activist.

This 4th of July weekend here is something to ponder: Americans and their lack of knowledge on their own history. A new Marist poll has many saying they are shocked. Why I don’t know, as kids today are not taught. They are given standardized testing, expected to make a certain score while their teachers are tormented with a unfair merit pay system, layoffs, and in-school violence.

We cannot be a great nation without education for all. Thos who do not know history are doomed to repeat it:

Only 58% of residents know that the United States declared its independence in 1776. 26% are unsure, and 16% mentioned another date.
There are age differences on this question. Younger Americans are the least likely to know the correct answer. Only 31% of adults younger than 30 say that 1776 is the year in which the United States broke away from Great Britain. 59% of residents between 30 and 44 report the same. Americans 45 to 59 — 75% — are the age group most likely to have the correct answer. Among those 60 and older, 60% report that 1776 is the year in which the United States declared its independence.
When it comes to gender, men — 65% — are more likely to respond with 1776 than are women — 52%.
And, for the second year, about one in four Americans doesn’t know from which country the United States declared its independence. While 76% correctly cite Great Britain, 19% are unsure, and 5% mention another country.

Bachmann thinks John Quincy Adams was a founding father, Palin thinks Revere warned the British, our presidents wiretap without warrant, use torture and go to war without consent of Congress. Perhaps the presidency is becoming monarchal because over a quarter of our citizens do not even know who we had to fight to get freedom?!

This is pathetic.

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Oh, Mitt

By Taylor Marsh on 01 July 2011

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Social Security COLA Cuts Being Considered in Debt Talks

By Taylor Marsh on 01 July 2011

[...] It is a rare proposal in that it would likely lead to both lower benefits paid to seniors and higher taxes paid by most people who pay federal income tax. As such, it could allow Republicans to argue they are tackling federal entitlement programs such as Social Security, and permit Democrats to say they are increasing taxes as part of any budget deal that is reached. It could be easier for both parties to agree on than a significant overhaul to the Medicare proposal or an increase of taxes on wealthier Americans. … – Change To Inflation Measurement On Table As Part Of Budget Talks – Aides

Of course.

Naturally.

Pres. Obama and Democrats have to put everything on the table even when Republicans won’t put anything. For Democrats it’s just plain stupid, but you see it will provide cover for both parties as they try to keep their separate ideological purity intact, except it helps Republicans a lot more than Democrats, if you ask me.

It begins with changing how the Consumer Price Index is calculated (h/t David Dayen), which reportedly could save around $220 billion over the next decade, not exactly chump change.

From a press release from the Strengthen Social Security Campaign:

Social Security COLA Change Being Considered by Obama Administration and Congressional Budget Negotiators Would Cut Benefits, Betray Seniors and Families, Experts Charge
(Washington, D.C.) — Obama Administration and Congressional budget negotiators are considering a proposal that would cut the Social Security benefits of current and future retirees by changing the formula used to calculate the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), which would be a betrayal to all Social Security beneficiaries charged several policy experts today. It also would cut the benefits of people with disabilities and their families, children who have lost parents, and all other beneficiaries.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates adoption of the so-called “Chained-CPI,” which would be used to determine Social Security’s annual COLA, would cut benefits by $112 billion over 10 years. The Social Security Administration Chief Actuary estimates the effects of this change would be that beneficiaries who retire at age 65 and receive average benefits would get $560 less a year at age 75 than they would under current law and get $1,000 less a year at age 85 – a 3.7 percent cut and a 6.5 percent cut, respectively. [See analysis here] The proposal will cut $1.6 trillion over Social Security’s 75 year valuation period – mainly from the oldest of the old, primarily women and disproportionately poor.

Much more at Strengthen Social Security.

Here’s the contact information for the White House.

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Tim Pawlenty on Minnesota Shutdown

By Taylor Marsh on 01 July 2011

**UPDATED**

Since nothing else is working for Mr. Pawlenty, after trying neoconservatism, he’s now channeling Newt. From Politico:

“I think it was nine days (of shutdown) at that time, and I think we could have gotten a better deal if we had allowed that to continue for a while and the people of Minnesota would have seen the issues play out a little longer,” the Republican presidential hopeful said Thursday night at a press conference at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International airport. – Tim Pawlenty: Shutdown could be a good thing

UPDATE: The news just keeps getting worse for Pawlenty. He raised only $4.2 million in the 2nd quarter.

TM Note: Title has been corrected, apologies for the error.

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PIGS FLY: No ‘War’ or ‘Hostilities’ in Libya, Just 801 ‘Strike Sorties’

By Taylor Marsh on 01 July 2011

Pres. Obama has been tying himself in knots over “no hostilities” or “war” in Libya since his latest military adventure began. Hey, but this is what happens when all people pay attention to is the mouthpiece media, which in the U.S. gets squeamish about challenging any administration on war.

Let’s face it, folks, war has now become our primary export, which has been the case for quite some time, though since the Bush era’s financial implosion, it’s all we do.

From the Navy Times:

Air Force and Navy aircraft are still flying hundreds of strike missions over Libya despite the Obama administration’s claim that American forces are playing only a limited support role in the NATO operation.
An Africa Command (AFRICOM) spokeswoman confirmed Wednesday that since NATO’s Operation Unified Protector (OUP) took over from the American-led Operation Odyssey Dawn on March 31, the U.S. military has flown hundreds of strike sorties. Previously, Washington had claimed that it was mostly providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and tanker support to NATO forces operating over Libya.
“U.S. aircraft continue to fly support [ISR and refueling] missions, as well as strike sorties under NATO tasking,” AFRICOM spokeswoman Nicole Dalrymple said in an emailed statement. “As of today, and since 31 March, the U.S. has flown a total of 3,475 sorties in support of OUP. Of those, 801 were strike sorties, 132 of which actually dropped ordnance.”

It brings to mind Joe Scarborough’s recent op-ed for POLITICO, “In Washington, war always wins.”

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