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

Archive | November, 2011

Dash of Dan: Butter Dipped Pear Muffins

By on 12 November 2011


When I was at boarding school, nearby was a Yankee Candle center. I mean this place was huge.

Rows upon rows of candles lined up, in every scent, from fresh floral to warm notes.

Smell as I have mentioned before is a powerful tool, bringing up memories from cherished times.

(A note to Yankee Candle, find a way to make this muffin into a candle scent!) But I digress…

Pears are great for crisps or tarts, and have a long season that runs from mid-summer to winter.

I find them completely adaptable, soaked in a wine served with ice-cream for a cool summer treat or a warm, buttery, spiced muffin for those colder fall mornings or winter nights.

These muffins have a sort of charm that reminds me of the fall, slowly but surely gearing us towards winter, they are warm, inviting, and absolutely comforting.

 

 

Recipe:

2 cups peeled & chopped fresh pears (about 4 medium pears)

1 1/2 cups flour

 1 cup granulated sugar                            1 teaspoon baking powder

1 stick of butter melted & cooled         1 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract                        1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/2 cup of coarsely chopped walnuts

3 tablespoons melted butter

 

Sugar n’ Spice Topping: Mix together in a small bowl and set aside…

1 teaspoon sugar                               1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon      1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

 

*Preheat oven to 400 degrees

*Line 12 standard muffin tins with paper liners

 

  1. Place chopped pears in a bowl and sprinkle 3/4 cup of sugar over them. Add vanilla and mix. (This process is called macerating) Set aside.
  2. Mix together in a large bowl the flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and coarsely chopped walnuts.
  3. Cream together stick of melted & cooled butter, remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, then add lightly beaten eggs. Mix together
  4. Add chopped pear mixture to the egg combination. Mix.
  5.   Add the chopped pear mixture (which has all the wet ingredients) to the flour bowl. Mix using an offset spatula from the bottom up (Don’t over-mix!). Scoop batter into paper lined tins.
  6. Take a teaspoon and spoon melted 3 tablespoons of butter over the muffins.
  7.  With a spoon sprinkle  reserved sugar n’ spice mixture over the muffins.
  8. Bake muffins for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffins comes out clean.

How is everyone?! Are you slowly but surely gearing up for Thanksgiving?

Let me know what’s on your mind (or plate) in this open thread!

 

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Take a Load off, Laugh

By on 11 November 2011


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Occupy clowns with the bull

By on 11 November 2011

Joyce L. Arnold, Liberally Independent, Queer Talk, equality activist, writer.

“Clowns Arrested in Near-Successful Attack on Wall Street Bull”

I saw this story posted at Wall Street News, and followed the link to YesLab, and got their kind permission to use the photos. There are more at the link.

Earlier today, a small group of Occupy Wall Street activists engaged in a near-successful corrida against the Wall Street Bull.

The incident began when two clowns, Hannah Morgan and Louis Jargow, scaled the steel barricades protecting the landmark. The clowns began spanking and climbing the beast, traditional ways of coaxing a bull into anger in preparation for a Castilian corrida, or bullfight.

Within seconds, police officers grabbed both clowns by their colorful shirts and wrestled one of them (Jargow) to the ground. The other (Morgan) continued to play the harmonica until an officer removed it from her mouth.

With the officers thus occupied, a matador in full traje de luces leapt onto the hood of the patrol vehicle parked in front of the bull and boldly presented his blood-red cape to the beast.

‘I wondered whether I, neophyte matador, could bring down this behemoth, world-famous for charging towards profit while trampling underfoot the average worker,’ said the OWS activist/torero whose first fight this was. ‘Come what may, I knew I must try.’

Police officers took no notice of the matador, occupied as they were with the clowns….

Both clowns were charged with disorderly conduct and released an hour later; they returned to Zuccotti Park to great fanfare. The Wall Street bull continues to rage.

There’s not much I can add to that, except applause to clowns and matador.

And not much I can add to “Occupy Wall Street: David Crosby and Graham Nash perform live on ‘Countdown,’ discuss the movement.” Watch the interview here. The two talk about the responses, from attendees of their recent European tour, to mention of Occupy Wall Street: cheers. Crosby and Nash had come from a “just us and our guitars” visit to NYC OWS, and are very supportive of what they describe as the beginnings of something that won’t be shut down. The “park is the spark,” Crosby says, but what’s happening is much bigger than the spaces being occupied. At the end of the interview, the two do an a cappella version of a song written by Crosby, one they did on the European tour, inspired by the Occupy movement.

Okay, I include this story in part because, well, it’s Crosby and Nash, from Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. And because while there is no doubt that it’s a generation or two who have known nothing but a growing disparity between the top one or so percent, and the majority of the rest of us, who are in the forefront of Occupy, it’s inaccurate, and dangerous (to those who oppose OWS), not to see that people of all ages are involved and supportive.

For example, from Occupy Together’s Update section:

Seniors Join Occupy Chicago Rally [CBS report] Police arrested 43 people after a morning federal plaza rally by seniors and their supporters who are protesting cuts to federal social programs.

Also from the Occupy Together Update, about the success (with participation of people of all ages) of last Saturday’s “Bank Transfer Day”:

… the Boeing Employees’ Credit Union in Seattle signed up a one-day record 659 new members. At the grand opening of a Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union branch in Pflugerville, Texas, the parking lot was so full that customers had to leave their cars across the street.

From Occupy Fort Lauderdale:

The Fort Lauderdale city commissioners of Broward county, Florida are trying to pass a law saying that anyone speaking on county property (public property) must get a permit 3 days in advance. The permit will then expire after 5 days.

And, from Occupy UConn:

University officials tell the artist, ‘You can perform, but you can’t sing that ‘Occupy (We Are the 99%)’ song.’

Today, in NYC, OWS held a “Veterans Day Concert and Rally for the 99% Rally” at Foley Square. The “Honor the Dead, Fight Like Hell For the Living” event included Max Rameau, from Take Back the Land, Joan Baez and “a speaker from the Iraq Veterans Against The War.”

Finally, one of my favorite things to do, include a few tweets from the OWS’ feed:

After months discussing Arab revolts in our classes, for the 1st time today we discuss the revolution unfolding in USA #occupyharvard

BoonDanks RT @OccupyToronto: warm welcomes to @occupy_harvard …thats right! its not just for hippies any more. #occupytoronto #OWS #occupytogether #occupycanada

WIProud RT @Oryx2046: As congress crows abt honoring service: #Unemployment for young #vets is 30% (and rising). #VeteransDay http://t.co/0FdRM5FW #ows #1u #p2

mdcolli RT @lcranston1939: Colin Powell On #OccupyWallStreet: ‘Demonstrating Like This Is As American As Apple Pie’ http://t.co/S0o9yaty #ows21

lofosho RT @johnjannuzzi: Major brands capitalizing on #OWS is the most cluster-fucky thing I’ve seen today. And that includes celebrities tweeting ‘11:11’ at 11:15.

(All photos via YesLab; credit: Bess Adler)

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Two Out of Three Top GOP Presidential Candidates are Womanizers

By on 11 November 2011

The American people will not elect an alleged serial sexual harasser, Herman Cain, or a man, Newt Gingrich, who asked one of his serial wives for a divorce in the hospital as she was recovering from cancer. They simply will not.

But at least we all have even more perspective on why most Republicans remain against the Lily Ledbetter Act. They simply don’t feel women deserve equanimity of respect. Many also believe sexual harassment is whining, as their gasbag leader Rush Limbaugh would say.

The bad news for these neanderthals is that some Republicans do get it, you know, like many conservative women.

In the Republican race for the presidential nomination, Newt Gingrich’s support continues to slowly grow, and he is now tied with Mitt Romney for second place, while Herman Cain just edges both of them out for the top spot. Both Cain and Romney have lost support since late October.

In a new CBS News Poll, 61 percent of Republican primary voters say the sexual harassment accusations against Cain won’t make any difference in their vote, but 30 percent say the charges make them less likely to back him, and that rises to 38 percent among women. Cain has lost support among women since last month – from 28 percent in October to 15 percent now. He has lost ground with conservatives and Tea Party supporters as well.

What a gift these womanizers are to Pres. Obama. In his entire first term, he’s never looked so good.

For that matter, Mitt Romney does too, who takes the Republican lead in the latest McClatchy-Marist poll.

The Republican presidential race is being shaken up again, with Mitt Romney retaking the lead, Newt Gingrich surging into second place, and Herman Cain dropping to third place, according to a new McClatchy-Marist nationwide poll released Friday.


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To Our Veterans, Thank You

By on 11 November 2011

Read your blog and didn’t know if you knew why Dad didn’t serve in the military. He was working at Boeing Aircraft in Wichita, Kansas, an essential industry, during the war and they wouldn’t accept him in the service because he was needed at Boeing. At least, that’s what I was always told and have no reason not to believe. – Larry (my big brother)

In our family, because of the gaps in our ages, accumulating information to piece together our story has been a life long process for me. It’s become a tradition around here on Veteran’s Day to give a nod to my late Uncle Dick, who flew missions during WWII. So many missions, in fact, that he ended up with what my mom called “battle fatigue” at the time.

People like my father did his part, too, even if he wanted to be on the front lines.

We can never fully thank our soldiers, the military who serve in intelligence and support, or their families, for what they all give to this country and each of us. But today we can remember them and the sacrifices they make every day.

There are too many of our military serving in far off places where we should no longer be engaged. On this Veterans Day, I send a silent meditation into the ether, hoping that we will one day have leaders who understand this and begin to bring our troops home from far flung places around the globe.

To the veterans who read and email me, thank you for your service, as well as the service of your family.

We salute all of those who serve today, including the wives, husbands, children and parents who spend years without their loved ones who are standing on the front lines.

Around the world, Nov. 11 is still celebrated as Armistice Day (or Remembrance Day), marking the day when German and Allied forces agreed to the end of hostilities on the Western Front in World War I. But Armistice Day also now serves to remember all who have served in the military.

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2012, and looking for love in all the wrong Two Party places

By on 11 November 2011

Joyce L. Arnold, Liberally Independent, Queer Talk, equality activist, writer.

The Occupy movement certainly played a role in recent elections, though the widespread unrest and unhappiness were obviously present long before September 17. But Occupy is providing cover for Democrats to at least shift an inch or two to the left, though only while keeping the other foot firmly planted to the Right, and for many of them, only from the starting point of a Center that’s further Right than Reagan. While I’m very happy that there were some clear wins for progressives – in Maine, Ohio, and Arizona, for example – and the people who made those wins happen deserve much credit, I wonder. Is this just the latest round of our national pattern of flipping back and forth between the Two Parties game?

The Occupy movement, and the insistence that this isn’t about the electoral politics of Democratic and Republican parties, is helping make public the same conversations that have been occurring for decades. I began this series by saying that Two Parties = Too Few Choices. As long as our options are limited to the system of two choices, with both of those choices owned by those at the top of an increasingly unequal distribution of wealth, we’re stuck. Like Occupiers and like-minded people across the nation, we need to make more choices possible, because what we’ve been doing isn’t working for most of us.

I came across an essay by Paul K. Chappel, at Waging Peace. This part is particu-larly relevant.

As a child I was taught that voting was the be-all and end-all of citizenship, and if I showed up to the polls to vote I was fulfilling my civic duty. But the women’s and civil rights movements created dramatic change, even though many of its participants had little to no voting rights. Voting is just one tool in the democratic toolbox, and we can’t build a house with just a hammer. Susan B. Anthony and Martin Luther King Jr. used many democratic methods such as protests, petitions, boycotts, pressuring the legal system, and changing people’s attitudes for the better. Historian Howard Zinn said: ‘Democracy doesn’t come from the top. It comes from the bottom. Democracy is not what governments do. It’s what people do.’

We’re at a moment when more people seem to be thinking that way, and doing it out loud and in public. At WSJ, Jonathan Weisman writes, “Poll Finds Voters Deeply Torn.”

A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll has found an electorate that is convinced the country’s economic structures favor an affluent elite and is still deeply torn as to whether President Barack Obama or any of his leading Republican rivals can pull the nation out of decline….

The poll detailed a broader factor likely to color the contest: The electorate is angry and disaffected. Half of voters now identify either with the tea-party or Occupy Wall Street movements. Fifty-four percent see the economic troubles as the start of a long-term national decline, not a tough period the U.S. will get through. …

The coming election is ‘not about hope over the horizon but the grim reality of keeping your chin above water,’ Mr. Hart (Democrat and co-director of the poll) said. …

Alex Castellanos, a Romney adviser during his 2008 campaign, said Mr. Romney’s dispassionate promise to look under the hood and fix the economy isn’t exciting angry voters looking for a more passionate voice to challenge Washington.

Why would anyone think Romney, or any other WH hopeful, would “challenge Washington”?

The anger and fear aren’t new, but as Kathy Miriam writes at Occupy Patriarchy:

In 2008, when the nation began to crash, we did not rush to the streets when Obama appointed for fixing the crisis the same miscreants culpable for creating it. Nor did we riot upon word that while record numbers of people were plunged into joblessness, homelessness, and health crises, corporations were making record rates of profits. …

And there was no revolt among people of color despite the fact that for these communities recession is depression and even ‘economic holocaust.’ Nor did women surge into the streets when sold out by the State’s sudden bequeathing of decision-making power over health-care to Catholic bishops during the non-debates over Obama-care, thus ensuring an outcome that made hash out of reproductive justice for women. …

Through (Occupy’s) … action, the movement has re-directed resentment outwards from the self to the real cause of wide-shared suffering, namely a System that stops short of nothing in its predatory imperatives to feed on any living substance … for its means of extracting surplus value (profit). …

Once teeming with the spirit of rebellion, for decades now (with some exceptions) The Street has been under lock-down, zoned by police-escorted, permit-ted arenas of civilized obedience.

Occupy, the movement, has challenged the permit only expression of speech, and in a very literal sense, taken back The Street. In so doing, it’s taking steps toward breaking the Two Party Front for the Oligarchy.

Thomas Ferguson writes “How to Take Back Our Political System From the 1%” at AlterNet:

… the corruption of our regulatory institutions really reflects the workings of economic inequality in the government as a whole. At some point – and we’re past it – economic inequality begins to shade into political tyranny. … There is no substitute for a popular movement if you want to keep democracy.

I don’t think we’re going to find a way to “keep democracy,” to find the choices we need to meet the realities created by and for those The System serves if we continue looking to Two Puppet Parties (see the photo), hoping to find a candidate we can love and be passionate about. We need more choices. And probably we need to get over looking for a candidate to fall in love with.

( Corporate Flag photo via ThinkProgress.

Two Party Puppet Show photo via People’s Library)

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Obama Punts on Keystone Pipeline

By on 10 November 2011

You have to love that the video of Jay Carney on Politico comes with a devastating Mitt Romney ad. File under things that make you chuckle, like Carney saying don’t ask me, ask Foggy Bottom.

Pres. Obama felt the pressure from the Keystone Pipeline protests. That he punted it for now seems to me like a win for the good guys, because it’s not happening now.

From Politico:

Obama said in a statement that he supports delaying a decision.

“Because this permit decision could affect the health and safety of the American people as well as the environment, and because a number of concerns have been raised through a public process, we should take the time to ensure that all questions are properly addressed and all the potential impacts are properly understood,” Obama said. “The final decision should be guided by an open, transparent process that is informed by the best available science and the voices of the American people. At the same time, my administration will build on the unprecedented progress we’ve made towards strengthening our nation’s energy security, from responsibly expanding domestic oil and gas production to nearly doubling the fuel efficiency of our cars and trucks, to continued progress in the development of a clean energy economy.”

But like with the issue of entitlements and their “reform,” I still believe that Pres. Obama’s second term, especially with Republicans potentially holding sway in Congress, could look a lot more like a Republican administration than a Democratic one.

…looking forward, however, I wonder how Secy. John Kerry would rule?

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What will Occupy 2012 look like?

By on 10 November 2011

Joyce L. Arnold, Liberally Independent, Queer Talk, equality activist, writer.

The Occupy movement isn’t only about money, but we can’t begin to understand what’s happening without paying attention to the “WS” in OWS.

At the Guardian, George Monbiot writes, The 1% are the very best destroyers of wealth the world has ever seen”:

If wealth was the inevitable result of hard work and enterprise, every woman in Africa would be a millionaire. The claims that the ultra-rich 1% make for themselves – that they are possessed of unique intelligence or creativity or drive – are examples of the self-attribution fallacy.

One thing directly related to money and banks in which the Occupy movement was involved was last Saturday’s “Move Your Money Day.” According to Sarah Jaffe, at Alternet, the day was a “success.”

The pressure from Occupy Wall Street on the big banks, combined with organizing efforts from many progressive groups, including New Bottom Line, Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Rebuild the Dream, put some significant force behind the actions (last) … weekend. …

… Tracy Van Slyke, co-director of the New Bottom Line, told me that in the last week since launching the group’s ‘move our money’ tools, individuals, congregations, union members and even business owners have moved $50 million out of the big banks. …

The New Bottom Line is just getting started with its efforts to move money away from the big banks, moving from individual efforts to pushing for group actions and even political actions.

One of the group’s strategies, Van Slyke told me, ‘is getting community groups, unions, congregations, any kind of organized group to move their money out of big banks.’

As has been frequently pointed out to those questioning the “purpose” of OWS, “what part of ‘Wall Street’ do you not understand?” At New America Foundation, Reid Cramer writes:

Occupy Wall Street’s Powerful Critique: The Widening Wealth Gap

The Occupy Wall Street protests … may lack a uniform set of demands, but they undoubtedly possess a singular and powerful critique. High finance has been allowed to assume a disproportional role in our society and, as a result, we see widespread and debilitating inequality.

Of course, not everyone hears that critique, or accepts it as legitimate. There’s a good bit of “if you aren’t like me, I don’t have to take you seriously” dismissals, the “you don’t talk like me or look like me or act like me … must be something wrong with you” spinning. As Sarah Leonard writes at Book Forum:

The problem with Occupy Wall Street, an investment banker wrote to me, is that financial mechanisms are very complicated, and the protesters don’t understand them.

Robert Reich asks, via AlterNet:

Washington vs the Rest of America: When Will Politicians Realize the 99% Demand a Just System, Not Cynical Tinkering at the Edges?

… The biggest question in America these days is how to revive the economy.

The biggest question among activists now occupying Wall Street and dozens of other cities is how to strike back against the nation’s almost unprecedented concentration of income, wealth, and political power in the top 1 percent. …

Until we reverse the trend toward inequality, the economy can’t be revived.

The disconnect between Washington and the rest of the nation hasn’t been this wide since the late 1960s.

The two worlds are on a collision course: Americans who are losing their jobs or their pay and can’t pay their bills are growing increasingly desperate. Washington insiders, deficit hawks, regressive Republicans, diffident Democrats, well-coiffed lobbyists, and the lobbyists’ wealthy patrons on Wall Street and in corporate suites haven’t a clue or couldn’t care less.

If like the very big majority, and one isn’t in the 1%, or even the 5% or 10%, getting the attention of DC or Wall Street – really getting their attention – it takes a movement. An essay by “Prof” appears at OpEdNews, “Including Non-Occupiers And Strengthening A Movement.” It includes this:

Government is increasingly less responsive to ‘ordinary’ people and their concerns. Globe-trotting businesses and banks increasingly see consumers as commodities rather than members of a shared community.

On the community side, public sector unions are all that is left of the union movement, and they are under sustained attack. The episodic social movements of the 1960s and 1970s – civil rights, women’s liberation – have come to focus more on inclusion in corporate society than on challenging it. Without a grass-roots organizational structure, the U.S. progressive movements remains easily co-opted or destabilized.

I think Occupy started receiving warnings about being co-opted about the second day the NYC group occupied Zuccotti Park. I really don’t think they needed the warnings, since it seems they were, and are, well aware of the dangers. How well they continue resisting is obviously yet to be seen. Whatever, Occupy is providing space for the unheard, dismissed, “ordinary” people. And to use what I know is a cliche, working together, ordinary people can do extraordinary things.

Bill Moyers, via The Nation:

How Wall Street Occupied America

During the prairie revolt that swept the Great Plains in 1890, populist orator Mary Elizabeth Lease exclaimed, ‘Wall Street owns the country…. Money rules…. Our laws are the output of a system which clothes rascals in robes and honesty in rags. The [political] parties lie to us and the political speakers mislead us.’

She should see us now. …

The lesson is clear: Democracy doesn’t begin at the top; it begins at the bottom, when flesh-and-blood human beings fight to rekindle what Arlo Guthrie calls ‘The Patriot’s Dream.’

Reading the various stories and analyses, watching the OWS’ Twitter feed, I think, “This is what 2012 looks like.” And I’m wondering, what will Occupy the Elections look like?

(Graphic via Occupy Posters)

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NBC: Perry to Letterman Tonight

By on 10 November 2011

via NBC's Carrie Dann

It’s the hail Mary of political moves.

It also could work, as the right is always willing to come to the rescue of a Republican in free fall. Limbaugh was defending Perry against the Republican establishment from the start on his show today.

Meanwhile, Herman Cain launches CainTruth, which is going after the female accusers as job one.

The other womanizer in the field, Newt Gringrich, gets a PAC.

All of this noise is obliterating Mitt Romney’s debate performance, which was a tour de force, A+. The Mittster just can’t get no respect, because the conservative wingnuts are too busy bolstering the second and third tier rabble.

Great news for Pres. Obama.

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Paterno Joins Catholic Church and Congress in American Hall of Shame

By on 10 November 2011

“At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status,” Mr. Paterno said in his statement. “They have far more important matters to address. I want to make this as easy for them as I possibly can. This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.” – Paterno Is Finished at Penn State, and President Is Out

Our establishments are rotting at their cores with the lack of character.

We saw one of the largest religious patriarchal establishments in the world disgraced when they chose to put children last and their own first.

We’ve seen Congress fall into ineptitude, with their one woman only “supercommittee” required because our elected representatives are too politically and morally beholden to corporations they can’t make decisions desperately needed to right our country’s economic tilt.

And now, the favored and privileged patriarchal world of college football has been leveled by the lack of character of the most vaunted coach in history, Joe Paterno, because no one involved had the strength of character to save little boys from an establishment who put sport first.

What is happening to our country is a matter of character, not money.

It goes all the way to the White House, where Pres. Obama rails at Wall Street, while taking more money than any other candidate from the people he hypocritically castigates. A man who seeks consensus, instead of molding it through leadership, because he doesn’t know how to stand up for the middle class, while allowing banks too big to fail to continue making record profits. Profits that now well exceed what they made during George W. Bush’s 8 years in office. This doesn’t bother the party of F.D.R. and Harry Truman anymore, because Democrats no longer represent the people, which we’ve seen through tax holidays for the wealthy and an inability to do what’s right unless a politician’s own survival is at stake.

The bookend to the Democratic bankruptcy of the American character seen best through Tea Party man Herman Cain, who not only has no clue about right of return, or the leaders around the world, as well as China’s nuclear status, but who can’t even answer in-depth questions without breaking into talking points. Whose supporters and lawyers and media fans are coming to his side against close to a half a dozen women whose stories may be late, but fit a pattern. Yet the Republican Party sees nothing wrong with propping up Mr. Cain, who leads in the polls for the nomination, an honor he cannot live up to, as he calls the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history, “Princess Nancy.”

Where’s the outrage?

Meanwhile, Occupy Wall Street protesters rail at the 1% inequity, which both the Democratic and Republican parties represent, as does the Catholic Church, with Penn State’s elite athletic department joining our country’s collective character collapse, which has unfolded over years.

Why anyone is shocked that Joe Paterno covered up for a crony of his in order to keep winning football games is beyond me. It’s representative of the rot in this country that is seen in the most elite arenas, perfectly presented in Newt Gingrich, a man whose ’90s disgrace, including asking one of his many wives to give him a divorce while she was recovering from cancer. This is the man who is seen to perhaps “benefit” from Cain’s inevitable collapse.

The people who made up the middle class that has crumbled once were called the “greatest generation.” Is it any wonder that now with the middle class is hollowed out our country is rotting from within?

It’s why Ohioans rose up to take back their lives and their state. Our great country cannot be saved by the Joe Paternos of the world or the elite men who run our religious institutions or the men who run Wall Street and the banks, and it certainly won’t be saved by our politicians who are bought and paid for by the 1%, while hypocritically playing the part of men of the people, which few can do with a straight face.

If Joe Paterno was named Joey and was a woman would the Penn State disgrace occurred? Not a chance. But women remain a minority in establishment circles from business to religion to politics.

As we’re seeing through the Herman Cain spectacle, women who come forward to tell the truth after time has elapsed don’t get taken seriously. Women not having the strength of character to do what’s right in the moment, either. Though considering our country is still a big frat club from top to bottom, why would anyone expect a woman to charge a man with improprieties and sexual harassment when the audience she will face is predisposed to take sides with the male majority establishment?

The American ego and the persona of our great country is inherently male, with the characteristics that will save us predominantly female. The willingness to listen and compromise, deal, admit failure and wrong, listen and learn, be vulnerable to foibles but unafraid to admit mistakes, or confront villains, regardless of personal difficulty to do so. To care for the least and always remember equality is moral, the weakest among us, starting with children, the poor, the sick, the elderly, our responsibility. Our wars an example of women failing, too, afraid to stand up and stop the carnage that inevitably comes from militarism, which isn’t worth the price without the clear and present danger element, because they’re trying to fit in with men.

No wonder we haven’t elected a female president, with women not representing a clear choice, but instead simply an echo.

We cannot save our country through our current institutions, seems to be the prevailing theme, because they’ve rotted at the core. That’s why people are rising up to take them down, which includes the two political parties that have become the rancid foundation of a nation trying to excavate its soul.

America is Penn State.

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It’s Taps for Rick Perry’s Campaign

By on 10 November 2011

Top Perry fundraiser to me: “Perry campaign is over. Time for him to go home and refocus on being Gov of TX.” – Aaron Blake via Twitter


Meanwhile, Herman Cain had trouble answering questions, so he just kept regurgitating talking points.

Mitt Romney remains in a completely different league, which isn’t that hard considering who he’s up against.

Jon Huntsman had several good rounds.

But poor Rick Perry. He simply never had national candidate written anywhere, which he proved time and again. The Hill has the transcript, with the third department he was looking for being energy.

video via HotAir

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DEBATE NIGHT: Hey Herman, Police Your Fans, Man

By on 09 November 2011

(ahem) The 'HERMAN CAIN PAC' - They can't even spell 'bitch.'

Rewrite! That’s an “i” not a “1,” pal. Who are these cretins? Poor Herman, and now there’s even plans in the work for a joint press conference with all Herman’s accusers. But thanks for the perfect picture for debate night, which starts at 8 p.m. on CNBC.

I’ve been thinking about Mitt Romney lately. The guy is perfectly poised with his economic message, but then KAPOW! Occupy Wall Street hits and all of a sudden Mr. CEO looks a little dated. A little scary. A perfect political target, in fact.

We’ll have to see what happens as the months roll on from here, but right now I’m waiting for an outsider candidate type to appear sometime next year. Somebody’s got to take on the two establishment, Wall Street jokers candidates.

Ron Paul? Chuck Todd’s been making an awfully good case for it.

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When Occupying, different is good

By on 09 November 2011

Joyce L. Arnold, Liberally Independent, Queer Talk, equality activist, writer.

One of the favorite criticisms directed at the “liberal left” is the frequent efforts to be inclusive, to welcome differences. Years ago, some on the Right embraced the (in their opinion) derisive term “politically correct” to describe such silliness. I hear the “PC” disdain and, I’ll admit, employ my own label: that’s just someone being “politically Right.”

In the nitty gritty of activist work, being respectfully, honestly inclusive of differences – and I think that’s essential – is hard work. The General Assemblies are one way to do such work. There are multiple other ways, of course. Here’s one.

The Occupennial Art Database:

The Wall Street Occupennial seeks enthusiastic participants to work with artists producing projects, performances, and actions within the #Occupywallstreet movement.

All kinds of projects, photos, poems, music, etc., either up, or planned.
Sometimes recognizing what we can learn from our differences is reflected in the words we choose. From TruthOut, regarding Occupy Seattle (lots of photos at the link):

Seattle is the first Occupy I’ve seen whose banners refer to it as a ‘planton,’ giving credit to the social movements of Mexico, Central America, the Philippines, and other countries for the tactic of living in tents in public spaces as a protest tactic. The US has its own history of occupations, especially factory sit-ins, but for anyone who’s walked through Mexico City’s Zocalo, the sight of tents full of protesters is very familiar.

A different kind of different, in Occupy Denver’s clever response to demands for an “official leader,” via Huffington:

One of the loudest critiques of the ‘Occupy’ movement centers on its lack of leadership. As a democratically-structured protest, Denver occupiers meet twice daily … to discuss needs, group policies, etc. at a ‘General Assembly.’ While this is certainly an equitable process, city and state officials lament they have no one person at the movement to contact. …

(From an Occupy Denver press release) ‘In response to Denver Mayor Michael Hancock’s insistence that Occupy Denver choose leadership to deal with City and State officials, and drawing inspiration from the notion that corporations are people, Occupy Denver’s General Assembly has elected a leader: Shelby, a three year old Border Collie. ‘Shelby is closer to a person than any corporation: She can bleed, she can breed, and she can show emotion. Either Shelby is a person, or corporations aren’t people,’ said a Shelby supporter at the time of her election.

Finally, a few indications of the “different,” the inclusive, evolving, creative, and maybe even a little “political correctness.” Or maybe just respect for people different from you. Via the OWS Twitter feed:

Overheard in Columbus, Ohio: Tonight is the beginning of a new movement, for all workers and for all Occupations. #ows #fox #tcot #koch #p2 Xomfort

PaulJGreene Occupy Your Own Mind. Pledge Not to Consume Political Ads in 2012 Election: facebook.com/event.php?eid=. #occupy #ows #citizensunited #99percent

angelsavant RT @EmergentCulture: A People’s Congress: From Occupy Movement to a Permanent Political Force http://t.co/P5W0XnUd New Post ! #ows

tomwatson I will believe to my dying day that #occupywallstreet and the #ows movement had an impact on Election Day 2011, particularly pro-union vote

marbamaforever RT @AnonyOps: Occupy Atlanta encamps on lawn of house under foreclosure threat bit.ly/uAu9g7 #OWS #OccupyATL

DownWithTheBull #ows Congress is just a reality show designed to pit us against each other. Time to change the channel to OWS and watch it together!

Raidenshred RT @amandawhite: YES RT @OccupySF: ‘Dance like you have health insurance. Sing like you have freedom of speech. Love like it’s legal’ via @chickgonebad #ows

What Occupy, as a movement, is doing isn’t completely new, of course. A consensus model didn’t originate in Zuccotti Park. Nor did the idea of occupying public spaces, nor the idea of taking to the highways, walking from NYC to DC, which those who announced it explicitly noted. But the movement is different in significant ways, and the ways it continues to evolve always include the new – much that’s happening is built on the past actions of other activists, but much is also different. For some, the different is confusing and off-putting. For others, it’s just a part of the beginnings of process that will evolve as it goes.

(Graphic via Occupy Together)

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Last Night’s Election a Reset for 2012

By on 09 November 2011

Organized labor’s early flirtation with Occupy Wall Street is starting to get serious. [...] “The Occupy movement has changed unions,” said Stuart Appelbaum, the president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. “You’re seeing a lot more unions wanting to be aggressive in their messaging and their activity. You’ll see more unions on the street, wanting to tap into the energy of Occupy Wall Street.” Unions have long stuck to traditional tactics like picketing. But inspired by the Occupy protests, labor leaders are talking increasingly of mobilizing the rank and file and trying to flex their muscles through large, boisterous marches, including nationwide marches planned for Nov. 17. Organized labor is also seizing on the simplicity of the Occupy movement’s message, which criticizes the great wealth of the top 1 percent of Americans compared with the economic struggles of much of the bottom 99 percent. – Occupy Movement Inspires Unions to Embrace Bold Tactics


Pres. Obama didn’t lift a rhetorical sentence to help Wisconsin activists fight Scott Walker.

In Ohio, Ed Schultz was on the front line, while Pres. Obama stayed out of it.

In Arizona, the voters kicked out a radical right wing bigot.

Mississippi refused a “personhood” amendment that was so extreme it would have theoretically outlawed some forms of contraception, as well as in vitro fertilization.

But it’s Obama who is benefiting from what happened, taking Ohio as a prime example, which will come as very good news for the White House and national Democrats. It’s good news for progressive activists, too, no matter how much Pres. Obama has infuriated them.

Just months ago, Obama’s chances in Ohio for 2012 were uncertain at best. However, after what labor, teachers, firefighters and cops did on SB-5, the Democratic coalition, joined by Republicans too, have not only made the Democratic Party a little sexier, these activists proved their party actually stands for something.

I’ve been writing about the “coming home” phenomenon for a very long time. PPP today:

The biggest thing Obama has going for him right now is an extremely unified Democratic base. Obama gets 88-92% of his party’s vote against the six Republican candidates. What makes that particularly notable is that [Pres. Obama's] approval rating with Democratic voters is actually only 73%. But these numbers suggest that when election time comes around the party base will get around Obama whether they’re totally thrilled with him or not, and that’s a very good sign for his reelection prospects.

Give people something to rally around, as well as vote for, as they did in Ohio for instance, and they’ll come out every time. Democrats didn’t in 2010 and they got what they deserved, even if the rest of us did not.

Occupy Wall Street is the backdrop.

It is the power helping fuel what’s going on.

The inspiration for people to get up and out and OCCUPY.

What happened in Ohio and in many other places across the country must be seen through the “We are the 99%” prism. Activists and voters who show up to vote in off-year elections know about #OWS, they’re savvy and they’re speaking out about what’s happened to the middle class, because they’re living it.

So, let’s call last night’s election a reset for 2012.

There’s something new afoot.

People are fed up. So they rose up, spoke out and then voted, with their successes washing over national Democrats, including Pres. Obama, most of whom don’t deserve to share the glow. But that’s how these things work. Now if the national politicians could catch the fever of your purpose.

A couple of months ago I said Pres. Obama had until Election Day, yesterday, to change what was going on.

He got lucky. The voters, represented by what happened in Ohio, did it for him.

What’s next? The supercommittee decision. People are watching.

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Midday Moment of Zen

By on 09 November 2011

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

My love of birds is known around here.

The video above was posted on Facebook. It’s quite extraordinary.

A flock of birds doing what a flock of birds is supposed to do, while an onlooking human catches it for the rest of us.

On another note, it’s an extraordinary time in my life. After a grueling creative period, my book is poised to launch in a very meaningful way. None of it would be happening without the incredibly talented and committed team with whom I’m working and blessed to have on my side.

Living out loud isn’t easy.

Taking the road less traveled is not for the faint of heart, but it’s one hell of a ride.

Some of you have been reading here for years, others are new, with more soon to arrive, I have no doubt. For you die hards who keep coming back, because you trust the analysis I offer, thanks for sharing the journey. For you haters, it wouldn’t be the same without you.

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Mark Block Being Mark Block, Bonehead Edition

By on 09 November 2011

There’s a reason Herman Cain and Mark Block are in political business together. They’re both charlatans with little credibility.

If you’re going to go on national TV and accuse the new media outlet following your every move that they’ve got an insider with conflict of interest, you’d better be right.

Block was not only wrong, but embarrassingly so. Politico nails him:

Herman Cain campaign manager Mark Block, in an appearance with Sean Hannity on Fox News just now, insisted that a relative of the second woman to publicly accuse the candidate of sexual harassment in the 1990s works at POLITICO.

[...] Josh Kraushaar tweeted earlier in the day, apparently after getting questions, that he’s in fact not related to Karen Kraushaar, and simply has the same last name.

What an amateur.

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Cain Tumbles in Latest Gallup

By on 09 November 2011

First, I’ve got to say something about Mr. Cain’s press conference yesterday. Could the media have handled it any worse? Where were the probing, on point questions? Asking about a lie detector test is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Where were the specifics about Ms. Bialek’s allegations? Lawrence O’Donnell asked the very same things last night and he’s right. It was press conference malpractice for most of the media present.

At least we know who’s going to start the countdown of the crash. It’s Gallup.

However, because the Tea Party Republican base voters don’t take into account whether this loser can win the general election, Cain is still tied with Romney.

Tonight’s debate on CNBC at 8 pm should be interesting. Jim Cramer said they’re going to concentrate on follow-up questions to the candidates’ answers, making sure to drill down to the facts. That would be refreshing. The reaction from Republicans could be interesting, with Newt Gingrich, no doubt, issuing his usual critique of the questioners.

Maria Bartiromo is tough and I hope she takes the lead tonight.

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CREAMED! Voters Repeal Gov. John Kasich’s Anti-Labor Law: 63% – 37%

By on 08 November 2011

MISSISSIPPI VOTERS REJECT OFFENSIVE
ANTI-WOMEN ‘personhood’ AMENDMENT



It’s been called, SB5 goes down.

This is bipartisanship I can dig, baby. Republicans joining Democrats to take down the most onerous anti-labor, anti-worker, anti-middle class law in the country.

Huge victory for Ohio that sends a message across the country.

A lot of other news, which you might have noticed through the hilarious video above. It’s for San Francisco mayoral candidate Ed Lee, who faced over a dozen opponents.

As for Virginia, I’m keeping an eye out to see if Adam Ebbin wins locally. It would be a good thing.

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Occupy is: (fill in the blank)

By on 08 November 2011
    Joyce L. Arnold, Liberally Independent, Queer Talk, equality activist, writer.

    In just the last three days, I’ve collected these “fill in the blank” assessments of the Occupy movement: Boring. Exciting. Stupid. Brilliant. Silly. Seriously important. Failing. Succeeding. Un-American. Unorganized. Run by consensus. Unclear. Focused. Socialist. Old news. An Obama front. Not interested in politics as usual. Waste of time. Irritating and annoying. Motivating and encouraging. Right. Wrong. Left. Confusing. Confused. Sure to be gone with the winter. In it for the duration. Dirty old hippies. Lazy kids. Hurting Obama and the Democrats. Hurting the Republicans. Helping Obama and the Democrats. Helping the Republicans. Only a few thousand people worldwide. Thousands and thousands of people worldwide! Disgusting. Hopeful.

    That’s just a selection for filling in the blank to Occupy is __________. And it’s just based on what I’ve seen. Here’s some more of what I’m seeing, which might provide other words to use.

    Selected Tweets

    dmilenkovic RT @Sarah_X_Chen: “The electorate is angry and disaffected” RT @WSJ: Half of U.S. voters now identify either with the tea-party or #OWS on.wsj.com/sRqBZ5

    MegRobertson RT @GregMitch: As noted last night, Crosby & Nash (names may be mystery to young) at Zuccotti Arena NYC today 3 pm. bit.ly/tW5Kx0 #OWS

    stephengillie RT @OccupyWallStNYC: The world has changed in 52 days, and we’re just getting started. #OWS

    Judge orders the state of NJ to return all equipment it unlawfully seized from @Occupy_Trenton a few weeks ago. http://t.co/6oNLhKkp #OWS

    Via The Hill:

    The Occupy movement will directly take on the congressional deficit supercommittee this week by holding a hearing in Washington’s Freedom Plaza.

    ‘The Occupied Supercommittee’ hearing will feature testimony from respected liberal economists and will be followed one week later by a list of deficit-reduction proposals, according to OccupyWashingtonDC.org. …

    Economists Andrew Fieldhouse of the Economic Policy Institute and Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research will be among those participating in the hearing.

    Also related to the “Super-Committee,” from OWS:

    Occupy The Highway: The 99% March to Washington

    On November 23rd, the Congressional Deficit Reduction Super-Committee will meet to decide on whether or not to keep Obama’s extension to the Bush tax-cuts – which only benefit the richest 1% of Americans in any kind of significant way. Luckily, a group of OWS’ers are embarking on a two-week march from Liberty Plaza to the Whitehouse to let the committee know what the 99% think about these cuts. …

    The 20 mile a day/2 week march from Liberty Square to DC is set to leave this Wednesday, November 9 at noon. … If you’d like to participate, but can’t commit for two weeks you’re welcome to join us for the day or help send us off! …

    A major draw for this march is to encourage more people in rural communities to get involved as well as bring spreading the word along the highway. We are hoping people will join the march along the way; whether for an hour, a day, or the full two weeks, we feel its imperative for OWS to be involved in the historical significance of long distance marches to support, promote, and encourage economic and social equality.

    You can find more information, including a list of planned stops, at the link. In yesterday’s post, I highlighted actions taking place in rural Oregon. I’ll once again acknowledge that the fact that I live in a rural area makes such actions and inclusions of particular interest. I see the results of the problems Occupy is addressing every day.

    News is starting to come out about a possible nationwide general strike on November 25, “Black Friday.” A tweet via OWS: “Nation wide #generalstrike Nov 25th? People are really interested in the idea! PDF POSTER http://t.co/P2H0D3Cn #occupyblackfriday.”

    It’s unclear if this is directly related, but from Occupy Patriarchy:

    November 25: A Women’s Day of Action at Wall Street

    … Come join us in NYC for a Feminist Day of Action at Occupy Wall Street. The action is the first day of a National 15 days of action against violence against women. … The date is 25th November—‘Black Friday’: March instead of Shop.

    Learning as you go, with some growing pains, is inevitable. Well, I guess the “learning” part isn’t inevitable, but almost. For OWS, here’s one of multiple situations with which they have to deal, via WSJ:

    Protesters’ Dilemma: Less Space to Occupy

    The Occupy Wall Street protesters are confronting a classic Manhattan problem: lots of people, not a lot of space.

    So they’re solving it in classic Manhattan fashion: arguing about it, making deals and building upward.

    Last month, the hodgepodge of people sleeping in the open air of Zuccotti Park in the Financial District gave way to a tent city. Now, like turn-of-the-century real-estate developers, organizers are looking for structures that allow for higher density. They’ve been buying large military-style tents and are considering installing bunk beds. …

    Protesters in other cities have set up in spacious parks, where there’s room to grow. Not so in Manhattan. Zuccotti Park is two-thirds of an acre … .

    About 200 tents now fill the park, each sleeping anywhere from one person to more than a dozen, according to a count by a reporter for The Wall Street Journal. Hundreds sleep there every night. …

    Early on, protesters founded a committee called ‘Town Planning’ to help manage space in Zuccotti Park … .

    Different kinds of challenges in different places. On a very fundamental level, here’s one via All Voices:

    ‘Occupy’ is the Latest Banned Search Term/Keyword in China …

    Reportedly, China has taken strict measures to stop prospective ‘Occupy Shanghai’ movement and tried to cut the basic means which helped transform to a global movement started with a very few numbers of activists in U.S.

    Those are just a very few of the very many stories and pieces I’ve seen. And I know I’m only seeing a sliver. If you have some stories or observations, let us know. And if you’re so inclined, fill in the blank: Occupy is _________.

    (OccupyTheHighway drawing via OWS.
    Hello graphic via Occupy Together)

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CAIN: ‘The Democratic machine brought forth a troubled woman’

By on 08 November 2011

**Updated**

To bolster its claim that accuser Sharon Bialek has “a long and troubled history,” Herman Cain’s campaign sent out a press release Tuesday highlighting a pair of bankruptcy filings, as well as six “civil lawsuits” filed against her in Chicago’s Cook County court system. – Herman Cain’s book on Sharon Bialek’s money woes

The setting was classic, complete with American flags behind the podium.

Whoa! Mr. Cain’s got a John Edwards type lawyer introducing him. Good lookin’, slick, with a beautiful Georgia drawl. From Kelly O’Donnell, “Prominent Georgia Attorney Lin Wood begins at top of news conference for Cain. Wood once represented the Ramsey family of JonBenet era.” Clearly, she’s impressed.

HunterDK via Twitter: Nothing says ‘presidential’ like having your lawyer introduce you in your press conference.

Can’t imagine what Tea Partiers think about Herman Cain hiding behind his lawyer. It’s very non-wingnuttery of him.

“I am have never acted inappropriately with anyone. Period. … I don’t even know who this woman is.”

Cain “rejects” the accusations. um… okay… But that doesn’t answer how 5 women have similar stories about Mr. Cain’s libidinous ego.

It never ceases to amaze me the ego of all politicians.

It’s the “Democrat machine.”

My wife believes me! Yeah, talk to Hillary.

CBS News: Do you think it’s appropriate for a candidate’s character to come under scrutiny in a campaign, is that appropriate? Would you take a lie detector test, since it’s he said – she said?

CAIN: Of course, I’d do a lie detector. Character should be examined “with facts.”

Reuters: 40% of Republican voters look at you less favorably. How do you turn it around.

CAIN: You only need 51%, not all of the voters. Some will be influence by “the court of public opinion.” “Most of my supporters have not reacted to this in terms of belief.”

LA Times (female reporter): You called the charges “insignificant stuff,” do you believe sexual harassment is real, have you seen it?

CAIN: Sexual harassment is serious, I’ve seen it. “I dealt with it immediately…”

ABC News (Jonathan Karl): Another woman has come forward, Karen Kraushaar, what do you say to her, is she lying?

CAIN: “That is the one I recall that file a complaint that was found to be baseless.”

Herman Cain just broke Twitter… …

Wall Street Journal: There are now 4 women accusing you, how do you explain that?

CAIN: Some people don’t want to see Herman Cain to get the nomination or be president.

Fox News: Mitt Romney says he finds the accusations “disturbing,” what do you say to that?

CAIN: I think they’re “disturbing,” but Mr. Romney didn’t say I was guilty. “He’s right.”

Fox News (another reporter): You talk about the Democratic machine, who are these people, is it a conspiracy?

CAIN: We have not been able to make any determination or put any blame on anybody. We can only “infer” that someone is trying to “wreck my character” and “plant doubt” in voters’ minds.

Press: How does Karen Bialek’s financial situation play in her charges?

CAIN: One would have to ask if in fact that might have been a motivation.

CNN (woman): The other case was “baseless,” then why she was paid?

CAIN: NRA “negotiated” and came to the conclusion that it should be a “personnel separation agreement.”

Press conference now hits 30 minutes.

Funny how Herman Cain talks about baseless accusations, then turns around to make baseless accusations against the “Democratic machine” and others.

Press: What happened with Karen Krauschaar? This is your press conference, tell us.

CAIN: Does the chin high gesture, comparing to his wife’s height, otherwise, “I’m not aware of.” “She did not react at the time.

Political sign off, “we can’t slow this campaign down.” Crisis. Crisis. Crisis. That’s what I’m focused on.

End PR stunt.

If anything is an invitation to the women who are still anonymous to come out and speak, this press conference is it.


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