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

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Obama to Panetta: ‘Good job tonight’

By Taylor Marsh on 26 January 2012

Statement by Secretary Panetta on Hostage Rescue Operation in Somalia

Last night U.S. Special Operations Forces conducted, by order of the President of the United States, a successful mission in Somalia to rescue two individuals taken hostage on October 25, 2011. Ms. Jessica Buchanan, an American citizen employed by the Danish Demining Group, and her Danish colleague, Mr. Poul Thisted, were kidnapped at gunpoint by criminal suspects near Galcayo, Somalia.

Ms. Buchanan and Mr. Thisted have been transported to a safe location where we will evaluate their health and make arrangements for them to return home.

This successful hostage rescue, undertaken in a hostile environment, is a testament to the superb skills of courageous service members who risked their lives to save others. I applaud their efforts, and I am pleased that Ms. Buchanan and Mr. Thisted were not harmed during the operation. This mission demonstrates our military’s commitment to the safety of our fellow citizens wherever they may be around the world.

I am grateful to report that there was no loss of life or injuries to our personnel.

I express my deepest gratitude to all the military and civilian men and women who supported this operation. This was a team effort and required close coordination, especially between the Department of Defense and our colleagues in the Federal Bureau of Investigation. They are heroes and continue to inspire all of us by their bravery and service to our nation.

Secy. of Defense Leon Panetta monitored the situation from the White House, then left for the State of the Union. That’s where Pres. Obama, while making his way to the podium, took a moment to thank his SecDef. It’s one of those moments when you see it that is haunting in the bright lights inside the House chamber.

Danger Room’s Spencer Ackerman reports the drama and links the stories that weave it together.

…But now, for the special operations community, it might be Black Hawk Up.
But Little and his Pentagon colleague, Navy Capt. John Kirby, said that the “criminals” who kidnapped Buchanan and Thisted were “armed and had explosives nearby” when the special-operations team arrived. Asked if the Somalis fired on the U.S. raiding team, Little said details were still coming in, but “there were very concrete plans for removing the kidnappers and placing them in detention,” with Kirby adding, “That opportunity didn’t present itself.” All nine kidnappers — whom both spokesmen said were not members of the al-Qaida aligned al-Shabab movement; and may not have been pirates, either — on scene were killed.
… Obama said in a statement that he authorized the raid on Monday. The U.S. government had not said much of anything about the kidnapping of Buchanan and Thisted, whose captivity lasted three months. But Obama said the raid sent the message that the U.S. “will not tolerate the abduction of our people, and will spare no effort to secure the safety of our citizens and to bring their captors to justice.”
Little and Kirby said that “actionable intelligence” recently presented itself for a “window of opportunity,” that led to the raid. Adding a sense of urgency were indications of a pre-existing medical condition afflicting Buchanan which “could be life-threatening.” Both spokesman said Defense Secretary Leon Panetta had “full confidence” in Obama’s decision to order the raid — and Panetta “monitored” it from the White House before heading to the State of the Union address, where Obama was heard congratulating him on a “good job tonight.”

There’s really nothing else to add. Oh, except this:

Everyone in the McCain voter group spoke highly of Obama’s foreign policy successes. Several said that the speech reminded them of the successes in the war on terror that they had forgotten about. In the words of one participant, “He did some pretty good stuff in the war, he got bin Laden, he’s continued drone attacks started by President Bush, and he’s been a bit of a butt kicker.” Specifically, they appreciated the references to the death of Osama bin Laden, the victory in Libya, and the status of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. – Obama ‘a bit of a butt kicker’ on foreign policy

Republicans are in a lot of trouble looking at November, especially if they decide to nominate Newt, which I still contend they will not. That’s got the look of Goldwater in ’64 written all over it.

I disagree with Pres. Obama’s Bushesque militarism, his nonchalance on international law, as well as the reality that Gitmo is a disgrace and he hasn’t the courage to take Congress on and make the case to the public, using the capital he’s earned on national security to make the case about closing Gitmo. Chris Hayes did an interview with a man who was held for 7 years, then finally released; what happened to him occurred on Pres. Obama’s watch & the Administration deserves to be held accountable.

That said, the raid on bin Laden, as well as this raid to rescue the hostages, is what he’s getting paid to do. That he is doing it extremely well in fighting al Qaeda, I would say even minimizing them for all time, is inarguable.

The world will always have bad actors, but Pres. Obama has gone straight at our biggest enemy & succeeded so we can turn to a different type of military policy that includes smaller, more nimble force that is built on stealth and is just as lethal, but more appropriate for the asymmetrical threats we face in most parts of the developing world, understanding that there are other villains that will require adeptness beyond overt force.

This article has been edited, updated.

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What Might Happen Around the World in 2012?

By Taylor Marsh on 14 December 2011

Global recession with a surprise winner or two – The Eurozombies may avoid catastrophe but instead produce a macroeconomic remake of Night of the Living Dead. Recession in austerity-bound Europe will only be worsened by the sweeping downturn already taking place in the emerging world, and the result could be a deeper slump worldwide. But here’s the twist: the United States will win, as it is a destination for those in the midst of one of the most confusing, frustrating flights to quality in recent history. Japan too. They won’t do very well at all, but in the global ugly contest they may take home least-ugly honors. – David Rothkopf

So, what could happen in 2012?

David Rothkopf over at Foreign Policy has done his next year headlines in review list, many of which don’t take an expert’s mind to name. Stephen Walt has his own that includes Israel accepting the Arab League Peace Plan. Rothkopf thinks the Eurozone will strengthen. More are below.

The end of Ahmadinejad, but it won’t come through Dick Cheney’s fantasies or any neoconservative getting his war wishes in a Christmas stocking. From Erin Burnett’s “Out Front,” when Burnett brought up the RQ-170 sentinel:

CHENEY: I would assume that’s the case. Or they’ll send it back in pieces after they’ve gotten all the intelligence they can out of it.
The right response to that would have been to go in immediately after it had gone down and destroy it. You can do that from the air. You can do that with a quick airstrike, and in effect make it impossible for them to benefit from having captured that drone. I was told that the president had three options on his desk. He rejected all of them.
BURNETT: And they all involved removing the drone immediately?
CHENEY: They all involved sending somebody in to try to recover it, or if you can’t do that, admittedly that would be a difficult operation, you certainly could have gone in and destroyed it on the ground with an airstrike. But he didn’t take any of the options. He asked for them to return it. And they aren’t going to do that.

The world is going to continue to have major shifts in power centers.

The collapse of Assad in Syria, which couldn’t come soon enough as far as I’m concerned.

Political unrest in China? It’s the beginning, Rothkopf predicts.

Power struggle in Pakistan? Nothing new there.

Say goodbye to Castro and Hugo Chavez?

Incoming “cybershocker” that will take down somebody financially.

Putin’s not going to return to power easily.

…and get ready for extremism in Africa to become an American strategic interest.

Interesting list, as is Stephen Walt’s.

Do you have any thoughts on what might happen in the world next year?

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Secretary Clinton: ‘Free and Equal in Dignity and Rights’

By Taylor Marsh on 06 December 2011

The United States will begin using American foreign aid to promote gay rights abroad, Obama administration officials said on Tuesday. President Obama issued a memorandum directing American agencies to look for ways to combat efforts by foreign governments to criminalize homosexuality. – U.S. to Use Foreign Aid to Promote Gay Rights Abroad

What Pres. Obama has done through this directive is historic. Having Secy. Clinton to deliver the message makes it resound.

To use American foreign aid to combat foreign governments from criminalizing homosexuality is something only a president can do and Barack Obama has done a great and controversial thing, given the focus on foreign aid and our economic state, through his decision.

This speech continues what Hillary began in Beijing, China as first lady in 1995, a speech that is foundational to my book, The Hillary Effect, and which is cited in the Introduction. The Hillary Effect itself, along with Secy. Clinton’s advocacy, helped by time, made possible by Pres. Obama’s courageous act, aided by the advocacy of gays and lesbians fighting for equality, which reached critical mass on DADT, manifested a global moment of pride for our country today.

Contrary to the naysayers, I always contended, in fact I knew, that Barack Obama could have no stronger partner than Hillary Clinton in his Administration. Having studied her for two decades, I had never a doubt. Their partnership here sings out.

It is a great day for which we owe Pres. Obama a great deal, with this speech by Secy. Clinton a historic moment for her as well.

Of course, in an election season, nothing this grand could go without scurrilous words from the right. It’s fitting that it comes from Rick Perry.

“This administration’s war on traditional American values must stop. … Promoting special rights for gays in foreign countries is not in America’s interests and not worth a dime of taxpayers’ money. … This is just the most recent example of an administration at war with people of faith in this country. Investing tax dollars promoting a lifestyle many Americas of faith find so deeply objectionable is wrong. President Obama has again mistaken America’s tolerance for different lifestyles with an endorsement of those lifestyles. I will not make that mistake.”

Ah yes, human rights as “special rights,” the threats of torture and even death for gays not enough to convince Republicans like Rick Perry that this is a human rights issue.

This is the sort of action that inspires people to repeat the axiom that presidential elections be seen as a choice and not a referendum. Only a president can make such a groundbreaking, sweeping decision. It’s a reminder that hits deep for many and will bind some people to Pres. Obama tightly, while also revealing a core tenet of the Democratic Party.

First Lady Hillary Clinton said “human rights are women’s rights.”

Today she spoke for America once again saying, “human rights are gay rights.”

It is a great day.

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Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 Goes Down

By Taylor Marsh on 19 October 2011

It was a brawl.

After Herman Cain was pilloried on his 9-9-9 plan, he wilted. You could almost see the energy drain from him. Really rough night for Cain.

Rick Perry came alive finally, taking out after Mitt Romney, but there is something just a little tired about Perry at this point. He’ll have to do a lot more than he did last night to make up for the fiasco of the earlier debates. Saying he’ll have an economic plan later this week was lame. Perry resurrected the “illegal immigration” attack on Romney. Meanwhile, Romney’s answer on Mormonism was pitch perfect, by any standard.

Rick Santorum was combative with Romney, as well, going at him on health care:

“You just don’t have credibility, Mitt, when it comes to repealing Obamacare. … You have no track record on that that we can trust.”

Michele Bachmann did a very decent job up front, then she blew basic geography on Libya being in Africa.

Paul was Paul. Newt Gingrich just looks like yesterday, though he always gets in a good zinger.

Forgot earlier that Jon Huntsman boycotted Nevada in favor of his one-state strategy.

The funniest moments for me were listening to the analysis afterward, especially David Gergen’s two cents. He says it was all just too unseemly, all the bluster and back and forth hurting Republicans. However, one thing these debates are doing is making Mitt Romney stronger, because I don’t see how Herman Cain will sustain his current trajectory.

I think how far right the Republicans are on issues like taxes benefits Pres. Obama immensely. The anti-Latino, “illegal immigrant” onslaught, which is just stupid electorally, hurt them badly last night. They just don’t get that they can’t win the presidency without the Latino vote.

The Republican establishment had to cringe during some of the exchanges. Ronald Reagan’s 11th commandment went pfft.

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Obama Deploys 100 Troops to Uganda

By Taylor Marsh on 15 October 2011

**bumped**

By end of 2011, SOCOM [United States Special Operations Command] estimates its forces will be in 120 countries, up from 60 under President Bush. #NotBreakingNews – Jeremy Scahill (via Twitter)

We’ve been engaged in Uganda for years, but one hundred troops? Seriously?

In an update to his report, Jake Tapper adds: A Defense Department official tells ABC’s Luis Martinez at the Pentagon that the U.S. troops will be in Africa “for a few months in an advisory role.”

Oh. My. God. People are so ignorant they don’t realize what can be triggered from “an advisory role” position.

How many military engagements has Pres. Obama launched? I’ve lost count.

Hey, but at least he notified Congress this time, evidently getting the message, at least in part.

Obama Sends 100 US Troops to Uganda to Help Combat Lord’s Resistance Army
The president in his letter noted that Congress passed “the Lord’s Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act,” signed into law on May 24, 2010, in which, the president said, “the Congress also expressed support for increased, comprehensive U.S. efforts to help mitigate and eliminate the threat posed by the LRA to civilians and regional stability.” [...]
When the president signed that letter in May 2010, he said the bill “crystallizes the commitment of the United States to help bring an end to the brutality and destruction that have been a hallmark of the LRA across several countries for two decades, and to pursue a future of greater security and hope for the people of central Africa. The Lord’s Resistance Army preys on civilians – killing, raping, and mutilating the people of central Africa; stealing and brutalizing their children; and displacing hundreds of thousands of people. Its leadership, indicted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, has no agenda and no purpose other than its own survival. It fills its ranks of fighters with the young boys and girls it abducts. By any measure, its actions are an affront to human dignity.”

Log this one under the same humanitarian emotionalism that convinced Pres. Obama to bomb Libya.

All of those Democrats and progressives who utilized candidate Obama’s anti Iraq war speech to elevate him above all of the other Democrats really do look foolish today.

At this rate, Iran will be next. We’re in the conservative throes of a presidential election season where the Democratic president and his people think his best card is military. I mean, really.

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THE HILLARY EFFECT: Nobel Peace Prize for 2011 Goes to Three Activist Women

By Taylor Marsh on 07 October 2011

It’s another nod to the Hillary Effect.

Congratulations to Liberia’s Pres. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first female president of Africa, Leymah Gbowee, and Tawakul Karman of Yemen.

The importance of women’s role around the world elevated, with the Nobel committee making a statement and headline news, offers another change in the status quo. This is truly something to celebrate.

Nobel Peace Prize Awarded to Three Activist Women
The Nobel Peace Prize for 2011 was awarded on Friday to three campaigning women from Africa and the Arab world in acknowledgment of their nonviolent role in promoting peace, democracy and gender equality. The winners were President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia — Africa’s first elected female president — her compatriot, peace activist Leymah Gbowee, and Tawakul Karman of Yemen, a pro-democracy campaigner.
[...] Most of the recipients in the award’s 110-year history have been men and Friday’s decision seemed designed to give impetus to the cause for women’s rights around the world.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee, and Tawakul Karman stand on their own courage, their own actions leading to the changes still evolving in their corners of the world. They certainly didn’t need Secy. Clinton to tell them their own passions and purpose.

However, it was Hillary Rodham Clinton who has tirelessly trumpeted to the world to wake up to what women’s contributions to their countries mean to the world and anyone wanting stability to rein in still developing, often troubled, regions.

As the Washington Post reported in January, 2010, the Hillary Effect was already in full swing around the world, because of Hillary’s presence, her footprint.

“Hillary Clinton is so visible” as secretary of state, said Amelia Matos Sumbana, who just arrived as ambassador from Mozambique. “She makes it easier for presidents to pick a woman for Washington.”

No one in the Obama administration has worked harder in the last few years to put women’s rights in the forefront of changing countries more than Secy. Clinton. No one has so relentlessly made the case that women can close the gap in stabilizing a troubled country, including setting a burgeoning economy on firmer ground.

It’s the case she began making when she was first lady and went to Beijing, China to give her now famous speech on “human rights are women’s rights.” It has been one of her main missions as secretary of state to bring focus to the roles of women in their government and the importance of their voices being heard. Clinton’s historic and very difficult visit to the Congo revealed the depths of her commitment.

The stability of countries depends on women being engaged in their government, as well as their voices heard and heeded.

Awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to three women changing their worlds sends a message around the globe that has the potential to inspire more women to be brave, becoming the catalyst for even more progress.

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Suffering in Congo Reveals Obama’s Weak Case for Libya

By Taylor Marsh on 29 March 2011

“Why invade Iraq and not North Korea or Burma? Why intervene in Bosnia and not Darfur?” – Candidated Obama, “Audacity of Hope”

Pres. Obama got one thing correct last night in his speech. Just because we can’t help all countries doesn’t mean we can’t intervene where it’s really needed. Unfortunately, his judgment for what this means in American foreign policy sucks.

You want humanitarian crises as a rationalization for choosing to wage war one place and not another? Hundreds of thousands of women have been raped in the Congo.

Pres. Obama still hasn’t responded to the outcries to appoint a special envoy there. I guess Ben Affleck doesn’t have the juice of George Clooney.

There is no law in the Republic of Congo, beyond forcing young girls to marry her rapist.

We are now responsible for the Libyan rebels’ forward progress, which would stop the second the West would end the bombing, arms embargo and all other tools we’re using.

Whatever progressive leftists once were to the Democratic Party, those supporting Pres. Obama’s flawed rationale for choosing war in Libya has reduced them to drooling incoherence on Libya.

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International Women’s Day Question: When Will U.S. Catch Up with Liberia?

By Taylor Marsh on 08 March 2011

It’s the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day.

It’s a good day to ponder when the United States will catch up with countries like Liberia. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was elected the 24th President of Liberia, but we are still contemplating the all boys’ club on the Left, while the Right ignites with an anti-feminist, anti-women agenda of people like Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin.

The topic wasn’t even hitting the top ranks of Memeorandum or trending on Twitter this morning, though it is now.

Watching the women of the Middle East rise up and get involved directly in the “Arab Spring,” as some have called it, reveals an exciting time across the globe for women who are stepping forward to fight for their country. These femme freedom fighters are exhilarating to watch, even as they’re being greeted by Egyptian men chanting “A woman’s place is her house.” Blake Hounshell’s tweets today are illustrative of what these brave women are up against. Hearing “we don’t want it secular, egypt is in an islamic country” has got to be devastating and harrowing as men raise their shoes to the women trying to march today. It’s the beginning of a long fight for them.

Sect. Clinton celebrating IWD took questions, with the most obvious one asked yet again at a time when we’re preparing for yet another presidential election without a viable female candidate in sight:

After Clinton’s speech, the women asked questions of Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Judith McHale, Assistant Secretary of Education Ann Stock and Clinton’s chief of staff Cheryl Mills.
One woman from Latin America left the panelists momentarily speechless.
“Do you think now that your country is ready for a woman as a president? I am not sure any of the three of us should answer that,” she said.
Clinton’s chief of staff Cheryl Mills said she does not think the U.S. is quite ready to elect a woman as head of state.
“I certainly think it is the case that our country demonstrated ably in the last election that they are more than willing to support women in a leadership role and more than willing to actually see a woman as their leader,” said Mills. “But I think for getting over that final hurdle, I think we are a little bit away.”

Why does Ms. Mills think we’re “a little bit away” from electing a female president? Part of the problem is that not enough women in the United States think it’s important.

In the last election cycle when Hillary Rodham Clinton took center stage, vast swaths of females simply shrugged, including on the Left and in progressive quarters. Called the “vagina vote,” women insisted, some would say rightly, that issues mattered more and allowing for a woman to make similar mistakes as a man on war and peace. Electing her to make a point and move women forward was not thought worth the fight, especially by the younger generation.

Perhaps that was because Hillary Clinton is perceived as a conservative Democrat, which really only applies to foreign policy, except where women’s rights as human rights are concerned. No man comes close to her active belief in women’s importance in diplomacy and foreign policy, their voices making the difference in a country’s stability. Clinton certainly isn’t as conservative as Pres. Obama on domestic issues, far from it. She also would never have served up women like the first female Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi did on health care, as Pelosi’s male counterpart president emboldened the Right through Executive Order. But on the Middle East there is simply no reason to believe Mrs. Clinton would have gone to Cairo or openly laid down a marker on illegal Israeli settlements. As for Afghanistan, she’d never consider what an Obama official said, when fighting for women’s rights in that country were recently reduced to “special interest and pet project… pet rocks in our rucksack.” Unfortunately, that didn’t bother many readers around here either, because only two people bothered to comment on this revelation, with “Sally” the only one to stay on topic. Even considering this site is largely a readership venue this nonchalance was telling, though as I said in the comments, what is more telling is that this story didn’t get any traction at all.

Looking at 2012, Cheryl Mills is certainly correct.

At least the Right has two females who are considering the presidency. It is interesting to note that on the day of the first Republican debate for 2012, Sarah Palin is booked to attend a “military appreciation” event and fundraiser. File it under she’ll do it her way if she does it at all.

When you look at the Left, there is yet to be a woman rise to take on the Democratic boys’ club. Not even the reality that the Democratic Party is carving away court-won rights of women on health care has inspired a woman to take a stand against the misogyny of the Blue Dog Democrats holding sway over too much congressional turf. Not even Cecile Richards of Planned Parenthood gave a damn, her organization only stirred when the Right came after their federal funding. Pres. Obama is also not exactly a paragon of leadership on women’s rights, simply doing what most other males would do in his shoes, while selling off women in health care on the wings of an “accomplishment.”

As the Right comes after our freedoms and personal privacy no heroine on the Left has yet to rise up.

Looking to 2016, even as far away as it is, because I don’t find anything for women worth celebrating as 2012 revs up, it’s evident that it’s still very much a man’s world in the United States.

This column has been updated.

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Mike Huckabee’s Venomous Charm

By Taylor Marsh on 01 March 2011

There are no coincidences on right-wing radio.

When a potential Republican presidential candidate goes on right-wing radio and gets caught saying Pres. Barack Obama grew up “in Kenya” it isn’t by accident.

“One thing that I do know is his having grown up in Kenya, his view of the Brits, for example, very different than the average American … his perspective as growing up in Kenya with a Kenyan father and grandfather, their view of the Mau Mau Revolution in Kenya is very different than ours because he probably grew up hearing that the British are a bunch of imperialists who persecuted his grandfather.”

Whether Mr. Huckabee is a birther or not isn’t the issue and anyone covering for him, as Andy Barr of Politico does, and providing room for him to weasel out of this is falling for the charming Southern former Arkansas governor who knows he can get away with retracting a stupid statement, while simultaneously benefiting from ringing the bell.

David Weigel also pronounces Mike Huckabee isn’t a birther, which is exactly what Huck’s people are hoping will happen once the Baptist preacher smiles and nods in order to present himself as utterly harmless.

Mr. Huckabee is also not ill-informed, as Weigel also claims. He cleverly and purposefully said what he wanted in the company of a wingnut radio host who Huckabee knew had an audience that would appreciate it.

Mike Huckabee also knew he could walk it back later, because no one could possibly believe a preacher could be so hateful. There will always be outlets like Politico and writers like Weigel who give Huck the benefit of the doubt, even when undeserved.

The dangerous nature of Mike Huckabee is his apparent guilelessness. Just look at his face, that smile, and don’t forget he’s religiously pious. He would never impugn Pres. Obama’s legitimacy.

Yeah, and a three-limb amputee and war hero would never have to defend himself against political ads comparing him to Osama Bin Laden. Max Cleland lost his Senate seat over just such heinous un-American attacks. Sen. Saxby Chambliss to this day given a pass for the character assassination of religious leaders like Ralph Reed. They did the same to John Kerry whose Silver Star was earned in a harrowing moment of bravery.

What Mike Huckabee did was intended. He was also counting on people getting his back, which is exactly what happened.

That Mike Huckabee invoked the Clintons to skulk away and not take responsibility for his obvious smear against Pres. Obama puts the period on the whole event. A ready answer whipped out just like the whole thing was planned.

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Kathryn Lopez Thinks You’re a Stupid Slut

By Taylor Marsh on 27 February 2011

**bumped**

We’ve come to expect less for and from ourselves, and for and from one another. In part, it’s the fruit of the contraceptive pill. New York magazine recently observed in a cover feature: “The pill is so ingrained in our culture today that girls go on it in college, even high school, and stay on it for five, 10, 15, even 20 years.” That, of course, has had all kinds of fallout: a false sense of freedom, security. And it has ravaged women’s fertility, as it seeks to mute exactly what women’s reproductive power is all about. – Kathryn Lopez

Close your legs, girls.

Guard your fertility.

It’s your power.

Phyllis Schlafly must be so proud.

Kathryn Lopez is using progress against women, because it fits the fiscal insanity moment we’re all living in, but comes with a bonus: blasting the “contraceptive culture.” Yeah, because the back alley abortion culture was so good for us all.

Women’s sexual freedom wasn’t really about either, according to Lopez. It was a false sense of freedom and security, as she hallucinates history, because — wait for it — it “ravaged women’s fertility.” Get the collective horror we’re all living there? Try selling that in Africa where HIV is the norm. The Right’s anti-feminists don’t believe We Are the World. They’re America-centric in the 21st century of rolling revolution.

Lopez argues that the fight to defund Planned Parenthood, which can’t use one dime for abortion services, is really all because the evils of contraception, which quiets pregnancy by snuffing it out. According to Lopez, the goal of the sexual revolution and contraception was actually a conspiracy to “mute exactly what women’s reproductive power is all about.”

Oh, and just for good measure, in case you didn’t get the message, Townhall uses a picture of Hillary Clinton next to Lopez’s ramblings.

Writing under “contraception is not the solution,” she huffs and puffs really hard to try to make the point that… No, wait. She actually says birth control isn’t the solution to a problem that women don’t have and never did.

Modern women are organically aware of our biology from puberty and no pill can mute the power of our fertility, which society still promotes as the primary essence of a woman’s being. What Lopez can’t bring herself to accept is that each woman can now make the decision herself as to whether she thinks that is actually true for her.

The crux of the issue is that the Right doesn’t believe women’s choices are their true power. They still think the vagina is the magic entry into controlling men and the place where fertility secretly lies that females are avoiding through the wickedness of contraception, because of some make believe uncontrollable clitoral climate.

Pleasure is not a pursuit in and of itself for 20th century women like Lopez, whether sexual or economic.

Because it’s unavoidable, Lopez admits she wants to take us all backward.

That’s why I want to turn back the clock — to a time when we valued love and marriage and didn’t expect, support and even encourage promiscuity. Life and history don’t work that way, obviously, there is no actual rewind. But we do have opportunities to learn from our mistakes.
The spending fight over Planned Parenthood in Congress is about a number of things. It’s primarily about good stewardship, as so much of the spending debate is. But beyond legislation, beyond anything Congress can or should do, it is a call to arms for a new sexual revolution. It’s about wanting more for ourselves and for those whom we love. It’s about ending the surrender to a contraceptive mentality that treats human sexuality as just another commercial transaction.

As someone who spent quite a few years traversing the world of relationships and sexuality, any woman in the modern era who doesn’t think courting doesn’t begin as a “commercial transaction,” to use her words, is going to find herself with the fuzzy end of the lollypop for life.

The “Leave it to Beaver” era is long gone and it’s not coming back.

There are few things more dangerous than amateurs talking about sexuality, but what’s worse is a charlatan selling a world to women on the guise of history’s failings.

Modern women aren’t stupid.

We’re not sluts.

We have choices.

Contraception is one of the things that gave them to us.

Condoms don’t “ravage women’s fertility,” venereal disease does, and promiscuity isn’t a prerequisite for using birth control. Serial monogamy in a world where people live to be 90 is reality. It doesn’t mean you’re a whore.

Making a choice to delay pregnancy doesn’t “mute exactly what women’s reproductive power is all about.” It puts motherhood on pause and there isn’t one modern woman who in the 21st century doesn’t know what that means.

Next we’re going to hear that contraception causes unemployment, because if the bitch was at home birthin’ babies she wouldn’t be takin’ the man’s job in the first place.

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My $0.02… The Saturday After: Give Thanks for the Sisterhood

By Wonk the Vote on 27 November 2010

November 5, 2010, Wellington, New Zealand. Secretary Clinton places a rose on the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior.

Hey everyone, Wonk here, hope everyone is enjoying the holidays and had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It’s the Saturday after, and my gratitude as always goes out to the Sisterhood out there that has grown around Hillary and her work–toward a world where families and communities can thrive and individuals–man, woman, or child–have the opportunities to realize their God-given potential.

Here are my reads for this Saturday in Shero news, with an emphasis on Madame Secretary:

World leaders send their condolences… “United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has joined the Queen and other world leaders offering condolences over the loss of 29 lives at the Pike River coalmine. Clinton, who visited New Zealand earlier this month, said New Zealand had lost 29 brave and hard-working men who would be mourned around the world. ‘Earlier this month I visited New Zealand and I saw the famous Kiwi strength and spirit for myself,’ Clinton said. You have come through adversity before, and I know you will do so again. Today, our thoughts and prayers are with you.’”

This next link was from the beginning of November– American Samoans give thanks for Hillary Clinton, which I find appropriate to look back on this weekend. A taste of Gov. Togiola remarks at Ava ceremony for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: “We are very proud in seeing Hillary Clinton visiting foreign countries and the diplomacy that you take to them and bring back to us. We feel very much a part of you and the work that you do, and we pray for your safety and your wisdom and everything that it takes to do the job – the very difficult job that you do for all of us.”

Hillary op-ed in the Vancouver Sun, courtesy of the US Consulate General in Vancouver — “Hillary Clinton: Engage men and boys in eliminating violence against women… I often say that we need to empower women because no country can make economic progress if it leaves half the population behind. It’s just as true that no country can stop violence against women with the other half of the population sitting on the sidelines.”

Hillary says Resolve, Resilience, and Respect are stronger than Guns and Bombs, in her remarks two years after the 11-26 attacks in Mumbai (via state.gov): “As the people of Mumbai gather in temples, mosques, churches, gurdwaras, and synagogues to honor those who perished on November 26, 2008, they send a message of resolve, resilience, and mutual respect that is far louder and more powerful than any terrorist’s guns and bombs.”

This is beautiful footage of a woman of strength and substance who LEADS — an hour long conversation between Hillary and the Australian grassroots (H/T to Stacyx aka SCB at sectetaryclinton.wordpress.com, for digging up this fantastic youtube).

H/T to Minkoff Minx on this one , an op-ed from the Buenos Aires Herald by Patricio Navia — “Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi: The two most powerful women in the Democratic Party represent two divergent views on what strategy will optimize the party’s chances to stay in the White House after 2012.” ( I couldn’t disagree more with Navia’s designation of Pelosi as moving the party to the left, but it is an interesting read nonetheless.)

Ruh Roh, I have seen the following movie script and cast before and it doesn’t end well. This sequel has “straight to DVD” written all over it … from the blog pages of the US News & World Report: “A Facebook group called Hillary Clinton for 2012!! is organizing a meeting in Washington to talk about plans to coax her into the race. ‘Right now,’ says organizer and publicist Will Bower, ‘we are simply aiming to keep HRC’s strongest supporters united for if and when that day comes when Hillary either challenges in 2012 and/or makes a run in 2016. And, of course, to rally as many people as possible to strongly encourage and petition her to do so— preferably the 2012 option.“

NowPublic asks a 64,000 dollar question: “Will Hillary Clinton & Lawrence Cannon Be Named By Wikileaks?“

This is from the week before — the State Department released it’s annual International Religious Freedom Report for 2010. State.gov youtube of Hillary’s remarks (about 40 minutes). In Hillary’s words: “This report reflects a broad understanding of religious freedom, one that begins with private beliefs and communal religious expression, but doesn’t end there. Religious freedom also includes the right to raise one’s children in one’s faith, to share one’s faith peacefully with others, to publish religious materials without censorship, to change one’s religion – by choice, not coercion, and to practice no religion at all. And it includes the rights of faith communities to come together in social service and public engagement in the broader society.”

Saw a fun Hillary tidbit in a Las Vegas Review Journal piece on Nevada pols and their messages at Thanksgiving time — the Clark County commissioner Chris Giunchigliani has bulldogs named Kennedy and Hillary (for Hillary Clinton). Oh, and on a sidetrack from shero news–apparently Harry Reid is thankful he has another 6 years to destroy the Democratic brand. Judging by Sharon Angle’s Thanksgiving tweet to her nonexistent fanbase (“I hope God blesses you all with a very happy and safe Thanksgiving. May it be filled with great moments, great food and great joy with those you love most!”), she’s hard at work trying to make some “great lemonade” out of her loss… or something.

From a conservative source — the National Interest: “Clinton and the Nuclear Scientist” (Information on Hillary’s meeting with Siegfried Hecker seems to be scarce, so I linked to the one actual writeup I could find.)

This pulled up on one of my feeds, and I found it informative – West Virginia politics: “But What About the Women?” (via The Intelligencer and Wheeling News Register)… “Interesting, isn’t it, that we know lots about the major male candidates – but the four strong women continue to fly under the radar?”

Since there’s no photos of Bill and Hill on this Thanksgiving, a couple of Clinton turkey day flashbacks — this is what public service looks like –

Thanksgiving 2009 — raw video of Hillary in Afghanistan, in that beautiful coat: Hillary to the troops: “At the top of my (Thanksgiving) list is all of you.”

Via Huffpo — Life magazine photo of President-elect Clinton (sorry, it’s Bill not Hillary ) serving Thanksgiving dinner at a shelter for battered and homeless women in Arkansas.

On the Friends of Hillary lecture circuit…

Monday at Wellesley (via the Boston Globe): “Developing African economies are the topic for a lecture at Wellesley College by an advisor to Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, according to a release. Emerging Africa: How 17 Countries Are Leading the Way is the title of the lecture by Steven Radelet, who advises Clinton on foreign aid… Radelet will explain why a group of African nations are making a successful transition to sustainable economic growth and development.”

While we’re at it, Tuesday in Greensboro, NC (via WRAL news): Bill Clinton will be giving a lecture at Guilford called “Embracing Our Common Humanity.”

I stumbled across this neat footage of Bill Clinton on youtube, from Hong Kong in 2005, responding to a question about UFOs. It’s about 7 minutes long and put a smile on my face.

Excellent piece via The Stir: “Sarah Palin vs. the 1990s… The thing is this — no woman likes to be judged on how she creates her own version of motherhood. And there are still plenty of Murphys and Hillarys just trying to raise their kids and put dinner on the table without someone else judging them. So Palin might want to tread lightly as she implements this new chapter in her quest for stardom, political and otherwise, because it’s got the word ‘backfire’ written all over it.” Agreed!

From the Economist: “Bill Clinton: the opera… ‘Billy Blythe’ —the brainchild of two Arkansas natives, Bonnie Montgomery and Britt Barber—is set on a single day in the Southern life of a teenaged Clinton in the Arkansas town of Hot Springs, where he grew up. It highlights the tribulations that shaped the future occupant of the White House, living with an abusive and alcoholic stepfather and a decidedly colourful mother.”

I have to end this in a hurry–my dog had surgery this week and she needs her antibiotics and pain meds. Hope everything clicks to where it’s supposed to go! If any of the links are broken, please let me know, and as always, feel free to use the comments as an open thread to share what you’re reading and ruminating on this Saturday.

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The Sunday News Round-Up

By Stacy on 15 August 2010

Good morning! Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

On this day in history, August 15, 1057, Macbeth the King of Scots (Mac Bethad mac Findlaích) was killed in battle by King Duncan’s son Malcolm, likely in retaliation for Macbeth’s having killed King Duncan. Macbeth of course became the subject of William Shakespeare’s great tragedy “Macbeth.”

The photo on the left is considered one of the most beautiful castles in the world, the Château de Chillon. It sits on Lake Geneva and is believed to have been built around 1150 AD. In 1816 the poet Lord Byron wrote “The Prisoner of Chillon” based upon the imprisonment of a monk in the dungeon of the castle.

Some links to go with your morning coffee/tea:

~Excerpts from General Petraeus’ much-anticipated interview with David Gregory (which airs today) have some wondering if after only about a month on the job, Petraeus has already broken a promise to his Commander in Chief regarding a timetable for withdrawal. I can’t help but wonder if Secretary Gates, Admiral Mullen and the military brass are once again trying to box Obama in regarding Afghanistan – not that that excuses Obama in any way, he is the Commander in Chief after all.

~This is an incredible story in the NYT about Obama’s shadow wars in places like Yemen, Kenya, Somalia and even breakaway republics that were part of the former Soviet Union. Among the questions, who authorized this? Congress? Well, apparently the Executive did through secret Executive Orders. Even if one believes fighting terrorism necessitates this sort of action, and that is a matter of some debate, we should be concerned about what our government is doing without our knowledge and without any oversight whatsoever. It’s stuff like this that “the professional left” is concerned about. These programs were started by Bush and EXPANDED under Obama. If we are concerned, are we all on drugs, as Gibbs suggests?

~In an article that has been created huge buzz not only in the blogosphere but in foreign policy circles, Jeffrey Goldberg essentially argues that an Israeli attack against Iran is a fait accompli. At times he tries to veil his own bias, albeit unsuccessfully, but essentially he is helping Israel make its case for war. Glenn Greenwald, Lynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett, Stephen Walt and Trita Parsi have excellent analysis of the article if you haven’t seen them already. They really put the whole issue in perspective, something which the establishment media refuses to do. The good news for those who oppose war with Iran is that Goldberg, like so many neocons, has a horrible track record when it comes to being right about things. Kind of like Bill Kristol.

~There seems to be growing discord among members of Obama’s foreign policy team with respect to Sudan and there is speculation that Gen. Scott Gration, the very controversial Special Envoy to Sudan, may be on his way to an ambassadorship and perhaps giving up his Sudan portfolio. It appears he openly argued with Amb. Susan Rice during a high-level principals meeting at the White House. Sudan activists have never been comfortable with Gration, believing he has been far too easy on President Bashir.

~CNN contributor Erick Erickson compares the expansion of the Cordoba House (aka The Mosque) near Ground Zero to “human sacrifice.” Please don’t spend more than 3 seconds trying to wrap your mind around that one because it’s 3 seconds you will never get back. I guess the question is, how in the world does someone like Erickson get hired by a mainstream media outlet (that isn’t Fox News)? I guess the other question is, does CNN have a double standard when it comes to offensive tweets, given they fired Octabia Nasr for tweeting about her admiration of Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah upon hearing of his death. CNN said that it did so because her “credibility was compromised. Has Erickson’s credibility been compromised or is apples and oranges because Erickson was essentially hired to be controversial?

~John McCain doesn’t seem to understand that politics in the age of YouTube and Twitter really makes it hard to get away with outright lies. Hey John, less Snooki and more honesty.

~If anyone is wondering why the U.S. is so desperate to aid Pakistan in the wake of the devastating flood here is the reason- in addition to the horrific human suffering which we are certainly right to be very concerned about, there is another problem- Pakistan’s government could collapse. And Pakistan has nuclear weapons.

~This story is heartbreaking. Bomb-sniffing dogs serving in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer trauma just like we humans do. Here is a story of the German Shephard Gina who returned home from Iraq after a 6 month tour. She is slowly being rehabilitated.

~Boy, the news sure is depressing, but you made it this far, so this should make you smile. And have you ever seen a baby bat?

~Obama visits the Gulf Coast and promises support for residents and businesses affected by the spill.

~Not content with simply alienating every single Hispanic in the U.S. with the call for the repeal of the birthright citizenship which is enshrined in the Constitution they claim to ~~hate~~ love so much, the GOP now want us to know about the threat posed by little Muslim Terror Babies. The hits just keep coming.

~Why has more than half of the $275 billion in stimulus money not been spent yet?

~South Carolina Senate [Democrat] candidate Alvin Greene was indicted on Friday. I guess that means we’ll never know whether the Alvin Greene action figures which were part of his plan to stimulate the economy, would have actually worked.

~Here’s a headline that should wake you up about as much as a good cup of coffee or tea on a sleepy Sunday morning: US aid arrives as Moscow races to protect nuke site from wildfire.

~A very interesting and rather touching profile of Vicki Kennedy a year after the death of Senator Ted Kennedy. Among the tidbits- the White House tried to recruit her to work for/with them.

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They Came from Around the World

By Taylor Marsh on 30 April 2010

It was just an ordinary Wednesday night for many people in Washington, D.C., but not for the young women chosen by the U.S. Embassy in their home country to be part of Fortune Magazine and the U.S. State Depts. Most Powerful Women mentor program.

A very windy, chilly day in D.C. turned into an evening of women’s celebration, which began on the terrace offering a spectacular view of Washington, with the Capitol in the one direction, the Air Force monument easily seen in the distance on a very crisp night.

When I was invited to the event, I wasn’t sure what to expect or if there would be anything worth noting in a report. However, that changed very quickly, which is evidenced by my tweets during the festivities.

The young women bounded out on to the terrace as Frank Sinatra played, wine, water, soft drinks and hors devours were served, with excited conversation beginning the evening. Among those I met were Josephine Kairaba from Rwanda, Aicholpon Jorupbekova from Kyrgyz Republic, and Anna Grishchenkova Russia who will spend her month in the United States being mentored by JP Morgan in New York City, and Jin Yan from China. Later sitting next to Thailand’s Sirinatda Panichapong, she handed several of us a pin with her country’s flag melded to the U.S. flag, while inviting everyone to come visit her country, requesting we call her to let her know we are coming. Every conversation was charming and inspiring. The Hill, in “Washington Scene”, has photos of many who attended, including business mentors and women in the media (myself included).

So, amidst the biodynamic wines from Quivira, Dry Creek Valley, Bergstrom, De Lancellotti Valley, Newburg; after the truffled goat cheese appetizer, the pesto crusted Halibut and creamed Yukon golds, and fresh berries with crème fraiche (though it was the ginger crisps that stole the dessert show), one thing stood out.

It was seeing my country through these young women’s eyes. It quite simply blew me away.

The irony of 10,000 Women being one of the many sponsors didn’t go unnoticed. This is Goldman Sachs’ program, in association with education institutions from around the world, launched in 2008 under Lloyd Blankfein, to provide 10,000 “deserving” women from all over the globe with a business and management education. Considering the current firestorm surrounding Goldman Sachs, no one is going to sing their praises even on something as worthy as this program.

As an aside, Fortune has an amusing article reporting that the Brits are making a wager whether Mr. Blankfein will leave Goldman Sachs by the end of the year. You can make your wager on Intrade.

Economic politics wasn’t in the room last night as economic justice took on a different look and meaning with the Fortune/State Dept. mentor program being celebrated, which started under Pres. George W. Bush and continues under Pres. Barack Obama. Melanne Verveer, Ambassador-at-Large
Global Women’s Issues, the first position of its kind, was there representing State.

The young women brought to the U.S. State Dept. to celebrate the program, but also their good fortune, represented Ghana, Jordan, South Africa, Pakistan, Argentina, Palestinian Territory (Gaza), Egypt, Nigeria, Russia, Kyrgyz Republic, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, India, Uganda, Brazil, Kenya, Thailand, Haiti, China, Afghanistan, Morocco.

Senators Susan Collins (R-MN) and Diane Feinstein (D-CA) were also at the event, as was Rep. Melissa Bean (D-IL), with Sen. Feinstein being interviewed about the importance of “paying it forward” to help young women. She said of Collins, she “is what her party is supposed to be.” Advice from the California Senator: You have to be twice as good as the men, so develop a portfolio of expertise, something that you can write and give speeches about; expertise that works to your long suit, not your short suit. Feinstein said the real key is to never give up and “be like the Phoenix,” citing Shirley Chisholm, someone Feinstein admired, but who she felt gave up. Failures will come, but you must just keep going.

Former mentee Rehmah Kasabe from Uganda closed the evening’s remarks by simply saying, “Get rid of the dream takers, only have dream makers” around you.

What an evening it was. Highlighted by the beaming faces of these young women from around the world who are living their dream awake in the United States, compliments of the Fortune/State Dept. program that endeavors to make new entrepreneurs out of women from around the globe, along with some hefty lifting from U.S. corporations who make it all possible.

It hits on a constant theme in all the work and writing I do about women around the world. You simply cannot have stable, thriving and peaceful countries if half of the population is uneducated and untrained, either because of cultural prejudice, gender discrimination, or reality in a land of poverty.

Women can change the world, but only if we all pitch in to help.

TM NOTE:Photograph above of me (and Candace Kendle, of Kendle International) at the event is from The Hill, taken by Kate Ozcypok. The full shot below the table shot above — notice the place cards, the whole execution flawless — is of the Benjamin Franklin Room where the event was held and dinner was served. Additional shots at the end include Thomas Jefferson’s desk, and the Paris Treaty that ended the Revolutionary war, pictured to the right, with the John Quincy Adams Room below, which is across from the Benjamin Franklin Room, all of which are in the main building of the State Department.

The John Quincy Adams Room @ State

cross-posted at Huffington Post

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Stuck at State: The Hillary Hole

By Taylor Marsh on 15 February 2010

Joe the Plumber doesn’t like Sarah Palin anymore. Since the Tea Party blast directed at Palin, this is the second greatest news she’s gotten in a while. Having secured her outsider status, getting a little incoming from the right is not so bad for Sarah. As the attention on the former governor continues to rise, regardless of her electability status, which everyone keeps reporting is nil, Sarah is laughing all the way to the bank. That she’s filling the Hillary hole has not been discussed, but that’s part of her allure, even if nobody on the left, including Hillary’s former supporters, who remain in her camp regardless that she’s out of action, care one whit about Sarah Palin. The simple void of a female rock star since Hillary Rodham Clinton has been deployed to the State dept. has opened up a spot for Sarah, because there’s nobody else out there that can fill it. Though I’m still waiting for Liz Cheney’s entry. After enjoying a competent and eminently qualified female candidate on the national stage it’s clear the people want more, so some are settling for Sarah, especially since the rest of the politicians on the national scene are not only a snore but incompetent. Obama’s star having descended to earth. Just look at the state of the Congress and legislation, not to mention Pres. Obama’s agenda, which hardly resembles anything coherent. All eyes on the other side, waiting for the next election, because watching this vamping political nothingness is down right painful.

Meanwhile…

Clinton acknowledged that U.S. President Barack Obama’s approach to Iran had not borne fruit, blaming Iran for refusing to engage and suggesting that a fourth U.N. Security Council sanctions resolution was the only option. “I would like to figure out a way to handle it in as peaceful an approach possible, and I certainly welcome any meaningful engagement, but … we don’t want to be engaging while they are building their bomb,” Clinton said at the U.S.-Islamic World Forum conference. – Clinton tackles Mideast peace, Muslim ties in Gulf

Sect. Clinton is trying to cajole our allies in the Arab and Muslim world right now. It’s not going very well. In fact, the current state of Clinton’s job is to offer nothing but a bunch of words. Relegated to hand holding, asking for help on Iran, while the reality is that Iran is going to get weapons grade uranium to become a nuclear nation, which has always been the case, effective means of weaponization always the challenge. So, I’ve never understood all the international posturing about thinking otherwise. And even as this reality explains Israel’s and the right’s rumbling rhetoric, it was always a matter of when not if. But what this whole exercise from Clinton reveals is that over at State she’s got no juice to actually impact anything. The Middle East proving beyond the U.S. scope to mold once again. So, even as Clinton travels the globe, the most important representative Pres. Obama can deploy for our country, she’s powerless.

However, since her Senate colleagues weren’t exactly going to welcome her back and offer her the power she’d amassed as a presidential candidate, what else was a woman to do?

This reminds me of how different things are for women around the world. Even as they fight for basic human rights in some states, there are many nations around the world who have already elevated a woman to the top job. Not in the U.S. Why is that Latin America, a patriarchal culture if ever there was one, has had female presidents, but not the U.S.? Even after 2008, but also the continued rise of Sarah Palin, it’s clear the country hungers for it. Some women would rather have Sarah Palin than wait one minute longer. The Hillary hole one reason Palin enjoys such attention, coupled with the “it” factor that, regardless of her electoral challenges, Sarah Palin most assuredly has. So even as England had Thatcher, Israel had Golda Meir, Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in Liberia, even Ukraine’s heroine of the orange revolution, former PM Yulia Tymoshenko, the American presidency remains an elusive prize for American females. From the Oregonian editorial board, talking about President-elect Laura Chinchilla in Cartago, Costa Rica.

Isabel Perón became president of Argentina in 1974 and Cristina Fernandez Kirchner in 2007, but those roles come with asterisks. Isabel Perón was the third wife and running mate of President Juan Perón, replacing him when he died in 1974. After a tumultuous tenure, she was arrested and deposed. (Juan Perón’s second wife, Eva, was a political trailblazer because of her prominence as first lady, and a lively campaigner on his behalf.) And while Fernandez Kirchner won election in her own right, her husband and former president, Nestor Kirchner, gave her an advantage by placing her on the ticket when he ran successfully for president.
A woman was appointed interim president of Haiti in 1990. And in Brazil, two women, Dilma Rousseff and Marina Silva, are running for president in an election scheduled for this fall. Rousseff, who is chief of staff for term-limited President Luiz Lula da Silva, is considered a strong contender.
Why do women in the United States seem to face a higher hurdle to becoming president than women in Latin America? …

In Anne Kornblut’s book, someone I’ve pilloried for her part in helping create the negative national narrative on the Clintons, she talks about the difficulty of getting beyond the 18 million cracks in the ultimate glass ceiling. The “share of women in office in the United States is smaller than in more than 70 countries in the world, from Cuba to Rawanda to Norway,” writes Kornblut in “Notes from the Cracked Ceiling.” Kornblut going on to say if we don’t ask why the glass ceiling was cracked, but hasn’t been broken it might never happen.

This is a longer discussion than can be had in one single essay, as to why women aren’t poised to break through in the U.S. as has already happened around the world, because the subject is complex. In a country where women’s civil rights are enshrined in law, Democrats and Republicans are busy chipping away at these givens in health care legislation. Why modern women are letting it happen is part of the problem. Female leaders still apologizing for a woman’s right to self-determination in order to fit into the man’s paradigm. Not exactly inspiring. See Hillary’s falling to Mark Penn’s run like a man strategy. One can almost respect Palin’s strong stand against abortion, which amounts to a pro selective life stance as I’ve talked about before, even if it erodes women’s civil rights, because at least she’s un-apologetically wrong, you know, like Bush. (Again, wrong and strong, beats weak and right.) While female Democrats make deals like Pelosi did on health care posturing that they’re for women’s self-determination, which includes the right to have domain over her own body, but won’t fight for it, putting everyone’s needs above women. Beyond that you had Senate leaders like Reid and Ted Kennedy, but also Nancy Pelosi, saying they were neutral, but actually were always for Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton, even advising and pushing him on, something that obviously blindsided her team. I could go on, but you get the beginning of what is a larger problem for women, which begins with their own choices.

What’s clear is that nothing is the same since Hillary’s candidacy failed. The Hillary hole is real, palpable. More so when we continue to look outward. Even to watch the reaction to Hillary when she does get into the fire on her trips overseas. Like when she bristled in Africa at a question she was asked about her husband’s opinion, replying, “My husband is not the Secretary of State, I am.” Kornblut, typically, if ironically, chimed in with a schizophrenic analysis that reveals, at least one reason, why women rising to the top job in the U.S. is still so difficult:

KORNBLUT: [W]e reported out that there was no mistranslation. That she was asked about her husband. The reporters who were there said it was very hot. She was very tired. So maybe her demeanor is not the one she would have wanted, but that the underlining sentiment that she’s the secretary of state is one that she intended to convey, especially in a region of the world that is so male dominated.
But the incident is kind of bigger than that. It’s sort of the perfect encapsulation of the burden of being Hillary Clinton. That you are seen in relation to your husband wherever you go, not just by the media, but by the world and asked questions about him. And it reminded me a lot of the campaign, when she was seen in relation to him and having to respond and trying to be her own person. But it also raises the question of what kind of secretary of state she is going to be. And if she is going to be able to harness the celebrity, which of course is the reason we’re all talking about it, in a – to a larger purpose. Some people, when this whole incident happened said to me, you know, she looks kind of like a first lady on this trip. She’s out there. She’s been gone for 11 days, 7 countries. She’s away from the center of action here. So I expect we may see some shorter trips from her, ones where she’s not going to get as tired when she’s on the road. But at the end of the day, I think her, again the underlining sentiment is one that certainly the White House and she defend that she had the right to say that.

New media headlines doing a disservice to Hillary as well, ready to exalt her husband at the Secretary’s expense.

Maybe this explains, in part, why all the usual Hillary haters have been so complimentary of Sect. Clinton during her run at State. Because after all, it’s not like the Secretary of State can pick an open fight with Pres. Obama, or that Hillary ever would, at least not publicly, as that’s not her style. But she is effectively neutered at State, leaving her critics to mumble their total approval of Sect. Clinton, even Chris Matthews lauding her work. Since the election season and her diplomatic, a-political ascendance, a compliment for Sect. Clinton offered almost as a bridge over the competing sides of the 2008 election season. A wound that has still not healed, which has been proven recently when the Obama bubble burst, with his fans finally coming down to earth and swallowing the reality that he is simply another politician. Egads! Not that. Obama agnostics infuriated that warnings went unheeded.

Certainly, Hillary has given remarkable speeches, traveled to the Congo war zone, a first, continued talking about women, her work laudable by any standard of statecraft. Her latest warnings about an Iranian dictatorship, due to the Revolutionary Guard’s prowess, now making world headlines. Hillary Clinton always impressive, her travels and commitment to women’s issues unmatched. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as dynamic a diplomat as Obama could have hoped to have, even as John Kerry and others wait in the wings to possibly follow her. But last time I looked Afghanistan’s Pres. Karzai still supported the “rape law,” so what good it does for the U.S. to huff and puff is certainly in question, as we cannot change reality.

There is nothing that Clinton can actually do anywhere.

“I know people are disappointed that we have not yet achieved a breakthrough,” Clinton said of the six-decade Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “This is hard work.“

But who ever thought we’d hear Hillary Rodham Clinton reduced to quoting George W. Bush?

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Napolitano Eats Her Words

By Taylor Marsh on 28 December 2009

late update below

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Like this wasn’t predictable.

As predictable as this opening paragraph in the Wall Street Journal.

A U.S. government that has barred the phrase “war on terror” has nonetheless acknowledged that a failed Christmas day bomb attack on an airliner was a terrorist attempt. Can we all now drop the pretense that we stopped fighting a war once Dick Cheney and George W. Bush left the White House?

The instant I heard Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano utter the words, “the system worked,” I’ve waited for the ass covering that was bound to come. Today it arrived.

When you’re talking about “context,” you’re screwed. Why don’t smart people ever learn that lesson? Easy. They think we’re stupid.

The statement Napolitano made on Sunday was not only ~~ridiculously absurd~~ counter-intuitive, but something any civilian, even one not usually following national security and terrorism threats, could deduce was utter crap.

Obama’s first statement, as he fumbles a bit
when talking about Abdulmutallab, but
delivers strong statement on Iran violence.

Let’s see, a young Nigerian male, whose flight originated out of Lagos airport on the continent of Africa, a notoriously iffy security proposition to begin with, reportedly buys a one-way ticket (LATE UPDATE: the reports turned out to be false, by the way), paying in cash, with his father (chairman of Nigeria’s FirstBank, the oldest bank in the country, with offices in London, Paris and Beijing), notifying the U.S. embassy in Nigeria that his son has been radicalized, warning the U.S., with the young man attempting a terrorist attack that was foiled by sheer sweet luck, but “the system worked.”

Excuse me if I’m a bit queasy over this whole incident, but folks, our government is incompetent and it doesn’t matter whether Republicans or Democrats are in charge, even as the latter circle the wagons. This many years after 9/11 and we still can’t get it down that someone on a terrorist watch list should have extra screening?

And how dare I suggest that behavioral profiling might be something we should adopt! How wingnuttery of me to be so cool headed as to ponder the notion that some of what Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab exhibited might have been a flaming red flag.

For all the blathering about national security, we’re not very serious in this country about actually providing it. Even as I support Pres. Obama’s mission in Afghanistan, even if he won’t say it’s humanitarian when it is, the people against it have a good case to make when our own national security still appears like a sieve.

It would take tens of millions of dollars to secure every airport, including surveillance on baggage handlers. However, international flights or connecting flights could possibly be a first start.

But in this juvenile nation, a place where we secure our safety in fits and starts and only in the aftermath of a threat, our eyes are continually turned beyond our borders to the world. Changing the world by policing it, something we still do well (war and weaponry actually the only thing we still produce and can sell), while we crumble at home.

As for our own soil, using the term of the day, let’s be honest, the pure luck reality that we haven’t been hit again looks like it will be the case until it runs out, which it will eventually. (God help the poor sad sod of a politician and political party that happens to be at the helm when hell comes visiting again, because the foreshadowing is already 9 years long.)

But maybe I’m not being fair. After all, you can’t expect mere humans to be able to handle this gargantuan task. There is just too much information out there.

“It’s got to be something that causes the information to sort of rise out of the noise level, because there is just so much out there,” one intelligence official said.

Isn’t this what we heard from Bush-Cheney after 9/11? You know, after tales of CIA director George Tenet’s “hair on fire” warnings during the summer of 2001, when that now famous PDB was read by George W. Bush on vacation, not spurring any action at all. Revealing that Rep. King’s outlandish pronouncements that the latest near catastrophe in midair is why we need Gitmo and interrogations, even if those never helped George W. Bush avert Richard Reid just months after 9/11 happened on Bush’s watch; even as Mary Matalin spins the fantasy that 9/11 was what Bush inherited from Clinton.

The U.S. can’t possibly stop terrorism attempts because we can’t tell what’s real and what’s not, because the flood of information is just too much. Mr. Yglesias takes a big swallow of this nonsense, questioning whether more information is really a good thing. Yeah, because stupid is the thing. Democrats sounding like a silly Republican trying to spin this one.

Bluntly, this latest terrorism attempt reveals our governmental incompetence inaction.

Then again, maybe the problem is us.

TM.com Reader and commenter “Marie205″
27 December 2009 at 1:53 pm

I hate to say this but “You can have all the security in the world to stop terrorist like this guy, and in the end one of his terrorist friends will make it through” I know that might sound crude to some people. I was in London during the train bombings a couple years back, it was my very first trip over seas and I remember being terrified the day the bombs took place. However, when I looked around at the face coming up out of the damaged subways and on the streets I noticed a difference culturally with the English and Americans. The folks I was around that day didn’t become hysterical at all they were upset but kept there cool. There media didn’t go overboard about the London bombings and everyone around me handled it with an adult manner. Once I made it back to the State, American media was is in overdrive as if our country would be under attack soon. People around me here was walking around afraid of there own shadows, it was pathetic to witness. Here I was returning from almost losing my life in the London train bombings renewed with the strength I got from English men and Women, who refuse to be afraid or let the terrorist ruin their lives to my home country of frighten children. I really do believe Americans have a lot of growing up do we seem to think of ourselves as if bad things are never suppose to happen to us. After we suffer from the best nation on earth attitude; but were not just like other countries we will be attacked.

The “Department of Homeland Security” is a joke, a waste of money we don’t have, a redundant department of massive irrelevance, not to mention a public relations nightmare, as Mr. Tom Ridge, followed by Ms. Napolitano, have both conclusively proved, with duties that could be performed by another agency or better yet, shared.

Anyone laughing?

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Meanwhile at the U.N., Qadhafi Rambles On

By Taylor Marsh on 23 September 2009

“We must insist that the future does not belong to fear.” – Pres. Barack Obama

…and someone has the courage to liveblog it!

Strong speech at the United Nations today from Pres. Obama, driving straight into the responsibilities of other nations to live up to what the United Nations is supposed to represent.

In an alternative universe, the Carterization of Pres. Obama is well under way, using the Middle East as cudgel.

Pres. Obama received applause when he directly talked about the people of Sudan, as well as when he talked about peace among Israel and Palestinians, saying he’s made “some” progress, regardless of yesterday’s trilateral theater. “But more progress is needed. … And we continue to emphasize that America does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements.” Applause was immediate. Wonder if Netanyahu felt the delayed slap in the midst of his gloating over yesterday’s perceived “win”, as interpreted on the right.

The Israeli – Palestinian section of Obama’s speech (which was sent out by the White House) is below:

… I will also continue to seek a just and lasting peace between Israel, Palestine, and the Arab world. Yesterday, I had a constructive meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas. We have made some progress. Palestinians have strengthened their efforts on security. Israelis have facilitated greater freedom of movement for the Palestinians. As a result of these efforts by both sides, the economy in the West Bank has begun to grow. But more progress is needed. We continue to call on Palestinians to end incitement against Israel, and we continue to emphasize that America does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements.
The time has come to re-launch negotiations – without preconditions – that address the permanent-status issues: security for Israelis and Palestinians; borders, refugees and Jerusalem. The goal is clear: two states living side by side in peace and security – a Jewish State of Israel, with true security for all Israelis; and a viable, independent Palestinian state with contiguous territory that ends the occupation that began in 1967, and realizes the potential of the Palestinian people. As we pursue this goal, we will also pursue peace between Israel and Lebanon, Israel and Syria, and a broader peace between Israel and its many neighbors. In pursuit of that goal, we will develop regional initiatives with multilateral participation, alongside bilateral negotiations.
I am not naïve. I know this will be difficult. But all of us must decide whether we are serious about peace, or whether we only lend it lip-service. To break the old patterns – to break the cycle of insecurity and despair – all of us must say publicly what we would acknowledge in private. The United States does Israel no favors when we fail to couple an unwavering commitment to its security with an insistence that Israel respect the legitimate claims and rights of the Palestinians. And nations within this body do the Palestinians no favors when they choose vitriolic attacks over a constructive willingness to recognize Israel’s legitimacy, and its right to exist in peace and security.
We must remember that the greatest price of this conflict is not paid by us. It is paid by the Israeli girl in Sderot who closes her eyes in fear that a rocket will take her life in the night. It is paid by the Palestinian boy in Gaza who has no clean water and no country to call his own. These are God’s children. And after all of the politics and all of the posturing, this is about the right of every human being to live with dignity and security. That is a lesson embedded in the three great faiths that call one small slice of Earth the Holy Land. And that is why – even though there will be setbacks, and false starts, and tough days – I will not waiver in my pursuit of peace. [...]

But if you want to know why the right gets such traction on their screeds against the United Nations, Qadhafi’s rambling, never ending bloviating “speech” is a good reason why.

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The WJC Tapes and Beyond

By Taylor Marsh on 21 September 2009

–updated below – bumped–

“President Clinton helped create a model for individual responsibility and collective action through the Clinton Global Initiative and it is a model that all of us are going to be studying for a very long time.” — Barack Obama, President, United States of America

As the Clinton Global Initiative kicks off, USA Today lands in the hotel rooms of the attendees, big shots and not, all converging on New York City. Talk about timing.

Taylor Branch, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author and civil rights historian’s story is hitting everywhere right now, as Branch intends to offer the “unvarnished perspective” of William Jefferson Clinton. Back when Branch began gathering the story, the tapes were very tightly held: Parking on the South Lawn, he would head to the White House family quarters for interviews so secret Clinton stored the tapes of them in his sock drawer.

On Lewinski:

But one night in August 1999, six months after he had survived the Senate impeachment trial, words “spilled out” from an emotional Clinton. He told Branch the Lewinsky affair began because “I cracked; I just cracked.”
[...] The Democrats’ loss of Congress in the November 1994 elections — on top of the death of Clinton’s mother the previous January and the Whitewater investigation — made Clinton feel beleaguered, unappreciated and open to a liaison with Lewinsky, Clinton told Branch. The affair began during the government budget shutdown in November 1995 and resumed briefly a few months after Clinton’s re-election in 1996 — a victory that he felt should have been vindication but didn’t still his critics. …

Dissecting former Pres. Clinton’s state of mind when he succumbed to his carnal nature with Monica Lewinsky may seem trivial to some. But when considered in the context of the right wing, while understanding that the Republicans let Richard Nixon, for cover-up crimes, at least where impeachment and punishment were concerned, and Ronald Reagan for Iran-Contra, off the hook, as well as Barack Obama ignoring what happened under Bush and Dick Cheney’s watch, it’s instrumental in understanding how the two parties differ in accountability given the opportunity and cases of serious illegal acts v. stupid sexual indiscretion. After all, Clinton’s consensual affair hardly compares to what either Nixon or Reagan did, not to mention George W. Bush. But yet it’s Bill Clinton who was drawn and quartered on the impeachment dock, with hatred so over the top that a leading right wing evangelical was yelling from the TV screen that William Jefferson Clinton was a murderer, with many on the right still forwarding nonsense about Vince Foster.

As Branch chronicles, even Al Gore blamed Bill Clinton for his loss in 2000, as Gore refused to use WJC where he could have made a difference, as people like me pleaded in interviews to let Bill loose where he could help. Branch revealing a serious blowup.

Then there was Clinton’s take on a heated, two-hour discussion he had with then-Vice President Gore just after Gore had lost the 2000 presidential election to Republican George W. Bush.
The meeting started politely enough, Clinton recalled. Then Clinton, who felt underutilized during the 2000 campaign, told Gore he could have tilted the election to the Democratic side if he had been dispatched to stump in Arkansas or New Hampshire, both states in which Clinton was popular. Either state would have provided the electoral votes Gore needed to win.
Gore replied that Clinton’s scandalous shadow was a “drag” that had plagued Gore at every step of the campaign. The two “exploded” at each other in mutual recrimination.

Being a strong supporter for former Vice President Gore, the Clinton “drag” became a self-fulfilling prophecy because many Democrats bought into and swallowed whole the right-wing talking point that was so skillfully sewed into the political narrative.

Today, people seem to have also forgotten just what the Clinton’s fought against, the full scale onslaught of the right that started the moment WJC took office, making light of the viciousness and no quarter aspect of the political mayhem.

It remains to be seen when we’ll hear about it all.

For historians wanting to plunge into the Clinton presidency, the unprecedented interviews will be invaluable, says Russell Riley, head of the Presidential Oral History Program at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center of Public Affairs. He calls their existence “a major historical event,” though Clinton hasn’t said when and under what conditions they might be available to scholars.

Branch also reveals a vein of a deadly Democratic Party virus that runs through so many quarters, with people always so eager to talk trash about Bill, seen fully in political vermin like the odious Dick Morris.

GQ: The Bill Clinton in this book is very different than the version we came to know in the press. You describe a guy who was steadfast and idealistic, very different from the wishy-washy, flip-flopping caricature who let Dick Morris tell him what to do.
BRANCH: It was almost like a credential for old liberals to look down on Clinton, because if you looked down on Clinton, you could say, “He’s betrayed liberalism,” but you didn’t have to uphold anything yourself. All you had to do was talk about what a shit he was or what a sellout he was and you could get this cheap credential.

A guy who was steadfast and idealistic.

Bill Clinton never gives in or lets his best hopes and dreams be hijacked by the lesser mortals among us. There is always more work to be done… for others.

UPDATE: An interesting back and forth in the In the News diary section with reader LakeLady is worth adding here. Though it’s about the new media post, which ended up in the thread on WJC:

LakeLady: …. Taylor~ I just caught up with your post on Obama’s remarks on old media. Just a little self serving? Huh? Listen when you want to cover something and don’t have the funds for it ….start an online drive,we will all do what we can. I would love to have you in New York right now.

TM: When the President talks about what I do FOR A LIVING as less important than old media, damn straight I’m going to categorically offer proof he’s ignorant on the subject. It is my fault, however, that you and others think I’m always talking about you ponying up, for which I apologize. There are advertisers and many others who should do much more on new media sites like TM.com that offer serious content to whom I’m speaking directly. Unlike other big group blog sites, I don’t send out weekly money asks for the work I do outside this blog. I get these asks constantly, as I’m sure some of you do too. In the end, however, YOU have to decide to give or not give based on my daily work, not just when I ask for it. I also prioritize what I spend income on and with new priorities I just couldn’t rationalize WJC’s CGI meeting, which I told them.
No business model can survive under the Ask When You Need It model. It’s preposterous to expect new media to do just that; but when you consider all of this started out free, well, that’s what we’re up against. Understanding that I never had this challenge, going back to when I began on the web in 1996, until I shifted to blogging. It’s the blog application that began as a lousy business model, which is why I always refrained from that title, as my work is about much more, with this aspect the last to be added to my arsenal.
But I have no intention of writing for free at this point in my life, even as I don’t expect to get rich on this side of my biz. However, if my work here ever equates to doing it for free or losing money on it, you can bet I’ll stop doing it that instant.

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Teddy Kennedy’s Foreign Policy Idealism

By Taylor Marsh on 28 August 2009

A tree Teddy planted in Bangladesh.
Located at Dhaka University to replace one
destroyed by the Pakistan army still stands.
_____________________________________

Little is talked about when it comes to Sen. Kennedy and foreign policy. Adam Clymer wrote a great piece for the Daily Beast on the subject. Domestic issues pervaded Teddy’s mission, but also his image at home. However, he was intensely interested and engaged in world matters, especially where human rights and the plight of the oppressed, as well as refugees were concerned. Even if he didn’t hold the appropriate Senate committee seat or ranking member slot in the foreign affairs arena.

One obvious link was Sen. Kennedy’s ties to Ireland, which go back to the 70s. Jean Kennedy Smith, the surviving sister of Teddy, was ambassador to Ireland, appointed by Clinton through Teddy’s prodding. But little is still known about the details of his efforts to aid Ireland on the road to peace back in the 90s. What is public is that he lobbied Pres. Bill Clinton, the first president to become engaged in Ireland’s struggles, directly and determinedly to give a limited U.S. visa to Sinn Fein’s Gerald Adams. It’s thought this was a move that eventually led to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. Time has featured a piece about it, exploring the complexities and contradictions.

It was Kennedy who, on Hume’s advice, persuaded Bill Clinton to grant a controversial U.S. visa to Gerry Adams, leader of the Irish republican party Sinn Fein, in 1994. At the time, the move was strongly opposed by the British government, but today the visa is seen as an important turning point in Northern Ireland’s recent history. Adams was able to convince IRA supporters on U.S. soil of the merits of backing the peace process. Seven months later, the IRA announced its first military ceasefire, ending a 25-year terror campaign, with Protestant paramilitary groups calling their own ceasefires shortly after.

Let’s hope more details surface, even as Kennedy refused to take credit at the time, as there is no reason not to tell the history today.

Another story comes out of Bangladesh. That tree at the top of this post was planted by Teddy and still flourishes today.

I could write the history of the war of independence between East Pakistan (formerly East Bengal) and West Pakistan and India in 1971, which led to nothing less than a massacre. A civil war for independence that created Bangladesh. When Teddy took on the Administration policies of Nixon and Henry Kissinger, who backed Pakistan against independence. Something the U.S. simply does over and over again to our detriment.

But someone I call a friend, who has written stellar foreign policy pieces for this site many times, Mash, whom old time regulars will no doubt remember, wrote a piece about it as someone who was impacted personally by the Pakistani horrors inflicted on the Bengalis. But especially the independence won for Bangladesh. “The Lion in Winter” is a wonderful piece, which I hope you’ll read in full:

Thirty five years ago when the Pakistani military was slaughtering my people by the millions, President Richard Nixon quietly offered arms to continue the killings. Along with Senators Frank Church and William Fulbright, Senator Kennedy took to the floor of the United States Senate and spoke out against the atrocities. His was one of the lonely voices in the United States government that defended the right of the Bengali people to exist. He spoke out against the massacres, the rapes, and the persecution when the Nixon administration chose to look the other way.
On August 11, 1971 Senator Kennedy visited Bengali refugee camps in Calcutta, India. There he visited with some of the 10 million Bengalis who had fled the massacres in East Pakistan. Kennedy was scheduled to visit East Pakistan but was refused entry by the Pakistani government. Nevertheless, with his visit, Senator Kennedy helped shine the world’s spotlight on the ongoing genocide. With his visit, he became a friend of the Bengali people.
On December 16, 1971 Bangladesh was liberated from Pakistan. On Valentine’s Day the following year, Senator Kennedy visited the newly formed nation. Kennedy arrived in the capital city, Dhaka, as the crowds shouted “Joi Kennedy!’ (Victory to Kennedy). He was mobbed everywhere he went.
About 8,000 people crowded into the university courtyard and jammed lecture hall balconies and roofs, to hear the most popular American among Bengalis tell them what they have been telling themselves since their war for independence began last March.
“Even though the United States government does not recognize you,” Kennedy said, “the people of the world do recognize you.”
…
In his speech, Kennedy drew parallels between the liberation of Bangladesh and the American Revolution. He said America had prospered despite people who predicted it would collapse following independence, and so would Bangladesh.
Kennedy’s early support for the Bengalis’ fight against Pakistan’s army has made him a symbol of the friendship with the United States which the Bengalis desperately want. When criticizing President Nixon for supporting Pakistan, Bengalis invariably mention Kennedy as the example to prove that the American people sympathize with their cause.

Mash also cross-posted this piece at DK, where Senator Kennedy made sure his appreciation was noted.

Mash – Thank you for this thoughtful and beautifully written diary. I read it this morning and am grateful for your words. You have reminded us all to be mindful of battles of the past as we fight to change the current course of history.
With warm regards,
Senator Edward Kennedy

Then there is South Africa. From Clymer:

He also heartened the opposition in South Africa. He visited that country in 1985, after Archbishop Desmond Tutu persuaded him that his presence would draw attention to apartheid through the American television crews that followed him. He visited slums and resettlement areas. His trip was denounced by the South African government and by the United States ambassador, Herman Nickel. Kennedy staged an illegal protest outside Pollsmoor Prison, where Nelson Mandela was being held. He said, “Behind these walls are men that are deeply committed to the cause of freedom in this land.” Years later, Mandela said he knew Kennedy had been at the gate of the prison and that “gave us a lot of strength and hope, and the feeling that we had millions behind us both in our struggle against apartheid but in our special situation in prison.”
On his return, Kennedy led an effort to impose economic sanctions on South Africa. In 1986, Congress overrode a veto by President Reagan and enacted a ban on all new investment by Americans in South African businesses and on the importation of such products as steel, coal, ammunition, and food from South Africa. “The time for procrastination and delay is over,” Kennedy said. “Now is the time to keep the faith with Martin Luther King, Desmond Tutu, and all those who believe in a free South Africa.”

However, Senator Kennedy’s most important foreign policy contribution was his vote against the Iraq war. Teddy watched Bobby’s anti Vietnam stance, not fully embracing his brother’s passion at first, even as they both knew what Jack’s legacy on Vietnam was on his death. Though historians like Robert Dallek have offered that JFK would have withdrawn if he’d live. We’ll never know.

What we do know is Teddy Kennedy was one of the leaders against the Iraq war from the start. I was a very lonely voice on a.m. radio at the time, railing against all the Democrats who didn’t have Teddy’s courage, Biden, Kerry and Hillary. He was smarter than them all. …so was Barack Obama, which, through a little noticed speech at the time, would change the course of history. A beginning for what would develop into a powerful political kinship between Kennedy and Obama.

“My vote against this misbegotten war is the best vote I have cast in the United States Senate since I was elected in 1962.” – Senator Edward M. Kennedy

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Women and Girls Can Save the World

By Taylor Marsh on 23 August 2009

If you read one thing today this is it, “The Women’s Crusade.” No, it’s not about U.S. health care reform. It’s about something even more important, which is close to blasphemy to say these days but it’s true, because it’s about saving the world.

…Yet if the injustices that women in poor countries suffer are of paramount importance, in an economic and geopolitical sense the opportunity they represent is even greater. “Women hold up half the sky,” in the words of a Chinese saying, yet that’s mostly an aspiration: in a large slice of the world, girls are uneducated and women marginalized, and it’s not an accident that those same countries are disproportionately mired in poverty and riven by fundamentalism and chaos. There’s a growing recognition among everyone from the World Bank to the U.S. military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff to aid organizations like CARE that focusing on women and girls is the most effective way to fight global poverty and extremism. That’s why foreign aid is increasingly directed to women. The world is awakening to a powerful truth: Women and girls aren’t the problem; they’re the solution.

And if you haven’t read the interview with Sect. Clinton, take time to, but only after you’ve read the first article above.

And if you haven’t read this article, read that too, but only after you’ve read the first article above.

But by all means read this article, if you haven’t already, about the only female leader on the continent of Africa, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. But again, only after you’ve read the first article at the top.

Why do you think we’ve never had a female president in the United States?
I have to ask you that question. You’ve got to vote for her.

All of this in The New York Times Magazine today. Take a day off to see what’s happening around the world. It’s important.

On a different note and as an extra task, count how many women you see today on the Sunday shows. Not just on panels, but as headline guests. Experts being asked their opinion on politics and policy. One good development is that Christiane Amanpour will soon anchor her own Sunday show, which will air after GPS with Fareed Zakaria. That’s something, especially on Sunday.

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Sect. Clinton Challenges Status Quo on Women’s Issues

By Taylor Marsh on 19 August 2009

Ritu Sharma, president of the anti-poverty group Women Thrive Worldwide, said she already sees the results of Clinton’s efforts in the bureaucracy. When Sharma’s staff recently attended a meeting about a new agricultural aid program, she said, one State Department official joked, “We have to integrate women — or we’re going to be fired.” – Clinton Puts Spotlight On Women’s Issues

Hillary Rodham Clinton is putting her star power to historic use when it comes to women’s issues around the globe. However, not even Lawrence Wilkerson quite understands the importance of what Clinton is doing: “You might be right, in the narrow sense of women in that country or region need to be empowered, but you’re saying something inimical to other U.S. interests.”

Women’s rights are harmful to other U.S. interests? Typical short-sided patriarchy.

If the U.S. is ever going to inspire a real shift in countries around the world that have histories of keeping women down, it will take someone of Clinton’s star power backed by a president who clearly gets the importance of women to a country’s stabilization. This includes a nation’s priorities that take focus when women are involved in policy. Clinton knows this is the foundation of progress of any developing nation.

However, supporting women’s rights, but also standing against sexual violence, rape and honor killings, to name just three horrific practices around the world, in no way precludes engaging these same countries on economic, environmental, national security and other matters on separate tracks. It’s the act of talking tough, while doing what’s practical and can get done at the same time.

There is no reason to stay silent while heinous crimes are perpetrated against women. Mr. Wilkerson is simply wrong.

Via the Washington Post:

Clinton is not the first female secretary of state, but neither of her predecessors had her impact abroad as a pop feminist icon. On nearly every foreign trip, she has met with women — South Korean students, Israeli entrepreneurs, Iraqi war widows, Chinese civic activists. Clinton mentioned “women” or “woman” at least 450 times in public comments in her first five months in the position, twice as often as her predecessor, Condoleezza Rice.
Clinton’s interest in global women’s issues is deeply personal, a mission she adopted as first lady after the stinging defeat of her health-care reform effort in 1994. For months, she kept a low profile. Then, in September 1995, she addressed the U.N. women’s conference in Beijing, strongly denouncing abuses of women’s rights. Delegates jumped to their feet in applause.
“It was a transformational moment for her,” said Melanne Verveer, who has worked closely with Clinton since her White House days.

Ms. Verveer is the State Department’s first global ambassador for women’s affairs.

Covering Clinton’s Africa trip from afar, there has been plenty of news made and insults delivered (including intentional slights), even as Clinton travels into war torn parts of the Congo, talking about sexual violence and rape in a way that no other secretary of state has dared to do before.

Championing the rights of women, while exposing the dangers women still face in countries around the world, has been Hillary’s cause for over a decade, as her roles as first lady, then secretary of state, have shown.

What Clinton offers to women of the world is the ultimate foundational meaning of feminism; something that goes well beyond America’s borders and the notion of the right’s silly “post-feminism” rhetoric, or for that matter, younger women on the left that think feminism is no longer valid. Preferring instead a short-sided vision that ends at our coasts and borders.

Amidst Clinton’s outreach towards women and condemnation of violence against them, however it manifests, is the dueling realization that diplomatic engagement on other issues, even amidst half measures towards human rights, must continue.

To some that’s a conflict, which is maybe why Mr. Wilkerson sees women’s issues as less important when seen through the prism of Pakistan, for instance. But what is clearly evident in countries that succeed is that women are respected, valued and made a central part of the country’s focus, which happens only when archaic and ingrained cultural practices that target women are challenged. Clinton’s heroic mission to challenge these practices and continue what she started over a decade ago in China was in full view in Africa.

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