Monthly Archives: March 2008

Happy birthday to me, to this blog and to the Iraq War

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I am still pretty sure the GW started the war on my FRICKEN BIRTHDAY just to fuck with me. Wevs, lame duck dude- I’ve got booze and friends and all you’ve got is Laura. Who I am sure is going to leave you as soon as they throw you out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

This is also the birthday of my little blog. It started 2 years and 911 posts ago (yeah conspiracy theorists- stick that in your pipe and smoke it) . And it used to be called something else. And there used to be a bunch of lazy ass boys who posted here occasionally but have gone on to other things. And it’s been through several redesigns. (All of the above is also true for me, different name, different look, different boys :)

I am so incredibly tired of the war on Musliama or Oceania, or whatever Orwellian phrase we want to call it. I am so tired of Republican politics and economics (both are based on the idea of stealing from the poor to give to the rich. )

But I am now 30 (for the 4th time). And Bush can only be president for another nine months or so. It is going to get bad for us, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Much like the lyrics of this Lily Allen song.

I have a bit of a girl crush on the lovely Lily. And yes Mr. Bush, seeing you cry makes me smile.

For Jovial- The Seesaw Power Structure Myth

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Here’s why your “But what about the menzzzzzzzzzzzz!” whine don’t fly.

Imagine our current power structure is a seesaw. On one side you have those with power, on the other side you have those without power. There are fewer people with power than without, so that side is always up. And what the powerful fear most is that enough of the other people will make their way over to the other side, and tip the balance in the opposite direction.

This idea can be applied to all sorts of isms- sexism, racism, classism, ageism, ableism, etc.

In regards to sexism, on one side are men, the other women. The fear from the men is that feminists want to swing the seesaw in their favor. That they want to create a matriarchal society to replace the patriarchy. If they didn’t have some idea of how crappy they treat women in this scenario, then they wouldn’t be so afraid of being on the receiving end of that treatment.

The same thing is true with blacks and whites, hence fear of the angry black man.

But that is not what we want. What we want is to do away with the fulcrum, the structure that keeps the seesaw seesawing. Once that fulcrum comes down, guess what? We are all on a level playing ground. That is what we want. We want the lines between groups dissolved so that what matters is the individual, not the sex or race or whatever of the person.

Now Jovial, I know you are just chomping at the bit (crossed arms comment- puh -lease! You do know that kind of stance is a position of weakness right? It’s a way to mimic aggression while protecting your heart. ) for me to say “OMG- you’re right, I’m a total misandrist and I have been all wrong this whole time. Not all men are part of the patriarchy.”

Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.

You think that by calling out sexist behavior I am stereotyping men. Nope, society stereotypes you for me. I am just telling you that it’s just as stupid for you all to fall into those stereotypes as it is for us. I am also trying to tell you that what you think is a set in stone biological difference between the sexes is a giant crock of shit. But you are so busy holding on to your man-power and crossing your arms like an angry frat boy that you can’t see YOU’RE FALLING INTO THOSE STUPID STEREOTYPES.

The Real Problem With Rev. Wright

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Well, aside from the sexism. Which is huge and completely ignored by the media.

The real problem with Wright’s comments isn’t that he is a racist. Calling a black man a racist against whites for being angry and hating the way he’s been treated all his life is like calling a feminist a manhater. There is justifiable anger there and that is not racism.

But the problem is that Obama has been trying to walk this thin line of being palatable to angry white men while also being the hope of the black community. He has built a campaign up of how he is different, he is change, he is the modern face of American politics, post- racism, post-sexism. He makes no promises to either blacks or women (he specifically dismisses the needs of women actually). He has made it okay for liberal white men to accept him because he is not an angry black man, and he won’t make liberal white men give up one smidgen of their power if they give him the presidency.

Until Wright comes along. And suddenly the messiah of change, the new face of American politics isn’t such a sure bet after all for those angry white men. Suddenly, we see that Obama is just as much of a politician as the rest of them, and that he has this association with a man who would rip the power from those angry white men if he could.

To angry white men, Obama is not as trustworthy as he was a week ago. He is a politician just like the rest of them, willing to do or say whatever it takes to get power only to put his own agenda into play once his votes are counted. And what if that agenda just might include things that redistribute power in this country away from the white men?

It is that fear that the rethuglikans have been trying to play on with their Obama is a Muslim comments. Little did they know the Rev.Wright’s own words would do a much better job of it than they ever could.

Personally, I would vote for a politician who just flat out said “we are going to change the power structure so that all people have access, white, black, brown, yellow, male, female, gay straight”. I say screw the angry white men, there are more women than there are men in this country. And if you combine women with minorities, the angry white man becomes a small sector of the populace. The closest thing we have to that is Hillary, who has a track record of working on issues of social justice for people with no power.

I think it was in a book Rev. Wright would be familiar with where the quote “and by their deeds you shall know them “comes from. That is why experience matters. Without experience, Obama is a question mark in a time when we need concrete solutions. The more answers we get about him, the less he seems like someone who can do the hard work that will be required of the next president.

I Am Hillary Clinton

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Welcome Shakers! My point with this little post was to try and start a meme where other people write about how the sexism directed at Hillary impacts them too. So if you like this post and it inspires you, drop me a link in comments. So far the other I Am Hillary Clinton posts have been brilliant.

And every time someone makes a joke about her not being able to handle the big red button because she might be emotional, it cuts me. Those kinds of jokes mean that I will also not be taken seriously because I might seem emotional.

And every time someone makes a period joke about her, it cuts me. It just makes it easier for any legitimate issues I may have to be ignored because I might be on the rag.

And every time someone picks on her for getting emotional, it means I will have to keep my emotions in check for fear of seeming weak. If I were a man, my tears would be seen as a sign of the gravity of the matter at hand.

And every time someone accuses her of cackling or screeching, it means I will have to check my own voice and my own laughter so that I don’t appear too loud or obvious.

And every time someone declares that Hillary “hasn’t had to work twice as hard to get respect“, I have to try and forget that my brother and I both work in the same field and he makes more than 10 times what I do.

And every time someone declares that sexism is dead, I have to try and forget all the street harassment and threats of violence I put up with on a regular basis. If there is no sexism, then those men that have never met me must hate me for some other reason.

And every time someone tells me that I am a traitor for refusing to vote against my own self interest, I will forget just how much I have contributed to the Democratic party in terms of time, money and labor.

I am Hillary Clinton, and I vote.

UPDATE: I’m moving this to the top o’ the blog and Check out Hillary1000
and Blulyon (who has the best photoshop skills evah!). And once Little Miss random Babble sends me a pick you can check her out too. Lets make it big people! Keep ’em coming.

Why Saint Obama, is that a tarnish on your halo?

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56% of voters in a Rasmussen poll are less likely to vote for Obama because of Rev. Wright’s comments.

46% of Democrats are less likely to vote for him.

Huhm, whose got the electibility issues now?

Maybe Senator, it’s time for you to drop out of the race, before you tear the Democratic party apart and cause a McCain victory next. fall.

That sir, is just the very beginning of the shit storm the democratic nominee is going to have to withstand. Hillary has already proven she is up to the task, you have not.