Come out and play!
Actually, a guy from the NY Post is looking for people who have switched from supporting Obama to supporting Hillary.
As a special prize to anyone who replies (including lurkers who just wanna say Hi) I’m brining back the virtual cookie award.
Enjoy
The media would like us all to think that the working class isn’t voting for Obama because he’s an arugala eating, latte drinking, non-bitter elitist.
Note to the media- we working class people know about Starbucks. We drink lattes too. We don’t think Hillary spends her days shopping at Walmart and eating at MacDonalds. We don’t care if our next president is someone we can have a beer with.
And note to Obamabots- it’s not just the white working class that doesn’t trust Obama. It’s the Latinos and the Asians. It’s pretty much everyone but the African Americans (and we can’t fault them for voting for someone who looks like them).
Obama cannot win the working class because Obama has NO FRICKEN IDEA what we need. His ideas all center on making things easier for business. We know that benefits to businesses usually involve less protection for us. Less job protection, less retirement protection, less wage protection, fewer benefits, more hours, etc.
We, the working class, need wages that will pay our housing, gas, and food costs. We need health insurance that doesn’t cripple us. We need a country with a future. We need another industry boom that creates living wage jobs. We need education that is affordable for ourselves and our children. We need a real way to save for retirement. We need options for our young people above and beyond becoming fodder for the war machine. We need schools in our neighborhoods that prepare kids, not warehouse them.
Yes, there is part of us that remembers Bill Clinton. But what so many people fail to realize is that the working class has been in a recession since Bush took office in 2001. We have never had an upward swing under Bush. But under Clinton we got raises. When Clinton was president, my income doubled every year that I worked full time. I actually made it to the middle class. I had a house and a car that was paid for and ran. I could pay for childcare and rent and utilities.
Since Bush took office, my income has decreased by 30% every year until it hit half the poverty level. And I’ve been stuck there since. That is 7.5 years of poverty. That more than half my kid’s life.
We trust Hillary not just because we remember Bill, but because we know she actually thinks about our plight. We know that she has the big wonkish brain to find solutions that actually help us.
Hope and change are lovely ideas, but we can’t feed our kids hope and change. We can’t pay for college with hope and change. We can’t by food on hope and change credit. We want solutions. We want to count. We want our kids to have a shot at the American dream, though for the last 8 years it’s become obvious that we are the new feudal class. Our Lord and Employer may change, but there is no way for us to improve our lot anymore.
We don’t care if the person with the right ideas drinks lattes or coffee regular. We don’t care if that person drinks Bud or Burgundy. And we want someone who understands that we aren’t just bitter, we are angry. We got promised the American dream only to have our homes foreclosed on. We know we’ve been fed a load of shit. We want someone to make the promise reachable again. We know Hillary has the not only the chops to do it, but the desire to. Barak is just feeding us another load of hopeful shit, but we know the taste already.
Dear People of Blogland:
My mom has asked for just one thing for Mother’s day. She would like Hillary Clinton to be the nominee.
I can’t buy that for her. But you can help me get my mom what she wants. Anything you can do to help Hillary win means that I can give my mom the best Mother’s day present ever.
And if I butter her up with a present that she really wants, then maybe I can get her to let me play video games in the living room more often.
Thanks,
The Kid
I must admit to more than a wee bit of schadenfreude while the big boi bloggers realize that Obama is not the holy anointed one but is, in fact, a politician.
But here’s the real problem.
For months we have been treated like outsiders. We have been bullied, harassed, insulted and called racists for not supporting Obama with unquestioning loyalty.Our concerns about Obama’s casual sexism and the outright sexism of the media and Obamabots has been ignored at best, ridiculed at worst. Our concerns about his lack of experience and love of republican framing have been completely ignored.
But then Obama showed up on the enemies own tv station and started parroting soft Republicanism 101.
Now that those same bully boys have realized that Obama’s robes ain’t as spotless as they thought, I wonder if we will get a half hearted apology for having been pushed out of the main Democratic blogs? (Doubtful) or will we just get more of the shut up and love the unity pony bullshit.
Hey, you guys are the ones that bought this Unity Pony to begin with. You may regret it now, but that doesn’t mean that we have take a ride on the pony with you just cause you finally got a wee bit of sense in your head.
Bear with me- I’ve had a ton of cava and vodka. Typing is fucking hard. OMG how do people think they can drive like this?
My dear friend and future faux lesbian wife was over for dinner tonight. She bought and I cooked bloody steak, dill mashed potatoes and roasted asperagas, And much much booze. Do you have any idea how long typing this sentence took?
She is voting for whomever the Dem nominee is. Mostly because she is a dem, but also because her parents (who control her trust fund) are terrified that a Dem will tax them into oblivion and they will give her her money early. And then she and I can live the life of faux lesbian wives gallavanting around Europe as we have been planning. Her parents, steadfast southern republicans are terrified that a Dem is going to tax them into the middle class.
And they are especially scared that a black president is going to make them pay for all the benefits they have received as white southern landowners.
(I did mention earlier that all the real racists were already voting for McCain, nez pas?)
Wev, I’ve allready said I’m moving to SPain. My faux wife and I both speak Spanish,
So if I do have to leave the Democratic party, I not only get to vote for McKinney but I get to bum around Europe with a hot girl. At this point I am seeing a win win in either case.
OKay- typing while drunk is really fucking hard. THis took me 30 minutes. I type 60 wpm peeps.
That is all.
After reading the original story over at Broadsheet and Cara’s dead on analysis, I thought it was time for a reprint of an old post with the relevant bits highlighted.
How men can stop rape
Via Pandagon comes the horrific story of a 17 year old girl gang raped by guess who…
No really, guess..
It’s not hard, I promise.
OK- by a group of 8 college athletes from DeAnza Community College. Who couldn’t see that one coming? OK- maybe you couldn’t pick the exact school, but college athlete is becoming code for rapist.
“This poor girl was not moving. She had vomit dribbling down her face. We had to scoop vomit out of her mouth [and] lift her up. Her pants were completely off her body,” says Chief Elk. “She had her one shoe on, her jeans were wrapped around one of her ankles and her underwear was left around her ankles. To the left of the bed there was some condom thrown on the ground.”
“When they lifted her head up, her eyes moved and she said ‘I’m sorry,’” says Grolle. “One of the guys who was in the room said ‘This is her fault. She got drunk and she did this to herself.‘”
Lovely- like she just wandered into a room and fell on 8 cocks. Totally her fault, natch.
In the comments at Pandagon a discussion came up about how men can stop rape and why is it men’s responsibility to stop it instead of both men and women.
First- why is it men’s responsibility.
Women have been told that it is their responsibility to prevent rape since forever. We are told not to dress a certain way, walk alone at night, get drunk, lead someone on, etc. etc. etc. Yet for some reason, all of our efforts to eliminate rape through our own behavior have failed because the only difference between a mini-skirt wearing drunk girl walking home by herself at night and a rape victim is THE PRESENCE OF A RAPIST. So boys, half the population has been working to eliminate rape already and that hasn’t solved the problem. It’s time for you guys to get with the fucking program.
What men can do to eliminate rape
1) Don’t rape (obvious, I know)
2) Don’t treat rape like a joke or try to equate it to something else. For example- it is not ok to say “Man I got raped on that car deal”. Overpaying for a car or getting the bad end of a divorce settlement is not in any way comparable to getting raped. Actually getting raped is comparable to getting raped.
3)Don’t laugh, wink, or quietly let slide when other guys make rape jokes. You know you’ve done it. You need to grow a pair and say “that’s not cool”. This includes making jokes about prison rape – no one deserves to be Bubba’s prison bride just like no one deserves to be murdered.
4) Treat anything less than an enthusiastic “Hell yes!” as a no when it comes to sex. No one has ever died or had their life ruined from not having sex, but having sex with someone who is not a completely willing partner will ruin someone’s life. You should treat an “I don’t know”, “Maybe” or no response at all as a “No”. Women are conditioned from before we grow boobs that men are dangerous. A woman who doesn’t say an explicit “no” may simply be trying to find the least confrontational way out of the situation. Even if you don’t think you are dangerous, our frame of reference says otherwise.
5) Assume drunk equals “No”. It doesn’t always, I know. I think everyone has at least one drunken sex story, but play it safe and assume it’s a “No”. If she’s sober next time and wants to- yippy! But if not, be glad that you dodged a non-consent bullet at worst and serious morning after humiliation at best. If you never see her in a sober state- assume she has a drinking problem and should be avoided.
6) Begging, pleading, seducing, charming, lying, bothering, convincing, pestering, etc to get a woman to have sex with you may not legally equate to rape (in some places it does)- but it makes you an asshole and it hurts the person you want to have sex with. Here’s an example, cause I feel like being all personal and shit lately.
A few months ago a “special friend” was supposed to come over for a visit. I had developed a horrible kidney infection. Antibiotics weren’t working, my back was killing me and I had a fever of 103. He showed up, I didn’t even want to get up to answer the door so I just laid in bed.
He kept ringing the bell. For like 20 minutes. I finally answered the door and yelled at him- “What the fuck dude- I’m sick and you’re ringing my bell like a god damned stalker”. He was very apologetic and said if we couldn’t have sex he would just come hang out for a while and take care of me. Fine, whatever. 15 minutes later and he’s trying to put his hand up my shirt. “Seriously, dude- do you not understand kidney infection?- We are not going to fuck!”
“How about if you just jack me off?”
“No”
“OK I’ll just give you a back rub”
“Fine, but we really aren’t going to fuck”
After a few more futile attempts to get me to fuck him, he left. When the fever was gone I sent him a seriously bitchy email about how that was not ok. He’s still not talking to me (no loss) or the friend that introduced us. But he really did think that harassment is an ok way to get laid.
Here’s a radical idea for you all- getting sex from a girl is not a battle to be won. That is maybe the most radical idea on this whole list-
7) Getting laid is not a battle.
Repeat- getting laid is not a battle. You are not trying to capture an enemy flag. You are not trying to show your manly prowess by hunting for girl game. You don’t “win” by convincing a previously unconvinced girl that she wants to sleep with you.
8) Sex is a thing for mutual enjoyment. I promise that any boy who has to spend that much time convincing a girl to fuck him has not in the end actually convinced her that he is an awesome love god, but has instead worn her down into delivering sex for the sole purpose of getting him to leave her alone. It’s worse than a mercy fuck dude. At that point the girl has basically decided that it is easier to be a hole in the mattress than to deal with your whining for another hour. It means she has given up all hope of your being a decent guy. It also means that she probably faked an orgasm just to get you off her faster.
9) If she says yes to begin with and then changes her mind- stop immediately! Again with the mutual enjoyment thing- she’s not enjoying it and you don’t have a god-given right to finish once you’ve started. You will live through a case of blue balls, I promise.
10) Teach your kids that their bodies are theirs and they have control over them. This is for both boys and girls and it starts in small ways. I remember being a kid and my mom’s friends would tickle me until I cried. Instead of being told that I could tell them to stop (or better yet- having my own mother tell them to stop picking on a little kid)- I was told to stop acting like a baby. Basically- I was told that I didn’t have the right to stop people from touching me in a way I didn’t like.
I didn’t do that with my kid. The rule is that in play fighting or tickling or anything- one no is all that has to be said for it to stop. This goes for him and me, just because I am his mother doesn’t mean he gets a free pass. It teaches him that his body is his own and someone else’s body is their own to do with as they please. If he understands that basic premise of sovereignty and that it applies to everyone then he is less likely to ignore a girl when he gets older and she says no. He is also better prepared should someone try to rape him (not as likely for boys, but this is an added benefit).
11) Don’t minimize rape. No one ever asked for it, there is nothing she could have done differently and with the huge stigma that comes from being raped, the chances that she is making it up are really, really slim. Don’t apologize for rapists or excuse their behavior. The only crime where we question if the victim is actually a victim is rape. You can scream about innocent until proven guilty all you like, but give the victim the same respect you’d give the victim of any other crime and assume that she is actually a crime victim.
And finally, to the 3 girls who stopped the rape and got the girl to the hospital- you 3 have ovaries of steal and hell of a lot more morality than any of the boys in that room. You rock and are my heroes for today.
** Before all my old Blogger comments got eaten by the move to Haloscan, this post inspired the commenter who was pissed, pissed that by not allowing rape we were interfering with a man’s right to network with his peers at a gang rape. I shit you not
about Obama’s use of republican framing and how it isn’t a far step from republican framing to republican policies?
Well it didn’t take long for Obama to prove me right
Obama on capital gains taxes- don’t raise them higher than what Reagan had them at. (But how are we going to pay our massive debt if the rich keep not paying their fair share?)
Obama on corporate responsibility- wants more deregulation. WTF? We already have lead painted lollipop toys for the kiddies, ecoli spinach for salads, and a drug industry that basically runs the FDA.
Obama on tort reform- he likes it. See above about corporate responsibility. Not only does he want us all eating ecoli spinach, but he wants us to not be able to sue when our livers shut down.
Sweet.
Someone has already used the “you’re with us or against us” ploy.
Sure- some people may be voting for Hillary instead of Barry because she is white, just like the many many obnoxious white frat boys that are voting for your messiah because he has a penis.
I am not one of those Hillary voters (and I think there are fewer of those types of voters than you would like. The real racists are voting for McCain). I have yet to meet a single person voting for Hillary purely because she is white.
Actually,
should Obama be the democratic nominee I will no longer have a place in the Democratic party. I do not vote against my own self -interest. I do not vote for sexists. So I won’t be voting for McCain either.
Instead I’ll go vote for a real progressive, who happens to be both a woman and black.
Damn, what are you gonna call me now that racist doesn’t fit?
Via DonnaDarko at Hillary1000. Awesome. Just awesome.
We already know you hate the fatties, but you are making it more and more obvious that you hate the ladies too (and not in the I’m gay and just want to sleep with dudes kind of way).
You’re chosen candidate doesn’t really think it’s okay for you and you boyfriend to get married or have kids. Of course he also thinks that I, as a woman, should only have “some control” over my own body.
And yet, you keep yelling for Clinton to drop out. You think that that the fucking opinions of the BASE of the party is what is going to tear the party apart. I think you do not understand what a political base is. You might want to think about how someone whose views are antithetical to progressive ideas (what with the sexism, homophobia, and fucking republican framing) crying cause he has to compete in a real race might be the reason the party is split.
We are not required to vote for someone who does not have our own best interests at heart. I don’t have to vote for an anti-choice sexist. You shouldn’t have to vote for a homophobe. But you are. And you are demanding that the rest of us stop fighting for ourselves.
So please, STFU already.