First off, the Clinton years were good for my family. But then we're highly educated professionals. But if you weren't in either of those categories, it took a long time for you to see any of the benefits of Clinton's policies financially. And if you were Black as well as poor, you only saw those benefits for a short period of time before the 2000 recession.
But this is another piece of the racial puzzle that isn't acknowledged. If you aren't Black, you wouldn't know this, unless you are a wonk or especially interested in economics or racial politics.
It will be interesting to see how this primary stuff plays out. Thank God it can't go on much longer.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Hillary and the Nomination
Hillary Clinton winning the nomination based on the votes of the Super Delegates seems as wrong to me as allowing Florida and Michigan a do-over.
Hillary has run an incredibly stupid and obnoxious campaign. There seemed to be no Plan B if "inevitable" didn't work. And sure enough, "inevitable" didn't work. So she has resorted to using every means at her disposal to tarnish the Democratic Party in the guise of going after her opponent.
If, as she says, only she and John McCain have the expertise to govern the United States, what does that mean for the Party if she is not the nominee? And to pretend that Obama's calling middle American voters who have lost their jobs and do cling to guns and Jesus offensive, is offensive in its telling.
Unfortunately, people do vote as though maintaining guns, discriminating against gays and people of color, is far more important to their and their families' well being than economic advancement. If you don't believe this, then answer why the Republicans have put these issues on the ballot in many recent elections in an effort to turn out their "base?" Because it works.
Sure there are more artful ways to say this, but isn't John McCain "revered" by the press because he is a "truth-telling maverick?" In other words, the politically polite way to express himself is subsumed by his (and only his) ability to tell it like it is.
Obama may be unseasoned, but he has played by the rules. And using the Super Delegates to overturn the will of the people is also playing by the rules. But this is one Black woman who will not vote in the Presidential election should that happen.
I've thought I would be able to vote for the candidate, regardless of who "wins" the nomination. But how the nomination is won matters to me. There are some "contradictions" I'm not willing to accept.
Hillary has run an incredibly stupid and obnoxious campaign. There seemed to be no Plan B if "inevitable" didn't work. And sure enough, "inevitable" didn't work. So she has resorted to using every means at her disposal to tarnish the Democratic Party in the guise of going after her opponent.
If, as she says, only she and John McCain have the expertise to govern the United States, what does that mean for the Party if she is not the nominee? And to pretend that Obama's calling middle American voters who have lost their jobs and do cling to guns and Jesus offensive, is offensive in its telling.
Unfortunately, people do vote as though maintaining guns, discriminating against gays and people of color, is far more important to their and their families' well being than economic advancement. If you don't believe this, then answer why the Republicans have put these issues on the ballot in many recent elections in an effort to turn out their "base?" Because it works.
Sure there are more artful ways to say this, but isn't John McCain "revered" by the press because he is a "truth-telling maverick?" In other words, the politically polite way to express himself is subsumed by his (and only his) ability to tell it like it is.
Obama may be unseasoned, but he has played by the rules. And using the Super Delegates to overturn the will of the people is also playing by the rules. But this is one Black woman who will not vote in the Presidential election should that happen.
I've thought I would be able to vote for the candidate, regardless of who "wins" the nomination. But how the nomination is won matters to me. There are some "contradictions" I'm not willing to accept.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Clinton, Obama & the Blogosphere
I realized this evening that I'm deleting more blog entries than I'm reading. I'm so tired of the internecine wars being fought by supporters or thought to be supporters.
Astrologically their antipathy makes a lot of sense. Obama is a Leo (I will) and Clinton is a Scorpio (I desire). But Bill is also a Leo which probably seems like more of the same to Hillary.
I hope that people don't lose friendships over this stuff. I have issues with both candidates; neither are my choice for the nomination. But wishes and beggars seems to still be a reality.
Can't wait until September when I can read everyone again.
Astrologically their antipathy makes a lot of sense. Obama is a Leo (I will) and Clinton is a Scorpio (I desire). But Bill is also a Leo which probably seems like more of the same to Hillary.
I hope that people don't lose friendships over this stuff. I have issues with both candidates; neither are my choice for the nomination. But wishes and beggars seems to still be a reality.
Can't wait until September when I can read everyone again.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Samantha Power
I just listened to Samantha Power on the BBC's The Interview (you can listen to it here). And I'm struck by her intelligence, her respect for Obama, and the fact that accepting (let alone requesting) her resignation was incredibly short-sighted. Power talked about things I had never heard about before, including her book about the death of Sergio de Mello in her book Chasing the Flame. I was aware of de Mello's death in the bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad, but I had not known that because of the horrible planning by the Bush Administration there was no way to rescue him from the rubble and he spent three and one-half hours dying.
She wrote a book in 2003 Bystanders to Genocide having been a journalist in the Balkans during the Serbian genocide against its Muslim citizens.
Hillary Clinton is a monster. I now believe that Hillary will knowingly destroy the Democratic Party if that is what she feels she needs to do to win the nomination. Hillary's new meme about a joint ticket is all words. She is willing to betray Black Americans in particular, and Obama's pantheon of supporters in general, by using the Super Delegates to lock in the nomination in her name, regardless of how many of the delegates she garners through the primary/caucus process.
Hillary has made it clear that she (and Bill and the Democratic Party aparatus) will pressure the Super Delegates to thwart the will of the people and will resort to any fiction needed in order to prevail. The fact that many youth, independent and Black Americans will not be happy and are likely to protest by staying home means nothing to her.
We all like to win, but it is hoped that we all recognize that sometimes what you win is more important than the win itself.
She wrote a book in 2003 Bystanders to Genocide having been a journalist in the Balkans during the Serbian genocide against its Muslim citizens.
Hillary Clinton is a monster. I now believe that Hillary will knowingly destroy the Democratic Party if that is what she feels she needs to do to win the nomination. Hillary's new meme about a joint ticket is all words. She is willing to betray Black Americans in particular, and Obama's pantheon of supporters in general, by using the Super Delegates to lock in the nomination in her name, regardless of how many of the delegates she garners through the primary/caucus process.
Hillary has made it clear that she (and Bill and the Democratic Party aparatus) will pressure the Super Delegates to thwart the will of the people and will resort to any fiction needed in order to prevail. The fact that many youth, independent and Black Americans will not be happy and are likely to protest by staying home means nothing to her.
We all like to win, but it is hoped that we all recognize that sometimes what you win is more important than the win itself.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Greek Life
After having the electricity go off for the past three days now - twice today (Friday), I have learned something about Greece that I hadn't considered before. The first time we lost power was at 10:30 in the morning for half an hour. The next time was at 5:00 pm for three hours.
The Public Power Corporation employees are striking (causing rolling blackouts all over the country) because of the government's desire to consolidate the pension plans. Like the social security lockbox, the pension funds here have been looted by the politicians (actually, the politicians loot everything they can here) and the employees are afraid that the extra funds they pay for pensions will go the way of all the other pensions once they are consolidated.
But here's the epiphany I had: Why does this country accept anarchist youth and thieving politicians? Because the adults, under the banner of their trade unions are just as anarchistic and they also steal from the public. Just because you worked for the Public Power Corporation you should get free electricity for life after you retire? Give me a break. And then, if you are lucky (or strike long enough, whichever comes first) you can get your job designated as hazardous and get to retire early and collect a larger pension.
And everyone expects to pay a bribe for the most mundane activity (we wanted a garbage can closer to our home and were expected to pay 50 euro for the priviledge; we refused and waited three years until one finally showed up) to being asked to pay a 400 euro bribe to get our car through customs (we brought it from the US and paid over 3,000 euro in taxes). One pays a bribe to doctors if they want to get medical treatment, even though they have insurance.
Because most civil employees are hired to provide votes for the party in power, they have no idea about how to actually do their job.
We were told we owed 16,000 euros in back taxes for our automobile. True, it is a Jeep; but it is 10 years old and we paid taxes on it when we first brought it into the country. Because my Greek American husband has Greek citizenship we did not have to pay taxes on the car for the next three years - but the entire staff of the local tax office owes their jobs to patronage.
We resolved the issue, after five months, by paying our Greek lawyer 500 euros to get a ruling from the Ministry of Economics saying what we had been saying all along. I don't regret paying my lawyer for his work on our behalf, but I do hate that the local tax office doesn't know what the hell they're doing.
And now the dollar is worth $.48 and since all of our funds are dollar-based, it is getting a little tougher. But we're going to tough it out.
The Public Power Corporation employees are striking (causing rolling blackouts all over the country) because of the government's desire to consolidate the pension plans. Like the social security lockbox, the pension funds here have been looted by the politicians (actually, the politicians loot everything they can here) and the employees are afraid that the extra funds they pay for pensions will go the way of all the other pensions once they are consolidated.
But here's the epiphany I had: Why does this country accept anarchist youth and thieving politicians? Because the adults, under the banner of their trade unions are just as anarchistic and they also steal from the public. Just because you worked for the Public Power Corporation you should get free electricity for life after you retire? Give me a break. And then, if you are lucky (or strike long enough, whichever comes first) you can get your job designated as hazardous and get to retire early and collect a larger pension.
And everyone expects to pay a bribe for the most mundane activity (we wanted a garbage can closer to our home and were expected to pay 50 euro for the priviledge; we refused and waited three years until one finally showed up) to being asked to pay a 400 euro bribe to get our car through customs (we brought it from the US and paid over 3,000 euro in taxes). One pays a bribe to doctors if they want to get medical treatment, even though they have insurance.
Because most civil employees are hired to provide votes for the party in power, they have no idea about how to actually do their job.
We were told we owed 16,000 euros in back taxes for our automobile. True, it is a Jeep; but it is 10 years old and we paid taxes on it when we first brought it into the country. Because my Greek American husband has Greek citizenship we did not have to pay taxes on the car for the next three years - but the entire staff of the local tax office owes their jobs to patronage.
We resolved the issue, after five months, by paying our Greek lawyer 500 euros to get a ruling from the Ministry of Economics saying what we had been saying all along. I don't regret paying my lawyer for his work on our behalf, but I do hate that the local tax office doesn't know what the hell they're doing.
And now the dollar is worth $.48 and since all of our funds are dollar-based, it is getting a little tougher. But we're going to tough it out.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Democrats
I'm just about ready to leave the Democratic Party and just say Fuck it! They refuse to maintain the rule of law, uphold the Constitution or represent their constituencies. I had already stopped giving money to the Party committees and only gave to candidates. And yes, I still support the candidates to whom I've given money. But I'm nearly done.
If the super delegates override the will of the voters as shown in the primaries and caucuses, the thin line keeping me on board will have snapped. FISA was such a no brainer, but no - Senator Reid couldn't even bring the right bill to the floor. How hard was that?
So, the President breaks the law and convinces corporations to help him and what does the Senate do? The Senate gives the corporations a "get out of jail free" card. And will the House be able to stand against this? Of course, not. This Congress was worst than the Republican Congresses that went before it. They made the promise that they would do things differently and haven't.
Nearly done.
If the super delegates override the will of the voters as shown in the primaries and caucuses, the thin line keeping me on board will have snapped. FISA was such a no brainer, but no - Senator Reid couldn't even bring the right bill to the floor. How hard was that?
So, the President breaks the law and convinces corporations to help him and what does the Senate do? The Senate gives the corporations a "get out of jail free" card. And will the House be able to stand against this? Of course, not. This Congress was worst than the Republican Congresses that went before it. They made the promise that they would do things differently and haven't.
Nearly done.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Obama Still Just Misses the Boat
I haven't been here for a while - busy with my other life and then mourning the loss of John Edwards to the campaign.
So, I'm going to have to choose between Obama and Clinton. What a mess! Neither of them gives a damn about the things that are most important to me, but Obama really likes rubbing my nose in it.
An example: his latest ad for his health care plan. As you can see, he not only misrepresents what has to happen if his plan is to become law, but then he brings back Harry and Louise.
Why? Does he now think that progressives have no where to go? Are we the new African American voters? You can't vote for Republicans because they don't want you to live, but Obama (and much of the Democratic Party leadership) doesn't want to respect you.
Holding my nose, closing my eyes - but I'll be damned if I'll bite my lips!
Ugh!
So, I'm going to have to choose between Obama and Clinton. What a mess! Neither of them gives a damn about the things that are most important to me, but Obama really likes rubbing my nose in it.
An example: his latest ad for his health care plan. As you can see, he not only misrepresents what has to happen if his plan is to become law, but then he brings back Harry and Louise.
Why? Does he now think that progressives have no where to go? Are we the new African American voters? You can't vote for Republicans because they don't want you to live, but Obama (and much of the Democratic Party leadership) doesn't want to respect you.
Holding my nose, closing my eyes - but I'll be damned if I'll bite my lips!
Ugh!
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