• Photo of fraying

  Links for 2008-09-04

  http://powazek.com/feeder/?FeederAction=clicked&feed=Article...
  125 days ago in Derek Powazek - Live in San Francisco · Authority: 798

  Dooce: And boom Heather Armstrong endorses Obama in a personal, funny way. Im sure the comments on this one will be interesting. Thank you, Heather, for writing what you believe. Post from: Derek Powazek Links for 2008-09-04

  • Photo of namrataram

    A place in history

    http://30in2005.blogspot.com/2008/11/place-in-history.html
    65 days ago in 30 in 2005 · Authority: 13

    Today I woke up thinking it would be a good day to be American. Or that instead of being American for the day (I won't give up my Indian passport you see) all sensible and logical people in the world (i.e me) needed to be added to the electoral register for something as monumental as this American election. After all, no matter how much we disagree with it both in principal and practice, it is the American President who is the leader in many ways of the free world. Whose lead and licence allow the remaining countries to forge ahead. Or not. I went to a school where we were taught democracy by electing a council from amidst our student body. Every civics class was made to count as we learnt both in theory and practice how democracy worked and how each voice counts. What free and fair meant. How campaigning could be ethical and how secret ballots worked. In college the life lessons continued. The lesson of each voice counting was brought home when we were electing a student president from a senior class. After days of campaigning for two strong and fair candidates, voting day was upon us. The geeky lot like me made it our duty to go and vote having given great thought to whom we wanted as our student body leaders. Others however thought of this as just a childish exercise and stayed away. When the votes were counted it was a head-on tie. Not a vote askance. This then for me was the most important lesson of them all: If you didn't vote, your voice didn't count. Why let everyone beside yourself go to the bother of lugging themselves to the voting booth - do you not want your voice to be heard? It was a right not to be taken lightly no matter how childish it may seem when you are at school or collage I think. I like to think I am a conscientious world citizen and voter. I take an interest in the world around me, how politics and economics and philisophy and religion shape it. I read manifestos and editorials, watch both the news and popular opinion polls and whether I have a vote or not, in my mind I vote and I know the best way forward for my world. Today I wish I were American for the day. Or had the chance to be added to that electoral register as someone sensible.You, if you are American, have that choice today. To be sensible. To do the right thing. To take the time to think about it, how you have a place in history, a chance to right the wrongs of the past 8 years. And how your vote COUNTS!!!!GO AND VOTE. AND PLEASE VOTE OBAMA.

    • Author unknown

      Let's Talk Politics, Round 2

      http://jimmiekennedy.blogspot.com/2008/10/lets-talk-politics...
      82 days ago in Life Up North · Authority: 3

      There are so many things I want to say...so many things I want everyone to hear...but I also know there is no way I can be as eloquent or as concise as others. So, in my final political post before the big election (promise!), I want to share with you the following...click through the links for what I have found to be some of the most moving and influential commentary floating around this election year.1. Food for Thought. In summary: What if it were Obama's family who had the trainwreck/scandal/less-than-stellar education record? Would he still have the Democratic presidential nomination...or would he even be a Senator at all? This is less of a liberal-leaning commentary and more of a statement on how racism is still blatantly alive and well in this country today, unfortunately. Also...note the education records for each party's ticket. Seriously?2. Why No One With a Uterus Should Vote for John McCain. Let me get something straight from the beginning: I am 100% against abortion, EXCEPT in the cases of rape, incest, or when remaining pregnant would put the mother's life in danger. The Republican party in general (yes, I know, not everyone), and most specifically, Sarah Palin, believes that no woman in any circumstance should ever be allowed to have an abortion. Additionally, John McCain has been quoted saying that "for the mother's health" is a reason for abortion made up by the pro-abortion movement. I'm not saying that it's never been done...that no one has ever used "for the mother's health" as an excuse. But I am saying this...there ARE times when staying pregnant would literally kill the mother, and that's not made up.3. And...Boom, coupled with this transcript from Katie Couric's interview with Palin a few weeks ago. I cannot even begin to say it all any better than Dooce (post also touches on my previous rant on healthcare/welfare in this country). Sarah Palin is NOT qualified to be the Vice President of the United States, and although no, she is not running for President, so why do I even care? Senator McCain truly is an old man and in not-so-great health. There is a legitimate chance, more legitimate than usual, even, that she COULD end up as President if McCain were to be elected. I feel like the President or Vice President of our country should be smarter than me, more experienced than me, and more up-to-date on current affairs than me. It appears that Sarah Palin meets none of those criteria.As usual, comments and debate welcome.

      • Photo of nicolejordan

        Countdown: FIVE days!

        http://www.nicolejordan.info/?p=578
        86 days ago in how to get rid of acne painful bumps · Authority: 1

        The countdown begins today, folks, until the unveiling (unleashing?) of the NEW BLOG THEME on FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17th!  Sweet!  I’m so excited!  The NEW THEME has been in the works for a few months and has taken Adam and me about 2 solid weeks of evenings and weekends to put it all together.  But now it’s ALMOST HERE!  If anyone was online at a key moment yesterday, say, about 13:00 (GMT +1), then you may have caught a glimpse of the NEW THEME.  It was live for about 15 minutes in order to iron out any bugs and to make sure all of the links worked.  There are still a few things to fix and update (specifically, my too short and out of date ‘About’ page) but otherwise it’s almost ready to go and it’s looking SO GREAT! It seems like such a strange thing to be excited about, a NEW THEME, but it’s kind of a milestone.  Did you know the blog is eleven months old?  It will be a year as of November 15th.  And I can’t help but feel a bit proud.  I mean, I know some people celebrate their children’s birthdays, and that’s great and all, but clearly a year old blog is much more special.  People just need to sort their priorities.  Fuh real.  And my spamometer is nearing the 1000 mark! Talk about a cause for celebration!  Jeez, if people can celebrate the end of a war then surely my millispam deserves a nod.  A few of you may be sad to hear that the spamometer will be gone on the NEW THEME.  I know you’ll miss it but you can look forward to other time-killing distractions such as a direct link to my flickr photo account and more frequent twitters.  FUN! For today, I’m going to bestow up on you this magical website that Adam found.  It’s a satirical look at Palin’s politics and hopefully a fun little diversion.  I generally try to stay out of American politics because really, being Canadian, I have absolutely no say in the matter and I find the news media to be so incredibly biased that it’s hard to know what the heck is going on.  Like, wasn’t Kerry a sure thing in the last election?  What happened there?  For the most part I try to consider both sides and play devil’s advocate.  That’s why I like to hear what Dooce has to say on the matter, and can (almost) stomach Steve Mooradian’s love of the “maverick” (everybody stop saying maverick now, please).  But I’ll briefly say that I think that Republican policies haven’t done America any favours, and Palin is just embarrassing.  That’s not to say that I necessarily think Obama is the right person for the job either… As is typical of so many elections these days, it seems to be the best spinner or the lesser evil, rather than the right man or woman, who gets the vote.  All we can hope for in this American election is that the new president does no more harm.

        • Author unknown

          For the first time, I'm interested....

          http://www.thosecrazyschuberts.com/2008/10/for-first-time-im...
          97 days ago in those crazy Schuberts ... · Authority: 9

          At the risk of starting an argument, I thought I'd mention that I'm 99% sure I will be voting for Barack Obama. But, I have to tell you ... politics makes me angry. so irritating. So much lying and stretching the truth and deceit and manipulation and distractions and double standards (on both sides, I'm sure) ... c'mon people! Just state how you stand on REAL issues and let the people decide. (I'm not a total dreamer. I know it will never work that way). **What I think is the most important is to familiarize yourself with the candidates' ideas, plans and stances. Understanding that the exact specifications will never see fruition. But supporting the attitude, ideals and temperament that led to those plans. I feel like that is the best we can hope for.** 2008 Presidential Debate schedule (VP debate tonight, and then 2 left!)Each candidate's individual sites:Barack ObamaJohn McCain Educate yourself - the most non-partisan resources I could findCandidates' comparison on energy and economyAnother comparison ('Where They Stand')MyDebates.org (part of MySpace) - take the issues quiz separating truth from fact - PolitiFactWikipedia's comparison

          • Author unknown

            Carrying the torch: Obama ‘08

            http://www.sugarbutch.net/2008/09/carrying-the-torch-obama-0...
            104 days ago in Sugarbutch Chronicles » The sex, gender, and relationship adventures of a kinky queer butch top · Authority: 214

            It’s hard to admit, but I’m terrified about the upcoming election. I know, many of us are, especially the liberals who so desperately want Bush out of office, who want the democrats to regain power and attempt to undo some of the changes that are eroding our civil rights. It is no small thing to write about politics on a public forum like this one - it is probably safe to say that my readership is primarily progressive liberals, but certainly not 100%. It is not impossible to get death threats. Though I was raised by parents who are registered independents and who vote Green, who say the democrats are too conservative for them, who have been activists for decades, who believe in grassroots organizing and social change and that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world, I have been often disillusioned with the political process in this country. I grew up in Alaska, where the polls close last and we have three electoral votes. This means that as the polls closed around the country, my parents would watch the results roll in and would wait to vote, often until the president had already been announced. Clearly, our votes really mattered. I understand now that it was a political strategy - that they would be certain Alaska would not be any sort of swing state or tiebreaker so they could comfortably go vote for the third party. But at the time, it was confusing. I believed that voting was a key important part of a democratic process, that by not voting you’re showing apathy and disinterest, and the only way to contribute is to make your position known. This is how I witnessed voting until I was 18 and began voting in my own presidential elections - two so far - 2000 and 2004. Which, as certainly you remember, were a disaster. 2000 did not help to restore my faith in the political process of this country. Hanging chads? Seriously? And what happened to all those missing ballots? Oh, they were found in the dumpster out back? Really? Why did all those people get turned away from the polls? They were voting democrat … I see. And someone could win the popular vote but not the electoral vote? Isn’t there something wrong with that? And 2004 … I was kind of excited about Howard Dean and Dennis Kucinich for a minute there, but who’d we end up with? A cardboard cut-out. I don’t remember a single thing the guy said, he was so flat and boring. I could for a while quote some of the things Dean and Kucinich had said, but nothing memorable ever came out of Kerry’s mouth. Maybe I’m being too harsh. I did support Kerry simply because he was the democratic party candidate. Although I resent that part of this system, too - that the political parties to which I am closest aligned do not have serious candidates, or, if they do, they are blamed for the democratic loss of the election, having “stolen” votes away. (This is another can o’worms entirely that I’m not willing to open - debate whether or not the third parties are valid or detrimental somewhere else, please.) My point is, ever since I was old enough to vote, I’ve lived in George Bush’s America. And even since I was a kid, though I had a brief babyhood with Carter, I’ve grown up in Reagan-Bush-Clinton-Bush America. Capitalism rules - votes are for sale, influence is for sale, lawmaking is for sale. It’s depressing! I grew up in the shadow of the civil rights legacy - social change through grassroots activism that clearly worked, that stopped the Vietnam war, that changed women’s gender roles, that shattered segregation, that united queers around the country. Parents and teachers who taught the political movements of the 1960s and ’70s like scripture, and I was - we all were - the next generation, the new movement, those who would pick up the torch and carry on. And yet … and yet. The Right has been incredibly well-organized and effective. This country is divided on issues vs values. I find it so goddamn hard to believe that the election is so tightly close - I mean really? There are really just as many people voting for Obama as are voting for McCain? How can that be possible? It’s so hard to believe. Just like it’s so hard to believe that Bush Jr. was elected - twice - and took office - twice - and we didn’t stop him - twice. However much those elections were fixed or rigged or fairly won or a systematic corruption of our voting system, we didn’t do enough to make it stop, did we? I’m not a political scientist, I hesitate to even write about this because I feel like so many other people are so much more well informed than I am. That was one of the things I loved so much about The Ex, actually, was that she was a political scientist and could engage with me about political issues in ways that really helped me understand. So I know enough to know that I don’t know very much. (Which is why I’m linking like crazy, not only to source myself, but to encourage information gathering from other places. And to put all the links and resources I’ve been collecting in one spot.) Oh jeez, and then there’s Sarah Palin. And the nonsense about Palin vs Hillary Clinton, which I don’t even want to speak to. I do have some information about Palin, being that the Alaska Governor’s mansion is down the street from my mom’s house and my aunt works for the legislature. But if you’re paying any attention to the email forwards that are going around about Palin, then you probably already know what I know: basically, she’s vindictive. You’ve probably seen the Kilkenny email, the commentary by Gloria Steinem, and Women Against Sarah Palin. I probably don’t need to tell you about Palin’s anti-feminist, anti-woman, anti-choice, anti-LGBT, anti-freedom philosophies: pro-gun. Anti-abortion. Against same sex marriage. Bans books. Anti-evolution and pro-creationism in public schools. Against sex education in schools. The list goes on. This stuff depresses me. About now I start thinking, wtf can I do? Check out the Action Center on barackobama.com for more ideas about what you can do to get involved. Donate to the Obama campaign. Encourage everyone to register & vote - voteforchange.com has registration, absentee & early vote info. If you want Obama buttons for your own site, they’re at /downloads - took me a bit of poking around to find them. I even downloaded an Obama wallpaper for my work computer, which is going to be slightly controversial in my conservative office, but I don’t care. Meanwhile, fivethirtyeight.com’s electoral projections are keeping my hopes up. Related: psst … did you? creating conscious gender Lesbian stereotypes, reclaiming language, and activism you like those breasts, eh? wanna keep ‘em? further thoughts on privilege & gender passing, privilege, & butch/femme “Courage in women is often mistaken for insanity” be a gay Santa! privilege remembering those lost

            View all reactions »

Advertise on Technorati

Advertise on Technorati