As another weekend approaches, our staff is hungrily planning their staycations and events, to try and get away from the sheer insanity of the past week. While there have been some good things going on in the political world, many of the actions that have happened may have never needed to happen - and have us shaking our heads at the pure stupidity of them all.
Take the battle over women's health rights in Virginia.
After all the howling in the media, after the sneaky underhanded actions used to get the bill to the Virginia Legislature in the first place, the invasive transvaginal ultrasound bill died this week after massive protests, as we noted earlier in the week. The ridiculous personhood bill in Virginia also got scuttled, which we were glad to see.
The ultrasound bill itself was stupid, mean-spirited, and as any just person can see, a poorly-disguised attempt by right-wing extremists to raise a huge barrier to a procedure that is legal under Federal law, and has been for nearly forty years. For our staff living in Virginia, it was an embarrassment, and wasted state funds unnecessarily.
In Nebraska, our legislature didn't do much better in avoiding stupid actions this week.
On Thursday, a constitutional amendment to lengthen term limits cleared a first round hearing easily, and will likely eventually end up on the 2012 ballot - where 'common wisdom' is that it will likely also pass. What we can't understand is that a short dozen years ago, Nebraskans voted in favor of the original constitutional amendment which set up term limits in the first place, and pushed a large number of Nebraskans who were highly skilled public servants out of the Legislature.
Many of those former state senators simply ended up working elsewhere in state or local government, and more than a few became members of lobbyist organizations in Nebraska. If the intent of the original law was to force those individuals out of government completely, it failed miserably - as many said it would, a dozen years ago.
Don't even talk to us about how mind boggling the actions of state government are down in Florida. We'll have to explain some of those actions soon enough - and we're heading for the weekend, so we're simply filing those stories for another day.
Too many of the good media folk we know get so caught up in the stories we all cover that sometimes, it's hard for them to pull away and look at the good things in life. advancement
A friend of one of our staffers adopted a little girl a few years ago, who - this past week, at the proud age of nine-and-a-half learned to ride her bike without training wheels. We've got new flooring in one of our offices, and it looks great. We also have some new technology toys to play with - and our staffer Amy hosted her daughter's second birthday party this week.
We have a friend of the staff in Maryland who will begin planning his wedding soon, thanks to the Maryland legislature's actions this week. And a couple of our friends in radio earned national honors - and promotions.
We even know someone who will be involved in the Lincoln Polar Plunge at Holmes Park this weekend, to benefit the Special Olympics - though the weather is looking is be a fairly balmy 48ยบ on Saturday.
No matter what insane things our elected officials do, there is so much more to our lives than what we focus on here, five days a week. Whether you're involved in politics or in the media - as many of our readers are - or you're simply retired and loving it, we sincerely hope that you remember your lives are more than just the political battles that we all so often focus upon.
The things we focus on are important, yes, - but they're not worth bashing one's head over, every single day.
Get out and enjoy the weekend. The insanity will resume on Monday, guaranteed.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Sick From It
Last night, if you were like most Americans, you may have watched Survivor, or a sporting event. You may have gone out to dinner, or attended a religious function. Hopefully, you enjoyed yourself.
The only people who probably did what we did last night were being paid to do it - and technically, one of our staff WAS being paid to do it, so we hope he enjoyed his job.
"It", sadly, was watching the umpteenth - officially, the twentieth - GOP Presidential debate. Like drinking too much, when knowing what will happen later, the night began with jokes about what the four men would say during the debate - and felt like a familiar hangover before it was done.
In a nushell, the debate wasn't much different from many that have gone before. There were a few moments where one candidate or another said something in a particular way that clued you in to the idea that their campaign staff had scripted the response for conservative radio play today - but there weren't any iconic moments.
Rick Santorum came under heavy fire from the very beginning - and he quite obviously cracked. His answer on a favorite target of Republicans over the last few years - earmarks - was far more convoluted than most Americans can understand. It made Santorum look like he's in favor of earmarks - which, by his own words and history, he is.
Santorum's position on contraception was even more convoluted, and when he was challenged by Mitt Romney, he seemed to twist himself into a pretzel. Santorum's attempt to turn the subject into one focused on Romneycare fell flat, and the audience didn't seem to be buying what Rick was selling most of the night. His defense of his record was embarrassingly bad. Santorum also remained unapologetic about his extreme right-wing views on social issues, which garnered less crowd support than we thought it would.
Mitt Romney, while occasionally looking aggressive and irritated, hit Santorum as strongly as he's hit others previously when they've challenged Romney's status as GOP frontrunner. In general, Romney appeared to be the most prepared of the group - and moderator John King seemed to go to Romney less than we thought he might, especially in the second half of the debate.
Ron Paul continued his soft glove approach on Romney, while taking some solids shots at Mr. Santorum. He even cracked a few surprisingly well-recieved jokes. Like he has in previous debates, Congressman Paul's take on Israel - and war in general - seemed to rile up the crowd a bit, both in positive and negative ways.
"Grandpa Newt", the more "cheerful" side of Mr. Gingrich, seemed to be in control during most of the debate, as he kept a positive attitude, while generally letting Romney and Santorum both seem aggressive and frustrated at times. Of course, Gingrich wasn't all hearts and flowers, as he got in his prerequisite slam against the media. Other than cheering Newt's ding at moderator John King about asking the birth control question, the crowd in Arizona didn't seem to be responding to Ginrich's comments as strongly as other crowds at previous debates have done in the past.
All four men often turned questions they were obviously uncomfortable dealing with into ways to attack President Obama, on a variety of topics. Unsurprisingly, on issues of immigration, foreign policy, Israel, Iran, and even women in combat, the candidates seemed to be very good at pulling out quotes and positions of their rivals, without directly pointing out which of the other men on the stage they were attacking. At times, they even agreed with each other.
At the end of the debate, it was clear to us, and apparently most people, that there were no winners on that stage in Arizona last night. Even noted Republican pundit George Will said that neither of the GOP's two strongest challengers - Romney and Santorum - "looks like a formidable candidate for November."
In short, President Obama won the debate last night - and he didn't even have to step on the stage.
Now please don't ask us to watch one of those so-called debates again, for a while. We've had more than enough of that kind of experience. We have a feeling many Republicans out there are sharing our sick feeling right now - though we're willing to bet we'll be feeling better by fall. Unfortunately, for our Republican friends, we have a feeling their despondence and nausea may well continue well past this November.
The only people who probably did what we did last night were being paid to do it - and technically, one of our staff WAS being paid to do it, so we hope he enjoyed his job.
"It", sadly, was watching the umpteenth - officially, the twentieth - GOP Presidential debate. Like drinking too much, when knowing what will happen later, the night began with jokes about what the four men would say during the debate - and felt like a familiar hangover before it was done.
In a nushell, the debate wasn't much different from many that have gone before. There were a few moments where one candidate or another said something in a particular way that clued you in to the idea that their campaign staff had scripted the response for conservative radio play today - but there weren't any iconic moments.
Rick Santorum came under heavy fire from the very beginning - and he quite obviously cracked. His answer on a favorite target of Republicans over the last few years - earmarks - was far more convoluted than most Americans can understand. It made Santorum look like he's in favor of earmarks - which, by his own words and history, he is.
Santorum's position on contraception was even more convoluted, and when he was challenged by Mitt Romney, he seemed to twist himself into a pretzel. Santorum's attempt to turn the subject into one focused on Romneycare fell flat, and the audience didn't seem to be buying what Rick was selling most of the night. His defense of his record was embarrassingly bad. Santorum also remained unapologetic about his extreme right-wing views on social issues, which garnered less crowd support than we thought it would.
Mitt Romney, while occasionally looking aggressive and irritated, hit Santorum as strongly as he's hit others previously when they've challenged Romney's status as GOP frontrunner. In general, Romney appeared to be the most prepared of the group - and moderator John King seemed to go to Romney less than we thought he might, especially in the second half of the debate.
Ron Paul continued his soft glove approach on Romney, while taking some solids shots at Mr. Santorum. He even cracked a few surprisingly well-recieved jokes. Like he has in previous debates, Congressman Paul's take on Israel - and war in general - seemed to rile up the crowd a bit, both in positive and negative ways.
"Grandpa Newt", the more "cheerful" side of Mr. Gingrich, seemed to be in control during most of the debate, as he kept a positive attitude, while generally letting Romney and Santorum both seem aggressive and frustrated at times. Of course, Gingrich wasn't all hearts and flowers, as he got in his prerequisite slam against the media. Other than cheering Newt's ding at moderator John King about asking the birth control question, the crowd in Arizona didn't seem to be responding to Ginrich's comments as strongly as other crowds at previous debates have done in the past.
All four men often turned questions they were obviously uncomfortable dealing with into ways to attack President Obama, on a variety of topics. Unsurprisingly, on issues of immigration, foreign policy, Israel, Iran, and even women in combat, the candidates seemed to be very good at pulling out quotes and positions of their rivals, without directly pointing out which of the other men on the stage they were attacking. At times, they even agreed with each other.
At the end of the debate, it was clear to us, and apparently most people, that there were no winners on that stage in Arizona last night. Even noted Republican pundit George Will said that neither of the GOP's two strongest challengers - Romney and Santorum - "looks like a formidable candidate for November."
In short, President Obama won the debate last night - and he didn't even have to step on the stage.
Now please don't ask us to watch one of those so-called debates again, for a while. We've had more than enough of that kind of experience. We have a feeling many Republicans out there are sharing our sick feeling right now - though we're willing to bet we'll be feeling better by fall. Unfortunately, for our Republican friends, we have a feeling their despondence and nausea may well continue well past this November.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
An Unfair Fight
What's been going on near our DC office, over the last week, in the Virginia Legislature, has been both an embarrassment and an abomination - especially when we consider that the date on the calendar says 2012, and not 1812.
As we've pointedly noted in the news over the last couple months, several states, pushed by extremists on the far right, have been attempting to pass laws that heavily restrict women's rights. Some of these proposed laws have been in places like Oklahoma and Texas, where sadly such misogyny - even in the modern age - isn't all that surprising.
That some of these attempts have also been happening in places like Iowa - one of the first states to allow gay marriage - and Virginia, has awakened a smaller sub-section of those on the political left who thought these issues had already been decided long ago.
As the extremists on the right have made ever more clear, their full intent truly appears to be to drag the rest of America back in time, to a point at which women, and maybe minorities, once again have less rights than wealthy, white, older men.
While that may seem as crazy to all of you as it does to us, don't expect the U.S. Supreme Court to be the last bastion of sensibility, fairness, or justice if the issue arrives on their docket.
With the decision on Tuesday by four Supreme Court Justices to try a case this fall involving Affirmative Action, the concept of a trustworthy Supreme Court, instead of an extremist, conservative, activist court has been thrown into serious question.
We're also not putting our faith in the U.S. Congress to handle this issue properly. While the House Democrats have announced a hearing to be held tomorrow on the issue of Women's Health - with women both overseeing and testifying at the hearing - the Republican majority in the U.S. House, controlled by males, has already announced they won't allow Thursday's proceedings to be broadcast or recorded for TV, radio, or the internet.
Where we are planning on putting our faith, is in our neighbors, and our friends, who are in the true majority in America - women.
Just look at Virginia.
While two of the most offensive anti-womens' rights laws we've seen at a state level are in front of the Virginia House yet again today, neither has passed, in large part due to the large and growing silent protest of Virginia women right outside the doors of the Virginia capitol.
One law would allow - and in some cases mandate - state-sanctioned rape of women, while the other would allow state-funded adoption and foster care agencies to discriminate against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered families and youth. Both laws have engendered a huge protest.
However, the women of Virginia haven't been allowed to chant and cheer, march and make posters as they stand on the grounds of their capitol. Those kinds of protests are against the laws of the commonwealth.
So they have gone to the Capitol grounds and stood there. Silently.
And they are winning.
Even the Governor of Virginia, who was one of major supporters of these bills has now backed down from his unconditional support of both proposed laws.
If we were the men of the Virginia Legislature, we'd be scared as hell to go home to our wives, mothers, sisters, and female friends if we allowed abominations like this legislation to pass. Something tells us there's going to be a seriously nasty surprise for many of these men if they push this awful idea through - and an even bigger surprise for them in this fall's elections.
As we've pointedly noted in the news over the last couple months, several states, pushed by extremists on the far right, have been attempting to pass laws that heavily restrict women's rights. Some of these proposed laws have been in places like Oklahoma and Texas, where sadly such misogyny - even in the modern age - isn't all that surprising.
That some of these attempts have also been happening in places like Iowa - one of the first states to allow gay marriage - and Virginia, has awakened a smaller sub-section of those on the political left who thought these issues had already been decided long ago.
As the extremists on the right have made ever more clear, their full intent truly appears to be to drag the rest of America back in time, to a point at which women, and maybe minorities, once again have less rights than wealthy, white, older men.
While that may seem as crazy to all of you as it does to us, don't expect the U.S. Supreme Court to be the last bastion of sensibility, fairness, or justice if the issue arrives on their docket.
With the decision on Tuesday by four Supreme Court Justices to try a case this fall involving Affirmative Action, the concept of a trustworthy Supreme Court, instead of an extremist, conservative, activist court has been thrown into serious question.
We're also not putting our faith in the U.S. Congress to handle this issue properly. While the House Democrats have announced a hearing to be held tomorrow on the issue of Women's Health - with women both overseeing and testifying at the hearing - the Republican majority in the U.S. House, controlled by males, has already announced they won't allow Thursday's proceedings to be broadcast or recorded for TV, radio, or the internet.
Where we are planning on putting our faith, is in our neighbors, and our friends, who are in the true majority in America - women.
Just look at Virginia.
While two of the most offensive anti-womens' rights laws we've seen at a state level are in front of the Virginia House yet again today, neither has passed, in large part due to the large and growing silent protest of Virginia women right outside the doors of the Virginia capitol.
One law would allow - and in some cases mandate - state-sanctioned rape of women, while the other would allow state-funded adoption and foster care agencies to discriminate against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered families and youth. Both laws have engendered a huge protest.
However, the women of Virginia haven't been allowed to chant and cheer, march and make posters as they stand on the grounds of their capitol. Those kinds of protests are against the laws of the commonwealth.
So they have gone to the Capitol grounds and stood there. Silently.
And they are winning.
Even the Governor of Virginia, who was one of major supporters of these bills has now backed down from his unconditional support of both proposed laws.
If we were the men of the Virginia Legislature, we'd be scared as hell to go home to our wives, mothers, sisters, and female friends if we allowed abominations like this legislation to pass. Something tells us there's going to be a seriously nasty surprise for many of these men if they push this awful idea through - and an even bigger surprise for them in this fall's elections.
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