October 15, 2012

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/14/new-york-times-libya_n_1962397.html?ncid=txtlnkushpmg00000041
Confusion reigns. There were protests. No, there weren’t protests. The New York Times had independent reports on the ground – not from State, not from the consulate – of protests.

http://www.examiner.com/article/mississippi-tea-party-says-women-are-too-emotional-and-diabolical-to-vote
Holy crap.

http://www.stacycordery.com/juliette-gordon-low/character-juliette-gordon-low/
Low never held grudges against doctors who caused her deafness or her ex-husband who betrayed her, and did all she could to make people comfortable despite her deafness.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/15/us/politics/arlen-specter-senator-dies-at-82.html?_r=2&smid=FB-nytimes&WT.mc_id=PO-E-FB-SM-LIN-AS8-101412-NYT-NA&WT.mc_ev=click&
http://gothamist.com/2012/10/14/former_senator_arlen_specter_dies_a.php
http://www.npr.org/2012/10/14/160165440/arlen-specter-senator-who-gave-no-quarter-dies?sc=fb&cc=fp
Centrist Sen. Specter Died Fighting for Moderation http://abcnews.go.com/m/story?id=17475869


http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/10/2012101416273881308.html
2 other girls injured, but not given same level of care. Unsure where investigation will lead, or whether guilty will be found and adjudicated. Lots of fear of Taliban, even afraid to cooperate with the authorities.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/14/romney-tax-plan-ed-gillespie_n_1964934.html?1350224091&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/10/14/sen-rob-portman-romney-can-win-the-presidency-without-ohio/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/13/william-koch-kirby-martensen_n_1962400.html?ir=Crime
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/10/top-social-conservaitve-activist-offers-most-lukewarm-romney-endorsement-ever
http://90days90reasons.com/68.php
Black and Latino Voting Blocs Flex Political Muscle
http://ht.ly/2sFNqt


http://www.believeoutloud.com/boltoday/20121005/minister-who-helps-lgbt-community-now-needs-our-help

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/14/valeria-munique-tachiquin-alvarado-wrongful-death-border-patrol-shooting_n_1965151.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/14/holly-madisons-baby-bump-on-full-display_n_1965282.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/14/susan-sarandon-assualted_n_1965363.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/movies/2012/10/argo_reviewed_director_ben_affleck_s_iran_hostage_crisis_drama_is_his_best.html
http://bitchmagazine.org/post/beyond-the-ribbon-breast-cancer-awearness-feminist-magazine-pink-pinkwashing-science-research

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nancy-redd/maternity-leave-workplace-wednesdays_b_1933115.html?utm_hp_ref=parents&ir=Parents&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009
Three dollars?

http://www.aei-ideas.org/2012/10/the-problem-with-kaisers-study-on-premium-support-seniors-are-smarter-than-that-and-so-are-health-plans/
Really? Pressuring seniors to move to cheaper plans via “premium support”? Then they argue this would force insurance companies to compete for business by slashing prices. Seriously, no more touting the values of the marketplace in keeping insurance rates low. In the name of profitability, they have put the fear of God into policyholders who had to worry about lifetime caps, pre-existing conditions, This is the same libertarian bullshit claim that suggests that national parks and forests could be purchased and run by private entities. Yeah, Natural Resources Defense Council will definitely be able to outbid a private corporation. Competition in the market can drive prices down yes. It can also drive prices up.
Does not address that it’s not medicare, but providers, who order excessive services.

http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/13/2-5-of-americans-died-during-civil-war/
the bureaucracy and commitment of the federal government to those principles is an essential part of the kind of nation that emerged from the Civil War conflict.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/10/13/harris-perry-to-clarence-thomas-youve-got-it-all-wrong-on-affirmative-action/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80ZrUI7RNfI&feature=youtu.be Julia Child Remixed

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/14/911-families-invited-to-watch-hearings_n_1965061.html?&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/14/new-york-times-libya_n_1962397.html?ncid=txtlnkushpmg00000041

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/opinion/sunday/dowd-two-presidents-smoking-and-scheming.html?smid=fb-share
Ha. Great for West Wing or The Newsroom fans

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/14/opinion/sunday/bruni-bachmann-family-values.html?src=me&ref=general
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/14/opinion/sunday/the-self-destruction-of-the-1-percent.html?src=me
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/14/opinion/sunday/kristof-a-possibly-fatal-mistake.html?src=me&ref=general
http://www.thenation.com/blog/155307/reconsider-columbus-day?rel=facebookphoto

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/10/08/the_lie_that_screwed_up_50_years_of_us_foreign_policy

Today, it is near political suicide to publicly suggest letting Iran enrich uranium up to an inconsequential 5 percent with strong inspections, though the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty permits it.

http://www.tnr.com/article/books-and-arts/108044/radical-right-wing-the-legacy-eugene-genovese#

http://www.tnr.com/blog/plank/105918/how-bush-v-gore-killed-the-romney-campaign
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2012/09/a-tale-of-two-romneys-george-and-mitt.html
http://hnn.us/articles/hey-mitt-when-are-you-going-apologize-my-parents
http://hnn.us/articles/exonerated-relentless-scalding-indictment-us-justice-system
http://hnn.us/articles/why-aren%E2%80%99t-we-more-worried-about-pandemics
Viruses can "jump species" to humans: birds and pigs are the most likely source. These viruses tend to make us very ill, because our immune systems do not recognize them, but they are unable to spread from human to human. The real risk comes if a victim is infected simultaneously by both human flu and bird or pig flu, allowing the two viruses to exchange genetic material. Now we have a virus that can be transmitted from human to human: we have an epidemic.
http://hnn.us/articles/why-obama-lost-first-debate

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/10/06/1140194/-This-week-in-the-War-on-Workers-Professor-fights-for-profit-teacher-licensing-loses-her-job

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/business/measure-results-not-hours-to-improve-work-efficiency.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/06/opinion/blow-dont-mess-with-big-bird.html?_r=0
personal story
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/10/05/1140601/-Black-ministers-endorse-Warren-chide-Brown-for-divisive-campaign
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/07/massachusetts-senate-polls_n_1946417.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/10/02/1138666/-Meet-Antonin-Scalia-Scott-Brown-s-kind-of-Supreme-Court-Justice

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/10/06/1140713/-Restaurant-owner-receives-death-threats-after-declining-Romney-visit
Really, folks, it's fine if a small business does not want to host Giant Political Event-Type Thingy. There are many reasons why a business might not want to do such a thing. There are many reasons why they would. If you're getting worked up over that, you may need to consider whether you are investing your political time wisely.

Dear Mr. President: Don’t Let Romney Lie Again, Use Your Inner Angry Black Man
http://ht.ly/2syRQ9
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/10/06/1139961/-This-week-in-science-The-dead-and-the-dying
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/10/05/1140629/-Foreign-owned-subsidiary-s-million-dollar-contribution-to-Romney-Super-PAC-raises-red-flags

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/07/mitt-romney-swing-states_n_1946330.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/07/newt-gingrich-jack-welch_n_1946384.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/26/obama-lobbyist-ban_n_1916397.html
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/10/02/1138953/-U-S-lags-on-sick-leave-and-pregnancy-protections-but-the-fight-is-on-to-change-that
http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/article/2012/10/04/california-anti-shackling-law-awaits-gov-browns-signature
http://www.thedailybeast.com/videos/2012/10/05/did-romney-cheat-at-the-debate.html
http://www.buzzfeed.com/theweatherchannel/13-awesome-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-coast
http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-vs-romney-gallup-poll-oct-5-results-2012-10
http://www.salon.com/2012/10/05/can_i_date_a_republican/
http://www.salon.com/2012/10/14/father_of_slain_ambassador_dont_exploit_my_sons_death/
http://www.mediaite.com/online/jack-welch-kicks-off-conservative-conspiracy-theories-about-7-8-unemployment-rate/

Mexico’s Drug War Visualized With Data
http://ht.ly/2sxPBG
http://www.salon.com/2012/10/05/anal_sex_sciences_last_taboo/

This post is heavily weighted towards self-consciously liberal media, and on editorials rather than straight news. I’m under no delusions that there is no political slant in the sources I follow. I do, however, think that reading about the issues of the day rather than watching news is of greater cognitive value, even if sources are biased. For example, I’ve found that whenever I actually read an article on the Fox News website, for example, it often contains more nuance than the same story covered by the pinheads on Fox News television, and certainly more nuance than the headline typically implies.

I am going on record wanting a presidential debate on women, moderated by women. The first moderator I want is Sr. Simone Campbell, director of NETWORK, the Catholic social justice lobby that sent forth Nuns on the Bus this summer. The other moderator needs to be Gloria Steinem, the veteran feminist activist and author. I want the candidates to answer hard questions about breast cancer research, single motherhood, women who seek and hold elective offices, abortion, early childhood education, and about fifty other things.

I want there to be a segment in which the moderators interview the candidates’ wives alone because I want to know how he treats her and what he really thinks of women. I would like to see the candidates tend to a room of a half-dozen toddlers and see how what happens. It would NOT be a photo-op, but a test. A roomful of over-tired 3-year-olds can’t be that different from Congress.

I want to subject the candidates to obnoxious questions that powerful women must answer, like “What designers do you prefer?” and “Can you really have it all – a great career and family? Aren’t you demanding unfair sacrifices of your children and spouse? Who has taken care of your children as you built your career?”

I think the authors of these first two articles might agree with me.

Women Went Missing in Last Night's Presidential Debate
What Obama Forgot to Say to Women
Bryce Covert calls out the debates and candidates for not saying more about how their platforms and policies would affect the lives of women. Obama addressed this rather indirectly, and Romney not really at all. Jessica Arons argues that one of Obama’s weaknesses was his reluctance to toot his own horn and contrast his own administration’s policies with those Romney and Ryan would support. He ought to call the GOP out for opposing Lilly Ledbetter and attempting to redefine rape, and remind everyone of the benefits Obamacare requires insurance companies to provide women and children, including preventive care without co-payments.

As these authors or any thinking woman knows, women’s issues are not secondary to economic and foreign policy issues, but integral to them. Because women live longer and earn less over their lifetimes – whether because their work lives are interrupted by family obligations or they did low wage work or experienced wage discrimination – women rely more heavily upon Social Security and Medicare. Equal pay is an economic issue. So are affordable health care and family leave. Access to affordable contraception and child care is vital to the well-being of families. I want to know that candidates can realistically imagine what working- and middle-class families’ lives are like. Foreign policy has particular ramifications for women. When we send troops overseas, a significant portion of them are women these days. Servicewomen are all too often subject assault by their fellow troops, and in forward areas their options are limited. When we provide support for undemocratic leaders around the world, what violence and prejudice do we perpetuate against women in those nations?


Will either presidential candidate give peace a chance?
The answer is probably no.

Mile-High Rhetoric: Debating in Denver
Throwing Obama Under the Bus: Dems Do Disloyal
Commonweal offers a fair assessment of the first presidential debate which points out that neither candidate addressed the lives of the poor. Lorraine Devon’s editorial doesn’t offer much, although there may be something to her feeling that political campaigns have become like reality shows

Obama's Approval Rating Soars To Its Highest Point In Three Years
REASON 64: I support Obama because, despite enormous pressure, he refused to publicize a picture of Bin Laden’s corpse.
Obama’s approval rating, announced the day after the first presidential debate, is 54%. This is good news for any incumbent president; if their approval rating is above 50% on Election Day, they win. I suppose that the debates themselves, especially last week’s lackluster performance may
90 Days, 90 Reasons is an interesting pro-Obama daily blog. Notables and other writers explain their primary reason for supporting President Obama in 2012. On Day 64, Israeli author Etgar Keret characterizes Obama’s decision not to show images of Osama bin Laden dead as courageous. Obama had nothing to gain by this decision, and many were disappointed or even angry about it.
Democracy should be more than mob rule, and our foreign policy more dignified than a gladiator match. Leave gruesome displays of mutilated dead to Kurtz.

Someone needs to remind Paul Ryan you can’t spell compassion on a calculator
Richard Milhous Ryan: No Specifics, Just a 'Secret Plan'
Why This Veep Debate Matters a Lot
Biden Should Rip Ryan on Neglect of Hometown Workers
More commentary on the Vice-Presidential debate, which according to the New Yorker, had the potential to quell a lot of anxiety in Democratic quarters. Now that it’s over, I guess Biden can say “mission accomplished.” The Nation compares Ryan’s reluctance to give specifics on the Romney tax plan to Richard Nixon’s “secret” plan to end the war in Vietnam. In case you don’t know, it was not until 4 years after he took office that the Nixon Administration agreed to the treaty that ended our military involvement in Vietnam. Over 20,000 of the 58,000 who died in Vietnam did so during the Nixon administration, so I’m not putting much stock in secret plans.

If you haven’t read Margaret and Helen’s blog, you are really missing out. They have been close friends for over 60 years, and are absolutely freaking hilarious. Helen does most of the writing, but Margaret always gets the final punch line. In their response to the VP debate on Thursday, they sympathize with the frustration that Biden, a senior citizen like them, must feel when dealing with a whippersnapper like Paul Ryan. No description I can ever give of Margaret and Helen’s blog could be adequate. One of my particular favorites, which made me and the hubs laugh out loud until we cried, is this gem about vaginas: http://margaretandhelen.com/2012/06/21/vagina-is-a-6-letter-word/
If you read nothing else today, read “Vagina is a 6 Letter Word.” Read it out loud to your family members, roommates, cat or dog, whoever lives with you. If it doesn’t make you fear peeing your pants, you probably need to see a physician and have that stick removed from your …

Affirmative Action vs. White Privilege
Yes, this piece is from Ebony, which is predictably in favor of affirmative action. Unfortunately, the African-American press may be the only place outside of academia where discussions of white privilege are taking place.
The Supreme Court may well destroy affirmative action when it decides Fisher v University of Texas. I believe it premature to dismantle affirmative action as long as so many in America are willfully blind to the breaks they enjoy. It would be a cruel twist indeed if this case that killed it, since University of Texas has argued that even without the consideration of race, Abigail Fisher would not have been admitted to the institution.

Foreign Policy
Anti-Semitism—Bad for Palestinians, Too
The author, Emily Hauser is an Israeli-American, and Jewish herself, and supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She acknowledges how frequently the accusation of anti-Semitism is launched at anyone who dares to criticize Israel, but here she examines the very real threat that anti-Semitism among pro-Palestinian activists poses.
I see this as a persistent problem in politics: how does one act as an advocate, but not a chauvinist? Patriotism in particular can easily become jingoism. The chauvinists and jingoists frequently are unaware that they have crossed an ideological Rubicon, and may become defensive, retrenching their positions. I don’t have any answer for how to avoid this pratfall.

Benghazi’s Intensifying Blame Game
Mother Of Slain SEAL Tells Romney To Stop Talking About Her Son
Killed former SEAL used in stump speech thought Romney was ‘pathetic’: friend
The officials who testified before Congress about the attacks on the consulate in Benghazi, Libya basically provided no clarity on the question that everyone wants answered: did the State Department utterly fail to provide adequate security for its diplomatic corps in Libya? I’d feel better about the whole investigation if I didn’t feel that the Obama administration will twist the situation to defend itself, or that House Republicans will grasp at any straw to discredit Obama and Hillary Clinton’s State Department.
Wherever the responsibility lies, apparently Mitt Romney had no idea what he was stepping into when he began invoking his brief, chance meeting with former SEAL Glen Doherty, who was killed in Benghazi. Doherty was from Massachusetts and apparently neither he nor his mother cared much for Romney. He also served on the advisory board of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which advocates for the separation of church and state and the protection of the religious freedoms of service members. It doesn’t take much imagination to see why Doherty’s would object to Romney’s invocation of her son’s name.

CIA drone strike kills Al Qaeda leader wanted in USS Cole bombing, US officials say
It’s always a relief to learn that al-Qaeda leaders are being discovered and some measure of justice is being meted out, but I just can’t get behind drones.

Can FSA leadership be relevant again in Syria?
I’ve got no wisdom to offer on the civil war in Syria, except that any intervention must originate with neighboring nations in the region, not the United States, and must have the support of Russia. Syria needs to be isolation among the community of nations. Also, anyone who argues that somehow the United States should have known that al-Assad was going to be an unrepentant tyrant doesn’t know much about American foreign policy during the last 70 years.


Iran: Eleven men face imminent execution
Death Penalty: A decade on, executions are on the wane but challenges remain

Stuff That Makes Me Indignant
Kids in solitary confinement: State-sponsored child abuse
Jerry Sandusky Headed To Prison, But Scandal Persists
Her ‘Crime’ Was Loving Schools
Clinton: Pakistan Shooting Shows Challenges Facing Girls
Agency says Depok rape victim can still attend school
Fighting child marriage in the slums of Moradabad, India
Why Was Breast Milk Banned from an Israeli Maternity Ward Fridge?

If you haven’t heard about Malala Yousafzai, the 14-year-old Pakistani girl who was shot in the head by soldiers – but mercifully survived – you should learn her inspiring story. This past week, the first International Day of the Girl was celebrated and I hope that in the future it focuses attention on the unchecked violence, ignorance, and sexism that plagues too much of the world.
God bless that girl.

Since 8 pm anyway…
I am behind on my reading and as a result I have over 200 tabs open on Firefox. There are articles going back over two weeks that I still need to read, so forgive me if something that is clearly old news.

First, a remembrance.
LGBT History Month Icon Of The Day: Matthew Shepard

It was 14 years ago that Matthew Shepard died of injuries sustained 5 days earlier in a horrific beating visited the gay teenager. I rarely respond to the news with emotion, but this still makes me sick, and cold inside when I think about what he suffered, and what his parents have suffered. As a parent, it devastates me.

Now to a feel-good story.
R. D. W. Connor Appointed First Archivist of the United States
President Franklin Roosevelt chose Connor, who built the National Archives as an organization just as he had built the archives of North Carolina. I know this was posted because it was the anniversary of his appointment, but I can’t help but think about the State of Georgia’s plans to severely cut back on the hours at its state archives and lay off most of its employees. Access to archives is vital to providing government transparency and an authentic understanding of the past. And if you do not understand the past, the present definitely does not make sense.

Something to make me a little indignant…
Rookie Freelancers Risking Their Lives To Cover The Arab Spring
Freelance journalists are like adjunct faculty at universities – no security, no benefits, no mentoring, low pay, and few resources. And like the growing use of adjuncts, freelance journalists represent a divestment of institutions in the people who sustain them. The journalists themselves do it to get experience and to try to impress, even if it means risking themselves in some of the world’s most dangerous places such as Libya and Syria.
I am reminded of Marie Colvin, a seasoned war correspondent who died in Syria earlier this year. Colvin’s many assignments in the world’s hotspots left her with a number of symptoms of PTSD. Colvin had powerful media leaders supporting her, but what will be the fates of younger, greener journalists who risk their mental and physical health to get the stories of our time?

I cannot wait for the election to be over. I live in Iowa and we have the longest election season of any state. Candidates invade six months before the Iowa caucuses, and then hang around until someone’s got the nomination, and then the nominee and all his surrogates occupy the state because even though we only have five Electoral College votes, we are a battleground, toss-up state. We also live near the Illinois border, so our television market is saturated with political ads for local and state races in both Iowa and Illinois. I understand why Elvis shot his television. This is why I get my news from reading online news sources, not from the television.
Mitt Romney Leads Us Into an Age of Stupidity
Romney's Tax Plan Still Doesn't Work
It’s one thing to change your mind, or even waffle, but Mitt Romney’s views shift from day to day and hour to hour, on abortion, health care, and gun control for starters. I would love for a Romney supporter to explain this phenomenon, without making the standard crybaby claim that the liberal media is mischaracterizing Romney’s views.
I’m also still waiting, like Justin Green, to see how Romney’s tax plan would add up. Paul Ryan stated last night that the campaign has not given more details because they want it to be a bipartisan effort, yet the Romney campaign also claims that its plan has been verified as sound by six independent analyses (that turn out not to be independent, nor real analyses). I’d feel better if Romney/Ryan would pledge to keep their hands off the tax deductions that many in the middle class rely upon in order to remain in the middle class: deductions for mortgage interest, retirement, and insurance. My great fear is that those deductions and pre-tax savings will disappear in a Romney presidency and Romney will pat himself on the back for raising revenue without actually raising tax rates. People will still seek to become homeowners even without the deduction, but at what cost?

The big news today is the Vice-Presidential debate.
Joe Biden’s Rude Debate Laughter: The Joke’s on Him
Ryan Solid, But One Major Mistake
Robert Shrum on the Vice Presidential Debate: Biden’s Win Was a Big F@$&ing Deal
Joe Biden mopped the floor with Paul Ryan last night, and there’s no bigger story today. Michael Medved considers Biden’s laughter at Paul Ryan as dishonorable and unprecedented in the history of political debates. David Frum notes that he heard the debate on the radio before he watched it, and that Biden sounded terrible. I’ll admit that I enjoyed Joe. Frum states that Ryan sounded sincere, but since he was listening and not watching, he probably missed a number of body language cues. He admits that Biden was better on television than radio.
No commentator I have heard or read has mentioned the smug jackass look on Paul Ryan’s face whenever Biden was talking. It’s the same look I give when I’m in an argument and really don’t care what the other person is saying. Some people have commented upon Ryan’s water consumption during the debate. I’m also personally familiar with this move, which sometimes buys me time and soothes the horrible dryness that appears in my throat when I’m overwhelmed.
Medved argues that Biden appeared less mature than Ryan; I must disagree. Biden appeared like a seasoned older man who’s seen it all and heard it all and no longer feels the need to indulge young punks – especially when they are apparently full of it. And as Frum points out, Biden repeatedly addressed the middle class and identified with them; for Ryan and Romney, the middle class is “other.” After living through George W. Bush’s two terms and continually watching the Democratic party bow and bend to one ridiculous Republican ultimatum after another, it was gratifying to see Biden push back.
I’m most sympathetic with Robert Schrum’s assessment of the vice-presidential debate. Biden challenged Romney/Ryan’s efforts to seem like political moderates. As Bill Maher noted on Real Time tonight, President Obama is practically a Rockefeller Republican. Romney and Ryan represent the neo-conservatism that dominated and failed this country during George W. Bush’s administration. But they don’t want to remind you of W.
On another note: Wow, the Daily Beast contributors are all over the board on this debate. How refreshing.

And finally…
Gunfire At Obama Headquarters In Denver
This was breaking news, in a state where Romney and Obama are in a dead heat. WTF? That’s all I’ll say until I learn more.