Crawford's Take

Crawford Says Goodbye to Blogging

2008-07-22T13:58:00.006-05:00

This has been a really fun project for many years, but it has come time for me to focus on other things and it's been really difficult these last few months to get posts up, so it seems that it's time to hang up the blogging for a while.

I will miss my readers and I have enjoyed my time in the blogosphere immensely. My heart, soul and conscious have been poured into the work I've produced and as I'm sure I will miss it immensely, look for me as a guest poster on friends blogs here and there in the future when I really get the bug to give my take... or maybe in a few months I'll just pick up where I left off, either when things settle down on my end a bit or when I just cannot stand to keep silent any longer... Either way, I will leave the blog up for the sake of history and because it will always be very dear to my heart.

This is sad for me, but necessary.

Thank you for all these amazing years of reading my work. It truly has been an honor and a priviledge to have a presence out here and feel like my thoughts made a difference...

Keep fighting the good fights, standing up for you rights and speaking out when things don't quite add up!

Renee Crawford

Apology to Andy Feldman

2008-07-22T12:41:00.004-05:00

Last night, I posted on the 22nd Assembly district race and that insinuated that Andy Feldman may have been a Clean Sweep candidate...

I was completely off base and wrong about that and I am deeply sorry for any distress I caused Andy, his supporters and his staff today.

Andy is not a Clean Sweep candidate. I am convinced now that he is a democrat, a moderate democrat, but none-the-less an actual life long democrat. He is a supporter of Planned Parenthood, and his main focus has been public policy particularly the study of economic solutions for anti-poverty issues for literally decades and after a long and thoughtful discussion with him, his staff and several of his supporters, I have been convinced that I was wrong in my original post.

Because of that, I have pulled the entire post and this is my full retraction of all the information relating to Andy's campaign.

Here is an excerpt from Andy's doctoral thesis: "One implication may be that people need more intensive help to prepare them for employment and support them once on the job."

I also want to reiterate that the original post was ONLY my personal observations and conjecture. It was not based on conversations or collusion with any other campaigns or people. I take full responsibility for everything I post here even when I get the story wrong. It was prior to a deeper conversation with Andy and I sincerely apologize again for taking my observations to a level I was not prepared to defend.

What you will always find here at Crawford's Take is what I think, feel, or perhaps even what I suspect. When it's something in that last category, I will always encourage corrections (as I did in the original post) and be clear about my lack of proof (I called it "circumstantial evidence" originally) and post new information as it arises, and even, if warranted, as in this case slap myself on the wrist for posting a theory unresearched in the middle of the night...

All this said, he's still not my candidate in the primary. I think his resume shows a background that is weighted to academics rather than real life, and I find his posted issues page unintelligible as to what he would actually do as our representative.

Protect WI's Vote Edu Summit! Event Notice

2008-07-16T17:52:00.000-05:00

This is going to be really awesome! The speakers are really awesome (including me! LOL) and there'll be popcorn...

Come out to learn what you can do this fall and going into 2009 to Protect Wisconsin's Vote!

Please RSVP.

Renee

(Note: Media is especially encouraged to attend.)
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Election Protection Expert Sheila Cochran and The Institute for One Wisconsin invite you to

Protect Wisconsin's Vote Education Summit

Thursday, July 24 from 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm
at the Times Theater, 5906 W. Vliet Street, Milwaukee, WI.

The Protect Wisconsin's Vote Summit will feature a lively panel discussion on:
* Voter Suppression * The Myth of Voter Fraud * Felon Re-Enfranchisement * Bilingual Voting * Accessibility at Polls * Pitfalls of Voter ID * Same Day Registration

We will feature new films on voter rights by MATA Media and excerpts from the film Uncounted. You can RSVP by clicking the link below:http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/event/detail/conference/wrjh The goal of our event is to inform the media about these important issues, educate community groups on what steps they can take to prevent voter suppression, dispel the myths of voter fraud, as well as collaborating to create an action plan to protect voting throughout the state.
The Institute for One Wisconsin is excited to partner with Voces de la Frontera, ACLU of WI, League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, Milwaukee County Labor Council, and Disability Rights WI and hopes that you can join us for this historic event.
If you are interested in attending or participating in the event please feel free to contact Rob Ruzanic at 414.220.9250 or RSVP by clicking the link below:http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/event/detail/conference/wrjh Hope to see you on July 24 at the Times Theater!Scot RossExecutive DirectorInstitute for One Wisconsin

© 2008 InstituteforOneWisconsin.org. All rights reserved.
You received this mailing because you either subscribed to the OneWisconsinNow.org mailing list, or were referred by another user.
This email was sent to:rcrwfd@gmail.com
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Obama's Website Crashes Over FISA Cave In...

2008-07-09T14:10:00.003-05:00

http://my.barackobama.com/page/user/login?successurl=L3BhZ2UvZGFzaGJvYXJkL3ByaXZhdGU=

As expected in a highly upsetting and controversial vote, today FISA and telecom immunity passed in the Senate. Obama and Kohl both voted for the final bill and against the constitution...

More in a bit...

Update: The final list is not yet published, but I watched it live and it will be here within the hour.

A LOT of Americans are disappointed today. As a matter of fact, all Americans should be... The Dems sold us out for a spending package they could run on in the fall... They COULD have run on NOT selling us, our rights and our constitution out. This was all just SO unnecessary!!!

Well, 28 of them will and those 28 will do just fine. The others can whine all they want about how hard it is to legislate with a republican president, but honestly, if the dem nominee votes for such a reckless bill, why should we believe he will be a better president? Help me with this one... someone please...

I'm really disappointed and upset right now... Hope is waning, change seems fleeting... I'm not inspired...

Night of Facebook Action: FISA Vote Postponed Until Wed! Still Time to Act Tonight!

2008-07-08T20:03:00.004-05:00

I am SO proud of my fellow Americans!!! You are responding to calls all over the internet to fill Senators' voicemails and inboxes with demands to Get FISA Right! Keep it up! It's working.

They are terrified to take this vote at this point and have delayed it 3 times in the last week!

Make them think somemore. Make them more nervous.

If they insist on operating out of fear, then let the fear be of their own constitutents!!!

Americans get this! We get this! Let's MAKE our Senators get this!

The vote on FISA and Immunity has been postponed until approximately noon tomorrow. That leaves us tonight to make a splash and show that American's will NOT give away our Fourth Amendment without a fight!

Call Senator Feingold and thank him for his stellar patriotism on this issue. Call Kohl and ask him to vote yes on the Feingold, Leahy, Dodd Amendment removing immunity and no on the FISA bill.

Tonight is the night! We can make a stand by making these phone calls and joining the Facebook groups (don't have a Facebook account? get one! it's free and easy!). Help us set a Guiness World Record for the fastest growing FB group tonight!!!

Go to:
http://get-fisa-right.wetpaint.com/page/Night+of+Facebook+action+July+8%2F9?t=anon

and do everything they ask! they have great ideas and tonight YOU can make a difference.

On Other Matters: War Powers Commission Report

2008-07-08T16:57:00.003-05:00

The bipartisan National War Powers Commission released it's report today. Article in the Washington Times.

From CSPAN:

War Powers Commission Report
Today
Two former Secretaries of State, Warren Christopher (Clinton) and James A. Baker, III (George H.W. Bush) released a report on war powers. The two co-chaired the National War Powers Commission sponsored by the Miller Centers, the Univ. of Virginia's public policy institute. The report offers recommendations on war making for the President and Congress. It proposes a new Act of Congress (War Powers Consultation Act of 2009) to help define a process by which the President and Congress can consult prior to entering into a "significant armed conflict" defined explicitly among other things as being anything expected to be or actually lasting longer than one week.

I'm not sure how I feel about this yet. I've only skimmed the report, but my gut is telling me to give this idea a chance... and to read it carefully... anything is better than the lack of any process we have now and this seems to be well researched and thought out.

Read it, and form your own opinion. I find it actually easy to read, not too long and written for the general public. Don't be frightened by it's length of 72 pages... It is full of pictures, the text is large and it has a lot of white space, so it should be manageable to read in an evening.

Post back on your thoughts!

The Trade Off Bill...

2008-07-08T13:14:00.002-05:00

This is the bill the Dem leadership agreed to support in exchange for the FISA/Immunity legislation.

It passed overwhelmingly June 26th and is headed to the president's desk to be signed, only IF the FISA/Immunity bill passes intact...

This is what you get in exchange for your Fourth Amendment to the Constitution.

Some VA benefits, unemployment dollars, flood relief money, international aid money, SCHIP and Medicaid money until April '09, a GI bill update, some road work, and some fraud tracking measures for the money wasted in wars overseas...

Here's what they get. A load of money for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars... More money than god... oh yeah, and they get off on felony and probably impeachable offenses against the Constitution and the American people.

Total spending estimate in this bill is somewhere around $100 billion (according to a GOP estimate in May), about 70% of which goes to the war nobody wants...

They vote to solidify this "deal" today by taking away your fourth amendment rights. I'm dumbfounded...

Feingold Takes the Senate Floor on Immunity!

2008-07-08T12:20:00.004-05:00

As soon as I have a link to the live broadcast on CSPAN, I'll post it...

Update: Actually, I have time zones mixed up and he took the floor an hour ago. Here is the link to his remarks.

http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/vidLink.php?b=1215534614&e=1215535514&n=2

You can still call up until they take the vote this afternoon.
www.congress.org to find your Senator's phone number.

Senator Feingold deserves a huge thank you from Wisconsinites and people all over the country for his patriotic stand to uphold our Constitution. History will remember him for this act alone as it stands in a heroic career of holding our constitution and the rule of law above all other political considerations without fear and without regret.

This is what a Patriot looks like!

Thank you Senator Feingold for everything you do and have done and will do to keep America Safe and Free!!!

I feel like Braveheart right now shouting "

They may take our lives, but they will never take our FREEDOM!"

More on Subtle Racism... Or Not so Subtle...

2008-07-07T16:49:00.003-05:00

In the Chicago Tribune today, a story on new code words to humiliate people with... It's sad, and difficult not only imagining, but also remembering the pain the behaviors in this article cause a fellow human being.

Yes, I have been targeted by both subtle and non-so-subtle racism. No African American in this country can say they have not... I did not at the time, however, have the courage or belief in the system to fight those who would humiliate me.

I am SO proud of the people in this story who went to court and won their cases. To even know what it takes to speak out is purely heroic and I applaud them for what they have sacrificed in the process.

New Website pays You and I: PayPerPost.com

2008-07-07T13:01:00.005-05:00

Okay, so I found this new website that pays per post. I have a few things to say about it. You will ALWAYS find the sponsored logo on sponsored posts.

According to the website, if you review my blog posts, you get paid, if I post on a specific topic they request (at my choosing) I get paid, and somehow that I haven't yet ascertained, the sponsors get paid.

Regardless, it seems harmless, a few extra bucks a month can't hurt the cause and who knows, maybe it's something that will catch on!

Well, take a look at it, see if you want to join. Use MY links on the sidebar to complete the log in and go see them (I get paid if you do LOL!).

Review my posts (by choosing the review link below).

Any thoughts on this are welcome and appreciated. Anyone else have experience with them? I got my first payday and it's kinda cool...

One other thing, as many of you know, I'm pretty principled. I won't take responsibility for any products/orgs, etc... blogged on thru this program, BUT, I also will screen any that are against my sensibilies (you won't see any WI Right to Life posts LOL) and will try not to inundate my blog too much to make sure it maintains the flavor that my friends out here have come to love.

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blog reviews

Declare Independence! Call Kohl, Obama, Reid, your Senator NOW to Stop FISA and Immunity!!!

2008-07-07T10:56:00.009-05:00

The Senate is scheduled to vote on the FISA and telecom immunity issues tomorrow Tuesday, July 8, 2008.

ONLY YOU HAVE THE POWER TO STOP THIS NOW. Only the people can call the democrats on their indiscretion...

Join this group http://www.getfisaright.com/ and this one http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/SenatorObama-PleaseVoteAgainstFISA and this one http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=17961184023. Now the LARGEST supporter group on Obama's website with over 20,000 members!!!

NEXT, please call Senator Herb Kohl, Senator Barack Obama, Senator Harry Reid and your senators and tell them to vote NO on this bill. The amendments are a bit more complicated, and I will address that a bit below.

Senator Russ Feingold is leading the national fight in the Senate against this and a call to thank him for his principles and courage is certainly a good idea as well.

Then go to this webpage and find out what else you can do! http://get-fisa-right.wetpaint.com/page/Today%27s+priorities?t=anon

An enormous amount of confusion and misinformation has set in on the FISA/Telecom Immunity issue. This misinformation is deliberate and needs to be debunked.

First, the Protect America Act (the act that diluted FISA last year), expired in February 2008. The original FISA act is in place currently. This means that the government CAN go in immediately and begin a warrantless search as long as they go to the FISA court within 72 hours and prove their case. This was always the case. It was the legal way to do surveillance. It is the legal way to do surveillance in an emergency situation in the first place. The problem came when Bush became the first president to have warrants on American citizens denied due to the broad nature of the requests and the lack of evidence that the warrants were, well, warranted... FISA had never denied a request in it's history until the Bush administration came with faulty reasons. The entire reason we are having this discussion is because Bush didn't want to have any oversight on his spying activities and used the American fear of terror after 911 against us.

Second, telecom immunity is is terrible. The telecoms are in court right now because they are accused of violating the rights of ordinary Americans. These Americans like you and I are not terrorists, they are like you and I. People who want and deserve their day in court. The right to know, the right to petition your government for redress and the right to privacy guaranteed in the 4th amendment cannot be allowed to The telecoms could have said no. Some did. They chose to violate the law because the Bush administration told them they would protect them. The Bush administration had no right to violate the law either and immunity retroactively for violating the law and the constitutional rights of everyday Americans will set a precedent that won't soon be resolved. POTUS is accountable to the laws and constitution of the United States as is every other citizen/corporation in this country. Allowing them all off the hook is disasterous for the future of our rights and our constitution. Let a court of law decide, not some congresspeople who are getting massive campaign checks from the telecom giants... This is WHY we have THREE branches of government accountable to each other and the people.

Third, the new FISA bill is terrible! This bill gives POTUS the right to spy on Americans with little more oversight than under the Protect America Act. Know this right now... Every email, phone call, internet website and text message YOU send, EVERY one is NOW being collected illegally and unnecessarily in a database by our government. This means that if you are having an affair, the government knows it, if you have a medical condition, the government knows it, if you send a supposedly private business related email about a secret deal, the government knows it, you send a political email, the government knows it... Your Blackberry, internet connection, cell phone and home phones are currently an open line to the FBI, CIA and whomever is in power at the time... RIGHT NOW. This is currently illegal, but the FISA bill that will be voted on tomorrow, makes it LEGAL. It tears the fourth Amendment to shreds. Don't believe me on this? Go here for a rundown of all the spying on you the government's been up to lately... (and for the guy who said the ACLU is no authority? We wouldn't know about spying, FISA, the telecoms, torture, special rendition, the PATRIOT Act abuses, the illegality of the Military Commissions Act, secret letters to librarians, etc without the ACLU... get over it!)

Fourth, don't buy that this is some compromise that's better than the other options and so we need to bite the bullet and keep our mouths shut. That's the line from the democratic nominee, and from the democratic House and Senate members who negotiated this mess and want their colleagues to vote for this bill. It's all HOGWASH.

The compromise has nothing to do with this bill that gives the White House unprecendented powers to spy on Americans and a pass on breaking the law in the first place, essentially, they couldn't have written it better themselves. The real compromise as reported by the Washington Post:

The breakthrough on the legislation came hours after the White House agreed to democratic demands for domestic spending additions to an emergency war funding bill. Taken together, the bills -- two of the last major pieces of legislation to be approved by Congress this year -- suggest that Bush still wields considerable clout on national security issues but now must acquiesce to Democratic demands on favored domestic priorities to secure victory.

The war spending bill, for example, includes $162 billion for the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and an additional $95 billion worth of domestic spending on programs such as unemployment insurance and higher-education benefits for veterans. Bush, who had threatened for months to veto the legislation, said he will sign it.

In other words, if you give us some stuff to go back and run on in the fall, we'll give away the fourth amendment to the constitution. Disgraceful.

Next year, they can get all the domestic spending they want!!! No rush now to sell out the constitution for a bunch of pork regardless of whom it helps!

Here's where it gets complicated... Three amendments (including one by our own Senator Russ Feingold) have been added that improve the unnecessary legislation to be voted on tomorrow.

All three amendments should be supported and passed, that said, even if they pass, the legislation still sucks and should be voted against.

So call Herb Kohl, ask him to vote yes on the three amendments and NO on the FISA/Immunity bill. Call Obama and ask him also!!! This is important, as the now leader of the democratic party, his vote has significant pull. Finally, call Harry Reid and ask him to stop this deal with the devil. Find your Congressperson's phone number here.

Legislation from a position of fear will always result in a disaster for the American people and the rule of law...

Make you phone calls NOW, TODAY.

Speak now or forever be listened to....

Renee

Of course, Keith and I agree again...

Read the letter written by Senator's Chris Dodd and Russ Feingold to their colleagues.

More on the three Amendments from the Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF):

The schedule for the Senate's return on July 8 allows for three amendments to be introduced to the FISA Amendments Act, which in its current form would grant immunity from the law to phone companies who engaged in illegal spying. One amendment, from Senators Dodd and Leahy, would strip immunity from the bill altogether. A second, from Senator Specter [PDF], would would allow the court to deny immunity if it found that the government's surveillance activities were unconstitutional.

EFF is particularly optimistic about the third, an amendment introduced by Senator Jeff Bingaman [PDF] of New Mexico and co-sponsored by Senators Specter and Casey, a sensible and bi-partisan proposal that could be a game-changer. continued...

People For the American Way

And from the League of Women Voters

More from the ACLU:

The FISA Amendments Act of 2008 is an unconstitutional bill that would significantly modify the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. It grants sweeping new monitoring powers to the government with little court oversight, and ensures the dismissal of all pending cases against telecommunication companies.
The FISA Amendments Act was passed by the House of Representatives in June. The Senate is expected to vote on the legislation on Tuesday, July 8. Senators should be urged to vote against this unconstitutional bill.

The FISA Amendments Act:
· Gives the president broad new powers to spy on innocent Americans’ phone calls and emails – even when they have no connection to terrorism. It legalizes mass, untargeted and unwarranted spying on our international phone calls and emails.
· Restricts judicial oversight of the surveillance program. The FISA court will not know who, what or where will actually be monitored, and the government can continue a spying program even after it has been denied by the court.
· Provides retroactive immunity to the telecommunications companies for their role in the president’s domestic spying program. The test in the bill is not whether government certifications sent to the companies were actually legal – only whether they were issued.
· After years of empty promises to rein in the president’s warrantless wiretapping program, Congress is now poised not only to make much of that program legal, but give him even greater powers to spy on our communications.
· The FISA Amendments Act is a wholesale giveaway of our Fourth Amendment rights. Every call or email coming in to or out of the U.S. could be tapped – including the calls and emails of innocent Americans – with minimal to no court oversight.
· For the past seven years, the telecoms illegally helped the administration spy on our phone calls and emails. If these legitimate consumer cases are thrown out, Americans may never learn the truth about what the companies and the government did with our private communications.
· While congressional leaders are trying to paint this as a “compromise” bill, the truth is, it’s a colossal failure of leadership. The only things that have been compromised are the Constitution and the rule of law. No president should have unchecked power.
· The Senate should either fix the unconstitutional legislation or vote it down. While the ACLU supports efforts of Senators Feingold and Dodd to strip out the immunity provision, the final vote is the most critical. Our senators should vote “no” on passage unless significant improvements are made to protect Americans’ rights and ensure the telecoms are held accountable for their illegal activity.
MYTH: The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) has not kept up with the technology revolution we have experienced over the past 30 years.FACT: There isabsolutely no new technology that evades the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Besides, the FISA has been updated more than 50 times since being enacted in the '70s; it was updated as recently as last year.
MYTH: Retroactive immunity for telecoms is essential because the intelligence community requires the willing cooperation of the private sector in order to conduct surveillance operations. FACT: Lawful surveillance under FISA is accomplished through court orders that compel the cooperation of telecommunications companies. Telecommunications companies that comply with lawful orders or Attorney General certifications under FISA are protected against liability arising from that cooperation. Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell has testified that the telecom companies that cooperated with the NSA’s post-9/11 surveillance programs received certifications, which would mean they already have immunity – unless of course those certifications are clearly illegal. Telecom immunity would only protect companies that illegally assisted the government. Private sector companies should not be encouraged to cooperate with illegal government requests.
MYTH: Telecoms will not cooperate with future intelligence efforts if they don’t receive immunity.FACT: FISA orders and Protect America Act (PAA) directives are compulsory. Telecoms must comply with lawful orders. Telecoms only had discretion when they decided to cooperate with illegal government requests. They should be held responsible for breaking the law. No one should be above the law.
MYTH: When the PAA expires vital foreign intelligence surveillance programs will cease, and the government will not be able to conduct surveillance against new threats. FACT: Any surveillance programs authorized under the PAA are in effect for an entire year, regardless of whether the PAA itself expires. The emergence of “new” targets for surveillance will not be a problem because the PAA authorized entire programs of surveillance, which are not limited to individual targets. If the government wants to wiretap individuals that for some reason do not fit under an authorized PAA program they can either apply for an order from the FISA Court or conduct the surveillance outside the United States.
MYTH: FISA is not an effective tool for protecting the national security.FACT: During the Cold War FISA protected America from the threat of a nuclear-armed Soviet Union. FISA is a robust and nimble tool that gives the government significant powers to wiretap suspected terrorists while protecting the rights of innocent Americans by requiring judicial oversight. In an emergency, FISA allows the government to start the surveillance before requesting court permission. While McConnell falsely credited the PAA, it was surveillance conducted under FISA that helped the German government interdict a terrorist plot in Germany last year.
MYTH: Congress knows all it needs to know about the government’s warrantless surveillance programs. FACT: Administration officials have repeatedly hinted about “other” intelligence programs. The NSA warrantless surveillance program may only be the tip of the iceberg. Congress needs to know about all illegal government surveillance programs before it considers giving the government more surveillance powers. Only a few Members of Congress have seen the documents relating to the terrorist surveillance program and Congress should not legislate in the dark.

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This is a non-sponsored post.

Event Notice: Winter Soldiers in Port Washington on Tuesday

2008-06-29T23:10:00.003-05:00

Show your respect for our soldiers who have fought in this war by listening to them tell you about it first hand. Wanna know what really is happening over there? These heroes will tell you the straight dope...

Rae

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Presented by the Veterans for Peace and the Ozaukee Community Awareness Forum, you are invited to attend a session offered by Milwaukee area veterans of Iraq, the Gulf War and Vietnam:

JULY 1, 7 to 10 p.m. - Port Washington Police Community Room, 365 N. Wisconsin Street.

In the leadup to the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, in Washington, D.C. hundreds of veterans of these wars, along with active duty soldiers, came together ot offer testimony about the horrors of war, including atrocities they witnessed or committed themselves.

The name, "Winter Soldier" is derived from the opening line of Thomas Paine's pamphlet, THE CRISIS, published in 1776:

"These are the times that try mens' souls: the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country, but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."

HEAR AND SEE THE REAL COST OF THE IRAQ INVASION SINCE IT OCCURRED OVER FIVE YEARS AGO!

(Please do not park in the police station parking lot. Thank you!)

Obama About to Roll Over on FISA and Immunity!

2008-06-23T10:20:00.003-05:00

I have it from a really trustworthy source that now that we have elected Obama to be our nominee, he's about to roll over on the Fourth Amendment and give the telecoms who spy on us not only carte blanche in the future but also a pass for their illegal activity in the past.

When the Senate votes on FISA and Immunity this week, Barack Obama's going to vote yes...

They cut some deal for a domestic spending package that should have waited for January and in the meantime, they sold us and our Constitution out!!!!

So much for a new kind of politics. So much for change. So much for an end to the madness...

Congress should take the hypocratic oath when they take office "First, do no Harm."

I am furious beyond measure!!!

There may still be time, call Congress (http://www.congress.org/). Your Senators (Kohl) AND Obama's office AND Harry Reid's office today. NOW and tell them not to pass this legislation.

Or click on this link to sign the petition...

The toll they will pay in November will be heavy! We have stopped this legislation before.

Our chances are slim unless we speak out loudly today! Make a phone call. Stop them before the hurt themselves!!!

ONLY the people can stop it now...

Carlin: RIP

2008-06-23T09:15:00.004-05:00

Here are some quotes...

http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/quotes/george_carlin.html

I first discovered Carlin around the age of 12 in about 1980. He was edgy, hilarious and brilliant and I immediately latched on. I still have the "seven words you can never say on television" memorized as well as the additions to the originals. I wore that album out in bedrooms surrounded by friends at sleep overs polishing our toe nails and dying our hair.

My parents witnessed his famous arrest in 1972 for the "Filthy Words" skit at Milwaukee's Summerfest (the world's largest music festival and worth the trip!) which is about to start again this Thursday on Milwaukee's lakefront. Eventually all charges were dropped. He frequently called the words the "Milwaukee Seven" for years afterwards...

More than that though, Carlin shaped in many ways the way I thought about freedom. The bit fascinated me and it wasn't long before I had gone to the library and found out about the Supreme Court case based on the bit, that limited free spech in this country. It was my first introduction to the American Civil Liberties Union (although the ACLU did not argue the case, but instead filed an amicus brief on Pacifica's behalf), the case was simple.

Carlin came up with 7 words that were never acceptable on tv and then had some fun with them. (I'll never forget how hard I laughed the first time I heard him say "corn tits" and "cheese tits".) Pacifica Radio in CA play the "Filthy Words" bit on the radio and the FCC went after them. Pacifica lost the case, and the government's point was made and solidified in law for the next 20 years (until Reno v ACLU where some of the standards were relaxed by SCOTUS), and even in part today.

The simple irony of it all was that in an attempt to highlight the ridiculous concept of "bad words" as he would scowl menacingly in the piece, he actually forced the establishment to make a decision and in the end, he was right... you can't say those words on tv to this day (unless you pay to hear them - nice capitalistic twist LOL).

I didn't understand it all then, but there was a simpleness to it all that Carlin put out to the American public, the blatant protest that it represented intoxicated me. He was saying I dare you! I wondered if SCOTUS actually heard the piece before they decided. Did they actually listen to the entire thing and the amazing ode to free speech Carlin was teaching all of us? I did and I got it... 8 years later at 12, they apparently did not get the joke.

Free speech was not 100%, it still is not according to the courts... I could get a record and play it, but couldn't hear it on tv or the radio, and I when asked my teacher who defends our free speech rights? My teacher introduced me to the ACLU...

I've had a love affair with the organization ever since. Most recently SCOTUS limited speech again in the ludicrously decided 'Bong hits for Jesus" case. Sometimes though, you have to lose a right to really appreciate it's value. I predict that idiocy will be overturned someday.

Carlin's genius was that even in his crudest moments, he made us all think while we were laughing. I don't know if you've ever thought about that, but it is a rare skill (which is why some sales people are so good at their jobs, most people don't think when they laugh and off guard, they buy...). Even now when watching a skit, I will rewind a joke because it was so layered in meaning that I wanted to dig down further and understand it a little better.

George was often derided by various people, anyone who questions the status quo is... but he was always honest, he adored his country and his brilliance at both making complicated thoughts simple and simple thoughts complicated is no minor accomplishment. It's funny, although always respected, his hippiness never really changed as he aged, his peer group audience though did... They sold out to SUV's and suburban houses and he became more and more obscure to them in his later years.

What's really interesting about him though is that I think his later stuff is much better than the earlier work. Deeper more intellectual and more angry and more and more true.

In short, I loved that man for teaching me everything from a profound love of our country and our constitution to the silliness that has kept me giggling for 3 decades.

His wisdom, passion and profound humor will be missed thankfully, we can still pay to see him on cable and video. He will teach many more generations thanks to the Internet.

Thank you George for all you have given me... May you rest in peace.

In Case You Think I'm Too Partisan: Democrats in the House Sold Us Out Today!

2008-06-20T16:56:00.004-05:00

Democratic FISA/Immunity Shame! Yes, Ron Kind...I'm talking to you!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/19/AR2008061901545.html?hpid=topnews

Read this Washington Post article. Pay special attention to whom this bill helps and who it hurts... It helps the phone companies and the Bush Administration cover up their crimes, it hurts all the rest of us.

I don't care WHAT spending they "negotiated" for in this bill. It's disgraceful that after months of people telling them NOT to do this, they decide to do it anyway and think we won't notice.

Well, we NOTICED!!! And we're watching the Senate too...

Democrats have for months been trying to sell us out on warrentless wiretapping both past and future. Republican have been on board all along and some democrats have also look the other way, but for some unknown reason, democrats have an itch to sell out the American people.

They did it today.

Democratic (DINO) Representative Ron Kind is at the top of my list of people to call and say "Shame on you"! History will not judge this vote to kill the fourth amendment to the US Constitution kindly...

Of course if you live in Sensenbrenner, Ryan, or Petri's district your only recourse is to vote them out in November. They stopped listening to their constituents years ago and are lost causes until one of them gets a ballot box wake up call...

Shout outs to Steve Kagen, Gwen Moore, David Obey, and Tammy Baldwin who all voted NO today on this and deserve a pat on the back if you have another call in you.

You can do ONE more thing! You can call Herb Kohl (www.senate.gov to find the number) and ask him to stop this in the Senate next week.

Russ is leading the charge in the Senate to protect the Constitution and I'm proud to say loud and clear on this one...

He will only do it if YOU call him! He steadfastly listens to his constituents, but if they don't call, he can be a bit unpredictable, so give Kohl a call today, over the weekend, immediately and tell him to stop the senate version of HR 6304, the FISA Amendments Act of 2008.

I LOVE my country and stood in front of the Constitution and Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence and Magna Carta last week and tears welled in my eyes at the majesty of words to create something grander than ourselves.

That something must not be shreded just months before we get a final say on it's future...

Stimulus Checks Part II... sigh......

2008-06-20T16:46:00.002-05:00

Remeber this post?

If not go back and read it again... Now I find out that among the list of oddities about this check is that if you filed electronically and received an electronic deposit of your initial refund and you paid the filing fees for that return out of your tax return (which I did) or you got a refund anticipation loan (never recommended and I did not) , you are automatically for no logical reason bumped into the group of Americans who will receive their stimulus check via a paper check.

What's the difference you say?

How about approximately 6-12 weeks longer until you receive the check!

Then the other stuff in the last post on this still applies and will hold up your check even longer. In other words, don't hold your breath on that phantom check... all I can think of is a bad word synonymous with our Congress and President... clusterf*ck...

IN Voter ID = Estimated 43,000 Disfranchised US Citizens

2008-06-20T16:18:00.004-05:00

Wisconsin doesn't need Voter ID. The claims of so-called "voter fraud" are only existant in the proposed solution presented by the people who are making the loudest noise about this phantom problem.

In April, an estimated 43,000 Indiana residents and US citizens were disfranchised. That means they were not allowed to vote in their own country because their papers were "not in line". What does that sound like?

From the article above in an Indiana newspaper:

During the recent primary, 12 nuns (all in their 80s and 90s) at the University of Notre Dame tried to use their passports and were turned away. The Amish who don’t permit photographs stayed away in droves. Elderly and poor who don’t drive were prevented from voting. Legally registered out-of-state students were turned away because their licenses were no good. These were groups who traditionally vote Democratic.

That is disgraceful and 43,000 in 50 states could mean at least 2,150,000 people could be disfranchised nationwide if these laws begin to catch on around the country because of irrational and manufactured fears that some idiot some where may decide to try to vote twice... It's just plain nonsensical.

One thing Voter ID being jammed through the largely republican Indiana legislature and given a pass (although tentative) by the SCOTUS does prove is that the GOP will do anything to take away the legitimate right to vote of Americans if they can do it in a way that targets primarily democratic voters.

If republicans cannot legitimately sell their platform to the people of this country, they have no right to take away those same people's democracy. What they should be doing is rethinking the failed and flawed and disasterous, economic, social, global, domestic and security policies that so many Americans have learned to despise merely by allowing the GOP to put them into action.

This highlights the importance of local elections over federal ones most importantly. A state legislature has an enormous amount of power over the people in their state. Pay attention to especially the state assembly and state senate races this fall.

Republican control could mean your right to vote is in jeopardy as well...

Event Notice: Milwaukee Go Vote!

2008-06-19T13:33:00.002-05:00

Milwaukee Go Vote!
Join us for Milwaukee Go Vote!

Go Vote is an exciting daylong conference devoted to inspiring and equipping women with the skills they need to get active during the election season.
Go Vote participants will hear from other women who are working in the local civic engagement efforts in the community, learn about the difference women make in elections, visit with women elected officials, and be inspired to lead a political life. Participants will also have the opportunity to be deputized to register voters in the city of Milwaukee.
Network with individuals and organizations or create your own unique blueprint for Getting Out the Vote!

Saturday, July 12
10:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Kleibhan Conference Center, Cardinal Stritch University

Cost: $25
Scholarships are available
Click here to see an agenda and here to register. Space is limited.
Click here for a map and directions.

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AMA Recognizes Care for Transgender Patients as a RIGHT

2008-06-18T16:51:00.004-05:00

This is exciting news!!! Transgender people have many obstacles in life, getting medical treatment and the right to appropriate treatment should not be one of them.

Sometimes doing the right thing can be really easy!

Rae

June 17, 2008

NCTE Applauds the AMA Call for "Removal of Financial Barriers to Care for Transgender Patients"

The American Medical Association (AMA) passed a resolution yesterday calling for "public and private health insurance coverage for treatment of gender identity disorder as recommended by the patient's physician." The declaration, known as Resolution 122, "Removing Financial Barriers to Care for Transgender Patients," was passed by the House of Delegates - AMA's primary decision-making body - at its annual conference in Chicago.Resolution 122 affirms the effectiveness of medical treatment for transsexuals and the right to appropriate treatment. It also names as discriminatory the categorical denial of health insurance coverage for psychotherapy, hormonal and surgical treatments for transgender patients, and reiterates the AMA's opposition to discrimination based on gender identity. The full text of the resolution is below."America's physicians are saying that transgender people, like all others, deserve competent medical care based on what individual doctors and their patients determine is healthiest for each person," noted Mara Keisling, Executive Director of the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE). "Doctors and patients, not insurance companies, should be making those choices. We are so glad that the AMA has taken a leadership role against the rampant discrimination that transgender people have faced for so many years in receiving appropriate medical care and equitable insurance coverage," Health insurance coverage has been made into prominent national issue recently thanks in part to a three year campaign by the AMA. NCTE has prioritized ending health insurance discrimination against transgender people.RESOLUTION 122Subject: Removing Financial Barriers to Care for Transgender Patients Whereas, Our American Medical Association opposes discrimination on the basis of gender identity; andWhereas, Gender Identity Disorder (GID) is a serious medical condition recognized as such in both the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th Edition (DSM-IV) and the International Classification of Diseases (10th Revision); and is characterized in the DSM-IV as a persistent discomfort with one's assigned sex and with one's primary and secondary sex characteristics, which causes intense emotional pain and suffering; and Whereas, GID, if left untreated, can result in clinically significant psychological distress, dysfunction, debilitating depression and, for some people without access to appropriate medical care and treatment, suicidality and death; and Whereas, The World Profession for Transgender Health, Inc. (WPATH) is the leading international, interdisciplinary professional organization devoted to the understanding and treatment of gender identity disorders, and has established internationally accepted Standards of Care for providing medical treatment of people with GID, including mental health care, hormone therapy, and sex reassignment surgery, which are designed to promote the health and welfare of persons with GID and are recognized within the medical community to be the standard of care for treating people with GID; and Whereas, An established body of medical research demonstrates the effectiveness and medical necessity of mental health care, hormone therapy, and sex reassignment surgery as forms of therapeutic treatment for many people diagnosed with GID; and Whereas, Health experts in GID, including WPATH, have rejected the myth that such treatments are "cosmetic" or "experimental" and have recognized that these treatments can provide safe and effective treatment for a serious health condition; and Whereas, Physicians treating persons with GID must be able to provide the correct treatment necessary for a patient in order to achieve genuine and lasting comfort with his or her gender, based on the person's individual needs and medical history; and Whereas, Our AMA opposes limitations placed on patient care by third-party payers when such care is based upon sound scientific evidence and sound medical opinion; and Whereas, Many health insurance plans categorically exclude coverage of mental health, medical, and surgical treatments for GID, even though many of these same treatments, such as psychotherapy, hormone therapy, breast augmentation or removal, hysterectomy, oophorectomy, orchiectomy, and salpingectomy, are often covered for other medical conditions; and Whereas, The denial of these otherwise covered benefits for patients suffering from GID represents discrimination based solely on a patient's gender identity; and Whereas, Delaying treatment for GID can cause and/or aggravate additional serious and expensive health problems, such as stress-related physical illnesses, depression, and substance abuse problems, which further endanger patients' health and strain the health care system; therefore be it RESOLVED, That our American Medical Association support public and private health insurance coverage for treatment of gender identity disorder as recommended by the patient's physician. (New HOD Policy).
The National Center for Transgender Equality is a national social justice organization devoted to ending discrimination and violence against transgender people through education and advocacy on national issues of importance to transgender people. The National Center for Transgender Equality is a 501(c)3 organization. For more information, please visit http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0013PqGXgFjBnNQSxmwWZjbo6ytaxGaaubAJStBQCzsDT3KhJ6mAzJzRNgSfSe3AV4jK4CR0KkBGueUr3P40L0mgLImAlDx6bV_4nhBBQJliK24QXETB6SD5w==.

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Event Notice: “PEACE, IMPEACHMENT & ELECTION DAY”

2008-06-18T16:47:00.002-05:00

Thursday, June 19th, 7 pm
“PEACE, IMPEACHMENT & ELECTION DAY”

Come hear nationally acclaimed speaker/activist David Swanson at this exciting event. David Swanson is the creator of ImpeachCheney.org and co-founder of AfterDowningStreet.org. Free and open to all.

WHERE? Marquette University, Cudahy Hall, Room 001, 1313 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee (Parking in Wells St. parking structure)
Sponsored by Milwaukee Impeachment Committee, Peace Action Wisconsin, and Iraq Moratorium Group

IN THIS ISSUE:
Impeachment: It Still Matters
Activate Yourself – write Conyers & Judiciary
35 Reasons To Call
It’s Conyers’s Time to Act on Impeachment
Why Impeachment Is Good Electoral Strategy
Food for Thought

Impeachment: It Still Matters http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/06/17/9672 /
The Brattleboro Reformer
Last week, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, again introduced 35 articles of impeachment against President Bush.

They were referred to the House Judiciary Committee, where no action is likely to be taken.

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., strongly supported the impeachment of President Bush three years ago.

In an interview with Harpers magazine in 2005, Conyers was asked why impeachment was important.

“To take away the excuse that we didn’t know,” Conyers said at the time. “So that two or four or 10 years from now, if somebody should ask, ‘Where were you, Conyers, and where was the United States Congress?’ when the Bush administration declared the Constitution inoperative and revoked the license of parliamentary government, none of the company now present can plead ignorance or temporary insanity, can say that ’somehow it escaped our notice’ that the President was setting himself up as a supreme leader exempt from the rule of law.”

In 2005, when the Republican Party was crowing about a permanent shift in American politics that meant conservatives would control government for decades to come, Conyers was in the minority.

He couldn’t get any one to pay attention to the offenses committed by the Bush administration.

But then came the Downing Street Memos, which revealed how the Iraq war was sold under false pretenses. And then came Hurricane Katrina, and the nation watched how the Bush administration left New Orleans to die. And the weight of the accumulated lies by the administration grew heavier and heavier.

Taken together, all this was how the Democrats took control of Congress in the 2006 elections.

Yet one of the first acts of Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., when she became Speaker of the House, was to declare that impeachment “was off the table.”

The evidence continues to accumulate of the lies that were told to justify an invasion of Iraq, of the war crimes and constitutional abuses committed in the course of the so-called war on terror, of the subversion of the Constitution by the Bush administration in so many different ways.
Yet Pelosi and the rest of the Democratic leadership in Congress want no part of impeachment. They still think impeachment is a distraction. They still think it is unnecessary, and could hurt the party’s chances in November. They still think that it’s better to run out the clock and let the Bush administration slink out of town.

We disagree. What Conyers said in 2005, when he was powerless to act upon his words, still holds true today, when he finally has the power to start the impeachment process.

This is about history, the historical record and ensuring the truth is known. This is about putting the blame of this nation’s worst foreign policy disaster solely on the shoulders of the president who created it. This is about letting future presidents know that the rule of law still means something and that the Constitution applies to everyone.

This is not about vindictiveness and partisan politics. The acts committed by the Bush administration rise to the level of “high crimes and misdemeanors” that our founders said justifies the impeachment of public officials. And if the Democrats refuse to act upon the articles of impeachment, they are no better than the administration in upholding their oaths of office.

They are co-conspirators, and history will not judge them kindly for putting politics above the Constitution.

ACTIVATE YOURSELF – You’ve got to help, folks! Please email and call the House Judiciary today and let's get impeachment on the table before it is way too late. Time for action, friends! This is an easy thing to do; stand up and be counted.

EASY, QUICK EMAIL TO ENTIRE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: http://judiciary.house.gov/contact.aspx

EVEN MORE POWERFUL: Call Conyers and/or the Judiciary Committee at 800-828-0498 or 202-225-3951

Or write:
House Judiciary Committee
2138 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 p/202-225-3951

Article:
35 Reasons To Call (202) 225-5126 (or 800-828-0498)
by Larry Beinhart

On June 10, 2008, Dennis Kucinich introduced 35 Articles of Impeachment against George W. Bush.

On June 11, 2008, they were referred to the Judiciary Committee. According to NPR, the Associated Press and the like, they were sent there to die.That’s too bad. Because George Bush has committed “high crimes and misdemeanors.” Impeachable offenses. A lot of them.
He, and his administration, have also created a cloud of confusion and obfuscation around everything that’s happened in his administration. Every investigation has ground to a halt, lost in corporate lawyers tricks - refusal to hand over documents, lost documents, redacted documents, officials who can’t remember, or, at last resort, refuse to answer subpoenas.
According to the Articles of Impeachment:

• The administration consciously lied about the reasons to go to war.• Conspired to create a secret propaganda campaign to go to war.• Failed to meet the terms set out in the bill that allowed the president to go to war, thereby making the war illegal.• Failed to meet the terms set by international law for war, therefore engaging in a “war of aggression,” a war crime.• Engaged in Torture• Illegal Detention: Detaining Indefinitely And Without Charge Persons Both U.S. Citizens and Foreign Captives• Rendition: Kidnapping People and Taking Them Against Their Will to “Black Sites” Located in Other Nations, Including Nations Known to Practice Torture• Imprisoning Children• Failure, as the occupying power, to protect the civilian population of Iraq.• Providing immunity for criminal acts by contractors, thereby condoning murder, rape and other crimes.• Spied on Americans without warrants.• Intentionally subverting and refusing to enforce laws through signing statements.• Tampering with Free and Fair Elections,• Corruption of the Administration of Justice• Conspiracy to Violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965• Obstruction of the Investigation into the Attacks of September 11, 2001• Denial of Habeas Corpus

Among other things.

Many of these are on the record as true.

If congress says the hell with it, too much trouble to bring that up, and we don’t want to look vindictive, and just shrugs its shoulders, that makes them co-conspirators.

The man who will now make the decision to stash the charges on the shelf until after January, 2009, when Bush is gone, or to open up hearings, is John Conyers.
John Conyers phone number is (202) 225-5126.

Welcome Back Habeas! You Were Missed!

2008-06-12T13:03:00.003-05:00

This is incredibly fabulous news for ALL of us worldwide!!!

That the courts upheld a 400 year law (that we all have the right to go to real and impartial court of law when accused of a crime in a timely fashion) which was destroyed by this Administration and Congress (see Military Commission Act) is not the real story here.

The real story is that 4 so-called justices of OUR Supreme Court disagreed...

Those boys really are disgraceful...

Today is a day of CELEBRATION of the right to justice and I applaud the other 5 justices who stood up today.

More later today or over the weekend about my trip to DC for the ACLU Membership Conference. It totally rocked!!!

Rae
---------------------------------------------------------

From an ACLU email:

You can read the decision here: http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/06-1195.pdfFrom SCOTUSblog: In a stunning blow to the Bush Administration in its war-on-terrorism policies, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday that foreign nationals held at Guantanamo Bay have a right to pursue habeas challenges to their detention. The Court, dividing 5-4, ruled that Congress had not validly taken away habeas rights.http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/court-gives-detainees-habeas-rights/More information to come!

Misogyny, Misandry and Racism

2008-05-27T15:21:00.003-05:00

I was taken to that pro-Hillary website against my will and upset for days over it. But while I was there I was reading the comments that are allowed to stay posted on the site. I think what is so stunning is the vitriolic anger out there. I started looking at several pro-Hillary sites and it's echoed all over the web...

So first some definitions:

Misogyny = Extreme hatred of women
Misandry = Extreme hatred of men or "mankind"
Racism = Extreme hatred of a person based on their race

These three terms have been thrown around quite a bit lately. I am not immune or exempt from throwing at least one of them myself recently...

That said, I think it's ridiculous to so non-chalantly use any of these powerful and dangerous words in the context in which they are being used.

I have been really careful when using racism in terms of what I think Hillary Clinton has been doing in the primary. I don't actually believe Hillary's a racist. What I am concerned about and the context I've written in is that she is manipulating other people's racism which is another thing entirely called race baiting. I actually don't think you have to be a racist yourself to race bait or acknowledging other people's racism and then use it as a tool to promote your cause regardless of the greater good you may think your cause can achieve.

That said, something new has popped up on the blog-o-sphere: Clinton supporters have begun to use the word "misogyny" in reference to Barack Obama... Somehow, her supporters have managed to start to believe that he's a woman-hater... ????????

To make it worse, they are now saying they will vote for McCain (who it has been reported was verbally abusive in the past to his previous wife, was married multiple times, is catagorically against freedom of choice and I could go on and on) before they will vote for Obama. Now I said this once about Hillary and have seriously rethought the entire thing. It's a ridiculous thing to be tied to a person instead of a political philosophy and I know I will never vote GOP regardless of what the candidate on my side does to win the nomination. Their excuse for this blather is that somehow, married forever and perennially supportive to a powerful and successful and independent woman in her own right, father of two daughters and pro-choice feminist Obama is now a sexist. This is about as ridiculous as labeling Hillary a racist and just as useless a conversation to engage in... I could go on and on about Bill's dismantling of the safety net for families in the 1990's and a whole host of other things Hillary did not protest, but that's another blog. Suffice it to say that the Clinton supporters are outrageous to think that Obama is a misogynist in any stretch of the imagination.

So that takes me to the last word misandry. This is the opposite of misogyny.

I feel as if this is what's happened in this race in the last 6 months...

Hillary mismanaged her campaign and lost Iowa. Then she mismanaged it more and lost some more states, then she mismanaged it more and decided to give voters 'a taste of what Obama might face in the fall' meaning some subtly racist commercials and talking points from her and Bill and surrogates. Then the entire African American community in America got really ticked off because she offended them. Then two things happened, she got called on the subtle racism and it started to work. Instead of letting go of it though, she played it even more and continues to do so.

Now she's said the ultimate gaff and horrified 75% of America. In a last ditch effort, her supporters are crying foul and suddenly new talking points surface that Obama's a misogynist.

This has the pro-Hillary site people now bordering on misandry towards Obama. Nit picking small examples of insignificant things to try to portray him a sexist. If you read that site and the comments on it, well let me say that angry is not even the beginning of it. The misandry is what built up the resentment towards women in the 1970's and effectively killed the women's right's movement for 25 years until my generation took it up again in a more positive way.

What's really sad about all of this is that Hillary now knows beyond a reasonable doubt that she cannot win. Yet she cares so little for the party, her supporters, and this country that she continues to pump out derisive and dividing talking points to trash Obama and his supporters.

Beyond a doubt though all this ugly name calling has to stop.

Hillary's not a racist or a misandryst. Obama's not a misogynist.

Most of Hillary's supporters are not racists or misandrysts. Most of Obama's are not misogynists.

There are always a few bad apples that make a lot of noise on the fringe. Most of us are reasonable.

I just wish she would denounce the racists and misandrysts as divisive and out of line...

All of us want this country to go in a new direction and our big disagreement is on who will take us there. I say they both will, but Obama's already persuaded the masses, so let's get on with taking on McCain.

More on The Confluence and Censorship...

2008-05-27T13:12:00.006-05:00

I posted this today... here:

http://riverdaughter.wordpress.com/2008/05/27/monday-in-the-filter-no-one-can-hear-you-spam/#comment-26597

Renee, on May 27th, 2008 at 1:37 pm Said:
Since I’ve been permanently banned from this site, simply because I make really good points, I changed my email address to post out here… I’m guessing temporarily because this will get pulled down as did my other posts, none of which are disrespectful, but that did make sound logical contrary points that you are not allowed to read out here…

I am NOT trolling, but feel I’ve been mischaracterized due to the fact that my comments are continually being pulled and I am being bashed without opportunity to respond back.

If you went to my blog last week because of a post in the comments here (that I did not originally make, I was invited to this site…) and want to read the whole story, it’s here: http://www.crawfordstake.blogspot.com/ second story…

I was pretty upset when I found this post by The Proletariat...
http://proletariat.wordpress.com/2008/05/24/obamafacism/

As you can see, my comments are "characterized" here by Henry and responded to based not on MY comments, but instead on comments made here http://riverdaughter.wordpress.com/2008/05/23/friday-truth-or-fiction/#comment-24954 about what someone SAYS I said, but that I did NOT say... The problem here is that what I DID say was taken down by riverdaughter and I was blocked from posting...

The story I wrote on the original censorship is here... http://crawfordstake.blogspot.com/2008/05/what-is-wrong-with-these-people.html

I just want the record straight here. I did NOT say what they are saying I said on that post! What I did write is paraphrased (since I can't even see it, since it was taken down) on The Prol's page linked above...

I did want some sort of vindication, and so a few hours ago I posted that above to the Confluence's readers... Admittedly it was more confrontational and I had to use a different email to post it since mine is still blocked, but the point is that once again, what I wrote was removed from the site...

I just wanted to challenge the concept that Proletariat put out that the Confluence allows comments from Obama supporters. They do not. In fact I bet if YOU posted a link to this post, you would be permanently blocked there also.

I'm not sure why this bothers me so much.

Perhaps it's the fact that I have been discussed, linked to, commented on by friends without knowledge of my original words, and bashed without an opportunity for comment or to defend myself...

but perhaps even more than that is the concept that the conversation there is so one-sided that the site has lost all credibility (I found another example by the way... on the same page listed above that I was blocked on today, another person referred to as "the dude" had his post removed and all you can find if you search the page for "dude" is the comments telling him -as I was told - to "get lost" but not the original post of what he said... this is a pattern on this site, not a one time event...),

or maybe it's just that my feelings are hurt, my comments have been mischaracterized, and as on any playground, when your feelings are hurt and you've been lied about, you just wanna scream your case from the rooftops so all the other kids know the truth...

Update: I figured out how she's blocking comments...

This is actually pretty funny!!! She has a "spam filter" on her comments... If you scroll down the bottom right side of the page, you can see how many "spam comments" have been blocked on her site... as of this afternoon 5,520... She had about 618000 hits by then, so I ran some ratios...

I have about 4% of her total number of blog's lifetime total hits, but accounting for that, I figured it out and being generous I have about .004% of my visitors who left spam. She has .9% of her visitors flagged as spammers. That means that she has 225% MORE spam comments per visit on her blog than I do on mine.

Clearly her definition of spam is significantly different that mine. And she is bragging about how well her spam filter is working on top of this. So if Prol needed any more proof, here it is!

Now I've had this site for oh about 3.5 years now and I can only remember one true spammer on my comments (not that I want any LOL). Many I didn't agree with, others that frightened me a bit (a white supremacist had some choice words to say once-even those I left up too...), but true spammers, rare, very rare...

Okay, I'm done obsessing on this, but if anyone Googles "The Confluence", they should pull my multiple posts on this and at least some truth will be out there on the irrationality of all of this...

Event Notice: THE COMMUNITY BRAINSTORMING CONFERENCE BREAKFAST FORUM

2008-05-27T12:21:00.002-05:00

THE COMMUNITY BRAINSTORMING CONFERENCE BREAKFAST FORUM
www.communitybrainstorming.org

NEW DATE! NEW DATE!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Breakfast: 8:00 AM-9:00 AM
Program: 9:00 AM-11:00 AM

Saint Matthews C.M.E. Church
2944 North 9th Street (Parking on 8th Street, off Chambers)

COMMUNITY BRAINSTORMING CONFERENCE

Presents:

THERE IS A NEW CHIEF IN TOWN “ONE ON ONE WITH POLICE CHIEF FLYNN”

Speaker:

CHIEF EDWARD A. FLYNN

Moderator: Judge Derek Mosley

Chairperson: The Honorable Russell W. Stamper, Sr.

ALL ARE INVITED. COME AND PARTICIPATE.

CENTER FOR URBAN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
EXPANDING THE CAPACITY OF RESIDENTS FOR DECISION~MAKING THROUGH EDUCATION AND SOCIAL ACTION

What Is Wrong With These People?

2008-05-23T22:26:00.005-05:00

http://riverdaughter.wordpress.com/2008/05/23/friday-truth-or-fiction/#comment-24954

I got a ton of hits referred from that blog today and went to check it out. This is fun. First, they cross post me, send a ton of people to my site and then spend quite a bit of time bashing me.

It gets better.

I go out there to defend myself right and put up a post. Then they turn around and bash me some more and throw a temper tantrum that I'm posting on their pro-Hillary website!

THEY INVITED ME WHEN THEY CROSS POSTED MY BLOG!

Now, I'm a troll for responding.

It gets even better!

I respond to the remarks bashing me and the host of the blog BLOCKS MY POSTS!!!! Not only that, they took down my original post! You can tell it was there because there are responses to Renee and I'm the only Renee who posted in the comments, but none of my original comments are there...

They did however leave the original post they put up with the link back here, so just so you know readers of that site, it's monitored for one sided opinions only. I'm not entirely sure it's not a GOP front site... trolling for internet trouble on the web LOL!

They are apparently afraid of the truth and content to hide behind their delusions... I'm now asking my readers to go to this site and post requests for the blogger in charge to release my comments. They were quite insightful and I find it incredibly hysterical that they are so afraid of what I have to say that they won't even let it post...

Cowards....