Clipmarks | debbyski's clips

The Resentment Strategy

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 22:19:23 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: "What the G.O.P. is selling, in other words, is the pure politics of resentment; you’re supposed to vote Republican to stick it to an elite that thinks it’s better than you.
And when Mr. Bush turned out not to be that smart after all, and his presidency crashed and burned, the angry right — the raging rajas of resentment? — became, if anything, even angrier. Humiliation will do that.
That said, the experience of the years since 2000 — the memory of what happened to working Americans when faux-populist Republicans controlled the government — is still fairly fresh in voters’ minds. Furthermore, while Democrats’ supposed contempt for ordinary people is mainly a figment of Republican imagination, the G.O.P. really is the Gramm Old Party — it really does believe that the economy is just fine, and the fact that most Americans disagree just shows that we’re a nation of whiners.

But the Democrats can’t afford to be complacent. Resentment, no matter how contrived, is a powerful force.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Can the super-rich former governor of Massachusetts — the son of a Fortune 500 C.E.O. who made a vast fortune in the leveraged-buyout business — really keep a straight face while denouncing “Eastern elites”?

Can the former mayor of New York City, a man who, as USA Today put it, “marched in gay pride parades, dressed up in drag and lived temporarily with a gay couple and their Shih Tzu” — that was between his second and third marriages — really get away with saying that Barack Obama doesn’t think small towns are sufficiently “cosmopolitan”?

Yes, they can.

But don’t be fooled either by Mr. McCain’s long-ago reputation as a maverick or by Ms. Palin’s appealing persona: the Republican Party, now more than ever, is firmly in the hands of the angry right, which has always been much bigger, much more influential and much angrier than its counterpart on the other side.

What’s the source of all that anger?

Life Is Just Too Deep Sometimes

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:09:02 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Wrong Woman; Wrong Message

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:46:12 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: Her down-home, divisive and deceptive speech did nothing to cosmeticize a Republican convention that has more than twice as many male delegates as female, a presidential candidate who is owned and operated by the right wing and a platform that opposes pretty much everything Clinton's candidacy stood for -- and that Barack Obama's still does. I get no pleasure from imagining her in the spotlight on national and foreign policy issues about which she has zero background, with one month to learn to compete with Sen. Joe Biden's 37 years' experience. When asked last month about the vice presidency, she said, "I still can't answer that question until someone answers for me: What is it exactly that the VP does every day?" When asked about Iraq, she said, "I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq."

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

Here's the good news: Women have become so politically powerful that even the anti-feminist right wing -- the folks with a headlock on the Republican Party -- are trying to appease the gender gap with a first-ever female vice president. We owe this to women -- and to many men too -- who have picketed, gone on hunger strikes or confronted violence at the polls so women can vote.

But here is even better news: It won't work. This isn't the first time a boss has picked an unqualified woman just because she agrees with him and opposes everything most other women want and need. Feminism has never been about getting a job for one woman. It's about making life more fair for women everywhere. It's not about a piece of the existing pie; there are too many of us for that. It's about baking a new pie.

To vote in protest for McCain/Palin would be like saying, "Somebody stole my shoes, so I'll amputate my legs."

Trolls and Other Nastiness

Mon, 09 Apr 2007 12:36:18 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: A very provocative article on freedom on speech vs. downright nastiness, hatred and harassment. Is uncensored speech the most free, or is free speech enhanced by civility?

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Is it too late to bring civility to the Web?

Menacing behavior is certainly not unique to the Internet. But since the Web offers the option of anonymity with no accountability, online conversations are often more prone to decay into ugliness than those in other media.

As many female bloggers can attest, women are often targets. Heather Armstrong, a blogger in Salt Lake City who writes publicly about her family (dooce.com), stopped accepting unmoderated comments on her blog two years ago after she found that conversations among visitors consistently devolved into vitriol.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

People who disagree with his politics frequently leave harassing comments on his site. But the situation reached a new low last month, when an anonymous opponent started a blog in Mr. Silverstein’s name that included photos of Mr. Silverstein in a pornographic context.

“I’ve been assaulted and harassed online for four years,” he said. “Most of it I can take in stride. But you just never get used to that level of hatred.”

Tags: internet, manners, speech, freedom, harrassment

A Walk In The Park

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 22:25:32 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: "Those who know him -- who see him every morning -- do not agree."

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

The weight of time has bowed Sol Shankman's spine into the shape of a question mark. After 93 years, he is blind in one eye and nearly blind in the other. His voice, except for brief bursts of animation -- when he's imitating a mud lark, for instance -- sounds like a handful of gravel.

"But the way I see it, you've got two choices," he said the other day. "You can sit at home and weep for yourself. Or you can get out and do the best you can."

And so, every evening, at his home just above Los Feliz Boulevard, Shankman sets his alarm clock for 5 a.m. Every morning, his eyes open five minutes before the alarm, and he sets off into the hills.

"I'm like the elevator operator in an old building," he said. "Everybody knows him. Then he retires. Nobody knows the new guy. Then they get rid of the elevator operator altogether. Next thing you know, nobody remembers there was an elevator operator to begin with. I've just been here for so many years. I'm not special."

Now, The Bad News

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:33:21 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: Well, what can I say? I married young, and it's lasted all these years. Then again "my guy" and I were responsible enough to use birth control before marriage and until we were able to afford any children. Of course Palin will help out daughter with the affording part, so it's all good baby. I remember listening to the priest before we got married giving us the big talk about the "rhythm" method; and I was thinking I can't wait to get my rhythm on later baby and I bet he can't either!

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

He would be the gentleman, she would be the lady, and with the backing of a strong family they would do what was expected of them. That would, of course, be consistent with the views of Ms. Palin, a mother of five children (including one with Down syndrome) who opposes abortion.

But it is teenage marriage today, not teenage pregnancy, that is the rarity. And, statistics show, teenage marriages tend not to endure.

The Bristol Palin drama, something of an after-school-special story running parallel to the saga of Sarah Palin’s nomination as the Republican candidate for vice president, has a lot of sociologists and psychologists talking about youth and the state of marriage.

Studies show that today teenage marriages are two to three times more likely to end in divorce than are marriages between people 25 years of age and older.

A Trojan Horse?

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 02:59:29 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: This seems far fetched but let's see how it plays out. After the allegation was removed from another clip by the clipper, that paid trolls are on our site, I don't know what to believe anymore. The evil in people's hearts all in the name of greed and money never cease to amaze me.

Clip Source: www.abovetopsecret.com

Sara Palin's selection as John McCain's VP running mate is intended to end badly within the next two to three weeks as part of a devious Republican strategy. The McCain/Republcan strategy never intended for Palin to run the full course of the campaign and most likely not more than two weeks past the end of the Republican National Convention.

I have been in contact with a source that has previously provided reliable information on several issues. The strategy is outlined below, which is a combination of informed speculation and quietly-passed information:

(1) The McCain campaign has long ago quietly picked their VP running mate intended to be on the ticket in November.

(2) Palin has been selected as a "trojan horse" target for vocal political firebrands to have a veritable field day.

(5) Key McCain operatives, acting as "insider informants", will spill minor tidbits from "inside" the campaign organization to help fuel the negative Palin speculation.

Running Against Themselves

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:37:39 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: "Mr. McCain says he is the candidate who will better protect the country from terrorism. But about all he has to offer is his pledge to continue the war in Iraq. We have yet to hear an explanation for how he plans to do that while also salvaging the war in Afghanistan — the real front line in the war against Al Qaeda and the Taliban."

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Three days into the Republican National Convention, it is clear that the G.O.P. has settled on a message: “Washington is not working.” The phrase is included in virtually every speech and every statement in St Paul.

We agree completely that Washington is in desperate need of renewal and reform. We’re not even going to quibble about the fact that Barack Obama said it first. The problem is that American voters have yet to hear — from John McCain or his warm-up acts — any serious ideas on what, exactly, is wrong with Washington, apart from the fact that a Democrat might win the White House, never mind how to truly fix it.

As hard as he tries, Mr. McCain cannot escape the burdensome shadow of President Bush because his policies offer no real change

Mr. McCain also has yet to explain to voters how he intends to go on paying for the war in Iraq — and also fix a dangerously stretched and overburdened military.

Taking Chances

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:11:59 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Tags: i, say, ok

Do Dogs Have A Sense Of Humor?

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 12:39:14 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: pets.yahoo.com

Does your dog ever make you laugh – on purpose? Does he know he’s being funny? An even stranger question – does your dog find things funny?

There are countless stories of dog antics and behavior that are funny, but most of those you’d have to say are unintentional. Humorous behavior may be repeated because of the positive reaction received. In this case, you can’t say the dog has a sense of humor, but is acting on positive reinforcement.

But dogs may be a little smarter than that. Just as some people enjoy making others laugh, it would seem, so do some dogs

A dog’s world of humor would have to be mostly on the physical level, through simply behaving in a goofy manner, or playing little tricks on you.

It’s really not so hard to believe that dogs have the mental prowess to grasp humor, since they so readily grasp the concept of play. Dogs completely understand the difference between play and something more serious, and are careful to make the distinction.

Tags: dogs, humor, play

Fish Or Foul

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:56:31 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

The catch is that, when it comes to food, we all think of ourselves as experts. But we taste with both our tongues and our minds, and it’s easy to lead minds astray. Brownies taste better, for example, when served on china rather than on paper plates, research has shown. And we prefer wine with a pedigree, even if it’s a phony one. Sometimes all it takes is an alluring name. Until a few decades ago, Patagonian toothfish was a trash fish not worth trying to give away. Renamed Chilean sea bass, it sold so fast that it nearly disappeared from the sea.

Expectations are everything. In one recent test, psychologists asked 32 volunteers to sample strawberry yogurt. To make sure the testers made their judgments purely on the basis of taste, the researchers said, they needed to turn out the lights. Then they gave their subjects chocolate yogurt. Nineteen of the 32 praised the strawberry flavor. One said that strawberry was her favorite flavor and she planned to switch to this new brand.

Life Of Her Party

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:25:15 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: "When McCain gets in trouble, he pulls out the P.O.W. card. Now Republicans are pulling out the sexist card. But when you use sexism as an across-the-board shield for any legitimate question, you only hurt women. And that’s just another splash of reality."

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

For many years, reality was out of vogue with Republicans. They ignored the reality of Iraq and Katrina, of Pakistan and Osama bin Laden.

When confronted with their colossal carelessness around the globe and here at home, their mantra was, as Rummy put it, “Stuff happens.”

Now reality, in all its messy, crazy, funky glory, has flooded the party, in the comely, crackling form of Sarah Palin.

It seems like a long time since Vice President Dan Quayle denounced Murphy Brown for having a baby out of wedlock, bemoaning a “poverty of values.” It also seems like a long time — and another McCain ago — that Republicans supporting W. smeared the old John McCain by spreading rumors that he had fathered an illegitimate black child.

This week, the anti-abortion forces celebrated the news of Bristol’s pregnancy, using it as further proof that their beloved Governor Palin — who will no more support sex education than polar bears — was committed to the cause.

I KNEW IT!!!!

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 15:54:10 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: GASP! The article is 2 years old but golly gee now I know why I always thought she was soo . . . dreamy. Why did I quit reading comic books? She was never in love with Batman? I can only imagine Renee thinking "hot darn!!!" as Batwoman makes the scene if you know what I mean . . .

Clip Source: www.feministing.com

Batwoman - real name Kathy Kane - will appear in 52, a year-long DC Comics publication that began this month.
In her latest incarnation, she is a rich socialite who has a romantic history with another 52 character, ex-police detective Renee Montoya.

52 will be published in the UK as a graphic novel by Titan Books in 2007.

I love it. And I donâ€™t even read comics. (Though I may now.)

An Even Poorer World

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:38:19 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

There is a lot more poverty in the world than previously thought. The World Bank reported in August that in 2005, there were 1.4 billion people living below the poverty line — that is, living on less than $1.25 a day.

That is more than a quarter of the developing world’s population and 430 million more people living in extreme poverty than previously estimated. The World Bank warned that the number is unlikely to drop below one billion before 2015.

The poverty estimate soared after a careful study of the prices people in developing countries pay for goods and services revealed that the World Bank had been grossly underestimating the cost of living in the poorest nations for decades. As a result, it was grossly overestimating the ability of people to buy things. And the new research doesn’t account for the soaring prices of energy and food in the past two years.

Vice In Go-Go Boots?

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:46:07 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: "The legacy of Geraldine Ferraro was supposed to be that no one would ever go on a blind date with history again. But that crazy maverick and gambler McCain does it, and conservatives and evangelicals rally around him in admiration of his refreshingly cynical choice of Sarah, an evangelical Protestant and anti-abortion crusader who became a hero when she decided to have her baby, who has Down syndrome, and when she urged schools to debate creationism as well as that stuffy old evolution thing."

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Americans, suspicious that the Obamas have benefited from affirmative action without being properly grateful, and skeptical that Michelle really likes “The Brady Bunch” and “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” reject the 47-year-old black contender as too uppity and untested.

Instead, they embrace 72-year-old John McCain and 44-year-old Sarah Palin, whose average age is 58, a mere two years older than the average age of the Obama-Biden ticket. Enthusiastic Republicans don’t see the choice of Palin as affirmative action, despite her thin résumé and gaping absence of foreign policy knowledge, because they expect Republicans to put an underqualified “babe,” as Rush Limbaugh calls her, on the ticket. They have a tradition of nominating fun, bantamweight cheerleaders from the West, like the previous Miss Congeniality types Dan Quayle and W., and then letting them learn on the job. So they crash into the globe a few times while they’re learning to drive, what’s the big deal?