Clipmarks | zasel's 'politics' clips

Kiddie Bigots

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 07:08:52 GMT

clipped by: zasel
clipper's remarks: It never fails to amaze me when parents decide it is proper to exploit their children for their own, adult, political purposes. These kids no nothing about the issue, but are being taught, by their own parents, that it is OK to be prejudiced against a particular minority group. This is even more pathetic since these kids are obviously members of a minority, themselves.

Clip Source: www.salon.com

[Video]

Tags: gay, bigotry, politics, anti-gay, proposition 8, calif

In Conservative Nepal, a Tribune for the ‘Third Gender’ Speaks Out

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 07:22:06 GMT

clipped by: zasel
clipper's remarks: This is a terrific story about a youngish man, who has decided to buck the ultra-Conservative views of his country, Nepal, and its politics, and fight, ever so gently, for equal recognition of gays, lesbians, transgendered and other sexual minorities. I love stories like these. It gives me a much more positive outlook and the inherent fairness of the human race.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

SUNIL Babu Pant likes to take advantage of the frequent delays at Nepal’s newly elected Constituent Assembly. As the only openly gay member, he takes every opportunity to work on his homophobic colleagues, trying to convince them that contrary to what they were taught growing up in this very conservative country, homosexuals are just like any other people.

Mr. Pant, 35, a computer engineer by training, opens his laptop — an object of fascination to many in the assembly, who come from the rural hinterlands — and gives a PowerPoint presentation wherever he finds his audience.

“I have prepared this presentation for members of this assembly,” he said, giving them a beaming smile. The female members were too shy to join the crowd.

“There are some people on earth who consider themselves neither male nor female” he continued. “They like to be called third gender, which comprises roughly 10 percent of the total population.”

Tags: gay, homosexual, nepal, politics, international

Little Billy Kristol Says the Boogie Man Will Win for McCain

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 19:34:03 GMT

clipped by: zasel
clipper's remarks: This short little article speaks for itself. I have nothing to add.

Clip Source: rawstory.com

In a "national security election," pundit Bill Kristol predicts a presidential faceoff between Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and Senator Barack Obama (D-IL).

"We have terrorists to fear," says Kristol. "And we have people who want to kill Americans to fear, and people who want to totally destabilize the Middle East to fear."

"And," Kristol concludes, "I think that's a pretty good argument for McCain to make against Obama."

Tags: fear mongering, dirty politics, blatant stupidity

Are These Neocons crazy or what? This story removes all doubt

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 05:43:10 GMT

clipped by: zasel
clipper's remarks: It is absolutely amazing how myopic these neocons actually are. I sat at my TV watching as Bolton, the president, Dana Perrino, etc, etc, etc, kept spinning the meaning of the NIE with all kinds of reasons as to why it is wrong. Some of them have the temerity to declare that the Intelligence agencies are twisting their findings in order to make Bush look bad. I have come to the conclusion that the neocons and far right Republicans have finally lost it completely. I sincerely believe that the public is fed up with the lies, and manipulations as well as the overt fear-mongering. Bush and his henchmen are bald face liars, and they should be thrown out of office and tried as the war criminals they are.

Clip Source: rawstory.com

Neocons believe US intelligence community too timid after Iraq

Newly declassified portions of a new National Intelligence Estimate -- which indicates that Iran is no longer actively developing a nuclear weapon -- are part of an effort by the US intelligence community to avoid a repeat of its mistakes in the run-up to war with Iraq, former US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton told Fox News.

"They're so concerned about overstating the threat in Iraq, that they're overcompensating in the wrong direction," Bolton said. "You know they've changed their estimate on Iran from just two years ago. One has to ask why we should be more inclined to believe this one today than the one two years ago." A 2005 NIE reported Iran was "determined" develop nuclear capability.

Bolton characterized the White House as having been taken aback by the new NIE report's conclusions.

He also contends that there is that there is a whiff of politics to the NIE summary.

Tags: neocon, war, iran, iraq, intelligence, politics

All Hillary - All the Time

Sat, 03 Nov 2007 08:36:09 GMT

clipped by: zasel
clipper's remarks: With only two months until the Iowa caucuses, and Hillary still very much the formidable front runner, it will be a rare occurrence when her name is not mentioned or highlighted in all things relating to American politics. Can she stand the heat she has been expecting through many years of preparation for this contest?. The contest of her life? This is gonna be a fascinating race to watch, and as the song goes, "It's Only Just Begun."

Clip Source: www.salon.com

The era of Hillary begins

Note it in the history books: In the month of October, in the year 2007, the American political battlefield was reshaped. A die was cast, a donnybrook begun. Old agreements were broken, new alliances formed. And one powerful political force appeared solitary on the horizon, as magnetic and polarizing as anything this nation has ever seen. With Tuesday's debate in Philadelphia, the era of Hillary Clinton officially arrived.

Now we as a nation must deal with it. For the next two months, in the clumsy holiday stumble toward the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses, the specter of Clinton is destined to overwhelm the nation's news broadcasts, the pundit round tables and the cluttered debates.

Wonks and political scribes have seen this coming for months. There have been many story lines so far in the 2008 campaign: the rise of Barack Obama, the re-creation of Mitt Romney, the collapse and resurgence of John McCain, the legitimization of Rudy Giuliani as a Republican contender.

Tags: hillary clinton, campaign, election, presidential, debates, politics

A Very Interesting Article About GOP Gays From Last October

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 22:25:36 GMT

clipped by: zasel
clipper's remarks: This article from October, 2006, is a fascinating examination of the then increasing revelations of closeted gays in Republican politics. It is a fairly longish piece, and I could not hope to clip it appropriately. But if you are interested in gaining some insight into the situation in politics, especially Republican politics, it is a must-read.

Clip Source: www.tnr.com

Gay GOP misery.

Crossfire

For the dozens of gay Republicans on Capitol Hill--including senior aides to some of the most powerful and moralistic members of the House and Senate--the past few weeks have been a nightmare. On the right, gay Republicans face the likes of Tony Perkins and Pat Buchanan implying that the so-called "velvet mafia" enabled Foley's depredations and claiming linkage between pedophilia and homosexuality.

ot that gay Republicans have ever had it easy, of course. For decades, they tended to be closeted entirely--some in the tragically warped model of Joseph McCarthy's henchman, Roy Cohn, who bashed deviants by day and slept with them at night. Or Terry Dolan, co-founder of the vituperative National Conservative Political Action Committee, who, like Cohn, died of aids.

Even if conservatives never quite embraced the gay politicos within their ranks, however, they rarely turned the screws on them.

Tags: homosexual, gay, politics, republicans, closeted

Ari Fleischer and his crew are dripping with panic

Sat, 25 Aug 2007 07:16:13 GMT

clipped by: zasel
clipper's remarks: Fleischer and his group Freedom's Watch are not only using the overworked and phony connection between the Iraq war and the 9/11 attacks, but they are aiming at their own Republicans who are fleeing the president's Iraq strategy. They are so panicked that Bush is going to be forced into a corner in September, that they are actually trying to intimidate members of their own party with the same bullshit rhetoric and advertising they used to manipulate and scare voters in the past two elections. Ari and his group should be totally ashamed to exploit our wounded and killed vets in such a crass political game.

Clip Source: www.salon.com

Ari Fleischer's misleading message

By Joe Conason

If you happen to reside in the district of a Republican member of Congress whose support of the Iraq war is wavering, or in a state where a Republican senator is facing reelection next year, you may soon see a moving commercial. Featuring the voice and image of a veteran who lost both legs in Iraq, it delivers a familiar message: "They attacked us before" -- on 9/11 -- "and they will attack us again" if we don't fight on until "victory."

Nobody would want to argue with John Kriesel, the veteran who appears in this ad and whose sacrifices are all too obvious. When he gazes out from the screen to admonish us that "it's no time for politics," he is surely sincere.

and they insist that anyone who disagrees is motivated by "politics." But the same degree of misguided sincerity should not necessarily be attributed to Freedom's Watch, the new right-wing organization financing those ads.

Tags: iraq, war, fleischer, congress, manipulation, politics, veterans, wounded

Spitzer, how can you do this to me?

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 21:13:25 GMT

clipped by: zasel
clipper's remarks: I have such high hopes for Elliot Spitzer as governor of New York. I have been following his career for years, and I've always been extremely impressed with his fairness, motivations and honesty. This latest news is very disheartening. I am going to have to find out more about this matter, and also hope that nothing like this repeats itself in the next 4 years. I am so tired of politicians lying and disappointing the voters. I suppose though, that this is an age old lament.

Clip Source: www.nydailynews.com

Gov's steamroller hits roadblock

The wheels came off Gov. Spitzer's reform "steamroller" yesterday with the revelation that his top aides ran a dirty-tricks scheme to embarrass his top Albany nemesis, Joe Bruno.

Spitzer came to Albany Jan. 1 promising "everything changes" - that the status quo of sleazy politics was over.

Spitzer refused to say if he believed his reputation had been tarnished, saying he'll "let others make that judgment." He rejected the suggestion that he created an atmosphere that inspired his aides to go too far in a drive to hurt Bruno and drive Senate Republicans from power.

"Everything will be done to prevent these mistakes from being repeated," Spitzer said. "Ethics and accountability must and will remain the foundation of my administration."

Spitzer had to put on a humble face yesterday. He apologized to Bruno, the state police and the people of New York. His road to recovery will be a long one.

Tags: politics, dirty tricks, governor, spitzer

Shades of Nixon's "I Am The President!"

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 23:34:27 GMT

clipped by: zasel
clipper's remarks: Back in the good ol' days of the 70s, comedian/impressionist David Frye released an album based on Richard Nixon entitled "I Am The President." I wonder if Georgie boy has ever heard of it. If so, perhaps Frye can sue him for plagiarism or something like that due to his latest outbursts.

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

"Wild-Eyed" Bush Thumps Chest, Repeating "I Am The President!"

Georgie Anne Geyer writes today in the Dallas Morning News about President Bush's strange behavior during a recent meeting with "[f]riends of his from Texas."

Friends of his from Texas were shocked recently to find him nearly wild-eyed, thumping himself on the chest three times while he repeated "I am the president!" He also made it clear he was setting Iraq up so his successor could not get out of "our country's destiny."

This is the second time in recent weeks that accounts have surfaced of Bush lashing out or "ranting" in private meetings when responding to criticism of his Iraq policy.

Tags: bush, iraq, politics

Ron Paul Makes Sane Statements About Patriotism

Tue, 29 May 2007 01:35:07 GMT

clipped by: zasel
clipper's remarks: It's nice to hear someone talk sense and sanely about dissent in a time of war, as well as patirotism.

Clip Source: www.ichblog.eu

[Video]

Tags: patriotism, dissent, war, ron paul, politics

Card Gets the Reception He Deserves...BOOOs!

Mon, 28 May 2007 21:18:02 GMT

clipped by: zasel
clipper's remarks: Andrew Card was given an honorary degree at the University of Massachusetts. What he probably didn't realize was that a huge protest was in the works to disrupt the presentation. Hundreds of students, graduates and faculty members booed the war criminal, and carried signs against the awarding of the degree. The video speaks for itself.

Clip Source: rawstory.com

[Video]

Tags: politics, protests

Rachel Carson Declared a Hysteric by a Republican Nut Case

Sat, 26 May 2007 20:07:00 GMT

clipped by: zasel
clipper's remarks: What small minded, myopic and mean-spirited gall to block an honour for a person such as Rachel Carson for what are purely his own political beliefs. This woman's work went beyond politics and opened the eyes of the world to the danger of ignoring our environment. Shame on Senator Coburn.

Clip Source: today.reuters.com

Senator blocks honor for environmental pioneer

A plan to honor environmental pioneer and "Silent Spring" author Rachel Carson on her centennial on Sunday was blocked by a U.S. senator who believes Carson created a climate of "hysteria and misinformation."

Sen. Tom Coburn derailed approval of a Senate resolution honoring the life of Carson, whose 1962 book "Silent Spring" warned of the dangers posed to wildlife and humans by the pesticide DDT and who is credited with inspiring the modern environmental movement.

"Rachel Carson's work both directly and indirectly created a climate of hysteria and misinformation about the impact of DDT on the human populations," said John Hart, a spokesman for Coburn

Sen. Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat who planned the Senate honor for Carson and expected an easy approval in time for what would have been her 100th birthday, was taken by surprise by Coburn's decision to block it.

Tags: environment, congress, politics

Hillary's Hands Are In The Same Deep Corporate Pockets

Sat, 19 May 2007 01:28:42 GMT

clipped by: zasel
clipper's remarks: This is a fairly lengthy article from The Nation, but it is a very worthwhile need. It, sadly, confirms my suspicion that there really is not major difference between the two political parties, because essentially, they are beholden to the same, deep, corporate politics as each other. As long as big business has the ability to influence election campaign with big bucks, it will never be a totally honest system. I believe the U.S. should do what Canada did several years ago. Ban ALL political contributions by big business. Without the constant chasing for corporate bucks, the people actually have a chance for their voice to be seriously listened to.

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

Hillary: The Corporate Candidate?

If Hillary Clinton really wanted to curtail the influence of the powerful as she says in her speeches, she might start with the advisers to her own campaign, who represent some of the weightiest interests in corporate America.

"She's got a deeper bench of big money and corporate supporters than her competitors," says Eli Attie, a former speechwriter to Vice President Al Gore. Not only is Hillary more reliant on large donations and corporate money than her Democratic rivals, but advisers in her inner circle are closely affiliated with unionbusters, GOP operatives, conservative media and other Democratic Party antagonists.

It's not exactly an advertisement for the working-class hero, or a picture her campaign freely displays. Her lengthy support for the Iraq War is Clinton's biggest liability in Democratic primary circles.

Ever since the defeat of healthcare reform, Hillary has been a committed incrementalist

Tags: politics, presidential campaign

Curtain Up! Light the Lights! We've Got Nothing to Hit But the.......Lows

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 19:51:19 GMT

clipped by: zasel
clipper's remarks: It's starting already. Almost a year before the first primary and Clinton is already attacking Obama over something a private individual said about her and her husband.....whatsiz name. Geffen is the same man that the Clintons were very happy to have on their side during Bill's campaigns, and invited him on several occasions to sleep in Ol' Abe's bed in the White House. But now that their former friend is with the "other" camp, suddenly the candidate running against her becomes responsible for something someone else said. Wow! This is getting dirty early. I shudder to think how far into the toilet we're all gonna have to go to follow this entire campaign to the end. I think I'll buy some big stocks in Charmin.

Clip Source: www.time.com

Clinton-Obama: Fasten Your Seat Belts

In the campy 1950 movie classic All About Eve, a dewy young understudy insinuates herself into the social circle of a great but aging actress. As the older performer, played unforgettably by Bette Davis, begins to realize what's up — that the ingenue's real goal is to supplant her on the stage — she issues a raspy warning that has become one of the immortal lines in film: "Fasten your seat belts. It's going to be a bumpy night."

A very similar scene played out this week in real-life Hollywood, a place where Democratic politics is a very high-stakes business. For more than a decade, the entertainment industry's elite has been in the thrall of Bill and Hillary Clinton, pouring millions into their campaigns. But now there's a new "it" pol on the scene. Senator Barack Obama had his Tinseltown premiere Tuesday night at a glittering $1.3 million fund raiser thrown by DreamWorks founders Steven Spielberg, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg. Moneymen who brought in at least $46,000 got a "private" dinner with the candidate at Geffen's home.

If that wasn't enough to get Hillary's back up, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd's interview with Geffen in the next morning's newspaper certainly was. Geffen, a big fundraiser for the Clintons in the past, called Obama "inspirational" and dismissed Hillary Clinton as "overproduced and overscripted." As for her husband, Geffen suggested that his bad-boy days are not behind him: "I don't think anybody believes that in the last six years, all of a sudden Bill Clinton has become a different person." And to top it off, he said this about the two of them: "Everybody in politics lies, but they do it with such ease, it's troubling."

Tags: political

Hillary Tells AIPAC-Iran Is A Threat

Tue, 06 Feb 2007 07:18:49 GMT

clipped by: zasel
clipper's remarks: Hillary Clinton is sounding more like a hawk catering to her audience at AIPAC will not take attacking Iran off the table. She really wants things every which way. When she speaks to liberal or centrist groups she condemns the Iraq war. But when she speaks to conservative and hawkish groups such as AIPAC, she spreads her hawk wings for all to see. I really wanted to support her for president, but she is making it very difficult for me. She has still not said she regrets her decision to vote to give Bush the OK to attack Iraq. She says she wants to end politics as usual, and then goes about doing the usual politics.

Clip Source: seattlepi.nwsource.com

NEW YORK -- Calling Iran a danger to the U.S. and one of Israel's greatest threats, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said "no option can be taken off the table" when dealing with that nation.

But Clinton, a top 2008 Democratic presidential contender, also called for a dialogue with countries hostile to Israel - including Iran and Syria - as a way to promote peace in the Middle East.

"I have advocated engagement with our enemies and Israel's enemies," Clinton told a crowd of Israel supporters on Thursday. "I believe we can gain valuable knowledge and leverage from being part of a process again that enables us to get a better idea of how to take on and defeat our adversaries."

Clinton, D-N.Y., spoke at a Manhattan dinner held by the nation's largest pro-Israel lobbying group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

"U.S. policy must be clear and unequivocal: We cannot, we should not, we must not permit Iran to build or acquire nuclear weapons," Clinton told the audience. "In dealing with this threat ... no option can be taken off the table."

Some 1,700 attendees applauded as she cited her efforts on behalf of the Jewish state and spoke scathingly of Iran's decision to hold a conference last month that questioned whether the Holocaust took place.

"To deny the Holocaust places Iran's leadership in company with the most despicable bigots and historical revisionists," Clinton said, criticizing what she called the Iranian administration's "pro-terrorist, anti-American, anti-Israeli rhetoric."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has repeatedly called the Holocaust a "myth" and said Israel should be "wiped off the map" and its Jews returned to Europe.

Clinton called for dialogue with foes of the United States, saying Iran "uses its influence and its revenues in the region to support terrorist elements."

"We need to use every tool at our disposal, including diplomatic and economic in addition to the threat and use of military force," she said.

Tags: elections, jewish, political