Free Sarah Palin

Almost as good as the SNL Palin-Clinton clip, except not satirical: Campell Brown tells McCain campaign to knock off the sexist treatment of Sarah Palin by sheltering her from the media:

Almost as good as the SNL Palin-Clinton clip, except not satirical: Campell Brown tells McCain campaign to knock off the sexist treatment of Sarah Palin by sheltering her from the media:

original post at Feministing. n/t

U.S. Army to be Illegally Deployed Stateside?

Anyone else catch the report that U.S. military will be deployed in the United States beginning in October? Article from the Army’s news service (http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/09/army_homeland_090708w/) says “Beginning Oct. 1 for 12 months, the 1st BCT will be under the day-to-day control of U.S. Army North, the Army service component of Northern Command, as an on-call federal response force for natural or manmade emergencies and disasters, including terrorist attacks” (emphasis mine).

 

Ummm, does the Army have savvy forecasting abilities that say there’s going to be a natural emergency some time in October? Last time I checked, there’s a prohibition on the use of the military for policing activities in the United States — I thought it was the Posse Comitatus Act around the time of the Civil War(?) — that said the military has no authority over U.S. citizens unless martial law has been declared. Yes, I understand that our national guard troops (probably even Sarah Palin’s) have been depleted because of deployments to Iraq & Afghanistan because of the administration’s war-mongering without planning. But at what point does that mean the Army can just ignore the law?? Really?? Where is MSM on this one?!?

On the DNC, briefly

as a total political junkie, i was in heaven — it was like the superbowl/world series/stanley cup finals all rolled into one for self-described political geeks like me. between the public access to the issue caucuses, networking opportunities, the parties, the massive infusion of people that turned denver into a ny-like city that vibrated with energy, and being amazed that 80,000 people actually showed up for a political rally, i enjoyed every energy-draining minute of it.

as for the speech itself, i was waaay up in the nosebleed section so actually just watched it on the jumbotron; my appreciation came more from the energy of the crowd that was all but tangible in the stadium. that and it was a kick to see all these people i know & work with up there on stage addressing the massess and a national audience. kind of surreal.

now, i’m trying to avoid poking a sharp, burning object in my eye in reaction to the rnc political theater. granted, that’s what both conventions really are, which in & of itself provides plenty of meat for an anlysis of the nuances of political messaging, activities, etc. it just kills me that the message being delivered by the rnc is that mccain will bring change — because apparently obama has shown that voters want change in 2008, so mccain will deliver it, too. and oh yeah, mccain was a vietnam pow. when it doubt, default to being a pow.

Shout Out to Community Organizers

I’m shaking my head over the sheer disrespect Sarah Palin & the GOP showed for community organizers during her big ol’ speech last night. Yes, I’ve got lots to say about her position on issues — the woman doesn’t support comprehensive sex education & thinks abstinence-only is the way to go (as has been demonstrated with her daughter). But I’m starting on the topic of her bashing community organizers because, frankly, that’s a manageable topic and I know where to start on that one. Suffice it to say, I find it the epitome of irony that Palin, feted as a true conservative leader within the GOP — the party that touts individual responsibility and small government — lambasts community organizers with a straight face. You know, the people who *don’t* rely on taxpayer dollars for the work they do, if they get paid at all? The people who act on their own individual initiative to effect change in their communities, without expecting any sort of hand-out? I’m going to use this space to recognize the accomplishments of anyone who ever has and continues to put in the time, energy and passion to empower others in their community to realize something better than their current environment. Consider this an open invitation to recognize, thank & pay tribute to those who are in the field, in the neighborhoods, in the churches, in the schools, in the advocacy organizations, who are educating, training, empowering, and leading. To start things off, check out Jay Smooth’s commentary at about 1:15 in the clip below.

Jay Smooth on the RNC, Hating & Community Organizers (thanks to Feministing for publicizing)Thanks to… Lucy Burns, Dora Lewis, and Alice Paul for going to jail so that women could vote in the United States Martin Luther King Jr. for daring to dream Barack Obama for reminding all of us who do any sort of community organizing that you don’t have to get your start in politics by being an attorney — you can in fact be an effective politician, in the sense of one who deals with policy, by listening to your community and understanding their needs, struggles, hopes and dreams The leader of my Brownie troop, the leader of my church youth group, my fellow sorority members, my colleagues, the human rights advocates at my grad school program, and so many others who fostered a sense of community through which I was able to grow, meet other people, and take the lessons I learned onto the next step of my journey.