The Political Voices of Women

Here is a guest post by community member Deb Della Piana from Turn Left.

[If you would like to be a guest blogger on The Political Voices of Women, just join our community, and start posting.]

It’s election season, and I’m not about to let up on the McCain-Palin ticket. If I put these two at the larval stage, I’m giving them too much credit. To show that I’m not just a one-issue voter when it comes to McCain and Palin, the issue of women’s rights will not play into the article (but only this one time). I’ve done that article before, and there are other reasons I’d never vote for this ticket.

We already have people in government who believe they are above the law (one resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue right now) and it looks like McCain would like to add one more. Initially, Sarah Palin said she would cooperate voluntarily with the ongoing abuse of power investigation against her. Suddenly, the Alaska legislators are under pressure to wait until after the election to continue the investigation, and her husband is now going to ignore the subpoena he has received. I wonder if he’s getting pointers from campaign advisor Karl Rove about how best to ignore a subpoena and get away with it. It doesn’t take much in America these days, particularly if you’re an elected official. We’ve lowered the bar here to the point where we should all be doing the limbo.

McCain campaign spokesman Ed O’Callaghan is falsely accusing the supporters of Barack Obama of controlling the investigation. The fact is that the investigation was recommended prior to Palin’s selection by a bi-partisan Legislative Council, the vast majority of whom were Alaska Republicans. There’s no way this investigation should be delayed until after the election. If McCain chose this woman as a running mate with full knowledge of the accusations against her (and he says he knew from the beginning), then let the chips fall where they may.

McCain wants to distract, not inform. If he distracts, you may not learn that his plan is to privatize and cut Social Security approximately one percent per year, along the lines of the proposed Bush plan. Workers who retire ten years after the McCain plan is put in place would see a ten percent reduction in benefits from the very beginning.

Next on the McCain-Palin hit list is the nation’s health care system. Their plan would effectively dismantle the employer-based coverage that protects most American families by converting health care benefits into income on which employees would have to pay taxes. The idea is to force millions of Americans into the non-group market where costs are high and services are limited. Benefits that millions now have would be lost. This is what the Republicans call the ‘free market’ system, much like the one currently bringing down Wall Street at the taxpayers’ expense.

John McCain’s confusion about who’s who in the world continues to embarrass. This from a candidate supposedly superior to Barack Obama in the foreign policy field. When asked if he would commit to a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, McCain refused. Apparently, McCain thought Zapatero was a Latin American autocrat. Randy Scheunemann, McCain’s foreign policy advisor, denied it was yet another McCain gaffe, but rather an intentional policy position with regard to Spain. Why would McCain refuse to commit to a meeting with a Democratic NATO ally with 1,000 troops serving in Afghanistan? Either McCain is intent on hiding his confusion from the public or he is upset (as is President Bush) that Spain pulled its troops from Iraq in 2004. Someone should point out to both George Bush and John McCain that there sometimes are repercussions when other nations find they’ve been deliberately lied to.

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Financial Crisis: Is The Bailout Constitutional?  What do you think about the 700 billion dollar bailout?

Is The Bailout Socialism or Fascism?

From Blog Maverick…

Lack of transparency got us in to this mess, lets not let lack of transparency keep it messy. The government needs to immediately setup an exchange, it could be ebay.gov with more in depth description fields, for all I care. However they do it, EVERY asset  the government will buy or sell as part of this buyout needs to be shown and described with the price the government is willing to pay or sell the asset for.

Why ?

To keep government honest.

Not that anyone in our government would ever put their own personal self interest first  and over or under pay for an asset. Nor would they ever take those assets and then sell it for less than market value in exchange for “personal considerations”.

I know it could never happen, but just to make sure it doesnt, we need to post the assets involved in the bailout and the prices paid. When the assets are sold, they need to post those prices as well

In addition, by posting the assets in an ebay like auction/sales environment, it would enable independent buyers to come in and buy the assets using private money rather than government money. The benefit of course is obvious. By adding liquidity to the process, the government could be responsible for less and sellers could get more.

This is the only way I can think of to get true transparency. Without it, i promise you that it will be IMPOSSIBLE to account for how much money was spent on the assets and how much cash was generated from the sales process and what the net cost or benefit to taxpayers is.

From The AP…

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 Here is a guest post by community member Deb Della Piana from Turn Left.

[If you would like to be a guest blogger on The Political Voices of Women, just join our community, and start posting.]

Although the story I’m about to tell you is personal and happened to me and my family, it’s not just my story. It still happens everywhere, everyday. It’s a story of what it’s truly like to be gay in America. I don’t speak much about this these days, but I’m telling it to you today because I fear the country we face under John McCain and Sarah Palin. Under their virulently right-wing rule, this type of disenfranchisement and gutter treatment could spread exponentially throughout this nation.

I once worked for what I believed was one of the best Fortune 500 companies, a company that I had been loyal to since joining them in 1974 and I expected some type of loyalty in return. I was naïve back then. What I have learned is that companies expect loyalty, but they absolutely do not return it at the same level. No company name will be given, but let’s just say that with the advent of some new management came some discrimination. In this case, it was based on my sexual orientation (which, by the way, had not been an issue prior to management change). In 1997, after several ugly encounters between myself and my boss, I was roundly fired.

The circumstances are not important. The fact is that I signed an agreement not to sue (I was stupid, in retrospect) in exchange for a severance package. At the time, I had a small child under a year and a very sick partner, who had contracted pre-eclampsia during the final twenty weeks of the pregnancy and was saddled with a diagnosis of perinatal cardiomyopathy post-pregnancy. I saw no other way to survive and keep them both healthy and safe. One decision I had made, however, was that I would never again give my all to a corporation.

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We live in The United States of America, home of the free. Where homeowners are free to vote, as long as they haven’t been foreclosed on. Are you o.k. with that?

Lose Your House, Lose Your Vote

The chairman of the Republican Party in Macomb County, Michigan, a key swing county in a key swing state, is planning to use a list of foreclosed homes to block people from voting in the upcoming election as part of the state GOP’s effort to challenge some voters on Election Day.

Homeowners in Michigan Lose Vote…

Property ownership has always had a troubling connection to voting rights in this country. When the nation was founded, only white property owners, a tiny fraction of the population, could vote. And while most states had dropped property requirements for voting by the mid-eighteen hundreds, we’ve seen more recently, with the promotion of Bush’s “ownership society” and the high premium placed on homeownership, that owning property again features prominently in our concept of economic citizenship.

Indeed, it’s a slippery slope from the belief that homeowners are truer stakeholders and fulfillers of the American dream to the notion that homeowners are more legitimate Americans. That’s just one of the many disturbing aspects of the recent revelation, as reported by the Michigan Meseanger, that the chairman of the Republican Party in Macomb County in Michigan is “planning to use a list of foreclosed homes to block people from voting in the upcoming election as part of the state GOP’s effort to challenge some voters on Election Day.”

From Pam’s House Blend…

In Project Vote’s statement, Teresa James says “The GOP’s plan is a cynical partisan attempt to suppress the vote of thousands of low-income and African-American voters, a replay of the 2004 threats of mass challenges…In America you get to vote even if you’re behind on your bills. All Americans–particularly those members of the community hit hardest by the economic crisis–deserve a voice and a vote on Election Day.”

Even if your house hasn’t been foreclosed on, can you really be sure your vote will be counted?

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Here is a guest post from community member Kimber Caldwell, from The Politics of Joy.

 [If you would like to be a guest blogger on The Political Voices of Women, just join our community, and start posting.]

Not too many days ago, Cynthia and I were discussing Sarah Palin’s right to choose HOW she gave birth to Trigg.

#1… She chose to complete a pregnancy that was probably considered high risk, considering her age, the discovery of Down’s Syndrome in the baby and the fact that this was at least her 5th pregnancy. I have 5 children, but have had 6 pregnancies, one that ended in a miscarriage at 12 weeks. I don’t know many women who haven’t miscarried who have this number of children. It is not unusual.

#2… She chose to travel, despite how far along she was. When her water broke in Texas, she made the choice to fly home and then subsequently drive 50 miles to her chosen hospital or birthing center. Now, I’m not sure about you, but I remember the times when my water broke… As Cynthia pointed out, she would have had to have SEVERAL changes of clothes and a box of chux pads. Not to mention that labor usually intensifies after the water breaks, so I am sure she had the complete attention of the flight crew. But this was HER choice.

At first, I was a little appalled about some of her choices. But then I recalled the choices I made in my pregnancies.

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How do you feel about how secretive the Bush/Cheney administration has been?  We already know this administration has used lies and deception in ways no other administration has.  Do you ever wonder how many lies we haven’t yet found out about?

With all the hoopla surrounding the presidential election, Dick Cheney may have hoped he could slip through the cracks of future scrutiny.   But today, steps are being taken to prevent Cheney from destroying any records.

From Washington Post…

Months before the Bush administration ends, historians and open-government advocates are concerned that Vice President Cheney, who has long bristled at requirements to disclose his records, will destroy or withhold key documents that illustrate his role in forming U.S. policy for the past 7 1/2 years.

In a preemptive move, several of them have agreed to join the advocacy group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington in asking a federal judge to declare that Cheney’s records are covered by the Presidential Records Act of 1978 and cannot be destroyed, taken or withheld without proper review.

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Here are a few excerpts from a post at BlogHer by Professor Kim Pearson…

A new report card on the state of the US workforce finds that more of us are struggling to find full-time work, pay for health care and manage our debts. Meanwhile union and business advocates are drawing battle lines over a proposed new law that would change the way workers decide whether to unionize. The new law is so important that one expert says it could “decide the future of organized labor in the United States.”

. . .

In the face of these challenges, labor advoates are pushing for the Employee Free Choice Act which allows workers to choose a union if a majority of workers sign a petition that is validated by the National Labor Relations board. It strengthens penalties for employers who penalize pro-union workers, and provides for mediatiion and arbitration if a collective bargaining agreement can’t be reached within a specified time period.

. . .

Advocates launched a new TV ad during the Democratic National Convention:

*You can read Kim’s full post at BlogHer*

Are we still living in The United States of America?  Is it still the land of the free?  I’m a bit confused.  Since when do we raid homes of possible protesters, before they even have a chance to protest?  Is it just me…Or is there something seriously wrong with this?  Here is some commentary, raw video, and news clips…Let me know what you think about all of this in comments.

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One would think this is a simple question, but it isn’t. Some extremists believe that disturbing the chances of any egg to be fertilized is morally wrong, and thus equate birth control with abortion. Others believe that all fertilized eggs have a right to life, thus any interference with implantation is murder. Still others would define abortions as something that takes place after the implantation of a fertilized egg in a woman’s uterus. My friends at the Bush administration want to be sure that every extremist has the right to impose his or her own personal definition of abortion on you, and they are changing administrative guidelines to make that happen.

This is the text of an email I received from Planned Parenthood:

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Oil and gas companies want you to believe that alternative sources of power (such as wind and solar), are not cost effective. They want you to believe that renewable power will be more costly for the consumer. And, in today’s bad economy, that can be quite troubling for most of us. But now, the truth is being revealed, in Colorado of all places.

From The Washington Post…

In Colorado — a state historically known for natural gas and fights over drilling — wind and solar power are fast becoming prominent parts of the energy mix. Wind capacity has quadrupled in the past 18 months, according to Gov. Bill Ritter (D), and Xcel has become the largest provider of wind power in the nation.

The politics and economics of energy are shifting here in ways that foretell debates across the country as states create renewable-energy mandates and the federal government moves toward limiting carbon emissions. One advocate calls Colorado “ground zero” for the looming battle over energy.

. . .

Ten years ago, Xcel began offering wind-generated electricity, but it was a niche market for eco-conscious customers willing to pay extra. That changed in a significant way after 2004, when Xcel lost the referendum fight.

After legislative efforts failed, proponents of renewable energy turned to the ballot that year. The initiative, Amendment 37, required the state’s biggest utilities to generate 10 percent of their electricity from renewable sources. Advocates found themselves facing off against Xcel, which said it feared for its bottom line.

“We ended up opposing that amendment. In retrospect, I wish we hadn’t,” said Frank Prager, Xcel’s vice president for environmental policy.

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