The Political Voices of Women

Roundup: McCain and Obama on the Iraq War — by Catherine Morgan (cross posted at The Care2 Election Blog)

Today’s political blog roundup will take a look at the Obama and McCain positions on the Iraq war. We will start with this video clip by Keith Olbemann.

Keith Olbermann really gives the context, with a comprehensive look at McCain’s views on the war and why he has been wrong. Keith Olbermann’s Special Comments on John McCain’s Views on Iraq…

The Nation: Obama, McCain & Iraq…

It’s a tradition in American presidential politics that once the primaries are over, both the Democratic and Republican candidates move to the center in search of that all-important centrist swing voter. Let’s hope that this year, at least, Barack Obama resists that impulse when it comes to what is likely to be one of the most contentious issues in this fall’s campaign: Iraq.

In fact, we need to do more than hope. Progressives, antiwar activists and, yes, even swing voters–who long ago realized that Iraq is what Obama, in 2002, called a “dumb war”–should demand that the senator from Illinois draw as stark a contrast as possible between himself and John McCain over Iraq.

READ FULL POST AT THE CARE2 ELECTION BLOG

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Are The World’s Women Part of the Political Agenda?

Watch Anika’s video, read what our party activists have to say and then log in to comment with your own thoughts and questions. Our participants will respond! Invite your friends and colleagues.

Introduction – Part One

On Tuesday, June 3, join RH Reality Check and Americans for UNFPA for an online forum on global women’s health in American politics.

Our forum begins with a video statement from Anika Rahman (below), President of Americans for UNFPA, and the insights of Democratic and Republican activists about their parties’ treatment of women’s issues. From 1pm to 4pm ET, Anika Rahman will be watching the comments section to follow the discussion and respond to your ideas on how to prioritize women’s health internationally.

Introduction – Part Two



Today, we have the insights of Darlee Crockett into the Republican Party and its recent struggles over women’s health and rights. Next week, we’ll hear from former Congresswoman Pat Schroeder on the Democratic Party and its struggles. Please feel free to share your thoughts on both parties in your comments.Darlee Crockett, national chair of Planned Parenthood Republicans for Choice, responds…

(read full post at RH Reality Check)

JOIN THE CONVERSATION TODAY — Respond to Anika and Darlee in the comments below, and Anika will answer your questions and engage your ideas from 1pm to 4pm EST on Tuesday, June 3. — Go to HR Reality Check to join the conversation.

Here is a guest post by Pamela Lyn at Pam’s Coffee Conversation.

(If you would like to be a guest blogger on this site, please join our community)

As Daniel J Weiss reported in his article “Up, Up and Away” the escalating oil prices in America can be attributed to a number of factors.

He writes:

Analysts suggest that there are five primary factors contributing to the year-long rise in crude oil prices:

• the low value of the dollar,
• increased demand from China and India,
• dwindling supplies,
• political instability in some oil producing nations, and
• an assumption from speculators that prices will continue to rise.”

I’d also add to the analyst’s list:

• the lack of a government energy policy that benefits the consumer not just the oil industry
• a failure on the part of the oil industry to reinvest its profits into the development of alternative energy
• corporate greed and collusion, and
• a failure to be honest with the American consumer

The truth that most politicians don’t want to tell you is this:

• the low value of the dollar is tied to the sub-prime mortgage and credit crisis as well as the US trade deficit.
• demand from China, India and other developing nations will continue to increase and there’s nothing that the US government can do about that
• It took millions of years to create the fossil fuel that it has taken the world a little over a hundred years to consume. There is a limited quantity left in the world and when it’s gone, it’s gone. So running the risk of destroying pristine wilderness or coastline for centuries will only buy consumers another decade or two of oil.
• the US should not ( and cannot ) intervene in the political affairs of every oil producing nation just because we need their oil and,
• in a generation whose mantra is “greed is good”, there will always be speculators.

In short, oil prices will continue to go up. As long as Americans are addicted to oil they’ll do anything to get their fix and the Oil pushers will bank the profits while they can. Have you heard the phrase “Get It While the Getting Is Good”.

It’s Time for An Intervention

There is an answer to the problem of high oil prices. It’s called adjusting our lifestyles as we switch to alternative energy solutions. Think of it as a form of detox and rehab that involves a serious commitment and a lot of discomfort. But that’s not the answer that most people want to hear. And, it’s not an answer that will get most politicians re-elected.

Republicans like Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) want to convince you that the US oil crisis and consumers’ discomfort will be eased by allowing drilling in the Artic Natural Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) or along the California and Florida coastlines (S.2958). In fact, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AL) argued before Congress today that drilling in ANWR is reasonable, environmentally feasible, and will correct the “supply and demand” imbalance that is driving up oil prices. Iaf you buy that argument then you probably still believe that the Iraq oil revenues are paying for the US invasion of Iraq. You are in denial.

At a recent campaign rally Sen. McCain expressed support for drilling for oil domestically, as long as states allow it, and also pushed development of solar, wind, tidal, and nuclear power.

On the other side of the aisle, the Democrats (and even Republican presidential candidate, John McCain) are suggesting that the government stop adding to the US strategic petroleum reserve. Senator Hillary Clinton has proposed a “gas tax holiday”. These two are short term solutions that are beginning to remind me of giving morphine to a dying patient to ease the pain.

Don’t get me wrong, I am as financially affected by rising gasoline prices as the vast majority of American consumers. Any idea that will help give me a break at pump, the supermarket, anything that is shipped and on utilities will be welcome but haven’t we learned from the credit crisis that the party now and pay later concept just doesn’t work.

American consumers need an intervention. They need politicians, journalists, scientists and environmentalist who are willing to speak the truth. Americans need to be told that the pain that they are experiencing today is not going to get easier just by putting it off for a few years.

To borrow a phrase from Al Gore this is just one more “inconvenient truth”.

cross posted at Get The Facts and Get Involved

Here is a guest post by Penny Ronning from The Non Silent Majority.

As the silence against the violence women continue to experience during war remains just that, SILENT on the political front, a new film series looks to empower the collective voices of the women on the frontlines of these horrendous acts of war. I encourage all women to speak up for those that are powerless to speak for themselves. As women, let’s make silence on violence against women a top issue in this political year. Stand up, Speak up, Change the world!

News release from the UNFPA, UNIFEM and dev.tv:

NEW FILM SERIES TAKES ON CULTURE OF SILENCE ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

First Global Broadcast — Women on the Frontline — Presented by Annie Lennox
on BBC World, Tomorrow, 18 April 2008 at 1930 GMT

United Nations, Geneva, 17 April 2008 — This is an unfortunate anniversary.

Fourteen years ago, in April 1994, news got out that ethnic violence in Kigali was spreading throughout Rwanda. Since then, the world community has struggled to explain how the genocide of 800,000 people happened in full view, but less discussed is the ongoing impact of the rape and other forms of sexual violence committed against hundreds of thousands of women.

Violence against women is the theme of Women on the Frontline, a series of seven films being broadcast for the first time tomorrow Friday night by BBC World at 1930 GMT to about 300 million households to help peel away the silence surrounding the brutality of gender-based violence that crosses all borders.

“Violence against women threatens the lives of more young women than cancer, malaria or war,” said Annie Lennox, the British singer who presents the series of investigative reports. “It affects one in three women worldwide. It leaves women mentally scarred for life, and it is usually inflicted by a family member.”

Unfortunately, when it comes to war, the use of rape as a weapon continues.

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This is from a post by LoreleiKelly at BlogHer.

National Security and the Defense Budget are Not the Same Thing.

If we’ve learned anything from our experience in Iraq, it is that easy assumptions are no longer true. Even military commanders suggest that the vast majority of our challenges in Iraq do not have military solutions. These are lessons we should have learned fifteen years ago. I remember sitting in congressional hearings in 1998, watching generals like Wesley Clark talk about the military’s peace operations in the Balkans before the House Armed Services Committee. He spoke of the military’s need for skills like knowledge of culture, history, language and politics. Today we’re hearing these themes echoed in Iraq, and to a lesser extent Afghanistan. Generals testify that the dilemma we face is a political challenge. That the use of force has become counterproductive at every level….from the national strategy of pre-emptive war to the tactic of kicking down doors and terrifying families. Last year, to better implement its hearts and minds campaign, the military implemented a counter insurgency strategy in Iraq. This strategy places civilian protection at the center of US activities–and has yielded impressive results. The discussion of why these tactics work needs to be separated from the larger, very contentious public argument over staying in or leaving Iraq. Why? because the theme of protecting people holds true for many of our security problems today.

We’re in the midst of a dramatic shift in how we develop a strategy for US security–moving from reaction to pro-action, away from coercion and force and toward persuasion and cooperation. During the Soviet era that ended in 1991, the organizing principle of US security was containment of communist ideology. It was characterized by continual military readiness, the nuclear arms race, mutual assured destruction and super power summits. Today, containment is obsolete. Our organizing principle must be legitimacy, or leading by example. In other words, we must demonstrate that we will play by the same set of rules that we establish for others. And while a strong military remains vital, we need to ask, what is real security today?

The new reality in the post-September 11 world is that protection from terrorist attacks and other security challenges can only be provided by broadening our vision of national security to include law enforcement, intelligence, immigration policy, border security, foreign assistance, economic development, and diplomacy. These are all personnel-intensive missions. We desperately need smart, creative individuals working in national security. Congress needs to hear this so they will stop complaining about “more bureaucrats” and redirect some of those billions of dollars spent on Soviet-era weapons programs toward recruiting talent and modernizing the division of labor for our nation’s security.

READ THIS FULL POST AT BLOGHER

This is a guest post from Marianna at Life In These United States.

The American Dream: Where has it gone?

Discussion at work:

The amount of dollars spent so far in this fruitless war could feed every American here in the states for 20 years and 1/2 children alive in the states would be able to go to college for free. We borrowed money from the World Bank and Kuwait now owns those loans. Sad but true.

• What has happened to our proud nation?
• Where are we going with this war?
• What is the future of Iraq?
• What is the future for America?
• What is the the future for our children?

We are handing to them on a unfathomable debt upon an ornate silver platter a debt which will take generations to pay off. Gas prices on the rise yet again. Paying $3.29 a gallon, wages not increasing to keep up with the economic downturn, people foreclosing on their homes due to the lagging housing market. I wish we as Americans can unite in one voice and demand Washington…this administration to clean up their act but perhaps since we are not people in power our voices are silenced. I am so tired of how my country has become a whipping boy of the world. Tasteless jokes, bad government/business decisions, a losing war, dead soldiers whose families grieve their loss every day, Iraqis dying in droves over what?

I know this post is sad but also a wake up call. Americans need to come together and make a change and we can….with the upcoming elections in November you have to voice your opinion. If not we may have more of the same. I think Obama can…I want a fresh man like him in the White House. What has seasoned politicians done so far for us. For the US of A? Look where we are economically and politically. Our businesses, our homes, our families, our very existence is so dependent on DC. Our international reputation is a joke. I know some people out there believe voting is a waste of time but I honestly do not.

Make a difference.

WHERE are our priorities?

Here is a guest post by Pam at Pam’s Coffee Conversation.

Today, US President George Bush states that “Iraq stands at a defining moment”. Well, what about Afghanistan?

Remember Afghanistan — the main reason that many young men and women gave up their civilian careers to join today’s all volunteer military and bring Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda to justice.

Where does that nation stand??

The following statement was released earlier today by the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi:

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admits ‘We don’t have troops…ready to go’ to fight the war in Afghanistan

This morning, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen joined the ranks of military leaders who have admitted that because of the war in Iraq, the U.S. is unable to dedicate the necessary number of troops to fight al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

“So, should we be in a position where more troops are removed from Iraq, the possibility of sending additional troops [to Afghanistan] — where we need them, clearly — certainly it’s a possibility. But it’s really going to be based on the availability of troops. We don’t have troops — particularly in Brigade Combat Team size — sitting on the shelf, ready to go.” [3/28/08]

Gen. James Conway, Commandant of the Marine Corps:

“[The Marines] cannot have one foot in Afghanistan and one foot in Iraq.” [Washington Post, 2/2/08]

Lt. Gen. John Sattler (USMC), Director for Strategic Plans & Policy:

“…the priority now for resources is going towards Iraq at this time…there are some things we could do and, as Admiral Mullen said, we may like to do, we would like to do, but we can’t take those on now until the resource balance shifts, sir.” [Testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, 2/14/08]

· It has been 2,382 days since the September 11th attacks – Osama bin Laden remains free.

· 486 brave U.S. servicemembers have been killed and more than 1,900 have been wounded in Afghanistan since October 2001. [Department of Defense, 3/22/08]

· Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell testified in February that Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai and his government control just one-third of the country – the remaining majority is under the control of either the Taliban or local tribes. [AP, 2/28/08]

· According to a report released by the United Nations, “insurgent and terrorist violence in Afghanistan increased sharply in 2007, with over 8,000 conflict-related deaths and an average of 566 incidents per month.” [AP, 3/10/08]

Here is a guest post from Cynthia at Don’t Gel Too Soon.

The amazing Queen of Spain, Erin Kotckei Vest, wrote yesterday about her son’s 5th birthday and the war in Iraq, realizing that our country has been at war for his entire life. It’s a moving and troubling meditation on the length and malignancy of this war. Take a look.

It was strange to read — someplace between echo and deja vu. My older son was born the night Cambodia fell; I went back to work at CBS News the night Saigon fell (foreign desk – overnight) and his younger brother was born 2 days after the Iran hostages were taken. We always knew how many days old he was because Walter Cronkite ended every newscast with “that’s the way it is, the xyz day American hostages have been held in Iran.”

I remember nursing Josh during the horrible last days of the Vietnam war, when they were trying to get orphans out of the country. One evening at the very beginning of the effort, 78 kids died when their plane crashed. To this day I remember sitting in a chair, feeding this weeks-old child, watching the broken bodies of some else’s children flung around the crash site, and just dissolving.

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This is from a post at Life’s Journey.

“On the fifth anniversary of President George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq, President Bush said he has no doubts about waging the unpopular war despite the “high cost in lives and treasure.”

Vice President Dick Cheney had a different message. Informed during a Good Morning America interview broadcast Wednesday that two-thirds of Americans now think the war was not worth fighting, Cheney said: “So?”

Also See:

The Iraq War – Five Years Later

This is from a post at PunditMom.

Al Qaeda is in Iran training people to go into Iraq.

That’s what John McCain said yesterday while in the Middle East. Standing at a press conference with Senators Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman.

The only problem is that both Graham and Lieberman started looking sort of sheepish and uncomfortable as McCain was talking. And finally Lieberman leaned over, whispered in McCain’s ear and told him, uh, the intelligence doesn’t show that — turns out there are insurgents but no one can prove it’s Al Qaeda.

READ FULL POST AT PUNDITMOM