WOMEN VOTERS TRIUMPH!

The victory of Hillary Clinton is a victory for all of America. (I definitely never thought I would say that!) Over the past few days I think we have seen a concerted effort by the collective media, the Democratic party, and the powers that be to derail the Clinton campaign. The Hillary haters spoke up, the doubters launched attack campaigns, and the right wingers who would rather run against a black man with an Islamic name, I believe inflated the worth of Obama. The Democrats are fearful that Hillary is unelectable, something that I don't believe. They are eager to replace her top spot with the charismatic Obama.
I bought into the stumble of Hillary as well, despite initial inclinations that New Hampshire would be more receptive to her. This upset showed everyone that the people will not be controlled by the media. It shows us all that our vote CAN STILL COUNT! I think the attacks against Hillary went beyond an attack on her. I think it translated into an attack on women, and the women of New Hampshire would not stand for it.

I have not seen the press turn on someone, or ramp up the pressure against a politician since the days of Howard Dean's scream.

All of the polls changed from Hillary having a slight advantage, to Obama having around a ten point lead in one night. Even the closest poll, one conducted by Suffolk University in Boston had Obama up by 1.0%.

Looking at the headlines just prior to the primary:

Protesters ask Clinton to iron shirts

Popular Washington Post supported blog:
End of the Clinton Era?

Clinton Needs A New Narrative

Then there was the Clinton crying bit, which was just absurd.
'It's Not Easy,' An Emotional Clinton Says

First off to say she cried here is ludicrous. If you watch the video her voice cracks and she is clearly tired and emotional but holds on to her composure. And then people criticizing her for it? I honestly don't think Hillary is capable of of faking it first off, because she can barely feign a smile (Hey but neither can I..)! Secondly it does not make her weak by any stretch of the imagination. Anyone who would even claim such a thing... really! I'm critical of Hillary but come ON! If this is the complaint you have about her going into the primary it is pretty tepid. I also must add that I believe it is CLEARLY sexist!

Our own president gets wet-eyed with pretty much every major speech he gives, the state of the Union, Inaugurations, etc, etc. But then again I suppose most prospective presidents don't want to share traits with George W. Although Romney cried several times on the campaign, which in a double standard he was PRAISED for!

Truthfully I believe that the press and the status-quo turning on Hillary had a huge impact on the voter turnout, and the amount of women who showed up to support her. MSNBC said that of Democratic Primary voters, 50% of women without children voted for Hillary as opposed to 31% for Obama. That is a 19% advantage. For women generally speaking in the democratic primary, 44% supported Clinton as opposed to 37% for Obama, an increase in the margins in Iowa where apparently voters were evenly divided between sex. The crying piece, numerous commentary on her ability to be an emotional stable president (after much more historical criticism calling her emotionless and cold), the sexist protesters, and critics saying that America wasn't ready for a female president; all of these things, I believe drove the women to the polls at the last minute. Even I felt bad for Hillary Clinton over the past couple days, and as you know, I'm not a fan.

Anyway what a historic and exciting night for politics! I sat down with a pizza and watched it unfold as though I was watching a major sports event.

Also helping Clinton... Independents. No, it isn't what you think, I believe the independents came out to support McCain, as opposed to Obama. I was wondering which way New Hampshire would lean. As New Hampshire is traditionally Libertarian I thought there was a chance this could happen, although I thought the precedent in Iowa could cause independents to vote for Obama instead.

Anyhow... it is time for me to go to bed. Till next week when Michigan votes for no apparent reason (the parties have thrown out their delegates because they moved their primary forward).

First Weekend

Well the first several days of 2008 have come and gone. I had a busy week, and I'm bound to have many more. Thursday I had supper over at Kate's. We had to move from Wednesday because I ended up working until 8:30 pm. This weekend I was fending off a cold. I baked some chicken and potatoes Saturday and Kate came over. On Sunday Kate and I made mini burgers with some leftover dinner rolls. They came out really good, I highly recommend it. I picked up the In Rainbows album from Radiohead. They never fail to please me, Yorke has some of his best vocals to date on the album.

When I brought Kate home I had some hot chocolate with whipped cream before heading back to Melrose! Thanks Kate, it was a sweet goodbye... literally. Til Wednesday!

POLITICS:
It has been an eventful couple of weeks with the GOP showing furthermore that it is no longer the party of fiscal conservatism in the heartland. Rather the GOP has become the fundamentalist party. Huckabee a fiscal liberal, once was baptist minister. Because of this the Evangelicals turned out in droves to vote for him because he is a "soldier of Christ". The Christian right has completely conquered the Republican party. The people of Iowa did not care that Huckabee is an nontraditional Republican because the only thing that matters is Abortion, Evolution, prayer in school, and many other ridiculous issues that don't deserve the time of day because the Constitution & legal precedent already detail how they should be dealt with. I suspect most of the South and Midwest will vote in a similar manner.

Unless McCain can make a last stand in NH the party Barry Goldwater helped mold will have transformed into the abomination and affront to American politics that Jerry Falwell and the Moral Majority and Christian Coalition organizations have helped create. These people have an agenda, and most people laugh it off, however it is no laughing matter. There is an agenda to force an ideology and lifestyle upon an entire nation, which ultimately if it gains enough credence will give way to persecution of those who do not agree. Already in just the past decade the word "secular" has become a dirty word in the eyes of many. Evolution in much of the country is even frowned upon, even though at this junction it is almost silly to even refer to it as a "theory". Coupled with an immigration issue that is championed by the far right, we are on the brink of a civil rights catastrophe that our country has not faced since the struggles in the 1950s and 60s.

Not to divert too much: Last weekend Kate & I watched a documentary called "Jesus Camp" which I highly recommend. It basically comes down to brainwashing/ Christian soldier camps for American youth. The rhetoric taught to the kids is similar to that of the films you occasionally see of radical Islamic Fundamentalist schools. It is scary to see it happen right here in our own country. Granted it is more subliminal in its brainwashing then direct calls to Islamic children to be martyrs, however off camera the directors of the camp have no qualms in saying that the radical Islamic schools are almost the inspiration. They also believe it is the destiny of the United States to be a Christian controlled Nation, and believe it was created to be such (in spite of that pesky 1st amendment). Of all people Ted Haggard is the person who speaks poorly about the film on the Wikipedia page I linked to above (recently in a scandal involving, among other things, homosexual prostitution, and methamphetamine possession).

Back on topic: Kate and I watched the debates this Saturday night and I couldn't help but notice the lack of substance on the Democratic side. They talked about their feelings, and how a change is necessary... but outside of Hillary mandating everyone has health care, and Obama countering that it is wrong to force people and fine them if they don't have insurance..... there were virtually no clear descriptions of plans. All of them claim they'll pull troops out of Iraq, but don't explain how they'll do it without destabilizing the nation. All of them champion the middle class, and talk of expanding programs, but no one mentions how they'll fund them, well except for Hillary who has said she'll raise taxes (big surprise). Edwards blinks 70 blinks a minute, and his constant insincere B.S. wears on you as he gives line after line, sound byte after sound byte. Obama is charming, and has become more confident and better versed at this point in the game, but again, it is mostly talk about hope and change. Richardson touts his record, but is not charismatic, and while he may be honest, his policies are probably the second worst next to Edwards. Anyway....

So I'm divided. The GOP with the exception of McCain and Giuliani are all trying to be more fire & brimstone than the other. Romney... well he doesn't count really. He tries but since he just tried to be a liberal 5 years ago....and now he's suddenly vying for the Christian right mouthpiece, and since 90% of all of his political ads are smear/ attack ads, largely based on falsified and spun information... He is almost doing himself in. I almost think Giuliani is all done, but we'll have to see how he does in more urban states. If McCain does well in NH, he could have a push going into those states.... otherwise the Goldwater GOP is dead. Libertarianism is dead. Pick who you want to vote for, the Socialist/Communists (Democrats) or the Fascists (Republicans). Either way you are going to lose some sort of personal rights. And both will increase the National Debt, Weaken the Dollar, and potentially make the world a less stable place.

Time for a new party to restore common sense thinking!

HAPPY 2008!

These are some pictures of the Boston "First Night" Celebration. Some ice sculptures, and myself and a bronze penguin at the New England Aquarium. I hope everyone had a nice holiday season, I had a great one topped off with a terrific New Years Eve. First Night was fun, and there was plenty to do... good call Kate! (Personally I don't get why it is called "First Night" shouldn't it be "Last Night"? I suppose that doesn't have the same charm).