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The Amazing Gov. Blagojevich: More on the Burris Appointment U.S. Rep. Danny Davis turned Blagojevich senate appointment down. Photo credits: AP

Writing for the New York Times, Monica Davey and Sharon Otterman report the behind the scenes story on Illinois Gov. Blagojevich’s appointment of Roland Burris to fill Obama’s vacant senate seat:

“CHICAGO — A day after Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois appointed Roland W. Burris to fill President-elect Barack Obama’s former Senate seat, new details emerged about how the governor worked behind closed doors to make the appointment, and the United States attorney prosecuting Mr. Blagojevich on corruption charges sought a 90-day extension to bring an indictment against him.

‘“At a Tuesday news conference here, Mr. Blagojevich breezily introduced Mr. Burris, a former Illinois attorney general, as the ‘next United States senator from Illinois.’ But United States Representative Danny Davis, who like Mr. Burris is a longtime fixture of the Illinois Democratic Party and an African-American, said he was offered the seat in a meeting with an emissary of the governor last Wednesday, and turned it down on Friday.”’

Posted by VIRGINIA BERGMAN at 3:58 PM No comments: Links to this post Labels: Blagojevich, Danny Davis, Illinois, politics, Roland Burris

NY Dems Tout Bill Clinton (among others) as Caretaker Senator for New York

They just can’t help it. Bill and Hillary Clinton keep seizing the headlines. Yesterday, Hillary was voted the “most admired woman” in America, and Bill came in second after Obama among Democrats as the “most admired man.”

Today, Hill and Bill are headlining the New Year’s celebration in Times Square. And about 46 minutes ago, the AP’s Michael Gormley suggested that we not rule out Bill Clinton as a possible caretaker for Hillary’s soon to be vacated New York senate seat.

Filling Hillary’s seat with a caretaker, Gormley points out, would free Gov. Paterson from the Caroline Kennedy trap.

Gormley writes:

‘“The former president is among several boldface names being touted as possible ‘caretakers’ for New York's Senate seat — people who would serve until the 2010 elections but wouldn't be interested in running to keep the job. As the process of picking Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's replacement gets messier, the option may become increasingly attractive to Gov. David Paterson, who has sole authority to name a successor.

‘“You could find a very senior person who could serve New York well’’ on an interim basis, said Gerald Benjamin, a political scientist and dean at the State University of New York at New Paltz. Then you can say to Caroline Kennedy, `You know, you'd make a good senator. Run for it.' And you can tell everyone else that it's a level playing field.”

Posted by VIRGINIA BERGMAN at 2:43 PM 2 comments: Links to this post Labels: Bill Clinton, caretaker senator New York, Caroline Kennedy, Gov. Paterson, Hillary Clinton, NY Sen. Bill Clinton

Bill and Hill to Help Lower the Ball in Times Square Tonight Bill and Hill Hillary Clinton greets supporters in Ohio during the primary.

Gallup’s Lydia Saad reports:

Saad continues:

Saad noted: 

Huffington Post Blogger Compares Rick Warren to Hillary Clinton

The other day, Huffington Post blogger David Quigg posted his thoughts on Obama’s choice of Rick Warren to give the inaugural invocation. He titled his opinion-piece What Would Obama Do If Obama Was Mad At Obama About Rick Warren?

To buttress his argument, Quigg suggests that Warren’s slurs against gays are equivalent to Hillary Clinton’s criticisms of Obama during the Democratic primary:

“There are sensible people who look at Warren and see a man who belittled their marriages, lied about the perils California faced if it didn't pass Proposition 8, and -- in helping get gay marriage repealed -- thwarted their deepest aspirations for equality. Imagine that there was someone who'd belittled Obama, lied about him, and tried to thwart his most high-stakes aspirations. Would Obama invite that person to lead a prayer at the inauguration? The answer is no. Absolutely not. Because the Secretary of State doesn't lead inaugural prayers.”

Of course, Quigg fails to mention that throughout the Democratic primary, the Obama team used every despicable, underhanded weapon in its arsenal to smear both Hillary and Bill Clinton as racists even though the Clintons’ record on human rights throughout their years in public service has been impeccable.

If you go to YouTube and watch videos of the debates in the primary, you’ll notice that Obama questioned Hillary Clinton’s integrity at every opportunity.

And let me say it for the 100th time: Obama's national co-chair Jesse Jackson, Jr.’s sexist tirade against Clinton the day after her New Hampshire win remains one of the most egregious attacks on another candidate in modern history.

In yet another illogical attempt to defend Obama’s selection of Warren to pray at his inauguration, Quigg pulls a quote from The Audacity of Hope, "Megachurch pastors like Rick Warren and T.D. Jakes are wielding their enormous influence to confront AIDS, Third World debt relief, and the genocide in Darfur."

So because Saddleback Church supports several worthy causes, Pastor Warren should not be accountable for his attacks on gays, Jews, and those who support reproductive rights for women?

This is the flawed reasoning writ large of the battered woman who stays with her abusive spouse because he occasionally does something nice for her.

It bears repeating: the Rick Warren controversy demonstrates that in the age of Obama, bigotry is acceptable against every group in our culture accept straight African-American males.
Posted by VIRGINIA BERGMAN at 11:04 AM 6 comments: Links to this post Labels: Democratic primary, gay rights, Jesse Jackson, Jews, Jr., Rick Warren, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Women’s Rights


When the System Failed: A Holiday Weekend Without Phone Service or Internet

Hello, Katalusis readers!

I’m sorry I haven’t posted lately. On Thursday, December 25 at about noon my bundled landline telephone service and Internet connection failed, leaving me totally dependent on my cell until Sunday evening, Dec. 28.

The fact that I live on the fourth floor of a security building was an added inconvenience. My landline phone is programmed so that I can press a single key and instantly admit a guest; otherwise, I have to take the elevator downstairs to the lobby and manually open the door.

Although I didn’t notice any grammatical errors in my increasingly frustrated phone calls to the cable company, I could readily empathize with Professor Stanley Fish’s recent frustrations with AT&T, which he posted this morning at his blog Think Again (NY Times).

Professor Fish mentioned the first obstacle he encountered was getting through to a live person. That situation is even more depressing when you’re sitting there on hold wasting precious cell phone minutes while a syrupy recorded voice periodically interrupts promotional material to say, “Thank you for holding. Your call is important to us.” Eventually, I spoke to a live “account executive,” and scheduled an appointment for Sunday afternoon between 1 and 5 p.m.

My dinner guests arrived shortly before the system failed completely, and I was able to buzz them in. We had a happy Christmas/Chanukkah celebration. After dinner we watched Joyeux Noel, a 2005 film about the World War I Christmas truce of December 1914, depicted through the eyes of the French.

On Friday morning I called the cable company back to see if I could get an earlier appointment. I received a promise that if anything opened up, I’d be first in line.

On Sunday at around 4:30 p.m., I was re-reading Thich Nhat Hanh’s book on anger and carefully following his instructions on how to mindfully treat powerful emotions that are threatening to get out of control.

My cell’s cheerful ring tone interrupted my practice and in a calm, relaxed state of mind, I took the elevator downstairs to admit a bright-eyed, youthful technician who proved to be both courteous and competent. He had the problem solved within minutes.

After he left, I reflected on the post-holiday weekend and realized I’d gotten along fine without my usual political fixes from favorite news sites and blogs and thanks to my ever ready cell phone, I hadn’t actually been cut off from the world.

Just the same, dear friends, it’s good to be back.
Posted by VIRGINIA BERGMAN at 1:37 PM No comments: Links to this post Labels: Christmas and Chanukkah, frustrating service calls, grammar, high-speed Internet, Landline phone service, Stanley Fish, Think Again

 Posted by VIRGINIA BERGMAN at 8:23 AM 1 comment: Links to this post 

Rick Warren Accuses Critics of “Christophobia”

Another must-read and must-see video with Rachel Maddow on the Rick Warren controversy: Rick Warren Doubles Down, Accuses Critics Of "Christophobia"
Posted by VIRGINIA BERGMAN at 5:20 PM No comments: Links to this post Labels: anti-gay comments, christophobia, Rachel Maddow, Rick Warren

Rick Warren’s Disagreeable Positions on Same Sex Marriage, Judaism, and the Reproductive Rights of Women I thought I’d never see the day when Huffington Post writer Bob Cesca would actually criticize the One, but get a load of this:

“This is about fighting back in the age of Obama.

‘“The maxim that's been most often tossed around this week to explain the Warren invitation has been: ‘We can disagree without being disagreeable.’ Some supporters of the president-elect's choice of invocation speaker have grappled onto this idea in the spirit of the Obama change message and used it as a blanket explanation for why we should embrace Rick Warren -- even though his more controversial remarks, by the way, are nothing if not ‘disagreeable.’

‘“It's important to underscore that this maxim, while repeated in the spirit of unity, also contains the word ‘disagree.’

““And it goes without saying that many of us vigorously disagree with Rick Warren's comments on same-sex marriage and abortion, not to mention his vocal condemnation to hell anyone who doesn't abandon their Judaism. But for whatever reason, we're expected to just go along with this one as if Warren were just another random pastor. We're expected to just suck it up and take it even though some of his public statements have denigrated millions of Americans. We're told by very serious people to grow up. You know, in the spirit of not being ‘disagreeable.’”

Posted by VIRGINIA BERGMAN at 2:55 PM No comments: Links to this post Labels: abortion rights, Invocation, Obama Invocation, Politics News, Rick Warren, Rick Warren Judaism, Rick Warren Saddleback Church, Same-Sex Marriage

The Message of Christmas: Reward and Punishment or Unconditional Love? Photo credits: Virginia Bergman

May it be so.
Posted by VIRGINIA BERGMAN at 10:54 AM 1 comment: Links to this post 


Holiday Greetings from Hillary Note to Katalusis Readers: I received this holiday greeting from Hillary today in my inbox. If you'd like to send a greeting to Hillary, click here.

Dear Virginia,

I couldn't let this holiday season pass by without taking the time to thank you for all the wonderful support you've given me. I've received so many kind messages in the last few weeks, and I can't tell you how much your friendship means to me.

As I celebrate the holidays with my family, I'll be thinking about all our wonderful memories from the past year. I hope you'll take the time to remember all the things we accomplished together and all the lives we touched.

I know that I am forever changed because of the journey you and I shared. It goes without saying that we have a lot to look forward to in the coming year. Even in the midst of great challenges here at home and around the world, we know change is coming and there is reason to have hope for a brighter future.

Thank you so much for everything, and I hope you have a very happy holiday season!



Posted by VIRGINIA BERGMAN at 8:17 PM No comments: Links to this post 
On the Rick Warren Issue: “Obama’s inability or unwillingness to be a moral leader”

The Washington Post’s Richard Cohen offers a poignant explanation in today’s op-ed why his gay sister is unhappy with President-elect Obama’s decision to invite Rick Warren to give the inaugural invocation.

Cohen writes:

‘“I'm opposed to redefinition of a 5,000-year definition of marriage,’ Warren told Beliefnet.com's Steve Waldman. ‘I'm opposed to having a brother and sister being together and calling that marriage. I'm opposed to an older guy marrying a child and calling that marriage. I'm opposed to one guy having multiple wives and calling that marriage.’

‘“Waldman asked, ‘Do you think those are equivalent to gays getting married?’

‘“Oh, I do,’ said Warren.

Cohen gets to the heart of the matter here:

Posted by VIRGINIA BERGMAN at 4:24 PM No comments: Links to this post Labels: Anti-gay Rick Warren, Barack Obama, Jeremiah Wright, Obama Inauguration, Richard Cohen, Warren invocation

Defense Secretary Gates and National Security Adviser Gen. Jones, Jr. Back Clinton’s Efforts to Strengthen the State Department Photo credits: Susan Walsh/AP

Headlined Clinton Moves to Widen Role of State Dept., the lead paragraph of a report in today’s New York Times on Hillary Clinton's steps to strengthen the State Department is guaranteed to fan the flames of controversy and incite outrage from the usual crowd of pathological Hillary haters.

Mark Landler and Helene Cooper write:

Buried in the article is word from an anonymous official that Mrs. Clinton was being supported in her push for more resources by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Mr. Obama’s incoming national security adviser, Gen. James L. Jones Jr.

‘“The Pentagon would like to turn functionality over to civilian resources, but the resources are not there,’ the official said. ‘We’re looking to have a State Department that has what it needs.”’

The article continues:

A careful reading of this article would lead a rational person to conclude that Clinton is wisely positioning the State Department to make the best possible use of diplomatic tools and resources to help resolve several global crises expected to worsen in the days ahead.

Sadly, a quick glance at the readers’ comments in the Times indicates the irrational Hillary haters are already out in force.
Posted by VIRGINIA BERGMAN at 10:00 AM No comments: Links to this post Labels: China, global financial crisis, international trouble spots, James Jones, Jr., Pentagon officials, politics, Robert Gates, Secretary of State Clinton


MediaMatters.Org on Bob Schieffer’s Attempt to Smear Hillary Clinton

CBS’ Bob Schieffer was one of those pundits I respected prior to the 2008 Democratic primary. Like PBS' Mark Shields - the supposed liberal of Shields and Brooks - Scheiffer could not conceal a chauvinistic sneer whenever he was forced to mention Hillary Clinton’s name on the air.

Evidently, Schieffer hasn’t gotten over the fact that despite the misogyny demonstrated by him and his media colleagues, 18 million Americans voted for Clinton in the primary, and she’s since been named secretary of state in the Obama Administration.

Media Matters for America caught Schieffer in the act last Sunday in yet another attempt to smear Clinton.

Here’s the summary from MediaMatters.Org:

‘“CBS' Bob Schieffer baselessly suggested that Hillary Clinton may ‘try to block’ Caroline Kennedy's possible appointment to replace her as U.S. senator from New York, adding that there is ‘[n]o love lost with the Kennedy family after they endorsed [President-elect Barack] Obama early on.’ But Clinton has reportedly ‘told her supporters not to involve her in their efforts to stop Caroline Kennedy's path to the U.S. Senate’ and that their comments critical of Kennedy ‘weren't appreciated.”’

Watch the video of Schieffer’s commentary here.

Posted by VIRGINIA BERGMAN at 10:51 AM 1 comment: Links to this post Labels: Bob Schieffer, Caroline Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, Mark Shields, Media Matters for America


Rick Warren’s Paternalistic Love for Muslims, Republicans, Democrats, Gays, and Straights Doesn’t Compensate for His Homophobia Attempting to educate bigots who are oblivious to their bigotry is becoming tiresome. Christina Hoag’s (AP) report of Rick Warren’s address at the 8th Annual Convention of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Long Beach, California on Saturday provides ample evidence the evangelical pastor would require many intense consciousness-raising sessions to overcome his homophobia and other irrational biases.

For starters, Warren apparently believes his loud paternalistic declarations of love toward Muslims, people of other religions, Republicans and Democrats, gays, and straights somehow compensates for his refusal to support equal rights for the GLBT community.

Hoag notes in her article:

“Although Warren has said that he has nothing personal against gays, he has condemned same-sex marriage.

‘“I {Warren} have many gay friends. I've eaten dinner in gay homes. No church has probably done more for people with AIDS than Saddleback Church,’ he said in a recent interview with BeliefNet. But later in the interview, he compared the ‘redefinition of marriage’ to include gay marriage to legitimizing incest, child abuse, and polygamy.”’

Underlying the controversy over Warren’s invitation to give the inaugural invocation is a popular misunderstanding that the evil of bigotry varies depending on who the victims are. Extrapolating from the Obama team’s responses to human rights violations, on a scale of 1 to 10 the importance of any suggestion of bigotry targeting a straight Christian African-American male ranks as a 10; whereas, easily trivialized bigotry targeting women or gays of any race or religion ranks between a 0 and 1.

The popular use of the above scale explains why hanging Sarah Palin in effigy during the general election was not considered a hate crime, although hanging Barack Obama in effigy resulted in the immediate apprehension of the college students responsible for the act.

America’s promise of Liberty and justice for all must include citizens of every race, gender, religion, age, sexual preference, and ethnic origin. When President-elect Obama opens his eyes and provides the leadership in human rights our world so sorely needs, other domestic and foreign policy concerns will fall rapidly into place.

Let me repeat: respect for human rights is the one and only key to global peace and prosperity and by the way, Rev. Warren, Jesus would probably agree.

Posted by VIRGINIA BERGMAN at 2:48 PM 5 comments: Links to this post Labels: Barack Obama, bigotry, GLBT community, homophobia, Misogyny, racism, Rick Warren, Saddleback Church, sexism


Time Magazine on Sarah Palin: “a one-woman rescue team for the Republican ticket” Ya gotta love Andrew Malcolm’s wry post at the Top of the Ticket (LA Times) on the saga of Sarah Palin: From running mate to Time’s runner-up.

See if you can read this passage without a chuckle:

“Her selection by the old Arizona guy annoyed the nation's news media because they weren't ready and they think Washington is a qualifying experience for the White House now that Bill Clinton and the new guy have some.

“So reporters wrote a lot about Palin's children and a future son-in-law and her baby with Down syndrome, and they jumped all over her effort to help salvage the 2008 women's clothing sales, as if that was a bad thing for the struggling economy.

‘“Time calls hers ‘the most astonishing political debut in modern times’ and says the 44-year-old mother of five -- who upset a corrupt GOP party establishment in a place many people don't ever want to visit -- was ‘a one-woman rescue team for the Republican ticket.’
 Labels: John McCain, Republican Party, Running mate, Sarah Palin, Time Magazine runner up

Rev. Joseph Lowery: “They’ve {homosexuals} never been enslaved and declared less than human"

Leading conservative pundit Bill Kristol is saluting Barack Obama for inviting Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration. Kristol’s column in the Dec. 29 edition of the Weekly Standard is titled A President-Elect's Progress: From Rev. Wright to Rev. Warren. Those who have watched Obama’s evolution from the time he was handed the nomination by the DNC and the party’s superdelegates ought not be surprised at Kristol’s support. The minute he became the presumptive nominee, Obama took a dive to the right.

Kristol neglects to mention that although Rev. Wright is described by some as an aggressively progressive preacher and Rev. Warren is beloved among conservative Christians, the two men do have something in common. Rev. Wright’s rant – actually several rants - against Hillary Clinton from the Trinity UCC pulpit betrayed the pastor’s hatred of women, especially a powerful white woman.

Religious conservative Rick Warren’s stance on reproductive rights places him among those males in prominent positions who will never personally have to face the abortion issue, e.g., the pope and his army of priests, but who nevertheless claim the power to deny women the right to make a major decision in consultation with their doctors that affects their own bodies.

In debating the moral equivalence of discrimination against gays and women as civil rights issues, Kristol inadvertently calls into question Obama's selection of both Rick Warren and Joseph Lowery to pray at his inauguration. Kristol quotes Lowery, Obama’s pick to give the benediction: "Homosexuals as a people have never been enslaved because of their sexual orientation," he {Lowery} told the Associated Press. "They may have been scorned; they may have been discriminated against. But they've never been enslaved and declared less than human."

Never been declared less than human? There are obvious gaps in both Kristol’s and Rev. Lowery’s knowledge of history. According to the United States Memorial Holocaust Museum:

It’s beyond the scope of this post to comment on all of the widespread enslavement and horrible abuse endured by gays and women throughout history that continues to this day around the globe.

I’ll conclude with these words by former slave Frederick Douglas that the Obama team in its refusal to take seriously the rights of any group other than African-Americans would do well to ponder: “Until we are all free, we are none free.”
Posted by VIRGINIA BERGMAN at 10:42 AM 1 comment: Links to this post Labels: gay rights, homophobia, Misogyny, Obama, Obama Inauguration, Rev. Lowery, Rev. Warren, Rev. Wright, sexism, Women’s Rights


Palin Condemns Racist Slurs About Obama; Obama Ignores Sexual Slurs Against Hillary Clinton

According to the AP’s William Yardley, Alaska is checking E-mailed slurs about President-elect Obama. Yardley reports:


Also, please take into consideration that Obama has justified inviting a homophobic evangelical Christian pastor to give the invocation at his inauguration by urging us to learn to disagree with one another without being disagreeable.

In ObamaLand, racism is apparently the only form of bigotry considered morally wrong; women, gays, and other minority groups don’t merit equal protection from abusive treatment.
Posted by VIRGINIA BERGMAN at 8:34 PM 1 comment: Links to this post Labels: Alaska government employees, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Jon Favreau, racial slurs, Sarah Palin, sexual misconduct

Obama Announces Final Cabinet Picks (video)

In a press conference this afternoon, President-elect Obama announced the final selections for his Cabinet including Rep. Hilda L. Solis (D-Calif.) as labor secretary, former Dallas mayor Ron Kirk as U.S. trade representative and Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.) as transportation secretary. Obama also named Karen Gordon Mills as his choice to head the Small Business Administration.

Heidi Li posted earlier on Republican Ray LaHood, Obama’s pick as transportation secretary:

‘“But today's announcement of Ray Lahood, the retiring Illinois Republican House member who, says the New York Times, ‘rose to prominence when he presided over the House impeachment vote against President Bill Clinton,’ as the second Republican in Obama's cabinet really takes the cake.

Obama has picked Lahood to serve as Transportation Secretary - Transportation Secretary in an administration that is planning to push a huge spending package disseminating bucks for works on the transport system and one that proclaims it is interested in ‘green’ issues. This is like putting Dick Cheney in charge of energy policy and thinking that we were going to end up with a crackdown on various corrupt practices in energy trading and the oil industry or that suddenly environmental standards regarding the production of ‘green’ cars would be advanced.

‘“The Times also reports that ‘Mr. LaHood...is close to Mr. Obama and Rahm Emanuel, the incoming White House chief of staff.’ In other words, Lahood, another Illinois crony. Well, cronyism also carries on the Bush legacy: remember W.'s efforts to appoint Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court? Or his 2006 recess appointments of Ellen R. Sauerbrey and J. Dorrance Smith?’’

Here's the video of the latest Obama press conference: Labels: Barack Obama, Hilda Solis, Karen Gordon Mills, Ray LaHood, Ron Kirk

Blagojevich Pledges to Fight Charges with his Last Breath (video)

Watch Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich asssert his innocence and leave your comment below.
 
Obama Doesn’t Get That Other Forms of Discrimination Are as Destructive as Racial Bias Barack Obama and Pastor Rick Warren. Photo credits: Minn. Public Radio

Barack Obama’s defense of Rick Warren as his choice to give the inaugural invocation reveals the president-elect’s failure to get that other forms of discrimination, including those based on sexual preference, gender, religion, or ethnic background are as destructive as the racial bias that he has most likely experienced firsthand.


Based on his passive stance toward sexism throughout the campaign and his recent refusal to acknowledge the outrageous behavior of his head speechwriter Jon Favreau toward Hillary Clinton, Obama puts sexism and misogyny in the same category as discrimination against the GLBT community – another of those difficult social issues we should be able to disagree about without being disagreeable.

Religion might also be included among the above prickly social issues. Obama’s Christian bona fides were repeatedly questioned in the 2008 campaign; the Obama camp responded as if being a Muslim was something shameful. It’s possible the selection of evangelical Christian Rick Warren to give the inaugural invocation is yet another groveling attempt by Obama to satisfy the religious bigots among the electorate. I continue to wonder when Obama will have the courage and the grace to stand up and declare: “I’m a Christian by choice, but I’m proud of my Muslim heritage.”

Considering Obama’s apparent tolerance of other forms of discrimination and bigotry, one has to wonder how willing he would be to “dialogue” about racial discrimination with say, a few members of the Ku Klux Klan.

Posted by VIRGINIA BERGMAN at 11:36 AM 1 comment: Links to this post Labels: anti-gay rights, Barack Obama, discrimination, Misogyny, religious bigotry, Rick Warren, sexism


Pastor Rick Warren Excludes the GLBT Community

David Waters asks an interesting question at On Faith (Washington Post/News Week) today: To Whose God Will Rick Warren Pray? Although he mentions the left’s sense of betrayal by Obama’s selection of an anti-gay, anti-choice pastor to give his inaugural invocation, Waters avoids responding to the heartrending cries of exclusion arising from the GLBT community.

Waters addresses issues of inclusion/exclusion primarily as they pertain to the various religious traditions represented in today’s culture. He writes:

“I think the most interesting question won't be answered until Warren speaks on Jan. 20. To whom (Whom?) will Warren deliver the Inauguration's opening prayer? Will his language be inclusive or exclusive? Will he pray to the sort of generic Creator God mentioned in the Declaration of Independence? Will he pray to the monotheistic and paternalistic God the Father? Or will he, as a conservative Christian pastor, pray in the name of Jesus?

“Does it matter?”

Waters compares Billy Graham’s inclusive inaugural prayers to that of his son Franklin Graham (invocation) and Kirbyjon Caldwell (benediction) who prayed to Jesus at George W. Bush’s inauguration in 2001.

Waters continues:

‘“Among the critics was Harvard Law School Professor Alan Dershowitz, who wrote in the Los Angeles Times that Graham's ‘particularistic and parochial language . . . excluded tens of millions of American Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Shintoists, Unitarians, agnostics and atheists from his blessing . . . The plain message conveyed by the new administration is that Bush's America is a Christian nation, and that non-Christians are welcome into the tent so long as they agree to accept their status as a tolerated minority rather than as fully equal citizens.’”

From the public pronouncements Rick Warren has made concerning gay rights, the impression is unavoidable that he considers the GLBT community to be among those non-Christian, but tolerated minorities rather than fully equal citizens.

As a Unitarian-Universalist whose first principle asserts the inherent worth and dignity of every person, I find Warren’s position indefensible.
Posted by VIRGINIA BERGMAN at 8:46 PM No comments: Links to this post Labels: Exclusion, gay rights, GLBT, Inclusion, Obama Inauguration, On Faith, politics, Rick Warren

Washington Post’s Saslow Trivializes Obscene, Sexist Treatment of Hillary Clinton

One of the reasons I left the Democratic Party last summer was the culture of misogyny that revealed itself in the unholy alliance of the party’s leaders and the media during a primary that culminated in a convention rigged to anoint Barack Obama as nominee for the presidency.

Even Howard Dean has since acknowledged the abusive treatment endured by first Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary and later Sarah Palin in the general election.

And yet – and yet – just this morning I turn to the Washington Post and read Eli Saslow’s saccharine paean to Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau who recently exposed his own depravity and that of his buddies in a photo first published on Facebook. The photo shows Favreau groping the cardboard former first lady’s breast while a buddy pours beer down her throat.

Here’s how Saslow cleverly dismisses the young Favreau’s behavior:

‘“Now, he {Favreau} has transformed into what one friend called a ‘Washington political force’ -- a minor celebrity with a down payment on a Dupont Circle condo, whose silly Facebook photos with a Hillary Rodham Clinton cutout created what passes for controversy in Obama's so far drama-free transition.”’

Saslow’s noxious attempt to brush Favreau’s misconduct aside doesn’t change the seriousness of the issue that continues to hang over the 2008 presidential election. Civilized, informed Americans are well aware that our nation sets the example on human rights for the rest of the world.

When America’s rampant misogyny, illustrated by a photo of punk Favreau’s disrespectful treatment of our newly named secretary of state, is rocketed around the worldwide Web, we are effectively condoning the abusive treatment of women in other cultures exemplified recently by a news report featuring a 13-year-old Somali girl. The child was brutally raped by three men on her way to visit her grandmother. She turned to the authorities for help and was instead charged with adultery and publicly stoned to death.

The good news regarding Saslow’s typically fawning coverage of anything related to the Obama team is that a good many readers took the time to protest. Below is nikital’s comment that has already been recommended by 10 readers:

nikita1 wrote:
“What the reporter described as an awkward pose was actually Favreau acting out events that often precipitate date rape. His hands is groping her breast. Another is around her neck. And the other man in the photo is pouring beer down her throat. Readers should substitute U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton's face with one of their daughter, wife, sister, or mother. The Washington Post has done a great disservice to its readers by assisting in the effort to rehabilitate the image of a person who is not fit to serve in the White House.
12/18/2008 8:53:52 AM
Recommended (10)”

Another Washington Post reader, jandrejacques, also has no patience for Favreau’s obscene behavior and again several readers approve the comment:

“Favreau should be fired for that photo. It gives substance to a belief to anybody who has been watching that the Obamas are elitists and see several minority groups as inferior, and it will be a worm in the Obama structure that will consume it. More importantly, it gives any foreign entity that SoS-elect Clinton must deal with, reason to wonder if the Obama regime are truly respectful and supportive of Clinton. He has to be fired. Of course, 'zipperhead' Obama hasn't got a clue.
12/18/2008 8:33:24 AM
Posted by VIRGINIA BERGMAN at 11:02 AM 4 comments: Links to this post Labels: Barack Obama, Jon Favreau, Misogyny, Obama speechwriters, Obama transition, sexism


Watch Interview with Caroline Kennedy in Rochester, NY Caroline Kennedy visits upstate New York.

News 10NBC reports:

Watch the uncut interview with Caroline Kennedy
Posted by VIRGINIA BERGMAN at 4:06 PM 1 comment: Links to this post 

Obama Dodges Tough Questions as Adroitly as Dubya; Now About Those Flying Shoes… Both President-elect Obama and President Bush enjoy working out. Photo credits: Weekly Standard

At last! Someone besides me has noticed the similarities between Barack Obama and George W. Bush. In earlier posts, though, I mainly compared the hubris of the inexperienced Obama’s characterization of himself as the potential savior of Washington to Dubya’s “I am Jesus” campaign promises to rid the entire world of corruption.

The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank has noticed a similarity between the post-election behavior patterns of the incoming and outgoing presidents. Milbank begins his Washington Sketch post this morning:

“A month from now, the nation will say farewell to its sports-obsessed president who doesn't like tough questions. And it will replace him with, well, another sports-obsessed president who doesn't like tough questions.

‘“I did not select Arne because he's one of the best basketball players I know,’ President-elect Barack Obama said yesterday, introducing Education Secretary-designate Arne Duncan. ‘Although I will say that I think we are putting together the best basketball-playing Cabinet in American history, and I think that is worth noting.’”

Milbank adds:

“The nominee, one of the half a dozen accomplished basketball players suiting up for Obama's inner circle, made reference to his time as a professional hoopster in Australia.”

But damn those pesky reporters like John McCormick of the Chicago Tribune who wasn’t about to be drawn into “let’s all be pals and talk sports” chitchat with the president-elect and instead insisted on asking a probing question about Rahm Emanuel’s conversations with the luckless Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Milbank reports that in perfect Dubya style, Obama successfully dodged the questions despite repeated attempts by McCormick to get him to deal with the issue.

‘“John, John, let me just cut you off,’ Obama interrupted, ‘because I don't want you to waste your question.’ The president-elect said the ‘facts are going to be released next week’ -- when he, by random coincidence, will be enjoying Christmas vacation in Hawaii -- and ‘it would be inappropriate for me to comment" before then. ‘So, do you have another question?”’

Milbank continues:

‘“There's no denying Obama's team has an impressive starting five: Duncan (6-foot-5), incoming national security adviser James Jones and body man Reggie Love (both 6-foot-4) all played college basketball, while Attorney General-designate Eric Holder and U.N. Ambassador-designate Susan Rice played high school ball. But Obama's response to Blagojevich questions has been decidedly junior varsity. Begging off because of an ongoing investigation? Hiding behind Patrick Fitzgerald's skirt? Warning a reporter not to ‘waste’ a question and asking for an alternative question? All four techniques were popularized by Bush.

“‘We're in the midst of an ongoing investigation, and I will be more than happy to comment further once the investigation is completed’ was President Bush's version.

“‘I would ask for your patience, because I do not want to interfere with an ongoing investigation’ is Obama's.

‘“McCormick's exchange in Chicago yesterday brought to mind Bush's tangle with David Gregory last year when the NBC newsman asked about an Israeli raid in Syria. ‘I'm not going to comment on the matter,’ Bush said. ‘You're welcome to ask another question, if you'd like to, on a different subject,’ the president added.”’

Milbank concludes:

‘“The whole thing might have ended in snores if McCormick hadn't piped up about Blagojevich. After upbraiding the reporter for his first two attempts at a question, Obama dispatched McCormick's third try -- whether there should be a special election to fill Obama's Senate seat -- with a no-comment. ‘I'm going to let the state legislature make a determination,’ he said.

‘“McCormick tried something more to the president-elect's liking. ‘Do you or Duncan have a better jump shot?’ he inquired.

‘“Duncan -- much better,’ Obama replied readily. ‘That one's an easy one.”’

It seems that President-elect Obama can easily dodge tough questions as adroitly as Dubya; hopefully, he’ll never have to dodge flying shoes as our athletically gifted president was forced to do in Baghdad the other day.
Posted by VIRGINIA BERGMAN at 8:46 AM No comments: Links to this post Labels: Arne Duncan, Obama basketball, Obama Blagojevich, Obama Bush commonalities, Obama press conferences


Caroline Kennedy’s Experience on the Trail Limited to Obama Campaign Michele Obama, Caroline Kennedy, Maria Shriver, and Oprah in the California primary. Photo credits: LA Times

Caroline Kennedy is openly lobbying the appropriate power brokers for Hillary Clinton’s U.S. senate seat in New York. If Gov. Paterson appoints Kennedy, she’ll have two years to learn the ropes before she’s forced to campaign for the seat the hard way in 2010.

It’s my understanding that Kennedy’s experience in campaigning is limited to her appearances, along with other members of the Kennedy clan, on behalf of Barack Obama in 2008. You’ll recall that Kennedy decided to endorse Obama at the urging of her children.

(Note: Not every member of the Kennedy clan supported Obama during the primary; one of Sen. Clinton’s most loyal supporters was Robert Kennedy, Jr., a prominent environmental activist.)

It’s hard to estimate how much good the Kennedys did for Obama, but two contests in the Democratic primary stand out in my memory. The first occurred in Massachusetts where Caroline Kennedy joined both Sen. Kennedy and Sen. Kerry as well as Gov. Deval Patrick in backing Obama.

Hillary Clinton took Massachusetts.

The second contest occurred in California where Maria Shriver, the daughter of Eunice Kennedy and Sargent Shriver and the wife of Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, teamed up with Oprah and Caroline Kennedy in heavy duty campaigning for Obama. It was deemed good political strategy for the three women to appear onstage together in opposition to Sen. Clinton.

Sen. Clinton won California.

The results of those two Democratic primary contests are probably not sufficient to predict Caroline Kennedy’s ability to campaign for a U.S. senate seat in New York. But it does give one pause.

In the meantime, by simply expressing her desire for Clinton’s soon to be vacated seat, Kennedy has stirred up the media’s interest in her influential family. Liz Robbins at the Caucus (NY Times) in fact provides a detailed portrait of the Kennedy clan’s “long political tentacles.”

Robbins begins:

“When Caroline Kennedy made it known that she eagerly wants New York’s United States Senate seat left vacant by Hillary Rodham Clinton, the spotlight burned even brighter on the most famous family in American politics.
“The nine children of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy have extended the family’s reach to both coasts and all forms of public service. And while it has been mostly Kennedy men who have held public office, Ms. Kennedy can look to her aunt, Jean Kennedy Smith, who was the United States’ ambassador to Ireland from 1993 to 1998, or her cousin, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, who was the first Kennedy woman to hold an elected office, when she served as Lieutenant Governor of Maryland from 1995 to 2003.”
For a review of all the tentacles of the Kennedy family’s political influence go here.
Posted by VIRGINIA BERGMAN at 5:37 PM No comments: Links to this post Labels: Barack Obama, Caroline Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, Maria Shriver, NY Senate seat, Ted Kennedy

Candidate #5 Jesse Jackson, Jr. is No Progressive

Jesse Jackson, Jr. Photo credits: CBSlocal.com

There are those who argue that if Hillary Clinton could get over the bruises from the rigged Democratic primary and gracefully move forward to become the new administration’s secretary of state, her supporters ought to be able to fall in line.

I’m not there yet.

All it takes to reopen my wounds from the primary is the re-emergence on the national scene of the likes of Jesse Jackson, Jr.

A post the other day by John Nichols that seeks to canonize Jackson, Jr., candidate #5 in the Blagojevich scandal, set me off again:

Nichols writes:

Continuing his accolade to the Illinois congressman who served as the national co-chair of the Obama campaign during the primary, Nichols asserts:

After every boast Nichols makes about Jackson, Jr., I have a flashback to the day after the New Hampshire primary when a grim-faced Jackson angrily lashed out at Hillary Clinton with his egregious racist and sexist charges.

Here’s a news update for John Nichols: misogyny and racism are not the hallmarks of a progressive leader.
Posted by VIRGINIA BERGMAN at 12:18 PM 1 comment: Links to this post Labels: Candidate #5, Democratic primary, Gov. Blagojevich, Hillary Clinton, Jesse Jackson, Jr.


Obama’s Comparison of Himself to Lincoln: “A Certain Kind of Hubris” Obama with supporters in Springfield, IL on Feb. 10, 2007. Photo credits: Getty Images.

Very early in the Democratic primary, I suggested to a friend afflicted by the euphoria typical of Obama supporters that her candidate simply lacked the experience to be president of the United States. Her answer? He has as much experience as Abraham Lincoln had when he became president.

Never mind the odds of Barack Obama demonstrating comparable character, judgment, and leadership skills to Abraham Lincoln are pretty remote; there is also the reality that today’s world is a much more dangerous and complex place than the world Honest Abe knew back in the 19th Century. We drive cars, for cripe sake, and we’ve got weapons of mass destruction.

In the end, however, euphoria triumphed over common sense or even a modicum of skepticism in the 2008 election and in the midst of a global financial crisis and two wars, Americans elected president the least qualified candidate in the field.

Now President-elect Obama, educated at Columbia and Harvard, continues to encourage his adoring public to associate him with the self-educated Lincoln who studied law in the evenings by firelight.

A few contemporary historians offer a reality check or two.

In a post titled Straw Man? Historians say Obama is no Lincoln, Harris and Burns at Politico write:

‘“In Barack Obama's appearance last month on CBS's ‘60 Minutes,’ the conversation turned to the president-elect's long-time love of Lincoln.

‘“There is a wisdom there,’ Obama told interviewer Steve Kroft,’ and a humility about his approach to government, even before he was president, that I just find very helpful.’

‘“And now there are early rumblings of a backlash to Obama's ostentatious embrace of all things Lincoln, with his not-so-subtle invitations to compare the 44th president to the 16th, the ‘Savior of the Union.’

‘“Sure, they've looked back to Washington and even, at times, Jackson. Reagan echoed and at times swiped FDR's rhetoric,’ said Wilentz. ‘But there's never been anything like this, and on this scale. Ever.’

‘“Eric Foner, a Columbia historian who has written extensively on the Civil War era, agreed that comparing one's self to Lincoln sets a rather high bar for success, and could come off like ‘a certain kind of hubris.’

‘“It'd be a bit like a basketball player turning up before his first game and saying, ‘I'm kind of modeling myself on Michael Jordan,’ he said. ‘If you can do it, fine. If you're LeBron James, that'll work. But people may make that comparison to your disadvantage.’

“As it happens, Obama may find this an entirely apt comparison.”

‘“I'm LeBron, baby," he told a Chicago Tribune reporter at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. ‘I can play on this level. I got some game.’

“That kind of preening highlights a risk that many presidents have encountered as they gaze in history's mirror.”


Posted by VIRGINIA BERGMAN at 8:20 PM 1 comment: Links to this post Labels: Abraham Lincoln, Barack Obama, Eric foner, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Obama and historians, Sean Wilentz

Review's Findings of Obama Team’s Contacts with Blago on Hold Until Next Week

Note: Below is an update to an earlier article by the AP in which it noted the public will have to wait until next week for details from the Obama Team's internal review, "when few will be paying close attention because of Christmas and Obama's plans to celebrate in Hawaii _ far away from Chicago, the focal point of the federal investigation."

The AP reported today at 5 P.M. EST:

‘“CHICAGO — President-elect Barack Obama had no direct contact with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich about the appointment of a Senate replacement and his aides had ‘no inappropriate discussions,’ a spokesman for the transition office said Monday in disclosing the results of an internal review.

‘“The spokesman, Dan Pfeiffer, said the review itself would be kept confidential at least until the week of Dec. 22 at the request of federal prosecutors ‘in order not to impede their investigation of the governor.’

“As governor, Blagojevich has sole authority to appoint a replacement, although fellow Democrats have demanded he refrain from doing so and Illinois lawmakers may consider legislation stripping him of his power.

“State lawmakers also took the first step toward possible impeachment during the day.

‘“In the statement, Pfeiffer said incoming White House counsel Gregory Craig has kept federal prosecutors informed of the internal review ‘in order to ensure our full cooperation with the investigation’ into allegations against the governor.

“Yet the brief statement left several issues uncovered.”

Posted by VIRGINIA BERGMAN at 4:56 PM No comments: Links to this post Labels: Barack Obama, Blagojevich, Carol Browner, Environmental team, Lisa Jackson, Nancy Sutley, Pfeiffer, Rham Emanuel, Steven Chu

“Winter Blasts Into the North Country” (video) 
The sun is breaking through the cloud cover in St. Paul this morning even though dangerously cold wind chill temps are in the forecast. We’re looking at –25 to –30 degrees.


I drove to church Sunday morning in the rain. It stayed above freezing long enough for me to stop at the supermarket on my way home. Today it’s warm and snug in my apartment as I watch the video “Winter Blasts Into the North Country” and congratulate myself for stocking up with groceries and other necessities ahead of the severe weather. Labels: Blizzard, Minneapolis, Minnesota, St. Paul, subzero temperatures
 

Posted by VIRGINIA BERGMAN at 6:20 PM No comments: Links to this post 

Sniffing Out Contacts Between Obama’s Transition Team and Blagojevich Politico’s Vogel and Martin reported the other day on President-elect Obama’s pledge to conduct an internal investigation of possible contacts between his transition team and Illinois Gov. Blagojevich regarding the governor’s attempt to sell Obama’s senate seat for personal gain.

Vogel and Martin write:

‘“He was elected president on a promise of ‘transparency’ but barely five weeks later, Barack Obama is scrambling to meet his first big test on openness.

“Obama's campaign lawyer Bob Bauer is taking a leading role in conducting what one top aide described as "an internal review" stopping short of a full-blown investigation.

“The goal is simple and urgent: find who talked with disgraced Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and when - and precisely what they said.

“But it's also loaded with hazards. They need to make sure they meet Obama's vow to release findings "in a few days." More importantly, they need to make sure they don't miss something that could come back to bite them later.

‘“What they’re doing is either setting themselves up for inconsistencies, or creating a cache of evidence that otherwise wouldn’t exist. It never helps when you dig up the dirt in your own yard and you find stuff,’ said Stan Brand, a top Washington defense lawyer.”’

Posted by VIRGINIA BERGMAN at 8:06 AM No comments: Links to this post Labels: Blagojevich scandal, Obama, Obama damage control, Obama transition team
 

Not to worry.

Political Intelligence (Boston Globe) reports:

Pardon me if I remain a bit skeptical.
Posted by VIRGINIA BERGMAN at 8:03 PM 2 comments: Links to this post 


Chicago: Corruption Capital of the United States

Prompted by the current Blagojevich scandal, the Christian Science Monitor provides an excellent summary of how corruption has wound through Illinois politics in recent decades.

Staff writer Amanda Paulson writes:


“In the annals of corrupt Illinois politicians, Gov. Rod Blagojevich may go down as one of the most brazen. But he has plenty of company.

“Three of the state’s seven previous governors have been convicted and served time. Since 1971, by one count, 31 Chicago aldermen and some 1,000 public officials and businessmen have been convicted.

‘“We’re the corruption capital of the United States,’ says Dick Simpson, a political scientist at the University of Illinois in Chicago and a former Chicago alderman, who maintains that state corruption count. ‘We have more [corruption] even than New Jersey and Louisiana, which are our competitors.”’
 Labels: Blagojevich scandal, Chicago politics, corruption in Illinois

Blagojevich Scandal Dominates Obama’s News Conference Introduced by President-elect Obama today as Health and Human Services Secretary-designate, Tom Daschle endorsed Obama last February during the Democratic primary. Photo credits: Campusprogress.org.

Kate Seelye at the Caucus (NY Times) blogged Obama’s presser this morning when he introduced former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle as Health and Human Services Secretary-designate in Chicago.

At the top of her post, Seelye writes:

“The U.S. attorney had also said there was no indication that Mr. Obama was in any way involved. But Mr. Obama did note that his staff was still gathering facts about whether anyone on his team might have been involved, leaving the door open that some inconvenient news could emerge. It seems unlikely that Mr. Obama’s statements today will put these questions to rest.

“And poor Mr. Daschle! Like Al Gore on Monday, Mr. Obama’s co-stars were overlooked as reporters questioned Mr. Obama about the scandal. Still, in the health-care question, Mr. Obama indicated quite clearly that the Bush tax cuts may not be rolled back as fast as he had promised, if at all. In the end, of course, dealing with health care and the rest of the economic emergency in this country will have a more lasting effect on his presidency than the current scandal in his home state.” Labels: Barack Obama, Health and Human Services, Patrick Fitzgerald, Rod Blagojevich, Tom Daschle


Corruption in the Land of Lincoln: Obama’s Reformist Image Tarnished 

Calabresi writes:

Posted by VIRGINIA BERGMAN at 12:19 PM 1 comment: Links to this post 


Michael Savage Speaks Out on America’s Sadomasochistic Women 
Media Matters for America hit my inbox yesterday, Monday, Dec. 8 with this jarring headline:

Savage: "[A]ny heterosexual woman today over the age of 25 who grew up in America is basically a dominatrix"

Just to be sure I knew what Savage was talking about I looked up ‘dominatrix’ in a handy online dictionary. Here’s what I found:

dom·i·na·trix [ dòmmə náytriks ] (plural dom·i·na·tri·ces, noun

Definition: dominant woman sadomasochist: a dominant woman partner in a sadomasochistic relationship

Lauryn Bruck at Media Matters for America reports in detail:

‘“During the December 4 broadcast of The Savage Nation, host Michael Savage discussed a New York Post article that reported allegations that ‘[a]n attorney at one of New York City's most prestigious law firms -- who had a secret passion for S&M -- was shot to death by a rival for the affections of a brilliant Ivy League stunner who moonlights as a dominatrix.’ Savage said: ‘When I was a kid, we didn't need to go to a dominatrix; all we had to do is argue with our mothers." Savage later said: ‘I don't understand that part of it. I truly don't understand it because any heterosexual woman today over the age of 25 who grew up in America is basically a dominatrix. You ask any heterosexual guy. Within a short period of time -- what do you think it's going to last? Ehhh -- 90 days and after that you're living with a dominatrix anyway, so what's the difference?’”

“Savage continued:

“Why do they have to go to a professional? What does a professional dominatrix do that an ordinary woman doesn't do in America today? Half the women look like post-op transvestites to begin with, trying to look like they're gay or keeping up with the mores of the society. You ever see what they look like? They thin themselves down, they're on some kind of diet pill. The lipstick looks like it was applied by, what's her name, Joan Rivers when she was high. They all have a mouth on them, and the guy is, like, pushed into the background. It's any wonder I'm in talk radio.

“From the December 4 broadcast of Talk Radio Network's The Savage Nation:

‘“SAVAGE: ‘Lawyer slain by S&M madman obsessed with victim's whip mistress girlfriend.’ That's not a bad story. ‘An attorney at one of New York City's most prestigious law firms -- who had a secret passion for S&M -- was shot to death by a rival for the affections of a brilliant Ivy League stunner who moonlights as a dominatrix.’ Where did this all come from, a dominatrix? When did that -- when did that come up in America, dominatrix? I mean, I could say a few words about it. When I was a kid, we didn't need to go to a dominatrix; all we had to do is argue with our mothers.”’

With creeps like Savage speaking to a radio audience of millions, one has to wonder if there’s a safe place for a woman anywhere in today’s culture.
Posted by VIRGINIA BERGMAN at 11:48 AM 2 comments: Links to this post Labels: American women, dominatrix, Media Matters for America, Michael Savage, Sadomasochism, The Savage Nation