The Boss of Me

A fascinating review by Michael Tomasky of Herman’s Cain’s book, The ‘CEO of Self’ in The New York Review of Books. The emphasis is mine:

The difference between the two is that while Obama and liberals generally sense a great debt to the civil rights pioneers who made their opportunities possible, Cain and other conservatives generally tend to persuade themselves that they have done it on their own. Cain was a teenager, living in the same town as Martin Luther King Jr. when King was rising to national prominence. He was a ten-year-old boy when King first gained fame in 1956, and a teenager throughout the tumultuous early 1960s. He must have been aware of what was happening around him. But he writes of the movement only briefly and remotely:

I was too young to participate when they first started the Freedom Rides, and the sit-ins. So on a day-to-day basis, it didn’t have an impact. I just kept going to school, doing what I was supposed to do, and stayed out of trouble—I didn’t go downtown and try to participate in sit-ins.

And that is that: because he had no direct involvement in the movement, he assigns it no meaning in his life. It’s a view that’s reflected in the Tea Party ideology, the idea that people have made it entirely on their own without asking for any handouts, and they don’t want “government” in their lives now. This is the story Cain has decided to tell himself about himself. And when he did encounter racism, like the time he went to get a haircut in Fredericksburg, Virginia, but was told the shop would not accept blacks, he vanquished it by reminding himself to behave like a you-know-what: “When I left that barbershop, I bought a set of clippers and cut my own hair. I continue to cut my own hair to this day, exercising my right as CEO of Self to do so.”

Most of the time it’s the personal that becomes the political. In Herman Cain’s case, he managed to turn the political into the personal.

I am reminded of the hoopla over former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, an almost-2012-Republican-nominee-wannabe, when he reminisced to the Weekly Standard and told of his coming of age in Yazoo City in the 1960’s.

Both fascinating stories, really.

Rick Perry's Winning Strategy

Turn all 18 year olds away from their polling places. On Nov. 12, 2012!



Drinking age.  Voting age.  First Tuesday in November.  Second Tuesday in November.

Whatever.

Newt in New Hampshire!

New Hampshire's largest newspaper, the Union Leader, endorsed former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich as their favorite 2012-Republican-presidential-nominee wannabee in their Sunday editorial today.

Not sure they carry much weight anymore, but this is telling. The emphasis is mine:

The front page one editorial, signed by publisher Joseph W. McQuaid, suggested that the only state-wide newspaper in New Hampshire was ready to again assert itself as a player in the GOP primary.

"We don't have to agree with them on every issue," the newspaper wrote in an editorial that ran across the width of the front page. "We would rather back someone with whom we may sometimes disagree than one who tells us what he thinks we want to hear."

But not surprisingly, Mitt Romney still leads the pack.  Still waiting for Jon Huntsman to surge...

Air Force Academy adapts to pagans, druids, witches and Wiccans

Cross-posted on ProgressivePatriotGirl.tumblr.com:

I agree with Chaplain Maj. Darren Duncan, branch chief of cadet faith communities that the Air Force Academy attempting to accommodate all faiths is not about religious tolerance, but that it is rather a 1st Amendment issue.

If the military is to defend the Constitution, it should also be upholding its guarantee of religious freedom. “We think we are setting the standard,” Duncan says.

But, given the Air Force’s reputation of aggressive proselytizing toward non-Christians„ this is not a done deal by any stretch of the imagination.

Monitoring Social Media, Kansas-Style

How many ways can you say “anti-intellectual?” The emphasis is mine:

A Kansas teenager is in trouble after mocking Gov. Sam Brownback during a mock legislative assembly for high school students.

Emma Sullivan, a senior at Shawnee Mission East High School in Prairie Village, was in Topeka on Monday as part of Kansas Youth in Government, a program for students interested in politics and government.

During the session, in which Brownback addressed the group, Sullivan posted on her personal Twitter page:

“Just made mean comments at gov brownback and told him he sucked, in person #heblowsalot”

On Tuesday, Sullivan was called to her principal’s office and told that the tweet had been flagged by someone on Brownback’s staff and reported to organizers of the Youth in Government program.

The principal “laid into me about how this was unacceptable and an embarrassment,” Sullivan said. “He said I had created this huge controversy and everyone was up in arms about it … and now he had to do damage control.

She was ordered by the school principal to write a number of letters of apology, including to Brownback, the school’s Youth in Government sponsor, and the district’s social studies coordinator.

Because heavens knows, we don’t want to be teaching our kids that’s it’s good to create huge controversies. Not something that should be done in academic environments.

What is perhaps most amazing, is that the folks monitoring social media in Gov. Brownback’s office sent a screen shot of the tweet to the organizers of the event “so that they were aware what their students were saying in regards to the governor’s appearance.”

“We monitor social media so we can see what Kansans are thinking and saying about the governor and his policies,” Jones-Sontag said.

“We just felt it was appropriate for the organizers to be aware … because of what was said in the tweet.”

Really? Why?

I for one will start following Emma Sullivan, @emmakate988. Hope you do, too!

Why Newt Will Never Be President

From The Washington Post:

GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich called child labor laws “truly stupid” at a Friday appearance at Harvard University, saying that he would propose extraordinarily radical changes that would fundamentally transform the culture of poverty.

Speaking at the John F. Kennedy school, Gingrich said that children in the poorest neighborhoods are “trapped in child laws” that prevent them from earning money.

“Most of these schools ought to get rid of the unionized janitors, have one master janitor and pay local students to take care of the school,” Gingrich said according to a CNN video. “The kids would actually do work, they would have cash, they’d have pride in the schools, they’d begin the process of rising. Get any job that teaches you to show up on Monday. Get any job that teaches you to stay all day, even if you’re having a fight with your girlfriend.”

Not a flub.  A true belief.  A genuine public policy stance.  Which is why Newt will never be President.

Enough said.

The Continuing Saga of Anyone-But-Mitt

Newt’s surge continues:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has roared into the lead of the Republican nominating race, brushing off concerns about his work for a troubled housing company, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed.

Twenty-four percent of registered Republican voters would support the former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives if the contest were held now, an increase of 8 percentage points from roughly a week ago, according to the poll, which was conducted on November 18-19.

Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who has stayed near the top of most polls, garnered support from 22 percent of Republicans, slumping 6 percentage points from the last survey conducted on November 10-11 and ending up essentially tied with Gingrich.

From the man who said this, at yesterday’s Thanksgiving Family Forum, yet another Republican-Presidential-nominee-wannabe debate in Iowa when asked if there is a definition for the term “moral war”:

First of all, as Congressman Paul pointed out, in Christian theology there is a clear development of the concept of the just war. Which people like Augustine had to develop because they saw the rise of Pagans that were actually threatening the very survival of their country. In fact, Augustine is buried in Italy because his body was taken out of North Africa when the Christians lost North Africa. So then, these things become very real.

So then, a war is moral when it is about defending Christianity against forces that threaten the very survival of a country? Because after all, as the good professor said, these things can become very real…

And it is a well-known fact that the former Speaker of the House is very concerned with paganism. Evidently, we are surrounded by paganism, per Newt.

So, I guess the (long, long, long) moral war has begun.

Complete video of the Thanksgiving Family Forum here. Long and painful. But very real.



And in case you couldn’t figure it out, a consortium of Christian organizations hosted the debate.

Oh yes, and Mitt Romney was a no-show.

Next Up For A Surge?

So, is there a 2012-Republican-Presidential-Nominee-Wannabe left, to surge?

Nov. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Newt Gingrich made between $1.6 million and $1.8 million in consulting fees from two contracts with mortgage company Freddie Mac, according to two people familiar with the arrangement.

The total amount is significantly larger than the $300,000 payment from Freddie Mac that Gingrich was asked about during a Republican presidential debate on Nov. 9 sponsored by CNBC, and more than was disclosed in the middle of congressional investigations into the housing industry collapse.

Gingrich’s business relationship with Freddie Mac spanned a period of eight years. When asked at the debate what he did to earn a $300,000 payment in 2006, the former speaker said he “offered them advice on precisely what they didn’t do,” and warned the company that its lending practices were “insane.” Former Freddie Mac executives who worked with Gingrich dispute that account.

 Because after all, it does have to be anyone-but-Romney.

Tweet of the Day

The librarian-in-training in me, couldn't help myself.

Unconstitutional or Unworkable and Unpopular?

The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear a challenge to the Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s 2010 health care overhaul law. With arguments in March and a decision in late June, all smack in the middle of the 2012 presidential race.

The Obama administration comments – purely legal:

In a statement issued soon after the decision, the Obama administration restated their argument that the mandate is perfectly constitutional

“We know the Affordable Care Act is constitutional and are confident the Supreme Court will agree,” said Dan Pfeiffer, the White House communications director.

Comments from those opposed to the law – political. The emphasis is mine.

“It is high time for the high court to strike down this unconstitutional, unworkable and unpopular law,” said Randy E. Barnett, a law professor at Georgetown.

Anyone surprised?

The Changing Face of the Midwest

From today’s New York Times:

For generations, the story of the small rural town of the Great Plains, including the dusty tabletop landscape of western Kansas, has been one of exodus — of businesses closing, classrooms shrinking and, year after year, communities withering as fewer people arrive than leave and as fewer are born than are buried. That flight continues, but another demographic trend has breathed new life into the region

Hispanics are arriving in numbers large enough to offset or even exceed the decline in the white population in many places. In the process, these new residents are reopening shuttered storefronts with Mexican groceries, filling the schools with children whose first language is Spanish and, for now at least, extending the lives of communities that seemed to be staggering toward the grave.

For the most part the article is positive, with a nod to the idea that without this type of change, entire communities will simply wither away and die. And that the only way for some rural towns to survive, is to lend a hand to the newcomers. The pattern of growth is familiar – Hispanics have long lived in some of the population hubs housing meatpacking plants in the Midwest. But now, they are pushing out into more rural areas. Areas reminiscent of the places they grew up and would like to raise their families.

Not all is cheery, of course.

Ginger Anthony, director of the Historic Adobe Museum, which chronicles the history of the onetime frontier town, discussed the changes with dismay, pausing repeatedly to reiterate that she did not want her criticism to seem “politically incorrect.” She is so unnerved, particularly by illegal immigrants, that she recently started locking her door — saying that the police-beat column in the local paper disproportionately features Spanish surnames.

“This wave of new people coming into the Midwest, it’s not always a good thing,” she said, as a co-worker nodded in agreement. “If you talk to the average working person, a lot of them are sort of fed up. Our town isn’t what it was.”

But all in all, a positive take on what can only be the wave of the future.

¡Viva La Música!

Can’t believe I missed the Latin Grammy’s this week!



Happy weekend, all!

We Won

Last night…

Ohio.

Mississippi.

Maine.

Despite all the awful stuff that is going on in the county, in so many ways the train has left the station.

Prop 8 in the News

So, no hiding behind hate.

A federal judge says donors to the $40 million campaign that banned same-sex marriage in California aren't entitled to the anonymity that the U.S. Supreme Court has granted to minor parties operating in a hostile climate.

Only organizations like the Socialist Workers Party during the Cold War and the NAACP in the segregated South - "small, persecuted groups whose very existence depended on some manner of anonymity" - have been exempted from laws requiring that members and contributors be disclosed, U.S. District Judge Morrison England said Friday.

England said there is no evidence that the 7 million Californians who voted for Proposition 8 in 2008 could be considered a "fringe organization" with unpopular or unorthodox views, or that leaving donors in the public record would frighten away contributors to future campaigns.

To be expected, a lawyer for Protect Marriage and the National Organization for Marriage, said Monday that he will appeal England's ruling.

Love it when the right things happen.  This really made my day!

Come Tuesday

Election day on Tuesday, and some interesting things on the ballot.

In Maine, same day voter registration:

For nearly 40 years, voters in Maine have been able to walk into a polling place or town hall on Election Day and register to vote. But the Republican-controlled legislature this year decided to remove the option, citing the stress on municipal clerks and concerns about the potential for voter fraud.

Angry Democrats responded by launching a people's veto campaign, and come Election Day this Tuesday, voters will consider whether to restore same-day registration.

Because same day registration is a very, very scary thing.

In Mississippi, outlawing abortion by adding a “personhood" amendment to the constitution:

Abortion rights in Mississippi are being tested with a referendum on the ballot Tuesday asking voters to amend the state constitution to redefine the term “person” to include “every human being from the moment of fertilization” or cloning.

Opponents charge the change – which both sides say is likely to pass – is a backdoor way to outlaw abortion that could put the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision in jeopardy. Redefining “personhood” under Mississippi's Bill of Rights will likely lead to court battles that may end up before the US Supreme Court.

The strategy is being used in several states this year, according to Personhood USA, an Arvada, Colo. organization that provides assistance to state efforts. Besides Mississippi, petitions to put a personhood amendment on the 2012 ballot have been filed in Ohio, Nevada, and California, and there is petition activity in every other state as well.

Truly horrible. And since this is a nation-wide effort, who knows how fast this could spread.

In Ohio, Senate Bill 5:

With Election Day looming, two issues dealing with claims about state Issue 2 drew reader interest on PolitiFact Ohio.

Voters will decide the fate of the issue Tuesday. Voting "yes" on Issue 2 is voting in favor of the law referred to as Senate Bill 5, which restricts the collective-bargaining power of all public workers in the state. A "no" vote on Issue 2 is a vote to repeal SB 5.

One claim, from a pro-Issue 2 commercial, deals with how much public employees are paid. The other, from a speech by Gov. John Kasich, relates to the use of arbitrators to settle labor impasses.

There will be lots and lots of political posturing in Ohio on Wednesday morning, for sure.

Actually some things to watch out for on this Election Day!

Happy Bank Transfer Day!

Lyrics by Tom Paxton. Performed by Arlo Guthrie.



Happy weekend, all!

Newt's Turn to Surge?

From Public Policy Polling:

If Cain's candidacy does implode in the coming weeks our numbers suggest the candidate poised to benefit the most is Newt Gingrich. In North Carolina he's the second choice of 29% of Cain voters, compared t0 16% for Romney, 15% for Perry, and 10% for Bachmann. In Maine he's the second choice of 26% of Cain voters to 17% for Romney and 15% for Perry.

It's no surprise that Gingrich would be the beneficiary of a Cain collapse, because Tea Party voters have been the foundation of Cain's surge and Newt polled second with that group of GOP loyalists on both of our polls over the weekend. In North Carolina 42% of Tea Partiers preferred Cain to 25% for Gingrich, 11% for Romney, and 10% for Perry. Gingrich's favorability with Tea Party voters there is 83/14 compared to 49/42 for Romney and 48/42 for Perry. In Maine 38% of Tea Partiers preferred Cain to 29% for Gingrich and 9% for Romney. There Gingrich's favorability with those voters is 75/19 to 53/36 for Romney and 35/47 for Perry. Tea Party voters like Gingrich far more than Romney and Perry so it stands to reason that if there is a Cain collapse, Newt will be the immediate beneficiary.

And we all know Herman Cain is about to collapse.

Anybody-But-Romney-2012.

State of Denial, All The Way Around

So, yet another woman has voiced accusations of sexual harassment against 2012-GOP-Presidential-nominee-wannabee, businessman Herman Cain.

So, Herman Cain denies the charges.

So, Herman Cain accuses Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign of orchestrating the charges.

So, Rick Perry’s campaign denies the charges.

I must be losing my political junkie edge, because I find this all really, really, really boring.

Chip-Off-The-Old-Block

The best take yet, on Texas Gov. Rick Perry's (very, very) odd speech in New Hampshire last weekend. From The Rachel Maddow Show:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Not drunk.  Not high.  Not on meds.  Not surprising. Just Rick Perry, being Rick Perry.

Toast.