The Past Week: January 4-January 10, 2009 (Donor Fatigue among Obamacrats; Wes Clark; Ms. Magazine–Total Sellout; Tess; Street Numbers Man; “Grounding” with Harvesting; Betta Fish Drama)

~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL

It’s  just over a week before the Obama juggernaut is officially in office. I’m trying to put it out of my mind. Every morning my mother comes into the kitchen fresh from listening to the radio. She’s armed with the latest news.  I usually know about it, but the little report from my “mother-who-doesn’t-like-Bush-anymore-but-still-defends-him” always manages to get me bugged. And no matter how many times I tell her I don’t want to hear it, I wind up hearing it because she thinks it’s a delightful game to taunt me about the demise of the Democratic Party…the REAL Democratic Party.

***

Chicago Correspondent Leslie sent this along…the SHOCKING NEWS that Obama has actually sent out an email message WITHOUT asking for money!

The LA Times “Top of the Ticket” blog snarks:

Breaking: Obama sends national e-mail with NO plea for money!

This is no Friday joke.

Word has just been received at The Ticket that President-elect Barack Obama sent out an actual e-mail today without asking for more money from tired donors. No, really.

The N.Y. Times’ Katharine Seelye recently reported growing donor fatigue among eager and happy Obamaites to whom it has occurred that they’ve already given nearly $1 billion to buy all this change to believe in, even many long weeks after the ex-freshman senator won the White House already.

See the rest of the story on the $$ that Obama has raked in, including post-election,  as well as details on the email that was sent out in praise of “ideal leader” Tim Kaine after he was named part-time DNC head–without any begging for cash.  Bush also appointed a part-time party chair because he had Karl Rove hanging around in the White House.  Obama is following the same pattern, but we’ve got David Axelrod pulling the puppet strings now.  Big change, huh?

Anyway, doesn’t this pair inspire you??

Obama & Kaine, Perfect Together

As for Kaine, I recall how often he campaigned in Virginia to get Kaine elected governor of Virginia and how I already had misgivings about Kaine  (I was separating myself from Clark by then.)  By the way, what’s Clark up to now?

***

Well, after campaigning for Obama he made appearances on the Stephanie Miller and Ed Schultz shows in late November. More recently, he wrote a column for the Washington Post entitled “Taking Command”  [12/21/2008] discussing how Democrats and the military can get along. His message concludes:

We have a president-elect who has set out a pragmatic, nonpartisan, visionary course. It’s time to lay to rest the old stereotypes about feckless, pacifist Democrats and authoritarian, war-mongering soldiers. If there were ever a time to get the relationship between Democrats and the military right, this is it.

Clark brownies up everyone in sight and now he’s following Obama and embracing “nonpartisanship” and Obama’s VISION.  Clark mentions “authoritarian soldiers”–I guess he doesn’t see that characteristic in his new “leader”?? To think I once actually worked for his campaign for President…

***

Recently, we’ve posted quite a few entries about women and the treatment we receive, so Ms. Magazine’s cover on their “Inaugural Issue” really turned our stomachs.  Heidi Li broke the news on Friday.  Go over to her site read her story, but I’m posting  the cover art here just to give you an idea of why she (and we) are so aghast!  The hits just keep coming…Honest to Goddess, are these people NUTS???

Delusion or Dementia??

***

Tonight (1/11) is the concluding segment of the BBC production of  Thomas Hardy’s “Tess of the D’ubervilles” (link takes you to the BBC site).  Part 1 was SO DEPRESSING, especially in light of what women have put up with this year.  I almost can’t bear to watch Part 2.  Let me tell you, we’re heading back to Tess’ world at the rate we’re going…

***

UPDATE on The Man Who Paints Street Numbers…(Final Installment in Our “Season of the Heart” Series) (1/1/09)

I emailed the story and link to the local “Life” reporter on Monday 1/5 as planned…but still, no response!!!  Fingers still crossed …

***

Enough news, it’s onto more important things like gardens and betta fish!  Seriously, without the plants and the dogs and fish, I think I’d go nuts myself.  There’s nothing more “grounding” than harvesting fresh broccoli, feeding the birds, and loving the family fauna.

The pak choi was eaten last week and I’ve got to plant something else one of these days. Today I had delicious collards and harvested a second batch of  broccoli. Tomorrow it will be steamed, then sauteed with garlic and olive oil and served with pasta.  Oh, that’s SUBLIME!   The mustard is still going strong after multiple cuttings…nothing better than steamed mustard drizzled with olive oil, topping a sweet potato pizza crust that’s been baked with olive oil and garlic.  Amazing!

Betta Drama

The betta looked sickly a few days ago and I did tons of research. Bought a Master Kit for testing the water and did a few partial water changes and he’s looking 100% better.  There’s a lot of conflicting info out there on bettas, tanks and how to keep them clean…the stumbling block for me was the issue of cycling the tank (mine is probably too small to do it correctly) versus just changing the water the old-fashioned way. I’ve mastered the vacuum so today the partial change I did took only about 15 minutes.   I’m doing several until the ammonia levels reach “O”  and then will clean the tank the old-fashioned way and forget about cycling.   The cam is back on betta (still haven’t named him!) since he is back to acting like a happy fish, so he’ll be featured during the evenings.  The camera angle catches the doorway and you might catch the dogs wandering in an out, too!

THE PAST WEEK

*By American Lassie

Obama “Media Advisory”: Groups Being Used to Build Public Pressure for “Recovery Plan”

Used Body Parts (Female)

Women in Power: The Example of Prime Ministers in Bangladesh, “A No-Casserole Zone”

Make Your Plans for Inauguration Day NOW!! Important Info on Alternate Events to Help Get Through the Day!!

*KING HARRY SAYS “HE’S NOT WELCOME” (UPDATE 1X) Burris Stopped by “Paperwork”

The Past Week: December 28, 2008-January 3, 2009 (Court Dates; Barnicle on Bloggers; Burris-Delmarie Cobb Connection [Clinton Supporter]; Economic Collapse; The Feeding Machine)

Of Robots and Women and Our Current Life in the Village of Stepford (Antidote on the Way?)(A Double Post by kenosha Marge and InsightAnalytical-GRL)

Women, You’re About To Be Replaced By…a ROBOT!

~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL

A few days ago I happened to spot something as I roamed around the web that really made my skin crawl!  In the current climate of subtle and not-so-subtle sexism and misogyny coming at as from every direction, this had to be “the crowning touch.” When I saw this, my mind rewound to a post written by kenosha Marge that first appeared at Partizane back on November 12. (For those of you who missed it there, KM’s opus follows  immediately after this eye-opener.)

Let’s see… the item I found was written, it seems, by exactly the sort of woman KM describes in her piece.  With complete seriousness and “professionalism” and not a hint of wondering about what the hell it’s all about, she does a thorough and admiring article on a certain invention.  Maybe she wants to keep HER job, but she can’t muster up a single reference point to what women have been put up with for eons???  Did she ever see original version of  The Stepford Wives (1975), a movie I can’t bear to watch anymore??? (Ironically, the 2004 remake was supposed to be “more comedic” according to the linked article…maybe another indicator of how we’ve been more delusional about our “progress” than we should have been!)

Well, I guess it’s on with the show from The Sun (UK), home of the half-naked “Page 3” women:

Inventor builds She-3PO robot

By CAROLINE IGGULDEN

Published: 11 Dec 2008

SHE is the perfect wife, with the body of a Page 3 pin-up and housekeeping skills that put TV’s Kim and Aggie to shame.

Her name is Aiko, she can even read a map, and will never, ever, nag.

Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t she fellas? And she is.

Aiko is actually a robot, a fantasy brought to life by inventor Le Trung.

Devoted Aiko — “in her 20s” — has a stunning 32-23-33 figure, pretty face and shiny hair.

She is always happy to clean the house for “husband” Le, help with his accounts or get him a drink.

Computer ace Le, 33, from Ontario, Canada, has spent two years and £14,000 building his dream girl.

He had planned to make an android to care for the elderly.

But his project — inspired by sci-fi robots like Star Wars’s C3PO — strayed off-course.

Le said: “Aiko is what happens when science meets beauty.”

Robo-wife Aiko starts the day by reading Le the main newspaper headlines.

The couple often go for a drive in the countryside, where Aiko proves a whizz at directions.

And they always sit down for dinner together in the evening, although Aiko doesn’t have much of an appetite.

Le says his relationship with Aiko hasn’t strayed into the bedroom, but a few “tweaks” could turn her into a sexual partner.

Le said: “Her software could be redesigned to simulate her having an orgasm.”

Aiko can already react to being tickled or touched. She also recognises faces and speaks 13,000 sentences.

Now Le is seeking a sponsor to help him overcome the robot-maker’s biggest challenge — making Aiko walk like a human.

Once Aiko has been perfected, Le hopes to sell clones for use as home-helps.

He said: “Aiko doesn’t need holidays, food or rest, and will work almost 24 hours a day. She is the perfect woman.”

Aiko sparks mixed reactions in public.

Le said: “Women usually try to talk to her. But men always want to touch her, and if they do it the wrong way she slaps them.”

Well, at least she slaps them if they “touch her the wrong way”!! What a “perfect woman”!

Here’s a “full frontal” cheesecake photo of this latest wonder (and there’s a video up at the The Sun, too):

I don’t know what’s sicker–the fact that this guy has built the perfect stereotype which women can’t seem to shake OR the fact that the female reporter seems to accept “nagging” as a feminine attribute and humors the fellas as she mentions that the robot woman is  “too good to be true.” Oh, but Aiko does get credit for being able to read a map, although we’re not quite how she’ll do in bed…

One more thought–can you imagine if this thing is mass-marketed?? What will THAT do to the status of women?  Hey, NOW and all you other “feminist leaders” who decided to get suckered by Obama…what’s your move when this hits town???

If you are feeling as disgusted as I am, you can email the “reporter”  or whatever she is at c.iggulden@the-sun.co.uk.

***

Women Will Never Be Equal

~~By kenosha Marge

I watched as 56% of the female voters in the country voted for a misogynist. I watched outraged. I watched in sadness. I watched in shame. And I knew, I finally, completely, totally knew that women would never be equal. They won’t let themselves be. They don’t want to be. They are afraid to be. They will always choose a second-rate man over a first-rate woman.

We will never be equal not because of the men that hate us, demean us and insist that we remain second-class citizens. Those pathetic little fellas need someone to look down on but there are not enough of them. There are too many good, decent secure men around who don’t need to keep a woman down to make themselves feel all manly.

The pathetic little men need to have someone to whom they can feel superior and then push around; pound on, talk smut about and then take to bed. The sex part is a bonus they get with no other subjected critter. Except for those that do it to sheep and even the sheep have the self-respect to bleat about it.

But the pathetic little men need help. And they get it from women, from women that do not support other women. For whatever sick, sad little reason, women do not support women. And so women will never be equals.

When media launches one of its sexist attacks on some woman, any woman, other women quickly pile on. When night after night on the rabidly sexist Countdown on MSNBC, the rabidly sexist cretin Keith Olbermann demeaned the pathetic public meltdown of Britney Spears, where were the female voices telling him to stop? I don’t even like her and yet I was appalled and after a few programs I stopped watching him and never went back. Seeing someone bash Bush wasn’t worth watching a man publicly attacking a woman without outcry, with no outrage. Those programs should have told everyone all they needed to know about Keith Olbermann. Instead his ratings climbed. Sexism sells. It also tells me everything I need to know about people that still watch him.

When Hillary Clinton was smeared and subjected to outrageous sexism in the media, and particularly on MSNBC, where was the outrage? When her run was done and Sarah Palin was smeared and subjected to outrageous sexism, where was the outrage? And where were the women protesting such treatment?

How about Rachel Maddow, the newest member of MSNBC’s Obama team? Sticking up for the females? You gotta be kidding. She’s just one of the boyz now and thus must prove her chops by beating up on women worse than they do.

All the old hags of the Women’s Movement piled on the Palin. How dare a “conservative” woman think she had the right to run for VP when a liberal woman hadn’t been chosen? Bet ya didn’t know that only “liberal” women are worthy of support. However Hillary Clinton just wasn’t the right woman. Yeah, right.

Now we gleeful girls, or at least 56% of us are dancing around the Maypole in joy that an African-American, well actually a Kenyan-American man, is the president elect. That’s historic, don’t ya know!

Black men were given the right to vote 50 years before women. The Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified on February 3, 1870. It prohibits preventing a citizen from voting based on the citizen’s race, color or previous condition of servitude. Thus black men were given the right to vote. But women, of any color were not.

15th Amendment

Fifty years later, the 19^th Amendment to the constitution was ratified on August 18, 1920. And women were finally allowed to vote.

19th Amendment

Guess us girls will just have to hang on another 50 years or so to get our turn at the Presidency. Hell, even at the Vice-Presidency. Cause it’s all about the boys, don’t ya know. At least 56% of the women in this country seem to think so.

So long as 56% of the women in this country stand in a man’s corner when a woman is fighting, a woman will never, and can never win. It’s a hell of a price to pay for a pat on the head or a pat on the ass.

Women will never be equal. 56% of them won’t allow that to happen. And so the rest of us must suffer for their puny and pathetic little hang-ups. If I didn’t loathe them so much I would almost feel sorry for them.

***

Editor’s Note: Heidi Li has formed a new organization; see Introducing 51 Percent – an organizational antidote to hatred of women.

This will be a non-profit educational organization designed to teach people what misogyny is, why it is different from sexism, how it relates to hateful conduct. On the affirmative side 51 Percent will promote the aspiration of having women occupy 51 percent of all areas in civil society (not just politics, but the workplace (and not just high level or white collar jobs but all jobs), the arts, every media institution, etc.) I believe that 51 percent representation – proportional to the presence of women in the general population – is  the most expedient antidote to the prevalence of misogynist conduct and its current social acceptability.

Please check out what she is doing…