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| Tuesday, November 04, 2008 These Are a Few of My Favorite Things that were published during the US election of 2008. David Henry Sterry in Huffington Post on Obama's memoir versus McCain's. Do we, perhaps, deserve a president who is comfortable with language? I sure hope so. John McWhorter's no-nonsense insights re Michelle Obama's situation in Boston Globe. I totally love this, but was already a McWhorter fan when I read it. This made me understand why I'm instinctively a Michelle fan. George Will on ... the right to spend! Dave Kiffer, mayor of Ketchikan, Alaska, comparing his town to Monica Lewinsky, argues that they actually need "that bridge." Ever so politely, he rubbishes the 'long-lost fantasy of small-town America' that Sarah Palin has desperately been trying to sell. Way! ~~~ Proposition K - to decriminalize prostitution in San Francisco - addresses the racial profiling that has become so much a part of "anti-trafficking" measures. Bound Not Gagged is tracking results. Also, a live sex worker radio show on the election starts at 10pm EST. Labels: Elections, Palin, What I'm reading Saturday, October 18, 2008 Election Update Worrying? Surreal. Followed by this, which is a bit edgier. Labels: Elections Sunday, October 05, 2008 Everything You Don't Know About Alaska ...and shouldn't be afraid to ask. Watching this is a must, if you want to look past the hype, smoke, mirrors ...and the idiotic jokes which too many are making about this young, sparsely populated state. A Uni of Alaska history professor (David Noon) answers questions from James Pinkerton about Alaska politics, mythology, economics, history and religion. I had no clue about the Russian Orthodox parishes in Western Alaska and the native population. Wow. So why the heck doesn't Sarah Palin take a minute to tell us this rich, colourful stuff about her state? Instead of twittering on about "the border" and the tiresome concept of Russia as "other"? Alaska has a historic relationship with Russia; you can still see old Russian architecture in Sitka (which was the Russian capital of Alaska.) Anyway. David Noon asserts that Protestant missionaries were much more aggressive, while the Russians were more adaptive, translating the bible into local (native) languages. This conversation is a welcome change of pace. I blame Republican handlers, my liberal friends, and Palin herself for the inane perceptions that pass for regional humor these days. She's doing her own state a horrible disservice. Watch. Send this link to all your friends. PS: If you find Sarah Palin puzzling, Noon has a theory about why she's not really built for national politics. Labels: Elections, Palin, Video link Saturday, September 13, 2008 Reality Check: Who Were the Suffragettes, Really? This excellent piece by Susan Levine may startle some idealists who doubt Sarah Palin's authenticity as a feminist. Levine basically points out that Palin is just as authentic as Susan B Anthony! Also, you'll notice that the suffragette who ended up on a dollar coin wasn't Lucy Stone (allied with Frederick Douglass.) The names that flash most brightly in our collective memory are of suffragettes who turned their cause into a movement for gaining white privilege. That's one way of putting it. Or you could say they made certain compromises because politics is a dirty business. Susan B Anthony, Alice Paul, Elizabeth Cady Stanton... there is a direct line leading from these women to the likes of Sarah Palin. There always were a few "cranks" who thought that fighting for the vote was a mistake, a distraction from the real deal. Emma Goldman wasn't especially keen on the vote. Send this link to every woman you know! Especially anyone who's even remotely attracted to Sarah Palin for "gender" reasons. Blech. Thursday, September 11, 2008 Australia Unleashed In today's ABC Unleashed column, I respond to Pru Goward, contemplate hockey feminism, and relish a mooseburger. It's about Sarah Palin, but it's not. Also I agree with Gary Hart. Listen to his conversation with Robert Wright. Gary is very wise. Labels: Articles by Tracy, Elections, Palin Thursday, September 04, 2008 Democracy Wow: RNC Observations At first, I liked Sarah Palin's Alaska crab centerpiece and her open-toed slides, but the more she talks, the less I like her style. Others have said that Palin sounds formidable. I'm sorry, but, to me, she seems abrasive. This supposedly rugged Alaskan manages to feed into some unfortunate stereotypes about American women. She sounds like a potential nag, but she also sounds canned. As for our former mayor, it was comical to watch a New Yorker pandering to this braying mob with comments about "the left wing media." Good grief. Left wing media? What's that? New York magazine? CNN? Also, what was the point of insulting all the ordinary people in this country who feel a responsibility to their community - whether they work in a soup kitchen, attend community board meetings, or, um, volunteer for voter registration drives? These are among the people who call themselves community organizers. It seems misguided to me. Sunday, January 21, 2007 Le Racolage Passif (Passive Solicitation) is a crime in France, since 2003. Les-Putes Paris have asked sex workers (and our friends) to sign this petition. You can read about the law here. Prostitutes began protesting against this law during its earliest phases. Read about some of the history here. Today, the petition has almost 300 signatures. Take a look, add your voice, take a stand against "la putophobie"! You can also subscribe to the mailing list of Les-Putes: www.lesputes.org/mailing.htm ~~ This law is but one example of Sarkozy's "distorted vision," symptomatic of something larger. He is trying to push a center-right party farther to the right, and people have been comparing him to Napoleon. He recently won an election to lead his party in the next election. Nobody opposed him, which on the face of it suggests popularity. But only 69% of the party voted! (How typical this is for a party election, I don't know.) His anti-immigration stuff is fascinating: he's the son of an immigrant. Why doesn't this surprise me... Labels: Elections, PONY updates Wednesday, November 08, 2006 Post-Election: après Mardi, le déluge My desk faces a large UV-proofed window, and I have a great view of the Manhattan sky -- not the skyline, mind, just the sky. (I once had a 29th floor view, and yes, I see ...saw... the appeal, but this feels more interesting. And more exclusive, too. Only a few neighbors see what I see -- a strange architectural "folly" on a roof across the way, looking vaguely like an homage to ancient Rome; a pseudo-courtyard which I have no access to; lots of windows into other people's lives. Which would be claustrophobic if it weren't for that big patch of infinite up there. Somtimes, it's so bright and sunny, I have to close the blind in order to sit at my desk. I'm grateful for the sunproof glass (which others moan about because you can't grow plants on this side of the building.) Today, however, there's no sunshine -- it's raining hard in New York, one of those steady downpours that makes you sleep in. In fact, I was awoken by the man from Fresh Direct, bearing frozen peaches, lady apples and other necessities. But my point, and I do have one, is: THANK GOD it didn't rain like this yesterday! Who knows what might have happened around here? I rarely get excited or nervous about local elections, but this time I felt involved. As I recall, our former Mayor Giuliani was first elected on a rainy day. (I had very mixed feelings about a regular who arrived late for his appointment because he simply HAD to vote. He -- the regular -- was a nice fellow but there are some things I don't need to know. I mean, that he voted for Giuliani. Still, it does us no good to be surrounded ONLY by people we agree with. And yes, I genuinely believe that.) I'm delighted with the results in New York! Hevesi, Spitzer, and so on. The Democrats have taken back New York State, after 12 years of the mind-numbingly awful Pataki, a governor I never liked, and I disliked him even more after his appalling performance during last year's Transit strike. My political sympathies have always zig-zagged (left to right to middle...) because I also dislike the excesses of socialism. I've come to feel that the free market can withstand a certain amount of hostile tinkering from the left, as long as things don't get out of hand. And so-called conservatives (whether local or federal) are as meddlesome and dangerous as some communists, perhaps more, actually. So, YAY!! re: the elections! Thank you for not raining on Tuesday, whomever you are. We definitely needed this outcome. And THIS is the best post-election commentary I've read this morning. Informative, funny, eye-opening stuff, served up with a saucy helping of history. Deadline Pundit at his best! Labels: Elections Tuesday, November 07, 2006 Election Day Round-Up: & Save the Date! Nation: Nomi Prins, author of JACKED is planning a very cool post-election happening at the Gershwin next Tuesday, November 14. It all starts at 7:00 PM. You can read her comments on today's vote here. Hope to see you at Gershwin next Tuesday -- details will be posted here soon! ~~ World: Yesterday, Ian Williams (the Deadline Pundit) posted a link to this picture, along with some interesting advice for the Democrats: "should be on every Democratic candidate's web site and election material" to remind voters of who actually started the disastrous current war in Iraq. Read it here. ~~ New York: Eliyanna's Election Day Email is wonderfully direct. "As a State employee who is marrying my same-sex partner THIS WEEKEND, it matters to me a very great deal that Hevesi or another progressive Democrat is Comptroller... VOTE ALAN HEVESI FOR MY PENSION IF NO OTHER REASON!!!!!" Eliyanna realizes that a lot of people just don't know "what to do about State Comptroller" because of the controversy surrounding Alan Hevesi. This, however, has been sorted -- in favor of Hevesi. "1. He's been a good Comptroller for New York; 2. Chris Callaghan (his Republican challenger) is not progressive, and does not have enough experience for a job of this magnitude; 3. If he's elected and then resigns or is forced to step down - either way - a Democrat will replace him." MOST IMPORTANTLY, she points out: "4. Alan Hevesi is very LGBT friendly, and a few years ago he decided that the state pension fund would honor out of state same-sex marriages (from Canada, Massachusets, Spain, etc.) for the purposes of the pensions of New York State employees." There's a few hours left! See you next Tuesday and vote for Hevesi! Labels: Elections Thursday, January 26, 2006 Cottontail: Not Yet a Kingmaker? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4650788.stm#results Well, Hamas got what the Tories couldn't -- a majority. Independent Palestine party won two seats out of 132. (Better luck next time.) For the next while, Hamas, Fatah and other well-known players will dominate the news. But I think -- hope -- we continue to hear about the various alternative players who won a total of 13 seats in this election. I'm curious to see which party will become the Palestinian "NDP." Labels: Elections Wednesday, January 25, 2006 Democracies, Part 2 or Cottontail, the New Kingmaker http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060124.PALESTINE24/TPStory So, Fatah reminds us of the Liberal Party and Hamas has more in common with the Conservatives than we'd expect. Should Independent Palestine (the new party led by Mustafa Barghouti) be compared to Canada's New Democrats?? The sidewalk outside Mustafa Barghouti's campaign office is festooned with proof that his party has no hope of winning this week's election to the Palestinian Legislative Council... As you may recall, Robertson Davies referred to Canada's three main parties as Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail. I couldn't help noticing, on the morning of Canada's 39th election, that Jack Layton (leader of the NDP) looked like he was having more fun than Harper OR Martin. (I call this the Cottontail Syndrome.) http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060124.PALESTINE24/TPStory "A transformation from one-party rule to a multi-party system," Mr. Barghouti crowed. He was buoyed by surveys that show his party could claim as much as 13 per cent of the popular vote -- up from barely 5 per cent earlier in the campaign -- and win perhaps a dozen seats in the Legislative Council. "There's place for a third alternative between Fatah and Hamas," he added. His third party sounds kind of hip and socially progressive -- Born in Jerusalem in 1954, he leads the new party on a platform of clean government. A physician known throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip for running a health-care think-tank and a pro-democracy lobby group. He ran against Abbas for the Palestinian Authority presidency last year, winning about 20 per cent of the vote... Independent Palestine's campaign platform calls not for armed struggle, but for "popular, non-violent resistance" ... Leading by example, Mr. Barghouti has been detained several times for campaigning in Jerusalem without permission... There are eight women, including Mr. Barghouti's No. 2, journalist Rawia al-Shawa, among its 41 candidates... -- but (like Canada's NDP)they show a clear preference for the party with more political experience: Mr. Barghouti said that if his party does wind up holding the balance of power between the two main parties, it will likely back a Fatah-led government as long as some key reforms are guaranteed. There was no chance his party would throw its weight behind Hamas, he said. -- New Palestinian party could be kingmaker: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060125.PALESTINIANS25/TPStory Labels: Elections Democracies I love a Canadian election, the way some people love to watch a horse race. If the US had more political parties, I would enjoy our elections, too. But alas, we're stuck with this boring two-party dinosaur of a system and I just think US elections are, as the great diarist Adrian Mole might have said, "dead boring." I heart the parliamentary circus up north. However, another parliamentary election this week has my attention. While getting up to speed on the post-election malaise currently sweeping across Canada ... (Not sure that was the right verb -- does a malaise sweep or creep? Let's go with sweep for now...) Anyway, while doing so, my attention was drawn to a story far more exciting than Harper's arrival at #24 Sussex. Read this colorful account of today's first Palestinian elections in The Mop & Pail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060125.wpalestine0125/BNStory/International/ The first analogy which leaps to mind when I read this is a Canadian one (my ialics): "Fatah, tainted by corruption after 12 years in power, was asking voters for another chance ... Hamas has focused on clean government..." Fatah, like the Canadian Liberal party, is perceived as moderate, mainstream and, after too many years, corrupt. Both (Fatah; the Liberals) are seen as the safer, more dove-ish choice by self-identifying centrists. Hamas, like the Conservative party, appeals to voters who are offended by corruption. They have other things in common with Harper's Conservatives: Both parties are seen as extremist; religious morality has a place at the table. And both (Hamas; the Conservatives) think it's important to spend money on weapons -- though Hamas has the track record when it comes to this sort of thing. (The Conservatives have floated the idea of expanding a "cash-strapped" Canadian military, but it's not clear whether voters believed the new government would make this a priority.) Can you tell I was rooting for a Liberal government? They may be corrupt; they may be arrogant. And they do need a vacation. But they WILL be BACK. Despite their many vices, the Liberals were born to govern. The CPC exists solely for the purpose of giving the "NGP" a time-out when it starts taking its birthright for granted. Labels: Elections Tuesday, June 29, 2004 12:59 Liberals Win Minority Gov't :-) And I'm glad Broadbent won the election in O-C. The Liberals are the best possible party to have running Canada for a number of reasons. But they did not deserve to win in the riding they abandoned. It's also better for the US to have a Liberal government next door. The Liberals are competent, practical and not too ideological. The Tories would have been a disaster. Almost everyone I spoke to wanted a minority Liberal government. Well, that's what they got. Elections work! (Sometimes.) http://www.theglobeandmail.com/generated/realtime/specialDecision2004.html Labels: Elections Monday, June 28, 2004 8:48 pm The polls have closed in Newfoundland and results are starting to come in. The Globe and Mail is providing live but tasteful coverage on the web: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/generated/realtime/specialDecision2004.html Though I'm not sure what to make of this racy headline: Liberals: Beasts of the East Party makes gains in Atlantic Canada You can read that here: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040628.el3liberals/BNStory/specialDecision2004/ Labels: Elections Friday, June 25, 2004 Sex & the Canadian Voter or "Fly Mopsy" On Monday my friends Up North will be going to the polls. Some Canadians have already been able to cast their ballots in advance polling. Prisoners, for example, were giving a chance to vote early, which I find interesting. http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040617.elpolls0617/BNStory/specialDecision2004/ Canadian elections are a bit more lively, wholesome, weird and cheerful than our own. Here we tend to think in terms of Winners and Losers. And those who lose just feel miserable the next day. In a parliamentary culture, things are more nuanced. There are more than two ways to interpret federal election results. (That's also because there are more than two parties.) Even if you voted for a candidate who lost in his riding (or "district"), you may have reason to feel that your party won. You do and do not vote for the Prime Minister, depending on your mood. The party leaders campaign as if they personally were being elected but most voters can't vote directly for the PM. This political reality shapes the Canadian personality. A conversation with a Canadian (whether it's about politics, sex, literature or the weather) is likely to be infused with strange undercurrents. And a flexible interpretation of reality. Canadian voters are also more engaged, informed and less cynical than Americans. Or perhaps they're more cynical but in any case, they're more cheerful about it. There's always some new party on the scene making a name for itself, seeking to enter the fray. So, whatever happens to your own party (assuming that you go with the mainstream options) you have a little diversion from the political outsiders. At one time, the new party was the secessionist Bloc Quebecois. Today, some non-secessionists are beginning to support the BQ because they see it as a strategy for keeping the government in line. It's fair to say that Canadians like politics for the sake of politics. Right now, the funniest story to come out of the Canadian election is that the Tory leader is trying to smear the current (Liberal) PM with far-fetched accusations pertaining to pornography and children. This makes the Tories look a bit desperate in my view, not to mention culturally marginal and perhaps a little sexually obsessed. http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040623.gtkapicajun23/BNStory/Technology/ They (Conservatives & Co.) were supposed to be making a mainstream comeback after years of confusion, alienation and fragmentation on the political right. We'll see. Their leader's weapon of first resort seems to be to accuse any party not his own of being soft on porn. It also doesn't help that they're ranting on about gay marriage (something they currently oppose.) So the Tory leader appears to be obsessed with sexual deviance. And perhaps a little insecure about his masculinity. I mean, that's my first assumption whenever a straight guy wants to protect the institution of marriage. (Don't "real" hetero guys resist marriage, or at least make an effort to?) The Liberals, as usual, appear to be all about the money. When you think about the Liberal Party these days, you think about the money. Where it's going, where it went, where it came from. You don't think much about sex. The Tories are trying to change that. And then there's the NDP which is a sort of debating society for open-minded nerds. They have governed a few provinces with mixed results. But never formed a federal government. I'm not sure people trust them to run a nation effectively. Still, they're an important ingredient and have weathered the decades. The N stands for New, and they have a knack for appearing so. They are lefties but they have enough money and clout to finance a proper campaign jet with business class seats. Unlike the Canadian Action Party or the Greens. Or the Marijuana Party. Robertson Davies once referred to the three main parties as Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton-Tail. If you Fly Cotton-Tail you get more leg room this year but no air miles. Read about it here: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040513.wxblogtemp0513/BNStory/specialDecision2004/ http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040624/COWENT24/Columnists/Columnist?author=Margaret+Wente A growing and more serious issue than porn is proportional representation. As it happens, the two most powerful provinces have a tendency to dominate at the federal level. Almost everyone I know in Canada is from one of the two provinces, so I hardly ever hear about this problem. Consider my friend Danny Cockerline who was the quintessential Canadian: born for politics and always willing to discuss the question of secession. He would have something to say about proportional rep, I am sure. And I think Danny would be voting on Monday if he were still alive. http://www.walnet.org/97_walnut/danny_cockerline/t_quan.html Labels: Elections |