madamab's blog

WASHINGTON -

A bill to make violence against gays and lesbians a federal crime cleared the Senate Thursday and is headed to the White House for final approval.

The 68-29 vote was a victory for civil rights groups that have been fighting for years to expand the federal hate-crimes law beyond attacks motivated by bias based on religion, race, national origin or color. The new bill, which President Obama is expected to sign, includes penalties for assaults based on a victim's sexual orientation, gender, disability or gender identity.

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THE SCENE: A swank TV studio, with all the zoomy, whizzy lights, giant flashing screens, deep-pile royal blue carpeting, poreless, lacquered newsbots, and hysterical black-clad assistants one could ever desire. We are in the back of the studio, in the glass-enclosed center of all the action. EDITORS 1, 2, 3 and 4 are all sitting in their leather chairs, directing the action by talking to each other, pointing at their MacBooks, and shouting into their wireless headsets. They are all in their 20's and have just been promoted after their more experienced bosses "aged out of the business."

EDITOR 1 (swigging a Red Bull): What's new on Twitter? We've gotta have something for the next segment.

EDITOR 2 (nervously): Let's see...Demi and Ashton just tweeted...

EDITOR 3 (yawning): Oh please. They tweet when they pee!

SCENE I: A busy urban street. Two middle-aged white men, BOB and JOE, are waiting at a stoplight, having a spirited political discussion. They have been friends for years and the discussion has the feel of ritual.

BOB: Look, I just don't trust the government to run my health care. In fact, I don't want 'em doing anything for me at all. I just want to live my life without government interference. What's wrong with that? Besides, the American health care system is the best in the world!

JOE (sighing): Oh, forgawd'ssake, BOB, give it a rest already. I wish just for once you could live in that Libertarian Paradise you're always talking about. I'd bet you'd be begging for government to come back in about half a second!

(The light changes. BOB and JOE start walking across the street, too absorbed in their conversation to pay much attention to where they're going.)

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A befuddled President Barack Obama was awakened at the crack of noon Monday to more unexpected accolades: He had just won the Most Valuable President (MVP) award for keeping the world turning on its axis, simply by using the power of his enormous brain.

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THE SCENE: Dick Cheney’s secret bunker, erm, house. It is lushly appointed in Modern Dungeon, with grey walls mimicking the look of concrete, medieval torture devices tastefully displayed in gleaming mahogany cabinets with recessed lighting, and an old electric chair given pride of place in a prominent corner. Pictures of Cheney with Nixon, Kissinger and other reviled figures of the American past are positioned artfully on the walls. There are some obvious empty spaces where the pictures of Dick and Dubya used to hang. On the mantle over the stone fireplace are family pictures in black ebony frames; the 75-inch flatscreen TV is perpetually tuned to Fox News. The whole place seems like a museum, and a rather uninviting one at that.

DICK is seated in a leather armchair by the fireplace, waiting impatiently, sipping on a bourbon and water. He is half-drunk, as usual. Finally, his wife LYNNE enters the room with another woman, in her early sixties, and well-put together.

LYNNE: Dick, here she is. What did you say your name was again, honey?

WOMAN: Mrs. Cheney, my name is Frances Wood – I’m here to help Dick with his book.

LYNNE: Well now, Frances, I think you’re going to work out just wonderfully. I’ll leave you both to your work. I just know it’s going to be a huge best-seller!

(LYNNE exits.)

The lovely and talented Taggles recently sent me a very interesting press release from the ACLU. It seems that a Florida court deprived Samantha Burton, a pregnant woman, of her right to determine her own medical care, and the ACLU is a tad exercised about that fact.

Forty years ago today, men walked on the moon for the first time. It was an amazing accomplishment, and one that people told President John F. Kennedy would not, and should not, ever happen. But he did not listen to the naysayers. He believed that government could accomplish big, sweeping things; and furthermore, government should challenge itself to do so.

For all those of you who doubt the title assertion, I must ask you to consider this: Where would we be without Vice President Joseph Robinette Biden? He seems to be the only politician these days who tells the truth about anything, and yet, no one appreciates him for it. Why the lack of warm fuzzies for this cuddly, bright-toothed gaffester, America? He's just being honest, and I, personally, love him for it!

At Violet Socks' place, there is an incredible discussion going on regarding why mainstream feminists trashed Sarah Palin so viciously, and even made up lies about her to justify their hatred. There are about 300 comments in response. I highly recommend that you read it if you have the time.

Make no mistake, soon-to-be-ex-Governor Palin can easily be legitimately criticized on the issues. As a liberal, I don't agree with her on much. But the amount of manufactured outrages that were passed around, from Trig's parentage (still going on, at least in Andrew Sullivan's diseased mind) to the rape kit smear to the banning books smear, all passed on by feminists...it is utterly baffling to Dr. Socks. Why all the hatred and vitriol for this woman? Why couldn't they just tell the truth about her and have done with it?

Although there was no doubt some elitism involved (her accent! her lack of Ivy leage education! that hair!), to me, the answer is clear, and comes down to one word: Pro-Life.

A lot of us are thinking about independence on this historic day. What does it mean for us as Americans, that despite our efforts to change the direction of the country by our traditional method of electing a President and Congress from a different Party, the country is still heading in the wrong direction at breakneck speed?

Many Democrats and people who lean to the left are realizing that Barack Obama is not whom he pretended to be. Leading the pack is the LGBT community, which is planning a massive protest on October 11th. But where, I must ask, are the pro-choice women, and the men who support them?

I subscribe to Harper's Magazine. Although the editors and contributors drank the Kool-Aid many moons ago, it is still a genuinely left-leaning publication, with a left-leaning perspective and many fascinating articles for us librul types to peruse. Imagine my shock when the July issue arrived in my mailbox, with the words "Barack Hoover Obama: The Best and the Brightest Blow it Again - By Kevin Baker" displayed prominently on the cover.

Intrigued, I started reading. (Apologies to non-subscribers, but the link is pay-only.) The usual nauseating, opinion-masquerading-as-fact, obligatory fawning and drooling ensued.

Note...This post was originally written on Memorial Day, but never made it to Partizane.