Now, Komen is assessing the damage, and it’s using a consulting firm founded by two former Democratic strategists. Penn Schoen Berland (PSB), the firm Komen hired to help determine how badly the crisis hurt its reputation, is founded by former Democratic strategists Mark Penn and Doug Schoen.
The goal here seems obvious. Komen’s recent bout of ballistic podiatry cost it massive amounts of support among people who believe that women’s health shouldn’t be held captive to a reactionary, partisan social conservative agenda. The foundation has accurately understood that this means it needs people from the center and points left in order to thrive. Or, at this point, survive. So they go out and hire … Mark Penn.
“If you’re really pro-life, do me a favor—don’t lock arms and block medical clinics. If you’re so pro-life, lock arms and block cemeteries.” Who said it? Full story »
Taunting, yet playful faces of men passed me by on uneven sidewalks, working diligently to make eye contact. I was lost, again, on a street in downtown San Jose, Costa Rica, walking quickly, head down. Only a few months in to my year-long stay as a business English teacher in the country, the unpredictability of the road and transportation systems continued to challenge even my most adventurous side. When I finally arrived at my destination, three hours into what should have been a 30-minute walk, I sat down and cried one of those long, cleansing cries. I felt dirty from a steady stream of what we North Americans might refer to as aggressive cat-calling or ogling. I was drenched in sweat and tears, and I was painfully conscious of my light skin, blue eyes. Worst of all, I was immersed in a kind of fear that most of my countrywomen never have to face here on the streets of America. Full story »
It was such a pleasant weekend. Fall is in the air. Football is on TV, and the Angels sent the Boston Red Sox golfing. It even felt wholesome and normal to listen to the soothing sounds of Republicans and Democrats making fun of each other and playing nerf meme dodge ball. I suppose that we owe the Nobel Committee a thank you note. But all good things must come to an end. Or…. Now that we’ve got that peace prize thing out of the way, let’s get back to the business of war.
THE DEPROLIFERATOR — President Obama’s appearance at the United Nations this week was intended as a show with a sideshow. First, he became the first U.S. president to chair an “extraordinary” session of the Security Council, with the nations represented not by diplomats but by actual heads of state, not diplomats. The council approved President Obama’s resolution legalizing military action against states daring to weaponize their nuclear power program.
The sideshow, at which Secretary of State Hillary Clinton represented the United States in a conference “complementary” — as opposed to extraordinary — to the Security Council session, produced a general recommitment to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). Full story »
Rush starts, I think, to suggest that the caller isn’t really who he says he is, and by the end seems to allow that the guy may be a Republican, but not much of one. Full story »
After days of leaks coming from the Obama transition team, the President-elect has reportedly decided to go the path of least resistance, embracing the enlarged prostate flow of chatter with the new cabinet position of Leakmaster General.
Former Clinton administration officials involved in the transition, who declined to give their names because “that would kind of spoil a leak,” say the Leakmaster General’s duties will be to deliver all leaks, however nonsensical, through a central command — the Office of Leaks, Gossip and Utter Horseshit (OLGUH).
Other Clinton administration officials close to the transition efforts say that Obama has chosen Lanny Davis, former special counsel to President Clinton and longtime Hillary loyalist, to fill this new cabinet position. Reached for comment, Davis declined to confirm the leak. A few minutes later, however, he called back from another number, disguised his voice, gave his name as “Gustav Demetri Jones Jr. III,” and said, “If Lanny Davis wants this position, it’s his for the taking.” Full story »
We all know that Hillary Clinton voted for the resolution authorizing the war on Iraq. And when Barack Obama objected to the use of nuclear weapons against terrorists, she replied, “I don’t believe that any president should make any blanket statements with respect to the use or nonuse of nuclear weapons.”
Surely though, as secretary of state, she would do President Obama’s bidding. Not necessarily, according to the dean (if only due to his tenure) of political writers, the Washington Post’s David Broder. In his already much-commented upon Wednesday column, “A Force for Good – but Not at State,” he wrote:
What Obama needs in the person running the State Department is a diplomat who will carry out his foreign policy. He does not need someone who will tell him how to approach the world or be his mentor in international relations. … The last thing Obama needs is a secretary of state carving out an independently based foreign policy. Full story »
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Lynn Forester de Rothschild, a prominent Hillary Clinton supporter and member of the Democratic National Committee’s Platform Committee, will endorse John McCain for president on Wednesday, her spokesman tells CNN.
But that’s not the good part. Check this: Full story »
I woke up at 4:30 this morning in a tense sweat. It wasn’t due to the usual university professor stresses of a new school year, though, or worries about my kid’s various activities. Today, my concerns weren’t about my own overcommitted life: they were about Sarah Palin’s.
Here’s a woman who, according to the Republican pundits, should be celebrated by working women like me. Full story »
Links of the Week (as opposed to the Weakest Link):
Interview with Middle-East expert Joshua Landis at Right Web: “For instance, we just had a Syrian delegation that came to Washington. … For reasons that remain a little murky to me, that fell through. A friend in the State Department told me that part of the reason was that it was just too much for the Bush administration to absorb. Washington had just announced that it was going to meet with the Iranians in Geneva … and they could deal with only one meeting with one ‘axis of evil’ power at the same time.” Full story »
Whatever the private depths of American bigotry may be, one thing is clear. In publicly sanctioned discourse, a powerful black man is no longer anybody’s nigger, but a powerful woman is still every misogynist’s bitch.
Yes, I’m angry about that.No, I don’t plan to get over it, shut up about it or stop working to change it. It seems you’re even angrier than I am, because your rage has evidently destroyed any principles or intelligence you may once have had. Hillary Clinton tried to show you the big picture, but if it’s only about women’s issues for you, let this woman point out what your resentment vote for John McCain will buy you and me and all of our daughters and sisters and friends for the next eight years or so. Full story »
Whether you’re Denver born-and-bred or one of the 50,000 visitors expected to descend upon the city for next week’s DNC, it’s the perfect time to tap into the city’s most prized tradition – its beer. The convention’s first three nights are closed to all but delegates, so here are our picks for the best places to catch the political action while celebrating America’s hard-won right to brews. Err… we mean… choose.
Monday, August 25, “One Nationâ€:Wynkoop Brewing Co.: Mayor John Hickenlooper will be serving his new Windpower Wheat, with a portion of proceeds going to the American Wind Energy Association. Full story »
In “Grant paints picture of ‘ignorant’ NASCAR culture” at Si.com, Tom Bowles reports on Mauricia “Mo” Grant, who spent nearly three years as the only African-American female NASCAR race official. “Now she’s at the center of a $225 million lawsuit. . . in which she alleges. . . discrimination, sexual harassment and wrongful termination. ‘What I expected when I went to work for this multibillion dollar company was a professional work environment [not] why I don’t get sunburn or why the palms of my hands are white. . . . They need to stop hiring their ignorant brothers, cousins and uncles. . . and start hiring qualified, educated people to start running their multibillion dollar business. Stop giving ‘Uncle Frank’ a hookup knowing that he’s ignorant.” Full story »
So, the Susan Komen Foundation has hired a big-hitter PR firm. And not just any PR firm, either.
Mamasita! Mamasita! Psst! Psst! Psst!
Let’s begin with a quick trivia question. What legislator’s Top 20 donor list includes the following?
THE DEPROLIFERATOR — President Obama’s appearance at the United Nations this week was intended as a show with a sideshow. First, he became the first U.S. president to chair an “extraordinary” session of the Security Council, with the nations represented not by diplomats but by actual heads of state, not diplomats. The council approved President Obama’s resolution legalizing military action against states daring to weaponize their nuclear power program.
This is some pretty funny stuff.
by Lynn Schofield Clark
