Equal Pay For Women

A big campaign attack for Obama has been the issue of fairness of pay for women. This comes from the Supreme Court decision a couple years back where a woman was denied the ability to sue her former employer when she found out, years later, she was being far underpaid in comparison to her male counterparts, with smaller raises, etc.

The decision was that the woman had 180 days, a reasonable about they (Thomas, Scalia, etc.) decided, to report the discrepancy.

The opinion was outrageous. Unless you want to create a law that requires employers post all their employees' salaries on a big board (not likely), a woman can't possibly find the information out until they, and likely the other employees, have left the company. (Co-workers are more likely to spill their salary after they've left a job.)

Barack Obama co-sponsored a bill to lengthen that timeframe and make true equality possible. McCain declined to vote on the bill. Here's the info:

Obama, sharing the stage with running mate Joe Biden, has often criticized McCain's stand on a failed Senate bill called the Fair Pay Restoration Act. It essentially would have reversed a 5-4 Supreme Court decision holding that a woman had only 180 days to formally complain that she was paid less than male colleagues for the same work.

Obama, who co-sponsored the bill, says such barriers should be eased.

McCain missed the Senate vote, but said at the time: "I am all in favor of pay equity for women. But this kind of legislation ... opens us up to lawsuits for all kinds of problems."

Yes, it would open up a lot of lawsuits, if employers treated workers unfairly! Sort of the point. That's what laws do. Protect us from abuses.

But, here's the laugher. The McCain campaign response is:

The McCain campaign said Sunday that the presidential candidate and Palin support equal pay for women even though they do not think the 180-day limit for filing complaints should be changed.

Classic! So, they support it, but only with the original 180-day guideline. In other words, McCain opposes it. It's called protecting corporate interests and it's how the Republican Party works.

I guess that's why they call us Progressive, and they will call him the Presidential runner up. :-)

Something to Chew On

Before the DNC began, some douchbag named Stuart Shephard from Focus on the Family called on Americans to pray to God for rain during Barack Obama's Invesco Field Speech in order for God to point out who he wants to win.

Ironic that Hurricane Gustav has actually resulted in the cancellation of the RNC's first night and has thrown there entire schedule into disarray?

God supports Obama '08. :-)

So, here's why religion just annoys me. The guy says pray for rain. Now, what's the result?

• If it rains, God supports John McCain.
  
• If it doesn't rain, then he says "That's OK." So, they can still pretend God supports John McCain.
  

So, douchebag, what if you get a FREAKIN HURRICANE during the RNC? I'm sure it probably means "it's God's way of telling Republicans to remain humble," or some shit like that. :-)

Keep your religion to yourselves and shut up, people. God doesn't care about political conventions and has a whole lot better to do than try to influence the American election. Jeeeeeeeeeeeesus.

As for the hurricane, here's to hoping everyone is OK and, hopefully, the hurricane finds a nice spot in the ocean to swerve to and leaves us alone. :-)

Is Sarah Palin Disgraced By Her Own Children??

What kind of mother is so disgraced by her children that she formulates this plan?? You can't really ask for more evidence than this theory, and it's happened before. Sarah Palin's surprise 5th son -- is her daughter's:

The Palin Family Secret

This most certainly answers my questions as to why in the world Sarah Palin was back at work 3 days after the birth, why she had a child so late after the other 4 kids (at age 44), and why you'd take on the office of VP when you just had a child with Down's Syndrome.

My god.

OBAMA IS OUR NOMINEE

It's late. I'm tired. I'm absolutely speechless except for my ranting to my buddy Sean over IM. Obama's speech was incredible and his plan is clear. The Republicans are speechless as well. Pat Buchanan is just in awe of the guy...and how, oh how, can the Republicans come close to approaching what the Dems just did?

McCain is trying desperately to fill a 10K arena for his VP announcement tomorrow. My god. He is screwed.

My highlight:

"I don't know what kind of lives John McCain thinks that celebrities lead, but this has been mine," he said. "These are my heroes. Theirs are the stories that shaped me. And it is on their behalf that I intend to win this election and keep our promise alive as president of the United States."

Are Women Really Going To Impede Their Own Progress?

So, my thoughts on last night's DNC were many. First, the so-called media really has no idea what it talks about anymore. It's all tabloid. We don't have independent observers anymore, we have a panel of Maddow vs. Buchanan, Robinson vs. O'Donnell. Now, I have always been one to support "our side" as definitely more independent-minded when it comes to assessing the situation, but people will always be put off by biases.

Pat Buchanan doesn't know anything, especially. He wondered "what does John McCain's houses have to do with anything?" Apparently, he hasn't noticed the last 200 years of political discourse in this country. Then, they spout on about how McCain is leading in some of the polling, and gee, wonder why, maybe it's because the man is attacking Obama for being a "celebrity" and "raising taxes." Neither is remotely true.

I also wonder if, indeed, the Hillary Clinton supporters who refuse to back Barack Obama because they had their little feelings hurt are really going to vote for McCain. These women are absolutely out of their mind. McCain opposes women's right every way til Sunday -- on top of his usual bent of supporting Bush 100% of the time.

Good choice, ladies. If McCain is President these next four years, you will not only take the blame every day for those 4 years, but no one will want to hear you complain either. You'll be on your own.

Michelle Obama did a great job as well. Those kids are adorable, too. :-) It's great to see a real family going for the White House, much like the Clintons. The bratty Bush clan has always been off-putting. Chelsea could kick Barbara's ass. McCain's broken clan, plus his complete inability to relate to the average American, will be an abrasive thing to imagine.

That and we'll be planning our move the hell out of here if he wins.

Here's to Hillary speaking tonight! If only the 25% of her supporters who are now supporting McCain had half the brain Hillary does.

Do You Want This Man Managing Our Economy?

As bad as our economy is right now, it can get worse if we don't have the right man to fix it. Check out this answer from the GOP debates back on January 30th. Does this sound like a man who's comfortable with the economy?

The truth is that John McCain knows bupkis about economy. He has run, and will always run, on being a POW in Vietnam. And that's why he simply ignores the question and talks about that for 2 minutes.

He's one of the biggest candidate frauds of our time.

It's official...

Obama/Biden '08!

How Many Houses?!?!

John McCain, today, responded to a question about how many houses he owns by rsponding, "I don't know how many."

WHAT?

So, we already have this elitist prick telling us that, somehow, Obama is the elitist. Classic Rovian tactics. McCain is the 26-year Washington veteran, married to a connected and wealthy wife, and has more homes than I have years of marriage to my ONLY WIFE. So, what to do? Call the other guy an elitist.

Well, Mr. McCain...you claim to want to run the country based on experience. But it was you who got us into Iraq. It was you pushed for the Immigration Bill that was so unpopular you now are against it. It was you voted against the tax cuts to the top 1% that, in order to secure the nomination for your party, you now support them.

It's you who still believes Checkoslovakia is still a country. You who routinely confuses Shiia, Sunni, Iranians, and al Qaeda. You believe $5 million a year is when people stop being middle-class.

It's you who doesn't even know how to use the Internet.

Experience? You have years of it, but it's no qualification to be our leader.

Wanna Get Away?

I thought this would be a great "Wanna Get Away" moment. :-) The situation, Yankees down 4-3 to the Royals after the great Mariano Rivera gives up a run in the 9th. Bottom 9, IN YANKEE STADIUM, team has been scuffling. And here we go:

Doh! Poor J Christian.

Obama's Vacation

To the right-wing pundits out there manufacturing talking points about Obama going on vacation and what it means, a message for ya...

He is in Hawaii because he was BORN THERE.

He is in Hawaii because HIS GRANDMOTHER LIVES THERE.

Hawaii IS A STATE.

John McCain got THREE MONTHS OFF because your Republican candidates were a bunch of rotten eggs. Obama had to fight tooth and nail with Hillary Clinton.

The Olympics are on.

Now shut up and lay off, morons.

If you heard tormented screams, it was me.

Scrabble Club again tonight. Only got to play one game because there was a severe shortage of boards. Next time we'll be able to bring our own.

My one game was a..oh, let's see here...519-224 THRASHING by Ryan. He landed three bingoes, I only had ONE word over 4 letters. I just had crappy tiles the whole game and he throttled me. The dude exchanged 5 tiles on his first turn and landed SENARII. And trust me, I know the word.

Next time, I promise, I won't leave the place til I get a win. Michele, pump up my bike tires!

It's simple. It's a lie.

Help overcome the pathetic smear and send this video around. Middle-class America must elect Obama.

The Shittiest Media In The World is in the USA

This is just an outrage this morning. Looking at MSNBC, there are two stories posted next to each other. Here they are:

Check the headlines. My first reaction is that this was a positive story about "benevolent" McCain donors, and a negative story about big-money Barack lobbyists of some sort
paying to play."

Would you believe they are about THE SAME THING?

Here are excerpts from the McCain story:

The bundle of $2,300 and $4,600 checks that poured into Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign on March 12 came from an unlikely group of California donors: a mechanic from D&D Auto Repair in Whittier, the manager of Rite Aid Pharmacy No. 5727, the 30-something owners of the Twilight Hookah Lounge in Fullerton.

Look, your average American is giving to McCain! How lovely! LOTS OF MONEY! It's small-town America at it's finest! Here's the one about Obama:

In an effort to cast himself as independent of the influence of money on politics, Senator Barack Obama often highlights the campaign contributions of $200 or less that have amounted to fully half of the $340 million he has collected so far.

But records show that one-third of his record-breaking haul has come from donations of $1,000 or more: a total of $112 million, more than Senator John McCain, Mr. Obama’s Republican rival...

Why yes! Obama is getting BIG DONORS, not the little guys like McCain! (We just won't tell you who they are.)

Let's speak more about these bundlers. McCain's:

Harry Sargeant III, a former naval officer and the owner of an oil-trading company that recently inked defense contracts potentially worth more than $1 billion, is the archetype of a modern presidential money man. The law forbids high-level supporters from writing huge checks, but with help from friends in the Middle East and the former chief of the CIA's bin Laden unit -- who now serves as a consultant to his company -- Sargeant has raised more than $100,000 for three presidential candidates from a collection of ordinary people, several of whom professed little interest in the outcome of the election.

...

He has also become a conduit between McCain and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R), who was Sargeant's college fraternity brother and remains a close friend.

What a compassionate guy, and he remains close friends which Charlie Christ. Friends are good! He's collecting from "ordinary" people! And these are people who don't even care about the election! What a swell guy!

Now, Obama:

Behind those larger donations is a phalanx of more than 500 Obama “bundlers,” fund-raisers who have each collected contributions totaling $50,000 or more. Many of the bundlers come from industries with critical interests in Washington. Nearly three dozen of the bundlers have raised more than $500,000 each, including more than a half-dozen who have passed the $1 million mark and one or two who have exceeded $2 million, according to interviews with fund-raisers.

It's a "phalanx," which must mean something bad. And they have "critical interests in Washington", so you should worry about these chums. They actually care about the election, and that sure isn't right!

Here's more about this "phalanx" of Obama's:

Bundlers include execs, lawyers

An analysis of campaign finance records shows that about two-thirds of his bundlers are concentrated in four major industries: law, securities and investments, real estate and entertainment. Lawyers make up the largest group, numbering roughly 130, with many of them working for firms that also have lobbying arms. At least 100 Obama bundlers are top executives or brokers from investment businesses: nearly two dozen work for financial titans like Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs or Citigroup. About 40 others come from the real estate industry.

The biggest fund-raisers include people like Julius Genachowski, a former senior official at the Federal Communications Commission and a technology executive who is new to political fund-raising; Robert Wolf, president and chief operating officer of UBS Investment Bank; James A. Torrey, a New York hedge-fund investor; and Charles H. Rivkin, chief executive of an animation studio in Los Angeles.

UBS Bank and hedge-fund investors support OBAMA!!!! He's practically endorsed by them!!!!! HE IS EVIL!!!

Jesus Christ. Just goes to show you how full of shit McCain is with his "working the refs" approach. It's worked for the Republicans for years. And it's so full of shit.

They won't lay a finger on McCain.

No Scrabble For You!

So, kind of embarrassed this evening. For a couple weeks now, I had August 5th marked on the calendar for Scrabble Club. We asked Michele's mom to babysit tonight while we went.

So, we go. No one was there. We got some frappuchino's and waited around 15 minutes. I read my Scrabble word book, Michele read People. Finally, we decide to leave. No club it seemed. I was a little annoyed no one had shown up and was preparing to find a new club.

We walked around Clement Lake Johnson Lake for some exercise and enjoyment and then went back home. And I checked the Web site.

Oops, did I say it was the first Tuesday of each month? It's actually the second Tuesday. :-(

So, uh, Scrabble Club is next week, not this week. That was certainly embarrassing. *sigh*

My Respect for Paris Hilton is Upped

OK, but one thing, Paris. Offshore drilling won't get us through anything, and Obama has already OK'd limited drilling as a compromise to get the rest of his plan through.

But, yer still cool.

Video Card For Sale!

Goodbye old friend: Buy Me!

Confrontation by Otep

don't... be... silent.

FIGHT!

here's your introduction to destruction
and the hate sustaining me
are we safer or in danger?
drowning in atrocities?
riot gear, the slaves are here
piling corpses high
its the rich man's war
but its the poor that fight

more capitalist crimes
more enemies than allies
no WMD's - who gives a fuck if they die
just kill 'em all - watch 'em fall
skin the world with their lies
its the rich man's war
but its the poor that fight

stand up
speak out
strike back!

stand up
speak out
strike back!

they don't know what they started
C-O-N-F-R-O-N-T-A-T-I-O-N!!!

my religion of resistance
challenging everything
radicals and dissidents
of creativity
we are the children
of the siege you hide
in this rich man's war
where the poor just die

more deception and greed
more wars and disease
more lies from the hive mind
that seek to deceive
a weak nation of need
like silent thieves in the night
its a rich man's war
but its the poor that die

stand up
speak out
strike back!

stand up
speak out
strike back!

they don't know what they started
C-O-N-F-R-O-N-T-A-T-I-O-N!!!

this is my battle cry
defy the lies of the tyrant race
with a fist in the air
and a finger in their face!

DEFY THE TYRANTS!
DON'T BE SILENT!

DEFY THE TYRANTS!
DON'T BE SILENT!

DEFY THE TYRANTS!
DON'T BE SILENT!

DEFY THE TYRANTS!
DON'T BE SILENT!

stand up
speak out
strike back!

stand up
speak out
strike back!

they don't know what they started
C-O-N-F-R-O-N-T-A-T-I-O-N!!!

there's no
way they can
stop us
now

there's no
way they can
stop us
now

there's no
way they can
stop us

so let them try

we fight or we die.

Judgement Day

Today is either gonna be really great, or it's really gonna suck. I hope it's the former. I'm fearing the latter.

*inhale*

*exhale*

OK, here we go.

UPDATE: It's a f***ing great day! ;-)