NARAL Endorses Obama for President!

NARAL Pro-Choice America has endorsed Barack Obama for President.

This is great news! They are getting some negative responses on their blog, so stop over and show them some pro-choice, Obama-lovin' support!

Lieberman, the Dope

Why does this guy still hold any chairmanships? I mean wtf Harry? Get rid of this guy once and for all. This clip shows how off the deep end he has gone and the people of Connecticut should ask for his resignation immediately. I am not getting into the politics of Hamas or Hezbollah because I vehemently disagree with the democratic party, but this bullshit Lieberman spews is an attempt to link Obama with so-called terrorist sympathizers. It is code and it stinks. Assclown.

Happy Mother's Day (to some anyway)

Topping the list as the best place to be a mother is Sweden with the rest of the Scandinavian countries not far behind (ahhh life in a Social Democratic Country). The Countries from sub-saharan Africa dominate the lower tier. The United States ranks 27th. When my friend, a Portland mother to be (for the second time) sent these statistics to me it took a while to absorb them. They are shocking on two levels, that the division between the top and the bottom is so severe and secondly, that the United States fares so poorly. Below are some excerpts from the report and the website.

The gap in availability of maternal and child health services is especially striking when comparing Sweden, at the top of the list, and Niger, at the bottom. Skilled health personnel are present at virtually every birth in Sweden, while only 33 percent of births are attended in Niger. A typical Swedish woman has almost 17 years of formal education and will live to be 83. Meanwhile, 72 percent of Swedish women use some modern method of contraception, and only 1 in 185 will lose a child before his or her fifth birthday. In stark contrast, in Niger, a typical woman has less than three years of education and the life expectancy of a girl born today is only 45. Only 4 percent of Nigerian women use modern contraception, and 1 child in 4 never sees a fifth birthday. At this rate, every mother is likely to suffer the loss of a child during her lifetime.

Zeroing in on the children's well-being portion of the Mothers' Index, Italy finishes first and Niger finishes last out of 168 countries. While nearly every Italian child ─ girl and boy alike ─ enjoys good health and education, children in Niger face a 1 in 4 risk of dying before age 5. In Niger, 44 percent of children are malnourished, and less than half of children are enrolled in primary school.

Country Comparisons:

The Mothers' Index presents individual country comparisons for poor countries that are especially startling when one considers the human suffering behind the statistics:

• 1 child in 4 does not reach his or her fifth birthday in Afghanistan, Angola, Niger and Sierra Leone. In Sweden, only 1 child in 333 dies before age 5.


• Fewer than 15 percent of births are attended by skilled health personnel in Afghanistan and Chad; 96 percent of births are attended by skilled health personnel in Sri Lanka.
  Over the course of her lifetime, 1 woman in 8 will die in pregnancy or childbirth in Afghanistan. Compare that to 1 in more than 47,000 in Ireland.


• A typical woman in Angola, Dijbouti and Niger has less than four years of schooling versus a typical woman in Australia or New Zealand who receives over 20 years of formal education.
  
• A girl born in Swaziland will not live to see her 30th birthday. Compare that to a girl born in Japan who will live to 86 years old.
  

Why doesn’t the United States do better in the rankings? The United States ranked 27th this year based on several factors:

● One of the key indicators used to calculate well-being for mothers is lifetime risk of maternal mortality. The United States’ rate for maternal mortality is 1 in 4,800 - one of the highest in the developed world. Thirty-five out of 43 countries performed better than the United States on this indicator, including nearly all the Western, Northern and Southern European countries and Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Hungary, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine.

● Similarly, the United States did not do as well as many other countries with regard to under-5 mortality. The U.S. under-5 mortality rate is 8 per 1,000 births - up from 7 in last year’s Index. Twenty-nine countries performed better than the U.S. on this indicator.

● Only 61 percent of children in the United States are enrolled in preschool - making it the ninth lowest country in the developed world on this indicator.

● Next to Australia, the United States has the least generous maternity leave policies of any wealthy nation.

● The United States is also lagging behind with regard to the political status of women. Only 17 percent of seats in the U.S.Congress are held by women, compared to 47 percent in Sweden and 42 percent in Finland. Why is Sweden number one? Sweden performed as well as or better than other countries in the rankings on all the indicators. It has the highest ratio of female-to male earned income, the highest percentage of women with seats in the national government and - along with Iceland - the lowest under-5 mortality rate in the world.

grow some green

wondering what to do with your extra stimulus package green from the government?

ideal bite posted some super useful ideas today...
The Benefits

• Add to the $2.3 trillion already invested in socially responsible businesses - money that helps the green marketplace grow.
  
• Between 2000-2005, the value of the Global 100 most sustainable companies outperformed a common benchmark (the MSCI World Index) by 80%.

Community Investing Center - put money into a low-risk bank account (insured at $100,000 per depositor like traditional banks) that provides loans to underserved borrowers. Measure your potential impact here.

Blue Marble - socially responsible investment firm helps you green your portfolio; low account minimums (starting at $100 plus $100 per month).

MicroPlace - makes it easy for you to give small loans (even just $100) to entrepreneurs in developing countries; you make a low-risk return of 2%-3%.

Fleur de l'Europe Brut - hell, even do-gooder investors ought to indulge in a little biodynamic bubbly once in a while ($70).

Calvert Online and Social Investment Forum - tools that help you pick funds and stocks based on the eco and social criteria that matter to you.

Stuffed and Starved

From Democracy Now watch the author of Stuff and Starved talk about the world food crisis. Many of the myths about ethanol, biofuel and climate change policies are discussed and it is shocking what this crisis consists of the contradictions between the west and the rest of the world as well as the west and its poor.

Philadelphia Police Brutality

Philly policemen were videotaped stomping, kicking and beating three men suspected to be involved in a nearby shooting. An attorney representing the men called it a brutal attack by cops. He also said one of the men had a baseball-sized welt on his forehead, multiple scrapes and bruises, and was barely conscious.

Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey who saw the video, said, "On the surface it certainly does not look good, regarding the amount of force that was used. But a full investigation is underway."

The video shows police cars chasing a gold sedan to a stop in the 3700 block of North Second Street.Other police cars keep arriving. About six to eight officers, with guns drawn, swarm over the sedan, pulling open the driver's door. As more officers race up to the car, one beats the passenger's side with a baton. All four doors are pulled open, and as each of the three men is pulled from the car, he is tossed to the street and surrounded by three to five officers.

A group of about three or four officers begin trying to handcuff the driver and can be seen delivering at least 13 kicks to the suspect's head and sides as well as several punches. The passenger pulled from the rear seat is also kicked by a group of four officers as well as being struck four or five times by an officer who appears to be wielding a baton.A canine officer stands nearby restraining an excited police dog.

The video is only 52 seconds, but believe me it is enough.

Clinton Wants to Appeal to "White America"

If anyone thought Hillary was going away think again. How does she become the democratic nominee? By appealing to racism. Good for her. At least she is being honest.

I Present to You the Presumptive Democratic Nominee

Obama's victory speech in North Carolina in three parts. A clearly weary Obama, but a renewed sense and I must say that I have been in a bad mood as of late, mainly due to the attack on Obama and that we were falling into the old style politics. But, I feel good tonight and I have a renewed sense that our nation can be better. Power to the People.

new jersey local boy = literary bad boy

growing up in oakland, new jersey, who knew someone from our boring suburban enclave would become such a literary bad boy? maybe you don't know him, but you should... jonathan ames.

a graduate of indian hills high school (though he graduated several years before me), jonathan ames has become quite the literary star (and he was almost a TV star on showtime but the pilot didn't expand into a series)... now he's delving into the graphic novel format (with illustrator dean haspiel who illlustrated the quitter by harvey pekar, an amazing story)... i couldn't be happier! see a recent story/other illustration collaboration "next door neighborless" here.

more about mr. ames on wikipedia... thanks for making new jersey proud... and showing that the typical suburban upbringing is not so predictable!

here in a publishers weekly article, he discusses his new book:

The Alcoholic ended up as a graphic novel (published by Vertigo, which recently announced a plan to put more focus on original graphic novels) through Ames's friendship with artist Dean Haspiel, a fellow Brooklynite. "I was sitting in a cafe in Brooklyn,” Ames said, “and he came up and introduced himself to me, said he was a fan of my writing, and then we fell in love, and eventually adopted several children. We were kind of like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, except nobody knew it," Ames joked. More seriously, he added, "After meeting at the cafe, we became friends. One of those rare after-age-35 new friendships."

Obama Ready to Close this thing Out?

The polls are all done. Real Clear politics has Clinton by five in Indiana and Obama by eight in North Carolina. These are good averages, but do not always tell the whole story. Still, I think they are right. I say Obama wins North Carolina 55-45 and Clinton wins Indiana by a smaller margin at 53-47. I also think if this result holds up then Superdelegates (as they did yesterday) will begin flocking to Obama. She is only 15 ahead right now.

We shall see tonight.

sarah keeps the government outta her love with jimmy kimmel

thanks to SG reader lice-a-roni who spotted this and sent to me, knowing i luv the big S... by the way sarah is not 27, by my count she is 37... she uttered this phrase on the view once before & it makes me smile: "i don't want the government involved in our love."

Silverman: "I Won't Marry Kimmel"

Comedienne Sarah Silverman has vowed never to marry her longtime boyfriend Jimmy Kimmel - because their relationship is perfect as it is. The 27-year-old has been romantically involved with Kimmel, host of TV talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live, since 2002 - but she insists she has no plans to wed any time soon. She tells People.com, "I'll be honest, we have it good. I don't want the government involved in our love. When my friends get married I think it's romantic, I cry, whatever. But it's not for me." However, Silverman hasn't ruled out having children: "I might adopt, but we're going to wait. If you're going to have kids, you need to have time to give them undivided attention."

John Kerry: Telling MSNBC to Get Over It

New Jersey Diversity

One of the reasons I love living in New Jersey is the diversity. The tremendous diversity. I saw an article today from a couple of days ago on North Jersey that has released census data on the Garden State. That data endes at July 1, 2007. It also groups all of Asian people which I find ridiculous. Chinese, Korean, Indian, Pakistani are all fully represented in New Jersey, but under the rubric of Asian. That is an awfully big continent. The same can be said for Hispanic I guess which by the way Latino is much more inclusive. Here is the data:

* Hispanics remained the largest minority group in both New Jersey and the nation. At 1.4 million, they made up 15.9 percent of the state population. Nationwide, Hispanics numbered 45.5 million, making up 15.1 percent of the population. Since 2000, the Hispanic population in New Jersey grew by 22.6 percent, and nationwide by 28.9.

* Blacks were the second-largest minority group in New Jersey and the nation. In New Jersey, they numbered 1.3 million, comprising 14.5 percent of the population. That marked an increase of 3.7 percent since 2000. Across the United States, they totaled 38.8 million, making up 12.8 percent of the population. Their numbers grew 8.5 percent since 2000.

* About 650,000 New Jersey residents listed their race as Asian, making them 7.5 percent of the state population, which constitutes a 30.6 percent increase since 2000. At the national level, they were 13.4 million, or 4.4 percent of the population, reflecting a growth of 25 percent since 2000.

* Young children, ages 10 and below, and adults between 30 and 60 years of age were the major forces behind the growth in New Jersey's Hispanic population since 2000. The adults fueled 51 percent of the increase, and young children fueled 17 percent.

* For Asians, the biggest drivers of change – accounting for 60 percent — were adults ages 30 to 60. Children 10 and under were less of a factor for Asians than for Hispanics, accounting for 10 percent of the growth.

Note: Census analysis did not include people who reported more than one race.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau

kabul update

kabul snapshots, from my cousin serving in afghanistan:

Village children

Village elder bringing the children in from one of the fields.

Bob Herbert of the New York Times

"Most of the electorate understands that the U.S. is in sorry shape, which is why more than 80 percent of poll respondents say we’re on the wrong track. The Rev. Jeremiah Wright has nothing to do with any of that. The idea that his nonsense may shape the outcome of this election is both tragic and absurd."

By BOB HERBERT
Published: May 3, 2008

The Rev. Jeremiah Wright is no doubt (and regrettably) a big issue in the presidential campaign. But what we’ve seen over the past week is major media overkill — Jeremiah Wright all day and all night. It’s like watching the clips of a car wreck again and again.

We’ve plotted the trend lines of his relationship with Barack Obama over the past two decades. What did Obama know and when did he know it? We’ve forced Barack and Michelle Obama, two decent, hard-working, law-abiding, family-oriented Americans, to sit for humiliating television interviews, reminiscent of Bill and Hillary Clinton on “60 Minutes” at the height of the Gennifer Flowers scandal.

We’ve allowed the entire political process in what is perhaps the most important election in the U.S. since World War II to become thoroughly warped by the histrionics of a loony preacher from the South Side of Chicago.

There’s something wrong with us.

Race is like pornography in the United States — the dirty stories and dirty pictures that everyone professes to hate but no one can resist. But I suspect that even porn addicts get their fill sometimes.

The challenge for the working press right now is to see if we can force ourselves past the overwhelming temptations of Wright and race and focus in a sustained way on some other important matters, like the cratering economy, metastasizing energy costs, the dismal state of public education, the nation’s crumbling infrastructure or the damage being done to the American soul by the endless war in Iraq.

A highly decorated Army ranger named David McDowell, a 30-year-old father of two from Ramona, Calif., was killed in Afghanistan this week. As I read his obituary, I noticed that he had been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq seven times. What does that tell us about our shared wartime sacrifices?

I’d like to hear a lot less about Reverend Wright and a lot more about why the U.S. can’t close the deal in Afghanistan and hardly even seems interested in extricating our G.I.’s from Iraq.
Among the many other important issues overshadowed by the good reverend is a legitimate dispute between the presidential candidates over a proposed gasoline tax holiday, to run through the summer. Hillary Clinton and John McCain favor this dopey, irresponsible proposal, which would save individual motorists a grand total of $28, but which would result in $9 billion in lost tax revenues, much of it targeted for infrastructure needs.

(Senator Clinton says she would recoup the losses with a windfall profits tax on oil companies. Don’t hold your breath.)

No one with a serious understanding of the nation’s energy needs supports this foolishness. Senators Clinton and McCain have been assailed by editorial writers on the left and the right for pandering. Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City was stinging in his criticism, calling the proposal “about the dumbest thing” he’d heard in a long time.

“Obama was right on this one, and McCain and Clinton were wrong,” said Mr. Bloomberg. “The last thing we need to do is to encourage people to drive more and to take away the monies we need for infrastructure in this country.”

The point here is that this was a tailor-made opening for the press to push the candidates hard on a phenomenally important question: What should we be doing in the short and long term about U.S. energy requirements?

Another issue: Economists were exhaling Friday because we only lost 20,000 jobs in April. After all, we lost 81,000 in March. Nevermind that we need to be creating millions of jobs if we’re ever going to get our economic house in order. With credit cards maxed out, real estate prices falling and enormous amounts of home equity already drained, a good job is the only legitimate way to put real money into the hands of cash-strapped families.

Americans are hurting on the jobs front. Those who are employed are working fewer hours and for less pay. Some sectors are crippled by unemployment. There are big-city neighborhoods in which the real jobless rate of young African-Americans is 80 percent or higher.
Do the candidates have concrete strategies for engaging these problems? Could we hear about them? Explore them? Critique them?

Are we in the news media going to be serious about this election, or is it really going to be all about Wright and race all the time?

Most of the electorate understands that the U.S. is in sorry shape, which is why more than 80 percent of poll respondents say we’re on the wrong track. The Rev. Jeremiah Wright has nothing to do with any of that. The idea that his nonsense may shape the outcome of this election is both tragic and absurd.

Barack Obama: A Ghettoized Elitist

I have become increasingly frustrated with the media's coverage of this campaign focusing on issues that have nothing to do with the issues that face our nation. But, here we are. Last night I watched Chris Mathews while I worked out and he had on Michelle Bernard (who I like) and Ron Brownstein, who I thought I liked. All we hear is the white working class voter won't vote for Obama. Then, Mathews chirped in without the least bit of irony and said the Reverend Wright is a problem, has he been ghettoized? A question for Michelle Bernard. Not less than a minute later he asks Brownstein has his elitism hurt him? Ok. You can't be ghettoized and an elitist. Doesn't work that way, Tweetie. I think it is certainly a first in Presidential politics where someone is a black nationalist elitist.

Anyway, I was thinking Obama needs to get back to the issues, get back to inspiring us and his base. Me. A liberal (very liberal) white man with advanced degrees and the African-American population. Inspire us. We can win it for you and we will eventually bring the rest along. So, here it is. He was great last night. Here is the closing that was essential politicking.

... the end of the world as we know it ...

SG logo creator, Renato Alarcão, from Associado SIB - Sociedade dos Ilustradores do Brasil -submitted the above image published by a fellow illustrator that was just sent to the Society of Brazilian Illustrator's web group.

renato asked about john mccain & is worried what will happen if we elect him... and he then quoted REM's Michael Stipe who used to say: "It's the end of the world as we know it..."

thanks renato for sharing this image and your thoughts!

Did the U.S. Supreme Court Just Elect John McCain ?

This is the title of an article on truthout. By 6-3 the Court has upheld an Indiana law that requires citizens to present a photo identification card in order to vote. Florida, Michigan, Louisiana, Georgia, Hawaii and South Dakota have similar laws. Though it's unlikely, as many as two dozen other states could add them by election day. Other states, like Ohio, have less stringent ID requirements than Indiana's, but still have certain restrictions that are strongly opposed by voter rights advocates.

The decision turns back centuries of voting and jurisprudence that accepts a voter's signature at the voting booth. The Justices in their opinion admitted there is "no evidence" for wide spread voter fraud for enacting these laws, but yet here we are.

Voting rights activists have long argued that since photo ID can cost money, or may demand expensive trips to government agencies, the requirement constitutes a "poll tax." Taxes on the right to vote were used for a century to prevent blacks and others from voting in the south and elsewhere. They were specifically banned by the 24th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1964.

Justice Stevens, the court's most reliable liberal wrote the opinion for the 6-3 court arguing though rare, the "risk of voter fraud" was nonetheless "real" and that there was "no question about the legitimacy or importance of the state's interest in counting only the votes of eligible voters."

This latest Supreme Court decision is yet another serious blow to voting rights advocates - and probably to the Democratic nominees for President and other offices. It will clearly make it far more difficult for poor, minority, elderly and young citizens to vote. Tens of thousands of normally Democratic voters in key states - especially Florida, Michigan, Georgia and Louisiana - will simply be prevented from getting a ballot.

The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University's School of Law in its "Friend of the Court" brief noted that between 10% and 13% of eligible voters lack the identification now required in Indiana. People without an official photo ID tend to be disproportionately minorities and poor, ushering a new Jim Crow era based on race and class apartheid. One Indiana study, according to Inter Press Service reporter Jim Lobe, found that 13.3% of registered Indiana voters lacked the now-required ID, but the numbers were significantly higher for black voters at 18% and young voters age 18-34 at more than 20%. Read the rest here.

There is no other reason for these laws, but to disenfranchise voters at the polls. There are not widespread voter fraud throughout the nation. It just does not exist, yet we now have a Supreme Court decision that states one must have an I.D. at the polls. While the danger for 2008 is real, 2010 could open the flood gates.

Shame on Justice Stevens.

CELEBRATE MAY DAY!

loved this so much, had to share, especially her creative new word concept at the end of the letter. from my favorite comix store in the northwest (portland, oregon), reading frenzy:

Dear Readers,

Happy May Day! Radical historic significance aside, May Day is one of my favorite lesser-recognized holidays. When I was a wee lass we would weave paper ribbons through plastic strawberry baskets, fill them with flowers, leave them on neighbors' doorsteps, knock and run. Did you know you're supposed to get a kiss if you're caught? Pick your neighbors carefully, I guess! In later years this was the day that I moved my bedroom to a roomy second floor balcony and slept al fresco through the end of September. Although the official first day of spring has come and gone, it doesn't really get started for me until the 1st of May.

Two years ago today, I was traipsing around Rochester in Kent, England with dear friends, taking in my first castle, trying not to tread on ancient graves, and enjoying the annual Sweeps Festival. This was my most touristy request - attending a traditional May Day celebration. The rest of the trip was spent exploring relatively obscure roadside attractions, dusty bookshops, fancy chocolatiers, outdoor markets, and oddball museums.

This year, May Day happens to fall on the 1st Thursday of the month, so we have even more to celebrate than usual! We're proud to present an exhibit of recent work by Portland denizen and international animal hero, Nicole J. Georges, entitled I Like To Be Alive. In addition to the art show, we are also celebrating the recent release of the second collected volume of her enchanting and beloved zine, Invincible Summer (Microcosm, 2008). We've been showing Nicole's work for years and it's been a pleasure to watch her evolve as an artist. Even in the early days, she demonstrated a remarkable knack for capturing expression and spirit in her animal portraits, but this show, and in particular the wolves and rabbit pieces, reveal quite a leap in technique. It's going to be hard for me to restrain myself from snapping them up, so you'd better come quick!

So, after all this reminiscing, how about we start a new May Day tradition? Let's all do something fancy for someone else's benefit, for no other purpose than to brighten their day. You could have one intended recipient or perform an act of public fabotage* to benefit any random passersby.

Send in your reports to for a future update. Bonus points for photos and anonymity in your fancy attack!

Your Faithful Proprietress,
Chloe
Reading Frenzy
Portland, OR

*Fabotage is a word that I coined last year to describe a deliberate action aimed at changing something for the better through various methods of improvement and embellishment. While a subversive and possibly illegal act, it should not obstruct, disrupt or destroy its target.

Deborah Jeane Palfrey found dead

Deborah Jeane Palfrey, aka the DC madam, has committed suicide. I find this so disturbing. Ms. Palfrey gets tried, sentenced and takes her own life. Yet jack asses like David Vitter didn't even lose their jobs, much less go to prison. I know that she wasn't caught on prostitution charges. Still...the double standard that is applied to the sex industry outrages me.

May Ms. Palfrey rest in peace.