To ask any of these questions is to answer them. Protest is only seen as fundamentally American when those who have long had the luxury of seeing themselves as prototypically American engage in it. When the dangerous and dark “other” does so, however, it isn’t viewed as normal or natural, let alone patriotic. Which is why Rush Limbaugh could say, this past week, that the Tea Parties are the first time since the Civil War that ordinary, common Americans stood up for their rights: a statement that erases the normalcy and “American-ness” of blacks in the civil rights struggle, not to mention women in the fight for suffrage and equality, working people in the fight for better working conditions, and LGBT folks as they struggle to be treated as full and equal human beings.

And this, my friends, is what white privilege is all about. The ability to threaten others, to engage in violent and incendiary rhetoric without consequence, to be viewed as patriotic and normal no matter what you do, and never to be feared and despised as people of color would be, if they tried to get away with half the shit we do, on a daily basis.

Ephphatha Poetry: “Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black” – Tim Wise

Possibly Related

• April 18, 2009 — Respectful Insolence: “Have the conservatives in just two and a half months out of power become everything they hate about the loony left?”
• March 22, 2010 — frum on the recently passed healthcare reform bill
• March 4, 2009 — MSNBC: “Obama’s rating at all-time high”
• February 13, 2009 — Get Out of the (White) House – 100 Days Blog – NYTimes.com
• January 29, 2009 — White House Unbuttons Formal Dress Code – NYTimes.com

President Obama, don’t let this attack—this one attack that was thankfully stopped by smart, fearless passengers and airline staff—take us further in the wrong direction. I don’t think I’m alone in feeling this way. Americans of all stripes and affiliation standing up to say, “This isn’t working. We gave you our money. You’re not making us safer.” We appreciate the attempt to make us safer and acknowledge that it came from an honest attempt to protect American (and the rest of the world’s) lives.

But it’s a failure. It’s wrongheaded. It’s a farce. Tear it down. Put the money towards the sort of actions at which our government excels, like intelligence. The failure of the TSA leaves us no choice, but it’s okay. The American people are ready to take back the responsibility for our own safety. Really, we already have.

President Obama, It’s Time To Fire the TSA – Travel – Gizmodo

Possibly Related

• April 25, 2010 — Ephphatha Poetry: “Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black” – Tim Wise
• March 22, 2010 — frum on the recently passed healthcare reform bill
• December 29, 2009 — give credit where credit’s due
• September 5, 2009 — religion keeps the poor from mudering the rich…
• August 14, 2009 — Left vs. Conservatives

Click for larger version

Possibly Related

• March 22, 2010 — frum on the recently passed healthcare reform bill
• April 25, 2010 — Ephphatha Poetry: “Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black” – Tim Wise
• December 29, 2009 — President Obama, It’s Time To Fire the TSA – Travel – Gizmodo
• September 5, 2009 — religion keeps the poor from mudering the rich…
• April 18, 2009 — Respectful Insolence: “Have the conservatives in just two and a half months out of power become everything they hate about the loony left?”

So who’s writing Sarah’s Facebook notes? Hell, your guess is as good as mine. Meg Stapleton perhaps? Bill Kristol? An intern? The person ghostwriting her forthcoming book? Who knows! But whoever it is, their being enlisted to perform these services is obviously part of a diabolical plan to rehabilitate Palin’s image as a staggering dipshit. However, they really should have eased into it, because it’s just way too obvious that Sarah Palin did not write the note that was posted to her Facebook page tonight. Period.

There’s Just No Way Sarah Palin’s Writing Her Facebook Notes – sarah palin – Gawker

Nothing seems related, these are random:

There are certainly legitimate criticisms to make of the stimulus package as potentially being too large and generating too much additional debt to be added to our already staggering national debt. There are even more legitimate criticisms of how the various bailouts the government has been handing out to banks are more likely to help the proverbial Wall Street than Main Street (God, I hate that cliche, but got sucked in to using it anyway).

But comparing Obama to Hitler and his policies to advocating white slavery just shows the hypocrisy of the right. The right made political hay every opportunity it got when the left compared Bush to Hitler, labeling the comparison hopelessly and irredeemably offensive from 2002-2008

Respectful Insolence: “Have the conservatives in just two and a half months out of power become everything they hate about the loony left?”

Possibly Related

• April 25, 2010 — Ephphatha Poetry: “Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black” – Tim Wise
• January 29, 2009 — White House Unbuttons Formal Dress Code – NYTimes.com
• May 6, 2008 — “Dispatches From Flyover Country” – LAUREN BRUCE in The American Prospect
• March 22, 2010 — frum on the recently passed healthcare reform bill
• March 4, 2009 — MSNBC: “Obama’s rating at all-time high”

“What is amazing here is how much political capital Obama has spent in the first six weeks,” said Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart, who conducted this survey with Republican pollster Bill McInturff. “And against that, he stands at the end of this six weeks with as much or more capital in the bank.”

By comparison, the Republican Party — which resisted Obama’s recently passed stimulus plan and has criticized the spending in his budget — finds its favorability at an all-time low. It also receives most of the blame for the current partisanship in Washington and trails the Democrats by nearly 30 percentage points on the question of which party could best lead the nation out of recession.

Poll: Obama’s rating at all-time high – White House- msnbc.com

Possibly Related

• February 13, 2009 — Get Out of the (White) House – 100 Days Blog – NYTimes.com
• January 29, 2009 — White House Unbuttons Formal Dress Code – NYTimes.com
• November 16, 2008 — Frank Schaeffer: Sarah Palin Will Never Be President — Trust Me
• April 25, 2010 — Ephphatha Poetry: “Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black” – Tim Wise
• March 22, 2010 — frum on the recently passed healthcare reform bill

President Obama, we are told, usually arrives in the Oval Office a little before 9 a.m., some two hours later than his predecessor, George W. Bush. This enables him to read the newspapers before coming to work (as F.D.R. and Reagan also did) and to spend time with daughters Malia and Sasha before they go to school. “I have never seen him happier,” Mr. Obama’s longtime adviser, David Axelrod, told The Times.

Get Out of the (White) House – 100 Days Blog – NYTimes.com

Possibly Related

• March 4, 2009 — MSNBC: “Obama’s rating at all-time high”
• January 29, 2009 — White House Unbuttons Formal Dress Code – NYTimes.com
• April 25, 2010 — Ephphatha Poetry: “Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black” – Tim Wise
• March 22, 2010 — frum on the recently passed healthcare reform bill
• April 18, 2009 — Respectful Insolence: “Have the conservatives in just two and a half months out of power become everything they hate about the loony left?”

When Mr. Bush moved in, he exercised his presidential decorating prerogatives and asked his wife, Laura, to supervise the design of a new rug. Mr. Bush loved to regale visitors with the story of the rug, whose sunburst design, he liked to say, was intended to evoke a feeling of optimism.

The rug is still there, as are the presidential portraits Mr. Bush selected — one of Washington, one of Lincoln — and a collection of decorative green and white plates. During a meeting last week with retired military officials, before he signed an executive order shutting down the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, Mr. Obama surveyed his new environs with a critical eye.

“He looked around,” said one of his guests, retired Rear Adm. John D. Hutson, “and said, ‘I’ve got to do something about these plates. I’m not really a plates kind of guy.’ ”

White House Unbuttons Formal Dress Code – NYTimes.com

Possibly Related

• April 18, 2009 — Respectful Insolence: “Have the conservatives in just two and a half months out of power become everything they hate about the loony left?”
• March 4, 2009 — MSNBC: “Obama’s rating at all-time high”
• February 13, 2009 — Get Out of the (White) House – 100 Days Blog – NYTimes.com
• November 21, 2008 — george bush rushes to kill off animals before obama can stop him
• November 17, 2008 — 7 years

Now, we probably shouldn’t jump on the guilt by association bandwagon (as Obama’s opponents were wont to do during the election), but there are significantly safer, more neutral, and more politically correct (forgive me) selections for an inaugural companion. And this news of the Warren selection is right on the heels of other questionable behavior by Obama — notably, his cabinet choices. Having a cabinet and set of advisors that even Cheney agrees with should send up little red flags all over America.

Someone should ask Obama about what part of “change” we must have misunderstood. Is this country about to be run by the old administration in sheep’s clothing?

State of Protest

Possibly Related

• November 17, 2008 — Butterflies
• November 16, 2008 — Obama: Bad News For the New Atheists and Other Fundamentalists
• November 9, 2008 — palin was a disaster for mccain
• November 5, 2008 — Social Progress
• November 3, 2008 — My wife made me canvass for Obama; here’s what I learned | csmonitor.com

Room for Rent — Inauguration Day/ObamaCon 2009

Date: 2008-11-11, 11:45AM EST

In a search of a room in DC so that you can spend Jan. 20 standing in the bitter winter cold with thousands of like-minded souls watching the historic transfer of power from one Harvard grad to another? Look no further.

Me: Heartless, greedy right-wing oppressive type looking to make a buck.

You: Obama’s election was Christmas/your first kiss/May Day all wrapped into one. You dutifully wore his button — which you have yet to remove — contributed money to his campaign from your non-profit job and chanted “yes we can” as if it were the 11th commandment. A strange void now exists in your life and — like an old hippie looking to recapture the spirit of Woodstock — you are undertaking a pilgramage to Washington for one last gulp of the Kool-Aid.

Along with my bedroom you will have access to the house’s many amenities including cable television (not that you watch much TV) for viewing Keith Olberman’s latest unhinged rants and CNN in high-def. Wireless internet means that the Huffington Post and DailyKos are only a click away on your MacBook. American flags and other patriotic paraphernalia in the room can be removed upon request.

The house is located in the diverse neighborhood of Adams Morgan with people of many different skin pigmentations that will allow you to revel in your tolerance. Rest assured, however, that this diversity does not extend to ideology and that you are sure to march lock-step with the prevailing sentiment ensuring that your most strongly held beliefs remain unchallenged.

Easily accessible subway and bus stops will help ensure a minimal carbon footprint while fair trade coffee is never more than a few steps away at any number of independently-owned establishments. Nearby non-chain bookstores similarly mean that tomes such as Mao’s Little Red Book, Chomsky’s latest masterpiece or additional copies of The Audacity of Hope can be easily purchased either for yourself or as early holiday shopping.

Rather than state a price I am requesting that you bid on this fabulous opportunity to ensure profit maximization on my part so that I can better weather the Bush Recession.

best of craigslist : Room for Rent — Inauguration Day/ObamaCon 2009

Possibly Related

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• November 5, 2008 — Social Progress
• November 3, 2008 — My wife made me canvass for Obama; here’s what I learned | csmonitor.com
• August 19, 2008 — Obama To McCain: Dignify Your Campaign
• February 7, 2009 — Shinyness to Usefulness to Awesomeness

Beyond the irony of its outcome, Mr. Obama’s unusual decision to inject himself into a statewide issue during the height of his presidential campaign was a reminder that despite his historic ascendancy to the White House, he has never quite escaped the murky and insular world of Illinois politics. It is a world he has long navigated, to the consternation of his critics, by engaging in a kind of realpolitik, Chicago-style, which allowed him to draw strength from his relationships with important players without becoming compromised by their many weaknesses.

By the time Mr. Obama intervened on the ethics measure, his relationship with Mr. Blagojevich, always defined more by political proximity than by personal chemistry, had cooled as the governor became increasingly engulfed in legal troubles. There is nothing in the criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday to indicate that Mr. Obama knew anything about plans to seek money and favors in exchange for his Senate seat; he has never been implicated in any other “pay to play” cases that have emerged from the long-running investigation of the Blagojevich administration.

Obama’s Intervention for Ethics Bill Indirectly Led to Case Against Governor – NYTimes.com

Possibly Related

• April 25, 2010 — Ephphatha Poetry: “Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black” – Tim Wise
• March 22, 2010 — frum on the recently passed healthcare reform bill
• April 18, 2009 — Respectful Insolence: “Have the conservatives in just two and a half months out of power become everything they hate about the loony left?”
• March 4, 2009 — MSNBC: “Obama’s rating at all-time high”
• February 13, 2009 — Get Out of the (White) House – 100 Days Blog – NYTimes.com

This position splintered this controversy into two prongs: one focusing on Bristol Palin, and a second focusing on Sarah Palin. It was always been the goal of the McCain campaign that the focus be on Bristol, in spite of their pious protestations that “children of candidates should be off limits,” because framing this story to be about Bristol as much as possible would keep attention off of where it belonged, on her mother. Not one shred of concrete evidence has ever been released to demonstrate that Sarah Palin is Trig’s biological mother. We have received one incredibly suspect letter from her physician (which among other things did not even get all of the birth years of the four older Palin children correct.) It does not state explicitly where Trig Palin was born (though it helpfully tells us where he could have been born), when he was born (well, actually, it says 2008), or who actually delivered him.

Palin’s Deceptions: The Nail in the Coffin

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• November 9, 2008 — palin was a disaster for mccain

So, I guess I am a pro-life, pro-choice, pro-education atheist. Oddly enough this particular centrist view often makes me stand out in a crowd – my family and close friends lean toward the right and I am viewed as the liberal left-wing nut and to most others I am viewed as the conservative, uptight right- wing nut. I suppose it is easier to categorize someone than take the time to understand their views. We hear a phrase, jump to a conclusion and pigeon-hole someone before they can get away. It is a shame that I am not a pigeon.

The Information Paradox: Pro-Life..Pro-Choice…Both?

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• September 20, 2005 — test everything, hold fast to what is good

Anyone who puts their body, soul, mind and strength at lifelong risk on behalf of us all is worthy of double honor.  They are to be esteemed in word and deed beyond a red, white and blue calendar day.  As of now the lofty ceremonies only highlight a national disgrace.            

Whether the veteran was a willing participant in war or a pawn of the President it matters not.  Whether the war was just it matters not.  Whether the veteran is permanently disabled it matters not.  Whether the veteran is an addict it matters not.  Whether you are a hawk or a dove it matters not.

I call on President Obama to make a one sentence policy proclamation.

“During the Obama administration no American veteran will ever go without proper medical care or go homeless, period.”

Worthy of Double Honor – The Seminal :: Independent Media and Politics

Possibly Related

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• November 23, 2008 — The Information Paradox: Pro-Life..Pro-Choice…Both?
• November 21, 2008 — george bush rushes to kill off animals before obama can stop him
• November 17, 2008 — How Did Sarah Palin Spend $150,000?
• November 16, 2008 — special comment from keith olbermann on prop 8 passing

just fantastic:

Animals and plants in danger of becoming extinct could lose the protection of government experts who make sure that dams, highways and other projects don’t pose a threat, under regulations the Bush administration is set to put in place before President-elect Obama can reverse them.

The rules must be published Friday to take effect before Obama is sworn in Jan. 20. Otherwise, he can undo them with the stroke of a pen.

The Interior Department rushed to complete the rules in three months over the objections of lawmakers and environmentalists who argued that they would weaken how a landmark conservation law is applied.

Bush To Relax Endangered Species Regulations Before Obama Can Reverse Them

Possibly Related

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• November 17, 2008 — 7 years
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• April 18, 2009 — Respectful Insolence: “Have the conservatives in just two and a half months out of power become everything they hate about the loony left?”
• March 4, 2009 — MSNBC: “Obama’s rating at all-time high”

Meanwhile, it isn’t necessary to evict the Creator from the public square, surrender Judeo-Christian values or diminish the value of faith in America. Belief in something greater than oneself has much to recommend it, including most of the world’s architectural treasures, our universities and even our founding documents.

But, like it or not, we are a diverse nation, no longer predominantly white and Christian. The change Barack Obama promised has already occurred, which is why he won.

Among Jewish voters, 78 percent went for Obama. Sixty-six percent of under-30 voters did likewise. Forty-five percent of voters ages 18-29 are Democrats compared to just 26 percent Republican; in 2000, party affiliation was split almost evenly.

The young will get older, of course. Most eventually will marry, and some will become their parents. But nonwhites won’t get whiter. And the nonreligious won’t get religion through external conversion. It doesn’t work that way.

Giving Up on God – washingtonpost.com

Possibly Related

• November 16, 2008 — Obama: Bad News For the New Atheists and Other Fundamentalists
• November 16, 2008 — special comment from keith olbermann on prop 8 passing
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• April 15, 2009 — Valerie Tarico: Ancient Sumerian Origins of the Easter Story
• February 4, 2009 — reminds me of…. something…