Hillary Is a Strong Woman

When I first started high school in 1993, names like "Hillary Rodham Clinton" and "Anita Hill" were ubiquitous, if you were paying attention. And, as I've noted here and there, I have been paying attention for as long as I can remember. (Arguing about Dukakis versus Bush the First while walking home from elementary school with Ad am S iple. This, I assure you, will be a story to tell the kids or grandkids, when he becomes Attorney General/President/Something Like That some day.)

I'm not sure of that many ninth grade girls with a subscription to Time Magazine, who read it weekly, alternating between it and issues of Seventeen and Spin. But that was me for you. It was a good thing we had to sell magazines for fundraising, because it lead me on a path to making media a regular part of my day, when I had to purchase my own subscriptions to fill my quota. What also helped was that Mom and Dad read the news everyday and watched it every night.

I'm thinking about this right now as I read articles and hear news stories on Secretary Hillary Clinton's first diplomatic trip abroad to Asia. It's still a little jolting to say Secretary Clinton, though I like the sound of it as much as I like the sound of "former President Bush".

This New York Times article ( http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/21/world/asia/21diplo.html?th&emc=th ) discusses Clinton's unorthodox, yet far more engaging, appraoch to foreign diplomacy. I blogged about her appearance on a variety show in Indonesia called "Awesome." But she also gave speeches to all womens colleges and she'll be going to church in China tomorrow. (Or is it today there already?)

One young woman, a woman who stated that she played baseball, who attended one of Hillary's appearances asked how it was that Hillary became such a strong woman. Hillary said she played a lot of baseball and played with a lot of boys -- which was cute, but you got what she meant.

And how is it that women of my generation got to be so strong, as that Japanese woman put it? By growing up with women like Hillary Clinton to emulate since the time we started high school. That's why I'm always calling her Hillary My Love. Yes, my own mom is of quite strong character, to put it mildly, but I also grew up with a national figure. And for that, I am very grateful and happy. It's also gratifying to see her in a new position of power, even if it isn't President. I think everything worked out just as it should have, in the end. I can't wait to see what else Secretary Clinton has in store.

This Week in WTF - AWESOME!

Here's Hillary My Love, as she traipses through the Asia-Place. The name of this show is "Awesome!" The awesome-est part is around 4:30, when the fun lady asks the fun questions.



I want to add, however, that she is also doing things like meeting with other diplomats and meeting with the peasants working on green jobs, like making women's accesories from recycled materials. Excellent! Dare I say...Awesome!

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100885547

Thinking about Buddha Statues and Nukes

My favorite news media person, Rachel Maddow, covered a story on the region of Swat, Pakistan being taken over by the Taliban recently.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#29247369

Yeah, that Taliban have now, essentially, in-so-many-words, expanded and govern a section of Pakistan, nevermind their still-threatening presence in Afghanistan. More information from the Washington Post here.

And what was the reaction of the Obama administration's Secretary of State, Hilary My Love? Well, she said it was a problem but the whole region was a problem.

33,000 additional troops were brought to Afghanistan recently, but that's Afghanistan. The strategy will take a turn with the new administration, apparently. Exactly what has not yet been laid out for the public, mostly because domestic issues are overshadowing.

All of this made me remember the Buddha statues, for some reason. Six months before the attacks of September 11, 2001, the Taliban destroyed two gigantic, ancient Buddha statues in the Bamiyan Province of Afghanistan. While there was an international outcry for this action, there wasn't any substantial action-against, and despite furied calls from other Islamic leaders, from international governemtns, both allies and foes alike, to leave the archaelogical gems alone, Mullah Mohammed Omar, the then leader of the Taliban and thus leader of Afghanistan, followed through with his threats and had the statues destroyed - dynamited, to be more exact. These Buddhas were 175 and 120 feet high and dated from the 3rd to 5th century.

Why did these statues enter my head today? Well, in addition to the Swat region issue, I was just thinking about people's apathy or ignorance and how it leads to much worse situations.

A parallel experience in domestic issues is last year, when people began losing their homes because of the housing crisis and everyone uneffected said, "Meh, doesn't have an effect on me..." and now we're all screwed...

Like that Reverend Niemoller quote about the Nazis going after Catholics and Social Democrats and Jews and him never saying anything & when they went after him, there was no one left to speak up.

We've got to pay better attention. We've got to fix the leak before it becomes so damaging is makes the whole dam crumble. So, I think that the shiria law coming into power in Swat is a major RED FLAG about Taliban resurgence and we, as in America, better nip that in the bud ASAP before the dynamited 175 foot Buddha statues turn into practice for the skyscrapers, metaphorically speaking. That is, before the Taliban insert themselves into the power in Pakistan as well as Afghanistan because, as Rachel Maddow pointed out today on her show during the segment linked above, the Pakistan government in is possession of muclear weapons.

Chix Rool - 3 Awesome News Stories

Girl Power is in the news because of Milan Simon Tuttle, Eri Yoshida and Hillary Clinton.

1.) Obama Considering Hillary as Secretary of State

I, as a former Hill supporter, really hope she becomes the next Sec of State. I think she'd be fab-o at it. She knows so much about foreign policy, has been to 80+ countries, could make a mark and send a strong positive message to the world: we're ready to be friends again. Pundits worry about the looming shadow of President Clinton, but I say Bill Schmill -- I don't think that his post-presidential history will be a big deal. (I still stand by my conspiracy theory that they're trying to hide his health problems.) And someone on Hardball last night made that point that Hillary gets along swimmingly with VP elect Joe Biden, who is most certainly going to have a lot of input and involvement in foreign policy because of his wide, varied and highly knowledgeable background.

2.) Japan Signs First Female Professional Baseball Player

A young Japanese woman was signed by a Japanese independent-league professional baseball team to pitch for them. Eri Yoshida is a knuckleballer and states her hero is Tim Wakefield. Upon hearing the news, Wake texted the press to say that he was honored by her compliments and suggested she might be able to teach him something, too. (I really love him. He's just neat-o.)

3.) Dribbler Prodigy

Oh. My. God. Check out this kid, a FIVE YEAR OLD GIRL who makes NBA players (like Rod Benson, who wrote the article) feel the need to "brush up on their D." Her name is Milan Simon Tuttle.

Still Love Her

Did anyone else watch that Hillary speech? =sigh= I loved her.

We speculated on her future: Health and Human Services secretary? Supreme Court? 2016?

heaven only knows...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67EaRjQs-SI

Regardless, that orange pantsuit (sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits! ha!) looked great on her! Who knew she was a fall?

Follow Up to Weird Dream

It's too bad that this site, The Metaphysical Poll, is no longer taking submissions.

But that's right. For a while there was a series of blogs: "I Dream of Barack", "I Dream of Hillary" and "I Dream of McCain", in addition to a commentary and analysis on all these dreams called "The Metaphysical Poll Blog". People could send in their dreams of the presidential candidates. It was called the Metaphyscal Poll because it was a way to tell how you felt about the candidates, metaphysically.

Guess where I heard about it? On NPR of course. Here and Now to be specific, scroll to "Presidential Dreams."

Alas, the author has retired the site. Still, you should read the whacked out stuff that people posted. It's awesome.

Hmm...

Wouldn't it be funny if someone Photo- shopped a beret onto her head in this picture?

G*ddammit Geraldine! What the hell were you thinking?

AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is what I have to say about Geraldine Ferraro saying that Obama is only a strong candidate because he's black. Do you know something? THAT'S THE SAME THING THAT ANN COULTER SAID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I love Geraldine Ferraro. I think I had to pledge undying love for her in order to received my Women's Studies minor. It's, like, a requirement, along with not shaving your legs and listening to either Tori or Ani or both (I'm Tori only, BTW).

But what. the. f*ck. ????????????

You can't go around saying the same outrageously asinine things as Ann Coulter and expect me to say nothing. I know one of Ferraro's strong suits is her strident, confident, spitfire, tell-it-like it is nature, but this is too far. I'm pissed. Pissed.

To her credit, Hillary rejected that statement. This is from the AP:

Clinton has said she disagrees with Ferraro's remarks. In an interview with The Associated Press, she said, "It's regrettable that any of our supporters — on both sides, because we both have this experience — say things that kind of veer off into the personal."

But they're so calculated, those Clintons. I feel like the make sacrificial lambs sometimes.

Anyway, I will not get over this any time soon. I am sad and angry and appalled. And if you think I'm overreacting, check out this juxtaposition of footage:

First, watch the first 27 seconds of this clip - the evil one speaks...



And then jump to 3:57 on this clip and HEAR THE SAME THING from Geraldine Ferraro. (And hear my heart breaking over it, too)...





Lordy, lordy. What is the world coming to?

I Still Love Hillary, but...

I Still Love Hillary But I Had to Share This Video

Hillary was just on The Daily Show and did a pretty good job. Jon Stewart made reference to a SNL skip so I dragged myself out of my sickbed to see if I could find it. I did find it and it was entertaining but, I found this as well. I don't know why it makes me chuckle. I guess I like seeing her - or any politician - being unscripted.



Can anyone say, "Ricola"?

That's about all I can take as far as sitting and typing. Back to lying down with the heating pad.

Who's a Girlie Girl? I am! I am!

So, now that Super Tuesday is over, I will formally endorse the candidate I voted for today:

And I say: No, Hillary, thank you. Thank you for being the first woman I've ever voted for in a presidential race. I must admit, I got teary in the voting booth. First, because I had two remarkable choices - good candidates who are "firsts" (viable firsts, that is) when it comes to presidential politics and, second because I voted for a woman.

Why I picked her: She blew me away in every single debate. There is no doubt that Obama is the better speech giver. He's electric and inspiring. But when she debates and talks about what she'll do, how she'll do it, why she'll do it -- I've never heard a person speak with such clear vision and precision. I have been relentlessly impressed and super excited about the prospect.

So, that's my vote and I'm sticking to it. I have to now, actually. Ha ha.

My Girl - Abigail Adams

Why is Abigail Adams my girl? Because, she, like me, is from Weymouth. It's one of the few things about Weymouth that I like - the fact the the first woman (and by far the best, comparatively speaking) who was both a First Lady and a First Mother was from this godforsaken town.

So's the guy from the movie Blow, but we don't like to brag about that.

The reason why Abigail Adams is so worthy of praise are the declarations of women's rights she made to her husband, John Adams. They were written in letters she sent to him while he was working on this kind of important document thing that we here in America like to call the Constitution.

MARCH 31, 1776
ABIGAIL ADAMS TO JOHN ADAMS
I long to hear that you have declared an independency. And, by the way, in the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors.

Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands.

Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation.

To see more Abigail Adams quotes on women's rights, go to this section of thelizlibrary.org.

I've just been thinking a lot about Abigail because of - duh - Hillary. You know Abs would be running for prez were she alive today, too! You go girl! (No, I'm not saying that for real. I'm saying it in an ironic way.)