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Aug
26
[text] Hillary’s Convention Speech: There is no I in Obama
Filed Under Barack Obama, Campaigning, Democrats, Hillary Clinton, Media, Politics, WH2008 | 1 Comment
And Hillary Clinton tonight outlined in stark terms what this world risks if voters do not unite and elect Barack Obama.
I was in this live-blog and would encourage you to read the portion of chat around the time when she was speaking. Here is the text of the speech.
Clinton’s speech included what she wanted to say and what they allowed her to say that had to do with her supporters, what they did for her and she did for them.
But then, she moved into describing all the people and crises and issues that are starving for attention that will be crushed further below the consciousness of the United States if John McCain and the GOP continue to govern this country from Washington, D.C.
She repeated several times, in several different ways, her support for Michelle Obama, Joe Biden, Jill Biden and, of course, Barack Obama, this country and the Democratic Party.
If those voters who have insisted that they want only Hillary Clinton and will not vote for Obama still feel that way, it’s up to Obama to convince them otherwise.
Even though I feel strongly that John McCain could do that all by himself.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:29 pm August 26th, 2008 in Barack Obama, Campaigning, Democrats, Hillary Clinton, Media, Politics, WH2008 | 1 Comment
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Aug
26
More to hate about push polls: those that denigrate a college education
Filed Under Campaigning, Ohio, Politics, Statehouse | 10 Comments
I’m not in Democrat Matt Lundy’s Ohio statehouse district (57 – Elyria area) but the story in this article, which was passed on to me earlier today, reminds me of implied insults I’ve heard many times before, in a variety of settings: my school’s better than your school.
The fact is that, other than name and cost, most college educations are like each of our DNA: nearly identical. It’s what you or the student body bring to the school and put into your education that matters – the textbooks for microecon? The same. The textbook for political science? The same. For philosophy? Math? Foreign languages? All the same.
The difference in the equation is you.
Don’t believe me?
Do we really need to look any further than George Bush to know that when someone is pushing their alma mater, in his case it’s Yale, as being their drop dead qualification for your vote, you should run not walk away from them?
Having grown up at Yale, literally (my mother worked in a genetiscist’s lab for 14 years studying fruit flies then I worked in the Yale Development Office for three years after I finished college), I met more than my share of applicants, attendees and graduates – including high school classmates and a boyfriend or two.
Voters of the Ohio House 57th District: do not be fooled by Urban’s push poll implication that because he went to Yale undergrad, and Lundy went to Lorain Community College, you’re getting something better – implicitly.
I’ll tell you what you can know implicitly, withouta nationally-known college’s name in your history: when someone is trying to put others down – a tactic which no college of good repute would ever want its alumni to flash around like Lundy’s opponent, GOP challenger (and Yale bandy-abouter) attorney and city councilman Dan Urban (Avon).
Bad form, Mr. Urban, very bad form.
PS – Mr. Urban having attended CSU’s law school, he should know a thing or two about how some CWRU law school grads are only too happy to compare educations. Sheesh.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:49 pm August 26th, 2008 in Campaigning, Ohio, Politics, Statehouse | 10 Comments
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Aug
26
WLST on the BBC: Analysis of Hillary’s speech, what’s next for her
Filed Under Announcements, Blogging, Democrats, Hillary Clinton, Ohio, Politics, WH2008, Women | Comments Off
I’ll be at the Chief Source live-blog later this evening to watch the Democratic Convention’s evening events tonight and wait for a call from the BBC for its show, The World Today, which will be broadcast sometime tomorrow.
Clinton is scheduled to speak after Mark Warner in the 8-9pm (MT; 10-11pm EST) tonight.
Want to weigh in? Leave comments here or visit the Chief Source’s live-blog and participate. If you’ve never been in a live-blog, it’s a lot of fun and also very educational.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 6:13 pm August 26th, 2008 in Announcements, Blogging, Democrats, Hillary Clinton, Ohio, Politics, WH2008, Women | Comments Off
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Aug
26
Wow – I thought I wasn’t doing too bad but I follow only three of them right now (Steve Outing, Amy Gahran and Jay Rosen). Hattip to Amy – for pointing out the post (and she is, indeed, a bringer of joy – I agree 100%).
1. Jay Rosen (jayrosen_nyu)
Jay Rosen is the multi-hyphenate author/blogger/academic whose Twitter feed is a more succinct extension of his media criticism over at PressThink.
2. Jeremiah Owyang (jowyang)
Jeremiah is considerably more laid back in his tweets than his blog and gives a real sense of what makes the research analyst tick.
3. Howard Owens (howardowens)
Howard Owens declares himself “just another media geek” but his thoughtful analysis of the new media landscape is well ahead of the pack.
4. Patrick Thornton (jiconoclast)
Hope you’ve got answers cause Patrick’s got questions. Thornton can be likened to the Dr. Phil of the Twitterverse, asking thought-provoking questions about journalism that keep everyone on their toes.
5. Andy Dickinson (digidickinson)
Already a consummate blogger, Andy provides useful links and thoughts on world events through the microblogging service.
6. Amy Gahran (agahran)
“Media consultant, info-provocateur, journalist, semi-geek” and of course, bringer of joy. Take today’s recent tweet: “Why does boulder’s sunflower farmers market have CALIFORNIA peaches by the front door? D’oh!”
7. Steve Yelvington (yelvington)
The multimedia strategist has his thumb on the pulse of major news events like the DNC and the Olympics as well as a keen eye for discerning what matters among technical journalists.
8. Steve Outing (steveouting)
Last week, Steve Outing thought aloud “…if I used nothing but Twitter for a week, I’d still be pretty up to date on news.” He’s probably right and through his tweets we know how technology is affecting the man personally.
9. Kiyoshi Martinez (kiyoshimartinez)
Kiyoshi Martinez, founder of AngryJournalist.com and Journalism.me, is transforming the way journalists interact with each other online. His tweets are a look at the man behind the multimedia prowess.
10. Mark S. Luckie (10000words)
Hey it’s me! Following 10,000 Words on Twitter is a great way to find out what’s going on behind the blog, receive useful links that you won’t see here, plus (and here’s the best part) by sending tweets @10000words you can get instant answers to your multimedia questions and dilemmas.
Got some following to do.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 4:36 pm August 26th, 2008 in Blogging, Media, Tech, Writing | Comments Off
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Aug
26
Women’s Equality Day & how John McCain doesn’t seem to want any part of that
Filed Under Politics | 4 Comments
August 26 of each year is designated in the United States as Women’s Equality Day. Instituted by Rep. Bella Abzug and first established in 1971, the date commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment, the Woman Suffrage Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which gave U.S. women full voting rights in 1920.
Sheeet – women haven’t even been able to vote for more than 88 years? We do work fast if you ask me.
Here’s the White House’s official proclamation.
My own local paper has a nice guest column about the importance of this date and action.
The Democratic Women’s Caucus meets for the first time today at the DNC Denver convention.
Gloria Feldt wrote this column about the speech Hillary Clinton will give on this day of commemorating strong women in leadership and the ability for all women to lead.
What did John McCain have to say about this day?
Nothing, except perhaps some mumble-mumble under his breaths curses that his campaign has to spend any money at all trying to convince women to vote for him, now that women can vote.
Hmm. Maybe this is a good time for a reminder, courtey of Crooks and Liars, on just how awful John McCain is on matters that matter to women:
David Greenberg, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood in Oregon, had an especially good item this week on the subject.
John McCain is one of only a few Senators to earn a Zero percent lifetime rating from Planned Parenthood’s Action Fund, and he only scored that high because the organization doesn’t have a lower rating…. Let’s look at his record:
He voted against requiring health care plans to cover birth control (3/22/03).
He voted against comprehensive, medically accurate sex education (7/25/06).
He voted against international family planning funding (3/14/96).
He voted against funding to prevent teen and unintended pregnancies (3/17/05).
He voted against public education for emergency contraception (3/17/05).
And he voted against restoring Medicaid funding that could be used for family planning for low-income women (3/17/05).
NPR reported (2/2/08) that, “Many Republican voters seem to believe, incorrectly, that the current Republican front-runner, Arizona Senator John McCain, supports abortion rights.”
John McCain wants us to believe that he’s a moderate who supports improving the health of women in the United States, but in fact he’s among the most extreme members of Congress who voted against common sense measures on family planning, sex education and access to basic healthcare.
In contrast, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton agree on all of these issues.
Just sayin’.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 12:35 pm August 26th, 2008 in Politics | 4 Comments
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Aug
26
Stats: Poverty and education in Ohio
Filed Under Cleveland+, Economy, Education, Ohio, Social Issues, Youth | 2 Comments
Poverty rankings from the Census Bureau are out here (an AFL-CIO e-mail I received which I can’t find online anywhere states that Toledo, Cincinnati and Cleveland are three of the ten poorest cities in the country; Plain Dealer says Cleveland is #2, with Detroit ahead of us – wow, those casinos are really making a difference up there, aren’t they?).
Report cards for Ohio’s schools are here.
Glass City Jungle provides several links for the school reports here.
Plunderbund on charter schools and the report cards is here.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:00 am August 26th, 2008 in Cleveland+, Economy, Education, Ohio, Social Issues, Youth | 2 Comments
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Aug
26
[text, audio, video] Michelle Obama’s Democratic Convention Speech
Filed Under Barack Obama, Democrats, Michelle Obama, WH2008 | Comments Off
Read Michelle Obama’s DNC Convention speech here.
See the comments we made on the live-blog at The Chief Source.
Listen to her speech here.
Or (and?!) watch it here or here:
Hattip to Professor Kim Pearson for the text and audio links.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:18 am August 26th, 2008 in Barack Obama, Democrats, Michelle Obama, WH2008 | Comments Off
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Aug
26
On the media-whipped PUMA phenom & a one-word directive: CHILL
Filed Under Barack Obama, Democrats, Elections, Gender, Hillary Clinton, leadership, Media, Politics, Predictions, Sexism, Voting, WH2008, Women | 4 Comments
I like Rebecca Traister’s piece on the Party Unity My Ass loyalists in Salon very much but I love this woman.
The setting:
Whether they knew it or not, the PUMAs who had congregated next to the MSNBC stage were making the night of the man who has done everything in his power to destroy their purported heroine. They held aloft Clinton signs and hand-markered cards reading “Stop Delegate Intimidation!” and “South Jersey PUMA.” At one point, three women and three men holding “McCain” signs started a melodic chorus of “Clintons for McCain, sweetie, Clintons for McCain, sweetie,” in reference to Barack Obama’s bad habit of referring to women by that diminutive. Next to them, a man in an Obama hat shouted, “You’re all irrelevant! Jesus!”
But irrelevant is not how the protesters will be portrayed by a media that has been salivating over the possible disruption of the Democratic convention — by angry, broom-riding succubi! — for weeks. Never mind that there were probably no more than 50 shouting PUMAs. Never mind that every national political convention in modern history becomes a locus for vocal agitators. Never mind that over the weekend, antiwar protests had been larger. Never mind that in three days in Denver I had not spotted a single PUMA or Hillary protester until I found where Chris Matthews was broadcasting. Never mind the guy in the toilet outfit. To hear Matthews, and the talking heads at CNN tell it, these demonstrators were “ground zero” in a rift that could potentially destroy the Democratic Party and ruin its national convention.
And from the woman I love, Marie Wilson, founder of The White House Project:
“There is such a fear of women coming into power, that when they protest, they are given more weight,” said Marie Wilson, head of the White House Project, before speaking as part of the Unconventional Women’s programming, acknowledging the likelihood of protest. “Just the fact of women saying they support their candidate and want to make their voices heard sounds more scary than it would be if it were guys. That’s just part of backlash. But come on. When women gather around a water fountain, men get scared. People oughta just chill.”
Wilson acknowledges that there will be residual tension at the convention. But she sees the discord as a positive thing, a perhaps painful step in the right direction. “Putting issues on the table” — as opposed to keeping political frustrations pent up — “is what is going to bring people together.” Wilson believes that in the wake of Hillary’s run, “we are in the middle of a revolution. Women are stepping up and taking power.” She said her organization, which encourages women to seek elected office, has seen a 61 percent increase in participation in the past year. [emphasis mine]
Count 29 year old Hough resident, Stephanie Howse, Cleveland’s newest city council member, as part of that 61%.
Much of my online day yesterday was spent saying much of the same thing, which is that the number of voters who continue to act as though they can threaten the democracy that kept this country together in 2000 after Antonin Scalia made George Bush president is most likely statistically comparable to the usual number of voters in a presidential election year who don’t “get in line” – and maybe even smaller. We don’t know because no one is measuring that – hmm, why do you think that might be?
If you don’t believe me, you can hear Markos of Daily Kos and John Podesta, among others, say it on NPR. And although I can’t remember specifically, I know Dan Moulthrop and his guests went over this point too yesterday morning with at least one caller. (I have to add – neither of those shows had a single woman on the panel, but that’s another post.)
The difference this year, when it comes to those who don’t want to support the nominee?
Chris Matthews forgetting he is or ever was a journalist – and that men get scared thing Wilson references. But Matthews is only the most obvious example of this media-ready explosion of expression, and the netroots have plenty of upshoots in the same vein.
The voters who are defiant in their depression and anger over Hillary Clinton not being on the ticket come by it organically, unquestionably. These voters are unlikely to be the ones who are so much in the center that they can come to see John McCain as the moderate maverick he presented as in 2000 and vote for him now. The problem is, they are being fed and used and portrayed by opportunists of all stripes, not only Carly Fiorina and John McCain, as if they are those voters who could be swayed (and Fiorina is a squirrel banging her head against the cage – these voters, especially the women, are never going to vote for McCain – he simply is not what they want – all they want it Clinton, end of story).
Yet, what confounds me most in the continuation and choice of actions determined by defiance is understanding how voters who are otherwise intelligent and rational in choosing an excellent candidate in Hillary Clinton can now become individuals who will ignore the illogic behind their continued push toward goals that are not, even in a Dennis Kucinich world, achievable.
And I’m someone who wrote, repeatedly, about letting these voters have their say, get it out, be listened to and learned from. Even as the reality became then and is now that Hillary Clinton is not going to be president this year.
Not.Gonna.Happen.
And now, disruption, protests and stunts, especially in the face of strong statements from Clinton herself, project nothing but pure narcissism. Listen to Clinton:
I consider Bill Clinton to be one of the most narcissistic people on the face of the Earth, but not Hillary. Whatever inner glee voters (especially those who never before would have voted for McCain and insist that they will refuse to vote for Obama) think Clinton may find in the PUMA protests, how do you think she’s going to feel as a sitting senator who has to work under a McCain administration delivered to her by…her own supporters?
Again – if people were smart enough to vote for Clinton in the primary – and I did – then they should be smart enough now to realize that, as Marie Wilson says, they need to chill.
And go attend a White House Project Go Run! training so that they can be the next female presidential candidate.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:22 am August 26th, 2008 in Barack Obama, Democrats, Elections, Gender, Hillary Clinton, leadership, Media, Politics, Predictions, Sexism, Voting, WH2008, Women | 4 Comments
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