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Sep
29
L’shana Tovah Tikatavu
Filed Under Holidays, Jewish, Judaism | 3 Comments
Image by Camille Kress
By Jill Miller Zimon at 4:02 pm September 29th, 2008 in Holidays, Jewish, Judaism | 3 Comments
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Sep
29
Reason #37 to VOTE FOR Obama/Biden
Filed Under 57ReasonsObamaBiden, Barack Obama, Israel, Joe Biden, WH2008 | 2 Comments
[See here for the full explanation of the abbreviated post]
#37 Obama authored and introduced as the primary sponsor the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act in May 2007 (Senate Bill 1430). Obama’s bill makes it easier for state and local governments to divest from companies that invest in Iran’s energy sector, providing the revenue Iran uses to pursue nuclear weapons and sponsor terrorism. You can read the CRS summary here. For those Ohioans so stunned into awe by State Rep. Josh Mandel’s efforts to get Ohio pensions to divest, I would certainly expect you to be supporting and heralding Obama’s efforts to do something similar at the appropriate national level of government, where such foreign policy legislation is supposed to occur. John McCain is not one of the co-sponsors, but Joe Lieberman and several Republicans are. Here’s an op-ed from August 2007, written by Obama, about the bill.
On November 4, for vote Obama/Biden.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:34 pm September 29th, 2008 in 57ReasonsObamaBiden, Barack Obama, Israel, Joe Biden, WH2008 | 2 Comments
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Sep
29
More on Palin and passports
Filed Under Culture, Politics, Sarah Palin, Vice President, WH2008 | 3 Comments
Could not say it any better than Pam at BlogHer (I’ve previously written about this topic here):
According to Mrs. Palin, there are a select few people who are able to enjoy travel to foreign countries, to explore other cultures, to learn that a Norwegian is not just a Nebraskan who speaks a strange language and wears a funny costume for national festivals.–Chubbs
[Pam goes on to detail her less than glamorous travels that started when she, "was an exchange student the same year I was a foster kid,shuffled between homes during a divorce, looked upon with mercy by my Spanish teacher who'd noticed my language skills. It's a good read about the grind as well as thrill of travel.]
So, what culture did Sarah Palin mean, again? I could spend a lot of time second guessing the VP candidate, but it would just be speculation.
The culture of travelers. We’re a wily lot, hard to pin down, what with our insistance on always moving. We’re not just kids from families with money, we’re not just hippies with backpacks. We’re missionaries and volunteers and retirees and dot com lottery winners and expats and military wives and English teachers and entrepreneurs and round the world families and Rhodes scholars. We’re a lot of things. What ties us together might be the fact that we have passports, but I’d say it’s our curiosity about the world.
When I find out someone doesn’t have a passport, after I’m done flipping out, I ask them why. And typcially, the answer comes down to one thing: It’s not a priority. Then, I have to take a little time to get over myself and calm down, to not ask pointy questions about how the world outside could NOT be a priority, but I’m getting better at that. I DO understand, as much as it grates, that the wide world isn’t on the top of everyone’s to do list. Once I’ve calmed down and my intellect kicks in, I realized I have no business questioning someone’s priorities – if their priorities don’t allow for travel, ah, I know I can not judge that or convince them otherwise. Ultimately, when I get out of my own way, it’s cool. Really. I get that travel wasn’t a priority for Sarah Palin. She was raising a family and working and getting involved with local issues. I get it. Honest.
But when it comes to the second highest office in the land? The Vice President? In an era where our economy is being eclipsed by China and India, where our fuel comes from a highly destabilized region, when our stuff comes from Asia and our jobs are scattered all over the planet, does it matter if our leaders have passports? When trade and diplomacy and defense and the stewardship of the planet are global issues, does it matter if our leaders have stepped foot outside our boundaries and seen how other people live?
I share Pam’s thoughts.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 1:41 pm September 29th, 2008 in Culture, Politics, Sarah Palin, Vice President, WH2008 | 3 Comments
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Sep
29
High anxiety over the Palin-Biden debate
Filed Under Barack Obama, Debates, Joe Biden, John McCain, Politics, Vice President, WH2008 | 4 Comments
Not so much by me – I’ve got the holidays to get through. But one google news search on “palin” or “palin debate” shows you just how much is being written about the only vice presidential debate scheduled between Alaska Governor and GOP VP candidate, Sarah Palin, and Senator Joe Biden, Barack Obama’s running mate.
This post from the Wall Street Journal underscores a fact that became apparent very soon after Palin was selected: voters will not be fooled so easily. They indicated in early polls and continue to indicate that they do not see the selection of president as a popularity contest, certainly not this year. People, me included, have been generous and sincere in rating Palin’s likeability, but voters are rightfully very stingy with converting high likeability into a belief in and vote for someone to be president in waiting, especially in these times.
From the WSJ:
The McCain campaign moved its top officials inside Gov. Sarah Palin’s operation Sunday to prepare for what is certain to be the most important event of her vice-presidential campaign: her debate on Thursday with Democrat Joe Biden.
Additionally, at the urging of the Republican presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain, Gov. Palin will leave late Monday for his Arizona ranch to prepare for the high-stakes debate.
The moves follow several shaky performances by Gov. Palin last week and come amid concern and grumbling from Republicans, and even a few queries from her husband, Todd Palin, according to campaign operatives and Republican officials.
We’ve read about concerns regarding Todd Palin’s involvement in Gov. Palin’s administration. And we know that people joked about “Billary” regarding Hillary and Bill Clinton. Mustn’t the people who lobbed those criticisms at the Clintons consider the same regarding the Palins?
But I digress. So, what are the concerns about Palin vis a vis the debate?
More broadly, the McCain campaign aims to halt what it sees as a perceived decline in the crispness and precision of Gov. Palin’s latest remarks as well as a fall in recent polls, according to several advisers and party officials.
Again – how does such an observation play when you consider this candidate for president-in-waiting? Her participation in the election is just over four weeks old – she’ll have to be crisp and precise for four years if the GOP ticket wins.
The next observation harkens back to some that I’ve made before:
“She hasn’t had the time or inclination to question the judgments of the people telling her to hit her marks,” said one Republican strategist. “Gov. Palin is a team player, but the campaign needs to adjust to a game plan that works for her.”
Hmm – see, to me, this is very problematic and not at all surprising. Several of the possible VP selections, women included, would have been individuals who also would have been team players, but their experience and knowledge would have alerted them to be inclined “to question the judgment of the people telling her to hit her marks.”
Seriously. Think about that. What does this imply, what can we infer from this observation about how Palin would manage being president? For one thing, it explains why:
Almost half the country, 49 percent, say she’s not qualified, compared to only 21 percent for Biden, according to the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll.
And on the same note, in the WSJ piece:
Last week, nearly half the respondents in a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll said she is unqualified to be president, while one in three said they were “not at all” comfortable with the idea of Gov. Palin as vice president, up five points from a poll in early September.
Fareed Zakaria went on the record in Newsweek and concluded:
In these times, for John McCain to have chosen this person to be his running mate is fundamentally irresponsible. McCain says that he always puts country first. In this important case, it is simply not true.
Moving on, while the WSJ piece has several additional statements that represent further raising of red flags, for me, the clincher is in a reference to concerns voiced by her husband. To me, they indicate just how handicapped Palin is, as a result of living in and fighting for Alaska for 40 years. That singular focus, on top of the lack of interest in the rest of the country and beyond our borders (see #2 here), prevents her from being able to comprehend – even at a requisite threshold for vice president let alone for president – let alone govern a country populated by 300 million very different people in 50 very different states.
For his part, Mr. Palin has worried about the frequent separation of his wife from her family, friends and Alaska staff, an adviser said. Accordingly, her family will be with her in Sedona during this week. Also, a key Alaska staffer joined the Palin operation Sunday.
Gov. Palin is, literally, a fish out of water. They’re going to try to spruce up the scenery by putting some props up around her – people with whom she’s familiar and so on. But the fact remains that she is not someone who has any experience in such environments or in being so long outside her natural habitat.
If she cannot function at what people believe to be her best, which we’re not even sure is adequate for being a VP or president, without the accutrements of her Alaska environment, how in the name of this country’s best interest can anyone suggest that she is prepared to be elevated to president-in-waiting?
The last WSJ item that really hits home as to how wrong McCain’s calculation was with choosing Palin is the campaign’s continued belief that voters don’t care about Palin’s shortcomings when it comes to judging her for the job in question. That if they like her, that’s all that matters. My opinion? They’re relying far too heavily on Drew Westen’s research on the role of emotion in voting. Westen makes a lot of good arguments for that factor’s role, but it ain’t everything and in this year’s election, it’s even less than it might otherwise be. Here’s the quote:
“We’ve got four days,” another adviser said Sunday. “People love Sarah Palin and she’s got a unique personality and presence we need to bring out — not shut down.” Aides will work with her this week to be certain her responses use “her words,” this adviser said. [my emphasis]
I love a lot of people. But I have judgment and discretion and can think critically – as can many if not most voters. So, beside the fact that she does not side with me on pretty much any issue, is the fact that she is not qualified to be vice president of the United States of America. And it is that latter fact that should govern how people vote.
Frankly, to suggest that this election for president is or should be judged like a popularity contest is just another sexist and patronizing view typical of the McCain campaign.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:03 am September 29th, 2008 in Barack Obama, Debates, Joe Biden, John McCain, Politics, Vice President, WH2008 | 4 Comments
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Sep
28
Palin to do more Couric interviews
Filed Under Campaigning, Media, Politics, Sarah Palin, Vice President, WH2008 | 4 Comments
So says Byron York at The Corner (details included there). He explains the supposed strategy in a later post:
Team McCain tells me the strategy of having Palin talk to traditional broadcast networks ABC and CBS was designed to allow Palin to reach the maximum number of viewers. “Coming off her tremendous performance at the convention, our goal was to allow as many Americans as possible an opportunity to see her answer questions about her record, her biography and her principles and convictions on as large a stage as possible,” one campaign source told me this afternoon. The new CBS interviews, to be done tomorrow, are intended to keep Palin in the public eye as she prepares for Thursday’s debate.
Okey dokey.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:41 pm September 28th, 2008 in Campaigning, Media, Politics, Sarah Palin, Vice President, WH2008 | 4 Comments
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Sep
28
[video] Phone Atone w/Biden, McCain, Obama & Palin (aka L’shana Tova)
Filed Under Barack Obama, Holidays, Humor, Joe Biden, John McCain, Judaism, Politics, Sarah Palin | Leave a Comment
H/t my mom – back at you and Dad.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:52 pm September 28th, 2008 in Barack Obama, Holidays, Humor, Joe Biden, John McCain, Judaism, Politics, Sarah Palin | Please comment
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Sep
28
Haveil Havalim #184 (Carnival of Jewish Blogging) posted
Filed Under Blogging, Carnivals, Israel, Jewish, Judaism, Politics, Writing | Leave a Comment
Haveil Havalim #184 A Barbaria Roars Again is hosted by A Barbaric Yawp this week and is definitely a blog I’d not heard of before (I love that).
I’m actually going to be hosting the carnival a week from today so if you’re a regular reader of WLST, I hope you’ll check it out for the best in blogging about all things Jewish, Israel and on many topics underneath those headings. I mean to submit something for last week’s but the time just got away from me. Please, go check it out this week’s edition.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:46 pm September 28th, 2008 in Blogging, Carnivals, Israel, Jewish, Judaism, Politics, Writing | Please comment
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Sep
28
Reason #38, 37, 36 and 35 to VOTE FOR Obama/Biden
Filed Under 57ReasonsObamaBiden, Barack Obama, Israel, Joe Biden, Politics, WH2008 | 1 Comment
Folks, I’m heading into Rosh Hashana – tomorrow is Erev and Tuesday and Wednesday are the holy days (for an explanation of why Jews in the Diaspora celebrate two days of most, though not all, holidays, read here). Then, the following week, Kol Nidre (or the evening that the fast of Yom Kippur begins) is Wednesday October 8. So I’m going to have be efficient here and post these reasons in advance. I’ll try to post each one on the days as they come, setting them up in advance, but just in case I get sidelined:
First, starting with this reason, I will include the link to all the previous reasons: Reason #39.
Here are four reasons to vote for Obama/Biden, all related to Israel and national security:
#38 Obama co-sponsored the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006 (Senate Bill 2370), which outlaws direct assistance to any Palestinian entity until it renounces violence and recognizes Israel. This bill was signed into law by President Bush in December 2006. You can read the Congressional Research Service’s summary of the bill here.
#37 Obama authored and introduced as the primary sponsor the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act in May 2007 (Senate Bill 1430). Obama’s bill makes it easier for state and local governments to divest from companies that invest in Iran’s energy sector, providing the revenue Iran uses to pursue nuclear weapons and sponsor terrorism. You can read the CRS summary here. For those Ohioans so stunned into awe by State Rep. Josh Mandel’s efforts to get Ohio pensions to divest, I would certainly expect you to be supporting and heralding Obama’s efforts to do something similar at the appropriate national level of government, where such foreign policy legislation is supposed to occur. John McCain is not one of the co-sponsors, but Joe Lieberman and several Republicans are. Here’s an op-ed from August 2007, written by Obama, about the bill.
#36 Obama cosponsored the Iran Counter Proliferation Act (Senate Bill 970), which calls for sanctions on Iran and other countries assisting Iran’s nuclear program. McCain is also one of the 72 co-sponsors. The bill was introduced in 3/07 but has not gone anywhere since then. Here’s the CRS summary and here’s testimony from a Brookings Institute fellow who appeared before the Senate Finance Committee in 4/08. It includes explanations of concerns about the legislation.
#35 Obama was an original cosponsor in July 2006 of the Senate resolution (Senate Resolution 534) expressing support for Israel in its conflict with Hezbollah, condemning the Hezbollah attacks, and calling for strong action against Iran and Syria. Here’s an interesting CRS report on the conflict, published that Fall.
I have several other reasons to list as to why Obama/Biden are the best ticket for stability, security and peace in the Middle East and will post those during Yom Kippur.
On November 4, vote for Obama/Biden.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:37 pm September 28th, 2008 in 57ReasonsObamaBiden, Barack Obama, Israel, Joe Biden, Politics, WH2008 | 1 Comment
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Sep
28
The Palin Pick, four weeks in: voters, fluency, funnies & the next debate
Filed Under Barack Obama, Joe Biden, John McCain, Sarah Palin, WH2008 | 14 Comments
Wow – only four weeks ago this past Friday GOP candidate for president, Senator John McCain announced his selection of Alaska Governor Palin as his vice presidential running mate?
1. Okay – so, on the what voters I know are saying: spoke with two undecideds last night. Both women, both Jewish, both parents, both working, both married.
One outright said that she’s not sure the country is ready for Obama and when pressed, said that to her, that meant that she doesn’t think enough voters will vote for a black man. She thinks the country is more ready for a woman (we didn’t get into white or other but I’m assuming she means white).
She first asked me if I got anything out of the debate Friday night and I said that since I was already a decided voter, not much that I thought would really be so relevant to undecideds. But then I recounted some of my observations that I would think might matter to an undecided (for example, Obama’s depth of knowledge and facility with moving from one topic to the next, in contrast to McCain’s constant repetition of platitudes, anecdotes and attacks on Obama, rather than providing specifics about his alternatives for any specific issue; McCain’s angry yet detached tenor and Obama’s warmth and intensity while still addressing McCain directly).
I also told her about the Israelis for Obama video and she was extremely interested to have me email that to her.
She then said that she got absolutely nothing out of the debate because she wants to hear both of them provide very specific plans for how to get out of our financial mess. We talked about how economics is not either candidates strong suit and she acknowledged that, but she still feels that they owe this to us and she’s hoping that in the following debates between McCain and Obama, we will hear something along those lines.
I will only say this once because although my tweets get pretty histrionic at times, I prefer to leave that there than bring it here, however, both of these women described Sarah Palin as a total non-starter. This first woman specifically said, as I’ve heard others say (Jewish and other) that while they were thinking of McCain, once he selected Palin, it forced them to reconsider Obama. That’s not the thing I’ll only write once. This is that: Both of these women specifically used the word “stupid” to describe Palin. The second woman I spoke with used it over and over and over, with enormous gesticulation. I should add that I went to law school with this second woman, and the first woman happens to have been a journalism major in college (OSU) but has done primarily corporate and PR work for the last 20 years or so.
On to the second woman: as mentioned above, most of her chat with me about politics centered on her exasperation at what she sees as Palin’s failings and resentment toward McCain that he would choose her and put voters in such a position. I mean, this woman really really really is angry about the Palin pick. However, as a voter, she says she remains undecided.
2. On Friday, I wrote about how Sarah Palin’s lack of fluency in any meta-language other than one that involves pretty much anything Alaska and energy in so much as it has to do with Alaska as this problem of hers relates to her repetition about never second guessing Israel. TIME columnist Romesh Ratnesar echoes that perception in this piece (long excerpt that leads up to this point):
Then there was her pained, and painful, response to Couric’s questions about the Bush “freedom agenda” — the goal of spreading democracy in the Islamic world. Predictably, Palin repeated standard Bush platitudes about making “every effort possible to help spread democracy for those who desire freedom, independence, respect for equality. That is the whole goal here in fighting terrorism. It’s not just to keep the people safe, but to be able to usher in democratic values and ideals around this, around the world.” That theory, though, has been discredited by the debacle in Iraq and years of inconvenient outcomes in the Middle East, in which elections have brought to power parties that are more extreme, not less. As a result, the Bush Administration abandoned the lofty talk about transforming the region roughly, oh, three years ago. Couric pressed Palin on this:
Couric: What happens if the goal of democracy doesn’t produce the desired outcome? In Gaza, the US pushed hard for elections and Hamas won.
Palin: Yeah well especially in that region, though, we have to protect those who do seek democracy and support those who seek protections for the people who live there. What we’re seeing in the last couple of days here in New York is a President of Iran, Ahmadenijad, who would come on our soil and express such disdain for one of our closest allies and friends, Israel … and we’re hearing the evil that he speaks and if hearing him doesn’t allow Americans to commit more solidly to protecting the friends and allies that we need, especially there in the Mideast, then nothing will.
Couric’s question was beyond difficult — it’s the most vexing question that has faced US policymakers over the last seven years. What do you do when democracy produces results you don’t like? There’s no good answer, but there are many ways to grasp at one. Palin could have said that elections are only one component of democracy; that bringing extremist groups into the political process helps to moderate their behavior; that extremists tend to lose support once in power, because they don’t know how to govern. She could even have said, Those are the breaks — we don’t get to choose.
Instead, she changed the subject to the threat Iran poses to Israel. Why did she do this? Was it because she didn’t want to acknowledge that democracy sometimes produces undesired results? Did she calculate that, since Gaza shares a border with Israel, she could use it as an opportunity to turn the discussion to Iran, where McCain and Obama disagree? Or did she just not know what Couric was talking about?
If she didn’t, that’s understandable. Most Americans are not particularly interested in the nuances of politics in Pakistan or the Middle East. But we should expect our leaders to be fluent in at least the basics of foreign policy. So far Palin is still struggling for words. [my emphasis]
Although it’s not the proper comparison to talk about Barack Obama and Palin, in this one context, his facility to discuss such matters (as was evident in Friday night’s debate) is in blinding contrast to Palin’s inability.
The other thing I want to mention about the TIME column, is that in this post at Nix Guy, Dave drags out a comment exchange after he mentions to another commenter that 70% of Americans don’t have passports. I respond (as you can read there) that this shows the preference of the Bush Administration, among others, to keep us insular – or inward-only focused. I specifically mention, in a positive way, the value of curiosity of that which exists beyond our borders and so on. Dave breaks it down to a binary thing (no surprise) by saying it’s a political position preference: conservatives being American-centric versus liberals giving more weight to foreign interests. I think that’s pure nonsense, but again, you can read the exchange there.
The TIME column states and echoes my position in that same column about Palin:
It takes a hard heart not to like Sarah Palin. She has a winning personal story. She can be poised, charming and funny. As she showed at the Republican National Convention, her ability to deliver set-piece speeches — a big part of the job for all politicians, but especially Presidents — is considerable. On balance, she’s probably an asset to John McCain. But we should stop pretending that she is ready now or anytime in the forseeable future to be Commander-in-Chief.
I reached this conclusion after watching the foreign-policy portion of her disastrous Sept. 25 interview with Katie Couric. A number of commentators, including The Atlantic’s James Fallows and Slate’s Christopher Beam, have said that Palin resembled, in Beam’s words, “a high-schooler trying to BS her way through a book report,” which is an insult to both high-schoolers and B.S. Palin’s answers were hesitant, convoluted and at times — like when she appeared to suggest that Vladimir Putin might be preparing a one-man airborne invasion of Alaska — downright loony.
But the more worrisome responses were the ones that betrayed her lack of curiosity about current events and reliance on bumper-sticker wisdom over complex thoughts. There were moments, in fact, in which you wondered whether she had been paying any meaningful attention to the world outside Alaska before McCain picked her as his running mate a month ago.
In fact, in one of my 57 reasons to vote for Obama posts, I wrote (more specifically in a comment) about how Alaska-centric I thought she was, and at least one commenter challenged me on how I saw that. This TIME columnist explains it perfectly.
3. SNL continues to deliver. First on Palin and Katie Couric, then on Bill Clinton and his support for Obama.
4. My debate plans will probably involve viewing with some other women but I said that we have to promise not to talk so much that we don’t hear the debate. Assuming there’s much worth hearing, obviously. Here’s a blog entry from News Hounds that contradicts what we’ve seen of Palin in a debate format; the analysis is by Neil Cavuto of Fox:
This is Neil Cavuto this morning (September 27, 2008) during a segment with Bill Kristol on what Sarah Palin is up against come Thursday’s VP debate: “What would she have to do to surprise on the upside? ‘Cause I’ve caught a lot of these interviews and, and, you know, the issue is, you know, she’s new at this and I understand that but she’s in against a guy who’s steeped in Washington ways; knows all the capitals of all the countries. You know what I’m sayin’? And, that, I don’t know how you go up against that.”
Comment: What? My head is exploding. Foreign policy amounts to knowing “all the capitals of all the countries” and Palin is “up against that” but she might not even be able to pull that off?
New at what? Debates? She took on her 2006 gubernatorial candidates plus two journalists for an hour (watch here), did well and went on to win her race. Even the Obama campaign is being honest about her apparent debate skills as shown in the past.
Frankly, how Palin performs has a lot to do with the questions moderator Gwenn Ifill chooses to ask her on Thursday night. That’s going to be very hard for her to do – and viewers will be loving to second guess Ifill’s selections (that was too easy! that was too hard!) depending on how well Palin can answer.
Of course, this is all still a charade because the key word here is “perform.” People pulling for Palin are looking to see how she does that, while most of us, even some of those in the first group, know that how well she “performs” in the debate with Democratic vp nominee Joe Biden has little connection to her fundamental unreadiness to be vice president or Commander in Chief.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:15 am September 28th, 2008 in Barack Obama, Joe Biden, John McCain, Sarah Palin, WH2008 | 14 Comments
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Sep
27
[video] “The Job”: where greed and need swap places
Filed Under Culture, Ethics, Politics, Social Issues | Leave a Comment
H/t Plunderbund who tips Jeff Coryell’s tweet.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:53 pm September 27th, 2008 in Culture, Ethics, Politics, Social Issues | Please comment
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Sep
27
Paul Newman, RIP
Filed Under Culture, RIP | 2 Comments
If you live in Connecticut for any length of time, it’s a good bet you know that Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward have lived there for decades too. When people from out of town would visit me, when I still lived there, there was always a good chance that we’d drive past a modern-styled house on Racebrook Road that Newman and Woodward had supposedly occupied at one time, not far from most of the thoroughfares I traveled while growing up and living in New Haven after college). It’s really as though I’ve known of Paul Newman my whole life.
Newman’s devotion to philanthropy stands as an enormous threshold of productivity and generosity I fantasize about replicating some day. When people quoted in this article say that the world is a better place because he was in it, I completely agree.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:45 pm September 27th, 2008 in Culture, RIP | 2 Comments
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Sep
27
Reason #39 to vote for Obama/Biden
Filed Under 57ReasonsObamaBiden, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Politics, WH2008 | 2 Comments
For all the previous reasons:
Reason #57 to VOTE FOR Obama/Biden
Reason #56 to VOTE FOR Obama/Biden
Reason #55 to VOTE FOR Obama/Biden
Reason #54 to VOTE FOR Obama/Biden
Reason #53 to VOTE FOR Obama/Biden
Reason #52 to VOTE FOR Obama/Biden
Reason #51 to VOTE FOR Obama/Biden
Reason #50 to VOTE FOR Obama/Biden
Reason #49 to VOTE FOR Obama/Biden
Reason #48 to VOTE FOR Obama/Biden
Reason #47 to VOTE FOR Obama/Biden
Reason #46 to VOTE FOR Obama/Biden
Reason #45 to VOTE FOR Obama/Biden
Reason #44 to VOTE FOR Obama/Biden
Reason #43 to VOTE FOR Obama/Biden
Reason #42 to VOTE FOR Obama/Biden
Reason #41 to VOTE FOR Obama/Biden
Reason #40 to VOTE FOR Obama/Biden
For readers who are unfamiliar with the Al Chet, this reason to vote for Obama/Biden is patterned after that prayer which I’ll be saying in less than two weeks on Yom Kippur. There are several haunting prayers we sing, repeatedly, during the day-long fast on the Day of Atonement, but the Al Chet is one of the most soul shaking to me. Like other prayers during this holiday, it involves the repetition of one refrain after we recite, in groups, our sins:
For all these, God of pardon, pardon us, forgive us, atone for us.
I would alter that refrain for the purposes of these reasons and state,
For all these reasons, on November 4, vote for Obama/Biden.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:36 am September 27th, 2008 in 57ReasonsObamaBiden, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Politics, WH2008 | 2 Comments
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Sep
26
Reason #40 to VOTE FOR Obama/Biden
Filed Under 57ReasonsObamaBiden, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Politics, WH2008, Women | 4 Comments
Because the Obama/Biden campaign provides numerous, specific, needed and comprehensive policy proposals that support women.
Here is just a sample of the lists circulating:
Our Michigan: Top Ten Reasons Women Should Vote for Obama (from the campaign website)
Ideas for Women: Two indisputable reasons women should vote for Obama
And perhaps the most novel but heartfelt, Alaska Hockey Mom’s for Obama’s reasons for voting
This post at Blogs for Choice includes a pdf side by side comparison of McCain and Obama on issues that are important to women.
On November 4, vote for Obama/Biden.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:47 pm September 26th, 2008 in 57ReasonsObamaBiden, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Politics, WH2008, Women | 4 Comments
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Sep
26
McCain faulted for withdrawing from, then re-entering 2000 debate w/Bush
Filed Under Debates, John McCain, Media, Politics, Republicans, WH2008 | 6 Comments
Wow – this tweet set me a-googling and sure enough, here’s the article in the New York Times, “THE 2000 CAMPAIGN: THE DISAPPEARING DEBATE; McCain Putting Bush-Leaning California in Rearview Mirror.”
First, about the withdrawal, from the Times:
Mr. McCain’s decision to withdraw from the forum this Thursday in Los Angeles took everyone by surprise, including the debate’s sponsors, CNN and The Los Angeles Times, which appeared to be holding out hope today that the candidate would reconsider. It also caused dissension in Mr. McCain’s own campaign. His communications director, Daniel Schnur, was quoted in several California newspapers today as saying that the withdrawal was ”a tactical error at the staff level.”
Aides to Mr. McCain announced on Sunday that he was pulling out of the event to campaign in New York, which also holds a primary on March 7. They complained that while they had agreed to the encounter weeks ago, Gov. George W. Bush of Texas consented only last Wednesday, the day after his losses in Michigan and Arizona, and that by then, Mr. McCain had made other plans.
Bush aides said their candidate still planned to debate.
Mike Murphy, Mr. McCain’s senior strategist, said the campaign had decided to stick to its new schedule — which on Friday includes a ride with the ”Today” show on Mr. McCain’s campaign bus — because it offers far more free media exposure. ”I’m going for the bigger ratings, the bigger audience,” Mr. Murphy said.
This is creepy eerie.
Some Republican tacticians were troubled by Mr. McCain’s pullout. The Los Angeles debates were expected to be galvanizing encounters in a diffuse week of campaigning. They wondered if his action would hurt his standing among those drawn to his candidacy because he seemed different from other politicians.
”It’s much more dangerous for McCain because McCain voters want to see him,” said Frank Luntz, a Republican pollster. ”There’s an intensity to the McCain voter who is highly interested in the campaign and anxiously wants to hear everything he has to say. They are more likely to be turned off than a typical Bush supporter.”
Despite Mr. McCain’s action, the news organizations said the forum would go on with Mr. Bush and Alan Keyes. It was not clear if the sponsors would allow Mr. McCain to participate from a remote location or if they would opt for a theatrical flourish and set up a chair for him, on the off chance of a last-minute entrance.
And then, from this CNN transcript of the actual debate on Thursday, March 2, 2000, read this exchange between the CNN correspondents [emphasis mine]:
KING: Now, Senator McCain will participate in tonight’s debate from here in St. Louis via satellite. He says he hopes to get away from the running feud over campaign tactics, and back to a focus on his policy differences with Governor Bush over taxes, shoring up Social Security, the experience necessary to be commander in chief. Asked about losing his focus today, Senator McCain said his campaign has made a number of mistakes, and asked why, he said one of the main reasons was, quote, “We don’t have the most brilliant candidate.” Bernie.
SHAW: John, is one of those mistakes the failure of the senator to be here at the “Los Angeles Times” building tonight in person at tonight’s debate.
KING: There is certainly a debate going on within the McCain campaign as to whether it would have made more sense, sent a stronger signal to the voters of California had he participated in person in Los Angeles. The senator initially was not going take part at all, saying he wanted to go and campaign in New York. That is, of course, a very key target for him next Tuesday. This is a compromise, stopping in middle America to participate by satellite, but he is certainly subject to criticism in California for not being there. Even many of his own aides wish he had stayed and taken part in person — Bernie.
SHAW: John King on the trail in St. Louis, thank you.
Talk amongst yourselves but this is not the kind of decision-making I want to see repeat itself again and again, except during a presidency on our time. I have no recollection of this instance – anyone else? Can you imagine the conversation George Bush must have had in his head the last two days, remembering back to this incident?
Wow.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 4:12 pm September 26th, 2008 in Debates, John McCain, Media, Politics, Republicans, WH2008 | 6 Comments
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Sep
26
Some People Pay Me Dept.: Rosh Hashana 2008
Filed Under Blogging, Holidays, Jewish, Judaism, Religion, Writing | Leave a Comment
Thank you to Sandy Mitchell of Cleveland.About.com for featuring my writing on Jewish holidays. Here’s my piece for this year’s Jewish New Year. And a teaser:
I don’t know how they do it. No, not super-moms or our candidates for president and vice president. I’m talking about our clergy – rabbis, pastors, priests – and how, week after week, they write and deliver motivational, inspirational and poignant sermons to us. And each sermon, one for each week during all the years of their service, has to be different (we’ll ignore what clergy do if they switch congregations – I’m going to hope that they don’t recycle).
Now, we know, no matter what religion we follow, that there are only so many stories in the Old Testament (aka the Five Books of Moses aka the Torah) and the books that follow. And we cycle through them every year. Rosh Hashana, although the holiday for the Jewish New Year, isn’t actually the holiday that celebrates returning to the beginning of the Torah – that’s Simchat Torah which will occur later in October.
But still, the same exact portions of the Torah come to pass at the exact same time of year, ever year. So how do they do it? How do our clergy find inspiration anew every new year, and especially in these more recent years when it feels as though a life that should be getting easier is getting more fraught with uncertainty?
The answers, sort of, are here.
L’shana tovah.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:55 pm September 26th, 2008 in Blogging, Holidays, Jewish, Judaism, Religion, Writing | Please comment
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Sep
26
Let’s promote binary everything: Palin-Couric on Israel, Silverman on Obama
Filed Under Campaigning, Elections, Israel, Jewish, Judaism, Politics, Sarah Palin, WH2008, leadership | 3 Comments
The basic problem? Alaska Governor and GOP VP candidate Sarah Palin does not know what “second guess” means in foreign policy discussions. This is at the crux of her insurmountable problem for the duration of this election cycle and no, it’s not okay that she learns on the job: she does not know the meta-language of numerous issues and is unable to understand let alone respond to questions asked by journalists, or anyone else for that matter, who, as a matter of course, have to – like the president or vice president – know those languages.
There is no more nuanced matter than that of Israel. There may be many that rival it or are on the same plain, but none exceed it. Palin’s failure to know that or grasp it, even as the question is coming at her, is why she frightens so many people.
I swear, if she’d at least watched Sarah Silverman’s contribution to understanding just how nuanced and layered Jews, Judaism and Israel are, she probably could have improved her score on that answer with Katie dramatically.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:34 pm September 26th, 2008 in Campaigning, Elections, Israel, Jewish, Judaism, Politics, Sarah Palin, WH2008, leadership | 3 Comments
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Sep
26
C-SPAN Debate Hub is the place to be for full frontal participation
Filed Under Barack Obama, Blogging, Campaigning, Debates, Elections, John McCain, Media, Politics, WH2008 | Leave a Comment
If you followed C-SPAN’s coverage of the two national parties’ conventions, then you may recall how complete it was. And if you missed it, here’s your chance to experience total immersion and exposure to views from every corner of the debate audiences.
I’m cribbing this post from my good bloggy friend, Myrna the Minx at Reno and Its Discontents because she did such an awesome job of posting it. If you are online only or if you are giving yourself a multi-platform experience, check out these resources. If you’re a blogger, contribute to them as well.
CSPAN’s new media style convention coverage was a big hit, so it makes sense that CSPAN would try to improve upon their success with the presidential debates. I got a sneak peek tonight, and wow, let’s just say that CSPAN has succeeded in putting the debate footage directly in the hands of citizens and citizen journalists where it belongs. Larry Lessig would be proud. Who needs network or cable news when you get this kind of tiered, targetable, sortable, and shapable data and video at your fingertips? It’s blogger heaven! Here’s what to look for at the CSPAN Debate Hub (right now it’s populated with old debate footage that will roll over later today):
- Launching 4 websites, one for each debate; will be launching later this week
- Each website will act like a time capsule, containing the blog posts, tweets, transcripts and video from each debate
- Tracking twitter posts with: #debate08, Palin, McCain, Biden and Obama
- YouTube video “sneak peak” on Washington Journal Friday morning http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwM3aikjdi8
- C-SPAN’s [very active and popular] Twitter account
But let’s talk about the details. First, all of this will be available sometime tomorrow afternoon before the debates and there will be a slight time lag because video clips and transcripts have to synched.
- You can follow twitter posts and trends (#debate08, Palin, McCain, Biden, Obama, and others as they come up).
- There is a clickable debate time line that allows you to pull up moments of the debate in editable video clips and their accompanying transcripts. The video clip editing process will be familiar to anyone that has done any kind of home video editing. Not only are the video clips editable, you can then get the embed for your edited video clip.
- You can view a word tree by clicking all on any part of the time line and then get video clips and transcripts organized by mentions of those words. If you click the little check box that says “show transcript,” you can get an entire transcript for whatever video clip you choose.
- And just a head’s up–all of CSPAN’s archived videos are easily accessible, searchable, and editable. So you could find some footage of John McCain extolling the virtues of deregulation from 1999, or maybe something Keating Five related, and then juxtapose it with remarks McCain makes during the debate.
- I almost forgot to mention that everything was designed using open source technology–Wordpress and SIMILE
Please, take a moment and celebrate CSPAN’s efforts to finally give citizens the kind of access they deserve. CSPAN has blown the lid of new media. This is some seriously bad ass shit. @Jay_Rosen_NYU–are you watching CSPAN?
Look for my Twitters and blog posts. [you can find Myrna's here]
And from me:
Major nod to New Media Strategies aka NMS for bringing all this to C-SPAN and us.
Viewing information of the debate at C-SPAN:
C-SPAN will be airing each of the debates LIVE beginning at 9:00 PM (ET), with pre-debate programming beginning around 7:00 PM. Viewer phone calls and reaction will follow each debate on C-SPAN, with C-SPAN 2 airing comments made in the Spin Room immediately after. A re-air of the debates for the west coast will begin at 11:30 PM (ET), with a live call-in segment to follow between 1:00 AM -2:00 AM (ET).
I may be called to weigh-in but I don’t know yet. You’ll have to watch and listen with me. And millions of others.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 2:12 pm September 26th, 2008 in Barack Obama, Blogging, Campaigning, Debates, Elections, John McCain, Media, Politics, WH2008 | Please comment
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Sep
26
“How do you solve a problem like Ms. Palin?”; Conservative calls for Palin to drop out
Filed Under Sarah Palin | 8 Comments
From conservative columnist at the Dallas Morning News, Kathleen Parker (she also posts at Townhall.com):
Some of the passionately feminist critics of Ms. Palin who attacked her personally deserved some of the backlash they received. But circumstances have changed since Ms. Palin was introduced as just a hockey mom with lipstick – what a difference a financial crisis makes – and a more complicated picture has emerged.
As we’ve seen and heard more from John McCain’s running mate, it is increasingly clear that she is a problem. Quick study or not, she doesn’t know enough about economics and foreign policy to make Americans comfortable with a President Palin should conditions warrant her promotion.
And about that thing I keep saying about conclusory retorts from Palin:
Ms. Palin didn’t make a mess cracking the glass ceiling. She simply glided through it.
It was fun while it lasted.
Ms. Palin’s recent interviews with Charles Gibson, Sean Hannity and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out Of Her League.
No one hates saying that more than I do. Like so many women, I’ve been pulling for Ms. Palin, wishing her the best, hoping she will perform brilliantly. I’ve also noticed that I watch her interviews with the held breath of an anxious parent, my finger poised over the mute button in case it gets too painful. Unfortunately, it often does. My cringe reflex is exhausted.
Ms. Palin filibusters. She repeats words, filling space with deadwood. Cut the verbiage, and there’s not much content there. Here’s but one example from her interview with Mr. Hannity:
“Well, there is a danger in allowing some obsessive partisanship to get into the issue that we’re talking about today. And that’s something that John McCain, too, his track record, proving that he can work both sides of the aisle, he can surpass the partisanship that must be surpassed to deal with an issue like this.”
Dave, you’ve got your perspective, but it’s not widely shared – at least, not widely shared enough to get McCain elected, which is what Palin was supposed to help him do.
EDITED IN: But more importantly, Parker suggests that Palin drop out:
Only Ms. Palin can save Mr. McCain, her party and the country she loves. She can bow out for personal reasons, perhaps because she wants to spend more time with her newborn. No one would criticize a mother who puts her family first.
Do it for your country.
I tweeted that yesterday – if McCain wants to suspend the campaign, he should expel Palin.
Bonus from Crunchy Con (as in, conservative) Rod Dreher in Palin Debacle on CBS Evening News (also edited in, he also writes for the Dallas Morning News):
Watch the Couric interview here. Couric’s questions are straightforward and responsible. Palin is mediocre, again, regurgitating talking points mechanically, not thinking. Palin’s just babbling. She makes George W. Bush sound like Cicero.
…
I remember the morning I woke up in my college dorm room and went in to take my final exam in my Formal Logic class. I knew I was unready. Massively unready. And now I was going to be put to the ultimate test. I sat down in Dr. Sarkar’s class and resolved to wing it. Of course I failed the exam and failed the class, because I had no idea what I was talking about. I wasn’t a bad kid, or even a stupid kid. I was just badly unprepared, and in way over my head. Seeing the Palin interview on CBS, I thought of myself in Dr. Sarkar’s exam. But see, I was a college undergraduate who had the chance to take the class again, which I did, and passed (barely). I wasn’t running for vice president of the United States.
UPDATE: New Palin excerpt up, in which she discusses why having Russia next to Alaska gives her relevant foreign policy experience. I am well and truly embarrassed for her. I think she’s a good woman who might well be a great governor of Alaska. But good grief, just watch this train wreck [followed by video clip]
By Jill Miller Zimon at 7:39 am September 26th, 2008 in Sarah Palin | 8 Comments
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Sep
25
Reason #41 to VOTE FOR Obama/Biden
Filed Under 57ReasonsObamaBiden, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, WH2008, leadership | 2 Comments
Because Obama understands nuance.
One paragraph from this article by Ben Smith at Politico says it all for me:
[Barack Obama said:] “What I found and I think was confirmed today is that when you inject presidential politics into delicate negotiations it is not necesary [sic] as helpful as it needs to be. There is a lot of glare of the spotlight. There is the potential for posturing and suspicion. The way I have been working over the last week, constantly in contact with the secretary and congressional leaders, may end up creating an environment in which you can actually get something done. Because as I said, when you are not worried about who is getting credit and who is getting blamed then things tend to move forward a little more constructively.”[my emphasis]
Precisely. When you are free to do the job that you’ve been elected to do, you can…do your job. When you’ve got someone else’s political agenda breathing down your neck, the results, if any, may be far less than what they could have been and possibly should be. The fact that multiple individuals from both sides of the aisles are on the record indicating that neither McCain nor Obama are needed should have been enough.
John McCain is too busy worrying about what he can do to get back the most positive aspects of his once lauded “mavericky” self. But now, when I hear mavericky, all I think of is gimmicky.
On November 4, vote for Obama/Biden.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:08 pm September 25th, 2008 in 57ReasonsObamaBiden, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, WH2008, leadership | 2 Comments
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Sep
25
Reason #42 to VOTE FOR Obama/Biden
Filed Under 57ReasonsObamaBiden, Barack Obama, Energy, Environment, Joe Biden, WH2008 | Leave a Comment
Because of the Obama/Biden Energy Plan.
I’m making a virtual punt here and directing you to my hot off the keyboard post at BlogHer on this topic.
Sorry for the delay in Reason #42 but my site was down for several hours yesterday. I’ll post #41 before the end of the evening.
On November 4, vote for Obama/Biden.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 5:33 pm September 25th, 2008 in 57ReasonsObamaBiden, Barack Obama, Energy, Environment, Joe Biden, WH2008 | Please comment
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