Gender Talk: Coming At It From The Future

Sexism Bothers Me Directly

If you think about it, it is kind of weird that Hillary had to make the baking cookies comment in 1992. It makes no sense that women had to struggle to have careers. Careers make economy sense for the larger economy. Careers make money sense for the family. Careers make happiness sense for the individual.

Women do 60% of the work on the farm in a country like Nepal, but they have been deprived of power. Poverty complicates an already supremely sexist situation.

Often time we settle for incrementalism. We look at the weigh of the past as to how things were much worse than they are today. That time travel is supposed to justify the sorry state we are in today. Women still are nowhere close to parity.

The equal pay might feel like it is a nuanced issue. But domestic violence is concrete, and the two are related.

Only a few decades back most women were expected to stay home and "bake cookies" and rear children - all wonderful things to do - while men out there and made asses of themselves at their jobs.

But most college graduates today are women. There will come a tipping point. It will be like when a lake freezes. It is 35 degrees and men are still chugging down their beers. 34, fine. And then, boom, it is 33, and the lake freezes.

Scientific progressivism says you work to go up the political consciousness level. If you go high enough, you don't see gender as an issue for women, let them deal with it. You see it as a progressive issue. You are into it as a progressive, regardless of gender. You are not in it to do women a favor or anything like that. Ultimately you are just trying to get their votes. The act of voting is sacred to a progressive.

You come at it from the future. You model behavior. What will a nonsexist workplace look like? What will a nonsexist relationship look like? How do you curb gender violence like Giuliani went after crime in NYC? How do you end the global trafficking of women? Now that one will be in the same league as Lincoln ending slavery.

Overall I am optimistic that progress will be made. I am just a little impatient that progress will not come as fast as desired. So you try and do things to speed things up.

I must admit there is a certain selfishness to my take on gender. I feel like the rising tide will lift all boats. Women are just so large in number. There is no telling how much social progress they can make together. Gays, and ethnic and racial minorities can expect to ride the rising tide. Women are best positioned to lead of all the political - as opposed to numerical - minorities.

Barackface: The Spectrum On Gender
Barackface: Race, Gender, Progressive, Conservative Divides
Barackface: The Spectrum/Dialogue Concept Is Key To Power



In The News

Obama, Clinton deadlocked in US Senate, 13-13 Reuters
Hillary Clinton edges lead over Barack Obama ahead of Pennsylvania ... Telegraph.co.uk a lead of five to ten points in the state ..... "The bottom line for me is that we have a lot of contests yet to go. This is a really close race." .... close the 20-point lead she held a month ago, thanks in part to an onslaught of advertisements paid for by his vastly superior funds. ...... Obama has now raised $234 million, mostly from small online donations ..... Nine more contests are scheduled before the campaign concludes on June 3.

Cash Struggle Continues for Clinton, Filings Show New York Times

Carter Says Hamas and Syria Are Open to Peace New York Times found the Syrian leadership eager for a full peace treaty with Israel. ..... “The problem is not that I met with Hamas in Syria. The problem is that Israel and the United States refuse to meet these people.” ..... Carter said he found the Hamas leadership, including Mr. Meshal, to be clear-thinking, educated people who gave no sign of fanaticism ........ “They are just as rational as you are,” he said, adding, “The thing that Meshal and I have is that we are both physicists.”
Widespread Political Violence Reported in Zimbabwe's Rural Areas Voice of America
Beyond Pa., a Weakened Clinton Washington Post Her campaign has the aura of a march toward inevitable disappointment.
UPDATE 1-Obama struggles to win white vote in rural Pa. Reuters hurt by his comments on small town bitterness and his association with an outspoken pastor ....... Local people called the Illinois senator arrogant, unpatriotic and un-Christian ..... "There's no work here," he said. "You have to drive 30 to 40 miles to find a job." ..... comments about small-town Pennsylvanians, made during a closed-door session in San Francisco. .... "The guy demonized the U.S. and Obama still likes him." Bressler said. "We don't need him as president."
Clinton, Obama Hit Each Other Hard In New PA Ads CBS News
Clinton lead hits double digits in new poll Boston Globe A new poll out this morning gives Hillary Clinton a 52 percent to 42 percent lead over Barack Obama in Pennsylvania .... Clinton is within striking distance of the double-digit win she badly needs to build new momentum for her candidacy

Young Pennsylvania voters take a shine to Obama Reuters
Prachanda to head new government in Nepal Hindu
New Pa. poll has Clinton holding lead MSNBC
Clinton scrambles to hold onto waning lead in Pennsylvania Los Angeles Times

Obama fights for every vote to close on Clinton Guardian the critical Pennsylvania primary could end in humiliation for Hillary ..... Barack Obama was closing fast on Hillary Clinton for the vital Pennsylvania primary on Tuesday, as he emerged from the ugliest week in their 15-month race intact - and, using a memorable gesture borrowed from hip-hop, literally 'brushing off' her last-ditch attacks. ....... she is slipping rapidly in most polls ...... some predicting a photo-finish and one a long-shot Obama victory. ..... goal is to shrink Clinton's margin of victory to the point where it looks humiliating, even terminal. ...... Obama's crowd of 35,000 on Independence Mall in Philadelphia on Friday is not quite up with the Pope's expected congregation of 60,000 in New York's Yankee Stadium today, but gave him the look of being both populist and presidential. ....... he still won the endorsement of six more super-delegates and rock idol Bruce Springsteen. ....... Gary Hart, a former Democratic presidential candidate, who has endorsed Obama ...... he recovered on Friday in North Carolina by using hip-hop moves taken from rap mogul Jay-Z ....... Then he mimed brushing dirt off each shoulder, a move that Jay-Z, one of his musical heroes, uses to dismiss the negative sentiments of anyone ill-disposed towards him or what he stands for. The crowd went wild and commentators declared it a seminal moment in the campaign, combining his charisma, feel for popular culture, youth and resilience.
For Clintons, a Time to Find Truest Friends New York Times “She is a delightful young woman who loves her mother very much,” Mrs. Larson said. “She was really pushing me. She kept asking me why I was doing this. She just kept asking, ‘Why? Why?’ ” ..... nearly two decades building relationships with a generation of Democrats ..... a lot of Clinton fatigue in the party and in the country today ...... “These are people that the Clintons gave an opportunity to serve,” said Mr. Panetta, speaking generally. “They helped give them the titles they now have, and made them a lot of money. I think the Clintons probably feel they are owed something.” ....... Reich, who had said he would not formally endorse Mr. Obama out of “loyalty” to Mrs. Clinton, a friend for over four decades whom he actually went out on a date with in their college days. ..... while Mr. Clinton was a great leader, “I don’t want my daughter near him.” ...... “if Hillary’s campaign can’t control Bill, whether Hillary’s White House could.” ..... people around the Clintons practiced “gutter” politics and that they felt entitled to the presidency ....... “The relationship has become very strained,” Mr. Richardson understated in an interview. ....... former supporters like Mrs. Larson, people who revered the Clintons in the 1990s and still regard them highly ...... “There was something about Senator Obama that I found really fresh and exciting,” she said. “I like how positive he has been.” She also spoke of “the destructive negativity” of the Clinton campaign. ...... “I just told her it was something I had to do.”
Clinton Cabinet Member Reich Backs Obama Yahoo! News
Clinton hoping to capitalize on slim lead in Pennsylvania Chicago Tribune "Hillary is my age group. She's a woman. She's me. She's my goals. She's my aspirations. She's a goal that I could attain." ..... no-win criticism for a woman. ...... We women are strong. We are focused. .... "I want to change them. I don't want to become them."
Obama, Clinton trade barbs over negative tactics Reuters

Clinton and Obama debate who is the tougher candidate Boston Globe
Obama Fights On Two Fronts Washington Post
Primary Lures Those Too Young to Vote New York Times
Vote recount underway in Zimbabwe CNN International
Ex-Labor Secretary Reich backs Obama Los Angeles Times the fifth former Clinton Cabinet member to endorse

Clinton's Campus Backers Resist Draw of `Cool' Obama Phenomenon Bloomberg
Obama Meets Jay-Z in YouTube Mashup Slamming Clinton & Debate Yahoo! News
How Obama Fell to Earth New York Times
Obama faces road test for November election fight Reuters
Obama's Bitter Lesson TIME
Obama's Tax Evasion Wall Street Journal
Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, many others hold forth on the ABC debate Los Angeles Times
Obama says debate focused on 'gotcha,' not policy issues The Associated Press
Superdelegates Unswayed by Clinton’s Attacks New York Times
Obama and Clinton Campaign for Laughs on Comedy Central Show Bloomberg
Clinton, Obama, Edwards visit 'Colbert Report' Newsday
Clinton is Ms. Fix-It, Obama a media critic on 'Colbert' The Associated Press
MoveOn.org criticizes debate between Clinton, Obama as “gotcha” Reuters
McCain Plans for $3.3 Trillion Tax Cut, Balanced Budget at Odds Bloomberg
Maoists extend lead in Nepal polls, re-voting smooth AFP

जनजाति महासंघ गठन Kantipur
कपिलवस्तुमा पुरानै अनुहार खासै संगठनात्मक आधार खडा नभएका मधेसवादी दलको पक्षमा यहा“ जनमत प्रकट भएको छ ....... भर्खरै उदाएकार् इश्वर दयाल मिश्रा तथा २५ वर्षा सम्भवतः सबैभन्दा कान्छा संविधानसभा सदस्य अभिषेकप्रताप शाहको विजय ........ कपिलवस्तु घटनाबाट बढी प्रभावित क्षेत्रं ५ को प्रतिस्पर्धामा अन्तरिम संसदमा विधायकमा मनोनित भए पनि पदत्याग गरी मधेस आन्दोलनका पक्षमा खडा भएका युवा अभिषेकप्रताप शाह विजयी भए । उनले वयोवृद्ध ठूलोबाबु कांग्रेसका डा. रुद्रप्रताप शाहलाई पराजित गरे ।
सुनसरी-२ मा एमाले र महोत्तरी-२ मा फोरम सुनसरीमा मधेसी जनअधिकार फोरमले ३, एमाले २ र माओवादीले एक स्थान ...... यसअघिका संसदीय निर्वाचनमा ८० प्रतिशत परिणाम आफ्नो पक्षमा पार्दै आएको कांग्रेसले यसपाला सुनसरी-१, ५ र ६ मा तेस्रो स्थान र २ मा पा“चौं स्थानमा चित्त बुझाउनुपर्‍यो
'मधेसलाई अलग राखी देश चलाउन सकिन्न' लाहान, वैशाख ४ - मधेसी जनअधिकार फोरमका संयोजक उपेन्द्र यादवले नेपालको राजनीतिबाट फोरमलाई अलग राखी कसैले देश चलाउन चाहेमा त्यो दिवा स्वप्न मात्र हुने बताएका छन् । ...... 'संविधान निर्माण गर्दा मधेसको एजेन्डालाई सन्तुलन कायम गरी अगाडि बढ्नु फोरमको उद्देश्य हो ।' ...... सरकारस“ग भएको स्वायत्त मधेस एक प्रदेशसम्बन्धी सम्झौतालाई कायम गर्न फोरम अडिग रहेको ...... 'सुजाता हार्नु दुःखको कुरो हो, तर उहा“ प्रधानमन्त्रीपुत्री भएर हार्नुभएको छ ।' ...... यादवले तत्काल फोरमले माओवादीस“ग मिलेर सरकार बनाउने सोच नराखेको पनि बताए ....... यादवले बुधबारै लाहानको सहिदचोकमा गई मधेस आन्दोलनका क्रममा सहिद हुनेहरूप्रति श्रद्धाञ्जलि अर्पण गर्दै मधेसलाई एक राज्य एक स्वायत्त प्रदेश बनाउन फोरम कटिबद्ध रहन ...... सिरहा-१ बाट विजयी फोरम उम्मेदवार लक्ष्मण मेहता
अबको मधेस राजनीति मधेसवादी दलहरू मुख्यतः मधेसी जनअधिकार फोरमले सम्मानजनक स्थान हासिल गरेको छ ..... कांग्रेस र एमालेले सारा देशभरि पाएको स्थानको हाराहारीमा मधेसी जन अधिकार फोरम पुग्नु भनेको जनताको भरपुर र्समर्थन पाउनु हो ..... उपेन्द्र यादवमा कम्युनिस्ट राजनीतिको रङ छ भने विजय गच्छेदार समूहको कांग्रेसी पृष्ठभूमि छ । ...... अझै पनि रमेश महतो र गौरमा मारिएका माओवादी र्समर्थकका परिवारहरूको घाउ ताजा नै छ । ...... तर्राईमा कांग्रेस र एमालले भोगेको हार ...... सुशील कोइराला र्सवदेव ओझास“ग माधव नेपाल रौतहटमा देवेन्द्र पटेलस“ग सुजाता कोइराला उपेन्द्र यादवस“ग झापामा कृष्ण सिटौला पर्ूण्ाप्रसाद राजवंशीस“ग त्यस्तै मोरङमा शेखर कोइराला विजयकुमार गच्छादारस“ग महेश आचार्य भीमलाल चौधरीस“ग पारजित हुनु ....... प्रचण्डजीले जनयुद्धको बेलामा लाल तर्राईमा लेख्नुभएको लेखमा मधेस उपनिवेश हो र यसको स्वायत्तका लागि संर्घष्ा अपरिहार्य छ भन्ने अभिव्यक्तिलाई अब आफैं सत्तामा पुगेपछि कति इमान्दारिताका साथ पूरा गर्नुहुन्छ भन्ने प्रश्नको उत्तर भविष्यले नै दिनेछ । ...... काठमाडँैंका हरेक गल्लीमा "गर्व से कहु हम मधेसी छी" भन्ने नारा लेख्न मातृकाले ठूलै कसरत र साहस देखाएका हुन् । ........ माओवादी र मधेसी जनअधिकार फोरम अन्ततः सत्ताको नजिक पुगेकोे छ ...... संघीयताको सवाल सबैभन्दा सशक्त ढंगले मधेसले उठाएको हो ...... कञ्चनपुरदेखि झापासम्म एक स्वायत्त क्षेत्र स्थापित हुनुपर्ने धारण ...... माओवादीबाहेक अन्य दलले स्पष्ट खाका दिन सकेका छैनन् ....... संघीयतामा सबैभन्दा बढी मधेस बिर्ता कांग्रेसलेनै गुमाउने कुराको संकेत संविधानसभा चुनावको परिणामले देखाइसक्यो

Philadelphia paper backs Obama Boston Globe
Philly newspaper: Judge Obama by his campaign USA Today
Clinton, Obama in crunch debate The Australian

Skyward Bound

The life breath of thy music runs from sky to sky.

Skyward Bound

Break open
The possibilities
The will to perform
To outdo
To stretch
The imagination

Let go
The shackles
The cobwebs
Of limitations
Assumptions
Presuppositions

Take a deep breath
To lay it all out
To stake a claim
To success
To roaring success
Here is to you

Hear the beckonings
From across the horizon
They call upon you
Stay in tune
Even when
You sleep

Reach out
To the reservoir
Of your inner strength
And endless dreams
Rejuvenate
In yourself

There is a future
To answer to
Past is prologue
At best
This time is yours
Drink it

Take full measure
Of your troops
Rally support
Survey the scene
As you march
To victory

Deny
The naysayers
Blow away
The dream stealers
Adios is to
False friends

For you are
Skyward bound

Mother, it is no gain, thy bondage of finery, if it keeps one shut off from the healthful dust of the earth, if it rob one of the right of entrance to the great fair of common human life.

The PROPHET, by Kahlil Gibran Table of Contents

On Love

Then said Almitra, "Speak to us of Love."
And he raised his head and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them. And with a great voice he said:
When love beckons to you follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.
For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.
Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.
He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant;
And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God's sacred feast.
All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart.
But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure,
Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor,
Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.
Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love.
When you love you should not say, "God is in my heart," but rather, I am in the heart of God."
And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.

Philly Debate: Quick Impressions During

• People a-r-e bitter. The transition from an industrial to a knowledge economy will be painful on its own. Universal health, lifelong education will help. What will also help is the next wave of industrial jobs. A lot of "green" jobs will have to be created. And those can't be exported.
  
• Obama saying people are bitter in the small towns is like Bill Clinton saying in 1992: "I feel your pain." He feels your pain. Barack feels your pain.
  
• Clinton is talking nice on the VP question by saying she will work hard for the eventual nominee.
  
• Last I checked, Clinton's lead in PA was down to three, five or six points, depending on which poll you looked at. We are doing fine. The so-called "bittergate" is no gate. We are fine.
  
• About people "clinging to religion" during economically hard times. Health care should be the same way. You should still have it between jobs. That should be another thing people should be able to cling to.
  
• Jeremiah Wright is still on people's minds. I have said United f___g States myself a few times, but that Wright dude threw the ball out of the ballpark, he sure did.
  
• Black anger is news? It would be news to me if blacks were n-o-t angry. Even recent brown immigrants end up saying the weirdest things about black people.
  
• It is time to forge a new, positive, robust black identity. Slavery and segregation can not be identity. The blacks in America need to dig deeper into their African heritage to claim more of art, music, culture, religion, language, cuisine. Take pride. Stop whining.
  
• And then there's the concrete data on disparity. Fix schools, provide universal pre-school, provide health, create jobs, cure chronic poverty.
  
• The two bees: "bitter" and Bosnia. We will do just fine.
  
• Hillary is wrong to suggest Obama should have left his church on Wright. I am sure Hillary has elderly whites in her extended family who can say weird things about minorities. Did Hillary consider leaving her family?
  
• A lot of black people say Wright-like comments are rather the norm in many all-black churches. The anger is real. The expression of that anger is real. Some of that anger takes the form of rap music. The church is one place where the black people congregate.
• Some of the rap on Wright and the "bitter" comment has to be used to garner focus on social and economic issues that are for real.
  
• Let Wright ignite that. Let him be an excuse to rise up and above.
  
• I am so over Wright. Let that dude go. Let him retire like he wants to.
  
• How about talking about our one and only Al Sharpton, pride of New York City, pride of Harlem, heart of black America? The dude got nice hair.
  
• And now you want to know if Obama loves this country? Who brought that up? Who?
• Flag? I say burn the flag. It is free speech. I wouldn't. But someone else can and it would not bother me. Me? I don't even burn firewood. I got gas to burn.
  
• Clinton on Bosnia. I was not accurate? Ha. But you know, she was in a war zone. It is possible she might have heard gun shots. It might not even have been enemy fire. It might have been boys on her side practicing, drilling. But what's the big deal? Give her a break. Let's make her talk health care.
  
• "There is no other country in which my story is even possible." True. I had to come all the way to America to claim my Indian half. Growing up in Nepal you experience strong anti-India sentiments.
  
• Move beyond the flag pin. Enlightened patriotism would be to end the stupid trillion dollar war in Iraq.
  
• After 45 minutes looks like things are warming up. So far both have played safe and nice. New kind of politics?
  
• How many times before have we thought that after this particular primary, this caucus, this debate, Barack will knock her off? So many times. I think this race will go on. Every state will get to have a say. That is the way it should be. That is how you grow the party in each state. The Democratic party in Texas is a whole new machine now, thanks to these two.
  
• Hillary might win PA by two points. And it will be on to next.
  
• Weathermen? First time I am hearing of them. Who are the Weathermen?
• Adding spice to the debate?
  
• There's an Obama 2008 debate watch party at the Irish Rogue, and there is a DL21C debate watch party at Connolly's Pub, both near Times Square. Those are the only two I know of in this progressive capital of the world. I am surprised DFNYC and MYD people don't also have debate watch parties. And there is no Hillary 2008 debate watch party either. Me? I am home. Following the debate online. Live commentary is fun. Only I don't publish until it is over. I am following it in text, live blogging by ABC and USA Today. I am sure I will get hold of the transcript somewhere after the debate is over. And the Barack channel on YouTube will have select clips in video. But that is later.
  
• After an hour, finally Iraq. Used to be that is what debates started with, most early debates last year.
  
• 16 months is enough time. If you are willing to do the political work to fill up the vacuum, 16 months is a good timetable to have. The next 9/11 is being plotted in the no man's land between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
  
• Israel. That is dicey. But not for me. I have a Third World perspective to it. I come from a Third World angle. But in my particular case, I say democracy is the answer. Unelected Arabs speaking for their people? Not possible. They use Israel as a scapegoat to their nonperformance, non-delivery to their own people. But Israel has also been unfair on its part. The Israelites, sometimes I think, are historically neither western, nor non-western. They have a rather unique history, a unique heritage, unique grievances.
  
• Clinton's middle class are people who make less than $250,000. Okay, that makes me middle class! Kidding. Did someone say this lady made $109 million since she left the White House? No wonder she was in such a hurry to leave. I don't think she really wants to go back.
  
• Hillary Clinton is doing what Bob Dole tried in 1996. Go to Bob Dole dot com. Only he said his own website address wrong. Hillary's got it nailed down. Salute.
  
• Taxes, now that is a perennial. McCain has also been talking taxes lately. He is for a flat tax. If you do have a flat tax though, then will not the Republicans run out of steam? What will they campaign on after that?
  
• By the way, did you get the news on Nepal elections? The Maoists won big time. That is mainstreaming the armed rebels kind of on steroids.
  
• Debt, deficit. Bush fucked up big time. Obama gets to clean the mess. Ending the Iraq war will go a long way to ending the deficits.
  
• Bush accumulated more debt than all US presidents before him put together. That guy is a genius. What grade do they teach basic Arithmetic in? He skipped that one and went straight to Harvard Business School.
  
• This is fun, live commentary is. You get to sound like a pundit, like you really know what you are talking about.
  
• Social Security. They are both right in degrees. But tackling the deficit alone will not do like Hillary emphasizes. She thinks, well, that is what Bill did. Bill did not have as many people ready to retire as there will be in about 10 years.
  
• A Republican strategist offers this, to ABC's Karen Travers: "I think we’re going to buy 90 minute infomercials in October to replay this..." Oh really?
  
• These Republicans, they don't get Obama's new kind of politics. They are like, just you wait, we are going to dig into you, and we are going to destroy you. They are threatening the politics of personal destruction. Will backfire big time. The Clinton people tried that in Iowa. Hillary would have been second, she ended up third in Iowa. Barack has already changed the tone of politics in this country and there is no going back.
  
• The Republicans don't know what is about to hit them. An Obama-Clinton will give you a Reagan 1984 like sweep. You will carry 10 states if you are lucky. That is what you are looking at. It is the war, stupid.
  
• Right about now I wish I had live streaming video. The local ABC affiliate in Philly promised live streaming, but did not deliver. Do they seriously think that will bring down their TV viewership? Come on.
  
• Now we are talking about guns? Guns are insane. Looks like a new rival group to the NRA has been launched. Hunters Association, something like that. That is the way to go. All guns for hunting should be registered. All guns that are too powerful for hunting, the manufacturers should be sued out of existence, except for those that supply exclusively to the military and law enforcement. Guns are just stupid. Can you do anything other than kill with guns? Homicide rates are lower in countries that don't have insane gun laws like the US does. There is a direct correlation.
  
• Start with all the big cities. Ban guns in big cities. I mean, it is like you can do hunt deer in big cities. So not even hunting guns should be allowed in the big cities.
  
• This debate is not going to be a big win or lose for either. The victory margin in PA will be less than five points, I think, for whoever wins. If Hillary wins, she might get maybe five more delegates, big deal. We are so far ahead.
• Virginia Tech could not have happened in Japan. And mental health is an issue also in Japan, it is an issue everywhere. People catch cold everywhere.
  
• The Second Amendment itself has to be amended out of existence, if you ask me. That was put in place back when people were out on the frontier fending for themselves. But that stand might not be politically viable for now. But sensible gun laws are viable.
  
• Zoning laws affect property rights, Obama says. Good point. Similary cities have a right to come up with sensible gun laws. Ban hand guns. They kill. They scare just by being around.
• Handwriting? Weathermen?
• I guess this is a two hour debate. 30 more minutes to go. Two hours have been the norm. But the three presidential debates are an hour each, right? Packed hour. Taut hour. Tight wire hour.
  
• Video clips from the debate should be up by 10: http://www.youtube.com/user/BarackObamadotcom
• 15 more minutes to go.
  
• http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2008/04/well-be-live-bl.html
• http://blogs.abcnews.com/liveblogging
• Soaring gas prices. Huge debt and deficits have led to a weaker dollar. I think that is why the gas prices are going up, and up, and up some more. People gasped when it hit two, then they gasped when it his three, they thought it was Google hitting the $600 mark, that was tops, but no, the price went further up. But weaker dollar alone does not explain it. Demand and supply don't. Something fishy is going on. The oil companies are gouging.
  
• The Republicans have given up on many of their core values. They gave up on fiscal discipline. They have given up on the market mechanism. They gave up on family values. Republican family values these days? Rudy Giuliani taking phone calls from his wife in the middle of speeches.
• They are so intellectually bankrupt it is not even funny.
  
• 10 more minutes. We are almost done. I get to watch some video clips soon.
  
• The market is soccer players playing soccer. The government is the referee. You need the referee to have a fiercely competitive, spectacular game. The oil companies and some of the finance people are playing foul because they bribed the referee to look the other way.
  
• Why did anyone ever vote for Bush? Beats me. That was no way to start the 21st century. Get me on to a different calendar, one that starts the 21st century early next year.
  
• "I believe in America." That is a line from Godfather. I could use that myself as a someone who was 23 when he landed here. America is an idea, I believe in that idea. Racism takes away from that idea in its purity. Sexism is unAmerican. I can't wait for the Obama-Clinton ticket. Give them all summer together.
  
• This guy did not blog at all between 9:34 and 9:50. http://blogs.abcnews.com/liveblogging Says "the overwhelming number of comments slowed down our server." Looks like there i-s an audience for text.
  
• Obama will build "a new political coalition." He already has. Record turnout for the primaries.
  
• Hillary is a strong, smart, attractive woman. I give her all that. She will be great on the ticket.
  
• http://abcnews.go.com already has video clips.
  
• 10:01 PM. Time is up.
  

WATCH: Clinton Explains Bosnia Botch
WATCH: Does Hillary Think Barack Can Win?
WATCH: Doubting Obama's Patriotism?

In The News

Three More Superdelegates for Obama New York Times
Born to run: Springsteen throws weight behind Obama Guardian
Clinton's Negatives at Record High ABC News

Visits on previous 'day': 340.

Clinton, Obama face off CNN a new CNN Poll of Polls puts Clinton's lead at just five points over Obama in Pennsylvania, down from a double-digit lead two weeks ago. ..... small-town Pennsylvania residents are "bitter" over their economic circumstances and "cling" to their guns and religion.

China bends on Taiwan, why not Tibet? Christian Science Monitor
Microsoft Versus Salesforce-Google InformationWeek
Clinton faces grim poll data as debate looms AFP Polls show Clinton has stalled Obama's attempt to catch her in Pennsylvania, but her lead of around six points ..... she trails Obama in nominating contests won, elected delegates and the popular vote. ..... Obama a 10-point lead when Democrats nationwide ..... Some 54 percent of those asked had an unfavorable impression of the former first lady -- up from 40 percent ..... Obama up 40 percent to 35 percent in Indiana .... Obama up 13 points in North Carolina ... "I'm suggesting people are bitter about the state of their economic lives (and) the Washington beltway hall of mirrors has just gone nuts," Obama told reporters. ...... rock megastar Bruce Springsteen ..... "I've been following the campaign and I have now seen and heard enough to know where I stand. Senator Obama, in my view, is head and shoulders above the rest," Springsteen wrote on his website. ..... "He speaks to the America I've envisioned in my music for the past 35 years, a generous nation with a citizenry willing to tackle nuanced and complex problems." ..... Obama also won backing from the American Hunters and Shooters Association, a newly formed rival to the zealously pro-gun National Rifle Association.
Bruce Springsteen endorses Barack Obama in presdential race NME.com
Obama, Clinton to debate as Pennsylvania primary looms large The Associated Press
Negative views of Clinton on rise San Jose Mercury News
New Poll Says Most Democrats Prefer Obama as Party's Nominee Voice of America
Democrats prepare for TV debate BBC News 21st debate ..... The last televised debate took place 50 days ago, on 26 February.

Visits on previous 'day': 290.

Nobel Peace Prize 2008: Making A Case For Nepal (2)

Nobel Peace Prize 2008: Making A Case For Nepal

Top 10 Reasons

Nobel Peace Prize 2008: Making A Case For Nepal
Madhesi Movement Victory In Nepal
The First Major Revolution Of The 21st Century Happened In Nepal
Spread Democracy
Vision
Progressive Political Religion: No Place For Superpowers
Blueprint For DL21C: Party Inside A Party
Political Sci-Fi

(1) April Revolution 2006, Madhesi Revolution I in January-February 2007, and Madhesi Revolution II in February 2008. Together they go head to head in intensity with all the top revolutions of the world all the way to the French Revolution. In a country of 27 million - as many people as California minus the physical and communication infrastructure - during April 2006, a total of eight million people came out into the streets at one time or the other for 19 days to shut the country down completely. That included the Home Ministry bureaucrats who were supposed to be issuing orders to the police engaged in the repressions out in the streets.

(2) The two Madhesi revolutions passed the April Revolution in intensity. It was like the civil rights movement in America in the 1960s. Only it did it in a year rather than in a decade. This was a social justice movement that had the intensity and time capsule of a democracy movement. The Madhesis earned their own state inside a to be federal Nepal. The Madhesis did through nonviolence in a year what the Tamils have not been able to do through the most sophisticated violence over decades. The LTTE is the top terrorist group on the planet. Message to the LTTE: forget separate country, and forget violence, instead go for federalism and nonviolence. Go for nonviolent militancy.

(3) Nepal has not written its constitution yet. Elections to the constituent assembly have been held in April 2008. If Nepal can manage to become a federal, multi-party democracy of state funded parties, it will have become the top democracy on the planet. Between the April Revolution 2006 and its new constitution, Nepal will become the top country when it comes to exporting democracy.

(4) Iraq has 27 million people, Nepal has 27 million people. The neocon way to spread democracy is the disaster in Iraq. The progressive way has been in Nepal. The progressives in America will have to acknowledge the lesson from Nepal and then get behind in our quest for a total spread of democracy by 2020. (Spread Democracy)

(5) Iraq is on its way to costing America a trillion dollars. Nepal did not cost America a dime. Street action is where the action is. That is where the power is. The power is at the grassroots. Freedom rings in every human heart. You just have to help bring it out into the open.

(6) Nepal is the poorest country outside of Africa. A country's being poor does not mean it is not capable of a democracy movement. Nepal is proof.

(7) Nepal is also proof that a diaspora using the digital tools offered for free on the Internet can play a key role working from the safety of being outside the country in the grips of a military dictator. Everyone you need to spread democracy into the furthest corners of the earth lives right here in New York City. America need not spend trillions in Iraq and Afghanistan. All it needs to do is give voting rights in the city elections to everybody who lives in the city. The subsequent political mobilization will do the trick. We will have a total spread of democracy by 2020. (My Third World People Don't Get To Vote In This City)

(8) The Maoists of Nepal were the largest, deadliest armed ultra left group the planet saw since the end of the Cold War. You could have compared them to any armed group on the planet. At their peak they had 80% of Nepal's territory. They were headed to establishing a one party communist republic. The point being, the LTTE, the Hizbollah all are fair game. If there be sufficient political work in bringing them to peace, they too can be brought into peaceful politics.

(9) China is not going to become a democracy like America. Tibet is not going to become a separate country. Taiwan can not become fully independent. But if Nepal can become a multi-party democracy of state funded parties, it will be only a matter of time before India and China also go down that same route.

(10) And then it is only a matter of time before America also becomes a democracy of publicly financed elections. Democracy is one person, one vote. Anything else is an aberration.

Nobel Peace Prize 2008: Making A Case For Nepal
Madhesi Movement Victory In Nepal
The First Major Revolution Of The 21st Century Happened In Nepal
Spread Democracy
Vision
Progressive Political Religion: No Place For Superpowers
Blueprint For DL21C: Party Inside A Party
Political Sci-Fi

Awarding the Nobel 2008 to Nepal's peace process will be a major boost to the cause of democracy worldwide.

Sexism Bothers Me Directly

Sexism does not bother me because it bothers women, sexism bothers me directly, although women do factor in, how can they not?

Sexism bothers me because I am a progressive. You can't not be progressive on race and gender and still claim the progressive mantle. Progressives don't get uncomfortable talking race and gender.

I came to gender from the race angle. Early physicists studying electricity quickly realized magnetism is very related to electricity. My fascination with race quickly told me gender has so much in common with race. They are twin social realities.

The spectrum concept is my small gift to gender relations.

Barackface: The Spectrum On Gender
Barackface: Race, Gender, Progressive, Conservative Divides
Barackface: The Spectrum/Dialogue Concept Is Key To Power



I am for scientific progressivism. 10 is a good round number in science. It smells digital even.

1-10 is a gradation. It is designed to help progressives win elections. 1-10 is home to all views on gender. Each gradation is home to roughly 10% of the electorate. That is the idea. And so you can also have 10.1. That would be home to 1% of the electorate. Likewise you can dig further and label 10.1.1.

The good thing about using the spectrum concept to make progress on gender is you liberate it from identity politics and turn it into an issue politics. Men are also welcome. Making progress on gender is about building a progressive coalition of men and women.

If you build the spectrum good enough, you should be able to map gender as it exists not just in any one country, but also across the world.

Another advantage of the gender concept is that it is the least socially disruptive. Step one is mapping. Getting people to simply talk gender is a big achievement. Dee Dee Myers has come up with a book where she says the gender issues she dealt with as a college student are still the gender issues she deals with today. That is because gender has not been talked about. No talk, no progress.

Once people start talking and you map them as to where they stand on the spectrum then you can devise ways to nudge them on to the next level, to a higher plane of political consciousness.

I might see race and gender are related. But most white women don't. But you are not white, you don't belong in this conversation. When I look at you, I see race, I don't see gender. Curiously most white males see gender when they look at me. Like this guy at this bar on Saturday who takes one look at me and says he would like to throw his girlfriend off the balcony like in "Mortal Kombat." I am glad the girlfriend found that funny. That was supposed to be male bonding. Was it? "Sorry, I am not much into video games at all."

The spectrum concept is going to be especially useful to make progress on gay rights, something much more culturally charged. You got to get people talking and then you nudge them on to a higher plane of political consciousness.

Build the spectrum on every policy issue.

Outsourcing Anxieties: The Internet Metaphor

There are a few fundamental laws to the Internet.

1. Who is the president of the Internet? That was an actual question asked of an early internet pioneer by some major French investors. People used to pyramid group dynamics need to realize cloud group dynamics are a whole different ball game. I prefer to mix up the two. That works best for me. Leadership functions don't go away in my version of cloud group dynamics.
   
2. The more computers that connect to the Internet, the better it becomes overall. This second point is key because spreading democracy and prosperity works the same way.

There are many white Americans consciously and subconsciously offended by the idea that India is not going to or is no longer a country exclusively of subsistence farmers. It bothers them, gives them heartburns. I am not going to make light of the anxieties in small town America from industrial jobs shipped overseas, but some of the sentiments are unfounded. They are ignorant of the basic creative destructions of capitalism.

But then Lincoln inherited a largely agricultural economy and he worked to turn the country industrial. It is a good thing that America is not going to be an industrial economy forever because there is more money to be made in the knowledge economy.

It will be the job of Barack Obama and the president after him to turn America into being a full fledged knowledge economy. America has to become a wireless broadband nation or it can go ahead and cede its leadership position in the world.

If it were not for the robust growths that China and India have seen for the past few decades, America right now would have been in a deep, deep recession. Otherwise George W has fucked up the American economy every way imaginable. Say thanks to the Chinese, say thanks to the Indians.

Imagine how much more America will benefit if the per capita income in China and India were to double and triple. You got to keep adding more and more computers to the Internet. It is a win win proposition. The industries, the companies, the jobs of tomorrow have to be created.

This will be the century when finally global equity is achieved.

No politician anywhere can stop trade any more than any dictator anywhere can prevent the ultimate prevalence of democracy. But the smart politicians will invest heavily in the education, health and credit of their people to keep ploughing them back to the jobs and careers of tomorrow. Lifelong education, universal health and credit are the answer to so-called jobs shipped overseas. People who lose jobs have to be retrained for new jobs. Those new jobs have to be created. And while people make their transitions, their health care should be there for them.

Political Sci-Fi
Education, Health, Credit: Universal And Lifelong
Takes Two Arms And Two Legs To Swim





In The News

How India 'Colonized' Britain Time celebrating Indian art, film, theatre, music, fashion and food. ..... A little over a decade ago an Indian Prime Minister called the U.K. a "third rate" country after a perceived slight on an anniversary, and Prince Philip caused a furor during a Royal visit to the site of the massacre at Amritsar when he suggested that a memorial plaque "exaggerated" the number of people killed there by British troops. .......... drinking tea is a joyous ritual that binds Delhi and Doncaster. (Polo is a rich man's sport, of course, but class and caste have long mattered in both countries.) ....... English may be Britain's greatest gift to India (which, today, is home to the world's largest English-speaking population) ....... Indian cuisine long ago surpassed fish-and-chips as Britain's most popular restaurant food. ....... business decisions rather than gestures of colonial nostalgia ...... Tata's timing is perfect, and that if it manages the British manufacturer well, it could prove to be very profitable. ...... Indian companies have been on a buying spree over the past few years, snapping up companies across the globe. ...... And now that it's our turn in the sun of course we look at British things in a desirable way. ...... it helps when you begin to talk if you both know what's pukka.

Visits on previous 'day': 212.

Zimbabwe Court Refuses to Release Vote Results New York Times
Zimbabwe Court Rejects Opposition Demand Washington Post
Zimbabwe Court Rejects Opposition Demand The Associated Press
Most voters disagree with Obama comment Boston Globe
Surrogates Stump in Keystone State New York Times
Users Fight to Save Windows XP The Associated Press
Clinton attacks Gore to get Obama The Australian "We had two very good men and men of faith run for president in 2000 and 2004. But large segments of the electorate concluded that they did not really understand or relate to or frankly respect their ways of life." ..... The unprovoked attacks on Mr Gore and Senator Kerry came as a British newspaper reported that Mr Gore and former president Jimmy Carter would either privately or publicly appeal to Senator Clinton to pull out of the Democratic primaries ...... Mr Carter yesterday said he would not yet endorse a candidate but made it clear his entire family was pressing him to support Senator Obama. ..... "You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them," he said. ...... "There are problems," Senator Clinton said. "But you don't have to psychoanalyse or patronise people to conclude that we have problems. ..... "Hillary Clinton is out there like she's on the duck blind every Sunday. She's packing a six-shooter. Come on, she knows better. That's some politics being played by Hillary Clinton. She knows better. Shame on her." ...... Jeremiah Wright, who is on sabbatical before retiring, created more controversy over the weekend when he reportedly said America's founding fathers were responsible for the mistreatment of blacks because they "planted slavery and white supremacy in the DNA of this republic".

'Most wanted criminal' wins election as independent candidate NepalNews Baban Singh alias Mr. John, the prime suspect of the serial blasts in Kathmandu last September that killed three persons and left dozens others injured was declared winner in Rautahat-1, securing 9201 votes. He defeated his nearest rival, Ajay Gupta of Sadbhawana Party, by a margin of 2613 votes. ..... Baban, who was never seen in the public during election campaigning, used gimmicks that were probability never seen or heard before. His wife, daughters and some relatives did the campaigning for him, mostly asking the voters to give him a chance to correct himself and save him from being hanged to death for his crimes. ...... Posters showed him with folded hands, apparently pleading for 'mercy', with a noose lurching around his neck. "Hamara Ke Bachali" (Save Me) read the slogan on the poster. ...... He didn't show up in the victory rally after wining the election, fearing arrest.

A&E Biography: Barack Obama (45 Minutes)

How To Tame A Free Spirit

Nobel Peace Prize 2008: Making A Case For Nepal
Madhesi Movement Victory In Nepal
The First Major Revolution Of The 21st Century Happened In Nepal
Spread Democracy
Vision
Progressive Political Religion: No Place For Superpowers
Blueprint For DL21C: Party Inside A Party
Political Sci-Fi

How to Tame a Free Spirit Have you met someone who's fiercely independent, and yearn for their devotion? The key to taming a wild soul is to make him or her feel like they can be freer with you than with anybody else. Here's how to have that free spirit eating out of your hand, willingly and happily. ....... A free spirit is not the kind to twist and turn to meet your every need. You'll have to make it simple for them by coming to an understanding of what you want most out of a relationship and asking for that, and nothing else. ....... Things like punctuality, precautions, and any other kind of minor limit or inhibition will be of no concern to an independent mind. They like to flow through life, following their whims - and this often makes them extremely creative and fascinating individuals, which is what probably attracted you to them in the first place. By imposing dams, as little as they may be, you could very well suffocate the qualities that make this person desirable to you, if you don't manage to scare them off first. ......... Restrictions are like chains, and will send this wild horse running towards the horizon. ...... Study their tendencies, their quirks, their deepest desires, and their worst fears. Always be accepting and open-minded. Knowledge is power. The better you know this person, the less you'll feel the need to control them. Moreover, he or she will sense this and feel like you're the only person who truly knows them and thus, the only person they can be their uninhibited selves around. To a free spirit, this is the jackpot...... ........ A person who values his or her independence will truly test your ability to trust. You need to determine early on whether or not you trust this person, and then trust them completely. Sure, you might get burned, but you also might capture the heart of a person that no one else could touch. ........ Don't sit at home, wondering what he or she is doing, or when they're going to call. Get in your car and take a road trip. Visit an old friend. Watch a new movie. Taste a different kind of food. ....... independence is something to be appreciated, not just tolerated, you'll be giving a free spirit exactly the kind of nourishment that it needs. ...... If you want something, let it go, and if it's meant to be, he or she will return out of their own free choosing, not because they feel obligated. Sometimes a free spirit needs to prove to itself that it can still fly before it settles down in one place. ...... Don't try to change him or her. This is a classic mistake, in any kind of relationship, but especially when you're dealing with a rugged individual. ...... Independent individuals tend to have a burning need to progress alone - sometimes you have to let them go down a path by themselves and just let them know you'll be there for them when they get to the end. ....... Not every free spirit is trustworthy, and some just simply aren't worth taming. ...... If you seriously think you can "tame" a free spirit, think again. What you want to do is not tame it, but have it close to you. Think of it as changing your location (bringing yourself out into the wild) than theirs. (bringing them indoors.) ...... The only way to truly love someone is to realise that they can be lost, so be prepared to lose that person, if they truly are free-spirited they may not be up to a long term relationship. ...... Remember that sometimes, people don't want to be/or aren't meant to be tamed. Trying to tame someone may actually make a situation more awkward and difficult for both parties.

Nobel Peace Prize 2008: Making A Case For Nepal
Madhesi Movement Victory In Nepal
The First Major Revolution Of The 21st Century Happened In Nepal
Spread Democracy
Vision
Progressive Political Religion: No Place For Superpowers
Blueprint For DL21C: Party Inside A Party
Political Sci-Fi


In The News

It's Obama, stupid: Carter and Gore to end Clinton bid Scotsman Former president Carter and former vice-president Gore have already held high-level discussions about delivering the message that she must stand down for the good of the Democrats. ...... "They're in discussions," a source close to Carter told Scotland on Sunday. "Carter has been talking to Gore. They will act, possibly together, or in sequence." ..... insiders say it is a question of when, rather than if, they act. .... in addition to their White House past, both are winners of the Nobel Peace Prize, giving them additional gravitas to carry the party with them. ..... both have clashed in the past with the Clintons. ...... Carter, who has carved out a successful career as an international mediator, is believed to detest the flashy style of the Clintons. He recently told an interviewer that his entire family are committed Obama supporters. .... One is for Carter and Gore to go to Clinton privately and ask her to step down. The other is for both men to appear in public and endorse Obama – a move which would see a majority of superdelegates go with them. ...... Senate Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have called on superdelegates to hold an unofficial congress in early June to anoint a winner, rather than waiting for the convention in Denver. ...... 30% of Clinton's supporters would vote for McCain if she fails to become the nominee ..... historically, superdelegates have never gone against the public vote, and party insiders say they would face a revolt, or even riots, if they were to do so now. ...... her own stormy campaign contrasting with the disciplined control of Obama's organisation ...... Obama now leads her nationally by about 10 points, and a CNN poll in Pennsylvania showed him closing the once-yawning gap to just three points. ..... Should Clinton lose Pennsylvania, the defection of growing numbers of superdelegates from her to Obama could become a flood. ...... bitter working-class voters who "cling to guns or religion" ..... "Obama's remarks were elitist and out of touch." ...... He explained his troubles winning over white, working-class voters, saying they have become frustrated with economic conditions: "It's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment to explain their frustrations." ....... the image that the Harvard-trained lawyer is arrogant, aloof and carries himself with an air of superiority.

Maoists poised for landslide win Himalayan Times Out of 52 seats declared till midnight, the Maoists have had the lion’s share of 32, while their rivals UML and Nepali Congress have had to be content with with 9 and 7 respectively. .... The Maoists are also leading by wide margins in 49 constituencies across the country ...... both these parties were expecting to win a majority of the 240 seats at stake under the first-past-the-post system. Or, at least each was hoping to emerge as the single largest party ...... The Maoist victory sent shock waves in the UML and Congress camps, as top leaders of both parties tumbled in their strongholds and home constituencies, from where they had been elected thrice, in some cases. ...... Nepal, also rallying behind in Rautahat-6 ..... Nepali Congress’ Khum Bahadur Khadka, elected thrice from Dang, lost heavily..... Gobinda Raj Joshi and Chiranjibi Wagle, also elected thrice in the past, lost to Suresh Ale Magar in Tanahu-1 and Parbati Thapa Shrestha in Gorkha-1

Maoist Leader Wins Seat in Nepal The Associated Press
International Accolades To Nepal Elections United We Blog
Maoists surge ahead in Nepal Hindu giving the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) an opportunity to lead the country ...... may possibly win a majority ..... a groundswell of support for the Maoists from across the country, except in the central tarai, where the Madhesi parties are doing better ..... In over 100 constituencies where vote counting is going on, the Maoists are leading in more than 60. ...... Most of these senior Maoist leaders defeated their nearest rivals by a huge margin. ...... most of the senior leaders of the UML have been routed, and many senior leaders of the Nepali Congress are struggling in their constituencies ..... The Maoists have also made deep inroads into the traditional strong bases of the Nepali Congress such as Chitwan, Tanahu, Kailali, Kanchanpur and Bake districts. ...... It was committed to multi-party competition and would like to maintain good ties with India and China.

Obama Works to Limit Fallout Over Remark on ‘Bitter’ Working Class New York Times
Obama seeks to explain 'guns or religion' remark Los Angeles Times
Maoist Leader Wins Seat in Nepal The Associated Press
Anger is growing in China Los Angeles Times
Clinton Team Lunges at Obama, Hunts for Opening Over Small-Town ... FOXNews
Obama, Clinton Battle for Pennsylvania NPR
Poll sees Clinton leading in Pennsylvania United Press International