Liberal Guy Justin Krebs Is A Poet

Barackface: Facebook And Drinking Liberally
Barackface: Drinking Liberally
Barackface: Liberally Tipsy
Barackface: Iraq Movie, Liberally, But Not Drinking
Barackface: DFNYC, Drinking Liberally, DL21C, Cosmopolity
Barackface: Laughing Liberally Brings The House Down December 30
Barackface: Drinking Liberally: Session X
Barackface: Murderball
Barackface: Justin Krebs

I showed up last night at Rudy's to express solidarity. I had my button from home: first time I did not forget to forget.

You are a Liberal, if you be sipping. A pitcher and a half, I puked on the train, missed my stop, then missed the train back at an outdoors stop, finally made it. Puke was all over the shoes, I saw in the morning. Puke was on my pants. You go to Drinking Liberally and party like a rock star.

I have met Justin Krebs a few times. I have a feeling he might be a Liberal.

By the way, there is a wonderful Liberal event on Saturday. Chinatown is where the action is. I am going. $100.

We're kicking off the festivities on May 10th in New York City with our 2nd Annual Living Liberally Celebration & Fundraiser. Last year's event raised the revenue that hired our first fulltime staff enabling us to increase our reach, expand the Eating, Screening, Laughing, Reading, Crafting Liberally networks, grow our online presence and become a better partner to the progressive movement.

Thursday, May 01, 2008

The Media Has a Thing for Gray-Haired Men

The media ignores Obama's statements,
on the under-reported Pentagon pundit scandal,
but obsesses on every word from Reverend Wright.

The press passes over Clinton's comments
on the defeat of the Senate Fair Pay bill
but tracks each off-note of husband Bill.

And while McCain proposes bad health policy,
remarks that women don't need equal pay rights
& breaks his own campaign finance promises,
fawning fanboy journalists give him a free ride.

What's the obsession with these three?
Rev Wright...Bill Clinton...John McCain...

The media just has a thing for gray-haired men.

Sorry Barack & Hillary...we can't hear you
over all the old guys in the way.
...Just leave politics to Daddy for now.

Share a toast, a vent, a prediction & a night
with lefties of all age, gender & hair color
at your local progressive social club.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Taking the "50-State Strategy" Really Literally

In February, states split, votes were close
& "Super Tuesday" turned out to be
"Just Another Tuesday."

In March, we were promised that Texas
would be someone's "last stand" at the Alamo,
but in the end, the night didn't produce a Lone Star.

And this week, the Primary in the Keystone State
ended up more of a Secondary concern,
and was definitely not a keystone moment.

Howard Dean took over the Democrats
promising a 50-State Strategy...

Obama & Clinton are just taking him really literally.

Raise your primary issues while raising a glass
and be part of our own 50-Bar Strategy
by joining like-minded lefties for a libation
at your local progressive social club.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Maybe the Media's Just Bored

TV "news" re-plays Jeremiah Wright's comments
more than General Petraeus's testimony...
which one's in charge of the war again?

The press wonders which of three candidates --
all with the wealth & status to run for Prez --
is most in touch with "the common person"...
but doesn't talk much about their plans
to solve the "common person's" housing crisis.

In the first debate in 7 weeks,
the moderators get around to Iraq
...only after important issues like lapel pins.

Maybe the media's run out of things to say,
maybe "issues" get in the way of their gossip,
...or maybe the media's just bored.

The media & pundits would get re-engaged
if only there were a corps of informed pros
who'd talk to them & the public about the race
in an exciting and intelligent way...if only...

Find informed excitement about the election
as you share ideas & share a few pints
at your local progressive social club.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

John McCain's No Charlton Heston

In Planet of the Apes, Charlton Heston played a man
imprisoned by forces of theocracy, ignorance & fear.
In the 2008 election, John McCain plays a man
ignorantly courting theocrats & fear-mongers.

In Ben-Hur, Heston challenged
the rule of imperial occupation.
McCain wants to be an occupying empire.

Heston once led the Jews out of Egypt.
McCain wants to lead us all into Iran.

Not only would Heston's roles have
beaten McCain by chariot, drowned him in the Sea
and called him a damn dirty ape for good measure
...they also would have voted against him.

And while he may've been an gun-loving old man,
at least Heston marched for civil rights
...decades before McCain opposed MLK Day.

McCain should learn by watching a few more films
...he'll have plenty of time starting early November.

Take an exodus from the every day
& follow an 11th Commandment: Drink Liberally
at your local progressive social club.

In The News

Myanmar Turns Back Foreign Aid Workers New York Times
McCain girding for battle with Obama Reuters
Obama Seeks To Unify Party For November Washington Post behind the scenes, his campaign worked with a light touch to win over uncommitted superdelegates and allies of Clinton, mindful of not appearing overconfident and of the fact that they would need the backing of the candidate, her husband and their supporters in the fall. ........ With numerous prominent Democrats believed to be waiting in the wings to endorse his candidacy ...... as early as May 20, when Kentucky and Oregon vote ..... "I think they respect the process, they respect Senator Clinton and myself." ...... touting poll numbers suggesting that Clinton would be a stronger nominee in key states such as Florida and Ohio. "Some people don't agree, but most people respect the argument," said Steve Grossman, a member of Clinton's national finance team. ...... Clinton argued that the coalition of voters backing her would make her more viable .... she repeatedly referred to her appeal among "hardworking Americans," including "Catholic voters, Hispanic voters, blue-collar voters and seniors -- the kind of people who Senator McCain will be fighting for in the general election." She did not repeat the term "white voters" ....... McCain was "losing his bearings" ...... a not particularly clever way of raising John McCain's age as an issue ...... two major grass-roots programs. "Vote for Change," a voter registration drive aimed at signing up millions of Democrats over the next six months, will begin tomorrow with 100 events in all 50 states. An army of "Organizing Fellows" is also being recruited -- full-time volunteers who will be deployed to swing states. ..... Obama spent the day in Washington courting uncommitted lawmakers. Former senator Thomas A. Daschle (S.D.), who helped organize the one-on-one and small-group sessions, said Obama is in striking distance of overtaking Clinton in superdelegate support, and may hit that mark in the next few days. ...... "The writing is on the wall. They think he's the nominee, so there's no reason to rush," said one prominent uncommitted Democrat, referring to other lawmakers in the same situation. "Then you don't have to offend anybody. The voters will issue their verdict soon enough." ..... Sen. Mary Landrieu (La.) said she will continue to "contemplate things" over the next few weeks. .... Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) said she spoke with Clinton by phone for 15 minutes yesterday morning, with Clinton doing most of the talking and sounding "very collected" in her determination to stay in the race. "She doesn't believe it's time," Feinstein said, adding that Clinton feels a bond with those who have supported her and does not want to let them down.
Why Barack Obama fears an immediate halt to Hillary Clinton's campaign Los Angeles Times "The Democratic race now moves to West Virginia," Jay Leno noted during his monologue Thursday night on "The Tonight Show." "Today, Hillary Clinton claimed she always wanted to be a coal miner. But those dreams were dashed when she was forced to attend Wellesley and Yale." ...... At a fundraiser in Washington's Union Station last night with cheese and crackers and fruits for a minimum $1,000, he told supporters, "The nomination doesn't take place in August -- it takes place until August."
Hezbollah routs pro-government gunmen; controls Beirut Washington Post
Victory In Two Weeks, Obama Says National Post
US elections: Barack Obama to declare victory Telegraph.co.uk
McCain Toasts Clinton, Obama TIME
Clinton: Playing the race card? MSNBC
What went wrong for Clinton? AFP
Clinton dismisses calls to drop out Detroit Free Press
Painful period for Clinton campaign MSNBC I could not find an objective Democrat who did not think the race was over ....... I think it’s a painful period for the Clinton campaign. She has fought a very energetic race, but the math just isn’t there. ....... Hillary Clinton said, “Whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me and in independents I was running even with him and doing even better with Democratic-leaning independents I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on.” ........ It’s unusual for a candidate to be using words like “whites.” ...... John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan and former President George Bush. ....... Sen. Chris Dodd, a former DNC chairman who supports Barack Obama and Terry McAuliffe who supports Hillary Clinton.
Clinton, Obama hesitate to build "Dream Ticket" Newsday chatter of a joint ticket with Obama on the top was making the rounds of Democratic power circles, the media and in the two campaigns themselves. ........ top Clinton aides were eager to discuss a peace treaty contingent on the joint ticket. ....... neither candidate may have a choice ..... Harold Ford, head of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council ...... the difficulties of Hillary Clinton playing second banana - and her husband playing third. ...... She's a true Democratic star, one of the world's most famous women. ...... They would reunify two halves of a party split by a divisive primary. ..... It wouldn't be change vs. experience, it would be change and experience.

What's Taboo for Senator Obama? ABC News The competitive senator quickly got into the game, cheering on staff members, handing out high fives to his team, and checking the score religiously after each turn........ jokingly suggesting he'd cut off access to the reporter acting as his Taboo referee. .... While Obama was trying to get his staff to guess the word "revolution" he said, "Thomas Jefferson called for this every now and then." ..... One reporter, trying to get the team to guess the word "California," used Senator Obama as an example, "This is where Senator Obama said his bitter comments" ....... the Obama campaign beat the press in two games, (25-17, and 20-18). ...... "And you guys are the wordsmiths?" Obama said ribbing the press for their poor showing as he returned to his cabin at the front of the plane.

Obama signaling a VP slot for Hillary? Hot Air, USA Obama’s generous description of Hillary to Wolf Blitzer ..... the biggest signal yet that they’re prepared to cut a deal ...... Clinton is no longer realistically capable of overtaking him, and the US media were yesterday treating him as the presumptive Democratic nominee. ...... “There’s no doubt that she’s qualified to be vice-president; there’s no doubt she’s qualified to be president,” he said. .... “She is tireless, she is smart. She is capable. And so obviously she’d be on anybody’s shortlist to be a potential vice-presidential candidate,” he said. ..... the Democrats don’t have many high-profile options for a Barack Obama running mate, anyway.

Superdelegates shifting toward Obama Christian Science Monitor, USA Obama will soon overtake Senator Clinton on this final frontier, a tipping point that could encourage a cascade of endorsements from holdouts and all but seal the nomination for the Illinois senator. Even so, some superdelegates say they are content to wait out the remaining six contests before placing their bets. ........ the number of undeclared superdelegates – 265 ....... "I want to talk to Senator Clinton. I'd like to know what her strategy is," says Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) of California. "She's my friend and I'm loyal. On the other hand, I don't want to rend the party asunder and so I think in this one the key is really in the strategy and whether the strategy is workable." ........ assurances from her aides that she would not let the nomination fight go all the way to the national convention in August. ....... a final month of hard campaigning ....... "I have been neutral, and out of respect for my supporters, half of whom are for Senator Clinton and half of whom are for Senator Obama, I'm going to stay that way," Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Louisiana Democrat facing a tough reelection battle ...... Obama needs 178 more delegates for the nomination .... Obama took his quest for superdelegates directly to the Capitol late Thursday morning, striding onto the House floor in the middle of a vote and chatting up uncommitted lawmakers.

I Give John McCain Five States

Jupiter And Obama (February 11, 2007)

I give John McCain five states in November. Barack is about to do what Reagan did in 1984, what FDR did after he had been in office two terms already. I was one of those who started out thinking Barack is great but this new kind of politics thing is b.s. I want some fight in me. But whatever Barack has been doing has not only been working, it has been working wonders. I hereby declare myself a student of Barack's new kind of politics, politics of hope, positive politics.

Barack is not just about to win the nomination, he is not just about to win the White House for the Dems, he is not just about to give the Dems a 60 strong majority in the Senate, this dude is about to nothing less than redefine politics itself. This guy is in the process of reinventing the game and I like him for it.

I have been in his presence. It is an almost spiritual feeling. I wondered if that is how Richard Gere felt in the Dalai Lama's presence. (I Am A Buddhist Like Richard Gere)



In The News

Obamamania Hits the House Floor Washington Post Obama was mobbed on the House floor ..... she asked them to come to her and had limited success convincing busy lawmakers to leave the Capitol. Obama showed up on their turf, walking into a packed chamber this morning in the middle of a vote. ...... Rep. Judy Biggert, from Obama's homestate of Illinois, tapped him on the shoulder to say hi. ....... Eventually, Obama escaped, only to be greeted by around 100 Congressional pages waiting in the hallway for a group photo with the Democratic front-runner. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) shrugged off the fuss, noting that "Senators come to our floor all the time. Some attract more attention than others. I'm sure if Sen. Clinton came, she would attract a great deal of attention as well." Hillary Clinton's strategy of last resort Los Angeles Times an unfair attempt to move the goal line. ...... they feared the political damage to the party if Clinton were to succeed in using the party apparatus to take the nomination from Obama ....... Ickes said that seating Florida and Michigan -- and assigning delegates according to the January voting -- was part of a broader strategy to bring Clinton within 100 delegates of Obama.
Obama's got a confident new strategy he's about to try another approach: ignoring her. ....... Obama's pivot reflects a hardening belief in his camp that there are few realistic scenarios under which Clinton can capture the nomination. ....... superdelegates were still breaking for the Illinois senator at a healthy clip ...... Obama already devotes considerable time to McCain at his rallies.
Obama to Declare Win, Come Hill Or High Water FOXNews Obama is looking at May 20 as the end date ...... Obama will win a majority of pledged delegates on May 20. ...... The Michigan DNC has offered a plan to divvy up its delegates, 69-59 ...... Montana and South Dakota on June 3, and McAuliffe said he expects the superdelegates to pledge their allegiances within weeks after that date. ...... headed over to the House side of the congressional campus and received rock-star treatment from pages and lawmakers alike.
Hillary Clinton, Madame Vice President U.S. News & World Report

Looking At White Women: The Search For Vocabulary

These are observations made from Nepal to Kentucky to Indiana to New York City and a few places in between. I hope it feels more on the light side.

First the obvious stuff. I believe in love. I am happy for everyone who can find love. Love is hard to find. Communication is hard enough when people are actually talking. People can go through large tracts of life without feeling the love. Some people go through an entire life without feeling it.

Why two people hook up, only they know. They don't have to explain it to any third person. A relationship is a private thing at the core of it.

But relationships are not islands, and if they are, they float in the social seas.

There is the personal perspective: individuals unique as snowflakes create relationships unique as snowflakes. There is the social perspective: you might still pick the person but society decides who is in the room.

There are short term relationships, there are long term ones, and there are those that last forever.

But here I am going to talk about the cross-cultural, inter-racial stuff. This is really interesting to me because more than 99% of the Nepalis in America are not my ethnicity, and more than 99% of the Indians are not my ethnicity. And there are so very few Nepalis and Indians as it is. And I have a sharply defined individualism, I am big on personal space, and so, all else equal, I think I'd rather go mix. In my world, you start with the person.

But if 99% of the people stick to their own kind, it must be that they make the big decision before they make the small decision. The big decision is to make sure the other person is the same particular cultural, religious, ethnic, racial background as you. And then you make the small decision of looking for shared interests, shared passions. That is my social observation.

My big thing to look for is political consciousness level. The average white person is racist. The average brown person is its mirror image: an internalized racist. In my personal space, I can only entertain the post-ISMs individual types.

But while you go out and about, you meet characters. A lot of them look like white male matter, but not always.

Border Patrol

This is when you might just be looking. Say you just started a conversation with a white woman. The border patrol guy feels a strong urge to verbally slap one or the other or both.

Bodyguard

When you mistake a Ms. 99% for a Ms 1% and hit on her, she knows exactly how to get that intense sense of white belonging. All she has to do is beckon the bodyguard. He will reprimand you.

The Matchmaker

The matchmaker is not really a matchmaker, but rather a bodyguard or border patrol guy, but his ways are different, rather the opposite. Instead of suggesting don't be looking at the white woman, the matchmaker will invade your space and try to hook you up, or invade space to try and "enhance" the relationship. What he is really doing is he is messing things up. The end result is the same as when the border patrol guy might go to work. The matchmaker's goal also is to prevent.

The Why Not Me Guy

You start talking to a white woman, and especially if the why not me guy knows the white woman, the why not me guy will step in. I thought you were taking time off, but if you are looking for a man, I am a man too, why not look at me instead? Why are you talking to this guy? The implication is why look at a nonwhite guy when a white guy is around. The why not me guy is really a border patrol guy, because obviously if the white woman had been into him, she would have talked to him first.

The Why Not Me Gal

Oh, so you are into white women? I am a white woman too. That is the thinking. And some totally random, perhaps unattractive white woman will start hitting on you for no reason other than that she saw you talk to another white woman who perhaps you were interested in.

The why not me gal is the female version of the why not me guy who thinks as long as there are white men available, why is the white woman looking elsewhere?

The Priest

That is usually some white guy with some authority, some social standing, some prestige, some popularity, he is usually older, so he is not exactly romantic competition and is not trying to be, but if the white woman be weak enough, she will fall for him, as in she will fall for the fear, confusion and doubt that he will sow in her mind. She will step back.

Pedestrians

These are the roomful of Mr. and Ms. 99%s. To them the Mr. and Ms. 1% are people from another planet. They are people who have crossed the line.

The pedestrians treat their value system like they treat gravity: it is just there, everyone knows it. If they were strong, they would be more open-minded, so they don't bother the Mr. and Ms. 1%s with backbone, but subject the lesser souls to occasional social indignity.

Ms. Quantum Particle

The Ms. 99% value system goes one way, the Ms. 1% value system goes a different way. It is hard for water to become steam: energy is required. So when the energy level goes down, the steam falls back into the pot as water. It is not unusual for someone to act like Ms. 1% some of the time, and Ms. 99% the rest of the time. It is not possible for Ms. 99% to have ever liked you, but Ms. 1% might have taken a look. The pedestrians shower enormous love on the Ms. 1%s who might finally have found her way and come back into the pot. She is like, wow, this is the love I was missing.

Mr. Right, Ms. Right

More and more people are going inter-racial, cross-cultural. That is the growing trend. Once the right person is found, many of these issues go away in that both recognize it as just another relationship challenge.

Maybe you just not have found the right person yet, it is not about race.

The right person will try and fathom the challenges that come not just with your individual identity but also your collective identity.

How To Handle

Define and claim your space. Communicate well with the person of interest. Once in a while it is okay to issue a verbal slap back of your own. You will be amazed by how well it works.

Perspective

Realize that it is not all about race. If someone rejects you for your race, they just made your task easy. That is NOT the right person for you. Next. But if you have found the right person from a different background, talk about race like you will talk about other relationship issues like contraception perhaps. Communication is the lifeblood.

In The News

GOP Leaders Warn Of Election Disaster CBS News
Newt Gingrich sees the GOP facing deep political peril Los Angeles Times what happened in Louisiana last Saturday. ..... in a special election, a Democrat captured a House seat that had been in the Republican column for more than 30 years ...... unless his party heeds his call, it is "going to suffer decisive losses this November." ........ This defeat follows on the loss of Speaker Hastert's seat in Illinois. That seat had been held by a Republican for 76 years with the single exception of the 1974 Watergate election when the Democrats held it for one term. That same seat had been carried by President Bush 55-44% in 2004. ....... has been below 40% job approval since December 2006, the longest such period for any president in the history of polling ........ a full 81 percent of Americans believe the economy is on the wrong track. ......... a sign of how much McCain is a non-traditional Republican that he is sustaining his personal popularity despite his party's collapse. ......... Americans now believe that Democrats can handle the deficit better (52 to 31), taxes better (48 to 40) and even terrorism better (44 to 37). ........ This is a catastrophic collapse of trust in Republicans built up over three generations on the deficit, two generations on taxes, and two generations on national security. ....... If we implemented a space-based GPS-style air traffic system we would get 40% more air travel with one-half the bureaucrats. The union has stopped 200,000,000 passengers from enjoying more reliable air travel to protect 7,000 obsolete jobs.
Most Labour supporters want Brown to quit: poll AFP
China-India Rivalry Possible in African Telecom Deal New York Times
Google in driver's seat after Microsoft-Yahoo bust Reuters
Gates says Microsoft to pursue 'independent strategy' Financial Post
WiMax: The dream Internet is coming Chicago Tribune
‘I’m not being paid to blog’: Bachchan Mid-Day Mumbai the self-confessed not-net-savvy Big B has been pouring out his thoughts daily on bigadda.com
Big B's website to be ready soon Press Trust of India Amitabh Bachchan, who has taken to blogging in a big way
Thurman’s Pursuer Is Found Guilty New York Times
Jury in New York City convicts fan of stalking Uma Thurman The Associated Press

McGovern, former Clinton backer, endorses Obama Washington Post
Pundits Declare the Race Over New York Times
Nepal's king to keep royal rights at Indian Hindu temple The Associated Press
India Test-Fires Nuclear-Capable, Surface-to-Surface Missile Bloomberg
Russia's Medvedev takes power, pledges freedom Reuters
Aid arriving in cyclone-hit Burma BBC News
Burmese prisoners 'executed after cyclone hit' Telegraph.co.uk
Burma death toll 'likely to hit 80000' ABC Online
Time for Clinton To Quit? Washington Post
Clinton's dream all but over Sydney Morning Herald
Obama, Clinton each get a win, but his delegate lead widens Christian Science Monitor
Obama Campaign Cites Delegate Math; Touts "Clear Path" To Nomination AHN
Republicans Give Mixed Reasons for Obama Votes Washington Post
Exclusive: Hillary will make Indo-US ties stronger Rediff
Clinton sets new finish line for Democratic nomination AFP Clinton insisted that the Michigan and Florida presidential primaries, which were voided over an internal party row, must be reinstated ..... "It's 2209," she said

Obama in striking distance of nomination as Clinton loans herself ... Hindu, India a decisive win in North Carolina and a near miss in Indiana ..... prolonged contest appeared to be nearing its climax, with Obama, a 46-year-old first-term senator, now less than 200 delegates short ...... West Virginia next week, followed by Kentucky and Oregon. ..... she had again loaned herself money, this time $6.4 million (euro4.12 million) in the past month. ..... Clinton had loaned herself $5 million in January. ...... it was time for the 270 remaining unaligned superdelegates _ party officials who are free to vote as they chose _ to take sides and settle the race. ........ Obama winning 56 percent of the vote to Clinton's 42 percent ...... In Indiana, she eked out a win with a margin of 51 percent to 49 percent ..... his delegate total reached 1,840.5 .... only 217 delegates at stake in the remaining contests ...... The protracted and often bitter nature of the race has hardened divisions in the party, according to exit polls from the two states. A solid majority of each candidate's supporters said they would not be satisfied if the other candidate wins the nomination. ....... Fully one-third of Clinton's supporters in Indiana and North Carolina went beyond mere dissatisfaction to say they would vote for McCain instead of Obama if that is the choice in the fall. ....... In both states, Clinton won six in 10 white votes while Obama got nine in 10 black votes ..... West Virginia, with 28 delegates on May 13; Oregon with 52 and Kentucky with 51 a week later; Puerto Rico with 55 delegates on June 1, and Montana with 16 and South Dakota with 15 on June 3.

Obama wins most delegates in Tuesday's primaries The Associated Press just 184.5 delegates shy ...... Obama has a 167-delegate lead among pledged delegates. ..... Clinton leads in superdelegate endorsements, 270.5 to 256, though Obama has been chipping away