Tom Tancredo Drops Out

Republican presidential hopeful Tom Tancredo has dropped out of the presidential race.

Good riddance!

To all the men in Washington, raise your hand if you've had a gynocological exam?

Didn't think so.

John and Leah both posted great things about the pro-choice/anti-choice debate. The spinning by the Republican machine (by the way, anyone else thoroughly scared by Tancredo, Brownback, and their never-relenting mission to overturn Roe v. Wade?), the arguments over who was anti-choice first, the desire to rule over women's bodies...it all gets me so riled up I can hardly type this. It's hard not to morph into "scary-stereotypical-feminist-crazy" right now, but I can't help it. I just do not understand why people, men particularly, feel they have a right to decide on what I do with my body. I completely agree with John; look, no one wants to have abortions. They're expensive (too expensive if you ask me) and they don't feel so great. However, especially in cases of rape and incest, a woman should have all options on the table.

A really intriguing question, as expounded upon by the ever wonderful Anna Quindlen in last week's Newsweek, is, if abortion is criminalized, then women who have illegal abortions commit a crime, what is the punishment? Do you throw them in jail? If it's murder, do you punish her for 1st degree? And if you did throw her in jail, how long would the sentence be? Quindlen helps illustrate how no one has an answer for this. It's a really interesting read, highly recommended. She finds her questions off this really incredible video at a Libertyville anti-choice demonstration where a man fields these very questions to demonstrators, who, more often than not, don't have answers.

So next time you men out there get a cervical smear or a speculum shoved up your vagina, let me know, and we'll talk.

Potpourri

Hey, the Bahamas don't wait. Poor Congress had to stay in late over the weekend and work. Wah. Anyways, seems like they got a lot done since they passed a buttload of stuff, or versions of stuff, including, but not limited to FISA, Defense Appropriations, and an Energy Bill (House only). To give the rundown, FISA, or the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, would immediately allow the US to start warrantless surveillance of foreign targets, regardless of whether or not that person is communicating with someone in the US. However, it would require the attorney general to note how the info is collected, and the procedures would be subjected to a FISA court later. The Republican version of the bill passed, but all in all, I'm okay with this. Plus, the bill expires in 6 months so they can come back and revise as needed (vacation was calling, it was getting late...) The Energy Bill looks to have a tough fight in the Senate. It has a lot of provisions, some more soporific than others, to tax oil and gas companies to help cough up the funds to pay for alternative energy measures and other programs. We'll see you back on Sept 4 Congress! Damn you and your month long vacation.

Tea with Dr. Strangelove. Republican debate on Sunday, sponsored by ABC News, moderated by the dashingly handsome, charmingly witty, and endearingly intelligent George Stephanopoulos. Oh yeah, the guy is apparently not half bad as a speech writer either. The candidates mostly stayed away from bashing each other, although they all took a jab, more or less, at the Dems. Romney in particular made a er, strange(love) comment about Obama, saying,

"I mean, in one week he went from saying he's going to sit down, you know, for tea, with our enemies, but then he's going to bomb our allies," Romney said. "He's gone from Jane Fonda to Dr. Strangelove in one week." (WaPo)

I will pay someone good money if they can provide a visual of this.

Tancredo also mentioned that he would bomb Islamic holy sites. Holy sites, more like holy shit, that is a terrible idea! I actually agree with Thompson's (that's Tommy) statements,

"Bombing religious artifacts and religious holy sites would do nothing but unify 1 billion Muslims against us."

Let's talk less about bombing people and more about flowers and love and bunnies! Bunnies, people! and Kittens! and Peace! peace kittens!

Gimme some mo' Hagel might join the pres race. He's using the August recess to decide. Of all the Republicans, I probably like him the best. I think the real question is, though, do the Republicans need more nominees? The debate stage only fits so many. Still, I bet Chuck will think about it, decide, declare, run and have hell freeze over before Fred Thompson plans a date to declare (Sept 5 is the actual date, for any who care)

Important Dates?
Aug 4/this Sat was Obama's 46th birthday! Hoorah?
Aug 7/tomorrow AFL-CIO debate for Dems

Also, I'm really excited for this Indiana Jones movie. I'm a big fan of the series, so I'll just plug my ears and go "la la la" to all the bad rap it's eventually going to get.

Don't Be Fooled

The crowd at the NAACP gave Obama a great reception? Oh, please do tell. Hillary received a warm welcome from Emily’s List? No way. Edwards got a standing ovation from the Hairstylists of America? Wow, I’m shocked.

Senator Obama is the first black presidential candidate with a chance to win the nomination (sorry Senator Biden only college kids with no political career are allowed to state this blatant truth.) Am I really supposed to be impressed that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People cheered his “mere presence”? Now if Rich had read past the first paragraph of the New York Times article, he would have read the second sentenced that said, “it was as if Mr. Obama, the only black candidate, enjoyed the home field advantage.” Obama “shined” (according to Rich) not because of his groundbreaking ideas but rather because the crowd had a bit of a bias.

Yet, Obama was not the only attendee to be showered in applause. The article noted that Clinton “struck chords with the crowd” and Tom Tancredo “got an enthusiastic standing ovation just for showing up.” We are getting a bit ahead of ourselves in saying that this was a “clear sign that [Obama] has what it takes” when Tom “I don’t believe in evolution” Tancredo is getting vibrant applause from the same group. Seriously, no one even knows who this guy is. Here’s a picture to hopefully jog your memory.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Tom_Tancredo%2C_official_Congressional_photo.jpg

Furthermore, one must remember that this was NOT a debate. Therefore, this event provided no evidence that Obama can “think on his feet.” Obama has proven from his debates that he is no Cicero and Thursday continues to demonstrate that his only strength is scripted speeches. Let’s not make this out to be more than it is.

Barack Obama Shines at NAACP Forum

The NAACP held their 98th National Convention on Thursday morning, where eight Democratic Presidential candidates, including Sen. Barack Obama, Sen. Hillary Clinton, and John Edwards, were present. Along with the Democrats, one Republican Presidential candidate, Representative Tom Tancredo of Colorado (the only Republican candidate to accept the invitation) took the stage to partake in the forum.

Here are two articles from The Politico and The New York Times that undoubtedly believe Barack Obama stole the show and shined greater than the other candidates:

An excerpt from The Politico:

All the Democrats were in Detroit for the NAACP annual conference. So was one Republican.

Edwards got cheers for linking his poverty tour to race, but Obama, perhaps predictably, was the star.

Now you can read Obama for Obama.

For the full article click here: http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0707/Remainders_Our_guys_should_talk.html

An excerpt from the New York Times:

DETROIT, July 12 — Although the welcome was warm for all the presidential candidates who spoke here Thursday at an N.A.A.C.P. forum, no one else was greeted with as much enthusiasm as Senator Barack Obama, whose mere presence on the stage shot adrenalin through the mostly African-American audience of thousands.

For the full article click here: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/13/us/politics/13dems.html?ref=politics

And...score one for Barack! There are many who feel Obama is unable to think on his feet and produce a positive response. This is a clear sign that he has what it takes.