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Monday: Hillary, Gerry, and No Limits

Posted: March 28, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Hillary Clinton: Her Campaign for All of Us, morning reads, Women's Rights | Tags: , , , , , , , , |72 Comments

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appears during a pre-taping of "Face the Nation" to discuss the latest developments in Libya, Syria and the Middle East, in Washington March 26, 2011. (Reuters)

Hey all. Wonk the Vote here filling in with some Monday Reads for Kat while she rests up. Get well soon, Kat! We’re all thinking of you and sending you healing thoughts.

Alright news junkies, let’s get this morning roundup started.

Hillary on the Sunday Shows

  • Yesterday Hillary did a bunch of joint interviews with Robert Gates on the Sunday morning shows, basically doing all the leg work for Obama’s speech tonight. If you missed the Clinton-Gates interviews and would like to judge for yourself, Stacy at SecyClintonBlog has all the transcripts and videos up here.
  • I’ll let the headlines do the summarizing:

NYT: Clinton and Gates Defend Mission in Libya.

Huffpo/AP: Clinton, Gates: Libya Operation Could Last Months.

David Gregory: Clinton and Gates try to clarify U.S. involvement in Libya.

CBS News: Clinton: No military action in Syria for now.

Jake Tapper’s Political Punch: Clinton Cites Rwanda, Bosnia in Rationale for Libya Intervention. From the link:

In an interview with ABC News’ Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper on “This Week,” Clinton said that the United Nations-backed military intervention in Libya “is a watershed moment in international decision making. We learned a lot in the 1990s. We saw what happened in Rwanda. It took a long time in the Balkans, in Kosovo to deal with a tyrant. But I think in what has happened since March 1st, and we’re not even done with the month, demonstrates really remarkable leadership.”

[…]

In an interview on “This Week” in December, 2007, Clinton told George Stephanopoulos that she urged President Clinton to intervene in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide there.Then-Senator Clinton said, “I believe that our government failed. … I think that for me it was one of the most poignant and difficult experiences when I met with Rwandan refugees in Kampala, Uganda, shortly after the genocide ended and I personally apologized to women whose arms had been hacked off who had seen their husbands and children murdered before their very eyes and were at the bottom of piles of bodies, and then when I was able to go to Rwanda and be part of expressing our deep regrets because we didn’t speak out adequately enough and we certainly didn’t take action,” she told Stephanopoulos.

Hillary, on the passing of Gerry:

  • At the end of the Clinton-Gates appearance on Meet the Press, David Gregory played the “Ms. Ferraro, could you push the nuclear button” clip and asked Hillary to react to it. Here’s what Hill had to say (scroll to the end to find this in the transcript at the link):

SECRETARY CLINTON: It just makes me smile because she was an extraordinary pioneer, she was a path-breaker, she was everything that – now the commentators will say an icon, a legend. But she was down to earth, she was just as personal a friend as you could have, she was one of my fiercest defenders and most staunch supporters, she had a great family that she cherished and stood up for in every way.

And she went before many women to a political height that is very, very difficult still, and she navigated it with great grace and grit, and I think we owe her a lot. And I’ll certainly think about her every day, and thanks for asking me to reflect on it briefly, because she was a wonderful person.

“Gerry Ferraro was one of a kind — tough, brilliant, and never afraid to speak her mind or stand up for what she believed in — a New York icon and a true American original. She was a champion for women and children and for the idea that there should be no limits on what every American can achieve. The daughter of an Italian immigrant family, she rose to become the first woman ever nominated to the national ticket by a major political party. She paved the way for a generation of female leaders and put the first cracks in America’s political glass ceiling. She believed passionately that politics and public service was about making a difference for the people she represented as a congresswoman and Ambassador.

For us, Gerry was above all a friend and companion. From the rough-and-tumble of political campaigns to the important work of international diplomacy, we were honored to have her by our side. She was a tireless voice for human rights and helped lead the American delegation to the landmark Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. Through it all, she was a loyal friend, trusted confidante, and valued colleague.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Gerry’s husband John, her children and grandchildren, and their entire family.”

(Note the use of Hillary’s trademark “No Limits” in the statement. There’s no higher compliment from Hill than that.)

Remembering Gerry from Queens

  • If you haven’t read Stacy’s tribute to Geraldine Ferraro yet, it’s by far my favorite. I was barely three years old when Mondale picked Ferraro. Stacy’s post gave me a sense of “meeting” Ferraro in the way that she was introduced to many of you in 1984.

Hillary Clinton’s State Department

Europe

Gulf of Mexico

Louisiana officials were confounded last weekend when a thin oil slick washed up on around 30 miles of Gulf shoreline. Initial tests sought to determine whether it might have been residual oil left over from last April’s massive Deepwater Horizon spill, but it turns out that yet another offshore drilling accident may have occurred. Tests matched the oil with crude that Houston-based Anglo-Suisse Offshore Partners had reported spilling from one of its wells. The latest accident comes at a bad time for federal regulators, who have just approved four new permits for deepwater drilling in the Gulf — not to mention Gulf fishermen and residents.

MENA region

First, from NY Mag’s roundup… Five Men [allegedly] Arrested in Connection to Libyan Rape Allegations.

LA Times… Libyan woman who alleged rape remains missing:

The whereabouts of a woman who was taken away by security officials while making allegations of rape to Western journalists are unknown. A government official says she is a prostitute and that an inquiry is underway.

Nicholas Kristof, via twitter:

The heroic Libyan woman #EmanalObeidi turns out to be a law graduate, age 29, seized at checkpoint http://bit.ly/fNp4Nf

  • Speaking of Nick Kristof, he has an important piece out about the battle for human rights in Egypt…what Kristof calls Freedom’s Painful Price. He calls attention to the torture, humiliation, and degradation that the women protesters of Egypt are facing…the horrifying circumstance of virginity tests and calling women prostitutes to scare them into silence and submission. Kristof concludes:

The lesson may be that revolution is not a moment but a process, a gritty contest of wills that unfolds painstakingly long after the celebrations have died and the television lights have dimmed.

Previewing Obama’s Week-Late, Leadership-Short Speech Tonight

The speech from the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., will be his first major attempt to explain his thinking.

He offered a preview in his weekly address on Saturday, saying that the U.S. should not and cannot intervene every time there is a crisis somewhere in the world.

But Obama said, “When someone like Gadhafi threatens a bloodbath that could destabilize an entire region, and when the international community is prepared to come together to save many thousands of lives — then it’s in our national interest to act.”

President Obama plans a Monday evening address with an increasingly common goal, to sell the American public on an increasingly unpopular war. But while those previous speeches were about the decade-long Afghan War, the Monday speech will be about the new war in Libya.

[…]

President Obama’s effort to sell the American public on support for a third major war will be complicated by admissions from top officials that the new war isn’t even a vital American interest in their eyes.

So what’s on your blogging list today?

72 Comments on “Monday: Hillary, Gerry, and No Limits”

  1. bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
    March 28, 2011 at 7:01 am

    In an interview on “This Week” in December, 2007, Clinton told George Stephanopoulos that she urged President Clinton to intervene in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide there.Then-Senator Clinton said, “I believe that our government failed. … I think that for me it was one of the most poignant and difficult experiences when I met with Rwandan refugees in Kampala, Uganda, shortly after the genocide ended and I personally apologized to women whose arms had been hacked off who had seen their husbands and children murdered before their very eyes and were at the bottom of piles of bodies, and then when I was able to go to Rwanda and be part of expressing our deep regrets because we didn’t speak out adequately enough and we certainly didn’t take action,”

    Wow. I continue to believe that for once President Obama did the right thing in Libya. I’m glad Hillary convinced him to do it, and I’ll stand strong with her on this one.

    Thanks for a great roundup, Wonk. Best wishes to Dakinikat! I’m hoping the doctors find the right antibiotic today.

    • minkoffminx's avatar Minkoff Minx says:
      March 28, 2011 at 11:15 am

      I continue to believe that for once President Obama did the right thing in Libya. I’m glad Hillary convinced him to do it, and I’ll stand strong with her on this one.

      I feel the same way BB.

      • votermom's avatar votermom says:
        March 28, 2011 at 12:37 pm

        It would have been better if BO had acted earlier, as Hillary urged him too, while the rebels had the upper hand and Q’s forces were still in disarray. But I guess better late than never.
        I congratulate Hillary for finally pounding some sense into his thick skull, though. Even if it took like a hundred “I will not run” Shermanesque statements from her to finally convince BO that she wasn’t urging action in Libya as part of some complicated 2012 primary challenge plot.

      • Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)'s avatar Wonk the Vote says:
        March 28, 2011 at 1:22 pm

        I think where Obama has been weak is building and communicating the case for going into Libya, when there was (and is) a very valid and persuasive one to be made. Also he shouldn’t have been sightseeing in Rio de Janeiro… it’s sad that even when he may very well be doing the right thing, he doesn’t know to communicate that.

        • minkoffminx's avatar Minkoff Minx says:
          March 28, 2011 at 1:32 pm

          All the hype about Obama being a great communicator…I always thought he was far from that. I saw on Memeorandum that Bill Ayers has come out and said that he wrote Dreams of my Father. And he says some “hack” wrote the Audacity of Hope. (Over at American Thinker. I won’t link to it.) You are right Wonk, it is sad that he can’t communicate or have a dialogue with the people. Unless it is scripted for him and up on the teleprompters he is completely unable to connect. (And even with his beloved teleprompters, he still can’t communicate anything substantial.)

      • Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)'s avatar Wonk the Vote says:
        March 28, 2011 at 1:45 pm

        “I saw on Memeorandum that Bill Ayers has come out and said that he wrote Dreams of my Father.”

        I’d be really wary of that… it’s coming from Jack Cashill. He’s the conspiracy nut who started the charge that Ayers wrote Obama’s book. Cashill has written all kinds of garbage about the Clintons too.

        Awhile back Ayers had similarly “confirmed” he was Obama’s ghostwriter and all the wingnut blogs went berserk. Ayers likes to yank their chains. He’s still the same guy who said “guilty as sin, free as a bird, it’s a great country.” He’s got kind of a sick sense of humor, imho.

      • Pilgrim's avatar Pilgrim says:
        March 28, 2011 at 3:09 pm

        As Wonk suggests, BO sure ain’t no great communicator. What a stumblebum. He can wax quite eloquent in front of a teleprompter when the subject is himself. Otherwise, not so much.

  2. bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
    March 28, 2011 at 7:05 am

    NPR reported this morning that radioactive iodine from the Fukushima plant has been found in rainwater in Boston. Officials claim there is no danger, but they are testing all the resevoirs that provide drinking water for the state of Massachusetts.

    • Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)'s avatar Wonk the Vote says:
      March 28, 2011 at 1:17 pm

      rainwater in Boston?! Wow.

      • WomanVoter's avatar WomanVoter says:
        March 28, 2011 at 8:47 pm

        I won’t say publicly what I e-mailed you, but three cities, in a matter of minutes (what I sent in that photo), and yes, many of us freaked out (@3am in the darn morning)! No, joke, that stuff can cause the the temperature to drop, and yes, many in private are saying what we are thinking; that if more problems happen, we will be right in the path again.

  3. RSM's avatar RSM says:
    March 28, 2011 at 7:09 am

    Thanks for the great links!

    A couple of other goodies:

    Yves Smith just put up a really good piece about the proposed mortgage-abuse settlement, titled The Sandbagging of Elizabeth Warren (and 49 State Attorneys General)”

    I really enjoyed this bit:

    Recall the Team Obama modus operandi: getting something done, no matter how lame, compromised, or even counterproductive it is, is considered to progress because it presumably can be swaddled in enough propaganda to be made attractive to a presumed to be chump public.

    And for lighter fare, here’s a hilarious reimagining of TV’s “The Wire” as a work of Victorian serial fiction, by Joy Delyria and Sean Michael Robinson:

    “When It’s Not Your Turn”: The Quintessentially Victorian Vision of Ogden’s “The Wire”

    • Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)'s avatar Wonk the Vote says:
      March 28, 2011 at 1:15 pm

      RSM, thank you for the Yves link. The “sandbagging of Liz Warren” … Another “‘nobody’ could have predicted” moment…that all us nobodies predicted.

  4. bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
    March 28, 2011 at 7:13 am

    From Kristof’s link, Eman El Obeidi’s cousin:

    Mariam: I was very surprised. I was surprised and not surprised. Surprised that I saw my cousin on TV. And i wasn’t surprised cause this is what Muammer does. Its not strange to him (to order rape). Tomorrow you (journalists) will fill pages, books, magazines, walls and TVs, and maybe you (journalists will be able to talk for a full year about his (Gaddafi’s) cruelty. This is Muammer Gaddafi and he will never change. This is nothing new (to Libyans).

    http://feb17.info/general/video-eman-el-obeidis-cousin-speaks-out-translated/

  5. bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
    March 28, 2011 at 8:14 am

    Eman al-Obeidi’s Rape Accusations Against Gaddafi’s Regime

    The Libyan government said late Sunday that Eman al-Obeidi, the woman who burst into a Tripoli hotel and tried to tell foreign journalists about being raped by Gaddafi’s men, has been released. But no one who knows al-Obeidi has heard from her. Eliza Griswold explains why the case may reveal brutal new war crimes against Libya’s women.

    The details of Eman al-Obeidi’s whereabouts grew murkier early Monday, after a Libyan government spokesman claimed she was released from custody and with her sister, yet no one offered proof of her safe return. Since Saturday, the alleged victim of a brutal gang rape at the hands of Muammar Gaddafi’s men has become the new face to the war raging in Libya.

    • minkoffminx's avatar Minkoff Minx says:
      March 28, 2011 at 12:45 pm

      BB I just saw this in my reader:

      The Maddow Blog – Where is Iman al-Obeidi?

      It took almost an hour for Ms. al-Obeidi to be dragged from the hotel and shoved into a car, which quickly sped away. Where she is now remains of some debate. After they deeming her alternately a “drunk” and “a prostitute” who was possibly mentally challenged and refused medical help, the Libyan government claimed one day later that she was freed and staying with her sister. Ms. al-Obeidi’s parents countered those claims, saying that their daughter is a lawyer and that she is still being held in Colonel Khaddafy’s compound in Tripoli. As petitions and Facebook pages emerged almost immediately demanding her release, a protest in Ms. al-Obeidi’s hometown of Tobruk erupted yesterday in support of her.

      That shaming and silencing follow accusations of sexual assault is nothing new — either in Libya or elsewhere. In advance of President Obama’s televised remarks on Libya this evening, it’ll be interesting to see whether this latest, very public instance of it affects both the conflict itself and how it is covered. Protecting Libyan civilians from state violence has been used as a rationale for the military intervention. What Ms. al-Obeidi is alleging is violence, too.

  6. dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:
    March 28, 2011 at 9:29 am

    Thanks Wonk! I’m still in hospital and they’ve given my 4 more IV bags of antibiotics today so far. I still look like I went a few rounds with Mike Tyson. My face is so swollen that I’m unrecognizable. I’m glad I have the computer with me. I had brought it along so Emily could use it to study while we were sitting in the ER. Now it’s my only connection to reality.

    • minkoffminx's avatar Minkoff Minx says:
      March 28, 2011 at 11:11 am

      I am glad you have a connection to the outside world. Being in the hospital like that can make you lose track of any reality. I was in the hospital, high risk floor, 7 months straight with my son and 5 months straight with my daughter. No computer and only the local TV channels to amuse me. It was awful. It was during the time of Princess Di’s death and then Clinton’s Lewinsky mess. Ugh…

      Please keep us up to date Kat, I am so worried about you.

      • dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:
        March 28, 2011 at 12:44 pm

        I just got visited by the cutters who, of course, cut. Of course, lunch followed five minutes late with a huge chunk of red velvet cake that I would love to eat under normal circumstances. I’m going to have to hide it away and eat it whenever because right now, half my face is numb, I taste nasty numbing stuff, and I have no appetite.

      • minkoffminx's avatar Minkoff Minx says:
        March 28, 2011 at 12:48 pm

        I hope that draining the fluid helps though…I feel terrible about this.

      • votermom's avatar votermom says:
        March 28, 2011 at 12:59 pm

        Maybe some yogurt drinks would be ok for you? They’re supposed to be full of the good bacteria that are getting collaterally killed by antibiotics, and they are easy to get down…

    • votermom's avatar votermom says:
      March 28, 2011 at 12:28 pm

      Dak, I sure hope you feel better soon!
      (very gentle hugs)

    • minkoffminx's avatar Minkoff Minx says:
      March 28, 2011 at 12:41 pm

      Kat, I just saw this:

      BP Slick: Mother of 6 WALKS to Washingto DC from New Orleans La.

      More specifically:

      People are sick with unexplained illnesses like chemically induced flu and lesions that look and act like Staph infection but antibiotics used on Staph will not work on their sores. There are many reported cases of respiratory distress among fishermen and vessel of opportunity workers used in the cleanup and multiple rounds of steroids to no avail. People all over the coast that have tested high for Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) VOCs are dangerous forms of gases and heavy metals that accumulate in the blood stream causing a wide variety of illnesses including cancer, none of them good!

      • dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:
        March 28, 2011 at 12:49 pm

        I’ve read about that before. I don’t think I’m close enough to the Gulf to be impacted but I’m watching it all. I’ve quit eating seafood from the Gulf.

        • minkoffminx's avatar Minkoff Minx says:
          March 28, 2011 at 1:09 pm

          It is just strange how what that post describes, about flu like symptoms and staph infections and that the antibiotics not working, seems like what you are experiencing.

      • Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)'s avatar Wonk the Vote says:
        March 28, 2011 at 1:09 pm

        Kat, I hope and pray you’re too far to have been impacted. That is very alarming that it is happening to others. Our public and private institutions seem to be involved in one big gigantic coverup of profit being put before people again and again and… ugh.

      • dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:
        March 28, 2011 at 2:43 pm

        The ER doctor said MRSA was on like 95% of the people here. If this stuff comes recurring on people and they keep using antibiotics, makes you wonder how long before it outgrows what they throw at it now. Probably why Obama was talking about tasking university researchers with finding new antibiotics and not relying on Big Pharma who is more interested in curing erectile dysfunction and wrinkles.

      • WomanVoter's avatar WomanVoter says:
        March 28, 2011 at 8:52 pm

        Dak,

        Get well soon, sending lots of good thoughts your way. 🙂

    • TheRock's avatar TheRock says:
      March 28, 2011 at 4:40 pm

      Get better!! The hospital is no place for an economist!! 😉

      Hillary 2012

      • dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:
        March 28, 2011 at 5:00 pm

        You know it!! I can’t get any peace and quiet!! I’m used to living in my own private library land. Not used to all these people, all this TV noise, and all the fuss!

  7. dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:
    March 28, 2011 at 9:46 am

    I wrote about the WATB trust fund babies awhile ago. Glenzilla has an article up today on them and a link to a corresponding interview with the Kochs and others who feel they are being beat up on by every one. You may want to check out the pathos.

    http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2011/03/27/koch

    The Koch brothers insist that Obama has antibusiness and Marxist tendencies despite all evidence to the contrary:

    Since Obama was inaugurated, the Dow Jones has increased more than 50% — from 8,000 to more than 12,000; the wealthiest recieved a massive tax cut; the top marginal tax rate was three times less than during the Eisenhower years and substantially lower than during the Reagan years; income and wealth inequality are so vast and rising that it is easily at Third World levels; meanwhile, “the share of U.S. taxes paid by corporations has fallen from 30 percent of federal revenue in the 1950s to 6.6 percent in 2009.” During this same time period, the unemployment rate has increased from 7.7% to 8.9%; millions of Americans have had their homes foreclosed; and the number of Americans living below the poverty line increased by many millions, the largest number since the statistic has been recorded. Can you smell Obama’s radical egalitarianism and Marxist anti-business hatred yet?

  8. bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
    March 28, 2011 at 10:15 am

    Dems caving to Repubs in budget battle.

    http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_03/028655.php

    • dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:
      March 28, 2011 at 10:20 am

      When don’t they cave and on what won’t they cave? Ridiculous!

      • minkoffminx's avatar Minkoff Minx says:
        March 28, 2011 at 11:04 am

        I know, this is crazy.

      • madamab's avatar madamab says:
        March 28, 2011 at 11:39 am

        Doesn’t “caving” imply they actually feel differently about these issues than the Repubs? Sorry to be bitter, but I just see no evidence that the Dems are any more caring about working people than the Repubs. I really think that the only recognizable Dems now (other than Hillary) are a few House Reps and some (like the Wisconsin 14) at the State level. The rest have been bought and sold to the highest bidder. Makes one miss Shirley Chisholm (“Unbought and Unbossed”), Geraldine Ferraro and Ann Richards, to name just a few.

        I am so sorry to hear about your infection! How awful. It sounds like a traumatic and stubborn one to cure. Please get better soon! I’m glad you at least have the computer to keep you connected.

      • Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)'s avatar Wonk the Vote says:
        March 28, 2011 at 1:27 pm

        madamab @ 11:39… the “caving” is by design.

    • minkoffminx's avatar Minkoff Minx says:
      March 28, 2011 at 11:46 am

      More on that:

      Democrats Will Offer Additional $20 Billion in Budget Cuts | FDL News Desk

      I feel like US fiscal policy is trapped on some kind of treadmill. Democrats offer some level of budget cuts for the current fiscal year, Republicans reject anything less than what they’ve proposed, and then they put together a short-term stopgap with all of the Democrats’ cuts. The Democrats wind up agreeing, and the whole negotiation starts over again, with Democrats moving closer to the Republican position by offering yet more cuts.

      Now we have the third offer from the Democrats, with $10 billion in cuts already enacted. They plan to offer $20 billion more.

      Read the entire link, Dayen goes on to explain just how this will hurt…

    • Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)'s avatar Wonk the Vote says:
      March 28, 2011 at 1:26 pm

      “Dems caving to Repubs in budget battle.”

      In other news… water… still pretty wet.

  9. minkoffminx's avatar Minkoff Minx says:
    March 28, 2011 at 11:02 am

    They have found plutonium in the soil around the Fukushima plant:

    Plutonium detected in soil at Fukushima nuke plant | Kyodo News

    This is the bit that gets me:

    Plutonium has been detected in soil at five locations at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Monday.

    The operator of the nuclear complex said that the plutonium is believed to have been discharged from nuclear fuel at the plant, which was damaged by the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

    While noting that the concentration level does not pose a risk to human health, the utility firm said it will strengthen monitoring on the environment in and around the nuclear plant.

    Oh, so now they are going to do more monitoring on the environment? This is just like BP and the Gulf.

  10. dee's avatar dee says:
    March 28, 2011 at 11:41 am

    I thought there was no safe level of plutonium..anyone know?

    • minkoffminx's avatar Minkoff Minx says:
      March 28, 2011 at 11:47 am

      I thought the same thing…just like there is no “temporary” meltdown. Once the thing goes into a meltdown, you can’t stop it.

      Like dee says, anyone know?

      • bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
        March 28, 2011 at 12:10 pm

        They keep telling us there’s no risk to human health. I call that an example of the Big Lie.

        They just keep repeating it, in hopes that we’ll believe them.

  11. bostonboomer's avatar bostonboomer says:
    March 28, 2011 at 12:11 pm

    From Minx’s link:

    Meanwhile, high levels of radiation exceeding 1,000 millisieverts per hour have been detected in water in a trench outside the No. 2 reactor’s building at the nuclear plant, with the contaminated water suspected to have come from the reactor’s core, where fuel rods have partially melted, authorities said Monday.

    The government’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said the electric power company, known as TEPCO, is expected to pump out similarly highly contaminated water that has been building up in the basement of the No. 2 reactor’s turbine building, which is connected to the trench, to eventually remove the water.

    Does anyone know what they are doing with this water after they get it out of the reactors?

  12. minkoffminx's avatar Minkoff Minx says:
    March 28, 2011 at 1:06 pm

    A few more articles to link to, and yes it is about PLUBs…every day it is always something new. Check out the billboard picture…

    Obama Featured On Chicago Anti-Abortion Billboards Targeting Black South Siders

    An anti-abortion group behind a controversial New York billboard targeting African Americans is now taking its message to the South Side of Chicago, in a billboard targeting supporters of President Obama.

    Life Always is expected to unveil billboards featuring Obama’s face and the words “Every 21 minutes, our next possible leader is aborted” on Tuesday at 11 a.m. The first billboard will be near an empty lot at 5812 S. State Street, according to a press release from Life Always.

    On women in MENA:

    Women Senators’ Resolution Calling for Renewed Focus on Women’s Rights in North Africa and the Middle East

    Press Statement
    Hillary Rodham Clinton
    Secretary of State
    Washington, DC
    March 28, 2011

    I thank Senator Snowe and all the women Senators for shining a spotlight on the critical role women continue to play in the dramatic events sweeping North Africa and the Middle East. I fully agree that women must be included in every aspect of political and institutional reform, because we know that no government can succeed if half its population is excluded from the process. This resolution underscores our current efforts to build capacity for good governance, allow all citizens to participate, and ensure that the human rights of all, including those of women, are respected. The U.S. State Department will continue to work with Congress as we together stand in support of the women in the region who are demanding that their voices be heard.

    Walmart Supreme Court update:
    Wal-Mart female discrimination Supreme Court case: Discuss with both sides – The Washington Post

    Op-Ed:
    Why is there so much opposition to women’s rights? – Northern Star Online: Opinion

    These proposals seem like outright acts of cruelty and malevolent manipulation, carefully marketed as being for the education of pregnant women.

    Recent conservative measures go beyond abortion. They also seem intent on financially disabling women. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) has proposed a system of tax benefits to heterosexual couples, a move that critics say may include raising the taxes of single parents.

    Such a move would put an unfair burden on single parents, a disproportionate amount of which are women.

    I often wonder how much of this vilification of women derives from world mythologies that have engrained themselves within our social consciousness. In the Greek myths, all evils are released into the world because the first mortal woman, Pandora, disobeys a divine command.

    Likewise, Eve from the Judeo-Christian tradition, having been created from Adam, brings about sin through her disobedience.

    “I think it’s generally a very privileged class of people, typically conservative Christians, who have a certain moral view they find superior to others and so they seek to impose it by law, even though their views may not fit everyone,” said Megan Woiwode, junior political science major and activist with Advocates for Choice.

    And one last link:

    Feminist Wire Daily Newsbriefs: U.S. and Global News Coverage

    AR House Committee Votes to Restrict Abortion Clinics

    The Arkansas Public Health and Safety Committee passed HB 1855, a bill requiring medical facilities that provide over ten non-surgical abortions per month to meet the standards of out-patient surgical centers and obtain a license from the state Health Department. The bill would require clinics to be equipped with defibrillators and ventilators and would impose new restrictions on hallway and parking lot dimensions. The bill will go the Arkansas House for a vote.

    These regulations would impose unnecessary and onerous regulations on abortion providers and restrict women’s access to reproductive health services. Murry Newbern, director of community affairs at Planned Parenthood of Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma, stated, “It’s a burden and it targets us specifically. This is just a tactic that people that want to reduce access to safe, legal abortion use make it more expensive.”

  13. minkoffminx's avatar Minkoff Minx says:
    March 28, 2011 at 1:27 pm

    And one more link before I go pick up the munchkins.

    Ammo factory blast in Yemen kills at least 121 – CNN.com

    At least 121 people were killed and 45 injured in an explosion at an ammunition factory in southern Yemen on Monday, medical sources said.

    The death toll was expected to rise, said the sources, who asked that they not be identified because they are not authorized to speak to the news media. Two of them work at Republican Hospital in Abyan.

    Most of the dead and injured were locals who had been ransacking the factory after it was taken over Sunday by militants, security officials said.

    • Mona (aka Wonk the Vote)'s avatar Wonk the Vote says:
      March 28, 2011 at 1:31 pm

      Sigh. Everywhere death and destruction. I think those dying birds and fish ringing in the new year could have been trying to tell us something.

  14. Sweet Sue's avatar Sweet Sue says:
    March 28, 2011 at 1:44 pm

    Jeez, dakinikat, I’m so sorry that you’re feeling low and in the hospital.
    My best wishes that you’ll get all better, not soon-but now!

    • dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:
      March 28, 2011 at 2:48 pm

      Thx. My doc was just here. She seems to think they’ve got it stopped. They may let me go home tomorrow but I don’t think I’m going to be in shape to do much for awhile.

      • Beata's avatar Beata says:
        March 28, 2011 at 4:27 pm

        Very glad to hear this, Dak.

        Been there, done that, have the scar. Two weeks in the hospital with ten days of vancomycin IV. That drip became my buddy.

        Take it easy. Don’t push yourself.

      • dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:
        March 28, 2011 at 4:59 pm

        Thank you! You are right about that drip. I think I’m on 12 so far today. They’ve added steroids now since they’ve decided the bulge in my cheek is not fluid but inflammation. I can’t image the cost of all of this! I’m just hoping my new insurance plan helps. I haven’t seen so many IV drips since I had cancer.

      • Fannie's avatar Fannie says:
        March 28, 2011 at 5:20 pm

        Dak did you find out you had MRSA while in the hospital? I think that after 1 week to 10 days, you can be tested again, and I thought it was three test seperated by certain amount of days in order to be cleared. Do you have a room to yourself, and everybody having to dress down when they come in?

        I am a firm believer, and use of PDI, super sani-cloth germididal wipes on everything, including keyboards, and doornobs. Take ‘er easy!

      • dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:
        March 28, 2011 at 6:18 pm

        Fannie. They diagnosed me in the ER. I guess it’s really common down here and that almost every one has it the bacteria on them. I’m not in a private room and they’re not really following anything but the basic precautions of cleaning and wiping things.

      • paper doll's avatar paper doll says:
        March 28, 2011 at 6:39 pm

        Dak, I’m glad they think they stopped it. CNN did have a segment on this sort of thing , which is way underreported of course. And the upshot was : we are to tell our doctors to wash their hands…I kid you not …what I would like to know how cut back has hospital housecleaning budgets been generally?I would not be surprised if it has been substantial.

    • Fannie's avatar Fannie says:
      March 28, 2011 at 9:02 pm

      Dak, I would be thinking that before entering your room their should be something posted on the outside wall regarding the need to gown up, mask, etc and or sometype of barrier preventing others from entering with the precautions.

      Ask them for container of wipes, and have your family wipe everything down around your bedrails, clickers, etc. and the door nob going into bathroom.

      Also ask them about the rate of patients with MRSA at that hospital.

      • dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:
        March 28, 2011 at 9:41 pm

        OK. I’m going to have to do the cleaning. Em’s got a midterm tomorrow and won’t be coming home until the weekend. Jean is still caught up in residency 1400 miles away. So, it’s me, the dog, and the cat, and actually my lama is there at the moment. So, I guess I should worry about him. I don’t know if he’s going to leave after I get back. He’s been watching the dog. She’s really old and needs constant attention and walks. She and I aren’t what we used to be.

      • Beata's avatar Beata says:
        March 28, 2011 at 10:12 pm

        I contracted my MRSA from an infected IV while an inpatient at a MAJOR East Coast hospital. My arm swelled to twice its normal size, turned bright red, and was oozing pus. I had a fever of 105-106. The hospital claimed I had “a cold” and refused to give me antibiotics. I had no insurance. I was far from home and alone. My veins were collapsing and my organs were failing. I was dying. I called my brother at home and told him to have me cremated, and my ashes stattered at a place that held special meaning for me. I also told him to sue the hospital. I could barely talk. Then all of a sudden, I had a moment of lucidity and thought to ask the nurse for a patient advocate. The advocate was finally able to convince the hospital to start antibiotics. I think she was aware of a potential lawsuit. I did recover after 10 days of Vancomycin administered through a PIC (sp?) IV. All total, it was two weeks of hell I will never forget.

        Sorry for the long post. Dak’s experience has brought back all the bad memories. It was 10 years ago this month. Maybe my experience will help someone. Ask for a patient advocate if you are not receiving proper treatment. Be a real bitch if necessary. Fight for your own life because no one else will give a damn.

        I hope you will be well soon, Dak. Sending very good thoughts your way. XXXOOO.

      • dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:
        March 28, 2011 at 10:25 pm

        Oh, Beata, how horrible!! This is what comes when corporations put profits before people. People’s basic health is not something that should force this kind of horrible situation. I probably would’ve been dead from cancer 20 years ago if I hadn’t insisted that something was growing inside my vagina and it wasn’t normal and kept going back to doctors telling them to do something about it. When they finally took me serious, I was stage four and inoperable but thankfully it responded to aggressive chemo. When it comes to health care, you really do have to be an aggressive advocate. There are many good doctors and nurses but the system overwhelms them.

  15. foxyladi14's avatar foxyladi14 says:
    March 28, 2011 at 2:53 pm

    get well Dak.hugs.
    this should cheer you up.

    • Pilgrim's avatar Pilgrim says:
      March 28, 2011 at 3:20 pm

      I love her. She doesn’t back down. She never did allow the Obama people to intimidate her.

    • dakinikat's avatar dakinikat says:
      March 28, 2011 at 5:00 pm

      Thx! She was always such a fighter!! Nothing like a good strong woman who knows what’s right and what’s wrong.

    • paper doll's avatar paper doll says:
      March 28, 2011 at 6:44 pm

      She never did allow the Obama people to intimidate her.

      BLESS HER…XXXXXX A dem who fought back

    • paper doll's avatar paper doll says:
      March 28, 2011 at 7:23 pm

      This clip brings it all back just how completely the fix was in…That made 08 a ” historic ” campaign as well. Left and Right elites werejack booting in lock step to install Obama …and a political hit job on Gerry was called for . As Gerry was landing the “Sunday punches”, here, how fast the host said they were out of time ….in an actual Dem party, Gerry would have been venerated…not drummed out in this shameful fashion . And to those dems who say now Obama doesn’t listen to them: cry me a river

    • WomanVoter's avatar WomanVoter says:
      March 28, 2011 at 8:55 pm

      Yup, the Obama campaign was way, way off base and sought to demonize her and ruin her and they didn’t succeed.

  16. TheRock's avatar TheRock says:
    March 28, 2011 at 5:01 pm

    I know I am late to the party (nice roundup, by the way, Wonk! Always love your Hillary sections!) but did anyone see or post this?

    http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Hillary-Clinton-seeks-to-accompany-Obama-to-Ireland-in-May-118732869.html

    She is going to run again. I am the most selfish man in Texas for saying that, but there can be no other explanation. The picture of her receiving so much love and Obumbles getting cordial greetings from the Irish would be a powerful visual for a campaign.

    Funny thing is, I think the Obots are getting scared. Amid all the great things my girl is doing, this is the story that yahoo chooses to highlight.

    Asshats.

    Hillary 2012

    GET WELL SOON DAK!!!!!

  17. Alibe's avatar Alibe says:
    March 28, 2011 at 11:04 pm

    Get well. Make sure they aren’t using the recalled contaminated wipes.
    http://www.fairwarning.org/2011/03/colorado-discovery-led-to-massive-recall-of-tainted-wipes

    Try not to focus on the bad news. Just relax and think positive thoughts. ANd just ask the brand of the wipes.

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