Our culture's double standard on appearance puts her at a disadvantage.
By Michael Kinsley
March 27, 2008 Taken from LA TIMES
The conversation was about how tiring it must be to run for president, and someone -- a woman -- said that, on top of everything else, Hillary Clinton has to spend an hour and a half getting ready for each day's campaigning.
She didn't mean that Clinton was studying her notes or making sure she knows the name of the mayor of McKeesport, Pa. She meant that the candidate was doing her hair, putting on makeup, deciding what to wear or at least thinking about it even if she has someone to decide for her. And so on. Other women thought an hour and a half seemed longer than necessary, but the bottom offer was 40 minutes. And that's just in the morning. Shorter versions of the morning ritual go on throughout the day.
And how long does it take Barack Obama or even John McCain with his war injuries to shower, shave and put on one of a dozen identical dark blue suits, a white shirt and a red tie? Let's not be completely naive and posit that these men also take a dab of makeup here and there. So let's say 20 minutes.
Any man who has twiddled his thumbs waiting for his wife or opposite-sex partner to get ready to go out should not have been surprised by this. But all the men in this particular conversation were taken aback -- and so were the women, as the reality sunk in. Every day for almost two years, the candidates campaign. The average day is probably 15 to 20 hours. The average amount of sleep could be four hours. Yet, every day, the male candidates can sleep an extra precious half-hour or more -- or spend the time cramming for the day -- simply because our culture doesn't impose the same rules on them about their appearance.
And these really are rules. Sure, there are women who take no more trouble about their appearance than most men do, and men who take more than the typical woman. But a middle-aged woman who is the first of her sex to make a serious run for the presidency is not going to be a pioneer in indifference to looks. One revolution at a time. She has got to look put together, all day, every day.
Clinton doesn't seem especially vain about looks, whereas Obama has dropped hints that he may well be. Nevertheless, if it ever came out that Obama was spending an hour primping every morning, it would hurt him, not help him. Whereas if Clinton were known to spend an hour dressing and primping, no one would be surprised. And if she looked as if she had spent much less than that, it would hurt her.
A year ago, the big dinner-table question was whether it is a bigger disadvantage in running for president to be an African American or a woman. It seemed for a while as if neither one was a particular disadvantage. In fact, the prize for biggest burden of prejudice to be lugging around the primaries went to Mitt Romney for being a Mormon. Cautiously, we were starting to congratulate ourselves on having moved beyond race and sex. Then came the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. and Geraldine Ferraro, and we were plunged into a "conversation about race." Ferraro said that Obama's race might actually be an advantage.
This is implausible. But let's go back to gender: What about his advantage in being a man? And I don't mean anything fancy and psychological. I don't even mean the double standard that allows the media to report on how a female candidate dresses while ignoring this crucial issue regarding male candidates. We'll get past that some day.
But even then, it will take a female candidate longer to get ready to campaign than it will take a man. In most occupations, this 20 minutes doesn't make much difference -- especially compared with the disproportionate time that women still spend housekeeping and child-rearing. Of course, after the election, no one will care if the president is well-coiffed when answering that 3 a.m. phone call. But in a close-fought election campaign, every minute counts. If you figure 20 minutes a day over a year and a half of 14-hour days and six-day weeks, it comes out to an extra two weeks of campaigning or sleep for a male candidate.
This issue goes back to the early days of "women's lib," of course, when opponents of the movement talked about "bra burners" and made crude jokes about unshaved legs. It was considered an advance when it became established that a woman could dress like a woman and still be a business executive or lawyer. And Hillary Clinton, even if she loses, has established beyond all doubt that a woman can be a credible candidate for president. But she'll have to be one who needs even less sleep than her opponent.
Michael Kinsley, a contributing editor to Opinion, is The Times' former editorial page editor. He is also former editor of the New Republic, Slate and Harper's.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
McCain in California
John McCain is campaigning in California with 6 events scheduled in the next few days. I just checked out his website to see what events are open to the public, and unless I am willing to spend $2300 on a preferred ticket, or $1000 just plain unpreferred, to see the "presumptive"(anyone else sick of that word?) republican candidate speak, I'm out of luck. It looks like all of the advertised events are either private ones or fundraisers.
Let's hope that changes and that he will campaign in a democratic way to inform all voters, not just the rich or party-connected ones, about his platform. This is what I so appreciated about Hillary Clinton. She had three appearances in three weeks all at venues open to the public. John Edwards also had one. As well as Mitt Romney. I hope that trend will continue, since it is the only opportunity for some of us to really learn about the candidates.
Here's McCain's California schedule:
http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Calendar/
03/24/2008
La Jolla Finance Luncheon
La Jolla, California
03/24/2008
California Finance Reception, Palm Desert
Palm Desert, CA
03/25/2008
Orange County Fundraising Luncheon
Newport Beach, California
03/25/2008
Los Angeles Finance Reception
Los Angeles, California
03/26/2008
Speech before the Los Angeles World Affairs Council
Los Angeles, California
03/26/2008
Pebble Beach Finance Luncheon
Pebble Beach, CA, Finance Lunch
03/26/2008
San Francisco Finance Reception
San Francisco, CA
Let's hope that changes and that he will campaign in a democratic way to inform all voters, not just the rich or party-connected ones, about his platform. This is what I so appreciated about Hillary Clinton. She had three appearances in three weeks all at venues open to the public. John Edwards also had one. As well as Mitt Romney. I hope that trend will continue, since it is the only opportunity for some of us to really learn about the candidates.
Here's McCain's California schedule:
http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Calendar/
03/24/2008
La Jolla Finance Luncheon
La Jolla, California
03/24/2008
California Finance Reception, Palm Desert
Palm Desert, CA
03/25/2008
Orange County Fundraising Luncheon
Newport Beach, California
03/25/2008
Los Angeles Finance Reception
Los Angeles, California
03/26/2008
Speech before the Los Angeles World Affairs Council
Los Angeles, California
03/26/2008
Pebble Beach Finance Luncheon
Pebble Beach, CA, Finance Lunch
03/26/2008
San Francisco Finance Reception
San Francisco, CA
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Shoddy news spellcheckers
So last week while the Las Lomas project downfall was covered on the news, I noticed that two separate mainstream TV channels kept misspelling Councilman Greig Smith's name. He was one of the vocal city councilmember's who opposed the large-scale development project. I started to think that I may have had it wrong. But no. I know the spelling of his name because I'm a frequent visitor to the City's website and keep abreast of what's going on in the city. I'm disappointed that Los Angeles city news outlets don't even know the correct spelling of the elected officials. And I'm the one without a full-time job.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Why Wright is wrong for Obama - JONAH GOLDBERG
Taken from today's Los Angeles Times OP-ED
The candidate's message of unity is suspect if he doesn't divorce himself from the controversial pastor.
March 18, 2008
Barack Obama will reportedly give a major speech this morning at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, addressing the controversy about his extremist pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.
Obama needs to do two things. First, he needs to make it incandescently clear that Wright doesn't speak for him in any meaningful way. If he won't do that, his campaign is a fraud and he is not qualified to be president.
Second, he needs to explain to black America why Wright's views are so poisonous.
By now, if you've paid any attention at all, you've read the quotes and seen the video clips of Wright at the pulpit. A supporter of Louis Farrakhan, Wright has echoed his view that the U.S. government created AIDS to perpetrate a black genocide. He suggested that America had it coming on 9/11.
His most infamous from-the-pulpit sound bite -- at least to date -- is this from a 2003 sermon: "The government gives [blacks] the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing 'God Bless America.' No, no, no, God damn America!"
Obama and his surrogates are denouncing attempts to link the candidate and the views of his pastor and mentor. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) on "Fox News Sunday," for instance, said, "Guilt by association is not typically American. We've all been around in places where people have given speeches or said things that we've thoroughly objected to, totally objected to."
OK. But even Obama didn't spin it that way. More implausibly, Obama claimed that he'd never heard his mentor say anything of the sort, in public or private.
Obama has been a member of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ for 20 years. Wright baptized Obama's daughters; he officiated at Obama's wedding. The title of Obama's career-making book "The Audacity of Hope" is from a Wright sermon. Wright worked with Obama as a community organizer. Saying you were out back catching a smoke during one sermon or another won't cut it. The issue isn't what Obama sat through, but what he stands for.
Even Wright's tone is poisonous.
Obama righteously deplores "divisiveness." And yet he literally worships at the altar of division. He wants to transcend race, but his black nationalist church and his liberation theology pastor consider race permanent and central issues.
Obama claims that he's a different kind of politician, but his "repudiation" of Wright last week is traditional pol-speak and nothing more. To listen to Obama, you'd think he was the only person in Chicago not to know that his minister is a hatemonger. Either Obama is the worst judge of character in living memory or he's not the man he's been portraying himself as.
Or there's a third option. Perhaps Obama didn't hear Wright's bilious rhetoric because it blended in with the chorus around him. This is the fact that Obama really needs to address if the "Obama movement" is about more than getting the junior senator from Illinois elected.
What does it say that Trinity United Church is the most popular in Obama's old state Senate district, with a membership of 8,500? One of Wright's flock responded to the controversy by telling ABC News, "I wouldn't call [Wright's theology] radical. I call it being black in America." NPR's Michelle Norris explained on "Meet the Press" that Wright's tone, at least, is "not something that is unusual" in black churches.
A Rasmussen poll released Monday found that 29% of blacks surveyed said Wright's comments made them more likely to support Obama, while only 18% said the opposite, and half said Wright's comments would have no effect on them.
That is a symptom of a problem that platitudinous "hope" cannot alone remedy.
A 2005 study by the Rand Corp. and the University of Oregon found that nearly half of African Americans say they believe that HIV is man-made. More than 25% think that it's a government invention, and one in eight say it was created and spread by the CIA. Just over half believe that the government is purposely keeping a cure from reaching the poor.
And please, spare me the rationalization that blacks have reason to be conspiratorial. Doubtless there's truth to that. But that doesn't make the conspiracy theories any more true or any less destructive.
In the 2005 issue of Social Science Quarterly, Sharon Parsons and William Simmons tried to explain why conspiracy theories like these persist in the black community. Part of the answer, they concluded, is that black politicians have no interest in dispelling them. Paging Sen. Obama!
Obama preaches unity. Well, real unity requires real truth-telling and the ability to tell right from wrong, and Wright from right.
I, for one, have no interest in being united with Wright or anyone who insists that America is an evil, racist, damnable nation bent on murdering black people -- and I suspect neither will many general election voters.
Obama's power base is made up of black voters and the upscale left-wingers who condescend to them. Well, it is time he spoke truth to that power. If the eloquent, self-proclaimed truth-teller and would-be first black president can't manage that, he should go straight from would-be to never was.
jgoldberg@latimescolumnists.com
The candidate's message of unity is suspect if he doesn't divorce himself from the controversial pastor.
March 18, 2008
Barack Obama will reportedly give a major speech this morning at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, addressing the controversy about his extremist pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr.
Obama needs to do two things. First, he needs to make it incandescently clear that Wright doesn't speak for him in any meaningful way. If he won't do that, his campaign is a fraud and he is not qualified to be president.
Second, he needs to explain to black America why Wright's views are so poisonous.
By now, if you've paid any attention at all, you've read the quotes and seen the video clips of Wright at the pulpit. A supporter of Louis Farrakhan, Wright has echoed his view that the U.S. government created AIDS to perpetrate a black genocide. He suggested that America had it coming on 9/11.
His most infamous from-the-pulpit sound bite -- at least to date -- is this from a 2003 sermon: "The government gives [blacks] the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing 'God Bless America.' No, no, no, God damn America!"
Obama and his surrogates are denouncing attempts to link the candidate and the views of his pastor and mentor. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) on "Fox News Sunday," for instance, said, "Guilt by association is not typically American. We've all been around in places where people have given speeches or said things that we've thoroughly objected to, totally objected to."
OK. But even Obama didn't spin it that way. More implausibly, Obama claimed that he'd never heard his mentor say anything of the sort, in public or private.
Obama has been a member of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ for 20 years. Wright baptized Obama's daughters; he officiated at Obama's wedding. The title of Obama's career-making book "The Audacity of Hope" is from a Wright sermon. Wright worked with Obama as a community organizer. Saying you were out back catching a smoke during one sermon or another won't cut it. The issue isn't what Obama sat through, but what he stands for.
Even Wright's tone is poisonous.
Obama righteously deplores "divisiveness." And yet he literally worships at the altar of division. He wants to transcend race, but his black nationalist church and his liberation theology pastor consider race permanent and central issues.
Obama claims that he's a different kind of politician, but his "repudiation" of Wright last week is traditional pol-speak and nothing more. To listen to Obama, you'd think he was the only person in Chicago not to know that his minister is a hatemonger. Either Obama is the worst judge of character in living memory or he's not the man he's been portraying himself as.
Or there's a third option. Perhaps Obama didn't hear Wright's bilious rhetoric because it blended in with the chorus around him. This is the fact that Obama really needs to address if the "Obama movement" is about more than getting the junior senator from Illinois elected.
What does it say that Trinity United Church is the most popular in Obama's old state Senate district, with a membership of 8,500? One of Wright's flock responded to the controversy by telling ABC News, "I wouldn't call [Wright's theology] radical. I call it being black in America." NPR's Michelle Norris explained on "Meet the Press" that Wright's tone, at least, is "not something that is unusual" in black churches.
A Rasmussen poll released Monday found that 29% of blacks surveyed said Wright's comments made them more likely to support Obama, while only 18% said the opposite, and half said Wright's comments would have no effect on them.
That is a symptom of a problem that platitudinous "hope" cannot alone remedy.
A 2005 study by the Rand Corp. and the University of Oregon found that nearly half of African Americans say they believe that HIV is man-made. More than 25% think that it's a government invention, and one in eight say it was created and spread by the CIA. Just over half believe that the government is purposely keeping a cure from reaching the poor.
And please, spare me the rationalization that blacks have reason to be conspiratorial. Doubtless there's truth to that. But that doesn't make the conspiracy theories any more true or any less destructive.
In the 2005 issue of Social Science Quarterly, Sharon Parsons and William Simmons tried to explain why conspiracy theories like these persist in the black community. Part of the answer, they concluded, is that black politicians have no interest in dispelling them. Paging Sen. Obama!
Obama preaches unity. Well, real unity requires real truth-telling and the ability to tell right from wrong, and Wright from right.
I, for one, have no interest in being united with Wright or anyone who insists that America is an evil, racist, damnable nation bent on murdering black people -- and I suspect neither will many general election voters.
Obama's power base is made up of black voters and the upscale left-wingers who condescend to them. Well, it is time he spoke truth to that power. If the eloquent, self-proclaimed truth-teller and would-be first black president can't manage that, he should go straight from would-be to never was.
jgoldberg@latimescolumnists.com
Won't you wear a sweater?
I got this email today:
In honor of what would have been Fred Rogers' 80th birthday this Thursday March 20th, Family Communications, the non-profit which he founded, is asking everyone to wear their favorite sweater in tribute to Mr. Rogers' faith in community and togetherness.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVeyLr2fGNA
David Newell, who played "Mr. McFeely" the mailman on The Neighborhood and the Public Relations Director of Family Communications, says the following:
"We're asking everyone everywhere — from Pittsburgh to Paris — to wear their favorite sweater on that day... It doesn't have to have a zipper down the front like the one Mister Rogers wore on the program, it just has to be special to you." You can find out more information at the FCI link below:
http://www.fci.org/NeighborDays/sweater.asp
Please share this with your friends and neighbors.
In honor of what would have been Fred Rogers' 80th birthday this Thursday March 20th, Family Communications, the non-profit which he founded, is asking everyone to wear their favorite sweater in tribute to Mr. Rogers' faith in community and togetherness.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVeyLr2fGNA
David Newell, who played "Mr. McFeely" the mailman on The Neighborhood and the Public Relations Director of Family Communications, says the following:
"We're asking everyone everywhere — from Pittsburgh to Paris — to wear their favorite sweater on that day... It doesn't have to have a zipper down the front like the one Mister Rogers wore on the program, it just has to be special to you." You can find out more information at the FCI link below:
http://www.fci.org/NeighborDays/sweater.asp
Please share this with your friends and neighbors.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
DP/SFV endorses picks for state elections
by Nazbanoo Pahlavi
This week's Sun Community Newspapers www.suncommunitynewspapers.com
The Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley (DP/SFV) drew a large turnout for its executive board meeting at the State Building Auditorium in Van Nuys on March 3.
Fifty-nine voting members representing 22 democratic clubs decided whether to approve the endorsement calendar set forth by the endorsement committee for the California state ballot in June.
Several candidates were present, including 40th Assembly District hopefuls Stuart Waldman, Bob Blumenfield and Laurette Healy. Assembly member Lloyd Levine, who is running for State Senator Sheila Kuehl’s seat in the 23rd district, was also present, as well as Carole Lutness, a candidate in Santa Clarita’s 38th district.
The group voted to pull both Waldman and Levine for further discussion. Recording Secretary Damian Carroll cited Waldman’s longtime involvement with DP/SFV, opposition to the Iraq war and support of independent re-districting as items in his favor.
“There’s a difference between a candidate who has been with the grassroots for a decade and a half and a candidate – a very nice candidate – who frankly introduced himself to us maybe within the last year,” said Carroll.
Bob Blumenfield, an opponent of Waldman’s who is a District Director for Congressman Howard Berman, has already picked up several key endorsements including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Those who spoke against Waldman’s endorsement said it would split the DP/SFV body. “I think for the good of DP/SFV, the best thing we can do is do no endorsement at all,” said Roz Teller.
The motion to endorse Waldman was upheld with a 42-15 vote.
The endorsement of Assembly member Lloyd Levine inspired pointed discussion between his supporters and those of former Assembly member Fran Pavley. “Fran has not been around DP/SFV,” criticized Lyn Klein.
Outspoken opponents to the Levine endorsement were the presidents of the Malibu and Pacific Palisades Democratic Clubs, who cited Pavley’s environmental protection forays as key items in her favor. Levine’s endorsement was upheld with a 42-12 vote.
Eric Bauman, Chair of the Los Angeles County Central Committee of the California Democratic Party, gave an update on the “double bubble” from the February 5 primary election, in which independent and decline-to-state voters needed to punch in a separate bubble when casting Democratic Party ballots.
Bauman said 47,000 additional ballots were counted, with Sen. Hillary Clinton winning 50.1 percent of those votes to Sen. Barack Obama’s 42 percent. Asked whether the results would affect the state’s primary outcome, he said, “We’re checking it out on a congressional district level – it doesn’t look like it.”
Ilene Haber, who will run the national DP/SFV campaign office this fall, stressed the importance of voting in the November general election.
“We have been given a sacred responsibility, and that is not just to represent the top of the democratic ticket, but that is to represent the entire state of California and to run a red-to-blue campaign like this country has never seen,” Haber said.
Members will attend the California Democratic Party Convention in San Jose at the end of March where DP/SFV will vote on the party’s final platform.
This week's Sun Community Newspapers www.suncommunitynewspapers.com
The Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley (DP/SFV) drew a large turnout for its executive board meeting at the State Building Auditorium in Van Nuys on March 3.
Fifty-nine voting members representing 22 democratic clubs decided whether to approve the endorsement calendar set forth by the endorsement committee for the California state ballot in June.
Several candidates were present, including 40th Assembly District hopefuls Stuart Waldman, Bob Blumenfield and Laurette Healy. Assembly member Lloyd Levine, who is running for State Senator Sheila Kuehl’s seat in the 23rd district, was also present, as well as Carole Lutness, a candidate in Santa Clarita’s 38th district.
The group voted to pull both Waldman and Levine for further discussion. Recording Secretary Damian Carroll cited Waldman’s longtime involvement with DP/SFV, opposition to the Iraq war and support of independent re-districting as items in his favor.
“There’s a difference between a candidate who has been with the grassroots for a decade and a half and a candidate – a very nice candidate – who frankly introduced himself to us maybe within the last year,” said Carroll.
Bob Blumenfield, an opponent of Waldman’s who is a District Director for Congressman Howard Berman, has already picked up several key endorsements including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Those who spoke against Waldman’s endorsement said it would split the DP/SFV body. “I think for the good of DP/SFV, the best thing we can do is do no endorsement at all,” said Roz Teller.
The motion to endorse Waldman was upheld with a 42-15 vote.
The endorsement of Assembly member Lloyd Levine inspired pointed discussion between his supporters and those of former Assembly member Fran Pavley. “Fran has not been around DP/SFV,” criticized Lyn Klein.
Outspoken opponents to the Levine endorsement were the presidents of the Malibu and Pacific Palisades Democratic Clubs, who cited Pavley’s environmental protection forays as key items in her favor. Levine’s endorsement was upheld with a 42-12 vote.
Eric Bauman, Chair of the Los Angeles County Central Committee of the California Democratic Party, gave an update on the “double bubble” from the February 5 primary election, in which independent and decline-to-state voters needed to punch in a separate bubble when casting Democratic Party ballots.
Bauman said 47,000 additional ballots were counted, with Sen. Hillary Clinton winning 50.1 percent of those votes to Sen. Barack Obama’s 42 percent. Asked whether the results would affect the state’s primary outcome, he said, “We’re checking it out on a congressional district level – it doesn’t look like it.”
Ilene Haber, who will run the national DP/SFV campaign office this fall, stressed the importance of voting in the November general election.
“We have been given a sacred responsibility, and that is not just to represent the top of the democratic ticket, but that is to represent the entire state of California and to run a red-to-blue campaign like this country has never seen,” Haber said.
Members will attend the California Democratic Party Convention in San Jose at the end of March where DP/SFV will vote on the party’s final platform.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Obama and Schwarzenegger - The artful dodgers
Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep conducted an excellent interview of Senator Obama that airs on NPR today in which he presses on the issue of Michigan and Florida. After Michigan's vote, I remember Obama's comments that Michigan's vote should not be counted, and yet on the program today, he says that he has "constantly" wanted those delegates seated. Really? Because that is not what he said 5 weeks ago. In fact, his tone was pretty unwavering when it came to this. Steve Inskeep asked three, yup, three times whether he would support a re-do. He asked three times because the Senator kept dodging the question. Oh, politicians are such artful dodgers aren’t they?
Listen, what the Democratic Party decided on Michigan and Florida is a moot point- why? Because sometimes it is OK, even noble, to break the rules to bring about real change. I don't agree with those who say rules are rules (rules that, according to Obama, even his six year old could have followed) when those bureaucratic decisions superimpose the voting rights of ordinary people. Are you kidding me? And now, Obama complains that those states don't want to pay for it and that's a reason a do-over should not happen.
Shame on politicians for citing money as a factor in allowing the disenfranchisement of Michigan and Florida voters. This is not a Clinton or Obama thing. This is about those voters and Obama should be fighting to get those voters' voices heard. Now, that would be impressive. That would signify that sometimes achieving change means not following rules - especially when those statues are meant to get states like Iowa and New Hampshire extra exposure.
Hopefully, this political squabbling will soon find it's own detente.
In the meantime, I hope that the media will spare some extra coverage on California's atrocious budget crisis. Teachers have already been laid off . One of my classmates in my weekly Shakespeare class who has been teaching for 20 years, got her slip yesterday. She says that 40 are expected to be laid off in the Beverly Hills Unified District alone which includes only one high school and 5 elementary/junior high schools. I am furious that Governor Schwarzenegger cut the education budget - but then again he is a politican (who better than an actor!) who knows how to spin his words - like when he masterfully dodged accusations of his fuel pollution commuting via private jet almost nightly from his home in Brentwood to the office in Sacramento, because he wants to spend more time with his family (what, the state capital isn't good enough for them?). And I am frustrated that California voters opted against the telephone utilities tax to provide a source of funds for public bodies like firefighters and police officers. When it comes to education - we need to get on the money. When it comes to police and firefighters, we need to get on the money - when it comes to individual voters' rights, we need to get on the money. It's a no-brainer.
Listen, what the Democratic Party decided on Michigan and Florida is a moot point- why? Because sometimes it is OK, even noble, to break the rules to bring about real change. I don't agree with those who say rules are rules (rules that, according to Obama, even his six year old could have followed) when those bureaucratic decisions superimpose the voting rights of ordinary people. Are you kidding me? And now, Obama complains that those states don't want to pay for it and that's a reason a do-over should not happen.
Shame on politicians for citing money as a factor in allowing the disenfranchisement of Michigan and Florida voters. This is not a Clinton or Obama thing. This is about those voters and Obama should be fighting to get those voters' voices heard. Now, that would be impressive. That would signify that sometimes achieving change means not following rules - especially when those statues are meant to get states like Iowa and New Hampshire extra exposure.
Hopefully, this political squabbling will soon find it's own detente.
In the meantime, I hope that the media will spare some extra coverage on California's atrocious budget crisis. Teachers have already been laid off . One of my classmates in my weekly Shakespeare class who has been teaching for 20 years, got her slip yesterday. She says that 40 are expected to be laid off in the Beverly Hills Unified District alone which includes only one high school and 5 elementary/junior high schools. I am furious that Governor Schwarzenegger cut the education budget - but then again he is a politican (who better than an actor!) who knows how to spin his words - like when he masterfully dodged accusations of his fuel pollution commuting via private jet almost nightly from his home in Brentwood to the office in Sacramento, because he wants to spend more time with his family (what, the state capital isn't good enough for them?). And I am frustrated that California voters opted against the telephone utilities tax to provide a source of funds for public bodies like firefighters and police officers. When it comes to education - we need to get on the money. When it comes to police and firefighters, we need to get on the money - when it comes to individual voters' rights, we need to get on the money. It's a no-brainer.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Uploaded Clips - Mystical Turkey
Please note that I have uploaded the clips for all my recent articles, including "Exploring mystical Turkey" which looks really beautiful with all the colorful photographs in the copy. Check it out under the Recently Published Articles to your right.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
What makes Los Angeles great...
I finally did it. I rode on the Los Angeles subway. Actually, I took the Orange Line from Reseda, changed to subway at the North Hollywood station, made one stop, and arrived at the Convention Center. As a participant in the L.A. Marathon, I needed to get to the Convention Center on Saturday to pick up my bib and bag - an obvious ploy to get me to the health expo which was an advertising maze masked behind the impression of healthy living. Since I have written about public transit and since I have lived in Los Angeles for the vast majority of my life, it was time to take L.A. public transit. Sure, I've done the Santa Monica Big Blue Bus, but this is different.
First of all, the Orange Line is darling. It's clean, it's monitored so that riders are aware of how long their wait is, and it is a necessary line for the Valley. The buses were well-stocked with riders, and the recent news that the line will extend from Warner Center to Chatsworth is great. The Valley deserves good public transit.
It took me about 30 minutes to get from the Reseda station to the rainbow-colored North Hollywood Station. We were like an exodus of people leaving the Metro bus, crossing the street, and entering the huge shell of the NoHo stop structure. I dug running down the deep staircase. It reminded me of running down the stairs at the BART stations up north, or the metro stations in Paris. There is something about subways that I really love and that reflects the rush and community of urban living. I was very impressed with my L.A. experience. The subway directions were very clearly labelled, and the trains were quick. I took the train from NoHo to the Metro Center downtown where I changed to the San Pedro line for one stop, and got off in front of the Convention Center.
All in all, the trip took one hour there, and one hour back. It was a bit long, but so is Los Angeles!
So Sunday was the Los Angeles Marathon. For any longtime blog readers, you know that I had a post a couple of years ago where I criticized races where participants claim they run for someone else or for charity. Since I have become a runner and have started participating in races, I have become a cheerleader for runners.
I participated in the 5K race that started at 7:15AM on Figueroa close to the Coliseum. I completed *just* under 30 minutes and hope to really work on my time for the 10K I signed up for in May. My favorite part of races is what happens afterwards (no, not just the free snacks and fruit). I hung out for the next few hours, listening to the great band, talking to people, and then cheering on the marathoners between mile 13-14. I was blown away by the handicap and wheelchair racers who peddled with the strength of their arms and the will of their spirit.
I also saw 2 Zorros, 1 green man, 2 barefoot runners, 1 bikini wearer, Jonny Lee Miller, and 1 "Coat Man" with a waiter's tray in his hands. I sat in between the Coliseum and Natural History Museum next to the nicest couple who had a cooler in tow ready to provide sustenance to their friends who were running. For any Angelenos, I encourage you to mark your calendars now for next year, make some signs, get your friends together and prepare to celebrate Los Angeles by rooting for the marathon runners. It is a great event for the city and a wonderful community experience. Who knows? Maybe I'll participate in the 26.2 mile race next time. And......take public transit to get there.
First of all, the Orange Line is darling. It's clean, it's monitored so that riders are aware of how long their wait is, and it is a necessary line for the Valley. The buses were well-stocked with riders, and the recent news that the line will extend from Warner Center to Chatsworth is great. The Valley deserves good public transit.
It took me about 30 minutes to get from the Reseda station to the rainbow-colored North Hollywood Station. We were like an exodus of people leaving the Metro bus, crossing the street, and entering the huge shell of the NoHo stop structure. I dug running down the deep staircase. It reminded me of running down the stairs at the BART stations up north, or the metro stations in Paris. There is something about subways that I really love and that reflects the rush and community of urban living. I was very impressed with my L.A. experience. The subway directions were very clearly labelled, and the trains were quick. I took the train from NoHo to the Metro Center downtown where I changed to the San Pedro line for one stop, and got off in front of the Convention Center.
All in all, the trip took one hour there, and one hour back. It was a bit long, but so is Los Angeles!
So Sunday was the Los Angeles Marathon. For any longtime blog readers, you know that I had a post a couple of years ago where I criticized races where participants claim they run for someone else or for charity. Since I have become a runner and have started participating in races, I have become a cheerleader for runners.
I participated in the 5K race that started at 7:15AM on Figueroa close to the Coliseum. I completed *just* under 30 minutes and hope to really work on my time for the 10K I signed up for in May. My favorite part of races is what happens afterwards (no, not just the free snacks and fruit). I hung out for the next few hours, listening to the great band, talking to people, and then cheering on the marathoners between mile 13-14. I was blown away by the handicap and wheelchair racers who peddled with the strength of their arms and the will of their spirit.
I also saw 2 Zorros, 1 green man, 2 barefoot runners, 1 bikini wearer, Jonny Lee Miller, and 1 "Coat Man" with a waiter's tray in his hands. I sat in between the Coliseum and Natural History Museum next to the nicest couple who had a cooler in tow ready to provide sustenance to their friends who were running. For any Angelenos, I encourage you to mark your calendars now for next year, make some signs, get your friends together and prepare to celebrate Los Angeles by rooting for the marathon runners. It is a great event for the city and a wonderful community experience. Who knows? Maybe I'll participate in the 26.2 mile race next time. And......take public transit to get there.
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