Tuesday, November 20, 2007

What's a Progressive?

Hello everyone!

Bill O'Reilly's favorite pariah (which is the best endorsement I can think of), MoveOn.org, has posted four 35 second TV commercial spots made by the Center for American Progress. Here they are:

"America at Its Best"


"The Progressive Movement"


"Progressive vs. Conservative"


"Progress is American"


They're doing a contest to see which people like the best, with the idea to start putting them on TV. You can vote here, unless you don't consider yourself a progressive. Either way, hopefully they get more votes than my polls did.

Rob

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Monday, November 19, 2007

Here's a Little Known Fact...

Hello everyone!

While doing research for my paper from hell for my class from hell, I came across this photo of noted Hitler appeaser Neville Chamberlain:

Incidentally, I think the guy got a bad rap, and that's part of what my paper is about. Anyway, whenever I'd go back and see the photo, there was something familiar looking about him, but I couldn't quite place it. Then all of a sudden, I figured it out! He must be the long-lost father of noted mailman Clifford C. Clavin:


What do you have to say about that, Cliff?
Cliff: Incidentally, it's a little known fact that the tie was invented in ancient times to be used as a bib, you know, to wipe your chin. Speaking of milk, here's a little known fact: the cow was domesticated by the Mesopotamians. Yeah, that's right, in fact it wasn't originally a milk-bearing animal. Oh no, it was originally used as a guard animal for the Chinese Emperors during the Chung King dynasty.
Thank you, Cliff, for interrupting my tedious research of useless information with some truly useful info.

Rob

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Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Barn Dance

Hello everyone!

As I was walking to class at the University of Oregon today, I witnessed and overheard a conversation between two young woman who appeared to be 18-20 years old. One woman was named Rachel (though it could be spelled Rachael, or Rachelle, or Raychull, or Reychylle for all I know), and Rachel never said the other woman's name, so we'll just call her Brittney. Here's a transcript of the conversation:
Brittney: Rachel! RACHEL! RAAAAAAACHEEEEEEEEELLLLLLL!!!!!

Rachel: (hanging up cell phone) Oh my God!

Brittney: Barn dance.

Rachel: (putting phone away) Oh my God!

Brittney: (hugging Rachel) Barn dance.

Rachel: Ohhh myyy Goddd!

Brittney: We are going to get sooo fucked up!
I didn't stick around to see if Rachel responded with another "Oh my God!"

This is a truly honest, 100% real conversation that I overheard today. Ladies and gentlemen, the future of our country, Brittney and Reychylle!

Rob

Monday, November 05, 2007

In Defense of Voting Rights

Hello everyone!

Based on the results of the award polls on the Rob Dow's World One Year Anniversary Spectacular Special Extravaganza!, my readers aren't big fans of political or copy-and-paste postings. Well, too bad--you can go out and get your own blog and post whatever you want. This is my blog, and I want to repost a New York Times editorial. Keep in mind, this is the New York Times, not some wacky, radical website:
Editorial
In Defense of Voting Rights

Published: November 5, 2007

A House Judiciary subcommittee was the site of a sad spectacle the other day: John Tanner, who heads the Justice Department’s voting section, trying to explain offensive, bigoted comments he made about minority voters. It was a shameful moment that crystallized the need for immediate steps to fight for the rights that Mr. Tanner has been working so hard to undermine.

The administration should, of course, fire Mr. Tanner. Congress should pass a bill to criminalize deceptive campaign practices. And it should reject a pending nominee to the Federal Election Commission, Hans von Spakovsky.

The Justice Department has a long history of protecting the voting rights of minorities. In the Bush administration, the department’s voting rights section has been taken over by ideologues most interested in denying the ballot to minorities, poor people and other groups likely to vote Democratic.

The Justice Department endorsed a Georgia law that would have required many voters to pay for voter IDs, a requirement that a federal judge rightly likened to a poll tax. Mr. Tanner said publicly that blacks are not hurt by ID requirements as much as whites because “they die first.” He was assuming that ID laws disadvantage elderly voters, because they are less likely to have driver’s licenses. And in Mr. Tanner’s world, blacks are likely to die before they become elderly.

As Representative Artur Davis, Democrat of Alabama, made clear in pointed questions, Mr. Tanner had no factual basis for making this claim. Mr. Davis noted that in Alabama, data from the 2004 election showed that blacks over 60 voted at a higher rate than whites over 60.

Mr. Tanner also suggested that black people are likely to have an ID because they need it when they go to check-cashing stores. Again, Mr. Davis showed that Mr. Tanner relied on stereotypes. Then a former employee of the voting section testified that Mr. Tanner regularly used “broad generalizations” and misused statistics.

There have been calls for Mr. Tanner to be removed, and he should be, but that is not enough. The Senate must refuse to confirm Mr. von Spakovsky, an anti-voting-rights advocate cut from the same cloth as Mr. Tanner, to the F.E.C. Based on his record, Mr. von Spakovsky would use the job to undermine the right to vote.

Congress should also pass the Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act, sponsored by Senator Barack Obama, which would criminalize misleading and intimidating actions used to prevent voters, particularly minority voters, from casting ballots.

This administration seems to believe that the right to vote is something only Democrats should care about. It is too important to be reduced to a partisan issue.
Yes, black people die before white people, and they have IDs so they can go to check-cashing stores. Remember, this guy is in charge of the Justice Department's voting section, so if there are (more) complaints of disenfranchisement, he's the one who is supposed to investigate them.

Remember when we used to have a democracy?

Rob

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