My Blog Has Moved

If you've arrived here from some other place, please visit my NEW blog here:

Common Sense Quotient

You'll find a new layout, new content, updated national and international news and - more important - news about the Democratic nomination process. Once a nominee has been determined, we'll switch gears and publish content relevant to the 2008 General Election.

My site is a proud Pro-Hillary Clinton zone. But I do my best to present news, analysis and information in a "softer" voice. However, don't be surprised to find hard-edged commentary about this highly-charged race.

Come on over and join us. We aren't very big (so far), but I expect that to change as we build the blog and add content!

Common Sense Quotient

Bookmark It...Come Back Often!

Pennsylvania Poll: Clinton Clobbers McCain

According to RASMUSSEN:


Hillary does far better against John McCain in Pennsylvania:

CLINTON - 50%

McCain - 39%

[snip]

"... she leads McCain in Pennsylvania by eleven percentage points, 50% to 39%. The former First Lady is viewed favorably by 52% of voters in the state. A separate national survey found that the number of Democrats who want Clinton to drop out of the race has declined over the last ten days. Data like this helps explain why Barack Obama is now entering the most perilous phase of his campaign. ..."

[snip]

Obama is statistically tied with McCain (MOE = +/- 3 points):

Obama - 45%; McCain - 43%

Thanks to Larry Johnson for the info.

Last Brown v. Board plaintiff dies

The end of another era - hopefully one we won't have to revisit:

TOPEKA, Kan. - The last surviving plaintiff in Topeka's Brown v. Board of Education case, which led to the historic 1954 Supreme Court ruling outlawing segregation in public schools, has died at 88.

Zelma Henderson died Tuesday in Topeka, six weeks after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

[snip]

In 1950, Henderson signed onto the litigation on behalf of her children challenging Topeka's segregated schools. In all, 13 black parents in Topeka, including the Rev. Oliver Brown, took part in the federal case.

The plaintiffs lost in U.S. District Court, but the case was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, along with similar cases from Virginia, South Carolina and Delaware.

The high court's unanimous ruling overturning school segregation came on May 17, 1954.

[snip]

Catch My New Blog!

I'll continue to post here periodically until May 31.

On JUNE 1, all content will be available at my new blog & location.

A Reminder...

NEW BLOG ----- NEW LOCATION!

Just want to take a minute to remind readers:

NEW BLOG @ NEW LOCATION

Recreate '68... Seriously?

This is no joke. According to Jeff Brady at NPR's "All Things Considered", there is a group that is planning to "recreate '68" at the Democratic National Convention in Denver this August.

Who in their right minds would want to "recreate '68"? It was the WORST political year in contemporary history! We had two - count them - TWO assassinations (for anybody who still studies history) and we were in what seemed a never-ending and deadly war in Vietnam (well, okay, we seem to be in a never-ending deadly war in Iraq, but both Democratic presidential candidates this time (2008 for anybody who's lost track of time) want to get us out.

Yet, there is a move afoot to "recreate '68" at the Democratic National Convention in Denver this August!

Tom Hayden even weighs-in on the effort:

"If there were the theft of a nomination, if that were the perception of the Obama supporters, then probably there would be a '68 scenario but it would probably be nonviolent and massive."

Theft? Wow! So, from your words I take it that you think Barack owns it. And of course any other scenario (like who is the most electable, or who can actually get any of the progressive agenda enacted) doesn't count. I'm a progressive, too, Tom. But I don't buy Barack Obama's slick branding, lofty rhetoric and grand speeches.

When it comes to getting things done, I'll cast my lot with Hillary Clinton any.time.

But, gosh, thanks for sharing. Seriously, though, I doubt that anybody under the age of 30 (40?) even knows who you are. And if they do, chances are a lot of them have no respect for you...because you're, well, no longer relevant. Haven't you heard? We live in a "Post [Fill in the Blank]" world...

CATCH MY NEW BLOG!

PS: If you subscribe (via email or RSS) you'll get my new little blog every single day, or every time there's new content. Pretty cool, eh? So, check it out here, then use the email or RSS link to subscribe.

BREAKING NEWS, KY/OR Polls

BREAKING NEWS:

Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) was rushed to a Massachusetts hospital earlier today after he suffered a "seizure" at the Kennedy family compound in Hyannisport:

(CBS/AP) "Sen. Edward M. Kennedy was airlifted to a hospital Saturday after suffering a seizure at his home, and did not appear to have had a stroke as initially suspected, his spokeswoman said. The 76-year-old Kennedy, a liberal Democratic icon and the lone surviving son in a famed political family, was undergoing tests at Massachusetts General Hospital to determine the cause of the seizure, spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said."

"'Senator Kennedy is resting comfortably, and it is unlikely we will know anything more for the next 48 hours,' she said. Kennedy's wife, Victoria, was with him at the hospital, Cutter said."

"...New York. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, also issued a statement. 'My thoughts and prayers are with Ted Kennedy and his family today,' she said. 'We all wish him well and a quick recovery.'"

While I disagree with Sen. Kennedy's endorsement of Barack Obama and I thought that his comments last week were unfortunate regarding Sen. Clinton's campaign and a possible VP spot should she not win the nomination, Kennedy is a champion for progressive values and goals in the U.S. Senate. Along with others, I offer my thoughts and prayers for his recovery.

Calling All Older Voters

Jeralyn at TalkLeft has some informative thoughts and stats about older voters and their significance in this year's presidential election.

"When it comes to electability arguments for the superdelegates, however, I think there's something they need to consider -- that caucus results vastly undercount one particular segment of voters who will vote in big numbers in the general election: The elderly and infirm, including nursing home residents who weren't mobile enough to attend a caucus but who can vote by absentee ballot in primaries and the general election."

"If unable to attend caucuses, and most likely were, their preferences were excluded. This is one more reason I don't think that a superdelegate can equate a caucus win in a particular state with a win in that state against John McCain in November."

I went to the U.S. Census Bureau to get some numbers on older voters and to size up what they might mean for a GE in November. Here's what I found:

Voters ages 65 and up number 37.5 million, or 16.6% of the voting-age population. Voters between the ages of 45 and 64 number 76.5 million (33.6 percent). I include this age group because they are, by and large, more likely to support Hillary Clinton, as evidenced by exit polls - and a trend that is in line with Andrew Kohut's finding that older voters (those 45-years old and up) haven't been enthusiastic Obama supporters.

Additionally, older voters comprise a slightly larger share of the electorate (114 million), than do voters ages 18-44 (113 million); and older voters have been a more reliable voting demographic than younger voters in past elections.

Looking at caucus/primary results from three states, Nebraska, Texas and Washington, it becomes apparent that something has occurred between the caucus votes and the primary votes:

"Nebraska: Obama won the caucuses. He got 26,000 attendees to Hillary's 12,000. In yesterday's (May 13) primary, the vote was Obama 46,000 to Hillary 43,000, or 49% to 47%. One explanation for the sharp decline in support is buyer's remorse. Another, more probable explanation is that the caucuses were unrepresentative of the state's voters."

"Washington: Obama won the caucuses with 21,000 preferring Obama to 10,000 preferring Hillary, but in the primary held two weeks later, he only won 51% to 46%, 353,000 votes to 315,000 votes. Only the caucus votes were used to determine delegates."

"In Texas: Hillary won the primary vote 51% to 47% and by more than 100,000 votes, while Obama won the caucuses, perhaps by as much as 60% to 40%."

This could be, as Jeralyn notes, that "buyer's remorse" has set in with respect to Sen. Obama's margin of victory in the caucuses and his narrower victories (or losses) in primaries. Or (Jeralyn again), it might be that caucuses are not representative of a state's voters.


Where Superdelegates Are Located

Here's a cool and informative map (does not include Alaska and Hawaii, though why I don't know. Perhaps Barack has now subtracted these two states from the "57" he said we have (comments made last week when speaking at a campaign rally). The "map" shows where superdelegates are located, by state and by which candidate they have declared their support for. Blue and shades of blue are Hillary states and SDs. Green and shades of green are states from which SDs have not declared, or where some have declared but not all (thus the minus percentages). The map also utilizes "category circles" that are sized according to the percentage of superdelegates in each state - and where they are located within the state - who have declared support.


Any questions? There will be a test on this...




Visualize The Popular Vote

Hillary is ahead in the popular vote, with results from Florida and Michigan. According to ABC News, she leads Obama by 43,579 votes. Here are the tallies:


CLINTON: 16,691,639

OBAMA: 16,648,060

Although the Democratic National Committee and Sen. Obama continue to balk at including any results from these two states, the votes were counted and certified by the secretaries of state in each of these states. A meeting is scheduled on May 31 at DNC headquarters in Washington, D.C. to hear appeals from both states, after which a determination will be made on seating delegates. At this time the issue of popular vote will also be raised. My best guess is that since delegates are apportioned based on voter preference for candidates (through primary or caucus results), the DNC must count the popular vote. As to whether they will depends on how much pressure is put on Howard Dean and members of the Rules Committee.

If you have not yet made your voice heard on Michigan and Florida, please take a moment now to do it:

MICHIGAN AND FLORIDA: MAKE SURE THEY HAVE A VOICE

Looking At Another Blowout Win In KY

I could make a wisecrack here about John Edwards' endorsement of Barack Obama with an eye toward getting the blue-collar working class voters to stampede to Barack. But I won't. I don't need to. Exit polls throughout this primary season have told and continue to tell the story. John Edwards managed to eke out only about 7 percent of these voters before he dropped out of the race. Hillary Clinton has been winning them all along, since Iowa.

And with that, here are the latest Kentucky polls:



Research2000: Clinton - 58%; Obama - 31% (with this tidbit):

[In a GE matchup with John McCain]: "McCain leads Obama by 25 percentage points and Clinton by 12."

"This is a tough state for a Democrat for president," said Del Ali, president of the firm Research 2000, which conducted the surveys. "If Obama's sitting down with (his chief strategist) David Axelrod going over the electoral map in the fall, Kentucky isn't part of the equation. I think with Hillary it could have been."

Rasmussen: Clinton - 56%; Obama - 32%

SurveyUSA: Clinton - 62%; Obama - 28%

RCP Average: Clinton - 58.7; Obama - 30%


In Oregon it's anybody's guess, but RCP Advantage gives Obama a 14-point lead. Although voters who have already mailed in their ballots were split 50-50 in their support. I don't have a clue if this "means" anything and I'm not going to predict...


NARAL BLOWBACK:

Unless you've been living under a rock the past few days, you probably know about NARAL's endorsement of Barack Obama. I'm not going to provide the link to that story, but I will provide the link to NARAL's "home" site, where you can register your (ahem) comments about this disrespectful act.

Apparently, NARAL heard from so many women after they put up a "webchat" with Nancy Keenan, NARAL's president, to "chat about" their endorsement they had to put it in overdrive to keep up with all the comments, most of which were decidedly NOT supportive of their decision.

And as it turns out, this probably wasn't a smart move on their part. A number of their state affiliates pushed back, issuing their own statements rebuking NARAL for making this decision and for making it without first consulting with its state affiliates:

"NARAL Pro-Choice America affiliates in key swing and primary states are openly distancing themselves from the decision by NARAL Pro-Choice America to endorse Illinois Sen. Barack Obama over Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to be the Democratic nominee for president."

"Since yesterday's announcement, NARAL groups in Pennsylvania, Missouri, Oregon, Washington, Texas and New York -- Clinton's home state -- have issued statements signaling their continued neutrality in the Democratic race and emphasizing that the national group did not speak for them on this matter. These groups represent nearly a quarter of NARAL's state chapters."

Tell me again who are the ones "in touch" with the will of the people...



Can You Say, 'Hypocrite'?

I found this gem on The Carpetbagger Report. It's not being publicized much (and my little blog probably isn't going to give it much traction), but it's worth noting because it is hypocritical on the part of the Obama campaign, which has said for months that Florida (and Michigan) should not be included in delegate or popular vote counts. (There are all sorts of hypocrisies in that stance, also, but to go into them would take another post). Now, however, since Barack believes he has the nomination "in the bag" Florida delegates count - particularly if they support him.

Speaking of Obama: "A Florida Democratic Party source says that, by their count, at least 8 of the state’s 13 Edwards delegates are switching to Obama, and none to Hillary. The delegates don’t, currently, count, but that could change…."

Finally (I bet you never thought we'd get here):


video of the day/week/whatever:

Draining The Ocean, A Teaspoon at a Time

The difference between racism and sexism

I believe we have reached an important turning point in our culture. We realize that racism is wrong. It damages all of us as human beings. It demeans the values and ideals we - as a country and certainly as progressives - strive for: fairness, equality, justice.

We can thank the many individuals and groups that have lifted us to a higher plane when it comes to acknowledging and addressing the intolerable racist attitudes and behaviors against African Americans and, to a lesser extent, other minorities.

Progressives/liberals Cannot Be Racists OR Sexists and "Progressives"

However, there is still a very big elephant in our cultural living room that must be addressed if we believe in progressive values and ideals and if we are to achieve full equality without boundaries: sexism/misogyny.

Many feminists, myself included, have been stunned by the depth and breadth of misogyny that has permeated the 2008 Democratic nomination process. Indeed, it is so entrenched that progressives have joined in, frequently engaging in tactics and talking points that were - I thought - reserved only for the most right-wing, white Republican men. This is perhaps the most profound wound. It is one that has caused me to question my own progressive values, often asking if I am perhaps "misidentified."


To make matters worse, when I try to have a civil dialogue about sexism, I am derided as being "out of touch" with reality; that it isn't sexism to refer to Hillary Clinton as "Billary"; or to accuse her of being "psycho"; or to compare her to a "scold"; or to accuse her of doing "whatever it takes to win"; or to call on her to give up her historic bid; or to refer to her as a "she-devil"; or to level the charge that if she is the vice-presidential nominee that Barack Obama should "hire a food tester" (a comparison, of course, to Shakespeare's Lady MacBeth).

Nor is it sexism, I am told, to tell women of a certain age that we are "racists" who should not be involved in politics, and that women are unimportant in this election.

I am reminded that when challenging these words and actions, we are often told in ways subtle and direct that we are "crazy" and that we do not really understand what is happening. However - and as any good Adult Child of Alcoholics knows - we are not crazy. The behavior is "crazy-making." It is part and parcel of a disease, like alcoholism, though I don't believe there is a 12-step program for sexists, for friends and family of sexists, or for adult children of sexists. Clearly, there's a huge market for such programs.

Throughout these long months I have grown increasingly angry: at the media (Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann, Tim Russert, Andrea Mitchell, Anderson Cooper, Gloria Borger, Jonathan Alter, Frank Rich, Maureen Dowd, Ben Smith, Mike Madden, Alex Koppelman, Martin Roland, Jamal Warner, Ariana Huffington, Miklos Moutsakis, Matthew Yglesias, Howard Fineman, Joe Klein, Barbara Ehrenreich). You may notice that a fair number of these "pundits" are self-defined "progressives" in the online liberal blogosphere. I have also grown increasingly angry with my so-called progressive "brothers" and "sisters," who have themselves become "scolds" in their finger-wagging attempts to minimize and deny my (our) concerns and further alienate me/us as "crazy."

Attempting to call-out and take action against misogyny these days is like draining the ocean with a teaspoon. It is impossible. And it drains us of energy and enthusiasm to fight other, far more serious battles: pay inequity and disparity, health care inequity, economic disparity and inequity, pension inequity, a looming recession and an immediate housing foreclosure crisis - each of which have serious implications for women and families.

Yet here we are in 2008, fighting these battles of the 60s and 70s, and fighting against other progressives who seem oblivious to the damage that sexism and misogyny have done and, clearly, continue to do to us as a society and as human beings. The "progressive" movement is no stranger to sexism. After all, 70s feminism grew, in part, out of an utter disdain with and anger toward progressive men who saw women as nothing more than uteruses with typing skills, and who were oblivous then to "equality", when it came to women. Some things seem not to change, even in the midst of a presidential election campaign that is "change" itself.

A MINI NOTE: The level of hatred directed at Clinton and at women was the final straw for me. I re-registered my voting status from Democrat to Independent. At least this way my conscience is clear about the values and ideals I stand for. I have also written to Howard Dean, Nancy Pelosi and other DNC leaders to let them know I do not support the "values" of hatred and disenfranchisement in any form. A hard line, I know, and one that many of my friends will criticize. It certainly does not mean that I will abandon my concern and action for real progressive values.

So, today, finally, after months and months of sexist onslaught by the right and the left, comes a voice that does more in one brief article to encapsulate and articulate the depth and breadth of misogyny than perhaps any letter written to a media outlet, or any other specific anti-sexist act. And Marie Cocco (Washington Post staff writer) has done it with eloquence:

"As the Democratic nomination contest slouches toward a close, it's time to take stock of what I will not miss."

" I will not miss seeing advertisements for T-shirts that bear the slogan "Bros before Hos." The shirts depict Barack Obama (the Bro) and Hillary Clinton (the Ho) and are widely sold on the Internet."

"I will not miss walking past airport concessions selling the Hillary Nutcracker, a device in which a pantsuit-clad Clinton doll opens her legs to reveal stainless-steel thighs that, well, bust nuts. I won't miss television and newspaper stories that make light of the novelty item."

[snip]

She also does not fail to mention Randi Rhodes use of the "F" word to describe Clinton and Geraldine Ferraro, the anti-Clinton group Citizens United Not Timid, formed by Republican strategist Roger Stone, comparisons of Clinton to Alex Forrest (the "psychotic" character in 1987's "Fatal Attraction"), Chris Matthews' "she-devil" comments to describe Clinton, Jack Cafferty's (CNN) comparison of Clinton to a "scolding mother", and william Kristol's "White women are a problem, that's -- you know, we all live with that" comment on FOX News.

"I won't miss reading another treatise by a man or woman, of the left or right, who says that sexism has had not even a teeny-weeny bit of influence on the course of the Democratic campaign. To hint that sexism might possibly have had a minimal role is to play that risible 'gender card.'"

Here, finally, is my favorite part, wherein she takes on the Democratic National Committee's Howard Dean and other DNC leaders for their utter and complete failure and silence about any of the sexism and misogyny:

"Most of all, I will not miss the silence."

"I will not miss the deafening, depressing silence of Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean or other leading Democrats, who to my knowledge (with the exception of Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland) haven't publicly uttered a word of outrage at the unrelenting, sex-based hate that has been hurled at a former first lady and two-term senator from New York. Among those holding their tongues are hundreds of Democrats for whom Clinton has campaigned and raised millions of dollars. Don Imus endured more public ire from the political class when he insulted the Rutgers University women's basketball team."

Cocco's closing graf speaks volumes to those of us who have spent years advancing women's rights and opportunities:

"There are many reasons Clinton is losing the nomination contest, some having to do with her strategic mistakes, others with the groundswell for "change." But for all Clinton's political blemishes, the darker stain that has been exposed is the hatred of women that is accepted as a part of our culture."

Her article brought me to tears - long pent-up and masked by the outrage at what I have witnessed and experienced daily during Clinton's historic campaign. Tears, however, cleanse toxins and free up space and energy to continue fighting the good fight. From the looks of it, we are going to need every ounce of energy and a determined redoubling of our efforts at putting an end to sexism and misogyny.

I encourage you to write a "Thank You" note to Marie Cocco (mariecocco@washpost.com). It took chutzpah for her to express such outrage, particularly since she is not a Washington Post staff writer.


UPDATE I:

Millions of women are calling for a sustained boycott of NBC/MSNBC, Chris Matthews, and other NBC "journalists" and "pundits" for the ways they have driven and fanned the misogyny. Here is their contact information:

NBC:

Steve Capus
President, NBC News
steve.capus@nbc.com


MSNBC:

Mr. Phil Griffin
Senior Vice President, News
NBC Television Network
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112
(212) 664-4444
phil.griffin@nbc.com

letters@msnbc.com


Chris Matthews/Hardball:

hardball@msnbc.com


Meet the Press:

Tim Russert
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6872152/

All Others:

You can use the appropriate contact information above for NBC or MSNBC hosts, anchors, pundits, if they are not listed specifically.

Mama's Got A BRAND NEW BLOG!

I have a BRAND NEW BLOG location at TypePad! TP is a far more user-friendly site and allows me to customize the look and feel of my blog very easily. I've enjoyed using Blogger for CSQ, but I found that it was very aggravating at times to maintain a unified appearance of text and graphics. So, I switched.

I will continue to post "mini" updates here at Blogger for the next week until everybody has a chance to migrate on over to my new location:

COMMON SENSE QUOTIENT

The next piece I need to tell you about is subscriptions to my new blog. If you check your email you'll find a "confirmation" email sent from FeedBurner to each of those who were added to this site's blog subscribers. In order for you to continue subscribing to my NEW BLOG AT MY NEW LOCATION (if you want), you need to click on that "confirmation" link to activate the subscription. This is standard fare these days, with so much spam being sent out. If you don't subscribe to my NEW BLOG AT MY NEW LOCATION, I'll understand, but I'll be sad :((

ALSO: If you're familiar with "Feeds", you can easily subscribe via RSS Feed (that little square orange button). My blog's "feed" will be sent automatically - if and once you subscribe using the RSS method - and new content will appear in your browser window so long as you have the "Feeds" icon displayed and pinned to your browser's main web page!

That's all for now.

Please click on over to my NEW BLOG AT MY NEW LOCATION to see what you have missed!

Thanks for reading. Thanks for sticking with Hillary. This isn't over...

Health Care On Our Minds

Sobering Realities On Health Care


Two separate New York Times reports show that health care tops the list of concerns as the economy moves into recession.


The first points to how unemployment increases the burden on federal and state health insurance programs "low-income uninsured" at the same time that state and local revenues decrease :

"The study projected that each rise in unemployment of one percentage point would also add 600,000 children and 400,000 adults to the two primary state and federal health insurance programs for the low-income uninsured. That would require an additional $3.4 billion for Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, with $1.4 billion of it from the states."

"... A percentage point increase in unemployment typically translates into a drop in state general fund revenues of 3 percent to 4 percent, the Urban Institute said. A survey found that 27 states and the District of Columbia were forecasting budget deficits for the coming year, collectively exceeding $39 billion. Cuts to Medicaid or the children’s health program have been proposed in 13 states. "Because of state balanced-budget requirements, Medicaid and other assistance is most likely to be cut when state residents have the greatest need for help," the study concluded."

The second report looks at those with health insurance who are now struggling to pay for routine health care, due to unemployment, under-employment and employer increases in the burden-sharing of health care to employees:

"The economic slowdown has swelled the ranks of people without health insurance. But now it is also threatening millions of people who have insurance but find that the coverage is too limited or that they cannot afford their own share of medical costs."

"Many of the 158 million people covered by employer health insurance are struggling to meet medical expenses that are much higher than they used to be — often because of some combination of higher premiums, less extensive coverage, and bigger out-of-pocket deductibles and co-payments."

[snip]

"... the soft economy is making some insured people hesitant to get care they need, reluctant to spend a $50 co-payment for an office visit ..."

[snip]

"Since the recession of 2001, the employee’s average cost of an annual health care premium for family coverage has nearly doubled — to $3,300, up from $1,800 — while incomes have come nowhere close to keeping up. Factor in other out-of-pocket medical costs, and the portion of the average American household’s income that goes toward health care has risen about 12 percent, according to the consulting and accounting firm Deloitte, and is now approaching one-fifth of the average household’s spending."

[snip]

"Even so, more companies may see themselves as having little choice but to require employees to pay even more of their health expenses, said Ted Nussbaum, a benefits consultant at the firm Watson Wyatt Worldwide. And when a weak economy undermines job security, he said, workers may simply have to accept reduced benefits."

It's prudent to remember these warning signs if we should ever consider - even for a moment - supporting John McCain for POTUS.


Next Up: More About McCain's Health Care Plan (aka "Let The Health Insurance Industry Take Over Our Health Care The Way We Let Private Lenders [Country Wide] Take Over Our Home Mortgages").

Speaking of health care...here's a peek at Hillary Clinton on "Ellen" where she introduces a special breast cancer initiative as part of her health care plan.

Here's Our VIDEO Of The Day