The Unauthorized 9.12 Teabagger Tour

Oh My God!

Can you believe we live in a country with so many scary deranged people?

Have You Voted?! Can You Vote?

If you have not voted yet, then Please Do So Now!

If you must wait until the polls open, then get there early!

If you are voting by mail then please get it in the mail NOW or better yet, take it to your local elections office.

Protect your right to vote. We have included some useful information below.
The following is taken from a diary at DailyKos.

Time Off to Vote for Employees — A State by State Survey

Most states require employers to provide time for employees to vote on election day. While these laws vary in each state, they generally require employers to give employees time off to vote if the polls aren’t open two or three hours outside of the employee’s regular shift.

Much more here:
http://employmentlawpost.com/theword/2008/10/15/time-off-to-vote-for-employees-a-state-by-state-survey-2/

Find your state and see what the law says. If you don't like it, then put it on your list of things to CHANGE in future local elections!

Sure you're registered? Check at www.CanIVote.org

ACLU Voter Protection Hotline (1-877-523-2792)

Lawyers' Committe Hotline (1-800-OUR-VOTE / 1-800-687-8683)

or go to www.OurVoteLive.org to report or follow irregularities.

Some additional information from RFK Jr.:

Heads up!!!!! RFK, Jr. Sends another warning!
http://www.progressiveblue.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3012

"The Ad"

And what a great "ad" it is!



This is not about I, me or you, it is about we.

Often when you see great images and speeches that pull at your heart, they are laced with words and images that speak to a scary form nationalism and militarism.

With Barack Obama you feel the pride of being an American and fighting for what is right and good about this country but you also feel the pride of being a citizen of this planet.

More Lies and More of the Same

Lies and Flip Flops.



Do we really want to continue down the path of 4 more years of George Bush and Dick Cheney?

More of the Same?



John McCain is proud of voting with George Bush over 90% of the time. No.. really, these are his words. See and hear him speak them in the video above.

Just in case you have forgotten

Lies.

Barack Obama chooses Joe Biden

I know we are not even close to being the first, but I wanted to make sure that we mentioned Barack Obama's choice for VP. It is Joe Biden.

I think this is a good choice, there are others that I would have chosen over Joe Biden but after giving it some thought, I think Barack Obama made a good and wise choice.

Washington Woman will have more to say on this later.

For now, let us give a big THUMBS UP to the Democratic ticket of Barack Obama and Joe Biden!

Obama/Biden 08

"A cookout with some bastards" - by johnny venom @ MyDD

A friend of mine just turned me on to a diary written over at MyD called: A cookout with some bastards.

This is one of the funniest and scariest diaries I have read in some time. His experiences with his conservative/republican friends and family are just amazing. I wonder how many of you have had the same experiences?

It amazes me how dense people can be about the truths that stare them in the face. How ill informed so many people in the country are. What dittoheads and lock steppers the republican base is. It is like they do not have a original, true and genuine thought in their head.

I will give you a taste of "johnny venom's" diary, but for the full experiance, you must visit A cookout with some bastards at MyDD.

Every year I attend a BBQ held by a friend of the family. Her name is Deborah and sadly is a big-time Republican, though oddly enough not so much a conservative (well socially at least). Now her late father and my father go way back, fought together in North Africa in WW2, so these people are practically family. Well, as mentioned, she holds an Independence Day BBQ cook out every year, and my father goes out of respect... and a free meal. Outside of me, sometimes, he's the only other non-Republican at these things.

Now, since 2000, since I started finding myself parting ever farther from Republican politics, my appearances at this cook out have been on and off. The reason being was that many of the folks there are die hard conservatives, and arguments tended to be twenty to one. You can probably guess who was that 'one.' Its a real turn about, considering, that Debbie was the person that got me into politics (particularly the GOP) when I was a young Johnny Venom. The folks at the BBQ were my political kin for a long time, and when I turned the other way, it came to them as a shock.
You'd be amazed, once you change parties, how fast your "friends" can quickly become your enemies. Well, it's not like they wish me ill will, well most of them don't, just that they find it much better if I weren't voting ...
.....

Now conversations ebb and flow on all sorts of things. So, instead, I'm just gonna break them down by topics. You don't really have to know their names, they're conservatives. And, for the most part, you've probably already got an idea on what they are going say for the most part. Still, allow me to irritate your senses a bit just to show you what kind of assholes we're dealing with who want more power or at least keep what they got ...
.....

"Barack Obama"

Deborah finally came to our table. She saw my Obama button (fuck it, I wear that everywhere!) and she gave a sour face to me. Suddenly, she rubbed her forearm and then pointed at my button.

Deborah: You see this John? Whit skin. You think he likes that? No way. I wouldn't vote for an anti-Semite, he hates Jews John. You know he's really a Muslim, don't you?

Me: Deb, that's a bunch of crap, and you know it. There is no way in hell I'm going to believe all that. Besides, the man's half white, for crying out loud!

Female Plastics Lady: But still a Muslim.

Me: No, he's not!

Deborah: How do you know? The media? They want a black person in so they can feel better about themselves.

Me: Because he isn't. And as for the media...huh?

Old Male Conservative Engineer: And how about that reverend? You telling me, for twenty years he didn't know what kind of church that was.

Me: Wait a minute, if you're admitting he went to church, then you are in agreement he isn't a Muslim?

Old Male Conservative Engineer: No, because they can hide their faith very well.

Me: I think you're crazier than Janis (Middle Age Female Conservative)!

............

This is just a taste, so please give yourself a treat and a headache and read the rest for yourself.

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton - The Fall Out

I have been thinking about the fall out of the long Democratic primary race. Has this primary harmed the Democratic party and our primary system or has it helped.

I looked at this through many different angles, I talked to others in person and online, I read what others had to say and what others screamed about. Some thought Hillary Clinton was "destroying the party" by continuing in this primary long after they and some in the media thought she should drop out. Others came to the same conclusion that I did, they thought it was a good thing for the Democratic party and for politics in general in this country.

The following comes from a friend and fellow blogger.
From Associated Content

The Democratic primary, for all of its faults--such as the use of the undemocratic and under representing caucuses and the infamous super-delegates--has finally brought out two of the Democratic parties biggest base of supporters in large and vocal numbers. Women and African-Americans have finally broken into the top tier of presidential politics because of two worthy and credible candidates in Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. These two candidates have done more to energize, educate and activate the citizens of the United States to become involved in the politics of choosing the president. They have allowed more people to understand that their voice and their collective voices can and will be heard. For this, they are both winners in my book.

[snip]

These two candidates have brought out over 17 million people each to vote for them, for a combined total of over 35 million and rising. Every state that has voted in this primary cycle, has had record turnouts in activism, at rallies and on voting day. The numbers of people that have joined the democratic party is one of the highest ever if not the highest ever, with more joining the party and the process every day. The amount of money that has been raised by small donors, for each candidate, is staggering and historical. Even tho many would like to see money and its influence taken out of politics, the fact that the Democrats have been able to out raise the Republicans at all levels, is simply a huge show of support by the American people for these two candidates and the Democratic party

[snip]

... This presidential primary has reinvigorated the people and the process for the better. I believe this change will last for decades.

Thank you Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and all of their supporters. You have brought back my faith in the American people to do what is right.

More at Associated Content

After last Tuesdays (6-2-08) final primary elections, some thought Hillary Clinton should have conceded right then, I disagreed. That was not the time or the place to properly thank her thousands of volunteers and millions of supporters. It also would not have done justice to her upcoming endorsement of Barack Obama (come on, we all knew she would). She had also won one of the two states that night.

So that Saturday (6-7-08) she gave the speech and the endorsement that I knew she would give.


Read the transcript here.

Hillary Clinton showed that she is an American first, a Democrat second and always a fighter for what is just and right! In that speech she showed why this primary needed to happen. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama brought out the fight and the spirit that has been lacking in this country for much too long. We owe them our thanks and our votes!

Having been a John Edwards supporter first, I believe that it was he who first showed both Obama and Clinton that they must fight. That fight, is for the people and for our constitution.

Earth Hour 2008 - What are you doing?

I hope everyone that see this posting will or has participated in Earth Hour 2008.

It is only an hour from 8pm to 9pm YOUR Local time.

For further information on Earth Hour, go HERE

Check out the Earth Hour video.

Is Green Energy Killing Us?

Today as I was cruising the internet, I came across this unsettling story about Green Energy production that is killing areas of China.

A Dark Side Of Solar Power

The growth of the solar power industry is poisoning land in China, according to the Washington Post.

In the rush to make polysilicon cheaply for use in solar panels, a Chinese company reportedly is dumping toxic waste into the ground, killing wildlife and endangering human health.

The newspaper describes green fields in the nation's eastern central Henan Province that have turned snow-white from the powdery waste of silicon tetrachloride, four tons of which result from every ton of polysilicon created. Toxic hydrogen chloride gas and acids waft from the waste.

To blame is Chinese polysilicon maker Luoyang Zhonggui High-Technology, which supplies to rising solar power star Suntech Power Holdings, according to the Washington Post.

To read more about this problem, follow the link:
http://www.news.com/8301-11128_3-9889848-54.html

I have had reservations about some other versions of so called Green Energy, especially BioFuels and Ethanol. Both of these products, as of right now, rely way to much on "new crops" to make fuel. Much like using new trees for paper making instead of using 100% recycled paper or some mix of new and recycled.

Using land to grow fuel instead of food seems short sighted and morally wrong to me. Cutting down diverse forest, such as the Amazon to grow a select plant for fuel or to raise cattle, also comes across as short sighted and morally wrong.

Besides the stupidity of growing fuel on land that could and should be used to grow food, we also have this potential problem. Since they would be growing fuel instead of food, why bother trying to grow it organically? Why bother with doing things environmentally correct and sound? I feel they will, if they have not already done so, start using as many chemicals as possible to try and get the highest yield at the lowest cost with no regard to the environment or our safety. Thus polluting the ground, the water and the air all for the profit of making fuel.

I believe that all commercially made biodiesel should ONLY be used for big rigs and other types of vehicles that typically use diesel as their fuel. If we increase the demand for consumer biodiesel, then we will be unwittingly increasing the negative environmental impacts causes by the production of these fuels.

The only viable alternative fuels that I believe should be used for cars and light trucks, is hydrogen and electricity. Yes, these all need to be produced by something, but we have a wide array of choices in ways to produce these if we choose to make it happen. Such as, Solar (made cleanly), Geothermal (done with little environmental impact), Wind (with careful placement to diminish visual and noise pollution), Wave and Tide energy (new and looking promising) and many others.

As much as I hate nuclear plants, I could see very very limited use of them (maybe by using the plants that exist) to help produce the hydrogen needed for cars and trucks (fuel cells, etc).

Geothermal is the one energy source that I believe has the biggest potential to make the biggest positive impact, in the shortest amount of time and at the lowest cost.

When it comes to Solar Cell production, I believe that this company is far ahead and looking in the right direction.

NanoSolar - http://www.nanosolar.com

The Progressive 'Sphere' Grows with EENR

Recently I came across a new Progressive Blog called EENR Progressive Blog.

Our acronym, "Edwards Evolution, Next Revolution," reflects the formation of the EENR group originally as Edwards Evening News Roundup for supporters of John Edwards during the 2008 presidential primary.

Now I might have called it "EENR Progressives Blog" or maybe "EENR Progressive Revolution" (partially playing on what EENR stands for that I quoted above), but that is just me.

What strikes me as a positive, for this new place in the progressive 'sphere', is that they are encouraging more diaries to be written about issues, causes and local races rather than the presidential candidates. It is these presidential 'candidate' diaries that have taken over and ruined so many of the best progressive/liberal/Democratic blogs out there, mainly because of all the mean spirited infighting by supporters of candidates, trolls and freepers.

This little place here, called Washington Woman, would like to one day achieve what EENR is and hopefully will continue to be. A sane place for discussion and action on important issues, causes, events and yes... candidates.

One of the better diaries written at EENR, in my opinion, would be this diary:

Women's History Month: The 19th Amendment

The author of this diary plans on doing a series for the month that are relevant to Women's History Month.

Go ahead and check out the new EENR blog and let us know what you think.

...

As always, one of our FAVORITE places will always be the blog and website for Equal Time Radio.

Martin Luther King, III Praises John Edwards

Martin Luther King, III Praises Edwards For Leading The Fight For Economic Justice In America.

Following a meeting at the King Center in Atlanta on the afternoon of Saturday, January 19th, 2008, Martin Luther King, III sent John Edwards a letter praising Edwards' commitment to fighting poverty and speaking out for those without a voice. King, the first son of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the President and CEO of Realizing the Dream, said his father was a fighter and urged Edwards to continue the fight for justice and equality. He also urged the other candidates to follow Edwards' lead.

January 20, 2008

The Honorable John R. Edwards
410 Market Street
Suite 400
Chapel Hill, NC 27516

Dear Senator Edwards:

It was good meeting with you yesterday and discussing my father's legacy. On the day when the nation will honor my father, I wanted to follow up with a personal note.

[snip]

So, I urge you: keep going. Ignore the pundits, who think this is a horse race, not a fight for justice. My dad was a fighter. As a friend and a believer in my father's words that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, I say to you: keep going. Keep fighting. My father would be proud.

Sincerely,

Martin L. King, III

The entire text of the letter is Here at John Edwards site.

A PDF copy of the actual letter is Here at John Edwards site.

We are also having another grassroots fund raiser.
By using the link from the graphic below, it will take you to a donation page from one of the grassroots supporters. It is a legit page on the John Edwards website.
The link is also here: https://www.johnedwards.com/action/contribute/mygrassroots/?page_id=MjkxNTg

You can also donate by going to http://johnedwards.com and clicking on the DONATE link.

Need something more to do? Need more ways that you can help John Edwards to help all of us?

Please help out if you can.

Look for the links at the top of the phone banking page, here:
http://www.johnedwardsphonebank.com/

Here is a great tool to use for contacting the media and congress.

Congress.org
http://congress.org

Media:
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/media/

On This Day We Remember... MLK and more.

On this day we remember Martin Luther King Jr.

Our thoughts are drawn to the fight for racial and economic equality, but some of us may forget the other great things that Martin Luther king Jr. stood for and against, fought for and died for.

He spoke out against the tragedy of the Vietnam War. The comparisons of the Vietnam War and the current tragedy known as the Iraq War, can be seen and heard in his words concerning the Vietnam War and our responsibilities as humans and as citizens of the United States.

He died while fighting for the poor, the disenfranchised and the rights of all workers to unionize for the good of all not just the good of the few, the greedy and the powerful.

This video gets to the heart of his feelings concerning the Vietnam War. These words can and should be used in our opposition to the current tragedy in Iraq.

For a more complete version of Martin Luther Kings Jr's speech about the Vietnam War, please check here:

Martin Luther King, "Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam"

Text of his entire speech can be found here.

Real Audio of his entire speech can be found here.

The following video is very haunting and sobering...

Great minds, Great speeches, Great men, Bad times


On this day and for all days to come, I wish you Peace.

John Edwards Money Bomb! Can it Be Done?

I totally agree with the grassroots putting together this "money bomb". I hope that we are not reaching to high, but what the heck, if you don't try you fail! So anything that helps encourage people to donate to John Edwards is a good thing.

This idea was originally put together by KingOneEye at DailyKos and it being kept alive across the blogosphere. Here is an example from today.

Can we make this happen? Who knows. Will it succeed in raising a large amount of money in one day? I really think it will.


Click on the picture or go here:
https://www.johnedwards.com/action/contribute/form/

Challenge the system: Why John Edwards Is Right.

This Video Hits The Point Why Edwards is Right!

This video speaks to the heart of why I support John Edwards. After reading the diaries about the Chamber Of Commerce coming to attack Edwards and Obama, there is no doubt that John Edwards is EXACTLY right on this!

See the diaries here and here.

One Of The Big Reasons I Support John Edwards

Take a look at this video and see if John Edwards is on the right track. I think he is.

Part of what he states, is that we can not make the changes we need in this country if we do not win the battles against corporate power, big money and greed first.

Dec. 15th 2007 is Bill Of Rights Day

This saturday Dec. 15th 2007 is Bill Of Rights Day.

I would expect to see the liberal/progressive blogs pushing this as a way to fund raise for our candidates and for our rights, but I see little.

I am a John Edwards supporter because I believe he is honest with his support of We The People, Our Constitution and Our Bill Of Rights.
http://johnedwards.com/

For more information concerning Our Bill Of Rights go here:
http://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/

For information on where and how you can help celebrate Bill Of Rights day go here:
http://billofrightsinstitute.org/borday

In my town we are celebrating it here: (7pm to 9pm)
http://tahomaorganizer.com/annual-bill-of-rights-day-celebration

One last thing, some Dennis Kucinich supporters are attempting a huge one day donation drive on Dec. 15th.

See more info here:
http://www.december152007.com/

and here:
http://www.mydd.com/story/2007/12/14/211235/53

As I mentioned, I support John Edwards but I wish the Kucinich supporters all the best with this fund raiser.

Only Fools would Bomb Iran - are we to be the fools?

Scott Ritter has been right on the money with so many things. The only thing the right wing smear machine ever does to try and counter what he says, is to try and personally smear him. They never deal with the facts and the realities.

So, here we have Scott Ritter giving all of us some good advice and something real to think about. Will we take it, will we listen or will we (under the weight of the Bush administration) be the fool of all fools?

Are We The People fools or is it just the Bush administration and the fools that follow them?

Will we stand up and say ENOUGH or just go back to watching 'reality TV'?

No Bravery...

Just thinking.....



James Blunt: No Bravery

There are children standing here,
Arms outstretched into the sky,
Tears drying on their face.
He has been here.
Brothers lie in shallow graves.
Fathers lost without a trace.
A nation blind to their disgrace,
Since he's been here.

And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.
And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness
Only sadness

Houses burnt beyond repair.
The smell of death is in the air.
A woman weeping in despair says,
He has been here.
Tracer lighting up the sky.
It's another families' turn to die.
A child afraid to even cry out says,
He has been here.

And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.
And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.

There are children standing here,
Arms outstretched into the sky,
But no one asks the question why,
He has been here.
Old men kneel to accept their fate.
Wives and daughters cut and raped.
A generation drenched in hate.
Says, he has been here.

And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.

And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.

And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.
And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.

Outsourcing IN The USA

Just in time for Labor Day, this little present from gdub (george bush) and NAFTA.

Kill The Unions!

Yep.. that is EXACTLY what they are trying to do! If you can not outsource the work to another country, then out source the labor within Our Own Country!

Mexico trucks to roll on U.S. highways

Working to kill unions on LABOR Day Weekend! This should be a frickin HUGE story! This story and Our Actions (if we choose to do anything about this) should have legs... Running Loud Stomping Legs!

This WILL Kill Union trucking! PERIOD! How long do you think other unions will survive if the Teamsters are taken down? Remember that trucking and our ports are tightly tied together. Will our Longshoreman Unions be next?

Why do I hear NOTHING from the OCE crowd (obama clinton edwards) when We The People are being f 'd over once again?

What are WE going to do about this? Why are we not screaming about this?!

More here:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070901/pl_nm/mexico_trucks_us_dc_1

The only people this helps is the rich and the corporations. Diluting the work force always has the same goals and and the same outcomes. The loss of jobs, pay and security. This is the continuing saga of the wal-marting of the USA.

Just as corporations and stock holders look for the short term profit, many people here and around the world look for low prices and what is quick and easy. Both of these situations and ways of thinking are destructive, not only to the ones doing it but also to the majority of society.

If We The People are not willing to put a stop to stuff like this, then we can only blame ourselves for allowing it.

Our jobs, our way of life, our security, our health, Our US Constitution are all in danger. It is in OUR hands to do something about the corporatism that has run amok both here and around the world! It is up to all of us to make a choice, to think, to take action, to get up off of Our Dead Asses and make a friggin difference!

By the way, this is not about Mexicans. This is about neo-cons republicans and corporatist selling out the USA for profit (they are also doing this to other parts of the world). Keep us busy, keep us down, keep us from voting... keeps the corporatist in power. This is just one more nail in the coffin of the middle class in the USA.

Speak Up and Speak Out!
http://congress.org