The Year Of The Woman

Many women, even those as young as 20ish or 30ish, were raised to keep the peace. To make others comfortable. To be the hostess of their own life wherein the happiness of others took precedence over their own comfort. Whether women received overt messages at home or  more whispered directions out in the world, it seems that no matter how far we seem to have come women still hesitate to cause trouble for those around them.

This typically translates to silence and it nearly always comes at the expense of the quiet and demure woman. However, in recent weeks and thanks to the offensive efforts of the GOP, this tide seems to be turning. It is happening in whispers at the manicurist, chats at PTA meetings and intense dialogues on Facebook. It is coming from women who heretofore may have had nearly no interest in politics and who may have even wrongfully believed that politics held no place of importance in their own life. It is coming from working women, older gals, educated ladies, poor females and divorced women. Teachers, mothers, cashiers, Texans, nurses, Northerners, dental hygienists, grandmothers. It is coming from the least expected amongst us and the voices are loud and they are strong.

The GOP War On Women Ends Here And Now

We will not wait until November to speak up. We will not wait until it gets worse. We will not wait until it hits closer to home or more laws or enacted or the dialogue gets more diabolical. We will not wait until our daughters come of age or when we find the right words or when the atmosphere is receptive to our efforts. We will fight back and we will do it today. No matter the response and regardless of the pushback, now that we have found our collective voices we will never step back in time. While some younger gals may not recall ERA YES, now is the time to remind them. It is the time to share our female experience with those coming up behind us and remind them of how far we have come. And, how the GOP is attempting to control us and would like nothing more than to push us back to 1950…or perchance even 1850.

At long last, the GOP has messed with the wrong demographic. The strength of this great country has always rested with women, no matter what sort of old (white) boy network continues to prevail in politics.

No More

There is little that every woman in this country can agree on. Coffee versus tea? Country versus rock?  Religion versus atheism? Age gracefully versus rocking a mini at age 50? But this much we can agree on: We have come so far and we refuse to take even half a step backwards. We will not sit silent and we will not allow the GOP to continue to jeopardize our basic human rights. We will not be bullied or terrorized or belittled. We will find strength in our sisterhood and we will…

Vote Democratic To Protect Our Interests

Top Liberal Goals For The Week

As liberals continue to get great news regarding our chances for a win in November, it may be easy to become complacent. You may look at the recent polls, which show President Barack Obama beating all GOP candidates, and feel that no further work needs to be done. While this is wonderful news and information that should be celebrated, this does not mean that our work is complete.

It seems that every single day the GOP launches a new attack on a difference segment of the population. While these attacks are designed to speak to their base, which has shifted further to the right than William F. Buckley or Ronald Reagan could have ever imagined, this needs to be our motivation for counter-attacks. While we never imagined that we would be having a birth control debate more reminiscent of 1950 than 2012, this is the deal that has been served to us and we must respond accordingly.

The biggest danger that we face is presuming that our thought process (“Outlawing birth control? Crazy talk!”) is the logical mind-speak of the masses. Remember that you are more than likely surrounding yourself with folks that share your values, not realizing that there are millions of individuals around the country that do not think as you do.

In fact, the common platform theme of all of the candidates is the SOTO policy, which is Someone Other Than Obama. These candidates may not have much going for them, but to their base they have the primary selling point that they are looking for in a potential president: They are not Barack Obama. Sad, yes. Misinformed, yes. Short sighted, yes. Many continue to contend that this is simply poorly cloaked racism, but this is where we are at and let us work with what has been handed to us.

To move our message forward we need to remain focused and we must never believe that some amount of good news is enough good news. The only good news that we want to hear is that President Barack Obama has been elected to a second term. And, perhaps more importantly, that we once again have a democrat dominated congress.

Because our job is far from done, we need to approach each week with a plan to move our message forward. Whether the efforts are large or small, every movement in the right direction will get us to where we need to be. Remember what Pablo Picasso said…

Action is the foundational key to all success.

Here are my top three Election 2012 goals for this week and you are welcome to adopt them as your own.  Please also use the comment option to add your own. I will be posting a fresh list each Monday, so that we can all work towards the common goal of a democratic win in November.

Order Two Yard Signs From       http://store.barackobama.com 

The first one is likely to get stolen, so it is best to be prepared. Many people I know are placing a note next to their sign indicating something along the lines of “If you steal this, I will buy a new one. This will only infuse the Obama campaign with additional funds, so make your thieving choices wisely”

Hold My Nose And Watch A Modicum Of Fox News

Why? Because how can we be prepared for what they will hit us with next if we cannot peek inside of their think tank. Like it or not, Fox News is the GOP campaign headquarters.

Tweet…Thoughtfully and Often

Both sides are really paying attention to Twitter right now, so we need to keep our message fresh on Twitter and not allow them to get the upper hand in this arena.

Sunday Morning Political Show Guests February 19, 2012

Get informed and stay informed. Whether you are republican or democrat, it is important to stay abreast of all of the political news so that you can make informed decisions and have educated debate to support your position.

Meet The Press

Paul Ryan
Chairman, House Budget Committee

Chris Van Hollen
Ranking Member, House Budget Committee

Ed Gillespie
Republican Strategist

Al Hunt
Washington Editor and Host of "Political Capital," Bloomberg News

Helene Cooper
White House Correspondent, NBC News

Andrea Mitchell
Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, NBC News

Chris Matthews Show

Liz Marlantes of Christian Science Monitor

Michael Duffy of Time Magazine

Major Garrett of Nation Journal

Kelly O’Donnell of NBC News

State of the Union With Candy Crowley

Ron Paul

Mitch Daniels

Michele Bachmann

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz

Former CIA Director Michael Hayden

Former Ambassador to Egypt and Israel Edward Walker

Face The Nation

Rick Santorum

Karen Tumulty of Washington Post

Todd Spangler of Detroit Free Press

Norah O’Donnell of CBS News

John Dickerson of CBS News

This Week With George Stephanopoulos

Sen. John McCain

Former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs

Lou Dobbs of Fox Business

Former White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers

Clarence Page of Chicago Tribune

Voter ID Requirements For All 50 States

Please be sure to read the following carefully and learn what is required in your state. As laws become updated, I will be sure to revise this listing accordingly. No matter what your political leaning, the right to vote in this great country is critical and should not be ignored. Remember: No candidate is perfect, but the right to vote is pure perfection.

Photo ID Required for All Voters

The following are states that require photo ID for all voters, however a provisional ballot is not granted if a voter does not bring a photo ID to the polls in these states.

• Alaska
• Alabama  
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• Connecticut
• Colorado
• Delaware
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Missouri
• Montana
• New Mexico
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• Texas  
• Tennessee
• Virginia
• Washington
• Wisconsin

Photo ID Required for All Voters with Provisonal Ballot Clause

The following states require all voters to show a photo ID in order to vote; if a voter does not present photo ID at the polls a provisional ballot is provided.

• Indiana
• Georgia
• Florida

Photo ID Required for All Voters with Full Ballot Clause

The following states require photo ID for voting, however if a voter does not present photo ID at the polls a Full ballot will be provided.

• Michigan
• South Dakota
• Louisiana
• Hawaii

Photo ID Required for First Time Voters Only

The following state requires photo ID only for first time voters.

• Pennsylvania

States that enforce only the HAVA Minimum

These states are those that only enforce the minimum standard by the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) in which only require a photo ID when an ID was not presented at registration.

• California
• District of Columbia
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Iowa
• Kentucky
• Maine
• Massachusetts
• Maryland
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New York
• New Jersey
• North Carolina
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Tennessee
• Utah
• Vermont
• West Virginia
• Wyoming

The Assessment of Blame: In Bush Versus Obama, The Villain is Clear

A new poll by the Associated Press reveals that 51% of Americans now believe that President George Bush is primarily responsible for the current dicey economic situation in the United States. The balance of the poll shows that 31% of polled individuals believe that President Barack Obama is responsible for the current states of affairs.

As noted in the name of this blog, I am liberal to my core and generally devote myself to the democratic and liberal framework. At the same time, I am a realist who likes to think that I approach all things political with an open mind. I have to say, however, that that I do not agree in the least with these poll numbers. The blame is clearly Bush’s alone.

What republicans fail to understand when it comes to our current economic landscape are two essential concepts:  “what might have been” and responsibility at inception of the crisis. Perhaps it is because they are overly rigid in their thinking or maybe it is because they cannot think in any manner that will defy their own cause. In any case, their failure to understand these concepts mean that they will never really understand what has happened over the last 10 years.  

Concept number one as listed above is “what might have been”. When Obama took office in January of 2009, he fairly quickly drafted the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (which was actually signed into law in the spring of 2010).  Not only was this act widely decried by republicans at the time of signature, but its efficacy continues to be doubted by them today. This act, also commonly referred to as The Stimulus Plan,  has actually been proven by leading economists to have been effective in stemming the tide of economic disaster. The key to their assessment is the theory that sans the stimulus plan, the actual effects of the downward fiscal pattern (e.g., unemployment, foreclosure rates, loan defaults) would have been much more serious without this measure.

Imagine a patient that has cancer and the doctor prescribes chemotherapy and radiation as treatment. The patient undergoes this line of treatment and is generally well for 36 months. At that time, things take a turn for the worse and the patient ends up dying as a result of the cancer. The question is this: Did the treatment work? Yes, it did. It worked because for three years the patient was primarily healthy and functioning. Was it a cure-all? Obviously not. However, without the treatment the patient would have likely died within the first 6 to 9 months. Just because the ARRA did not leave us all employed millionaires with robust portfolios does not mean that it did not work.

The second piece that republicans fail to understand is that the fact of the matter is that George Bush was behind the wheel of this bus as it veered off course and headed straight towards a fiscal cliff. Chief bipartisan economists directly point to the timeline of this crisis which began under the watch of Bush and seemed to have started with the bursting of the housing bubble. That was due to the rise of sub-prime mortgages, which began in the mid 2000s.

This, my friends, was under the watch of George Bush and was a result of deregulation. Who was behind that? Ronald Reagan and varying other republicans through the decades. They put in place an economic house of cards that was doomed to collapse and that occurred while Bush was in office. He did nothing to stop this, even as his advisers warned of impending fiscal doom.

The fact that Obama was elected in the middle of a disaster does not make him responsible for the debacle. Republicans continue to want to pin this on him and as we approach Election 2012 we need to keep reminding voters of the truth of the matter. We need to not allow their hysteria and sound bites and revision of history changed the facts of the matter.  

This topic will definitely be at the forefront of attacks on Obama over the course of the next 15 months. Vigilant liberals need to make sure that the responsibility for this economic nightmare is place squarely where it belongs: On the shoulders of George Bush. Further, they need to be reminded that without the stimulus package the results would have been even more devastating. The bottom line is that the stimulus worked and another round would do our economy a world of good.

A Limmerick Tribute to Republican Crazies

Sarah Palin plays it coy,

Treating presidential candidacy as a toy.

A meandering bus tour,

To pull her ratings out of the sewer,

Perchance simply a Perry decoy.

Michele Bachman and facts,

With the truth she is simply lax.

Can’t seem to get much straight,

Which of course includes her mate,

Methinks Marcus is gay to the max.

Rick Perry is a king hypocrite,

A crown of mighty fools is most befit.

Writes Fed Up in 2010,

Now he is just one of those men,

Who denounces his past much like Mitt.

Bill O'Reilly, You Are Dead Ass Wrong

I have a confession to make: I watch Fox News. Now, before you snatch away my liberal card, tear the Obama 2012 shirt off my back and thrust a poorly crafted Tea Party sign into my hand, let me explain a bit further. I do not by any means watch Fox on a regular basis and, honestly, I only watch until my retinas begin to burn and I can sense my IQ dropping point by point. There have been moments, though, where I have watched long enough and become enraged enough that my husband actually has to pry the remote from my hand and gently steer me towards the Food Network or perhaps a rerun of Hoarders.

I watch Fox news for three distinct purposes. First, I think it is hypocritical to critique something you have no first-hand knowledge of. Second, I watch to get some insight into what the other side is up to (something of a recon mission). And finally, I watch because I suffer from dangerously low blood pressure and a bit of Hannity always does the trick by raising my B/P a good dozen points. Okay, I am kidding about the third reason…kinda.

Which leads me to this blog and what my newest plan is for you, my dedicated readers. I am volunteering, kind lady that I am, to take a bullet for you and let you know what is happening over in the world of Fox. And every so often I will distill what I have learned and will share it with you, again via this blog, in a segment now known as “(Fill in moronic person on Fox), You Are Dead Ass Wrong”.   Methinks I will have a wealth of material and this river of un-knowledge will never run dry. Talk about blog security!

First up: Bill O’Reilly

Last week I watch a segment with Bill O’Reilly, Alan Colmes and an un-named, but kind of cute, brunette and bespectacled Ann Coulter wannabe. The topic of discussion was the legislation that mandates that health insurance carriers now cover birth control. This topic immediately piqued my interest as I am a former health insurance administrator and thus have a bit of inside information that Bill O’Reilly and his pack of fools may be lacking.

BOR immediately started flapping his arms like a crazed pigeon in Times Square and squawking about this outrage. I am paraphrasing, but this is essentially what he was saying: “This is ridiculous! This is more government oppression! This means that every single one of us, including my fat cat ass, will have to pay more in insurance premiums! Squawk! Squawk!”.

Poor Bill. Poor idiotic, ill informed, needs-to-buy-a-calculator (to replace his abacus) Bill O’Reilly. Allow me to crunch some numbers for you…

Cost of a healthy yet unplanned pregnancy: $10,000

Cost of birth control pills: $20/month

Therefore, for every one unplanned pregnancy you can purchase 500 months of pills…or, 42 years. Of course, this does not include the expense of a less than healthy pregnancy, neonatology expenses, the medical cost of the child itself and all related costs for an “unwanted” child (read: Medicaid, reduced lunch program, WIC, etc).

You seem like intelligent and thoughtful readers, so you tell me: Which is more cost effective? The obvious answer is the birth control pills.

But let me also let you in on a little secret, Bill O’Reilly and similar morons…You are already paying for the birth control pills. You see, for many decades most health insurance carriers did not pay for birth control pills when they were prescribed for contraceptive purposes. However, they would pay for them if the physician listed as a diagnosis something along the lines of Dysmenorrhea, Polycystic Ovaries, or some other related gynecological issue. Yes, as a courtesy to their female patients physicians would game the system in order to make sure that birth control pills were covered by women who wanted them. These physicians knew that offering someone birth control is always much wiser than risking an unintended pregnancy.

Here is another little tidbit for you about the expense of birth control pills. Health insurance carriers have cooperative agreements with both pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies. This means that what may cost an uninsured individual $20 at the local pharmacy will cost Humana, Aetna or Anthem only $7. However, the average copay for medications is $20-30. Therefore, not only has the member themselves actually paid for the full cost of the medication, but your local Walgreens or Rite-Aid is making a fair profit as well and plays into the aforementioned cooperative agreement.

Of course, I don’t expect Bill O’Reilly to know this. Frankly, I am shocked he knows anything including how to tie his own shoes. But I assume that he has interns or assistants or some other helpful staff in order to educate him so that he does not appear foolish to viewers. My only explanation for why this does not occur is that (a) These staff members are actually, ha ha ha, staunch liberals or (b) They are just as dim at BOR himself (I am leaning towards the second option).

In any case, I conclude with only these seven words: Bill O’Reilly, You Are Dead Ass Wrong

Sunday Morning Programing: Get Informed, Stay Informed

Fellow liberals, do you know what separates us from "them"? Our ability to think rationally, educate ourselves, differentiate fact from fiction and always remain well informed. Okay, we also have opposable thumbs, our houses do not have wheels and we do not consider pork rinds a major food group.

In an effort to remain constantly informed, following is a listing of Sunday morning programming for today 8/14/11. Yes, many of the names listen herein cause vomit to creep up the back of your throat, but do stay the course and do not let that frighten you.


Meet the Press: Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN); Roundtable: Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R), Republican Strategist Mike Murphy, Eugene Robinson (Washington Post), Jonathan Martin (Politico) and Chuck Todd (NBC News).

Face the Nation: Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN); DNC Chair/Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL).

This Week: Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN); Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R); Roundtable: George Will (Washington Post), Republican Strategist Matthew Dowd, Amy Walter (ABC News), Radio Host Laura Ingraham and Kay Henderson (Radio Iowa).

Fox News Sunday: Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN); Roundtable: Bret Baier (Fox News), Steve Hayes (Weekly Standard) and Chair of the Iowa GOP Matt Strawn.

State of the Union: Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN); Pizza Mogul Herman Cain; Rep. Steve King (R-IA); Neil King (Wall Street Journal); Philip Rucker (Washington Post); Reliable Sources: Jackie Kucinich (USA Today); Roger Simon (Politico); Jennifer Rubin (Washington Post); Radio Host Stephanie Miller; Wayne Slater (Dallas Morning News); Felix Salmon (Reuters); David Bohrman (Current TV).

The Chris Matthews Show: Nia-Malika Henderson (Washington Post); Howard Fineman (Huffington Post); David Ignatius (Washington Post); Jamie Tarabay (National Journal).

Fareed Zakaria GPS: Paul Krugman (New York Times); Harvard University Professor Kenneth Rogoff, PhD; Author Dr. Theodore Dalrymple; British Journalist David Goodhart; Author Ahmed Rashid.

Ode To Herman Cain

Fellow liberals,  this project has been going fairly well thus far and I certainly do appreciate your collective input. In case you missed the Michele Bachmann deadline, you can send your correspondence directly to her at:

MICHELE BACHMANN

103 Cannon HOB

 Washington, DC 20515

Phone: (202) 225-2331

Fax: (202) 225-6475

I am confident, lovely lady that she is, that should would be delighted to hear what her fellow Americans have to say about her. You betcha!

Next up ==> Herman Cain

I know, there is so much to say to our fave loony pizza dude. And you fellow liberals have such a great way of getting your message across in an effective, pointed and clear manner. As opposed, of course, to the jibber jabber that we often get from....well, Herman Cain himself!

You know the drill (and if you don't, see the prior posts) -- finish this thought:

Dear Herman Cain:

Dear Michelle Bachmann

UPDATE: PLEASE NOTE THAT WE WILL DOING THIS PROJECT WEEKLY NOT DAILY, SO YOU HAVE UNTIL AUGUST 12th TO SUBMIT YOUR MESSAGE TO MICHELLE BACHMAN. THANK YOU!

Folks, today we will be sending our letters to Michelle Bachmann. Thank you so much for your response yesterday regarding Allen West -- I am sending the comments from this page, Facebook (Left Leaning Liberal Ladies) and Twitter (@theliberallady) to his office at 2108 North Federal Highway, Boca Raton, Florida 33432 (no kidding, I used to live just a few miles away from this address before I moved back to the Chicago area). He will get a letter from me, with all of the comments printed up in a nice tidy format for him to review.

Please see the instructions for this little project on my post yesterday entitled, Republicans Take Note.

Thank you for participating and let's work together to get our collective voices heard in Washington.

Now....finish this thought... ==>>

Dear Michelle Bachmann:

Republicans, Take Note

In all likelihood, you are viewing this blog because you are left leaning yourself and would like very much to see a significant change to the political direction of this great country. You are unwilling to sit silently while the likes of Michelle Bachmann, Eric Cantor, Mitt Romney, Mitch McConnell and others try to hold us hostage while relaying to their base a message that is warped at best and criminal at worst. You are concerned not just with the re-election of President Barack Obama, but want to ensure that a democratic congress is elected in 2012 and that the American dreams remains alive and well for all Americans....not simply select Americans.

You may, however, feel limited in what you can do and where to place your enthusiasm, energy and focus.  While volunteering for a political campaign is obviously the most productive thing to do, many people do not have the time to do so or are not comfortable doing this. Donating money is another superb way to help out, but that is not doable for many individuals in this dicey economy.

What I am now launching on my site is something called "Republicans, Take Note". Each day (yes, every day) I will be posting the name of a republican politician and I am asking you to give me a message that you would like delivered to that individual. I will gather all the comments,  remarks and sentiments and commit them to paper. Then, I will mail them to their offices and get our collective message across to them.

You may relay your message to me here on this blog, via my Facebook page at "Left Leaning Liberal Ladies" or via Twitter @theliberallady. I would like to respectfully ask that you do not use profanity during the course of your communication. I know, this will be super hard with some republican politicians who strike us as particularly vile. However, I think this is important in getting our message across in the most effective manner possible.

When you leave your comment please also let me know your initials and where you live. You do not need to provide a full name, unless you would like to. I am committed to doing this whether I receive 3 responses per day or 300 or 3,000.

There will also be some days that I may ask that you direct your comments to democrats as well. Not only do we occasionally needs to give these heroes an "Atta Boy", but we also may need to hold their feet to the fire and make sure that they take our vision of a perfected America to Washington and make it a reality.

Thank you for listening and I look forward to your comments.

THE POLITICIAN FOR THE DAY IS: ALLEN WEST

Complete List of Koch Products to Boycott

Following is a list outlining Koch products that should be boycotted.  A detailed blog concerning the justification for this boycott is forthcoming. If you find that this list is incomplete or unclear, feel free to post a comment.

Angel Soft toilet paper
Brawny paper towels
Dixie plates, bowls, napkins and cups
Mardi Gras napkins and towels
Quilted Northern toilet paper
Soft 'n Gentle toilet paper
Sparkle napkins
Vanity fair napkins
Zee napkins
Georgia-Pacific paper products and envelopes

Lycra
Stainmaster Carpet

Dense Armor Drywall and Decking
ToughArmor Gypsum board
Georgia pacific Plytanium Plywood
Flexrock
Densglass sheathing
G/P Industrial plasters (some products used by a lot of crafters)-

FibreStrong Rim board
G/P Lam board
Blue Ribbon OSB Rated Sheathing
Blue Ribbon Sub-floor
DryGuard Enhanced OSB
Nautilus Wall Sheathing
Thermostat OSB Radiant Barrier Sheathing
Broadspan Engineered Wood Products
XJ 85 I-Joists
FireDefender Banded Cores
FireDefender FS
FireDefender Mineral Core
Hardboard and Thin MDF including Auto Hardboard,
Perforated Hardboard and Thin MDF
Wood Fiberboard -
Commercial Roof Fiberboard
Hushboard Sound Deadening Board
Regular Fiberboard Sheathing
Structural Fiberboard Sheathing

COMFOREL® fiberfill
COOLMAX® fabric
CORDURA® fabric
DACRON® fiber
POLYSHIELD® resin
SOLARMAX® fabric
SOMERELLE® bedding products
STAINMASTER® carpet
SUPPLEX® fabric
TACTEL® fiber
TACTESSE® carpet fiber
TERATE® polyols
TERATHANE® polyether glycol
THERMOLITE® fabric
PHENREZ® resin
POLARGUARD® fiber and
LYCRA® fiber