Good morning!

How is everyone doing? Here’s a write that I found interesting. From Climate Progress, a section of Think Progress:

It’s a heavy, hot, July evening in Washington, D.C.

Ominous storm clouds, bloated with rain, hang oppressively low and there’s an eerie green glow around the corners of everything. Lakiya Culley has just gotten home from work and her three boys Kamari, Christopher and Carl — aged two to seven — are trying to play basketball in the living room without getting into trouble and now and then circling nonchalantly around the kitchen counter, eying the yet uncut chocolate cake.

The cake is a house-warming present. You wouldn’t guess it from how at home everyone seems, but Lakiya and her boys have only lived here for about a month. Like any new homeowner Lakiya is eager to show off her new digs. She loves her big second story porch, especially when the boys get rowdy.

“I can go up there and close the door for a minute and I feel like I’m in the treetops, away from it all,” laughs Lakiya, holding Kamari on her hip giving him a knowing, wry smile.

Lakiya, who has worked as an administrative aid at the Department of State for nine years, also prefers the upstairs porch because sometimes when she sits on the front porch after work she has to field a lot of questions.

“Someone the other day asked me if this was a log cabin in the city,” said Lakiya. “Someone else asked me if I was hiring, people are always taking pictures. I guess that’s because it just looks different from the other houses on the block. I don’t mind though, I like to be a little different.”

That’s because Lakiya’s new home is the first super energy-efficientpassive house in D.C. It also just happens to be a Habitat for Humanityhome.

The house doesn’t look like a futuristic spaceship, but it is different from the other small pre-fab houses along the street. It is a two home duplex with a big wooden porch in front and, of course, solar panels on the roof.

Lakiya’s house started out two years ago as an entry in the Department of Energy’s biannual Solar Decathlon. Dubbed “Empowerhouse” for the competition, it was an ambitious concept brought to life by engineering and architecture students from Stevens Institute of Technology, Parsons The New School for Design and Milano School for International Affairs, management and Urban Policy, many of whom had never even wielded a hammer before attempting this elaborate construction project.

The team’s dream was to build a solar-powered house that could not only compete with the most cutting-edge technologies out there, but was actually affordable and something ordinary people would want to live in.

According to Josh Layrea, one of the Stevens engineers, the winning entry from a German team two years before cost over two million dollars.

“It was an impressive piece of engineering,” Laryea concedes. “But made for exhibit, not habitation. The entire outside of the house was covered in solar panels.”

Laryea and his teammates had a different goal. In a way, they were in a competition of their own, in which they were competing against themselves to see if they could create something that Habitat for Humanity could use not only as a home for a low-income family in the Deanwood area of D.C. but also as an affordable housing prototype for Habitat going forward. The Stevens-Parson-Milano house won the top prize for cost-effectiveness at the Solar Decathlon.

Lakiya’s house was built based on passive house design principles. The basic concept of passive house is to lower energy consumption by being super-insulated and practically airtight. Empowerhouse has 12-inch thick walls and triple-glazed windows and, as a result, uses up to 90 percent less energy for heating and cooling than an ordinary house. Such low energy consumption enabled Empowerhouse to have one of the smallest solar panel arrays in the competition, which helps keep construction and maintenance costs down.

Needless to say, Lakiya’s house wasn’t two million dollars. After Habitat built a second story on the 1,000 square foot competition house, the final price tag for Lakiya’s half of the duplex was just over $200,000, on par with the typical price of Habitat construction in the area. Although passive houses are often about 15 percent more expensive to build because of the special doors and windows they require and all the extra insulation, Habitat’s financing programs and D.C. area grants mean Lakiya has a very manageable 133,000 dollar, thirty-year mortgage. And if the house proves itself to be net zero as advertised, she will save nearly $72,000 on energy costs over the course of that mortgage.

In order to become certified as a passive house, the building has to be tested for leaks and cracks that would make it less efficient. Orlando Velez, Manager of Housing Services for Habitat for Humanity of Washington D.C. explained that the test is serious business.

“They take a huge blower fan and put it in one of the doors and then close everything else up,” said Velez. “The fan sucks all the air out until the house is pressurized at fifty pascals, then they watch to see how much air is leaking [into] the house. We rush around the outside of the house with a smoker test and try to find every place we’re leaking.”

For a typical house, this test would reveal seven air changes per hour. Air changes per hour is a measurement of how many times the air in a space is replaced. To be certified as a passive house, that number needs to drop to 0.6 air changes per hour.

“That means that all the little leaks put together are smaller than a postage stamp,” said Velez. “And if you wanted to you could heat your home with a hair dryer quite easily.”

Velez remembers the excitement he felt when Lakiya’s home passed the passive house test.

“I just remember thinking, we did it, a non-profit, affordable house developer can do this, even using volunteers with no construction experience,” said Velez. “And then I started thinking, what’s everyone else waiting for?”

Parsons offered Lakiya the furniture they had used to decorate the house during the competition, but she politely declined. It was a bit space-age for her tastes, so she brought the boys’ bunk beds from her old apartment and turned the conceptual entryway into a little T.V. room for the kids after school.

Lakiya hasn’t gotten a power bill since the solar panels on her roof have been up and operational, but she’s excited to see what it looks like. She knows that the recent heat wave has kept the AC running and that her sons are a factor that wasn’t part of any neat energy consumption calculations.

“They’re kids,” she says. “They run in and out and in and out and they’re too busy chasing each other to always remember to close the porch door after them. So yes, we’re still learning how to use this house. I’ve never had an electricity bill for a house before, because I’ve never had a house before, so there’s a lot to get used to.” That bill, Lakiya hopes, will read $0 owed.

As anyone who worked on Empowerhouse hoped, Lakiya’s home is not the end of the dream. Habitat is gearing up to build six more passive houses in Ivy City, a short drive from Deanwood. They’ll look a bit different from Empowerhouse, more townhouses than duplex, but they’ll cost about the same and hopefully pass on the same savings.

“As much as we can afford, we would like to have the highest standard of energy efficiency available for our homeowners,” said Susanne Slater, President and CEO of D.C. Habitat for Humanity. “Our whole mission is to provide affordable housing to low income families, and if homeowners pay less in energy costs, that helps us reach that goal.”

“I really believe that with the mounting cost of electricity, passive houses with solar panels are going to take off,” said Slater. “And our homeowners are going to be out in front of the movement.”

*******

Readers: Pretty cool huh?

Lewis: I hear ya. I HOPE that embarrassment encourages you to do something if you aren’t already. 

Zen Lill: How nice. I HOPE you had fun. Send them on over when you’re ready.

Yw: It’s a bit quiet out there. Looks like it’s just you and me. I HOPE  Ym comes home to you soon.

Happy Friday everyone! Let’s make it a beautiful beginiing of the weekend. Thanks for being here with me! Blog me your thoughts, ideas, plans for the weekend perhaps?

Peace Baby.

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2012

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Good morning!

Are you sick yet of the racism that continues to be displayed by people in our country? Here’s yet another example. These days, they aren’t hard to find.

A write from my latest fave online news, Think Progress:

Mostly-White Ohio Suburb Fighting To Prevent Mostly-Black Bus-Riders From Entering Community

A lily-white Ohio suburb is doing everything it can, including risking millions in federal highway funding, to keep mostly minority bus-riders from a nearby city from entering their community.

The showdown began in 2010 when the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority proposed adding three new bus stops in Beavercreek, a largely white suburb 15 minutes east of Dayton. These new stops would give Dayton bus-riders access to Beavercreek’s major shopping mall and nearby businesses, as well as a medical clinic and Wright State University.

Facing the prospect of buses coming in from Dayton, the Beavercreek City Council began enacting as many hurdles as they could to stop the new bus stops. Among the dozen roadblocks included mandating that bus shelters included heated and air conditioning as well as high-tech surveillance cameras, features that would be hugely expensive and are not common at other stops. Unsurprisingly, these demands couldn’t be met and the council rejected the expansion. “We turned downed an application because they didn’t meet our (design) criteria,” Beavercreek City Councilman Scott Hadley explained to Eye On Ohio.

Many in the area argue that their opposition boils down to a simple reason: race. According to the 2010 census, 9 in 10 Beavercreek residents are white, but 73 percent of those who ride the Dayton RTA buses are minorities. “I can’t see anything else but it being a racial thing,” Sam Gresham, state chair of Common Cause Ohio, a public interest advocacy group, told ThinkProgress. “They don’t want African Americans going on a consistent basis to Beavercreek.”

A civil rights group in the area, Leaders for Equality in Action in Dayton (LEAD), soon filed a discrimination lawsuit against Beavercreek under the Federal Highway Act. In June, the Federal Highway Administration ruled that Beavercreek’s actions were indeed discriminatory and ordered them to work with the Dayton Regional Transit Authority to get the bus stops approved without delay.

Beavercreek, though, isn’t particularly keen to do that. The city council voted most recently on Friday to put off consideration of the matter until later this month. They are weighing whether to appeal the federal ruling, or perhaps whether to just defy it altogether. Appealing the ruling could cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, according to a Washington D.C. lawyer the council hired. However, non-compliance with the ruling could cost Beavercreek tens of millions of dollars in federal highway funds.

The city council has until September 11, 2013 to begin complying with the Federal Highway Administration order. They will meet again on August 12 to decide how to proceed.

Gresham, for one, is flabbergasted that the council would even consider risking millions of dollars in federal highway funds. “Their worldview and logic are two entirely separate things,” he said.

**********

Readers: Once again, racism takes the lead at the expense of others. Whats your view? Blog me your opinion. I promise there is no censoring here.

Peace out. 

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2012

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Good morning.

Once “again”, the victim is blamed.

Prison Attorneys Claim 14-Year-Old Inmate Wanted To Get Raped By Her 40-Year-Old Prison Guard

A Louisiana parish is trying to get out of paying a 14-year-old who was repeatedly raped by her prison guard, with lawyers arguing last week that the girl wanted the sex.

The guard, Angelo Vickers, is serving a 7-year sentence after pleading guilty to molestation of a juvenile. The woman, known anonymously as Mary Doe, is now an emotionally traumatized 20-year-old. Mary Doe sued the Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government as well as her attacker, alleging the parish officials should have protected her from Vickers.

Rather than assume liability or try to shift the scrutiny solely on the guard, the parish’s defense strategy is simply to blame the victim. Court papers claim, “Vickers could not have engaged in sexual relations within the walls of the detention center with [the victim] without cooperation from her. Vickers did not use force, violence or intimidation when engaging in sexual relations.”

“These girls in the detention center are not Little Miss Muffin,” one official told the Tri-Parish Times.

Of course, the defense is flagrantly at odds with Louisiana law, which states no one under 17 years old can consent to sex. Moreover, the obvious power a guard wields over a prisoner makes any sexual relationship suspect, even without proof of physical force or overt threats.

The Terrebonne juvenile prison was exposed by a Department of Justice investigation in 2010 for arbitrarily putting children in isolation cells and leaving guards unsupervised. Several staffers were fired and even indicted for exchanging candy, fruit, time on the telephone, and other favors in return for sex with the underage inmates.

Still, prison employees all over the country often get away with rape, and few actually serve time. One Department of Justice study found that only 56 percent of staffers who were clearly caught sexually abusing inmates were referred for prosecution, while many are released on low bonds or given negligible sentences on the grounds that their victims were in prison.

More than 1,700 boys and girls reported being sexually assaulted, but the number is likely much higher given inmates’ reluctance to report rape. Prison guards usually begin their abuse by sharing personal stories and giving young inmates gifts to create a semblance of intimacy, according to another DOJ survey.

*S*I*C*K*F*U*C*K*S*

*That’s all I have to say. Blog me.

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2012

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Good morning!

A write from Think Progress:

Student Debt Holds Women Back From Big Purchases More Than Men

BY BRYCE COVERT ON AUGUST 7, 2013 AT 3:38 PM

CREDIT: Wall Street Journal

A new report has evidence that women with student debt hold back on consumption more than men: For every $200 more in monthly student loan payments a woman has to make, she is 4 percent more likely to delay buying a home, according to survey results of 2,616 people by NerdWallet and economics professor Ben Ho. A man in the same situation is only 1.4 percent more likely to put it off.

The analysis controlled for factors such as the amount of consumer debt respondents held, their levels of financial literacy and financial management, their aversion to debt, and others. In fact, men and women surveyed were equally financially literate. But while higher levels of education about finances didn’t impact men’s plans to buy houses, more literacy made women more hesitant.

Other research has found that overall student debt is holding recent graduates back from buying homes. The number of people under 40 who own homes fell by 4.6 percent at the end of last year, the largest drop since 1982. Beyond having less free income to spend on housing when graduates are paying back loans, they are also unlikely to be able to qualify for a mortgage.

But the burden may weigh even more heavily on women thanks to the gender wage gap. Even though men and women fresh out of college would appear to be incredibly similar in the eyes of an employer — they’re similarly educated, single, childless, lacking in work experience, and interested in working full-time — female graduates make $7,622 less than male ones on average. This holds true even when correcting for a number of factors, such as where they went to school, the grades they earned, and the number of hours they work.

And that gap holds true no matter how well educated women become. For every degree a woman earns, a man with the same degree will earn more. A man with a business degree will earn $1,417 than a woman with the same qualification, for example.

Women may not be able to factor in buying a house when they’re paying back student loans while making less than their male peers.

********

Howie: What a delightful surprise to see you here. You’ve been missed. Welcome back! I HOPE you’ll not get bored by the banter and instead stick around for awhile and share what’s on your mind. As they say…curious minds want to know…soo…wha’at’s up?

Readers: The forum is open. Blog me.

Peace out. 

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2012

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Good morning!

Steve: Absolutely not. Stay tuned.

Kaatje: Please see above comment to Steve.

Louis: Good luck with your potential lady love.

Flora: Disappointed in Obama? I am in no way disappointed in Obama. I am so grateful that he is our president. I am however disappointed in those that oppose him strictly to be against him with their main goal to see him fail, at the expense of the betterment of our country. That is something to be disappointed over.

LeTa0: I agree with you. People don’t police themselves and the FBI is certainly not going to. I was watching Maddow a few nights ago and she referenced the New York Times article written by Charlie Savage, “The F.B.I Deemed Agents Faultless in 150 Shooting.” A segment and write worth a watch.

And thank you so much for the Civics 101 course. So many people who blame Obama for so many things that are not in his control,  really don’t understand how the 3 branches of government work. I am with you on the next midterms. If the Dems sit back like they did in 2010, the last 2 years of Obama’s presidency will not be very productive. I am not counting on a more “cooperative House of repubs to work with.” Nope. Bottom line: The Dems need to get off the couch, go to the polls and get back in control.

Vicki: I like your comment. My sentiments exactly.

George, WN: I have a feeling the inadequacy that you feel every time you go to the bathroom, pull down your pants, and look down, is the reason you say such things. From the anger you’re spewing, me thinks you just visited the little boys room, got another reminder of what you lack in the sack, and decided to post your thoughts here. You can rant all you want, even throw in some caps with lots of exclamation points,  but sorry, it won’t make your little willy any bigger.

Anonymous: I agree with the commenter: “Sickening.”

Anonymous: I repeat the above.

So…speaking of uncooperative republicans and their main goal, I found this on the Maddow Blog:

Associated Press

From time to time, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has a knack for making provocative comments that infuriate Republicans. Friday offers just such an example.

“My counterpart, Mitch McConnell, said at the beginning of the presidency of Barack Obama that he had one goal — and that is to defeat Obama and make sure he wasn’t re-elected. And that’s how they legislate in the Senate,” he said. “It was really bad. And we’re now seven months into this second term of the president’s and they haven’t changed much.”

“It’s been obvious that they’re doing everything they can to make him fail,” Reid said. “And I hope, I hope — and I say this seriously — I hope that’s based on substance and not the fact that he’s African American.”

The suggestion that Republicans might be motivated by racism — as opposed to, say, the party’s radicalism and ideological extremism — was not well received. The National Republican Senatorial Committee called Reid’s comments “insane,” and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, Congress’ only African-American Republican urged Reid to “apologize” for his “offensive” remarks.

As a rule, Reid’s comments are not the way I like to see the discourse work. If leading Democrats have examples of Republicans using racism to attack President Obama — examples that come up more often than they should – Dems should say so. Passive-aggressive trolling, and “hopes” that Republicans aren’t racist, isn’t constructive.

That said, whether you find Reid’s approach inappropriate or not, it’s worth noting he’s playing the game by Republican rules. Indeed, let’s take a brief stroll down memory lane, pointing to some incidents from the Bush/Cheney era that the political world may not recall.

As long-time readers may recall, Republicans in the last decade had quite an annoying habit: when Democrats took positions the GOP didn’t like, Republicans routinely accused Dems of bigotry and discrimination.

When Harriet Miers’ Supreme Court nomination came under fire, Republicans suggested Democrats, including Democratic women, were being sexist.

When Bill Pryor’s nomination to the 11th Circuit drew opposition, Republicans suggested Democrats, including Catholic Democrats, were anti-Catholic.

When Miguel Estrada’s D.C. Circuit nomination drew opposition, Republicans suggested Democrats were anti-Hispanic.

When Samuel Alito’s Supreme Court nomination was criticized, Republicans suggested his liberal opponents don’t like Italian-Americans.

When Janice Rogers Brown D.C. Circuit nomination came under fire, Republicans suggested Democrats were racists.

When Lurita Doan of the General Services Administration appeared to violate the Hatch Act at Karl Rove’s behest, Republicans accused Democrats of not liking conservative women.

In each of these instances, Democrats had specific, substantive concerns, but for Republicans, it was easier to accuse Democrats, without proof or decency, of being motivated by bigotry.

To clarify, this isn’t a defense for Reid’s comments, which I don’t think he should have made — leaders should call out racism, not hope aloud that a party isn’t being racist. But before Republicans complain too loudly about Reid’s rhetoric, I hope they’ll take a moment to realize he very likely learned this approach to identity politics by watching them.

*******

Readers: I agree with the writer of this write – Call ‘em on out on their racism, when they’re being racist. I’m done today. Your turn. Blog me. Happy Monday! I HOPE that today promises a fantastic rest of the week. Thanks for being here.

Peace & Love…

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2012

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"