Word Games

Just Words?

I have said it before many times: Republicans are really, really fantastic at framing. They take an issue, and put it in such a way that if you try to disagree, you put yourself into a verbal noose that can’t be untied. One example is the phrase ,”I support the troops!” That is an essentially innocuous statement, but when KKKarl Rove gets a hold of it, it becomes, “I support the war in Iraq, and George W. Bush, and if you don’t, then why do you hate America?”

I had an interesting exchange with my online frenemy, “Republican in Seattle,” on my recent post “On Consciences, and Rules.” (I swear we’ll do karaoke someday, Republican!) Her tactics were most interesting. She tried to redefine the words “pro-choice” as meaning, “pro-EVERYONE’s choice.” This was her logic: If you’re REALLY pro-choice, you’ll support the choice of the pharmacist to deny a woman emergency contraception or birth control based on conscience.

Uh-uh. That’s not what “pro-choice” means. “Pro-choice” means pro – the woman’s choice. It means the woman’s choice is the most important when it comes to reproductive issues. How could it not be – it’s her life, her body, and her baby (or not).

The idea that my pro-choice position means I have to give a pharmacist power over my body is classic Republican doublethink. I expected her next to tell me that “some animals are more equal than others,” or that “we have always been at war with East Asia.”

But you see what she did there? If you’re not paying attention, these types of word games could really sway you into thinking that “pro-choice” means…well, its exact opposite. 

Bi-Partisan, Non-Partisan: Why the Meanings of Words Matter to Women Going Forward

What Do You Mean?

After a (somewhat deserved) comment from a TNA member on my last post, I’ve been thinking a lot about the words “non-partisan.” What do they really mean, going forward?

As for me, I am unabashedly liberal. I think that’s pretty clear. However, I can agree with conservatives, moderates, Republicans, evangelicals or whatever labels you want to come up with on the full enfranchisement of women in our society. This means ratifying the ERA, and all the things that come with it: full representation in government, being paid like 100% of a person, and the end of institutionalized misogyny.

I am constantly amazed by how easily a woman is dismissed by men as either a bimbo, or a hag, no matter how great her accomplishments or contributions. I see this in all areas of life, whether it be in the political arena with Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin, my own experience interacting with men, or the way women like Rihanna are treated in the press. The fact that one out of three women experience physical or sexual abuse (or both) in their lifetimes should be a part of every story about this unfortunate young woman; yet far too often, the angle I see in the press is more along the lines of “the bitch deserved it.”

Until sexist, misogynist memes and laws no longer exist in America, we women must come together regardless of political affiliation, and keep speaking out and acting as one.

And yet.

President Re-Election Gets Pwned; We Pay the Price

Like Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year's

The latest “stimulus package” from Team Obama has passed the House. Hooray! Bold, decisive action from Barack Obama and Congressional Democrats (not a single Republican voted for it). It’s got money for infrastructure spending and alternative energy, too! But as is becoming per usual with our new President, we have to ask: “Where’s the catch?”

Well, if you read the story linked above, something will strike you right away – something that was hidden in the 99th paragraph of the article.

In an attempt bid [sic] to assuage Republicans, Mr Obama persuaded Democrats to to remove millions of dollars in funding for contraceptives for state medical programmes from the bill.

And what about this?

The stimulus plan includes about $275 billion in tax cuts, including a credit worth $500 dollars for each worker and $1,000 for couples.

Yes, Obama giveth, and Obama taketh away.

You see, the original bill in the House did not include any tax cuts. And it CERTAINLY did not include this horrifying idea to take away government funding for birth control measures, which is bad even apart from its obvious heartlessness and misogyny; it actually will end up costing more money than it saves. (By the way, weren’t all the Sarah Palin haterz positive that if she became Vice President, this sort of thing would start happening to women – even though she is on the record as being pro-contraception? Ah, memories.) But Barack Obama strode down to Capitol Hill in all his glory, with many representatives of Big Business trailing behind him in clouds of cigar smoke – you know, the ones who helped him buy the Presidency for $800 million – and lo and behold, the Democrats listened to his words of wisdom! Yes, that’s right – the Democrats are in charge now, and they were the ones who tried to make the bill “bi-partisan” at Obama’s urgings. The Republicans can do nothing, legislatively, to stop the bill in the House, so their input was politically nil – or should have been. 

Channeling Admiral Stockdale: Who Am I, and What Am I Doing Here?

You may wonder why I am suddenly writing about the economy all the time. Where are my Barack-bashing snarky posts? Has someone kidnapped me, the way so many bloggers have been kidnapped by, and assimilated into, the O-Borg?

Of course not. I’m still me, and I’m sure many snarky posts will be forthcoming. But frankly, I think the election is all but over at this point. Our next President will be John McCain, and our next Vice-President will be the glass-ceiling shattering Alaskan Governor, Sarah Palin. (Yes, she knows how much she owes to Hillary Clinton, and so do we!) I am now seeking my post-election mission, and for me, it has to do with framing.

You see, I firmly believe that Americans are mostly in agreement about the major issues in our country. Polling shows that we support a social safety net (including universal health care) and would be willing to pay for it. We are ready for a new New Deal, a radical re-claiming of the American Dream. Hillary Clinton’s incredible success in the primaries, and her consistently superior polling over John McCain (when it was still being done), shows that her FDR-style message was heard, understood and appreciated.

Yet we have been manipulated by BOTH parties into thinking that we can never come together to solve these problems. We think of political parties as if they were football teams: We root for them, think they can do no wrong, and refuse to hold them to account when they collect too many penalties. And of course, we know in our bones that the other team sucks! Boooooooo!!!!

Repost: Economomics

(This article was originally posted in January of this year. Unfortunately, it’s just as relevant now as it was then.)

Deregulation Makes Economy Go Like This!

If you are not an economist, and you want a concise explanation of what is happening in the world of risky mortgages and failing financial institutions, let Robert Kuttner of the American Prospect explain it to you. (Thanks, Dad, for bringing this to my attention!)

The article is remarkable not only for its clarity, but for its framing. New Deal good! Free-market fairy tales bad! Amazingly, regulation is not the worst thing that can happen to an economy, and just lowering interest rates does not magically infuse the system with high-value cash. Who woulda thunk it?!

To me, Business as an entity is like a child experiencing its “Terrible Two’s.” All of a sudden, “NO!” is the only word the child seems to be able to say. Although the Terrible Two’s are difficult for parents, they are also a crucial time for setting limits and imposing discipline. Is the child intrinsically bad? Of course not, but it needs to learn morality. Without the proper guidance, it will develop not into a responsible member of society, but instead into a spoiled, selfish brat. (This eventuality may occur despite the best efforts of the parents, but that doesn’t mean the parents are excused from trying.)

And that’s where conservative economic policy (what Kuttner calls “free market fairy tales”) fails us. Business is not intrinsically bad – in fact, it can be very, very good. But Business has no moral compass – it exists purely for profit. Without strong limits and regulation, it will become an anti-societal force, and that’s just what has happened.

The conservative movement has been very, very good at selling the idea of unregulated markets by hooking it to the mythos of the American cowboy. He’s out on the range, striking out on his own, no one to tell him no, singing “Don’t Fence Me In.” How oh-so-very-manly! Like Robert Kuttner, we liberals need to re-frame this debate. The free-marketeers are not cowboys. They are the robber barons; the fat cats who light their cigars with $100 bills; the guys who take your hard-earned pension and use it to buy hundred-foot-yachts for their buddies, then escape to a country with no United States extradition, laughing all the way to their Swiss Bank.

Nobody likes those guys.