Friday, August 26

Our Weekly Podcast - The Professional Left Ep 90



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Thanks again to Frank Chow for the graphic and Heather at Crooks and Liars Video Cafe for their help. And don't forget you can listen to our archives for free with no downloads or registration at Professional Left.

"My Supervisor Sends Me Kenyan Usurper E-Mails"

I received an email from a podcast listener that his daughter gets "Michelle Obama is using my tax dollars to go on vacation" emails forwarded to her from her work supervisor. I replied: Her supervisor is using work time for this crap. In a perfect world, I would start a paper trail. Print it out, type at the top "I wish Blue Gal to use company work time to read this." and have supervisor sign it. That's why I'm unemployable. :D

Thursday, August 25

Blogging for money? Are you kidding me?

Time to bring back the panties, married lady blogger! :D   Here's my comment responding to this article at Feministing, on the unsustainability of blogging and whether it's a "feminine mistake."
It’s not a feminist problem. It’s a generational one. Those of us younger than boomers were taught from the start of our careers that the top rung was already taken. Add to that the culture of free stuff that the internet insists upon, and the only way out is a trust fund or a day job. I’m on food stamps and living off of my kids’ child support. That said, podcasting is one way that participants in the liberal political dialogue seem to be happy to open their pocketbooks. We usually ask for five dollar contributions and occasionally get more at The Professional Left Podcast. But make no mistake, podcasting is really hard work, even once a week. I’ve had to abandon daily blogging to accomplish this, and there is no way I make minimum wage doing the podcast. That said, the community and lively exchange the podcast provides is amazing. But yeah, it does not pay for itself. As your post points out, the other thing our generation seems really bad at is self-marketing. We’re above it, and we really should not be. Have a contest that is ONLY open to those who contribute five bucks. Give away a t-shirt, buttons, etc. I mail out notepads to anyone who gives us over fifteen dollars. Again THAT IS WORK, and also requires leaving my house and laptop to go to the post office. Don’t tell me to take my smart phone with me. I can’t afford one. Thanks for the post and the opportunity to think about this stuff. I would not trade where I am for a corporate boardroom where I had to worry about my politics showing. Blessings.
The other problem, of course, is that boomer feminists with money are investing it in "the next generation," meaning preparing 25 year olds for leadership positions, entirely forgetting that there are women just a few years younger than themselves who are ready to run for Congress next year. I'm glad to see movements like The 2012 project getting it:
The 2012 Project is a national, non-partisan campaign to increase the number of women in legislative office by identifying and engaging accomplished women 45 and older from underrepresented fields and industries. These include finance, science, technology, energy, health, environment, small business and international affairs.
The 2012 Project does not have to be in conflict with the "lets mentor our granddaughters into unpaid DC internships" movement. Or does it?

Sunday, August 21

Too Little Too Late, Newt.

Department of She Oughtta Know:  Callista Gingrich explained to her Facebook friends [warning: Republico Politico link] that eating corndogs should be done in private.

 But what if it gets you votes?

and here's a pic of the wedding cake


Seriously people!  When you hire a wedding planner, make sure they can pull off this kind of culinary excellence.  It was delicious!

Saturday, August 20

Likening Budget Woes to the Family Budget is BS, but...

I just hate these "family budget" analogies, but if we're going to use them:

The main breadwinner (American corporations) ran off to the Cayman Islands and took 90% of family budget along.  He's got all the family assets and he's never going to contribute to the household again, thanks to the Grover Norquist pledge, but he expects the family to pay for his bodyguards (the US military that protects US factories overseas whenever necessary) his passports, his retirement, and his legal system (companies like Exxon Mobil don't have to pay for their own legal system to protect their oil leases and copyrights).  

Then grandma gets sick and brother loses his job.  Breadwinner tells the family that Grandma can have a voucher for healthcare but brother can't have any more unemployment benefits because "we're broke."    And Fox News acccuses grandma and brother of class warfare.
It's easy to fall into the trap that SPENDING is wrong, because in our own minds we as individuals try not to spend unnecessary funds.  But Medicare and Social Security and unemployment benefits in the middle of the deepest recession since the 30's is NECESSARY spending.  Promising big oil that they will never have a change in the tax code (who elected Grover Norquist's LOBBYING agency king?)  and telling seniors and the unemployed that we're broke is a goddamn sin and a goddamn lie.  Period.  They are STEALING from us and calling it a gift.

Friday, August 19

The Last Pre-Marital Podcast - we're getting married today!

Mentioned in this episode: Alexander Stephen's Cornerstone Speech

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Thanks  Heather at Crooks and Liars Video Cafe for her help and to our listeners for all their kind words. And don't forget you can listen to our archives for free with no downloads or registration at Professional Left.

Thursday, August 18

Getting a marriage license at the courthouse.

You know, I think the bride has had a little ...work done.



Trust me, it was the glittered feather extensions actually glued to my neck that were the most trouble.  

And then we wonder which judge will marry us tomorrow, and DG starts riffing on a FOX bridezilla / courtroom reality show, "Michele Bachmann - Family Court." 

Judge Bachmann presiding....

"Are you here for a happy marriage or a sinful, sinful, civil union?" 

"Balliff Marcus, discipline these barbarians!"

This week's podcast is in the can, the ceremony is tomorrow, and we're gonna try to have audio up sometime over the weekend.  Thanks for all the kind wishes, folks. You're the best....

Tuesday, August 16

Quick! Before she disappears! #Bachmann


Wow, that was quick.

Watching Hardball yesterday, you would have thought winning the corndog eating championship was no big deal.  Chris Matthews practically anointed Rick Perry the GOP nominee.

Before she disappears completely, a note about her appearance on the Sunday Shows, and particularly her assertion that being a tax lawyer is proof of her intelligence and drive, and gives her some special insight into leadership.

Yeah yeah, we get it.  Helping corporate clients avoid tax liabilities is the story of your life, Congresswoman.  Moving on.

Honestly, Republicans, we've all be unemployed for two years or know someone who has, and you want to talk about deregulation.  Sigh.

I won't lift a finger to help Pon Raul (intentional typo), whose anti-abortion speech this past weekend transcended all reality and actually confessed to being accessory to murder of a crying baby.  But he's got a legitimate beef about coming in second and being completely ignored by everybody.  

I'm also disappointed but not surprised that no one has mentioned that the GOP race begins in one of the white-est places on the entire planet outside of Scandinavia.*   It's a circling the wagons mentality in denial that their party is demographically doomed.

*Norway, with its horrible horrible "immigrant problem," is, by latest count, 94% Nordic.  Iowa is 91% White.

Friday, August 12

Our Weekly Podcast - The Professional Left Ep 88



Mentioned in this episode: Lemkin: Cokie's Law vs. Social Security.

The button above is available in the Cafepress Store.  The button below allows listeners to throw a contribution specifically towards the podcast.  Thanks for your listenership and support!  We really appreciate it:





Thanks again to Frank Chow for the graphic and Heather at Crooks and Liars Video Cafe for their help. And don't forget you can listen to our archives for free with no downloads or registration at Professional Left.

Bonus Audio - Barb in Iowa!



 Something Driftglass and I did for kicks. Enjoy!

Tuesday, August 9

The Bachmann Eyes - it's a thing. #LastWord


PS.  Tina Brown would drink Hitler's 80-year-old reconstituted piss to sell magazines, the end.

Monday, August 8

Wedding notes: My "Something Blue"


My sister-in-law to-be is a knitter the way Van Gogh was a painter.   And yeah, the way Driftglass is a photoshopper.

She made me this scarf out of yarn I gave her.  I have to admit I de-stashed the yarn because I thought it was kind of boring.  I hate being proven utterly wrong, except when I get something so lovely and so surprising and so perfect.    

And now I have my something blue for the wedding.  It's goooorgeous.  

Thanks and much love, Sis!  xoxo

Friday, August 5

Our Weekly Podcast - The Professional Left Ep 87




Mentioned in this episode: The guy who wants to be in the center, but has no idea who is as extreme as Florida Governor Rick Scott is on the Right.



The button above is available in the Cafepress Store.  The button below allows listeners to throw a contribution specifically towards the podcast.  Thanks for your listenership and support!  We really appreciate it:





Thanks again to Frank Chow for the graphic and Heather at Crooks and Liars Video Cafe for their help. And don't forget you can listen to our archives for free with no downloads or registration at Professional Left.

Thursday, August 4

Yes, @Stephenathome, it falls to me to photoshop Rick Santorum's Jelly.


Rick Santorum promises free jars of homemade jelly to Ames, Iowa straw poll voters.

I'm sorry, that is just self-inflicted injury right there.  Nominate his campaign for a Darwin Award.

Has anyone else noticed you cannot get ANY actual Santorum campaign website from the first page of Google results?   None.  That's a #Fail.  And the image below is not a photoshop:


Tuesday, August 2

A proposal on the Bush Tax Cut Thingie

Last night Lawrence pointed out the enormous fail that faces the White House re the Bush Tax Cuts.  He has to be willing to raise taxes on the bottom -- 10% rate to 15% rate, in order to raise the rate on the top earners to 35%.   Lawrence claims there will be no bill to just raise taxes on millionaires.

I suggest letting the whole thing rise.  Go ahead, RAISE MY TAXES.

Don't make any changes to any taxes until the Bush Tax Cuts expire, period.

Then if the Republicans scream, and they will, introduce (drumroll)

THE OBAMA TAX CUTS!!!   Full of nutritious pro-middle-class warfare!  Under $250,000!  Healthy and Tasty!

click image for larger

And let the Republicans vote against them. 

[photoshopped from the box of cereal designed by workers in Battle Creek, Michigan, for the President and Vice-President.]



Monday, August 1

A reader asks BG about the Debt Ceiling Deal

Reader C. writes:

Hey Driftglass & Bluegal. I really enjoy listening to your podcast every week. In the next couple of days I will be donating to your podcast cause so the shows keeps coming. I was just wondering how you felt about this debt ceiling fiasco. Will the American people understand the dilemma President Obama has been put in with this tea party faction in the House? With this media environment I am not sure if the blame will be properly placed. I realize that he is known for being the 'compromiser in chief' but I'm not sure if he had a way out of this mess. Any thoughts?

Dear C:

I'm sure we'll be talking about this this coming week and of course we were talking about it this weekend -- we agree that if Obama wasn't such a process guy -- if he'd said "negotiate around the debt ceiling, are you kidding? No, pass a clean bill and THEN we'll talk" -- he would have had a stronger position.

He still thinks* of himself as Google plus's Senator plus one, instead of the President. Collegiality may be his secret to "changing Washington," but the Tea Party's secret is a bottle of gasoline and a match. We can all see how this is working out for him.

Best,

Fran / BG

*My disappointment is, I'm finally coming to the conclusion he's not going to change in the second term.