Dogon Village News Alerts

by ZZ Packer , Huffington Post - So, forty-three white male presidents to date, and Geraldine Ferraro says Obama's gotten where he is because he's black?

If you've been following the latest statement by Geraldine Ferraro in which she said "If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position," you might also be operating under the assumption that our last 43 presidents have been black, or that blacks overwhelmingly make up the bulk of Fortune 500 CEOs, or for that matter, the majority of Andover kids whining about the lack of locales for spring break or the cast of The OC.

Just at the beginning of his campaign it seemed like an absolute long shot because of his race. Now, having overcome all this and other these obstacles--including the ones that contribute to high percentages of black men who are jobless, in prison, or dead by the age of 25--he is where he is because of race?

The horrible double standard is obvious. According to those of Ferraro's ilk: if you're a poor black man, or incarcerated, or jobless or homeless, you are where you are because of your own ineptitude and should take responsibility for your actions. However, if you've excelled at one of the top schools in the nation, then later on became a star attorney and later become a senator who inspires millions, then you're only there in spite of your ineptitude and you really shouldn't take responsibility for it. Talk about movin' on up. Read the full article

By Sherry F. Colb - On March 11, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer's fall from grace topped the news. Federal investigators had caught Spitzer -known to them as "Client 9" -- arranging for a prostitute named "Kristen" to meet him for an assignation at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington.

Ten years ago, in 1998, as readers will doubtless recall, a different sex scandal made headlines across the globe. Then, it was President Bill Clinton who stood in the glare of the cameras. As he finally admitted, months after the allegations first surfaced, he had engaged in an inappropriate (i.e., sexual) relationship with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern in her early 20's...

Spitzer's Fall

As Attorney General, Spitzer had pursued the prosecution of sex rings. As governor, he played a pivotal role in passing a human trafficking law that would punish prostitutes' clients. In so doing, he had evidenced an understanding for the claims of human rights organizations that sex traffic begins with demand, and that criminal penalties must therefore target consumers rather than sex workers.

As it has emerged, however, following the shocking announcement on March 11, Spitzer had himself contributed to the demand that fuels the sex trade - an industry that Spitzer had called "modern-day slavery" - and had spent tens of thousands of dollars purchasing the services of the Emperor's Club V.I.P., an online prostitution ring. ...

Clinton's Fall

Like Spitzer's, Clinton's admission of sexual misconduct included an acknowledgment of the pain that his behavior had caused his family. Clinton also indicated that his actions were wrong. He did not, however, resign from office and allow his vice president - Al Gore - to continue the important work of running the country.

A Republican-controlled House of Representatives subsequently impeached Clinton for perjury and obstruction of justice ...

...The Senate, however, acquitted Clinton of the charges, and he continued in office until the end of his term, though he had his license to practice law in Arkansas suspended and his membership in the U.S. Supreme Court bar revoked in the aftermath of the trial.

Similarities and Differences Between the Spitzer and Clinton Scenarios

...First, though both Clinton and Spitzer appeared to have been repeat players in the marital infidelity game, Clinton's conduct generally did not violate the criminal law, while Spitzer's did. I say "generally," because one woman did accuse Clinton of raping her in a hotel room in 1978, an allegation corroborated by a friend who had met with the woman immediately after the alleged attack. Clinton denied the accusations, which never faced the test of a trial. Other alleged Clinton relationships, however, appeared to qualify as consensual, at least for purposes of the criminal law (sexual harassment does, of course, raise some issues of coercion).

... For the most powerful man in the world to have sexual relations with an intern (who was apparently in love with the President) might be consensual, but it does exploit a power imbalance that could hardly be more stark. Similarly, we have no evidence that Spitzer compelled Kristen or other sex workers to engage in conduct against their will. Nonetheless, the role of a prostitute - being offered to a client for his sexual gratification in exchange for money (in this case, at least $1000 an hour) - does not exactly place the man and the woman in the relationship on reciprocal footing. Read the full story here



Sherry F. Colb, a FindLaw columnist, is currently a Visiting Professor at Columbia Law School and will be joining the Cornell Law School faculty in the fall. Her book, When Sex Counts: Making Babies and Making Law, is currently available on Amazon.

I have to admit, if the issue for the 2008 election becomes national security and not the RECESSION, John McCain can't be beat. If the democratic candidates don't stop squabbling and get back to the challenges American's are facing daily McCain will be well positioned to become the next president. He's talking about the issues, he has experience, and he's a likeable guy.

Democrats need to realize that the spiraling cost of gas, food, and education, livable wages, and healthcare are more important than where Obama goes to Church or the fact that Ms. Ferraro thinks the only reason she was a candidate for vice president is because she was a women. Obama's minister is retired, and if Ferraro is not, with her low self-esteem, she might as well be retired.

Here's a thought-provoking comment from ABC News made by former presidential candidate Mitt Romney. He makes an excellent argument about Clinton's "3 am" ad

"that was the best ad that the McCain campaign could have ever hoped for, because listening to Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama talking about experience in a national security crisis is like listening to two Chihuahuas arguing about which is the biggest dog. When it comes to national security, John McCain is the big dog, and they are each the Chihuahua." Visit ABC News

Rush Limbaugh talks at length about the chaos in the democratic party-which he takes a little credit for. It's scary when Rush is making this much sense.

The Philadelphia Inquirer, Dick Polman, columnist: "'Archie Bunker at the Kitchen Sink.' Now consider Ferraro's remark. By attributing Obama's strong position to the color of his skin, she is denigrating his rare political gifts -- all of which have actually enabled him to transcend the de facto color barrier that, until now, has prevented black candidates from ascending to the top tier. Or look at it this way: If Obama is indeed well positioned in this campaign primarily because he is black, why is it that no black has ever achieved this position before? It's tragic," writes Dick Polman. I love this. These people are imploding all around. "It's tragic for the Democratic party that one of its pioneer feminists would sound like Archie Bunker in his easy chair on All in the Family, grousing about affirmative action, about how blacks are getting a leg up solely because of their race. Because this is the message of reverse racism, widely embraced by whites who believe that they're getting a raw deal in an unfair modern world. (Witness Ferraro's anger at being criticized for her Obama remark; her latest retort is, 'I really think they're attacking me because I'm white.')" Gosh, folks. Do you understand how wonderful this all is?

This bunch of liberals, George Neumayr said it perfectly yesterday in the American Spectator, they are being devoured by their own policies. They gave us the concept of affirmative action, and now, the Clintons, the rest of the party hierarchy, bigwigs sitting around in their private rooms, and they can't believe, "What the hell, we got a rookie black guy, and we can't say anything," and they're cursing up a storm and they're devising stratagems and strategeries to get rid of this guy. If they were true to their word, if these liberals really meant all of this, Hillary would have got out of the way, Edwards would have never got in, and they would all be unified behind Obama, and they'd be carrying him around on a throne to see to it that he was elected president, because that was their promise to so many in their party and so many of their voters, particularly black voters, "We're going to emancipate you. We're going to save you. We're going to get you from out under the thumb of those racist Republican white bigots. We're going to make sure you get a fair shake. We're going to make sure you don't get pulled over at three in the afternoon because you're driving a car that looks like you can't afford."

All the promises, nothing changes, nothing changes. Bill Clinton has morphed into Bull Clinton. We named him after Bull Connor. Now they want a Jim Crow election. Only the blacks should go for Obama, only the women should go for Hillary. This party is demonstrating exactly who they are and what they're all about. They are just being devoured by their own policies. I can't tell you, to see Geraldine Ferraro be so offended. It's tragic. It's tragic. Here, we have some Ferraro sound bites. Why, what timing. These things just don't happen by accident, folks. This is the result of broadcast excellence, highly trained broadcast specialties that I have learned. Last night, Hannity & Colmes, Fox News Channel, Alan Colmes says in reaction to Hillary Clinton's comment, "I don't agree with it, it's regrettable that one of our supporters said this."

MoveOn.org announced the launch of a positive ad contest to help Barack Obama win the nomination and to profile the creativity he inspires. If you have writing, acting, or video editing talent, and this is your chance to use help Obama win and maybe even get your ad aired.

The winning spot will air nationally and the winner will get a $20,000 gift certificate for a camera and editing package.

MoveOn.org boasts over 3.2 million members across America working together to find their political voice in a system dominated by big money and big media. The organization organizes quick action on other timely issues that that their members care about including an anti-war campaign.

Thanks to DogonVillage.com Rush Limbaugh now has a name for his strategy to upset the democratic primaries, "Rush the Vote."

Read what he had to say about the post from DogonVillage.com here.

(FinalCall.com) - In response to outrage expressed by many, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan issued the following statement regarding remarks made by Sen. Barack Obama during Tuesday's presidential debate. Mr. Tim Russert questioned Sen. Obama regarding Min. Farrakhan's Saviours' Day address and his complimentary remarks concerning the Obama campaign.

"Those who have been supporting Sen. Barack Obama should not allow what was said during the Feb. 26 presidential debate to lessen their support for his campaign. This is simply mischief making intended to hurt Mr. Obama politically." Read it at the Final Call

There’s no doubt the memo about a private conversation between Senator Obama's economic adviser and Canada's Consul General mysteriously linked to the press just in time for the primaries, had an impact on the outcome in Texas and Ohio. I have to wonder if that mischievous Billy boy had a hand in the mystery. Here’s the clincher, seems the Canadian government wants to set the record straight.

Both Clinton and Obama reassured Canada on trade: reports

OTTAWA (AFP) — US presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton's campaign, while rapping rival Barack Obama for telling US voters he is anti-NAFTA and saying otherwise to Canada, tried to reassure Canada too, local media said Thursday.

A top aide of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper meanwhile was identified as the likely source of an alleged leak that provoked a diplomatic fiasco involving both US Democratic presidential contenders.

Last month, Harper's chief of staff, Ian Brodie, purportedly made impromptu remarks to journalists about Clinton's US presidential bid, said Canadian reports.

The offhand comments apparently sought to downplay the potential impact on Canada of Clinton and Obama's attacks on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) during stops in the US state of Ohio.

Brodie told reporters that the Clinton campaign had called the Canadian embassy in Washington to tell officials to take her anti-NAFTA rhetoric "with a grain of salt," said local media.

Around the same time, a news agency reported that a Canadian government memo detailed a meeting between Obama's chief economic advisor Austan Goolsbee and officials from the Canadian consulate in Chicago.

The memo reportedly said Goolsbee noted Obama's attacks on NAFTA should not be taken out of context, citing fiercely protectionist sentiment in Ohio about the pact and political positioning as a motivation. Read the full story here

Hillary Clinton's campaign is looking more like Shakesphere's play "Much Ado About Nothing" each day. Her campaign tactics -from the constant innuendos to the blatant attacks on Barack Obama - clearly demonstrate that they will rely on deceit and deception as a means to an end.

WashingtonPost.com and CNN.com fact checkers did some digging to find out how Hillary Clinton stands up to her claim to have 35 years of experience. If this is what 35 years of foreign policy experience looks like, I have a suggestion. I have a list of women who have attended meetings abroad, made numerous speeches at UN Conferences, brought together coalitions of women, and traveled to over 30 different countries - I suppose they all qualify to run for President based on their "experience." Perhaps my list should be considered for the VP slots available.

According to CNN, "In some cases, CNN found a lack of clarity on her real involvement in foreign policy affairs."

Clinton stated on CNN's American Morning on Wednesday, "I helped to bring peace to Northern Ireland," but the "The Fact Checker" by Michael Dobbs at the Washington Post wrote:

The Facts
It is true that Hillary visited Northern Ireland more times than Bill. By my count, she went there six times between 1995 and 2000, while he went four times. But she accompanied her husband as first lady on those four occasions, so they were hardly "independent" visits. (She would sometimes fly in a day early to give a lecture.) She made two visits by herself to the province, in May 1999, when she was the keynote speaker to a women's conference, and a 12-hour trip in October 1997, when she gave a lecture at the University of Ulster.

...Hillary is making a lot more of her Northern Ireland role on the campaign trail than she did in her memoir "Living History." As the Boston Globe recently noted, her stories of bringing Protestant and Catholic women together have become more dramatic with each retelling. The claim that she brought Catholics and Protestants together "for the first time" seems dubious. This would not be the first time that she has mixed up her chronology...

The Pinocchio Test
Hillary Clinton seems to be overstating her significance as a catalyst in the Northern Ireland peace process, which was more symbolic than substantive. Read the article here

From CNN.com

Kosovo

"I negotiated open borders to let fleeing refugees into safety from Kosovo," she (Clinton) said on CNN's American Morning.
[FACT]
In May of 1999, she was in Macedonia visiting refugee camps near the Kosovo border and meeting with Macedonia's president and prime minister.

Sources with knowledge of her visit say she discussed the refugees' plight with those leaders. It's not clear how much she helped since CNN reported at the time that Macedonia reopened its border to Kosovar refugees before Clinton's visit....

China

"I've been standing up against, you know, the Chinese government over women's rights and standing up for human rights in many different places," she (Clinton) said on CNN's American Morning.

[FACT]
During a 1995 visit to Beijing, at a time when her husband's administration was trying to press China on human rights, Sen. Clinton made a speech condemning abuses. Read it here

CNN noted in the article that a "former National Security Council official in the Clinton administration says Clinton didn't attend NSC meetings."

There's much ado about yesterday's primaries. The truth is, Hillary Clinton was projected to win these states by a much higher margin so the momentum is still with Barack Obama. Obama put a huge dent in the lead. If the momentum really changed, the projections for MS and WY would change.

In order to cling to the lead Sen. Clinton appeared more like President Bush each day. She cried, whined, pitched a fit, attacked Obama personally, and finally lodged an all out fear campaign. If that's not Bush, I don't know what is. Additionally, we can't underestimate the power of Rush Limbaugh calling for Republicans to vote for Clinton because they know she cannot win against McCain - especially with the fear/experience message. Clinton will never win back African American voters, which is an important voting block for Democrats. Finally, there’s nothing like manipulating polls to get people out to vote.

BTW, Clinton argues that you must win Ohio to become President as if she won Ohio. That's in the general election with the old-school map that existed pre-Obama. With the increase in voters across the country, clearly no traditional Republican states may not remain Republican.

As for Clinton suggesting a joint ticket - don't believe the hype. She's using this to make people feel like there will still be a slot for Obama. Breaking News: Hillary Clinton hints at joint ticket with Obama

There's much ado about yesterday's primaries. The truth is, Hillary Clinton was projected to win these states by a much higher margin so the momentum is still with Barack Obama. Obama put a huge dent in the lead. If the momentum really changed, the projections for MS and WY would change.

In order to cling to the lead Sen. Clinton appeared more like President Bush each day. She cried, whined, pitched a fit, attacked Obama personally, and finally lodged an all out fear campaign. If that's not Bush, I don't know what is. Additionally, we can't underestimate the power of Rush Limbaugh calling for Republicans to vote for Clinton because they know she cannot win against McCain - especially with the fear/experience message. Clinton will never win back African American voters, which is an important voting block for Democrats. Finally, there’s nothing like manipulating polls to get people out to vote.

BTW, Clinton argues that you must win Ohio to become President as if she won Ohio. That's in the general election with the old-school map that existed pre-Obama. With the increase in voters across the country, clearly no traditional Republican states may not remain Republican.

As for Clinton suggesting a joint ticket - don't believe the hype. She's using this to make people feel like there will still be a slot for Obama. Breaking News: Hillary Clinton hints at joint ticket with Obama

I sense a bit of tension between these two reporters.

Here's an article on Sen. Hillary Clinton that is very revealing. The commentary is by Dick Morris, a former advisor to President Clinton. He not only delves into Sen. Clinton's personality, he talks about the fact that the Clintons refuse to release their tax returns. Also, something Newsweek chronicled a few weeks back - President Clinton's business partnership with the Sheik of Dubai and his other business ventures.

The real Hillary Clinton stood up at the Democratic presidential debate this week: angry, sarcastic, stubborn, secretive, arrogant, mired in the past, victim of the media, and still firmly convinced that she is uniquely entitled to the Democratic Party nomination and the presidency.

That Hillary hasn’t really been on display much since the debacle of her disastrous health care plan and the end of Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial, when she haughtily flaunted her combative personality.

But make no mistake about it — that’s the Hillary Clinton that we’ll see if she somehow manages to steal the Democratic nomination.

She’s found her voice. The one that so alienated everyone she came into contact with over her health care plan that her own party destroyed it. The one that publicly and loudly defended Bill and arranged for attacks on Monica Lewinsky when she knew the complete and sordid truth. Read the full commentary at Rasmussen Reports

Dick Morris, a Fox News Analyst and author of several books, is a former advisor to Senator Trent Lott (R-Miss) and President Bill Clinton.