Courage, Mom!

[BlogBox]

With only nine more shopping days left, are you ready for Mother's day? This year, give Mom (or your favorite maternal role model) a list of great blogs to read and enjoy, print out blog entries suitable for framing, or go interactive and get downright patriotic together online. From hilarious Bushopoly Cards to Save The Internet petitions, this week's blogs (and the sons and daughters who research, write, and publish them) will delight and inspire the most discriminating liberal mother.

Mothers Of Liberal Bloggers Unite

Please! Please unite! You've done an amazing job raising truly caring and compassionate sons and daughters. Here are a few examples of their work:

James Wollcott:

A note about the Stephen Colbert monologue at the Correspondents' Dinner that Elisabeth Bumiller seems to have slept through face-down in her entree. No question the stint played better on TV than it did in the room with C-SPAN cutting to gowned lovelies in the audience with glaceed expressions and tuxedo'd men making with the nervous eyes, but to say he "bombed" or "stunk up the place" (Jonah Goldberg's usual elegance) is wishful thinking on behalf of the wishful thinkers on the right, who have nothing but wishful thinking to prop them up during the day.

Here's the skinny on Colbert from Slashdot:

Colbert New Comic-in-Chief
Posted by Zonk on Monday May 01, @01:31AM

scottzak writes "Hail to the Chief! Stephen Colbert addressed the White House Correspondents Dinner Saturday (attended by the President, the elite of Washington politics, and the White House Press Corps) and told the truth. Jaws dropped. Eyes popped. The live audience gasped. Scalia laughed his ass off. You want to see a brilliant comic display some real courage? Look no further. Enjoy the reaction shots, and Colbert's audition for Press Secretary job."

Of course, those delightful sons and daughters at Crooks and Liars have posted links to photos, notable blog posts, the complete transcript, and videos of Colbert's smackdown of the BushCo bad kids.

On the subject of immigration, Greetings From America's Finest City writes:

I was pleased with the turnouts in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles, but I resisted the urge to venture into town to see what was going on. My curiousity got the best of me, so I climbed into my car and took a one-hour cruise through the streets of San Diego. I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw: neighborhood businesses closed for the protest, a decline in the number of shoppers at the mall, and about half the amount of traffic that normally would be on our freeways.

While Anderson Cooper displayed footage of immigrants of different nationalities waving American flags and chanting "USA! USA! USA!", I realized this protest wasn't just about them. It was also about me; For the first time since my childhood, I embraced my mixed heritage without feeling an ounce of shame or guilt.

--snip--

We can't accept morally bankrupt legislation to solve a problem that's festered for two decades. Our elected officials have an obligation to find a better solution.

I just hope for their sake they were listening to our united voice yesterday because many of us will speak with our ballots on June 6th.

Here's Firedoglake on Libby and Judith Miller:

But if I were Scooter, I'd be worried about Judy Miller. Nothing spells trouble like a diva scorned. (Especially a diva who is familiar with how the news biz works and knows how to get the word out.) And the way this brief reads, she's not only yesterday's pal, but she's been used, abused and flushed like ratty old TP from the bottom of Scooter's wingtip. Yowch. And after all that obfuscation and parting of the waters that she gave to Scooter, this is the thanks she gets? Methinks her Judyship is not going quietly into that dark night.

Meanwhile, Ashton Browning, who once held the honorable job of custodian at Pat Robertson's Christian News Network, is blogging at Coalition For An Idiot Free America. Browning's post "Miracle Poo" details Pat's less-than-hygienic bathroom behavior and Browning's fervent prayers to make Saint Pat's floating feces flush.

And major snaps to the mothers of DUers who post with pluck!

DUer Marmar on a freeper coworker: "I work with a kool-aid loving, Faux-trained fundie freeper lady too... Extra crispy bucket of crazy, that one."

DUer bleever on KKKarl Rove: " His karma is coming due as a balloon payment. He's about to be Fitzed, like he's never been Fitzed before."

And DUer Fridays Child:

Two words for FauxNews: spell check

Mother's Day Gift Guide

Rising Hegemon's Bushopoly Cards are sure to please. Here's a sneak peak:




Confession: I went to Rising Hegemon for the Bushopoly Cards, but I stayed for a week's worth of hilarious "Ben Domenech Free" blog posts!

The Time(line) Of Your Life

Looking for that perfect blog posting on sleazy Republican election dirty tricks? New from TPM Muckraker: a snazzy New Hampshire Phone Jamming Scandal Timeline!

The latest entry (April 11, 2006) reads:

Ken Mehlman - White House political director at the time of the phone-jamming and current chairman of the Republican National Committee - denies that any of the conversations that took place between the White House and New Hampshire officials on Election Day 2002 had anything to do with the phone-jamming scheme.

What's not to love about which sleazy Republican election thief called whom and then lied about it?

Every Mother's Son & Daughter

This week, John Conyers sued the president, Senator Ron Wyden filibustered the BigOilCo welfare bill (aka the "outrageous boondoggle" bill), a group of activists occupied Senator Bill Frist's DC office, Nancy Pelosi grew a set of Thatchers, and a lone brave White House reporter complained loudly about being forced to watch FOX News on government property TVs.

From Firedoglake:

Wyden has been on the floor since early this morning. He wants an up-or-down vote on his amendment that will force people to go on the record for big oil company tax breaks; the GOP wants to force it into committee where it will, of course, die.

From John Conyers' Diary:

As the Washington Post reported last month, as the Republican budget bill struggled to make its way through Congress at the end of last year and beginning of this year (the bill cuts critical programs such as student loans and Medicaid funding), the House and Senate passed different versions of it. House Republicans did not want to make Republicans in marginal districts vote on the bill again, so they simply certified that the Senate bill was the same as the House bill and sent it to the President. The President, despite warnings that the bill did not represent the consensus of the House and Senate, simply shrugged and signed the bill anyway. Now, the Administration is implementing it as though it was the law of the land.

From burythehatchet:

Pelosi is speaking and Drier asks her to yield. She says "I wouldn't even dream of yielding to you." NO YOU DI'INT.

From Hotline On Call:

We're fairly sure "Q" is Jim VandeHei

Q It's come to my attention that there's been requests -- this is a serious question -- to turn these TVs onto a station other than Fox, and that those have been denied. My question would be, is there a White House policy that all government TVs have to be tuned to Fox?

MR. McCLELLAN: Never heard of any such thing. My TVs are on four different channels at all times.

Q Because you have four different TVs. But every time I've ever been --

MR. McCLELLAN: Every TV in the White House also has channels every -- has a split screen, where they can --

Q Well, they always seem to be tuned to Fox, and there's been requests, and these are paid for by taxpayer dollars.

--snip--

Q I was told, "We don't watch CNN here, you can only watch Fox."

MR. McCLELLAN: As I said, it's hard to respond to something when I don't know who it is you talked to.

Q I used the phone back here.

MR. McCLELLAN: I find this all quite amusing, to tell you the truth. I mean, there are a lot of people on this plane that do watch that channel.

Enough to make mothers everywhere proud as punch!

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

How about an armband for peace? I expect to see a brazillion of these in the weeks and months ahead. What a great gift idea, certain to get a reaction from closet rabid reichwingers. They sneer at the very thought of peace, you know.

Suitable For Framing

Print out William Rivers Pitt's timely essay, "Your Attention Please" and frame it. It's a keeper. Here's a snippet:

There isn't a single member of the progressive community who isn't tired right now, dreading the possibility that someone might come along and dare them to hope. There has been a lot of hard work and, to date, not a hell of a lot to show for it.

Hope springs eternal.

I am daring you to hope. I believe we can win, I believe all this can be done, but only with your help. Anyone who thought this fight would be easy quit a long time ago. Those of you who remain know what is at stake. You have been through the fire, and you have suffered the torments. You are tired, as are we all.

But you're not done yet. Neither am I.

I am daring you to hope.

Also suitable for framing are the lyrics to Neil Young's "Let's Impeach The President," which are posted at Ice Station Tango. Click on over for the lyrics, but stay for the great blog!

Always Be Prepared

If precaution and preparation are values you learned from your mother (like most of us), it'd behoove you to check out Zach's post at The Indisputable Truth, "The right prepares for the assault." Zach asks: "Hey, why is it okay for these guys to talk about their 'agenda' but any time a liberal-leaning group uses the word, it's a bad thing?"

Don't Just Sit There. Do Something!

You and your favorite maternal figure can "do something" together this year: Save the Internet! MoveOn.Org's petition to keep our rabid Republican congress from handing a handful of corporations (ATT, Verizon, Comcast, et al) total control of the Internet is just a click away.

Now More Than Ever, Reading Is Fundamental

Looking for the perfect book-loving Mother's Day gift? Check out Why Mommy Is A Democrat by Jeremy Zilber.

From the Buzzflash review:

"Why Mommy is a Democrat" is a short book for very young children, but it gets its point across in an endearing, embracing story. How can you argue with a page that declares, "Democrats make sure everyone is treated fairly, just like Mommy Does," or, "Democrats make sure sick people are able to see a doctor, just like Mommy does"?

It's "Christopher Robin"-like illustrations make for the ideal traditional children's nighttime tale.

And, unlike "Help! Mom! There Are Liberals Under My Bed!", it's true!

If reading is still fundamental to the maternal figure in your life, writing may be even more important. How about giving the gift of blogging? Blogger.com, https://www.livejournal.com/create.bml">LiveJournal, and several other sites have made blogging free and easy. Then, Mom can create her own blog posts like this one:

From leveymg's Journal:

Former President Manages Local Gas Station

TULSA, January 27, 2008. AP - One year after he resigned his office in disgrace over the Valerie Plame spy scandal, former President George W. Bush starts work at a local Chevron station. When asked about his new job as Assistant Retail Outlet Manager, Mr. Bush said, "I know there've been questions about whether this job is real suitable for me, and all. But, I'm pretty well qualified for this. I've worked for the oil industry almost my entire career."

Next week, I'll update with readers' Mother's Day blog-inspired ideas. Until then, there's something for everyone's mother online this week - and every week! - in the blogosphere. Flowers and candy are nice, but freedom, enlightenment, and courage are a mom's best hope for her children's future. Courage, Mom!

-- Delilah Boyd

[bfranky]

1. mothers of liberal bloggers . . .

Here's another gift idea: the hilarious satire called "The Department of Homeland Decency: Decency Rules and Regulations Manual." It will make everyone's mother laugh, especially when she gets to the part about women's role: staying home, raising kids, being happy about being pregnant over and over, and then looking really good for her husband. The department's motto is: "marching proudly backwards to our future," which is kind of what we've been doing for the last five years.

You can read more and find out where to order it at www.homelanddecency.com.

[AwakeAtLast]

2. Welcome to DU!

Good use of your new posting abilities, thanks for the link!

:hi:

[newyawker99]

3. Hi bfranky!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast: