By request, some thoughts on Lilly Ledbetter…

A bitch is a wee bit warmer.

Not warm but not freezing my Afro off anymore.

Ugh!

Anyhoo…shall we?

The first bill President Obama signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

And with his signature women’s ability to challenge unequal pay has been restored.

Blink.

That’s right…restored.

Ms. Ledbetter was paid less than her male co-workers for decades. She found out about it through an anonymous note and took her employer, Goodyear, to court. Ledbetter won a $3 million dollar judgment that Goodyear then challenged all the way up to the Supreme Court…who, by one vote, reversed the original judgment saying that an employee only has six months in which to challenge unequal pay.

Never mind that Ledbetter didn’t know that Goodyear was paying her and they sure as shit weren't volunteering that information.

Well, Lilly Ledbetter campaigned for change and she got it. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act is a tool to discourage other employers from doing as Goodyear did as much as it is a restoration of fairness to the worker’s right to sue due to unequal pay.

But the need for Ledbetter should stand as a reminder to us all that a huge piece of the Bush legacy sits on the United States Supreme Court…a pro-business, anti-worker and anti-equality majority.

As much as I applaud Ledbetter, I am appreciative of the clarification-based reminder that the masses must be protected from the real activist judges.

Go on with your bad self, Lilly Ledbetter...

Hold please…

‘Tis cold!

Shit…my fingers are too cold to type.

Wince.

Bitchitude shall return this evening when this bitch is back home and bundled under a blanket.

Ugh.

No mas...

Shall we?

There were two stories in the news yesterday that are linking in my mind…the birth of eight babies and the death of a family of seven.

One led the news this morning.

The other moved quickly from breaking news to news round-ups into the second half hour of a morning sorta-news shows this morning.

Eight babies were born to one mother at the Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Centre in Los Angeles in California. Mother and multiples are apparently doing well.

Seven people…an entire family…were found dead after an apparent murder-suicide in California. Notes allegedly left by the husband and father indicate that he and his wife had recently been terminated from positions as medical technicians at a Kaiser Permanente hospital in West Los Angeles.

The come joy.

And with it pain.

Sunshine.

Followed by rain.

I can’t help but wonder at the strange connection…not that there is some sort of mystical power associated with Kaiser Permanente, but that two family related stories so radically different somehow connected there.

That a team of damn near 50 people can work in concert to give eight babies the best medical care…

…even as a team from the Coroner’s office worked to empty a home of a family of seven.

I don’t know the back-story for either family...the who, what, when and why of it all is a mystery.

But seeing them both within the same news cycle reminded me that we so often celebrate creation then neglect that which has been created.

And there has to be some lesson here to learn…something teachable to be found in that place where life and death meet between commercial breaks on television.

Something...anything more than...

No mas.

No mas.

No mas.

We’re still number one…

Last week we learned that my home city of St. Louis Missouri still ranks number one in the United States for gonorrhea and chlamydia rates.

That’s right…we’re number one.

Next week…February 3rd…this bitch will join pro-choice activists in Jefferson City for Prevention First Day, when we will deliver petitions and lobby our legislators to support the Prevention First legislation in Missouri.

Putting prevention first would seem like an easy sell…since we’re number one. But we face a lot of opposition here to things like medically accurate comprehensive sex education, compassionate assistance for rape emergencies, birth control protection, a women’s health services program and patient protection.

Sigh.

And even though we have a new pro-choice Governor and several new pro-choice legislators, we still face a legislature that would rather restrict access to reproductive health care in an effort to protect women from…um, ourselves (ugh)…than deal with the fact that what we are currently doing isn’t working on too many levels...unless the goal is for St. Louis city to rank number one in the country for gonorrhea and chlamydia rates.

Blink.

The choice is clear…insulting as hell do-nothing ridiculous and medically inaccurate restrictions or education and prevention.

Missourians are not alone in this situation…politics is local and change happens from the ground up. So, we cannot sit back and wait for the Obama administration to wave a magic wand and make it more better here. We’ve got to make our case to those who govern our state, where the clock has been ticking and every second that passes is a moment lost when we could have been dealing with this shit.

And did I mention that we’re number one?

Mercy.

A Monday morning WTF…

I just read this news item about Pope Benedict XVI and his decision to lift the excommunication of an unapologetic Holocaust denier.

Blink.

The Pope lifted the excommunication of British Bishop Richard Williamson, who said in and interview on Swedish television...

"I believe that the historical evidence is strongly against -- is hugely against -- 6 million Jews having been deliberately gassed in gas chambers as a deliberate policy of Adolf Hitler," … "I believe there were no gas chambers," … then added "I think that 200,000 to 300,000 Jews perished in Nazi concentration camps, but none of them by gas chambers."

Now you’re probably wondering what penance Bishop Williamson had to do to earn the lifting…wondering how many Hail Mary’s it takes to make up for uttering that rancid shit, particularly given the Church’s history during WWII…and more than a wee bit quizzical over whether Bishop Williamson offered a recantation prior to being welcomed back into the fold.

Well, Bishop Williamson didn’t do any penance.

He offered no recantation.

He was just…well, welcomed back.

Umm to, you know…mend fences with the break away Society of Saint Pius X that the previous Pope kicked to the curb in the late 1980’s for some other shit.

I’m not kidding!

Pope Benedict weighed mending fences with this one order against welcoming an unapologetic Holocaust denier back...and he opted to mend the fence.

What the fuck?

Wow.

That’s just…disturbingly rancid, even for this Pope.

And a bitch has to confess that it makes displeasing him beyond comforting...

Happy Birthday Rob Thurman!

Rob Thurman!

A bitch is beyond relieved that your ass didn't get arrested whilst attending the inauguration (wink) and so very lucky to have you as friend.

Happy Birthday damn it!

Language and immersion…

Happy Friday, y’all!

C-Money and this bitch are getting ready for the NHL All-Star Game this Sunday…yay!

Mercy, it seems like the season just started and here we are at the All-Star break already.

Blink.

Anyhoo, this bitch caught this news item about how Nashville residents defeated an English only measure and…well, go on with your bad self Nashville!

That reminds me of a post I’ve been meaning to put up.

I recently met with a certain Rhonda Broussard, Founder and Executive Director of St. Louis Language Immersion Schools, to learn more about their program and opportunities for adult education within it. Despite the multi-state and multi-community efforts to declare English the only language folks can communicate through here in America, the world we live in is multi-lingual and all of us need to re-think that if we are going to fully participate in all things global.

Language immersion programs improve overall academic achievement and enhance brain development, memory and cognitive learning. While most public schools begin teaching a second language in middle school, Language Immersion Schools start off teaching that second language in kindergarten…in all classes so that children learn through that second language.

But it is never to soon to get your language on – C-Money and this bitch are looking into the adult programs SLLIS will offer. A bitch studied Latin in school and has always longed to study French and Spanish.

So, a tip of the Afro to Nashville!

And a thank you too for reminding a bitch that language doesn’t have to be English-only to unite us...indeed, the world we live in demands that we re-think our approach to learning new languages so that we can give our communities the tools we need to communicate and grow.

Congratulations and best of luck to St. Louis Language Immersion Schools!

Blog for Choice – There, but for Roe...

Today a bitch celebrates 36 years of Roe v Wade. I hope to see my fellow St. Louisans at the Ethical Society on Clayton Rd. (6p-9p) at our local anniversary event (hint, hint and triple hint).

The Blog for Choice suggested topic this year asks what my top pro-choice priority is for President Obama and the new Congress. That’s a hard one since this bitch has many a top pro-choice priority of our new government – reform our global HIV/AIDS policy, pass and fund the Prevention First Act, return comprehensive sex education to our nation’s schools and reform health care…and a whole lot more.

But a question asked by RH Reality Check caught my attention – what Roe does and doesn’t do.

I’ll take the second portion of that one and dive the hell on in!

Roe v Wade doesn’t make everyone give a damn.

It doesn’t guarantee that we will get active in our communities…live our values…take a stand...lobby or march or write our legislators.

The existence of Roe v Wade doesn’t automatically make pro-choice activists out of everyone.

It does, however, give those of us who do give a damn something to fight for…to build on…and to defend.

But oh how I wish Roe had magical powers.

Because beyond the legal challenges and policy battles are the real people who too often feel the harsh impact of all that shit.

There are the teens denied access…the poor denied choice…lesbians and gays denied parenting rights…women denied meds…and thus Roe v Wade is denied fulfillment.

If Roe did possess magic it would be able to make individuals connect their lives with the reproductive justice movement…their pharmacy experience with a pharmacy denial bill…their infertility treatment with those refused access because of sexual orientation…their choice with the insult that is a coercion bill…their limited income with those denied choice because of the limitations of their bank account.

Then there'd be a greater appreciation that there, but for Roe v Wade, go us all.

But for a movement...but for those who are active in it...but for those who will become active today...and the others who will lift their fists tomorrow and proudly declare that they are pro-chocie activists in the struggle for reproductive justice.

But for January 22, 1973.

But for Roe.

Roe v Wade Day on RH Reality Check...

Today is the 36 anniversary of Roe v Wade, y'all.

RH Reality Check will host a live blog discussion on pro-choice messaging. Join Gloria Feldt and Sarah Stoesz on the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Thursday, January 22nd from 3-4pm EST for a live blog discussion about messaging and the reproductive rights movement.

Check it out!

Lemongrass…

Lemongrass is the new gold…

Blink.

…and the inaugural is now history.

Let’s jump right on into the first 100 days, shall we?

President Obama will meet with military advisors today to discuss halting the trials at Gitmo and closing the detainee program down.

The Obama Administration is expected to issue executive orders to repeal the Global Gag Rule and limits on stem cell research.

And the administration is set to host a fiscal responsibility summit next month to address the growth of Medicare and Social Security.

Cough.

Mercy, a bitch is still relishing the joy of watching Scooter B. and the minions fly off into the sunset…thank the gods…and we’re already off to the races.

Buckle up, chil’ren!

Change Boulevard may be a road worthy of travel but it is sure to be bumpy as a motherfucker…

Inauguration Day…

Today is Inauguration Day and millions will watch Mr. Obama take the oath of office and become this nation's 44th President.

And then...then the work begins.

I’ve been watching the network coverage of all things inauguration related…the emotional interviews with attendees, the awkward unscripted ‘oh, shit…we’ve got how many hours of coverage to fill?’ pundit-based blathering and the never-ending wide shots of the stage and the crowds that surround it.

It’s easy to get caught up in the exploration of this moment in history.

But I’m feeling rather serious today. I’m thinking of all the great expectations and daunting challenges that are ahead of us. And I’m ready to be a part of making change happen after the cameras shut down and the crowds go home.

I'm beyond ready to witness historic policy changes and some serious results…after the parades and the balls and the post-event analysis of Mrs. Obama’s dress.

But today we witness history…the transition of power and the responsibility that comes with that power.

And then?

Then the work officially begins.

Our long national nightmare endeth and this bitch hopes we wake up audacious...

Friday illishness…

I think the cold is getting to me.

My head hurts, damnit!

Shit.

Anyhoo, this bitch is amazed that birds were behind that plane crash into the Hudson River yesterday. Thank Gawd everyone survived…a tip of the Afro to that pilot and crew...but who the fuck knew bird strikes were so dangerous?

Pause...Google 'bird strikes'...review results of search.

Oh.

Blink.

Note to self – don’t fuck with geese.

Toodles until a bitch’s Afro stops hurting…

No place to go...

A bitch is fucking freezing!

I’m sitting in my couch-based lair…and I’m fucking cold.

Damn drafty old as hell house!

Shit.

Anyhoo, be kind to your animal friends and remember they shouldn’t be out in this shit for extended periods of time anymore than your ass should.

Mercy!

Moving forward…

The Great Illinois Senate Standoff – To Seat of Not To Seat Burris - is over. Confirmation hearings are underway and, of course, confirmation drama has arrived to keep the political press happy. And Congress is about to get its bailout on…again.

But this bitch is pondering things on the ground.

Maybe, ‘tis because I’m blessed to have a home and heat…it may be drafty, but it sure as shit isn’t the same as being outside in 1 degree weather…but I read this story about volunteers searching for the homeless to try and prevent deaths due to exposure and I couldn’t help but wonder if our national housing crisis has helped people better understand homelessness.

So many people face evicting from foreclosure that federal and state governments are considering a moratorium on that shit.

And those folks who face eviction aren’t all people who foolishly signed up from a domed from jump mortgage.

Our economic crisis is a beating and a half, but it is also an opportunity to do some inner work and better understand the other…that sometimes hard times, mental health conditions or physical health problems overwhelm us.

Sometimes things don’t work out or fail to work out fast enough to save a home.

Sometimes people end up sleeping in their car or on the street.

In the cold…in this cold…and there, but for a similar crisis, could go any of us.

This bitch wishes those who volunteer safe and fruitful searching…

A Proposition 8 legal update…

FYI from the National Center for Lesbian Rights…

Women’s Groups Warn Against Consequences of Putting Equality Up to a Public Vote

1.14.09 Several leading local, state and national women’s rights organizations have submitted an amicus curiae—or friend of the court—brief to the California Supreme Court, asking the Court to invalidate Proposition 8 because of its disastrous implications for women and other groups that face discrimination. The organizations joining the brief—filed in support of the petitioners in Strauss et al. v. Horton et al. (#S168047)—will include Equal Rights Advocates, the California Women’s Law Center, Women Lawyers of Santa Cruz County, Lawyers Club of San Diego, Legal Momentum, and the National Association of Women Lawyers.

In the papers submitted to the Supreme Court, the prominent women’s groups argue that Proposition 8 drastically alters the equal protection guarantee in California’s Constitution and that such drastic changes cannot legally be made through a simple majority vote. They argue that such changes require, at a minimum, a two-thirds vote of the legislature before being submitted to the voters. They further state that the position of the proponents of Proposition 8 is both offensive to the rich history of equality in California and contrary to California law.

“There was a time when women couldn’t own property, couldn’t vote, and were excluded from equal opportunities in education. If these had been up for a public vote we still might not have them,” said Irma D. Herrera, Executive Director of Equal Rights Advocates. “Our constitution proudly protects women and minorities from having our basic civil rights stripped away so easily as they could be with Proposition 8. For the Constitution to have any meaning, core principles such as equal protection can’t be up for grabs in every election.”

For more information and to read the entire press release visit the National Center for Lesbian Rights website.

Pondering justice for Oscar Grant...

There are no words to express my sorrow upon reading of the BART shooting incident and the death of Oscar Grant. With the news that the police officer who shot and killed Mr. Grant has been arrested comes little relief and even less satisfaction.

It is impossible for me to approach this from a distance. I have a brother, cousins and friends…when I hear that an unarmed black man was shot point blank in the back by a police officer in a BART station I think of them and what they mean to me and that there, but for fate or destiny or something I will never really understand, go me and mine.

Bill Cosby speaks of the need for the black community to move beyond our victim mentality but it is the victimized reality that’s anything but easy to move beyond.

I do not know how to define justice for Oscar Grant.

I just don’t know.

Even if the police officer is convicted and sentenced…even if Mr. Grant’s family wins a settlement…and even if changes are implemented and trainings are instituted, justice remains an elusive concept.

There’s part of me that thinks we would all benefit from embracing the inadequacy of words like justice in cases like this. I wonder if more of us would work to better our society if we were forced to wrapping our arms around that inadequacy and immersing ourselves in the unimaginable frustration of it. And I think that we would all do well to sit back and get the fact that no march, no conviction and no settlement will provide “justice” for Oscar Grant.

We need to feel that shit down in our bones.

To own it.

To dive our hands into it…let it mark our flesh and seep into our system until we writhe in agony over the relentless reality of it.

And as bitterness fills our mouths…as we spit with rage and disgust…as our fists clench at our side, maybe we’d take a step toward prevention.

Because I just don’t know how to define justice for Oscar Grant, but something has got to change.

Before we lose another Oscar Grant.

Before, even though we know there are no guarantees...no quick fixes...no cure for this disease.

Before.

Have mercy, there is so little satisfaction in the after...

Get thee gone!

Shall we?

A bitch caught Bush’s final press conference yesterday and…well, wow.

Umm.

Wow.

Someone is delusional as a motherfucker, punchy and knavish too!

In his final press conference (thank the gods!!) President Bush let us see the real him – a smug, over confident, intellectually lazy and disturbingly dismissive ass who is incapable of regret and resentful of criticism.

The man was in rare form…even for him…and it would have been funny except it wasn’t.

In a performance bursting with insults to our intelligence one particularly insulting attempt to revise history seems to stand out – Bush’s thoughts on the Katrina disaster.

"You know people say the federal response was slow—don't tell me the federal response was slow when there was 30,000 people pulled off roofs right after the storm passed. I remember going to see those helicopter drivers, Coast Guard drivers, to thank them for their courageous efforts to rescue people off roofs—30,000 people were pulled off roofs right after the storm moved through. It's a pretty quick response. Could things have been done better? Absolutely. Absolutely. But when I hear people say, 'The federal response was slow'—what are they going to say to those chopper drivers, or the 30,000 that got pulled off the roofs?"

Blink.

Cough.

That rant was delivered with aggressive damn near bully-ish body language that reinforced his seemingly sociopathic inability to grasp why people are upset about the federal response to Hurricane Katrina.

Ugh.

As tempting as it is to dismiss all things Bush now that the long national nightmare that was his presidency is set to end, a bitch just can’t.

This final press conference was a window into the real…a view of the actor off script and, just as we suspected, the man is pure unadulterated fubar in human form.

And we must remember that...even as we begin the process of cleaning up all the shit left behind.

Mercy.

A Weblog Awards request…

This bitch has a request for all y’all.

Get over to the Weblog Award site and vote.

No, this blog isn’t a finalist for a Weblog Award…in any category…AngryBlackBitch was bageled, I tell you!

Sigh.

Thank Gawd my ass isn’t sensitive about such things (wink)!

Anyhoo, a certain Grace the Spot is nominated for Best New Blog and a bitch would like y’all to vote for them...because they’ve got a great site that’s a welcome addition to the internets.

Oh, and be sure to vote for Shakesville for Best Liberal Blog and show some love to a blog this bitch contributes to!

Many thanks.

A Conversation About Race...

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is starting up a new blog on race.

Blink.

This bitch is beyond curious to see how A Conversation About Race goes…particularly since The Post’s website, Stltoday.com, has had some….ummm, well ig’nant as hell racist bullshit pop up in comments to articles in the past. As a matter of fact, some of the comments to the stltoday.com article announcing their new blog are evidence that St. Louis needs to have some conversations about race…stat.

Lawd, give me strength.

Suffice it to say this bitch will be watching and reading closely as The Post attempts to move beyond the School of Tolerance into the real.

Buckle up, because this is sure to be a bump-based ride...

An anonymity quizzical…

Happy Friday, y’all!

Let’s jump right the fuck it.

A bitch read that opponents of marriage equality in California want donors in support of their efforts to remain anonymous claiming that folks have been harassed and businesses have been threatened with boycotts.

This bitch is tempted to point out that a pot is trash talking a kettle here, since the campaign against marriage equality in California was pretty damned harassing it’s damn self. But this call for anonymity is alarming and worthy of further exploration.

Shall we?

California’s Political Reform Act has been around since this bitch was a year old. Established in 1974, it requires disclosure for donors to candidates and political committees. A bitch thinks that’s a good thing…and so did the anti-equality groups that are now fussing about that shit. Opposition groups used donor records to threaten…wait for it…boycotts (gasp!) and attack individual donors (gasp again!) who support marriage equality.

Cough.

Now, this bitch is willing to acknowledge that there is a line and that it should not be crossed. People should not fear for their lives or safety…violence will not win this battle.

But the fear of violence is not what this move is really about.

What the opposition is…umm, opposing...are the financial and social ramifications of taking a stand. Trust that my activist ass knows them well. Activists have their homes and businesses picketed, their family and friends taunted and their jobs targeted…all because they have been identified as a donor or supported of a cause someone else is fighting against.

And knowing that a business seeking your money is also seeking to deny you rights is pretty fucking important. Boycotts are painful and powerful…that's why we do them, along with the fact that a bitch isn't interested in spending money with businesses that donate money to bullshit.

People have the right to donate in support of whatever political campaign or group they want to and the masses have the right to know that shit and adjust their spending accordingly.

Anonymity, my black ass...

Pondering the newly created CPO position…

A bitch is still trying to recover from the affront to the senses that is Ann Coulter, the Queen of Rancidity, who polluted up my television set yesterday on the Today Show.

Lawd, have mercy!

Ann Coulter sightings before this bitch has finished my first cup of coffee should be against the law.

It lives, people.

And it wants you to buy another book.

Shudder.

Anyhoo…

This bitch is fascinated by the announcement that the Obama administration will have a Chief Performance Officer.

Nancy Killefer will be the nation’s first CPO and will be responsible for real time assessment of our government’s performance rather than the ‘this is what was fucked up last year and no one is responsible for fucking it up’ system that we currently have. A bitch adores a GAO report as much as the next political junkie, but there’s something to be said about addressing fuckeduptitude before a fabillion trillion dollars funds a guaranteed mistake or pays the salary of a do-nothing manager.

Killefer will face a federal government that currently uses CYA systems to measure performance. Agencies report a lot of numbers that are measured against goals that have nothing to do with their mission. And the masses get clued in to a problem when people are left to die after a flood…food makes thousands of us sick…or a GAO report points out that we’ve spent $2,000 on a roll of toilet paper.

And she’ll also face a federal government that likes those CYA systems the same way my dawgs like their Christmas bones.

Mmmhmm, Killefer is going to have to get her Cesar Millan on and be a dedicated pack leader if she stands a chance at measuring outcomes and improving government!

Lawd knows a bitch wishes NBC had run a segment on this new role instead of the nauseating Coulter infomercial from hell they caved to yesterday.

But that would have been too much like right…

Pondering Surgeon General Gupta…

Mr. Obama has apparently tapped Dr. Sanjay Gupta to be the next Surgeon General.

Okay…cool…he’s a practicing brain surgeon with White House experience that knows how to deal with the media and talk to politicians.

But a bitch finds that this pick comes with extra journalistic amusement-based quizzicals.

CNN has a report up quoting “sources” that say the Obama transition team has approached Gupta and stating the Gupta met with Team Obama in November in Chicago.

So, CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent didn't breaking news about the new Surgeon General pick because he is the news about the new Surgeon General pick.

CNN also reports that Gupta declined to comment and they issued a statement saying “Since first learning that Dr. Gupta was under consideration for the surgeon general position, CNN has made sure that his on-air reporting has been on health and wellness matters and not on health-care policy or any matters involving the new administration."

That shit just begs some questions – when did CNN learn that Dr. Gupta was under consideration, did they learn this information from Dr. Gupta or another source and why the fuck didn’t they ask Gupta to step aside while under consideration?

I mean, just because the people reporting the news are the news doesn’t mean the other people reporting the news are off the hook for reporting the news.

Right?

Or is this a sign of the Dan Abramsification of all things media?

Gasp.

Send a message to Mr. Obama for Darfur…

Speaking of leadership tests...

The genocide in Darfur didn’t end just because the media has stopped covering it and bringing an end to the atrocities there needs to be a priority from day one.

Please take a moment and visit Add Your Voice to send a message to President-elect Obama urging him to keep his promise of unstinting resolve to end the genocide in Darfur.

Thanks.

Pondering the leadership test...

Shall we?

As the world wakes up to the New Year, this bitch is pondering the challenges that are before us. The horrible violence in Gaza and the humanitarian crisis that is the result…the continuing atrocities in Darfur that continue even as the world turns our back on them…Zimbabwe’s Mugabe and the cholera epidemic he can’t deny away…the world economic crisis and the restructuring of all things it calls for…and all of the neglected domestic areas we failed to nurture in times of plenty are just a few that come to mind.

Ugh.

Shit.

Lawd, it’s enough to make a body long to go fetal and commence blubbering.

So it comes as no surprise that political pundits are falling in love with the phrase “leadership test.” Hell, if Mr. Obama isn’t about to get his leadership skills tested then a bitch isn’t a bitch!

Wink.

The thing is these challenges aren’t just a test of Mr. Obama’s ability to lead…and they sure as shit are…they are our leadership test too.

We need to ask ourselves some serious questions about what our priorities are locally, nationally and internationally…I’d like the Medicaid cuts made under a Republican Governor from hell in Missouri restored under our new Dem. Governor, the St. Louis city public education crisis addressed as candidates campaign for Mayor and comprehensive sex education returned to Missouri classrooms.

And we're going to have to weigh our priorities against the daunting realities of broke as hell states in a broke as hell nation in a broke as hell world.

Big time decisions are being discussed and debated right now and will be made in the coming weeks…in cities and towns, states and territories and on the Hill.

We all face a leadership test in 2009.

And this test is already running...has already begun...and never really ends.

To seat or not to seat…

A bitch took a nice break from the internets over the holidays and caught up on doing nothing…and watching movies…and watching hockey…oh, and sleep.

Sigh.

It was fantabulous, but I missed y’all…I truly did!

Shall we?

A certain Roland Burris will head to Washington for a meet and greet with Senate Democratic leaders this week.

Pause…consider…continue.

Okay, okay…this clearly won’t be a nice meeting between friends. Senate Democratic leaders are likely going to try to stall seating Burris so that Blago can be impeached and replaced with someone who will then have to decide whether to withdraw the Burris nod or offer forth someone who can win a Senate race (translation – raise a shitload of money).

Burris is probably going to force their hand.

A bitch can just see it…71 year old Burris sporting an I Am a Senator sign attempts to enter the Senate only to be refused entrance at the door.

Oh and Bobby Rush would have to be there for the pre and post event press conferences.

Merciful Gawd.

Even Senator Reid conceded that there is room to negotiate and that there is a possibility that Burris will ultimately be seated…after drama followed by drama followed by more drama.

Sigh.

And Mr. Franken appears to be headed for Washington.

Blink.

Al Franken will be declared the winner of the Minnesota Senate race, but that shit is going to face legal challenges that will delay the settling of his ass on a Senate chamber chair for some time.

All this ass hovering non-seating is making a bitch’s Afro spin!

Et tu, Bill Richardson?

Breaking news that’s still breaking and will continue to break for days!!

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson has withdrawn from his nomination to…umm, what was it? Oh yes, Commerce Secretary!! So many nominations, so many nominees. Anyhoo, one time presidential candidate Richardson is withdrawing because of the anticipated distraction-based drama surrounding an investigation into…wait for it!..an alleged pay-to-play deal between some company that made donations to Richardson’s causes and was awarded contracts.

Blink.

There’s no indictment and Richardson isn’t under arrest…this is an investigation and politics overfloweth with them 24/7/12.

But daaaaaaamn, talk about drama!

Pay-to-play is the investigation du jour…big time.

Sigh.

And looking to politicians for the campaign finance reform these scandals demand is like hiring the fox as a hen house security consultant.

***logs off to see if the breaking news that's been breaking all day has become a developing story yet***