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Confluence Officially Loses It

It’s been unofficial for some time, of course, but this just proves it. In her latest rant, Riverdaughter demands that you vote for her: and, if you don’t, it naturally follows that you either hate all women or specifically old women. Oh, and the only reason “Wonkette” is winning is that the “Wonktards” (their super-mature name for the competition) are cheating, of course. Ah yes – losing elections and then whining about foul play, that’s the PUMA way!

This is the reaction we’d expect, given that “Wonkette” is thoroughly trouncing “Confluence” in the polls. While “Confluence” seems to get a 500-vote infusion every day around noon – possibly because they have about 500 readers who each get to vote once per day – it’s not enough to beat Wonkette’s current 3,700 vote lead, even assuming 500 more votes per day. Of course, the PUMAs are partially right, we have recommended cheating, but it’s fairly obvious to anyone who’s watched the polls that the initial “Wonkette” surge was too fast to be cheating-powered.

Just because we’re winning, though, doesn’t mean we can let up. Keep voting for Wonkette: it is a good site, and more importantly, it’s not PUMA. Remember, you can vote once per day… or more, if you have cookie-cleaning tools (wink).

Seating Ronald Burris: What is Racism?

Citing discomfort with seating any candidate nominated by disgraced Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, the Senate today turned away Ronald Burris, refusing to seat him as the junior senator from Illinois. A prediction: because Burris would replace Obama as the only African-American in the Senate, by end of business today, Republican sources will already be crying racism, with headlines like, “Dems Ensure an All-White Senate,” etc. Don’t believe it.

In most cases, racism is not an act but a motivation. As an employer, it’s not racist to pass up a black employee for a more qualified white employee. As a voter, it wouldn’t have been racist to vote for McCain over Obama, if you legitimately preferred McCain’s policies. And as, say, Harry Reid, it’s not racist to bar Burris from the Senate, provided he has a non-racially motivated, objective reason to do so. Blagojevich’s proven track record for dirty politics is more than enough to cast aspersion on Burris: if the Senate should eventually seat him, Reid is right to wonder whether his appointment is on the level, and race need have nothing to do with it.

Curiously, if and when Republicans do cry “racism” over the Senate’s decision to block Burris – oop, Conservapedia just went there, Fox News can’t be far behind – the talking point will place the GOP in the odd position of arguing for something like affirmative action, the idea that, because of his race, the Democrats should have overlooked potential problems in Burris’ nomination. It will just be more proof that, like its stance on feminism (see, e.g. Sarah Palin), the GOP only cares about race when it helps them.

UPDATE: Actually, a Democratic congressman (Rush, D-Ill) went there first.

Iranian Nobel Peace Prize Winner Terrorized by Government

Afraid of a woman

On December 21, 2008, Iranian police stormed Shirin Ebadi‘s home-office, shutting down her Center for the Defense of Human Rights. On December 29 police confiscated client files and computer hard-drives with the lame justification that the center owes taxes (though Ebadi has never earned income from the Center in 15 years).

On January 1, 2009, a mob of young men descended on Ebadi’s home, vandalizing the property, calling for her death, and being watched passively by Iranian police whom Ebadi had frantically called, fearing for her life. The mob’s justification for the riot? Ebadi hadn’t been forceful enough in her condemnation of Israel’s recent military action in Gaza.

Of course, there is nothing Ebadi could have said or done that would have stopped the deluge of harassment. The mullahs who control the Iranian government have made terrorizing Ebadi priority number one.

And why should those big, powerful men be so threatened by one middle-aged woman that they have to resort to hired mobs and obvious abuse of police authority in an attempt to subjugate her and end her lifelong work for justice?

As if it were not obvious enough, the answer below the jump …

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