tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post6694795330210362395..comments2023-10-15T10:48:01.870-04:00Comments on Roxie's World: No Country for Bold WomenRoxie Smith Lindemannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455529922082930949noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post-73590969713988165922008-01-06T12:51:00.000-05:002008-01-06T12:51:00.000-05:00I can see what you mean about No Country For Old M...I can see what you mean about No Country For Old Men... I still think it is amazing... but I LOVED JUNO too. It really is one of the smartest scripts about women coming of age that I have ever seen... and really the only woman centered movie that excelled this year... No Movie Year for Any Women... very male centered year, and all of the allegorical films centering on America's loss of identity are really only about men. Women hardly register at all in No Country For Old Men, The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, or There Will Be Blood... These are all great movies though... still I think sexism runs a lot deeper in America than people are willing to admit, and this does impact Hillary's campaign.qtahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01907222771263313661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post-22970673052452997372008-01-06T12:25:00.000-05:002008-01-06T12:25:00.000-05:00"Inspiration without content is a dangereous thing..."Inspiration without content is a dangereous thing indeed" -- I hereby nominate this line as the most brilliant comment ever made in Roxie's World! My wise Aunt Margie hits the proverbial nail on the head. You are also right about the important (and not yet appreciated or understood) role generational conflict is playing in this election. Clearly, the Clinton team wasn't (isn't) ready for it, and neither is the bloviating class. They are all so used to sitting back and saying, "Kids don't vote, so you might as well ignore their concerns." We'll have to see how it all plays out and how the kids will react to a President Obama's centrism.<BR/><BR/>P.S. We still think gender bias is a factor for a lot of voters, because we think it's what underlies a lot of the "I just don't like or trust Hillary" stuff. Young voters may be different, but the level of vitriol among some of the over-40 set seems to come from a deep, irrational bias.Roxie Smith Lindemannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06455529922082930949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post-72119164834984210522008-01-05T18:27:00.000-05:002008-01-05T18:27:00.000-05:00Just a quick note on Edwards -- I don't know about...Just a quick note on Edwards -- I don't know about smug, but "smarmy" really does capture my response to him these days. I didn't used to feel that way, but now I can hardly stand to listen to him -- it's just a certain quality in his tone and rhetoric that (thankfully) I completely don't find in Obama or Clinton.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post-38170868642049554722008-01-05T14:23:00.000-05:002008-01-05T14:23:00.000-05:00I want to chime in to agree with one of Sarah's po...I want to chime in to agree with one of Sarah's points. (And, as you all know, nobody chimes in like a beagle!) Possibly apropos is a dim memory of a pick-up line from an old movie: Our Heroine is waiting for a friend at a cafe. A man, seeing her alone at a table (must have been a 1950's movie) gestures at the empty place at her table.<BR/><BR/>Man: "Are you waiting for someone?" Our Heroine (stiffly): "yes, as a matter of fact." <BR/>Man (what what he probably thinks is an ingratiating smile): "Am I him?"<BR/><BR/>I didn't catch her reply because my human immediately started making retching noises, but I gather it wasn't favorable.<BR/><BR/>OK, so Our Heroine WAS waiting for someone--in fact, if memory serves, it was even someone with the same chromosome count--but it sure wasn't that guy. The point is that many people are waiting for a woman to serve as president. Hillary may just not be the one they're waiting for.<BR/><BR/>No one should discount anti-female bias. But just as your objection to Edwards isn't based on race, sex, or social class, people who might enthusiastically vote for a woman may actually be treating Hillary WITHOUT bias: they wouldn't vote for her if she were a man, and they're not going to change that just because she's a woman.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post-670436793992934762008-01-05T14:13:00.000-05:002008-01-05T14:13:00.000-05:00Roxie -- first of all, I love and miss you. Okay,...Roxie -- first of all, I love and miss you. <BR/><BR/>Okay, with that settled... Did you see how Elizabeth Edwards literally dismantled Chris Matthews yesterday on Hardball? Actually left him speechless. I was on a treadmill at the gym at the time and found myself cheering out loud, right there with my sweaty compatriots!<BR/><BR/>Do you really find Edwards to be more smug than Obama or Clinton? I must be missing that one. I find them all smug. Maybe my unrepentant leftist ways clouded my political judgement as every cry against corporate greed and every proclamation that corporations won't come to the table to give up their power voluntarily made me very glad that he is in this race.<BR/><BR/>And have you noticed that the country wants change, and that surrounding yourself with the likes of Bill, Madeline Albright, etc. does not inspire confidence in that regard? The young folks in my life are just not all that inspired by references to the 90s.<BR/><BR/>I'm getting old now (is 58 old? feels like it right now) and I grew up in the generation that always thought it would be young and own the political culture. We had a certain framework, a paradigm, through which to view our world in the 60s and 70s, back when there was a Cold War, a bipolar world struggling through the East-West divide, and liberation movements galore. Now I have discovered that there is a generation growing up behind me, a couple of them really, that does not see things in the terms in which we grew up, for whom this framework of reality and social struggle has no resonance at all.<BR/><BR/>When I am with young Obama supporters, I can assure you that their political lens is not about race or gender, despite the likes of people like Matthews (he is of MY generation, after all). It is, sad as it may be to admit, about that very thing we once believed in -- throwing off the yoke of the older generation. After all, what did they bring us (or, more self-reflectively, what did WE bring them) -- the Iraq war, for one, and I think I tried to tell you that supporters of the Iraq war, whether past or current, and of keeping troops there for years, would have a hard time getting into the White House. Also in the list, a ruined planet, mindboggling indebtedness, breathtaking concentration of wealth, grim prospects for their future, to name a few reasons why young voters want 'out with the old.'<BR/><BR/>That said, I agree with you so much about Obama. You have been around long enough, old furry friend, to know that inspiration without content is a dangereous thing indeed. If Obama wins the White House, I fear the dashing of that very enthusiasm that brought him there as he turns out to be another centrist pro-business Democrat, kind of like the Clintons.<BR/><BR/>I, too, am sorry to see Dodd go so soon. We needed a strong human rights voice in the mix.<BR/><BR/>That's my analysis of the moment, Roxie. Happily I can say, see you soon. I will look forward to the nose lick.<BR/><BR/>Go Terp Women!!!<BR/><BR/>Margaret<BR/>www.ecologicalhope.orgMargaret Swedishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18122528070296887747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post-29621742631946684602008-01-05T09:43:00.000-05:002008-01-05T09:43:00.000-05:00Yes, we intended to mention Edwards and the whole ...Yes, we intended to mention Edwards and the whole smarm thing, but we got distracted by our musings on history. We thought it was an amazingly ungracious speech, and we are deeply disappointed by Elizabeth Edwards these days, too.<BR/><BR/>As for No Country for Old Men, well, brilliant filmmaking, awesome performances, a compelling story -- and it left us completely cold! It was a little too allegorical to make us feel connected to the characters, perhaps. Juno, on the other hand, which we saw the next night, was delightful and utterly captivating. We're ready to jump right on the Diablo Cody bandwagon!Roxie Smith Lindemannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06455529922082930949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post-31329447186271733652008-01-05T09:30:00.000-05:002008-01-05T09:30:00.000-05:00This post is just but one of the many reasons I lo...This post is just but one of the many reasons I love you and Moose and Goose... Matthews was a total ass, Edwards was just as smug and smarmy as ever, and Hillary was very gracious. But it is early in the race. And I think she will win New Hampshire. So what did you think of No Country for Old Men?qtahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01907222771263313661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post-90384727613369979622008-01-05T01:47:00.000-05:002008-01-05T01:47:00.000-05:00In cynical moments I have been saying to close fri...In cynical moments I have been saying to close friends, harking back to the very historical precedent you mention, that Americans will elect a black man sooner than they will elect a white woman. My Republican cousin from Louisiana was up here last spring interning for Trent Lott and he said that he would be willing to vote for Obama but NEVER Hillary Clinton; ditto for many of my male students. Yet I honestly think that some of this bias is, as you suggest, about Hillary as a person as much as it is about her as a woman--after all, even Louisiana recently elected a female governor.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09555606836926211668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post-69078560529525332602008-01-05T01:16:00.000-05:002008-01-05T01:16:00.000-05:00I'm sorry, but when did Iowa become the barometer ...I'm sorry, but when did Iowa become the barometer for national politics?Geoffreyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18357719173715772046noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post-27935101427116602322008-01-04T21:03:00.000-05:002008-01-04T21:03:00.000-05:00A letter from Hillary arrived in the inbox today; ...A letter from Hillary arrived in the inbox today; it was titled simply, "Last Night" --<BR/><BR/>What a fantastic title that is, the humor, the intimacy, the humanness, the shared suffering, the sweet splendor of defeat! <BR/><BR/>Okay, you all may have received the same post if you are subbing to Hillary's newsletter, but anyway for the record, here is what she had to say, or at least the first few graphs:<BR/><BR/>---<BR/>Let's Make History<BR/><BR/>"We've got more work to do." That was my first reaction as I saw last night's election results come in. And today in New Hampshire, I'm pounding the pavement, looking for every last vote in next Tuesday's primary.<BR/><BR/>"With your help, we can make it clear that the Democratic Party needs a nominee who can go the distance in a long, challenging campaign to win the White House, and that the American people need a president who can be an effective champion for them on day one.<BR/><BR/>"Iowa sounded the opening bell of this campaign. New Hampshire is only four days away -- and the pace only quickens from there.<BR/><BR/>"The stakes couldn't be any higher. Events couldn't be moving any faster. With everything on the line, let's show them what we're made of."<BR/>---<BR/><BR/>RutgersAlumnaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post-17314570733650733942008-01-04T18:40:00.000-05:002008-01-04T18:40:00.000-05:00Oh, our Candy Man weighs in from halfway round the...Oh, our Candy Man weighs in from halfway round the world to let us know how widespread the confusion is -- How wonderful! And how wonderful to know he has an actual Iowan there in Oz to help him fathom the strangeness of it all. If only the Post were open to an old dog's musings on politics, history, race, and gender. Perhaps my legions of loyal fans could launch a campaign. I mean, please, if Kristol can go to the Times, why not Roxie to the Post???<BR/><BR/>Moose is loving your FB posts, Candy Man -- looks as if you are having a swell time!Roxie Smith Lindemannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06455529922082930949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post-14040879122167078362008-01-04T18:20:00.000-05:002008-01-04T18:20:00.000-05:00Thanks, Roxie, for some wisdom in the face of a ve...Thanks, Roxie, for some wisdom in the face of a very confusing day! We here on the other side of the world haven't been able to make sense of Iowa -- not even a new friend who hails from that strange place.<BR/><BR/>Your historical note on the 1860s strikes me as a brilliant insight. Perhaps the Post might be interested in publishing an old terrier's thoughts?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post-24118945114902756872008-01-04T18:13:00.000-05:002008-01-04T18:13:00.000-05:00Very SANE post, Roxie. This is truly one of those...Very SANE post, Roxie. This is truly one of those "if you can keep your head when everyone about you is losing theirs. . ." (or however it goes; you know, that Kipling thing). I was truly shocked by the nasty glee exhibited by Chris Matthews. He is not welcome on any television in this house.<BR/><BR/>And I think you make a wise point about the race/gender business. The one thing stupid Matthews pointed out was that it took this country far longer to give women the vote than it took to give black men the vote. I'll add that while so many have been focused for years now on Toni Morrison's PLAYING IN THE DARK, they've forgotten to muse on her PARADISE, which makes clear how deep and broad are the discriminations based on gender. I'm just baffled that progressives are choosing the more-right-leaning candidate. My my -- what's up with that?<BR/><BR/>Much love & peace,<BR/>--Your GooseMartha Nell Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10066686045532002283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23938076.post-70411047044160328332008-01-04T17:32:00.000-05:002008-01-04T17:32:00.000-05:00Hey, Roxie! I'm sorry that your candidate didn't d...Hey, Roxie! I'm sorry that your candidate didn't do as well as expected. Thom Hartman had a very good analysis on Progressive Talk 1260, observing that basically, given that what's happening now is the collection of delegates, Obama is a couple of delegates ahead of Hillary. Not insuperable. <BR/><BR/>We here at the House of Ironical Beagles are in mourning, because Dodd has dropped out, AND WE WANT OUR CONSTITUTION BACK, DAMMIT! (Not that it does me personally much good, but it's apparently fairly important for my human.) And Dodd was focusing on that. <BR/><BR/>The libertarians at Unqualified Offerings have suggested that some good can be gotten out of this if we can just get Dodd into the post now occupied (with truly impressive ineptness) by Harry Reid.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com