February 11th

This morning as I was digesting the information about Mubarak stepping down in Egypt and watching the jubilation of the citizens of that country, I started imaging the possibility of a free and open election - complete with scenes of long lines of people reveling in the culmination of a movement that finally gave them a voice. At that point, my mind wandered to similar scenes from South Africa in 1994. Remember watching this?



Imagine my surprise in being reminded that February 11th was also the date that changed things in South Africa. It came in 1990...



And now the same date sees the same kind of victory for the people of Egypt.

Sane Republican Watch

For some reason I am fascinated with Republicans that step outside the truly insane proposals and rhetoric we so often hear and - regardless of whether I agree with them or not - want to have a reasoned discussion. So I'd like to highlight a couple of examples.

First, there's this from Rep. Richard Hanna on the Republican approach to health care reform.

They've complained for two years about this health care bill. They've offered alternatives, but they're not alternatives that are in many ways viable. Well, now they have to put up the goods. They have to say 'here's what we're presenting, here's why it will work.'...

Let's see what they do. I say give them a chance. Let the Republican Party put up or shut up.

And then there's Rep. Sean Duffy on the same topic.

I don't believe that we should ... just do a straight-up repeal. My position during the campaign and today is, let's reform the reform or repeal and replace. And so, I wasn't gonna vote for it. But I went and spoke to the leadership, and I got a commitment that we were going to bring forward our ideas on this replacement bill.

I suggest that you not hold your breath on that one Sean. As we saw this week, some moderate Democrats tried to start a conversation about alternatives to the individual mandate. What was the response of Republican leadership? Just say no.

With a strategy in place and pressure from the more unhinged elements of the Republican Party, it seems clear that they'll "stay the course" of tearing down rather than risk any attempt to build.

But as Steve Benen suggests when it comes to the leadership's recent capitulation to the more radical elements on deficit reduction, they might not have learned enough from recent history.

...Boehner had a credible plan going into this Congress -- don't overreach the way Gingrich did. That plan has now been scrapped because Boehner's caucus won't let him pursue it, positioning him as one of the weakest House Speakers in a generation.

Monsters

Life is a game of inches

Way to go Detroit!

The Water is Wide

The women of Egypt

The New York Times has this quote from 28 year-old Mariam Soleman:

I am not socialist, I am not a liberal, I am not an Islamist. I am an Egyptian woman, a regular woman rejecting injustice and corruption in my country.

Many are giving credit to 26 year-old Asmaa Mahfouz for inspiring the protests with this video.



From the NYT:

This was certainly not the first time a young activist used the Internet — later virtually shut down by the government — as a tool to organize and mobilize, but it departed from the convenient, familiar anonymity of online activism.

More than that, it was a woman who dared put a face to the message, unfazed by the possibility of arrest for her defiance. “Do not be afraid,” she said.

When Ms. Mahfouz posted this bold video, she said she worried about the reaction that it might generate in a society that expected women to behave in a more subdued and reserved manner.

“I felt that doing this video may be too big a step for me, but then I thought: For how much longer will I continue to be afraid and hesitant? I had to do something,” Ms. Mahfouz said.

So much of the talk in this country about the potential outcome of this movement focuses on our fear of groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and/or radical extremists. I'd like to see any of those folks try to silence women like Asmaa Mahfouz, Mariam Soleman and the others who have shown so much courage.