I wanted to get to this story earlier today, before the rest of the blogosphere jumped on it, but it is still worth discussing here. Early this morning Manish tipped me off to the fact that the U.S. Attorney from Minnesota that I had blogged about two weeks ago was back in the news:
It’s a major shakeup at the offices of new U.S. Attorney Rachel Paulose.
Four of her top staff voluntarily demoted themselves Thursday, fed up with Paulose, who, after just months on the job, has earned a reputation for quoting Bible verses and dressing down underlings.
Deputy U.S. Attorney John Marty is just one of the people dropping themselves in rank to simply a U.S. Attorney position. Also making the move are the heads of Paulose’s criminal and civil divisions and the top administrative officer.
The move is intended to send a message to Washington – that 33-year-old Paulose is in over her head. [Link]
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p>But here is the most important tid-bit in my opinion. I should have suspected something like this earlier:
She was a special assistant to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, worked as a senior counsel for deputy attorney general Paul McNulty and is best buds with Monica Goodling – the assistant U.S. Attorney who recently took the Fifth rather than testify before Congress. [Link]
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p>Best buds with Monica Goodling?? Usually I’m not one to believe in guilt by association, but suspending that belief here sure makes for an interesting hook! Goodling is the same woman currently in the news (she just resigned today) because she wants to plead the 5th in front of a Congress that is demanding to question her over her involvement in the recent purge of U.S. Attorneys. She hasn’t even said what questions she is pleading the 5th for! Is it a coincidence that a fellow “believer” ended up becoming the new U.S. Attorney from Minnesota?
Goodling’s involvement in Attorneygate is not the only aspect of her role in the Bush administration that bears examination. Her membership in a cadre of 150 graduates of Pat Robertson’s Regent University currently serving in the administration is another, equally revealing component of the White House’s political program.
Goodling earned her law degree from Regent, an institution founded by Robertson “to produce Christian leaders who will make a difference, who will change the world.” Helping to purge politically disloyal federal prosecutors is just one way Goodling has helped fulfill Robertson’s revolutionary goals. [Link]
But back to Paulose for a minute:
Sources familiar with the U.S. Attorney’s office described the mass management resignation in Minnesota as “extraordinary.”
“This is a decapitation of the office,” said a source with knowledge of the situation. “I’ve never heard of anything like this. People work all their lives to be at these high levels in the office. This is an extraordinary event.”
The former managers either did not return calls or could not be reached for comment Thursday night.
A source said managers had been unhappy with Paulose and decided to resign collectively.
“They did it jointly because they couldn’t stand her anymore,” the source said, citing what has been described as her “dictatorial management style and general lack of management experience…” [Link]
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i got a weird email this morning from a friend in minneapolis (who happens to be very liberal) about her (paulouse), and how she was hot. it was really strange…..
Liberal men attempting to seduce hot, radical right women is a new type of fetish. I think it works the opposite way too but we’ll have to ask Manju about his experiences.
Has Sepia Mutiny ever written anything positive about an Indian who happens to be a Republican?
Sometimes I think I’m reading a brown version of the Daily Kos.
Has Sepia Mutiny ever written anything positive about an Indian who happens to be a Republican?
Meet the Mutiny: SM interviews [Republican] Candidate Raj Bhakta. this is more washington monthly or then kos. there are, after all, two republicans in the inner circle.
Nah, afer Naina slapped me then kicked me in the balls I’ve been sticking to the Eva Braun wannabees.
I think it works the opposite way too but we’ll have to ask Manju about his experiences.
well, i’m a registered republican still, and my gfs have all been liberal. but the thing is with women’s lib & all, you let them seduce you. less work 🙂
Oh yeah? Who might those be?
Has Sepia Mutiny ever written anything positive about an Indian who happens to be a Republican?
With regressive views like Jindal’s, has there ever been reason?
Pick your favorite two desi doctors in East Brunswick, NJ 🙂
You know what disgusts me??? Everytime there is a topic concerning an independent american woman (whether indian or not) the men on these boards have to refer to whether she is “HOT” or “NOT” even though it may be irrelevant to the actual topic. It is sickening that when I am looked at as a woman who has accomplished things in my life, a guy will ask, BUT IS SHE HOT?? Pathetic.
I am tempted to go off topic for 10 seconds and say that the quality of men has gone done in the new millenium. Or perhaps, it has always been like that and you can hardly ever find a man who will look at a woman and see her as a successful person rather than a sexual object. (unless its his mom/aunt/sister)
Back to the topic: I think genuine christians are vulnerable: why? Because these politicains/lawyers/etc use christian terms/language to attract support and gain power from christians yet dont necessarily act on those values personally.Just a thought.
MorningSunshine #10: THANK YOU for saying it!
What struck me was that she was 33. That’s hella hella hella young for a US Attorney. As I understand, to even get hired in as an AUSA you usually need at least five years experience. I looked her up on Wikipedia, and she’s got good credentials (PBK at Minnesota and Yale Law), but a US Attorney? Forget the Bible quoting… most likely those division chiefs are probably 20 year veterans and resent the hell out of having to report to someone whom they would regard as a neophyte.
Add this to the fact that the Bush Administration has a habit of appointing egregiously unqualified persons whose sole “virtue” is loyalty to the Bush Administration (viz. Michael Brown, Harriet Miers, and of course the current US Attorney scandal). I give the odds at at least 50-50 that Paulose is another underqualified hack.
Of course, it’s possible I’m wrong, and she’s the greatest lawyer since the Honorable Sliced Bread’s distinguished career on the Fourth Circuit, and is completely deserving of her exalted rank. But given the Bush Administration’s history, I doubt it.
Speedy
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/currents/20070401_One_Last_Thing___Attorneys_scandal_is_not_about_firings.html
i wonder why nobody takes her education into question–i mean it’s not too much to ask for senior counsels and US attorneys who come from schools where debate and dissent are not rewarded with dismissal. Not to diss a fourth-tier school like Regent University School of Law but isn’t it the tiniest bit suspicious that two graduates, from what is not exactly the favored destination of law-school hopefuls nationwide, are BOTH now facing serious backlash for their on-the-job performance?
i’m sure there are some positive things that could come out of recruiting men and women to wage some sort of ill-defined holy war against inefficiency, incompetence and corruption but will doing these things for Christ somehow make you better than an atheist/agnostic graduating from a secular law school? Normally I shiver when I hear these words, “seeks men and women who are dedicated to becoming Christian leaders who will change the world for Christ” but i guess it’s alright if ole’ reliable Pat Robertson is at the helm
I’ll bet Morningsunshine is so hot when she’s mad.
america is f’d up, yeew haw y’all…jesus saves..usa! usa! usa!
lol
I’m all for free expression if it isn’t inappropriate or unnecessarily rude. It’s Easter weekend. For those of us who DO believe that Jesus “saves”, it’s the holiest point of the year.
Now, some of you might ask why don’t I stay away from SM if Easter is so important; to that I would say, I’m not going to vacate my house– I’m going to ask you to be kind to me while you are visiting. Thanks.
Yeah, she is really young. At 33, she should at most be a AUSA, not the freaking US Attorney. She obviously has no management experience and she is in Minnesota for god sakes, not exactly a haven for diversity. I can’t imagine some 50 year old white guy being happy working underneath a young brown chick.
So yeah this is another example of the Bush Admin appointing unqualified people simply because they are loyal, but I highly doubt this didn’t happen in the Clinton Administration. I mean Janet Reno was not qualified to be AG and she served eight years. She only got the position because Clinton wanted to appoint the first female AG.
On a completely unrelated note, I thought the Orthodox and Catholic/Protestant calendars had different calendars and therefore had different dates for Christmas, Easter, etc.? Or is that only for certain Orthodox churches and/or particular holidays?
Speedy
dates do differ: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter#Date_of_Easter
Speedy,
My church, the Greek Orthodox church usually celebrates Easter a week after everyone else (including my Mother’s Indian/Syrian Orthodox church which uses the “conventional” date), but every few years, the dates coincide. This is one of those years. It’s weirding me out sum’n fierce. 🙂
Maybe so, but hell she is HOT!!
just to kill this chauvinist element in the thread; symmetry, high cheekbones and large eyes are going to get a whistle in any crowd–even one as ‘enlightened’ as SM.
am i right or do i have this all backwards?
you could say that she’s already embraced the Bush administration’s curious “think it into reality” policy on political pie in the face. This is like saying Colin Powell leaving the secstate post would enable him to be a better husband ( not saying it wouldn’t but it is skirting the 800-pound issue in the corner–his totally incompatible views on foreign policy)
“just to kill this chauvinist element in the thread; symmetry, high cheekbones and large eyes are going to get a whistle in any crowd–even one as ‘enlightened’ as SM.
am i right or do i have this all backwards?”
it’s the cat calling anywhere, dude. for some reason, people find it more acceptable on the internet than on the street. she’s pretty great. let’s not make it sexualized, because the instant that happens, it’s a chick and no longer an attorney–no matter how far above your libidos you are. and contrary to Bollywood films, many women find that scary as all hell:
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,2051580,00.html
and
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/03/31/sierra/?source=whitelist
not to say SM has ever hit the severity (in my time lurking) that these articles have discussed, but just brushing the border is making it harder to want to comment on the topic at hand and more on basic manners.
sigh this is gonna end in flames….
Wow, someone being appointed to a position based on political loyalty, this must be the first time this has ever happened in the history of US politics. Andrew Jackson ushered this in with his to the victors go the spoils quote
Morningsunshine perhaps in another 1000 years men will advance beyond our primal urges and not immediately view women as “hot or not” and judge them only on their qualifications and intelligence. Personally it’s a combination of personality, intelligence, physical beauty, and athleticism. Excelling in one area or the other can make up for deficiencies in the other areas (smart women are sexy).
For years I had to question whether my achievements were because of my ability or my stunning good looks or performance on the lacrosse field. Were these teachers simply giving me good grades because I was smoking hot or was I as Triple H would say “that damn good.”? Finally I learned to live with the fact that people would always immediately view me as sex object but that over time I could show them the deeper side of me.
Diane from Trainspotting said it best.
Thank you Morning Sunshine and Sorry to burst your bubble. The article links in STBYB’s post are shocking, especially the stat that a female username is targeted for online harassment 25 times more often than a male username. Explains why Anna’s posts are regularly dissed, why every female desi subject of a post on this blog is ‘rated’ on her looks etc.
I thought it was Abhi’s dream to have SM be a desi version of Kos 🙂
Also, regarding the whole sexist (or not) angle, I do remember someone referring to one of the more ‘masculine’ female commenters on SM. I think that person was referring to me because of my tendency to mix it up with the boyz on the political posts. Dear boyz and girlz: it’s possible to be interested in free markets, small government, a kick-ass military and still be feminine. Reactionary and regressive, vis a vis the great Manish Vij, but still feminine. Must we do the hot or not? Human nature, I suppose. Still, it makes me feel for some of you that your first comment about a woman is about her looks. Push away the computer, go for a run, and speak to a human being once in a while……..
As compared to Little Green Footballs, MD? 😉
It’s Anna’s dream to have SM be a desi version of…not a damned thing. I want someone out there to be an Amreekan/Chilean/German version of us.
DESIDAWG: I disagree with your post because you arent understanding my viewpoint. I don’t see anything wrong with a woman being beautiful, intelligent, and successful but when a guy ignores the real topic at hand (which isnt about her looks) and goes STRAIGHT into how he heard how hot she is, it speaks a lot about that male’s psyche. Though he has a right to say what he wants, the topic isn’t superficially about her; its an in-depth look at her character and the situations surrounding her. When raz posted, it immediately told me that he was more interested in her looks rather than the topic concerning her. It speaks volumes to me about the state of society today; especially in regards to how women are viewed. A successful, brilliant average-looking woman (according to laws of beauty and symmetry) may not get as much attention and insight from men as would a sexy, gorgeous, not-so-successful woman unless she is hot. I don’t need to take a “chill pill” because Im already mentally relaxed but that doesnt mean I shouldnt be aware and outspoken concerning my thoughts.
I HATE TO BURST YOUR BUBBLE: Great commentary.
Asha’s Dad: You said: “Morningsunshine perhaps in another 1000 years men will advance beyond our primal urges and not immediately view women as “hot or not” and judge them only on their qualifications and intelligence. Personally it’s a combination of personality, intelligence, physical beauty, and athleticism. Excelling in one area or the other can make up for deficiencies in the other areas (smart women are sexy).”
You aren’t understanding what I am saying. I didn’t say that women should be judged ONLY on their intelligence and qualifications. I am saying that there is an appropriate time/place/situation to make comments on how “hot” a woman is and then there is posts such as this which have NOTHING TO DO WITH HER HOT LOOKS and a lot to do with more important issues concerning her professionally. Does that make sense? I can restate it in a different way if no one doesn’t understand what Im saying. THis post is not about her “sexyiness” and I just find it pathetic that some men would rather talk about her looks because “THAT CONCERNS THEM MORE” than current issues related to her position as an attorney. She may be “hot” as a woman, but she is represented here as a professional attorney first and foremost.
I apologise if I degressed from the true topic but I just had to address it. I see it more and more in the professional workplace as well. I would sit with a bunch of professional men who just dealt with an attractive woman on an issue and they show interest/attention toward her because she is sexually pleasing to their senses; they arent showing interest in her because they value her input on a topic. I, on the other hand, am not sexually appealing to most men in my workplace, and the men have little interest and respect(if thats what you wanna’ call it) in my viewpoint in the workplace and would much rather give their attention to the sexy girls. In the workplace, we WOMEN are professionals first and foremost, and sex objects dead LAST.
Abhi: It will shock you to know I never read LGFs. I’m all about Terry Teachout and ArtsJournal these days….I actually went to a bookstore and asked for the Dud Avocado yesterday. which will make sense to the other Terry Teachout readers out there.
ANNA: Wrong thread I know, but thanks for keeping up the 55 fiction.
Thanks, Emdeedi 🙂
Morningsunshine – certainly you have the right to try to influence how others think, but truth told, you’re fighting millions of years of evolution that have resulted in the male psyche to be more interested in a woman’s physical appearance than any other quality about her. Good luck in changing that…but merely stating that it’s unfair isn’t going to shut off neurotransmitters and hormones. It’s the way we are. Certainly you can ask that we not verbalize these urges, but to eliminate the thoughtcrime of focusing first on a female’s looks would probably take surgery, or at the very least some heavy medication. You might be a bit more successful in influencing FEMALE behavior that certainly acknowledges, and again, honestly, attempts to capitalize on men’s genetic programming. If men are so weak, so shallow, so unevolved that they are unduly influenced by a female’s looks, perhaps this generation of women can rise up against the oppression and cast off your makeup, designer clothing, expensive hairstyles, etc. and get down to the basics of presenting yourselves as genderless, beauty-agnostic workers who are just as good as men in lawyering, doctoring, or whatevering. What a utopia…a world where women will stop competing with other females in presenting your beauty, so you can instead compete in the game to be recognized as the best account manager, or marketing executive, etc. Let’s all sing “what a wonderful world” together.
Hey…men are pigs; we’re shallow, we’re human. We’re working on it…but be careful what you wish for.
A woman who is successful average-looking and brilliant, would she really care for the attention and insight from men who would probably be interested in her only because she is hot and is probably not the smartest cook of the broth? And a guy who will appreciate her for those things wont care as much about the fact that she is no Rose McGowan. Like Asha’s dad said, smart women are sexy – heck they are sexy even in a burqa but the guy has to first ‘get the fact’ that she is smart and if you crave attention from a dude who cant get that, it’s not anyone else’s fault. And just like there are guys who shower all their attention on the women at the top of the hotness ladder, there are enough airhead women out there who are totally comfortable in that scheme of things. So lets not say it’s only guys who are to be blamed for that.
Another thing, like it or not – calling a woman hot is just one of those things guys do offhand. Even guys who have a three figure IQ and actually find smart women hot for their smartness. Does not mean they appreciate smart women any less. So lets refrain from putting all guys under the same bucket, shall we?
Anna, I hope you will also permit a post wishing you Happy Easter. Truth be told, I’ve never really wished too many people ‘Happy Easter’, mainly because I’ve never been sure whether you could do so before Good Friday, or whether you had to wait until after. It was both a solemn and a joyous occassion, in my naive undersanding, so I always thought that propriety demanded you wait until after Good Friday. Also, until you just mentioned it, I assumed that Orthodox Easter would follow in a ‘couple of weeks’, because that was how it was one year that I was traveling with an Orthodox colleague. It was two weeks past ‘Easter’ that year, but it was his Easter that weekend! I never knew they moved around relative to each other, thanks to you I now know.
And Anna, what a great joy it has been to read your posts over the past two months or so that I’ve been here on SM. You’ve made me laugh uproariously, you’ve also made me cry – teardrops on my keyboard. You’ve used your great power over the written word to transfer a significant part of your sense and sensibility into the blogosphere, to educate, entertain, and elevate.
And so Anna, on this occasion that means so much to you, I want to say: Have a wonderful, joyous, Happy Easter!
Wowww…it’s all so simple now. Stop grooming! Stop wanting to be attractive for ourselves! Stand by and let men overthrow tyrants, racism, the feudal system, religious oppression and all of those other things they got brain surgery for and just wait it out for them to finally consider us equals. And even then, we’re going to be SO sorry we didn’t stay behind in these good old days when a US attorney becomes as much fodder for ratedesi as Sunny Leone. When men start treating us as individuals, respecting our ideas instead of the lipgloss they come from, we’re going to be so freaking mad we didn’t relish these moments when we had the chance.
God, I hope those deranged and sexually promiscuous domestic abuse cases and widows in India cut out all that slutty head shaving crap that keeps tempting men. That’s gotta explain all the rapes and bride burning. At last! Those damn women. They certainly can’t afford mass brain surgery for men in India, that’s for sure. All the doctors are here!/sarcasm
MorningSunshine, much props for bringing this into the light. I really do love reading this blog, the news stories and controversies are fantastic and I’ve learned more about approaches to religion based off the overzealous and candid discussions that are characteristic of SM, but I can’t keep quiet about this anymore. Treating women properly isn’t part of enlightened thinking? We can get angry at one man’s “lack of endorsement” of Islam but lack endorsement for an intelligent forum between equals? What’s going on here?
Maybe it’s because I was born in ’86 that I’m filled with crazy, impossible ideas about how I should be treated. I have officially tripped in the generation gap and fallen flat on my face, because I had no idea the generation that dominates this blog, the ones I looked up to back when they were teenagers and discovering/creating their identities (and MUCH of the south asian american identity) for the first time, would take on every aspect of the world but themselves.
I had to say it. braces for flaming
Yeah, Anna, Happy Easter! Sorry for tainting this up with rants…it’s a blessed weekend and I hope you have a wonderful one!
All this talk of objectification has me wondering: is Abhi cute in real life? Or is he a typical skinny-and-short desi man? Because I think Abhi has a cute face, a cute online persona and hey, Evil Abhi is kinda sexy. But what would be pistachio on the jamun is if he had a strapping bod i.e. that he’s not so skinny that my galang-galangs will be too much of a force of nature for him. I hate when that happens.
Anyway I think I need some lemon water.
shutupshutupshutup
gahwhatanidiot
This comment got it right. The Internet is a fantastic medium that has made a lot of connections and exchanges of ideas possible, but it also creates room for a lot of behaviors that people would be ashamed to display in actual in-person interactions. Derogatory (and sometimes threatening) comments to/about women are rife. It’s really a disgrace that so much regressive behavior has proliferated so fast in the online world. It is depressing when you think about it.
As the commenter pointed out, there’s a lot less of that here than in many other spaces but that doesn’t mean people here are immune from the tendency. Quite the contrary. We want a place here where people are comfortable discussing a wide range of topics without feeling put down, objectified, or devalued. A safe space. If you want to be part of the solution, the first step is to take pains to not be part of the problem. Always err on the side of respect. It’s a good principle for living, whether in the “real” or “virtual” worlds.
What if I was slim and short…and yet strapping with a cute face? Would such a combination blow your mind? I’ve never been objectified like this before. This is becoming an unsafe space for me all of a sudden. Evil Abhi likes it though.
Points well taken Morningsunshine.
Wasn’t trying to start a fire, just pointing out that sometimes our primal instincts get the best of us. I married Asha’s mom because of the total package, but the first thing I noticed was her looks. The personality, intelligence, sense of humor, and ability to put up with a bloke like me took over. Beauty will fade over time and one’s definition of beauty will change over time as well, but that doesn’t change the fact that men will always be attracted to beautiful women and often mention it out of the context on a story related to something else (intelligence, personality, etc).
In all seriousness hopefully things will change for women in terms of equality in the workplace and not being viewed inappropriately outside the proper setting (i.e romantic movie acceptable?).
Happy Easter to everyone.
Reactionary and regressive, vis a vis the great Manish Vij, but still feminine.
My bad, did you agree with Jindal on the issues? Say, no abortion even in rape cases or if the mother’s life is at stake?
I was complementing you Manish! I miss your writing, although I love the new contributors, too. Also, I have been working all day so it’s a comment fest on SM for me 🙁 What? I have to take breaks, I’m only human.
Dude, he’s about more than the abortion thing and I don’t see why I can’t admire his work on health care, while disagreeing with him on other things. Anyway, I’ve ‘grossed’ enough abortuses to be very, uh, well, I’ll leave it at that. I prefer the Clintonian line, “safe, legal, and rare.”
So, not to threadjack, but apparently you can to the following: jindalisbad.com and jindalisgood.com; knock yourselves out sepia mutineers.
Also, according to answers.com (have no idea if accurate or not), he would allow salpingectomy (not specifically targeting a fetus so okay) and emergency contraception (which is odd, this is out of line with other pro-lifers) and there are contradictory reports in the press on his ‘no exceptions’ statements, although he did try to distinguish himself from the fellow pro-life Democratic gov. nominee by running adds for no rape exceptions. I don’t agree with his stand, obviously, but he’s like someone who thinks there should be no death penalty. He thinks abortion is murder, and while I disagree, I think I can understand that point of view on a certain level.
*Hope this threadjack doesn’t degenerate into name-calling…..
Manish, I miss your posts too! Your opinions were quite often thought-provoking, even though I disagreed with a lot of them 🙂
Annamoley! I remember the eight beatitudes! Have a joyous Easter!
Umm…if you want to jump from “that woman is hot” to assuming that the next step is rape, then next time a woman shows interest in me and it’s clear its influenced by my financial standing, then I suppose I should assume she wants to kill me for my money, or at least steal my wallet?