Oh noes! Never mind his middle name, his mom's first name was *Stanley*!

[KamaAina]

Coming to a hate radio outlet near you: the OxyMoron's tender rendition of "Barack Has Two Daddies". Next up on O'Really?: "Looks like that guy on Oprah wasn't the first pregnant man after all, tee hee." :eyes:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20080410/us_time/thestoryofbarackobamasmother

Stanley Ann Dunham
Born in 1942, just five years before Hillary Clinton, Obama's mother came into an America constrained by war, segregation and a distrust of difference. Her parents named her Stanley because her father had wanted a boy. She endured the expected teasing over this indignity, but dutifully lugged the name through high school, apologizing for it each time she introduced herself in a new town.

During her life, she was known by four different names, each representing a distinct chapter. In the course of the Stanley period, her family moved more than five times - from Kansas to California to Texas to Washington - before her 18th birthday. Her father, a furniture salesman, had a restlessness that she inherited.

She spent her high school years on a small island in Washington, taking advanced classes in philosophy and visiting coffee shops in Seattle. "She was a very intelligent, quiet girl, interested in her friendships and current events," remembers Maxine Box, a close high school friend. Both girls assumed they would go to college and pursue careers. "She wasn't particularly interested in children or in getting married," Box says. Although Stanley was accepted early by the University of Chicago, her father wouldn't let her go. She was too young to be off on her own, he said, unaware, as fathers tend to be, of what could happen when she lived in his house.

After she finished high school, her father whisked the family away again - this time to Honolulu, after he heard about a big new furniture store there. Hawaii had just become a state, and it was the new frontier. Stanley grudgingly went along yet again, enrolling in the University of Hawaii as a freshman.

[stellanoir]

1. So her father wanted a male child. That wasn't that uncommon in those days.

It only made her more rebellious and she changed her name ASAP.

case closed.

[Vinca]

2. Can't you show a little respect? The poor woman is dead.

She made a heck of a life for herself, all things considered, and produced a potential president. Her name is just a name.

[KamaAina]

11. Looks like I forgot this

:sarcasm:

the point was to demonstrate how quickly Obama-haters of all stripes will jump on "just a name" (like "Hussein").

[Liquorice]

3. That poor woman. It sounds like somthing was wrong in that family. nt

[Binka]

6. Yes Indeed! Your Concern Has Been Duly Noted!

And tossed in the shitter. Thank you and have a blessed day.

[Liquorice]

7. How rude. nt

[Binka]

9. Sorry

Have a REALLY REALLY BLESSED DAY!

[Hepburn]

16. Gawd.....

...I love ya, Binka! :evilgrin:

[Binka]

17. Thanks! The Concern Trolls Really Concern Me!

I make it my business to ensure that the welcome wagon rolls up to the bridge!

[juno jones]

22. I know, she was messed up, and she gave her kid the middle name of Hussien and

everything, She should have known that we would be directing the 2-minute-hate at a guy named Hussein about three decades later...or didn't she get the 'new mom' menu of names passed out by the government to make sure we all have the proper balance of Anglo-sounding syllables and a proper level of vowels? She didn't pay attention and now her child just has to live with it...

I shouldn't have to do this. :sarcasm:

[KAZ]

18. DUzy!

[ampad]

25. LOL

Nice response. I too feel the concern from that poster. :sarcasm:

[cali]

10. poor woman? Nope.

Sounds like you don't know much about her. She was definitely not some poor woman.

[Vinca]

27. Any woman who dies before her time is a poor woman.

I don't know how on earth you were interpreting what I wrote. It bothered me that all of a sudden people were going to trash a deceased woman over her fucking name.

[hisownpetard]

4. "Her Name was Stanley" - re-post from 3/22/08

Her name was Stanley.
Posted by hisownpetard in General Discussion: Primaries
Sat Mar 22nd 2008, 07:19 PM
Stanley Anne Dunham - the mother of Barack Obama, to whom I would like to say, simply, 'Thank you."

It struck me recently, after listening to Obama's speech on race, that this is a man who's entire being seems to be steeped
in fairness - a character trait which is almost non-existent in most people we call 'politicians.' I believe that this trait was passed on
to him by example through his mother who, unfortunately, is not here to witness how well he learned that lesson.

I base this on the fact that Obama said, when writing his first book, he would give the draft of each chapter to his mother to read.
Although she never commented on any statements he made pertaining to her, she did try to explain to him, concerning some statements he
made about his father, that he wasn't being quite as fair as he could be and asked him to correct what he wrote.

This, mind you, about a man who chose to advance his education by accepting a scholarship to Harvard, leaving his wife to raise their 2-year-old
son on her own and basically disappearing from his son's life, not seeing his child again until he was ten.

Barack has said that, afterwords, he regretted that he didn't focus his books more on the parent that stayed than the one who didn't.
But, somehow, I think his mother would be fine with that.

Perhaps this background is the reason why Obama seems to approach every problem evenly, not in the heavy-handed way we've become used to in this
country but in a way that is all-inclusive, allowing everyone a voice and a say in the matter, however divergent their opinions may be.

I believe this is why he was able to understand the frame of reference of Rev. Wright and people of his generation regarding problems of race.
Obama doesn't agree with the more incendiary things that Wright has said, but he doesn't come down with an iron fist against the people who do think that way,
any more than he would have disowned his white grandmother who occasionally made remarks that made him "cringe."

This background, steeped in tolerance for diametrically opposed views, has enabled Barack Obama to be seen by thousands upon thousands of Americans
as a viable agent of change at a time when this country has been beaten to a pulp for years by people in power who are capable of getting a good night's sleep
even as Americans and Iraqis are getting killed without cause. People who, when confronted with a question about the fact that 2/3 of all Americans do not
approve of the way the war is being handled can smirk and say, "So?" People who thrive on political dirty tricks, stolen elections, endless lies and distortions,
and other egregious offenses that go on and on and on. We all know the list by heart.

I believe, in my heart, that Sen. Obama would be incapable of committing this sort of act against America. His character would not permit him to.
And for that, I say 'thank you' - to him, for sure, and to the woman who showed him how to live a life that honors one's ideals by honoring others.

I cannot wait to vote for him for President of the United States of America.








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[KamaAina]

12. Nice! One minor quibble...

there was no silent 'e' in Ann. :-)

[hisownpetard]

14. I'm sorrye.

[AtomicKitten]

5. I was the fourth daughter and understand all too well.

No worries in my family though; the Crown Prince was born after me. ;)

Obama's mom was a truly exceptional human being and her first name just a conversation piece. I applaud the fine work she did raising the next President of the United States.

[juno jones]

23. Hee, hee,

My third husband was named for his dad, he was the fourth and last child but in an act of desparation, his parents had given his sister (the third child) the dad's name, albeit feminized. So two kids in the family basically had dad's name. You gotta wonder. :)

edit for bad, spelling, bad...

[LisaM]

8. A "small island" = Mercer Island

Just FYI, it's a very upscale place, as opposed to other small islands around here that aren't. I also think that the coffee houses they reference are very different from the ones here now, e.g., they weren't like Starbucks. I'm just trying to help paint the picture. She had an unusual life, that's for sure.

[Windex]

13. naming patterns

I use to run a genealogy mailing list and found that some of my anscestors followed naming patterns in naming their children. Here is a website which gives naming patterns:

http://www.tcarden.com/tree/ensor/Name.html

It's not uncommon to run across women with men's names. My mother came from a family of 8 girls and 2 boys and she is very proud that her middle name is Henry. Henry was her father's middle name.

Another situation is where a related family or friend's surname is used. For instance, the name Stanley is also a surname. Btw, Beverly is a surname too.

Hope this helps.

[Muttocracy]

26. not to mention the current Mackenzie, Madison, etc. fad

[kenny blankenship]

15. That's nothing! HRC claimed that she was named in honor of a M-to-F, post-op tranny!

True fact that --er, meaning that it's a true fact that Edmund Hillary had a sex change, not meaning Hillary Clinton's claim to have been named after him/her in honor of his/her Everest expedition.

[KamaAina]

19. DUzy! DUzy! DUzy!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[azmouse]

20. I have a female cousin named Tommy

after an uncle that died just before she was born.

I think these things happen fairly often.

[KamaAina]

21. I once considered telling Mom I couldn't decide between Leo and Bernie

two acquaintances of mine, Leolinda and Bernadette, respectively.

I did once know a woman whose middle name was Harold. :shrug:

[Muttocracy]

24. beware the grandchild of the restless furniture salesman!

:tinfoilhat: