[Explanations: lol your fat. pathetic anger bread. hey your gay.]
TFIF, Shakers!
Belly up to the bar,
and name your poison!
The Virtual Pub Is Open
[Explanations: lol your fat. pathetic anger bread. hey your gay.]
TFIF, Shakers!
Belly up to the bar,
and name your poison!
CNN Headline Nooz
So now just letting some random people spout unsupportable bullshit is a news story? Okay.
Today in Rape Culture
[Trigger warning.]
The top two stories on today's UN Dispatch "Morning Coffee" are:
6 OUT OF 10 MIGRANT WOMEN RAPED - As many as 6 out of 10 women and girls attempting to cross from Mexico into the U.S. will be raped on her journey, according a new report by Amnesty International. Each year, thousands of migrants, most of whom set out from Central America, fall victim to criminal gangs who exploit them financially and sexually. AI is calling on the Mexican government to take action to protect migrants from rape and other forms of predation. LinkThere's nothing I can say that I haven't said a thousand times before. Time to pick up our teaspoons, Shakers.
UN: IMPUNITY AT THE ROOT OF RAPE - A senior UN Security Council official is back from a trip to what she calls "the rape capital of the world," the Democratic Republic of Congo. Margot Wallström is urging the Security Council to make the prevention of sexual violence a top priority. Link
Take action to stop abuse of migrants in Mexico here. Support UNIFEM's efforts on behalf of women in Congo here.
Today's Edition of "Conniving and Sinister"
See Deeky's archive of all previous Conniving & Sinister strips here.
[In which Liss reimagines the long-running comic "Frank & Ernest," about two old straight white guys "telling it like it is," as a fat feminist white woman and a biracial queerbait telling it like it actually is from their perspectives. Hilarity ensues.]
Quote of the Day
"We need to repeal the health care law and replace it with common-sense steps that will lower the cost of health insurance in America."—House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Hawaiian Tropic), on the priorities of House Republicans, should they reclaim the majority come November.
I'm glad to hear the Republicans are finally on board with socialized medicine!
What's the Matter with Arizona?
Well. I don't really know what to say about this (emphasis mine):
After making national headlines for a new law on illegal immigrants, the Arizona Legislature passed a bill Thursday that would ban ethnic studies programs in the state that critics say currently advocate separatism and racial preferences.I see. So, really, MLK and his dream? Eh, notsomuch. Scared of Latino/Latina people "taking over" and must have classes about their heritage eliminated (particularly aimed at Tuscon Unified SD's Mexican-American program)? That's more like it. How dare this man try and hide behind Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to promote his racism. (Bill text here)
The bill, which passed 32-26 in the state House, had been approved by the Senate a day earlier. It now goes to Gov. Jan Brewer for her signature.
The new bill would make it illegal for a school district to teach any courses that promote the overthrow of the U.S. government, promote resentment of a particular race or class of people, are designed primarily for students of a particular ethnic group or "advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals."
The bill stipulates that courses can continue to be taught for Native American pupils in compliance with federal law and does not prohibit English as a second language classes. It also does not prohibit the teaching of the Holocaust or other cases of genocide.
[...]
State Superintendent for Public Instruction Tom Horne called passage in the state House a victory for the principle that education should unite, not divide students of differing backgrounds.
"Traditionally, the American public school system has brought together students from different backgrounds and taught them to be Americans and to treat each other as individuals, and not on the basis of their ethnic backgrounds," Horne said. "This is consistent with the fundamental American value that we are all individuals, not exemplars of whatever ethnic groups we were born into. Ethnic studies programs teach the opposite, and are designed to promote ethnic chauvinism."
Horne began fighting in 2007 against the Tucson Unified School District's program, which he said defied Martin Luther King's call to judge a person by the content of their character, not the color of their skin. Horne claimed the ethnic studies program encourages "ethnic chauvanism," promotes Latinos to rise up and create a new territory out of the southwestern region of the United States and tries to intimidate conservative teachers in the school system.
While on the subject of education in Arizona, the AZ Dept. of Education is up to, well...
PHOENIX—As the academic year winds down, Creighton School Principal Rosemary Agneessens faces a wrenching decision: what to do with veteran teachers whom the state education department says don't speak English well enough.Sounds more like it's from the Dept. of Really Ridiculous Ideas, Hello?!. WTF.
The Arizona Department of Education recently began telling school districts that teachers whose spoken English it deems to be heavily accented or ungrammatical must be removed from classes for students still learning English.
[...]
In the 1990s, Arizona hired hundreds of teachers whose first language was Spanish as part of a broad bilingual-education program. Many were recruited from Latin America.
Then in 2000, voters passed a ballot measure stipulating that instruction be offered only in English. Bilingual teachers who had been instructing in Spanish switched to English.
[...]
Arizona's enforcement of fluency standards is based on an interpretation of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. That law states that for a school to receive federal funds, students learning English must be instructed by teachers fluent in the language. Defining fluency is left to each state, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Education said.
[...]
The education department has dispatched evaluators to audit teachers across the state on things such as comprehensible pronunciation, correct grammar and good writing.
Teachers that don't pass muster may take classes or other steps to improve their English; if fluency continues to be a problem, Ms. Santa Cruz said, it is up to school districts to decide whether to fire teachers or reassign them to mainstream classes not designated for students still learning to speak English. However, teachers shouldn't continue to work in classes for non-native English speakers.
About 150,000 of Arizona's 1.2 million public-school students are classified as English Language Learners. Of the state's 247 school districts, about 20 have high concentrations of such students, the largest number of which are in the younger grades.
Daily Kitteh
Why it is so difficult to take a picture of Sovereign in daylight. Can you say over-exposed? I thought you could.
So Sexy Too Soon
I don’t think I knew, outside the realm of those beauty pageants for little girls, that 8-year-olds wore mascara. Not only does this phenomenon exist, according to a NYT article, but
From 2007 to 2009, the percentage of girls ages 8 to 12 who regularly use mascara and eyeliner nearly doubled — to 18 percent from 10 percent for mascara, and to 15 percent from 9 percent for eyeliner. The percentage of them using lipstick also rose, to 15 percent from 10 percent.We’re* prepping them earlier and earlier, with the assistance of the beauty industry, for conforming to notions of “beauty” and “femininity,” for life as the objects of the heterosexual male gaze.
From the article:
"There’s relentless marketing pressure on young girls to look older,” Ms. [Stacy] Malkan said. “Not just from magazines and TV ads, but from shows like ‘90210.’ Those kids are supposed to be in 10th and 11th grade, but they look 25.”Others have documented this ongoing sexualization of young girls. In speaking of her book, Girl Culture, Lauren Greenfield notes the “the exhibitionist nature of modern femininity.” Diane Levin and Jean Kilbourne explore the role of gendered and sexualized marketing on young girls in So Sexy, So Soon. They tell a story of 7- and 8-year-old girls who feel they must be sexy so boys will like them and are upset that their parents won’t buy them sexy clothes. Levin and Kilbourne describe the messages transmitted over and over to young girls
Indeed, the aisles of Sephora and CVS are lined with cosmetics aimed at Miley Cyrus fans. Fashion runways teem with heavily made-up girls of 14. Neutrogena offers a line of acne-clearing makeup featured on the “Neutrogena Teen” section of its Web site. Even Dylan’s Candy Bar, the upscale candy store whose Upper East Side flagship has become a tourist attraction, has a “beauty” line that includes cupcake body lotion and strawberry licorice “lip saver.” (“Lips should always be candy-luscious and sweet to kiss!” reads the Web site.)
In today’s cultural environment, products that channel children into narrowly focused content and activities threaten to consume every aspect of their lives. For young girls, this usually means focusing on buying fashion items, looking pretty, and acting sexy. From newfangled Barbies and sexy Bratz dolls to “old-fashioned” princess fairy tales, young girls… learn to value a certain aesthetic and a certain behavior—be pretty, be coy, and… be saved in the end by the handsome prince. [T]hese gender stereotypes and sexualized messages are everywhere. **They are everywhere and apparently they are effective.
The author of the NYT article says that some young girls might be “sophisticated enough to make… their own beauty decisions.” He points to an 11-year old who denied trying to emulate anyone by wearing makeup; “I try to make myself look like me,” she said.
That immediately reminded me of a scene from Good Hair when Chris Rock tries to go into a hair supply store and sell “black” hair to the store owner who stocks primarily Indian hair. Black women, the store owner tells him, don’t want “black” hair, because they want to look more “natural.” You can see that scene beginning around the 2:09 second mark in the trailer below.
All of that leads me to wonder why looking “natural” is never equivalent to being "natural" (i.e. without artifice) for women. Instead, “natural” is constructed as the outcome of subjecting our bodies, head to toe, to various processes.
As girls began these processes at younger and younger ages, what will be the effect on their physical and mental well-being?
_______________________
*The article says that 2/3 of the girls surveyed reported getting makeup and makeup techniques from a “family member or adult family friend.”
**Diane Levin and Jean Kilbourne, So Sexy So Soon: The New Sexualized Childhood and What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids (New York: Ballantine Books, 2009), 30; 32-33.
Fomenting the Mommy Wars
Or maybe the mommy/non-mommy wars, as for some people, motherhood seems to be the only reference for women's identity.
So, Luisita Lopez Torregrosa wrote an article entitled "Childless by Choice," in which she discusses her decision not to have children or get married, how she enjoys her life, and how she's felt distance grow between her married, "child-filled" friends and herself. In other words, she's describing her life.
I didn't like the blanket statement here:Take women with children, especially with young children. They get together -- at the park, at the grocery, at play dates – and can talk about nothing else but their beautiful, brilliant, amazing children.
When I did manage to get with my girlfriends when my kid was small, the last thing we wanted to talk about was the kids. We wanted mixed drinks and a break. I didn't like the generalization, but I don't doubt for a minute that might be her experience and again, she's describing her life.
Which should be just fine, right?
Apparently, that's not controversial enough. The AOL lede/link to the story is "Woman's Column May Anger Moms."* Because all moms decide other women's lives must be read through and judged by moms' experiences and because we get blazingly angry that all women don't make the same choices.
Or something.
_______________________
*Sorry, y'all, wanted to provide a screen capture, but my en-virus laptop is not cooperating. As of right now you can go here, and click to page 5 of 9 in the little lead stories box to see the link.
Assvertising
From the "Patriarchy Is Bad for Men, Too" Files...
[Click images to embiggen.]
This Jota Art Jewelry campaign [via Copyranter] attempts to sell diamonds to (straight) women—or, the (straight) men who buy diamonds for (straight) women—by reflecting the stereotypical "bad behaviors" of (straight) men in the stone (leaving the seat up; toothpaste mess), accompanied by the single word "Forgiveness."
Arguably, the ad is directed as much at (straight) men, conveying to them they should buy diamonds to beg forgiveness, as it is at (straight) women, conveying to them they should expect diamonds in exchange for forgiveness. In either case, the ad basically suggests that (straight) men don't have to be respectful, if they can afford diamonds. And (straight) women shouldn't expect respect, when they can just settle for diamonds.
Ugh squared.
[Assvertising: Parts One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104.]
Star Shocked by Changing Body as a Teenager
That's pretty much what the lede read where I found this on AOL today.
Anyway, from an interview with House's Lisa Edelstein:
In spite of her health-conscious eating habits from a young age, Edelstein still experienced a shock when she hit puberty later in her teen years. "When I was 19, I went from a size zero to a size 10 in six months," Edelstein told Prevention. "My boobs and my butt grew 3 and a half sizes. Suddenly, I was this voluptuous woman, and I had no idea what to do with my body. I hated it. Eating was so much fun until then. (Now) you sort of have to learn how not to eat potato chips."The idea that you have to counter a body that might be making natural changes blows me away.
To counter her drastically-changing body, the actress has always been active, and has been "doing Mysore [mahy-sawr] style Ashtanga yoga for 14 years. I like it because it's a self-practice-everyone's doing the practice they've learned. The teacher only gives you another pose because you're ready for it."
I Think This Is What They Call "Nooz"
Brace yourselves...
Joe Arpaio arrests 'very few' non-Hispanics.
Shocking, right?
Potent Quotables
Beaks at Ain't It Cool News calls Anchorman "the most quoted comedy of the last decade." Really? The only lines I can remember from that film off the top of my head are: "I love lamp" and "Great Odin's raven," neither of which I'd call mainstays in the pop culture lexicon.
I would argue the most quoted film in recent memory is The Big Lebowski (the Dude really does abide), but that predates the last decade.
I'm having a hard time coming up with last-decade contenders, though. Over at LG&M, where R-Far posted this, a commenter mentioned Napoleon Dynamite, which has gotta be up there. "Whatever I want to do today—gosh!"
What naughties film(s) do you nominate for most quoted/quotable, Shakers?
Friday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by Shaxco, proud sponsors of Deeky's Shiny White Teeth.
Recommended Reading:
Eric: We're Losing Ground in Afghanistan
LJ: Help Kentucky A-Fund
Andy: Hawaii Approves Civil Union Bill; Measure Goes to Governor
Resistance: I'm Going to Get a White Guy Mask
Angry Asian Man: The Kid Can Eat However He Wants
Sean: Einstein Should Be Grateful He Didn't Have Email
[Trigger Warning for sexual violence in this next link; please be sure you are in a good space before clicking through.] Cara: This is Not an Analysis of Rape Culture. This is a Rant.
Leave your links in comments...
Baby Sea Lion!
by Shaker RedSonja
As an aspiring exotic animal behaviorist, I spend a LOT of time working for free. Internships and volunteering have turned out to be a great way of getting experience and networking, and my favorite place for that so far has been at Oceans of Fun (oceansoffun.org), a seal and sea lion training program at the Milwaukee Zoo.
On April 8, I had the privilege of watching one of the California sea lions at our facility give birth to her fifth pup. She was born tail first, which meant that only her hind flippers were visible for quite some time—and she was wiggling them in her effort to be born! She was approximately 14 pounds when she was born, and is growing like a weed. I just wanted to share some pictures of her with you guys. (The third pic is a newborn pic, as you'll be able to see by the umbilical cord, and the rest are older.)
[For the Facebook people, Oceans of Fun is there too and is posting pics of her pretty regularly.]
Dems Unveil Immigration Proposal
So the Democrats are on the immigration reform tip, and I just love the WaPo's lede:
Senate Democrats officially unveiled a proposal to reform America's immigration system on Thursday, looking past the fact that no Republican has offered support for the effort and President Obama a day earlier played down the chances of legislation passing this year.OMG the Democrats are defying the Republicans! And President Bipartisan! IT'S LIKE THEY DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO THEY ARE ANYMORE!
Seeking to woo Republicans, the 26-page framework, which has not yet been written into a formal bill, emphasizes first taking steps to limit illegal immigration before offering new rights for those here illegally. But the REPAIR (Real Enforcement with Practical Answers for Immigration Reform) proposal, as Democrats dubbed it, also would create a pathway to legal status for an estimated 10.8 million people who are already in the country illegally, an idea opposed by many conservatives.You know what would be a great story for the WaPo to do…? Interviewing prominent rightwingers to see if they think the Democratic Party should change its name. Or possibly disband altogether. Because every day, I wonder: What do conservatives think of the Democrats and their policies? If only someone would write an article telling me whether conservatives tend to oppose or support Democratic initiatives.
Anyway...
Under the proposal, illegal immigrants currently in the United States would be eligible for legal status in eight years, as long as they learned English, had not committed a crime and paid their taxes. The federal government would increase funding for border security and require all American workers get a new version of their Social Security card that would include a biometric identifier to protect against the creation of counterfeits.I love the smell of conditional amnesty in the morning!
I remain unconvinced that someone should have to learn English to live in the US, and I don't see why it should take eight years to attain legal status (when other countries, such as Brazil, have successful amnesty programs that don't require such rigmarole), but I'm definitely in support of an amnesty program of some description, and this frankly sounds better than I would have expected. I'll withhold final judgment until the actual bill is written, though…
Meanwhile, in totally depressing news, Gallup has found that of the three-quarters of Americans who have heard about Arizona's new immigration law, more support it than oppose it, 51%-39%.
What. The. Fuck.
For the Losties
Damon Lindelof deliciously teases us:
The great thing about series finales is: They have to fit the show. So, the M*A*S*H series finale is so specific to M*A*S*H, and the Newhart finale is so specific to Newhart. Other shows could not get away with—Matthew Fox can't wake up at the end of Lost and basically be in his Party of Five Charlie Salinger self [grins] and say, "I just had this dream about an island!" 'cause we're not Newhart, you know?
So, what we're trying to do is to end Lost in a way that feels Lostian, and fair, and will generate a tremendous amount of theorizing, which the show in and of itself has always done. We're gonna be as definitive as we can be, and say, "This is our ending," but there's no way to end the show where the fans aren't gonna say, "What did they mean by this?!" Which is why we're not going to explain it. [laughs]
Question of the Day
Also from The Book of Questions: Do you feel ill at ease going alone to either dinner or a movie? What about going on vacation by yourself?
Nope. I've done all three, and I enjoy all three.
Film Corner!
Anyone who knows anything about me knows this: I HATE ANIMAL REACTION SHOTS IN MOVIES. (That is definitely what I'm most famous for, right?) So the COMING SOON movie Furry Vengeance, starring Brendan Fraser (sad), is basically my worst nightmare:
[Paraphrase below.]
I know this is a kids' movie, but this is the kind of movie I hated even when I was a kid. The kind of movie where nothing makes sense, and a bunch of stupid things happen that would never happen ever. I loved (and love still) movies about animals, but not anthropomorphized animals who are smarter than the main human protagonist.
The ten-year-old me would argue: Either it is a real movie with real people and animals doing generally realistic things, or it is a fantasy movie, in which case I do want a fantastical and imaginative metaphorical story, and I do not want some boring-ass, uncoded, moralistic tale about urban sprawl which is a real problem that deserves better than Brendan Fraser getting covered in poop in an upturned port-o-potty.
If someone had given me a copy of this movie when I was a kid, I would have beat it into a thousand pieces with my copy of The Black Stallion. Is what I'm saying.
I'm sorry, Children of Today. You deserve better.
Paraphrase: Evil businesspeople played by Ken Jeong (an Asian man) and Angela Kinsey (a white woman) are plotting on an airplane to turn the beautiful green hills of Rocky Springs into a shopping mall "with a forest theme." Cut to a squirrel out of fucking nowhere, screaming. Brendan Fraser (white man) is dubious, but apparently stupid, so he goes home and tells his family this is a great environmental project. His son and wife (Brooke Shields) react like you would to someone with a case of the stupids who's trying to convince you that deforestation to build a forest-themed mall is a good idea.
The raccoon peering in the window, and the mouse watching through a telescope also believe he is a real dingaling, and they would know, since they are obviously very smart and speak English.
And they must read English, too, otherwise it wouldn't make any sense that they know how to build elaborate Rube Goldberg machines out of twigs and stones. "MIley Cyrus!" screams Brendan Fraser, as a giant boulder launches into the path of his SUV, because he apparently doesn't understand that is the name of a person, not a curse word used by human adults.
Oh, how the mouse laughs and laughs when the SUV comes to a screeching halt, only for the airbag to deploy and make Brendan Fraser spill hot coffee in his own face! Brendon Fraser should have remembered that old adage: Mess with nature, you get hot coffee in your face—and water in your crotch! Which is what happens next when he tries to turn a sprinkler onto the raccoon. He should have heeded that old chestnut: A raccoon will not soon be wet when there are sight gags involving crotch disruption to be had!
That's a real saying, I'm sure.
Zaniness ensues as the raccoon unplugs Fraser's treadmill, sending him flying into his flat-screen teevee! And then the raccoon conspires to keep Fraser awake at night—with noises! And skunks—ha ha I don't even have to TELL you what they do, do I? STINKOLA! HA HA HA! Then the raccoon sabotages his milk when he's eating breakfast outside like people totally do! And then it hotwires his car, which raccoons are known for almost as much as eating garbage.
Brendan Fraser, suddenly smart, suspects the animals are in cahoots and plotting against him. Birds poop near him and on that horrible businesslady. Otters and other woodland creatures ruin things! A bear pushes Fraser over in a port-o-potty! Which somehow ends up in a tree! Like you would totally expect using your ability to predict things.
Brendan Fraser says to a raccoon, near some other raccoons, "You have a family. All this time, you were protecting them." That looks like the ending. Good, now no one has to see this movie.
Quote of the Day
"I don't do politics; I do the news."—Fox News Channel founder and president Roger Ailes, during a speech earlier this week at the Ritz-Carlton Naples Golf Resort for the Ave Maria School of Law's "Conversations With" speaker series, which has already featured such other totes non-political luminaries as Edwin Meese and Andrew Card.
Media Matters helpfully documents that Ailes, in fact, does "do politics."
Today's Edition of "Conniving and Sinister"
See Deeky's archive of all previous Conniving & Sinister strips here.
[In which Liss reimagines the long-running comic "Frank & Ernest," about two old straight white guys "telling it like it is," as a fat feminist white woman and a biracial queerbait telling it like it actually is from their perspectives. Hilarity ensues.]
Big Sparkly Ladies
Shaker Peggy Sue emails: "This public art installation just went up in DC and holy SHIT are these women beautiful. And outside! And glittery! In the middle of the street! And holy crap, FAT! :) I work in the area and can see this joyous shit every single day. Woooo! (And of course, ignore the comments.) P.S. HOLY SHIT I LOVE THESE STATUES LIKE WHOA."
I can't add anything to that, except: Me, too.
Be Everything! Be Nothing!
Renee emailed me the link to this article, "A Case for Those Extra 10 Pounds," with the amusing summary: "Apparently it's okay to be a little bit fat but the 'real fatties' are still going to die."
"Be fat—but not too fat!"
*headdesk*
File Alongside: "Don't be too tall—or too short!" And "Be pretty—but not too pretty!" And "Be smart—but not too smart!" And "Be sexually available to men—but don't be a slut!" And "Hey, white girls, get tan—and hey, brown girls, bleach your skin!" And "Hey, black girl, don't 'act so black'—but make sure you still 'act black' enough or else we'll accuse you of 'acting white'!" And "Don't try to be like a man in the workplace—but definitely don't behave like a woman!" And "Don't be too feminine or you won't be taken seriously—but don't be too butch or you will be mocked or ignored!" And "Hey, trans girls, you'd better try to pass—but don't reinforce the gender binary!" And "Have kids—but not too many!" And "Care about your appearance—but don't focus too much on your looks, or we'll accuse you of being shallow!" And…
What The Fucking Fuck of Fuckingtonshire?
(trigger warning - seriously transphobic language is used in this link)
Cause really, I can't say it much better than that.
The Washington Times proves the increasing irrelevance of print media, killing a few thousand trees to print hateful bigotry and make the astonishing claim, in the Land of the Free and Home of the Theoretically All-Created-Equal, that discrimination based on gender identity is A Good Thing.
A hate-filled rag, which I wouldn't use to stuff menstrual pads for monkeys, written by contemptuous and contemptible hacks.
Tip of the CaitieCap to Shaker the_pixie_mouse.
Edit: Shaker catvoncat provides us with a link to an antidote to this vitriolic scumwave: I am a transsexual. Well said, Mr. Kehrli (and my apologies for the misgendering, too).
Roethlisberger In Popular Media
[Trigger warning]
As Shakesville's (reluctant) resident expert on the rapist douchebag Ben Roethlisberger and the vast amount of rape apologia dedicated to his case in the media, I bring you two new editorials. (Personally, I preferred when I was just Shakesville's resident expert on Britpop, but what are ya gonna do?)
First up is Frank Deford's lovely piece from the venerable NPR. I'm not suggesting you actually read it, so I'll sum it up for you.
Deford contends that since Roethlisberger can throw a ball well (or whatever it is he does exactly; I am no sports aficionado) he shouldn't be a role model (correct), and that his off-field "behavior" (as a serial rapist) should be ignored (wrong.)
And then there is Jillian Conochan's article at the less-venerable (I assume) Daily Getup.
Conochan suggests, to put it bluntly, that Roethlisberger's victims are really to blame. Hey, they put themselves in the position to be raped. Plus, some fictional dude from Entourage (I had to google that; I'm no HBO subscriber) is a douche, so it's okay for Roethlisberger to rape people.
Anyway, that's the current commentary on Roethlisberger and his "behavior." Is any of it surprising? I wish it were.
More info as it develops.
[H/t to Shakers KatherineSpins and Momo.]
Chip, Chip, Chip...
The Florida Senate has passed an amendment that would not only require women seeking abortions to get an ultrasound, but to pay for them:
With two days left in the legislative session, the Republican-held Florida Senate passed a controversial amendment 22-17 Wednesday requiring women who are seeking abortions to pay for ultrasound exams, using legislative manuevering to deliver an election-year victory to religious conservatives.Oh, so nice to see you again, Exceptioneers. You're just as full of absolute shit as you were the last time I saw you.
The ultrasound requirement would apply to first-trimester abortions, which make up more than 90 percent of abortions in Florida. Ultrasounds are already required in late-term abortions that are performed after the first trimester.
Women could refuse to view the ultrasound image after filling out a form. Exceptions to the ultrasound requirement are provided to victms of rape, incest and domestic violence — but they would have to provide proof.
"It's actually, to me, the ultimate insult to women," said Sen. Nan Rich, D-Weston. "It's saying women can't make up their own minds, can't use their own judgment, as to what they want to do with their bodies. The Legislature is making a medical decision for women."Well, at least there's still one person with some sense left in the Florida Senate.
Supporters of the amendment noted that the decision to have an abortion is very serious and said the ultrasound mandate would simply provide women with more information.And again I will note, as I do each time one of these mandated ultrasound bills is passed and the justification is inevitably "providing women with more information," that if an altruistic helpfulness were the authentic motivation, then women would be offered a choice as to whether they wanted to get the ultrasound. I'll also note that if these paternalistic fuckwits were genuinely certain that women need this information to make a totally informed decision, patients would not be offered the choice to refuse viewing the images. But because all of this is bullshit based on the notion that ultrasound images will convince women not to terminate a pregnancy—because ALL'S THEY NEED IS TO SEE A PICTURE OF THE BEHBEE AND THEN IT WON'T MATTER THAT THEY DON'T WANT OR CAN'T AFFORD A CHILD!—none of it makes any sense, except in the Bizarro World of Totally Mendacious Codswallop in which Republicans live.
"What we're talking about is not an appendectomy, we're not talking about cancer treatment," said Sen. Steve Oelrich, R-Gainesville. "What we're talking about is ending a human life."Yes, that is indeed what you're talking about, but that doesn't magically turn abortion into murder. I could spent the next three years calling Matilda a unicorn; she'd still be a goddamn cat.
Ironically, senators put another amendment on the same bill that says government can't compel Floridians to purchase health services. Senators did just that with the ultrasound requirement, but supporters said the ultrasound mandate wouldn't count because abortion is an optional procedure.Just LOL. I can't even respond to that with anything but contemptuous laughter.
"To you ladies, I really respect your point of view," said Sen. Alex Villalobos, R-Miami. "However, I just don't see the problem with having somebody have a little bit more information before they make a decision."More disdainful howling.
And now if you'll excuse me, I have to go finish baking a giant cookie that I'm sending to President Obama for protecting Roe.
[H/T to Shaker SamanthaB.]
Sweep Around
Every Saturday morning, Mama used to throw open the doors to our little house, turn on her stereo, and start cleaning. One of the songs we listened to over and over included the line, "Sweep around your own front door, before you try to sweep around mine." I thought the song was really about cleaning for the longest time.
I share that little anecdote to say, my horror with Arizona might need to extend to areas a little closer to home (Texas).
From the AP: [Republican Rep. Debbie Riddle of Tomball, TX] says she plans to push for a law similar to Arizona's get-tough immigration measure.
Apparently, she has at least one person of like mind in the state legislature:
(snip)
Riddle says if the federal government did its job "Arizona wouldn't have to take this action, and neither would Texas."[State Rep. Leo] Berman... plans a broad bill similar to the Arizona law, which makes being an undocumented worker a crime. He specifically wants to include the measure to allow law enforcement officials to ask people who they believe may be in the country illegally about their status.
Berman is also enamored of the Arizona bill that will require President Obama to prove that he was born in the U.S. or risk being left off the ballot in 2012:Berman said he's planning several bills, including one that would require presidential and vice presidential candidates to prove their citizenship to the Texas Secretary of State before their names can be put on the ballot. The Arizona law requires presidential candidates to produce birth certificates.
As if he ever could "prove" citizenship to their satisfaction.
"We'll do it," said Berman, R-Tyler, and a former Arlington mayor pro tem. "We'll do it from now on. If he can't prove citizenship ... he won't have a place on the Texas ballot."
I hope this shit doesn't get off the ground here.
Icy Asteroid
Cool:
An icy asteroid orbiting the sun between Mars and Saturn is adding credence to theories that Earth's water was delivered from space, according to a report published in the new issue of the science journal Nature.Somebody inform Congressman Hunter it turns out we're all undocumented aliens here.
Two teams of scientists found their evidence when looking at 24 Themis, a asteroid about 479 million kilometers (300 million miles) from the sun, or roughly three times the average distance from Earth to the sun.
Using the infrared telescope at Mauna Kea, Hawaii, they were surprised to find not only water on 24 Themis, but organic compounds as well.
..."Astronomers have looked at dozens of asteroids with this technique, but this is the first time we've seen ice on the surface and organics," astronomer Andrew Rivkin of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, told Nature.com.
...The findings on 24 Themis lend weight to the idea that asteroids and comets are the source of Earth's water and organic material.
Asteroids were thought to be devoid of water because they sit too close to the sun, while comets have been the water bearers of the universe because they form farther out in space.SCIENCE!
...Scientists now plan to scan the asteroid belt for more evidence of water and organic materials, hoping to determine if 24 Themis is just an interloper -- possibly a comet that got caught in the asteroid belt -- or the first of many water-bearing asteroids that will change the way astronomers look at the solar system.
Pop Quiz
Q: Which is the more hilaritragic entry in Time's Top 100 Most Influential People: Sarah Palin lionizing Glenn Beck, or Ted Nugent lionizing Sarah Palin?
A: Time is garbage.
Within Our Souls
Last weekend, Rep. Duncan Hunter, Jr. (R-CA) attended a Tea Party rally in San Diego County, where he was asked by a man in the audience: "Would you support deportation of natural-born American citizens that are the children of illegal aliens?" To which Hunter responded:
I would have to, yes. … You can look and say, 'You're a mean guy. That's a mean thing to do. That's not a humanitarian thing to do.' We simply cannot afford what we're doing right now. We just can't afford it. California's going under. … We just can't afford it anymore. That's it. And we're not being mean. We're just saying it takes more than walking across the border to become an American citizen. It's within our souls.I daresay what the lily-white Rep. Hunter really meant was: "It's within our DNA."
Because, the truth is, if Republicans were interviewed to see exactly what qualities lay within the soul of a Real American, their idealized Civis Americanus—fearless, adventurous, independent, enterprising, entrepreneurial, optimistic, indomitable, visionary, and irrepressible—would look an awful lot like the undocumented immigrant who makes hir way across the border in search of a better life, risking deportation and detention and bodily harm to realize a dream arbitrarily denied on the accidental circumstances of one's birth.
Would that it took at least walking across the border to become an American citizen. We'd certainly have fewer citizens who used the gift of their unearned citizenry as a justification to behave like intolerant, isolationist wankers.
Instead, there is the usual collection of projectionist hypocrites caterwauling about the unique soul of the American citizen, whose own souls could not less resemble their ideal. There's nothing brave or innovative or hopeful or confident, nothing reflective of a fervent belief in freedom and autonomy, about xenophobic nationalism, about the promotion of personal avarice above social conscience, about contempt for the marginalized.
This country, a beautiful mosaic of people and cultures and ideas, still infused with a spirit of exploration and invention, really does have the potential to be a land of opportunity for everyone who arrives on its shores or crosses its borders, if we gave that notion half the chance it deserved.
But that chance is precisely the thing that people like Hunter endeavor to crush, turning America into a nation where anyone who does not look and sound and behave like its self-appointed True Patriots is de facto threatening, where the natural and philosophical resources are pillaged and destroyed in the acquisition of wealth, which is itself concentrated among only the most privileged, where philanthropy and empathy are relegated to little more than cute, clichéd memories, the habits of silly activists and dirty hippies, where the barrel-chested barons of a new Gilded Age stand astride the bodies of those who have been condemned to less fortunate fates, singing the praises of Social Darwinism and bellowing about the superfluity of a social safety net, declaring without a trace of irony, "The government never gave me anything!" as they deposit their million-dollar checks from their latest no-bid Defense Department contract then head off to Tiffany's to get The Little Woman a bauble with their fat tax returns.
They know only the soul of Corporate America. When the soul of their Ideal American Citizen stares them in the face, they suggest kicking it out of the country (but not before microchipping it first).
Within their own souls is not the expansive, courageous ideal they champion, but a profound insecurity born of the lazy complacency that unearned privilege breeds. They are anxious braggarts, waving the flag and shouting about how America is the "greatest country in the world!" at every opportunity—and then reacting with sullen resentment when people agree and clamor to get in the door.
Certain people, anyway.
My Scottish-born husband came to the US not because his life was dreadful or he was being persecuted or his family was starving or because he couldn't find work. He came on a fiancée visa (which speaks to our straight privilege as well as our class privilege) because he fell in love with an American citizen. And when we were flying over the ocean that once separated us, together, for the first time, clutching hands and chattering excitedly about the life on which we were about to embark, Iain talked about his vision of life in America—about its diversity and opportunity and generous supply of chances. It was, I imagine, a conversation not at all dissimilar to those had by undocumented immigrants making their way into the same country, who are different from Iain only by virtue of a piece of paper he held in his hand as he crossed the border.
That's it. Just a piece of paper.
Hunter and others like him would have us believe it's that piece of paper, or the lack thereof, that makes all the difference to them, but it is not that piece of paper at all which insulates Iain from hateful charges that he doesn't have the soul of a Real American. What insulates him is his DNA, and the privilege that he is afforded because of it, particularly in discussions that reduce "being American" to a matter of geography, law, and luck.
Being an American is more than that. Frequently, the people who weren't born here seem to understand that better than many of those who were.
They laugh and sniff and squirm and rage at the abiding belief shared by many Americans that this country is not "ours" to gift or deny to anyone who wants to share this space in good faith, and help make it better. They ignore any history that might suggest this land isn't "theirs." They not only draw lines along borders, but lines between citizens—the kind who belong here, and the kind who don't, because they didn't earn it, as if having been born here to citizens by a twist of fate is some sort of laudable achievement, but having been born here to non-citizens is some sort of scam.
And they talk about souls—whatever that means—as if souls don't reside inside one's humanity, which is neither contingent on nor contained by borders. Any American soul not firmly rooted in one's humanity isn't much of a soul at all; it's a selfish intellect disconnected from the commonality of humanness, whence the dehumanization of non-Americans begins.
I don't know if I have any kind of soul at all, no less a particularly American one. But if I do have an American soul, I can say this with certainty: Within my American soul is a love of this country, even despite its many flaws, so profound that I cannot imagine denying the chance to love it as much as I do to anyone who wanted it.
...And I Want a Cake with Scott McClellan on It!
My birthday is in May, and so recently Mama Shakes asked me to make a list of anything I might want or need for my birthday. Because I have a mind like a steel sieve, her request immediately fell right out, so she emailed me this morning with a reminder:
"Don't forget to send me a birthday list. If you don't send me one, I'm getting you The Collector's Edition of the Wit and Wisdom of Dick Cheney. If I buy you the whole set—Volumes 1-815—it comes with a free shotgun and box of bird shot. Did I mention that George W. wrote the introduction and Karl Rove added amusing commentary at the end of each chapter? Unfortunately, Harry Whittington chose not to participate in the project for some reason."
LOL!
Whovian Fandom Step Forward!
C'mon, we can't let all these sad Losties have all the geeky fun around here, can we? ;)
So - there's an issue that came up recently in discussing possible cosplay* around the new Doctor that I wanted to discuss. It's a bit spoilery, so I'm gonna go behind the jump here, but I know that those of you reading on RSS don't get that advantage, so I'm gonna just pause here for some spoiler identification (for my own sake as well as others'; I've only seen through episode 2 of Season 5 at the moment myself, and I ask most sincerely that you keep your discussions free of reference to events from episode 3 or beyond).
**SPOILERS BELOW! COMMENTS AS WELL, UP THROUGH S5E02**
The issue is this: there are, as ever, fascinating new characters, some of them at first glance eminently suitable for cosplay; the character around whom this discussion arose was the delicious Liz 10, HRH Elizabeth X of the UK&NI, as portrayed by the lovely and talented Sophie Okonedo.
She's a fun character, with a few great lines ("...higher alien intelligence, hair of an idiot." and "I'm the Queen, mate. Basically, I rule."), and a great easy costume to pull off: red dress, red hooded robe, boots, porcelain mask, all finished, right?
So one of my friends was a little surprised when, after mentioning how easy it would be to do, I stated that I'd never do it.
I don't think one can be a serious sf/f fan and not have heard about RaceFail last year, the huge explosion in fandom after some truly unfortunate and highly privileged statements by various authors and sf/f publishing industry people.
One thing it did for me was to point out to my own over-privileged eyes something I should have noticed earlier: the conspicuous lack of visibility of POC in sf/f, and a consequent lack of roles for POC in screen-media, as well as a concomitant lack of representation of POC in fandom (or FOC). I make no excuses for that failure to notice: it was privilege, pure and simple.
But it's meant I've had to look a little harder at cosplay, and how easy it is for white fans to appropriate the few roles that POC have won. We all know the roles, because there are few enough of them: Dr. Who's Martha Jones and her family, or Mickey Smith (and what was with Nine's bizarre and unsettling dismissal of Mickey from the moment they met?); Toshiko of Torchwood; various Klingons of TNG and more recent vintage (generally - but not always - played by POC); Storm of the X-Men; Teal'c of Stargate; Zoe, Book, and Fanty & Mingo from Firefly; the entire cast of Avatar: The Last Airbender; and a few others (mostly unnamed because I don't watch the shows in question; I don't even watch Stargate, but I know of Teal'c just from endless commercials thereof - though I didn't know his name!).
And it occurred to me that if I want to see more FOC out to cons and events, then one of the most elementary steps toward that end would be to make sure I don't tread on any of the small number of cosplay options that should, I believe, only be open to FOC. To do otherwise is to tread perilously close to "blackface" (or yellowface or redface or whatever other nasty replacement is happening).
We in the privileged seats have many, many options open to us: by far the majority of the roles continue to be given to people who look just like us, and even then, certain directors feel the need to "whitewash" their casts for the usual Hollywood bullshit reasons: that white fandom won't go see movies built around the lives and stories of POC, that there aren't sufficient quality actors of colour. This is the spurious and racist reasoning behind the horrendous miscasting of the live action version of Avatar TLA, or of whitewashing Ged and others from a broadcast of U. K. Le Guin's Earthsea.
So no, as I told my friend, though the character is delightful and I'd adore playing her, Liz 10 (and Zoe, and Tosh, and the few others) won't be someone I'll be cosplaying in this lifetime.
I hope no Shakers need to be told why it's not an equivalent problem if FOC decide to cosplay roles originally given to white actors.
For those wishing to educate themselves about the issues FOC face in being a visible and vocal part of greater fandom, I recommend a pair of LJ communities as a good start: foc_u - Fans of Colour United - and Racebending, the latter focused specifically on the travesty of the whitewashed cast of the live-action A:TLA (if you hadn't heard, this film will include one POC in the main cast of "good" guys, Dev Patel playing Prince Zuko - who starts out as a villain - while all the other POC in the cast are playing villains).
If we want to see a more diverse and representative fandom, as we claim, then we white fen need to shove over a bit, and make some room for FOC. And I think the most basic way we can start in doing that is to leave roles played by POC to be portrayed by FOC, and not appropriate them ourselves.
* Costume play - a form of fandom wherein the fen** dress in costumes to resemble the various characters of the fandom.
** Fen - a fan's name for fans as a group.
Question of the Day
Would you rather be a member of a world championship sports team or be the champion of an individual sport? Which sport would you choose?
[Taken from The Book of Questions, by Gregory Stock, PhD, published in 1985 and still sitting on my shelf looking pretty damn raggedy, because I've pulled it out at many a party for many a laugh.]
I would definitely prefer to be a member of a team—although only if I get to be the captain. *wink*
The sport would definitely be mixed-sex synchronized swimming, because Spudsy looks HAWT in a bathing cap.
Assvertising
A new ad from Skyy Vodka, submitted without comment (via Dodai):
[Click to embiggen.]
[Assvertising: Parts One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103.]
On the Transracial Adoption of Louis Bardo Bullock
by Shaker Quixotess
From Madonna, to multitudes of white Christian families in the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, white adoption of black babies and children is systemically fucked up. Not every single white adoptive parent in a transracial adoption (TRA) approaches the process of adoption with ignorant and/or messianic ideas (although many of them do), but adoption in the public sector is woefully under-resourced and adoption in the private sector is, of course, corrupted by profit—and both the dearth and the infusion of money provide opportunities for exploitation.
In fact, all white adoptive parents benefit from a systemically racist system that facilitates the separation of black parents (especially mothers) from their children, makes it easy to ignore the importance of black community for a black child in white supremacist culture, and prioritizes the desires of white adoptive parents over the needs of black children, even despite the protests against TRA mounted by adult adoptees of color.
As with everything else, fame, power, and wealth have typically inglorious roles to play in this process, too.
Which brings us to Sandra Bullock, who has adopted a black baby, the adoption process for whom she began with her ex-husband Jesse James, four years ago, which culminated in Louis Bardo Bullock being brought home reportedly three months ago.
Naturally we are meant to assume that this baby was adopted in good faith by both parents and adoption agency workers, and I don't know whether they adopted him through government agencies or through private agencies, but, if it was private, Bullock and James have a lot of money, and even with the best intentions in the world, people looking to spend a lot of money are going to get lied to, especially if the truth might jeopardize their spending it. Given that this baby was born in New Orleans, it's also entirely possible that some element of the Shock Doctrine (normally reserved for developing countries), in which TRA plays an important role in maintaining colonial power, was involved.
This is all entirely fucked up and racially charged enough before we get into the fact that Jesse James likes to get dressed up in Nazi clothes and date women who do the same. His father has said that James has long been "fascinated" with Nazis.
Now that Sandra Bullock and Jesse James are getting divorced, Sandra Bullock will be the only legally adopting parent, but Bullock has said of James that she "doesn't know how our paths will intersect in the future. Which doesn't sound like: "Holy shit, I better keep my Nazi ex away from my son."
And which also means that even a white adoptive parent being "fascinated" with Nazis and white supremacist culture is not enough to stop them adopting a black baby.
A final note: Some of the conversation I've been seeing around this story tends to hold Bullock solely responsible for the adoption and as the only one involved in the process. This may be partly because People's interview was with her, but James had a part in this as much as she did. In fact, in a staggering display of privilege and entitlement, James says: "I know in my heart that I can be the best father possible to my four children, and the mate Sandy deserves." He has three biokids. He obviously plans to try to parent the newly adopted child, and Bullock isn't exactly ruling it out.
(Also: "The mate Sandy deserves." Barf. She's divorcing you, you twit! And more barf… He also said: "The decision to let my wife end our marriage, and continue the adoption of Louis on her own, has been the hardest." Let. Ugh.)
[H/T to thirdrootprod.]
Hollywood Throws in the Towel (Again)
Will this movie be good? Signs point to fuck no:
aramount has extended its business with Mattel, optioning the venerable toy Magic 8 Ball to use as the basis for a live action adventure film. The deal is being put in place by Paramount Motion Picture Group president Adam Goodman, and will be produced by Brad Weston through his overall deal on the Par lot. Jon Gunn and John Mann will write the script. They wrote the DreamWorks Animation pic Alcatraz Vs. The Evil Librarians. Paramount is already in business with Mattel on Max Steel, and has scored hits the Hasbro toys GI Joe and Transformers. Mattel's Tim Kilpin and Barry Waldo are exec producers. The toy has 20 pre-set answers to whatever questions one can ask about their past and present and their fortunes.Someone get me Adam Goodman on the phone. I've got an exciting spec script about a piece of belly button lint that he'll want to option PRONTO!
This, too, is a Real Thing in The World
If you just can't seem to figure out what to do with yourself lately, I highly recommend watching the Hummingbird Nest Cam at Ustream.
If you have a free Ustream account, you can also chat with the avid hummingbird watchers there.
When my Beloved found this cam and I started watching, I entered the following into the chat: "I will now officially get NOTHING done -- into perpetuity."
A regular chatted back: "Heh. Welcome to the Dirty House Club."
For facts about the cam and the birds, visit HERE for such amazing tidbits as "the nest is about the size of a golf ball, with eggs being about the size of a tic-tac candy". Phoebe is currently sitting on two tic-tacs, which should hatch sometime in May.
Yay, Hummingbirds!
WHAT. THE. EVERLOVING. FUCK.
[Trigger warning for dehumanization.]
Pat Bertroche, one of seven Republicans running in Iowa's 3rd District Congressional primary, has a tremendous immigration proposal:
"I think we should catch 'em, we should document 'em, make sure we know where they are and where they are going," said Pat Bertroche, an Urbandale physician. "I actually support microchipping them. I can microchip my dog so I can find it. Why can't I microchip an illegal?The amount of hatred that the average Republican has for non-privileged people is absolutely staggering.
"That's not a popular thing to say, but it's a lot cheaper than building a fence they can tunnel under," Bertroche said.
They don't really like it when someone like me accuses them of hatred—and, frankly, I don't really like it, either. Because talking about human beings like they're stray mongrels isn't hatred. It's something even worse.
Hatred implies some measure of care, of passion and heat and a beating human heart. What is expressed in sentiments like Bertroche's is utterly devoid of any of these things.
It is a void where a feeling should be. It is the emotional equivalent of a piss-hole in the snow—a soulless apathy, an indifference to human dignity so complete that to call it cruelty is to do it a kindness.
It terrifies me.
[H/T to Shaker KathleenB, who hat tips Sully.]
Quote of the Day
[Trigger warning for disablist language.]
"There is no ability or opportunity in [the new Arizona immigration law] for the racial profiling. Shame on the lame stream media again for turning this into something that it is not. It's shameful, too, that the Obama administration has allowed...this to become more of a racial issue by perpetuating this myth that racial profiling is a part of this law."—Sarah "Death Panels" Palin, ranked #1 on Forbes' list of Purveyors of Unmitigated Temerity.
Today's Edition of "Conniving and Sinister"
See Deeky's archive of all previous Conniving & Sinister strips here.
[In which Liss reimagines the long-running comic "Frank & Ernest," about two old straight white guys "telling it like it is," as a fat feminist white woman and a biracial queerbait telling it like it actually is from their perspectives. Hilarity ensues.]
Exposing the Racist Roots of Arizona's New Immigration Law
If you thought there was any chance that the new immigration law in Arizona was about anything other than race, watch how Rachel Maddow thoroughly rebukes that notion.
That people like Russell Pearce and members of the Federation for American Immigration Reform have the platforms that they do and can shape legislation is chilling. I was going to add "especially to me, as a WoC" but I am trying to get better about statements like that which imply that racism is primarily the concern of people of color and that white people should not care/worry about it/address it.
Transcript below the fold:
MADDOW: The big deal news headline out of the world of politics today was the Republican Party‘s filibuster of Wall Street reform. But there was supposed to be another big deal thing in politics today. Today was supposed to be the day that Democratic Senator John Kerry and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham announced bipartisan climate change legislation.
That announcement, as you probably noticed, did not happen today. Why didn‘t it happen? Because Lindsey Graham got very mad. He scuttled his own climate legislation because he says he‘s angry that the Obama administration might bring up the issue of immigration reform first.
Quote, “This comes out of left field. We haven‘t done anything to prepare
the body or the country for immigration.” Senator Graham‘s anger has been seconded now by the top Republican in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, who said yesterday, this isn‘t, quote, “the
right time to do immigration reform.”
Republicans are bending over backwards right now, doing everything they possibly can, scuttling their own legislation if they need to in order to make sure that immigration reform does not come up. Remember when George W. Bush wanted to do immigration reform in 2007? Again, it was
his own party, the Republicans, who bent over backwards and delivered their own president a huge political defeat on this issue because they were so desperate to not do immigration reform at the federal level.And the fact that it continues to not happen at the federal level is
all the justification that some states need right now to deal with immigration on their own, which is how we got this—
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JAN BREWER ®, ARIZONA: The bill I‘m about to sign into law, Senate Bill 1070, represents another tool for our state to use as we work to solve a crisis that we did not create and the federal government has refused to fix.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MADDOW: And so, the state of Arizona now has a new law requiring police officers to demand the paperwork of anyone who looks like they might be an illegal immigrant.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: What does an illegal immigrant look like? Does it look like me?
BREWER: I do not know. I do not know what an illegal immigrant looks like. I can tell you that I think that there are people in Arizona that assume they know what an illegal immigrant looks like.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MADDOW: In the meantime, papers, please. Before this bill was actually signed into law, we told you about the guy who introduced it in the first place. It‘s this guy, Republican State
Senator Russell Pearce. Mr. Pearce is famous in Arizona for having sent an email to his supporters that included a white nationalist screed, accusing the media of pushing the view, quote, “a world in which every voice proclaims the equality of the races, the inerrant nature of the Jewish, quote, ‘Holocaust‘ tale, the wickedness of attempting to halt the flood of nonwhite aliens pouring across the borders.” Mr. Pearce sent that around to all of his supporters, which he later apologized for.
Russell Pearce is also famous for having been caught on tape hugging a neo-Nazi. No, like a real neo-Nazi. Not some sort of metaphorical Godwin‘s law-invoking neo-Nazi guy, but an actual neo-Nazi guy. See, with the swastikas?
Russell Pearce is the guy who introduced this radical immigration bill in Arizona that just became law. But if you want to meet the guy who’s taking credit for writing the new law, that would be the gentleman named Kris Kobach. Kris Kobach is a birther. He‘s running for a secretary of state in Kansas right now. His campaign Web site today brags, quote, “Kobach wins
one in Arizona.”
The guy that helped Arizona‘s new immigration bill is also an attorney for the Immigration Reform Law Institute. That‘s the legal arm of an immigration group that‘s called FAIR, the Federation for American Immigration Reform. FAIR was founded in 1979 by a man named John Tanton. Mr. Tanton is still listed as a member of FAIR‘s board of directors. Just for some insight into where John Tanton and FAIR were coming from seven years after he started FAIR, Mr. Tanton wrote this, quote, “To govern is to populate. Will the present majority peaceably hand over its political power to a group that is simply more fertile? As whites see their power and control over their lives declining, will they simply go quietly into the night or will there be an explosion?” That‘s FAIR, who helped write Arizona‘s anti-immigrant law.
After John Tanton got FAIR off the ground, for nine of the first years of the group‘s existence, the group reportedly received more than $1 million in funding from something called the Pioneer Fund. The Pioneer Fund describes itself as a group formed, quote, “in the Darwinian-Galtonian
evolutionary tradition and eugenics movement.” For the last 70 years, the Pioneer Fund has funded controversial research about race and intelligence, essentially aimed at proving the
racial superiority of white people. The group‘s original mandate was to promote the genes of those, quote, “deemed to be descended predominantly from white persons who settled in the original 13 states prior to the adoption of the Constitution.”
John Tanton‘s organization, FAIR, which, again, claims credit for writing Arizona‘s new immigrant law, John Tanton‘s FAIR was long bankrolled by the Pioneer Fund—which actually makes sense after you read some more of Mr. Tanton‘s writings. Quote, “I‘ve come to the point of view that for European-American society and culture to persist requires a European-
American majority and a clear one at that.” In 1997, John Tanton told the “Detroit Free Press” that America will soon be overrun by illegal immigrants, quote, “defecating and creating garbage and looking for jobs.” Defecating is the problem, I guess.
Again, this genius is the guy whose group is behind Arizona‘s new radical immigration law. They take credit for writing it. FAIR is bragging about having, quote, “assisted Senator Russell Pearce in drafting the language” of his Senate bill.
In drafting that language, FAIR may have slipped a little something special in there for themselves. FAIR makes a living off of suing local and state governments over immigration laws. Tucked inside Article VIII of Arizona‘s new law is a provision that if groups like them win their cases, quote, a judge—sorry—a judge may order that the entity, quote, “who
brought the action recover court costs and attorney fees”—which could create a nice financial boon for the formerly eugenics movement-funded, advanced the white majority, promote the genetics of white America anti-immigrant group whose attorneys helped write the new law.
Congratulations, Arizona. This thing is going to make you really, really, really famous for a really, really, really long time.
