[Explanations: Discocunt. 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: Discocunt. lol your fat. pathetic anger bread. hey your gay.]
TFIF, Shakers!
Belly up to the bar,
and name your poison!
Quote of the Day
"When you put money in a bank, it's your money. The bank uses that money to lend out to others, and make more money itself off interest. The bank hands you a little card that allows you to pull out your own money. The bank isn't lending you the money; it's simply allowing you to use the money in your account. ... Charging a fee for using the bank's debit card to access your own money is an amazing insult—especially when considering how many banks offer 'free' checking accounts on condition that consumers—you guessed it—use their debit cards at least once a month.—David Atkins, on the decision of several big banks to start charging customers fees as high as $5 to use their debit cards, because of a new regulation capping the fees they can charge merchants for processing debit card purchases. So, instead, they've decided to charge users.
That's the thanks we get for bailing them out with our tax dollars, I guess.
Maude forbid that anything cut into their record-breaking profits during the not-depression engulfing the rest of the country.
Yeah, it's a real fucking mystery why Wall Street is flooded with protesters.
Recommended Reading
Since Queen Femifart of Freako Mountain is all laid up with a bad back, which she says is from taking a spill while moving some shit but is probably really from too much fuckin'--I know that's what always does my back in (LADIES)--I figured I'd pass on a super great article I read written by tremendous American hero Ron Swanson, star of my favorite documentary, Parks and Recreation: Ron Swanson's nature diary, excerpted from Pawnee: The Greatest Town in America.
Go read that shit, man.
Lighten Up
There are a lot of reasons to be against New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and his possible entry into the presidential race, but his weight shouldn't be one of them.
I'm looking at you, Michael Kinsley and Eugene Robinson.
Crossposted from Bark Bark Woof Woof.
Daily Dose of Cute
Breakfast with Dexter and Dougie (a month ago):
"Hey, um, is that peanut butter toast?"
"PEANUT BUTTER TOASSSSST!"
Friday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by pillows.
Recommended Reading:
Glenn: [TW for violence] The Due-Process-Free Assassination of US Citizens Is Now Reality
Brian: [TW for fat hatred and body policing] On Gov. Chris Christie and Fat Bodies Being Made into a Public Concern
moyazb: From Margin to Center: Health for Brown Bois
Andy: [TW for homophobia] NC Senator James Forrester, Sponsor of Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment, Exposed as Ignorant Liar
Pam: [TW for homophobia] Two Peas in a Truth-Obfuscating Pod: James and Mary Frances Forrester
Adrienne: [TW for racism] Random Appropriation of the Day! Lush "Pow Wow" Lip Scrub
Melissa: Interview with Agnieszka Holland, Director of In Darkness
Leave your links and recommendations in comments...
Repro Rights Updates
In Arizona, the only clinic providing abortion services is the one in Phoenix.
FLAGSTAFF – Beth Otterstein, a nurse practitioner at Planned Parenthood Arizona’s clinic here, says patients sometimes break down and cry when they hear the news: If they want abortions, they now have to travel to Phoenix for a 15-minute consultation with a doctor and then stay overnight to have the procedure. It’s an expense that some can’t afford, and no other facility in the area provides abortions.While Planned Parenthood always has a physician provide surgical abortion care, medication/chemical abortion has been previously provided by a nurse practitioner. Until now. Hiring physicians to perform abortion services at the more rural clinics will not be easy:
“It’s devastating because they don’t have anywhere else to go,” she said.
Planned Parenthood halted abortion services at clinics in Flagstaff, Prescott Valley and Yuma because of provisions in state laws that took effect this month. Legislation passed this year requires that only licensed physicians to provide abortion services, while a 2009 law that Planned Parenthood decided to stop fighting in court requires women seeking abortions to meet in person with doctors 24 hours before the procedure.
The clinic here and those in Prescott Valley and Yuma have only nurse practitioners on staff.
Otterstein said some patients tell her they can’t take time away from work or find someone to take care of their children, while others worry about what to tell family members and friends about a trip out of town.
[N]ot only because of a doctor shortage in Arizona but because a provision of this year’s law prohibits using any public money, tuition or student fees to teach how to perform abortions.Roe doesn't do much when there's no choice to be had.
“It’s going to take some time because it’s not like new graduates from the University of Arizona medical school are going to receive this training because the legislation says they can’t,” Howard [Bryan, CEO of Planned Parenthood Arizona] said.
***
In Florida, changes to minors' access to abortion services takes effect starting tomorrow:
Also controversial is another law that kicks in Saturday. The bill (HB 1247) makes a number of changes to the current laws requiring parental notification when juveniles seek an abortion. Among the changes, the bill lengthens the time a judge has to act on request for a judicial bypass.Let's check this out, shall we? (underlines are the additions, strike outs are their deletions)
The measure also requires minors seeking a judicial waiver from the requirement to seek a judge within their judicial circuit. Minors can now seek a judge residing within their appellate district, a much larger geographic area.
Backers say the measure still provides protections for minors who feel they can't tell their parents. Critics say that in some small judicial circuits, the new law will make it difficult for the minor to remain anonymous.
The court shall rule, and issue written findings of fact andGood thing BOOTSTRAPS!™ grow on trees in Florida, among all those oranges, amirite? Anyway...
133 conclusions of law, within 3 business days 48 hours after the
134 petition is filed, except that the 3-business-day48-hour
135 limitation may be extended at the request of the minor. If the
136 court fails to rule within the 3-business-day48-hourperiod and
137 an extension has not been requested, the minor may immediately
138 petition for a hearing upon the expiration of the 3-business-day
139 period to the chief judge of the circuit, who must ensure a
140 hearing is held within48 hoursafter receipt of the minor's
141 petition and an order is entered within 24 hours after the
142 hearing the petition is granted, and the notice requirement is
143 waived.
144 2. If the circuit court does not grant judicial waiver of
145 notice, the minor has the right to appeal. An appellate court
146 must rule within 7 days after receipt of appeal, but a ruling
147 may be remanded with further instruction for a ruling within 3
148 business days after the remand. The reason for overturning a
149 ruling on appeal must be based on abuse of discretion by the
150 court and may not be based on the weight of the evidence
151 presented to the circuit court since the proceeding is a
152 nonadversarial proceeding.
(c) If the court finds, by clear and convincing evidence,
154 that the minor is sufficiently mature to decide whether to
155 terminate her pregnancy, the court shall issue an order
156 authorizing the minor to consent to the performance or
57 inducement of a termination of pregnancy without the
158 notification of a parent or guardian. If the court does not make
159 the finding specified in this paragraph or paragraph (d), it
160 must dismiss the petition. Factors the court shall consider
161 include:
162 1. The minor's:
163 a. Age.
164 b. Overall intelligence.
165 c. Emotional development and stability.
166 d. Credibility and demeanor as a witness.
167 e. Ability to accept responsibility.
168 f. Ability to assess both the immediate and long-range
169 consequences of the minor's choices.
170 g. Ability to understand and explain the medical risks of
171 terminating her pregnancy and to apply that understanding to her
172 decision.
173 2. Whether there may be any undue influence by another on
174 the minor's decision to have an abortion.
(d) If the court finds, by a preponderance of the
176 evidence, that the petitioner is the victimthere is evidenceof
177 child abuse or sexual abuse inflictedof the petitionerby one
178 or both of her parents or her guardian, or by clear and
179 convincing evidence that the notification of a parent or
180 guardian is not in the best interest of the petitioner, the
181 court shall issue an order authorizing the minor to consent to
182 the performance or inducement of a termination of pregnancy
183 without the notification of a parent or guardian. The best-
184 interest standard does not include financial best interest or
185 financial considerations or the potential financial impact on
186 the minor or the minor's family if the minor does not terminate
187 the pregnancy. ...
(e) A court that conducts proceedings under this section shall:Well, Florida. Trying to catch up to Ohio, I see.
[...]
3. Order that a confidential record be maintained, as
202 required under s. 390.01116.At the hearing, the court shall
203 hear evidence relating to the emotional development, maturity,
204 intellect, and understanding of the minor, and all other
205 relevant evidence.
***
If you live in Nebraska, Planned Parenthood is considering opening a few new clinics. There is opposition to this, of course. A group of anti-Planned Parenthood people are touring the state, trying to rile people up into opposing the clinics. They hold public meetings to "give out information" (re: lie) about the group. Here is an example of a recent meeting in Kearney:
KEARNEY - A national anti-Planned Parenthood speaker shared tips to keep a proposed clinic out of Kearney Thursday.Kearney, Hastings, North Platte and Grand Island are some of the communities being considered for new clinics, so this traveling misinformer and fear-monger will certainly be showing up there soon.
Jim Sedlak, vice president of the American Life League and founder of Stop Planned Parenthood International, spoke to more than 30 people at Trinity Presbyterian Church about the history of Planned Parenthood, the goals of the organization and why it would like to come to Kearney.
"Planned Parenthood is not only after your child's money, but after their soul," he said.
[...]
"Premarital sexual activity among young people is a sin," Sedlak said. "They won't say that, but you will and I will."
"The key to keeping Planned Parenthood out of communities is to make an unwelcome environment for them, Sedlak said.
Occupy Wall Street: News Round-Up
Watch live streaming video from globalrevolution at livestream.com
Above is the live feed from the ongoing Occupy Wall Street protest, which continues to grow in scope as it heads toward its third week. Here's what I've been reading this morning...
Business Insider—A Massive Union Just Voted To Side With The Wall Street Protesters: "According to Daily Kos, The New York Transit Workers Union (TWU) voted to support the Wall Street Protestors at their meeting last night. A member of TWU Local 100 told a reporter that they would join the protest Friday at 4PM."
Crain's New York—Veteran agitators flock to Occupy Wall Street:
The city's most experienced agitators—the labor and community groups that typically organize local marches, rallies and sit-ins—have been largely missing from the Occupy Wall Street protest that is in its 13th day at Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan.Raw Story—Unions and liberal groups to join ‘Occupy Wall Street' protest: "Among unions, the United Federation of Teachers, 32BJ SEIU, 1199 SEIU, Workers United and Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 100 have said they will participate in the protest next Wednesday. The Working Families Party, MoveOn.org, Make the Road New York, the Coalition for the Homeless, the Alliance for Quality Education, Community Voices Heard, United New York and Strong Economy For All also plan to support the demonstration."
But that's about to change.
A loose coalition of labor and community groups said Thursday that they would join the protest next week. They are organizing a solidarity march scheduled for Wednesday that is expected to start at City Hall and finish a few blocks south at Zuccotti Park.
ThinkProgress: Scenes from the Streets.
Digby: Something's Happening Here.
danps: The Many Successes of Occupy Wall Street.
I really don't understand the concern trolling from other progressives about how Occupy Wall Street needs to have a "cohesive message" or a "set of demands" or a "list of proposed solutions" or wevthefuck. There's a lot to be said for a good, old-fashioned awareness-raising event, and, with 90% (ninety percent!) of USians saying the economy stinks, this protest ain't happening in a void of evident motivation. Making some goddamn noise is as good a place to start as any, and better than most options we've got anymore.
Question of the Day
What habit do you have that you never noticed until someone else pointed it out to you?
This has happened to me a bunch of times--Iain has always noticed little stuff I've never noticed about myself--but the first one that came to mind was when a high school friend observed that I point at things I've dropped or discovered before I pick them up.
Why do I do this? No idea, lol.
Repro Rights Updates
First up is Florida, where the Florida Catholic Conference wrote up a bill and handed it to Rep. Larry Ahern (R-St. Petersburg), who in turn intro'd it into the state legislature. No, really, Ahern actually says that they just handed it to him. The bill is called: Florida Unborn Victims of Violence Act. HB 137 (it's other title), says:
Offenses Against Unborn Children: Designates act "Florida Unborn Victims of Violence Act"; defines term "unborn child" for specified purposes; revises terminology to refer to "unborn child" rather than "viable fetus"; provides legislative intent; provides that certain offenses relating to killing of unborn child by injury to mother do not require specified knowledge or intent or death of mother.Sen. Mike Fasano (R-New Port Richey) intro'd mirror bill, SB 234, in the Senate. Essentially it changes terminology previously present in laws where "viable fetus" was will now be "unborn child".
According to Ahern, the Catholic Conference has been asking legislators to pass such a law for a few years. Ahern says the bill would “more accurately define life” and would make sure that the life “of an unborn child is more protected.”The Florida Catholic Conference, btw, is also responsible for providing legislators with a conscience clause amendment to the state’s Medicaid policies that allows health care workers to "opt out" of giving family planning services.
***
In Ohio, on Tuesday, the Senate passed legislation (which had already passed the House) that makes it even harder for minors to get an abortion without parental consent.
The bill requires a court to ask whether the minor understands the physical and emotional consequences of an abortion and whether the minor has been coached on how to answer the court’s questions when seeking a judicial bypass for parental approval."Shopping", eh? You mean trying to find a sympathetic judge to allow her to have autonomy over her own body. According to Guttmacher (.pdf), in Ohio a minor has all rights regarding seeking adoption as a choice but not abortion.
The Ohio House already approved the bill but will have to agree with a new provision the Senate added before the bill is sent to Republican Gov. John Kasich’s desk for his signature.
The Senate’s version of the bill requires a minor to get approval in the county she lives in or in a surrounding county. Republicans said the change will prevent minors from “shopping” for a friendly court.
The bill, House Bill 63, requires minors to prove with “clear and convincing evidence” that abortions are in their best interests.Yes. That's exactly what judicial bypasses are! Rubber stamps for "the abortion industry". Such astounding depth of critical thinking, right there. Depth? I meant dearth.
“A bypass should not merely be a rubber stamp of the abortion industry,” Sen. Keith Faber, a Republican from Celina, said on the Senate floor.
So, anyway, yes: Ohio is making 15 or 16 year olds go before a judge, near where they live (no "shopping"!), be interrogated regarding how much they know (and if they know too much, perhaps they're coached?! No abortion then!), and have to provide convincing evidence that having a child at this stage of their lives is detrimental. Clear and convincing! Of course, if a young woman is deemed not mature enough to make the choice to have an abortion, she is OBVIOUSLY mature enough to be forced by the state to give birth and deal with parenthood or the possible trauma of having to give a child up for adoption. Let's not forget that abortion is a time-sensitive procedure and courts don't usually have wide-open schedules. Or operate on non-school days during non-school hours. Ohio: won the race to the bottom of the barrel and keeps on digging under it.
****
Back in July, I wrote about an anti-choice, anti-Planned Parenthood group that decided to investigate Planned Parenthood and expose them as, well, something. I still haven't quite figured it out. Possibly as Evil™. One of the group's goals was to get Congress to investigate Planned Parenthood. Well:
WASHINGTON — A Republican-led House panel has asked the Planned Parenthood Federation of America to hand over more than a decade’s worth of documents in a probe of whether the organization improperly spends public money on abortions.Oh HAI! I am an American taxpayer! I'm more than happy to assist pay for abortions for those in need with my tax contributions, just as I am for any other necessary health service. So, stop speaking for me.
[...]
“The committee has questions about the policies in place and actions undertaken by PPFA and its affiliates relating to its use of federal funding and its compliance with federal restrictions on the funding of abortions,” Rep. Cliff Stearns, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce investigations subcommittee, wrote in a Sept. 15 letter to Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards.
Due by the end of the month: internal audits of how much Planned Parenthood received and spent in government money from 1998 to 2010. Stearns also requests any state audits of PPFA for the last 20 years that have not been made public, as well as a description for how “segregation between family planning and abortion services is accomplished,” and how the practice is monitored for compliance.
“The American taxpayer does not want to be in the business of abortion, and this investigation is an important first step toward ending public funding of the nation’s largest abortion provider,” said Charmaine Yoest, president and CEO of Americans United for Life, which earlier this year conducted and presented to Stearns’ committee its own study on Planned Parenthood.
Planned Parenthood is regularly audited by the inspector general of DHHS and also by state Medicaid programs. Results are always public. I, as an American taxpayer, do not want to be in the business of this gigantic waste of time attacking a valuable health care provider. Can I opt out of paying for this shit? Thanks.
Top Chef: Just Desserts Open Thread
I moved into a new apartment yesterday and I don't have cable yet, so I didn't watch this sad disaster of a show last night. I have no idea who made what garbage pie and served it to whatever pissy guest judge they may or may not have had on. Whatever. Someone probably got sent home. Discuss it without me. Or don't. I couldn't care less.
Last night's episode might possibly be discussed in detail, so if you haven't seen it, and don't want any spoilers, pack your pumpkin spice latte and go...
Yay! This Will Definitely Be Very Good!
And not at all totally, unremittingly, and almost inconceivably terrible: "Dane Cook is heading to NBC to headline his own network comedy series. Amid interest from multiple networks, the actor-comedian has signed a development deal with NBC for a half-hour project targeted for next fall. Cook will star in the comedy and produce through his SUperFInger Entertainment banner."
SUperFInger. Whut? There can be only two reasons for that completely stupid capitalization: Either Dane Cook is telling us he's secretly a Sufi, or Dane Cook is telling us he's an unbridled dipshit.
$5 on the latter, Mr. Bookiehead!
Blog Note
I'm still down for the count. It's a little more serious than just a pulled muscle, but hopefully not so serious that a few days of rest won't be all I need. I'm going to be pretty useless in the interim, because I can't sit without extraordinary pain, but I will try to post what I can here and there via mobile.
Meanwhile, I do have at all times at least two excellent attendants keeping me warm and well-cuddled during my convalescence.
The view from/in my sick bed, lulz.
Question of the Day
What's your favorite candy bar? (If you don't eat candy, what's your favorite sweet indulgence?)
Wednesday Blogaround
This blogaround is brought to you by the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, whence I am posting this because my corporate internet provider mysteriously crapped out.
Ada Lovelace Day is coming up on October 7th. There are lots of ways to promote the event, and if you want to add your own content about women in STEM, it can but needn't be in blog post form. Podcasts, videos, and comics are cool too.
Scicurious will be covering the igNobel prizes tomorrow night.
Don McCanne MD at Physicians for a National Health Program's blog: Do we have to accept $15, 000 premiums and higher deductibles? More on the health insurance premium hikes appears in today's New York Times.
Jane Sarasohn-Kahn: Peoples’ home economics are driving DIY Healthcare
Michele Lee: A 7-year-old girl responds to DC Comics’ sexed-up reboot of Starfire
Emelyn Fuhrman: Write Me Something
Elif Batuman: Our Living Language
The Border House has a new series, What Are You Playing Wednesday
Fannie: Guy: PC Culture Too Difficult For Navy Men To Handle
Ideas in Food blog: Cornflake ice cream
OccupyWallSt: A Message From Occupied Wall Street (Day Eleven). The video shows remarks from Dr. Cornel West. I have transcribed the short speech and put the text below the fold (in most browsers)Announcer: We would like to start with some words from Cornel West
Dr. West: There is a sweet spirit in this place. I hope you can feel the love and inspiration of those who spoke for everyday people, who take a stand with great courage and compassion because we oppose the greed of Wall Street oligarchs and corporate plutocrats who squeeze the democratic juices out of this country and other places around the world. I am so blessed to be here--got me spiritually breakdancing all the way here 'cause when you bring folks together--all colors, all cultures, all genders, all sexual orientations the elite will tremble in their boots. And we will send the message that this is the U.S. [world?] responding to the Arab Spring. It has now hit chicago, Los Angeles, and Phoenix Arizona and A-town itself, moving on to Detroit, gonna hit Appalachia, hit the reservations with our red brothers and sisters. Martin Luther King Jr. will smile from the grave and say we're moving step by step to what he called a revolution. Don't be afraid to say revolution. We want a transfer of power from the oligarchs to ordinary citizens and with the poor children of all colors and the orphans and the widows and the elderly and the working folk 'cause we connect the prison-industrial complex with the military industrial complex with the Wall Street oligarchy complex and the corporate media multiplex. I want to thank you and it's a blessing to be a small part of this magnificent gathering. This is the General Assembly, consecrated by your witness and your body and your mind.
Announcer: We the people have found our voice [repeat 5 times]
Blog Note
Hey, Shakers. I am a glaikit fool who's hurt her back doing some shit no person with a bad back should be doing, so I'm taking the day off and will hopefully be better tomorrow. If not, I'll let you know. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Question of the Day
Suggested by Shaker Meganology: Do you like any unusual combinations of foods/flavors? If so, what?
The only thing that comes to mind is that I sometimes used to eat white rice with ketchup as a kid, and, once every couple years, I get a nostalgic craving for it. It's a very particular taste, and it sounds gross even to me (!), but apparently there's no accounting even for my own taste. Shrug.
lol your awful article about dudes and dogs
This is literally one of the stupidest things I've ever read, which is really saying something.
This is so the worst thing you're going to read all day.
[Trigger warning for fat hatred and body policing.]
Salon's Susannah Gora asks the question humankind has been asking since time immemorial: "Are comedians funnier when they're fat?"
HA HA GREAT QUESTION. Well done, Ms. Cool Question!
In case you were wondering if the "comedians" in question are actually fat white straight male comedians, the answer is yes. Yes, of course, they are actually fat white straight male comedians. No one is suggesting that Jerry Seinfeld would be funnier if he were to get fat, ha ha, heavens no. It's just that if a comedian starts out fat, part of what we're laughing at, according to some critic named Glenn Kenny, a highly-credentialed expert on fat and comedy I'm sure, is their gluttony! And is someone like John Goodman really funny without his gluttony? NOPE!
You know an article is a good one when Tom Arnold is interviewed and pontificates about the health of other people whose bodies are not his, but it's EXTRA GOOD when he shares delightful anecdotes like how a director wanted him to remain fat for a role as Maggie Gyllenhaal's love interest because "it would add more pathos if I did not lose weight, and would make people feel more sorry for [Gyllenhaal's character]."
So true. There's nothing more pitiable than someone who loves a fat person.
Oh, except fat people. Obviously.
Holy Shit
Above is a picture of Sherry Vargson, of Granville Summit, PA, lighting her tap water on fire, which she is able to do because it has been contaminated by fracking.
Not only does The Market not, in fact, solve everything, but wanton deregulation to allow the Invisible Hand to conduct a symphony of corporate chaos actually tends to create a whole lot of pretty spectacular problems for people like Sherry Vargson. And me. And probably you.
I am reminded of a post Mannion published approximately one hundred years ago (get off my lawn), in which he wrote:
Americans have a habit of talking about politics as something apart from the normal doings of our lives. Kind of strange of us, considering that the normal doings of our lives are only possible because of politics. Turning on the tap to get a drink of water is a political act if only because the water flows and is relatively clean because of decisions made by politicians who owe their jobs to political decisions made by us.And when we turn on the tap to demonstrate that our water is flammable, that is most certainly a political act, too.
Ultimately, this picture is less about fracking—although it's damn sure about that, too—than it is about the evident failure of the people elected to represent their constituents' interests to remember exactly who their constituents actually are.
Daily Dose of Cute
Video Description: All the animals have to sit as close to on top of me as possible at all times. Olivia sits on the back of the couch right next to my head; Zelda sleeps on my left side, with her head on my leg; Matilda sits on my right side, purring away; and Dudley sleeps on the loveseat, with his head angled toward me. As I pan across, I see Sophie walking into the kitchen and say, "Sophs, whatcha doin'?" She immediately hops up on the piano behind me. As soon as I turned off the camera, she went over the loveseat right next to Dudz.
We have a small house. It wouldn't matter if it were even smaller, or twelve times as big: The behbehs would still be up my ass 24/7, figuratively speaking. All of them are the snuggliest little lovebugs, for which I am appreciative, even in moments when if they all don't GET OFF ME FOR TWO FUCKING SECONDS I will lose it, lol.
Nadler & Co. Continue Fight for Immigration Equality
For years, Representative Jerry Nadler (D-NY) has been pursuing an issue that's personally very important to me: Immigration equality for same-sex couples.
The fight for immigration equality continues this week as Nadler and some of his fellow House Dems penned twin letters to the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice, seeking assurances "that new immigration policy will enable foreign nationals to stay in the United States if they're in same-sex relationships with American citizens."
"The recognition of LGBT family ties as a positive factor is a critical step forward in identifying key family and community ties to implement common-sense immigration enforcement," the letter states. "We ask that you ensure that this recognition is reflected in the work of DHS and DOJ employees and the newly-established working group in implementing your priorities for immigration enforcement."Codifying this immigration reform is not only a long overdue basic social justice issue, but it is a crucial component of authentic and meaningful marriage equality.
The letter is signed by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), sponsor of the legislation known as the Uniting American Families, which would allow gay Americans to sponsor their foreign partners for residency in the United States. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and 68 other Democrats — including gay Reps. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and David Cicilline (D-R.I.) — make up the additional signatories of the letter.
Under current immigration code, gay Americans can't sponsor the foreign partners for residency in the United States because same-sex marriage isn't legal in many places in the country and because the Defense of Marriage Act prohibits federal recognition of these unions. Consequently, foreign nationals who are in committed relationships with gay Americans may have to leave the United States or face deportation.
In a June 17 memo, U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement allows immigration officials to exercise prosecutorial discretion in cases they deem low priority for deportation, although this memo offers no explicit guidance on foreign nationals in same-sex relationships.
On Aug. 18, the Obama administration unveiled new policy based on this memo saying it would examine foreign nationals facing deportation on a case-by-case basis and take those who are low priority out of the pipeline.
Officials are set to weigh a person's ties and contributions to the community and family relationships as reasons to take potential deportee out of consideration. Administration officials have stated that being in a same-sex relationship will be considered in the context of community contributions and family relationships.
However, lawmakers in the letter seek additional assurances that bi-national same-sex couples won't be left out as part of this consideration.
Contact your representative here and ask them to support the Uniting American Families Act.
Quote of the Day
"Giving one of the most abusive industries in the U.S. free rein to inundate people with robo-calls to their cell phones is a terrible idea. ... Harassing people on their cell phones is just not going to help solve the federal deficit."—Margot Saunders (pdf), National Consumer Law Center, on President Obama's proposal, buried on page 28 of his deficit reduction plan, "to allow debt collectors 'to contact delinquent debtors via their cellular phones' when collecting debts owed to or guaranteed by the federal government."
Currently, debt collection calls to cell phones are limited because collectors must check their phone number lists against a list of known cell phones and cannot call those numbers unless the consumer has provided that number as a way of reaching them. Though the proposal is limited to debts owed or guaranteed by the federal government, millions of consumers will be affected, including graduates who can't pay their loans due to the terrible job market, homeowners who are behind in mortgages, and people who are in tax disputes with the Internal Revenue Service. Families who have lost their homes to foreclosure could be exposed to cell phone calls for years if the delinquency on their mortgage is sold to debt buyers.Emphasis mine.
The Federal Trade Commission receives more complaints about the debt collection industry than any other industry─more than 140,000 complaints in 2010─and those complaints increase every year. "The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act badly needs updating but for the purposes of protecting consumers from widespread harassment and debt collector abuses, not for facilitating those abuses," Saunders noted.
[Thanks to Deeks for the heads-up.]
Photo of the Day
"Destroy society, get million$. Stand up for justice, get surrounded by police." After an initial attempt to occupy Wall Street over a week ago, protesters pushed back by New York City Police continued to protest in Liberty Park while across the street on Broadway, NYPD prepared their own strategy. [Demotix Images]
Open Thread: Terra Nova
[Click to embiggen.]
So, did anyone else watch the premiere of Terra Nova last night? I'm still searching for something to fill my Lost hole, and Terra Nova had the distinct ring of Lostiness to it, from at attempt at cast diversity to scary things in the jungle to mysterious symbols to a rogue band of "others" right down to its annoying patriarch
The central story is about a group of time-traveling pilgrims from a polluted, overpopulated, and dying Earth in the year 2149, who are sent through a one-way tear in the space-time continuum to a parallel timeline 85 million years ago, tasked with establishing and maintaining Terra Nova, a colony designed to build a new and sustainable human civilization.
But! There is conflict in paradise, and a rebel group has fractured away from the main encampment, with some nefarious and as-yet undefined plot which has something to do with the mysterious mathematical etchings in the rocks being done by the AWOL son of Terra Nova's benevolent dictator (OR IS HE?!) Nathaniel Taylor.
So, that's the main plot, and it was, to the writers' due credit, established rather compellingly with a minimum of clumsy exposition.
It's too early to make any definitive statements about the show's conformity to or subversion of kyriarchal tropes: Although the "good guys" are led by white dude Taylor, and the "bad guys" are led by black female rebel Mira, I get the feeling there's a distinct possibility that the "good" and "bad" groups are not exactly what they seem, so I'm tentatively withholding judgment on those casting choices.
I am not withholding judgment on casting the only Asian man as the head of agriculture. Boo. Particularly as the agricultural department duties were essentially maintaining a large and fast-growing exotic garden, which was more Asian than European or American in appearance, the conflation of "Asian" and "exotic" (or even "primitive") was unfortunate, to put it politely.
There are women of color in prominent roles: In addition to Mira, and the two Shannon daughters, mother Elizabeth Shannon is played by Shelley Conn, who is of Indian descent, and she was recruited for the pilgrimage to Terra Nova because she is a highly-respected doctor who's done social justice work. There is at least one (white/Latina) woman among Taylor's security team, and the oldest Shannon daughter, Maddy, is a math whiz. So there's potential for strong female characters, if they're given the space and attention to grow.
So far, however, there have been no visible LGBTQI characters.
Other random observations:
I don't know if this is a deliberate commentary being made by the show, or an inadvertent commentary being made by the show, but I found it amusing that the ability to wage war had been established in Terra Nova before the ability to manufacture medical supplies. (Supplies are still being sent from 2149.)
I am also deeply amused that, in 2149, annoying dudebro teens are still named Josh.
The special effects were pretty good for a television series. Not the best I've seen, but certainly not the worst.
What did you think?
Number of the Day
$10 billion: The estimated amount of annual revenue losses to the US Treasury care of the "check-the-box" rule, which "allows U.S. companies to strip profits from operations in high-tax countries simply by marking an Internal Revenue Service form that transforms subsidiaries into what the agency calls a 'disregarded entity.' Others have labeled them 'tax nothings.' Check-the-box allows companies to avoid the normal 35 percent U.S. corporate tax on certain types of income."
A simple rule meant to cut paperwork for U.S. companies has grown into one of the biggest multinational tax breaks around, costing the United States and other governments billions of dollars in lost taxes each year.Every time you hear a Republican talk about "class warfare," remember that it's a cynical obfuscation, to make sure that we keep bickering about individual tax rates and never pay attention to the plethora of corporate tax loopholes that subsidize the pillaging of the nation's resources and the exploitation of its people by multinational megacorps, who have no loyalty to the US and will move on to the next emergent empire as soon as they've bled this one dry.
It thrives thanks to determined business support, including a campaign two years ago that forced the Obama administration to retreat from altering it and tax professionals worldwide who exploit its benefits.
...[C]heck-the-box deals "are going like crazy," according to one prominent tax lawyer who helps structure such transactions. He declined to be named for fear of jeopardizing his job but added: "I can design these a thousand different ways."
Sexual Orientation Protections Added To New NFL Contract
I know next to nothing about sports.
And honestly, I don't much care. It's not my thing. That's not a judgment. If you like it, get on with your bad self. Different strokes and all that. It's just not something I enjoy. But, there is some good news coming out of the sports world (is that the right phrase?) today.
The NFL's new collective bargaining agreement (I think maybe there was a strike leading up to this) includes sexual orientation in its non-discrimination clause. That's a pretty big deal. The 2006 agreement included no such protections.
From the contract:
No Discrimination: There will be no discrimination in any form against any player by the Management Council, any Club or by the NFLPA [NFL Players Association] because of race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or activity or lack of activity on behalf of the NFLPA.
So, that's cool. And while "there are no openly gay professional sports players in football, basketball, baseball or hockey," this could help change that.
"I think that the conditions are being created — certainly now by this anti-discrimination language, but also what the players are saying — for a gay player to come out. More and more Americans are coming out in their lives and their industries, so it's going to hit sports. It has to," said Brian Ellner, a senior strategist with the Human Rights Campaign.
Occupy Wall Street: News Round-Up
[Trigger warning for police brutality.]
The Guardian—Occupy Wall Street: 'Pepper-spray' officer named in Bush protest claim:
A senior New York police officer accused of pepper-spraying young women on the "Occupy Wall Street" demonstrations is the subject of a pending legal action over his conduct at another protest in the city.Boston Review—Why I Was Maced at the Wall Street Protests:
The Guardian has learned that the officer, named by activists as deputy inspector Anthony Bologna, stands accused of false arrest and civil rights violations in a claim brought by a protester involved in the 2004 demonstrations at the Republican national convention.
The white-shirted cops are shouting at us to get off the street as they corral us onto the sidewalk. One African American man gets on the curb but refuses to be pushed up against the wall of the building; they throw him into the street, and five cops tackle him. As he's being cuffed, a white kid with a video camera asks him "What's your name?! What's your name?!" One of the blue-shirted cops thinks he's too close and gives him a little shove. A white-shirt sees this, grabs the kid and without hesitation billy-clubs him in the stomach.WYNC—Protesters Dig in as Park Owner Seeks Their Eviction:
At this point, the crowd of twenty or so caught in the orange fence is shouting "Shame! Shame! Who are you protecting?! YOU are the 99 percent! You're fighting your own people!" A white-shirt, now known to be NYPD Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna, comes from the left, walks straight up to the three young girls at the front of the crowd, and pepper-sprays them in the face for a few seconds, continuing as they scream "No! Why are you doing that?!"
The rest of us in the crowd turn away from the spray, but it's unavoidable. My left eye burns and goes blind and tears start streaming down my face. Frank grabs my arm and shoves us through the small gap between the orange fence and the brick wall while everyone stares in shock and horror at the two girls on the ground and two more doubled over screaming as their eyes ooze. In the street I shout for water to rinse my eyes or give to the girls on the ground, but no one responds. One of the blue-shirts, tall and bald, stares in disbelief and says, "I can't believe he just fuckin' maced her." And it becomes clear that the white-shirts are a different species. We need to get out of there.
Following 80 arrests over the weekend, organizers of an anti-Wall Street demonstration are now facing possible eviction from the Lower Manhattan park that has been their unofficial base of operations for the past 10 days.Star-Ledger—Occupy Wall Street demonstrators send message: Where are the jobs? "Occupy Wall Street, a protest against bank bailouts and corporate greed, is what the tea party should have been—probably would have been—if the movement hadn't been hijacked by savvy conservatives, bankrolled by billionaires and fictitiously portrayed as an everyman revolt."
Hundreds of members of the group Occupy Wall Street have protested in Zuccotti Park, a space on Broadway and Liberty streets owned real estate company, Brookfield Properties, which is hoping the protesters will move on.
"The park is intended for the use and enjoyment of the general public for passive recreation," a spokeswoman for Brookfield Properties, Melissa Coley, said in a statement.
"We are extremely concerned with the conditions that have been created by those currently occupying the park and are actively working with the City of New York to address these conditions and restore the park to its intended purpose."
New rules were posted over the weekend forbidding the use of sleeping bags, lying down or storing personal property in the park. But protesters like Justin Wedes said they have no plans to move just yet.
"It seems like an attempt, a half-hearted attempt," Wedes said. "I almost want to say, to try to intimidate us to leave, but the reality is that we're deep into our work, and we're not planning to leave anytime soon."
David Weidner at MarketWatch—Wall Street elites enjoy police protection: "If you want to know how a nation supposedly by and for the people has become uprooted, one only needs to see how common young people, who are suffering so badly in this recession, were humiliated further by trying to exercise their given right to peacefully protest."
The LiveStream is here. Information hub here.
Question of the Day
Suggested by Shaker Kate A: What is your least favorite platitude or cliche?
"God works in mysterious ways." Or any variation thereof: I can't stand any trite reference to "God's plan" or "what God wanted" as explanation for horrible things, especially for mass injury/death caused by a natural disaster or for an unexpected death. When I hear someone say a child died because God wanted that child with Him, I become a quivering column of undiluted rage.
Number of the Day
4,800: The approximate number of messages in bottles Harold Hackett of Prince Edward Island has thrown into the Atlantic over the last two decades. "Every message asks for the finder to send a response back to Hackett, and since 1996 he has received over 3,100 responses from all over the world."
Wangari Maathai (1940-2011)
Wangari Maathai, Nobel laureate, Kenyan, feminist, environmentalist, social justice activist passed away yesterday at the age of 71.
The New York Times:
Dr. Maathai, one of the most widely respected women on the continent, wore many hats — environmentalist, feminist, politician, professor, rabble-rouser, human rights advocate and head of the Green Belt Movement, which she founded in 1977. Its mission was to plant trees across Kenya to fight erosion and to create firewood for fuel and jobs for women.
Dr. Maathai was as comfortable in the gritty streets of Nairobi’s slums or the muddy hillsides of central Kenya as she was hobnobbing with heads of state. She won the Peace Prize in 2004 for what the Nobel committee called “her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace.” It was a moment of immense pride in Kenya and across Africa.
Her Green Belt Movement has planted more than 30 million trees in Africa and has helped nearly 900,000 women, according to the United Nations, while inspiring similar efforts in other African countries.
“Wangari Maathai was a force of nature,” said Achim Steiner, the executive director of the United Nation’s environmental program. He likened her to Africa’s ubiquitous acacia trees, “strong in character and able to survive sometimes the harshest of conditions.”
[Note: Maathai is not without her seriously problematic sides, including her position that AIDS "did not come from monkeys." If there are other less flattering things to be said about her, they have been excluded because I am unaware of them, not as the result of any deliberate intent to whitewash her life. Please feel welcome to comment on the entirety of her work and life in this thread.]
Reminders
Chicagoland Meet-Up on October 8. Announcement and details here. Some Shakers were wondering if the location is easily accessible by public transportation: Yes, it is. There is also convenient and cheap parking. Email Liss or Misty for specifics.
Community Project: Operation Get Loved Up! Explanation and details here. Submit your pictures to Shaker BrianWS by email.
Daily Dose of Cute
Video Description: Dudley the Greyhound runs in big circles around the dog park, and Zelda the Mutt chases him. She does her best to keep up; he slows it down a notch so she never gets totally left behind.
As I've mentioned, due to her poor socialization, Zelda has had mixed success at the dog park. She is great with some dogs, and terrible with others: With any dog of whom she is fearful, often without obvious reason (i.e. dogs with whom Dudley gets along fine), she is likely to pick a fight. So, unless and until we can sort that out, one of us walks with her around the trails at the park while the other takes Dudley into the off-leash area. But last weekend, there were no other dogs there, so they got to run around together.
And when we got home, it was was the usual result...
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Today in Rape Culture
[Trigger warning for sexual violence; rape culture tropes.]
So, I'm reading this article in a garbage magazine that we'll just call Schmeople about the garbage television show Toddlers & Tiaras, which documents the culture of child beauty pageants. It is a show I watched exactly once, barfed nine thousand times, and refused to ever watch again, but is nonetheless perpetually at the edge of my attention, because I frequently see stories written about its vast and varied "controversial" content in my daily news-reading.
Anyway! In this article about the show, I come across this doozy of a passage (among many) in regard to the sexualization of the contestants:
Several parents also concede that concerns about sexual predators at the pageants are ever-present, but pageant insiders insist that security is always a priority, and guests are generally limited to friends and family of the contestants.Yiiiiiiiiiikes.
On the one hand, yikes that the issue of child predation is so inextricably linked to these pageants, and the (erroneous) idea that sexualization of children disproportionately attracts pedophiles so pervasive, that it obscures all serious discussion about how the sexualization of these little girls is problematic for reasons other than potential sexual violence.
On the other hand, yikes is that a fundamental misunderstanding of potential sexual violence. "It's fine, because we generally only let in friends and family!" Okay, but here's another way of saying the same thing: "It's fine, because we generally only let in the people by whom children are most likely to be molested."
That is not to say that most family and friends of pageant kids, or any other kids, are likely to molest them. It is only to note that children, like adults, are exponentially more likely to be molested by a friend or family member than they are by a stranger.
So saying, "We only let in friends and family," as if that's some kind of safeguard against sexual violence, is ignorant at best.
It's one of those rape culture tropes, like "Christian axiomatically = good," which we need to challenge every time we see it, because, as I've noted before, abiding and indulging false notions about what inoculates children (and adults) against sexual violence has the inevitable effect of giving communities an excuse for not being vigilant about the things that actually support endemic sexual violence.
An Observation
While I'm no fan of "No Child Left Behind", I'd find the current discourse on 'closing achievement gaps' and 'ensuring our children's economic success' a bit more convincing if it wasn't happening amidst a background of massive austerity measures, a rapidly growing income gap, and a economy that's leaving behind large numbers of qualified, well-educated people.
Monday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by #OccupyWallStreet.
Recommended Reading:
Alex: Slideshow: The View from Wall Street after 10 Days of Protest
Sabria: "To say that Saudi King Abdullah's decree to give women the right to vote and become Shoura Council members is a historic moment would be an understatement."
Shark-fu: A Note about Self-Care
Anita: Tropes vs. Women: #6 The Straw Feminist (video w/ transcript at link)
Jorge: [TW for racism and misogyny] UC Berkeley College Republicans Hold 'Diversity Bake Sale'
Andy: Three Openly Gay Candidates Running for Indianapolis City Council
Qultluvr: [TW for fat hatred] Another Story on Seeking Healthcare While Fat
Atrios: Can't Get to Work
Kate: [TW for fat hatred] On Fatness as a Moral Weakness and Evidence of Work Ethic (or Lack Thereof)
Angi: [TW for sexual violence] Dear Facebook: Rape Is No Joke
Scott: When I Grow Up, I'm Going to Non-Sequitur University
Phil: Meet Sir Topham Catt
Leave your links and recommendations in comments...
Quote of the Day
"Behind the glorious story of the Roman Empire--the story of military campaigns and imperial triumphs--there lies another story: the one that actually shaped the lives of [ordinary people]. It's the story of how Rome was run as a mafia-like business. Of Senators worth thirty million dollars who supported a system who let the poor go to the war while they supported free trade and low taxes for the businessmen. It's the story of a society in which the noble families flaunted their wealth while the majority drifted into relative poverty. A society based on inequality; on the tantalizing luxury that was possible for the few as long as the vast majority of the population had no rights at all...or could be fooled into compliance with bread and circuses." -- Terry Jones (closing narration from The Hidden History of Rome [which you can watch here or on Netflix]).
Photo of the Day
Arrested Occupy Wall Street protesters. Photo by Sam Glewis, via Buzzfeed.
The picture just makes me all choked up. All these people want is a voice; all they want is to be heard; all they want, all any of us want, is for our participation in our ostensible democracy to matter. We are promised that. From the first day of kindergarten, we are promised that our participation will matter, that we live in a place where we have the right and the freedom and the responsibility to speak up.
And here instead is a picture of arrested protesters lined up against a wall.
Breaking Bad Open Thread
Jesse backpacks through Mexico, without a care in the world. Or maybe not.
Sunday's episode will be discussed in infinitesimal detail, so if you haven't seen it, and don't want any spoilers, take your Space Bags® and move along...
Banned Books Week is September 24th-October 1st
It's Banned Books Week again, folks!
Once again, the true story of two male penguins raising a chick together is deemed so dangerous that children should not be allowed to learn of it. According to the American Library Association:
Justin Richardson’s and Peter Parnell’s "And Tango Makes Three" tops the list of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Top Ten List of the Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2010. The list was released today as part of the ALA’s State of America’s Libraries Report.
"And Tango Makes Three" is an award-winning children’s book about the true story of two male Emperor Penguins hatching and parenting a baby chick at New York’s Central Park Zoo. The book has appeared on the ALA’s Top Ten List of Frequently Challenged Books for the past five years and returns to the number one slot after a brief stay at the number two position in 2009. There have been dozens of attempts to remove And Tango Makes Three from school and public library shelves. Those seeking to remove the book have described it as "unsuited for age group," and cited "religious viewpoint" and "homosexuality" as reasons for challenging the book.
Off the list this year are such classics as Alice Walker’s "Color Purple"; "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee; "Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger; and Robert Cormier’s "The Chocolate War." Replacing them are books reflecting a range of themes and ideas that include "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley; "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie; "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins; and Stephenie Meyer’s "Twilight."
I hereby register my official and complete lack of surprise that Brave New World and Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America have made the list this year. Where is Captain Underpants when you need him?
For two of the books on the list, "homosexuality" is frankly stated as a reason to challenge the book.
The American Library Association's list of Top 10 Most Challenged Books is at the ALA's website.
The official Banned Books Week website invites participation through their Virtual Read-Out project and dedicated YouTube channel. The Banned Books Week website also includes other ways to participate, so check it out.
A number of readers here have mentioned Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games; I haven't gotten to it yet, but it is now among the ALA's most-challenged books. Did any of your favorite books make the list?
Related: Banned Books Week 2010, Banned Books Week 2006, "No, God hates morons!"*, Harry Potter and the Half-Brained Dumbass, But What About My Needs?, A Novel Approach, and march of the dumbasses.
Occupy Wall Street Protests Turn Violent as Cops Mace Protesters
[Trigger warning for police brutality; violence against women. Please note: Included video content may be upsetting.]
When was the last time you heard about a Tea Party protester getting maced by police? Or an anti-choice protester? Or a Westboro Baptist dipshit? Or anyone who was part of any of the rightwing political actions funded by corporate interests?
Apparently, freedom of speech and assembly is only for conservatives, as police in NYC have started arresting the Occupy Wall Street protesters, and, over the weekend, video was posted on YouTube of police corralling female protesters and then shooting mace at them:
In another video, a police officer is seen to grab a young man who is just talking to him, and roughly throws him to the ground to arrest him:
Not only have we not seen this sort of hostility, or even this sort of police presence, for rightwing protesters (nor should we; I'm certainly not arguing that rightwing protesters be treated like this, but rather the Occupy Wall Street protesters be afforded the same respect for their rights to free speech and assembly), but the media coverage of this protest, now in Day 10, has been virtually nonexistent compared to the Tea Party protests. As Susie notes: "If the protests on Wall Street were organized by the 'Tea Party', not only would there be abundant, and largely positive, media coverage, but the police would be there to protect the protestors' free speech rights."
Digby has a great piece on the difference in quality of the media coverage.
Also recommended: David Graeber's piece here, about what this protest really means:
We are watching the beginnings of the defiant self-assertion of a new generation of Americans, a generation who are looking forward to finishing their education with no jobs, no future, but still saddled with enormous and unforgivable debt. Most, I found, were of working-class or otherwise modest backgrounds, kids who did exactly what they were told they should: studied, got into college, and are now not just being punished for it, but humiliated – faced with a life of being treated as deadbeats, moral reprobates.Flaws like the ability of 1% of the population to hold 40% of the wealth. That sorta thing.
Is it really surprising they would like to have a word with the financial magnates who stole their future?
...It's becoming increasingly obvious that the real priority of those running the world for the last few decades has not been creating a viable form of capitalism, but rather, convincing us all that the current form of capitalism is the only conceivable economic system, so its flaws are irrelevant.
Anyway, if you'd like to watch today's goings-on, the live stream is below. The more the world watches, the safer those protesters will be.
Watch live streaming video from globalrevolution at livestream.com
Priorities!
With all the war, tax cuts, and whatnot, the United States appears to have priced itself out of the whole democracy thing. NPR reports that elections officials across the country are struggling to cope with shrinking budgets. The head of South Carolina's Election Commission, which is current dealing with a budget sixty percent smaller than it had in 2000, told NPR:
Basically, we're down to a critical level — sort of a bare-bones level — where if we saw any more cuts I think it would have a significant impact on our ability to provide services to countiesIn this case, "services" means access to democracy.
In any case, I'm toooootally sure that it's a huge accident that Americans are finding themselves priced out of participation in corporations' expensive government.
Open Thread
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!
It's Science.
The hero who put this shit together says: "Everyone knows that the greatest and most iconic contribution to Cinema is Tom Selleck's Moustache. So great is it that there isn't a single film that would not be imroved by the inclusion of Tom Selleck's Moustache. As proof I present this montage."
There's a list here of the movies included in the video for all you dinguses who can't view it.
Another Day...
...another imminent shutdown of the US government if Congress can't get its shit together.
The government is so broken at this point that it would be hilarious, if only it weren't so goddamn tragic.
ETA. Richard's got more here.
Photo of the Day
A baby giraffe and her mother snuggle each other in their enclosure at Tama Zoological Park in Tokyo. The baby giraffe was born on August 6 at the zoo. [Getty Images]
Community Project: Operation Get Loved Up!
by Shaker BrianWS
Hey, everyone!
So here's the thing – I need the help of Shakers who are or have been in meaningful romantic relationships.
Liss and I came up with an idea for what we think could be a neat community project that challenges conventional models of romantic love, but it's dependent on your participation; I'm hoping that some of you would be willing to share some super adorable photographs of you and your sweetie - pictures of you and your spouse, partner(s), boyfriend, girlfriend, or whatever name or label you and your love choose to embrace. Please note that we ask you obtain your sweetie's consent to send the photo.
Anyone is welcome to participate - and of course pictures with partners who have passed are welcome, too. The end goal is to create a little project for the community that celebrates love between people of all sexualities, all genders, all ages, all races, all shapes.
Here are the terms, so to speak – I'll use as many photographs as I possibly can, in the order in which I receive them. No photographs will be altered aside from possibly being resized. The final product will be posted on YouTube, so don't send anything that you wouldn't want available for public viewing by anyone who happens to find it.
So if you're interested in participating, go ahead and attach your favorite photograph of you and your love to an email, and fire it over to me at ShakerBrianWS@gmail.com – I'll put something together with the photographs I receive and then share it with you all when the project is finished.
Looking forward to seeing your lovely, happy pictures!
[Note from Liss: I realize this particular community project will not be applicable for all members of the community. Many community projects won't be. I hope that anyone who would like to see a different kind of community project will feel invited to suggest their own.]
Daily Dose of Cute
Because he's sweet like that, Iain brought me home from Scotland an Aero bar, which is a British candy bar I really like but can't easily get around here. I've been eating it like one bite a day, because it's such a rare treat. I left the 3/4 of it that's left sitting out on the end table in the living room last night, like I always do. You see where this is going...
A few minutes ago, I walked into the living room and the EMPTY WRAPPER WAS ON THE FLOOR!!! I turned around to see Zelda looking at me with a wagging tail and a grin on her face that seemed to say, "O HAI! I discovered chocolate! It is very tasty! I LOOOOOOOVE ETT! I LOVE ETT SO MUCH!"
[Representative Image: A picture taken the day we brought Zelda home.]
Immediately, I panicked, because chocolate is poisonous to dogs. I rang the vet, and one of the many awesome vet techs there assured me that even with the amount she ate, its being milk chocolate and Zelda being 40 pounds means that the absolute worst that will happen is a case of the butt-squirts. (I'm paraphrasing.)
My panic gave way to relief, which gave way to I'M GOING TO MURDER THAT DOG FOR EATING MY AERO BAR! (Not really.) I told Zelda she had worried me and asked her kindly to please not eat anymore chocolate bars. By which I mean, I made a mental note not to leave any more chocolate bars within Zel's reach.
[Representative Image: Despite appearing to hang her head in shame,
Zelda was actually, at the time this picture was taken, staring at an ant.]
Meanwhile, Dudley surveyed the goings-on with a smug self-satisfaction that betrayed his attempts to convey disinterest.
"I'm the GOOD dog, you know."
I know, Dudley. I know.
Today in Christian Supremacy
A municipal judge in southern Alabama is giving folks who commit misdemeanors a choice: either go to church, or go to jail. According to WKRG TV:
The city judge will either let offenders work off their sentences in jail and pay a fine or go to church every Sunday for a year.First of all, electing to not worship will land you in jail (despite, I might add, having only being convicted of a misdemeanor). Second, to elaborate on one comment on the original story, "every Sunday" and "the pastor" don't appear to be inclusive of religious folks who happen to not share the judge's particular Christian faith.
If offenders elect church, they're allowed to pick the place of worship, but must check in weekly with the pastor and the police department.
According to WKRG,
[Bay Minette Police Chief Mike] Rowland says the program is legal and doesn't violate separation of church and state issues because it allows the offender to choose church or jail...and the church of their choice.Of course, not church is not a choice. I suppose jail (:cough: for a misdemeanor) is choice, in a way. You know, 'go to church every Sunday or go to jail.' It kinda has a Spanish Inquisition vibe to it, when you think about it.
Friday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by a chubbly white cat who keeps knocking things on the floor in search of the most ridiculously awkward napping space possible.
Recommended Reading:
chrisdonia: Mysterious Paper Sculptures
Shark-fu: [TW for murder] 100 Years of the Mob
Brad: [TW for murder] Georgia Parole Board's Decisions on Troy Davis vs. Samuel Crowe Cases Almost Like Black and White
Katharhynn: [TW for fat hatred and body policing] First They Came for Your Fat Kids...
Tim: Weekly Standard on GOP Debate: "Yikes"
Fannie: New Word of the Day: "Same-Sex Enthusiast"
Epic Ponyz: Note to Police
Leave your links and recommendations in comments...
Recommended Reading
The Hidden Hands in Redistricting: Corporations and Other Powerful Interests:
Their names suggest selfless dedication to democracy. Fair Districts Mass. Protect Your Vote. The Center for a Better New Jersey. And their stated goals are unarguable: In the partisan fight to redraw congressional districts, states should stick to the principle of one person, one vote.Read the whole thing here.
But a ProPublica investigation has found that these groups and others are being quietly bankrolled by corporations, unions and other special interests. Their main interest in the once-a-decade political fight over redistricting is not to help voters in the communities they claim to represent but mainly to improve the prospects of their political allies or to harm their enemies.
The number of these purportedly independent redistricting groups is rising, but their ties remain murky. Contributions to such groups are not limited by campaign finance laws, and most states allow them to take unlimited amounts of money without disclosing the source.
Want to Get a Gander at My Garbage Governor?
Welp, here ya go: Republican Indiana Governor Mitch "The Blade" Daniels was on The Daily Show last night (thanks for the heads-up, Shaker Sarah), and he spoke with Jon "Both Sides Are Stupid and I Am the Perfect Center" Stewart about how the Republican Party's rhetoric is definitely terrible, mostly because it's too honest about how terrible their policies are.
Once again, I'll note that the reason Daniels is so scary is because he has the capacity to sound so reasonable, even though his politics are just as extreme as Rick Perry's. He talks a good game about how he cares about the social safety net and providing access and opportunity to poor folks, but he was the first governor in the nation to sign a bill defunding Planned Parenthood. And he can brag about "growth" in Indiana all he wants, but the fact remains that our infrastructure is crumbling to pieces. He is a snake. And we are in real trouble if he changes his mind about running in 2012.
Anyway, here he is. (My apologies for not providing a transcript: If anyone can locate a transcript of the episode, please drop a link in comments. If there's anyone able and willing to provide a transcript, please let me know in comments.)
Because Chicken Fried Steak Doesn't Grow on Trees
This morning, NPR is reporting that at the request of a state legislator, Texas will no longer honor the tradition of giving inmates their choice of a last meal before they are executed.
I believe somewhere near the back of the Bible, Jesus's son (Chip Christ), told the Israelites "If you're gonna kill a man, don't go being all polite about it."
Obama Campaign Office Vandalized
Obama's Westside campaign office vandalized: "Los Angeles police were investigating a Thursday night incident in which someone shot BB-gun pellets and threw an object into President Obama's Westside campaign office, authorities said. ... The incident comes days before the president is due to visit Los Angeles [for fundraising events]."
Fortunately, no one was there at the time and no one was injured. Just some shattered glass. Oh, and the ominously threatening message that we might call terrorism if we didn't reserve that for other people.
I guess it's because of our liberal media who's totally in the bag for Obama that I have barely heard a peep about this. Huh.
