Hosted by Tik-Tok, Dorothy, and Billina.
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!
Quote of the Day
"I did what I did. It's all on the public record, and I feel very good about it. If I had to do it over again, I'd do it in a minute."—Former Vice-President and eternal dark lord Dick Cheney, in The World According to Dick Cheney, a biography airing on Showtime this month.
CNN filed this item under the terrific headline: "Cheney unapologetic in new documentary." [CN: Gun violence.] HA HA I'm so surprised that the vice-president who shot a man in the face and then got an apology from the man he shot while his face was still pebbled with buckshot holes is unapologetic about ALL THE THINGS!
This fucking guy.
More Proving the Point
A response to my piece offering advice on how to be more inclusive to atheist men genuinely seeking it:
Note that I was offering advice specifically because PZ Myers asked, in response to my post, "What can I do better?" and noted I was offering advice "to atheist men who genuinely want an answer to that question."
It doesn't matter how polite you are, or how carefully you endeavor to engage with good faith.
In return: "Go fuck yourself."
The Parks and Rec Open Thread
"Time after time!"
(Spoilers are getting bailed out herein.)
Parks and Rec is back! And it's TOO BIG TO NAIL! And these vegetables won't be necessary. Lights, Camera, Perd! Hi, Jason Schwartzman! Jerry's awesome pep talk! And capitalism wins? Boo. But Ann and Chris are having a baby! Yay! And April is totes gonna be a vet! I credit Champion for this amazing development! GOOD DOG! Other things!
"These kids are renting my old clothes like they're going out of style. Which they never will." "She's my sister! My twin sister from the same mister! Thank you so much for hiring Mona Lisa. It means so much to me—even though honestly she is THE WOOOOOOOORST! She is the worst person in the world." "I'm watching Iron Man 2 on my phone right now." "Ann Perkins asked me if I would like to donate sperm, so she can have a baby. It's a battle—between my primal desire to bring a child into this world, and my paralyzing fear of negatively affecting any living thing." "I heard sack of flour and high school. Are you ding-dongs making fake drugs for sophomores? Because, if true, THIS GUY wants in!" "I know this is gonna hurt, but maybe some Michael Bay." "Ron, what are you doing at a City Council meeting? Are you lost? Are you hurt?" "I, for one, refuse to let her turn this town into a socialist hellscape." "I'm kinda just fracking for friendship." "Uh, you can just buy tools online." "Wilson Gromling, of the Liberty or Die Party. These government handouts are deplorable! You're just handing out blank checks! I was on food stamps! I was on welfare! And nobody ever helped me!" "You have made us porn peddlers!" "Everyone knows this song. It's amazing." "I guess your uter-you and my uter-me are now a uterUS!" And finally: Donna's face when Leslie announces the film they'll be watching at the inaugural community film night is The Sound of Music...
HA HA HA! Retta! So amazing.
Discuss!
Friday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by buttons.
Recommended Reading:
Jorge: Kimani Gray's Mother Speaks: "He Was Slaughtered" [Content Note: Gun violence; racism. Also note that a video begins to play automatically after a delay at the link.]
Mychal, Darnell, Kiese, and Kai: Black Men Writing to Live: Brothers' Letters [Content Note: Disablism; mentions of self-harm; abuse; racism.]
Libby Anne: "You are worthy of nothing but disdain." [Content Note: Hostility to agency; harassment.]
Trudy: Race, Gender and Connecting with Other Atheists
Becky: Why the Fearful Hero Is a Good Thing for Video Games
Samantha: No Excuses: It's Time for More Female Protagonists
Ragen: Weight Loss So-Called Success [Content Note: Fat bias; diet talk; medical malfeasance.]
Algernon: Infrastructure Investments and Latino and African American Job Creation
FMF News: McCaskill Responds to Military Sexual Assault Hearings
Leave your links and recommendations in comments...
My Advice to Atheist Men
[Content Note: Misogyny.]
Yesterday, I wrote a piece on being a female atheist who had been alienated from movement atheism by systemic misogyny. (And, naturally, we had to close the thread because it got inundated with dudes keen to prove the point. See also: My inbox.) It got a bit of attention, including from PZ Myers, who wondered: "What can I do better?"
On Twitter today, I shared my advice to atheist men who genuinely want an answer to that question...
In The News
[Content note: Homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, domestic abuse]
Friday I'm In Love:
This is super sweet.
Do no harm (unless it's to fags): University students training to be counselors could be allowed to legally refuse care to people in same-sex relationships.
A new department memo requires NYPD officers to run warrant and criminal background checks on any domestic violence accuser brave enough to call the police.
A Maryland state Senate committee has struck down a bill that would have banned anti-transgender discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodation.
Colin Trevorrow will direct Jurassic Park 4. Good luck, Colin Trevorrow!
Xi Jinping has been elected president of China. Good luck, Xi Jinping!
Daily Dose of Cute
Sophie, professional cute thing.
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
NOM Continues to be Supergross
[Content Note: Family and reproductive policing; homophobia; abuse.]
As if we needed any additional evidence that the virulently anti-gay National Organization for Marriage is just fully the worst, here is John Eastman, NOM's chair, talking about the Supreme Court justices who will soon be ruling on same-sex marriage—specifically about the families of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Clarence Thomas, both of whom have adopted children:
"You're looking at what is the best course societywide to get you the optimal result in the widest variety of cases. That often is not open to people in individual cases. Certainly adoption in families headed, like Chief Roberts' family is, by a heterosexual couple, is by far the second-best option," said John Eastman, chairman of the National Organization for Marriage. Eastman also teaches law at Chapman University law school in Orange, Calif.Different-sex two-(cis)parent families with adopted children are "second-best." Obviously, different-sex two-(cis)parent white Christian families with babies created in magic vaginas under Jesus' watchful eye are the bestest-best. But otherwise acceptable straight white Christian cis people with adopted kids are okay, I GUESS.
I don't even know where to start with this garbage.
There's the implicit assertion that adopted children are less than. There's the implicit assertion that adoptive parents are axiomatically inferior to birth parents. There's the casual eliding of the millions of people who are abused by their birth parents, and the millions of people who are not abused by adoptive parents. There's the implicit demeaning of single- and same-sex parent and blended households. There's the implicit assertion that biologically defined families are inherently superior to families of choice. There's the implicit assertion that families are defined by parenting. There's the gross judgment and ranking of family structures, as if the best family structure isn't the one that best works for everyone in that family, rather than conformity to an externally-defined ideal.
And then there's the hilarious irony that the same conservative nightmare thugs who insist that adoption is a viable alternative to abortion then turn around and demean adoption when it suits their homophobic policies.
Unreal. This would be fucking hilarious, if it weren't so unfathomably cruel.
[Via Andy.]
Congressional Libs Unimpressed by Grand Bargain
I guess these political noobs just don't understand how politics works:
Multiple reports out today suggest that Dem leaders in the House and Senate are edging towards supporting Chained CPI for Social Security as part of the "grand bargain" Obama wants to replace the sequester with — and that's already sparking sharp pushback from Congressional liberals.What is this guy—some kind of LIBERAL BLOGGER?! Looks like someone's not a member of the Congressional 12-dimensional chess club!
"Why are we doing this?" Dem Rep. Keith Ellison, a co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said to me in an interview today. Asked which is worse, continued sequestration or a grand bargain that cuts entitlement benefits, Ellison said: "It's like saying, 'Which of your kids do you want to sacrifice to the monster?' Neither one."
Ellison is backed up by over 100 other House Dems who have pledged to fight any cuts to retirement benefits, including Chained CPI, a way of indexing Social Security benefits to inflation that amounts to a real benefits cut.
..."Leader Pelosi has always encouraged members to offer their own sincerely held views," Ellison told me. "My sincerely held view is that Chained CPI is a benefit cut for people who have very little. An overwhelming number of people who are on Social Security have fixed incomes. We have a lot of people across America who agree. Most of our caucus is opposed to this."
When it comes down to it, isn't the choice just between extended sequestration and some kind of deal to replace it, and if so, which is worse? Is this the choice liberals face? I put the question to Ellison, and he rejected the framing, arguing that being drawn into it is to already cede ground to Republicans.
"Once we do that we're already in the territory of bargaining away Chained CPI," Ellison said. "We're already saying we're open to negotiating on Chained CPI. And we're not." Senator Bernie Sanders has similarly insisted that liberals must not allow the choice to be framed this way, and has instead called on the White House and Dem leaders to try to leverage public opinion to force Republicans to accept a long term deal that includes increased revenues and cuts spending judiciously without targeting entitlement benefits.
Ellison pointed out that Republicans aren't as quick as Dems to signal a willingness to trade away core priorities at the outset. "Republicans don't do that," he said.
Whoooooops Your Stance on Same-Sex Marriage
[Content Note: Homophobia.]
Republican Senator Rob Portman, who was Mitt Romney's BFF during the 2012 election, has reversed his stance on same-sex marriage, after his son told him he is gay.
"I'm announcing today a change of heart on an issue that a lot of people feel strongly about that has to do with gay couples' opportunity to marry," Portman told CNN.I am happy for Will that his father decided to publicly support him. No qualifications. It's great.
It has to do with another revelation, one deeply personal. His 21-year-old son, Will, is gay.
"I've come to the conclusion that for me, personally, I think this is something that we should allow people to do, to get married, and to have the joy and stability of marriage that I've had for over 26 years. That I want all of my children to have, including our son, who is gay," said Portman.
That said, Senator Portman, you are a real asshole of a public servant. It is colossally contemptible that you didn't care about anyone else's sons' (or daughters' or parents' or friends' or colleagues' or perfect fucking strangers') right to "get married, and to have the joy and stability of marriage," and only finding out you had to look your own kid in the face and tell him sorry, son, fuck you, it's politically expedient for me to deny your basic humanity, gave you reason enough to support what is a decent and just position, totally in line with the ostensibly conservative principle of keeping the government's nose the fuck out of people's pants.
How utterly loathsome to be a person who only supports policies that personally benefit their own families. I'm looking at you, ENTIRE REPUBLICAN PARTY.
Blog Note
Well, Disqus no longer supports the old, customized version of commenting we knew and loved, so we've been automatically upgraded into their new system.
We're trying to figure out: 1. If it's possible to get back to flat comments, because nested comments are difficult to navigate for lots of people with visual processing disorders (like me), and: 2. If there's a way to turn off avatars, like we used to be able to do.
At the moment, it looks like we're not able to make these customizations anymore. I've tweeted my concerns at Disqus, and I'll keep you updated.
In the meantime, to may need to reset your preference (oldest comments first, newest comments first, etc.), which you can do by clicking "Discussion" at the top left of any comment thread.
In good news, there are some nifty new sharing options, both at the top of each thread and at the bottom of individual comments, that weren't available before.
UPDATE: Disqus has restored us temporarily to the old version. I'm in communication with them about resolving some of the issues, although it doesn't appear at this point like we're going to be able to keep flat threading, as soon as our time with this version is up.
I'll keep you posted.
Candice Glover Is Everything
1. I love garbage television. If you haven't heard me confess this before on any one of a million occasions, Spudsy—who exclaims at me at least once a month "I can't believe the shit you watch!" (which makes me laugh and laugh)—or Deeks—to whom I recommended Ghost Mine last night—or anyone else who knows me will be happy to confirm the facts. I am an incorrigible aficionado of garbage television.
2. Arguably, the garbagiest of all garbage television is American Idol, for so many reasons. Each season, it gets even more unfathomably gargbagey than the season before. This season, the usual mess of kyriarchal codswallop is being complemented by a heaping dose of body policing from new judge Nicki Minaj, who is so great when she's not congratulating someone on their weight loss or telling a female contestant to show her legs more.
3. But I can't stop watching this season, because CANDICE GLOVER IS EVERYTHING.
Video Description: Idol contestant Candice Glover, a young African American woman, performs "I Who Have Nothing," made famous by Ben E. King, Shirley Bassey, and Tom Jones.
Ben E. King's version of this song (which I love, despite it's Nice Guy/Girl-ish lyrics) is one of my favorite tracks of all time. True Fact: I was just listening to King's version on a loop Monday afternoon, coincidentally. And Candice is my favorite contestant this season because OMG HER VOICE, so I was basically in heaven last night. Is what I'm saying.
"I'm not a sixth grader."
Something Senator Dianne Feinstein (D) actually had to say on the Congressional record today, because Senator Ted Cruz (R) was talking to her like she was one. [Content Note: Gun violence.]
Cruz, a former constitutional law professor, began [a hearing on legislation to reinstate the federal assault weapons ban] by reciting portions of the First, Second, and Fourth Amendments, and asked Feinstein whether the power of government to restrict certain types of guns would be equally appropriate given those provisions.As far as I'm concerned, it should have been Cruz apologizing to Feinstein. She owed him nothing but contempt.
"Let me just make a couple of points in response," Feinstein shot back at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. "One, I'm not a sixth grader. Senator, I've been on this committee for 20 years. I was a mayor for nine years." [Feinstein the described examples of brutal gun violence with which she's had experience.] "I'm not a lawyer, but after 20 years I've been up close and personal to the Constitution. I have great respect for it. This doesn't mean that weapons of war and the Heller decision clearly points out three exceptions, two of which are pertinent here."
Feinstein continued: "It's fine you want to lecture me on the Constitution. I appreciate it. Just know I've been here for a long time. I've passed on a number of bills. I've studied the Constitution myself. I am reasonably well educated, and I thank you for the lecture. ... I come from a different place than you do. I respect your views. I ask you to respect my views."
The panel approved the bill on a party line vote, 10 - 8. The legislation now moves to the full Senate, where it is widely expected to fail.
After the vote, Feinstein made nice.
"Senator, I want to apologize to you, you sort of got my dander up," she said.
Daily Dose of Cute
Zelda models the cutest Dorito Ears in the biz.
This dog. THIS DOG. I love this dog. Every day of our lives, I look at her wee adorable face and I think about how I am the luckiest human person that I walked into the Humane Society one day, not even planning on adopting a dog, and found myself kneeling in front of her kennel, falling deeply and forever into her big brown eyes.
She is one of the greatest joys of my life, this silly big black mutt whom no one else wanted.
* * *
If you are thinking about adding a pet, please consider adopting a shelter or rescue animal. If you are looking for a particular breed and need help finding a breed-specific rescue, I am happy to help; just fire me an email.
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
This Female Atheist, and Where She Is
[Content Note: Misogyny.]
Even before I identified as an atheist, back when I was a teenager going to church every week and was ostensibly a god-believer, I was, in truth, an agnostic at best. Once, upon confessing my lack of faith, the minister told me, "Even Jesus had doubts." But I did not have doubts. I had no sense of god.
The closest thing I ever had to a sense of god was a fear of getting in trouble, whether that meant karmic retribution from a god who would not reward a naughty child or eternal damnation. And it felt pretty much the same as the fear I had of disappointing or angering my parents. It wasn't a feeling of the infinite; it was as small as worrying about being grounded.
I knew I was supposed to believe in god, so I tried to look into the glorious sunsets and sweeping landscapes in which the god-believers around me saw his handiwork and find him there. Sometimes I pretended I had. But the truth is, all I ever saw was the sun and the earth.
So there were never any tormentful rejections, no dramatic fist-shaking rebukes, at god when I came to atheism. I just slid into it, like a new pair of shoes.
There were, however, conscious rejections of my religious indoctrination, which had shaped me in a way that belief in god, or the lack thereof, had not.
The religious community in which I'd been raised did not allow female ministers, did not allow female presidents of the congregation, did not allow female elders, and did not, for most of my childhood, even allow female lectors to read the selected Bible readings during the service each week. Women were for teaching children—and for cleaning: Communionware, the kitchen, maybe a vestment.
I started asking questions about this disparity at age 7, possibly earlier. I got the usual bullshit answers that are used to justify these things. I was good enough to be an acolyte (especially since there were precious few teenage boys willing to do it) and scrub the toilets—both of which I did countless times—but not good enough to be ordained. I was less than.
Further, my objections to being told, on the one hand, that we are all equal in the eyes of god, and, on the other, that my gender nonetheless rendered me incapable of serving god in every capacity available to men, were greeted with contempt—and sometimes outright hostility. One minister told my mother that I needed to stop asking questions. Another told me I was "divisive," at an age that required my looking up "divisive" in the dictionary when I got home from church to understand his meaning. Another told me that my rebellious attitude would find me pregnant or dead by the time I was 16.
Even then I found the conflation of the two…interesting.
This was a community of which I did not want to be a part—and I left it, even before I knew, with clarity and certainty, that I am an atheist.
More than a decade later, I found movement atheism online. I was never one to evangelize my lack of god-belief, nor broadcast hatred of religion or its adherents, so that part of the movement was not a draw. But I did fancy the possibility of community around something that has been an axis of marginalization for me in some parts of my life.
I found the same inequality, manifesting in different ways.
There were precious few visible atheist leaders: The most prominent male atheists were very enamored with one another, and not particularly inclined to offer the same support to women, via recommended links and highlighted quotes and inclusion in digital salons about Important Ideas. They wondered aloud where all the female atheists are, and women would pipe up—"Here! Here we are! We're right here!"—only to then go back to the status quo, with explicit or implicit messaging that women just weren't working as hard as they are, just aren't as smart as they are, or else they'd be leaders, too.
There was the exclusion from conferences, the sexist posts, the sexual harassment, the appropriation of religious and irreligious women's lived experiences to Score Points and the obdurate not listening to those women when they protested.
In fact, female atheists' protests were greeted much the same way with which my protests had been met in my patriarchal church. Silencing. Demeaning. Threats.
All of this felt terribly familiar. A bunch of straight, white, male gatekeepers pretending there's no gate.
Whether it was "god's will" being used to justify my marginalization, or gender essentialism cloaked in garbage science, didn't make a whit of difference to me. And it doesn't still.
Not every woman raised in a religious tradition had the same experience I had. There are many different religious traditions. And not every woman who has explored movement atheism has had the same experiences I have had. There are many different ways to participate. And even the women who have had experiences similar to mine do not necessarily share my reaction to either or both.
But a lot do. Enough do.
That should be a concern to the men in movement atheism who fancy themselves a superior alternative to retrograde patriarchal religious traditions.
I would say I felt exactly as welcome in movement atheism as I did at my Missouri Synod Lutheran Church, but that would be a lie. No one at St. Peter's ever called me a stupid cunt because I disagreed with them.
In The News
[Content note: terrorism, homophobia]
Thursday Balloons:
The Pet Shop Boys announced their 12th studio album. It will be produced by Stuart Price. Yes!
Did anyone watch For The Record last night? Me either!
President Obama is seeking to push Republicans to work with him on a grand deficit bargain by first assuring them he's willing to cut entitlements. Great!
The President also says he's not as bad as Dick Cheney! Great!
New polling has shown that 64 percent of Americans now believe marriage equality is inevitable. 58 percent now agree that the issue is a civil rights issue.
One of the nation's leading gay cure groups has lost its tax-exempt status due. Thank goodness.
Physicists say they have found a Higgs boson. That's pretty neat. I think.
Another day, another poop cruise.
The remains of a medieval knight have been discovered underneath a car park in Edinburgh. Whut.
Quote of the Day
[Content Note: Gun violence; racism.]
"[T]he marred bodies of black boys and men who've been hit by police officers' guns are more than representations of precarity. They are targets of the myriad projectiles aimed in the direction of black life. And no matter the class of the black man, his age, his neighborhood, his sexuality, his swag, his swish, or lot, 'bullets' will surely fly his way in NYC. Space shapes. In fact, masculinities, including black masculinities, are performed partially in response to the various external conditions present within the geographical spaces, like NYC, where they emerge. In other words, masculinities are shaped by skewed conceptions of gender, a sexist culture, and the range of structural conditions that impact black men quite negatively. Consider, for instance, what type of black masculinity might emerge in response to a city funded teenage pregnancy prevention ad that pretty much tells black teen [girls] that black boys ain't shit in a city where police use tax-payer funded guns to shoot its residents?"—Darnell L. Moore, in "The Shapings of Black Masculinities" at The Feminist Wire.
This is a stunning piece, a devastating indictment of the kyriarchy. I really encourage you to read the whole thing.
If The Feminist Wire isn't already on your regular reading list, make it so!
The Rhetorical Power of Pig Pain
[Content Note: Hostility to Reproductive Rights, Appropriation of Slavery and the Holocaust, Animal Cruelty]
[NB: Not only women have uteri, get pregnant, and/or have need of access to abortion.]
On Wednesday March 13, 2013 at approximately 4:42 am Central Standard Time, Richard Dawkins decided to weigh in on women's reproductive rights using his twitter account @RichardDawkins.
I want to point out that reproductive rights are actually a very relevant thing to weigh in on following two years of US states enacting record numbers of abortion restrictions in state legislatures in 2011 and 2012, and in light of the fact that later on that same Wednesday, a new pope who has compared abortion to the death penalty would be elected. And given that I'm writing from a political climate where too many supposedly-progressive men have been silent for far too long on the issue of women's reproductive rights, I think it's potentially a very good thing to have a famous left-leaning speaker and writer standing up on twitter for women's right to bodily autonomy.
Except for the tiny little problem that Richard Dawkins' opening position made it clear that this wasn't going to be a statement about women's right to bodily autonomy so much as it was going to be about why anti-abortionists are totes hypocrites if they eat pork sausage for breakfast.
The 47% Videographer: Scott Prouty
As I mentioned yesterday, the man who shot the now-infamous Mitt Romney 47% video sat down for an interview with MSNBC's Ed Schultz last night to reveal his identity and talk about his decision to release the footage. Meet Scott Prouty:
My name is Scott Prouty. Um, I'm a regular guy. [shrugs] Uh, middle-class, hard-working guy. Um, you know, I—I'd like to think I have a good moral compass, and a core, um, and I think I have a little bit of empathy. I think I have a little bit more empathy than Mitt Romney had. I don't know how to describe myself [grins] but I, uh, I was behind this, this whole thing. I was bartending that night, uh, for the Romney fundraiser.
I brought the camera, and a lot of other people brought cameras, you know, like I said, for thinking he would come back and take pictures. [Former President Bill] Clinton in the past had come back with the staff and taken pictures, and that was, you know, really my thought. I, you know, I hadn't really made up my mind—you know, I was willing to listen to what he had to say; I was interested to hear what he had to say. I didn't, um, go there with a grudge, you know, against Romney. I was more interested as a voter.
I just carried [the camera] in my backpack. You know, again, they had never—they had never said, 'Don't bring cameras; don't film.' You know, that was never said, and, you know, I just thought, you know, why not? ...I really had no idea he would say what he said. I thought he would say basically the same things he was saying in public. [shakes head] I had no idea it was going to be this big thing that it turned out to be. I had no idea.
There's a lot of people that can't afford to pay $50,000, you know, for one night, for one dinner. And I felt an obligation, in a way, to release it—I felt an obligation for all the people that can't afford to be there. You shouldn't have to be able to afford $50,000 to hear what the candidate actually thinks.
I had gone back and forth—in that two-week period, I had gone back and forth, and said, you know what? I have a pretty comfortable life. I struggle like everybody else, and, you know, and, um, why am I gonna do this? Why am I gonna risk everything? Should I risk everything? Should I put myself in jeopardy? Should I put myself in legal jeopardy? And I, you know, and there was times I kinda went back and forth a little bit, and I, you know, I woke up in the middle of the night one night, and I was, you know, in the darkness of my house, just kinda, just looking out the window and just thinking about it, and I walked into the bathroom and I just looked in the mirror, and the words "You—you coward" just came outta my mouth, and I just looked in the mirror and just said, "You're a coward. You're an absolute coward." And, you know, because I was kinda leaning to not putting it out. And it just kinda came outta my mouth. And I, you know, I went back to bed, and said, "All right, well, that's not gonna work, you know?" [grins] I'm gonna put it out; I'm gonna be proud I did it; I'm gonna do it, and I'm gonna do it to the best of my ability; and I'm gonna make sure as many people as possible hear it. And then at least when I turned that corner, I felt good about it; I felt like I was doing the right thing. And I went down the path and never looked back.
[on the 47% section of the video] You know, I knew where [Romney] came from—he was born with all the advantages, you know, advantages that few people have: The son of a governor, CEO, you know, prep school educated, Harvard educated, you know. And I don't think he has any clue what a regular American goes through on a daily basis. I don't think he has any idea what a single mom, you know, taking a bus to work, dropping her kid off at a daycare, you know, that she can barely afford, and hopping on another bus—you know, the day-in day-out struggles of everyday Americans. That guy has no idea. No idea. And, you know, I don't think he'll ever have an idea.
I wanted the conversation. When [David Corn of Mother Jones] went public with it and he released the full video, um, I had offers [to do interviews], and I thought it was absolutely the wrong thing to do. All along, with David, I wanted Mitt Romney's words, and Mitt Romney's words only. He's the guy running for president—I wanted his words to be the absolute center of attention. And, you know, maybe it'd be fun to go on a show, or do this show or that, but I thought that would change the, the topic of the conversation away from the primary thing that was most important to me.And here is David Corn's excellent piece about working with Prouty to release the video. This seems a good time to revisit a quote shared by many of you in yesterday's QOTD, care of my dear friend and colleague Maud, whom I still miss so much: "There are times when you must speak, not because you are going to change the other person, but because if you don't speak, they have changed you."
Thank you, Mr. Prouty, for sharing that video. It won't ever change Mitt Romney, but I hope every time you look in the mirror, you feel brave.
Morning in America 2.0
Reuters—U.S. to let spy agencies scour Americans' finances:
The Obama administration is drawing up plans to give all U.S. spy agencies full access to a massive database that contains financial data on American citizens and others who bank in the country, according to a Treasury Department document seen by Reuters.Ha ha ya think?! "Privacy schivacy!"—The
The proposed plan represents a major step by U.S. intelligence agencies to spot and track down terrorist networks and crime syndicates by bringing together financial databanks, criminal records and military intelligence. The plan, which legal experts say is permissible under U.S. law, is nonetheless likely to trigger intense criticism from privacy advocates.
Financial institutions that operate in the United States are required by law to file reports of "suspicious customer activity," such as large money transfers or unusually structured bank accounts, to Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).How inconvenient for them! We should definitely sacrifice everyone's privacy in order that they might better avoid oversight and accountability. What's a little access to everyone's financial records between warantless wiretapping friends?
The Federal Bureau of Investigation already has full access to the database. However, intelligence agencies, such as the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, currently have to make case-by-case requests for information to FinCEN.
National security experts also maintain that a robust system for sharing criminal, financial and intelligence data among agencies will improve their ability to identify those who plan attacks on the United States.Ohhhhhhh I see. So it's a necessary sacrifice of privacy because WAR ON TERROR! Gee, where have I heard that before? *cough* Patriot Act *cough*
Jesus fucking Jones.
Pope Nicolas, Obviously
@deekymd That vestment is a a symbol of his individuality, and his belief in personal freedom.
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) March 13, 2013
[Note: The linked picture is a Photoshopped image of Nicolas Cage as pope. The vestmentized quote is borrowed from Wild at Heart.]
Meanwhile, in New Zealand...
New Zealand moves one step closer to marriage equality:
New Zealand lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in favor of a bill allowing same-sex marriage Wednesday, all but assuring that it will soon become law.Yay!
Lawmakers supported the bill 77 to 44 in the second of three votes needed for a bill to be approved. The second vote is typically the most crucial one. The third and final vote is likely to be little more than a formality and could be taken as early as next month.
... More than 200 people crammed into the Parliament's public gallery to watch lawmakers debate the bill before they voted at about 10:15 p.m. The mostly young crowd clapped and cheered for lawmakers who spoke in support of the bill, and sat in silence for those who spoke in opposition.
"I'm very excited, as excited as the young people," bill sponsor Louisa Wall said after the vote. "It's a fantastic result."
...New Zealand already has same-sex civil union laws that confer many legal rights to gay couples. Polls indicate about two-thirds of New Zealanders support gay marriage.
...In her speech supporting the bill, Wall said denying marriage to any person devalues that person's right to participate fully in all that life offers.
"Marriage belongs to society as a whole, and that requires the involvement of the whole of society," Wall said. "The role of the state in marriage is to issue a license to two people who love each other and want to commit to one another formally. That's what this bill does."
Pope Francis and His History in Argentina
[Content Note: Human rights violations.]
Flavia Dzodan (whom you should know as the coiner of the phrase "My feminism will be intersectional, or it will be bullshit," even though not everyone has been great, ahem, about attributing it) is busily documenting on her Twitter timeline Pope Francis' history during the Argentinian dictatorship of the 1970's, during which "left wing activists were detained & tortured a priest was present to give sacraments in case of death."
This is her lived experience, and I encourage you to visit her TL to see everything, but here are some highlights:
The role of the Catholic Church during the dictatorship is extensively documented and they never were held accountable
— Flavia Dzodan (@redlightvoices) March 13, 2013
This is an insult to the memory of 30,000 people who were kidnapped, tortured and disappeared during Argentina's dictatorship
— Flavia Dzodan (@redlightvoices) March 13, 2013
The role of the Catholic Church, of which Bergoglio was Archibishop, is well documented in those 30,000 deaths
— Flavia Dzodan (@redlightvoices) March 13, 2013
Bergoglio "delivering" priests to the military, a Guardian feature from 2010 is.gd/0AtOyY
— Flavia Dzodan (@redlightvoices) March 13, 2013
And yet another feature about Bergoglio's role in handing out activists to dictatorship is.gd/laxeg5 calls accusation "slander"
— Flavia Dzodan (@redlightvoices) March 13, 2013
LA Times in 2005: Argentine Cardinal Named in Kidnap Lawsuit (guess who was the cardinal?) is.gd/OAwI3u ALL HAIL NEW POPE!
— Flavia Dzodan (@redlightvoices) March 13, 2013
Guess the name of the cardinal? "Argentine cardinal accused in 1976 kidnaps" highstrangeness.tv/0-799-argentin…
— Flavia Dzodan (@redlightvoices) March 13, 2013
I saw my father burn half his library because he was in fucking terror that the dictatorship would find his books
— Flavia Dzodan (@redlightvoices) March 13, 2013
Argentina lived in fucking terror in a dictatorship from which the country has not yet recovered fully and the Church was fully complicit
— Flavia Dzodan (@redlightvoices) March 13, 2013
In comments, Shaker BlueRidge shared this excerpt from the Guardian piece Flavia links above:
What one did not hear from any senior member of the Argentine hierarchy was any expression of regret for the church's collaboration and in these crimes. The extent of the church's complicity in the dark deeds was excellently set out by Horacio Verbitsky, one of Argentina's most notable journalists, in his book El Silencio (Silence). He recounts how the Argentine navy with the connivance of Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, now the Jesuit archbishop of Buenos Aires, hid from a visiting delegation of the Inter-American Human Rights Commission the dictatorship's political prisoners. Bergoglio was hiding them in nothing less than his holiday home in an island called El Silencio in the River Plate. The most shaming thing for the church is that in such circumstances Bergoglio's name was allowed to go forward in the ballot to chose the successor of John Paul II. What scandal would not have ensued if the first pope ever to be elected from the continent of America had been revealed as an accessory to murder and false imprisonment.Priorities. The Catholic Church leadership has them. They are terrible.
The 47% Videographer
On November 9, 2012, I wrote a letter of appreciation to the anonymous videographer of the infamous Mitt Romney 47% video. It said, in part:
I don't know who you are... [Y]our name isn't important to me. Your courage, however, is.Tonight, that person, who has been confirmed as the bartender at the event, will reveal himself during an interview with Ed Schultz on MSNBC's The Ed Show.
It was a brave—and straight-up punk rock—thing to do to shoot that film of Mitt Romney yukking it up with his rich funders about how awesome it would be if he were Latino and how gross it is that people think they're entitled to food. During the last presidential election, there was all sorts of laughably ironic talk of "mavericks," but it was this presidential election in which an actual maverick showed up, video camera (or phone) in hand.
It wasn't just your job you risked taking that video and making it public. You risked your personal safety, should your identity have (or ever) become widely known. You risked being sued, losing your privacy, having your name and reputation inextricably tied to that video for the rest of your life.
These are not small things.
I want to acknowledge the risks you took, and I want to say that I believe you had a huge impact on this election. ...Your video was, for many voters, the first glimpse they saw of the real Mitt Romney, and his real base.
And I want to say thank you.
"How big a decision was it for you to release the tape and to go through all of this?" Ed asked the videographer, whose identity will be revealed on-air Wednesday.I am not a praying person, but I hope that he remains safe, and that he is rightly remembered for a historically important piece of citizen journalism.
"It was tough," he said. "And I debated for a little while, but in the end I really felt it had to be put out. I felt I owed it to the people who couldn't afford to be there themselves to hear what he really thought."
He went on to say:
"I simply wanted [Romney's] words to go out. And everybody could make a judgment based on his words and his words alone. The guy was running for the presidency and these were his core beliefs. And I think everybody can judge whether that's appropriate or not or whether they believe the same way he does. I felt an obligation to expose the things he was saying.""Has there been any time where you feared for your life?" Ed asked.
"I was up against the most powerful, the richest people in the country and the stakes were pretty high and you never know what could happen," said the man who shot the 47% video. "There [are dangerous people] out there. You just don't know. I've certainly had threats."
For those who have access to MSNBC, the interview will air tonight at 8pm ET.
Exciting Programming Note For Conservatives!
Set your DVRs, Tivos, and Hoppers, everyone! (Actually, if you have a Hopper, you can record this gem fourteen times at once and have just so many copies of it!) (Also, every sentence in this post will end with an exclamation point!) (¡Incluso las frases en español!)
Tonight is the debut of For the Record, an investigative news show à la Sixty Minutes airing on Glenn Beck's TV network!
Okay, hold the fuck on. Glenn Beck has his own TV network? When did this happen? (I Googlepediaed it: His steaming (typo, and it stays) web content is also carried on Dish Network. Yuck! I am glad I don't have Dish Network! Also: Weren't Dish Network the jerks who failed to keep The Walking Dead off the air? Thanks, Dish Network: strike two!
Of the show, Beck says:
"We are currently looking for our own Woodwards and Bernsteins. Maybe they don't exist anymore, and if that's the case I don't really care. We'll grow our own!"It's weird that Beck doesn't know if there are any Woodwards around, especially since the original Woodward (Bob) HAS BEEN IN THE NEWS EVERY DAY FOR THAT LAST TWO FUCKING WEEKS! The thing you really want in a good newsman is total ignorance of the news, obviously!
For the Record will be hosted by Laurie Dhue, whoever that is! (She used to be on Fox, which is why I've never heard of her. She was previously on MSNBC, which is also why I've never heard of her!) I guess Beck will be on, too? I don't know. Let's hope so! And whomever is the Libertarian version of Andy Rooney. ("Ya ever notice all these poor people everywhere?")
Buzzfeed's McKay Coppins notes that the debut episode "doesn't break any news" which I think would be problematic. But then again, the target audience likes its journalism with a heaping dose of BENGAHZI! and a side of ACORN!, so this probably won't even matter.
Though, Glenn Beck adds:
"We hope that For the Record fills an important void in the marketplace — smart, deeply researched, and incredibly well-produced television journalism for an audience that is too often ignored by the media."LOL! Oh, okay, Sure. Our fucking liberal news media has been ignoring conservatives for far too long. The jerks. Liberal news jerks! Why don't you ever invite conservatives on and ask their opinions? Seriously, I am sooo sick of seeing Phil Donohue and Jane Fonda on ABC News EVERY GODDAMNED NIGHT!
Anyway, tune in tonight. If you have Dish Network. If not, tough shit!
WHITE SMOKE! WHITE SMOKE!
A new pope has been chosen and will soon be named! MORE ON THIS EXCITING DEVELOPMENT ABOUT WHO WILL BE CRAWLING UP IN ALL THE VAGINAS AND DENIGRATING HOMOSEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS AS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BECOMES AVAILABLE!
UPDATE 1: Here is the actual white smoke.
White smoke rises from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, indicating a new pope has been elected, March 13, 2013. White smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel and the bells of St. Peter's Basilica rang out on Wednesday, signaling that Roman Catholic cardinals had ended their conclave and elected a pope to succeed Benedict XVI. [Max Rossi/Reuters]
UPDATE 2: While we await official word of the next pontiff, I will again make the observation that I really wish I didn't have to give a fuck about the pope, and hate that I am nonetheless obliged to care, because of the persistent outsized influence of the Catholic Church.
UPDATE 3: Alison Rose wins the internetz:
Have we decided yet if it's feminist or not for the pope to change his name?
— Alison Rose (@alisonrose711) March 13, 2013
UPDATE 4: And the new pope is...Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina! Who I believe is a Jesuit. More info to come...
UPDATE 5: The new pope "has taken the name of Francis and was not considered to be one of the front runners."
[Video Description: Pee-Wee Herman saying, "FRANCIS!"]
UPDATE 6: Here is Pope Francis:
UPDATE 7: Shaker ambivalentacademic posted the following in comments (which I am sharing with hir permission):
Ooh, I got kind of excited about Jesuit (the individual Jesuits I have know via my own personal experience have been pretty progressive to a man) and that he's taking the name Francis (surely the pantsless protester of greed has to be a good sign?)...then I read this:Which was my reaction almost exactly:
"Bergoglio, a Jesuit, has affirmed church teaching on homosexuality, contraception and abortion and is considered to be among the most conservative in Latin America."
*sadface*
I was intrigued that Francis was a Jesuit, til I read that he's basically a terrible one. Whoops! I loved me some radical Jesuits at Loyola.
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) March 13, 2013
Here's some fun information from his Wikipedia entry:
Cardinal Bergoglio has invited his clergy and laity to oppose both abortion and euthanasia.HA HA HE SOUNDS AWESOME. Way to go, Catholic Church leadership! You've done it again!
He has affirmed church teaching on homosexuality, though he teaches the importance of respecting individuals who are homosexual. He strongly opposed legislation introduced in 2010 by the Argentine Government to allow same-sex marriage, calling it a "real and dire anthropological throwback." In a letter to the monasteries of Buenos Aires, he wrote: "Let's not be naive—we're not talking about a simple political battle; it is a destructive pretension against the plan of God. We are not talking about a mere bill, but rather a machination of the Father of Lies that seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God."
He has also insisted that adoption by [same-sex parents] is a form of discrimination against children. This position received a rebuke from Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who said the church's tone was reminiscent of "medieval times and the Inquisition."
Quote of the Day
"I believe a Republican Party that is more tolerant and dedicated to keeping the government out of people's lives as much as possible would be more appealing to the rising generation."—Republican Senator and Professor of Smartology at Genius University Rand Paul.
Ya think?
I love, by the way, how being more "tolerant" (I hate that word) and giving the judgmental dirtbag racket a rest is not being proposed because decency, but because it's a clever political strategy.
Neat!
America's Future.
Wednesday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by magic vaginas.
Recommended Reading:
Alexander: The Steubenville Defense Will Center on Date Rape Not Existing [Content Note: The post at this link includes discussion of sexual violence, victim-blaming, and other facets of rape culture.]
Susie: If Only I Had a Dollar...
John: Visualizing Masculinities: An Artistic Rendering
Shannon: Then and Now [Content Note: The post at this link includes discussion of body policing and fat bias.]
Robin: Indiana Right to Life Claims RU-486 'Dangerous,' 'Unlike Tylenol'
18MR: Meet My Immigrant Mom
Jorge: NYPD Kills Teen Who Witness Says Was Just Adjusting Belt
Angry Asian Man: New Report: Mapping Muslims: NYPD Spying and Its Impact on American Muslims
Sean: More Messy Dark Matter
Andy: Obama: I Cannot Imagine That Laws Banning Gays from Marrying Will Pass Constitutional Muster
Fannie: Quote of the Day
Susana: Need Some Really Subtle Nerd Jewelry? Take This Zelda Music Bracelet
Leave your links and recommendations in comments...
Daily Dose of Cute
"Give me all ur foodz."
Olivia Twist is the most insistent, obnoxious beggar in the household. I cannot eat anywhere in the house without being hassled by this cat. If I eat at a table, she jumps on the table. If I eat at my desk, she jumps on my desk. If I eat behind a closed door, she sticks her wee paw under the door and BANG BANG BANG!s it in its frame, yowling like she is being gripped by death. If I eat in a chair or on the couch, holding my plate, she encroaches upon me until I have my plate clutched against my chest desperately, trying to shove her away with my elbows.
If she sees any opportunity at all, she will snatch food right off my plate.
Nothing deters her. I can put her on the floor one thousand times every meal, I can spritz her with water, I can scold her, I can shove her, and she is right back like nothing happened, zeroing in on the FOOD OMG FOOOOOOOOD like a laser. Despite the fact that there is always dry food in her bowl. Always.
One time, four or five years ago, Iain came home with some food from Taco Bell, and no sooner had he set the bag on the table, then Livs had snatched a taco by its wrapper and went running down the hall with it, a trail of lettuce and cheese scattered behind her.
She is so tremendously annoying. And yet I utterly admire her steadfast persistence.
* * *
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
In The News
[Content note: Guns, gun culture, child abuse, torture, animal cruelty]
Black Smoke Wednesday:
A Little League in Illinois is raffling off an AR-15 assault rifle to raise money for its kids. Obviously!
The Colorado House of Representatives has passed a civil unions bill. Governor John Hickenlooper has promised to sign it into law.
George Prescott Bush has filed the official paperwork to run for Texas land commissioner. Swell.
Aquaman is back! Aquaman is back!
Were you one of the dipshits who paid $100 for a box of Twinkies on eBay? Whoops!
Ancient Mars could have sustained life. No doy!
A Montana man pleaded guilty to waterboarding his kids. No, that is not a typo.
The European Union has banned the sale of new cosmetic products containing ingredients tested on animals.
Actual Headline
Politico: Eric Cantor's move to the middle rankles leaders.
Eric Cantor: Totes Moderate.
LOL FOREVER.
Breaking News
No smoke emerged after the first vote Wednesday morning, meaning the cardinals then entered a second round of voting.Keep your station tuned to Shakesville for all the latest in breaking pope news!
The black smoke that poured from the chimney at 11:39 a.m. (6:39 a.m. ET) indicated that no result came from that second ballot, either.
Good Times: The Movie
I have previously mentioned how much I love the TV series Good Times, which was a spin-off of Bea Arthur's show Maude—so I was interested to read yesterday that Sony is planning a big-screen version of the '70s TV show.
On the one hand, Good Times! And this is a very good time for a film that tells the sort of story that Good Times told with the pathos by which it told it.
Good Times' Florida and James Evans
(Esther Rolle and John Amos)
On the other hand, I have absolutely no faith in the film industry to actually accomplish that, no less in a feature film.
Sony Pictures and producer Scott Rudin will turn the groundbreaking '70s sitcom Good Times into a feature film. They've set a writer, Phil Johnston, whose most recent credits include Wreck-It Ralph and Cedar Rapids. Rudin will produce the family comedy with Eli Bush.Oof. Those are not great remakes. And I bet I don't need to tell you that Scott Rudin and Phil Johnston are both white.
...Rudin is selective about the remakes with which he becomes involved – Manchurian Candidate, Shaft and Sabrina...
So was Norman Lear, who created Good Times, but he was one of a kind. And even then, not above criticism.
I dunno. I desperately hope that the film will be good, and really fear that it won't.
This is a real thing in the world.
[Content Note: Homophobia; HIV+ prejudice; rape culture.]
This is the actual public testimony of "concerned Minnesotan, father, and husband" Mike Frey, given yesterday at a public hearing on marriage equality in the Minnesota State House. His major concern about marriage equality is the cost to Minnesota taxpayers of all the AIDS that same-sex marriage will cause, and he's got a lot of excellent facts to back him up:
[Frey asks to have a packet of information [sic] handed out to the committee members]Thanks for all the solid info, Dr. Genius!
My name is Mike Frey, and I speak as a concerned Minnesotan, and father, and a husband. And the thing about same sex marriage is that people who are married do have sex. And when same-sex people are married, they do have sex—there's something called sodomy. Sodomy defined in Minnesota is sex by or with the mouth or through the anus. When there is ejaculation into a vagina, there is a barrier there — as in your packet it states there — of a cellular tissue that doesn't allow the sperm, that has an enzyme at the head of it, to penetrate the blood flow. It is designed to go to the egg — that enzyme is designed to burn the outside membrane of the egg cell — go inside the egg, and then deposit the DNA. We call that conception.
When ejaculation occurs inside of a colon — it is a highly absorbent material — the cells do not have a barrier for the sperm, and those enzymes to enter into the bloodflow. When the enzymes enter into the bloodflow and a continued, prolonged, um, environment to that happens these enzymes into bloodflow it causes what we know as AIDS — Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. And AIDS of course brings on common diseases, colds and things, and it magnifies them to a point where it's unhealthy. Not only does it strengthen the disease within the carrier of AIDS — the person that has a destroyed immune system — but it also strengthens the disease that can be spread to the society at large.
There is an example in Los Angeles County, California, where among the gay community a rash almost like boils, and a very raw skin broke out on the hands, feet, butt, mouth of these gay communities and they couldn't find a cure for it for a long time. Their doctors called the Centers for Disease Control and they couldn't find this cure for it. The cure they found, a very extrenuous [sic] antibiotic, was Zyvox. It cost $2,400 for one course of use.
I urge you to vote against the changes inside this bill, because it's going to put a health risk for the society at large, and it's going to put a financial burden on the people of Minnesota to be able to support all the diseases that will come out of this. Thank you so much for your time.
All these years, I was under the impression that unmarried straight, gay, and bi people can have sex. And that not all married people have sex. And that lots of straight and bi people are into sodomy. And that lesbians exist. And that the reason half of the world's HIV/AIDS population are female is, in fact, because of our "biological vulnerability to HIV infection" which makes us "twice more likely to become infected with HIV through unprotected heterosexual intercourse than men." GLAD TO HAVE ALL THAT CLEARED UP!
This guy is the fucking worst. I have seen some rank homophobia in my day, and burying it behind Jesus and "tradition" are terrible enough, but burying it behind a garbage science lesson and fearmongering about the public cost of HIV/AIDS is somehow extra terrible.
And, frankly, Mr. Frey had better hope that the government is not persuaded to start legislating against unions whose sexual consequences could cost the taxpayers money, as long as we're still funding public education for schoolchildren.
Anyway. One final thought: Who the fuck are these conservative dudes who imagine cis women have magic vaginas?! We can stop pregnancy after rape with our magic vaginas! We can stop the transmission of HIV with our magic vaginas! We can stop speeding bullets with our magic vaginas!
Would that my magic vagina could stop these dipshits from talking.
[H/T to The Captain.]
Question of the Day
We've done this one before, originally suggested by Shaker Annepersand: "What is your favorite fictional character's name? Not the name of your favorite character, mind you, but your favorite name that belongs to a fictional character, either because it's really amazingly apt or sounds funny or you just love the way the sounds work together."
Mine is totes Uriah Heep, from Dickens' David Copperfield. With honorary mention to Casanova Frankenstein, from the film Mystery Men.
The Ball's in Your Court, Rainbow-Farting Unicorns
Here are some pictures of Tom Hardy snuggling and kissing a pit bull puppy wearing a sweater, on the New York City set of of his new film, Animal Rescue. You're welcome.
How to Stay Relevant
Former Alaska Governor and former Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin has a new book coming out later this year, reportedly titled A Happy Holiday IS a Merry Christmas. Ha ha great title! I love this book already. One hundred copies, please!
HarperCollins announced Monday that the book will criticize the "over-commercialism" and "homogenization" of Christmas and call for a renewed emphasis on the religious importance.Now, bear in mind that I am a hell-bound atheist who only had 18 years of Lutheran indoctrination followed by four years at a Catholic University, at which I minored in theology in actual classes with actual titles like "Old Testament," "New Testament," and "Jesus Christ," so far be it from me to tell the Good Lady Palin what "the centerpiece of her faith" is, but I am pretty sure the centerpiece of most Christians' faith is the Easter holiday, including Good Friday and Ascension, when the Christian lord and savior who was specifically sent to die for Christians' sins did that thing, then rose from the dead and flew to heaven.
"Amidst the fragility of this politically correct era, it is imperative that we stand up for our beliefs before the element of faith in a glorious and traditional holiday like Christmas is marginalized and ignored," Palin said in a statement released through her publisher. "This will be a fun, festive, thought provoking book, which will encourage all to see what is possible when we unite in defense of our faith and ignore the politically correct Scrooges who would rather take Christ out of Christmas."
...According to the publisher, the book will advocate "reserving Jesus Christ in Christmas – whether in public displays, school concerts (or) pageants. Palin also "will share personal memories and traditions from her own Christmases and illustrate the reasons why the celebration of Jesus Christ's nativity is the centerpiece of her faith."
Not that Christmas isn't super fun and shit, but without the whole "died for your sins" bit, it's just the birthday of some dude with a powerful dad. And Romneymas just doesn't have the same ring to it.
Anyway. Whatever. I look forward to reading all of Sarah Palin's cool ideas about getting back to the purity of REAL Christmas celebrations. Like getting rid of those goddamn pagan conifers.
Headline of the Day
Ezra Klein: Paul Ryan's Budget: Social Engineering with a Side of Deficit Reduction.
That about sums it up. But I'll nonetheless share this from Ezra's piece as well (emphasis mine):
[T]he real point of Ryan's budget is its ambitious reforms, not its savings. It turns Medicare into a voucher program, turns Medicaid, food stamps, and a host of other programs for the poor into block grants managed by the states, shrinks the federal role on priorities like infrastructure and education to a tiny fraction of its current level, and envisions an entirely new tax code that will do much less to encourage home buying and health insurance.Paul Ryan is terrible. His party is terrible. Their policies are terrible. They have been comprehensively and repeatedly discredited as terrible.
Ryan's budget is intended to do nothing less than fundamentally transform the relationship between Americans and their government. That, and not deficit reduction, is its real point, as it has been Ryan's real point throughout his career.
And what continually baffles me about the terrible championing of such terrible ideas is how terribly short-sighted it is: Progressives recognize that we're all in this together—even the people who won't get our backs, the bullies who attack us just to feel less put upon themselves, the self-loathing enablers who harbor foolish dreams of being invited to the table of privilege one day, the barrel-chested barons of a new Gilded Age who stand astride the bodies of those condemned to less fortunate fates, singing the praises of social Darwinism, bellowing about the superfluity of a social safety net, and declaring "The government never gave me anything!" as they deposit seven-figure bonuses made possible by a taxpayer-funded bailout.
Progressives know we are all in the same leaky, creaky, unreliable boat. And knowing that means understanding even the most voracious self-interest is best served by egalitarianism: A fortune is worth nothing at the bottom of the ocean, less than a single penny carried safely to shore.
This Is My New Favorite Movie
[Content Note: Violence; scatological humor.]
The title is pretty much all the introduction it needs: The Shining Meets Dumb & Dumber. It is The Shining's "Here's Johnny!" scene intercut with Dumb & Dumber's explosive shit scene. Classics collide!
Video Description: Set to ominous music, Jack Nicholson (as Jack Torrance in The Shining) walks up interior stairs, carrying an ax and looking menacing. Cut to Jeff Daniels (as Harry Dunne in Dumb & Dumber) frantically trying to open interior doors. He eventually finds an unlocked door and runs inside the room behind it. Cut back to Nicholson: "Come out, come out, wherever you are." Cut back to Daniels, racing to a toilet with his hand on his butt. He hurriedly lifts the toilet lid and pulls down his pants. Cut to Nicholson, now outside an interior door. He tries the knob and finds it locked. He knocks, with a disturbing expression. From the other side of the door comes the sounds of Daniels having explosive diarrhea. Cut to Daniels shitting his guts out. Ominous music continues to play. Cut back to Nicholson: "Little pigs, little pigs, let me come in!" Cut back to Daniels laughing with relief and farting. Cut back to Nicholson: "Not by the hair on your chinny-chin-chin?!" Cut to Daniels cracking a window in the bathroom. Cut back to Nicholson: "Then I'll huff! And I'll puff! And I'll blow your house in!" Cut to Daniels waving stink out the window. Cut to Nicholson swinging the ax at the door. Cut to Daniels looking alarmed, still sitting on the toilet. Cut to Nicholson whacking at the door. Cut to Daniels: "Be right out!" Cut to Nicholson pressing his face through the hole in the door he's made: "Here's Johnny!" Cut to a zoom in on Daniels' alarmed face: "Huh?!" Text Onscreen: "Harry Dunne: 1955-1994."
[Via Filmdrunk.]
Daily Dose of Cute
"PLAY WITH ME! PLAY WITH ME! LOOK AT MY PURSE! PLAY WITH ME!"
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
Quote of the Day
"My 3-year-old daughter and I play a lot of old games. Her favorite is Donkey Kong. Two days ago, she asked me if she could play as the girl and save Mario. She's played as Peach in Super Mario Bros. 2 and naturally just assumed she could do the same in Donkey Kong. I told her we couldn't in that particular Mario game; she seemed really bummed out by that. So what else can I do? I'm up at midnight hacking the ROM, replacing Mario with Pauline."—Other Ocean Interactive creative director and supercool dad Mike Mika. Neat!
You can see video of Mika's hack for his daughter here.
Today in Transphobia
[Content Note: Transphobia.]
Last weekend, Saturday Night Live aired another grossly transphobic piece, in which the idea of a woman with a penis was the entire punchline:
[Video Description: Video of a rom-com trailer parody in which show host Justin Timberlake and cast member Nasim Pedrad star as a couple who have fallen in love in a typical New York romantic comedy formula, but serving in place of the typical manufactured issue keeping them apart, before the happy ending, is the fact that Pedad's character has a penis. The name of the fake movie is: She's Got a Dick.]
The curious thing about this digital sketch is that there's the discernible shape of an actual progressive story there. Pedrad's character is not misgendered, and Timberlake's character is neither freaked out nor a trans* fetishist—he loves her just as she is. Literally, the entire joke is that women with penises exist.
Ha ha?
I know, I know—it's SNL. What do I expect? More, that's what.
If you would like to contact SNL and tell them you expect more and don't find transphobia funny, tweet at them @nbcsnl or contact them here.
In The News
[Content note: Homophobia, police brutality, violence]
Tuesday: A Day For Americans:
The papal conclave is meeting inside a Faraday cage, blocking wi-fi signals in and out of their conference room at the Vatican City Best Western. This is the most high-tech thing the Vatican has done in six centuries. Neat!
Iranian media say authorities are planning to sue Hollywood over the Oscar-winning Argo because of the movie's allegedly unrealistic portrayal of the country. Okay!
The new David Bowie album, The Next Day, is out today.
Hundreds staged a kiss in at the mall where a gay couple was kicked out for kissing.
Residents of the Falkland Islands have voted overwhelmingly to remain a British Overseas Territory. Hail Britannia!
Just can't get enough? Depeche Mode announces U.S. tour dates! Neat!
The two newspaper delivery women who were shot during the manhunt for Christopher Dorner will not be getting a new replacement truck as promised by the LAPD. Keep up the good work, LAPD!
A new study reveals that sexual orientation can be predicted almost 90 percent of the time just by simply looking at what a user Likes on Facebook. (Just FYI, I liked pink donuts on Facebook.)
This is so the worst thing you're going to read all day.
[Content Note: Misogyny.]
Wendy Sachs at CNN: Working women, know your value.
The privilege in this piece is off the charts, right from its opening paragraph in which Sachs compares herself to a sex worker, and its definition of "working women" clearly meaning women in what are commonly (and otheringly) referred to as "professional" jobs, thus writing out of the phrase "working women" every woman who works (professionally, ahem) in service professions—retail, food service, cleaning, etc.
(There is also an enormous amount of privilege underwriting the belief that we all earn what we "deserve" in the first place.)
But even if there had been some effort to clearly define the specific (privileged, disproportionately white) women about whom this article is actually speaking, this discussion is incomplete, to put it mildly, without meaningful exploration of the culture that greets "working women" who "work hard and go after what you deserve" with rank hostility.
Sometimes that hostility is passive. Many years ago, I started work at a firm as a receptionist. In six years, I was promoted five times, and by the end of my time there, I was running a department and had a private office a long way from the receptionist desk. My salary increases had not, however, kept up with the pace of my advancement within the company.
When I asked to be paid a salary commensurate with my position, providing information about industry standards in our region for the same position (nearly twice what I was making), I was met with indignation: "Your salary has doubled since you started!"
Which was accurate. My salary was indeed twice what I had made as a receptionist, with no other job responsibilities besides answering the phone and getting coffee. But, after years of working 13-hour days proving my mettle and after multiple promotions, asking for the salary they would have to pay anyone they hired externally to fill my position was considered uppity, demanding, and unreasonable.
This is a common problem for a lot of women in corporate work, because female college graduates are more likely to be hired into entry-level administrative positions (precisely as I was) than male college graduates, who are more likely to be hired into entry-level "professional" positions.
Sometimes that hostility is aggressive. Here is an example of a comment left in this space during last month's fundraising reminder: "Greedy cunt! Will you ever stop guilting your readers into sending you the moonies? Probably not, because you are a gaping vagina!"
That comment, and many others like it, are deemed an acceptable response to a woman asking to be paid for full-time work. I don't even put a specific value on my work by charging a minimum subscription to every visitor; I merely assert that my work has value. And I am called a greedy cunt for it.
So, too, the countless other women who are routinely expected to provide free labor in a variety of industries, from creative work to child- and elder care.
Sometimes that hostility is vindictive. I have never been fired, or threatened to be fired, for asking to be paid what I'm worth, but I have been privy to executive conversations at former places of employment in which women (and only women) were targeted for termination because they were perceived as "too pushy" (or whatever variation thereof) about their salaries, their benefits, flex-time, family leave, etc.
Irrespective of whether they were entitled to these things by law.
Many "working women"—and the less powerful the position, the more vulnerable the woman holding it—are keenly aware that being perceived as "too pushy" may result in professional marginalization or even termination.
It's colossally unfair to elide the careful threading of that needle most "working women" have to do, in order to blame all of us for simply being too meek to correctly value ourselves and demand we are compensated accordingly.
Yep
After watering down financial reform, ex-Senator Scott Brown joins Goldman Sachs' lobbying firm. Sounds about right.
See also.
It's a great day for Congressional welfare! Bootstraps for everyone!
Bloomberg's Soda Ban Halted by Judge
[Content Note: Fat bias; eliminationism. Background: Blame the Fatties; Today in Fatties Ruin It for Everyone.]
New York City Mayor and "Anti-Obesity Crusader" Michael Bloomberg's proposed ban on sugary drinks in sizes greater than 16 oz at restaurants, street carts, and movie theaters has been struck down by a judge one day before it was supposed to take effect:
In an unusually critical opinion, Justice Milton A. Tingling Jr. of State Supreme Court in Manhattan called the limits "arbitrary and capricious," echoing the complaints of city business owners and consumers who had deemed the rules unworkable and unenforceable, with confusing loopholes and voluminous exemptions.It gives me no joy that it was corporate pressure, rather than respect for fat people's agency, that resulted in this ruling, but I'm nonetheless glad for the ruling, which subverts the execution of a campaign that centers fat hatred.
...The mayor's plan, which he pitched as a novel effort to combat obesity, aroused worldwide curiosity and debate — and the ire of the American soft-drink industry, which undertook a multimillion-dollar campaign to block it, flying banners from airplanes over Coney Island, plastering subway stations with advertisements and filing the lawsuit that led to the ruling.
As with all of these campaigns, lest anyone imagine I am seeing fat hatred in a "health initiative" where none exists:
Mr. Bloomberg said he would immediately appeal, and at a quickly arranged news conference, he fiercely defended the rationale for the rules...Actually, there is a lot of question about that. People do not die of "obesity." Some fat people die from complications of what are commonly known as "obesity-related diseases," like heart disease and diabetes, but those diseases have only been shown to be correlated with fat, not caused by fat. (Which is why thin people have them, too.) So it's not even accurate to assert that obesity kills indirectly.
"I've got to defend my children, and yours, and do what's right to save lives," the mayor said. "Obesity kills. There's no question it kills."
This, however, is a thing that is accurate to say: Fat hatred kills people all the time.
One of the most widely linked comments I have ever left in this space is this one, in response to a commenter who took issue with the idea that fat people are an endangered population.
No, there is not a documented epidemic of brutal murders of fat people for being fat, but there is a documented epidemic of failure to provide life-saving healthcare: Google will easily help you find stories of fat people who died while emergency crews laughed at their weight and appearance, of fat people who were told they should lose weight to fix problems actually caused by blood clots, cancer, internal injuries, infections, and myriad other problems that later killed them, because their doctors couldn't see past their fat to properly treat them. Google will also easily help you find stories of medical equipment that cannot accommodate fat bodies, of anesthetists who accidentally kill fat people in surgery, of doctors who prescribe wrong doses for fat bodies, of drug trials that make no attempt to include fat patients. Google will also easily help you find stories of fat people who did not seek life-saving healthcare because they had been so viciously fat-shamed by doctors their whole lives that they had given up hope of finding sensitive and caring providers who would treat them.The blog First Do No Harm is an invaluable resource in its documentation of fat prejudice in healthcare. (See also. And here. Also over here. Etc.)
Obesity doesn't kill, but fat hatred does.
Additionally: "A 2013 study reported in the Journal of Eating Disorders documented that weight bias and stigma cause both physiological and psychological harm."
Internalized weight bias was associated with greater impairment in both the physical and mental domains of health-related quality of life. Internalized weight bias also contributed significantly to the variance in physical and mental health impairment over and above the contributions of BMI, age, and medical comorbidity. Consistent with the association between prejudice and physical health in other minority groups, these findings suggest a link between the effects of internalized weight-based discrimination and physical health. Research is needed on strategies to prevent weight bias and its internalization on both a societal and individual level.Would that Mayor Bloomberg were half as concerned about the harm he and his fellow "anti-obesity" crusaders are doing to fat people's health.
I can (and do) choose not to drink sugary soda. I cannot, however, choose a life that is free from other people's public, shaming, harmful, bullying, dehumanizing, eliminationist fat hatred.
If you don't care at least as much about that as whether I drink a fucking soda, you're not interested in my health. And I'm not going to humor that sanctimonious codswallop anymore.
