[Explanations: lol your fat. pathetic anger bread. hey your gay.]
TFIF, Shakers!
Belly up to the bar,
and name your poison!
This blogaround brought to you by seagulls.
Recommended Reading:
Miriam and Akiba: [Content Note: Racism; displacement; violence] INFOGRAPHIC: Race and Recovery 10 Years After Hurricane Katrina
Sesali: [CN: Fat hatred] Is "Confident" the New "Pretty for a Fat Girl"?
Feminist Aspie: [CN: Disablism] Expectations, Expectations Everywhere!
Aja: Adult Women Are Now the Largest Demographic in Gaming
Squinky: A Nonbinary Actor Playing a Nonbinary Character
Atrios: Why Is Lindsey Graham Always on My Teevee?
Veronica: [CN: Discussion of the beauty standard] Should Feminist Parents Tell Their Daughters They Are Beautiful?
Jessica: [CN: Misogyny] Star Wars Preaches Some Truth on Facebook About Female Armor
Leave your links and recommendations in comments. Self-promotion welcome and encouraged!
[Content Note: Misogyny; harassment.]
So, here's the thing about dudes who request, politely or not so politely, education from a feminist on demand: I can tell you, from more than a decade of experience as a feminist with an internet presence, that the vast majority of dudes who seek "education" don't really want education at all.
(And, as always, this same dynamic is applicable for any privileged person demanding education of any marginalized person.)
The vast majority of dudes who ask for education on some feminist issue or other want one of two things:
1. They want to prove me wrong. Specifically, they want to play Devil's Advocate, demand scientific proof quantifying my lived experiences, debate me, audit me, argue with me, and, when all else fails, insult me. They use a request for education as cover to get me to engage with them, just in order to try to discredit me.
2. They want to prove a point about how mean feminists are. These are the dudes who understand that feminist women are tired as all fuck of being asked to educate men on demand and are well aware that they're likely to elicit contemptuous responses if they do, so they request education in bad faith, recognizable as bad faith to seasoned feminists familiar with this tactic but possibly reading as good faith to casual observers, only to provoke hostile declinations and then crow about how mean feminists are—which was, of course, the whole point of the exercise.
That second one is a no-win situation for feminists, because if we know what game they're playing, but go along with it for the benefit of people watching, these dudes will simply revert to #1. It's a lose-lose proposition for any feminist who's approached by these guys.
This happens all the time. It is vanishingly rare that a dude approaches me asking for education who actually wants an education. And please note that I, as do all feminists, learned these patterns only by engaging in good faith over and over and over, only to discover that virtually none of the men were engaging in good faith with me.
So, if you're one of the #NotAllMen! who approach feminists for an education, here is some free education for you: Understand the above described dynamic, and understand that marginalized people do not owe privileged people an education, and then go spend some time with Google and leave us the fuck alone.
[Content Note: Racism.]
"Xenophobia is the lowest form of political strategy. It is something we all need to fight together, not only for us, but also for the evolution of all humanity and those who will come after us."—Singer Ricky Martin, in an op-ed calling for Latin@ unity against Donald Trump.
I don't know that any population will ever be unified for or against everything, because people are different. (It's true!) But I understand the rhetorical strategy, and I take up space in solidarity with Latin@s and all immigrants who oppose Donald Trump and his reprehensible candidacy.
Yesterday, the puppehs got one of their FAVORITEST treats: Once every summer, they get a small cup of vanilla custard from Culver's, and that day is THE GREATEST DAY EVER!!!!!11!!!1!
They started out huddled together, Zelly underneath Dudley, which is a pretty common treat-consuming formation.
Here is some stuff in the news today...
[Content Note: Police misconduct; racism; possible self-harm] Goddammit: "Jamycheal Mitchell, who had mental health problems, was discovered lying on the floor of his cell [in Portsmouth, Virginia] by guards early last Wednesday, according to authorities. While his body is still awaiting an autopsy, senior prison officials said his death was not being treated as suspicious. ...Mitchell's family said they believed he starved to death after refusing meals and medication at the jail, where he was being held on misdemeanour charges of petty larceny and trespassing." Mitchell, a young black man, had spent almost four months in the jail without bail for stealing groceries worth $5. "A clerk at Portsmouth district court said Mitchell was accused of stealing a bottle of Mountain Dew, a Snickers bar, and a Zebra Cake worth a total of $5 from a 7-Eleven." Again, I will note that police are legally responsible for the safety of the people they take into custody. They did not have to murder Mitchell to be accountable for his death.
[CN: Rape culture; child abuse] In news that won't shock anyone who is paying attention: "A former Subway franchisee claims she warned Subway about Jared Fogle's sexual interest in children seven years ago and that the sandwich chain did nothing. ...Mills says she shared this information with Subway in 2008 but that the company ignored her complaints. That's when she decided to hire a lawyer. ...Subway didn't respond to a request for comment on this story." I'll bet they didn't.
[CN: Rape culture; child abuse; sexual assault; Christian Supremacy] Over at Love, Joy, Feminism, Libby Anne documents how the leadership of the Christian treatment center to which Josh Duggar was sent is allegedly involved in a sex abuse coverup. Yes, it's a real fucking mystery why this fucko keeps harming women and children. Rage. Seethe. Boil.
Neat: "The University of Tennessee Office for Diversity and Inclusion is asking students and faculty to use [gender neutral] pronouns in order to create a more inclusive campus." By the way, here's how that news article opens: "The University of Tennessee is asking students to use 'ze, hir, hirs, and xe, xem, xyr.' No, those words are not another language." Oh my aching sides.
Do you like actress Ellen Page? If you like actress Ellen Page, then maybe you will enjoy this interview with her, where she talks about disclosing she is a lesbian to the general public, and what that did for her personally and professionally. I like Ellen Page!
Whut: "Gay people are like an Army that has occupied America, and now they're about to start targeting pastors and churches, according to one Texas-based anti-LGBT hate group." Hahahaha okay! But don't get ahead of yourselves now, Gay People! You haven't even destroyed my marriage yet! First things first!
I love every single thing about this story: "Firefighters were called out to assist a cow after its head became stuck in a plastic chair. ...Officers from Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service attended but said the cow managed to get out of its predicament without their help. It is not known how the garden chair came to be in the field or why the cow put its head through it." Perfection.
And finally! I cannot. stop. laughing. at these brilliant photographs of dog guardians mimicking their dogs' expressions. AMAZING.
My favorite game to play on my mobile device is...
...Peggle. Still forever Peggle. But I am currently engaged in a torrid love affair with Panda Pop, which makes me so happy when I rescue the baby pandas and they all cheer and makes me SO SAD LOL when I fail to rescue them and they cry. Hahahaha this game!
Anyway. What's your current or forever favorite?
Acceptable answers include, but are not limited to: I don't own a mobile device; I hate mobile devices; I hate games; and please for the love of Maude stop sending me Candy Crush requests.
On Bloomberg, Mark Halperin (who favors white men almost as much as Donald Trump does) was interviewing Donald Trump when he asked him to name his favorite Bible verse—which I frankly find an odious question for a number of reasons, but it's typically a standard softball for Republican candidates.
Halperin: You mention the Bible—you've been talking about how it's your favorite book, and you said, I think last night in Iowa, that some people are surprised that you say that. I'm wondering what one or two of your most favorite Bible, uh, verses are and why.The Bible is super classy and incredible and I am a massive fan! Make America great again! Good night! *runs offstage*
Trump: I—I wouldn't wanna get into it, because to me that's very personal. You know, when I talk about the Bible, it's very personal, so I don't wanna get into verses; I don't wanna get into—
Halperin: There's no verse that means a lot to you that you think about or cite?
Trump: No, I— I just— [makes this face] The Bible means a lot to me, but I don't wanna get into specifics.
Halperin: Even to cite a verse that you like?
Trump: No. I don't want to do that—
John Heilemann (Halperin's co-host): You an Old Testament guy or a New Testament guy?
Trump: Uh, probablyyyyyy...equal. I think it's just an incredible— The whole Bible is an incredible— I joke, uh, very much so, they always hold up [my book] The Art of the Deal; I say: "My second favorite book of all time."
[Content Note: Misogyny.]
Hillary Clinton went all in on the Republicans and their institutional misogyny yesterday during a speech in Cleveland:
Now, extreme views about women, we expect that from some of the terrorist groups, we expect that from people who don't want to live in the modern world, but it's a little hard to take from Republicans who want to be the president of the United States. Yet they espouse out-of-date, out-of-touch policies. They are dead wrong for 21st century America. We are going forward; we are not going back.Hell fucking yes.
I would like these Republican candidates to look the mom in the eye who caught her breast cancer early because she was able to get a screening for cancer or the teenager who didn't get pregnant because she has access to contraception. Or anyone who has ever been protected by an HIV test.
This is happening all over the country, even here in Ohio. Programs and services women use to take care of themselves are being cut down.
I take it a little personal when they go after women.
This "butterfly" (which also kind of looks like two space squid head butting each other, if you're as into that as I am) is called the Twin Jet Nebula. Those gorgeous, iridescent colors come from dying stars within, casting out jets of gas and then illuminating the resulting clouds with their fading light.Amazing.
The Twin Jet is a planetary nebula—so named for their usual round shape—but it's obviously not very spherical. Scientists believe that it gets its wings from the pair of stars at its center. The binary system includes two stars around the same size as our sun. One is already a white dwarf—the final stage of such a star's life—and the other is following close behind.
While only one star is giving off gases, the way the stars interact with each other (gravitationally speaking) causes the gas to spew out in two directions. The gas can travel more than 600,000 miles per hour, and the wings (which probably only formed about 1200 years ago) will continue to grow.
So, that The Walking Dead spinoff, Fear the Walking Dead, premiered last Sunday, and I have a question for y'all: Are you watching it? Do you want a Fear the Walking Thread recap a la my Walking Dead recaps, or are not enough people watching it that it would be of interest?
Let me know in comments!
[Content Note: White supremacy; racism; anti-immgrationism; antisemitism.]
"If Mr. Trump loses, this could be the last chance whites have to vote for a president who could actually do something useful for them and for their country."—A dude who runs a white supremacist website, whose name I'm not even going to mention because fuck him, in an article about how white supremacists love the fuck outta Donald Trump.
And why do they love him? Well, that should be obvious by now: It's because he's an inveterate, unapologetic racist.
In an interview on Wednesday with BuzzFeed News, [redacted, same dude as quoted above] further explained that his support for Trump was based on his desire for whites to remain the majority racial group in the United States.So. They don't just like him because he's a racist shitlord; they also like him because he tells it like it is, he says what "everyone" is thinking but refuses to say, and because he's funny.
"Why should whites want to be a minority?" he said. "Answer me that question. Why should we want to celebrate diversity when celebrating diversity means celebrating our dwindling numbers and influence? And to the extent that Trump succeeds in putting the brakes on immigration, he will also be succeeding at reducing the speed with which whites are reduced to a minority."
He added that this was the way "frankly that all whites feel, we just never dare say so."
[Another dude], who writes under the pseudonym [redacted] for the white nationalist blog [redacted] ("We don't want to see our peoples be submerged"), said in an interview that he supports Trump for other reasons. In addition to his staunch opposition to immigration, he also noted the candidate's positions on "trade, political correctness, and campaign finance."
"I like the fact that he's funny," Griffin added.
Here is some stuff in the news today...
[Content Note: Death] Absolutely awful: "As many as 50 refugees were found dead in a parked truck in Austria near the Hungarian border on Thursday, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the discovery had shaken European leaders discussing the migrant crisis at a Balkans summit. ...Merkel told a news conference at the summit on the West Balkans in Vienna: 'We are of course all shaken by the appalling news. This reminds us that we must tackle quickly the issue of immigration and in a European spirit—that means in a spirit of solidarity—and to find solutions.' Tens of thousands of people, mainly from Africa and the Middle East, have put to sea this year in the hope of reaching Europe, often dangerously packed into small vessels that were never designed to cross the Mediterranean."
[CN: Privacy violations] Annalee Newitz has found that the vast majority of female Ashley Madison members were probably faked accounts. "We're left with data that suggests Ashley Madison is a site where tens of millions of men write mail, chat, and spend money for women who aren't there."
[CN: Transphobic violence] Your liberal media: "2015 has seen a disturbing spike in the number of recorded murders of transgender people, and especially transgender women of color, in the U.S. Though the trans community has historically been disproportionately targeted by violence, the murders of seven trans women of color in just the first two months of 2015 alarmed groups like the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, which warned of an 'epidemic of violence' against trans women. ...But beyond [Janet Mock]'s powerful MHP segments, and despite growing national attention, national cable news outlets have largely ignored the alarming spike in murders of trans women of color. Between July 27 and August 21, neither CNN, Fox News, or MSNBC aired a segment drawing attention to the murders."
[CN: Mass shooting] James Holmes, the man who opened fire in an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater in July 2012, killing 12 people and injuring 70 others, has been sentenced to 12 consecutive life sentences plus 3,318 years in prison.
In good news: "The fight for gender equality is making slow but notable progress in Saudi Arabia, where women will be allowed to vote for the first time in upcoming December elections. ...Voter registration began over the weekend in cities Madinah and Makkah, where a small number of women showed up to register. Jamal Al-Saadi was one such woman, saying that she was 'quite ready' for this time to come. 'The participation of Saudi women in the municipal elections as voters and candidates was a dream for us,' Saadi said. 'The move will enable Saudi women to have a say in the process of the decision-making.' Voting for all women will be opening in upcoming weeks."
[CN: Homophobia] What will it take for this person to be fired? "Rowan County, Kentucky clerk Kim Davis is trying for one last anti-gay Hail Mary after the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals denied her request to stay a federal order calling on her to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Davis will petition U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan for a stay on the order, according to Liberty Counsel's Mat Staver who is representing Davis in court."
[CN: Flood; displacement; death] I can't imagine a more pitiful, contemptible thing: Former FEMA Chief Michael "Brownie" Brown marks the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina with an article headlined: "Stop Blaming Me for Hurricane Katrina."
Whoa: "Nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego have reportedly created a school of synthetic swimming microfish, smaller than the width of a human hair, which can sense and respond to chemicals in their environment. The technology potentially could be used to neutralize toxins such as bee venom or even deliver drugs to targeted areas of the body. The multipurpose fish-shaped microrobots swim around efficiently in liquids, are chemically powered by hydrogen peroxide and magnetically controlled. These proof-of-concept synthetic microfish will inspire a new generation of 'smart' microrobots, researchers said."
[CN: Racism] Let the redemption begin! "Paula Deen Joins Dancing with the Stars Season 21 Cast." I can't wait to keep not watching that show!
Is a new Adele album imminent? I HOPE SO!!!
And finally! "20+ Crossbreed Dogs That Will Make You Fall in Love with Mutts." Zelda approves!
[Content Note: Guns; death; self-harm; racism; homophobia; animal abuse.]
Background here.
[CN: Video autoplays at link] This morning, WDBJ had a moment of silence on air for reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward. Blub.
Vicki Gardner, the chamber of commerce executive being interviewed by Parker at the time, who was shot in the back, has come out of surgery and is reportedly doing well, although she will have a long recovery, after losing a kidney and part of her intestines.
* * *
A lot of the early news coverage about yesterday's shooting was wrong about a few key details: It was reported that the shooter, Vester Flanagan (also known by his on-air name Bryce Williams) was an ex of one of the people he killed, which turned out not to be true. He was, however, a former colleague of both. It was also reported that he had ended his own life, while he was still alive, though he had shot himself and later succumbed to his injuries.
Later in the day, and this morning, much of the discussion around Flanagan has been about his motivation for the shooting, which he detailed in a 23-page manifesto faxed to ABC News after the shooting. The document alleges racial and homophobic bullying at his former place of employment, but also reveals Flanagan to be someone with deeply fucked-up thinking: He expresses admiration for other mass shooters, and, at one point, blames his former employer and coworkers for his decision to kill his own cats in a forest.
Flanagan is (as per usual) being routinely said to have been mentally ill. But the usual suspects, who reject out of hand that hatred plays a role in mass shootings when privileged straight white cis men do it, are highly focused on reports that Flanagan "played the race card."
Yesterday, in comments of my post about another appropriative Halloween costume, Shaker yazikus asked for a thread to share ideas for non-appropriative costumes. So here it is!
What are costumes you have worn yourself, are planning to wear, have seen other people wearing, etc. that don't borrow someone else's identity?
Last Halloween, I went as Grumpy Cat! A hat with cat ears (procured from Etsy), some face make-up to recreate her markings, and a white t-shirt onto which I'd spray-painted NO. Easy and fun.
[Content Note: Police militarization; police brutality.]
Were I still capable of surprise at what police forces around this country are doing in order to harm people more effectively, this would surprise me, but I have been rendered unsurprisable at this point. Now I'm just perpetually angry:
North Dakota's police agencies can fly drones armed with Tasers, tear gas, bean-bag cannons, and other "less-lethal" weapons, thanks to fierce lobbying from the law enforcement industry on a bill that was initially meant to restrict police use of the flying robots rather than outfit them with weapons. While other local police departments have flirted with weaponizing their drones, North Dakota is the first state to explicitly allow the armaments.Except: "39 people have been killed by police Tasers in 2015 thus far, according to The Guardian. Rubber bullets can kill, and most non-lethal weapons can inflict grievous and lasting harm."
When State Rep. Rick Becker introduced H.B. 1328, the law both banned weaponized drones and established a procedure for law enforcement to seek a warrant before using drones in searches. Only the warrant requirement survived. After stiff lobbying and a multi-stage public relations effort by law enforcement and drone proponents, first reported by The Daily Beast, the version of the bill that ultimately passed authorized police to arm their unmanned aerial vehicles with sound cannons, pepper spray, and other weapons not designed to kill.
Also suggested by Shaker GoldFishy, and the logical follow-up to yesterday's QotD: "If you were running a radio request show, what song would you play every time it was requested?"
So, so many songs I just can't get enough of, but the first one that came to mind from the "I could listen to this forever" file is 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton. The opening bars of that song are some of my favorite introductory measures in all of pop music ever.
"I'm not sure whether to describe those comments as remarkably rich or utterly predictable."—White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, on Charles Koch whining like an aggrieved infant who doesn't understand the world yet, all because President Obama called out him and his brother for "pushing for new laws to roll back renewable energy standards or prevent new clean energy businesses from succeeding."
That is literally what they do, and yet Koch pitiably whined: "It's beneath the president, the dignity of the president, to be doing that."
I guess a conservative would consider it undignified for a president to tell the truth.
This blogaround brought to you by soup.
Recommended Reading:
Michelle: [Content Note: Fat hatred; weight loss talk; beauty policing] We Deserve to Look Like Ourselves
Julia: [CN: Transphobia; racism; misogyny; homophobia] That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore (and It's Not Because of "Political Correctness")
Jenn: [CN: Racism; reproductive policing] Birthright Citizenship and How the GOP Is Abandoning Asian American Voters
Ragen: [CN: Fat hatred; medical misconduct] When Prejudice Precludes Proper Healthcare
Sameer: [CN: Misogyny; rape culture] Steve Harvey's "What Men Really Think" Bit Reignites Accusations of Misogyny
Rob: [CN: Image of spiderweb at link] Oh God Spiders Are Using Textspeak Now
Leave your links and recommendations in comments. Self-promotion welcome and encouraged!
[Content Note: Transphobia; othering.]
Every year, as Halloween approaches, I'm obliged to write a post about how other people's identities are not costumes. We're getting an early start this year, as Halloween retailers are stocking, or promising threatening to stock, Caitlyn Jenner costumes. I won't post a picture of the "unisex" costume being modeled by a man, but there is one at this link, if you are inclined to take a look at how dreadful it really is.
The outrage began earlier this month after we reported Spirit Costumes' intention to sell the costume — though it still hasn't been listed on the company's website.This? Is bullshit. The costume is, like most Halloween costumes, meant to be absurd and comical. No cis person will be buying this costume to honor, or "celebrate," Caitlyn Jenner. It's a mockery. And Spirit Halloween publicist Trisha Lombardo knows that, even if she wants to pretend she doesn't.
But Spirit Halloween publicist Trisha Lombardo said she personally didn't see any problem with it.
"Caitlyn Jenner has proven to be the most important real-life superhero of the year, and Spirit Halloween is proud (of) the costume that celebrates her," she said at the time.
[Content Note: Racism; privilege.]
This fucking guy.
Yesterday, Univision and Fusion reporter Jorge Ramos was [CN: video autoplays at link] thrown out of a Donald Trump campaign event after asking a question about immigration out of turn.
Trump told Ramos, who was trying to ask about immigration during the event in Dubuque, Iowa, repeatedly to "sit down."If "go back to Univision" doesn't invoke the familiar cries of "go back to Mexico" which are shouted at any Latin@ person, irrespective of their nation of origin (even when it is the United States), then you haven't been paying attention to the way Latin@ people are treated by nativist racists.
"You haven't been called...go back to Univision," Trump can be heard saying.
"I think America is pissed. Trump's the first person that came out and voiced exactly what everybody's been saying all along," one man said. "When he talks, deep down somewhere you're going, 'Holy crap, someone is thinking the same way I am.'"It's on his hat!!!
..."When Trump talks, it may not be presented in a pristine, PC way, but we've been having that crap pushed to us for the past 40 years!" said another man. "He's saying what needs to be said."
..."We know his goal is to make America great again," a woman said. "It's on his hat. And we see it every time it's on TV. Everything that he's doing, there's no doubt why he’s doing it: it's to make America great again.”
"Like everybody, I watched the GOP debates—and I don't know the last time I watched debates," he marveled. "It's usually almost like a football game—when it gets down to the final two, now we're going to watch the Democrat versus the Republican. But to watch this early on, when they've got 15 people on the stage, it would never have happened unless Trump was there."That shit, right there, is part of how rightwing extremism takes hold in this country—the mirthful indifference of super privileged men, who see naught but the entertainment value in extremist rhetoric, because they will never be the targets of the social policies it underwrites.
There's a reason Trump is winning the media game right now with his brash headline-grabbing wizardry. "You can't help but get a kick out of him, and I think part of it is we're so used to politicians on both sides sounding like actors at press junkets—it's sort of by rote, and they say all the right things," Wilson laughed. "So here's somebody who's not following that script. It's like when Charlie Sheen was doing that stuff—like, wow! He's answering a question completely honestly, and in an entertaining way. You sort of feel he could be a character from Network."
The Dallas-born Wilson got a shade more serious pondering Trump's problematic border politics. "I don't know if I'm not taking it as seriously as I should," he said. "But when he said he was going down to the border and he showed up at a press conference and said, 'Now I'm going out to the border and I hope I'll see you later'—sort of suggesting that it was so dangerous that 'Who knows if I'll see you later'… I don't know, it was just funny to me. The guy is a showman. You have to sort of get a kick out of the guy. It is entertaining, for sure. That's why people are tuning in."
Here is some stuff in the news today...
[Content Note: War] This is tentatively good news, provided the agreement lasts, which is no sure thing: "South Sudanese President Salva Kiir signed a peace deal to end a 20-month conflict with rebels on Wednesday after voicing reservations about the pact, according to a Reuters witness at the ceremony attended by African regional leaders. The presidents of Kenya and Uganda, and the prime minister of Ethiopia, who all helped mediate the negotiations, were at the signing event in the capital Juba. Rebel leader Riek Machar signed the accord in the Ethiopian capital last week." Also: Even a ceasefire does not guarantee safety for the people caught in the middle of this conflict.
[CN: Flooding; displacement; self-harm; racism; disablism] This is a powerful piece about one woman, Kathy Phipps, whose relocation story following Hurricane Katrina 10 years ago, became a media sensation, and what her life actually was like after the cameras left.
[CN: Clergy abuse] Stephen Pohl, a former priest at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church in Louisville, Kentucky, has been arrested for taking "erotic" (that is the legal term, because the children were clothed) images of "dozens of local children." He was arrested on a Friday, and resigned the following Thursday (because why would be fired jesus christ). The school apparently had no idea Pohl was taking images of the students, despite the fact they were taken at an after-school club, and it was only when one of the students, a 10-year-old boy, told his parents and the parents personally confronted the priest and demanded to see his phone and found the images did this come to light. Great job as always, Catholic Church.
[CN: Transphobia] An update on ending the military ban on transgender servicemembers: "The Pentagon is scheduled to end its ban on open transgender service next May according to an internal memo circulated among top personnel at the Defense Department. ...The memo also spells out how the Pentagon would handle servicemembers who wish to transition as well as what, if anything, to do regarding trans servicemembers who have been dishonorably discharged for being trans." Good momentum.
Hillary Clinton makes her pitch to rural USians, announcing "a multi-step plan on Wednesday to grow the economy and local services in rural areas."
[CN: Child sex abuse; fat hatred] Audra Williams makes a terrific point about how former Subway spokesperson Jared Fogle's highly celebrated weight loss created a narrative around him that he was a moral paragon, because we attach so much moral judgment to weight and weight loss.
Neat! A "University of Washington research team has found an extremely rare nautilus, Allonautilus scrobiculatus, after a gap of more than three decades. Professor Peter Ward had first time seen the elusive nautilus species in 1984. The nautilus with distinctive spiral shell has been recently spotted by biologist Peter Ward in the South Pacific."
If you love video games AND you love YouTube, then maybe you will love this item, or maybe not! "YouTube is to launch its spin-off platform for video gamers at 18:00 GMT on Wednesday evening. YouTube Gaming is a dedicated app and website focusing exclusively on gaming content, with a greater emphasis on live steams. The video sharing giant told the BBC it wanted tackle a 'fragmented' experience for the gaming genre. One expert said YouTube was 'fighting back' against rivals such as Twitch and Daily Motion."
And finally! This is a great story about veteran Army Specialist Tyler Roberts and his search for—and eventual reunion with—the bomb-sniffing dog named Donna whom he trained and with whom he served in Afghanistan. Best friends forever!
[CN: physical abuse, sexual abuse. A more detailed description of a violent sexual encounter is at the In Touch link.]
A woman has come forward to detail her sexual encounters with Josh Duggar in the pages of In Touch magazine. (Readers may recall that In Touch was the magazine which initially broke the news about Duggar's abuse of his sisters and a non-family victim, back in May.) Danica Dillon met Duggar initially when she was performing as an exotic dancer at the Gold Club in Philadelphia. The story she tells isn't very pretty:
“He walked into the Gold Club like a normal patron and said he’d been a fan for a long time and has watched my career grow — he even said from before my boob job until recently — and that he loved watching my very first scene on [an adult website],” she tells In Touch. “Then it got creepy.”After watching her show and "eyeballing me," Danica says he bought $600 in private dances and then “asked me how would he be able to spend the evening with me.” She reveals to In Touch that Josh was violent with her when they had sex, he did not use protection and gave her thousands of dollars after their encounters...
“I actually really hope that his wife leaves him and takes his children away from him and leaves him a lonely, bitter man. I don’t think he deserves happiness.”
Yesterday, Liss drew the link between Duggar's upbringing and his history of predation, noting that "repression demonstrably breeds, and disproportionately so, a particular kind of male predator who acts out in coercive and/or violent ways so as not to be exposed—and grooms their female victims so that victimization seems both normal and their own responsibility." And that's the thing about the entire Duggar "scandal"--it isn't a tale of schadenfreude and comeuppance, but of abuse and predation. Josh Duggar's behavior isn't a bug of the Duggar's Gothardite religious philosophy; it's a feature, as the story of Bill Gothard himself illustrates. And that "feature" has very serious real-life consequences.
One consequence? Josh Duggar's acts of sexual violence against a woman involved in sex work. His entire upbringing and religious viewpoint, with its emphasis on "purity" and blaming women for men's sexual indiscretions, gives him permission (in his mind) to view a woman who's been involved in erotic dance and performance as an object, a woman who is the antithesis of what women are "supposed" to be and do. Of course he not only frightened her with his sexual violence, he refused to use protection, signaling his utter contempt for her safety, as well as the safety of his other sexual partners. And of course he used the abuser's typical method--expansive and expensive gifts--to manipulate his victim afterwards. These are plays from a textbook case of abuse, and in Duggars' case, the Gothardite religious curriculum provided him the textbook long ago.
Duggar counted on Dillon's professional discretion, as well as her vulnerability, to keep up the veil of silence around his activities, just as he is continuing to count on the misogynistic culture of his religious community to force his wife into taking the blame for his abusive ways, both towards her and towards other women. He's gotten the benefit of the doubt that he somehow magically changed since abusing his sisters as a teenager, despite receiving no credible counseling. Instead, he was assured that marriage would magically "cure" his abusive sexuality, and provided him a new person to blame for his own failings: his wife. His parents and supporters seem astonished that he hasn't repented and changed his ways. Why would he? He has not only the general society's enabling of abuse behind him, but his own religious subculture's scapegoating of women to excuse him.
But there's a funny thing that often happens to abusive, predatory assholes. Their victims have a way of coming forward once we realize that there may be other victims out there, that we may be in a position to at least offer support and reassurance to those who have also suffered at the hands of this dirtbag. (*coughcough* Bill Cosby *coughcough*)
Of course, not every survivor can come forward; for one thing, it's not always safe to do so. But when we can, we often do--not because most women are vindictive scheming bitches looking to "take down" innocent men, as rape culture would have us believe. But because it's one small way to help others as we help ourselves escape the abusive power of a predator. In that light, Dillon's wish for Anna Duggar to leave her husband reads not so much as a statement of bitterness but as one of solidarity.
My very sincere sympathy and good wishes to Danica Dillon, who had to go through a horrible experience with Josh Duggar, and who will doubtless face vilification from the Duggars' many fans, and others who will sneer at her testimony because of her profession. My good wishes and sympathy as well to Anna Duggar, who has been unwillingly thrust into the spotlight, once again, thanks to her husband's abusive actions. I sincerely hope she will find a way to do what is best and safest for her.
[Content Note: Guns; death.]
This morning, in Moneta, Virginia, a gunman killed reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward during a live news segment they were filming for the morning news, which was unrelated to the shooting, which apparently started as they were already filming the segment. A third person was injured. Although part of the shooting was captured during filming, I won't be sharing video or images of that here, and I ask that they not be shared in comments, either.
Police are investigating the shooting at the Bridgewater Plaza near Smith Mountain Lake that took place at about 6.45am ET. A news crew from WDBJ7 local news was on the scene to film a segment for the morning news when several shots rang out. Screams followed and the camera recording the feature fell, as producers cut to the shocked studio news team.My condolences to Parker's and Ward's family, friends, colleagues, and community. What a devastating event.
The station later announced that two of their team, Alison Parker, 24, and Adam Ward, 27, had been shot dead.
Police are searching for a suspect at the scene.
...Jeff Marks, the station's general manager, recounted what police had told the station. "Someone with a gun, we believe it was a man, barged into where they were and fired several shots, six or seven, it sounded like. We heard screaming, and then we heard nothing, the camera fell.
"The scene was described to us as chaos."
...Police from Franklin and Bedford counties as well as Virginia state police are searching for a suspect at the scene. They have not described the extent of the third victim's injuries.
[Content Note: Anti-choice terrorism; intimidation; privacy violations; war on agency.]
The anti-choice movement is, by any reasonable definition, domestic terrorism. This flagrant, shameless, decades-long campaign of intimidation, threats, and acts of violence against abortion-seeking people, the healthcare providers who offer abortion services (or are even presumed to offer abortion services), and the spaces in which they offer them, in defense of an inherently violent ideology, is a comprehensive terrorist movement which, from just 1977 to 2011, included multiple assassinations, multiple attempted assassinations, 4 kidnappings, 191 incidents of assault and battery, countless acts of vandalism, over 200 arsons and bombings, and the relentless harassment of people trying to access a legal healthcare procedure.
They continue to seek new ways to identify, target, threaten, and harm abortion providers and patients, and ProPublica's Charles Ornstein has written a piece for the Washington Post detailing their strategies for securing private medical records, under the auspices of, naturally, "protecting women."
Increasingly, abortion opponents are pursuing personal and medical information on women undergoing abortions and the doctors who perform them. They often file complaints with authorities based on what they learn.And if you're one of those patients on whose behalf a complaint is filed without your knowledge, and you'd like to know who violated your privacy? Too bad.
...In recent years, abortion opponents have become experts at accessing public records such as recordings of 911 calls, autopsy reports, and documents from state health departments and medical boards, then publishing the information on their Web sites.
Some activists have dug through clinics' trash to find privacy violations by abortion providers — such as patient records tossed in dumpsters — and used them to file complaints with regulators.
...Coast to coast, they appear to be drawing from an unofficial playbook: Some wait outside clinics, tracking or taking photos of patients' and staffers' license plates and ambulances, if called.
They not only mine public records but also collect information leaked by sympathetic health-care workers — for example, emergency-room doctors and ambulance drivers — who are required to keep patient information confidential under HIPAA. The law, however, doesn't apply to advocacy groups.
...The leaked information is used by activists to bolster complaints they submit to health agencies against abortion providers, sometimes without patients' knowledge. Operation Rescue estimates that it has 100 complaints pending in different states.
Alicia said she asked state officials to identify who had filed the complaint that provided her name to state officials. To her amazement, she was told that information was confidential.Why on Maude's green earth is this allowed to continue? Because the people being targeted are not cis men. The people being targeted by this hateful campaign are overwhelmingly women, along with transgender men and non-binary people.
..."I don't understand why whoever did this gets to be anonymous while I was the one who was supposed to not have my information leaked," she said. "Why does that person get more rights than me?"
(I'm starting to fade fast, so I'm going to wrap it up a little early today. I'll see you tomorrow.)
Suggested via email by Shaker GoldFishy: "If you were running a radio request show, what song would you never ever play no matter how many times it was requested?"
Every Breath You Take by The Police. Good gravy, I hate that song.
Whatcha been cooking up in your kitchen lately, Shakers?
Share your favorite recipes, solicit good recipes, share recipes you've recently tried, want to try, are trying to perfect, whatever! Whether they're your own creation, or something you found elsewhere, share away.
Also welcome: Recipes you've seen recently that you'd love to try, but haven't yet!
[Content Note: Sexual assault; rape culture.]
Last week, two more women "held a press conference in New York City to detail new allegations against" Bill Cosby, bringing the total number of women accusing Cosby of rape or attempted rape to 51.
Each new woman making allegations is said to be filling the empty chair, as depicted on the cover of New York Magazine to represent his victims who have not publicly identified themselves.
I have repeatedly seen this grim threshold marked with sentiments that are some variation on the idea that the sheer number of survivors who are speaking out is proof of Cosby's guilt. "You can't disbelieve 50 women."
Sure. But one is enough.
I invite the people who find proof in numbers to recall that empty chair, upon which so many of them also remarked as a powerful symbol.
Because the thing is, even when there is only one woman reporting a rape, there should be an empty chair.
We know that sexual predators have high rates of recidivism and that serial sexual assault is more common than we'd like to believe. Predators prey and rapists are liars and no one is more intimately familiar with the rape culture, and how to exploit it to his advantage, than a serial rapist.
Rape is not, in fact, as it is so commonly misrepresented, simply a "mistake" made by a "good guy" who "didn't understand" what he was doing.
There is almost always, especially without accountability, an empty chair.
Sometimes that chair could be filled by an existing survivor who has not spoken out, for any one of a number of legitimate reasons. Sometimes that chair will be filled by a future victim, after a predator is left to continue to prey, for reasons of institutional indifference.
Yes, 50 women are difficult to disbelieve. But one should be just as difficult to disbelieve, especially when we understand the enormous disincentives that any woman faces in reporting and how many rapes go unreported for just that reason.
If that chair seems compelling to you sitting beside 50 women, it should seem just as compelling sitting beside one.
Maybe even more so, when we consider what it means to be the first to report, or the only one who ever will.
Here is some stuff in the news today...
[Content Note: Some images may be NSFW] Substantia Jones, the genius behind The Adipositivity Project, has launched a new Tumblr called Fat People Flipping You Off, and IT IS GIVING ME LIFE TODAY. Naturally, I had to immediately take a picture of myself and submit it, because, as y'all know, I've been a fan of being fat and flipping people off FOR YEARS! You can submit your own picture here.
*insert sound of ticker tape* And now for the stock market news: "The global stock market panic appeared to be easing Tuesday as US markets opened up following a dramatic sell-off by investors around the world dubbed 'Black Monday.' On Monday the Dow Jones industrial average crashed more than 1,000 points when it opened, ending the day down 586 points, or 3.6%. In the first two minutes after the opening bell on Tuesday, the Dow rose 300 points and was up 372 points, or 2.35%, before noon. The S&P 500 was up 2.43% and the Nasdaq 3.29%, also reversing much of their Monday declines." Bulls and bears and bells! This investment expert's advice? Stick your money under your mattress!
[CN: Racism; over-policing] In good news: "A new judge in Ferguson, Missouri, has halted court practices that were seen as a major factor in unrest over the shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown a year ago. Judge Donald McCullin cancelled arrest warrants issued before this year, mainly to African Americans. Defendants of minor offences will also be offered alternatives to prison. It follows a US justice department report that found the police in the city unfairly targeted black people. The report, released in March this year, said court officials and the local police were exploiting people to raise revenue." So that's very good. Except: "Part of the sweeping changes to court practices announced by municipal Judge McCullin on Monday include offering defendants options to dispose of their cases, such as payment plans and community services." Those payment plans? Can wreck people financially for years. Honestly, what needs to happen is that "community policing" that essentially boils down to using municipal violations to make money just needs to stop the end.
[CN: Terrorism; guns; injury] Deserved: "At a ceremony on Monday, French president François Hollande presented three Americans and a Briton with France's highest honor for subduing [a gunman on on a Paris-bound Thalys train on Friday], while [Mark Moogalian, 51, an American-born professor at the Sorbonne, who was shot attempting to tackle the gunman] was being treated in Lille for the injuries he sustained during the attack. He is expected to recover and will receive the Légion d'honneur later. A young French banker who also intervened has asked for anonymity and will also be presented with the award, but at a private ceremony."
[CN: Misogynoir] Good fucking grief: "A group of black women were escorted off of a train taking them on a wine tour after a white woman complained they were laughing loudly. After the women, who are all members of a book club, exited the train they were met by a group of police officers. No charges were filed. ...The complaint that this is 'not a bar' is perplexing considering the primary purpose of the train is to serve alcohol. A maître d' also told them they were making too much noise. Asked who was complaining, he said that 'people's faces are uncomfortable.'" Jesus Jones. For the record, laugh loudly around me all you want! I love listening to people laugh loudly!
[CN: Homophobia; violence; terrorism] Among their other many reprehensible policies and actions, the Islamic State is also ruthlessly, violently homophobic: "They hunt them down one by one. When they capture people, they go through the person's phone and contacts and Facebook friends. They are trying to track down every gay man. And it's like dominoes. If one goes, the others will be taken down too." Sob.
[CN: Racism] Black American Airlines employees have appealed to US Attorney General Loretta Lynch to investigate their on-the-job treatment: The "employees at Reagan National and Philadelphia International airports say they have been subjected to racial taunts and are routinely assigned unsafe equipment and the most difficult tasks. ...'I was told by one manager to go back out to that plantation, go back out to the cotton field. They thought it was hilarious, but I didn't think it was one bit funny,' said a woman who has worked as a counter and gate agent for more than 30 years at National, which occupies a site that once was a 1,000-acre plantation." Fucking hell.
Oh nooooooo this poor kid: "A 12-year-old Taiwanese boy lived out a slapstick nightmare at the weekend when he tripped at a museum and broke his fall with a painting, smashing a hole in it. Exhibition organisers said the painting was a 350-year-old Paolo Porpora oil on canvas work called Flowers, valued at $1.5m." You break it; you buy it! Just kidding. The collection is insured, and the damage will be repaired as best as possible.
Speaking of ART: "Woman Sees Trump's Face in Her Tub of Butter." LUCKYYYYYYY!
[CN: Some images/lyrics may be NSFW] Here is Tom Hardy lip-synching to EVERYTHING. You think that's hyperbole? It's not!
And finally! A British woman spends a whole lot of time and money and energy rescuing a stray dog in Greece who saved her from an attack. Best! Friends! Forever!
[Content Note: Privacy violations; misogyny; homophobia; victim-blaming; sex abuse.]
There have been some updates over the last few days on the Ashley Madison hack and subsequent leak of users' information.
The first lawsuit has been filed in Los Angeles by a man identified as John Doe, who is seeking class-action status so other users can join his suit:
The lawsuit accuses Ashley Madison and parent company Avid Life Media Inc, which is based in Toronto, of negligence and invasion of privacy, as well as causing emotional distress.Hard to argue with that.
...The lawsuit claims that the data breach could have been prevented if the company had taken "necessary and reasonable precautions to protect its users' information, by, for example, encrypting the data."
Though the vast majority of countries around the world have abolished laws against adultery over the past few decades — South Korea, for example, just repealed this law earlier this year — in a number of countries around the world, such as Taiwan, the Philippines and Pakistan, adultery remains illegal. It can even, in some places, be punishable by death, the Week reports.Which certainly casts all those "users deserve whatever they get" rationalizations in an entirely different light. (Not that they were anything but indecent from the start.) And is to say nothing of the fact that, since Ashley Madison didn't require email verification, there are a number of people whose emails and/or other identifying information appear in the data dump because someone else used their info.
...There's also the issue of gay users having their personal data released. Shortly after the Ashley Madison data was made public Tuesday, one Reddit user with the moniker ICouldBeStoned2Death turned to the subreddit /r/LegalAdvice because he is gay, Saudi Arabian, and the owner and operator of an Ashley Madison account.
"I am from Saudi Arabia, where homosexuality carries the death penalty," he writes. "I studied in [redacted] the last several years and used Ashley Madison during that time ... I am single; I used it because I am gay. Gay sex is punishable by death in my home country, so I wanted to keep my hookups extremely discreet. (AM promised that they had systems in place to ensure confidentiality.)"
In 79 countries, homosexual acts are illegal, according to Business Insider, with sentences ranging from life imprisonment to enforced psychiatric intervention. Homosexuality is even punishable by death, the Washington Post reports, in 10 countries: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Mauritania, Yemen, Nigeria, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates.
"This wasn't something they ever imagined was possible," says the source. "They so strictly limit their exposure to these sorts of outside influences – from websites to even the sort of television they watch, if they turn on the TV at all – that they were absolutely baffled by how this could have been possible."Josh Duggar has not turned into a predatory creep in spite of those limitations; he's turned into one (in part) because of them.
The source says that from their knowledge of Josh and Anna and the Duggar family, "no way is she leaving him" – adding that it would not come as a surprise if "on some level" Anna tries to "absorb some of the blame."This is, unfortunately, something that seems to have been confirmed by Anna's own brother, who has reportedly offered Anna and her children a way out, but has been rebuffed. (Of course, I have no idea what her relationship with her brother is and whether that would be a frying pan to the fire situation.)
"Maybe not publicly, ever, but privately, there will be some suggestion of whether or not she should have been more aware of the pressures Josh was under, of the issues he was facing, and how she could have better counseled him or helped him," says the source.
"She is fully and permanently committed to her marriage and her children. And she'll have the support of Jim Bob and Michelle and everyone else in their circle in terms of staying with him and making this work," continues the source. "Divorce is not even something that will be discussed."
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