In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note: Possible shooting; video may autoplay at link] A possible active shooter was reported at the Naval Medical Center San Diego this morning: "NMCSD posted the following notice to its Facebook page around 8:10 a.m. Tuesday: '**!ATTENTION!** An active shooter has just been been reported in building #26 at Naval Medical Center San Diego. All occupants are advised to run, hide or fight. All non-emergency response personnel are asked to stay away from the compound, located at 34800 Bob Wilson Drive, San Diego, CA 92134.'" Fucking hell. I hope everyone is okay.

UPDATE: [CN: Video autoplays at link] "Authorities 'have not located any casualties or evidence of a shooting having taken place,' Navy Region Southwest spokesman Scott Sutherland told Navy Times. 'They are conducting a secondary, more thorough floor-by-floor sweep now.' Personnel remain sheltered in place, he said." Phew.

[CN next two paragraphs: White supremacy] Hillary Clinton is being criticized for historical revisionism after her comments on Reconstruction at the Democratic Town Hall last night: "Identifying Abraham Lincoln—not her husband Bill Clinton nor former rival and boss Barack Obama—as the president who most inspired her, Clinton lauded the 16th chief executive as a figure who 'was willing to reconcile and forgive. ...And I don't know what our country might have been like had he not been murdered, but I bet that it might have been a little less rancor, a little more forgiving and tolerant than might possibly have brought people back together more quickly,' Clinton continued. 'But instead, you know, we had Reconstruction, we had the reigns of segregation and Jim Crow. We had people in the South feeling totally discouraged and defiant. So, I really do believe he could have very well put us on a different path.'" As Jamelle Bouie accurately summarized: "No HRC, Reconstruction was actually good! It didn't fail, it was destroyed!"

And while it is true that during the Reconstruction era, there was rancor and divisiveness, insomuch as white people were rancorous and divisive toward black people, that is clearly not what Clinton said. And language matters. To conflate Reconstruction with white supremacy is a huge fucking problem. As of this writing, her campaign has not issued any follow-up statements, clarifications, or apologies.

[CN: Carcerality] In very good news, President Obama has announced that he is adopting the recommendations in a Department of Justice report on "the overuse of solitary confinement across American prisons," among which includes "ending the practice of placing juveniles in restrictive housing." This is certainly not a comprehensive solution to the vast and varied problems with the US prison system, but it is an important step in reducing one of the key conveyors of the trauma and dehumanization inherent to that system.

[CN: Transphobia; body policing] In more good news: "The International Olympic Committee is adopting new guidelines that will make it easier for trans athletes to compete in the Olympic Games. Previously, trans athletes were required to undergo gender-reassignment surgery. According to guidelines made public on Sunday, the new recommendations remove any restrictions on trans men, and allow trans women to compete in the Olympic Games after one year of hormone replacement therapy." Those are definitely imperfect and arbitrary guidelines! But they are a step in the right direction.

[CN: Misogyny] Lots of women are still dying from heart attacks and heart disease because many of the public awareness campaigns around heart health center on men's symptoms. Here is some crucial information "about key differences in heart attack indicators and treatment in women."

"He's a liar. That's why nobody likes him, that's why his Senate people won't endorse him, that's why he stands in the middle of the Senate floor and can't make a deal with anybody. He looks like a jerk."—Donald Trump, talking about Ted Cruz. Yeah. Donald Trump just said someone else is an unlikable liar who looks like a jerk.

[CN: Video autoplays at link] In case you were waiting to see who George Pataki would endorse after dropping out of the Republican primary, your seemingly interminable nightmare is over! He has endorsed Marco Rubio. What a coup for the thirsty jerk!

[CN: Rape culture] The next time some dipshit is caterwauling about rape accusations ruin men's lives, tell them to watch Woody Allen's new series on Amazon. Because of course he has a new series. And of course stars, including Miley Cyrus, are lining up to be in it.

Wow: "A rare white giraffe was spotted in Tanzania's Tarangire National Park. This giraffe, named Omo, has a condition called leucism. 'Leucism is a genetic condition that results in some of her skin cells being unable to create pigments, so she ends up looking very pale, with only vague patterns compared to a normal giraffe's coloration,' said Derek Lee, founder of the Wild Nature Institute. Lee researches giraffes at the National Park."

And finally! Ecuadoran police saved a sloth who got stuck in the middle of a highway: "That's when the local police went on the most adorable rescue mission and commemorated it by posting pictures on their Facebook page. The little traveller had gained many fans who were glad to know that the story ended well." Oh sloths. ♥