...isn't happening, because Blogger won't let me republish. Frustrating. It'll be back next week.
Instead, go read this amazing post by Thesaurus Rex.
Friday Blogrollin'
Blog About Racism Day, Part 2
In my earlier post, my point was not to start a discussion about cartoon characters. Nonetheless, I did, which clearly detracted from a discussion of racism, or any of the related points about getting at racism's root I attempted (and obviously failed) to raise.
So let's try this again. What are your experiences with racism? Have you been the victim of racism? Have you been confronted with your own racism? Do you talk to people of other races openly about racism? Childhood experiences ... adult experiences ... undermined prejudices... existing biases ... let it out.
International Propaganda Machine
Earlier, I noted a story that reported the US military is paying to plant articles in Iraqi newspapers. Well, some enterprising media hound apparently asked Scotty about it:
President Bush’s spokesman said Thursday “we’re very concerned” about reports that the U.S. military is paying Iraqi newspapers and journalists to plant favorable stories about the war and the rebuilding effort.Just a few more bad apples, I’ll wager.
“We are seeking more information from the Pentagon,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.
In Baghdad on Thursday, a senior military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, was asked whether he thought the program undercuts the credibility of either the American military or the new Iraqi news media. Lynch did not answer directly but quoted a senior al-Qaida leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, as having told Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the main terrorist leader in Iraq, “Remember, half the battle is the battlefield of the media.”Of course, Iraq isn’t the only place pay-for-press has happened, is it? The Bush administration was found guilty of violating the prohibition on using taxpayer money for propaganda after the Office of National Drug Control Policy produced and distributed television news segments about the effects of drug use among young people, and was also found guilty of the dissemination of covert propaganda after paying columnist Armstrong Williams to produce favorable coverage of No Child Left Behind. Later, it was revealed the Bush administration had also paid synidacted columnists Maggie Gallagher and Michael McManus to endorse a Bush-approved marriage initiative. Additionally, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, ordered the removal of the words gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender from the title of a talk about preventing suicide in the GLBT community, and at least 20 federal agencies, including the Defense Department and the Census Bureau, made and distributed hundreds of television news segments during Bush’s first term, with many of them ending up in local news broadcasts across the country, without any acknowledgement of the government's role in their production.
Lynch said Zarqawi lies to the Iraqi people and he said the American military does not.
“We do empower our operational commanders with the ability to inform the Iraqi public, but everything we do is based on fact not based on fiction,” Lynch said.
Details about the program were first reported by the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday. It marked the second time this year that Pentagon programs have come under scrutiny for reported payments made to journalists for favorable press.
I think at this point it’s safe to say that integrity isn’t really Bush’s strong suit. Nor honesty. Nor reality. So when I hear that they’re “very concerned” about the military paying for favorable press, I suspect that really means they’re “very pissed off” about getting busted. Again.
(By the way, “everything we do is based on fact not based on fiction”? Good one, Lynch.)
New Crush
As I’ve mentioned, I’m serial television’s worst nightmare. No matter how much I enjoy a show, I’m more likely to forget to watch it than remember—and when missing an episode can mean being totally lost the next time one tunes in, it makes for a distinct lack of interest on my part.
For that reason, I love self-contained shows like Law & Order, where you can watch any episode from any season at any time and not be missing key plot points. Every important plot point is unique to each episode. So I don’t know how I missed out on CSI for so long, but I’ve started watching the occasional episode, and I have a new crush.
The delicious Gary Dourdan.
Over Thanksgiving weekend, I mentioned to my sister, Bug, that I had developed a nasty, bosom-heaving crush on the delectable Mr. Dourdan, and she nodded, wide-eyed, in recognition. “Oh, yes.” Her, too.
Mr. Shakes and Mr. Bug scowled.
Last night, I was watching a repeat of CSI on Spike (“Because Cock was too obvious”) TV, and Mr. Shakes said, “All right—where’s this dude you’re all hot for?”
I pointed him out.
“Him?” Mr. Shakes asked, skeptically. Then he noticed the lines around Dourdan’s eyes; I’m a sucker for lines around the eyes. “Okay, so he’s got the eye lines. Big deal.”
“He makes me pant,” I said.
“Harrumph,” Mr. Shakes replied.
Sorry Karl Urban. You’ve been replaced.
Remembering Rosa
Today is also the 50th anniversary of the day Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama. New York is recognizing her action with a poignant homage:
On Metropolitan Transportation Authority buses in New York City and Long Island, the seat behind the driver will be symbolically reserved for the late Parks, whose act of disobedience and subsequent arrest prompted a bus boycott and proved a major turning point in the country's civil rights movement.Other cities across the country are honoring her with similar tributes.
Above the seat there will be a poster of Parks, who died Oct. 24 at age 92, with the saying, "It All Started on a Bus.”
Hat tip to The Fixer.
World AIDS Day
Today is World AIDS Day. I believe this picture says more than any post I could write:
Worldwide, 40 million people are infected with HIV. An estimated 3.1 million adults and children will die of AIDS this year.
Blog Against Racism Day
“Shrek!” they shout.
Mr. Shakes isn’t Shrek, and he’d appreciate it if you didn’t even mention the infamous green ogre’s name in his presence, thank you very much.
It’s enlightening seeing the idiosyncrasies and hypocrisies of America through his eyes—some of which I always too close to see myself. Recently, he wondered why it is that Speedy Gonzales is considered offensive, but Shrek isn’t.
“I don’t know,” I said, at a loss for a response. “I guess because most people know that all Scots aren’t green ogres.”
“Don’t most people know that all Hispanics aren’t titchy mice?” he replied.
And the truth is, he’s right. There’s nothing less offensive about Shrek, and no less reason his skin crawls at the sight of a green ogre, representing all the negative stereotypes of the Scots—grumpy, penny-pinching, misanthropic, hulking oafs. The dour Scots. It’s a perfect encapsulation of America’s ignorance, really—a movie about tolerance whose main character reinforces an ugly stereotype, but since we’re so insular, most Americans don’t even know the stereotype exists.
It is this entrenched streak of insularity from which stems the ignorance that fuels hatred of The Other, of which racism is only one part. Yes, there are whites who hate non-whites, and blacks who hate non-blacks, and Asians who hate non-Asians, Native Americans who hate Middle Easterners, and Eskimos who hate Jews, and every combination, sadly, of which one can think. And yet, even within groups lumped together by race, there is bigotry: Japanese who hate Koreans, or Canadians who hate French Canadians, or Scots who hate Germans. There’s bigotry based on beliefs and behaviors (some of which may be justified on an individual basis, but inevitably spirals into blind hatred of whole groups): White Americans who hate “rednecks,” the kind of hatred of The Other that served as one of Chris Rock’s most well-known bits—“I love black people, but I hate niggers.” Everyone knows what he means, because all of us, no matter how enlightened, understands hatred of The Other. It’s as American as apple pie.
Which, by the way, is hated by cherry pie.
Extricating ourselves from the insidious plague of racism is not just about racial tolerance, but about addressing head-on the endemic insularity and resulting ignorance that not only underlies racism, but our other chronic ailments—sexism, homophobia, ageism, sizism, etc. We need honest and open discussion, with people who are willing to risk inadvertent offense and people who are willing to educate rather than shame if ignorance offends.
In her Blog Against Racism Day entry, Pam writes:
People across the political spectrum have difficulty discussing race, but the problem is particularly acute on the Left these days. Many progressive whites feel: 1) unqualified somehow to discuss the topic or 2) are afraid of being slapped down for offering what appears to be an obvious or "stupid" question or opinion. As I also commented in the "blackface" thread:
Race politics for white liberals who don't know many black people on a personal level is an abstraction, not something they live. It's admirable to be for civil equality and against hate, but it's quite another thing to:
* have black friends that you are comfortable discussing race issues with
* live in a neighborhood that is not predominantly white
* send your kids to schools that racially reflect the city in which you live
* feel comfortable in social situations where you, as a white person, are in the minority (if this ever occurs at all).
...The important part of this is talking about complicated feelings and self-reflection...and that goes both ways, mind you -- I think many blacks, in not wanting to deal with the discussion of personal feelings and race with whites, oftentimes throw up the defensive attitude. I understand this too -- sometimes you just get tired of being seen as a color, a political "object," not a human being, by the dominant culture (across the political spectrum).
Openness on all sides can only help, not hurt.
Communicating honestly about all of the complicated relationships between all colors of the human rainbow is sorely needed as well; it's certainly not just a black/white issue.
We are quick to judge, and quick to assume we are being judged—usually with good reason—but at some point, we’re going to need to be able to openly address hated of The Other, our fears, our biases, our ignorance, to ask questions of and challenge each other. As Pam notes, sometimes it gets old being tagged as a political object, the spokesperson for a whole group, but denying the opportunity of a man to ask a woman what might seem an ignorant question about feminism, or a white person what might seem an ignorant question of a black person, or a straight person the same of a gay person, isn't helpful. Indulging attempts to expand one's understanding of The Other requires patience, to be sure, but real tolerance means addressing curiosity rooted in ignorance with respect.
Hatred of The Other, including racism, won't meet its end in disdain and impatience, but in the openness of shared experience and honest communication.
Mr. Shakes isn’t really bothered by Shrek as much as he’s confounded by his existence. Why, he wonders, is it acceptable to portray some nationalities in a negative light, but not others? Is the loss of Speedy in reality just an indication that the best solution we’ve come up with for dealing with racism is to hide it? Hiding Shrek wouldn’t cure the Americans, of multiple races, who have snidely instructed Mr. Shakes that he needs to “learn to speak properly” when they haven’t understood his accent. Honestly dealing with our national obsession of hating The Other, however, just might.
(For the background on Blog Against Racism Day, see Creek Running North.)
Limbo Party!
Catholics to say goodbye to Limbo, the place where apparently dead babies go because they "deserve neither Heaven nor Hell"? Say it isn't so! Apparently, Pope Ratzo is considering abolishing the old infant hang-out in favor of his late pal Pope John Paul's recommendation to come up with "a more coherent and enlightened way of describing the fate of such innocents."
Lordy, Lordy, what will good old Popey decide? Do babies finally get to go to either Heaven or Hell? Will there become a more PC place than Limbo - perhaps "Neutral Deceased Infant Stabilization Zone"? Do adults ever go to Limbo (sadly, I'm not Catholic & I don't feel like researching it)? Will Ratzo ban gay babies? Unfortunately, we will have to wait on pins and needles until the "international theological commission" decides what to advise His Greatness.
I must digress. Am I the only who finds all this bullshit ridiculous? Okay, the Pope is God's representative or something, chosen by God apparently to be the middle man between Him and the common folk. But the Pope is elected by a closed-door commission of holy bigwigs. The current Pope is the old Pope's crony (what a no-brainer). Now the Pope & pals think maybe perhaps oh I don't know, they'll just arbitrarily decide, "Hey, you know that Limbo thing - nevermind!" I'm sorry, and I don't mean to offend Catholics, but doesn't anyone see the man behind the curtain yet? It's all bullshit! And speaking of Catholics, do any of them actually follow what their church tells them to? I've not met a one who did. I'm just saying...
British Priest Victim of Homobigot Attack
I could use every single one of the swear words cited in yesterday’s QotD to describe how angry this makes me:
The Rt Rev Dr Barry Rathbone, 37, was sitting in Bournemouth Central Gardens eating a burger after a night out, when he was approached by a man and a woman.His attacker is still at large.
The man began shouting homophobic abuse and hit Dr Rathbone, who is openly gay, leaving him with two broken ribs and several broken fingers…
Dr Rathbone, of Winton, is an International Community of St John the Divine priest for the Beacon Project at Boscombe's East Cemetery Chapel.
He told the BBC News website he had spent the evening at the Exchange gay bar when he was attacked on his way home.
The assailant also shouted expletives relating to Dr Rathbone's sexual orientation, he said.
"I admit I am an openly-gay priest but [my sexuality] doesn't define me," Dr Rathbone said.
"Being gay is just part of my personality. I don't look gay, if there is such a thing. I was just sat on a stone wall eating a burger."
Dr Rathbone, who is a well-known figure in the area where he works promoting safe sex in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, said he wanted others to learn from his experience.
I don’t suppose any of the homobigot hatemongers who disseminate, under an alleged banner of God, exactly the kind of vitriol that makes such assaults inevitable will learn a lesson about how dangerous their gay-bashing is, in spite of its usefulness as a fundraiser. No doubt the likes of Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, and James Dobson just think this gay priest got what he deserved. Assholes.
Question of the Day
[Warning to the faint of heart or possessors of delicate ears, should any of you happened to stumble in here unawares: Skip this post.]
Inspired by The Chemist’s missive On Swearing. Of course, most of you already know my opinion on that topic, but for anyone who’s new to this juke joint, I’ll reprise the tune:
On a related note, fearing that we face a whole new level of bullshit about which we will, and should, be visibly angry, and preparing myself thusly, comments and emails composed specifically to tell me to stop using bad language or to start being less aggressive, less hostile, less antagonistic, less bitchy, less arrogant, less belligerent, less vitriolic, less nasty, less acerbic, or less of a poopyhead, are as welcome as any other, but I feel obligated to inform all potential authors of such missives that they are, however, a waste of time.Anyhoo…the question is: What’s your favorite swear word?
If I get my facts wrong, let me know. If you don’t like my tone, tough. At this bus stop in the blogosphere, I’m Queen Cunt of Fuck Mountain, and I’m mean for a reason. Once we get our country back on the right track, there will plenty of time for nursery rhymes.
It’s hard for me to choose just one. If pressed, I’d probably have to go with fuck, because it’s so versatile. I don’t think anything is more amusing, however, than when Mr. Shakes describes something as “fooking doogshite.”
“It is only too plausible that Bush wanted to wipe out what he saw as a nest of terrorists.”
More on the “Did Bush really want to bomb al-Jazeera?” question from someone who knows what he’s talking about, Juan Cole, who also provides some much-needed perspective on what al-Jazeera really is. It’s worth the ad you’ll have to watch if you’re not a subscriber. Here’s a snippet:
Rumsfeld became increasingly exasperated with the channel as the Iraq adventure went bad. In early 2004, according to Fox News, he began equating its news coverage of Iraq with murder: "'We are being hurt by Al-Jazeera in the Arab world,' he said. 'There is no question about it. The quality of the journalism is outrageous -- inexcusably biased -- and there is nothing you can do about it except try to counteract it.' He said it was turning Arabs against the United States. 'You could say it causes the loss of life,' he added. 'It's causing Iraqi people to be killed' by inflaming anti-American passions and encouraging attacks against Iraqis who assist the Americans, he added."Thanks to Shaker Stark for the pointer.
The notion that reporting on the guerrilla war in Iraq abets terrorism is typical of the logic of any extreme right-wing political movement. All censorship by all military regimes in the Middle East has been imposed on the grounds that journalists' speech is dangerous to society and could cause public turmoil (fitna). Rumsfeld's reasoning in this regard would be instantly recognizable to any Arab journalist from their experience with their own governments…
Rumsfeld, then, considered Al-Jazeera an accessory to terror, and there is no reason to suppose that Bush did not share this view.
Two Heads Are Better Than One
This cute little bugger is the newest attraction at an aquarium in Santiago, Chile, where it is the latest addition to the Serpentarium exhibition.
Its owner, vet Federico Errazuriz, told Las Ultimas Noticias: “There are two heads, with two separate brains, but the left one, which I call Don Quixote is stronger and dominates the other one, Sancho.”Adorable. Now say “Terrifically tantalizing two-headed turtle turning heads—totally tubular!” three times fast.
According to the vet, the turtle is perfectly normal, apart from the two heads, and will live up to 15 years.
Breaking News: Bush Full of Shit
In what some cynics might deem a delivery long overdue, the Bush administration has released a plan it calls its National Strategy for for Victory in Iraq (which can be viewed in pdf format here, for those so inclined). In a speech at Annapolis today to coincide with the plan’s debutante cotillion, Bush reiterated his refusal to set a timetable to withdraw troops and explained to the receptive audience at the US Naval Academy where he spoke, “"As Iraqi forces gain experience and the political process advances, we will be able to decrease our troop level in Iraq without losing our capability to defeat the terrorists… These decisions about troop levels will be driven by the conditions on the ground in Iraq and the good judgment of our commanders, not by artificial timetables set by politicians in Washington."
Even before Bush finished speaking, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid issued a statement claiming that Bush "recycled his tired rhetoric of 'stay the course' and once again missed an opportunity to lay out a real strategy for success in Iraq that will bring our troops safely home."
Think Progress’ rapid response to the plan notes:
After two-and-a-half years and 2,110 U.S. troop fatalities, the Bush administration released what it calls a “National Strategy for Victory in Iraq” (NSVI). The problem is, it’s not a new strategy for success in Iraq; it’s a public relations document. The strategy describes what has transpired in Iraq to date as a resounding success and stubbornly refuses to establish any standards for accountability. It dismisses serious problems such as the dramatic increase in bombings as “metrics that the terrorists and insurgents want the world to use.” Americans understand it’s time for a new course in Iraq. Unfortunately, this document is little more than an extended justification for a President “determined to stay his course.”Wait—so Bush is more interested in politics than progress?! Shocking.
Memories
Interesting clip passed on by Shaker Deborah—a stroll down memory lane with Saddam.
(As an aside, I didn’t research every aspect of this with which I wasn’t immediately familiar or wasn’t sourced, so I pass it on with that caveat.)
oh that pagan feminism!
Did you know that having women seen as equals in their households (or in society in-general) will lead to the demise of “proper” Christianity? Who knew! Well, apparently Russell Moore, dean of the school of theology and senior vice president for academic administration at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky; knows.
You see, according to Russ, evangelical men are letting themselves be virtually and spiritually castrated because they have “embraced contemporary pagan feminism”. I don’t see many evangelical christian men paying homage to Brighid but maybe that’s just me.
Anyway, Russ goes on to state:
Egalitarian views are carrying the day within evangelical churches and homes, Moore said, because complementarians have not dealt sufficiently with the forces that drive the feminist impulse: Western notions of consumerism and therapy.
Egalitarian = men and women are equal; complementarian = men and women are equally created by god but not really equal.
And we learn something else new: consumerism and therapy are what drive “the feminist impulse”. Did you know that? I didn’t. Silly me.
More on the evils of therapy from Russ:
This therapeutic and consumerist atmosphere has led evangelicals away from a view that sees Scripture as the external, objective standard of truth and has pushed them to look inside themselves to find ultimate truth, Moore said.
Because self-exploration is a bad thing. Gotcha.
Oh for chrissakes, this is just more “don’t be worldly” tripe. These sorts of people are so freaking scared of anything that requires exploration of the world outside of the church. Infact, Russ is so freaked out by this that he thinks it will bring down the supremacy of god:
A rejection of male headship leads to a redefinition of divine Fatherhood and divine sovereignty, Moore said. He pointed to open theism (a view that argues God’s knowledge of the future is limited) as an example of the dangers of rejecting biblical patriarchy. Open theism is built upon a denial of the Scripture’s portrayal of God as the sovereign Head of His creation, he said.
“Open theism is not more dangerous than evangelical feminism, or even all that different,” Moore said. “It is only the end result of a doctrine of God shorn of patriarchy.”
Moore also argues that men should not be afraid to embrace the patriarchy because god is described as a man and Jesus was a man and so were Isaac and Abraham. Oh, and “not to let Playboy or Ms. define the grammar of [their] faith”.
To live a patriarchal life is to “offer a living picture of the redemption believers have in Christ”. Oh no, it’s not to live a christian life and live the teachings of, oh I don’t know, Jesus that offers the living picture. No, of course not.
Russ goes on to conclude that:
“Patriarchy is good for women, good for children, and good for families.”
And those poor men involved will just be sacrificing, sacrificing!, to make it happen for the benefit of women, children, and families everywhere. There are plenty of cretins who actually believe this nonsense, an example can be found here (culled by Jill, not Feministe itself).
This is about power and control trying to hide itself behind the guise of god. And it’s utter shite.
Oy, Hillary. Oy.
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday defended her vote to authorize war in Iraq amid growing unease among liberal Democrats who could determine the potential 2008 presidential candidate's future.Well, that’s a fucking dandy idea. I mean, who better to finish a war with success and honor than the people who bungled and lied about it from the start?
"I take responsibility for my vote, and I, along with a majority of Americans, expect the president and his administration to take responsibility for the false assurances, faulty evidence and mismanagement of the war," the New York senator said in a lengthy letter to thousands of people who have written her about the war.
At the same time, she said the United States must "finish what it started" in Iraq…
"It is time for the president to stop serving up platitudes and present us with a plan for finishing this war with success and honor," she wrote.
The Bush administration is clearly incapable of finishing this war with success and honor, so what, exactly, is the point of suggesting they ought to do so? Only someone exceptionally foolish or uninformed could believe at this point that there’s any chance of the Bush administration doing anything but continuing to botch this tragic endeavor, and Hillary may be a lot of things, but foolish and uninformed aren’t among them. So her position is disingenuous. Surely she doesn’t have a complete disregard for the lives of the soldiers and Iraqis that will be lost as this thing continues to spiral, so the only explanation for saying something so patently stupid is an unwillingness to take the lead on the issue. It’s as though she looked at what happened to Murtha and decided that presenting an empty challenge to Bush is a better idea.
I’ve got news for her. Empty challenges are no solution to a situation as FUBAR as Iraq.
And she can “expect the president and his administration to take responsibility for the false assurances, faulty evidence and mismanagement of the war” until the cows come home, but it ain’t gonna happen. It’s an imperative of the opposition party to make him take responsibility, to hold them accountable. Step up to the bloody plate and swing the bat. Otherwise, shut the fuck up.
Happy THREE-YEAR Blogiversary…
…to Patrick at Yelladog. That’s really impressive. Here’s to many, many more. Congrats, P!
Important Action Item: Support H.R. 550
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Nothing we do matters if we don’t have fair elections.
To that end, we owe a debt of gratitude to Congressman Rush Holt, who has introduced House Resolution 550, The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2005. The measure:
would require all voting machines to produce an actual paper record that voters can view to check the accuracy of their votes and that election officials can use to verify votes in the event of a computer malfunction, hacking, or other irregularity. Experts often refer to this paper record as a “voter-verified paper trail.”You can find additional information about H.R. 550 here.
“Anything of value should be auditable,” said Holt. “Votes are valuable, and each voter should have the knowledge—and the confidence—that his or her vote was recorded and counted as intended. Passage of this bill will be a big step in restoring that confidence, which is the very foundation of our democratic republic.”
[…]
Key provisions of the bill include:
~ Strengthening the HAVA current audit trail requirement – “a permanent paper record” – by requiring that the voters have the opportunity to verify the accuracy of the recorded vote.
~ Requiring that all voting systems produce a voter-verified paper record for use in manual audits, commencing in 2006 in accordance with HAVA’s original deadline. (Funding of $150 million is authorized to help states meet the cost of implementing this requirement.)
~ Preserving HAVA’s existing access requirements for voters with disabilities; clarifying and enhancing the security requirements demanded of systems to be used by voters with disabilities; and adding the requirement that an accessible voter-verification mechanism be provided.
~ Banning the use of undisclosed software and all wireless and concealed communications devices in voting systems, and prohibiting the connection of any voting machine component to the Internet.
~ Requiring random, unannounced, hand-count audits of the voter-verified paper records (conducted by the Election Assistance Commission) in 2% of all jurisdictions, including at least 1 precinct per county. Such funds as may be necessary are authorized to fund the expense of the audits.
~ Require manufacturers and election officials to document the chain of custody with respect to the handling of software; prohibit the use of software or software modifications that have not been certified or re-certified; and prohibit political and financial conflicts of interest among manufactures, test laboratories, and political parties.
~ Expands on HR 2239 (the version of the bill in the 108th Congress) by establishing procedures to be followed if there is a discrepancy between reported results and audit results, and preserving the rights of individuals and the Attorney General’s authority to pursue legal resolution of the discrepancies.
Currently, H.R. 550 has 159 co-sponsors in the House, 9 of whom are Republican, and has been strongly endorsed by the bipartisan Carter-Baker Commission on Federal Election Reform, but it has been sitting in the House Administration Committee since it was introduced in February. The Committee is chaired by Bob Ney, who is currently facing a major ethics scandal for his ties to lobbyist Jack Abramoff and evidently has no interest in fair elections, either. It’s up to us to make sure this resolution gets the attention it deserves so it can make its way out of committee. This isn’t a partisan issue—everyone should be interested in fair elections with accountability.
This post is part of blogswarm launched today by DBK of Blanton and Ashton’s. His post is here. I encourage you, if you have you own blog, please participate in this important blogswarm, even if it’s just linking back to this post. And I encourage everyone to sign the petition in support of H.R. 550 here.
Steal that graphic. Sign the petition. Demand fair elections. Make your voice heard.
Ye Olde Enemies List
Well, it’s official. Bill O’Reilly’s enemies list, described as “Media Operations that Traffic in Defamation,” is up. So far, there are three members: the NY Daily News, the St. Petersburg Times, and MSNBC. Pretty spectacular, Billy Boy.
BradBlog’s got more here, and Arianna Huffington is signing up people who want to be included here.
As a reminder, the list of Shakers who want to be included are as follows:
Two Glasses, Agitprop, The Defeatists, Night Bird's Fountain, ReidBlog, Daily Pepper, Thoughts from an Empty Head, The Vitriolic Monkey, Archy, The One and Only Some Watery Tart, Whatever, Me4Pres, Expostulation, the Dark Wraith at Big Brass Blog, The Disgruntled Chemist, Official Reality Check, Dictionopolis in Digitopolis, Laughing Wild, Oh Well, The Fat Lady Sings, Incomprehensible Demoralization, A Mockingbird's Medley, Adventures of the Smart Patrol, Blue Gal, Rook’s Rant, Hole in the Bucket, The Gypsy’s Caravan, Blognonymous, Thus Spake Zac, Supergee, Shorty PJs, Dirty Liberal Words, Make Me a Commentator, Sunshine’s Blah Blah Blogger, Science and Politics, Pam's House Blend, Poverty Barn, Mixter's Mix, If I Ran the Zoo, Etc. Etc. Etc. Blah Blah Blah, Empire of the Senseless, Demagogue, The Immoral Minority, Watergate Summer, Plamegate Timeline, The Zombie Process, My Turn at the Mike, The Bulldog Says, Loaded Mouth, Dharma Bums, Poor Impulse Control, Main St. USA, BillyCreek, Fuck Karl Rove, A Curmudgeonly Crab, The Brutal Truth, RatBoy, Blue Collar Politics Blog, Fester’s Place, No Blood for Hubris, Brilliant at Breakfast, Praxxus, Grumpy Old Man, Are You Effin’ Kidding Me?, The Culture Ghost, Blog with a View, Center of Gravitas, 2 Political Junkies, SimianBrain.
If you’d like to be added, let me know, and I’ll update as requested.
Sick Things
My Londoner Andy, who is a huge Alice Cooper fan and owns one of the largest collections of Alice paraphernalia in the world (some of which is currently sitting in my closet—don’t ask), just sent me the following photo and caption:
Entrants to the "East End Thug Look Alike"
For the record, the Londoner isn’t an east end thug, and that’s the real Alice Cooper.
Also for the record, I’m a “scummy bastard.”
