You can customize your own Einstein picture here. Via Rana, whose birthday is today. Happy birthday, Rana!
And for some more fun, take the Simpsons Personality Test. Big surprise—I’m Lisa.
Fun Stuff
You can customize your own Einstein picture here. Via Rana, whose birthday is today. Happy birthday, Rana!
And for some more fun, take the Simpsons Personality Test. Big surprise—I’m Lisa.
Watch Out For That Tree!
If you're like me: gadget-obsessed, interested in technology, raised on cartoons and sci-fi films, you probably look around you occasionally and complain, "Hey! It's 2006! Where the hell is my personal robot and flying car?"
Well, even with all the advances in technology, you're still going to have to wait a bit for a mechanical pal that will bring you another "Tab Energy" and fluff your pillow.
The flying car might not be so far off. Providing you've got the money to spend, of course.
Moller International has developed the first and only feasible, personally affordable, personal vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicle the world has ever seen.Emphasis mine. Take that "personally affordable" with a grain of salt. Like, one the size of a medicine ball. More on that later.
You've always known it was just a matter of time before the world demanded some kind of flying machine which would replace the automobile. Of course, this machine would have to be capable of VTOL, be easy to maintain, cost effective and reliable. Well, we at Moller International believe we have come up with the solution. That solution is the volantor named M400 Skycar.I love the word "volantor." Sounds like a chest-beating villain in a Conan movie. "I am Volantor! Son of Rofgor! Cringe in fear at the sight of my mighty club!"
Let's compare the M400 Skycar with what's available now, the automobile. Take the most technologically advanced automobile, the Ferrari, Porsche, Maserati, Lamborgini, or the more affordable Acura, Accord, or the like. It seems like all of the manufacturers of these cars are touting the new and greatly improved "aerodynamics" of their cars. Those in the aerospace industry have been dealing with aerodynamics from the start. In the auto industry they boast of aerodynamics, performance tuned wide track suspensions, electronic ignition and fuel injection systems, computer controllers, and the list goes on. What good does all this "advanced engineering" do for you when the speed limit is around 60 MPH and you are stuck on crowded freeways anyway?Okay. On more than one occasion, I have been driving along to witness someone talking on their cell phone, with their foot out the window while driving. This was insane at 40mph. Imagine if they were whizzing along at 275mph! Yeeks. These things had better come equipped with speaker phones.
Can any automobile give you this scenario? From your garage to your destination, the M400 Skycar can cruise comfortably at 275 MPH (maximum speed of 375 MPH) and achieve up to 20 miles per gallon on clean burning, ethanol fuel. No traffic, no red lights, no speeding tickets. Just quiet direct transportation from point A to point B in a fraction of the time. Three dimensional mobility in place of two dimensional immobility.
No matter how you look at it the automobile is only an interim step on our evolutionary path to independence from gravity. That's all it will ever be.
Moller International's M400 Skycar volantor is the next step.
"Okay Paul," you say, "very funny, but what about the real concerns of safety with these things? Like, what if you're flying along, and run out of gas? Or an engine goes out? Well the Skycar people actually have a very large safety section on their site:There's also a large section on the car's dual parachutes. They seem to have done lots of work on the safety aspects of this flying car, which is encouraging. However, they seem to have forgotten the most important safety concern.
- Dual Engines -- In the unlikely event of an engine failure sufficient power remains to ensure a safe and comfortable landing. Since the M400 has eight engines, one or more can fail and the Skycar will still operate safely. Unlike any light helicopter or airplane, the M400 Skycar has four engine nacelles; each with two Rotapower engines. These computer-controlled engines operate independently and allow for a vertical controlled landing should one engine fail.
- Redundant Fuel Monitoring -- Multiple systems check fuel for quality and quantity and provide appropriate warnings.
- Enclosed Fans -- Each nacelle fully encloses the engines and fans, greatly reducing the possibility of injury to individuals near the aircraft. The volantor's VTOL lift is obtained via airflow through the four ducted fan propulsion nacelles which is redirected downward by deflection vanes during vertical takeoff.
The other drivers.
Frankly, with the way people drive, I don't know if we're ready to go whizzing around in the air. When most people can't be bothered to check their blind spot before changing lanes, do we really think anyone's going to be checking around themselves in every direction? Snark aside, this is pretty nifty. The gadget-head in me is delighted and drooling. I'm just not giving up terra-firma just yet.
Oh, and how much will a Skycar cost you? How about one million dollars?
(Up, up and away in my beautiful, my beautiful cross-post!)
Blog Against Sexism Day
I forgot today was Blog Against Sexism Day. When I first read about it, I had intended to write something about it, but over the past week, it kind of fell out of my head, you know, amidst all the blogging against sexism.
And after writing just in the last three days about abortion legislation being proposed in Tennessee, McCain's anti-abortion position, a South Dakotan state senator's insane prattling on rape and abortion, birth control v. God, an Ohio senate candidate who supports the execution of gays, Alabama's proposed abortion legislation, the nationwide abortion scorecard, a rape victim being denied captivity benefits, homobigots' presumption of homophobia, and "pro-life" hypocrisy, not to mention all the posts on related topics from all the rest of the Shakes contributors, I sort of think it's redundant to write a post explaining why I think sexism is bad.
Sexism manifests in a lot of ways, and I don't believe it's just the oppression of women. Homobigotry and misogynists' insistence on casting men who stand up in defense of women as "unmanly" are spawned of the same ugly spirit. Which is why we're all in this together, and why we should all raise our voices against sexism.
Expect More
I don’t know if I’m the last person in the world to find out about this, but in case I’m not, I decided to post about it. I read that the Office of Management and Budget and Federal agencies decided to start a website, Expect More, which tracks the performance of federal government programs. Programs that are performing are divided into three categories: Effective, Moderately Effective, and Adequate. Programs that are not performing are divided into two categories: Ineffective and Results Not Demonstrated.
So I’ve been spending some time perusing the various successes and failures of the federal government under the Bush regime, and I couldn’t help but notice on the single page of Ineffective Programs, there seems to be a theme that might best be described as “things of interest to progressives.”
Department of Education: 6 Ineffective Programs
Department of Health and Human Services: 4 Ineffective Programs
Department of Housing and Urban Development: 4 Ineffective Programs
Environmental Protection Agency: 4 Ineffective Programs
Department of Labor: 3 Ineffective Programs
Even the two Ineffective Programs under the Department of Energy are telling: National Gas Technology and Oil Technology.
And don’t even get me started on the Results Not Demonstrated Programs, which would be better labeled Programs We Care So Little About They Haven’t Even Been Given the Chance to Fail. It’s such a pile of horseshit. For example, Traumatic Brain Injury is listed under Results Not Demonstrated, without any mention that Bush essentially eradicated the Federal TBI Act by zeroing out its funding in last year’s federal budget.
On the other hand, the three pages of Effective Programs give an equally useful glimpse into the priorities of the administration.
Department of State: 20 Effective Programs
Department of Defense: 11 Effective Programs
Department of Energy: 11 Effective Programs
Department of the Treasury: 11 Effective Programs
Department of Homeland Security: 7 Effective Programs
Department of Commerce: 5 Effective Programs
Successes for, say, the Department of Health and Human Services, include things like Buildings and Facilities. Not that that’s not important, but is it more important than the Ineffective Program Health Professions? The buildings aren’t much good without people to put in them. Of course, there are plenty of cronies who build stuff, and probably not as many who train people to heal.
Anyway, go have some fun looking at Expect More. See if you don’t come away wondering if it would be possible to Expect Any Less.
Alabama Church Fires: Two Suspects Arrested
Kathy at Birmingham Blues has the update. The two men are reportedly Birmingham-Southern College students. Kathy notes that Birmingham-Southern is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. All 9 of the churches burned were Baptist churches. No motive has been cited yet.
There’s going to be a news conference today at 2:00cst with more details. On its face, however, it certainly appears that Chris Matthews’ suggestion that the fires were started by liberals or gays was incorrect. Quelle surprise.
UPDATE: A third suspect has been arrested.
Black. White. And asparagus.
(Hello there, Shakers! Long-time reader and sporadic commenter Waveflux here. The kind-hearted Shakes Sis offered me a chance to join the conversation, so I put on my best suit and came right over. This is a great community and I'm pleased to be a part of it. I ask your indulgence for the length of this initial offering; it just came out that way...)
As happens occasionally, the larder at Casa Waveflux was lacking some essential items last night. I volunteered to brave the after-work crowds at the local supermarket and pick up a few things. I asked M what she wanted for dinner. "Spinach," she said. "And 'boeuf.'"
"Spinach and 'boeuf' it is," I said, and off I went.
The trick to early evening grocery shopping is a laser-like focus on the objective. Get it and get out. I grabbed a couple of Balance bars, then guided the shopping cart to the asparagus. I love asparagus, but finding the right bundle of spears requires some attention. I rejected the first two candidates, then eyed a third which looked promising.
"Excuse me," said a voice to my left.
I turned to find myself facing an older white guy - perhaps sixty, sixty-five. He was casually dressed, had graying hair, glasses. He carried a plastic bag of some produce or other in his left hand. His expression seemed friendly enough. I thought at first that I was blocking his access to the asparagus and prepared to sidle over with a suitable "Excuse me." But it wasn't asparagus that the man had on his mind.
"I was listening to public radio this afternoon," he began.
I smiled expectantly, but my heart sank. I was about to be roped into a conversation. This is what happens when you let your guard down in the produce section. It's happened before.
"They had on two men from that black and white television show," the man continued.
Context is vitally important in impromptu social encounters. Given that this gentleman had heard about the show on NPR, and recently at that, and given the difference in our racial profiles, and given finally his very earnest expression, I knew that he wasn't referring to Leave It to Beaver. He could only be describing Black. White. , the FX race-swapping show. Oh, dear, I thought. The asparagus seemed suddenly far away.
My companion - whose name I never learned - went on to describe the exchange between these two men, one African-American and the other Italian-American, who ventured into the world guised as white and black respectively. They had returned with very different takes on the experience; my companion was highly distressed at the Italian-American man's seeming denial of racism in the culture, and he really, really wanted to tell somebody.
So he told me.
He was mystified that anyone, regardless of skin color, could go through life unaware of prejudice even if untouched by it him/herself, and asked me how that could possibly be. I said something about the difference in individual experiences that left people more or less equipped to recognize racism; I suggested that sometimes people come to such perceptions very late in life. He looked skeptical, but seemed to accept the possibility.
He went on to talk about the integration of Catholic schools here in St. Louis - seven years before Brown v. Board of Education, the work of Archbishop Cardinal Joseph Ritter - and the shock and resistance that the change produced in the community here. I know practically nothing about Ritter - just the name, really - but this was history that my companion had lived, and it had clearly left a profound impression on him.
At length, we parted company. I really had to finish my shopping and get dinner ready, I said. He gave me a rather hearty clap on the back, thanked me for talking to him, and away he went.
I picked out my asparagus and went on my way. Spinach and 'boeuf,' you know.
When I got home, I related the story to M, my wife - my white wife - and she laughed. "My people," she said, "can be very strange." She clearly considered the idea of picking out someone to represent all black people really odd.
And yeah, there's something to that. But hey, who's he going to talk to - George Bush? Conversation requires crossing lines, borders, barriers. As odd as it was, I'm glad he pulled me aside.
(I know I'ma meet you up at the cross-post...)
This is BULLSHIT.
Just fucking unbelievable bullshit:
Moving to tamp down Democratic calls for an investigation of the administration's domestic eavesdropping program, Republicans on the Senate Intelligence Committee said Tuesday that they had reached agreement with the White House on proposed bills to impose new oversight but allow wiretapping without warrants for up to 45 days.Fuck you, Chuck Hagel, and fuck you, Olympia Snowe.
The agreement, hashed out in weeks of negotiations between Vice President Dick Cheney and Republicans critical of the program, dashes Democratic hopes of starting a full committee investigation because the proposal won the support of Senators Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Olympia J. Snowe of Maine. The two, both Republicans, had threatened to support a fuller inquiry if the White House did not disclose more about the program to Congress…
Mr. Hagel said the group worked out the last-minute deal in long telephone calls with Mr. Cheney; the White House counsel, Harriet E. Miers; and Stephen J. Hadley, the assistant to the president for national security.
The agreement would reinforce the authority of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which was created in 1978 to issue special warrants for spying but was sidestepped by the administration. The measure would require the administration to seek a warrant from the court whenever possible.Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit. I suppose I don’t need to point out how ridiculous it is to leave the justification for this hogwash in the hands of Alberto Gonzales, King of the Shills. And what kind of requirement is that—seek a warrant…whenever possible? Unfuckingbelievable.
If the administration elects not to do so after 45 days, the attorney general must certify that the surveillance is necessary to protect the country and explain to the subcommittee why the administration has not sought a warrant. The attorney general would be required to give an update to the subcommittee every 45 days.
"We're eager to work with Congress on legislation that would further codify the president's authority," Ms. Perino said. "We remain committed to our principle, that we will not do anything that undermines the program's capabilities or the president's authority."The president’s authority…the president’s authority… Jesus Christ, we don’t even have the façade of a democracy anymore.
Do as I say, not as I do.
Per Paul’s post below, I’d like to direct you here. (I got this link from Maha.) It's a collection of anecdotes from abortion providers who have provided abortions to "pro-lifers," some of whom they recognized as having picketed their clinics. It’s everything you need to know about the “pro-life” folks. A couple of snippets:
I have done several abortions on women who have regularly picketed my clinics, including a 16 year old schoolgirl who came back to picket the day after her abortion…The rationalization is pathological. And the further you delve into the hearts and minds of the “pro-life” crowd—whether it’s women who have abortions and consider themselves the exception, parents of such women, women who personally reject abortion as an option and fail to see that that is a choice too, men who seek to control women’s autonomy, or any of the other types that make up this movement—the more you realize that this isn’t about morality; it’s just about control.
One morning, a woman who had been a regular 'sidewalk counselor' went into the clinic with a young woman who looked like she was 16-17, and obviously her daughter. When the mother came out about an hour later, I had to go up and ask her if her daughter's situation had caused her to change her mind. 'I don't expect you to understand my daughter's situation!' she angrily replied…
The sister of a Dutch bishop in Limburg once visited the abortion clinic in Beek where I used to work in the seventies. After entering the full waiting room she said to me, 'My dear Lord, what are all those young girls doing here?' 'Same as you', I replied. 'Dirty little dames,' she said…
A 21 year old woman and her mother drove three hours to come to their appointment for an abortion. They were surprised to find the clinic a 'nice' place with friendly, personable staff. While going over contraceptive options, they shared that they were Pro-Life and disagreed with abortion, but that the patient could not afford to raise a child right now. Also, she wouldn't need contraception since she wasn't going to have sex until she got married, because of her religious beliefs…
Unfortunately, many also think that somehow they are different than everyone else and they deserve to have an abortion, while no one else does…
Newfane, Vermont to Washington, D.C.: Impeach Bush!
An impeachment article, approved by a paper ballot 121-29 in Newfane Tuesday, calls on Vermont's lone member of the U.S. House, independent Rep. Bernie Sanders, to file articles of impeachment against President Bush, alleging he misled the nation into the Iraq war and engaged in illegal domestic spying…I’m moving to Newfane, Vermont.
At least four other Vermont towns, spurred by publicity about Newfane's resolution, endorsed similar resolutions during Tuesday's meetings: Brookfield, Dummerston, Marlboro and Putney.
(Hat tip to Holly.)
"You Give the Message to More Uniformed People..."
"...that it's a legitimate thing to do." And who are you with, anyway?
Digby and Greg point to a fascinating video of Anti-Abortion Protesters being questioned about "illegal abortion," and what, if any, the penalty should be for having an illegal abortion. The question is very simple; if abortion is illegal, and a woman has an abortion, what should the penalty be?
It's fascinating... none of them had ever given the question serious thought. In many cases, the people had been standing on streets with their grotesque pictures for years, and not one of them had ever considered what the "punishment" should be for having an illegal abortion. Although they all believe that abortion is murder, they couldn't even strongly state that women having illegal abortions deserve life in prison.
Sure, it makes you feel good to say "God called me," and it certainly is good for your ego to pass judgement on those wicked, wicked women that have abortions... but when it comes down to brass tacks, what do you do with women that break the law?
Remember, according to the argument, these women are murderers.
"Pray for them" and "counseling" seem to be the brilliant solutions.
Wow.
Digby sez:
So I think we need to have this discussion. Let's debate it out in the open and "air both sides" because from where I sit it's the "pro-lifers" who haven't thought this thing through. Nobody says they can't agitate against abortion and stand out there with their sickening pictures and try to dissuade women from doing it. I will defend their right to argue against abortion forever. But when they use the law to enforce their moral worldview they need to recognize that they can't have it both ways. If fetuses are human and have the same rights as the women in whom they live, then a woman who has an abortion must logically be subject to the full force of the law. It would be a premeditated act of murder no different than if she hired a hit man to kill her five year old. The law will eventually be able to make no logical moral distinction. Is everybody ready for that?
Obviously, no one is.
"I'm not a lawyer."
"I hadn't really thought about that."
Clutch rosary, cross self, clear mind. And always let your conscience be your guide...
(Okay, relax, and assume the position... go into cross-post submission...)
Faith-Based Profiteering
Via Comandante Agi, I find out that the president has signed an executive order yesterday creating a Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives within the Department of Homeland Security. Agi suggests that “placing it under DHS demonstrates how committed he is to fighting the War on Terror under the auspices of the Almighty,” but, after reading the whole order, I suspect it’s more about assisting his cronies in profiteering from the nation’s crumbling social infrastructure under the auspices of the Almighty.
Sec. 2. Purpose of Center. The purpose of the Center shall be to coordinate agency efforts to eliminate regulatory, contracting, and other programmatic obstacles to the participation of faith-based and other community organizations in the provision of social and community services.Got that? Bush spends five years running up massive deficits, giving disproportionate tax breaks to the wealthy, and warmongering on the taxpayers’ dime to bring us to a point where, in the grand vision of small-government conservatives, the federal government has to start stripping funding for social programs out of the budget. As the government shrivels "down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub,” as is conservatives’ fervert hope once elucidated by Grover Norquist, individual communities must pick up the slack—sheltering the homeless, providing food and healthcare to the needy, buying books and supplies for classrooms, etc. Their grand dream is turn over to volunteers the social safety net our government should be providing.
The catch, of course, is that poor communities with the greatest need also have the most dire dearth of resources. And make no mistake—that’s not an ignorant oversight on the parts of the men who planned our infrastruacture’s decimation from the grounds of their palatial estates. They know what the catch is, and they know that the government will still have to help in poor communities. But when the government provides directly to people in need, no one gets rich. On the other hand, if the government contracts out helping the poor to “community organizations” who provide social and community services, then there’s suddently a money-making opportunity, not to mention the chance to ensure those providing the services serve them up with a side dish of supportive ideology. No more of those consternating “programmatic obstacles.” You can get rid of funding for groups that might support unions, comprehensive sex education, abortions, voter registration, and anything else that might help people have more control over their own lives.
(Check out this fine bit of hypocrisy from the Granddaddy of the Ownership Society: Own your responsibility for your retirement and healthcare—the government shouldn’t tell you how your money is spent!—but any assistance you need if you fail will be managed by a faith-based community organization approved by the government.)
Once the profiteering project is rolling, that’s when Step 2: Undermining the Division Between Church and State begins.
coordinate a comprehensive departmental effort to incorporate faith-based and other community organizations in Department programs and initiatives to the greatest extent possible… propose the development of innovative pilot and demonstration programs to increase the participation of faith-based and other community organizations in Federal as well as State and local initiatives… develop and coordinate Departmental outreach efforts to disseminate information more effectively to faith-based and other community organizations with respect to programming changes, contracting opportunities, and other agency initiatives, including but not limited to Web and Internet resources.Work faith-based programs into the fabric of the federal government to the greatest extent possible. Create a direct line of communication between the administration and the faith-based programs to disseminate ideological information and news about “contracting opportunities”—in other words, once you’ve proven yourself a reliable crony, you’ll be first to hear about how you can make more money off the poor…under the auspices of the Almighty.
The only “Almighty” in this equation is The Almighty Buck, and George Bush is its prophet and messiah.
This was all done under the power of an Executive Order. No checks. No balances.
The Center shall begin operations no later than 45 days from the date of this order.Welcome to totalitarian rule, my friends.
Question of the Day
Suggested by Comandante Agi: “I was listening to the album Simple Things by Zero 7. I heard someone refer to this album as the "greatest album to have sex to of all time". So the question goes... What is your favorite album to set the mood (i.e. get it on)? I know you can phrase the question better than I can (make it less dirty sounding).”
I could, but why would I want to?
There are lots of albums that put me in the mood—Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On is an obvious choice, but it has its reputation for a reason; Thelonious Monk’s Monk’s Blues; David Bowie’s Low; and I could go on and on. Probably my number one choice would be Suede’s debut album, Suede, which features one of my favorite put-me-in-the-mood songs, “Moving,” and also has as its cover a rather sexy make-out picture. (Women who own copies of Our Bodies, Our Selves will surely recognize it; in the full shot, one of the women is sitting in a wheelchair.) Listening to the album also always evokes memories of a 1993 Suede show, which I spent pressed against the stage, longing for Brett Anderson, who kindly gave me special attention in return—dusting my head with flower petals, holding my hand while singing the chorus of Pantomime Horse, and kissing my palm then running it up his corduroyed inner thigh, to Mr. Furious’ endless chagrin and jealousy. (It’s only fair—Moz plays for his team!)
Hmm…I haven’t listened to that CD in ages. I just might have to dig it out this evening…
Actual Headline
Democrats Struggle To Seize Opportunity.
Actual sub-head: Amid GOP Troubles, No Unified Message
My actual response: Duh.
Angels in scrubs?
Kate over at Healthy Policy takes a look at ABC's new reality show, Miracle Workers, a show Ezra aptly describes as "both the most charitable thing on television and entertainment's most poignant window into all that's wrong with our society." Kate feels it's, quite bluntly, "the wrong take on health care."
The show, following in Extreme Home Makeover's footsteps, creates a construction that Bad Things happen to people, and a choice handful will be lucky enough to come under the lens of millions and deemed worthy of assistance. It's a revival of the notion of the deserving poor…It wouldn't take a miracle to solve the nation's health care crisis; just a little hard work and determinism to fix it once and for all. But I guess that doesn't make good television. Just ask CNN, MSNBC, Fox News...
It’s taking the uninsured and making them special cases to nurture and heal. It’s ignoring the fact that 46 million people are in the same place as the two patients featured every week on this show…
This show could really make leaps and bounds for health care if it discussed these cases in the context of what they are: the lucky few of an addressable problem. Every person in this nation deserves access to this kind of care, and there’s any number of ways we can go about ensuring that. We should take that joy and hope the sick enjoy when they get adequate care, and use that as reason to cover everyone.
Instead Americans will blissfully sit in front of their television, eyes a little wet as the "miracles" progress, little thought given to the rest of the uninsured and how they’ll never see doctors like this.
(Crossposted at AlterNet PEEK.)
Quote of the Day
Dolly Parton, on why she won’t run for president: “I think we've had enough boobs in the White House.”
I love you, Dolly!
Rugged Individualist
We have an idiot for a president.
I know that’s not news, but sometimes, I read something that not only reconfirms the statement’s lack of hyperbole, but actually creates a whole new section of the map which represents the vast and divergent landscape of his idiocy.
Nothing says power like the Oval Office. The paintings of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. The bust of Dwight D. Eisenhower. The desk used by both Roosevelts.Egads. Can’t you just hear him heh-hehing his way through that one? Yeesh.
And then there's the rug. Don't forget the rug. President Bush never does.
For whatever reason, Bush seems fixated on his rug. Virtually all visitors to the Oval Office find him regaling them about how it was chosen and what it represents…
Elizabeth Vargas, the ABC News anchor, was the latest to get the treatment. She went by last week to interview Bush before his trip to Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. Sure enough, she wasn't in the room but a minute or two before he started telling her about the carpet.
"You know an interesting story about the rug?" he asked. "Laura designed the rug."
"She did?" Vargas said.
"Yeah, she did. Presidents are able to pick their own rugs or design their own rugs."
Bush went on: "The interesting thing about this rug and why I like it in here is 'cause I told Laura one thing. I said, 'Look, I can't pick the colors and all that. But make it say 'optimistic person.'"
"He loves his rug," said Nicolle Wallace, the White House communications director. "I've heard him describe it countless times."I can’t even imagine working so closely with the president that I had to hear him wax poetic about this stupid fucking Ikea-knockoff rug “countless times.” I would have blown my friggin’ brains out.
Sometimes Bush describes it as a metaphor for leadership. Sometimes he relates how Russian President Vladimir Putin admired the carpet. Sometimes he seems most taken by the lighting qualities.I kid you not, the article goes on and on, including anecdotes about how Bush even mentions this fucking rug in the virtual tour on the White House website, how it gets a mention in Fred Barnes’ new tome Rebel-in-Chief, and how Bush has taken the rug-speak “on the road, sharing it with workers at a moving company in Sterling on Jan. 19, then with students at Kansas State University on Jan. 23, and again with supporters at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry on Feb. 1.” Good fucking lord.
I would bet anyone one hundred billion dollars that this dipshit has mentioned the Oval Office rug more times in the last year than the name Osama bin Laden has passed his lips.
Stumbling into the Twilight Zone at the Home and Patio Show
John Howard shares the tale of inadvertently walking into a different dimension during a recent family outing to a home and patio show.
[A]s my wife was talking to a guy in one booth about lawn care, the pest control guy in the next booth sees my son in his stroller and gives him a keychain, which was nice. He then tells my son something about how every man should have a keychain in his pocket. A little odd, I thought, but whatever. But then, using that as some bizarre segue relating to perceived manly behaviors (I guess?) he starts into a little anecdote, which I'm still not too clear on because I really couldn't believe that he was saying what I thought he was saying. Anyway, he says something about going into neighborhoods to get kids to go to Sunday school, and how he saw a young boy walking, and I forget how he put it, but the point was the kid wasn't walking like a man. So, he apparently told this kid something to the effect that woman walk with movement in their hips and wrists, but men walk with movement from their shoulders and arms (?), and that this kid needed to walk differently, so people "wouldn't get the wrong idea."It's always interesting living in a conservative area and being part of a straight, white couple who doesn't hate gay people, or people of color, or, you know, liberals. It never ceases to amaze how willingly people who assume you're just like them will put their bigotry on public display. Mr. Shakes and I are regularly assumed to be Christian, Bush-loving bigots who just can't wait to make babies, instead of the godless, deliberately childless, progressive traitors we actually are. Even his Scottish accent, tagging him as being one of those nasty Yur-oh-pee-ans, doesn't seem to cause pause, although that might be because, as we've learned from various comments, people think he's from Texas and that Scotland is part of America.
…I really didn't know what to say, I really thought I must have missed some part of what he said that would make it seem less insane, so I just walked on to the next booth, while my wife confirmed that what I heard was accurate. …We could use pest control too, and my wife was going to ask him about it, until he told his little anecdote. I wish the story had ended with the kid telling him that it wouldn't be the wrong idea, or just telling him to fuck off and mind his own business.
John notes:
If we can't get to the point in my lifetime where everyone is tolerant and understanding of people who are not like them (and I really think we can, or at least pretty close), I'd at least settle for getting close enough where people like this feel too ashamed of their idiotic beliefs to feel comfortable expressing them openly to strangers.I'm not sure that people who espouse views like the one he encountered actually believe that there are straight, white couples who aren't like them—maybe because they've never met any who weren't. I've too often been the target of a familiarity that suggests such people view the world with an us-against-them mentality, with straight, white Christians being the "us" and everyone else the "them," to believe otherwise. It's always a decidedly uncomfortable situation to be in, although I never tire of the look of surprise I receive when brutally quashing their delusions of kinship with a well-placed, "Yeah, you know what? I'm not homophobic," or "I'm afraid you've mistaken me for a racist."
Stutter stutter stammer.
Get stuffed, losers.
(Crossposted at AlterNet PEEK.)
Koufax Part Deux
Voting is now open to determine the finalists—and I sure would like your votes if you enjoy Shakespeare’s Sister!
Shakespeare’s Sister has been nominated for Best Blog (non-professional), Best Group Blog, and Best Series for coverage of the Downing Street Memo.
I’ve been nominated for Best Writing, as well as Best Post for Scarred, Liberals Will Save America, and Anti-Choicers: Not So Fast.
More Shaker nominations here.
It Was Only a Mini-Rape
After being choked, knocked around, raped at knifepoint, kidnapped, and held for six hours before she escaped, a then 50-year-old kitchen worker at a state juvenile detention facility has been denied a captivity benefit for union members because she was not held hostage long enough.
The union's insurance policy covers only victims held captive for eight hours or more.Before any quick “hey, rules is rules” dismissals, you might be interested to know:
A waiver could have been issued if the Civil Service Employees Association's executive board had approved the victim's request.So why wasn’t it?
On Monday, CSEA spokesman Steve Madarasz said the incident did not meet the criteria of the hostage insurance policy.Well, that certainly explains it.
"Obviously, this was a very unfortunate incident," he said, but declined further comment.
I guess next time Ms. Uppity gets beaten, kidnapped, and raped, she’ll think twice about escaping her captor two hours before the compassion kicks in.
(Passed on by Shaker Angelos.)
