Tigtog has fun with Glenn Sacks, who has some creative excuses for why he quoted the "Shut up!" part of the expandable post function as though it were part of the text of one of my posts, even though the post in question didn't even include a "below the fold."
I like how his defense is essentially that he's a gormless douchebrain who still doesn't know what he's doing after a year of blogging. Extra points for quoting Tigtog calling him a "moron," even though she actually said "Wotta maroon."
UPDATE: Tigtog's got an update. Turns out Sacks really is just a gormless douchebrain. My apologies for overestimating him.
Just kidding. Genuine apologies.
Breaking News: MRA Is Mendacious Asshole
This Is Nutz
The Florida Senate, faced with a massive budget crunch that will bleed the public schools dry, took up a really important issue yesterday.
"Truckyness"? Sheesh.Drivers who want their trucks to have that virile look dodged a bullet in the Legislature Wednesday.
State senators talked over the pressing issue of ''truck nutz'' after Sen. Carey Baker, a Eustis Republican, proposed a $60 fine for vehicles that have the popular anatomical figures on display. The proposal was an amendment to a larger bill dealing with transportation issues.
The measure met with resistance from Sen. Jim King, a Jacksonville Republican, who called them ''a statement of truckyness''.
Sen. Evelyn Lynn also objected to the bill. ''This seems to be a morality ticket. It doesn't seem germane.''
After a 20-minute discussion, the ''truck nutz'' measure was bagged.
I have an idea. The next time the Florida Senate decides to waste their time and our money fretting over something like this, we take up a collection, buy up a bunch of these nutz, and send them to them as a symbolic reminder of what we'll do to the senators at the voting booth if they don't get back to work.
(Cross-posted.)
Question of the Day
Inspired by The Red Queen, who's listing movie/TV/advert plots she'd like to see, like "A movie where a middle aged guy falls for a middle aged woman and it is considered normal instead of empowering for older women everywhere" or "A commercial where men clean toilets."
What entertainment or advertising concept would you like to see that you've never seen before (or is vanishingly rare)?
I'd love to see a movie with a fat female protagonist who's smart, witty, self-confident, and content. Obviously, this would have to be fantasy/sci-fi, as we all know women like that don't actually exist.
Caption This Photo
"When I was your age, I had to walk 10 miles to school every day—uphill both ways!"
A weeks-old Galapagos Giant Tortoise crawls in front of its 70-year-old mother "Nigrita" inside an enclosure at Zurich zoo March 19, 2007. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann (SWITZERLAND)
Meet the New Poodle
From The Guardian:
Brown said the world owed Bush "a great deal of gratitude" for helping to root out terrorism.No, Gordon, I think "the world" would disagree with you on that one.
All Right Then
SuperKos, Grand Poohbah of the Fauxgressives, doesn't consider Hillary Clinton a Democrat anymore.
SuperKos: Clinton isn't a Democrat anymore. There's your marching orders.
QCoFM: Hmm. That seems unnecessarily divisive.
SuperKos: Divisive? How is it divisive?
QCoFM: Well, it seems to me like it's potentially pretty alienating of the millions of Democrats who have voted for Clinton during the primary.
SuperKos: Oh, they're not Democrats anymore, either.
QCoFM: Ah, I see. This is your new message of unity and hope and change and post-partisanship, then?
SuperKos: Yeah. Pass it on.
QCoFM: I'll get right on that.
I Think We're Onto Something
The current brouhaha in DC is centered around Bush having the gall to ask for yet MORE funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. What makes this request different from the ones before is that Congress, in a rather uniquely bi-partisan fashion, is attaching an interesting little condition to the $108 billion check: Bush gets his money only if he agrees to actually spend some money for important items on the home front, like our own law enforcement.
So let me see if I get this straight:
- Bush wants a lot of money for his useless war.Congress will fork over the dough if he agrees to spend money for our country, in addition to Iraq.Bush will veto a bill with the domestic spending condition.Therefore, veto = no more war funding.
At a sometimes combative Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, White House budget director Jim Nussle chided lawmakers for a "sky-is-the-limit mind-set" regarding "the desire of some in Congress to load up this troop funding bill with tens of billions in additional spending."Well, Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) totally let Nussle have it, in no uncertain terms. In fact, I order all of you to watch the video (and optionally read the transcript) at ThinkProgress.
It's one of the best ass-kickings given to any member of the Bush administration I've ever seen. In fact, it is so much teh aw3some that I ordered Liss to watch the video immediately, after which she declared: "I want to be Barbara Mikulski when i grow up!"
Update: Video now available below the fold.
Huh
Some Nobel Prize-winning dudez in the Wall Street Journal: We Need a Science White House.
Me: No shit. That's why I voted for Al Gore eight fuckin' years ago!
OMG Shoez 2
Shoez. Shoez. Shoez. OMG Shoez.
For the Shaker women (and men) whose toes are curling (or knees are aching) at the sight of the heels, these are my most favorite swoon-worthy flats at the moment:
OMG Tartan Ballet-Slippy Sneakers! Wheeeeeeeeeeee!
[Why, yes—I am sick of writing about politics and prejudices at the moment; why do you ask…?]
Quote of the Day
"We may have to sit through worse films to come this year, but with any luck, there'll be none as guilelessly, idiotically misogynist as this one."—Ella Taylor, reviewing for the Village Voice Al Pacino's new film 88 Minutes, which currently has a Metacritic score of TWO after five reviews, including Todd McCarthy's Variety review in which he notes that 88 Minutes "easily snatches from Revolution the prize as Al Pacino's career worst."
Sounds awesome!
[H/T Mr. Shakes.]
OMG Shoez
Shoez. Shoez. Shoez. OMG Shoez.
Yes, I admit it, Pet and I spent an inordinate amount of time drooling about shoes yesterday. And this? "Sometimes, hell, all the time this election cycle, a pleasant superficial discussion keeps us sane." Is 100% spot-on. Also, having had a few days of abject fuckitallity recently, I decided it was worth a few bucks to get myself a nice new pair of saucy spring sandals. I almost never buy anything for myself Just Because, so on the rare occasions I do, it makes me inordinately happy.
Especially if they happen to perfectly match my favorite pink cardigan, look great with my favorite boot-cut jeans, and prove surprisingly comfortable.
Hello, my pretties.
I Can't Decide Which Part to Quote
So I'll just suggest that everyone go read Brownfemipower's final thoughts on the recent controversy and why she now explicitly rejects feminism.
Enjoy the rest, BfP. We'll find you again.
Congratulations, Digby!
Digby was chosen as the Favorite Female Blogger in WVWV's Women's Voices Making History Contest.
Well deserved. Extremely well deserved.
In my very first blog post ever, before I'd even figured out how to do a blogroll, I listed eight of my favorite bloggers, half of which I don't even read anymore.
I still read Digby.
Krystal Gemz: Chapter 14: John McPAAAAIN!!!
It was late. I sat at the small desk in the far corner of my Conjury, reading my battered copy of the "Book of Shadows", and sipping on elixirs and ales. Suddenly, my wizard's intuition began to detect a disturbance in the Great Weave. It was a sensation that I can't quite describe...it was like a ringing in the ears, or the feeling of being watched. It started out small, but quickly grew. Soon, my hair was standing on end, and my teeth were aching from some sinister presence.
Suddenly, there was a deafening roar from the other side of the room, coming from the silver summoning circle that was inlaid in the concrete of the floor. The roar was quickly followed by a blinding yellow light and the acrid stench of rotten eggs—sulfur. The light formed into a sort of ethereal miniature tornado, which slowly died down to reveal presidential hopeful John McCain, standing trapped in my summoning circle, his teeth bared angrily, and his navy blue blazer swirling about him, blown by unseen winds. He raised his summoner's staff to strike out at me, but it met with an invisible wall of resistance—the protection of the circle. He voiced his frustration in a wordless, beastly howl that chilled me to the bone and doubtless woke people up all over my cul-de-sac.
I raised my left arm in front of me, pushing will power into my shield bracelet. It began to pulse with blue-white energy. I approached John cautiously.
McPain: Kenny Blogginz! Let me out of this circle so I can finish you once and for all!
KBlog: Whoa whoa whoa...have I missed something here? Why the hell are you trying to kill me in my basement all of a sudden!? And how do you even know my name?
McPain: I know everyone's names...I'm goddamn John McCain! As for why I'm trying to kill you, you know what you did!
KBlog: Is this about that article I wrote like 3 months ago? What was it called again...?
McPain: It was called "McCrapalypse Now", you pompous ass!
I spit orange soda all over the place in a sudden fit of laughter. John McCain raged against the summoning circle once more.
McPain: You think you're so fucking special, always bragging about your mastery of the Forgotten Arts, and the Ancient Craft...well let me tell YOU something. I fucking INVENTED magic! I am the original chronomancer, you amateur half-wit! I'll have you know that I drink your Ice Blasts! I DRINK THEM UP!
KBlog: Jeez, calm down, John. That was just a joke! I didn't mean anything by it! See, the reason it was funny was because the film "Apocalypse Now" is basically like a documentary about you!
McPain: Oh, I know why it was supposed to be funny, but it was very offensive and mean spirited, and I'm going to kick your ass hardcore just as soon as I break out of this thing...
KBlog: Come on, McSAME, don't be like this...
McPain: Don't call me McSAAAAAME!!!
At this point, John McCain was finally able to body slam his way out of the circle. He advanced upon me with a wicked grin on his face, his hard-soled boots clacking sharply on the hard floor.
McPain: In the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost...PYTHONS!!!
Out of the end of McCain's Summoning Staff flew a dozen giant pythons, fangs bared for my throat. I redoubled the energy flowing into my shield bracelet. The first few pythons rebounded off a translucent blue circle in front of my arm, but the next nine or so were able to break through my shield and immediately wrapped around my body, constricting painfully. I fell to the floor, gasping for breath. McCain's cruel grin spread, and he raised his staff for a finishing blow. With the last breath of air in my lungs, I quickly rasped out the words to a teleportation spell. There was a flash of light and a strange feeling of directionless motion, and before I knew it, I was standing directly behind McCain.
KBlog: Wizard's Surprise, asshole!
I quickly traced a glowing blue pentacle in the air in front of me, which flew forward and wrapped around McCain, effectively imprisoning him. The summoned pythons disintegrated as their master's concentration was broken.
KBlog: Looks like the tables have turned, DIRTBAG!
I dragged him back into the summoning circle, and cast him through a portal into the Realm of Farts.
KBlog: Have fun smelling farts for the next million years or so!
McPain: You haven't heard the last of me, Kenny Blogginz, I SHALL have my revenge!
The portal closed with a hiss, showering sparks all over the damn place. I trudged upstairs, drank three beers at the same time, and collapsed onto my futon bed.
To be continued…?
Broad Attacks!
So, this morning's NYT headline about last night's debate is: Clinton Uses Sharp Attacks in Tense Debate.
I'm not even going to quibble about that interpretation of what happened. I just want to point out that last night, the same article had this headline:
Hmm. How odd that they'd switch from one word to another that's almost its antonym, in order to convey the same message.
I mean, here are a few definitions of "broad," courtesy of Dictionary.com:
- widely diffused; open; full
- not limited or narrow; of extensive range or scope
- unconfined; free; unrestrained
- having a thin cutting edge or a fine point
- clearly defined; distinct
- distinct or marked, as a contrast
Oh, right.
Slang.For fuck's sake. They're not even trying to hide it anymore.
a. Usually Offensive. a woman.
b. a promiscuous woman.
Clinton, Criticism, and Misogyny
Once again, re: the below post, I'm finding myself having to stipulate in comments that I don't believe—never have, never will, not even close—that any criticism of Hillary Clinton is de facto misogynistic. That is categorically not what that post is saying (nor this one, nor any other).
I promise if I ever change my mind and decide that any criticism of Hillary Clinton is de facto misogynistic, what I will do is write a post that says, "Any criticism of Hillary Clinton is de facto misogynistic," instead of obliquely burying it within other posts ostensibly about other things, as people seem to think I'm doing.
What I actually am doing, below and elsewhere, is making that point that particular ways of criticizing Hillary Clinton trade on very specific and ancient misogynist frames, and that those particular ways of criticizing her cannot be divorced from their history. Examples:
• Wanting to punch Hillary because of some perceived personal or political flaw --> History of using violence to silence powerful women.
• Judging Hillary based on the sound of her voice --> History of women's voices and tones are routinely singled out as prohibitively unbearable.
• Holding Hillary accountable for something Bill Clinton did (with which she has not claimed participation) --> History of women's individual identities being subsumed into their husbands'.
• Interrupting Hillary at a campaign event with chants of "Iron My Shirt!" --> History of women being relegated to the domestic sphere.
• Casting Hillary as a "she-devil" --> History of powerful women being (literally) demonized as unnatural creatures (devils, monsters, witches).
Et cetera. There's nothing inherently misogynistic about not liking Hillary Clinton as a candidate, or even as a person. But if you express that dislike about her, or her policies, in a way that fits an existent misogynist frame, then it's a problem.
And it strikes me that many of the male commentators, in comments here or at other blogs—including dismissive snark like ending a post criticizing Hillary with "Cue the Clinton feminazis to tell cry misogyny"—are exasperated with the whole thing because they're totally bloody ignorant about women's history. (And not a few women, too.) They unintentionally use misogynist framing, then get annoyed when called on it, because they feel like their intent wasn't motivated by misogyny, so what they said couldn't possibly be misogynist.
Except, of course, that it can.
What's really become obvious to me during this primary is how profoundly unknowledgeable we are about the processes by which misogyny has been conveyed. (Clearly, this primary has exposed the same about historical racism.)
I beg Shakers to understand that it is possible for you to trade on misogynist frames without realizing it—and that saying "That is a misogynistic criticism of Clinton" is not the same as saying "You're a sexist pig!"
We all need to examine this shit. Exist in this space with the knowledge that no one believes criticism of Clinton is de facto misogynist and that calling out misogynist frames isn't de facto an accusation of misogynist intent.
Carry on.
News from Château Deeky
There is now a Château Deeky. That is to say, I purchased a house on Tuesday. From bell push to faucet, I am now the proud owner* of 1600 square feet of suburban tract house in a quaint little development named Lakeshire Estates**.
I've spent two evenings after work painting***, and plan to do two more before moving in on Saturday.
Housewarming party to follow shortly. You're all invited****.
(* Well, half of it anyway: My roommate owns the other half.)
(** I think I may start referring to this as the Shire.)
(*** "Palatial" looks a lot pinker on the walls than on that little card at Home Depot, by the way.)
(**** Trolls and wingnuts excluded.)
Clinton the Woman vs. Clinton the Person
I can't actually believe I'm having to write this post, but this issue has come up a lot lately—in comments, in my email, at other blogs—and again here last night in comments, wherein a commenter said (with regard to the "when he hears the senator's voice, he's overcome by an urge to punch her in the face" quote highlighted in my Feminism and Humanism piece): "I want to punch Clinton the person, not Clinton the woman."
These are not separable identities.
I see this notion everywhere—that some violent urge toward Hillary Clinton isn't aimed at "Clinton the woman," but at some other magical version of her where her sex and gender have been erased, presumably along with the entire cultural context of womanhood. The semantic contortions invoked to extricate "Hillary Clinton the person" from "Hillary Clinton the woman" are an attempt to do an end-run around that context, to create a space outside of reality, where Hillary Clinton exists in some sexless, genderless limbo and people can talk about wanting to injure that non-woman without all the icky negative images injuring actual women conjures for most decent people.
The worst part about this argument is that it denies Hillary Clinton her womanhood to justify violence against her.
When women / POC / LGBTQs / other marginalized people (and any and all intersectionalities thereof) are disappeared via denial of the intrinsic characteristics that define their marginalization, particularly in order to rationalize mistreatment, that's a social violence, a theft of identity and thusly a subversion of the framework necessarily used by subjugated people to connect to the larger culture because of how the larger culture defines them. Hillary Clinton is now told that being a woman, the source of the lifelong bias she has faced, no longer matters—not so that she can be made equal, but so that she can be punched in the face.
Huzzah for progress.
Ultimately, if you want to punch Hillary Clinton for being Hillary Clinton, or because of the sound of her voice, that's your prerogative, but you ought to at least have the integrity to own it wholly, which means owning the entire context: Irrespctive of whether it's specifically because she's a woman, the desire to punch a woman necessarily carries with it particular cultural baggage, including, for example, that women are disproportionately victimized by domestic violence and that women's voices and tones are routinely singled out as prohibitively unbearable. That's the context of womanhood.
It's something of which I must be conscious, too—I am reluctant to use violent imagery generally, but extremely averse to using it when discussing women I don't like. Despite the distinct unlikelihood that anyone would mistake misogyny as my motivation, even a (metaphorical) attack within a culture in which women—particularly strong, opinionated women—have historically been silenced with threatened or actual violence borrows and legitimizes misogynist strategies. I don't have to like Hillary Clinton's voice (although, for the record, I do), or her policies or her sense of humor or her decision to stay in the race, and neither does anyone else—but, regardless of intent, the public declaration of a desire to punch her in response summons an ugly history of physically silencing uppity women. And, no, a threat to punch a man doesn't work quite the same way—care of the double standard brought to you daily by the patriarchy.
(I feel pretty confident that I can safely say, on behalf of feminist women everywhere, we'll happily give up the disparity between threats to hit men and women in exchange for full equality. Just FYI, for any dudez who might be feeling the harrumph of unfairness.)
Here's the thing: Hillary Clinton can't escape the context of womanhood by wishing it away, and you can't wish it away, either. She can't wave a magic wand and erase it to her benefit, and you can't declare it irrelevant while discussing how you want to pummel her. She doesn't get to say, "I'm not running for president as a woman; I'm running for president as a person," because being a woman still matters in this culture; womanhood still precludes full personhood. You don't get to pretend that's not the reality in which we live to declare you're punching "Hillary Clinton the person," not "Hillary Clinton the woman."
Consider what it means, just for a moment, that we are still meant to regard those as mutually exclusive concepts.
Quote of the Day
"I think I would pay to see a reanimated Edward R. Murrow eat Chris Matthews's brain. Except, I'm sure even the zombie of Edward R. Murrow would turn that idea down, finding the thing too small and bitter to be palatable."—Andrea, following up that slice of pure genius with more love for Eric Boehlert.
