Shakesville

Temerity the Size of Texas

So there's this Louisiana state representative, John LaBruzzo (R-Lebensunwertes Leben), who announced this week he's "studying a plan to pay poor women $1,000 to have their Fallopian tubes tied" because: "We're on a train headed to the future and there's a bridge out."

LaBruzzo said he worries that people receiving government aid such as food stamps and publicly subsidized housing are reproducing at a faster rate than more affluent, better-educated people who presumably pay more tax revenue to the government. He said he is gathering statistics now.

"What I'm really studying is any and all possibilities that we can reduce the number of people that are going from generational welfare to generational welfare, " he said.

You know, that's something that really concerns me, too—which is why I'm proposing as a contingency of the federal bailout that every executive at every firm receiving government funds is required to undergo sterilization.

Most of them will be vasectomies anyway, so it'll be cheap—and Maude knows that this country cannot sustain another generation of voraciously greedy, altogether unethical, social Darwinist, lackadaisical, laissez-faire, deregulating degenerates holding out their hats for massive government hand-outs.

I would say let's build a wall around their depraved little communities to keep them in, but they're already gated. Let's just put an armed guard at the front gate and make sure none of them get out and accidentally wander into a decent community and infect it with their cooties.

Look, I know that sounds totally racist, since most of the people who run massive financial firms are white, but, as Rep. LaBruzzo says: "It's easy to say, 'Oh, he's a racist. The hard part is to sit down and think of some solutions." And, frankly, my solution is darn good. I mean, the Wall Street bailout is something like 15x what the federal government spends on food stamps and subsidized housing every year, so I'm guessing Rep. LaBruzzo's going to jump right on board with my plan.

[Renee's got more; thanks to Shaker Broce for passing this along.]

Two-Minute Nostalgia Sublime

Square One

Project Runway Open Thread

DON'T BORE NINA!!!

Please tell me Kenley's going home tonight...

Question of the Day

Suggested by Shaker Skwee: What is the stupidest comment or comment thread you have seen?

Naturally, I've got to give the award to the Fat Princess Flypaper Post thread, which is positively legendary around Shakesville (and probably around Shapely Prose, too). The original thread was enormous; that's just a link to its greatest hits, but you can click through to the whole thing from there, should you be so inclined.

lol your stupid, trollz

Goofus and Gallant

Not an hour ago, Portly Dyke and I were on the phone discussing what Obama's response to McCain's "suspend the campaign and postpone the debate" assholery should be—and his response is almost exactly what we both wanted and hoped for:

"It's my belief that this is exactly the time when the American people need to hear from the person who in approximately 40 days will be responsible for dealing with this mess," said Obama. "Part of the president's job is to deal with more than one thing at once."

Awesome. Well played, Gallant.

Meanwhile, Goofus upped the ante by—I shit you not—invoking 9/11 and obliquely challenging Obama's patriotism:

"Following September 11th, our national leaders came together at a time of crisis," McCain said. "We must show that kind of patriotism now. Americans across our country lament the fact that partisan divisions in Washington have prevented us from addressing our national challenges. Now is our chance to come together to prove that Washington is once again capable of leading this country."

What a cretinous shitbag.

America 2.0: The Consequence Management Response Force

Is it just me, or is this vaguely terrifying?

Brigade Combat Team From Iraq Said to be First Active 'Dedicated' Assignment by U.S. Unit to Northern Command—'May be Called Upon to Help Withy Civil Unrest, Crowd Control' Beginning in October, According to Military Paper...

From Democracy Now!...
Beginning in October, the Army plans to station an active unit inside the United States for the first time to serve as an on-call federal response in times of emergency. … The Army Times reports this new mission marks the first time an active unit has been given a dedicated assignment to Northern Command. … The soldiers are learning to use so-called nonlethal weapons designed to subdue unruly or dangerous individuals and crowds.
…The brigade, according to the report, will be "known for the next year as...Consequence Management Response Force." Rest easy, kids!

I am suddenly and quote pointedly reminded of this post from just over a year ago. And, uh, this one from last April.

Greenwald's got more—including a fun little visit to the Big Fucked-Up Book of Bush's Signing Statements.

More America 2.0 here.

Mmm...Mavericky!

Republican presidential nominee John McCain this afternoon said he would suspend his presidential campaign tomorrow to return to Washington and help reach agreement on a plan to solve the financial crisis on Wall Street and called for Friday night's presidential debate to be delayed. (Link.)

Sure he did. Because it makes perfect sense that the American people would have no interest in seeing the two people who want to be their next president debate the most pressing crisis facing America.

And I'm sure this has nothing to do with the fact that the tanking economy is helping Obama, because Americans are (quite rightly) blaming Republican policies for it. No, no—it certainly has everything to do with what a ~~full-tilt douchebag~~ great patriot John McCain is.

Oy

A little of what I was talking about earlier today:

From the pool report account of what happened after McCain and Palin's meeting with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvilli and Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko:
McCain then looked around the room and gestured as if to welcome questions. The AP reporter shouted a question at Gov. Palin ("Governor, what have you learned from your meetings?") but McCain aide Brooke Buchanan intervened and shepherded everybody out of the room.

Palin looked surprised, leaned over to McCain and asked him a question, to which your pooler thinks he shook his head as if to say "No."

That's not a gotcha question—it's basic; it's a softball. She could have given the vaguest of typical nothing-answers to a question like that, like "There are no easy political answers for the region," or something even less parsable that that, like "I've been encouraged by how much support the United States continues to enjoy around the world."

Honestly, I couldn't stand to be in her position. After that, I'd be all: "Look, McCain—you've got to let me answer questions, because you're making me look like a fucking idiot. Let me play ball, or I'm taking mine and going home and good luck to ya without me."

Actually, I would have said that from the beginning, but I'm just an asshole that way.

Obama Racism/Muslim/Unpatriotic/Scary Black Dude Watch, #85

A [life-sized effigy] of Sen. Barack Obama was found hanging in the George Fox University quad early Tuesday along with graffiti aimed at minority recipients of a scholarship program, the university president told The Oregonian this morning.

…A custodian discovered the cutout of Obama about 7 a.m. Tuesday and removed it. The cutout was hung from a tree with fishing line near Minthorn Hall. He said the image of the African-American Democratic nominee for president was accompanied by the words, "Act Six reject."

Act Six is a scholarship program that was established two years ago and is aimed at including more low-income and minority students in the George Fox student body, [university president Robin Baker] said. Students are chosen for their leadership potential; all receive full scholarships.

He said about seven of those students are African-American. About a quarter of the student body is minority, "which for us is a really significant achievement," he said.

…"We select these kids in their senior year of high school," he said. "We talk to them about what it is like to join a suburban campus and some of the problems associated with it. It was very disappointing to find this."

Maybe it's not the students of color who need the talk about integration. Ahem. As Shaker JoAsakura's friend said (which JoAsakura sent to me by email) after hearing yet more about the special classes for Act Six students on the radio, "George Fox University's Act Six students all have had SPECIAL TRAINING as to what they can expect to have to handle, being that George Fox is a historically majority-white school. Where are the training programs for the white students as to what constitutes racial insensitivity?" Maybe they exist—although, if they do, they're sure not being mentioned today the way the classes for the Act Six students are, which itself smacks to me of a passive-aggressive reminder to those students that they're not to do anything crazy like get demonstrably angry about this.

(And maybe the president of a school interested in promoting diversity shouldn't say things like: "George Fox University is committed to becoming a place that more broadly represents the Kingdom of God – a place where students from diverse backgrounds come together to live out the teachings of Jesus in our world. We are all created in the image of God and placed in this world to reflect the character of God." But that's a whole other post.)

The supposed good news, such as it is, is that very few people actually saw the effigy before it was removed—although I'm curious if, in their zeal to remove it, the school potentially tampered with evidence at the scene of what certainly sounds like a hate crime.

Obama Racism/Muslim/Unpatriotic/Scary Black Dude Watch: Parts One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One, Twenty-Two, Twenty-Three, Twenty-Four, Twenty-Five, Twenty-Six, Twenty-Seven, Twenty-Eight, Twenty-Nine, Thirty, Thirty-One, Thirty-Two, Thirty-Three, Thirty-Four, Thirty-Five, Thirty-Six, Thirty-Seven, Thirty-Eight, Thirty-Nine, Forty, Forty-One, Forty-Two, Forty-Three, Forty-Four, Forty-Five, Forty-Six, Forty-Seven, Forty-Eight, Forty-Nine, Fifty, Fifty-One, Fifty-Two, Fifty-Three, Fifty-Four, Fifty-Five, Fifty-Six, Fifty-Seven, Fifty-Eight, Fifty-Nine, Sixty, Sixty-One, Sixty-Two, Sixty-Three, Sixty-Four, Sixty-Five, Sixty-Six, Sixty-Seven, Sixty-Eight, Sixty-Nine, Seventy, Seventy-One, Seventy-Two, Seventy-Three, Seventy-Four, Seventy-Five, Seventy-Six, Seventy-Seven, Seventy-Eight, Seventy-Nine, Eighty, Eighty-One, Eighty-Two, Eighty-Three, Eighty-Four.

AWOL

I've got a new piece up at The Guardian's Comment is free America about President Mondo Fucko's disappearing act:

People joke, or say quite seriously, that we're all better off the less involved Bush is — to which there is certainly some truth, but it masks a reality that really shouldn't go unremarked upon: The people who are filling the void of leadership he's left are people he appointed. Our nation is being run by people we haven't elected because the guy we did choose doesn't seem to be interested in the job anymore.

This fact has been patently obvious for at least a year. He's all but put an "I'd Rather Be Brushclearin'!" bumper sticker on Air Force One. It's no surprise he didn't have the decency to step down and let someone else do the job he can't be bothered doing (and for which he was always manifestly unqualified, anyway). It's no surprise that his own party didn't have the integrity to prioritise the good of the country over the good of their party and force out the idiot king. And it's no surprise that the Democrats didn't have the collective spine to put impeachment back on the table. No, none of these things are surprising.

But they are infuriating nonetheless.

Read the whole thing here.

And while you're there, check out Richard Adams' related piece, "The trillion-dollar questions."

Quote of the Day

"For years now, they've told us that we can't afford—that the government providing healthcare to all people is just unimaginable; it can't be done. We don't have the money to rebuild our infrastructure. We don't have the money to wipe out poverty. We can't do it. But all of a sudden, yeah, we do have $700 billion for a bailout of Wall Street."—Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont).

I Have a Better Idea . . . . .

Since we're looking at a $700 Billion Bailout, I thought I'd be helpful and offer some suggestions.

I think that I have a better idea than handing one man $700 billion dollars, while agreeing that "Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency."

Actually, I think I have THREE better ideas.

Better Idea #1: The Keep It Simple Stupid Idea

Since we're talking 700 Billion dollars, and there are nearly 7 billion people on the planet, how about we just go Absolute Deregulation on their asses? -- Give every single human on the planet 100 dollars and let them do whatever the fuck they want with it.

Now, the current estimated world population is only 6.725 billion as of this month, so, rather than fight over that remaining $27.5, maybe we could do something else with that -- let me think . . . . oh . . . . like, having a huge fuck-off party!

OK, now I realize that this KISS approach may be too "Act Globally, Think Universally" for some of you, so I have a couple of other ideas -- especially if you think that it would be unfair for US taxpayers to have to foot the bill for the whole world's sudden multi-billionaire status. I have to say that some part of me agrees that, even though we will all be multi-billionaires, too, each of us USofA tax-payin' citizens would have to part with $2,324.50 of our new-found wealth to pay for this approach, and that would just not be fair.

If you want to "keep US wealth in the US", my other two Better Ideas might be more palatable for you -- and they're both actually based in another KISS principle -- How about we just obey United States law?

Since legal precedent generally treats a corporation like an individual, and some corporations are teetering on the edge of financial ruin, why don't we just treat them like individuals?

We happen to have a couple of ways of dealing with some of the individuals who are in financial distress in our country.

For those in debt who want a "new start", we have Bankruptcy. For those who can't seem to make it on their own at the moment, we have Welfare.

So, for those who worry that Better Idea #1 smacks too strongly of Oh-Noes!-Teh-Socialism!!, I invite you to consider:

Better Idea #2 -- Bankruptcy:

This'll be easy! We even have a handy-dandy new bankruptcy law -- barely three years old! It's designed to help those in financial distress become more Responsible[tm] about how they handle their $$, and stop misusing the bankruptcy process! Doesn't that sound all warm and friendly and fiscally responsible and shit?

If we simply follow the 2005 law --

First, the troubled ~~individual~~ corporation will have to pass a means test, to be certain that they can qualify for a straight Chapter 7 bankruptcy. They will have to prove that they don't make more than the median income in their state.

What's that? You say that some of these corporations are incorporated in many (if not all) states? Oopsy! Well, let's just say that we take the average of all the corporations in all the states that they're incorporated in. That seems fair.

If they pass the median income test, they have to go to mandatory credit counseling, and then file Chapter 7, but any tax-debt, student-loan debt, fines incurred for violating the law, or debts incurred through fraud will have to be paid back. Properties that secured debts will have to be returned to the creditors.

If they don't pass the means test, they will have to file Chapter 13, and make monthly payments over a five-year period to repay their debt.

What's that? You say that the corporation itself doesn't have any money, because the CEOs and consultants and other high-level folks took all the money and are personally indemnified against the corporation's debt or mismanagement? Oopsy!

Whatever will we do with these naughty, naughty corporations? They can't pay a thing, poor dears, and they're penniless! Penniless, I tell you!

Well, I suppose that leaves us only:

Better Idea #3: Welfare

OK -- fine -- everybody makes mistakes. But don't worry, we're here to help -- of course, you'll need to do what everyone else who wants welfare has to do:

Depending on what state you're in, you can only have $1000-3000 worth of assets (including cash, checking/savings, stocks, bonds, IRAs, and 401ks). Since the corporation may be in many states, let's split the diff and say $2000 as an assets-cap. The corp can keep: (one) house, (one) car, a burial plot and up to $1500 in pre-paid funeral home accounts, and any assets that cannot be turned into cash. Maybe the CEOs can move in togther in the one house -- and they can car-pool.

Oops -- I forgot -- the CEOs are not the corporation, and they get to keep their houses, and cars, and yachts, and planes. And cash. And stocks. And bonds and IRAs and 401ks.

But on with this welfare thingy -- First, Mr. Corporation has to fill out an application, and wait. And wait. And wait.

What's that, Mr. Corporation? You're in trouble right now? Bummer. The wheels of bureaucracy turn slowly!

Well, now that I'm looking over your case-file, you might qualify for emergency food-stamps. (maximum benefit $155/month -- average $86/month). Maybe that'll help.

What's that? You're not feeling well, Mr. Corporation? Well, here's an application for medicaid. I'll warn you though -- it takes about 3 years for the approval. What? You're dying now? Bummer. The wheels of bureaucracy turn slowly!

Oh -- and just a reminder, Mr. Corporation -- *stern tone* --you have to report any change in your income to us immediately -- and if you don't, you may have to pay back any benefits that you may eventually qualify for. We may also schedule periodic home visits to check up on you.

What's that?

No, you don't get a five-year advance on your welfare checks . . . .
No, not even a three-month advance . . . . .
Well, Mr. Corporation, I hear that things are looking very grim for you right now, but . . . . yes, I understand that sir, and I've done all that I can do for you right now . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
lookit, Mr. Corporation!, nothing is going to be helped by you yelling at me! If you're approved, you'll get your check when everyone else gets their check, and I'll advise you to just go home now and I will get back to you if there's any change in your case!!!!!

(This dramatization brought to you by someone who has sat on both sides of the desk at the welfare office.)

So, I guess we're probably back to Better Idea #1, huh? Sounds more fun to me, anyway.
==========
(Fair Warning for the hard-of-humor: Although I actually do think that all of the ideas I've listed above would probably be better than one currently being offered by the Treasury Dept., I have no illusion that my suggestions will ever be taken seriously, and so, have not bothered to work out the actual practical details. If you try to take me to task for this in comments, I will laugh derisively at you and then immediately begin reciting my rather excellent marinade for Irish babies.)

[crossposted at Teh Portly Dyke]

Wednesday Blogaround

What's the frequency, Shakers?

Recommended Reading:

TGPW: WP/ABC Poll: Obama Jumps to Clear National Lead

Nicole: Even FOX Rebels Against Palin Media Shutout

Lauren: A Wish List for Young Parents

Jon: No Blank Check for Wall Street!

Shayera: Even With Huge Questions, Georgia Ready to Kill a Man

Lauredhel: Ad Standards Bureau Agrees With Jim Beam That Lesbianism is a "Tragedy"

bfp: Explaining Loving Michigan

Leave your links in comments...

What the hell is wrong with PETA?

I'm really tired of their idiot anti-woman stunts.

Maxin' and Relaxin'

Yesterday, Mama Shakes came over so we could watch the finale of The Office (UK) together, since I got her hooked on the show. "Never give up." Blubby blub kablub.

Anyblub, while we were watching it, Matilda crawled up beside me and eventually worked her way into the most hilarious upside-down position with her head hanging off the sofa, where she stayed for about an hour while I scratched her belly. Mama Shakes, always camera in hand, grabbed a picture.

Welcome to Chillsville, Population: Tilsy.

Shaker Gourmet: Avgolemono

Our recipe this week comes from Shaker Theriomorph, who says: "Good for the respiratory system, the soul, the heart, and probably the mind, too. Anecdata says it can also cure cramps, broken hearts, and pneumonia."

Avgolemono (Greek egg-lemon soup)
around 50 oz chicken broth (6 1/4 cups)
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
5 egg yolks
fresh parsley
some fresh thyme leaves
fresh ground black pepper to outside limit of tolerance
5 tablespoons brown rice*

Put the rice and thyme in the broth and cook for 40 minutes or so (bring to boil, turn down to simmer).

Whip the egg yolks until they go pale; add the lemon juice to them slowly, while stirring.

Chop up a few large handfuls of fresh parsley & set aside.

Add spoonfuls of the hot broth to the egg mixture, while stirring (so you raise the temperature of the eggs slowly enough not to separate them). When the egg mixture is steaming, add it into the broth-pot and stir for a few minutes (thickens up slightly, not much but keep it stirred so the egg mixture and the broth fully mix).

Garnish at the last minute with fistfuls of fresh parsley and as much black pepper as your lungs/sinuses need/can tolerate. If you're not sick & eating it just because it's yummy, go lighter on the pepper.

It's good amped up with diced chicken for extra protein, too, and not bad made with vegetarian broth (though I can't vouch for its healing effects with less protein).

*use Chinese forbidden rice for a nutty (and PURPLE!) version. Forbidden rice only needs about 30 minutes of simmer. I usually find it in the local co-op, or you can find it online.

If you'd like to participate in Shaker Gourmet, email me (include a blog link!) at: shakergourmet (at) gmail.com

Nothing Else Matters If We Don't Have Fair Elections

A month ago, Spudsy issued a reminder about the importance of ensuring that the upcoming election is fair. Today, I read this:

With 41 days to go before the presidential election, election officials and political operatives in [heavily populated Palm Beach County, Florida] — famous for overvotes, undervotes, butterfly ballots and hanging chads — are worried about a repeat performance of the chaos that clouded the outcome of the 2000 presidential race.

…"We have seen problems in Palm Beach County already in the primary," said Ben Wilcox, executive director of Common Cause Florida, a watchdog group. "I think potentially we could have major problems in Florida again."

It's not like they didn't try to fix things after the electoral meltdown that sent the 2000 election all the way to the United States Supreme Court.

The punch cards are gone. Security cameras monitor all activity in every county election office. Random spot-checks review each ballot in 2 percent of all precincts.

But the "improved" system may not be much better than the old one.

A month out from "a razor-close election" in Palm Beach County, the outcome is still being held up by court battles over the voting.

I quite honestly can't believe that the Democrats did not make this issue a centerpiece of their legislation once they secured a Congressional majority. Utterly foolish. Completely short-sighted. I've been writing about iterations of the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act (you can find House and Senate versions here) for three years, since Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) first introduced it in fall of 2005. Not only has it still not been passed—it's not even been reintroduced this year, in an election year where every Democrat in Congress will tell you what a vitally important election it is.

The Senate version, last introduced in Nov. 2007 by Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) has exactly one co-sponsor, and, despite the reasonable expectation that any sensible senator running for president would have signed on, the lone co-sponsor is not Barack Obama or Joe Biden or Hillary Clinton, but Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island.

Sigh.

The best we can do now is hope that Obama leads by a large enough margin on election day that any funny business will be evident. (Of course, even if he is, and loses, brace yourselves for the invocation of the Bradley Effect.) And, should the Dems retain their majority, we've got to harass them more to get this voting legislation passed. Time to spread some democracy at home.

Parity for Palin

Two weeks ago, when writing about the McCain advert that cast Obama and his (nonexistent) oppo researchers as wolves hunting down Sarah Palin, I said: "You know, it's not doing women any favors by pretending that being vetted by an opponent is akin to being stalked by a pack of wolves. That's what any candidate should expect, regardless of their sex—and asserting that a woman should be excepted from the typical campaign process is the real sexism here, not doing oppo research on her." I've been consistently infuriated with the McCain campaign's portrayal of Palin as a victim every time the media wants access to her or her policy positions are criticized, in no small part because there is actual sexism in this campaign that's being ignored by the McCain campaign even as it uses erroneous charges of sexism as a shield.

(I might, for the record, have some sympathy for the McCain campaign's position of keeping Palin away from the press, based on their shameful performance in covering Hillary Clinton and general willingness to engage in overt misogyny, if the campaign's gratuitous use of "the gender card" in places it doesn't belong didn't betray their real motivation.)

Anyway, it turns out I'm not the only woman who's losing my cool with this shit.

Campbell Brown, last seen at Shakesville handing McCain spokesperson Tucker Bounds his ass, went off on one last night, accusing the McCain campaign of binding Palin with "chauvinistic chains" and exhorting them to "Free Sarah Palin." It's awesome:

Bear with me, for a short rant on another subject, because frankly, I have had it, and I know a lot of other women out there are with me on this. I have had enough of the sexist treatment of Sarah Palin. It has to end. She was here in New York City today, meeting with world leaders at the U.N. And what did the McCain campaign do? They tried to ban reporters from covering those meetings. And they did ban reporters from asking Gov. Palin any questions.

Tonight, I call on the McCain campaign to stop treating Sarah Palin like she is a delicate flower that will wilt at any moment. This woman is from Alaska, for crying out loud. She is strong. She is tough. She is confident. And you claim she is ready to be one heartbeat away from the presidency. If that is the case, then end this chauvinistic treatment of her now. Allow her to show her stuff. Allow her to face down those pesky reporters, just like Barack Obama did today, just like John McCain did today, just like Joe Biden has done on numerous occasions.

Let her have a real news conference with real questions. By treating Sarah Palin different from the other candidates in this race, you are not showing her the respect she deserves. Free Sarah Palin. Free her from the chauvinistic chains you are binding her with. Sexism in this campaign must come to an end. Sarah Palin has just as much a right to be a real candidate in this race as the men do. So let her act like one.

Right on. As Steve Benen, who gets the hat tip, notes: "McCain and his team are making it clear that they don't respect Palin, don't trust her, and don't believe she's capable enough for the rigors of, say, a press conference." Precisely. One of the primary criticisms of McCain's selection of Palin was that he was using her as window-dressing, which may have been a premature charge the moment she was selected, without anyone having seen what she could do on a national stage, but that criticism is certainly fair at this point, as it's become patently obvious McCain doesn't want to use her for anything but rallying crowds at partisan campaign stops.

If she were auditioning to be head cheerleader, that might be okay, but she's not—she's running to be the next vice president of the United States.

We've already tried letting a cheerleader run the country. It doesn't work.

George W. Bush, Head Cheerleader at Andover, 1963.
Now, to avoid doing exactly the thing of which I'm accusing the McCain campaign, let me address for a moment Palin's complicity in this antifeminist charade. It is, of course, further evidence of her willingness to put her face on some sort of retrofuck version of women's lib that she is a consenting and eager participant in the misappropriation of feminist rhetoric to be used as a forcefield against legitimate criticism.

She is, like anti-ERA crusader Phyllis Schlafly or professional asshole Ann Coulter or the Times' resident woman-hater Maureen Dowd, content to reap the rewards of feminism even as she denigrates and misuses it. Feminism is the reason Palin has the opportunity she does, is the reason a woman on a national ticket can be taken seriously. Fuck, it's the reason she'll be able to vote for herself.

But being a public feminist can still be hard, and colluding with antifeminist men who will reward you handsomely for it can still be extremely attractive to any woman, no less an ambitious one whose objectives will be much more easily realized if she doesn't insist on being treated like an equal.

It's obvious why Palin chooses to play this role; it still sucks nonetheless. And it chaps my hide but good that she would happily betray the feminist women who are out here doing the dirty work to ensure that her daughters will be adults in a world that much better than the one we've now got.

Palin calls herself a feminist—but if she were an actual feminist, she would insist on taking up the same gauntlet as would be expected of any man in her position.

And as was expected of Hillary Clinton, that woman of whose eighteen million cracks Palin has repeatedly said she's happy to be the beneficiary.

I bet.

Two-Minute Nostalgia Sublime

The Busy World of Richard Scarry

Question of the Day

What's your favorite piece of weird architecture?

Mine is, hands-down, the former (it has since been torn down) Women's Clinic in Papa Shakes' hometown of West Lafayette, Indiana.

[Photo by Mama Shakes]
No, that's not a joke. That is really and truly—~~nipples~~ domed skylights and all—an actual Women's Clinic, which once stood on 24th and Ferry on the north side of the hospital, almost across the entrance to Columbia Park.

Longtime Shakers will recall I've mentioned this clinic before; Mama Shakes recently dug out the slide (!) and had a print made for me so it could be scanned and posted.