Last night's episode will be discussed in infinitesimal detail, so if you haven't seen it, and don't want any spoilers, move along...
Lost Open Thread
Last night's episode will be discussed in infinitesimal detail, so if you haven't seen it, and don't want any spoilers, move along...
Truer Words, Never Spoken
KennyBlogginz and I have a habit of texting each other stupid pictures and annoying pop culture phrases, and the other day he sent me a picture of Blue Collar Comedian Bill Engvall, to which I responded with fellow BCC Ron White's signature catch phrase, "You can't fix stupid!"
So last night when KennyBlogginz walked in the door for our weekly Lostathon, I greeting him with, "You can't fix stupid!"
And he replied, in the most hilariously sincere way, "That's what I hear. But I still think we should try."
RIP Natasha Richardson
On Tuesday, it was reported that actress Natasha Richardson had been seriously injured in a skiing accident and was rumored to be brain dead. Unfortunately, the worst was true, and now Ms. Richardson has died.
This obit is a good one, as is this one.
I just feel heartbroken for her family.
Question of the Day
We did this one a long time ago, but I remember it generated some really fun responses, so I'm doing a re-run.
What is something you regularly do that people might consider "old fashioned?"(Since this QOTD ran, inspired by a past thread going over my bathroom issues, I'm planning on switching to a double edge safety razor, as soon as the one I want comes back in stock at Classic Shaving. [And lately the Sensor 3 has been all but impossible to find in my area.] Another "old fashioned" example I could add to this is that I still listen to actual records. And not just 33 1/3 LP's; I actually own a cabinet-style Victrola that only plays 78's, and I still listen to records on it on a regular basis.)
I know many friends of mine consider simply cooking a meal "old fashioned," but I'm talking about every day activities you do that someone might consider unusual.
For example, I use a shaving brush and shaving soap in a tube. I haven't quite gone to a straight razor yet, but I may get there if Gillette ever drops the Sensor 3 blade. (I won't use Mach 3, thank you very much.) Sure, it may not be as "convenient" as using a shaving gel, but when you have a really tough beard like mine, it's the best shave you can get. I'd love to find a barber that still gives a shave with my haircut!
Seen
I see this bus stop ad on the way home on the days I do drive, and since advertising is pissing me off today, (and I saw it today and it reminded me) I thought I'd put this up.
Note: this is not the bus ad I've seen; I haven't been able to get an actual photo. This comes courtesy of Kiss My Black Ads, a site I'm definitely going to have to be checking out on a regular basis.
Anyway:
Wow.
Dear Pepsi:
While I realize it may be tempting to use what you consider "hip, edgy, urban" phrases to appeal to what you consider the "hip, edgy, urban" market, you should realize that doing so makes you look like exactly what you are: A multinational corporation helmed by a bunch of white dudes trying to sound like a "hip, edgy, urban" youth. In other words, major fail.
Also, before using such a phrase, you may want to consider the past racist baggage attached when you use a phrase such as "Fo' Sho." You know, just so you don't come off as a bunch of racists. Just sayin'.
No Love,
Paul the Spud
Speaking of appealing to "hip, edgy, urban youth," I really should point out that this ad appears on a bus stop in Chicago's "Gold Coast," one of the wealthiest, whitest areas in the city. Haven't seen it anywhere else. Ahem.
Some Good News
About time! The Stop AIDS in Prison Act introduced by Congresswoman Maxine Waters has passed in the house. Keep your fingers crossed about the Senate. The press release I received hasn't yet appeared on the Global AIDS Alliance website, so I'll put the entire thing below the fold.PRESS RELEASE
March 17, 2009 Contact:
Michael Levin
For Immediate Release (202)
225-2201
HOUSE PASSES CONGRESSWOMAN MAXINE WATERS' LEGISLATION TO PREVENT SPREAD OF HIV/AIDS
Washington, DC - The U.S. House of Representatives today passed the (H.R. 1429), legislation introduced by Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), a longtime leader of Congressional efforts to confront the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The Stop AIDS in Prison Act requires the Bureau of Prisons to test all Federal prison inmates for HIV upon entering prison and again prior to release from prison, unless an inmate opts out of taking the test. The bill also requires HIV/AIDS prevention education for all inmates and comprehensive treatment for those inmates who test positive.
"The Stop AIDS in Prison Act will help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS among prison inmates and will protect people in the general community from transmission," said Congresswoman Waters.
Original cosponsors of the Stop AIDS in Prison Act include Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee; Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee; and Rep. Robert C. Scott (D-VA), Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, which has jurisdiction over federal prisons.
The legislation also has the support of many health advocates. "AIDS Action, and our diverse nationwide membership of community-based HIV/AIDS service providers and public health departments applaud Congresswoman Waters' efforts to combat the HIV epidemic within federal prisons and address the public health threat it poses to our nation," said Ronald Johnson, Deputy Executive Director of AIDS Action, a leading national organization dedicated to shaping public policy related to HIV/AIDS.
The Department of Justice reported in 2005 that the rate of confirmed AIDS cases in prisons was three times higher than in the general population. This legislation is designed to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS within prison as well as lessen the spread of the disease in the general community following the release of infected prisoners.
Congresswoman Waters first introduced the Stop AIDS in Prison Act during the 109th Congress. She reintroduced it in the 110th Congress, and it was passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate Judiciary Committee. However, the full Senate did not complete action on the bill prior to adjournment.
###
Michael Levin
Communications Director
Congresswoman Maxine Waters
Michael.Levin@mail.house.gov
(202) 225-2201
Clickety-Clack
I'm currently in the middle of a big Feminism 101 piece that I hope to publish tomorrow morning, but, while I'm working on it, I feel guilty for not posting more content right now (this is why PortlyDyke tells me I have the meanest boss in the world, lol), so please enjoy, once again, Kiefer Sutherland Jumps Into a Christmas Tree.
Transcript:Brilliant.
Voice Off-Camera: Hey, Kiefer. You're a pirate, man.
Kiefer: That would explain everything. [jumps into Christmas tree]
Best YouTube ever. Best transcript in the history of transcripts.
Number of the Day
$611,000. The amount mortgage finance giant Fannie Mae reportedly plans to dole out to each of four key executives in retention bonuses "as part of a plan to keep hundreds of employees from leaving the government-controlled company."
Fannie Mae disclosed its "broad-based" retention program in a recent regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company was only required to disclose the amounts for the top-paid executives, who will pocket at least $470,000 on top of their base salaries. The bonuses are more than double last year's, which ranged from $200,000 to $260,000.In the interim, Fannie Mae has requested $15 billion in federal aid.
Am I living in a totally different country than these people? Because my question about these "retention bonuses" is: Where the fuck are they expecting these employees to go?
It's not exactly what one might call a hot job market, and every financial employee I know is scared shitless of losing hir job and not being able to find another one because no one is hiring.
Gates: Goodbye, Stop-Loss
Pentagon to phase out unpopular 'stop-loss' program:
The military will phase out its "stop loss" program, the contentious practice of holding troops beyond the end of their enlistments, for all but extraordinary situations, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Wednesday."Special compensation" of $500/month will be paid to stop-lossed soldiers, retroactive to October 1, 2008.
Instead, the military will use incentives programs to encourage personnel to extend their service.
...Currently, the Army is the only service that uses the stop-loss program. As of January, 13,217 soldiers had tours extended under the stop-loss policy.
Seen
...by Shaker BeatrixComet, alongside the road in East Texas:
Sara's Secret is a franchised chain and home party scheme that specializes in the distribution of "the finest in romance accessories." And, apparently, they think the best way to market their wares to the ladiez is by associating their brand with implied sexual assault.
I quite honestly do not understand how there is a single adult in America who can argue with a straight face that there isn't something deeply fucked up about our culture when an image like this, so replete with casual menace, is considered not only appropriate for public consumption, but totally uncontroversial.
Filed in: Assvertising.
Cross-referenced with: Rape Culture—We're Soaking In It.
Just Kiss the GOP Goodbye
I've got a new piece at The Guardian's CifA about Meghan McCain telling Laura Ingraham to kiss her fat ass—and how maybe McCain's best bet is telling the Republican Party the same thing, if she's not just following her pop's trajectory:
The feud is getting a lot of attention for all the expectedly grim reasons, starting with "Catfight!" and ending at the increasingly familiar, desperate and yawn-inducing flailings of a party adrift and leaderless, keen to crown the conservative ingénue the future of their unpopular party, after a series of other coronations have failed to produce the Big Awesome: All hail Sarah Palin! No, Joe the Plumber! Wait, we meant Rush Limbaugh! Oops, make that Bobby Jindal! Hang on, let's try Meghan McCain!Read the whole thing here.
And then there's the McCain legacy that prescribes extended flirtations with the media by boldly attacking fellow conservatives. Temporarily. Until such notoriety has been achieved nationally among conservatives that one's career necessitates renouncing all that critical thinking stuff.
...Perhaps Meghan McCain is merely on step one of the three-step McCain Denounce-Bask-Backpedal Plan. ...Or perhaps Meghan McCain is a genuine trailblazer, the "progressive Republican" she calls herself...
Punctuation Fail. Narrative Fail. Total Fail.
[Trigger warning.]
The Daily Mail really just ought to go ahead and change its name to the Daily Fail, since headlines like this are standard issue at that never-ending reserve of journafuckery:
In the best case scenario, the quotes are intended to imply that the rape has been alleged but the accused teacher has not been found guilty. But it doesn't read that way; it reads like they're implying an 11-year-old is capable of consent and/or a liar, in either case making the alleged incident somehow not a real rape.
All of which is a huge stinking problem because there are so many people who actually think and say things like "that 11-year-old was asking for it."
And they probably think and say things like that because they read trash like the Daily Mail.
Mr. Snake, how does your tail taste?
[H/T to Shaker JPlum.]
Wednesday Blogaround
hey your big gay blogaround tastes like pathetic anger bread
Recommended Reading:
Marcella: Carnival Against Sexual Violence 67
Mar: Is it coming? 'Cause I am.
Frances Kissling: Abstinence, Not Condoms, Says Pope Upon Leaving for Africa
mzbitca: Obama Appoints Indiana Judge for US Appeals Court
Andy: First Look: Where the Wild Things Are One-Sheet
Latoya: Slanties Eyewear?
Tobes: And Suddenly I Like Meghan McCain
Leave your links in comments...
Quote of The Day
"I love my country a lot more than I love politics."—Former president and persistent fucko George W. Bush, in his first post-presidency speech.
Coulda fooled me, Mr. Wedge Politics Culture War With-Us-or-Against-Us Asshole.
In fairness, that laughably ridiculous statement did precede his asserting that it's "essential" to help President Obama succeed and that he would not be a public critic of the new president—which is maybe the classiest thing he's ever done.
Not saying much, since it's well-established tradition that former presidents don't publicly comment on current presidencies. Still. We are talking about the guy who had no problem farting in the general direction of 700 years of tradition. The soft bigotry of low expectations strikes again.
It almost certainly also marks the first time Cheney could learn something from Bush.
Say Hello To The Night
Hey, Shakers, Lost Boys 3 is in pre-production! Woo hoo! Okay, honestly, I didn't see the second one, but wevs. I just think more vampire movies should have musical interludes with oily, muscled saxophone dudes:
Bernard Monroe Survived Cancer Until Louisiana Police Shot Him Dead
by Shaker Renee, of Womanist Musings
He could be anybody's grandfather and in fact he was a great grand father. This 73 year old cancer survivor was enjoying a barbecue and some family time when the police arrived to question his son Shawn Monroe. At the time of this incident Monroe had no standing arrest warrants pending. The media of course make a point of letting the public know that Shawn has a lengthy record. The fact that someone has a criminal past is often used to delegitimize any of their commentary and set up the ground work for victim blaming.
I certainly do not know how much evidence is needed to prove that we continue to live in a racialized society. The election of Barack Obama for some blacks was a signal of how far we have come but clearly a powerful element of whiteness views his ascension to power as a call to arms, with police forces across the nation being marshaled or given license to murder blacks upon the flimsiest of excuses, and the excuse-making turns the police into a neo version of the KKK run amok with the freedom to perform violence on innocent civilians at will.
When they shot an unarmed man, their initial reaction was not shock or sorrow that someone lost their life but to cover up their heinous crime. This is no different than when officers attempted to plant drugs on Kathryn Johnston after bursting into her home on a trumped up no knock warrant. The social myth is that police exist to keep society safe but in actuality much of their job entails terrorizing people of color into submission. Their corruption often goes unchecked as the blue wall of silence descends to protect white privilege at all costs.When the police chief of a town can make the following commentary there can be no doubt that race plays a huge role in how the law is enforced.
"If I see three or four young black men walking down the street, I have to stop them and check their names," said [Homer, Louisiana Police Chief Russell] Mills, who is white. "I want them to be afraid every time they see the police that they might get arrested. We're not out there trying to abuse and harass people—we're trying to protect the law-abiding citizens locked behind their doors in fear."
The only thing threatening about this old man was the colour of his skin. Blackness is often the only provocation that officers need to become violent. When we look at the reality that privileged authoritarians are frequently attracted to this kind of work, combined with society's willingness to excuse them, is it really any surprise?
A young girl gets beaten for throwing her shoe. Jimmy Blackwell got beaten so badly that he lost the sight in one eye. Dymond Miller somehow got confused with a white prostitute . Robbie Tolan had the audacity to stand in his own driveway when the police decided that no black man could possibly afford to live in that neighbourhood. Somehow, Oscar Grant despite being in handcuffs was resisting arrest and ended up dead. Finally there is the story of Adolph Grimes III who was shot 14 times with 12 of the bullets entering his back. How much of a threat can you be when you are not even facing the officer doing the shooting?
Many have asked when blacks are going to stop using race as an excuse and the answer is simple; when whiteness stops slaughtering us at will. How much black blood must flow through the streets before these rogue officers are made to pay for their crimes? Their actions are clearly privilege blending with white panic at the mere thought that we could possibly one day achieve equality because surely it must be recognized that though Obama may be commander in chief, race continues to be a divisive issue.
Whiteness can afford to sit in coffee houses and chit chat about race relations; it can afford to wear ironic t-shirt and baffle why blacks just don't get it but for those of us that are of color, each day we must fear that the next interaction with the long arm of the law could be our last.
There is not a single responsible black parent that does not speak to their child about how to react when stopped by the police. Our fear forces us to tell our children that they must announce every action, speak slowly and clearly, never show any forms of resistance, and at all times keep their hands visible. Following these directions could be the difference between life and death. While we are having these essential conversations white parents get to spread the lie of officer friendly and how benign he is.
If a 73 year old cancer survivor cannot be safe in his own home, what hope is there for any of us? Black rage is not unreasonable nor is it unwarranted; it is the expression of every single slight, and every single drop of blood that has been spilt so that whiteness can live with undeserved privilege. It is not militant to demand equality and it is certainly not militant to demand human respect; only in a world where some bodies are deemed more valuable could this possibly be interpreted as the noise of a discontented rabble. When Monroe finally gets laid to rest he will simply be just another black men who met his death through violence to uphold our dissonance in worth and value and if that isn't a sad testament to how little we value life, I don't know what else is.
H/T Pam's HouseBlend / Cross-posted
