Shakesville

ACORN!!! SOCIALISM!!! AIIIIEEE!!!

Global Survey Says U.S. Rises to Most Admired Country in the World

The United States is the most admired country globally thanks largely to the star power of President Barack Obama and his administration, according to a new poll.

It climbed from seventh place last year, ahead of France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan which completed the top five nations in the Nation Brand Index (NBI). “What’s really remarkable is that in all my years studying national reputation, I have never seen any country experience such a dramatic change in its standing as we see for the United States for 2009,” said Simon Anholt, the founder of NBI, which measured the global image of 50 countries each year.

Yeah?? SO?!?

When asked about why he believes the United States shot up to the top of the list, Anholt explained that it likely is because of the election of Barack Obama. “There is no other explanation,” he said.

Yeah, but... honor and dignity to the White House! It's left over from the Bush years! He didn't put his hand over his heart during the pledge! Czars! TEABAGS!!!! TEH CENSUS!!! FUCKING ACORN!!!!

(All joking aside... hey Mr. President... how about we start earning some of that admiration, hmm?)

Her Place

This is what happens when women get into positions of power in a culture where (most) people are still denying the existence of institutional sexism, folks.

Also.

Daily Kitteh

Cat on a cool wood shelf.

CNN Still Doesn't Know How to Cover Sexual Assault

[Trigger warning.]

Tyler Perry, the actor/writer/director/producer best known for his "Madea" character, has done something very brave: He has talked openly and without shame about having been abused as a child.

The message on his website, which is a bit overwhelmed with traffic at the moment, recounts emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. It is hard to read, but is deeply meaningful for lots of other survivors (myself included), many of whom are sharing their own stories on his message board.

Perry tells of having been molested by both a man and a woman, the details of which are provided only in the latter case. I won't post them here, but suffice it to say there is no mistaking that he is describing being a 10-year-old boy molested by his friend's mother.

Nonetheless, CNN gets it very wrong:

Perry goes on to relate accounts of being seduced by a friend's mother at age 10, to being molested by another friend's father, to finding out that his own father was molesting a friend.

Ten-year-olds cannot be "seduced." It's no coincidence that the assault in which the victim was male and the perpetrator female is being misrepresented as a "seduction," while the other two are being correctly represented as "molestation." The key feature of rape apologia when the perpetrator is female is to imply that women cannot sexually victimize men, even though victims of female predators are disproportionately male children, not adult men.

This is a consistent problem for CNN. Here is not one, but two, three, four, five, six instances of CNN's failure to correctly identify sexual assault, instead substituting some sort of minimizing euphemism (even though they are capable of getting it right).

I almost can't think of a way to more casually dishonor the bravery of coming out as a survivor of sexual abuse than by denying what a survivor experienced was, in fact, sexual abuse.

Bravo, Mr. Perry. Shame on you, CNN.

Bipartisan Clusterfuckery

President Obama will "confer with a bipartisan group of congressional leaders on the Afghanistan war at the White House on Tuesday as he weighs a decision on whether to send more U.S. troops there."

This is a brilliant idea, because the Republicans have proven themselves excellent decision-makers when it comes to war in the Middle East. We definitely want their input.

The Latest "Renew America" Wingnut Column About "Obama's America" is Entitled:

"A Return to the Planet of the Apes."

No, really. (Not a link to the column; you can follow this post if you want to see it.)

Before I begin to share why I believe this country is going to the apes (self-deserved destruction), which I am sure will make the fur fly among many who would falsely infer my assessment is focused somehow on race, instead of policy, and accuse me of crossing into the forbidden zone, let’s look at the overall message that the Planet of the Apes movies tried to convey.

Of course, the ape reference couldn't possibly be about race.

The United States has elected a president in Barack Obama, who when not busy fomenting racial conflict among the people who voted him into the most powerful position in the world, works with every ounce of his strength to destabilize the traditional pillars of this country.

That's right, if Barack Obama hadn't had the temerity to be born black, he wouldn't be formenting all this racial conflict. Racism is his fault.

Wow.

Feel the Homomentum!

Following on the heels of Washington DC's having voted to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states, DC Councilman David Catania has introduced legislation that would legalize same-sex marriage in the nation's capital. The bill—which preemptively steals the thunder of a popular (if bullshit) argument of the opposite by explicitly stating "religious leaders and institutions are not required to perform the marriages or rent their space for same-sex ceremonies"—is almost certain to pass the DC council, but is subject (as is all DC legislation) to Congressional review and approval.

At least one Republican congressman has said he will work to have the bill defeated if it passes the D.C. council.

"Some fights are worth fighting for," said U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah, who thinks Democrats in Congress would likely block any vote on D.C.'s measure. "This is one of them."

Indeed. If there's anything worth fighting for in America, it's to preserve institutional inequality and deny people their democratically-conferred rights.

The Catholic Church and Washington's archbishop, Donald Wuerl, have been vocal in opposing the legislation. And a group led by Bishop Harry Jackson, the pastor of a Maryland church, had previously asked D.C.'s board of elections to authorize a ballot initiative defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

The board will consider the request later this month.

"We are prepared to go to court," Jackson said.

Of course you are.

But back to the exciting stuff!

D.C. Councilman David Catania introduced the new bill at a standing-room only council meeting. The independent and one of two openly gay council members said he hopes for a vote in December.

"There is no question that we are about to embark on an exciting journey here in the district," he said.

...Same-sex marriage supporters cheered the bill's introduction. D.C. residents Juan Rondon and Edward Grandis came to the meeting wearing T-shirts that displayed copies of their California marriage license.

Blub.

I know I'm a broken record, but I'll say it once more nonetheless: Every one of these challenges brings us closer to the day when DOMA is repealed and marriage inequality on the basis of sexual orientation is merely a historical fact.

Winner: Most Pathetic Letterman Apolgia

Tom Shales: Let's Remember That Letterman's a Clown, Not a Cleric or Congressman—"One of many sad things about recent stanzas in the ballad of David Letterman is that now, in all media, Dave will be lumped in with other sexually misbehaving celebrities, even though he stands head and heart above most of them."

It only goes downhill from there.

Assvertising

[Straight couple are walking down the street after a date and arrive at woman's house. They stand on the stoop to talk. Curiously, tree leaves block the man's face, and then he turns his back, so his face is never visible.]

Woman: Well, I'm not gonna lie—this was a nightmare. You made me pay for dinner, you told me my political views were "cute," and, uh, thanks for the flowers. [holds up raggedy, wilty flowers] By the way, it's Lily, not Lucy. [looks as though she's about to tell him to get lost, then glances at his suit and reconsiders; her face breaks into a smile] Do you wanna come up for a nightcap? [inviting grin]

Voiceover: [over image of suit on headless mannequin] You get what you're suited for. Get suited at Syms for forty to sixty percent off today's retail prices. With top-brand suits starting at ninety-nine dollars.

Does this even need any commentary? Criminy.

[Via Margaret. Assvertising: 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.]

The WaPo Is Helpful

In case you forgot that Justice Sonia Sotomayor was a fiery Latina, staff writer Robert Barnes is here to help:

Justice Sonia Sotomayor displayed no reticence on the first day of her first term on the court; in the two cases on the docket, she asked as many questions and made as many comments as Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.

Ooh, uppity! I mean doesn't know her place! No, wait, I mean fiery! It's a compliment!

The only sign of her newness was that she at times forgot to turn on her microphone before posing a question.

Ha ha! Silly lady!

Sotomayor's active questioning was in tune with her reputation on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York.

I heard she had a reputation for being fiery!

Sotomayor is also described as "an inquisitive new justice" and "far more active Monday than in her first hearing as a justice," as though she might be a dew-eyed extraterrestrial just learning to make her way on the lovely blue planet she now calls home.

Oh, pardon me: A fiery dew-eyed extraterrestrial.

More Letterman

Last week, David Letterman announced on his show that he'd been sexually involved with an unspecified number of female staffers. Since then, several women have been identified as and/or come forward about having been sexually involved with Letterman.

To recap: My issue with Letterman's behavior is that one of the richest, most powerful men in television making a habit of sleeping with female subordinates is not only a major ethical breach, but also raises (what ought to be) obvious questions about coercion. If there is an expectation, even an implicit or oblique expectation, that sleeping with the boss may be part of your job, whether there can be genuine and undiluted enthusiastic consent is a serious question.

Last night, Letterman apologized on-air to his wife (which is none of my business or concern, and I won't be discussing that part here) and to "his staff."

I'm terribly sorry that I put the staff in that position. Inadvertently, I just wasn't thinking ahead. And, moreover, the staff here has been wonderfully supportive to me, not just through this furor, but through all the years that we've been on television and especially all the years here at CBS, so, again, my thanks to the staff for, once again, putting up with something stupid I've gotten myself involved in.

Here's the interesting part of that: The women with whom Letterman was sexually involved were staffers—and yet, quite evidently, he's not apologizing to them; he's not even including them in his definition of "staff."

It's not a clear-cut male/female divide, as one might assume, because Letterman reportedly also "apologized because he now realized that people would speculate he was involved with women on the show with whom he had no sexual relationship."

There's his "staff," and then there are the women he employs who he sleeps with.

CBS really ought to have a problem with that.

[Related: The casting couch is all too real, but no one will discuss it. Thanks to Shaker KO for sending that one.]

This is a real thing in the world.

Joe the ~~Stand-Up Comedian~~ Shuddering Mass of Flopsweat

[sigh] I'm done. I'm gonna go back to living the life of luxury—I miss my drivers, I miss my limo, I liss my—I miss my car-dee-err of, uh, uh, excuse me, my snifter of car-dee-, uh, uh, snifter of… [someone yells from audience] Oh! Macallan. [snorts] And for you of those that don't know, Macallan is a ten thousand bottle of whisky. And I really love giving myself footbaths—I pour about three of those bottles with a pound of saffron in there. At the same time, I let my concubines work me, you know, deep tissue massage—oh, god, I miss it so much. [laughs; looks down at his notecards and flips through them]

That way, I can go back to, uh, you know, I can go back to life of luxury, like I was saying, and, you know, I can hang out with my, uh, two cocker spaniels, uh, Goldwater and Reagan. I could watch my, uh, filly run the derby next year; her name's Oppress the Poor. I could watch her on my hundred-and-nine inch plasma screen TV, so… [breathes heavily; flips through note cards furiously]

So, that's what's been weighing on my chest, so, you know, hey, listen— [takes a deep breath and exhales] I'm Joe the Plumber no more—I'm Francis W. Rove, rich Republican, and I'm happy to be out of the closet. And you know what gives me the most pleasure of all? Is Keith Olbermann's somewhere out there right now screaming, "I knew it! I knew it!" And he's gonna have a stroke and life will be good. Thank you guys very much.

The transcript does not even begin to convey how awkward this "set" actually is. Although I would like to point out that his spoonerized "for you of those that don't know," which was not my typing error, and his "ten thousand bottle of whisky" (ten thousand what—hot dogs?!), which was also not my typing error, should give you some idea. As should the fact he's onstage with a cheat sheet.

I love that his entire routine seems to be based around the ABSURDITY that people might think he's a wealthy Republican, despite the fact that he's spent the last year insinuating himself into the Republican media machine, from which even dodo-brains like Jeff Gannon can make a hot buck.

[H/T to Chris.]

Ohwhattadooshiam

Hey, Shakers! Remember this? Good times. Well guess what? If you didn't like Whole Foods CEO John Mackey's little fat hate/socialism scare belch, you'll absolutely love his response to the reaction it caused:

"I honestly don't know why the article became such a lightning rod," says John Mackey, CEO and founder of Whole Foods Market Inc., as he tries to explain the firestorm caused by his August op-ed on these pages opposing government-run health care. "I think a lot of people who got angry haven't read what I actually wrote. There was a lot of emotional reaction—fear and anger. I just wanted to get people to think about whether there was a better way to reform the system."

Yes, we're all just frightened, angry children, too hysterical to actually consider the words of such a big, smart businessman. Or too fucking stupid to read. The fact that his op-ed boiled down to "Our shitty health care system is the fault of fat people. Oh, and by the way, "BOO! SOCIALISM!" and some people might be, you know, a little put off by that, ahem, doesn't enter his inflated (knuckle)head. What an egomaniacal teabagging asshole.

(I'm grateful that I'm not in a position that I would ever have to spend money in his store, because I'll be damned if I drop a dime in there ever again. That said, I recognize that due to food allergies or other challenges, some people may need to go to Whole Foods, and that's perfectly OK. Let's keep that in mind in comments, please.)

Bread and Teaspoons Nine

Good morning (unless it isn't where you are, in which case I wish you Good $TIME_PERIOD), and welcome to this week's installment of Shakesville's networking post, Bread and Teaspoons*.

This is a weekly post, usually Tuesdays, providing a spot for Shakers to network a little with one another, see if we can help each other out some.

Here's how it works: There should be four sorts of comments here.

1) You comment here with any details of work you're seeking: where, what, that sort of thing. You give an e-mail address at which you can be reached - feel free to set up a special e-mail for it, if you don't want to post your regular one for the world to spam - and if another Shaker has a lead, they can contact you directly to pass it along.

A work-seeking comment should include:

- a short summary of the skillset you're seeking work with;

- a short summary of your experience

- where you're looking for work to happen

- your contact e-mail

Please do NOT include information such as your full name or telephone number, as this is and will remain a public post, and once posted, there's no taking it back (because it'll be spidered by a search engine, not because we don't want you to).

It is explicitly alright to comment to this each week with similar info.

For example, I might post a comment saying:

I'm a professional translator of French, German and Russian, with nearly 17 years of experience. I'm looking for basically any translation job, academic, commercial, personal, genealogical, you name it, with one exception: I do not currently have certification, so if you need a certified translator (usually for legal docs: birth certificates, divorce decrees, wills), you need someone else.

I am also available as a writer or editor, for academic, journalistic, creative, marketing-oriented or any other type of written communication. Basically, if you'll pay me, I'll write or edit it.

You can contact me for business purposes through my business address, translatey.caitie@translateycaitie.com.**

2) The second type of comment would be task offering: if you've got a job you think might suit someone here, consider posting it as a comment. Use the same guidelines as above: give general information here, and specific information when you exchange e-mails. An offered task might look something like this:

I have a doctoral thesis which needs proofing and editing by Thursday, is anyone available? You can reach me at ABDShaker@shakesville.miskatonic.edu.

3) The third kind of comment I'd love to see is success stories! We’d love to know when this works out, and people actually find some employment through our efforts. If you feel like sharing, tell us how it worked out for you. :)

**NEW CATEGORY ADDED**

4) If you’re a progressive working for or running a small business and would like to include a pointer to your business, you may do so. If you’ve never otherwise posted before here (i.e., you’re a lurker), I may check in with you to be certain you’re a Shaker and not a spammer. If it turns into a spamfest, or we start getting businesses that are of dubious progressive credentials, we may need to revisit this one, but let’s give it a try.

So, that's what we'd like to see.

What we do NOT want to see:

- recommendations/references, even for other Shakers - leave those for the contact phase of your negotiation

- rates info - again, leave this for the contact phase of your negotiation; we don't want to encourage bidding wars between Shakers

- illegal employment - whatever we may think of a given law against a certain activity, we don't want to put Shakesville in any awkward spots legally

- links to job search, agency or other sites - this is meant to be Shaker-to-Shaker, here, not a spamming point for other sites; only link to sites which are yours

So there. Have at it, Shakers, for Bread and Teaspoons!

Important disclaimers: Shakesville makes no endorsement or claim as to the capabilities of anyone commenting to this post, and anyone considering hiring someone should be prepared to treat it like any other business situation: DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE. We're not doing any screening of this, so you'll want to make sure you check references, use safe-payment procedures (e.g., ask for a deposit), all the things you'd do when working with any stranger on the Internet. While this is intended for Shakers in general, remember that there is no real obstacle to being able to comment here, and do the things you need to do to keep yourself safe.

* As might be evident, this is an intentional reference to Bread and Roses, a longtime slogan of the left. In this case, though, my hope is that if we achieve steady bread, we will use it to power our teaspoon use.

** Now, don't go writing to that one yet, because that's not my actual domain name (which I've not got running yet, but should soon), and I'm only using it as an example (though it happens to be true). The e-mail listed for me under Contributors works just fine for now, if you've got something for me.

The last several Bread and Teaspoons: Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight.

What the Hell?

Shaker Norbizness

A real American patriot.
(If you've a ridiculous and/or embarrassing photo of yourself from your youth, please send it to shakerwhatthehell_at_yahoo_dot_com. I'll post them up as part of our series called What The Hell? so everyone can laugh at with you.)

[See also: Deeky, Liss, evilsciencechick, katecontinued, ClumsyKisses, Mistress Sparkletoes, Liiiz, Reedme, Mama Shakes, Mustang Bobby, RedSonja, MomTFH, Portly Dyke, SteffaB, Icca, Christina, Orangelion03, Car, Siobhan, InfamousQBert, Maud, Rikibeth, MishaRN, CLD, Cheezwiz, MamaCarrie, Temeraire, somebodyoranother, goldengirl, Liss (again), summerwing, yeomanpip, Susan811, bbl, Deeky (Part II), A Daily Shakesville Fan, Sami_J, liberalandproud Temeraire: Redux, Mama Shakes II, Bonus Deeky, OuyangDan, J.Goff, Iain, Talonas, The Great Indoors, gogo, kiwi_a, em_and_ink, Tik_bev, phdintraining, Deeky Freakhands, busydani, Jenny Anne, rowmyboat, DesertRose, Steve/Pido, Anne Onymous, phredrika, The Last of the Famous International Deekys, Iain, Another Mustang Bobby, mkp-hearts-nyc, and Arvan.]

Open Thread

Hosted by The Untouchables.

Two-Minute Nostalgia Sublime

The Green Hornet

Question of the Day

Stealing from the Quote of the Day, what do you still not understand about yourself?

It doesn't have to be profound. Silly always welcome.

Brave Little (Foot) Soldier

Oh dear. Looks like another Republican has lost all contact with anything resembling perspective:

I'm interrupting my career. It's not like I want my new career in politics. But I'm willing to interrupt it the same way that somebody interrupted their career and joined World War II and went off to fight the Nazis. I don't think that I'm that heroic, and I don't think I'm risking as much as a soldier. But it's the same principle.

That was former Ron Paul economic advisor Peter Schiff, who is currently running for the US Senate in Connecticut. Because, y'know, Obama's Hitler and the Dems are Nazis. Or something.

Somebody get this guy a coveted Medal of Hubris, tout de suite!

[Via.]

You Go, Grrl: Allison Iraheta

Allison Iraheta, the teenage rocker who made it to the top 4 of last season's American Idol, and who was a favorite of many Shakers who watch the show, has released a new single, "Friday I'll Be Over U" (below), and gave an interview to Pop Eater about the new song and being on Idol:

What will your fans take away from the song?

It's a song everyone can relate to. It's a pretty simple song. It ain't too hard to understand. I think people will really just be like 'Yeah!' ... hopefully.

Do you think you were able to be yourself on 'Idol'?

Not really. It was pretty hard. Being on 'American Idol,' it's very hard to be who you are. You can try, but you're already portrayed as someone else. It's kind of hard to come out as who you really are. But, now people get a chance to know who we are, going to see us on tour and stuff.

...How did you deal with all of the criticism laid out on 'Idol'?

It's hard to take at first, but people should be prepared before they audition. The whole show of 'Idol' is not about your singing. It's pretty much... it's favoritism. I don't know, but that's pretty much what it is.