Shakesville

The Manliest City in America

Looking for somewhere to go on your next mancation? Try Charlotte, NC--deemed by the venerable institution of Judging Such Things, the makers of Combos™--as America's Manliest City. What makes Charlotte so, so manly?

The ranking process changed a little this year, using manly criteria like the number of home improvement stores, steak houses, pickup trucks and motorcycles per capita.

Last year's rankings were based on criteria such as number of professional sports teams, popularity of power tools, and frequency of monster truck rallies.

Very convenient for Charlotte since the Manliest Manly Men decided they need a festival just for them--DudeFest (emphasis mine):

DudeFest is committed to producing a high quality, diversified, masculine based, musical experience which attracts a broad audience, loyal supporters and talented preformers in an annual celebration of music and all things Dude; 'a nice guy...a regular sort of person', by re-enforcing the strengths of southern masculinity, grace and respect in our everyday lives. The annual proceeds realized from DudeFest will be used to promote the work and efforts of nonprofit organizations benefitting those in need within the Charlotte community.

DudeFest Charlotte 2010 presents a variety of bands, a dunking booth, a motorcycle rally, a chicken wing eating contest, Mike's Giant Guitars, beer tasting ($10 add-on). and more

Chicken wing eating contest? No, no. I believe the standard for measuring a Manly Man is how many 'O' magazines he can rip up at one time. Anyway, back to the city title rankings:

The study is commissioned by COMBOS Brand in partnership with Bert Sperling, the research expert behind the popular "Best Places to Live" studies. The "America's Manliest Cities" study ranks 50 major metropolitan areas.

According to the study, Charlotte now has chief bragging rights on manliness thanks to its top 10 rankings in the sports, manly lifestyle, manly retail stores, manly occupations and salty snack sales categories.

[...]

In addition to cities improving or declining in returning categories, the change in rankings can also be attributed to a new category this year – manly occupations (fire fighters, police officers, construction workers and EMT personnel).

The manly occupations category was added this year to recognize the hard-working guys that make so many American cities great places to live.

That's right! No hard-working women make so many American cities great places to live! Women as fire fighters, police officers, EMTs, or construction workers? Who has every heard of that? Apparently my city, since we're #50! I've never been so happy to come in last.

Cactus Play

I took the day off work. I had planned to spend it indoors, playing Xbox, watching Nash Bridges reruns and generally wanking about. But first, I thought I'd mow the lawn, before it got too hot. Well, one thing lead to another, and what was supposed to be my relaxing day off turned into yard work-athon. And the supposed short trip to Homo Depot for some topsoil and mulch, ended with me buying three cacti. Then after I potted those, I went back and bought six more. And, well, there were some extra pots, so I transplanted a couple lilies too.

By the end of the afternoon, I'd not spent a moment playing video games. But I had done this:

That bench was empty this morning.

Not a bad day off after all.

[Cross-posted.]

Daily Dose o' Cute

Dudley, wearing his "Go Team USA" collar.
Iain bought the collar for Dudley at the fundraiser I mentioned here, and, as he was putting it on him, he said, "Looks like these colors DO run!" Which elicited much LOLZ.

Today's Edition of "Conniving and Sinister"

See Deeky's archive of all previous Conniving & Sinister strips here.
[In which Liss reimagines the long-running comic "Frank & Ernest," about two old straight white guys "telling it like it is," as a fat feminist white woman (Liss) and a biracial queerbait (Deeky) telling it like it actually is from their perspectives. Hilarity ensues.]

Gender Justice Summit 2010: Overview

I haven't been able to get started on writing the post-con articles yet, because my body went on strike. I'm slowly getting back to movement now, taking care of my knee and my back. This is why I don't go to, say, big sf cons and the like - my body won't take it well.

But I did want to start with a general overview. The conference was called the Gender Justice Summit 2010, sponsored by Oxfam Canada, and as you might guess, was focused on the rights of women in a global context.

To cover the topic, Oxfam invited a number of women from globally Southern countries, such as:

- Rosaline Presence, of South Africa's Women on Farms Project

- Bogaletch (Boge) Gebre, of Ethiopia's Kembatti Mentti Gezzimma-Tope (KMG)

- Rosa Escobar, of Guatemala's Asociación de mujeres en solidaridad

- Jeannette Urquilla, of El Salvador's Organización de Mujeres Salvadoreñas

- Lorena Aguilar, of Costa Rica originally, from the International Union for Conservation of Nature

- Raquel Vásquez, of Guatemala´s Alianza de Mujeres Rurales

- Dorothy Ngoma, ED of the National Organisation of Nurses and Midwives of Malawi, and a member of the W-8.

There were also a number of resource people from closer to home, including the dynamic Jessica Yee, founder and ED of the Native Youth Sexual Health Network, and some experienced activists from Oxfam's own organization, both Canadian and from abroad.

I wasn't able to attend the Friday sessions, or the opening reception, so my conference began Saturday morning.

So having stayed overnight at my girlfriend's place in Toronto, I showed up in time to catch the morning plenary session (with several of the above as speakers), and then (per the requests from Shakers) decided to attend the dialogue/workshop at which spoke Ms. Presence, Ms. Vásquez, Ms. Aguilar, and Oxfam's Nidhi Tandon - focused on the intersection of food security, women's rights, and climate change.

There was a break for a march and rally around lunchtime. I went through about a third of the march, before my body said "Enough," and I went back to get a bit of a lie down on the grass in the quad.

Several of the same women were again in afternoon sessions, going deeper into the issues raised in the morning, and the specifics of how these affect women in those places: how climate change is changing growing patterns, which is affecting food security, and discussing those issues in smaller groups (my group led by the very insightful Ms. Tandon). We also saw a 17-minute film about a land occupation by the South African Women on Farms Project, which was brilliant and infuriating, and which I hope to be able to bring you soon (technical difficulties got in the way). There was a Central American film scheduled as well, but again technical difficulties. I'm working on tracking down a copy of each of them, and if anyone's got video hosting they'd be willing to offer to these women's orgs, that'd be awesome, because they deserve to be seen.

Saturday night led into an awards ceremony for Oxfam people, and was followed by a very popular musical act (Nomadic Massive - still being much talked about the next day).

On Sunday morning, another large session allowed us to hear from the rest of the southern partners in attendance, followed by a short dialogue session. In this case, I decided to attend the session at which Ms. Yee was speaking on reproductive justice, though it was a tough choice: I really wanted to attend Ms. Ngoma's session as well, on maternal health.

After the session, we had a closing plenary, and the participants were urged to spend the rest of the afternoon over at the People's Summit, a socialist event being held at the same time not far away (and which Shaker TheDom attended!). I had to head off home.

The goal here is to write at least one post about each of the women I mentioned above (each of whom I spoke to with an eye to doing so), as well as a general post recapping some of the really great and the really horrifying things that were covered in the sessions otherwise.

I'll tell you this: it isn't going to be fun or easy reading for those of us in the privileged parts of the world. There are a lot of ways in which we are directly or indirectly contributing to the oppressions of these women, very notably including food security and climate change, and some of the statistics from the maternal health project in Guatemala are seriously grim.

But I think, too, you'll find you're inspired by the power of these women - the things they've accomplished are highly impressive. The W-8, that Ms. Ngoma is a part of, is a fabulous organization, eight women from globally less-privileged nations, each of them a power in women's rights, labour, and/or environmentalism. They are crones of the finest order, and I say that with nothing but respect.

The big feeling I got from the conference was one of hope and energy. There was a high percentage of young women (and some young men) at the conference, and their energy was inspiring and infectious.

That's my general outlook on the con; there'll be a lot more to come as I get the various posts written, but it'll take several days, as in some cases there are pictures I want to find, links to set up, that kind of thing, plus some fact-checking out of my notes. I took 37 pages of handwritten notes over the 11 hours of sessions I attended.

Wednesday Blogaround

This blogaround brought to you by Shaxco, distributors of Deeky Brand Ricotta Cheese.

Recommended Reading:

Fannie: A Rundown of Olson's "Equality" Prop 8 Closing Arguments and A Rundown of Cooper's "Marriage Defense" Prop 8 Closing Arguments

Andy: New York Passes Long-Awaited Anti-Bullying Bill

Echidne: Gals and Computers

Resistance: Eye on the Media

Audacia: The Reason I Left School: Children of Indian Sex Workers Speak

Dori: I stink. Fucking get over it.

Leave your links in comments...

Petraeus?

Really?

Look, if Joe Lieberman and the National Fucking Review are cheering your decision, are you sure you're still a Democrat?

Shake the Room

So, my partner and I just felt what we both thought was an earthquake. This is odd, because we live in Syracuse. I've heard from other folks in Syracuse who felt it, and some who didn't. I also have a friend in Rochester that felt it.

Thus, my question is: Did you fucking feel that?

Pretty cool. Of course, I live with a geologist, so I'm required to say that. No laughing from those of you near active fault lines* ;)

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* ETA: The CBC says that there actually is an active fault line in these parts. I'll bet they don't live with a geologist, though.

Cold-Hearted

[Trigger warning for serious fat hatred.]

I have read some unbelievable fat hatred in my day, but this piece by Esther Cepeda in the Chicago Sun-Times just about takes the motherfucking cake. Whoa, hey, whoa! Give that cake back! Cuz I'm fat, get it?! And all fatties do is sit around eating WHOLE CAKES all day! HA HA!

Oh, and force businesses to turn up air conditioning in the summer, apparently:

Join me in rallying against a society that pretends morbid obesity is socially acceptable. Some of us would like to enjoy summer.

What am I getting at here? I'm cold! C-O-L-D!!

Cold on a sunny morning when I have to wrap myself like a mummy in my three morning newspapers to stave off hypothermia from the overblown air conditioning that Metra needs to keep its well-padded clientele from melting in its packed cars.

Cold on a pleasantly warm day when I must wear my parka into the supermarket, which blasts the A/C to keep the store at 50 degrees so that all the over-stimulated and over-served customers can buy food without breaking a sweat.

Cold on a hot summer night when my restaurant's water glasses have icicles forming on them because all the already-health-challenged chow hounds are working up a sweat while overdoing it.

Hey, it's not just me. I've seen thick, sturdy women and men -- innocently wearing tank tops or shorts on a hot day -- walk into these same places and immediately shrug their shoulders and cradle their elbows in the universal body language for "Whoa -- why is it so darned cold in here?!"

You'd think that Ms. Smarty Logicpants would use the same awesome powers of deduction that led her to conclude "overbearing air conditioning is because of fat people" to question the solidity of that reasoning, if FAT PEOPLE ARE COLD, TOO.

I am constantly cold in air conditioning, and I was even when I wasn't fat. And I am no special fucking snowflake. Lots of fat people are just as cold as is Cepeda in these situations, where, I'd like to point out, air conditioning gets blasted all summer because the doors are constantly opening and closing and letting in 90°+ air.

Commuter trains also blast air (when it works) because if the trains break down or are held up, as they often are, the air doesn't run, and if it's not already Baltic in there to begin with, passengers are roasting in no time. Grocery stores blast air because their many of their employees are situated by the constantly-opening front doors, as are the customers while waiting in a check-out line, and the rest of the store has to be too cold to keep that area comfortable. Restaurants blast air because they'd rather have a few customers be too cool, especially during off-hours, than a dining room full of uncomfortably hot customers who don't feel like eating anything. When areas get full of people all at once, the room heats up way more quickly than AC can cool it down—unless it's already on full blast. Et cetera.

Restaurants, gyms, high rises, libraries, movie theaters—they're all cold, and there's always a reason.

I'm not Professor HVAC over here; this stuff is self-evident to anyone who takes the two fucking seconds it requires to sort out why it is that businesses may overdo the AC besides the truly laughable contention that it's attributable to "accommodating fatties." Especially when accommodation of fatties is hardly a top priority of Corporate America.

[H/T to Shaker KatherineSpins.]

Contact the Sun-Times here.

Australian Politics: Labor Spillapalooza, 2010

by Shaker NapalmNacey

Something huge is afoot in the state of Australia. As far as politics go, this is as big as it gets here on our little continent. Australian politics can be a little confusing for those not of the Commonwealth nor used to our arse-backwards party names. Just to start you all off, there are two major parties. Labor, which is the supposed left-wing party, and Liberal, which is not liberal at all but actually right-wing. There are a couple of major player smaller parties: Nationals, which represent farming interests and the country folk for the most part, and the Greens, which, like their name suggests, represents the environmentalists, the queers and those that really hate the three other parties. (For the sake of full disclosure, I vote for the Greens. Jostick burning, queer, tree-hugging feminist, right here!).

For the past two years, Kevin Rudd has been our Prime Minister. Kevin got in with unheard of numbers in the polls. People loved him. Really, really loved him and everyone thought he was the dog's bollocks. It looked like Labor could do no wrong. They delivered on their promise to say "Sorry" to the Indigenous Australians for all the shit white settlers rained down upon them, which is a huge improvement on Howard's policy for that, which was basically to turn to the Indigenous Australians and say "Fuck you, it's our country now."

He went to Copenhagen to kick arse for the sake of the environment! Things were awesome! Then, things were not so awesome. He came home, frustrated, and after some months, Labor gave up on the whole Emissions Trading Scheme idea. Their idea was to deal with it after the election. People were Not Happy, Jan.

Liberals realised that nobody wanted to vote for them, even the right-wing douchenozzles that voted them in the last time. Their answer – kick out Malcolm Turnbull (an actually reasonable opposition leader, in that he once upon a time said he supported gay rights) and put in Tony Abbott.

Let me describe Tony Abbott to you. As I explained to Liss in an email, Tony Abbott is like John Howard v2.0: This Time It's Ludicrous. He's even MORE religious than John Howard, he's vocally against abortion, he doesn't "believe" in climate change and he rubs elbows with The Exclusive Brethren. That's sort of like Bush having regular meetings with Fred Phelps. Maybe if Fred Phelps had The Family behind him, so there's added evil. Tony Abbott also wants to bring back WorkChoices (under a new name, of course). WorkChoices is a hugely unpopular scheme that was discarded by the new Labor Government. It gave far too much power to the employers, leaving the employees vulnerable to exploitation. He also thinks that there are a lot of lazy shits on the Disability Pension that need to go get a damned jorb.

Once you expose the rabbit hole of Abbott's policies, it's impossible for you to put your jaw back in place, he is that terrible. It's hard for me to gather the words. As a possible leader for this country, he terrifies the ever-loving fuck out of me. Probably not unlike McCain scared the pants off of those of you in the US. And the current PM now, for those of you in the UK.

Things have been going from bad to worse with Labor, with the Mining Sector up in arms over Rudd's idea to tax their shit. It's fair enough, as a country, we let all sorts of foreign investors in to do what they like with the desert bits with all the minerals (oh, and the nice coasty bits with the pristine reefs and animals, cause they had the temerity to live on top of a rich source of natural gas). And they come here by the buttload because the taxing is so low. Heaven forbid the PM think, "Hey, we need money for hospitals and schools and shit."

Mining companies tend to have heaps of money, and friends in high places. So for three months now, Labor has been dogged by the mainstream media. The only thing keeping the boat at a reasonably even keel is the fact that Tony Abbott keeps opening his mouth and saying fucked up shit.

The problem with Kevin Rudd is that, while his ideas are generally pretty sound, he's terrible at communicating them to the voters. It also doesn't help that a few of his ministers are total buttheads. I'm looking at you, Stephen Conroy. And you, Nicola Roxon.

Now, I'm not huge on the specifics of what went on today. I'm not a political reporter. I just like watching the politicians shout at each other during Question Time and see if I can spot any of them picking their noses or falling asleep. Basically, it's crunch time, and the movers and shakers in the Labor party said, "Okay, enough of this shiz, it's time to get real with Kevin."

Our deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, met with Kevin Rudd today and requested that he "spill the leadership". That's just putting the leadership of the Labor Party under the vote of the rest of the party. Tomorrow, Australia might very well have its first woman PM.

Before this sounds too awesome, this is the thing that really makes me uncomfortable and nervous about the whole mess. Julia Gillard has done this to retain the support of the more right-wing members of the party. Kevin Rudd has been vocal about not leaning any more to the right on the issues of the environment nor asylum seekers. I respect him for that stand, and I wonder what it means to get in bed with the more right-wing party members? Will this be an echo of the watering down of progressive policies that has been seen with the Obama Administration?

To put it in more familiar terms for those more familiar with US politics, this'd be like Obama putting his foot down on, say, abortion. And border security. Then taxing the oil companies. Then everyone freaking the hell out and then Hillary Clinton comes in and takes the fucking presidency by being a little more right-wing than Obama. She'd never do that, and the opposite is kind of happening to you guys, but that's how big it is here.

(One note of further context: Apparently, Rudd had questioned Gillard's loyalty, which totally pissed her off. Which I can understand, as she'd said to the country, "No, I'm not going to contest the leadership". Then he goes and gets a lackey to snoop behind her back. This is seriously thorny!)

A part of me is super friggin' excited about getting our first woman PM. I just wish it wasn't like this. It's well known that Julia Gillard is very left-leaning as a politician. Will she have that shiny, new, hopey-changey appeal to knock Liberal out at the next election? I don't know.

All I know is that Australian politics has been really stressing me the hell out lately and I need a hobby that's kinder to my adrenal glands. Like knitting.

(Related: This has a lot of very clever things to say about the current situation. Not entirely unlike what I said, just with a whole less swearing.)

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NB: It should be noted that I am not a political blogger outside of the personally political. So my knowledge of the intricacies of Australian politics is patchy at best. I'm aware some Aussies here might be able to correct me on stuff and by all means, I welcome them to.

Film Corner!

If there's one thing the world needs, it's this: Judd Apatow to produce female version of 'Hangover'.

Apatow is set to produce "Business Trip," a comedy by Stacey Harman about "a group of women who go on a corporate trip but wind up doing anything but business while on company time," reports Variety. And considering the movie will be produced by Universal Pictures and Benderspink, the latter of which was behind "The Hangover," some say that "Business Trip" will be the female-oriented version of the Warner Bros. hit.

Well, if "some say" it, then it must be true!

In any case, it sounds GREAT and I can't WAIT to see it.

By the way, I love the opening paragraph of this story:

Those who thought Judd Apatow's protagonists were all drunk white frat boys, think again - Apatovian romps may have just become equal-opportunity.

Yeah, he's apparently branching out from drunk straight white cis dudez to drunk straight white cis ladeez. That's really flexing the old creative muscle, right there. What a genius. GIVE THIS MAN MORE MONEY! LET US BUILD A GIANT TREBUCHET TO LAUNCH ENORMOUS MONEY-BALLS AT HIM! MORE MONEY FOR JUDD APATOW, PLEASE!!!

[H/T to Shaker Scott Madin.]

90:45

Landon Donovan, ladies and gentlemen.

Two Minute Nostalgia Sublime

Pixies: "Here Comes Your Man"

What Does a Solar Flare Sound Like?

Sound of the Sun (courtesy Richard Morton) by University of Sheffield

It turns out that the corona of the sun contains giant magnetic loops that vibrate much like a guitar string or a woodwind reed. And Sheffield University's joyously named Professor Robertus von Fáy-Siebenbürgen has created software to convert those vibrations into music.

Thanks so much to Shaker NapalmNacey for passing that along.

The Sashay Project #2: Swinging the Thought Bubble

[Part 2 of a series – you’ll probably want to read Part 1 here for context]

To sashay, or not to sashay?

That is the question.

Where I grew up, there was a saying: “Check out the swing in that backyard!”

Spoken exclusively by a man/men about a woman, this was definitely sexual objectification, but I noticed, even when I was very young, that there was something in the way that this particular phrase was uttered which seemed different from the usual cat-calls and whistles.

For one thing, I don’t recall ever hearing it expressed loudly enough for the woman being objectified to actually hear it – and I think this clued me in, young as I was, to the fact that this commentary was different somehow – I seemed to grasp instinctively that this was commentary on a woman’s essential sexuality.

It wasn’t just a commentary on a lone body part (“Nice tits!”) – it communicated something about how that woman was perceived to be presenting herself – about how she moved through the world.

When I contemplate the maze of cultural messages implied in the backyard swing catcall -- “That woman is sexy/desireable/unashamed/brazen . . . ”, and think about how this intersected with all the other cultural messages I was getting at the time -- “Sex is BAD.”
“The body is shameful.”
“Women who are sexy are slutty whores.”
“BE sexy.”
“Be chaste.”
“Don’t draw attention to yourself.”
“Make sure people notice you.”
“Make sure your appearance is acceptable.”
“Be beautiful.”
“Don’t be too beautiful.”

. . . . . I can’t help but think it’s a miracle that I didn’t require more therapy.

When I found myself (as described in the first post of this series) feeling self-conscious about my big, beautiful, bubbular ass swinging and swaying through my neighborhood, I recognized immediately the “don’t take up too much space with your fat self” meme at play, but the “don’t look like a sexual being – especially a sexual woman” meme was subtler and far more complicated for me.

There was the simple, seemingly autonomic programming I had absorbed about my safety as related to living in a female body (Swing those hips at your peril, little missy!), but there were also echoes about how I “should not” appear as a sexual being at all – because I’m fat – because I’m “old” – because I’m a dyke.

Which led me to gasp at how completely and automatically I had associated the notion of swinging my hips with a display of sexuality.

You need to understand – I don’t think of myself as a person who has all these completely-internalized judgments about my age, or my fat, or my sexual orientation – or as a person who has absorbed and adopted puritanical attitudes about “modesty” or “wantonness” with regard to natural physical expression -- when these thoughts arose in me, I was genuinely shocked, and utterly appalled.

I'm usually the person in my social group who is known for saying the outrageous thing, for being forthright and "shockingly honest" about subjects like sex -- I've often said that the level of mental health I have around my sexuality is kind of miraculous, given the sexual abuse I experienced as a child.

Yet here I am, noticing that I'm hesitant to swing my hips because it might look "too sexy" -- suddenly aware of attitudes I didn't know I was carrying.

I didn’t think I was restricting my gait, much less restricting my gait in an attempt to hide or appear in a certain way.

I thought the way that I walked was . . . . just the way that I walked.

There’s a woman who I have known for years. I’ve watched her go through many changes over the past decade, and last year, she told me that she was consciously working on improving her posture. She’s nearly six feet tall, she’s got a big frame, and she’s fat.

I’ve always admired how she seemed to fully “occupy” her body, and it was really cool to see how she began to move even further into her form as she worked with a Rolfer and consciously shifted how she stood and walked. It was as if she was living right out to all every edge of herself, and I found it beautiful to behold.

As she went through her process, she talked about how her body seemed to be releasing things into her consciousness as she worked with moving differently – old family-of-origin patterns, thoughts she hadn’t been aware of previously – emotions that she felt had literally been “locked in” to places in her body.

I suspect that this may be what I’m experiencing now – as I allow my hips to move in new ways, it’s as if the judgments and myths and fears and programs that bound my hips up in the first place are popping off and flying up in my face to make themselves known.

If it’s true, as some researchers say, that people can identify others from a huge distance just by their gait, and mine is changing, I can only wonder what this might mean for my personality.

Perhaps “walking my talk” will take on a whole new meaning. Maybe my “life path” will be altered or enhanced by the way I move on it at a purely physical level.

I’m excited about, and a bit daunted by, this experiment. No doubt I’m going to bump into things along the way, both physically and mentally – obviously, that’s already happening – but I feel ready and willing to embrace the adventure.

So far, I've realized that when I walk in the manner my body finds most easeful:

I feel self-conscious about how my body looks to others.
I feel worried that I'm taking up too much room.
I feel like I'm displaying myself sexually (and am, consequently, more noticeable and less "safe").

Oh! -- And here's a weird one:

I feel afraid that people will think that I think I'm "hot shit".

I have no idea where that last one comes from -- it was a complete surprise -- but somewhere -- somewhere lurking in my pelvis, there is apparently some poor kid who was told to never, ever think they were "hot shit", lest someone else tell them they were just a "cold turd".

I will not only Free My Ass. I will Liberate that Kid and say: "Well, you ARE Hot Shit!"

Then I will sing them a few verses of Laura Love's "Mahbootay" (for which I wish I had the singer's permission to put an mp3 sample here -- but buy it at Itunes because if you love this series, you'll adore this song):

Mah Bootay, Mah Big Ol Bootay. Mah Bootay, Mah Big Ol Bootay.
I take it -- I take it shopping.
Mah Bootay, Mah Big Ol Bootay
I buy it -- I buy it presents.
Mah Bootay, Mah Big Ol Bootay
I feed it . . . . on peanut butter.
Mah Bootay, Mah Big Ol Bootay

(Series note for the Sashay Project: This is a series of posts that explores the way I locomote through the world and how it is affected by sexism and the gender binary -- people who locomote through the world by means other than walking are welcomed and encouraged to share their insights about how sexism/gender performance might impact how they move through the world.)

Chicago Pride

The Chicago Blackhawks are bringing the Stanley Cup to the Chicago Pride Parade:

Blackhawks President John McDonough is rerouting the Stanley Cup from the NHL draft in L.A. to the parade Sunday . . . and Blackhawk defenseman Brent Sopel has volunteered to represent the team.

"I am honored to do it," said Sopel, who will be accompanied by wife, Kelly, and his four kids.

...[McDonough] has arranged for the Stanley Cup to be flown back from the National Hockey League draft in Los Angeles 15 hours early. "It's important for the city and important for the franchise. ... The Stanley Cup has become the biggest celebrity of all. It has its own personality and charm. We will be proud to participate in the parade. And Brent Sopel is one of the truly great guys. To have the cup part of the parade is just another great part of the celebration."

The Chicago Cubs will also participate in the parade, with "the first float sponsored by any major Chicago sports team," atop which will ride Super Cubbie Ernie Banks to represent the team, who are playing during the parade.

Rock on, Chicago.

[H/T to Shaker Ethyl.]

Quote of the Day

"Human rights are gay rights and gay rights are human rights."—Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, during her address yesterday at an event co-hosted by the State Department's Office of Civil Rights and GLIFAA, the organization for Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies, echoing the phrase she made famous in 1995 at the UN's 4th World Conference on Women in Beijing. ("If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it be that human rights are women's rights and women's rights are human rights once and for all.")

Clinton said she is asking embassies in Africa and elsewhere to report on rights of the local lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. The State Department also is placing more attention on ensuring gays around the world have access to HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, and providing grants to human rights activists who are persecuted either because they are gay or defend gay rights, she said.

"These dangers are not gay issues. This is a human rights issue," Clinton said. She drew more rousing applause when she declared "human rights are gay rights and gay rights are human rights," a variation on the phrase she famously delivered in Beijing 10 years ago declaring "women's rights are human rights."

Clinton said she is equally concerned about creating an environment at the State Department in which gay employees feel valued and "can give 100 percent." That is why, she said, she supported offering equal benefits to same-sex partners of State Department employees, a move that encouraged Obama to authorize such benefits for gays throughout the federal government.

She noted the State Department also has made it easier for transgender people to change their passports and, for the first time, the agency's "equal opportunity statement" will include gender identity. It already includes sexual orientation.

This, Shakers, is a politician who keeps her campaign promises, even when she doesn't win the election.

Blub x a million.

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ETA. It's interesting that the CNN article notes that Clinton's support for extending equal benefits to same-sex partners of State Department employees "encouraged Obama to authorize such benefits for gays throughout the federal government," because I recall when I wrote about her decision, in comments I noted: "An attorney would know that extending benefits only to one section of Federal Employees could prompt a lawsuit that would ultimately result in benefits for all Federal Employees. Hey—Secretary Clinton's an attorney! I wonder if she thought of that...?"

There is a game of 12-dimensional chess being played in DC. It just ain't Obama at the board.

More McChrystal

The Telegraph is reporting that General Stanley McChrystal, facing criticism for embarrassing the administration in a Rolling Stone article, has resigned. There is no word whether President Obama has accepted the resignation.

Meanwhile, the Rolling Stone profile of McChrystal is now available online here.

My impression, after reading it this morning, is that McChrystal is a very smart jerk, who probably never got enough unwavering commitment to the COIN strategy from the administration to ensure he got everything he needed to try to make it work, and who probably never should have been promoted to the position in the first place. It reads like the worst scenario possible: A two-time fuck-up who probably shouldn't have been trusted, and wasn't, for the wrong reasons, when undiluted trust was essential to military success.

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Radio Shakesville

Boba Fett's Star Wars Dance Party

Here is a link to the podcast blog where you can download the show.

And this is the list of all songs used in this week's ep.

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(Which is the recommended way to read Shakesville, just FYI.)

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