David J: "I'll Be Your Chauffeur"
This is a real thing in the world.
Ya know, for kids!
"Teaches children (and parents) about the origins of the Tea Party and what it involves. A very pleasant song, coloring and activity book on Liberty, Faith, Freedom and so much more!"
Guess what Deeky's getting for Christmas!
[Via Margaret.]
23 MacArthur Foundation Awards Announced
The MacArthur Foundation "Genius" awards list for this year has been announced. Among those chosen is UCSD's Carol Padden, the first Deaf person so honored. Carol Padden is a leading figure in the study of sign languages, and has co-authored, with husband Tom Humphries, a number of texts which have been widely used in the teaching of American Sign Language and Deaf Studies.
Annette Gordon-Reed, author of The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family, was also named. Recipients recieve $100, 000 a year over five years, and Ms. Gordon-Reed said her award will, in part, fund research for another book she is planning on the family of Sally Hemings, the slave woman owned by Thomas Jefferson, by whom she had several children.
Fans of The Wire and Treme will be pleased to know that writer/producer David Simon has also been awarded one of this year's MacArthur's. I have seen neither, as I don't have HBO, but I know a lot of Shakers have expressed love for Simon's widely-admired work. Twelve men and eleven women, among them thirteen scientists and ten artists, were named fellows.
Theatre actor/director David Cromer is one, as is Jessie Little Doe Baird, a preservationist of the Wopanaak language of the Wampanoag Indians of Massachusetts; Aussie Drew Berry, who works in biomedical animation; and Emmanuel Saez, a professor of economics, one of whose studies was on the economic impact of outstanding kindergarten teachers (No, srsly; turns out those greedy public employees might actually be contributing to the economy, as well as the education of our children).
Oh, and Amir Abo-Shaeer, a public high school physics teacher in Goleta, CA, who directs an engineering program which includes a robotics competition. Says Abo-Shaeer,
I want to change the whole culture of what an engineer looks like and what an engineer does.Abo-Shaeer said that he is particularly proud that half of his students are female.
The next time, in a seemingly endless series of next times, that some member of the Obama administration starts whining and finger-jabbing about the shocking lack of appreciation for their splendid array of accomplishments, I think I'll suggest they contemplate the accomplishments of the people on this list, that they might be moved to perform the important public service of STFUing and getting on with all those badly-needed works which remain undone.
Collectively — even after the awards — the MacArthur awardees have far less money and power to draw on than a group of 23 Democratic Representatives, Senators, and top administration officials. Not devoting themselves to speechifying about what they are owed, how unappreciated they are, and what they will accomplish in a magic someday over the rainbow when the Republicans have graciously given their permission, has probably saved them a lot of time and energy, though.
It's inspiring what human beings can accomplish when they commit themselves to real public service, to the honest pursuit of knowledge, and to creating solutions rather than to careerism.
All Right, Let's Just Get This Over With
The President's much-discussed interview with Rolling Stone ends thus:
[Signaled by his aides, the president brings the interview to a close and leaves the Oval Office. A moment later, however, he returns to the office and says that he has one more thing to add. He speaks with intensity and passion, repeatedly stabbing the air with his finger.]As I said in comments yesterday, I regard the vote-for-any-Democrat-to-keep-a-Republican-out-of-office position as a legitimate and perfectly understandable position. I've frequently voted on that basis myself, especially when the only other alternative was not voting, because there were no candidates further left of the Dems on my voting ticket.
One closing remark that I want to make: It is inexcusable for any Democrat or progressive right now to stand on the sidelines in this midterm election. There may be complaints about us not having gotten certain things done, not fast enough, making certain legislative compromises. But right now, we've got a choice between a Republican Party that has moved to the right of George Bush and is looking to lock in the same policies that got us into these disasters in the first place, versus an administration that, with some admitted warts, has been the most successful administration in a generation in moving progressive agendas forward.
The idea that we've got a lack of enthusiasm in the Democratic base, that people are sitting on their hands complaining, is just irresponsible.
Everybody out there has to be thinking about what's at stake in this election and if they want to move forward over the next two years or six years or 10 years on key issues like climate change, key issues like how we restore a sense of equity and optimism to middle-class families who have seen their incomes decline by five percent over the last decade. If we want the kind of country that respects civil rights and civil liberties, we'd better fight in this election. And right now, we are getting outspent eight to one by these 527s that the Roberts court says can spend with impunity without disclosing where their money's coming from. In every single one of these congressional districts, you are seeing these independent organizations outspend political parties and the candidates by, as I said, factors of four to one, five to one, eight to one, 10 to one.
We have to get folks off the sidelines. People need to shake off this lethargy, people need to buck up. Bringing about change is hard — that's what I said during the campaign. It has been hard, and we've got some lumps to show for it. But if people now want to take their ball and go home, that tells me folks weren't serious in the first place.
If you're serious, now's exactly the time that people have to step up.
But I also regard as a legitimate and perfectly understandable position the reluctance to vote affirmatively for candidates and/or policies that one cannot endorse in good conscience. And the president of a democracy should recognize that, too.
It's Glenn Greenwald's principled opposition to the Obama administration's national security and civil liberties policies that gets the attention and respect, but, of course, that is not the only principled reason a progressive voter might feel unable to make the "perfectly logical calculation" to cast a vote for the Democratic party when that vote implicitly endorses an agenda inconsistent with one's own dignity and autonomy.
That feminists/womanists and queer activists are not regarded (or even discussed) as having a legitimate reason to feel alienated, demoralized, and conflicted about casting an affirmative vote for a party that has failed utterly to protect and/or extend their basic civil rights, underlines the very marginalization that creates disaffection in the first place.
Every election, that snake eats its own tail again. And 'round and 'round we go.
But this time, we've also got the president himself jumping into the fray to make noise about "what's at stake." As if we don't know.
Our "lack of enthusiasm" is "irresponsible," he admonishes us: "Everybody out there has to be thinking about what's at stake in this election."
Well, Mr. President, what if thinking about what's at stake in this election is exactly the cause of one's lack of enthusiasm? What do you recommend to the people whose very bodies and lives are still treated as bargaining chips by your administration and your party? How much do you think "the other guys are even worse" really matters when your "better" alternative is failing to defend and champion equality (and fail even to react to encroachments on our rights) instead of actively opposing it?
That's the sort of distinction that makes a difference to people whose own lives aren't affected by the Democrats' disinterest. Someone who isn't personally invested in the legalization of same-sex marriage might appreciate the philosophical difference between a party who endorses codifying discrimination into the Constitution and a party who merely declines to pursue equality because it's not politically expedient right now. But to someone who's not allowed at their dying partner's bedside because they're not "family," that's a distinction without a meaningful difference.
Either way, they're standing out in the hall like a second-class fucking citizen.
And the people who tell us to vote for the Democrats because the other guys are worse are frequently people who have never had to stand in a voting booth and cast a vote for someone who they know is likely to treat their bodies and/or lives as a point of compromise.
Even when you know the other guys are worse, that shit ain't easy to do.
And progressives/Democrats really need to stop pretending like it is.
The president frames our disillusionment as "standing on the sidelines" and "sitting on their hands complaining" and "taking their ball and go home," which he says "tells me folks weren't serious in the first place." Which is as clueless as it is insulting (and it is extremely insulting). It's also a fine bit of projection.
It isn't feminists/womanists and queer activists who are standing on the sidelines and sitting on their hands complaining: It's the Democrats—who have opportunities to stop Roe from being rendered an impotent statute, and opportunities to be allies to the LGBTQI community, but choose not to take them. (Even when 75% of the population supports equality.) And then complaining about people who aren't axiomatically inclined to support them, forgiving for the second, fifth, tenth, twentieth election in their lives the alleged necessity to have "played politics" with their identities and rights.
There is indeed someone who wasn't serious in the first place, but it ain't us.
The Overton Window: Danny's Big Speech
Whenever you're on a long trip, it's nice to stop every once in a while and stretch your legs. Maybe get a Slim Jim and a Fanta. It helps break things up a bit.
And after ten chapters, including one long-ass speech about the evils of taxation, I thought we'd pull over for a piss. Proverbially speaking, of course.
So instead of me reviewing chapter eleven, Danny Bailey's big speech, instead of you having to slog through reading the big speech, I thought I'd let you hear it. [Transcript in comments.]
Below is my recreation of Danny Bailey's speech at the rally, with authentic sound effects. It's just like being there, without Hollis looming over your shoulder all night.
Let me set the scene for you:
Tonight's headliner, the illustrious Danny Bailey, now took to the stage in a swell of heavy-metal music and an ovation that rattled every shelf of glassware behind the bar.
I couldn't find a sound effect of rattling barware, so you'll just have to imagine that bit. The rest, however, remains true to the description in the book. More or less.
Give it a whirl. Download it. Put it on your iPod. Play it in your car. Hold your own teabagger rally. Or just turn out the lights, close your eyes, and pretend you're at the Stars 'n Stripes.
|
In today's episode of The Overton Window, Danny Bailey is played by James Daniels. Produced, directed, edited, folded and fluffed by me.
Question of the Day
I'm relocating. Selling my house and getting out of town. Except I have no idea where I am going. Perhaps someplace I can find a cute boyfriend or two.
So, Shakers, I ask you: Where should I move to?
No More Strawpeople, Please
Greg Sargent lays out for the White House "the various arguments that people on the left are actually making."
I would personally argue that there are, in fact, only two groups—Sargent's second and third categories. His first category falls into the same trap Biden et. al. have, which is assuming that rank and file Democratic voters are insufficiently enthusiastic for vague reasons, instead of the same reasons that "high-profile commentators" and "progressive operatives" are.
Otherwise, good stuff.
U.S. Chamber of Turd
In opposition to the Creating American Jobs and Ending Offshoring Act, the Chamber wrote the following to Congress:
"Replacing a job that is based in another country with a domestic job does not stimulate economic growth or enhance the competitiveness of American worldwide companies."I'm glad that the rocket scientists at the Chamber have figured out that putting more unemployed Americans to work who would receive a paycheck and subsequently buy goods (i.e. consumers) would not stimulate economic growth.
Such award winning economic logic cannot go unnoticed.
[H/T to ThinkProgress]
The Event Open Thread
Last night's episode will be discussed in what I imagine is going to be slightly less than the infinitesimal detail in which Lost was discussed, but, nonetheless, if you haven't seen it, and don't want any spoilers, move along...
What I'm Listening To
[Lyrics here.]
There is a lot I love about this song, but the thing I love most about it is that it feels like a fat sexy woman to me. That ba-dump, ba-dump just conjures a big, voluptuous woman spilling out of a tight dress on a hot day, walking with her chin up, swinging her hips and her boobs as she walks with purpose, looking lustfully at her man or woman with narrowed eyes. Ba-dump, ba-dump. It makes me feel like that fat sexy woman every time I listen to it.
Maude, how I love Nina Simone.
The Best Thing You'll Read All Day
The Wrestler and the Cornflake Girl: Mick Foley explains how Tori Amos changed his life and turned him into an advocate for survivors of sexual violence.
Blub.
[H/T to Susie.]
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.]
This is so the worst thing you're going to read all day.
Actual Title: Why Men and Woman Can't be "Just Friends."
Actual Subtitle: Can men and women really be "just friends?"
My brain now has actual whiplash. It's like if the tagline for the twentieth century's most important documentary, When Harry Met Sally... had the tagline, "When Harry Met Sally?"
Someone in the headline division of Psychology Today's Gender Essentialism, Evo-Psych, and Farts department is getting lazy.
And WTF is this? "Remember: Think well, act well feel well be well!" Whoops your commas fell down a well.
Two-Minute Nostalgia Sublime
Love and Rockets: "Yin and Yang (the Flowerpot Man)"
(This video may not be safe for anyone who experiences photosensitive epilepsy.)
Now Biden Doubles Down
After telling disillusioned progressives to "stop whining," Vice President Joe Biden doubled-down on the scold-your-base strategy last night:
"And so those who — didn't get everything they wanted, it's time to just buck up here, understand that we can make things better, continue to move forward," Biden said during an appearance on MSNBC, "but not yield the playing field to those folks who are against everything that we stand for in terms of the initiatives we put forward."The Obama voter who's "angry because we didn't get every single thing they want" is a damnable strawperson. Joe Biden is mistaking ideological purity for what, in reality, is consistent principles—and the expectation that the administration have them, too.
Biden was asked by MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell, in the debut of the host's new program, "The Last Word," whether he'd like to retract his admonition to liberals to stop complaining.
"There are some on the Democratic base, not the core of it, that are angry because we didn't get every single thing they want," the vice president said.
"They should stop that," Biden explained. "These guys, if they win, the other team, they're going to repeal healthcare [reform] and I want them to tell me why what we did wasn't an incredibly significant move that's progressive and helping people."
This is getting really old. The Press Secretary, the Deputy Director of Public Engagement (har), top advisors, the Vice President, and the President have all gone on the offensive against their own base, and then they wonder why the fuck the base isn't on their side. OMGLOLWTF.
And, as Maud pointed out in comments, the hyperbole is ridiculous:
This reminds me of the tired line, recently used by Biden in his interview with Rachel Maddow, but trotted out frequently by the usual suspects, "As much as I wish we had a magic wand..." Yes, that's right. People expect magic. The only two possibilities are selling-out completely, and the magic wand. Expecting anything but the first is the equivalent of demanding the second.Which reminded me of this comment Obama made at a fundraiser last week:
Democrats, just congenitally, tend to get -- to see the glass as half empty. If we get an historic health care bill passed -- oh, well, the public option wasn't there. If you get the financial reform bill passed -- then, well, I don't know about this particular derivatives rule; I'm not sure that I'm satisfied with that. And gosh, we haven't yet brought about world peace and -- I thought that was going to happen quicker.Yes, that's right. Because expecting a healthcare reform bill in the richest nation on the planet to guarantee healthcare to all its citizens is the same as expecting world peace. Jesus.
This is so infuriating. Forget legislative failures or policy disagreements for a moment: I just want my Democratic president to be better at politics than this.
Best Email Ever
[Click to embiggen.]
If you can't view the image, it's an email from a gentleman named Tony, with the subject line "VOTE OUT ALL LIBERALS, ALL DEMOCRATS, ALL RINO'S, ALL MUSLIMS, ALL NON-BELIEVERS AND ANYONE ELSE TRYING TO BRING AMERICA DOWN!" followed by a picture of an American Eagle in front of a US flag, labeled "GOD BLESS AMERICA" in gold text.
You've convinced me, Tony. I renounce feminism, atheism, progressivism, and my beliefs in social justice and a robust social safety net.
Well played, sir.
Absolutely Backwards
The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life recently conducted a survey* of US-ians about their knowledge of religion. CNN finds the results "surprising."
US-ians didn't do too well on the quiz, especially, uh, religious folks. On average, atheists and agnostic people answered the most questions correctly.
CNN theoblogger Stephen Prothero argues that because "all careful observers" know religion is a major force in politics, the US should institute mandatory school courses in "the Bible and the world's religions."
Here's the thing....
When I was a student at a public high school, we learned about the world's religions (and the Bible) in a mandatory course on world history. In my paying gig, I spend a lot of time examining students' college transcripts. A lot of students take 100-level courses in civilization that include material on religion (even the Bible), and general education requirements typically encourage this behavior.
In other words, I'd appreciate it if Prothero didn't imply that the government is enforcing ignorance about religion, an argument so hackneyed it makes Jenny Lind look like ABBA. The sad truth is that people, including religious people, aren't actually paying attention to the historic and scriptural bases of religion, and all the Jars of Clay concerts in the world aren't going to change that. That's a "surprising" narrative, I suppose, if one is used to constantly hearing about how secular America is.
Here's yet another thing...
If a religion we don't know anything about is a major driving force behind policy, we could rectify things by learning more about Christianity in the public school classes we're already attending or the Sunday sermons many US-ians are attending. Alternatively, we could make a concerted effort to make the US secular. You know, stop basing policies on misconceptions of one of the world's five major religions, especially since, you know, some of us live in the US, too.
Sure, you could argue that the U.S. is the only place on Earth where folks' knowledge of religion is deficient, but I doubt you'd succeed. Besides, religion isn't about knowing things, it's about believing things. If we're interested in global politics, I'd argue that the right answers are the answers people are giving us; cultural studies, and not history holds the key to understanding what's going on.
Ultimately, I suspect that Prothero is simply terrified at the prospect that Christopher Hitchens knows something about religion. At the very least, I agree with him on this point. It is indeed scary to admit that Hitchens knows anything about anything.
--
*The survey is here, but the Pew's servers are presently unable to handle my mad theological skillz.
This is a real thing in the world.
[Click to embiggen.]
The image is a screecap from a new site called "She's Hot, But" (to which I won't link, but you can find it easily if you're so inclined). The purpose of the site is to provide straight/bi men (and ostensibly women attracted to women, although suffice it to say I wouldn't expect to find many lesbians and bisexual women participating in such a wantonly woman-hating site) with an anonymous outlet for broadcasting the flaws of women they find hot.
The three examples in the screencap are: "She's hot, but her ass is flat as a pancake," "She's hot, but her breath smells like pure ass," and "She's hot, but she's a HAG (hairy arm girl)."
Many of the submissions are much more objectionable. Some of them include jokes about sexual violence. Some of them are transphobic; some are racist; some are homophobic; some are disablist; some are fat-hating. It's basically a clusterfucktastrophe of misogyny, in all its intersectional forms.
And CBS will almost certainly option it for a sitcom in no time.
