Hosted by a pianist.
Question of the Day
What would improve your life right now?
It can be anything from "a new job" to "a milkshake."
Me? Fish and chips.
Blog Note
I'm going to be out the rest of the afternoon. I just got back from the vet with Dudley, who has a severe eye infection in both eyes. We were just there this weekend, for his boosters, and Dudley was fine when the vet checked his eyes routinely and saw no problem; today his eyes were so red that the vet suspected his corneas might have ulcerated. Luckily, that turned out not to be the case.
Also in good news, it isn't contagious to cats, so the girls should be fine.
We've got three meds, one of which numbs his eyes so that he won't scratch at them, but I've still got to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't worry his eyes and make them any worse. It hasn't affected his vision so far, but one eye is getting cloudy, so we're taking this very seriously.
Anyway, I'm taking the rest of the day off so I can keep my attention on him. And because I'm kind of a wreck, frankly.
Dudley was a very good boy at the vet, and is now resting comfortably with his BFF Piggy.
Horrible people made to look horrible
This story via Digby (and Bloomberg) pretty much made my day, in a sad, I-told-me-so kinda way:
US Uncut, a group protesting corporate tax issues and government service cutbacks, claimed responsibility for a fake press release that said General Electric Co. (GE) would return a "$3.2 billion tax refund.”Whoops, the rumors of your corporate responsibility have been greatly exaggerated!
I imagine GE's actual plan is to use that cash to hold a surprise pizza party for the entire city of Schenectady. (Shhhhhhhh......)
ETA: You know who's probably having a really bad week? This guy.
Seen (and Bought)
As of April 8th at 2:06 AM, I have another niece. CMB was 8 pounds, 2 ounces at birth, and she's growing fast. The onesie baby-suits my sister got as gifts are either too small or too big at this point, so I want to make a few. I found a good size onesie (for a baby up to 16 pounds) at a local dollar store for a great price because it was slightly damaged. I can reverse-engineer a pattern from it. So, it does not matter what the print on the original looks like. But here's what it looks like:
Image description: a close-up photo of a baby onesie with a print of puppies playing baseball interspersed with stars in a patriotic color-story of blue, white, and red.
The package declaimed "BOY" on the label, and it's a good thing: how else would I have known? The "GIRL"-declaiming onesies had pink ballet shoes, tiaras, and the word "Princess" in curlicue script all over them. Just so we know for sure.
It was enough to make me burst into song (with apologies to Barbra Streisand):
Puppies
Puppies who play baseball
Are the luckiest puppies in the world
We’re humans gendering our children
We sow cultural fears of all sorts
By freighting these dogs and ball-sports
With our forced projections of nature
Puppies
Are very special symbols
They’re the manliest symbols in the world
With one puppy
One puppy who plays baseball
A feeling deep in your shirt says
You’re a jock not a flirt
No more toe-shoes and pink
Just think a mere puppy who plays baseball
Puppies who play baseball
Keep your boychildren manly: not like girls
(context: this YouTube clip of Barbra Streisand singing "People" in the film Funny Girl--lyrics below the fold in most browsers)
(music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Bob Merrill)
People
People who need people
Are the luckiest people in the world
We're children needing other children
And yet, letting our grown up pride
Hide all the need inside
Acting more like children than children
Lovers
Are very special people
They're the luckiest people in the world
With one person
One very special person
A feeling deep in your soul says
You were half, now you're whole
No more hunger and thirst
But first be a person who needs people
People who need people
Are the luckiest people in the world
Pictures of Woman Charged with Filing False Rape Report Found on Camera of Accused Serial Rapist
[Trigger warning for sexual violence, rape culture narratives.]
There aren't words to convey the cavernous profundity of my contempt for the people who bullied the victim of a serial rapist into taking a plea deal after charging her with false reporting because they didn't believe her:
The victim in a Washington state sex assault now linked to a 32-year-old Lakewood man was charged with false reporting and paid a $500 fine in 2008 because police didn't believe her story.What Rider seems to be referring to is the fact that the accused rapist "was meticulous about not leaving evidence at the scene." He wore gloves and a mask, to avoid leaving fingerprints or reveal his identity, and he obliged his victims to destroy evidence by forcing them to brush their teeth and shower after he'd assaulted them. He also cleaned the scenes with wet-naps he'd brought, and left with his victims' clothes and bedding in tow after he spent hours raping them and cataloging the events on camera.
Authorities in Lynnwood, Wash., reopened their case and reimbursed the woman after Colorado detectives found pictures of the victim on a camera belonging to Marc O'Leary, an Army veteran charged in two similar cases in Golden and Westminster, Lynnwood police Cmdr. Steve Rider said.
O'Leary, who has not been charged in the Lynnwood case, lived in nearby Mountlake Terrace, Wash., from 2006 to 2009.
"At the time (2008) information came up that basically led investigators to make the wrong conclusion about the case," Rider said.
Rider declined to elaborate, but did say there were "strong similarities" between the Lynnwood case and the Colorado cases.
It was among the hundreds of photos he'd taken that the images of his Lynnwood victim were discovered.
Rider seems to be implying that Lynnwood police "made the wrong conclusion" because of the lack of evidence, but I would argue that concluding the woman was lying, as opposed to simply concluding there was not sufficient evidence to sustain an open investigation, is attributable to something decidedly more nefarious than a lack of evidence.
If we didn't have bullshit narratives about multitudinous false reports made by vindictive bitches, would an example need to have been made of this woman with her rape allegation and its lack of physical evidence? That's rhetorical, in case my sneering disdain is not palpable.
It's a case of he said she said! That's what the rape apologists always say. You can't RUIN A MAN'S LIFE just on some woman's word! As if rape convictions on nothing but witness testimony happen all the time.
(They happen never. And men who are wrongly convicted of sexual assault are virtually never the victims of false reporting, but of mistaken IDs, shoddy or corrupt police work, and/or legal railroading.)
But what is happening, over and over, is women's lives are being ruined because their word can't be verified. And the takeaway lesson here, I guess, is that if rapists are careful enough to destroy all the evidence, not only will they get away with it, their accusers will be accused of committing a crime if they report it. Swell. Let's definitely keep supporting a practice that empowers rapists. Great idea. Very cool.
Rider said the victim in the Lynnwood case, whom police did not identify, was assigned a public defender in 2008 and ultimately agreed to a plea deal to avoid a trial. Her case was dismissed in 2010, after she completed conditions of the plea, which included counseling.Wow.
Police are now working with prosecutors to have the woman's record expunged, Rider said.
..."We really appreciate Colorado's work on this case," he said. "Without them, this would have gone into the annals of time as a false report."
Well, what do you want the police to do—just let women who make false reports GET AWAY WITH IT?! Yes. That is exactly what I want. Because I frankly think that most reports called "false reports," which constitute less than 2% of rape allegations, aren't actually false reports in the first place (see: this story) and that the tiny remainder of authentically false reports do not warrant the continuation of a practice that empowers rapists and discourages survivors of sexual violence from reporting the crimes against them, for fear of being arrested if their allegations can't be proven.
I don't guess I need to point out that when survivors are discouraged from reporting the crimes against them, rapists go free. That not only empowers rapists, but creates more victims.
And anything that does that is a tool of the rape culture.
[H/T to Shaker Mike.]
Chase Rep: Deaf People "Probably Can't" Have a Credit Card
A little over a month ago, my father and I decided to respond to an offer from Chase for their Ink Business MasterCard. We're both principals in the business I own. He's deaf; I'm not. (These details will be relevant shortly.)There has been more back-and-forth, but the issue has yet to be resolved, and the cards "are effectively frozen until Chase feels everything's been resolved to their satisfaction. But as long as they continue to shoot down anything we try to do to help resolve this issue, we're stuck."
...[W]e were approved, and both our cards arrived shortly. I activated mine and was able to make some purchases. After a while, I wanted to set up my account for online access at chase.com. My attempts to register online failed, so I called Chase, which is when the nightmare began.
We were soon sidetracked because my father's card hadn't been activated (though mine had been). Fair enough; I can see why they want both cards to be acknowledged and activated, even if my father isn't very likely to use his card. (As I mentioned, he isn't involved in the day-to-day affairs of the business.) So I tried to work with them to activate his card over the phone, with me being the interpreter. Even though my parents have always been able to do this in my past — with my mother (who can hear) serving as interpreter whenever activating a card — the customer service agent immediately shot down this option. Annoying, but, OK, how about a customer service number for the deaf and hearing impaired? He put me on hold for a bit, but came back and said he couldn't find any information on that.
Hmmm. I see. Is there some sort of procedure for processing card activations for cardmembers who can't hear? This is where it gets good. The customer service agent suggested that the hearing impaired "probably can't" have a card. I informed him that this is probably very illegal, and that it'd be news to American Express, the Charles Schwab Visa people, PNC Bank, and the various other companies that my father has credit with currently. He still seemed to think that Chase probably wouldn't be able to offer him a card.
"I'm quite sure there are laws against that," I pointed out, which seemed to unnerve him enough to put me on hold, this time for a little longer.
Unless Chase just added this information today, they've got a customer service number for the deaf and hearing impaired listed here, but part of accessibility is making sure the people representing your company know about alternative options and how to direct customers to use them. That means meaningful and practical diversity training, not pointing it out once and expecting employees to figure it out.
[H/T to Shaker FWM.]
Profits up on account of poor economy
Stephen Hemsley, who runs UnitedHealth, took home a paltry $48.8 million dollars in 2010. In 2009, he took home $102 million dollars, owing to $98.6 million in stock options.
Still, things are looking up for UnitedHealth:
Like other health insurers across the board, UnitedHealth posted strong gains in 2010 as consumers put off routine and elective medical procedures during the still-weak economy.It's call synergy, bitchez.
--
Full disclosure: UnitedHealth is my health insurance company and it suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks.
Trump on Race Relations
[Trigger warning for racism.]
Unofficial Republican (or Reform Party) candidate Donald Trump is currently being interviewed on Fred Dicker's show, and the Politico's Ben Smith, who's listening to that mess, just tweeted:
Trump: "I have a great relationship with the blacks." Calls overwhelming black support for Obama "frightening."That would be hilarious if it weren't such a pointed reminder that racist jackasses are wildly popular with a huge swath of the US population, not despite their racism but explicitly because of it.
Santorum 4 Prez
Joining his BFFs Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, and Willard Romney, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum has announced the formation of a presidential exploratory committee.
"In 2008 Americans wanted a president who they could believe in, but after two years they realized that what they needed is a president who believes in them," Santorum said in a statement. "It's time for America to be America again - an America that rewards innovation and hard work, that stands by our allies instead of our enemies, that protects even the most vulnerable of our society, and an America that says every life is to be cherished. That is what I believe in, and that's why I'm taking this next step in a possible run for president."He is such a colossal dipshit.
For those among us too young to recall the glory days of Rick Santorum, here are a few of his greatest hits:
— On same-sex marriage: "In every society, the definition of marriage has not ever to my knowledge included homosexuality. That's not to pick on homosexuality. It's not, you know, man on child, man on dog, or whatever the case may be."
— On feminism: "What happened in America so that mothers and fathers who leave their children in the care of someone else find themselves more affirmed by society? Here, we can thank the influence of radical feminism, one of the core philosophies of the village elders."
— On homosexuality: "If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual [gay] sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery... You have the right to anything. Does that undermine the fabric of our society? I would argue yes, it does."
— On diversity: "The elementary error of relativism becomes clear when we look at multiculturalism. Sometime in the 1980s, universities began to champion the importance of 'diversity' as a central educational value."
— On institutional sex abuse in the Catholic Church: "While there's no excuse for this scandal, it is no surprise that Boston, a seat of academic, political and cultural liberalism in America, lies at the center of the storm."
— On same-sex marriage: "Isn't that the ultimate homeland security, standing up and defending marriage?"
— On late-term abortion: "Partial birth abortion [is] the calculated killing of the nearly born."
— On homosexuality: "I have no problem with homosexuality. I have a problem with homosexual acts."
— On then-Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D) criticizing Bush in 2003 for initiating military action against Iraq without support of the UN Security Council: "Sen. Daschle clearly articulated the French position."
Good times.
[Previous Santorum.]
Question of the Day
What single album is most evocative of your late teenage/high school years for you?
I can't listen to a single measure of any song on Morrissey's "Kill Uncle" without being instantly transported back to the publication room, after school, working on the school newspaper—my hands covered in the sticky residue of the wax used to create the mock-up pages, and wax-covered trimmings I'd sheared away with an X-acto blade sticking to the soles of my shoes.
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to listen to that album in awhile.
Luckily, REM's "Out of Time" has exactly the same effect, for moments when I'm desirous of a little nostalgia.
I write letters
Dear Out Magazine,
I see that you've published this year's list of the most powerful 50 gays and lesbians.
Either this:
[Jim Gaffigan reminds you that it's time to buy milk.]
1) Is actually a picture of the fifty white gays and lesbians with the most "power to influence cultural and social attitudes, political clout, individual wealth, and [highest] media profile."
-or-
2) Really is a picture of the fifty gays and lesbians with the most "power to influence cultural and social attitudes, political clout, individual wealth, and [highest] media profile."
If it's the former, I humbly suggest you relabel your feature. If it's the latter, maybe y'all could have a meeting at Shepard Smith's house to discuss, um, "The Situation"?
Sorry, I always get Shepard Smith confused with Anderson Cooper, and Anderson Cooper confused with Mike from "Jersey Shore."
Kisses,
Katie
P.S. LOL ur B n' T.
Oh Dear
Image Description: A screen cap from a video clip of Dr. Drew's new show, featuring the doc himself and the segment title "Men Are From Mars?" CNN has labeled the video clip "Dr. Drew on what men really want."
So much barf in one little frame.
Bret Easton Ellis Has Garbage Where His Decency Should Be
[Trigger warning for homophobia and mockery of disease.]
If you don't believe me, see the tweet from Bret Easton Ellis' official Twitter account early this morning: "I like the idea of Glee but why is it that every time I watch an episode I feel like I've stepped into a puddle of HIV?"
Really? Really?
Further reading: link and link.
Quote of the Day
"For the love of EVERYTHING, if I see one more news organization allow Republicans to claim that they are worried about preventing tax dollars from funding abortions, I will lose it. Tax dollars cannot go to abortions. This has been true for over thirty years. Everyone in the House is supposed to know this, because it is a law and they are legislators. Don't let anyone you talk to get away with this bullshit."—Miss O, at STFU, Sexists.
[H/T to @scatx.]
Thanks from Shakes Manor
A few Shakers have done special things for me lately, and I want to thank them: First, thank you to Shaker Cortney for the kind words, which Iain passed along.
Second, my profound and joyful thanks to Shakers natbsat, ajoye, math-geek, phoquess, eviltammy, jazzyroo, and one more whose permission I haven't gotten to publish her name, who got together and made this amazing quilt for me:
It is gorgeous and matches our living room perfectly, and it is sooooooo soft and cuddly. I've already used it and love it to tiny little bits—and, if I want to use it in future, I'm going to have to fight Sophie for it, who has decided that it's hers. (Guess again, Sophs!) Thank you so much, to each of you. I am so grateful for your kindness and thoughtfulness. I will be using that for a very long time to come.
And finally, my thanks to Shaker Carole, who after reading my account of being a fat patient in a doctor's office without a gown that fit me, made me my very own personalized gown:
That picture does not do its remarkable cuteness any justice; I couldn't figure out a good way to photograph it—but, as you can see, it came emblazoned with a teaspoon and my name. (So much blub.) And Carole, despite having "ideas on how to make it prettier/more comfy/less of the butt-hanging-out style" (hee!), used a real hospital gown as a pattern, with the shoulder snaps, ties, and all, to reduce the likelihood I wouldn't be allowed to use it. I am so appreciative, Carole; I adore it, and I will always, always, always bring it with me to every doctor's appointment from now on.
Thank you so very much, Cortney, natbsat, ajoye, math-geek, phoquess, eviltammy, jazzyroo, Anon Shaker, and Carole.
Today in Barf News
Will Daniels seek presidency? Sounds like it.
[Republican Indiana Governor Daniels] eagerly fielded questions about the idea of running for president during a meeting with The Indianapolis Star's Editorial Board on Tuesday afternoon. His answers made clear what we already knew -- that he is giving the question deep thought -- and underscored how intently he has worked through the issues that would face him and the messages on which he would base a campaign.Still no.
Much of his message would center on his concern about what he calls the "red menace" of federal debt, which has been the focus of many of his national speeches and writings.
If he runs, he said, "it would simply be because I do think, and I hope I am wrong, that the country has put itself in a very difficult place."
There is incentive to tackle the problem now, he said, before the problem is too dire. He warned that if the nation delays Medicare and Social Security reforms, the goal he and many others share of not reducing benefits for those approaching retirement age may prove to be out of reach.
"We're starting to run out of time," he said.
Video Description: Scenes of Shia LaBeouf saying "no" like a zillion times.
