Shakesville

Quote of the Day

You know, normally something this stupid wouldn't bother me, but this story really gets under my skin. If they can try to paint Common as a 'dangerous black man,' what black man is immune? If they think Common is vile, then I know they have no use for my black ass. Common is beyond the pale, Michelle Obama hates whitey, Eric Holder is protecting the New Black Panther Party, Shirley Sherrod is discriminating against white farmers, Barack Obama is giving reparations to black people? Conservatives, do you realize how stupid this sounds to black people? (And I know that black people aren't the audience for that kind of talk, there's no need to point that out to me.) Seriously, you can't find less-threatening black people.

And fundamentally, I doubt if they even think Common's that bad. He's a convenient target for a bit of demagoguing, which is even more repugnant. At least when Lee Atwater used the "Let's dredge up the 'dangerous black man' feelings for a cheap political hit" ploy, he'd choose an actually dangerous black man.

—David White, a commenter at Ta-Nehisi Coates' place, on the rightwing shit-fit about First Lady Michelle Obama having invited rapper and actor Common to the White House for a poetry event.

Common, for those who don't know, is a Chicago rapper who is not only talented, but seems like a pretty decent guy. He responded to fans' complaints about his earlier material containing homophobic slurs by vowing not to use them anymore, and responded to criticisms about misogyny in hip hop by noting that pop music as a whole is pretty misogynistic and it's something on which artists across genres should work together to resolve.

No wonder the never-gonna-listen, never-gonna-self-examine, never-gonna-change dipshits of the rightwing hate him.

This is a real thing in the world.

a photo of the Obama SEAL Team 6 action figure, which is a muscular and grinning President Obama wearing fatigues and holding an M1-A4

The Obama SEAL Team 6 Action Figure, aka Rambana

Navy SEALs have become national heroes since news broke that they took down Osama bin Laden, so it's fitting that the newest action figure from a Connecticut company is a fierce-looking President Barack Obama as a SEAL.

The minute Obama said late on the night of May 1 that the U.S. had found and killed bin Laden, Emil Vicale knew which his action figure company's would make next — Rambama.

On Wednesday morning, Hero Builders released the Obama SEAL Team 6 action figure — a muscular President in fatigues armed with an M1-A4.

Yikes.

[H/T to Iain.]

Seen

On the church sign near my house, which is a never-ending font of "inspirational," punny, and otherwise awesome communiqués:

Weed 'em and Reap!
There's nothing I like better when I'm out walking my dog on a beautiful sunny day than a little friendly eliminationist language.

[Previous Church Signs: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven.]

Two-Minute Nostalgia Sublime

Billy Vera & The Beaters: "At This Moment"

This Is A Real Thing In The World

For everyone who was swooning over Dagny's bracelet a couple weeks ago:

Proudly made in the U.S.A., this anodized aluminium alloy bracelet is an exact replica of the Rearden Metal Bracelet worn by Taylor Schilling (Dagny Taggart) and Rebecca Wisocky (Lillian Rearden) in Atlas Shrugged Part I.

Okay, so I dunno if it qualifies as an exact replica if it's not made of Reardon metal, but I guess it's close enough.

Get yours today, Shakers! (And objectivists!) But beware of knock-offs! Knock-offs? Maybe. Theft of intellectual property is still theft! (And parking in the fire lane when using Redbox is still a shitty thing to do.) Retail price $159.00, which seems pricey for aluminium, but really, can you put a price on freedom? No, you can't: Freedom isn't free. I believe bumper stickers, no doy.

Stay tuned for more Atlas Shrugged: Part I news as it happens.

Open Thread

Hosted by a recycled tire bicycle sculpture that's also a bike rack.

Question of the Day

Who is your favorite cartoonist? Do you have an example of a favorite cartoon of theirs?

I'm a big fan of "Dick Tracy," so Chester Gould is probably my favorite "newspaper" cartoonist. But my favorite cartoonist of all time would have to be Chuck Jones. "Feed the Kitty" is a work of art for the facial expressions alone.

Marc Antony hides the kitty.

Who, me?

And Now a Word from Newt Leroy Gingrich

[Transcript below, with my commentary in bracketed text.]
I'm Newt Gingrich, and I'm announcing my candidacy for President of the United States because I believe we can return America to hope and opportunity, to full employment, to real security, to an American energy program, to a balanced budget. [That sounds great! Whooooooops too bad I've read your record.]

I worked with President Ronald Reagan [THE President Ronald Reagan?!] in a very difficult period. We got jobs created again, Americans proud of America, and the Soviet Union disappeared. [Magic!]

As Speaker of the House, I worked to reform welfare, to balance the budget, to control spending, to cut taxes, to create economic growth; unemployment came down from 5.6% to under 4; and, for four years, we balanced the budget and paid off $405 billion of debt. [True Fact: He also worked to secure a rainbow-farting unicorn for every tax-paying American.]

We've done it before; we can do it again. I want your help, because no one person in the Oval Office can get this done. We Americans are going to have to talk together, work together, find solutions together, and insist on imposing those solutions on those forces that don't want to change. [Who are also technically Americans, but they can go to hell.]

There's some people who don't mind if America becomes a wreck as long as they dominate the wreckage, but you and I know better. We owe it to our children, our grandchildren, our country, and, frankly, to ourselves. [Mostly ourselves.] Let's get together, look reality in the face, tell the truth, make the tough choices, get the job done. [Think outside the box, color outside the lines, push the envelope, and go big or go home, because we're not here to make friends.]

There's a much better American future ahead, with more jobs, more prosperity, a better health system, longer lives, greater independent living, in a country that is decentralized under the Tenth Amendment, with power once again back with the American people and away from Washington bureaucracy. [So elect me, Newt Leroy Gingrich, to be the most powerfulest and number onest Washington bureaucrat in all the land!]

No one person can accomplish this. [Especially not Newt Gingrich.] It can't be done from the Oval Office. We have to work together. We Americans have to get it done. [Except the Americans upon which we're going to impose our solutions, OBVIOUSLY.] I hope you'll decide to join me. Let's work side by side. Let's get this done for ourselves, [see?] our children and grandchildren, and for our country. And I hope you'll come to Newt-dot-org, see what we're trying to get done, and decide to join us in getting America back on the right track. [Nope!]

Daily Dose of Cute

Sophie sits inside an empty cardboard box on the kitchen counter

"Ur box iz mines now."

LOL FOREVER

@bendimiero: "Newt's website has crashed under the load of people trying to watch his announcement video to make fun of him about it."

Best birthday present ever.

Quote of the Day

by Shaker Moderator Aphra_Behn

Every physician knows that there are many women so constituted, that they cannot give birth to offspring. They also know that some cannot become mothers without fearful peril. Some cannot give birth to living children, Others should not become parents, because, if they do, they transmit confirmed diseases, as Consumption, Syphyllis, Scrofula, etc, and their hapless progeny are doomed to a life of misery and premature death. Again, too rapid increase of family not only breaks down the mother, but is a cause of great anxiety, especially to those in moderate circumstances.

What woman wishes to be kept in a state of continual pregnancy? How often do we hear a lady exclaim: "I have all the children I want, and am determined to have no more, if I can help it." But alas! she is unable to escape We ask any parent if the control of reproduction would not be an inestimable blessing? Every one will say: "Let my wife and self have this ability, whether we choose to exercise it, or not."...This discovery will do more for Virtue, Morality, and Humanity than all the reformers combined.

—Text from an advertisement for a contraceptive douche, c. 1860s, found in Janet Ferrell Brodie's Contraception and Abortion in 19th Century America.

One notes with bitter sadness and resounding contempt that Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels is fucking behind the times for the 19th century.

Wow

Reuters: Secretary of Defense Robert Gates says the US military has spent about $750 million on the Libya operation so far.

That's a lotta clams.

Number of the Day

59 Percent. The number of Americans who believe it is time to leave Afghanistan, according to a new poll.

A week after a Navy SEAL team killed Osama bin Laden, a new poll finds that a majority of Americans believe it’s time to end the war with the country that once gave him safe haven. According to a USA Today/Gallup Poll conducted over the weekend, 59 percent of Americans agree with the statement the U.S. “has accomplished its mission in Afghanistan and should bring its troops home.” Only a third of respondents thought the U.S. “should maintain its troops there.” The decade-long conflict in Afghanistan is America’s longest war to date(.)

Judge Denies Restraining Order; Indiana Planned Parenthood Will Be Immediately Defunded

As I mentioned yesterday, Indiana Governor Mitch "World-Class Garbage Legislation Signing Monster" Daniels signed a bill that makes Indiana the first state in the nation to cut off federal funding to Planned Parenthood. Today, a federal judge has blocked Planned Parenthood's request for a restraining order that would block the legislation until they can appeal the legislation:

U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt said in her ruling that the criteria for issuing a temporary restraining order have not been met. The judge said that the ACLU provided information showing the legislation would have a gradual affect on Planned Parenthood as opposed to the immediate harm required for a restraining order.

"This ruling should not be viewed as a signal on a future ruling," said Walton Pratt, indicating her decision should not be considered in future legal battles of the legislation.

The two sides will meet in court again on June 6 for an injunction hearing.

In the meantime, please donate to Planned Parenthood of Indiana and/or the ACLU of Indiana, if you can.

I was just watching local (Chicago) news coverage of the ruling and the coverage is, as expected, totally abysmal. It's being (mis)represented as a principled stand against allowing federal funds to pay for abortions, even though Planned Parenthood is already restricted from using those funds to pay for abortions by the Hyde Amendment.

This is going to be a long, ugly, and upsetting fight.

The women (and men) of Indiana have been told by their government that their lives and health and bodies and rights and agency don't matter, and other states are looking to follow suit. All we can do is raise our voices and say, over and over and over again, that we do matter, until we are heard.

[H/t to @scatx.]

Because James Franco

[TW for violence.]

Legendary producer James Franco is adapting Michael Gregg Michaud legendary biography of Sal Mineo for the big screen. James Franco starred in a biopic about James Dean who starred in two movies with Sal Mineo. Synchronicity! Franco, however, will not appear in this film.

Franco has cast relative unknown Val Lauren (see inset) to play Mineo in the film tentatively titled Sal.

Sal Mineo's performance as Plato in Rebel Without A Cause is often cited as one of Hollywood's first portrayals of a gay teenager. Later, Mineo himself came out, one of the first celebrities to do so, much to the detriment of his career. Mineo was murdered outside his West Hollywood apartment in 1976. He was 37.

Filming of Sal is set to begin this summer.

Two-Minute Nostalgia Sublime

Happy Birthday, Liss!

The Smiths: "Shoplifters of the World Unite"

Happy Birthday, 'Liss!

[Image Description: James Franco as Green Lantern.]

Happy Birthday to yooooou,
Happy Birthday to yoooooou . . .
I would have had Franco fighting
a Steampunk Abortion Robotttttt ...
but it would look lousy in all that chartreuuuuusssse ......

Happy, Happy Birthday, Melissa!

I love you and I always will.

Delware Governor Signs Civil Unions Bill

It's not full marriage equality, but it's a start:

Delaware Gov. Jack Markell has signed a bill into law that gives same-sex couples legal protections and recognition beginning in 2012.

It makes Delaware the eighth state to allow civil unions or domestic partnerships for same-sex couples.

The Democratic governor signed the civil unions bill Wednesday night before a cheering crowd of more than 600 at The Queen theater Wilmington.

The law takes effect Jan. 1, 2012.

That Minnesota just yesterday voted to pass a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, one day before another state voted to give same-sex couples legal protections, pointedly underlines the divisions in this country right now.

The reality is this: There are people who believe in equality, and people who don't. There are people who want to recognize same-sex relationships as equal to opposite-sex relationships, and people who don't. There are people who respect the bodily autonomy and agency and self-determination of women, and people who don't. There are people who believe the President has a legitimate claim to his office, and people who don't.

And it's no coincidence that the same people keep showing up on the same sides of those divides.

We're wrestling with undeserved privilege in this nation, and one side thinks the government should aspire to challenge and destroy it, and one side thinks the government exists exclusively to protect it. We're fighting for the very definition of what the US is.

I guess we always have been, but that struggle feels very evident right now.

In Who Cares News

Gingrich set to announce bid for White House: "As some GOP activists and fund-raisers hope other candidates will decide to enter the field, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is set on Wednesday to become the first of the serious contenders to formally announce his candidacy for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination."

And Citizen Asshole yawns.

House Homobigots Force Navy to Reverse Marriage Decision

[Trigger warning for homophobia.]

On Monday, it was reported that Navy chaplains would be allowed to begin performing same-sex marriage ceremonies on bases in states where same-sex marriage is legal. That prompted decent, progressive-minded people everywhere to celebrate, and prompted a collection of assholes in the US Congress to throw a bigot-fit:

House members wrote to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus to object to the Navy's initial ruling, saying the service was violating the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act by appearing to recognize and support same-sex marriages.

..."We find it unconscionable that the United States Navy, a federal entity sworn to preserve and protect the Constitution of the United States, believes it is their place alone to train and direct service members to violate federal law," said the lawmakers' letter, which was signed by 63 House members.

Now the Navy has "abruptly reversed its decision that would have allowed chaplains to perform same-sex unions if the Pentagon decides to recognize openly gay military service later this year." Rear Admiral Mark Tidd, chief of Navy chaplains, said his earlier decision has been "suspended until further notice pending additional legal and policy review and interdepartmental coordination."

I just don't even know what to say anymore. Millions and millions of people out of work, hungry, homeless, bankrupt, struggling in this country, and members of Congress are wasting their time writing letters to prevent military members from having access to one of the basic rights that should be guaranteed to every citizen of this nation.

Seems to me, if someone's willing to risk hir life for this country, the least we can offer in return is equality.

Of course, everyone knows I don't enjoy clarity of thought, which is probably why I also don't understand how the fuck anyone can claim to support the troops while treating some of them like second-class citizens in the country they'd give their lives to defend.