It occurred to me recently that this young person (S, one of my grandchildren) has only ever lived in a world with a Black President of the USA. That's the only world this child knows. It's quite likely that zie could reach seven years old (zie's about 18 months old here), and that'll still be true.
(photo of a small white child, about 18 months old, sitting at a table holding what appears to be an enormous cupcake covered with pink icing and sprinkles)
Photo of the Day
Quote of the Day
In honour of Black history month, and reflecting my own take on it as a Canadian:
"The thing about being first is that there are some people that take exception to you being there."- Zanana Akande ( 1937- ) The first Black woman to be elected to the Ontario legislature, and first Canadian Black woman to be appointed to a provincial government cabinet position - but not until 1990, lest any of my fellow Canadians get too excited over this "first".
It's a good time, if you haven't already, to take a look at the contributions of your Black compatriots (wherever you live) to the country you have today. For my fellow Canadians, a good starting place might be Viola Desmond, who took a stand (well, a seat!) against public racism very much like that of Rosa Parks - in 1946, some years before Ms. Parks took her renowned seat.
H/t for the suggestion from Renee of Womanist Musings and Fangs for the Fantasy.
Atlas Shrugged Part 2 Teaser Trailer!
Video paraphrase: Static. Talking heads. Hannity. "Ayn Rand." Static. Spooky music. Dennis Miller. "Ayn Rand." Static. Phil Donahue. Spooky music. Ayn Rand: "Destroy the welfare state." Static. "II 2012" Static.
From a press release:
Atlas Productions, LLC announced today that “Atlas Shrugged Part 2”, the second installment of the Atlas Shrugged movie trilogy, has been officially greenlit with principal photography to begin this coming April in Los Angeles, Colorado, and New York.Woo hoo!
One Picture:Thousand Words
Last weekend I went to a reunion of the University of Miami Drama Department for those of us who were there between 1970 and 1983. I saw friends I hadn't seen since 1974 and met a few new ones. A lot of great memories, laughter and even a few tears were shared.
We met up at the Ring Theatre on campus, and at one point each of us stood up and told our names, our year of graduation, and a quick note about what we're doing now. So when it was my turn, I stood up, said my name and my year (1974), said I was still writing, and sat down. That's all I did; I swear. But the photographer caught me at a moment when it looked like I was declaiming. When I saw this photo, I immediately thought of a quote from Act I, Scene 1 of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice:
Cross-posted from Bark Bark Woof Woof.
Komen relented. Sorta. Maybe. But not really.
Facing a lot of well-earned negative press and criticism this week and then responding with what has to be the biggest PR disaster I have ever seen, Komen released a statement today saying that they will continue to fund Planned Parenthood:
Our only goal for our granting process is to support women and families in the fight against breast cancer. Amending our criteria will ensure that politics has no place in our grant process. We will continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants, while maintaining the ability of our affiliates to make funding decisions that meet the needs of their communities.It does not say, however, for just how long they will be funding those grants. At least through the current grant cycle and then what? Planned Parenthood will have to re-apply. As Greg Sargent reports:
I just got off the phone with a Komen board member, and he confirmed that the announcement does not mean that Planned Parenthood is guaranteed future grants — a demand he said would be “unfair” to impose on Komen.And they are still claiming it was "not political". Uh-huh.
This is certainly good news for those who need the funds to access breast health care. However, with Karen Handel (for example) still employed there, this is certainly not a change of heart within the organization. It's a PR move.
Cecile Richards, President PPFA and Planned Parenthood Action Fund, released a statement in response that said (in part):
“In recent weeks, the treasured relationship between the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation and Planned Parenthood has been challenged, and we are now heartened that we can continue to work in partnership toward our shared commitment to breast health for the most underserved women. We are enormously grateful that the Komen Foundation has clarified its grantmaking criteria, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with Komen partners, leaders and volunteers. What these past few days have demonstrated is the deep resolve all Americans share in the fight against cancer, and we honor those who are at the helm of this battle.While I am deinitely glad the funds will be there, this year at least, for those who need them, I, personally, am even less inclined to encourage anyone to donate to Komen (and I was not inclined before). Komen spends--as all non-profits--donation money on administrative costs. A donation to Komen is assisting funding the salaries of the likes of Karen Handel. There are other organizations out there that are not lead by arch-conservatives nor push massive pinkwashing consumerism. As far as I know, Planned Parenthood still has their Breast Health Fund open that can be donated to directly.
This is a real thing in the world
Discount Gun Sales has teamed up with the Susan G. Komen Foundation to offer a pink version of its popular Walther P-22 handgun in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.Okay.
Friday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by rotary phones.
Recommended Reading:
eeshap: Don Cornelius, Indelible Soul
Juan Cole: The Generals Try to Stop an Iran War
Zerlina: First Lady Michelle Obama Appreciation Day!
Andy: Virginia House to Vote to Allow Faith-Based Discrimination Against Gays Wanting to Adopt
A few pieces on the Komen-Planned Parenthood debacle:
Mary Elizabeth Williams: Komen for the Cure Sells Out Women, Again
Adam Serwer: Komen's $7.5 Million Grant to Penn State Appears to Violate New Policy
Shark-Fu: Pondering Breast Cancer, Politics, and the 2%
Pam: The Epic Downward Spiral of Susan G. Komen for the Cure: How to #FAIL
Barbara O'Brien: Susan G. Komen, Will You Please Go Now?
Ron Beasley: Pink Handguns Are Okay But Planned Parenthood Is Not
Leave your links and recommendations in comments...
Question of the Day
What's your favorite scary story?
I'm quite partial to Richard Matheson's entire body of work, but I have to give the honor to Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House.
Quote of the Day
"Just like a pro-abortion group to turn a cancer orgs decision into a political bomb throw. Cry me a freaking river." -- Jade Morey, on Twitter. Who is Jade Morey? I do not know. However I do know who retweeted, and thus supported and endorsed that sentiment: Karen Handel (that's a link to the screenshot, as Handel tried to scrub it later by deleting it).
Karen Handel is the Senior Vice President of Public Policy at Susan G. Komen For The Cure. She is also a failed gubernatorial candidate for the state of Georgia, anti-choice, and a supporter of de-funding Planned Parenthood (as she promised to do so if she became governor). Incidentally, she was hired on less than a year ago.
Number of the Day
5.6 Million: The number of Americans who have switched their banks in the last 90 days.
Javelin noted that this pace of account closing is three times the normal rate. While 11 percent of people moving their accounts cited Bank Transfer Day, one quarter said they moved their money because their old institution charged too many fees. Account closures at Bank of America, the nation’s second largest bank, actually jumped 20 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, potentially driven by the bank’s ill-fated decision to implement a $5 monthly fee for its debt cards.
Top Chef: Texas Open Thread
Guest judge Jimmy (A Unicorn) thinks your pork chops taste like farts!
Remember the Alamo? It's a famous place in Texas that now rents cars. So I guess that's why they gave everyone a bicycle and told them to cook for Pee-Wee Herman in any old restaurant they could find on the street. Huh. Sure! Why not? What a weird challenge. Did anyone else think it was weird? You thought it was weird. So weird! Also, Mexican restaurants don't stock couscous. Is that weird? Probably very normal!
Primarily Awful
"I am SUCH a bad bet."
Frontrunner (ha ha good luck with that, Republicans!) Mitt Romney continues to get hammered for his "I'm not concerned about the very poor" comment, and rightfully so. His insistence that the comment not be taken out of context, as Greg Sargent notes, is pretty rich coming from a dude whose campaign opportunistically (mis)quoted the President out of context in a wildly mendacious campaign ad, then had the audacity to justify it with: "He did say the words. That's his voice."
And, frankly, the whole context of Romney's comment doesn't make it any better, since it egregiously misrepresents the extent of poverty in the US, and incredibly suggests that the very poor are being sufficiently served by the social safety net his party endeavors to subvert at every conceivable opportunity.
Nor is his comment improved by his absurd clarification: "You've got to take the whole sentence, all right, as opposed to saying, and then change it just a little bit, because then it sounds very different. I've said throughout the campaign my focus, my concern, my energy is gonna be devoted to helping middle income people, all right? We have a safety net for the poor in, and if there are holes in it, I will work to repair that. And if there are people that are falling through the cracks I want to fix that."
Yeah, that's still just as epically stupid as the first time.
Newt Gingrich is getting in on the Get Mitt! action, and highlighted the fact that Romney additionally said: "We will hear from the Democrat party the plight of the poor, you can focus on the very poor, that's not my focus." (Oof. "Thanks, Mitt Romney!"—Barack Obama.) Gingrich's criticism might be more valuable if it weren't coming from a guy who himself does not give a single fuck about the very poor, the kinda poor, the slightly poor, the poor, the almost poor, the soon to be poor, the useda-be poor, the working class, the lower middle class, the middle middle class, the upper middle class, and/or anyone else who is not a bazillionaire conservative donor and/or a corporation and/or Ronald Reagan.
Gingrich is, however, reportedly about to get very lucky today when former sorta-candidate Donald Trump endorses him. (Or announces a third-party vanity candidacy. Watch this space!) That's how you know he's a real Man of the People—multimillionaire mogul Donald Trump's support.
Personally, I'm surprised that Trump isn't endorsing Mitt Romney, since they both love to fire people so much.
Anyway! It's great to see Donald Trump getting involved in the Democratic process again, because he is both a gentleman AND a genius, but I'm really holding out to see who Tronald Dump endorses.
Good times.
I'm sure there is political news about Rick Santorum available somewhere on the planet, because Rick "Man on Dog" Santorum's presidential candidacy is still a Real Thing in the World, but I cannot be arsed to find it, because who cares.
FUN FACT! Rick Santorum, who is Catholic, once blamed the Catholic Church's institutional sex abuse problem on liberalism.
^ Also a fun fact.
Something something Ron Paul. Liberty, freedom, liberty, freedom, forcible pregnancy. It's in the Constitution! Look it up.
Talk about these things! Or don't. Whatever makes you happy. Life is short.
Blog Note
Posting will be very light from me today and tomorrow, as I've got a friend visiting from out of town.
Please remember that when I'm not around, we're down one moderator, so take extra care in commenting, and be patient with and respectful of the other mods who will be picking up my slack.
Question of the Day
Bouncing off yesterday's question: What word do you find hilarious, even if it's not a "funny" word?
I laugh every time I hear "sasquatch." Come to think of it, "squash" is funny, too. And as I've said to Melissa a kerbrillion times, if the word "butt" ever stops being funny to me, I'll be officially bored with life.
Funny, That
Atrios, aka economist Duncan Black: I Could Have Told You That a Couple of Years Ago:
Suddenly everyone's jumping on the idea that maybe jobs and economic growth are a wee bit important. But, you know, all the Very Serious People were wrong for the right reasons while the hippies were right for the wrong reasons, so the VSPs were really right and the hippies were really wrong.See also: The Iraq War.
It's amazing how that always works.
Rinse. Repeat. Forever.
