If you have appreciated being able to tune into Shakesville for coverage of the goings-on in Texas, or the recent Supreme Court decisions, or discussion of Paula Deen's racism free of fat hatred, ageism, and regionalism, please remember that Shakesville is run exclusively on donations. I would certainly appreciate your support, if you can afford to chip in. The donation link is in the sidebar to the right. Or click here.
Please Support Shakesville
CNN Nooz
So this is a sweet screenshot I grabbed from CNN:
What the fucking fuck? Is CNN implying that people move to states that are suitably (not)bigoted? (Yes, that is exactly what it's implying).
The article to which it links, by the way, is three months old. Way to "celebrate" SCOTUS' decision by recycling some old crap in order to tell us to uproot our lives and abandon our homes so we don't have to inconvenience bigots with our rights.
Wednesday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by two hours of sleep.
Recommended Reading:
NAACP: Sign the Petition to Tell Congress They Must Act NOW to Protect Voting Rights
If you weren't able to watch the action live in Texas last night, Susie has a great round-up of videos.
Seth: DOMA Ruling Clears Path for Binational Couples
Andy: President Obama Calls Prop 8 Plaintiffs on Live TV from Air Force One [Video]
Resistance: Manslaughter Case Ends in Mistrial [Content Note: The post at this link includes discussion of racism, gun violence, and police malfeasance.]
Sikivu: LGBT Foster Care Crisis: Who Will Step Up? [Content Note: The post at this link includes discussion of homophobia, transphobia, disablism, and religious discrimination.]
Living ~400lbs: Histamines in Food
Sesali: Disney Channel to Include First Same-Sex Couple
Isabella: The 1960's Batman Theme Song Sung by Actual Bats [That is the greatest thing I have ever seen.]
Leave links to whatever good stuff you've been reading and/or writing about in comments...
Daily Dose of Cute
"It's a day!"
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
An Observation
It is truly rage-making that a court capable of firing Section 3 of DOMA into the sun is also capable of decimating the Voting Rights Act.
One person makes the difference for millions.
RIP DOMA
OMFG. SCOTUS has struck down DOMA. Here is the decision (pdf). I will update with more shortly...
UPDATE 1: It was a 5-4 decision. Justice Kennedy wrote the opinion. I'm reading through it as quickly as I can. This is what the case was about, by way of reminder or introduction:
DOMA contains two operative sections: Section 2, which has not been challenged here, allows States to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages performed under the laws of other States. See 28 U. S. C. §1738C.The Court has struck down Section 3. The federal government cannot restrict the definition of marriage.
Section 3 is at issue here. It amends the Dictionary Act in Title 1, §7, of the United States Code to provide a federal definition of "marriage" and "spouse." Section 3 of DOMA provides as follows:
"In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word 'marriage' means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word 'spouse' refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife." 1 U. S. C. §7.The definitional provision does not by its terms forbid States from enacting laws permitting same-sex marriages or civil unions or providing state benefits to residents in that status. The enactment's comprehensive definition of
marriage for purposes of all federal statutes and other regulations or directives covered by its terms, however, does control over 1,000 federal laws in which marital or spousal status is addressed as a matter of federal law.
UPDATE 2: "The power the Constitution grants it also restrains. And though Congress has great authority to design laws to fit its own conception of sound national policy, it cannot deny the liberty protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment."
UPDATE 3: Here is the conclusion of the decision:
What has been explained to this point should more than suffice to establish that the principal purpose and the necessary effect of this law are to demean those persons who are in a lawful same-sex marriage. This requires the Court to hold, as it now does, that DOMA is unconstitutional as a deprivation of the liberty of the person protected by the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution.THE FEDERAL STATUTE IS INVALID. All the blubs forever.
The liberty protected by the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause contains within it the prohibition against denying to any person the equal protection of the laws. See Bolling, 347 U. S., at 499–500; Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Peña , 515 U. S. 200, 217–218 (1995). While the Fifth Amendment itself withdraws from Government the power to degrade or demean in the way this law does, the equal protection guarantee of the Fourteenth Amendment makes that Fifth Amendment right all the more specific and all the better understood and preserved.
The class to which DOMA directs its restrictions and restraints are those persons who are joined in same-sex marriages made lawful by the State. DOMA singles out a class of persons deemed by a State entitled to recognition and protection to enhance their own liberty. It imposes a disability on the class by refusing to acknowledge a status the State finds to be dignified and proper. DOMA instructs all federal officials, and indeed all persons with whom same-sex couples interact, including their own children, that their marriage is less worthy than the marriages of others. The federal statute is invalid, for no legitimate purpose overcomes the purpose and effect to disparage and to injure those whom the State, by its marriage laws, sought to protect in personhood and dignity.
By seeking to displace this protection and treating those persons as living in marriages less respected than others, the federal statute is in violation of the Fifth Amendment.
This opinion and its holding are confined to those lawful marriages.
The judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit is affirmed.
It is so ordered.
UPDATE 4: Scalia's dissent is, of course, undiluted garbage. I'm not even going to quote a word of it, because fuck him. And fuck the other three horsemen of the crapocalypse, too.
UPDATE 5: A random pic of a rainbow over DC. Because THE FEDERAL STATUTE IS INVALID.
The Rules
As Ana mentioned, she's got a longer post coming about the details of what happened in Texas last night; we're sort of tag-teaming coverage this morning, as we did yesterday. We spent pretty much the entire evening texting back and forth, lots of "WHAT IS HAPPENING" and "THIS IS WRECKING MY SHIT" and "WENDY DAVIS IS EVERYTHING" and other CAPS LOCK OBSERVATIONS. All of my feminist friends, in Texas or elsewhere, were watching. Or, like Jessica Luther, they were at the statehouse, making ALL THE NOISE when noise-making was necessary.
To quote my pal Veronica, "After #StandwithWendy, I don't wanna hear another peep about NYC being the center of feminism, online or not. We're everywhere."
We're everywhere. And we're watching. We're watching Republicans stop at nothing to try to legislate state control of our bodies. Literally nothing. When all else fails, they simply break the rules. Because they're in the business of making rules for us, and using those rules to marginalize us; not in the business of following the rules. Rules are for people they want to control. Rules don't apply to them.
Last night, this was my most popular tweet, which has now been retweeted more than 400 times:
Texas State Senator Wendy Davis abided the rules for nearly 13 fucking hours, standing there in a back brace, not able to take a piss or rest her voice or touch the podium, and then the Republicans broke the rules like it was nothing. Like the rules don't matter, except as a weapon to wield against people who are trying to do something they don't like.
They are a reprehensible bunch of scoundrels.
Republicans break the rules. And then they have the unmitigated temerity to accuse cheering pro-choice constituents of being "unruly."
That would be fucking hilarious, if it weren't so goddamned terrible.
The SB5 Bill Is Dead
The bill is dead. The Republicans conceded gracelessly after a pic from the Senate floor circulated showing that the official printed minutes indicated the vote had occurred AFTER the midnight deadline. That official record was briefly entered into the online record, screen capped, and then changed online to before midnight -- these images circulated too.
The speaker for the Republican concession called the brave men and women who risked arrest with their cheers -- CHEERS, not threats -- "unruly".
You would have to be monumentally out of touch with Texas culture to not realize that isn't the insult they seem to think it is. But then, you would have to be monumentally out of touch with Texans to not realize or care how unpopular this bill was.
Unruly. Uncharitable. Indecorous. That's what they call me now. Fine. Let me add a word of my own: Unshakable.
I'll have a much longer post up soon on what happened last night because I really want to detail what I saw when I watched (from before 11 am to after midnight), which much the mainstream media isn't reporting because they didn't watch. In the meantime, HUGE hat-tip to Kristy who stayed up all night when I couldn't. You are an amazing lady.
Update: Here is a decent story about how the Republicans tried to win by cheating.
Initially, Republicans insisted they had started voting before midnight, but official computer records and printouts showed the vote took place on Wednesday, but had been changed to read Tuesday. Senators then convened for a private meeting, after which Dewhurst acknowledged that the vote had been derailed.And I saw it happen. I saw the screencap when the vote times went up online, and I saw the new screencap after they altered the online record. And I saw the picture of the official printed record, snapped on the Senate floor. It is vitally important that the takeaway from last night isn't "no phones or recording devices on the Senate floor". Democracy worked today because we dragged it into the light and WATCHED IT. Over 120,000 of us.
While CNN talked about muffins.
[Photo via Elizabeth Plank.]
Texas, Again
[Content Note: Hostility to agency.]
I'm watching Texas state senator from Fort Worth Wendy Davis' epic filibuster (a live stream is embedded below), which Ana mentioned earlier today, and I cannot fathom how ANYONE can listen to all of these stories and still support criminalizing abortion. Such obstinate indecency.
It's breathtaking. But so is her determination, and the collective fight being waged against this gross legislation.
BOOTSTRAPS! And More Paula Deen.
[Content Note: Racism; racist apologia.]
Because the "Paula Deen's an old white Southern lady" apologia is (still) driving me to utter distraction, and I'm so angry about it that I fear my head might fall off, I need to ask (again): When is the expiration date on this excuse? And do the people who are using this excuse imagine that white people today, everywhere in the US, are not being raised as racists? Because whoops.
Also: Isn't it just fucking PERFECT that the same privileged white people (and some Exceptional Black People) who endlessly scold poor black USians that they need to take more Personal Responsibility are the first assholes to argue that Paula Deen doesn't need to take any?
If you are a poor black USian whose opportunities have been limited by poverty and racism—and, depending on your individual circumstances, any number of other intersecting oppressions—and you struggle to thrive, or even survive, in a country which stacks all the cards against you, you are (so goes the narrative) a lazy, complacent taker who just isn't working hard enough.
If you are a rich white USian who is privileged enough to access most of the world and interact with just about anyone in it, but instead choose to be a small-minded racist bigot, you are (so goes the narrative) just a helpless product of your environment.
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY! Except for not wielding your white privilege like a weapon of harm.
BOOTSTRAPS! Except for this one time! And the next time a white person fucks up!
CULTURE DOESN'T EXIST! Except for how an old white Southern lady can't help but be racist. That's just CULTURE, people!
EVERYTHING HAPPENS IN A VOID! Except for this white person's rank racism! That is part of her intractable socialization.
Once again, we find that the Ownership Society wants to own everything but personal accountability. That's for those people.
Quote of the Day
"Americans across the country are already paying the price of inaction—in insurance premiums, state and local taxes, and the costs of rebuilding and disaster relief. So the question is not whether we need to act. …The question now is whether we will have the courage to act before it's too late."—President Barack Obama, during his address on climate change today at Georgetown University.
I would argue there may yet be some question about whether we will have the courage to take genuinely meaningful action, and possibly some question about whether it's already too late. But I'm an asshole that way.
Above is video of the address; the quoted section begins at 16:11. I have not yet located a complete transcript of the speech, but will drop a link into comments as soon as one is made available. (Please feel welcome to drop a link if you find one.)
Treehugger's Chris Tackett has details of the policy and analysis of the speech here.
The Snowden Chronicles
I've been following what's going on with Edward Snowden's world tour to evade capture by US authorities, but I haven't had much to say about it. I will say I believe there can be good faith disagreement about whether (and why) Snowden should or shouldn't feel obliged to turn himself in. I will also say that I don't believe you have to like Glenn Greenwald to agree that Meet the Press' David Gregory asking him "To the extent that you have aided and abetted Snowden, even in his current movements, why shouldn't you, Mr. Greenwald, be charged with a crime?" is comprehensive bullshit.
And I'll note that there is a lot of fast-moving and complex shit (technical term) going on regarding Snowden's presence in a Moscow airport—he has entered Russia; he hasn't entered Russia; he won't be extradited; Obama's taking a hands-off approach to extradition, anyway—possibly on his way through to South America, all of which is being complicated by the fact that US foreign policy has pissed off a lot of people. Whoops.
Edward Snowden, the fugitive American contractor who revealed details of the U.S. government's extensive spying network, so far has evaded capture by hop-scotching around the world with the help of nations that have their own beefs with the United States.Welp.
Lucky for him, there are plenty.
While they don't share Snowden's stated cause of government transparency, countries such as China, Russia and Ecuador all have extended him assistance in what analysts say is a rare chance for payback over unwelcome U.S. policies. Snowden's revelations that U.S. surveillance extended to foreign countries only adds to the willingness of nations to dismiss the Obama administration's demands for Snowden's immediate extradition to the United States, analysts said.
...[Hong Kong allowed Snowden to leave] rather than hold him as U.S. authorities had demanded. Hong Kong's official announcement of Snowden's departure said there was no cause to hold him because U.S. documents "did not fully comply with the legal requirements under Hong Kong law." But the statement ends with what could be the real reason Hong Kong – and its administrators in Beijing – looked the other way as Snowden fled.
Hong Kong, the statement said, "has formally written to the U.S. government requesting clarification on earlier reports about the hacking of computer systems in Hong Kong by U.S. government agencies."
...Vladimir Putin's government [has refused to] comply with demands for Snowden's expulsion...after a particularly fraught year for U.S.-Russian relations. The tensions go deeper than the fact that Moscow and Washington support opposite sides of the bloody civil war in Syria. Other strains include Russia freezing U.S. adoptions of Russian children after fatal abuse cases, Congress approving a law barring several Russian officials from entering the U.S., and Russia revealing the purported CIA station chief after broadcasting on TV the arrest of an American agent who was caught trying to recruit a Russian spy.
"Why should the United States expect restraint and understanding from Russia?" said Alexei Pushkov, head of the foreign affairs committee in the lower house of Parliament, according to the Reuters news agency.
The Obama administration could expect a similar response from Ecuador, whose president, Rafael Correa, seeks to boost his anti-American credentials in Latin America as well as be seen as a paladin against secrecy. Ecuador is among the countries considering asylum applications for Snowden.
Everything about this story is pretty much the worst. The end.
The Killing Open Thread
Holder and Bullet: BFFs.
So I have been watching and enjoying this season of AMC's The Killing, which has returned for a third season after everyone was all: "Please bring back AMC's The Killing, AMC! But also? Make sure the mystery only lasts one season this time, or we will be sooooo mad, but will probably watch the fourth season to find out whodunnit, but, seriously, for real, solve it in one season. Please."
Whatever legendary criticisms (they were not legendary) I had about the first two seasons of AMC's The Killing, I still have them! (Pornified violence! So many white people! Isn't Linden kind of the worst cop?) But also I am really loving that Mireille Enos is allowed to have facial expressions now! Yay!
And I am Officially On-Board with virtually any project featuring Peter Sarsgaard, as well as virtually any project featuring Elias Koteas (who will, now and forever, be Duncan the Punk from Some Kind of Wonderful to me), no less BOTH OF THEM.
But my favorite thing in this season? The developing friendship between Holder (♥) and Bullet, who presents as a boy but identifies as a girl, and who is so goddamn desperate to find her best friend that she'll even maybe trust a cop.
Are you watching? What do you think?
Daily Dose of Cute
He's over it like a totally over thing made out of over parts with lots of little bits of over stuck on it.
* * *
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
In The News
[Content not: Racism, homophobia, violence, terrorism]
Tuesday Stuff:
The largest massacre of LGBT persons in American history happened 40 years ago at the UpStairs Lounge. There's an informative piece on this little-known story here. (Be warned, there are some horrific images at the site.)
George Zimmerman's lawyer opened the trial with a joke. Obviously.
Elsewhere (Fox News), Mark Fuhrman weighs in on the case (perfect!) and declares Zimmerman to be not guilty.
Neil Tennant was offered a judging role on American Idol after Simon Cowell left. He turned down the offer.
Paula Deen has lost a major endorsement deal.
Meanwhile, her sons say she didn't use a word she admits under oath to using. Okay.
Science fiction author and screenwriter Richard Matheson has died. He was 87. (I love the Kolchak movie he wrote.)
I could use a Fresca right about now.
p.s. Butthole.
Breaking
Breaking: SCOTUS redefines the American Dream: "Everything will be terrible." Rules "life, liberty & pursuit of happiness" unconstitutional.
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) June 25, 2013
