Question of the Day
What is your favorite album released in the 1990s?
(Yes, re-releases and best-of collections totally count.)
Home Improvements for Guests
[Content Note: Bugs.]
A little later in the evening, Iain called me into the bathroom to look at something.
Photo of the Day
Fireworks burst over Tahrir Square in Cairo on Tuesday as hundreds of thousands of people again turned out to protest against the Muslim Brotherhood-backed administration of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi. [AP Photo]The Guardian has live updates on the protests in Egypt here.
Dispatches from the Zimmerman Trial
[Content Note: Racism; eliminationist violence.]
The George Zimmerman trial, and much of the media coverage thereof, is a racist clusterfuck and a total disgrace. There are times when I start to write something, and I don't know what else to say besides that. The treatment of Rachel Jeantel is a disgrace. The defense's case is a disgrace. The defense team's behavior out of court is a disgrace. This isn't what justice should look like. I am not such a fool, however, as to believe this is not what it looks like for marginalized people most of the time.
In this morning's testimony, the lead investigator on the case (which originally did not even charge Zimmerman with the killing of Trayvon Martin), Chris Serino, was asked by prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda whether referring to people as "fucking punks," as Zimmerman did on the non-emergency call he placed to police before killing Martin, is indicative of "ill will or spite," which is a reference to the second-degree murder charge against Zimmerman, a conviction for which is contingent on the state proving he acted with ill will and spite. Serino conceded that it did.
But when defense attorney Mark O'Mara asked Serino if "these assholes always get away," a phrase Zimmerman also used during the same call, demonstrated ill will or spite, Serino replied: "If I may, not towards and individual—it seemed like more of a generalization."
One of the central pieces of this case is that George Zimmerman saw Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager minding his own business, as a threat, a "fucking punk," for no reason other than that he was black, a prejudice which is born of monolithizing an entire community. That's what racism is.
And yet now a police officer testifies in the trial of that racist killer that "these assholes always get away" isn't ill will or spite, because it's a "generalization" about an entire community, rather than a specific comment about Trayvon Martin.
The whole fucking point is that George Zimmerman didn't see Trayvon Martin as an individual. And now the very fact of his generalized, nonspecific hatred might be the thing that sees him freed.
Whut.
I don't even begin to know what to do with this information:
Over the Christmas break of 2010, Mitt Romney and his family took an internal poll on whether he should run for president once more. Twelve family members cast ballots. Ten said no. One of the 10 was Mitt Romney himself.OH WELL THE FAMILY HAS VOTED AND THAT IS LEGALLY BINDING! YOU ARE RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT LIKE IT OR NOT, MITT ROMNEY!
In an interview with [the Washington Post's Dan Balz, author of a forthcoming book on the 2012 election] that's placed at the very end of "Collision 2012," Romney explained that he ultimately decided to run when he saw the other (leaving-something-to-be-desired) candidates in the GOP field.Huh. Welp, you should have saved yourself a lot of time and energy, because you didn't have a good chance of defeating President Obama, either. And, while I am admittedly a silly, bleeding-heart, ninny-brained lady who doesn't know the first thing about big man business like politics, I have long been under the impression that believing people are entitled to food is a requisite perspective for running a nation.
"I didn't think that any one of them had a good chance of defeating the president," he told Balz, "and in some cases I thought that they lacked the experience and perspective necessary to do what was essential to get the country on track."
(Nope. I am never letting that go. NEVER.)
Daily Dose of Cute
Video Description: Zelda the Black and Tan Mutt lies on the floor of my office beside my chair, wagging her tail. Dudley the Greyhound is lying sprawled out beside her. She turns her head and startles to see Matilda the Cat standing there. Matilda squeaks. "What do you want?" I ask. Tilsy squeaks in response, and keeps chattering as she walks away. Zelly watches her. "What do you think she wants, Zelda?" I ask. Zelly looks at Tils. "Tell me," I whisper. She looks at me. "Tell me." Tilsy squeaks. "What does the kitty cat want?" I ask. Zelly looks at me and cocks her head quizzically. Tilsy squeaks. "Do you think she wants treats?" Zelly cocks her head very interestedly. "Do YOU want treats?" I ask. Cocked head; waggy tail. Tilsy squeaks. "Do you want a little bone?" I ask. She hops up. Dudley sits up. "Yes?! You do?" I pan to Dudley, who is looking at me intently now. "Do you want a little bone, Dudley?" I pan back to Zelly. "You do?! Should we go get little bones?" Zelly waits patiently, looking at me with her tail wagging. "Come on," I say, as I move to stand up, "let's go." Zelly hops excitedly and Dudz gets to his feet. "Let's go get 'em!" Dudley stretches lazily. "Oh, big stretch." Zelly stands at my knee. "Are you excited?" She grins and looks at Dudley. "Do you want little bones?" Dudz touches the camera with his nose. "Okay!"
For the record: "Little bones" = any dog treat.
Also for the record: Everyone got treats. Because YAY IT'S A DAY!!!
In The News
[Content note: Racism, homophobia, sexual abuse]
News and Information for July 2:
Soledad O'Brien will become a special correspondent for Al Jazeera America's flagship primetime show America Tonight.
Marriage equality will happen and be legal in Australia, the new Deputy Prime Minister has promised.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan moved millions in funds to protect them from sexual abuse victims seeking claims against the Catholic Church. Just like Jesus would do!
Related: The Bible Episode II: The Empire Strikes Back is coming to NBC after the network outbid the History channel for the sequel.
Warthog piglets! Warthog piglets!
The city of Tulsa, Oklahoma is preparing to bid on the 2024 Summer Olympic games, and their using the Trail of Tears as part of their marketing effort.
And, lastly: I don't know.
Headline of the Day
Care of the Texas Tribune: Abortion Rights Activists Descend on Capitol.
DESCEND! Like locusts. Or zombies, maybe.
Opponents of Republican-backed legislation to dramatically curtail abortion rights in Texas descended on the Capitol by the thousands on Monday, spurred on by musicians, celebrities and their new hero: filibustering state Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth.DESCENDED BY THE THOUSANDS! Meanwhile, 100 anti-choice fuckheads who think they have a claim of ownership of those DESCENDERS' bodies marched peaceably in support of their inherently violent ideology.
Meanwhile, about 100 supporters of the omnibus abortion legislation marched to the Capitol on Monday morning to a press conference orchestrated by women who deeply regretted their decision to have an abortion.
The abortion rights rally drew a crowd that organizers estimated to be roughly 5,000 people and featured performances by Bright Light Social Hour — the band introduced a new song with one word, "Wendy" — and singer Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks.
Fat Guy Falling
[Content Note: Fat bias.]
Yesterday, in my review of The Heat, I drew a comparison between the way Melissa McCarthy's character is drawn and the way Kevin James, despite being a super athletic fat guy, is routinely portrayed as a clumsy fat doofus for laughs. This morning, I read that there is a Tumblr called "The Kevin James Falling Record," which is a "public record documenting how many times Kevin James falls down in each of his movies."
The author of the site has also compiled a video documenting "Every Moment of Kevin James Falling in his Entire Film Career," which is a supercut "of every moment of Kevin James falling down in a feature film from 2005 to 2012."
[Video Description: Scene after scene of Kevin James falling down in his various films.]
Total number of pratfalls: 64.
Now, there are a lot of comedic actors who fall a lot in their movies, and there is certainly a tradition in slapstick comedy of men "getting hurt" for laughs. (See: The Three Stooges.) But there is also a very specific tradition of fat men pratfalling, and "getting hurt," for laughs, which is funny in the specific way that fat people falling is regarded as extra funny. YouTube has an entire section of videos of fat people falling. There is a Facebook page dedicated to Fat People Falling Down, which explains on its About page:
Double points if they're eating whilst they take their epic tumble.When you search for "fat people falling," Google helpfully offers these related searches:
Whether you're walking down the street, at the mall, or just hiding in the bushes, we all get a strange sense of joy and happiness that is rival only to Christmas morning or a celebrity nipple slip when we see a rather portly individual lose their balance and start to wobble. The Germans...have a word for this, that word is "Schadenfreude" which is a psychological term that suggests that an individual gets some form of pleasure from the misfortunes of others. As far as we here at "fat people falling down" are concerned, the bigger the other, the bigger the pleasure.
Kevin James is just giving The People what they want: Lots and lots of images of a fat person falling down.
But why do The People want that? Well. I think we know.
It's not that Melissa McCarthy never falls in The Heat (or any other film). It's not that I'm suggesting Kevin James should never fall in a film. It's that there's a line between being a fat comedic actor who occasionally does pratfalls, and being a Professional Falling Fat Person who lets audiences delight in your mistreatment. And Kevin James is way the hell over that line.
It grieves me to see someone so genuinely graceful use his talents to indulge fat-hating humor, by playing to the pernicious stereotype that all fat people are clumsy, disastrous wrecks whose bodies are never more delightful than when they're being harmed.
[Note: Lest anyone mistakenly imagine I am holding Kevin James responsible for something over which he has no control, I will note once again that he is a writer and/or producer on most of these projects.]
Welp
[Content Note: Racism.]
So, this happened last night:
[CNN talking head panel with the headline: "N Word Vs 'Cracker': Which Is Worse?"]
Oof. Okay, CNN, I'm no Race Relations PhD or a News Media Genius, but I am going to go out on a limb and suggest that the word you couldn't actually bring yourself to spell out is worse.
One thing is pretty great though: Look at all the shade being thrown in that picture. Maybe CNN should stick to talking about muffins.
I'm Sorry That I'm Not Funnier About Abortion
[CN: denial of agency, reproductive rights issues, privilege].
Rob Walker has a problem with the fake reviews on Amazon for Wendy Davis' running shoes. Apparently, they are just not funny enough:
I’ll leave it to others to determine what the Davis story means for politics; I am concerned about what it all means for goofing off on the Internet.Oh thank goodness. I was afraid no-one would address this key aspect of Davis' heroic filibuster. What with all the bodily autonomy and such, I hadn't even considered: are people supporting the right to choice funny enough?
... The Amazon page for Mizuno Women's Wave Rider 16 Running Shoe quickly filled up with hundreds of fake “reviews,” which various observers pronounced “awesome,” “passionate,” and “trenchant.”THE HORROR! THE HORROR! I wept, gently, for the crimes of my fellow pro-choicers. If only we had remembered that our primary purpose was to provide entertainment for the Doodz of Mt. Privilege! PLAY ON, PLAYERS!!!
But when I actually read the reviews, I discovered something no one seemed to be mentioning: They are not funny.
Consider these alleged highlights: “Guaranteed to outrun patriarchy.” “I tried on a pair at the local mall and suddenly Texas Republicans started telling me what to do with my genitals.” “If you are looking for a shoe that will never yield to the floor, pressure or good ol’ fashioned boy’s club bullying this is the shoe for you.” “Even if you wear these gems without sox for three days straight, they still smell better than a republican Lt. Governor who tries to push a low through past midnight.”HAHAHAHAHAHAA! Er.... I mean, uh, nope! That is definitely not funny. NOT FUNNY.
Whatever your politics may be, I seriously doubt you’re laughing at any of that.
Unless of course, you've actually had had to outrun patriarchy. If you live in a world where a state-sponsored inherently violent ideology threatens your health, reproductive capacity, and life. If defending agency is more important to you than preserving the "creative inspiration and genuine hilarity" of Amazon reviews.
Because as long as you're in a position where you don't have to give a shit about any of that uterus stuff, then I guess you can write the following with a straight face:
The Davis shoe responses do something altogether different – repurposing Amazon review space into just another medium for the same old party-line cheap shots. They are about as entertaining as status update along the lines of “there goes [Fox/MSNBC] again, distorting the truth!” or the childish name-calling of any given comment thread.Ah, yes, partisan name-calling. Because sure, complaining on World Net Daily that MSNBC refuses to cover Obama's nefarious plan to turn America into a Communist paradise via accessible healthcare and tastefully designed shoe racks is just like pointing out the horrors of the GOP's mandatory forced childbirth policies. It's almost exactly the same, except for where one is an unfounded conspiracy theory with interesting accessories, and the other is the state-sponsored valuation of fetuses above the rights of actually born human beings.
(But not human beings that matter, apparently.)
Well, send me a postcard from Mount Privilege sometime, Mr. Walker. I hear it's a beautiful view.
Take Your Boobs to the White House Watch
[Content Note: Misogyny; rape culture.]
This piece in Politico by Maggie Haberman is incredible—and a perfect example of why this series exists:
For Democrats, there is no fallback: It's Hillary Clinton or probably a long bout of depression ahead of 2016.That is the opening fucking line. If Hillary Clinton doesn't run for president, everyone will be depressed, and it will be her fault! Wow.
Let me say again that I realize Hillary Clinton has unfathomably thick skin at this point, and I strongly suspect if she had any reaction to that kind of garbage, it would be "HA HA FUCK YOU." I don't imagine Clinton needs me to personally defend her, nor do I believe her decision about whether to run for the presidency will be significantly influenced by this kind of media, but I am deeply contemptuous that any woman in public life would be spoken about and written about in such coercive way.
The hope of retaining the White House in an open-seat election is very real — and the letdown that will set in among Democratic activists and operatives will be very deep if Clinton takes a pass on a campaign, as she may well do.She's going to let people down! Doesn't she know that women aren't allowed to disappoint people?
She has said she has yet to make up her mind, but few in the party believe that.Come on, baby—your mouth is saying maybe, but we all know that means yes.
The Clintons' ambition and the chance to make history as the first female president, they figure, will overpower any reticence about another grueling campaign or spending her golden years carrying the burdens of the world's weightiest job.Everyone knows how ambitious that
"We would be at sea in a lifeboat with no food, no water, and no land in sight," said one veteran Democratic operative who has worked on presidential campaigns, and who, like most people interviewed for this story, asked for anonymity to speak candidly about the former first lady. "There is no Plan B." It would be, the operative said, a "gut punch" to the Democratic party.If Hillary Clinton doesn't run, she will abandon us at sea to DIE! But not before punching us! IN OUR GUTS!
If she doesn't run, there will be stages of grief.Because not only will she have murdered us, but murdered our HOPES and DREAMS!
Republicans would be rallying around the idea of reclaiming the White House after eight years, just as Democrats would be sifting through their second-tier options. Clinton, meanwhile, would have to carefully manage carefully her role as a towering Democratic figure who shattered the hopes of the party.See?
The piece goes on to talk about how, if she doesn't run, she then stands to overshadow whomever does run. And how nobody can get elected without her, because they will need her endorsement and to help "organize women across the country." Which she is obliged to do. So you know, so she might as well just run already SHEEEEEEESH!
To recap: The leaders of the party in which Hillary Clinton has loyally served as a public servant for most of her life told her, during the 2008 primary, that they wanted to make history, but not with her, and she needed to get out of the way for Obama and go the fuck home. (Sort of.) The media literally demonized her, and, when she refused to drop out while she still had a chance to win, the chattering classes, with an assist from members of her own party, called her ruthless and destructive and narcissistic, and made reprehensible accusations that she was so hellbent on winning that she would implode the Democratic Convention in order to try to win. Instead, she gracefully accepted defeat and got behind Obama, encouraging her supporters, donors, and delegates to do the same. And then she went on the campaign trail with him. And then she accepted a role in his administration. And then the same people who had literally called her a devil expressed surprise that she isn't one. And now, six years later, the same people who told her to go home are telling her to COME BACK, because now we're ready to make history with YOU, and if you don't come serve some more at our demand, then you—YOU, HILLARY CLINTON—are a dream-shattering asshole.
I hope that is something that makes her laugh, even if mirthlessly. I hope that it doesn't bother her, because it sure as fuck bothers me.
Question of the Day
What is the last film or TV show you saw that had a positive portrayal of a fat person?
("None" is, of course, a valid answer.)
Quote of the Day
[Content Note: Human rights abuses.]
"Had there been knowledge of human rights issues any kind, Jennifer would not have attended."—Jennifer Lopez's publicist, in a statement to the AP, after Lopez received a lot of (well-deserved) criticism for giving a paid performance at the 56th birthday party of Turkmenistan's president, Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, who has been "accused of committing widespread human rights abuses while ruling over" what Human Rights Watch calls "one of the world's most repressive countries." Whoops.
This is the same pathetic spin that followed Hilary Swank's participation two years ago in a celebration for Chechan leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who is, per Human Rights Watch, "linked to a litany of horrific human rights abuses."
Oh, if only we'd known! Someone please alert industry publicists that GOOGLE EXISTS!
Secure Base
I am not a huge fan (for various reasons) of equating animal guardianship with parenting, but I find this research very interesting, in terms of what it means for our cultural responsibility toward dogs (and potentially other domesticated animals). Laura Moss at MNN with the summary:
Researchers from the Vetmeduni's Messerli Research Institute studied the bond between humans and dogs by testing the animals' confidence levels with and without their owners. They discovered that the "secure base effect" [which leads to infants more confidently exploring the world when their caregiver is present] that exists between parents and children was also present in owner-dog bonding.This is certainly something I've experienced with both of our rescued dogs. Dudley, in particular, was so much more confidently adventurous once he knew we weren't going anywhere.
...Researchers tested this by observing how dogs responded to food rewards when the owner was absent, when the owner was silent and when the owner was encouraging. They also tested how the animal responded when the owner was replaced with an unknown person.
They found that the dogs' attachment to their owners was very similar to the bond between parent and child.
When the owner was present, the dogs would pursue the food reward and address the dog-toy challenges. Whether or not the owner spoke didn't affect the dog's behavior — the owner's presence was enough to encourage the animal.
"One of the things that really surprised us is that adult dogs behave toward their caregivers like human children do," said researcher Lisa Horn in a news release. "It will be really interesting to try to find out how this behavior evolved in the dogs with direct comparisons."
Dudley at the dog park, a few months after coming to live with us.
Photo of the Day
[H/T to Jessica Luther. Photo credit: Erik Vidor.]
That is the back of Texas State Senator Wendy Davis' head as she speaks to a crowd stretching into the distance at today's rally in Texas.
LOL YOU SOUND VERY SILLY!
[Content Note: Homophobia.]
Dr. James Dobson, founder of Emphasis on the Hyperbole Focus on the Family is predictably upset about the Supreme Court's ruling on DOMA:
On his radio show today, Focus on the Family founder James Dobson discussed the Supreme Court's marriage equality rulings with Family Research Council president Tony Perkins and Bill Becker, an attorney affiliated with right-wing groups such as the Alliance Defense Fund and the Discovery Institute.WOW! THE ENTIRE SUPERSTRUCTURE OF SOCIETY?! OMG I HAD NO IDEA SAME-SEX COUPLES WERE SO POWERFUL!
As you could imagine, Dobson was aghast at the decisions, arguing that same-sex marriages "threaten the entire superstructure" of society. "I believe it can come down," Dobson warned. "This has been devastating. Even if eventually legally we somehow walk it back a bit, I don't see our ever completely recovering from what has happened here."
Becker went even further, saying that civilization crumbled the day the court released its rulings: "We're talking here about the foundation of civilization and I wrote today that I believe we've seen the collapse of Western civilization in one day."
Note the total lack of irony of a bunch of privileged dudes sitting around bemoaning the fall of civilization in a country where same-sex marriage is already legal in 13 states, the nation's capital city, and in five Native American tribes, and in a world where multiple nations and/or cities have legalized same-sex marriage, most of which are countries that are doing better than average on multiple metrics that are supposed to be important to conservatives.
I always love the "MARRIAGE IS SO IMPORTANT THAT EVERYTHING DEPENDS ON IT!" argument in defense of denying it to some people. If it's that important, surely everyone should have access. But then we are talking about nightmares of humanity who aren't even convinced people are entitled to food, so.
I also always love the casual eliding of the fact that marriage is so central to many social structures in the US specifically because so many rights and privileges and benefits are conferred exclusively through marriage. If we just gave everyone the same rights and privileges and benefits irrespective of whether they were married, marriage would be a hell of a lot less important.
"BUT HOW ARE TERRIBLE PATRIARCHAL ASSHOLES WHO ARE THE WORST EVER GOING TO FIND WOMEN TO BE THEIR INDENTURED SERVANTS FOR LIFE IF THEY DON'T HAVE TO BE DEPENDENT ON THEM FOR ACCESS TO IMPORTANT LIFE THINGS?!"—Dudes who are super bummed about same-sex marriage because Jesus.
