Starring Dudley as ET!
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
Daily Dose of Cute
Starring Dudley as ET!
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
Here is some stuff in the news today!
[Content Note: War on agency.] Republican Texas Governor Rick Perry has signed the sweeping anti-abortion bill into law surrounded by gleeful dirtbags.
Meanwhile, Democratic Texas House Representative Harold Dutton Jr. has introduced a bill banning any further abortion restrictions until the state bans capital punishment. He's calling your pro-life bluff, yo!
Seventeen people were arrested in proximity to peaceful protests of the Zimmerman verdict.
[CN: Prisoner abuse.] Ohio prisons have "shut down electricity and operated on emergency generators for several hours twice this week" to save money, leaving prisoners without lights or fans. Don't worry, though! Staff offices still had AC and "electrified fences and all security systems remained operational." Fuckers.
CN Lester has, with a panel of trans* and/or gender-queer activists, put together a 101 resource on frequently and infrequently asked questions. Check it out!
[CN: Injury; death.] Dr. Jen Gunter has written a piece describing what abortion by coat hanger is actually like, so assholes who make jokes about it can understand exactly about what they're yukking it up. (I'm looking at you, Erick Erickson.)
[CN: War; drones; death.] Nasser al-Awlaki's son and grandson were both US citizens killed by drone strikes, and he wants some answers and accountability.
PayPal accidentally credited a dude $92 quadrillion. Whoops!
"It took eight days and 12 helpers to set up this system of 277,000 dominoes." Whoa!
Do you want to see the full list of Emmy nominations? Well, here it is!
Two-Minute Nostalgia Sublime
[Content note: the video was produced in support of efforts against human trafficking and contains text which discusses that issue.]
Mary J. Blige, Martha B, and Sinead O'Connor: "This is to Mother You"
(Filling in for deeky while he is reading seven crystal balls.)
Discussion Thread: Contraception and Sterilization
This morning, Texas governor Rick Perry signed controversial anti-abortion restrictions into law, effectively denying important care to women who face risky pregnancies due to personal medical conditions.
Next month, I will be going in to see my doctor to talk to her about what, if any, contraception and sterilization procedures are available to me and will be (1) covered by my insurance and (2) not create a conflict with my existing medical conditions and medications for same.
I know I'm not the only Texas woman dealing with this. I know I'm not the only woman in the country dealing with this. I know I'm not the only woman on this board dealing with this. I know that I'm not the only person dealing with this, and that not only women are affected by this.
This is a discussion thread for people with uteri, people who need access to contraception and reproductive freedom yet who are being denied access by our governments, to share what works for them and how they are holding up.
Dueling Mitch Daniels
Yesterday, Liss reminded us that Mitch Daniels is still a nightmare.
But in case you missed it, let me contextualize just HOW BIG a nightmare.
Mitch Daniels, president of Purdue University, January 2013:
"Diversity is prized except in the most important realm of all, diversity of thought. The academies that, through the unique system of tenure, once enshrined freedom of opinion and inquiry now frequently are home to the narrowest sort of closed-mindedness and the worst repression of dissident ideas."
Mitch Daniels, Governor of Indiana and Total Historical Genius, 2010 (in emails obtained by the AP this week):
“This terrible anti-American academic [Howard Zinn]has finally passed away,” Daniels wrote. “The obits and commentaries mentioned his book, ‘A People’s History of the United States,’ is the ‘textbook of choice in high schools and colleges around the country.’ It is a truly execrable, anti-factual piece of disinformation that misstates American history on every page. “Can someone assure me that it is not in use anywhere in Indiana? If it is, how do we get rid of it before more young people are force-fed a totally false version of our history?”
Whooooops your repression of dissident ideas, Mitch!
Of course, Mitch (Historical Genius degree,Glenn Beck University) is doubling down in defense of his censorship:
On Tuesday, Daniels stood by his demand that Zinn be excluded from Indiana classrooms but said his request was limited to K-12 schools, where the state has control of the curriculum. “We must not falsely teach American history in our schools,” he said in the email. “We have a law requiring state textbook oversight to guard against frauds like Zinn, and it was encouraging to find that no Hoosier school district had inflicted his book on its students.”
Sure Mitch! That in no way makes you sound like a deeply uninformed bigot on a McCarthy-esque hunt for thoughtcrime! Or as the former head of the American Association of University Professors put it:
“It is astonishing and shocking that such a person is now the head of a major research university, making decisions about the curriculum, that one painfully suspects embodies the same ignorance and racism these comments embody,” Nelson said.
Gosh, Mitch! I think your secret identity as Garbage Nightmare Bigot, masquerading as Intellectual Diversity Champion, might have been uncovered!
There are no words for my cavernous contempt for conservatives like Daniels and their naked attempts to smear and suppress the research that is inconvenient for their propaganda. Nor my disdain for their demands to be taken seriously as defenders of "intellectual diversity." So, here is a rendition of Dueling Banjoes on musical Tesla Coils:
Quote of the Day
"What is at risk is the discretion of a woman to make judgments about the size and timing of her family. It's respect for the judgment of women about what is good for them, for their families, their health... I don't know if my colleagues need a lesson on the birds and the bees. I really don't get it."—House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, wondering if her Republican colleagues waging a war on agency are in need of some basic biology lessons.
That. And some basic decency lessons.
Me, on July 3, watching the debate in the Texas legislature:
The thing every. single. abortion. debate among Republican legislators makes evident is that they don't know anything about abortion. #HB695
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) July 3, 2013
Pretty much anyone who's paying attention to what Republicans are saying during these "abortion debates" has noticed that they don't know the first fucking thing about abortion or human reproduction. That's a pretty significant problem, given the power with which they've been imbued to legislate both.
In related news, Texas Governor Rick Perry has just signed the sweeping anti-abortion bill in Texas.
[NB: Not only women need access to a full spectrum of reproductive options.]
Bloomberg vs. The Fatties, Again
[Content Note: Fat bias; disablism; rape culture.]
In his ongoing campaign to be the most Hatingest Fat Hater in All the Land, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is now telling people to take the stairs:
First he came after the cigarettes. Then the trans-fats. Then the super-sized drinks. Now, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is coming after the elevators.Because fat people are just stupid and lazy and don't know what's in our own best interests. Blah blah fart yawn.
City officials announced a new initiative this afternoon aimed at encouraging office workers to take the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator. Under legislation proposed by the mayor, all new buildings and buildings undergoing major renovation would be required to give occupants access to at least one stairwell, as well as post signs near elevators pointing to nearby stairs.
Another bill would increase the visibility of stairwells by permitting the use of hold-open devices on doors that would close automatically in case of an emergency.
...Mr. Bloomberg, who said he personally almost always uses the stairs–and doesn't stand still when he's on an escalator–said that part of the challenge was to make being active hipper for young people across the city.
"What we've got to do is just make it cool–if you will–or socially more the norm to exercise, and that's what you see here," he explained. "The whole idea is not to change what you have to do, but to give you the idea and the impetus to do something that is in your best interest."
This is an extra mega awesome idea for people with invisible disabilities who can't take the stairs, or as many stairs as required to get to a higher floor, but now face the possibility of being shamed as lazy for not making use of the Supercool Stair Initiative, unless they want to disclose their disability to coworkers.
My favorite thing about this proposal, however, is that Bloomberg is an aficionado of the "fat people cost us so much money" rationale for public shaming campaigns, but one of the primary reasons stairwells are kept closed in high rises is because cooling and heating stairwells is expensive. Depending on the size of the building, and the number of stairwells, and the efficiency of the HVAC system, etc., cooling a stairwell to the same temp as the rest of the public spaces can increase costs by 25%. That is a hell of a lot of money, multiplied across a hell of a lot of buildings.
And then there's this: Keeping stairwells closed except for emergencies is a safety issue. Keeping stairwell doors locked from the stairwell side, but not from the office side, allows people who need to access the stairs for emergencies to do so, while restricting access to thieves and predators. It can be super annoying when you work in a highrise for a company with multiple floors to have to use the elevator to run one floor up or down, but it protects people and assets.
Does Mayor Bloomberg expect companies to provide private security for their employees and office space that a locked stairwell did for free? Or is he just willing to skip on the security for people and private property, as long as fatties take the stairs?
Mr. Mayor, you do not have my permission to use my body to enact initiatives that compromise people's safety, because you believe I'm too fucking stupid to take care of myself.
Senate Strikes a Student Loan Deal
Short-term relief, at least—provided senators can get it done before the summer recess:
U.S. senators reached a deal on Wednesday to temporarily hold interest rates on student loans at lower levels as they raced to get the measure completed before an August deadline, a Senate aide said.And naturally the biggest concern is the federal deficit, and not that an entire generation is entering adulthood in a hole, with piles of student loan debt and widespread unemployment and a failing social safety net. Priorities.
An aide for another senior senator said an outline of the plan had begun to emerge, but no deal had been reached and no vote on it was set yet.
Interest rates on new federal Stafford loans doubled to 6.8 percent this month when lawmakers failed to meet a July 1 deadline to prevent an automatic increase.
According to details of the Senate plan, students would see interest rates dialed back to 3.4 percent for a couple of years, but then rates could be allowed to rise sharply.
Undergraduates would see loans go as high as 8.25 percent after 2015, graduates would face rates as high as 9.5 percent, and parents would face rates as high as 10.5 percent.
The plan would cut the federal deficit by $715 million over 10 years, said the first aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Question of the Day
Suggested by Shaker roro80: "What un-knowable thing would you most like to know?"
Happy Tails
Do you need a nice story about a 16-year-old dog who had almost no chance of being adopted but was rescued from a shelter by a loving family who gave him the bestest home? Well, here you go!
And if that doesn't do it for ya, here is a great story about a very nice lady who helped a raven that had been left stuck with quills after an altercation with a porcupine. The video is here.
None of the Above
A report recently released by researchers at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga says that six different types of atheists/agnostics have been identified.
I have news for these researchers (who acknowledge that other types are emergent): There are at least seven, because I don't strongly identify with any of the six.
I hew most closely, I suppose, to the "Activist Atheist/Agnostics" group, whose "atheist activism often sprang from other forms of activism and an interest in social justice, like women's rights, LGBT rights, or wealth inequality," except for the fact that I don't do atheist activism, or even participate in movement atheism, for reasons.
Morning in America 2.0
Chances are, your local or state police departments have photographs of your car in their files, noting where you were driving on a particular day, even if you never did anything wrong.Oh. Well. If it's "just a vehicle," if it's "just a license plate," I guess you don't need to be recording images of them then, do you?
Using automated scanners, law enforcement agencies across the country have amassed millions of digital records on the location and movement of every vehicle with a license plate, according to a study published Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union. Affixed to police cars, bridges or buildings, the scanners capture images of passing or parked vehicles and note their location, uploading that information into police databases. Departments keep the records for weeks or years, sometimes indefinitely.
As the technology becomes cheaper and more ubiquitous, and federal grants focus on aiding local terrorist detection, even small police agencies are able to deploy more sophisticated surveillance systems. While the Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that a judge's approval is needed to track a car with GPS, networks of plate scanners allow police effectively to track a driver's location, sometimes several times every day, with few legal restrictions. The ACLU says the scanners assemble what it calls a "single, high-resolution image of our lives."
"There's just a fundamental question of whether we're going to live in a society where these dragnet surveillance systems become routine," said Catherine Crump, a staff attorney with the ACLU.
..."There's no expectation of privacy" for a vehicle driving on a public road or parked in a public place, said Lt. Bill Hedgpeth, a spokesman for the Mesquite Police Department in Texas, which has records stretching back to 2008, although the city plans next month to begin deleting files older than two years. "It's just a vehicle. It's just a license plate."
I don't think it's totally unreasonable to observe that "an expectation of privacy" and "an expectation that my every move in my car will not be recorded for posterity by police" are not precisely the same thing.
I also don't think it's totally unreasonable to observe that, actually, there is some expectation of privacy driving on a public road. Ostensibly, police need a warrant (with wildly abused exceptions) to search a private vehicle, for example.
I'm just saying.
Today in Rape Culture
[Content Note: Rape culture; sexual assault and harassment.]
Welp, this sounds like a terrible idea:
10News [of San Diego] has learned Mayor Bob Filner has agreed to be the keynote speaker at a benefit for sexual assault victims.Maybe—maybe—this would make sense if Filner had demonstrated any willingness to accept meaningful accountability for ramming his tongue down one woman's throat and sticking his hand in her bra, kissing another woman against her will, and telling a third woman she would work better "without [her] panties on." But he has not.
A women veterans group tells 10News the mayor's camp has just confirmed the appearance. Filner was originally scheduled to attend as an award recipient.
The group has stripped him of the award. Instead, he is set to address the scandal now consuming City Hall.
The woman leading the benefit is Tara Jones, the president of the National Military Women Veterans Association of America.
Months ago, Jones' group decided to honor Filner with a lifetime leadership award for his work on behalf of women veterans, including the issue of sexual assault.
Amid the recent scandal swirling around Filner, the group stripped him of the award. In a statement, the groups said, "We do not tolerate sexual discrimination at any level within our society."
Still, the group did not disinvite the mayor from the August award gala, instead announcing that he will address the scandal in a speech.
"He is now the keynote speaker on these injustices," said the group.
A motivation for the invite was not given, but Jones has repeatedly expressed the importance of creating awareness.
"We need the awareness piece, then have more dialogued to fix this," Jones recently told 10News.
He has refused to resign his mayorship, and promised to seek counseling while insisting it was all just a big misunderstanding: "I'm a hugger, of both men and women... As it turns out that those are taken in an offensive manner, I need to have a greater sense of awareness of what I am doing and we will correct that, and I am taking those steps. ...There is a difference between someone who is tough to work for...and sexual harassment."
Giving this platform to someone who might well use it to defend his own history of sexual assault is wildly inappropriate. As a survivor, I cannot even imagine sitting in the audience while he has the floor in what should be a safe space.
Even in the best case scenario, even if Filner is the most self-reflective and contrite predator of all time, I wouldn't have the slightest inclination to sit in a room with him, listening to him talk about hurting women.
They're Lying
by Stephanie Rogers, Co-Founder and Managing Editor of Bitch Flicks
[Content Note: Racism; violence.]
Last night, I got into an argument on Facebook. With my grandma. Why? Because of the Zimmerman acquittal. I'd been fighting with her kids—my conservative (white) uncles—on Facebook the whole week leading up to the verdict. Nasty e-mails and text messages have been flying all over the place in this family. So, in the aftermath of the verdict, and their subsequent gloating on Facebook, I've honestly been trying to understand the Zimmerman trial from their perspective. And I came to the conclusion that, for them, this trial was about their Zimmerman's rights.
It was about their Zimmerman's right to carry a concealed weapon.
It was about their Zimmerman's right as a member of the Neighborhood Watch to patrol his neighborhood and protect it from any further home invasions.
It was about their Zimmerman's right to ignore an emergency dispatcher's orders to stop following Martin—because a dispatcher is NOT the same as, and doesn't have the same authority as, a police officer.
It was about their Zimmerman's right to get out of his car and follow someone who was on private property and looked suspicious.
It was about their Zimmerman's right to defend himself, to stand his ground, when confronted by Trayvon Martin.
It was about their Zimmerman's right NOT to be a victim.
Essentially, this trial had little to do with Zimmerman for my conservative relatives. It was about their rights. Who knows when they might be in a similar situation? Who knows when they might need to protect themselves, their families, their neighbors, their property, only to be attacked and forced to defend themselves with lethal force? And if it were to happen to them, why should they be on trial for exercising their rights?
They unquestionably identify with Zimmerman's fear of a black teenager. They refuse to acknowledge Trayvon Martin's fear of being stalked by a stranger.
Last night, my grandma asked me on Facebook, "Why does everything have to be a race issue?"
Where does one begin?
I want to be able to talk to people in my family about these things. I love them. But I find their viewpoints despicable. And it's difficult to separate someone's viewpoints from who they are, fundamentally, as people. I realized right when she asked the question, "Why does everything have to be a race issue?" that I'd never be able to talk to them about how this trial was never anything other than a "race issue." To even be asked a question like that after a man followed an unarmed black teenager and killed him … where does one begin?
My mother (a person who understands that racism is still a thing) tells me to ignore them, that they've lived their whole lives in a bubble of unchallenged privilege, that nothing I say will make a difference. She's right. But for those of us who understand that George Zimmerman literally just got away with murder, it's harder to let this one go.
I've been wondering why.
I don't engage my conservative relatives in debates about abortion. I know better. I don't engage them in debates about universal healthcare or gay rights or gun control. I know I won't change their minds. They know they won't change mine (although they love to get a rise out of me).
It's harder to let this one go.
Maybe it's because I think, this time, they're lying.
I think they genuinely believe that abortion is equivalent to murdering babies. I think they genuinely believe that universal healthcare would be bad for the country, for reasons that are unfounded, but I think they believe it. I think they genuinely believe homosexuals are an abomination, because their religion tells them so. And I think they genuinely believe the second amendment protects their right to own any kind of gun they desire.
I don't think they believe the killing of Trayvon Martin had nothing to do with race.
I think, this time, they're lying.
They know, deep down, that George Zimmerman wouldn't have followed a white teenager. They know, deep down, that when George Zimmerman told the dispatcher that, "these assholes, they always get away," he wasn't referring to white teenagers. They know, deep down, that a black man who'd murdered a white teenager in similar circumstances would be spending his life in prison right now.
But for them to admit these facts out loud would mean admitting their own fear of black teenage boys, their own racism. It would mean saying out loud what they truly believe—that Trayvon Martin deserved what he got.
Instead, they say, "I would've done the same thing," pretending to believe that Zimmerman was protecting himself from Martin, not the other way around. The jury pretended to believe it, too. And none of them will acknowledge what this trial always should've been about—Trayvon Martin's rights.
It should've been about Martin's right to carry a bag of Skittles and a bottle of Iced Tea without fear of consequences.
It should've been about Martin's right to walk around at night, wearing a hoodie, while talking to his friend on the phone.
It should've been about Martin's right to not be stalked by a man concealing a gun who ignored explicit orders to leave Martin alone.
It should've been about Martin's right to think a man following him in a car, and later on foot, looked suspicious.
It should've been about Martin's right to defend himself, to stand his ground, when a man who'd been following him in a car decided to confront him.
It should've been about Martin's right NOT to be a victim.
This trial should've been about George Zimmerman's violation of Trayvon Martin's rights.
Zimmerman called the police. He reported a black teenager in his late teens who was "just staring at [him]" and had "something in his hands." The dispatcher informed Zimmerman that an officer was on the way. Zimmerman gave directions to where he was. And then he said, "Shit. He's running."
It should've ended there.
But Zimmerman followed Martin. He killed him. He killed him because "these asshole, they always get away." Martin was a black teenager with the audacity to walk through a gated community. Didn't he know his place?
My relatives and all the other racists out there—including the members of the jury—can pretend all they want that Trayvon Martin's murder had nothing to do with race.
They're lying.
Wednesday Blogaround
Today's blogaround brought to you by superpowers.
Arturo: Five bright spots amid the Zimmerman trial complex.
Trudy: Black men think Black women have easy lives. [CN:Misogyny].
Monica: British Trans woman gets justice for sexual sssault sfter her death. [CN: sexal assault].
Indian Country Today Staff: Don't call him a sidekick: 33 covers of Tonto's 50s comic book.
Joel: Nobody knows what Archbishop Chaput meant by "Pagan," but it seems kinda bad. [CN: Religious bias. H/t Jason at The Wild Hunt.]
Seavann: Slaves did not build the pyramids of Egypt.
Joseph: Suprising study shows that dogs use color vision after all.
Please feel free to leave your links in the comments.
Pinterest Your Way Out of Purgatory!
Worried about the months or years you may spend in Purgatory? GOOD NEWS! The Vatican is dispensing indulgences to Pope Francis's social media followers:
In its latest attempt to keep up with the times the Vatican has married one of its oldest traditions to the world of social media by offering "indulgences" to followers of Pope Francis' tweets.The church's granted indulgences reduce the time Catholics believe they will have to spend in purgatory after they have confessed and been absolved of their sins.
The remissions got a bad name in the Middle Ages because unscrupulous churchmen sold them for large sums of money. But now indulgences are being applied to the 21st century.
..."That includes following Twitter," said a source at the penitentiary, referring to Pope Francis' Twitter account, which has gathered seven million followers. "But you must be following the events live. It is not as if you can get an indulgence by chatting on the internet."
...Apart from the papal Twitter account, the Vatican has launched an online news portal supported by an app, a Facebook page, and it plans to use the online social networking site Pinterest.
"What really counts is that the tweets the Pope sends from Brazil or the photos of the Catholic World Youth Day that go up on Pinterest produce authentic spiritual fruit in the hearts of everyone," said Celli.
You know, I've been saying for a while that the Vatican seems hell-bent on sparking another major schism or Reformation, what with its handling of social justice seeking nuns, and covering up rape and just generally rolling the church back into the 15th century.
But this one is, erm, definitely interesting. And of course not at all open to misinterpretation or abuse or just plain confusing Catholics about how, exactly, indulgences are supposed to work. AHEM!
I feel like old Johannes Tetzel would be jealous. He's the 15th/16th century clergyman who sold indulgences on a grandly captitalist scale, allegedly composing a brilliant (if pre-Mad Men) advertising jingle, "As soon as a coin in the coffer rings / the soul from purgatory springs."
What about it Shakers? Does the pope need some catchy new rhymes to help promote his Penitential Pinterest, his Feria Facebook, his Trinitarian Twitter? Here's my contribution:
"When the Tweet Deck makes a squeak/Your soul is purged for one less week."
(Hmmm. Needs work, maybe. Feel free to share your contributions in comments.
Daily Dose of Cute
"Hi! Phbbbbt!"
This is an older picture of Sophie, but I recently sent it to Alison after she requested silly pictures of cats, so I thought I'd post it again here. I love this picture soooooo much!
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
Two-Minute Nostalgia Sublime
Flogging Molly: "Screaming at the Wailing Wall"
(Filling in for deeky while he is learning the secret of the Unicorn.)
In The News
I will be all up In The News while DeekyMD is shooting an episode of Catfish. Fingers crossed that it's really Prince Harry when his internet mystery lover opens the door!
[Content Note: Rape culture; terrorism; misogyny;
Same-sex marriage is now legal in England and Wales! Huzzah! Cucumber sandwiches for everyone!
Two Republicans actually give a shit about the victims of sexual violence in the military.
Um, Rolling Stone? What is happening here?
Are you excited that Liz Cheney, daughter of former Vice-Presidentish Dick Cheney, is running for US Senate? I can't imagine why you wouldn't be. That family is terrific!
In other election news, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick says he is not running for President in 2016. That doesn't mean whoever does run can't pick him as her running mate, though! Or his running mate.
Robert Downey, Jr., tops Forbes' list of the US entertainment industry's highest-paid actors. He is so lucky that he's not a woman! Otherwise, instead of being given multiple chances and lots of sympathy back when he had become uninsurable due to addiction and erratic public behavior, he would be sitting around a campfire with Margot Kidder, Sean Young, Lindsay Lohan, and Amanda Bynes, using ten years' worth of tabloid fuckery as kindling!
Congress is terrible.
And Mitch Daniels is still a nightmare.
