En Vogue: "Free Your Mind"
(Filling in for deeky while he purloins a letter.)
In The News
Here is some stuff in the news today!
Same-sex marriage officially became legal fact in Minnesota and Rhode Island today! YAYAYAYAY!!!
Edward Snowden has been granted a one-year asylum in Russia, so he gets to leave the airport. I bet he is looking forward to a shower!
[Content Note: Guns.] The Clarksville, Arkansas, school district will start arming teachers who volunteer to pack heat this year. That is a great idea and nothing will go wrong, I'm sure.
The GOP is terrible etc.
Republican North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed a bunch of abortion restrictions into law, then delivered cookies to pro-choice protestors, because he is an asshole.
[Content Note: Racism; violence.] Post-Racial America: Civil Rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson says that Florida is the "Selma of our time," and Republican Governor Rick Scott accuses Jackson of being divisive and demands an apology. PERFECT.
[CN: Homophobia.] St. Petersburg lawmaker Vitaly Milonov warns that Russia could prosecute gay athletes and spectators during the 2014 Winter Olympics. This whole thing is total bullshit for so many reasons, not least of which is a federal government supposedly willing to "suspend" its principles [sic] that being gay is so terrible they had to pass laws against it, because it might cost them money if they don't. Who's running Russia, anyway—Republicans? Thers makes a good point that the US would almost certainly not consider participating in an Olympic Games "hosted by a country that refused to guarantee the safety of Christian athletes or spectators, or that had passed laws against Christians similar to those Russia has imposed" criminalizing homosexuality. PRIORITIES!
Game of Thrones characters if they lived in the '90s. Obviously.
This Is Rich
[Content Note: Sexual harassment.]
Democratic San Diego Mayor Bob Filner has now been accused by eight women of sexually harassing and/or assaulting them, and his defense attorney Harvey Berger argues, in a letter to City Attorney Jan Goldsmith, that it's the city's fault:
Berger's letter stated, "The city has a legal obligation to provide sexual harassment training to all management level employees, and to provide such training to new managers within six (6) months of hire... The city failed to provide such training to Mayor Filner."Because OBVIOUSLY everyone should know that no straight man is capable of NOT SEXUALLY HARASSING AND ASSAULTING women if he isn't given a two-hour workshop which tells him that's a no-no.
The letter said the mayor's training was canceled and never rescheduled.
"Therefore, if there is any liability at all, the city will almost certainly be liable," Berger wrote.
He then goes on to quote Bob Dylan.
"Many might argue that 'you don't need a weatherperson (sic) to tell you which way the wind blows,' and an adult male should not need sexual harassment training," the letter read. "I would point out that in his decades of public service for the people of San Diego as a U.S. Representative, Mayor Filner never received sexual harassment training."
I have written, somewhere between ten and one hundred biebillion times, variations on the following:
Implicit in feminism/womanism is not only the belief, but the expectation, that men are not brutish nor infantile—nor stupid, useless, inept, emotionally stunted, or any other negative stereotype feminists have been accused of promoting—but instead our equals just as much as we are theirs, capable not only of understanding feminism (and feminists), but of actively and rigorously engaging challenges to their socialization, too.If feminism has expectations of men to live up to, the patriarchy has expectations of men to live down to. And I can think of fewer better examples of that than: "I didn't know not to molest women because no one gave me a sexual harassment class."
Feminists, of course, have the terrible reputation, but it isn't we who consider all men babies, dopes, dogs, and potential rapists. The holders of those views are the women and men who root for the patriarchy—which itself, after all, takes a rather unpleasantly dim view of most people.
An Observation
Here's the thing about President Obama even indulging talk of Larry Summers replacing Ben Bernanke at the Fed: If and when he chooses Janet Yellen, as he should, because she is by far the best candidate, it will go down as an "affirmative action" choice. The narrative will forever be that Obama chose Yellen for "diversity."
This is the problem with so many privileged white men failing upwards throughout their careers, and being seriously considered as contenders for positions for which they're not qualified. It casts doubt on the women, and the men from marginalized populations, especially men of color, who succeed, even when we are the best candidates.
It is not fair to Janet Yellen that, even if she gets the job, as she should, her appointment will be tainted with the suspicion she only got it because Obama wanted to cover his ass for even considering that sexist d-bag Larry Summers.
That's why men like Summers can't even be in contention, Mr. President.
Good Morning! Or Whatever!
Here is a video of a tiny little pig on a bed squealing delightedly and grinning while her guardian tickles her belly and tells her that she is beautiful.
Everything about that video is perfect, and I love that pig with ten thousand hearts.
Question of the Day
Who is the least ethical person you know personally, and who is the most ethical person you know personally?
Of course you needn't feel obliged to name names: "My former boss" or "my sister-in-law" or "someone I know from work" or "someone to whom I'm related" or as specific or vague as you'd like is fine. And "myself" is a totally legitimate answer.
Suggested by Iain. We had a really fun conversation about this subject during dinner awhile ago. It was interesting how even the way we each respectively assessed ethics was different. For example, Iain strictly used actions he'd observed to assess least ethical, whereas I used observed actions combined with of what I imagined someone to be capable. And as we talked about it more, we realized those separate guidelines potentially yielded very different results!
Hello
This is just a beautiful portrait of Peter Dinklage as Bolivar Trask from the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past. If you stare at it for long enough (approximately ten seconds) the entire world will start to shimmer. Because Dinklage.
[Via. Previously.]
Morning in America 2.0
When I was in elementary school, I was friends with a girl whose father was a minister at a very conservative Christian church, and, when we had a sleepover at her house on Saturday nights, I would go to church with her the next morning. And there was a lot of stuff that seemed strange to me, compared to my austere Lutheran church with its bare cross and formal baptismal font over which babies in pressed white gowns were delicately baptized. At her church, there was a giant tank full of murky water on the altar, beneath a cross bearing a naked hanging Christ with a tortured face, and adults would crawl into the tank and be submerged for their saving, while people shouted and wailed.
Their hymns were also very different from the stoic, Germanic, traditional hymns we sung every week. They were particularly fond of a hymn called "There's an Eye Watching You," about how God is always watching everything you do, judging you, assessing whether you are fit to join him in eternal glory or whether you should be consigned to eternal hellfire. At the top of that page in their hymnal, there was a creepy drawing of a giant eyeball with what were probably, upon reflection, supposed to be rays of light radiating from it, but what looked like scary alien deathbeams.
And every time I read about some new revelation about NSA surveillance programs, I think of that giant eyeball with its deadly laser beams.
There's an eye watching you! And that eye can see everything you're doing!
A secret surveillance system known as XKeyscore allows US intelligence to monitor "nearly everything a typical user does on the Internet," according to leaked documents published on Wednesday.Neat! I mean, that just sounds like a great program which will definitely be carefully monitored by people who are deeply invested in transparency and accountability, and for sure does not sound at all like there's any capacity for rampant abuse. HA HA JUST KIDDING THE OPPOSITE OF ALL OF THAT.
Citing classified documents provided by fugitive intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, British daily the Guardian said the program was the most wide-reaching operated by the National Security Agency.
...XKeyscore allows US spies to monitor in real time the emails, web browsing, Internet searches, social media use and virtually all online activity of a target.
...Where XKeyscore appears to differ from other US surveillance programs that have already been revealed is that it can index and make searchable virtually any online activity.
"No other system performs this on raw unselected bulk traffic," the document boasts.
XKeyscore does not require an intelligence analyst to have a "strong selector" such as an email address to find his target — agents can work back from a general search to find an individual.
I don't know what else I can say that I haven't been saying ever since the last president's warrantless wiretapping program was revealed. This is an invasive garbage nightmare, which will continue to be exponentially nightmarish unless and until there is ever sufficient political will to prioritize real freedoms over a false sense of security.
And as for the tired "I don't have anything to hide" refrain of apologists, the question is this: Can you be certain that every single person with whom you interact online can say the same...?
Anyway. This is terrible. Is the long and the short of it.
Welp, I guess this is as good a time as any to apologize to the NSA for all the talk about queefs and buttholes. SORRY.
Mr. President: Don't Be Silent on Summers' Sexism
So President Obama, in a discussion with the House Democratic caucus today, defended Larry Summers. I find it interesting what he addressed, and even more interesting what he didn't address:
According to Mr. Connolly’s account, the president described Mr. Summers as a rock of stability who deserved credit for helping steer the American economy back from the financial crisis of 2008 and the ensuing recession. Mr. Obama, Mr. Connolly said, singled out the negative coverage of Mr. Summers in The Huffington Post.The president, Mr. Connolly said, emphasized that he had not made a decision on the next Fed chairman, adding, “I’m not even close to making that choice.” He did not address the criticism of Mr. Summers over his record on women’s issues, which have dogged him throughout his career.
I don't like his defense of Summers' economic policy. Liss has previously addressed why Larry Summers is a garbage nightmare for BOTH his policy decisions and his "record on women's issues." I'm simply going to add: it is ALSO problematic in the extreme for President Obama to completely ignore Mr. Summers' prejudices against one-half of the human population, and the way he has actively carried out those prejudices in the White House itself.
Am I to take away that those concerns are not worth addressing, while his economic policy is a "real" issue? Are the feminists and their allies who have repeatedly brought up Summer's rank sexism not even worth replying to-- or listening to? Is preserving Mr. Summers' good will is more important than speaking up for women's rights? Maybe it's all part of the Triple-Tri-D Vulcan Political Chess Olympics. I don't know.
But I do know that social justice has seldom been achieved by simply not talking about the problem. It means something when powerful men criticize and condemn misogyny. It would mean a great deal to hear the President address it now. It would mean something to every woman who's ever dealt with rank misogynistic asshattery of the Summers kind. To women who have lost a job, or abandoned a dream, or suffered ill-health, because privileged men like Summers get away, again and again, with their bullshit.
I didn't need to hear it addressed in great detail, just with great sincerity. Speaking only for myself, I would have been glad to hear: "I cannot comment on any particular incidents in this venue. I can say that I unreservedly condemn all discrimination against women, and am taking concerns in this regard quite seriously during the decision-making process."
Because it also means something when powerful men remain silent. And that second meaning is not good. I expect more, Mr. President.
FYI
[Content Note: Body policing; restriction talk; fat bias.]
Dame Gwyneth Paltrow has some hot new tips for "how to create a lean body shape" that you probably want to check out immediately.
Of all the "slimming secrets" shared by "actress and lifestyle guru Gwyneth Paltrow," my favorite is definitely the last one.
Try a beauty trickLOL FOREVER.
One of the best cheat products I have found for the body is a tinted moisturiser called Prtty Peaushun. It is shimmery, which gives the illusion of contour; you can see muscle definition. It is great for legs too, and leaves skin looking really hydrated. I wore it on my stomach when I was filming Iron Man 3.
*resists urge to slather Vaseline on fat belly then pose for a picture labeled "DO I LOOK PRETTY NOW?"*
Barely.
The thing I love most about Gwyneth Paltrow's "tips" is how they don't even try to pretend all this shit is about "health," but about achieving a socially-approved body shape. Points for being nakedly honest about the aesthetic prejudice underlying your rank fat hatred!
I've Never Seen It
by Shaker hallelujah_hippo
[Content Note: Emotional auditing and policing of personal experience and expertise.]
One of the most frustrating and unhelpful responses I get when trying to discuss nuances of social justice, often from people who argue vehemently that they are "on my side" and supporting me, is "I've never seen it." It is frequently coupled with "I mean, I believe you, but I just haven't ever seen it." There are a whole lot of things that bother me about this response, but here are the ones that really get to me.
First of all, it serves to equate casual observation (by folks who are probably not sensitive enough) with lived experience, prolonged study, or specific investigation. It serves to undermine the words and experiences of marginalized people and their allies as "just a matter of opinion."
Secondly, it very much gaslights people who are affected by the marginalization and bigotry being discussed. It implies that it's interesting that they've brought it up, but it's really more of a hypothetical discussion or a game than something real and tangible—which is another manifestation of the Validity Prism that Liss has written about so well before.
Thirdly it serves to entrench the "real bigotry" vs. "casual bigotry" dichotomy (another aspect of the Validity Prism) so often invoked by privileged folks to justify, mitigate, or distance harmful actions by other privileged people. "If there were 'real' bigotry I would have noticed it; I haven't noticed anything, therefore there isn't any 'real' bigotry (or at least not as much as you say)," the argument goes.
Finally, responding to a discussion about marginalization and bigotry with "I haven't seen it" serves to re-center the conversation around privileged voices and treat those experiences as universal or more valid. It serves to imply that marginalized people are imagining things, that they are unreliable observers getting the details wrong, that they are being dishonest or purposefully exaggerating the situation for ulterior motives.
If someone is discussing an aspect of bigotry that you haven't seen or noticed before, it might be helpful to sit with that and think about why this is new for you rather than piping up to tell them you have a different point of view about that bigotry.
Wednesday Blogaround
Today's blogaround is brought to you by fairies.
Recommended Reading:
Rinku: The Racist Mind [Content Note: The post at this link includes discussion of racism, white supremacy, privilege, and violence.]
Jessica: Indiana Finally Agrees Planned Parenthood Medicaid Ban Is Unenforceable
Alan: 5 Million Could Be Kicked off Food Stamps Under Republican Cuts
Mecca: How to be Black in the Age of Obama, George Zimmerman, and Paula Deen: Notes from Summer, 2013 [Content Note: The post at this link includes discussion of racism, violence, white supremacy.]
Lakshmi: The Media's 5 Worst References to Huma Abedin's Ethnic Background [Content Note: The post at this link includes discussion of Islamophobia and racism.]
RJ: Grant Launches New Studies about Transgender Military Service
Susie: Senator Bernie Sanders Gets the Quote of the Day
Sean: Vi Hart on Twelve-Tone Music [VIDEO]
Leave your links and recommendations in comments...
Daily Dose of Cute
Watch Dog and Not-Watch Dog.
"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.
Two-Minute Nostalgia Sublime
Sinead O'Connor: "No Man's Woman"
(Filling in for deeky while he shares cigars with Marie Roget)
This is so the worst thing you're going to read all day.
[Content Note: Fat hatred; discussion of eating.]
Wendy Sachs at CNN: The other F-word: Talking to kids about obesity.
The other f-word. Fat. Get it? Like it's a curse. Or worse:
We don't use the F-word in my family. And by F, I'm not talking about the F-bombs, because those get dropped from time to time. I'm talking about the word "fat." The word is banned from my house with the same vigilance that racist language would not be tolerated. Extreme, perhaps, but I have a husband who went through a chubby stage and still bears the scars of his prepubescent ridicule.Never mind that lots of fat people—not people "who went through a chubby stage," but actual, currently, permanently fat people—prefer to be called fat, for a variety of reasons, including and especially because destigmatizing the word and recognizing it instead as a neutral descriptor is a crucial part of reducing the bullying and dehumanization of fat people.
No, instead Wendy Sachs thinks she's a fucking hero for treating the word "fat" like a racial slur. For saving we fat people from our own activism.
Fuck. Off.
In The News
Here is some stuff in the news today!
Pfc. B. Manning has been found not guilty of "aiding the enemy" for leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks, but has been convicted during the military court-martial of "six counts of violating the Espionage Act of 1917" and other charges. Manning "faces a theoretical maximum sentence of 136 years in prison, although legal experts said the actual term was likely to be much shorter."
Clear Channel pulled ads for the South Wind Women's Center in Wichita, KS, where the late Dr. Tiller practiced, citing "decency standards." Whoops your definition of decency!
[Content Note: Sexual harassment] Pay up, Filner: "The San Diego City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to file a lawsuit against Mayor Bob Filner to recover any money the city has to pay due to the sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a former top aide to the mayor." Eight women have now come forward with allegations of harassment.
[CN: Guns; racism] A writer at Bloomberg discovers that US gun culture is deeply invested in white supremacy. Huh!
Zynga is suing the makers of the "Bang With Friends" anonymous casual sex app for trademark infringement. Might I suggest "Casual Sex Roulette Except in This Game There's Only One Person You Hope Will Get Randomly Chosen and Every Other Outcome Is Terrible So Maybe You Should Just Invite Your Friend to Have Some Consensual Casual Safer Sex with You Like Two Grown Adults in a Modern World" as an alternative?
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences elected Cheryl Boone Isaacs as its next president. She is "the first African-American and third woman to lead the powerful 86-year-old organization that's responsible for the Oscars."
"We're gonna get louder!" Fast-food strikes continue in New York City and begin to spread to other cities. In related news: "If McDonald's workers were paid the $15 they're demanding, the cost of a Big Mac would go up 68 cents, from its current price of $3.99 to $4.67." Not remotely the doubling of price that hand-wringers who don't understand (or are keen to mask) how food production works are warning would happen if fast-food workers earned a livable wage.
Professor Finds Rare Footage of FDR in Wheelchair
Today, it is no secret that Franklin Delano Roosevelt used a wheelchair. But it was not always so.
Professor Ray Begovich, who teaches journalism at Franklin College in Indiana, has discovered rare film footage showing FDR in his wheelchair. Begovich was reviewing the footage as part of a project researching Elmer Davis, director of the Office of War Information and a Franklin College graduate.
Most people today are familiar with Roosevelt's disability, but there's something quite powerful about seeing the powerful president fulfilling his duties while using his chair. I appreciate Dr. Begovich's words on the subject:
To me, the importance of this clip as historic media imagery, is that it reminds all of us that this president fought the Great Depression and World War II from a wheelchair. I think it's a tragedy that we haven't had many candidates for national office who use a wheelchair or guide dog or sign language. Media images matter, and I hope we can move toward a time in which policies, character and leadership become the focus of the media and public, and that the fact that a presidential candidate uses a wheelchair doesn't matter at all.
You can see the footage and the college's press release at this link.
One Million!
Back in October of 2011, I posted this amazing video of Sandra Bae's instrumental cover of Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now."
The video recently passed one million views (woot!), so I thought I would repost it to celebrate Bae's counter-spinning moment.
