We've done this one before, but not for a very long time: What are your favorite and least favorite words, based solely on their sound?
I have lots of words I really love, and I'm not sure I have a single favorite, but the first one that came to mind is tintinnabulation.
I can't think of anything off the top of my head that I don't like based solely on its sound, but I know a ton of people who hate the sound of moist.
Selasa, 31 Januari 2012
Florida Primary Night Open Thread
OMG, y'all! Are you as firmly ensconced in the compelling grip of excitement as I am?! I HOPE YOU ARE! It's gonna be another real nail-biter to see whether it will be the super rich and super privileged white guy, or the OTHER super rich and super privileged white guy who wins in Florida tonight! I CAN'T WAIT!
(Full Disclosure: I can totally wait.)
Just to give you some idea of HOW EXCITING things are in Florida right now, here is a picture of Mitt Romney ON THE PHONE!
Get out the vote...with GREAT JOKES!
Anyway! I can't wait to see what happens tonight! So many possibilities... Mitt Romney could win and go on to get the Republican nomination! Mitt Romney could lose and go on to get the Republican nomination! What a wild ride we've got ahead of us, Shakers!
Bring it on,Iowa New Hampshire South Carolina Florida!
(Full Disclosure: I can totally wait.)
Just to give you some idea of HOW EXCITING things are in Florida right now, here is a picture of Mitt Romney ON THE PHONE!
Get out the vote...with GREAT JOKES!
Anyway! I can't wait to see what happens tonight! So many possibilities... Mitt Romney could win and go on to get the Republican nomination! Mitt Romney could lose and go on to get the Republican nomination! What a wild ride we've got ahead of us, Shakers!
Bring it on,
Photo of the Day
Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich holds a sign made by a supporter in the crowd, as he speaks at the Tampa Jet Center, on January 30, 2012, in Tampa, Florida. [Getty Images]Is Mitt Romney the Joker in that graphic? Did he just eat a cherry lollipop? What is going on?
I like to imagine the text, with its interesting spacing and lack of punctuation, actually says: "Make no mistake, Obama. Care! Is Romney care?" An exhortation to compassion followed by a rhetorical question to which the answer is no.
News I Don't Want to Write About
[Content Note: War, reproductive rights legislation, rape culture, violence, misogyny.]
Here is all the news I don't want to write about today!
There is the BIG NEWS that Iran is totally going to attack the US! It's true! Or not! It seems like I've heard this story before: The administration of a first-term president before a hotly contested election says that US intelligence has found thatIraq Iran is developing nuclear capabilities with intent to attack the US and/or US interests, and there are UN weapons inspections, with which Iraq Iran is cooperating, but the belligerent rhetoric of preemptive self-defense keeps getting ratcheted up nonetheless, including accusations of Iraq's Iran's noncompliance with those inspections. THIS IS A FAMILIAR TUNE, SHAKERS!
"Wolf!"—The Boy.
In good news, the New York Times is partying like it's 2003, because they've already got a year of reporting covered c/o search and replace.
There is the news that Michele Bachmann exited the presidential campaign one million dollars in debt. And the news that Rick Perry blew through $15 million in the final months of his campaign, for presumably no purpose other than raising awareness about what a douche he is so he could LOSE FASTER! This is yet another golden opportunity for USians to consider how utterly fucked up it is that we do not have publicly financed elections or limited electoral seasons, and very rich people spend enormous amounts of money to get elected while other politicians who have already been elected argue in fancy buildings about how we don't have any money to provide healthcare, food, and housing to everyone in the country.
There is the news that former Florida Governor Charlie Crist might someday run again for office as a Democrazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Huntsman-Crist for President-VP of Napping!
There is the story about Janet Howell, a Virginia State Senator, who, to Make A Point, attached an amendment to a state mandatory ultrasound abortion bill "that would require men to have a rectal exam and a cardiac stress test before obtaining a prescription for erectile dysfunction medication." Hardy-har. Suffice it to say I don't find proposing the equivalent of a forced trans-vaginal sonogram law to be amusing, since it's little more than a sophisticated rape joke. I am, I trust it is evident, sympathetic to Howell's intentions, but I cannot get on board with fighting the nonconsensual control of the bodies of women and other people with uteri with a proposal for more of it, rather than less. Coercing a person to undergo an unnecessary vaginal probe to acquire a legal medical procedure is rape, and compelling an anal probe is no different.
There is news about ladies! The US women's soccer league's 2012 season has been cancelled less than 24 hours after the US women's national team qualified for the Olympics. If there's one thing we know how to do in America, it's treat women's sports like absolute shit!
There is the story of a man in Afghanistan, where we've been SPREADING FREEDOM for ten years and counting, who has reportedly strangled his wife after she failed to bear him a son. Three healthy daughters, though. Who now have no mother. Rage. Seethe. Boil.
There is this story about "three regulators [who] did indeed ring warning bells [about the subprime financial crisis]—at the right time, in the right places, and loud enough for other banking and financial system overseers," but were all ignored. Guess what they all have in common? Go on—guess! If you said they were all ladies, give yourself 1,000 points, redeemable at Shakesville's OMFG the Absurd Misogyny in the Year 2012 Shop!
Ladynews Trifecta!
There is, because I want to end on a hopeful note, this story about a potential breakthrough in cancer research and one patient's view of a future.
Talk about these things! Or don't. Whatever makes you happy. Life is short.
Here is all the news I don't want to write about today!
There is the BIG NEWS that Iran is totally going to attack the US! It's true! Or not! It seems like I've heard this story before: The administration of a first-term president before a hotly contested election says that US intelligence has found that
"Wolf!"—The Boy.
In good news, the New York Times is partying like it's 2003, because they've already got a year of reporting covered c/o search and replace.
There is the news that Michele Bachmann exited the presidential campaign one million dollars in debt. And the news that Rick Perry blew through $15 million in the final months of his campaign, for presumably no purpose other than raising awareness about what a douche he is so he could LOSE FASTER! This is yet another golden opportunity for USians to consider how utterly fucked up it is that we do not have publicly financed elections or limited electoral seasons, and very rich people spend enormous amounts of money to get elected while other politicians who have already been elected argue in fancy buildings about how we don't have any money to provide healthcare, food, and housing to everyone in the country.
There is the news that former Florida Governor Charlie Crist might someday run again for office as a Democrazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Huntsman-Crist for President-VP of Napping!
There is the story about Janet Howell, a Virginia State Senator, who, to Make A Point, attached an amendment to a state mandatory ultrasound abortion bill "that would require men to have a rectal exam and a cardiac stress test before obtaining a prescription for erectile dysfunction medication." Hardy-har. Suffice it to say I don't find proposing the equivalent of a forced trans-vaginal sonogram law to be amusing, since it's little more than a sophisticated rape joke. I am, I trust it is evident, sympathetic to Howell's intentions, but I cannot get on board with fighting the nonconsensual control of the bodies of women and other people with uteri with a proposal for more of it, rather than less. Coercing a person to undergo an unnecessary vaginal probe to acquire a legal medical procedure is rape, and compelling an anal probe is no different.
There is news about ladies! The US women's soccer league's 2012 season has been cancelled less than 24 hours after the US women's national team qualified for the Olympics. If there's one thing we know how to do in America, it's treat women's sports like absolute shit!
There is the story of a man in Afghanistan, where we've been SPREADING FREEDOM for ten years and counting, who has reportedly strangled his wife after she failed to bear him a son. Three healthy daughters, though. Who now have no mother. Rage. Seethe. Boil.
There is this story about "three regulators [who] did indeed ring warning bells [about the subprime financial crisis]—at the right time, in the right places, and loud enough for other banking and financial system overseers," but were all ignored. Guess what they all have in common? Go on—guess! If you said they were all ladies, give yourself 1,000 points, redeemable at Shakesville's OMFG the Absurd Misogyny in the Year 2012 Shop!
Ladynews Trifecta!
There is, because I want to end on a hopeful note, this story about a potential breakthrough in cancer research and one patient's view of a future.
Talk about these things! Or don't. Whatever makes you happy. Life is short.
Quote of the Day
[Content Note: Homophobia.]
"I Believe in Adam and Eve!"—A sign seen at a rally held by "opponents of same-sex marriage rallied in front of the Maryland State House in Annapolis Monday night, calling on lawmakers to abandon legislative efforts to allow gays and lesbians to enter into civil marriages."
That old canard.
I guess it's a waste of time to point out it's possible to simultaneously "believe in Adam and Eve" and also believe that Adam and Steve (who are definitely the most popular gay couple in history, right?) are entitled to the same rights you have.
Zanytalk!
"I Believe in Adam and Eve!"—A sign seen at a rally held by "opponents of same-sex marriage rallied in front of the Maryland State House in Annapolis Monday night, calling on lawmakers to abandon legislative efforts to allow gays and lesbians to enter into civil marriages."
That old canard.
I guess it's a waste of time to point out it's possible to simultaneously "believe in Adam and Eve" and also believe that Adam and Steve (who are definitely the most popular gay couple in history, right?) are entitled to the same rights you have.
Zanytalk!
Blog Note
Comments are working again. My apologies who those whose comments were lost during the last hour.
ETA. And the Tree of Life is back. Woo.
ETA. And the Tree of Life is back. Woo.
The Morals and the Ethics of it
[Content Note: medical procedure descriptions]
Last Wednesday, Newt Gingrich engaged in some ridiculous hyperbole in order to woo anti-science fundamentalists in today's Florida primary. Which is not particularly news, true. The topic Gingrich was speaking on was Embryonic Stem Cell Research (ESCR) and he said that ESCR is “the use of science to desensitize society over the killing of babies” (unsurprisingly this is contrary to what he's said in the past, as WaPo points out). Gingrich wants a commission to investigate IVF clinics in regards to embryos, storage, and disposal--to overall "investigate their ethics". Gingrich's is an opinion shared by not a few people--and thus why he trotted it out to try and garner votes. Also, rather ironically, that same week, news broke that there are signs of promise in using embryonic stem cells in the treatment of blindness.
For all the talk about ESCR and other embryonic research, it seems not many know just what can occur or what can be studied or what real outcomes have the potential to be. Well, here is one concrete example, of which Gingrich would no doubt--now, for conservative votes-- regard as wanton "baby killing".
At the start of this month (January), I became a participant in a research study regarding mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) disease; I started the process of being an egg donor*.
For further explanation (from my paperwork from the study):
The study is the first ever of its sort in humans. Gene line therapy is not yet approved by the FDA, the goal now is to: 1. see if the procedure works in human genetic material; 2. make sure that it is safe and effective. None of these donated eggs will ever become part of a pregnancy. After fertilization in the lab, some will be destroyed and others will go on to:
You can also read the Shaprio family's story here. From Stephanie Shaprio:
Video transcript:
* I did not finish the donation cycle because, unfortunately, the stimulation medication did not stimulate egg production enough (there were plenty of them but they weren't growing fast enough), at the very end.
Last Wednesday, Newt Gingrich engaged in some ridiculous hyperbole in order to woo anti-science fundamentalists in today's Florida primary. Which is not particularly news, true. The topic Gingrich was speaking on was Embryonic Stem Cell Research (ESCR) and he said that ESCR is “the use of science to desensitize society over the killing of babies” (unsurprisingly this is contrary to what he's said in the past, as WaPo points out). Gingrich wants a commission to investigate IVF clinics in regards to embryos, storage, and disposal--to overall "investigate their ethics". Gingrich's is an opinion shared by not a few people--and thus why he trotted it out to try and garner votes. Also, rather ironically, that same week, news broke that there are signs of promise in using embryonic stem cells in the treatment of blindness.
For all the talk about ESCR and other embryonic research, it seems not many know just what can occur or what can be studied or what real outcomes have the potential to be. Well, here is one concrete example, of which Gingrich would no doubt--now, for conservative votes-- regard as wanton "baby killing".
At the start of this month (January), I became a participant in a research study regarding mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) disease; I started the process of being an egg donor*.
For further explanation (from my paperwork from the study):
In human cells, including a female’s egg cells, there are two main types of genetic materials present. These materials, called genes or DNA, are passed on from parent to child and help determine the make-up of the child’s body and mind.The point of the study is to see if it is possible in humans--as has been proven possible in rhesus monkeys--to transplant nuclear DNA from an affected egg to a healthy egg and thus enable a child to be born who is not affected by mitochondrial disease. If this is hard to imagine, think of a chicken egg where the nuclear DNA is the yolk and mitochondrial DNA is the white. It's a yolk transplant into a non-affected egg white. Eventually the egg would then be fertilized and potentially (hopefully) develop into a non-mtDNA disease affected person.
Nuclear Genes/DNA are housed in structures called chromosomes in a cell part called the nucleus. The vast majority of a cell’s DNA is this type. Humans have about 25,000 nuclear genes per cell.
Mitochondrial (mt) DNA is found in mitochondria, a different cell compartment than the nucleus. This type of DNA is passed only from mother to child. The father normally does not pass it on. This type of DNA ensures that the mitochondria are able to do their job as the energy makers of the cell. Humans have only 37 genes in their mitochondria.
When there are mutations (defects) in the mtDNA and the mother passes it on to the child, very serious human disorders can result, including seizures, strokes, dementia, liver failure, muscle weakness, blindness, deafness and diabetes. Available treatments can only improve symptoms and slow down the diseases. There are currently no cures for mitochondrial disorders.
The study is the first ever of its sort in humans. Gene line therapy is not yet approved by the FDA, the goal now is to: 1. see if the procedure works in human genetic material; 2. make sure that it is safe and effective. None of these donated eggs will ever become part of a pregnancy. After fertilization in the lab, some will be destroyed and others will go on to:
...[B]e used to derive embryonic stem (ES) cells. ES cells are a type of cell that have the ability to form many different types of cells. They also do not stop regenerating. ES cells are made by growing embryos with feeder cells in a Petri dish. These special feeder cells cause the embryo to keep growing as a cluster of cells instead of developing into a human fetus. Because the ES cells do not stop regenerating themselves, they will provide a renewable source of cells that will allow us to conduct a variety of safety studies on germ line gene therapy. We hope that this study will generate the critical information needed to obtain the FDA’s approval of germ line gene therapy and to support future clinical trialsTo Newt's current opinion and those people he's trying to court votes from, all of this is terrible. Evil. "Playing God". "Killing babies". They do not see if for what it is and can be: helping save babies. Save people. Many children born with mtDNA disease do not live long; they are born seemingly typical and their bodies shut down slowly over time. To Newt et al, I say watch this video:
You can also read the Shaprio family's story here. From Stephanie Shaprio:
I am aware my children will die some day in the near future. I have attended the funerals of far too many children. I have sat during services praying my children won't be next.Now let's talk about who is ultimately "killing babies", Newt.
For us, every day is a gift. Through awareness and research, I do see a day where parents will receive a diagnosis and continue to save for college rather than their child's funeral.
I pray for a cure. I hope and pray other families do not have to go through the heartache we have endured. Currently there is no cure for mitochondrial disease.
It is a nasty, progressive monster. In the five years since my family has begun this journey, I have watched research towards a cure increase, as well as awareness. This is the proof of a better future for children and adults struggling with this disease. It is proof tomorrow can be a better day.
Video transcript:
Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Playing god is a criticism often directed at those pushing the boundaries of genetic science. You could say these baby monkeys are the product of just such a push. You could say they’re the next frontier to prevent genetic disease in humans.
Stephanie Shapiro: We never in a million years though that we would be in this type of a situation. We just thought that we would have this houseful of these beautiful, healthy children and that would be the end of it.
Dad (taking son): Hey buddy.
Stephanie: (picks up food & medical equipment) All right, I got his food. You lead the way.
(Stephanie voiceover as they show part of day routine) Hannah and Jake are on twenty-four hour feeding tubes. They’re fed through a tube in their stomach.
Stephanie: (talking to Jake) Awww, it’s ok. (to camera) That’s a seizure.
(Stephanie voiceover) They can have 300 to 500 seizures a day.
Stephanie The rule in our house is “is she pink? is she pink? has she turned blue yet?" .... That’s basically our idea of how bad the seizures are.
Gupta (voiceover): This is what parenting looks like when your children have mitochondrial disease.
Stephanie: When we got the official diagnosis on Hannah, I was eight months pregnant with our son. I said: “Mito-? Mito-what? This is what she has?”. And the doctor pointed at my belly and he said: "If you had known then what you know now, would you have made different reproductive choices? Because that child probably has it too." And...and that’s when we knew that it’s genetically linked.
Gupta (voiceover during Jake’s play therapy): Mitochondrial diseases sometimes pass from mother to child, as in Stephanie’s case. It affects multiple organs because mitochondria, that’s the part of the cell that generates energy, are found in almost every cell in the body. Without mitochondria, the body would stop functioning. The disease is under-diagnosed because the symptoms are extremely diverse and often mistaken for other diseases.
In fact, Stephanie has the disease but does not have any symptoms.
Stephanie: We have a room that is our Medical Supply Room. (opening cabinets) And these are all of our daily things that we need to have: formula, syringes, suction equipment... (holds up package) This is a g-tube kit. Gauzes...
Gupta (voiceover): Treatment only reduces symptoms and there is no cure. It is a progressive disease which means you get sicker as you get older.
(At Oregon Health Science University; Portland, Oregon)
Dr. Shoukhrat Mitalipov: So how many [garbled] today?
Research Assistant: About sixty.
Doctor: Wow.
Gupta (voiceover): Scientists in the state of Oregon recently pioneered a breakthrough technique with women like Stephanie in mind.
Dr. Mitalipov (Lead Scientist): What’s exciting for me is that even if we find treatment that will cure one disease--or even just one person--I think that’s a really big achievement.
Gupta (voiceover, monkeys): Baby monkeys, Mito and Tracker, were made from the genetic material from two mothers. That’s an advance that could one day help women with mitochondrial disease have healthy children. The technique allowed Mito and Tracker’s mother to pass on most of her genetic material minus that damaged mitochondrial DNA.
Dr. Mitalipov (on smartboard or similar): What we have is egg from a patient...
Gupta (voiceover): If this were ever possible in humans, it would mean a mother with a mitochondrial mutation could still pass on inherited genetic characteristics like eye color, hair color, and range of intelligence without passing on the disease.
(animated depiction of procedure) Here’s what the procedure looks like....
A mother’s egg has it’s healthy nuclear DNA removed and transplanted into a healthy donor egg. The donor’s egg nuclear DNA is eliminated because it’s not needed but its mitochondrial DNA remains intact. Now since the mother’s mitochondrial DNA is damaged, it’s not transferred. The egg is then fertilized by the father’s sperm and will become the biological child of the parents free from internal mutations.
Dr. Mitalipov: This is main embryology lab. This is where the...all...magic is done.
Gupta (voiceover): Here monkey eggs undergo the mitochondrial gene replacement procedure. The manipulated eggs are then fertilized and in a few days, those eggs are ready for transplantation.
Dr. Mitalipov (pointing at slide): You can see the small, tiny drop? There’s actually about 20 eggs there.
Gupta (voiceover): Tiny tools hold the eggs steady. A laser penetrates a microscopic hole in the egg. And then a micro-pipette enters and removes the egg’s nucleus for the genes that are being transferred to the donor egg.
Dr. Mitalipov: Every disease...it is better to prevent it. To treat before it actually happens.
Gupta (voiceover): The work is not without controversy. And if it’s one day applied to humans, there could be children with three genetic parents. And that could create the potential for legal and social conflicts. And critics worry that genetic manipulation could give rise to a market in elective genetic enhancements.
(Back to Stephanie reading Where the Wild Things Are)
But for Stephanie, the possibility is enticing.
Stephanie: We definitely want to have more children. But it’s a really difficult choice for our family to make.
I just can’t risk it. It scares me. It scares me, so we have to look at other alternatives to having a child.
The idea that we could take my DNA and make it healthy....is really exciting. Certainly people are going to say that there’s moral issues and there’s ethics issues in that and and a part of me says you know what? Come spend a day at my house and then we’ll talk about the morals and the ethics of it.
* I did not finish the donation cycle because, unfortunately, the stimulation medication did not stimulate egg production enough (there were plenty of them but they weren't growing fast enough), at the very end.
Today in Kyriarchetypes
In case you'd forgotten (ha ha how could you even if you wanted to?), Hollywood is steeped in white privilege. And thin privilege. Also sexual objectification. And Photoshop. Plus other things that are in various ways Not Good!
The cover of Vanity Fair's 2012 Hollywood issue:
[Click to embiggen.]
I will just quickly note, once again, in spite of its being an unceasingly vomitous font of racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ageism, ablism, fat hatred, rape jokes, violence, bullying, and other sundry bigotries and hostilities, Hollywood (meaning the entertainment industry, not the town) is nonetheless yet regarded as a bastion of liberalism.
It's funny how much "Hollywood liberal elitism" looks like an Ayn Rand wank-fantasy.
[Click to embiggen.]
I will just quickly note, once again, in spite of its being an unceasingly vomitous font of racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ageism, ablism, fat hatred, rape jokes, violence, bullying, and other sundry bigotries and hostilities, Hollywood (meaning the entertainment industry, not the town) is nonetheless yet regarded as a bastion of liberalism.
It's funny how much "Hollywood liberal elitism" looks like an Ayn Rand wank-fantasy.
Blog Note
Commenting is FUBARed at the moment. I'm trying to restore it, but Disqus isn't cooperating at the moment. I'll let you know as soon as it's fixed. My apologies.
UPDATE 1: And now my Tree of Life template got fucked trying to get rid of the commenting glitch, so we're back to pie. Comments still broken. Disqus support still not responding.
UPDATE 2: Well, I'm pretty well stuck until Disqus decides to respond to requests for help, so, in the meantime, I'm just going to keep posting, but please be advised that any comments left at the moment might be lost later. I will let you know when normal commenting is restored.
UPDATE 3: I think comments are in working order again. Apologies for the inconvenience, and my thanks to Ryan at Disqus who explained how to resolve it.
UPDATE 1: And now my Tree of Life template got fucked trying to get rid of the commenting glitch, so we're back to pie. Comments still broken. Disqus support still not responding.
UPDATE 2: Well, I'm pretty well stuck until Disqus decides to respond to requests for help, so, in the meantime, I'm just going to keep posting, but please be advised that any comments left at the moment might be lost later. I will let you know when normal commenting is restored.
UPDATE 3: I think comments are in working order again. Apologies for the inconvenience, and my thanks to Ryan at Disqus who explained how to resolve it.
The Not-War in Yemen
[Content Note: This post discusses drone strikes and war.]
In addition to our mostly-over war in Iraq, our still-definitely war in Afghanistan, and not-wars in Pakistan, Iran, Libya, and various other parts of Africa, we are also at not-war in Yemen.
And the not-news from the not-war in Yemen is that one of our recent drone airstrikes killed at least 12 people. Those people, we are told, were "al Qaeda militants, including four local leaders." Sure. Okay. And we've got no reason to disbelieve this not-official story of a not-confirmed US drone strike in the not-war in Yemen which is being not-waged without Congressional oversight or anything resembling meaningful accountability, because US intelligence has always definitely been flawless and the US government never lies to cover its ass and FUCK YOU WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO KILL WHOEVER WE WANT WITHOUT THE INCONVENIENCE OF EVIDENCE OR THE BURDEN OF CONSEQUENCE.
A local tribal leader says no civilians were hurt "and, unlike previous attacks, it did not result in civilian casualties." That is very good news, if true.
It is still very bad news that there is a war being prosecuted by the US about which there has been, and will continue to be, no public conversation.
Even the Republican candidates aren't making hay out of the fact that our Democratic president is prosecuting multiple not-wars without individual war resolutions, oversight, or accountability. Which is terrifying. Because they want that power, that illusion of transparency while waging clandestine war using taxpayers' money without seeking their permission, too.
And, of course, there's the fact that nobody seems to care, anyway.
Welcome to America 2.0.
In addition to our mostly-over war in Iraq, our still-definitely war in Afghanistan, and not-wars in Pakistan, Iran, Libya, and various other parts of Africa, we are also at not-war in Yemen.
And the not-news from the not-war in Yemen is that one of our recent drone airstrikes killed at least 12 people. Those people, we are told, were "al Qaeda militants, including four local leaders." Sure. Okay. And we've got no reason to disbelieve this not-official story of a not-confirmed US drone strike in the not-war in Yemen which is being not-waged without Congressional oversight or anything resembling meaningful accountability, because US intelligence has always definitely been flawless and the US government never lies to cover its ass and FUCK YOU WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO KILL WHOEVER WE WANT WITHOUT THE INCONVENIENCE OF EVIDENCE OR THE BURDEN OF CONSEQUENCE.
A local tribal leader says no civilians were hurt "and, unlike previous attacks, it did not result in civilian casualties." That is very good news, if true.
It is still very bad news that there is a war being prosecuted by the US about which there has been, and will continue to be, no public conversation.
Even the Republican candidates aren't making hay out of the fact that our Democratic president is prosecuting multiple not-wars without individual war resolutions, oversight, or accountability. Which is terrifying. Because they want that power, that illusion of transparency while waging clandestine war using taxpayers' money without seeking their permission, too.
And, of course, there's the fact that nobody seems to care, anyway.
Welcome to America 2.0.
Primarily Terrible
I think she's a Ron Paul supporter.
OMG y'all—are you SO EXCITED about the Florida Primary today?! I AM SO EXCITED! I can barely contain my barf!
Ron Paul and Rick Santorum are still running, but let's not even pretend that either of them has a chance of winning this primary, the Republican nomination, or Bumblefuck, Indiana's 61st Annual Chili Cook-Off. Neither Ron Paul's isolationist antiwar rhetoric nor Rick Santorum's extremist pro-rapist rhetoric have any appeal to the Republican Establishment nor to Republican primary voters, so their radical positions aren't pushing the leading candidates further left or right in their positions.
There are candidates who won't win who can still serve a purpose: Howard Dean's humanist antiwar rhetoric definitely pushed the other 2004 Democratic candidates further left on the war, because he proved there was a well of support for an antiwar position among Democratic primary voters. But neither Ron Paul nor Rick Santorum are serving this purpose. They're just making noise.
And the more noise they make, as background din to the garbage yammering of Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, the more dissatisfied Republican voters get. Which is just fine by me.
Know what fits perfectly into a cavernous void of conservative enthusiasm? The second term of President Barack Obama.
Anyway! Mitt Romney is totes going to win today. Double-digit lead, etc. And even if by some unexpected twist of fart, he doesn't win today, he's still going to win the nomination. I am so sure of that I would bet fully ONE BILLION DOLLARS of Mitt Romney's personal fortune on it!
True Fact: Mitt Romney is not currently worth one billion dollars. But he will be, once his upcoming book reaches every bestseller list after the Conservative Book Club buys EVERY COPY.
In other OMG This Guy Is Your Frontrunner LOL News, Mitt Romney wishes he could claim he's Hispanic, because it would help him with Latin@ voters in Florida. Newt Gingrich says Mitt Romney hates old Jews, which is strangely not a card he played in South Carolina. Huh! He also says that Romney's campaign is "pathetic," but voters can't hear him over the seven million dollars in ads Romney has purchased in Florida.
And Mitt Romney may be pathetic (he is!), but he is also seen as "more presidential" and "more sincere" than Newt Gingrich. Which is a very low bar! But Mitt Romney has been vaulting over cracks in the sidewalk his whole life! His life of extreme privilege has been preparing him for this moment, this challenge of looking more presidential and more sincere than a disgraced congressman and world-class liar, since he was a mere twinkle in his father's balls! The trajectory of Mitt Romney's life SINCE THE MOMENT OF HIS CONCEPTION has been to arrive at this precise moment in history, where sheerly by virtue of being LESS OF A FUCKHEAD THAN NEWT GINGRICH, he can become a champion, a superstar, a future member of the Losing to Barack Obama Club!
John McCain is not only the president—he is also a member!
Talk about these things! Or don't. Whatever makes you happy. Life is short.
[Photo via.]
Happy Birthday, SKM!!!
Happy Birthday to youuuuuuuuuuuuuu!
Happy Birthday to youuuuuuuuuuuuuu!
You look like a purveyor of the radical feminazi agendaaaaaaa!
And you smell like one, too!
(Mmm, rosemary!)
Every year on her birthday, SKM gets a cake featuring a Very Manly Man Offering Very Manly Birthday Wishes for her: Tom Selleck, Chuck Norris, Mr. T. This year I figured it was time to go right to the source of modern virility: Ron Swanson himself.
He may not be able to bring himself to wish you a Happy Birthday, but I can! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SKM!!!
I adore you, lady. I hope you have a great day and a marvelous year.
Senin, 30 Januari 2012
Question of the Day
Suggested by Shaker theatomicgal: What or who gives you courage?
I don't know that I've ever demonstrated courage, but in times I've demonstrated anything resembling it, what has given it to me is necessity.
I guess that's a pretty boring and uninspiring answer, but it's honest.
I don't know that I've ever demonstrated courage, but in times I've demonstrated anything resembling it, what has given it to me is necessity.
I guess that's a pretty boring and uninspiring answer, but it's honest.
Chipping Away at Breast Healthcare
by Shaker Jane, a proud abortioneer who is grateful every day for her Planned Parenthood colleagues and their work to protect reproductive rights.
[Content Note: This post discusses reproductive rights (de)funding.]
Late last year, leaders from Susan G. Komen for the Cure met to discuss their decision to end the breast health care funding received by one of the foundation's largest grantees. There were no findings of patient dissatisfaction, clinical errors, or financial mismanagement, but the decision was final: Patients seen in 2012 will be the last to receive Komen-funded care.
Wondering why Komen will no longer support these lifesaving cancer screenings and breast health education sessions? Because they're provided by the highly trained doctors, nurses, and medical assistants at Planned Parenthood health centers.
Until now, Komen stood by the grants it gave to Planned Parenthood—over the past five years, between $500,000 and $700,000 that helped affiliates like mine to provide nearly 170,000 clinical breast exams and referrals for more than 6,000 mammograms. Komen grants funded care for people in rural, low-income, and underserved communities, where Planned Parenthood is often the only source of health care.
Opponents of safe, legal abortion care, who consistently put their narrow political agenda ahead of our health needs, have repeatedly threatened organizations that partner with Planned Parenthood. On January 1, Komen bowed to this anti-choice pressure and added the following criteria to its funding guidelines:
• Applicant is not currently debarred from the receipt of federal or state funding.
• No key personnel of applicant or any of its affiliates has been convicted of fraud or a crime involving any other financial or administrative impropriety within the last year.
• Applicant or any of its affiliates is not currently under a local, state or federal formal investigation for financial or administrative impropriety or fraud. ("Affiliate" means any entities that control, are controlled by, or are under the same control as applicant or independent entities operating under the same name or brand as applicant.)
Each of the new requirements clearly targets Planned Parenthood, referencing continued defunding efforts and the ongoing Congressional investigation launched by Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-[insert cleverly contemptuous "r" adjective here]).
Ironically, even by these politically motivated measures, we're still eligible, but Komen appears unwilling to discuss the issue, despite numerous requests from Planned Parenthood Federation of America president Cecile Richards, and donors and supporters of both organizations.
As the nation's largest reproductive health provider, our primary concern is always our patients, who desperately need the services Komen grants support. We're working with other funders to fill the gaps in care that Komen's decision creates, and our donors and advocates have pledged to support us as we try to replace these critical funds to ensure that our patients continue to get the care they need without interruption or delay.
So get out your teaspoons! Call your local Komen office (find yours here) and let them know what you think of their new funding guidelines. Donate to your community's Planned Parenthood (find yours here) and ask that your gift be put toward unfunded breast health care. And breast-havers, do your annual self-exam!
[Commenting Note from Liss: There are legitimate criticisms to be made about some of Komen's awareness- and fund-raising strategies. This is not the thread for that discussion.]
[Content Note: This post discusses reproductive rights (de)funding.]
Late last year, leaders from Susan G. Komen for the Cure met to discuss their decision to end the breast health care funding received by one of the foundation's largest grantees. There were no findings of patient dissatisfaction, clinical errors, or financial mismanagement, but the decision was final: Patients seen in 2012 will be the last to receive Komen-funded care.
Wondering why Komen will no longer support these lifesaving cancer screenings and breast health education sessions? Because they're provided by the highly trained doctors, nurses, and medical assistants at Planned Parenthood health centers.
Until now, Komen stood by the grants it gave to Planned Parenthood—over the past five years, between $500,000 and $700,000 that helped affiliates like mine to provide nearly 170,000 clinical breast exams and referrals for more than 6,000 mammograms. Komen grants funded care for people in rural, low-income, and underserved communities, where Planned Parenthood is often the only source of health care.
Opponents of safe, legal abortion care, who consistently put their narrow political agenda ahead of our health needs, have repeatedly threatened organizations that partner with Planned Parenthood. On January 1, Komen bowed to this anti-choice pressure and added the following criteria to its funding guidelines:
• Applicant is not currently debarred from the receipt of federal or state funding.
• No key personnel of applicant or any of its affiliates has been convicted of fraud or a crime involving any other financial or administrative impropriety within the last year.
• Applicant or any of its affiliates is not currently under a local, state or federal formal investigation for financial or administrative impropriety or fraud. ("Affiliate" means any entities that control, are controlled by, or are under the same control as applicant or independent entities operating under the same name or brand as applicant.)
Each of the new requirements clearly targets Planned Parenthood, referencing continued defunding efforts and the ongoing Congressional investigation launched by Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-[insert cleverly contemptuous "r" adjective here]).
Ironically, even by these politically motivated measures, we're still eligible, but Komen appears unwilling to discuss the issue, despite numerous requests from Planned Parenthood Federation of America president Cecile Richards, and donors and supporters of both organizations.
As the nation's largest reproductive health provider, our primary concern is always our patients, who desperately need the services Komen grants support. We're working with other funders to fill the gaps in care that Komen's decision creates, and our donors and advocates have pledged to support us as we try to replace these critical funds to ensure that our patients continue to get the care they need without interruption or delay.
So get out your teaspoons! Call your local Komen office (find yours here) and let them know what you think of their new funding guidelines. Donate to your community's Planned Parenthood (find yours here) and ask that your gift be put toward unfunded breast health care. And breast-havers, do your annual self-exam![Commenting Note from Liss: There are legitimate criticisms to be made about some of Komen's awareness- and fund-raising strategies. This is not the thread for that discussion.]
Photo of the Day
I was interviewed today for a piece about Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and so I've spent much of my afternoon thinking about Clinton's capacity to inspire passionate support and visceral hatred, and what she's meant to and for women. I was reminded of this wire photo from last month, which is almost certainly worth my thousand words and then some.
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, center, is flanked by Lithuania's Foreign Affairs Minister Audronius Azubalis, right, and Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskaite, left, as they attend an international conference of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011, in Vilnius, Lithuania. [AP Photo]The way President Grybauskaite is looking at her! She's Lithuania's first female president and naturally has been dubbed the "Iron Lady." I can only imagine standing beside one another, they both feel the world-vanishing intimacy of secret familiarity that only orphaned members of the same diasporic tribe can truly understand. TWO GELFLINGS!
Quote of the Day
[Content Note: Reference to sexual violence.]
"Obama can sit there and let all the [Bush tax cuts] lapse, and then the Republicans will have enough votes in the Senate in 2014 to impeach. The last year, he's gone into this huddle where he does everything by executive order. He's made no effort to work with Congress."—Grover Norquist.
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By way of reminder, Grover Norquist is the fuckbrain who once famously said: "Bipartisanship is another name for date rape."
Now he's complaining that BARACK OBAMA isn't bipartisan enough. LOL. Okay, player.
[H/T to Mustang Bobby.]
"Obama can sit there and let all the [Bush tax cuts] lapse, and then the Republicans will have enough votes in the Senate in 2014 to impeach. The last year, he's gone into this huddle where he does everything by executive order. He's made no effort to work with Congress."—Grover Norquist.
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By way of reminder, Grover Norquist is the fuckbrain who once famously said: "Bipartisanship is another name for date rape."
Now he's complaining that BARACK OBAMA isn't bipartisan enough. LOL. Okay, player.
[H/T to Mustang Bobby.]
Monday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by beautiful portraits of Robert Pattinson.
Recommended Reading:
Joe: Hull House Dies After 122 Years
Eesha: Housing Department Introduces New LGBT Protections
Susie: Priorities
Philippa: 3 Days [Content Note: The post at this link includes discussion of disablism and includes a reference to self-harm. As it is a UK-centric post, it uses disability language that may sound discordant to non-UK readers.]
Garland: A Keen Observation about Leslie and Ron [for the Parks-n-Rec Headz]
Renee: Sometimes Mommies and Daddies Need Time Alone
Mary: The 44th Down Under Feminists Carnival
Sean: Mind = Blown
Dave: "He don't look like Torty."
Kelsey: Beautiful Day at the Dog Park
Leave your links and recommendations in comments...
Recommended Reading:
Joe: Hull House Dies After 122 Years
Eesha: Housing Department Introduces New LGBT Protections
Susie: Priorities
Philippa: 3 Days [Content Note: The post at this link includes discussion of disablism and includes a reference to self-harm. As it is a UK-centric post, it uses disability language that may sound discordant to non-UK readers.]
Garland: A Keen Observation about Leslie and Ron [for the Parks-n-Rec Headz]
Renee: Sometimes Mommies and Daddies Need Time Alone
Mary: The 44th Down Under Feminists Carnival
Sean: Mind = Blown
Dave: "He don't look like Torty."
Kelsey: Beautiful Day at the Dog Park
Leave your links and recommendations in comments...
Fat News!
[Content Note: This post contains discussion of news items that include fat hatred and/or body policing.]
There's so much Fat News today, I can hardly stand it! (No, really. I can't stand it. Barf. Barf cake all over everything.)
First! Shaker Elky forwarded this item about a New York-based gym chain, New York Sports Club, taking out an ad in the New York Times, ostensibly addressed to Paula Deen, reading: "Paula, you made a fortune off of fat. Call us if you want to be around to enjoy it."
You know, one of the main criticisms of Paula Deen has been that she did not disclose her diabetes diagnosis immediately upon receiving it, and I will just reiterate, once again, that it might be worth considering whether Deen didn't disclose having diabetes because fat people who disclose "fat diseases" are viciously mocked.
And it doesn't matter if you're a "fat pusher," as Deen is erroneously accused of being, if you're a diet- and surgery-proponent, if you're a Health at Every Size advocate, and/or if you're a person who fervently believes that being fat is nobody's business but one's own: No matter what position you take on fatness, if you are yourself fat, your position will be exploited in some way to make hay about the fact that you're gonna die because of your fatty-fattitude.
Paula Deen had to know as well as anyone, and better than most, this would be coming whenever she did disclose her diabetes.
So the next time you hear someone snort derisively about how she only made public her illness after making a business deal that ethically required its disclosure, point them in the direction of that ugly-ass ad and say, "If I had to navigate that sort of shit, I'd wait until I was getting paid to do it, too."
Second! Shaker George sent along this article underlining the manifest absurdity of the labeling of children as "obese" according to arbitrary standards that don't properly account for the unpredictability and individuality of childhood growth spurts and fail utterly to account for natural variation across a population.
Shades of the Georgia campaign targeting fat kids. Which brings me to...
Third! Some good news: Shaker Beth_in_Mpls emailed: "Marilyn Wann has created a Tumblr site 'Stand4Kids' and a poster template for personal photos and accompanying messages responding to the terrible Georgia campaign that shames fat kids. ... People who want to participate can send their photo and their message 'I Stand for...' to marilyn[at]fatso[dot]com."
Fourth! I wish I could end on an up-note, but I guess that just wouldn't be realistic, anyway, now would it? Shaker Heidi forwarded this piece in which a columnist for a local paper defends his fat joke about New Jersey Governor Chris Christie with a charming column delightfully headlined "Fat Guy Deserved Potshot." Oh, well, as long as he DESERVED it!
My favorite part of the piece has to be the closing shot:
The best parts about this argument, by the way, are:
1. Lots of behaviors reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, and cancer (including being slightly fat! but only in the right way!), and there are vanishingly few people who are engaging in all of them at all times. Singling out fatties is straight-up lookism. Your failure to be perfect is more of a problem because you're GROSS! It's also a way of futilely pretending we've got more control over preventing disease through diet than we probably really do.
2. If a fat person really can't prioritize hir health (and, no, possibly "reducing your risk" of things that some fat people get doesn't count) over "tossing down a pack of Twinkies," that is very likely evidence of disordered eating, making what this jackass is saying akin to saying to someone who is experiencing life-threatening medical complications because of anorexia, "Putting a sandwich in your face is the ultimate no-brainer!"
Which maybe this guy is insensitive enough to say in his column. But somehow I doubt it.
There's so much Fat News today, I can hardly stand it! (No, really. I can't stand it. Barf. Barf cake all over everything.)
First! Shaker Elky forwarded this item about a New York-based gym chain, New York Sports Club, taking out an ad in the New York Times, ostensibly addressed to Paula Deen, reading: "Paula, you made a fortune off of fat. Call us if you want to be around to enjoy it."
You know, one of the main criticisms of Paula Deen has been that she did not disclose her diabetes diagnosis immediately upon receiving it, and I will just reiterate, once again, that it might be worth considering whether Deen didn't disclose having diabetes because fat people who disclose "fat diseases" are viciously mocked.
And it doesn't matter if you're a "fat pusher," as Deen is erroneously accused of being, if you're a diet- and surgery-proponent, if you're a Health at Every Size advocate, and/or if you're a person who fervently believes that being fat is nobody's business but one's own: No matter what position you take on fatness, if you are yourself fat, your position will be exploited in some way to make hay about the fact that you're gonna die because of your fatty-fattitude.
Paula Deen had to know as well as anyone, and better than most, this would be coming whenever she did disclose her diabetes.
So the next time you hear someone snort derisively about how she only made public her illness after making a business deal that ethically required its disclosure, point them in the direction of that ugly-ass ad and say, "If I had to navigate that sort of shit, I'd wait until I was getting paid to do it, too."
Second! Shaker George sent along this article underlining the manifest absurdity of the labeling of children as "obese" according to arbitrary standards that don't properly account for the unpredictability and individuality of childhood growth spurts and fail utterly to account for natural variation across a population.
Four-year-old Logan Knowles's mother was stunned when she received a letter from the NHS saying he was 'clinically obese'. The letter warned that the little boy was so 'overweight' he was at risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes.Right on.
At 2st 12lb, Logan is three pounds outside the recommended weight range for his age, which is between 2st 1lb and 2st 9lb.
Logan's mother Stefanie Mrozowski, 29, said she was 'furious' he had been labelled obese... The stay-at-home mother, who also has two daughters Taiyla, 11, and Sydanie, ten, said labelling children obese while they were still growing was 'dangerous' and could lead to them developing eating disorders.
"Kids these days have enough pressure to be the right size from magazines and TV," Miss Mrozowski said. "They don't need it at school as well. After she was weighed, my eldest daughter came home saying, 'Mum, I'm the thinnest in my class.' I was furious. She is 11 years old. I don't want my kids coming home talking about how much they weigh, or thinking it's some kind of competition."
Shades of the Georgia campaign targeting fat kids. Which brings me to...
Third! Some good news: Shaker Beth_in_Mpls emailed: "Marilyn Wann has created a Tumblr site 'Stand4Kids' and a poster template for personal photos and accompanying messages responding to the terrible Georgia campaign that shames fat kids. ... People who want to participate can send their photo and their message 'I Stand for...' to marilyn[at]fatso[dot]com."
Fourth! I wish I could end on an up-note, but I guess that just wouldn't be realistic, anyway, now would it? Shaker Heidi forwarded this piece in which a columnist for a local paper defends his fat joke about New Jersey Governor Chris Christie with a charming column delightfully headlined "Fat Guy Deserved Potshot." Oh, well, as long as he DESERVED it!
My favorite part of the piece has to be the closing shot:
Compared to the temporary gratification of tossing down a pack of Twinkies, cutting your risk of heart attack, stroke and cancer seems like the ultimate no-brainer.Seriously, I cannot even begin to say how tired I am of people being SO GODDAMNED SURE they know what fat people eat, as if every fat person in the world is fat for exactly the same reason.
The best parts about this argument, by the way, are:
1. Lots of behaviors reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, and cancer (including being slightly fat! but only in the right way!), and there are vanishingly few people who are engaging in all of them at all times. Singling out fatties is straight-up lookism. Your failure to be perfect is more of a problem because you're GROSS! It's also a way of futilely pretending we've got more control over preventing disease through diet than we probably really do.
2. If a fat person really can't prioritize hir health (and, no, possibly "reducing your risk" of things that some fat people get doesn't count) over "tossing down a pack of Twinkies," that is very likely evidence of disordered eating, making what this jackass is saying akin to saying to someone who is experiencing life-threatening medical complications because of anorexia, "Putting a sandwich in your face is the ultimate no-brainer!"
Which maybe this guy is insensitive enough to say in his column. But somehow I doubt it.
Primarily Bored
"Hurry! The bus to hell is here!"
Y'all, I am so tired of this primary. There is only so much enthusiasm that one Melissa McEwan can generate over a contest between two super privileged white dudes to determine which super privileged white dude will become the next Republican nominee in a race to see if their corporate shill can defeat the Democrats' corporate shill and accelerate the pace at which this nation will be brought to grim ruination at the avaristic hands of soulless corporations.
Social Security: Sponsored by Sprint!
You know what the worst thing about a joke like "Social Security: Sponsored by Sprint!" is...? That Sprint would never sponsor Social Security. It would just dismantle it and instead sponsor Sprint's Happy Funtime Work Camps for the Aged and Infirm!
Play in the news, Nero...
Frontrunners Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are neck-and-neck in Florida, ahead of its primary tomorrow. Or they're not, depending on who you ask. If you ask me, Romney is totally ahead and he's going to win, and then this thing should be over, but it probably won't be, because some rich weirdo is going to keep funding Gingrich's SuperPAC, and Gingrich will keep running as long as he's got money he can't spend at Tiffany's.
Reporteth the Wall Street Journal : "Gingrich Predicts 'Straight-Out Contest' for Months."
See?
And when he inevitably keeps hanging in there, lobbing round after round of criticism at Mitt Romney, hoping to defeat him, and Mitt Romney starts stomping on sour grapes to make whine about how Newt Gingrich is hurting his chances in the general election by forcing him to run a long and contentious primary contest, let us remember that is not only evidence of Mitt Romney's bratty entitlement, but of his resounding contempt for democracy.
Speaking of hostility to authentic democracy, something something Ron Paul.
Rick Santorum is one of two Catholics in this now 50% Catholic content, the other being Newt Gingrich. (Ron Paul is a Baptist, and, as you may have heard, Mitt Romney is a Mormon. President Obama, is, of course, a Muslin.) So it was a cool boost for the Catholic candidates this weekend when Catholic bishops and priests read out letters of protest at mass this weekend, vilifying the Obama administration's policy of paid birth control coverage. Neato! I continue to be thrilled that religious institutions are afforded tax exempt status!
POP QUIZ: Is it possible for a man obsessed with biparisanship to be an effective president in an age of hyper-partisanship?
If you said no, give yourself 1,000 points, redeemable at Shakesville's Bitter Irony Shop.
Talk about these things! Or don't. Whatever makes you happy. Life is short.
[Photo via.]
News from Shakes Manor
This weekend, while Kenny Blogginz was over and we were looking for a suitably terrible film for all of us to enjoy, Iain was scrolling through Netflix and put on a mystery film while I was out of the room, which I was to identify upon my return.
Within 10 seconds, I'd guessed it was a Nicolas Cage film.
Iain and KBlogz were impressed. "How'd you get it so fast?!" Iain exclaimed.
I shrugged. "Basic math: Jewel-encrusted book + fingerless gloves."
"She's a black magic woman!"
Within 10 seconds, I'd guessed it was a Nicolas Cage film.
Iain and KBlogz were impressed. "How'd you get it so fast?!" Iain exclaimed.
I shrugged. "Basic math: Jewel-encrusted book + fingerless gloves."
"She's a black magic woman!"
Minggu, 29 Januari 2012
Open Thread
Hosted by the Absolute Beginners Soundtrack.
This week's open threads have been brought to you by more albums I bought in high school.
Sabtu, 28 Januari 2012
Jumat, 27 Januari 2012
The Virtual Pub Is Open
[Explanations: lol your fat. pathetic anger bread. hey your gay.]
TFIF, Shakers!
Belly up to the bar,
and name your poison!
How to End the Week
You need to go no further than a post dedicated to famous paintings improved by cats. Below is my personal favorite.
Quote of the Day
"In a new Star Wars game, the biggest threat to the empire may be homosexual activists!" — Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council going all Bib Fortuna over the news that software developer Bioware will allow same-sex relationships in Star Wars: The Old Republic.
See also.
See also.
Number of the Day
Zero: The number of shits I give about any defense of Ron Paul that tries to argue he didn't know full well what the content was of the racist newsletters that bore his name and signature.
I will say again: Does anyone seriously think that radical feminist literature could have been distributed under his name by an organization with which he was affiliated without his knowledge?
That's rhetorical.
And it puts paid to the lie that he was an innocent bystander to the distribution of that racist swill.
I will say again: Does anyone seriously think that radical feminist literature could have been distributed under his name by an organization with which he was affiliated without his knowledge?
That's rhetorical.
And it puts paid to the lie that he was an innocent bystander to the distribution of that racist swill.
If You've Got Some Time...
The Shelter Pet Project, about which I've written before (but with which I'm not affiliated in any way), shared this great pet adoption ad today:
Video Description: Pet adoption ad for a black lab named Patrick, aka Agent K9, done in the style of a secret agent movie trailer, complete with music that wouldn't be out of place in a Bond or Mission: Impossible film. Patrick, the ad tells us, is "on his most extraordinary mission yet...finding his forever home."
It's a really great ad, both funny and touching, and, as I was watching it, I was thinking how very lucky Patrick is to have someone with the time and talent to make that video on his behalf, since good marketing helps find homes for shelter and rescue pets. Even if it's just a great photograph.
Zelly, the quiet little shelter dog who didn't even have a name, had little hope of finding a home—a dark mutt with dark eyes in a dark corner of a sad place. She was hard to see in her cage; she had no picture on a website, not even a shitty one; she certainly had no engaging video encouraging potential adopters to see what she might look like as part of their family. No one paid her any attention that day except me.
But maybe they would have, if they'd first seen the sorts of photos and videos I post of her now, through which all sorts of people have fallen for her. (And oh how she deserves their affection!)
So, hey, if you've got some free time, a teaspoon itching to be used, and some basic photography and/or video skills, consider heading over to your local shelter or rescue to see if you can help save some lives, by showing what valuable lives they really are.
[Previously: Greyhound Rescue, Number of the Day.]
Video Description: Pet adoption ad for a black lab named Patrick, aka Agent K9, done in the style of a secret agent movie trailer, complete with music that wouldn't be out of place in a Bond or Mission: Impossible film. Patrick, the ad tells us, is "on his most extraordinary mission yet...finding his forever home."
It's a really great ad, both funny and touching, and, as I was watching it, I was thinking how very lucky Patrick is to have someone with the time and talent to make that video on his behalf, since good marketing helps find homes for shelter and rescue pets. Even if it's just a great photograph.
Zelly, the quiet little shelter dog who didn't even have a name, had little hope of finding a home—a dark mutt with dark eyes in a dark corner of a sad place. She was hard to see in her cage; she had no picture on a website, not even a shitty one; she certainly had no engaging video encouraging potential adopters to see what she might look like as part of their family. No one paid her any attention that day except me.
But maybe they would have, if they'd first seen the sorts of photos and videos I post of her now, through which all sorts of people have fallen for her. (And oh how she deserves their affection!)
So, hey, if you've got some free time, a teaspoon itching to be used, and some basic photography and/or video skills, consider heading over to your local shelter or rescue to see if you can help save some lives, by showing what valuable lives they really are.
[Previously: Greyhound Rescue, Number of the Day.]
Daily Dose of Cute
Today, Matilda's mobile groomer came to the house to give her a bath and trim her grody butt, since Tils can't be bothered to clean herself and would sooner destroy my soul than let me do it. She is now in her favorite corner of the loft, pouting and gazing upon the rest of us with haughty disdain.
In other words: Situation Normal.
The Parks and Rec Open Thread
Ron Swanson, at his favorite restaurant in Pawnee.
By popular demand, here it is: The Parks and Recreation Open Thread! Yay! I am so excited to talk about Parks and Rec with other parksnrecheadz! Woo!
There are more spoilers herein than there is love for Li'l Sebastian in Pawnee. Which is A LOT, as I don't have to tell you.
I totes loved this episode silly, and I'm probably not as embarrassed as I should be to tell you that I blubbed my face off when April gave Chris the tickets, and there were three of them. You did it to me again, Parks and Rec!
Also: Hurt fingy!
VOTE KNOPE!
Friday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by cheese.
Recommended Reading:
Shark-fu: Targets [Content Note: The link at this post discusses violent imagery.]
Brian: Do Apple, Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo Really Care? Do We? [Content Note: The post at this link contains discussion of worker exploitation and abuse.]
Avedon: But if the Democratic leadership is manifestly unliberal, as it certainly is, why would we want to defend them?
Tami: The Assumptions Behind the 'Black Marriage Crisis'
Adrienne: Complicating the 2010 US Census Native Data
Jim: By Axing Public Parks, Politicos Are Stealing the People's Property
Eric: Our Dog Giselle [Content Note: The post at this link contains discussion of animal neglect and illness.]
TDW: World's Longest-Running Experiment
Andy: 130 Years of Global Warming, Mapped
Lastly, Elle shares a mean scalloped potatoes recipe. Yum!
Leave your links and recommendations in comments...
Recommended Reading:
Shark-fu: Targets [Content Note: The link at this post discusses violent imagery.]
Brian: Do Apple, Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo Really Care? Do We? [Content Note: The post at this link contains discussion of worker exploitation and abuse.]
Avedon: But if the Democratic leadership is manifestly unliberal, as it certainly is, why would we want to defend them?
Tami: The Assumptions Behind the 'Black Marriage Crisis'
Adrienne: Complicating the 2010 US Census Native Data
Jim: By Axing Public Parks, Politicos Are Stealing the People's Property
Eric: Our Dog Giselle [Content Note: The post at this link contains discussion of animal neglect and illness.]
TDW: World's Longest-Running Experiment
Andy: 130 Years of Global Warming, Mapped
Lastly, Elle shares a mean scalloped potatoes recipe. Yum!
Leave your links and recommendations in comments...
Texting! With Liss and Deeky!
Yesterday, I changed my Twitter avatar from an image of a "shift" typewriter key to a picture of me. I realized as soon as I'd changed it that it made me harder to spot, among a sea of similar avatars, so I was going to have to change it again. But before I could, Deeky texted me this morning to register a complaint about it.
My new avatar.
My new avatar.
Primarily Horrendo
[Content Note: This post contains discussion of disablism and of the Mormon practice of nonconsensual posthumous baptism.]
"I will keel you!"
So, the Republicans had ANOTHER DEBATE! last night, because, little known fact, standing in front of cameras with 6,000 CNN logos behind you has been found to extend life. Each of these men will live to be at least 200 years old.
Anyway! Mitt Romney went after Newt Gingrich like a full-tilt miffed machine, and delivered the world-class snippiness that only a wealthy white dude who's ordered chocolate chip cookies (effortlessly winning the Republican Primary) but gets served oatmeal raisin cookies (having to work for it) can produce. My favorite line of the evening was: "I spent 25 years in business. If I had a business executive come to me and say they wanted to spend a few hundred billion dollars to put a colony on the moon, I'd say, 'You're fired.' The idea that corporate America wants to go off to the moon and build a colony there, it may be a big idea but it's not a good idea." BURN!
He has a point, though. Corporate America doesn't even want to maintain the colonies here, so it doesn't seem very likely they'll want to build one on the moon.
"Inconceivably, we have even less interest in the moon than in Detroit."—Big Business.
If you want more Funtime Debate Action, Richard Adams' live coverage can be read here. It is, as usual, very enjoyable!
Back on the campaign trail, the Republican Establishment, who's decided Mitt Romney looks pretty good after all if Newt Gingrich is the only other viable option, has decided on its "Fuck Newt" strategy, and it's a doozy: Newt Gingrich is crazy.
The Romney campaign is sending out a print ad that seeks to "rais[e] doubts about Newt Gingrich's 'emotional stability'," and dog whistles cuckoo by calling him, in big block letters, ERRATIC and RECKLESS.
(The main picture of Gingrich, viewable at the link, is also cropped to make maximum hay of the fact that he is fat: "Look at the double chin on this guy!")
Elder GOP statesman and Viagra spokesboner, Bob Dole, who endorsed Romney, is doubling-down with the implications that Gingrich isn't of sound mind, releasing one of the most scathing statements against a member of one's own party I can recall. In the statement, Dole says that Gingrich's ideas as Speaker were "off the wall," and suggests Gingrich himself doesn't even understand why he does things. The statement is brutally honest about Gingrich's ethics problems, ego, and poisonous unpopularity, but there's definitely a troubling undercurrent of "bro be crazy!" running through it.
Meanwhile, on the "Fuck Romney" train, there's more natter about one of the more curious aspects of Mormonism—the practice of posthumous baptism, which is something Romney has said he's done. It's a controversial practice for several legitimate reasons, not just because it's "weird." It's an anti-Semitic practice for one, in habit if not design, as Jewish cemeteries are frequent targets for posthumous baptism, despite repeated requests by Jewish leaders to cease and desist.
I also find it really objectionable that Mitt Romney doesn't consider deeply problematic what is ultimately an issue of consent. Look, I don't believe that performing some ritual over a grave makes a blinking bit of difference in determining where some allegedly sentient soul that vacated the buried body spends its eternal retirement. But Mitt Romney does. He believes that person went into the ground with one belief, and he can change their infinite destiny for them. And he believes he has the right to do that. Which is pretty fucked up.
And it doesn't leave me with a whole lot of confidence that a President Mitt Romney would be very sensitive to other issues of consent that matter in the here and now.
That's something worth asking about. But won't be, because we live in a rape culture, where hostility to consent is the norm.
Also because how could they possibly make room for a question on such a SILLY TOPIC, ha ha, when there are only like 3,000 debates left?!
Moving on...
Something something Ron Paul.
Rick Santorum is still hanging in there, I guess because he believes he actually has a shot at becoming either the nominee and/or the nominee's veep choice? Oof, Rick Santorum. You do not have a shot at either of these things.
In totally unrelated news, ahem, a new study has found that "there is reason to believe that strict right-wing ideology might appeal to those who have trouble grasping the complexity of the world." Huh. Shocking.
In all seriousness, the study was examining correlation between IQ and prejudice, suggesting conservatism and prejudice is an innate intelligence issue. But we should all know by now that IQ tests don't meaningfully measure any kind of comprehensive intelligence. The issue underlying the appeal of right-wing ideology is intellectual curiosity, or the lack thereof, which is really not contingent on what's measured with IQ tests.
There are subcultures that actively discourage intellectual curiosity, by demonizing science, by romanticizing segregationist small-town life, by sneering at people perceived to be elite or over-educated, by framing education as the enemy of faith, by embracing isolationism. Even rape culture narratives are embedded with disincentives against adventure: Don't leave the safety of your home, neighborhood, town, county, state, nation because there are nefarious strangers waiting to get you! And for god's sake don't use the internet!
All of these things conspire to create a mind seized with fear, afraid to be curious. Curiosity is necessary for empathy, and empathy necessary for progressive positions.
Conservatives are not unintelligent by nature; they're incurious by design.
That's an important distinction.
Talk about these things! Or don't. Whatever makes you happy. Life is short.
[Photo via.]
"I will keel you!"
So, the Republicans had ANOTHER DEBATE! last night, because, little known fact, standing in front of cameras with 6,000 CNN logos behind you has been found to extend life. Each of these men will live to be at least 200 years old.
Anyway! Mitt Romney went after Newt Gingrich like a full-tilt miffed machine, and delivered the world-class snippiness that only a wealthy white dude who's ordered chocolate chip cookies (effortlessly winning the Republican Primary) but gets served oatmeal raisin cookies (having to work for it) can produce. My favorite line of the evening was: "I spent 25 years in business. If I had a business executive come to me and say they wanted to spend a few hundred billion dollars to put a colony on the moon, I'd say, 'You're fired.' The idea that corporate America wants to go off to the moon and build a colony there, it may be a big idea but it's not a good idea." BURN!
He has a point, though. Corporate America doesn't even want to maintain the colonies here, so it doesn't seem very likely they'll want to build one on the moon.
"Inconceivably, we have even less interest in the moon than in Detroit."—Big Business.
If you want more Funtime Debate Action, Richard Adams' live coverage can be read here. It is, as usual, very enjoyable!
Back on the campaign trail, the Republican Establishment, who's decided Mitt Romney looks pretty good after all if Newt Gingrich is the only other viable option, has decided on its "Fuck Newt" strategy, and it's a doozy: Newt Gingrich is crazy.
The Romney campaign is sending out a print ad that seeks to "rais[e] doubts about Newt Gingrich's 'emotional stability'," and dog whistles cuckoo by calling him, in big block letters, ERRATIC and RECKLESS.
(The main picture of Gingrich, viewable at the link, is also cropped to make maximum hay of the fact that he is fat: "Look at the double chin on this guy!")
Elder GOP statesman and Viagra spokesboner, Bob Dole, who endorsed Romney, is doubling-down with the implications that Gingrich isn't of sound mind, releasing one of the most scathing statements against a member of one's own party I can recall. In the statement, Dole says that Gingrich's ideas as Speaker were "off the wall," and suggests Gingrich himself doesn't even understand why he does things. The statement is brutally honest about Gingrich's ethics problems, ego, and poisonous unpopularity, but there's definitely a troubling undercurrent of "bro be crazy!" running through it.
Meanwhile, on the "Fuck Romney" train, there's more natter about one of the more curious aspects of Mormonism—the practice of posthumous baptism, which is something Romney has said he's done. It's a controversial practice for several legitimate reasons, not just because it's "weird." It's an anti-Semitic practice for one, in habit if not design, as Jewish cemeteries are frequent targets for posthumous baptism, despite repeated requests by Jewish leaders to cease and desist.
I also find it really objectionable that Mitt Romney doesn't consider deeply problematic what is ultimately an issue of consent. Look, I don't believe that performing some ritual over a grave makes a blinking bit of difference in determining where some allegedly sentient soul that vacated the buried body spends its eternal retirement. But Mitt Romney does. He believes that person went into the ground with one belief, and he can change their infinite destiny for them. And he believes he has the right to do that. Which is pretty fucked up.
And it doesn't leave me with a whole lot of confidence that a President Mitt Romney would be very sensitive to other issues of consent that matter in the here and now.
That's something worth asking about. But won't be, because we live in a rape culture, where hostility to consent is the norm.
Also because how could they possibly make room for a question on such a SILLY TOPIC, ha ha, when there are only like 3,000 debates left?!
Moving on...
Something something Ron Paul.
Rick Santorum is still hanging in there, I guess because he believes he actually has a shot at becoming either the nominee and/or the nominee's veep choice? Oof, Rick Santorum. You do not have a shot at either of these things.
In totally unrelated news, ahem, a new study has found that "there is reason to believe that strict right-wing ideology might appeal to those who have trouble grasping the complexity of the world." Huh. Shocking.
In all seriousness, the study was examining correlation between IQ and prejudice, suggesting conservatism and prejudice is an innate intelligence issue. But we should all know by now that IQ tests don't meaningfully measure any kind of comprehensive intelligence. The issue underlying the appeal of right-wing ideology is intellectual curiosity, or the lack thereof, which is really not contingent on what's measured with IQ tests.
There are subcultures that actively discourage intellectual curiosity, by demonizing science, by romanticizing segregationist small-town life, by sneering at people perceived to be elite or over-educated, by framing education as the enemy of faith, by embracing isolationism. Even rape culture narratives are embedded with disincentives against adventure: Don't leave the safety of your home, neighborhood, town, county, state, nation because there are nefarious strangers waiting to get you! And for god's sake don't use the internet!
All of these things conspire to create a mind seized with fear, afraid to be curious. Curiosity is necessary for empathy, and empathy necessary for progressive positions.
Conservatives are not unintelligent by nature; they're incurious by design.
That's an important distinction.
Talk about these things! Or don't. Whatever makes you happy. Life is short.
[Photo via.]
Kamis, 26 Januari 2012
Question of the Day
Which is your favorite Ewok movie? Caravan of Courage or The Battle For Endor?
I'd go with The Battle For Endor, because Wilford Brimley is in it. So, no doy. Also, check out this awesome poster:
See also.
I'd go with The Battle For Endor, because Wilford Brimley is in it. So, no doy. Also, check out this awesome poster:
See also.
Film Corner! Moses Time
Hey, remember when I wrote about all those Bible-inspired movies that various Hollywood muckety-mucks had in their pipelines of totally unoriginal material that definitely needs to be put on the big screen...? Well, GOOD NEWS: Steven Spielberg is closing in on a commitment to direct an epic about Moses for Warner Bros.
The only question now is who should play this Braveheart-like Moses. Can't be Mel Gibson, since he's busy making his movie about the story of Hanukkah. Oh, and also, he's a raging anti-Semite!
In the well-established tradition of casting the whitest white man who ever whited to play any Biblical character, I'm going to predict Sir Sam Worthington to be cast as Moses.
Fantasy Casting: Jeff Goldblum.
With a working title of Gods And Kings, what's envisioned is "a movie like a Braveheart-ish version of the Moses story," an insider tells us. "Him coming down the river, being adopted, leaving his home, forming an army, and getting the Ten Commandments." ... But this film is as far from a remake of the Cecile B. DeMille-directed epic as you can get even though they cover similar ground. Instead Warner Bros wants Spielberg to direct it with the gritty reality of Saving Private Ryan, which is considered a masterpiece redefining battle movies. "There have been glossy versions of the Moses story but this would be a real warrior story," an insider tells us.Perfect.
The only question now is who should play this Braveheart-like Moses. Can't be Mel Gibson, since he's busy making his movie about the story of Hanukkah. Oh, and also, he's a raging anti-Semite!
In the well-established tradition of casting the whitest white man who ever whited to play any Biblical character, I'm going to predict Sir Sam Worthington to be cast as Moses.
Fantasy Casting: Jeff Goldblum.
LOL!
Igor at Think Progress: Romney Steps Up Culture War; Claims Obama Is Waging 'An Assault on Religion'.
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA GASP! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA GASP! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA GASP! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA SNORT!
Yes, everywhere I look there is evidence we are about to become a godless society, like: Our Christian president, our last Christian president, their almost exclusively Christian administrations who relentlessly pander to conservative and/or moderate Christians, the almost totally Christian Supreme Court, an almost entirely Christian Congress who start each session with a prayer, the millions and millions of other American Christians whose day of worship is still respected in various state laws across the country (like in Indiana, where you still can't shop for a car or buy booze on a Sunday), whose views are reflected in various federal laws (like denying same-sex couples the right of marriage in order to protect its "sanctity"), whose holidays are also national holidays, whose holy book must be sworn on in state and federal courts, and whose churches are not required to pay taxes, guaranteed freedom of religion, money that says "In God We Trust," a pledge of allegiance that describes us as "one nation under God," television networks who will accept advertising from conservative religious groups but not liberal political groups, schools who are incorporating a religious belief into science classes, conscience clauses for pharmacists and healthcare providers, religion-based residential communities being built, religious museums and amusement parks springing up all over the country, religious leaders being given diplomatic immunity, faith-based initiatives being federally funded, and our national media being constantly embroiled in a debate about in which god the president believes.
We are on the precipice, people!
*clunk*
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA GASP! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA GASP! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA GASP! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA SNORT!
Yes, everywhere I look there is evidence we are about to become a godless society, like: Our Christian president, our last Christian president, their almost exclusively Christian administrations who relentlessly pander to conservative and/or moderate Christians, the almost totally Christian Supreme Court, an almost entirely Christian Congress who start each session with a prayer, the millions and millions of other American Christians whose day of worship is still respected in various state laws across the country (like in Indiana, where you still can't shop for a car or buy booze on a Sunday), whose views are reflected in various federal laws (like denying same-sex couples the right of marriage in order to protect its "sanctity"), whose holidays are also national holidays, whose holy book must be sworn on in state and federal courts, and whose churches are not required to pay taxes, guaranteed freedom of religion, money that says "In God We Trust," a pledge of allegiance that describes us as "one nation under God," television networks who will accept advertising from conservative religious groups but not liberal political groups, schools who are incorporating a religious belief into science classes, conscience clauses for pharmacists and healthcare providers, religion-based residential communities being built, religious museums and amusement parks springing up all over the country, religious leaders being given diplomatic immunity, faith-based initiatives being federally funded, and our national media being constantly embroiled in a debate about in which god the president believes.
We are on the precipice, people!
*clunk*
You Know...
...what I'm really tired of reading about? Some famous dude who's having all kinds of angst because his famous wife is more famous than he is.
If I had a dollar for every time I've read the construction, "He was the more famous of the two when they met, and now his career is on the wane while her star has continued to rise," I would have lots of dollars!
I'm sure in my history of reading things, I've read the reverse—wife can't take being eclipsed by husband's career. But I sure can't remember it.
(That is not, by the way, an invitation to offer up exceptions to the rule. I'm just making the point that it is, indeed, an exception to the rule. The very, very annoying rule.)
I'm not primarily directing my ire at the dudes about whom this is written, since who knows if it's even true, though it gets printed like it is; I know lots of straight/bi men whose wives are more well-known and/or make more money than they do who are super proud of their wives and not remotely threatened by a career disparity that doesn't conform to retrofuck notions of gender (im)balance.
A few famous dudes end up in "she's trouncing me!" stories, however, because they've said as much themselves in interviews, matter-of-factly, like, Of course it pisses me off and makes me feel small and kills my boner that my wife/girlfriend is more successful than I am. Have you not noticed that I am a man?
But it's more just that this shit gets printed at all, and the fact that it's still so easy for so many people to believe, in the year 2012, that OBVIOUSLY any man would be emasculated by a wife who surpasses him in any demonstrable way.
Oh, pardon me—not any demonstrable way. Straight/bi women are still allowed to be better than their husbands at "female" tasks, like changing diapers or cleaning the house. We're just not allowed to be better than our husbands at Man Stuff, like a career.
If I had a dollar for every time I've read the construction, "He was the more famous of the two when they met, and now his career is on the wane while her star has continued to rise," I would have lots of dollars!
I'm sure in my history of reading things, I've read the reverse—wife can't take being eclipsed by husband's career. But I sure can't remember it.
(That is not, by the way, an invitation to offer up exceptions to the rule. I'm just making the point that it is, indeed, an exception to the rule. The very, very annoying rule.)
I'm not primarily directing my ire at the dudes about whom this is written, since who knows if it's even true, though it gets printed like it is; I know lots of straight/bi men whose wives are more well-known and/or make more money than they do who are super proud of their wives and not remotely threatened by a career disparity that doesn't conform to retrofuck notions of gender (im)balance.
A few famous dudes end up in "she's trouncing me!" stories, however, because they've said as much themselves in interviews, matter-of-factly, like, Of course it pisses me off and makes me feel small and kills my boner that my wife/girlfriend is more successful than I am. Have you not noticed that I am a man?
But it's more just that this shit gets printed at all, and the fact that it's still so easy for so many people to believe, in the year 2012, that OBVIOUSLY any man would be emasculated by a wife who surpasses him in any demonstrable way.
Oh, pardon me—not any demonstrable way. Straight/bi women are still allowed to be better than their husbands at "female" tasks, like changing diapers or cleaning the house. We're just not allowed to be better than our husbands at Man Stuff, like a career.
Daily Dose of Cute
Dudley, as I may have mentioned once or twice or three thousand times, is a lazy git. The other night, he was lying on the loveseat, and Zelda wanted to play tug-o-war with him, but instead of getting up off his lazy ass to play with her, he stayed put, trying to play with her from his repose, while she valiantly struggled to convince him to get with the program.
(Set to a section of William Shatner's original self-authored track, "Struggle." Which, by the way, is amazing.)
Video Description: Zelly carries a long, stuffing-free plushy skunk in her mouth over to Dudley, who's lying on the loveseat. He takes the opposite end in his mouth and they wrestle with it, Zelly pulling backwards to try to get him off the couch. He drops the end. She picks it up and offers it back to him. Rinse. Repeat. She tries spinning in a circle. Another circle. Offers him the skunk again. She drops it and they nuzzle. She picks it up again. Circle. Offer. He takes it. He wrestles with her half-heartedly. Drops it. She offers it again. He licks himself disinterestedly, then flops over. He paws at her; she sneaks underneath his paw and gives herself butt-scratches using his lazy paws. (Hilarious.) Then she drops the skunk and walks away. "Welp, at least I got some butt-scratches out of the deal!"
Continuing on the theme of laziness, this is what I discovered when I walked upstairs into the loft last night:
He literally will not move ANYTHING that is in his way when he wants to lie somewhere. There was once a piece of paper, a single looseleaf piece of notepaper, lying on the downstairs loveseat, and instead of moving it, he sat in front of the loveseat and whined like the giant baby that he is until I got up and moved it for him.
Meanwhile, here's Zelly this morning, looking cute as she surveys the yard to make sure the homestead is safe from wind-caught plastic bags, squirrels, and other ne'er-do-wells.
Truly, I will never get over the irresistible cuteness of those Dorito ears. NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM!
(Set to a section of William Shatner's original self-authored track, "Struggle." Which, by the way, is amazing.)
Video Description: Zelly carries a long, stuffing-free plushy skunk in her mouth over to Dudley, who's lying on the loveseat. He takes the opposite end in his mouth and they wrestle with it, Zelly pulling backwards to try to get him off the couch. He drops the end. She picks it up and offers it back to him. Rinse. Repeat. She tries spinning in a circle. Another circle. Offers him the skunk again. She drops it and they nuzzle. She picks it up again. Circle. Offer. He takes it. He wrestles with her half-heartedly. Drops it. She offers it again. He licks himself disinterestedly, then flops over. He paws at her; she sneaks underneath his paw and gives herself butt-scratches using his lazy paws. (Hilarious.) Then she drops the skunk and walks away. "Welp, at least I got some butt-scratches out of the deal!"
Continuing on the theme of laziness, this is what I discovered when I walked upstairs into the loft last night:
He literally will not move ANYTHING that is in his way when he wants to lie somewhere. There was once a piece of paper, a single looseleaf piece of notepaper, lying on the downstairs loveseat, and instead of moving it, he sat in front of the loveseat and whined like the giant baby that he is until I got up and moved it for him.
Meanwhile, here's Zelly this morning, looking cute as she surveys the yard to make sure the homestead is safe from wind-caught plastic bags, squirrels, and other ne'er-do-wells.
Truly, I will never get over the irresistible cuteness of those Dorito ears. NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM!
Quote of the Day
"Despite the anger of the homosexual community, the anus is not a vagina." — Patrick Wooden, in an interview with Peter LaBarbera of Americans For Truth About Homosexuality.
Okay then.
Okay then.
That's a Big Teaspoon
Gates donates $750 million to fight AIDS, TB, and malaria.
Yeah, I know all the "drop in the bucket of his fortune" and "tax deductible" and "Windows stinks" stuff that inevitably goes along with anything good Gates does, but I don't give a shit. Anyone who doesn't think giving more than a billion dollars to fight global disease is fucking cool, irrespective of whatever legit and totally stupid caveats one might make, is too cynical for my comprehension.
Bill and Melinda Gates have a mighty big teaspoon, and they know how to use it.
Yeah, I know all the "drop in the bucket of his fortune" and "tax deductible" and "Windows stinks" stuff that inevitably goes along with anything good Gates does, but I don't give a shit. Anyone who doesn't think giving more than a billion dollars to fight global disease is fucking cool, irrespective of whatever legit and totally stupid caveats one might make, is too cynical for my comprehension.
Bill and Melinda Gates have a mighty big teaspoon, and they know how to use it.
Top Chef: Texas Open Thread
Guest judges Robocop and Jimmy (A Unicorn) do not like your donuts!
Top Chef is an American reality competition show that airs on the cable television network Bravo, in which chefs compete against each other in culinary challenges. They are judged by a panel of professional chefs and other notables from the food and wine industry with one or more contestants eliminated in each episode. The show is produced by Magical Elves Productions, the same company that created Project Runway.
Number of the Day
1.5 million: The number of women and other people with uteri seeking abortions who wouldn't have access to a safe one if Roe v. Wade were overturned.
Let's say, thought experiment. Let's say Roe v. Wade got overturned. There'd be 1.5 million women who had been seeking abortions who can't have a safe one. Someone will have an unsafe one and will die or be damaged for life; some women will have the child and not be capable of taking care of it. And we know that women who have unplanned pregnancies who go on to deliver have a higher risk of complications in pregnancy, high rate of pre-term birth, a higher rate of the children having behavioral difficulty, poor achievement, cycles of poverty, domestic violence. And the whole idea that somehow adoption can solve it all is just not how the American public thinks. Only 1% of women with an unplanned pregnancy go forward with adoption in the US—very, very small. And I hear it from my patients for all different reasons: they never could do it, the interesting thing they say is that they don't trust anybody else to raise their child. Will the child be loved? Will the child be well cared for? Again, it gets to the idea that they understand how important motherhood is—I don't necessarily see out there the American public ready to adopt 1 million babies. So just from a practical point of view, if you do a thought experiment of making it illegal or ridiculously more restricted than it is now, more women will die, more families will suffer, and that's not good. That is not a moral good.—Dr. Nancy Stanwood, an obstetrician/gynecologist, abortion provider, mother, and board member with the Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health, in an interview with Lola McClure, a registered nurse, about what she does and why.
Primarily Awful
Bert Shadowen of Port St. Lucie, Florida holds an American flag as he listens to remarks by Republican presidential candidate and former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum at a Treasure Coast Tea Party campaign rally in Stuart, Florida, January 24, 2012. [Reuters Pictures]Awwwwwwwwwwwww LOL! How can we turn that frown upside-down, Mr. Shadowen? By electing Rick Santorum? Well, that's probably not going to happen. How about I get you a tin of peanuts and a nice cold soda?
That picture reminds me of this biology teacher I had in high school, Mr. Looft, who had the reputation of being a total humorless hard-ass. He was suuuuuuuuper grumpy, and he never smiled, and he always held his wiry body very rigidly under his ratty old lab coat. For some reason, my best friend and I suspected he was actually a very witty and fun-loving guy underneath that seemingly impenetrable exterior, and we undertook the challenge of unearthing his wild side.
We called him Loofty. We teased him good-naturedly about how grumpy he was. We screeched and hollered with delight when he'd do something that previous classes had received as evidence of his hardness—like the time a fish was floating belly-up in his classroom tank, and he responded to reports of its death from proximate students by marching to the tank like a drill sergeant, pulling up the sleeve of his lab coat, sticking his arm elbow-deep into the tank, and stirring so hard the fish began to swim again. "Fish ain't dead; just being lazy," he said, marching back to the front of the class. We told him he was a superhero.
One day, he came to class wearing, instead of his ancient, tattered, fatigues-green lab coat, a bright, crisp, new white lab coat. "Loofy, looking FOXY!" I said. C and I made exaggerative "sexy" gestures, hands against our foreheads as we pretended to faint, licking our index fingers and sizzling them against our butts. Loofty stopped in his tracks and looked us with his usual look of consternation, bewilderment, and disdain. I thought, for a moment, we might actually get in trouble this time. And then his face broke into a huge blushing grin, and he laughed and laughed and laughed.
He was secretly a fun dude. And also a great teacher. Loved that guy.
Anyway! To the candidates!
Heading into the Florida primary next week, Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney are now virtually tied, although we've got ANOTHER DEBATE! to look forward to, which is another chance for Gingrich to distinguish himself as not-a-Mormon. What will happen in Florida?! Will it be the super rich and super privileged white guy, or the OTHER super rich and super privileged white guy? IT'S A REAL NAIL-BITER!
Gingrich thinks he can win by channeling Ronald Reagan. Romney, who everyone definitely hates, thinks he can win by not being Newt Gingrich. Good strategies, both.
Money Talk! Romney brazenly bullshits about paying a "45 or 50 percent" tax rate. Okay, player. Gingrich's SuperPAC is being bankrolled by a billionaire Las Vegas casino tycoon. I know what you're thinking—that cannot be healthy for democracy! But just think of it like this: Money is free speech, and that guy can really bellow.
Is Ron Paul even campaigning anymore? Where is he? Somebody look inside his debate jacket—I think he might have gotten lost in there.
Rick Santorum's campaign strategy continues to be positioning himself as the grossest asshole on the planet, defending TSA profiling and accusing "the left" of indoctrinating people at universities. (Hey, it's not our fault that education tends to make people more progressive, dude.) These are two of the least offensive things he's said in ages. You're really losing your horrible, horrible edge, Rick Santorum!
In other news, Jeb Bush has some hot advice about how Republicans "can win Hispanics back." Here's my hot advice: Start with not using immigrants as a political football in gross campaign ads.
Meanwhile, Fidel Castro called this Republican primary "he greatest competition of idiocy and ignorance that has ever been." LOL! I guess "Work It" didn't air in Cuba.
Finally! According to the new NBC/WSJ poll: "Americans are growing more optimistic about the state of the economy and direction of the country...and President Obama is receiving better grades on his handling of the economy and job as a result." Too bad, Republicans! Looks like you just didn't ruin the country ENOUGH to beat this guy!
Sad trombones all around, I'm sure.
Talk about these things! Or don't. Whatever makes you happy. Life is short.
Rabu, 25 Januari 2012
Question of the Day
If you discovered a new planet, what would you name it?
I recently asked Deeky this question via text, which prompted the following exchange:
Anyway! I would totally name my planet something real snazzy and shit, like Alpha Cooter-69.
I recently asked Deeky this question via text, which prompted the following exchange:
Anyway! I would totally name my planet something real snazzy and shit, like Alpha Cooter-69.
Quote of the Day
"By the end of my second term, we will have the first permanent base on the moon, and it will be American."—Newt Gingrich, dreamer.
The permanent base on the moon is more likely than a two-term Newt Gingrich presidency.
The permanent base on the moon is more likely than a two-term Newt Gingrich presidency.
News I Don't Want to Write About
Here are all the news items I don't want to write about today!
[Please Note: This is sarcasm. I am actually writing about them! Mostly, I just don't have very much to say about them. Saying I don't want to write about them is just a literary conceit, which I find amusing! You are not obliged to feel the same.]
There is the news about Google's new privacy policy, which will probably be very scary and/or rage-making for some people and probably not scary and/or rage-making for others, owing to various individual thingies like privilege, personal history, and levels of cynicism regarding privacy in the technological age. I don't like it! For at least four different reasons! But I also feel very resigned about it. Google's probably counting on lots of people feeling that way, which makes me feel guilty. I'm sorry, the part of my brain that is very disappointed in me! I only have so many spoons!
There is the report, right from the Tim Geithner's mouth, that Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner prooooooobably won't be asked back by President Obama, if he is reelected. Tim Geithner says he'll do "something else." That's good. I don't really like Tim Geithner, but I would be sad if Tim Geithner just laid down on the ground and never did anything ever again just because he can't be Treasury Secretary forever.
There is the news that this jerk mayor in Connecticut has apologized "for saying that he would help Latinos in his town by eating tacos" in response "to the arrests of four East Haven police officers by FBI agents Tuesday for their alleged roles in abusing Latino residents and business owners, performing illegal searches, making false arrests and harassing immigrant rights advocates." He's very sorry. "Unfortunately, I let the stress of the situation get the best of me and inflamed what is already a serious and unfortunate situation." True Fact: Stress makes you racist, just like alcohol. No word on what Mayor Jerk T. Jerksworthy actually will do to help Latin@s in East Haven. (Resign, maybe?)
There is the terrible news that the Marine squad leader charged with alleged war crimes in connection with the Haditha massacre in Iraq has been sentenced by a US military judge to "a maximum of 90 days in prison and a reduction in pay and rank. But because of a plea deal with prosecutors, Staff Sgt. Frank G. Wuterich won't serve any time in the brig. The military judge was obligated to abide by the plea arrangement between prosecutors and the defense. In the end, Wuterich's sentence amounts to a reduction in rank—to private—and a pay cut." To paraphrase the othering parlance of my friends on the other side of the aisle, maybe "they" hate us for his freedom.
There is the settlement of $22 million for suffering inhumane treatment awarded to Stephen Slevin, who spent two years in solitary confinement in a New Mexico prison, without trial and denied necessary medical care, after being arrested in August of 2005 for driving while intoxicated. I can't decide whether it's our garbage priorities or our garbage prison system that's more screwed up. Let's call it a tie. Meanwhile, this story was filed under "Odd News."
And finally! There is the spectacular news that The Hangover 3 is close to being a sealed deal, with the impending trilogy's stars getting the big pay increases they definitely deserve. Handshake handshake backslap. Good negotiating all around, I'm sure. Couldn't happen to a nicer franchise. Barf bags for everyone!
Talk about these things! Or don't. Whatever makes you happy. Life is short.
[Please Note: This is sarcasm. I am actually writing about them! Mostly, I just don't have very much to say about them. Saying I don't want to write about them is just a literary conceit, which I find amusing! You are not obliged to feel the same.]
There is the news about Google's new privacy policy, which will probably be very scary and/or rage-making for some people and probably not scary and/or rage-making for others, owing to various individual thingies like privilege, personal history, and levels of cynicism regarding privacy in the technological age. I don't like it! For at least four different reasons! But I also feel very resigned about it. Google's probably counting on lots of people feeling that way, which makes me feel guilty. I'm sorry, the part of my brain that is very disappointed in me! I only have so many spoons!
There is the report, right from the Tim Geithner's mouth, that Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner prooooooobably won't be asked back by President Obama, if he is reelected. Tim Geithner says he'll do "something else." That's good. I don't really like Tim Geithner, but I would be sad if Tim Geithner just laid down on the ground and never did anything ever again just because he can't be Treasury Secretary forever.
There is the news that this jerk mayor in Connecticut has apologized "for saying that he would help Latinos in his town by eating tacos" in response "to the arrests of four East Haven police officers by FBI agents Tuesday for their alleged roles in abusing Latino residents and business owners, performing illegal searches, making false arrests and harassing immigrant rights advocates." He's very sorry. "Unfortunately, I let the stress of the situation get the best of me and inflamed what is already a serious and unfortunate situation." True Fact: Stress makes you racist, just like alcohol. No word on what Mayor Jerk T. Jerksworthy actually will do to help Latin@s in East Haven. (Resign, maybe?)
There is the terrible news that the Marine squad leader charged with alleged war crimes in connection with the Haditha massacre in Iraq has been sentenced by a US military judge to "a maximum of 90 days in prison and a reduction in pay and rank. But because of a plea deal with prosecutors, Staff Sgt. Frank G. Wuterich won't serve any time in the brig. The military judge was obligated to abide by the plea arrangement between prosecutors and the defense. In the end, Wuterich's sentence amounts to a reduction in rank—to private—and a pay cut." To paraphrase the othering parlance of my friends on the other side of the aisle, maybe "they" hate us for his freedom.
There is the settlement of $22 million for suffering inhumane treatment awarded to Stephen Slevin, who spent two years in solitary confinement in a New Mexico prison, without trial and denied necessary medical care, after being arrested in August of 2005 for driving while intoxicated. I can't decide whether it's our garbage priorities or our garbage prison system that's more screwed up. Let's call it a tie. Meanwhile, this story was filed under "Odd News."
And finally! There is the spectacular news that The Hangover 3 is close to being a sealed deal, with the impending trilogy's stars getting the big pay increases they definitely deserve. Handshake handshake backslap. Good negotiating all around, I'm sure. Couldn't happen to a nicer franchise. Barf bags for everyone!
Talk about these things! Or don't. Whatever makes you happy. Life is short.
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