Question of the Day
Following up on yesterday's QotD: What is your favorite movie (comedy or otherwise) that is just virtually devoid of women for no good reason?
(As opposed to, say, a film like The Shawshank Redemption, which takes place almost entirely in a men's prison, so the dearth of prominent female roles makes sense. That there are so many films made in male-centric environments is a whole other issue entirely.)
I don't know if this is precisely my favorite of the many possible answers to this question, but the first one that came to mind is The Usual Suspects. There's no good reason that one of the crooks couldn't have been female.
Imagine if Verbal Kint had been a lady. (!)
Photos of the Day
OMG, y'all! There are SO MANY great wire photos from CPAC today! WOWEE WOW does that look like a fun place to be! I have literally just looked at HUNDREDS of photos of angry white conservatives and Herman Cain screaming from patriotic podiums! I can't even begin to imagine HOW SUPER DUPER FUN it is to be there!
Here are some of my FAVORITE PHOTOS that are NOT of angry people with veins popping out of their foreheads who are furiously pointing while definitely saying things like "Obamacare" and "handouts":
PERFECT. I mean, those buttons are almost TOO perfect, aren't they? If I ever see anything more perfecter than Reagan 2012 campaign pins, I will begin to fear for the dimensional stability of the multiverse.
This is from the last CPAC because Ron Paul isn't attending this one, so Reuters is sending it out again: We miss you, Ron Paul! LYLAS! Stay sweet!
Big seller, I'll bet. HUGE.
That likeness is UNCANNY! (No, it isn't.) If there's one thing you can say about conservatives, it's that their totally racist and otherwise very inappropriate caricatures of President Obama are VERY GOOD. (Nope, they're not.)
Hey, look who it is! Looking good,
*wink!*
Pack It Up. We're Done Here.
The Great American Experiment has officially failed:
Mississippi State Rep. Steve Holland, a Democrat, introduced a bill in the state's lower chamber calling for the part of the Gulf of Mexico that borders his state to be renamed the "Gulf of America."All right, well, Bob Quasius might have bought us another year. Good one, Bob.
A local Latino GOP organization called on Holland to withdraw the measure. "If this bill passes the legislature and is signed into law, perhaps it is time to rename the Mississippi River," wrote Bob Quasius, Café Con Leche's president, in the letter. "After all, sharing a name with a state that wants to rewrite maps out of disdain for Mexicans would be a disgrace to the rest of the nation."
Someone please send Rep. Holland a memo informing him that Mexico is part of the Americas.
UPDATE: In comments, Shaker Anitanola links to a piece in which Holland asserts it's all a big joke to highlight that the GOP is failing to "feed, clothe and educate children, take care of older adults, provide economic development and high systems in this state." Um, okay. Suffice it to say I am unconvinced that pretend (?) racism that is indistinguishable from authentic racism is not a very effective strategy to expose the GOP's fuckery.
"Someday, by god, I wanna throw a wedding for that kid."
As Deeky mentioned yesterday, the Washington House passed a bill which will allow same-sex couples to wed in the state, once Democratic Governor Chris Gregoire signs it into law. Two Republicans voted for the measure, one of whom was Representative Maureen Walsh, who gave this moving statement during the debate before the vote yesterday:
I don't wax as eloquently as most of the people on the floor here, but I have allowed my heart and mind to guide me on a lot of different decisions I've made in the legislature. I think sometimes that's what we have to do.Video and transcript via BuzzFeed.
I too don't want to wag my finger at anybody about which way to vote on this. It's certainly an issue of conscience for me that I've been weighing very heavily for the past few weeks.
You know, I was married for 23 years to the love of my life and he died 6 years ago. I think of all the wonderful years we had and the wonderful fringe benefits of having 3 beautiful children. I don't miss the sex, and to me that's kind of what this boils down to. I don't miss that… I mean I certainly miss it, but it's certainly not the aspect of that relationship, that incredible bond I had with that human being, that I really really genuinely wish I still had. And so I just think to myself: how could I deny anyone the right to have that incredible bond with another individual in life. To me it seems almost cruel.
Years ago my daughter went to elementary school. Many of you have met my daughter she's a fabulous girl, she's wonderful, my boys are great too, but she's really something special. She was the light of her father's eye.
So she went to school and there were a whole group of kids picking on another kid, and you know, my daughter stuck up for that kid. Even though it wasn't the popular thing to do it was the right thing to do. I was never more proud of my kid than knowing she was speaking against the vocal majority on behalf of the rights of the minority. And to me, it is incumbent upon us as legislators in this state to do that. That is why we are here.
And I shudder to think that if folks who had preceded us in history did not do that, frankly I'm not sure I would be here as a woman. I'm not sure other people would be here due to their race or creed. And to me that is what's disconcerting.
And someone made the comment that this is not about equality. Well yes it is about equality. And why in the world would be not allow those equal rights for individuals who are truly committed to one another in life to be able to show that in the way of a marriage.
My daughter came out of the closet a couple of years ago and you know what I thought I was going to agonize about that. Nothing's different. She's still a fabulous human being and she met someone she loves very much. And some day, by God, I want to throw a wedding for that kid. And someday I hope that's what I can do. I hope she will not feel like a second-class citizen involved in something called a “domestic partnership” which frankly sounds like a Mary Maids franchise to me.
Thank you Mr. Speaker. That's all I want to say.
Daily Dose of Cute
Zelda has an unparalleled capacity to make herself look very big and very small.
P.S. Doritooooooooooooooooo earrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrs!!!!!!!
Number of the Day
72: The number of hours in a mandated "waiting period" for abortion-seekers being proposed in Utah by state representative Steve Eliason, who is a Republican, of course.
Utah Rep. Steve Eliason (R) has proposed a bill (HB 461 [pdf]) that would require women to wait 72 hours before receiving abortion care, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. Under current law, women must wait 24 hours before receiving abortion services. If approved, Utah would have the same waiting period as South Dakota, which currently has the longest waiting period in the U.S.I am really running out of ways to make the point that women and other people with uteri are not infants who are ignorant of their options (even though Republican-favored abstinence-only sex ed programs endeavor to turn them into exactly that). We don't need time to "really think it through" or "consider alternatives" or whatevthefuck Rep. Dipshit and the rest of the nation's Mendacious Band of Anti-Choice Fuckheads are alleging will happen in the three days they delay us from terminating a pregnancy.
Planned Parenthood Association of Utah has filed a lawsuit to overturn the law, arguing that it violates Roe v. Wade. The group said South Dakota's 72-hour waiting period puts an undue burden on women, who often have to travel long distances to reach the two abortion clinics in the state.
Eliason said the extension would give women the same amount of time "to make a major life decision" as "any consumer has to consider cancelling a mortgage."
Forcing a person to wait three days will not change the fact that zie does not want to have a child. Even if it changes hir mind about terminating the pregnancy, it doesn't change whatever circumstances brought hir to an abortion clinic in the first place.
Zie'll still walk out just as devoid of choices, just as un- or underemployed, just as broke, just as in debt, just as uninsured, just as lacking daycare, just as unable to care for hirself and/or hir existing children, just as in need of medication that zie can't take while pregnant, just as enmeshed in an unhealthy or abusive relationship, just the same as zie was when zie walked in.
Zie'll just have been guilted into making sacrifices zie doesn't want to make, to honor someone else's mistaken perceptions about hir morality.
All of these absurd barriers to termination are utter hogwash, rooted in the damnable fairy tale that women and other people with uteri are incapable of making the best decisions for themselves and their own bodies (and, frequently, for the children they already have).
The reality is this: There is an inextricable link between the economy, the funding of social services, and abortion. If "pro-lifers" really wanted women to want to have babies, they would start arguing for universal healthcare, just for a fucking start, considering about one-fourth of women seeking abortions cite their own health or possible health problems with the fetus as reasons for the termination, owing to concerns including "a lack of prenatal care."
But they're not pro-life. They're just anti-women.
And they can caterwaul about how that's not true all they fucking want, but, the truth is, they refuse to listen to women, and other people with uteri, to the millions of women who are telling them they don't need waiting periods or ultrasounds or parental/spousal consent or anti-abortion counselors or any of the other disincentives being proposed to deter them from terminating unwanted pregnancy, but do need jobs and healthcare and childcare and parental leave laws and associated institutional framework that supports successful parenthood.
And when you refuse to listen to women, your argument that you're not explicitly anti-women holds precious little water.
Particularly when your state has failed utterly to fund a robust social safety net, but has been trying, with various degrees of success, to chip away at Roe virtually since the decision granted people with uteri the right to terminate pregnancies.
[Via Steph Herold.]
Teaspoon Time
Shaker Ashley in N.C. emails (which I am quoting with her permission): "I just wanted you to know that I called the White House today regarding tho odious Catholic Bishops (after getting busy signals all morning, I finally made it through this afternoon), and the woman who answered the phone was so happy to hear from me. She said I was one of the only people calling in support of reproductive freedom."
To the phones, Shakers!
White House comment line: (202) 456-1111
Related: Steered Wrong By Googling "Abortion Services"? It's No Accident. The civil war over reproductive rights is getting uglier by the day, and it was hideous already. We need to make sure we don't lose this one with the White House. Let's make sure President Obama hears from the USian majority who support reproductive freedom.
Greyt Expectations
[Content Note: This post contains discussion of animal cruelty.]
This is Dudley.
Dudley didn't have the greatest start in life. He was bred to be a racer, which meant that from his earliest days, he lived a kind of life no dog should ever live. He resided at a track in Sarasota, Florida, where, like all racing greyhounds, he was virtually starved, left unvaccinated and unprotected against parasites, denied toys and affection, and confined for more than 20 hours a day to one-half of a double-decker cage in an unheated and uncooled kennel that looked like a warehouse. He barely had room to stand, and he ran on a track that didn't make enough money to be properly maintained. His last race ended in a collision that terminated his career before he was two years old.
And he was one of the lucky ones.
Most greyhound pups are bred at breeding farms, where "only a select few actually become racing dogs. This massive over-breeding is done in order to produce winning dogs. The unwanted pups, those who don't measure up to racing standards, are simply destroyed. The racing industry also sells some of the dogs considered unfit for racing to laboratories, which use them in experiments."
Of the dogs who become racers, most aren't champions—and many would-be champions are injured before they ever reach their potential. Most of the dogs who fail to make money are destroyed in the cheapest way possible, frequently by gunshot or having their throats cut. Some are simply left to starve. Even the most successful racers are usually retired by age 4, at which point they, too, are killed unless they are fortunate enough to be rescued.
Even with rescues doing as much as they can, as many as 20,000 dogs are still killed (and nearly half that number of rabbits illegally used to train the dogs) each year in the US alone.
The dogs are not beloved pets; they are property. And they are treated thus. In one infamous case, an owner told a trainer not to bother trying to rescue dogs from a kennel which had gone up in flames, because "they're insured." Greyhounds' lives have no innate value at the track.
I will spare you descriptions of the abuses I have seen in pictures taken at greyhound tracks. I will spare you photos of the dogs the local rescue with which I volunteer has rescued from tracks in Florida and elsewhere, so thin it's inconceivable that they are still alive.
I will tell you that most of this is totally legal, because greyhound racing was made an exception to the US Department of Agriculture's Animal Welfare Act.
Greyhound racing is a goddamn ugly sport. Even the lucky ones who survive it, like Dudley, are traumatized.
They come off the track into a world they've never experienced. They don't know how to walk up or down stairs, or how to fetch a ball. They have no idea what it means to be loved.
But they want to know. Even after all they've been through, they trust. They want to be with people. They are the sweetest, gentlest dogs, who, given half a chance, will lean against your legs and gaze up at you along their long snouts with a plaintive look. I'm ready to be loved now.
When Dudley came to us, he was ready to be loved. He was also so timid that he would urinate on himself in a submissive gesture every time I got near him. I spent long hours lying on the floor, next to his crate where he felt safe, synchronizing my breathing to his, quiet and still, to reassure him I would never hurt him. One day, he came out, and laid down beside me on the floor. I put my hand on his side, across a long scar the origins of which we do not know, and matched him breath for breath. There we laid, until he let me know he needed to go out, and I put on his leash without making him fearful for the first time.
That was the first step in what has been, and continues to be, a remarkable journey away from the track. When I think about the possibility that Dudley's fate, once he had proven useless as a racer, could have been a callous bit of violence to bring a swift end to his life, or a cruel bit of neglect to yield the same result over agonizing days, my heart aches. It aches because I cannot imagine my life without him, and it aches for all the greys who never had the same opportunity he's had to be loved.
It occurred to me the other day that sometime next week, give or take, Dudley will have officially lived more of his life with us than he lived before he got here.
It was a sort of relief, that thought. A relief on his behalf. As I thought about the literally scarring experiences he had at the track fading into the distance of time, diminishing into a terrible anomaly in a life of boundless affection, I asked Dudley if he knew that he is home. He flopped against me with all his weight, craned around his impossibly, comically long neck to give me a goofy grin, then licked my chin.
I will take that as a yes.
Iowa is one of the few remaining states in which greyhound racing is legal. This week, a House panel in the Iowa state legislature approved a measure that would effectively end greyhound racing in the state. That would be excellent news in the long term, but would immediately leave thousands of dogs at risk of death unless area rescues can come to their aid. Please consider taking action or donating on behalf of greyhounds today. There are even more ways to help here. If you are considering adoption or would like to donate to a local rescue, a resource to find US greyhound rescues is here.Please, if you can, help give other greys the same chance to be loved that Dudley's had.
Us & Dudz, last summer.
Reproductive Rights Updates: AK, WI, IL, GA, MI, AZ, & Fed
Here's some more of All The News You Can Use...to bang your head against your desk.
In Alaska, the state's Senate Minority Leader, John Coghill (R-North Pole) has intro'd mandatory ultrasound legislation. Wait. North Pole? That's cool, in a "don't write that every day" sort of way. But I digress! Sen. Coghill thinks this is a matter of "informed consent". He so graciously explains:
"I think if people understood a little bit more about what's going on in the womb, they might reconsider (an abortion)," he said.Because "a female" just doesn't know anything about "what a pregnancy really is", amirite?
"The choice is the female's, and I respect that as much as I can respect it," he said, "but I'm also trying to bring as much respect for what a pregnancy really is."
***
In Wisconsin, there was, apparently, a "contentious" debate in the state senate yesterday when a public hearing was held regarding legislation that is supposed to ensure that a woman is definitely not being forced to have an abortion and also addresses women being able to obtain mifepristone via web.
Under current Wisconsin law, abortion providers must inform women seeking them of the risks, and then the woman must give voluntary written consent. Republican Rep. Michelle Litjens wants to add provisions. She told the Assembly Health committee of her alarm when she heard a Milwaukee radio station air a 911 call.Ok there are two issues with this. First one is brought up--and smacked down--by Rep Sandy Pasch (D-Whitefish Bay). Rep Pasch is also a nurse, btw:
“There was a young girl about 13 or 14 who was being escorted into an abortion clinic a few months ago. She didn’t want to go inside and there were some people outside the clinic who were trying to help her so they called 911 and the police said there was nothing they could do. She was going inside with a guardian, and they could not help the girl and it’s frightening to hear. This bill requires the physician to inform the woman that she has the right to refuse an abortion, that her consent is not voluntary if someone is coercing her and that it’s unlawful for the physician to perform the procedure if it’s not voluntary,” Litjens says.
Litjens says her bill would require the physician to question the patient in private and have her sign a voluntary consent form without anyone else present.
"Let me tell you what the components of informed consent are, that there’s a voluntariness, that’s essential as part of it, that’s already in the informed consent process, that information is provided to the patient and the information needs to be the risks and benefits of the procedure that they’re requesting, the risks and benefits of alternative procedures and the risks and benefits of doing nothing which in this case would be allowing a pregnancy, so which part of that do you think needs to be strengthened?” Pasch asks.Which brings us to the next issue. I see Rep Litjens is all about calling a minor a woman in this aspect. She is all about the rights of a minor to not have to have an abortion if she does not want one. The right to choose "no, it's not what I want". However, in Wisconsin, minors cannot obtain an abortion without the consent of a parent.
Litjens: “I would like to strengthen it so that that woman is asked those questions or told that information in a room where she doesn’t feel pressured at all. I would like that young girl who was forced to enter an abortion clinic in Milwaukee to have the opportunity to say no."
Pasch: “If the physician doesn’t do it, there could be a felony charge. Who’s going to monitor that physician if they’re all alone in the room?”
Litjens: “ I would assume that the woman’s going to monitor the physician to make sure it’s done because that would give her the opportunity if she’s being coerced by a boyfriend, by a parent, by an abusive stepfather or something of that nature."
So. Wisconsin: no abortion if you're under 18 without parental consent; no parental "interference" if a minor does not want an abortion. Not that I'm saying anyone should have to have an abortion if they do not want one. The point is no one should be forced into a choice they do not want to make by another person--including a parent stopping an abortion.
The other aspect is regarding the ability of a woman to be prescribed mifepristone (RU-486) via web by a doctor when one is not present in office to otherwise do so (a woman still has to come to clinic to access the consult). This is not currently available in Wisconsin but the WI "right to life" groups want to try and head it off before it can be available.
Nothing was decided on the legislation yesterday, except that more discussion is needed.
***
Quote of the Day
"We try to look at child care as more of a form of work support."—Lynda Laughlin of the US Census Bureau's Fertility and Family Statistics Branch, explaining why is it that the Census Bureau assumes mothers to be the "designated parent" in a two-parent household, and why further it considers a father providing childcare while mother is at work/school to be a "child care arrangement" but a mother providing childcare while father is at work/school to be designated parenting.
That is to say that the US government is engaging in that most infuriating of parenting tropes: Moms parent and dads babysit.
(Not to mention that they evidently do not consider childcare "work," no matter who is doing it.)
I don't even know what the Census Bureau does with two-parent households in which the parents are the same sex. Curl up in the fetal position, cover its ears, and pitiably whine "No no no no I can't hear you!", presumably.
[H/T to Shaker Rachel.]
Top Chef: Texas Open Thread
Guest judge Jimmy (A Unicorn) found your bouillabaisse to be chalky!
Bev returned from the dead, like a Top Chef zombie and everyone stumbled around the pantry and the whole show is just beyond ridiculous now. Speaking of zombies, Bill Hinzman who played an iconic walker (ha!) in Night Of The Living Dead died. Also speaking of which, The Walking Dead returns this weekend. Dust off your zombie shoes, everyone!
Good News: Unemployment Among Black Men Drops
Shani O. Hilton at Colorlines:
When the Labor Department released the January unemployment rate last week, there was finally some good news to celebrate—and some news that seemed almost too good to be true. Black unemployment saw its steepest drop since the recession began, dipping more than two points. Apparently, that happy improvement was largely driven by black men being hired in larger numbers than anyone can remember.It is not just a coincidence that, during the first bit of job growth we've had since Barack Obama was elected, black men are "being hired in larger numbers than anyone can remember." It is evidence of the known effects of visible diversity.
So what, exactly, is happening here? Nobody saw it coming, and there's no immediate explanation. I talked to Algernon Austin, director of the Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy program at the Economic Policy Institute, to get some insight.
Colorlines: So, the interesting thing about January's unemployment rate was that the unemployment rate for black men dropped 3 percent—from 15.7 percent to 12.7 percent—even though workforce participation stayed about the same. That's not something we've seen before, is it?
Algernon Austin: Such a large drop in the unemployment rate is quite surprising. Certainly, we haven't seen a drop that large any time recently. There was a slight decline in workforce participation, but even looking at that, we're talking about a very large decline for blacks, and particularly black men, which is quite unusual.
What are the fields—or are there any—where it's more likely that black men were hired?
It's a real mystery to figure out what might be going on here. The public sector dropped jobs, so that's not likely to be it. Restaurants and bars—that's not likely. Retail, maybe some retail; maybe some health care. Maybe temporary health services, construction. But really, I don't know.
To think that seeing a black man in the news, competently running the most powerful nation on the planet, day after day for three years, hasn't worked on the subconscious of US employers, hasn't sent a message that gets internalized in the same way the narratives of exclusion and marginalization and less than do, is to imagine that humans work in a way that we actually don't.
That is not the only explanation for this good news. There are certainly other influences, which Algernon Austin and his team will suss out at the invaluable EPI.
But I wanted to note nonetheless: This is no coincidence. This is the value of meaningful inclusion.
Primarily Terrible
Supporters pray over Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum (C) during a campaign stop at the Bella Donna Chapel on February 8, 2012 in McKinney, Texas. [Getty Images]I'm thinking it's images like the one above (barrrrrrrrf) that necessitated frontrunner (!?whut?!) Rick Santorum assuring voters that he is not running to be "pastor in chief" of the United States. (He totally is, by the way.) I will point out yet again, because I'm an asshole like that, that the church in which this
I will also note (#asshole #atheist) that these laws were put into place back when religious institutions in this country were generally in the business of actually helping the poor in their communities and not building multimillion-dollar entertainment complexes complete with ATMs and gift shops.
Anyway!
Here is a fun quote from Rick Santorum, Master of Projection: "The intolerance of the left, the intolerance of the secular ideology, it is a religion unto itself, it is just not a biblical based religion, and it is the most intolerant. Just like we saw from the days of the atheists of the Soviet Union, it is completely intolerant of dissent. They fear dissent. Why? Because the dissent comes from folks who use reason, common sense, and divine revelation and they want no part of any of those things."
"Reason, common sense, and divine revelation." One of these things is not like the other, Rick Santorum!
Rick Santorum also said at the same
"Here is a life-saving thing that YOU CANNOT HAVE!"—Rick Santorum, Good Christian.
Speaking of Good Christians, the American Conservative Union's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is this week, and, naturally Mitt Romney is heading on over in order to pretend like there's a chance in hell that he'll ever appeal to extreme social conservatives.
CPAC FUN FACT! In 2007, Mitt Romney introduced Ann Coulter at CPAC by saying, "I am happy to hear that after you hear from me, you will hear from Ann Coulter. That is a good thing. Oh yeah!" before Coulter took the stage and called John Edwards a nasty gay slur.
Mitt Romney will be in GREAT COMPANY again at this year's CPAC: "CPAC will play host to anti-gay groups such as the Family Research Council, the birther leader of WorldNetDaily, and the Apartheid-nostalgic Youth for Western Civilization. But that isn't all. Following speeches from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Rep. Michele Bachmann, CPAC is hosting (pdf) the panel 'The Failure of Multiculturalism: How the pursuit of diversity is weakening the American Identity' with Peter Brimelow, the founder and head of VDARE.com ... a White Nationalist website, run by [a dude] from Great Britain [who] expresses his fear of the loss of America's white majority, blames non-white immigrants for social and economic problems, and urges the Republican Party to give up on minority voters and focus on winning the white vote."
Awesome! Good company you keep, Mitt Romney!
Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, who is still definitely in the race for inexplicable reasons, will also be in attendance at CPAC.
I guess Ron Paul isn't attending? Well, that makes sense. He's probably pretty confident everyone already knows he's a racist thanks to those suuuuuuuper racist newsletters.
Talk about these things! Or don't. Whatever makes you happy. Life is short.
P.S. I just saw this wire photo of Rick Santorum wearing a cowboy hat while campaigning in Texas...
...and now I cannot unsee this:
To the Beltway...and BEYOND!
That may be the ticket with the best chance of beating the unstoppable Goat|Paperclip this year!
Have a nice day!
Question of the Day
What is your favorite comedy film starring a woman?
It doesn't have to only star a woman (or women), but it has to have at least one woman as a central (and not secondary) character.
Because I am as predictable as the sunrise, I will say Harold & Maude, which is a comedy, if a dark one.
Washington State Lawmakers Approve Gay Marriage Bill
The Washington House passed a bill today to allow same-sex couples to wed. The state Senate approved the measure last week. Democratic Governor Chris Gregoire is expected to sign the measure into law next week.
The law goes into effect in ninety days.
As per usual, bigoted assholes are expected to fight to have the law overturned.
Photo of the Day
Hillary R. Clinton, US secretary of state arrives for day 2 of the 48th Munich Security Conference at Hotel Bayerischer Hof on February 4, 2012 in Munich, Germany. The 48th Munich conference on security policy is running till February 5, 2012. [Getty Images]I think it was Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo who was making her laugh.
Breaking Nooz
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops says birth control is more powerful than god. You heard it here first.
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