That is all.
Question of the Day
Suggested by Comandante Agi: “I was listening to the album Simple Things by Zero 7. I heard someone refer to this album as the "greatest album to have sex to of all time". So the question goes... What is your favorite album to set the mood (i.e. get it on)? I know you can phrase the question better than I can (make it less dirty sounding).”
I could, but why would I want to?
There are lots of albums that put me in the mood—Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On is an obvious choice, but it has its reputation for a reason; Thelonious Monk’s Monk’s Blues; David Bowie’s Low; and I could go on and on. Probably my number one choice would be Suede’s debut album, Suede, which features one of my favorite put-me-in-the-mood songs, “Moving,” and also has as its cover a rather sexy make-out picture. (Women who own copies of Our Bodies, Our Selves will surely recognize it; in the full shot, one of the women is sitting in a wheelchair.) Listening to the album also always evokes memories of a 1993 Suede show, which I spent pressed against the stage, longing for Brett Anderson, who kindly gave me special attention in return—dusting my head with flower petals, holding my hand while singing the chorus of Pantomime Horse, and kissing my palm then running it up his corduroyed inner thigh, to Mr. Furious’ endless chagrin and jealousy. (It’s only fair—Moz plays for his team!)
Hmm…I haven’t listened to that CD in ages. I just might have to dig it out this evening…
Actual Headline
Democrats Struggle To Seize Opportunity.
Actual sub-head: Amid GOP Troubles, No Unified Message
My actual response: Duh.
Angels in scrubs?
Kate over at Healthy Policy takes a look at ABC's new reality show, Miracle Workers, a show Ezra aptly describes as "both the most charitable thing on television and entertainment's most poignant window into all that's wrong with our society." Kate feels it's, quite bluntly, "the wrong take on health care."
The show, following in Extreme Home Makeover's footsteps, creates a construction that Bad Things happen to people, and a choice handful will be lucky enough to come under the lens of millions and deemed worthy of assistance. It's a revival of the notion of the deserving poor…It wouldn't take a miracle to solve the nation's health care crisis; just a little hard work and determinism to fix it once and for all. But I guess that doesn't make good television. Just ask CNN, MSNBC, Fox News...
It’s taking the uninsured and making them special cases to nurture and heal. It’s ignoring the fact that 46 million people are in the same place as the two patients featured every week on this show…
This show could really make leaps and bounds for health care if it discussed these cases in the context of what they are: the lucky few of an addressable problem. Every person in this nation deserves access to this kind of care, and there’s any number of ways we can go about ensuring that. We should take that joy and hope the sick enjoy when they get adequate care, and use that as reason to cover everyone.
Instead Americans will blissfully sit in front of their television, eyes a little wet as the "miracles" progress, little thought given to the rest of the uninsured and how they’ll never see doctors like this.
(Crossposted at AlterNet PEEK.)
Quote of the Day
Dolly Parton, on why she won’t run for president: “I think we've had enough boobs in the White House.”
I love you, Dolly!
Rugged Individualist
We have an idiot for a president.
I know that’s not news, but sometimes, I read something that not only reconfirms the statement’s lack of hyperbole, but actually creates a whole new section of the map which represents the vast and divergent landscape of his idiocy.
Nothing says power like the Oval Office. The paintings of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. The bust of Dwight D. Eisenhower. The desk used by both Roosevelts.Egads. Can’t you just hear him heh-hehing his way through that one? Yeesh.
And then there's the rug. Don't forget the rug. President Bush never does.
For whatever reason, Bush seems fixated on his rug. Virtually all visitors to the Oval Office find him regaling them about how it was chosen and what it represents…
Elizabeth Vargas, the ABC News anchor, was the latest to get the treatment. She went by last week to interview Bush before his trip to Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. Sure enough, she wasn't in the room but a minute or two before he started telling her about the carpet.
"You know an interesting story about the rug?" he asked. "Laura designed the rug."
"She did?" Vargas said.
"Yeah, she did. Presidents are able to pick their own rugs or design their own rugs."
Bush went on: "The interesting thing about this rug and why I like it in here is 'cause I told Laura one thing. I said, 'Look, I can't pick the colors and all that. But make it say 'optimistic person.'"
"He loves his rug," said Nicolle Wallace, the White House communications director. "I've heard him describe it countless times."I can’t even imagine working so closely with the president that I had to hear him wax poetic about this stupid fucking Ikea-knockoff rug “countless times.” I would have blown my friggin’ brains out.
Sometimes Bush describes it as a metaphor for leadership. Sometimes he relates how Russian President Vladimir Putin admired the carpet. Sometimes he seems most taken by the lighting qualities.I kid you not, the article goes on and on, including anecdotes about how Bush even mentions this fucking rug in the virtual tour on the White House website, how it gets a mention in Fred Barnes’ new tome Rebel-in-Chief, and how Bush has taken the rug-speak “on the road, sharing it with workers at a moving company in Sterling on Jan. 19, then with students at Kansas State University on Jan. 23, and again with supporters at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry on Feb. 1.” Good fucking lord.
I would bet anyone one hundred billion dollars that this dipshit has mentioned the Oval Office rug more times in the last year than the name Osama bin Laden has passed his lips.
Stumbling into the Twilight Zone at the Home and Patio Show
John Howard shares the tale of inadvertently walking into a different dimension during a recent family outing to a home and patio show.
[A]s my wife was talking to a guy in one booth about lawn care, the pest control guy in the next booth sees my son in his stroller and gives him a keychain, which was nice. He then tells my son something about how every man should have a keychain in his pocket. A little odd, I thought, but whatever. But then, using that as some bizarre segue relating to perceived manly behaviors (I guess?) he starts into a little anecdote, which I'm still not too clear on because I really couldn't believe that he was saying what I thought he was saying. Anyway, he says something about going into neighborhoods to get kids to go to Sunday school, and how he saw a young boy walking, and I forget how he put it, but the point was the kid wasn't walking like a man. So, he apparently told this kid something to the effect that woman walk with movement in their hips and wrists, but men walk with movement from their shoulders and arms (?), and that this kid needed to walk differently, so people "wouldn't get the wrong idea."It's always interesting living in a conservative area and being part of a straight, white couple who doesn't hate gay people, or people of color, or, you know, liberals. It never ceases to amaze how willingly people who assume you're just like them will put their bigotry on public display. Mr. Shakes and I are regularly assumed to be Christian, Bush-loving bigots who just can't wait to make babies, instead of the godless, deliberately childless, progressive traitors we actually are. Even his Scottish accent, tagging him as being one of those nasty Yur-oh-pee-ans, doesn't seem to cause pause, although that might be because, as we've learned from various comments, people think he's from Texas and that Scotland is part of America.
…I really didn't know what to say, I really thought I must have missed some part of what he said that would make it seem less insane, so I just walked on to the next booth, while my wife confirmed that what I heard was accurate. …We could use pest control too, and my wife was going to ask him about it, until he told his little anecdote. I wish the story had ended with the kid telling him that it wouldn't be the wrong idea, or just telling him to fuck off and mind his own business.
John notes:
If we can't get to the point in my lifetime where everyone is tolerant and understanding of people who are not like them (and I really think we can, or at least pretty close), I'd at least settle for getting close enough where people like this feel too ashamed of their idiotic beliefs to feel comfortable expressing them openly to strangers.I'm not sure that people who espouse views like the one he encountered actually believe that there are straight, white couples who aren't like them—maybe because they've never met any who weren't. I've too often been the target of a familiarity that suggests such people view the world with an us-against-them mentality, with straight, white Christians being the "us" and everyone else the "them," to believe otherwise. It's always a decidedly uncomfortable situation to be in, although I never tire of the look of surprise I receive when brutally quashing their delusions of kinship with a well-placed, "Yeah, you know what? I'm not homophobic," or "I'm afraid you've mistaken me for a racist."
Stutter stutter stammer.
Get stuffed, losers.
(Crossposted at AlterNet PEEK.)
Koufax Part Deux
Voting is now open to determine the finalists—and I sure would like your votes if you enjoy Shakespeare’s Sister!
Shakespeare’s Sister has been nominated for Best Blog (non-professional), Best Group Blog, and Best Series for coverage of the Downing Street Memo.
I’ve been nominated for Best Writing, as well as Best Post for Scarred, Liberals Will Save America, and Anti-Choicers: Not So Fast.
More Shaker nominations here.
It Was Only a Mini-Rape
After being choked, knocked around, raped at knifepoint, kidnapped, and held for six hours before she escaped, a then 50-year-old kitchen worker at a state juvenile detention facility has been denied a captivity benefit for union members because she was not held hostage long enough.
The union's insurance policy covers only victims held captive for eight hours or more.Before any quick “hey, rules is rules” dismissals, you might be interested to know:
A waiver could have been issued if the Civil Service Employees Association's executive board had approved the victim's request.So why wasn’t it?
On Monday, CSEA spokesman Steve Madarasz said the incident did not meet the criteria of the hostage insurance policy.Well, that certainly explains it.
"Obviously, this was a very unfortunate incident," he said, but declined further comment.
I guess next time Ms. Uppity gets beaten, kidnapped, and raped, she’ll think twice about escaping her captor two hours before the compassion kicks in.
(Passed on by Shaker Angelos.)
"W" is for "Wev."
"Words. Nothing but sweet, sweet words that melt into bitter wax in my ears."- Phillip J. Fry (Bolds mine)
Bush Touts Women's Role in Democracy
WASHINGTON - President Bush said Tuesday that democracies only reach their potential when women are allowed to fully participate in society, singling out Iran, North Korea and Myanmar as nations that are suppressing women's basic rights.
"America will help women stand up for their freedom, no matter where they live," Bush said at a White House celebration of Women's History Month and International Women's Day.
All together now:
UNLESS THEY'RE IN SOUTH DAKOTA.
These things just write themselves.
Abortion Scorecard
South Dakota—Abortion ban passed
Mississippi—Poised to pass abortion ban almost identical to South Dakota’s.
Missouri—State Supreme Court has upheld today the state law requiring a 24-hour waiting period for abortions; has filed a bill to ban nearly all abortion in the state.
Indiana—Indiana General Assembly set to vote next year on abortion ban.
Kentucky—Currently considering a bill to strengthen the state’s “informed consent” law, which requires counseling and a 24-hour waiting period.
Oklahoma—Currently considering a bill which would require abortion clinics to offer women an ultrasound before undergoing the procedure.
Utah—Close to passing a bill requiring pregnant teens to obtain parental consent before obtaining an abortion.
West Virginia—Considering legislation giving pharmacists the right to refuse to fill prescriptions for emergency contraceptives.
Georgia—Slated to consider a slew of abortion restrictions, including a bill that accords an embryo the same legal standing as the pregnant woman herself, a bill that allows pharmacists to refuse to fill prescriptions for emergency contraceptives, and a bill which would force women seeking abortions to have a sonogram or ultrasound.
Tennessee—Considering a bill requiring notification.
Alabama—Considering full abortion ban.
Massachusetts—Governor Mitt Romney says he would support a ban in South Dakota’s mold if it were brought before him.
I don’t even think that list is comprehensive. It also covers only what’s currently being considered, to the exclusion of the myriad of state laws which have already been passed in various states requiring notification, waiting periods, counseling, etc.
No Red State Left Behind
Alabama wants in on the anti-abortion action. SB503 would “prohibit an abortion for any reason except in an extreme case where the pregnancy threatens the life of the mother” and “provide a penalty for a violation.”
Section 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of Chapter 22 of Title 26, except in an extreme case of medical emergency where the life of the mother is threatened by the pregnancy, any person who causes or participates in the abortion of an unborn child shall be guilty of a Class B felony.Charming.
Thanks to Kathy for passing on the info, and Pam’s got more.
Help! Mom! These books are seriously freaking me out!
I get all sorts of interesting email these days, and in this morning's batch of goodies, I find a World Ahead Media Alert introducing a new children's book from Katharine DeBrecht, author of the tour de force Help! Mom! There are Liberals Under my Bed! Her newest outing, which lands in bookstores today, is called Help! Mom! Hollywood's in my Hamper! and it sounds like a good one.
With Academy Awards being handed out to movies about racist cops, gay cowboys, and communist sympathizers, Hollywood has declared an outright war on traditional values. But instead of getting angry at the movie business, parents should teach their kids to laugh at it, this according to best-selling children's author Katharine DeBrecht…The liberal elites of Hollywood...including Britney Spears? I believe that's the same Britney Spears who was quoted as saying, "Honestly, I think we should just trust our president in every decision he makes and should just support that, you know, and be faithful in what happens," with the "our president" in question being George Bush. Good research there.
DeBrecht -- whose book turned heads in Hollywood after being given out in Oscar party gift bags on Sunday night -- satirizes Barbra Streisand, Madonna, Tom Cruise, Britney Spears, Jack Nicholson, and Sean Penn with cartoon look-alikes who appear in the hamper of two young sisters to tell them how to behave and to sell them useless trinkets. The girls meet a number of other goofy celebrities along the way and in the process come to realize that stars don't always know best.
"The liberal elites running Hollywood have no intention of ceasing their relentless attack on traditional values," claims DeBrecht, a mother of three. "It's almost impossible for parents to block out all of the left-wing messages that Hollywood and its media friends are bombarding our kids with. The solution is for parents to teach their children to laugh at Hollywood and to regard celebrities as silly people."
Of course, I can't dismiss DeBrecht's larger point. Hollywood is filled exclusively with liberal loonies like
I would say that, you know, we are a little bit out of touch in Hollywood every once in a while. I think it's probably a good thing. We're the ones who talk about AIDS when it was just being whispered, and we talked about civil rights when it wasn't really popular. And we, you know, we bring up subjects. This Academy, this group of people gave Hattie McDaniel an Oscar in 1939 when blacks were still sitting in the backs of theaters. I'm proud to be a part of this Academy. Proud to be part of this community, and proud to be out of touch.Oh. Well all right then.
Just keep your extremist agenda out of the hampers of children, will you, you pervert?
(Crossposted at AlterNet PEEK.)
Good Luck with all That
Another nutjob running for office is incorporating the death penalty for gays into his platform. A trucker named Merrill Keiser, Jr., is running for Senate in Ohio—as a Democrat. He has no political background, but believes “homosexuality should be a felony, punishable by death.” He’s running as a Dem because “that's how he was registered the last time he voted.”
Sherrod Brown must be shaking in his boots.
I’d like to offer my services to Mr. Keiser as a campaign manager. Surely there’s a Bear Convention coming up somewhere whose attendees would be interested in hearing his views, and I’d be happy to set up an appearance for him.
(Thanks to Shaker Lori for passing that one along.)
Actual Headline
Birth Control Prevents God’s Work.
By using contraception, you prevent God’s creative power in bringing forth new life. Sex is a complete self-giving love you pledge to your spouse within marriage, and contraception destroys the unitive and procreative qualities of sex. Pleasure is not the purpose of sex — it’s the motive or consequence…You know what? We can just stop right at “Christian virtue.” Fantastic. Good for the Christians who agree with you. The rest of us, however, aren’t interested.
Self-control or temperance is a Christian virtue, and by practicing modern, effective methods of natural family planning by having periodic abstinence, you can postpone pregnancy if necessary in a healthy, inexpensive, fulfilling way as you embrace chastity appropriate for your stage in life.
As an aside, it is just me, or is that thought of God being all-powerful except when it comes to birth control just hilarious? Is God like Superman, and condoms are his Kryptonite? He can move mountains, but he just can’t find a way to get around a thin latex barrier.
Drat! Foiled again! I’ll get you Trojan!
(Passed on by Blogenfreude.)
From the Déjà Vu Files
ABC's latest investigative exclusive on Iraqi weapons being made in Iran had a suspiciously familiar ring to it. Turns out, that's because it's neither investigative nor exclusive.
Cernig at NewsHog reminds us that we've heard this story before...
Another way Brian Ross is failing to be in any manner "investigative" is in failing to find out or inform the public that this isn't any kind of exclusive--it is actually old news from way back in October last year.Meanwhile, The Heretik, commenting on the same story, notes:
Back then, the British media were full of the accusations that improved IED's using motion detectors as triggers were being sent to Iraq from Iran. They were being sent, according to British claims, to the Sadr militia--an organisation that the US has gone out of it's way to placate--but that too isn't mentioned by Ross. Just as now, absolutely no evidence was brought forward to show that the Iranian government were at all involved... and then the kerfuffle suddenly stopped. Why?
Well as I wrote at the time, it was discovered that the new, deadly IED's were using a British design that had been stupidly given to the IRA by British intelligence and then passed around various terror groups the IRA were allied with. Major egg on faces--story dropped.
Small simple shape charges destroy million dollar tanks. Seeming small, simple religious differences are discounted. They’re all Muslims, right? Invading a country seems so simple on the way in. We will give them democracy whether they want it or not. Then these Muslims develop a Muslim based democracy. The nerve. And not just a Muslim based democracy, but a Shiite dominated rule. Just like its Shiite and theocratic neighbor Iran.Indeed.
So as we find our tank armor vulnerable to simple, small destructive deadly weapons, our leaders are vulnerable for lack of common sense.
(Crossposted at AlterNet PEEK.)
holy insane wingnut, batman!
If you thought Shrub&Co. were a wee bit too Dominionist (or Dominionist-comfy) for your taste, check out this crazy mofo—Larry Kilgore. He makes Rick Perry, the gov. he’s looking to unseat, look like a liberal. No, really, check this shit out:
My first priority as governor will be to submit to Biblical law given to us by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ. My job, according to 1st Peter 2:14, will be to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.
From his site, he gives us a handy dandy guide to the governor’s race and where he stands on the issues. Let’s take a look, shall we:
* Execution for crime of murder including abortion
* Execution for crime of adultery
* Execution for crime of homosexual acts
* 1-40 lashes for crime of maliciousness, like graffiti, porn, strip clubs
* Eliminate TX budget for government indoctrination of children. (public education)
* Illegal immigrants should receive a minimum punishment of five lashes, $3,000 fine & deportation
And many more, most including execution. But he does say that “a vigilante should be prosecuted. Civil magistrates are God’s ministers to execute wrath”. So don’t say he didn’t warn you now.
Yes, he does have endorsements and he also has a nifty FAQ where you can equally be amused and slightly horrified with items like this:
The US Supreme court has ruled that Texas cannot prosecute adulterers, sexual perverts and murderers of preborn babies. How do you plan to prosecute the perpetrators?
Option #1) The US has a system of checks and balances. If the supreme court makes a ruling contrary to God’s law, then the president can choose not to enforce that ruling. I will ask the president not to send in troops when Texas prosecutes these criminals.
Option #2) I will uphold the current Constitution and sovereignty of the Republic of Texas and propose withdrawal from the corporation titled “The United States of America.”
One thing you can say though, he’s honest. He’s very opposed to the war in Iraq (because, well, the TX National Guard needs to fight for secession), he calls abortion regulations “a lie” (just a front for the real agenda), and he thinks democracy and terrorism are one and the same (no word on how his new Country of Texas will be run…). Nothing on non-christians, though an execution with a few lashes beforehand is probably on order. The creepy thing is that this guy states he got 30% of the vote when he ran in ‘93.
Oh, hey, in case you were wondering if you were a good enough person to get to heaven—he has a little internet quiz on his homepage for you to take. How thoughtful of him. (UPDATE: I forgot to add this last night, there are abortion images on the bottom of his homepage, just so you know about scrolling down all the way.)
Karl Marx is to have said that “religion is the opiate of the masses”. I think Larry here has OD’d.
(to the cross-post, let's go!)
Question of the Day
Suggested by the inveterate romantic, Mr. Shakes: How old were you the first time you fell in love?
Shakes: I was 16. I don't know that it was being in love in the way I think about being in love now, but it was the first time I experienced something quite close to it, and I suspect the boy in question would say the same. I hope so, anyway.
Mr. Shakes: I was 25, which sounds rather old, and of course, there had been crushes and so forth prior to this, but since none of them were requited, I don't feel I can call them love. It took me a long time to be able to open myself up to the opportunity to be loved, which is sort of a big part of falling in love.
how about some fun?
"Monday fun" of all things. :-) I got this from a friend on a bulletin board.
You drew the pig:
Toward the middle, you are a realist.
Facing left you believe in tradition, are friendly, and remember dates (birthdays, etc.)
[...]
The length of the tail indicates the quality of your sex life. You drew large tail, WOW!
LOL! So, go draw your pig and see what it says about you.
Secrets…5,000+ of Them
With all the pissing this administration does on the Constitution, it was only a matter of time before the ink smeared so thoroughly as to render all of its amendments illegible. Apparently, we’ve now waved bye-bye to the Sixth Amendment:
[N]early all records are being kept secret for more than 5,000 defendants who completed their journey through the federal courts over the last three years. Instances of such secrecy more than doubled from 2003 to 2005.Sure, sure, but we can’t let the terrorists know what’s going on with all these cases against terrorists during the Global War on Terror, can we?
An Associated Press investigation found, and court observers agree, that most of these defendants are cooperating government witnesses, but the secrecy surrounding their records prevents the public from knowing details of their plea bargains with the government.
Most of these defendants are involved in drug gangs.Oh.
The data show a sharp increase in secret case files over time as the Bush administration's well-documented reliance on secrecy in the executive branch has crept into the federal courts through the war on drugs, anti-terrorism efforts and other criminal matters.I believe you’re speaking about America 1.0, Ms. Dalglish. This country is America 2.0, and in America 2.0, we* do whatever the fuck we want to, dammit.
"This follows the pattern of this administration," said John Wesley Hall, an Arkansas defense attorney and second vice president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. "I am astonished and shocked that this many criminal proceedings in federal court escape public scrutiny or become buried."
The percentage of defendants who have reached verdicts and been sentenced but still have most of their records sealed has more than doubled in the last three years, the court office's tally shows…
"The Supreme Court has said that criminal proceedings are public," [Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee and a pioneer in campaigning against court secrecy] added. "In this country, we don't prosecute and lock up convicts and have no public track record of how we got there. That violates the defendants' rights not to mention the public's right to know what it's court system is doing."
--------------------------
* Not applicable for progressives, women, gays, people of color, the poor, the elderly, the infirm, and/or any other American citizen or resident deemed excluded at the administration’s sole discretion.
The Domino Effect
Abramoff attorney Abbe Lowell, threatening to go public with other corruption investigations at Abramoff’s March 29 sentencing hearing. “We will provide the public with evidence of what is going on out there,” Lowell said. (Link.)When one falls, they all follow. That’s the problem of doing business with the ethically-challenged. They have no compunction about selling your ass down the river once they get busted. A rat rats.
Bill Napoli: The Reason Why I Blog
Go watch this astounding video at Crooks and Liars in which South Dakota Republican state senator Bill Napoli defends the bill that bans abortions in South Dakota and makes no provision for cases of rape, incest, or the mother’s health (only unless her life is in the balance).
As part of his defense of not including a provision for cases of rape, saying that genuinely traumatic rapes would be covered in the “threatening the mother’s life” provision, he reveals not only his contempt for a woman’s autonomy over her own body, but also his stunning vision of what really constitutes a life-altering rape:
A real-life description to me would be a rape victim, brutally raped, savaged. The girl was a virgin. She was religious. She planned on saving her virginity until she was married. She was brutalized and raped, sodomized as bad as you can possibly make it, and is impregnated. I mean, that girl could be so messed up, physically and psychologically, that carrying that child could very well threaten her life.In Napoli’s view of the world, an atheist who’s had premarital sex (perhaps because she never intends to marry), and doesn’t show up at the ER bleeding out her ass and threatening to slit her wrists, isn’t the kind of rape victim whose life would be forever changed by being forced to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term. Only a virtuous girl who would have waited until marriage has a life trajectory upon which birthing your rapist’s spawn is a sufficient derailment to warrant an abortion. Lesbians, atheists, heck even you born-again virgins who have taken a renewed vow of abstinence until marriage, women who have the temerity to not consider a date rape just another name for what you’re obliged to deliver after a guy pays for your steak (consent conschment)—don’t bother appealing to Mr. Napoli’s conscience. He doesn’t have any room in his heart for you, girls.
Everything wrong with our societal views on rape and abortion summed up in one ridiculously stupid statement by one ridiculously stupid man. A man whose state also endorses a pharmacist’s right to refuse to fill birth control prescriptions, making unwanted pregnancies that much more likely. A man who thinks that a “return to traditional values” is the answer.
When I was growing up, here in the wild west, if a young man got a girl pregnant out of wedlock, they got married and the whole darn neighborhood was involved in that wedding. I mean, you just didn’t allow that sort of thing to happen, you know; I mean, they wanted that child to be brought up in a home with two parents, you know, that whole story. And so I happen to believe that can happen again… I don’t think we’re so far beyond that that we can’t go back to that.What a brilliant mind. Let’s return to a time when an unwanted pregnancy was not something which can be safely and quickly terminated, but instead an unshakable albatross which extinguishes the potential of two people—both the mother and the father—by forcing them to sacrifice their lives for the sake of a mistake.
Out of curiosity, I wonder, what happened there “in the wild west” when a girl was impregnated by a married man, or her father, or a rapist? Is that when they’d form the posse and head out for a lynchin’? Yeah, let’s go back to that time. It sounds fantastic for everyone—especially for the child brought into the world to be raised by a
They just don’t make mavericks like they used to.
A spokesperson said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., would have signed the South Dakota legislation, "but [he] would also take the appropriate steps under state law -- in whatever state -- to ensure that the exceptions of rape, incest or life of the mother were included."(Link.)Or maybe it’s not so much that the maverick mold is wearing out, as much as how little it takes to be a conservative maverick these days. When it’s a not a radical notion to vote to criminalize abortion and fundamentally undermine a women’s autonomy, but it is to do so while being magnanimous enough to make an exception for women who have been raped, impregnated by a family member, or may die if they’re forced to carry a pregnancy to term, that’s a pretty sad state of affairs.
all your uteri belong to us
So says South Dakota. The governor signed the reprehensible law into being today. From the article:
South Dakota lawmakers believe President Bush may have a chance to appoint a third justice in the years before the legal battle over the South Dakota law reaches the nation’s highest court.
Even if you don’t pray, start now for Justice Stevens’ health and that he doesn’t decide to retire in the next few years.
There is a part of this that has stood out to me:
...and the Legislature set up a special account to accept donations for legal fees.
Is that common? I don’t recall hearing of legislature starting up a special fund for donors to give to help pay for advancing an agenda before.
This bullshit is about control and making one group of people’s beliefs into law and not letting the individual decide what is medically and morally right. Ugh.
(crossy-posty)
“Sweetie, is it okay with you if I get an abortion?”
The Tennessee state legislature is considering a bill that would make it “an offense for a physician to knowingly perform an abortion on a woman who is eighteen (18) years of age or older unless the physician has received from the woman a signed statement indicating that the woman has notified the man by whom she is pregnant that she intends to have an abortion."
The bill provides exceptions if the woman signs a statement saying the pregnancy is a result of rape and has been reported to law enforcement, is unable "after diligent effort" to notify or identify the man (in which case she must file written notice with the Department of Children's Services to be placed on the department's putative father registry), and in the case of medical emergencies when the life of the woman is at risk. Penalties are a Class A misdemeanor punishable by a $5,000 fine for the physician and a $2,000 fine for the woman.Setting aside for a moment the mind-boggling complexity of actually enforcing this law, its inevitable result (and probable intent) is conferring ownership status of a woman’s body upon any man with whom she has had sex. And while proponents of this kind of legislation love to tout the emergence of “fathers’ rights,” the reality is that there are no line-item vetos in pregnancy. If he doesn’t want to terminate the pregnancy, but she does, she can’t turn it over to him—and that’s why “fathers’ rights” are just untenable. It’s not a split vote with equal standing. He doesn’t have to subject his body to 9 months of incubating an unwanted child; he doesn’t have to engage health risks; he doesn’t have to balance the other pressing concerns in an expectant mother’s life, which may include dependent children or elders; he doesn’t have to continue to go to work every day, while coordinating pre-natal health care and maternity leave; he doesn’t have to purchase a new wardrobe; he doesn’t have to go through labor. And to force a woman to go through all of this against her will, he doesn’t even need to accept the full responsibility of raising that child; he can force her to do that, too, as long as he’s willing to pay whatever child support the court requires.
That’s the problem with partner notification laws. The interested parties just aren’t standing on the same playing field; their vested interests aren’t remotely parallel. And so their veto power over whether a pregnancy comes to term or not absolutely cannot and should not be given equal standing. Proponents of fathers’ rights in cases of abortion love to claim that it’s unfair that men have “no say,” but it’s nothing more than an unsustainable misdirection. It’s quite literally unfair to give men equal say in a process in which their involvement and their personal risk and inconvenience is miminal, to put it mildly.
To argue in favor of legislation like this is to ignore the functionality of how a child comes into this world. A positive pregnancy test, irrespective of when you believe life begins, is not the same as a baby. Between those two points are nine months that can’t be left out of the equation to make fathers’ rights arguments more convenient.
Tangentially, compelling the report of a rape to get an abortion is ill-advised for many reasons, not the least of which is a clear encroachment on a woman’s right to privacy.
(Hat tip to Ann at Feministing.)
Go on...
...give him some love. You know you want to.
"We are a little bit out of touch in Hollywood every once in a while…
Hoosiers Losing Faith in Bush
Even red red red ol’ Indiana is turning on Bush. Hoosiers now disapprove of the direction in which the country is headed by a wide margin: 61% say we’re on the wrong track. And 56% disapprove of the president’s job performance.
All the macro reasons we’ve been hating on Bush lo these many years, knowing what would be their inevitable results, have started to become glaringly, unavoidably apparent on the micro level, and people just can’t defend their votes for the man any longer.
Kay Melloy, a 64-year-old independent voter from Chandler, finds nothing to approve of in Bush's job performance. She's especially distressed by the amount of money Bush is spending overseas in Iraq, when there are so many needs in the United States.The WaPo’s Alan Abramowitz thinks incompetence is behind Bush’s bad poll numbers, and I’m sure that’s part of it, but out here in the red states of Middle America, I think something else is at work. People I’ve spoken to in this area are very reluctant to hold the president—any president, even those they don’t like and didn’t vote for—personally responsible for a large array of problems. They’re not well-versed, nor particularly interested, in how a president’s economic policies tangibly affect the economy, which is why Bush can sell tax cuts by ridiculous anecdotes about how much they’ll help a family of four in Dingleberry, Texas. While political junkies see the tangled web of interrelated connections between politics, policy, and the direction of the ship of state, many voters who have only a passing interest in politics seem to view many of the same issues as happening in a void. The president and his policies don’t affect the economy; all he can do is respond to changes in the economy.
She works in a bank, she said, and sees elderly people with very little to live on.
"It goes through me like a knife," Melloy said.
So while we look at any given policy and say, “This is going to have disastrous results,” they don’t. They take the president on his word that it’s going to be great, and only years later, when those disastrous results finally come to fruition in their daily lives—when they’re personally affected—do they maybe start to make the connection.
This is yet another reason why it’s so devastating that the media doesn’t critique policy anymore, but simply reports the president’s (or his party’s) endorsement of it, their explanations about why it’s brilliant and how it will be helpful to the average American—because the average American believes it. Given no alternative, no context, they will not extrapolate how any specific policy may actually affect them 5 years down the line.
Now we’re 5 years down the line. Now Hoosier veterans are coming home, and they’re grousing about their experiences. Support for the war on terror starts to fall. Now Hoosiers are starting to see people struggling to make ends meet who didn’t have to struggle before. Support for economic policies starts to fall.
The ship of state moves slowly. When it ends up, years later, at a destination the captain didn’t promise, only then do many of its passengers begin to grumble. “My ticket said Ownership Society, not Social Darwinism. What are we doing here?”
That’s not about competence. It’s about being taken for a ride.
Oscar Time
I'm off for my superbowl.
Mr. Shakes and I are heading to a friend's house where we will do our annual Oscar thing, which mainly consists of a fierce competition over our winner projections, lots of snarky commentary, and the obligatory moaning about how dumb the Oscars are, even though we all love it.
I'm hoping that between Jon Stewart hosting and Brokeback Mountain sure to pick up some golden statuettes, there will be much exploding of conservative heads across America's great landscape tonight.
If Clooney manages to scrape out a win for Best Supporting Actor, tilt your ears southward and listen for the dull scrape that is the sound of millions of collectively gnashing teeth.
Question of the Day
Before I get to the question, a couple of thoughts on the Illinois rape case, which, as I mentioned below, has resulted in an aquittal, and the status of rape trials in general.
What I find particularly odious about this case is that it is indicative of a disturbing trend, in which the woman bears a greater burden to stop an unwanted sexual advance than does a man to not take advantage of a woman in a compromised position. There is seemingly very little empathy for a woman who is either partially or wholly incapacitated, or whose judgment is somehow impaired, and almost no respect for her right to be free from coercion under such circumstances—even if she is underage. The merest hint that she may have been remotely aware of what was happening to her is now construed as consent. If a woman doesn’t remember the attack, consent is all too often assumed, with very little reason to do so.
That's particularly problematic because coercive and opportunistic rape are extremely common (more common than stranger rape), and extremely difficult to prove, as they often result in a she-said/he-said scenario.
She said. He said.
That’s what it comes down to in a courtroom. But before it ever gets there, it’s the woman’s responsibility to avoid rape to the best of her ability. If she is not completely coherent, and her consent or dissent signals aren’t clear, that’s her fault—and the reason that belief is sustainable is because we don’t expect enough of the men in these situations; we don’t burden them with the same responsibility to not take advantage of a situation that we burden women with preventing in the first place. Her mixed signals, not his misinterpretation of them. That soft bigotry of low expectations strikes me as an insult to the men who would never take advantage of a vulnerable woman, as well as the women who are unlucky to find themselves in the presence of a man who would.
Now to the question: What have you been taught about rape, and where did you learn it? Who have you spoken to about rape? Have you ever attended or instructed a seminar on rape? Was it compulsory or voluntary?
And Shaker Men: Do men talk about rape amongst themselves? Have you known men who have taken advantage of a drunk or otherwise vulnerable woman and didn’t consider it rape? Do men who would never rape a woman feel like they have any responsibility in rape prevention, or do you consider simply not being a rapist sufficient? The truth is, I don't know much about what men are taught or what they think about rape, and I'd like to.
(And please—I’d like this to be a discussion about what we learn about rape in this society, as men and as women. This isn’t a thread for anecdotes about your brother-in-law who was falsely charged by his bitter ex-girlfriend; it’s not a thread to “take sides” or shout each other down. Let’s just talk about what we know, how we know it, who we talk to, etc.)
Yeesh
Glenn Greenwald: Bill Frist threatens to re-structure the Intelligence Committee in order to block NSA hearings. Just go read.
Koufax Awards Voting Is Open
There is just an amazing collection of bloggers in every category. I couldn’t possibly list every blogger I admire who’s been nominated, but I will pass on the nominations bestowed upon Shakespeare’s Sister and contributor blogs. (Let me know if I missed any.) This round of voting will determine the finalists, so if you want to make sure your favorites make it to the next round, take a moment to cast your votes.
Below you’ll also find direct links to each category, and, if you’re nominated, please feel free to use the comments thread to announce your nominations and campaign on your behalf.
Shakespeare’s Sister has been nominated for Best Blog (non-professional), Best Group Blog, and Best Series for coverage of the Downing Street Memo.
I’ve been nominated for Best Writing, as well as Best Post for Scarred, Liberals Will Save America, and Anti-Choicers: Not So Fast.
Paul the Spud’s The Adventures of the Smart Patrol has been nominated for Best New Blog and Most Deserving of Wider Recognition.
Tart’s Tart Juice (formerly Some Watery Thoughts) has been nominated for Best New Blog.
Shamanic’s SimianBrain has been nominated for Most Deserving of Wider Recognition, as well as Best Post for Miers Begins to Come Into Focus. So too the GOP.
Patrick’s I Speak Dog (formerly Yelladog) has been nominated for Most Deserving of Wider Recognition.
Expostulation has been nominated for Most Deserving of Wider Recognition.
And Shakers nominated for Best Commenter are: Comandante Agi T. Prop, The Dark Wraith, Me4President2008, Norbizness, somewaterytart, and Oddjob.
Categories:
Best Blog (non-professional)
Best Blog -- Sponsored or Professional
Best Blog Community
Best Writing
Best New Blog
Most Deserving of Wider Recognition
Best Single Issue Blog
Best Post
Best Series
Best Expert Blog
Best Group Blog
Most Humorous Blog
Most Humorous Post
Best State or Local Blog
Best Commenter
Acquittal in Illinois Rape Case
Via LeMew, the recently discussed rape case in Illinois, during which the presiding judge threatened to jail the victim for refusing to watch a video of the incident, has ended in an acquittal.
After repeatedly viewing a videotape that captured the alleged gang rape of a 16-year-old girl, a jury acquitted a Burr Ridge man Friday of sexual assault and child pornography charges.The defense contended that the victim’s having put her hand on the accused’s head, kissing him, and smiling was indicative of consent—evidently both to have sex with him and another man and to allow them to write vulgarities and spit on her.
The lawyer for Adrian Missbrenner, 20, went frame-by-frame through the video, taken during a party at which teens were drinking heavily Dec. 7, 2002, pointing to every gesture he said might indicate the girl's consent.
…The verdict appalled victims' rights advocates, who said the defense sought to affirm every rape myth.
"We're down to those same stereotypes--she was drinking, she was asking for it," said Linda Healy, executive director of Mutual Ground, a suburban counseling program for sexual assault victims.
"We hold the standards that the victim, who is almost always a woman, is somehow supposed to prevent this from happening if it's something she didn't want," said Polly Poskin of the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
She wasn’t brutalized, just taken advantage of. What’s the big deal? If she didn’t want to be part of a gangbang, get spit on, and have her naked body defaced, she never should have had anything to drink. Geez, you’d expect 16-year-olds to be more responsible. Her fault for not knowing her limit. Right?
Absolutely despicable.
Chertoff’s Days Numbered?
In the aftermath of the public revelation of the presidential "teleconference" and mounting criticism of the performance of Michael Chertoff, Administration sources told HUMAN EVENTS today that the secretary of Homeland Security has "only a few days left" in the Bush Cabinet.The administration says no.
As one source acquainted with the former federal prosecutor and U.S. appellate judge said under promise of anonymity, "They will give [Chertoff] a little time so it won't hurt his reputation too much, but he's probably got only a few days left."
A senior administration official is refuting my source’s comments that Chertoff’s days are numbered.Yeah, well, I remember what happened to the last guy in that general area that the president thought was doing a heckuva job.
“The President offered strong words of support for Secretary Chertoff on Tuesday in an interview with Elizabeth Vargas. Secretary Chertoff is serving in one of the most difficult positions in government and he is doing an excellent job.”
We shall see…
Question of the Day
Suggested by Mrs. Toast:
“How about things that you do and you don't know why you do them? For instance, whenever I get on the scale, I hold my boobs like they're too big to see around, but they're not. I've always done it and I don't know why. Very odd.”
I love this one! (And I wish I could say the same as Mrs. T, but to my endless chagrin, my boobs have been too big to see around since I was about 9.)
I always have to have my windows open in a particular order. Email, then any internet thingies, then applications like Word, Photoshop, etc. If they get mixed up, I have to start all over—because I’ve been doing it that way for so long that I can’t find Outlook unless it’s in the bottom left. I have no idea why I started in the first place, but it’s probably because I always open email first at work before I’d start anything else, to check if I had anything urgent that needed to get done.
I also have some inexplicable unconscious habits that friends have pointed out to me. Like, when I drop something, I point at it before I pick it up. And even now that it’s been thoroughly mocked so that I’m aware of it, I still can’t help doing it. (I also do this if I stumble across something worth picking up that was dropped by someone else, like a $5 bill on the street, at which I was pointing before stooping when this habit was first pointed out to me.) Apparently, I also knit my brow very tightly when I read and stick my tongue out while I’m concentrating.
Q: If Katrina left you homeless and jobless, what do you do?
A: Whatever it is, don’t sell t-shirts making fun of FEMA.
George Barisich, president of the United Commercial Fisherman's Association, is among those left homeless and unemployed. Last fall he started selling t-shirts that read "Flooded by Katrina! Forgotten by FEMA! What's Next, Mr. Bush?" for fun and profit.The charge was violation of a law that bans “the sale of goods on federally owned property.” (Really? Can you please ticket the administration for selling federally owned property then?) The Department of Homeland Security claims if they didn’t enforce the rule, “you could have potentially 20 to 30 people standing out in front of the [FEMA] center, obstructing things.” Yeah, god forbid it turn into a circus down there, eh? At least the kind of circus where desperate people can make a buck, as opposed to The Three-Ring Big Tent of Government Giveaways to Corporate Cronies.
Last month, on February 1, Barisich was in line with fellow hurricane victims to pick up canned food from a charity's tent. He gave one of his t-shirts to the man standing next to him.
Soon, six men from FEMA had him surrounded. They issued him a $75 ticket and threatened to arrest him…
His family lost 14 of their 17 homes in the area, he lost three of his boats and his oyster beds are beyond repair. He will be fighting the ticket.
Anyhow, Barisich gave the shirt away; he didn’t sell it, which is why he’s protesting the ticket. FEMA doesn’t care. They responded to his inquiry “Do you really want to arrest me? Am I the only one here who thinks this is asinine? You're harassing a person who just lost everything,” by telling him if he didn’t take the ticket, he’d be arrested. Swell.
The Useless McCain
It’s no secret that I’m on a one-woman mission to make sure every American realizes that John McCain is little more than George Bush in sheep’s clothing (if said sheep were a bleating old man whose desperation for the presidency is evident in every inch of its wool), but today Drum is helping me out by pointing to a WaPo article outlining how laughably impotent McCain’s anti-torture bill really is. First, the WaPo:
In federal court yesterday and in legal filings, Justice Department lawyers contended that a detainee at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, cannot use legislation drafted by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to challenge treatment that the detainee's lawyers described as "systematic torture."Way to go, McCain. Nothing like giving the architects of a torture policy that finds the Geneva Conventions “quaint” the ability to claim they're really anti-torture by passing your useless bill, all while they continue to “systematically torture” people. Fine work, sir.
...."Unfortunately, I think the government's right; it's a correct reading of the law," said Tom Malinowski, Washington advocacy director for Human Rights Watch. "The law says you can't torture detainees at Guantanamo, but it also says you can't enforce that law in the courts."
And now Drum:
I have a lot of reasons for wishing that liberals would stop falling for McCain's "straight talk" schtick, and this is one of them: even on the issues where he's one of the good guys, he caves in too often to have much of an impact. His ambition to be president is palpable in everything he does, and it's what's responsible for his routine compromises on issues he supposedly considers matters of honor, his cozying up to George Bush whenever it's politically convenient, and his bizarre recent temper tantrum against Barack Obama. He's certainly mastered the art ofsounding reasonable, but it's only an inch deep. Underneath, he's just a standard issue right wing politician. Caveat emptor.Exactly right. And because I’ve said just about everything I’ve got to say about this Arizona sun-dried turd and his revolting naked ambition (and because I’m lazy), I’ll just repeat some of my previous commentary on his loathsome politicking:
On McCain’s support of intelligent design being taught in schools: Anyone who still thinks this jagoff's a maverick after the bootlicking he gave Bush during the last election is living in cloud cuckoo land. His alleged independent streak came to a screeching halt as it collided with the stumbling zombie corpse of his credibility the moment he stood in New Hampshire with his arm around the shoulders of the man whose operatives called his wife a junky and his adopted daughter illegitimate. He may have been honorable and brave once upon a time, but he’s not anymore.
On McCain’s slavish devotion to Dear Leader: [P]erhaps McCain is actually a Real Doll, as it occurs to me that the owners of Real Dolls and the Bush administration have approximately the same needs—loyalty, compliance, someone who looks real enough but doesn’t ask too many questions, a realistic body with no brain to help convey one’s basest urges. And I don’t think McCain is the only Real Doll floating around the Beltway. He’s certainly not the only GOP hack willing to get repeatedly fucked while never saying a word.
On McCain’s endorsement of the Protect Arizona Marriage Amendment: If that picture of Douche McCain with his arms wrapped around Dear Leader, clinging to him like shit to a shoe tread and longing, so desperately longing, to be cradled with pure, unsullied manlove, isn’t enough to make you projectile vomit your entire intestinal track, this ought to do the trick—brave maverick McCain, after opposing the Federal Marriage Amendment seeking to ban gay marriage, has pulled the old switcheroo and endorsed the Protect Marriage Arizona Amendment. …McCain’s opposition to the FMA was based not on any love he had for the LGBT community, but because he felt it was “antithetical in every way to the core philosophy of Republicans…[and] usurps from the states a fundamental authority they have always possessed and imposes a federal remedy for a problem that most states do not believe confronts them.” …But now, just over a year later, his home state has decided it needs to confront this “problem,” and so he’s happy to throw gays to his sun-roasted wingnut constituents for their frenzied feral bacchanal. Not a trace of irony, nor a moment’s hesitation, nor the merest, passing flicker of recognition is to be found in his countenance as he plows forward with an endorsement that suggests even if a national marriage amendment isn’t part of the core philosophy of Republicans, bigotry and hatred are.
On McCain’s endorsement of racist ninny George Wallace, Jr.: As for John McCain: Straight Talkin’ White Supremacist, here’s his Straight Talk on Wallace, via one of his top advisers, John Weaver: “George Wallace Jr., is an enlightened progressive leader who always speaks of tolerance and carries forth his father's views at the end of his life. He has strong support across the racial and political spectrum.” Keep on selling that load of shit, you daft prick. Come 2008, we’ll see who’s buying.
On McCain’s batshit crazy attack on Senator Obama: Let us never cease to speak of McCain with the firm conviction that he is an asshole, a man who will lovingly embrace the cretin whose political machine called his wife a junky and his daughter an illegitimate black child.
Blech.
I Kick Ass for the Lord!
"Pardon me, but have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior?"
"Uh, no, I haven't."
*click* BOOM.
Yes, the Left Behind Video Games have arrived. So what's Hillary going to have to say about this? (Bolds mine)
March 6, 2006 issue - Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition: Christians are finally getting a high-caliber shoot-'em-up videogame of their own. Due out on PCs in the second half of 2006, Left Behind: Eternal Forces is the first game adapted from the blockbuster books by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. Gamers familiar with the largely uninspiring and unprofitable history of Christian videogames will quickly notice two differences in Forces: the top-shelf design, which offers an eerily authentic reproduction of the game's Manhattan setting, and a level of violence reminiscent of Grand Theft Auto. The game revolves around New Yorkers who are "left behind" after the rapture. Players scour the streets for converts, training them into a work force to feed, shelter and join a paramilitary resistance against the growing forces of the Antichrist.But don't think this is a double standard, you foolish person.
Left Behind Games CEO Troy Lyndon, whose company went public in February, says the game's Christian themes will grab the audience that didn't mind gore in "The Passion of the Christ." "We've thought through how the Christian right and the liberal left will slam us," says Lyndon. "But megachurches are very likely to embrace this game."Yes, if you got a stiffy watching Christ get the living shit beat out of him on the big screen, bring the fun home! Now you can blow those non-believers all the way to h-e-double hockey sticks right in the comfort of your own living room!
After all, violent bloodshed is the Christian way, right?
As my friend says that hipped me to this:
Look, I play violent videogames all the time, but I think there's a difference between "kill the giant" "kill Sephiroth" or whatever where you are given an antagonist in the game that has little or no relation to the real world or at the very least has given you reason within the game's storyline to oppose them and having a game tell you to kill people for political reasons.
I'm sure Ned Flanders would not approve.
(Bringing in the sheaves... Bringing in the cross-posts...)
CIA #3 Under Investigation for Corruption
A stunning investigation of bribery and corruption in Congress has spread to the CIA, ABC News has learned.Cunningham was scheduled to be sentenced today.
The CIA Inspector General has opened an investigation into the spy agency's executive director, Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, and his connections to two defense contractors accused of bribing a member of Congress and Pentagon officials…
Two former CIA officials tell ABC News that Foggo oversaw contracts involving at least one of the companies accused of paying bribes to Congressman Randall "Duke" Cunningham.
The CIA says that this investigation is simply “standard practice.” Foggo, who has no comment, will remain on the job during the investigation. The details:
As executive director of the CIA, Foggo oversees the administration of the giant spy agency. He was appointed to the post by CIA director Porter Goss after working as a mid-level procurement supervisor, according to former CIA officials.Does anyone else smell smoke in here?
While based in Frankfurt, Germany, he oversaw and approved contracts for CIA operations in Iraq.
Foggo is a longtime friend of Brent Wilkes, listed as unindicted co-conspirator No. 1 in government documents filed in the Cunningham investigation. The two played high school football and were in each other's weddings.
According to government documents, Wilkes gave Cunningham $630,000 in cash and gifts in exchange for help in getting government contracts.
Wilkes was the founder of ADSC, Inc, in 1995. Under Wilkes, the company obtained more than $95 million in government contracts.
Officials say they could not describe the CIA contracts in question because some of them were classified secret.
This is So Wrong
John Travolta and Queen Latifah have been confirmed to star in the big-screen version of Hairspray to be directed by Adam Shankman (Bringing Down the House). Travolta will play the role made famous by Divine as Edna Turnblad. Latifah will play Motormouth Mabel. A current nationwide search is on for the lead role of Tracy Turnblad made famous by Ricki Lake. Production begins this Fall with a 2007 release. [New Line Cinema]I’m fairly certain that the casting of the doofusy John Travolta as the glorious Edna Turnblad is one of the signs of the apocalypse. I know he can sing and dance, but that's not the point! I'm pouting.
The only thing that will make me feel better at the moment is a message from John Waters.
(iFilm seems buggered right now. It'll play if and when they get themselves sorted out. Meh.)
Not the Official Question of the Day...
...but I'm opening up a thread to solicit more suggestions for future QotDs. I've gone through about half of the suggestions since last time already.
If you go here, you can find most of the past QotDs, which may or may not be inspiring; I dunno.
All good patriotic Americans are in debt…
…which, obvioulsy, means that paying off your debt is unpatriotic—and therefore worthy of investigation by Homeland Security.
The balance on their JCPenney Platinum MasterCard had gotten to an unhealthy level. So they sent in a large payment, a check for $6,522.Fucking ridiculous. Welcome to America 2.0.
…And they learned how frighteningly wide the net of suspicion has been cast…
They were told, as they moved up the managerial ladder at the call center, that the amount they had sent in was much larger than their normal monthly payment. And if the increase hits a certain percentage higher than that normal payment, Homeland Security has to be notified. And the money doesn't move until the threat alert is lifted.
Walter called television stations, the American Civil Liberties Union and me. And he went on the Internet to see what he could learn. He learned about changes in something called the Bank Privacy Act.
"The more I'm on, the scarier it gets," he said. "It's scary how easily someone in Homeland Security can get permission to spy."
(Hat tip AMERICAblog.)
I Vill Break You
So, there’s this Russian boxer called Nikolay Valuev. He stands 7 feet tall and weighs 320lbs, putting him safely in the heavyweight division. And unlike many of the other “giant” boxers who have gone before him, who mostly just had freak show appeal, this guy might actually be able to box.
[T]he proverbial boxing sideshow has, almost without exception, been just that — relegated to the side, safely distanced from that which would be looked upon as substantive, important, or mainstream within the industry.It would be really interesting if this guy turned out to be the genuine article. Especially because the heavyweight division is soooooo boring now. Valuev’s first fight to air in America comes in September, and I’m totally tuning in.
Is that in the process of changing? Has one of the circus acts emerged to the point where it is positioned front and center in the landscape of what is traditionally boxing's glamour division? And is it just a pathetic sign of the times in the depressed heavyweight picture?
These are the questions being asked in some corners of the fight game these days, inspired by the rise of a figure who may just be on the verge of boxing's Holy Grail.
Even if you don’t like boxing, just check out these pictures. The guy’s a monster!
Nikolai Valuev of Russia and John Ruiz of the U.S. exchange punches during their WBA Heavyweight Fight at the Max-Schmeling Hall on December 17, 2005 in Berlin, Germany. (Martin Rose/Bongarts/Getty Images)
Nicolai Valuev of Russia and Clifford Etienne of the United States exchange punches during the WBA Intercontinental Championship Heavyweight Fight between Nicolai Valuev and Clifford Etienne on May 14, 2005 in Bayreuth, Germany. (Christian Fischer/Bongarts/Getty Images)
Marcelo Dominguez takes on Nikolai Valuev in a boxing match on April 17, 2004. (Friedemann Vogel/Bongarts/Getty Images)
Yowza. He makes other heavyweights look teensy!
Thanks to Mr. Shakes for sending along the article.
Oh, the Irony
One of the long-held and oft-cited “beliefs” of homobigots about gays and lesbians is that they are predatory, going after children to “recruit” as part of the proverbial radical homosexual agenda. It’s especially used in reference to gay men, which is why homobigots love to conflate gay men and pedophiles; a man who molests boys is further evidence, they claim, that gays prey on children. It’s a particularly nasty meme that refuses to die, in spite of its utter lack of validity.
So it was with some bitter amusement I read that children are being genuinely and openly targeted by the ex-gay movement, appealing to parents’ concerns about the horror of having a gay child and recruiting kids to disseminate the lie that homosexuality is a mental illness.
Called 'Youth in the Crosshairs' the report was prepared by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. It says that groups such as Exodus International and Focus on the Family now recommend "prevention" and conversion therapy "treatments"…Every reputable medical and psych group, including the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association, has discredited this crap, but that matters little, of course, to the anti-science crowd.
"Whether through ex-gay teen programs or traveling ex-gay conferences like Focus on the Family's Love Won Out ex-gay programs are recommending that parents commit their children to treatment of 'prehomosexuality' even if it is against their children's wishes. Heterosexual youth are also being recruited in schools and churches to spread the message that homosexuality is a treatable mental illness," the report says.
"One of the most disturbing accounts in this report is a case involving a 5-year-old boy who was subjected to conversion therapy to address 'prehomosexuality.' The case involves a psychologist who claims that his theories and treatments are scientific," said study co-author Jason Cianciotto, the Policy Institute's research director.
Like I’ve said before, if you want to know what conservatives are up to, just pay attention to what they’re accusing us of doing. It’s all about projection. There’s no radical gay agenda, but there is a radical anti-gay one.
Health Tourism
You’ve got to be kidding me:
Press reports from India following a meeting between President Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh suggest the US is considering outsourcing some HIV/AIDS care to that country.Health tourism?! If that isn’t the most fucked-up euphemism invoked as polish for an odious turd I’ve ever heard, I don’t know what is.
The reports cite a joint statement issued following the meeting on trade, security and HIV/AIDS that said health tourism from the US to India was an area with "enormous potential for collaboration".
Given India's "world-class medical care facilities at reasonable costs, the two countries could leverage Indian expertise for their economic and social benefit" the Times of India quotes the joint statement as saying.
The two countries agreed to harmonize their healthcare systems and develop specialized medical insurance and legal packages for US patients to boost health tourism.
I can’t even begin to comprehend what the point of this is. Is the president seriously proposing shipping off patients with HIV/AIDS to India for treatment? Good Christ. Let me guess what’s next—Roe won’t be overturned, but you’ve got to go to India for an abortion! And while you’re there, stop by the Taj Mahal—it’s health tourism, bitches!
Mr. Unpopular
Bush’s approval rating has fallen to 39% even in the Fox News poll, where he gets his highest marks. He’s coming in at 38% in the newest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, and 36% in the most recent Quinnipiac poll.
The latest Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll shows Bush's approval rating "fell to 38%, the lowest level recorded for him in the poll."His “strongly disapprove” ratings alone are consistently hitting in the 40%s, which means there are more people who strongly disapprove of his performance than approve. Overall disapproval is in the high 50%s.
"And in a trend that could affect turnout in the November midterm elections, Bush confronts what might be called an intensity gap: the percentage of Americans who said they strongly disapprove of his performance on a wide range of issues greatly exceeded the share who strongly approve."
If we can’t impeach his lousy ass, I say we start a petition for a Do-Over. It’s sort of like a recall, except it also entails undoing any and all legislation tied to his presidency—so not only does he get the big boot, but we also wave bye-bye to tax cuts, the bankruptcy bill, the Medicaid prescription plan, No Child Left Behind, John Roberts, and Samuel Alito. And we start all over again, like the last 5 years never happened. Meanwhile, we send him and the rest of the neocons to Iraq to clean up their own mess.
Strike that. The Iraqis have suffered enough. We’ll just put them in jail. I’m thinking Gitmo.
It’s Called Acting
Passed on by Shaker Zack, who notes, “It's almost too hilariously stupid to be offensive. Almost.”
Brokeback Mountain actress Michelle Williams has been disowned by her former school because of her role in the controversial gay cowboy romance. Williams, who attended exclusive Santa Fe Christian School in San Diego, California, has been blasted by the school's headmaster as "offensive" for acting the long-suffering wife of a homosexual ranch hand, played by Heath Ledger. Jim Hopson has branded the Oscar nominee a poor role model, and hopes his education establishment won't be linked to the film's themes. He tells the San Diego Union Tribune, "We don't want to have anything to do with her in relation to that movie. Michelle doesn't represent the values of this institution. Brokeback Mountain basically promotes a lifestyle we don't promote."Well, it’s safe to say that your plan backfired; certainly the school will be linked to the film’s themes—homophobia and bigotry—although I’m sure those aren’t the ones to which you were referring. Nice going, dipshit.
She’s also—gasp!—had a baby out of wedlock with Heath Ledger, too. And that was in her real life, not in a fucking movie. Oh, the horror!
Any comment, Mr. Hopson? Do you promote that “lifestyle”? Or isn’t there as much money to be made and notoriety to be had by lambasting single mothers, some of whom surely pay the tuitions at your precious school?
Friday Cat Blogging
This little video was taken right after we brought Olivia home, after she flew off the back of a farm truck in front of us on the highway. We pulled over to dig her out of the grass, and her little paws were all scraped up and her lip and chin torn and bleeding badly, so we took her to the vet and got her all fixed up (including a chin implant!), and then took her home. We thought at first she was a little gray kitten, but then I washed her up and it turned out she was white. As a reference to her humble and smudge-faced beginnings, she was named Olivia Twist.
Matilda, highly irritated (at first) by not being the baby anymore, makes an appearance at the end of the video...
Question of the Day
Suggested by Darryl Pearce.
“How many blogs/websites do you visit a day? In total? Even more than once?”
Since, like Darryl, I was laid off and therefore have far too much time on my hands, I visit more blogs, news sites, and job sites in a day than I can count. And even then, it’s not nearly as many as I’d like to get to in a day, or would be able to if I wasn’t compulsively blogging and sending out résumés to which no one wants to respond. Sigh.
I’d also add, which are you favorite blogs? Not a solicitation to say Shakes!—I’m just curious which blogs you most enjoy, so I can check them out, too, if I’ve not already.
It was only a matter of time…
…before this kind of bullshit started. How much you want to bet if the allegations are proven true, the same defense used by pharmacists who want to refuse to fill birth control prescriptions are invoked by this guy?
A small-town police chief was accused in a federal lawsuit Thursday of stopping a would-be rescuer from performing CPR on a gay heart attack victim because he assumed the ailing man had HIV and posed a health risk…Of course he did. The ACLU is suing on behalf of the victim’s mother.
Police Chief Bobby Bowman called the allegations "a boldface lie." He said that he called an ambulance and that Green was taken to the hospital in "no more than nine minutes."
"No one refused him CPR as his sister and mom are saying. They can do what they want, but if they're saying I refused him CPR, that is no way true," Bowman said…
When asked if he knew if Green was gay, Bowman would not answer and referred questions to McDowell County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Danny Barie, who also represents the City of Welch.
Hat tip to Catherine at Poverty Barn. ARGH.
Just when you thought it was safe…
So…the Pentagon is using remote-controlled sharks as “stealth spies.”
The Pentagon hopes to exploit sharks' natural ability to glide quietly through the water, sense delicate electrical gradients and follow chemical trails, reports New Scientist…Sounded pretty straightforward—but then one of my top secret sources got me a photo of the stealth shark spies…and I think there’s more going on than they’re admitting. Now the president’s protestation about human-animal hybrids makes a lot more sense…
Neural implants consist of a series of electrodes are embedded into the animal's brain, which can then be used to stimulate various functional areas.
Go fuck yourself!
Disturbing and rude, if you ask me.
Caption This Shaker Photo: Geeky Mini-Shakes Edition
Lissa puts on a brave face for the press corps
as she reveals what’s left of her favorite winged
pets after Mr. Cheney’s latest bird-mauling rampage.
(Yes, this is actually me, circa 1983, a little geek in training, proudly showing off my “Crap from Nature” collection. And yes, I am indeed clad in a one-piece demin pantsuit with a ruffly pocket. I bravely submit this thoroughly nerdy picture for your captioning pleasure. If you’ve got a funny picture of yourself, as a kid or otherwise, you’re willing to share for “Caption This Shaker Photo,” email it to me!)
First they came for the gays…
…and then they came for the women…and now they’ll go after anyone who doesn’t meet their arbitrary definitions of what’s “right.”
Conservatives: Who do you want to make your choices for you? Who do you want to define your family?
If you want it to be you, then you’d better stand up for those of us on the frontlines. It might seem like it’s all fun and games getting to decide whether someone is allowed to marry who they love or how much control a woman should have over her own uterus, but eventually, you might find yourself in our lifeboat, and then it might not be so funny anymore.
Oh, this is just priceless…
An increasingly popular idea about how consumers, well, consume cable is the pay-per-channel, or a la carte, method. Conservatives, who don’t particularly care for the idea of having filth like MTV, Logo, Bravo, and CNN streamed into their homes alongside Fox News and the Golf Channel, have been particular champions of the idea.
Except for televangelists, who are pooping their panties at the mere thought.
Pay-per-channel pricing “would have a devastating effect on the inspirational programming we currently provide” and “decimate both the audience and financial support for religious broadcasting,” according to the Faith and Family Broadcasting Coalition. The group includes Pat Robertson ’s Christian Broadcasting Network, which is based in Virginia Beach…If that’s the case, surely people will shell out to buy religious channels, though…right?
In addition to CBN, the Faith and Family Broadcasting Coalition includes televangelist Jerry Falwell , Benny Hinn Ministries , Trinity Broadcasting Network and FamilyNet TV…
[M]uch of CBN’s revenue is generated by telethons, and that income might suffer if CBN’s cable-based audience shrank under per-channel pricing. The network’s latest tax return showed that 68 percent of its revenue came from contributions, gifts and grants…
John Roos , senior vice president for communications at Inspiration Networks, had similar expectations of per-channel pricing.D’oh! Of course people aren’t going to pay for something they can get for free. I’ve probably got 10 places delivering for free what Pat Robertson’s offering within a 5-mile radius. If NBA games were free, and there were 10 professional basketball teams in every town, a lot fewer people would buy ESPN, too.
“People are probably not going to opt for religious networks, that’s just the way it is,” he said.
Even Christians may skip a la carte religious channels, said Megan Mullen , a communications scholar who wrote “The Rise of Cable Programming in the United States.”
“People may say, 'Well, we go to church on Sunday, we try to teach our kids good lessons, we can tune-in’” to Christian programs “'on the radio, and it would be nice if it was cheaper, but it cuts into our budget,’” Mullen said.
Religious broadcasters say they fear that pay-per-channel cable packages will encroach upon their goal of distributing Christian programming in America and “getting out the gospel,” a mission which is currently subsidized by all of us who pay for cable packages that include Christian programming, even if we don’t ever watch it. And they’d prefer that it stayed that way. Especially since they’ve got a nice little racket going, which includes enjoying the same tax-exempt status as churches.
Unlike secular specialty channels, evangelical networks might also be concerned about per-channel pricing’s impact on their political and social influence…Right.
But according to [CBN’s president Michael D. Little]’s view, CBN’s news commentaries don’t cross into political activity that is forbidden under its tax-exempt status.
“We do not have a political agenda,” he said. “Our core mission is to get the gospel out.”
Little added: “What Pat Robertson does as a private citizen is his own business and is not a topic we even comment on.”
They dress up religious broadcasting as a “public service,” both to hold on to their tax-exempt status on the millions of dollars they rake in every year from viewers, and to argue that changing to pay-per-channel cable packages would deny Americans something they need, even if they don’t realize it, but it’s a total scam. Logo—the LGBT channel—has a great series called “Coming Out Stories,” in which people who come out are followed through the process and which is arguably a public service to young LGBT viewers who struggle with coming out and don’t have a building on every corner dedicated to addressing their needs and concerns. Logo doesn’t get tax-exempt status, nor do they get picked up by nearly as many cable affiliates as religious programming does. And pay-per-channel would likely benefit them, as people all over the country could pay for the channel if they wanted it, rather than waiting for their cable provider to offer it as part of a package.
Religious broadcasters are fixin’ to lobby the FCC to nip this idea in the bud before it ever blooms. But they’re going to have a tough time, since many of the people who line their coffers—whether through direct contributions during fundraisers from conservatives or the indirect subsidization of their teleministries just by paying for cable—simply don’t share their interest in maintaining the status quo.
(Hat tip to The Carpetbagger Report, via Memeorandum.)
