TFIF, Shakers!
Belly up to the bar,
and name your poison!
Random YouTubery: Shatner of the Mount
Captain Kirk is climbing a mountain.
Why is he climbing a mountain?
Quote of the Day
"Hello! Uh, my name is Diana and I'm calling from Oregon. Uh, I just wanted to let the SEIU know that, um, America is watching the thug tactics that you folks are using at healthcare meetings and various other public places, and the absolutely thuggish, violent tactics that your group is using. I suggest you tell your people to calm down, act like American citizens, and stop trying to repress people's First Amendment rights. That, or you all are gonna come up against the Second Amendment. Stop the violence!"—A woman who left this voicemail message for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
I love the implicit threat of gun violence followed by an exhortation to the SEIU to "stop the violence." Without a trace of irony.
Also love the framing that members of the SEIU aren't Americans.
Greg Sargent notes: "The call seems to refer to reports today to scuffles in St. Louis between SEIU members and town hall rowdies. … Brian Beutler reports that an anti-health care reform organizer is explicitly calling on the troops to 'carry' and if SEIU members get disruptive, to 'hurt them'."
And Rush Limbaugh gave out the address of SEIU's St. Louis headquarters today on his show.
Meanwhile, a Republican Congressman who had the good sense to tell people to stop listening to Glenn Beck got booed.
Totally, totally trucknutz.
Willy DeVille RIP
Willy DeVille, founder of pioneering NYC punk act Mink DeVille, has passed away. DeVille died at New York's Cabrini Hospital yesterday of pancreatic cancer. He was 58.
DeVille was one of those artists that my husband turned me onto (along with Leonard Cohen and the Velvet Underground; his taste was always better than mine) and whenever I hear one of his songs shuffle across my iPod I smile fondly. Interestingly, in one of those weird moments of synchronicity, a few minutes before I heard about DeVille's passing I was listening to one of his songs.
Not nearly as famous as some of his contemporaries, but profoundly influential, his songs varied greatly, covering nearly every genre imaginable, from mariachi to soul to punk. And if you haven't heard of him, you may be familiar with his Oscar-nominated recording of "Storybook Love" from the film The Princess Bride.
RIP, Mr. DeVille
USA: Beacon of Fascism - We're Almost There
As Liss pointed out earlier, angry mobs of mindless people are assaulting various town halls while holding signs warning against the type of outcome that they themselves are actively contributing towards. To that end, Sara Robinson has written an extremely important post on where we currently stand, as a country, in our journey to the point of no return: a full blown fascist regime.
Certainly, some might consider that to be a rather alarmist stretch. But the fact of the matter is that this isn't something that happens overnight.
In tracking the mileage on this trip to perdition, many of us relied on the work of historian Robert Paxton, who is probably the world's pre-eminent scholar on the subject of how countries turn fascist. In a 1998 paper published in The Journal of Modern History, Paxton argued that the best way to recognize emerging fascist movements isn't by their rhetoric, their politics, or their aesthetics. Rather, he said, mature democracies turn fascist by a recognizable process, a set of five stages that may be the most important family resemblance that links all the whole motley collection of 20th Century fascisms together.As Robinson points out, the current townhall frenzy, which has already started showing signs of violence, advances us to Paxton's third stage of the process.
The key identifier is the now cozy relationship between the political elite and their fringe base in an attempt to regain power by force.
This is the sign we were waiting for -- the one that tells us that yes, kids: we are there now. America's conservative elites have openly thrown in with the country's legions of discontented far right thugs. They have explicitly deputized them and empowered them to act as their enforcement arm on America's streets, sanctioning the physical harassment and intimidation of workers, liberals, and public officials who won't do their political or economic bidding.Fortunately, Sara's follow-up post will discuss what we can do to reign in the lunacy. My guess is that we're going to need a might big teaspoon.
This is the catalyzing moment at which honest-to-Hitler fascism begins. It's also our very last chance to stop it.
[H/T to Mike]
Photo of the Day
U.S. President Barack Obama speaks to the media on the Sotomayor confirmation in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House August 6, 2009 in Washington, DC. [Via.]
Awesome. Totally Awesome.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks with CNN's Fareed Zakaria about former president Bill Clinton's trip to North Korea to secure the rescue of American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee:
Below, I included a full transcript of this video, plus some preceding conversation (which I transcribed from this clip), to help contextualize the conversation. The stuff not included on the above video is in italics.
Zakaria: But the Bill Clinton mission was unorthodox—here you have a former president going on what appeared to be a state visit from the way in which he was greeted, um, being received by North Korea's top nuclear negotiator—
Clinton: This, as you know, came from the families; I mean, this was a message that, um, Laura and Euna were given by the North Koreans, which they passed onto their families, and former vice president Gore—
Zakaria: Naming him specifically?
Clinton: Naming him specifically. And then they passed it on, obviously as they should, to the rest of us, um, and, you know, it was not anything, you know, Bill was interested in, seeking, or even contemplating, but, of course, when, you know, vice president Gore called and when, uh, our administration evaluated it and began to, uh, brief him, he said, 'You know, look, if you think it's the right thing to do, and if you think I should, should do it, of course I will do it.' Um, but it is a private humanitarian mission. It was not in any way an official government mission.
Zakaria: But John Bolton, the former UN ambassador said—
Clinton: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!
Zakaria: [grinning] Should I—
Clinton: I'm sorry!
Zakaria: —even go on?
Clinton: No, you shouldn't. [still laughing] You really shouldn't.
Zakaria: But he said this is, this is rewarding hostage-taking.
Clinton: [still laughing] Ohhh, well. You know.
Zakaria: Why, why is he wrong? 'Cuz you— They effectively took hostages—
Clinton: We have done this so many times before. I mean, we've had former presidents do it, we've had sitting members of Congress do it—it is something that, you know, it is absolutely not rewarding them; it is not in any way, uh, responding to specific demands. It is a recognition that certain, um, countries, uh, that I think are kind of beyond the pale of the rule of law, uh, hold people and subject them to long prison terms that are absolutely unfair and unwarranted, and, maybe it's, you know, the fact I have a daughter, but I believed that if we could bring these young women home, we should bring them home. And it had nothing to do with our policy, and, of course, you know, you mentioned somebody who, you know, heavens—you know, if President Obama, you know, walked on water, [John Bolton] would say he couldn't swim. So, I mean, it's just not, you know, it's not something that, uh, I think is, uh, relevant to what we're trying to do.
Good Advice
Jamison Foser has some advice for news organizations about how to cover health care reform: Cover health care reform.
Stop wasting time on meaningless polls. Stop focusing on angry townhall outbursts. Stop making it a political issue. Stop giving time to the peddlers of misinformation. And start covering health care reform.
All those polls showing that people hold contradictory views and false -- or at least highly questionable -- beliefs about health care and efforts to reform it are a pretty good indication of what reporters should be doing: Reporting the truth, and doing it often. Giving people the facts about health care and about proposals to reform it.Go read the whole thing. It's great.
When you see people yelling, "Keep your government hands off my Medicare," that's a pretty good indication that the public could use some solid facts. How many people do you think know that health care reform with a strong public option would cost taxpayers less than a plan without such an option? I would bet that a distressingly large number of members of Congress don't know that -- and that very, very few voters do.
...If news organizations want to produce health care reporting that actually has some value, some utility to their readers and viewers, they'll forget about the polls and the protests and the politics and focus on making the actual facts about health care, and efforts to change the system, as clear as they can.
I know what many journalists will say: This is how things are. Political intrigue, controversy, polling, strategy, demonstrations -- these are the things the media cover. That's how it works.
No. That's how it doesn't work. That's how we have a public that is so badly confused about health care reform that polling on the topic is basically a useless bundle of contradictory results. That's how we have a situation in which more than half of the Republican Party doesn't know Barack Obama was born in the United States.
Friday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by Shaxco, makers of Dr. Deeks' Orthopedic Handbaskets, for the most comfortable trip to Hell you'll ever make.
Recommended Reading:
Andy: TABC Agents Face 19 Violations, Disciplinary Action for June Raid of Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth
Resistance: More Citizen Deportations
Tami: What We Mean When We Talk About Confronting Privilege
Alison: Sincerely, John Hughes
SarahMC: An Ode to Roseanne
The Unbeatable Kid: Robots Do the Robot
Leave your links in comments...
Republican Senator Mel Martinez Resigns
His full statement is here, but he gives no reason other than:
My priorities have always been my faith, my family and my country and at this stage in my life, and after nearly twelve years of public service in Florida and Washington, it's time I return to Florida and my family.He doesn't want to return after the August recess. In Florida, the governor chooses the replacement when a senator resigns; interestingly, Florida Governor Charlie Crist is the leading contender for Martinez's seat, for which he'd already signaled he wouldn't be seeking reelection.
So today I am announcing my decision to step down from public office, effective on a successor taking office to fill out the remainder of my term.
Surely, Crist has to recuse himself from the selection process, otherwise it would be seen as a conflict of interest, i.e. choosing someone he thinks he can beat in the next election. But to whom would he hand the decision that itself wouldn't look like a conflict? His lieutenant governor? Really, anyone who he chooses risks the appearance of being an ally who's appointing someone weak. And choosing someone who agrees only to serve out the remainder of Martinez's term always looks shady, even when the governor isn't angling for the seat himself.
All of which brings me to: I can't imagine Crist is happy about Martinez's early departure. I wonder why he's bolting now; maybe he found out he's ill? I haven't heard any rumors of scandals or indiscretions.
Floridian Shakers? Any thoughts?
So You Think You Can Dance Open Thread
I won't say anything about the winner in the post, lest I spoil it for someone who's got the finale awaiting hir on TiVo, but suffice it to say I was very happy with who won.
Other things I was happy about this season: Cat Deeley, who continues to be the best host on television, less Shane Sparks and more Lil C and Nappy-Tabs, TRAVIS!, more Debbie Allen, and, as always, Mary Murphy's infectious joyfulness; I know she drives some people nutzoid (which I can totally understand), but I just love her to bits.
Things I was not happy about this season: Homophobia, Janette's premature exit, too little Wade and Amanda Robson, "Oooh what will your husband think?" repeatedly asked of Randy and Melissa, Mia's continued woman-hating, Nigel's increasingly lecherous behavior. The homophobia and misogyny on a show that wouldn't exist without women and gay men is just utterly ridiculous.
Discuss.
SPOILER COMMENTS THREAD BELOW.
The Awful Truth
Look what I found while I was looking for my passport...
This is obviously a forgery. It's Holland J. Cramer, and Marjorie was 38 at the time, not 36. Somebody really needs to do some better research.
HT to WTF Is It Now??
Crossposted.
Totally Trucknutz
The below image was held up at a totally clusterfucktastrophied townhall meeting on healthcare hosted by Representative John Dingell (D-MI) in Romulus, MI last night:
Without a trace of irony.
The hat tip goes to Attaturk, who says:
We live in a culture where one side is led by rational accommodationists who want to get along and the other, smaller side, led by a delusional, angry, id who want the majority to surrender. Millions of people "hoped", if nothing else, the tenor of politics would be improved only to find that racist, bigoted messages and implications to violence are more prevalent and more tolerated.Steve Benen and Think Progress have more on other townhall events that were disrupted last night. Also see Krugman and Steven Pearlstein.
A moment of perspective: The people who are currently going completely apeshit about spending federal funds to provide healthcare to every American citizen are the same people who cheered on an almost trillion-dollar war of choice which has left hundreds of thousands of people wounded or dead. They are also the same people who call themselves "pro-life," and the vast majority of them subscribe to a religion whose central figure spent an enormous amount of time exhorting kindness, admonishing his followers to care for the poor, and healing the sick.
They have no coherent ideology. They are simply mad with a voracious brand of self-interest designed by people who don't care about them.
What The Hell?
Mama Shakes, Liss, The Shakesfather
Nice matching track suits.
Special Friday bonus WTH:
Love the socks.
[See also: Deeky, Liss, evilsciencechick, katecontinued, ClumsyKisses, Mistress Sparkletoes, Liiiz, Reedme, Mama Shakes, Mustang Bobby, RedSonja, MomTFH, Portly Dyke, SteffaB, Icca, Christina, Orangelion03, Car, Siobhan, InfamousQBert, Maud, Rikibeth, MishaRN, CLD, Cheezwiz, MamaCarrie, Temeraire, somebodyoranother, and goldengirl.]
Question of the Day
Who is your favorite band/musical artist/composer and which one song would you recommend to someone who'd never heard their work before?
Hi, my name is Melissa, and I'm a broken record.
Of course everyone who's been reading this blog for three seconds knows that my favorite band is The Smiths, and I have recommended them to many people over the years. Generally, before I recommend the single song on which someone will begin hir Smiths journey, I already have a feel for the type of music zie likes, and I choose the introductory track on that basis.
But, failing the ability to customize a choice, I would probably go with The Queen Is Dead, which combines fine Mozza vocals, archetypically cheeky and subversive lyrics, one of Marr's finest guitar pieces, and a classic performance by the always-underrated rhythm section of Rourke and Joyce to make for a timeless and eminently likable track.
In a more impertinent mood: Death of a Disco Dancer.
(Making a single recommendation for Mozza's solo career would be nigh impossible for me. I'd probably pluck something obscure right out of the thin air, like Let the Right One In.)
Glenn Beck Jokes About Poisoning Nancy Pelosi
Earlier today:
Paraphrase: Glenn Beck imagines what it would be like to attend a fundraising party at Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's house. Someone sits at his desk with a cardboard cutout of Pelosi's face over theirs; he offers "Pelosi" a glass of wine and barks at her, "Drink it! Drink it! Drink it!" He laughs. "I really just wanted to thank you for having me over here to wine country, though to be invited I thought I had to be a major Democratic donor or a longtime friend of yours, which I'm not. Uh, by the way, I put poison in your—no, I, uh…" He then goes on to make a bunch of tired "limousine liberal" jokes, like, "Hey, is that Sean Penn over there?"
So, yeah. He was obviously real sincere about that whole "discouraging violence" thing.
[Via Media Matters.]
RIP John Hughes
John Hughes, who wrote and/or directed such iconic films of the '80s as Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, Pretty in Pink, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Some Kind of Wonderful, Planes, Trains & Automobiles, She's Having a Baby, and Uncle Buck, as well as the "Vacation" and "Home Alone" movies, has died at age 59.
Prolific film writer and director John Hughes ... died of a heart attack while walking in Manhattan on Thursday, his spokesman said. He was 59.Hughes' oeuvre was such a big part of my childhood, and while, as an adult, I've come to find some of the themes in his films problematic (example), there are many characters in his films with which I still strongly identify and about whom I still feel quite affectionate.
...His spokesman said Hughes was visiting friends in New York when he died.
In the last decade, Hughes had largely turned his back on Hollywood to run a farm in northern Illinois. He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Nancy, two sons and four grandchildren.
Allusions to and quotes from his films still pepper my conversation with my generational cohort to this day, and I've found that to be true across gender, sexuality, and racial lines. Almost all my friends of a similar age, irrespective of their individual backgrounds, seem to be fluent in Hughes. The privilege which divided the (white) kids in his films was almost always privilege in the classic sense: Class privilege. Cliquishness stood in for wider social divisions, and the themes of being inside or outside spoke strongly even to many people who didn't find people who looked like themselves in his films.
There was never a fat girl to be found, but they somehow spoke to my feelings, my angst, about being a fat goth girl all the same.
Which is not to apologize for his failures re: inclusion. It is only, in this moment, to note that he managed, despite that failure, to speak to people beyond those who closely mirrored his protagonists.
His films will ever remain, for all their flaws, an indelible part of my life. And many others' lives, I expect.
RIP Mr. Hughes. I'm going to go hang a Cabaret Voltaire poster on my wall in your honor.
Impossibly Beautiful
Clarkson performing on Good Morning America, July 31:
[Click to embiggen.]
I don't guess that anyone here is going to presume I'm suggesting Clarkson looks anything but awesome in that second candid shot, but lest I give anyone the wrong impression: She looks awesome. I have no criticism of Clarkson at all. I do, however, have a little issue with (repeat offender) Self.
Especially given that Self purports to celebrate women of all shapes and sizes—even as its editor admits unapologetically that Clarkson was Photoshopped and tries to diminish the impact of such a decision:
"Yes, of course we do post-production corrections on our images," Editor-in-Chief Lucy Danziger tells ET. Airbrushing images is an industry standard, and the mag stands behind its decision.Sure, okay, but it doesn't actually show what she looks like.
"SELF magazine inspires and informs our 6 million readers each month to reach their all around best," Lucy adds. "Kelly Clarkson exudes confidence, and is a great role model for women of all sizes and stages of their life. She works out and is strong and healthy, and our picture shows her confidence and beauty."
Is the irony of their cover model not looking like herself on the cover of Self magazine, which ostensibly promotes accepting oneself, really lost on the editors? Danziger insists: "We love this cover and we love Kelly Clarkson." In fact, we love her so much we couldn't possibly allow her to actually look like her grotesque self on the cover of our magazine, because she's obviously deluded about how she looks! So deluded, she thinks she looks fine, the poor dear!
"My happy weight changes," she tells SELF. "Sometimes I eat more; sometimes I play more. I'll be different sizes all the time. When people talk about my weight, I'm like, 'You seem to have a problem with it; I don't. I'm fine!' I've never felt uncomfortable on the red carpet or anything."Despite every attempt to make her feel like total shit about herself.
------------------------
By way of reminder: Comments that try to suss out what changes, exactly, were made, and even comments noting that, for example, the removal of laugh lines because they are ZOMG wrinkles actually robs a face of its character or humanity, are welcome. Discussions of how "she looks prettier/hotter/better in the candid picture" and associated commentary (which would certainly make me feel like shit if I were the person being discussed) are not. So please comment in keeping with the series' intent, implicit in which is the question: If no one can ever be beautiful enough, then to what end is the pursuit of an elusive perfection?
[Impossibly Beautiful: Parts One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One, Twenty-Two, Twenty-Three, Twenty-Four, Twenty-Five, Twenty-Six, Twenty-Seven, Twenty-Eight, Twenty-Nine, Thirty, Thirty-One, Thirty-Two, Thirty-Three, Thirty-Four.]
Photo of the Day
Your New Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor.
Or, she will be, anyway, after she's sworn in—which will happen in the next couple of days.
Voting largely along party lines, the Senate on Thursday confirmed Judge Sonia Sotomayor as the 111th justice of the Supreme Court. She will be the first Hispanic and the third woman to serve on the court.She was confirmed by a vote of 68 to 31; all of the Democrats voted for her (except for Senator Kennedy, who was not present), and the extra Republican votes came from (what passes for) the GOP's moderates: Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, George Voinovich of Ohio, Kit Bond of Missouri, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Linsday Graham of South Carolina, and Dick Lugar of Indiana (thank you, Senator Lugar!), and Mel Martinez of Florida.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. was expected to administer the oath of office to Judge Sotomayor, 55, in the next few days, with a formal ceremony likely in September. She succeeds Justice David H. Souter, who retired in June.
Shaker Scott Madin emailed the link to this post at FiveThirtyEight, in which Nate Silver notes that of all nine Republican Senators, only one has a state with a significant Latin@ population (Mel Martinez; Florida has a 16.8% Latin@ population). The other GOP Senators from states with significant Latin@ constituencies, all 20% or more of the state population, voted against Sotomayor: John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, Jon Kyl and John McCain of Arizona, and John Ensign of Nevada.
Excellent strategery.
Especially since there was never any compelling reason to vote against Sotomayor. Wevs.
I Beg You...
...to read every word of The Last Abortion Doctor. It is long, and so you will some time to read the whole thing, but it needs to be read.
Thank you, Dr. Hern.
[H/T to Shaker Tessrae.]
Duh of the Day
Time magazine catches up to what fat activists have been saying for years: Exercise can always make you healthier, but it can't always make you thinner.
And probably won't.
I particularly like this gem at the end of the article, by the way:
Some research has found that the obese already "exercise" more than most of the rest of us. In May, Dr. Arn Eliasson of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center reported the results of a small study that found that overweight people actually expend significantly more calories every day than people of normal weight — 3,064 vs. 2,080. He isn't the first researcher to reach this conclusion. As science writer Gary Taubes noted in his 2007 book Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health, "The obese tend to expend more energy than lean people of comparable height, sex, and bone structure, which means their metabolism is typically burning off more calories rather than less."Really?! You mean harrumphing around my extra weight makes me burn more calories?! Sort of just like someone 100 pounds lighter would burn more calories if they suddenly started carrying 100 pounds of weights around with them?! Gee, I never would have imagined that!
File Under: Things Fatties with Functioning Brains Have Been Pointing Out for Years but Were Drowned Out by the "CALORIES IN CALORIES OUT!!! IT'S SCIENCE!!!eleventy!" Chorus.
ZOMG
[Brian Henson, son of Jim Henson and co-CEO, with his sister Lisa, of the still-thriving Jim Henson Company] told us that [a big-screen film of] "Fraggle Rock" is "still in very active development. Very active development. That has a very strong script."Unlike, say, the forthcoming Ghostbusters III, which feels to me, rightly or wrongly, more like a group of creatively bankrupt hasbeens plundering my childhood for greens fees from their dotage, the prospect of new installments of old favorites from the Henson Company excites me—mainly because I strongly suspect the Hensons wouldn't even start the projects in earnest without being confident they'll recapture the imaginative exuberance that made the originals great.
..."We have a 'Dark Crystal' sequel, called 'The Power of the Dark Crystal.' It has a very strong script." More emphasis. I like that, Mr. Henson. Enthusiasm. It's infectious. I'm already excited about these projects, and hearing your comments only amplifies that.
"Both of those projects... are very close to going into pre-production," Henson said. "They're both really ready to go. [The studio is] just [in the process of] putting together the final finance pieces and the final distribution pieces."
So there you have it. "Fraggle Rock"? Happening. "The Power of the Dark Crystal"? Happening.
From the Mailbag
Shaker The Sea Hag forwards this post about a writer whose experience is wildly different when he's presumed to be a woman. The SeaHag warns (and rightly so) that the end is a little problematic, but it's still worth a read, with that caveat.
Shaker BrianG sends the link to this BuzzFeed thread with the note: "So tell me, which is worse: the list of stereotypical 'men don't leave the seat down, tee-hee!' complaints or the doodz in the comments saying 'you ladeez just get uglier as you age so be nice if you wanna hang onto a man'?" I'm going to call a tie.
Shaker The Bald Soprano emails this article about "Baubotanik," or "building botany," in which structures are built using living trees. Supercool!
Shakers InfamousQBert and Becky send articles, respectively here and here, the latter by the author herself, about the image of a white girl being used on the cover of a book whose protagonist is a black girl.
Shaker CH forwards this Career Builder/CNN article about odd or inappropriate things said at job interviews. CH notes many of them are not particularly strange at all, and many of them are considered funny for dubious reasons. Referencing one about a woman who inquires about a potential employer's breast-pumping room (which did exist), CH says: "LOLZ! A woman betrays in interest in the company's accommodations for mothers of young children, then realizes her mistake and assures the interviewer that she has no immediate plans to become a mother (because she wants the job). What a 'weird' thing to say in a job interview! I don't know why this stupid little article hit me so hard — maybe it was the tone of unbridled, compassionless glee at the hapless job candidates who do things like ask about benefits or reveal that they're going through hard times. At a time when so many people are looking for work, it seems in bad taste." Indeed.
Shaker SamanthaB sends this piece about UN worker Lubna Hussein, "who was taken into police custody with 10 other women, all accused of violating Article 152 of Sudanese law, which prohibits women from wearing pants in public."
Shaker Margosita emails this article with the wry note: "A man takes his wife last name and doesn't lose his entire identity. Shocking!" Will wonders never cease?
Shaker SamanthaB also writes: "The Cambridge Journal has a FASCINATING piece up, 'Images of Black Americans,' which explores stereotypes and how they relate to perceptions of Obama. Briefly addressed are stereotypical perceptions of professional women, but it was the really the last section of the piece, on habituation and the process of overcoming stereotypes, that hit me as particularly important to women and to affirmative action generally."
Shaker Farore sends the link to this June episode of "This American Life," in which is featured, as Farore describes, "an interview, in Act Two, with Lynndie England (the American servicewoman shown posing in the Abu Ghraib prison photos) and some in-depth discussion of what happened at the prison. However, the interview takes a rather strange slant; while Lynndie is talking about a manipulative and, from the sound of it, potentially abusive relationship with one of her co-workers (and I believe her superior? I'm not sure about American army ranks), the interviewer refers to her experience as 'a love story' and talks about the whole thing in rather wishy-washy 'romantic' terms."
Shaker BlueRidge forwards this Amnesty International action item about Nicaragua's total ban on abortions. Amnesty International is urging the Nicaraguan authorities to:• Immediately repeal the law that bans all forms of abortion.
"Send a letter to the President of the National Assembly in Nicaragua calling for the total ban on abortion in the country to be lifted" here.
• Guarantee safe and accessible abortion services for rape victims and women whose lives or health would be at risk from the continuation of pregnancy.
• Protect the freedom of speech of those who speak out against the law and offer comprehensive support to the women and girls affected by the law.
Quote of the Day
"I don't fear death; I fear remaining silent in the face of injustice. I am young and I want to live. But I say to those who would eliminate my voice: I am ready, wherever and whenever you might strike. You can cut down the flower, but nothing can stop the coming of the spring."—Afghan women's rights activist Malalai Joya. Blub.
I highly recommend reading the entire article. Thanks so much to Shaker EvilTammy for sending it along.
It Doesn't Work
This really isn't a surprise:
Using therapy to try to turn gay people straight has no basis in science and can actually be harmful, the American Psychological Association says.I can't speak for every other LGBT person in the world, but I've never had any doubt that I was born gay and that any attempt to try to make me straight would be, um, fruitless. I don't think it's any different than being born left-handed or blue-eyed, and while you can teach yourself to be right-handed and you can put in contact lenses to make your eyes brown, you can't change what's hard-wired at the factory, so why try? All it will do is lead to confusion, frustration, unhappiness and grief. I know far too many people who, for whatever reason -- social, religious, familial -- tried to stop being homosexual and ended up in unhappy marriages and, in at least one case, criminal behavior that landed him in federal prison. I have seen alcohol and drug abuse among closeted and repressed friends and colleagues who used them as methods to try to escape the reality of their life as a homosexual. (By the way, to me there's a difference between being gay and being homosexual. You're homosexual if you are attracted to people of your own gender. You're gay if you accept it and make it a dimension of your life beyond the bedroom...or the closet.)
At a conference in Toronto Wednesday, the organization voted by a margin of 125 to four to adopt a report (PDF) which concludes that attempts to “convert” homosexual people to heterosexuality can produce negative results, including depression and suicide attempts.
The homophobia industry, largely made up of religious fundamentalists, has exploited "conversion therapy" to their own end. There's a lot of money to be made in the business, either by parents who are afraid that their teenaged son is too interested in theatre for his own good or their daughter likes to change the oil in the family Plymouth, or men and women who, after years of being good little boys and girls and attending church or temple and the Christmas cotillion and trying desperately to fit into the heteronormative social structure, make one last attempt to please others or fit themselves into the narrow world that is demanded of them. The converters point to the statistics of the alleged high incidence of alcohol and drug abuse and say that it proves being gay is wrong, and either ignoring the fact that perhaps it might be them and their condemnation and denial of equality in law and society that might be a contributing factor, or they are willfully exploiting it for their own ends.
The religious converters refuse to accept the idea that being gay is something you're born with for several reasons. I suppose there are those who sincerely believe that it is a choice, but forgive my cynicism if I think it's more because they know that if they admit that being gay is a God-given trait, they have no basis for their homophobia. God is perfect, therefore anything he creates cannot be flawed -- at least until after they are born -- so God turning out homosexuals as if they were just another variety means that being gay is no different than any other innate trait. And there goes their target -- they need someone to rail against to justify their holiness, use as a scapegoat for all the troubles in the world, and most importantly, to use as a fund-raising cash cow: "The homos are teaching in your local high school! Send us money!" There's also the fundamentalists' fixation on the sexual element of being gay; it's all they think about. Most people -- gay or straight -- are aware of their attraction towards other people long before they are aware of their sexual functions, so to say that being gay is all about sex tells me that the gay-bashers are the ones who have the issues.
Frankly, we don't need the APA to tell us that conversion therapy is wrong both as a medical or a psychological treatment. The assumption that there is something wrong with being homosexual is both immoral and unethical. You are what you are, and to deny it to yourself or anyone else is an affront to humanity and the infinite diversity that makes us who and what we are.
Crossposted.
Two Dudes and a Webcam!
In comments of my post about the tragic end of "Mouthpiece Theater," Shaker John Cain linked to this parody, which is absolutely, hilariously spot-on. I did a transcript for those who can't view/hear the video, which is below.
[Two dudes in bathrobes holding beers try to figure out if camera is on, then settle in to start the show.]
Dude #1: Hi! Welcome to the Washington Post!
Voiceover: Two Dudes and a Webcam! From Washington Post dot com. Journalism didn't work out; we'll try this instead.
Dude #2: Welcome back to the Dan Froomkin Memorial Studio. We're two dudes and a webcam.
Dude #1: What happens when the spirit of viral video meets journalism?
Dude #2: I'll tell ya what happens: Trenchant hilariousness! Did you know that if your hand is bigger than your face, you've got cancer?
Dude #1: I did not know that. [puts hand in front of face]
Dude #2: Yeah! [smacks Dude #1's hand into his face in a familiar grade-school gag] Ha ha ha! You just got POSTED!
[They make rock'n'roll hand gestures; text on screen: You've been Post'd!]
Voiceover: You've been posted! From WaPo. Are we viral yet? Please say we're viral.
Dude #1: That's right. We're going through the major political figures of the day and we're finding out who's doing a'ight and who's gettin' the post!
Dude #2: We're gettin' all up in their face, journalistic-style!
Dude #1: First up for the WaPost comedy treatment: Senator Byrd.
Dude #2: OLD!
Dude #1: If Senator Byrd were a whiskey, he'd be Old Grand-Dad.
Dude #2: What up, Byrd? You just got POSTED!
[They make rock'n'roll hand gestures and stick out their tongues and scream; text on screen: You've been Post'd!]
Voiceover: You've been posted! From WaPo. Desperately trying to figure out what the internet wants from us since 2008.
Dude #1: Next up: Dennis Kucinich.
Dude #2: SHORT!
Dude #1: Short! Dude is short!
Dude #2: You know, if he were a famous jazz saxophonist and composer, he'd be Wayne Shorter.
[They high five.]
Dude #1: Posted!
Dude #2: Oww!
Voiceover: You've been posted! From WaPo. No, we're not terribly ashamed of what we've become. Why?
Dude #1: And Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State.
Dude #2: What a bitch!
[They both fake-laugh uproariously, then start scream-laughing, then just screaming. Dude #1 spins in his chair. Dude #2 starts acting like an ape. Dude #1 starts chowing down on a raw piece of meat. Dude #2 starts swilling beer and spitting it out. Dude #1 manically rubs his face on the seat of his chair. Dude #2 mimics an ape grabbing its own shit and throwing it. Cut to picture of the Washington Post building. Cut back to dudes, who look emotionally spent.]
Dude #1: God, that was brilliant. No context—just putting it out there. In your face, Clinton!
Dude #2: Yeah, that was so insightful and trenchant I think beer shot out my nose.
Dude #1: Trenchant as hell, man.
Dude #2: Mm. [sighs contentedly]
Dude #1: Join us next week when we analyze international relations by comparing emergent refugee populations to Jack Black movies and different types of weed.
Dude #2: The Post isn't stuffy anymore.
Dude #1: Come visit our online chat, where you can find David Ignatius on World of Warcraft. He's a level 60 paladin!
Voiceover: Two dudes and a webcam! From Washington Post dot com. Inadvertently revealing the dark heart of our dying industry, two minutes at a time.
"Mouthpiece Theater" Drops Its Curtain Forevah
Last Friday, I wrote about a charming episode of the Washington Post's "Mouthpiece Theater," a glorified vlog featuring WaPo reporters Dana Milbank and Chris Cillizza dressed up in smoking jackets and trying to be funny while commenting on the news, in which they mused about what types of beer different public officials would drink and suggested Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's brew of choice ought to be "Mad Bitch."
At the time I noted: "I'd love to hear the Washington Post explain how they feel confident their reporters are giving balanced coverage to female public figures when they're willing to unabashedly use sexist slurs in public."
Unsurprisingly, that question has not been answered. Instead, they just shitcanned "Mouthpiece Theater."
Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli killed the satirical video series Wednesday after harsh criticism of a joke about Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, which prompted him to pull the latest episode from the paper's Web site Friday night. The Post staffers who appeared in the videos, Dana Milbank and Chris Cillizza, agreed with the decision and apologized in separate interviews.And, then, naturally, totally undermined their apologies by accusing the people who complained of being oversensitive hysterics who ruin everything!
As for the dozen videos they have made in what was designed as a summer tryout, "it's clear there was an audience for it out there, but not large enough to justify all the grief," Milbank said. "My strength is in observational, in-the-field stuff, and that's what I should do. I'm sorry about the reaction it's caused, but I think it's important to experiment. The real risk to newspapers is not that they take too many risks, but that they don't take enough risks."Emphasis mine. Cillizza added that "people have every right to be offended." Gee, thanks. He also notes in his own piece about the video that he learned "name-calling is never the stuff of good comedy" (give that man a cookie) and says: "I can only hope that those who have enjoyed reading the Fix, following me on Twitter and Facebook and watching my occasional television appearances can follow the age-old maxim: to err human, to forgive divine."
...Both men, who frequently appear on television, became high-profile targets, particularly among left-leaning bloggers but also on such outlets as Twitter.
"It's a brutal world out there in the blogosphere," Milbank said. "I'm often surprised by the ferocity out there, but I probably shouldn't be."
Now, I used to get the Fix delivered via email, and I've canceled it and will no longer be reading it. It's not a matter of forgiveness or lack of forgiveness; it's about the fact that I don't believe a journalist who uses a misogynist slur and just brushes it off as a joke gone wrong, who comes no closer to a genuine self-examination than "the content in last Friday's video as it was inconsistent not only with the Post brand but, more important and personal to me, the Fix brand which I have worked so hard to cultivate," is someone I can trust to report fairly on half the population.
Someone who doesn't know on his own that it's profoundly inappropriate to call the Secretary of State a mad bitch clearly has some deeply internalized shit that he needs to work out, and I don't see that happening here. In fact, what I see happening here is the usual sweeping of Important White Men's bigotry under the proverbial carpet, with tired justifications that reflect an antipathy toward acknowledging privilege:
Signaling that their standing at The Post remains unaffected, Brauchli praised both reporters. He called Cillizza "an enormous talent and someone who is closely followed and admired by a lot of journalists and people in politics. .... Dana writes a terrific, very funny and usually very popular column on Page 2. He's an equal-opportunity offender, and from time to time everyone's mad at him."Well, if you're talented and popular, who cares if you're a misogynist, right?
Anyone who still uses the term "equal-opportunity offender" needs help. There's no such thing, because people in this country don't have actual equal opportunities yet. And until they do, making fun of women for being "bitches" is never going to be "equal" to making fun of men for anything.
That disparity is a basic concept one must grasp in order to have even the most rudimentary understanding of how institutional prejudice functions in this country. That it's a concept which evidently remains elusive for the WaPo's Executive Editor is, quite frankly, frightening.
And it doesn't say much for their ability to cover fairly any marginalized people.
Contact the Washington Post's ombudsman.What The Hell?
Shaker goldengirl
What?? The??? Hell????
[See also: Deeky, Liss, evilsciencechick, katecontinued, ClumsyKisses, Mistress Sparkletoes, Liiiz, Reedme, Mama Shakes, Mustang Bobby, RedSonja, MomTFH, Portly Dyke, SteffaB, Icca, Christina, Orangelion03, Car, Siobhan, InfamousQBert, Maud, Rikibeth, MishaRN, CLD, Cheezwiz, MamaCarrie, Temeraire, and somebodyoranother.]
Bread and Teaspoons: A note
Just a quick one to say that B&T will be back next Monday; this past Monday was a civic holiday here in Canadialand, so I was at my leisure. :)
We now return you to your regularly-scheduled feminism.
Question of the Day
Inspired by this post at Chris' place: Do you have health insurance and/or some other kind of healthcare coverage, e.g. Medicare/Medicaid? (Or do you live in a country with universal healthcare?) If you have insurance, do you get it through your job, your partner's job, through a private insurer? If you don't have health coverage, when was the last time you had it? Have you tried to get coverage and been denied?
I am extremely fortunate and privileged to have health insurance through Iain's job. If I didn't have the privilege of marriage, or if his company didn't extend partner benefits, I would be without healthcare—because I sure couldn't get private insurance. Even thinking about it makes me panicky.
Shaker Thumbs
Last Tuesday, I asked as the QotD: What product or service have you purchased/used lately that you'd like to recommend to other Shakers (or recommend against)?
Several people requested it become a regular feature, so here is the first installment of "Shaker Thumbs," in which you've got the opportunity to give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down to a product or service you'd recommend to other Shakers or warn them away from.
My recommendation today is for plus-sized grrls, and it's Torrid's gray rainbow shirt, now on sale for $19.98.
Because I'm a Fatty McFatterson, it's hard for me to find cute t-shirts, since I'm meant to wear nothing but shapeless potato sacks and muumuus behind which to conceal my epidemic deathfat so as not to offend. I do, however, find the occasional gem (see: Atari shirt, which may be familiar care of my old Virtual Pub avatar), and I'm deeply in love with the gray rainbow t-shirt, which thoroughly satisfies my progressive core and is totes my new favorite shirt.
Thumbs way up!
Scary
As lobbyist-run groups encourage conservative activists to "rattle" members of Congress at local town hall events, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), the president of the freshman Democratic class has revealed that "at least one freshman Democrat" has already been "physically assaulted at a local event." Connolly warned that conservative groups had taken things to a "dangerous level":But, hey, Glenn Beck said not to be violent, so I'm sure that will take care of everything."When you look at the fervor of some of these people who are all being whipped up by the right-wing talking heads on Fox, to me, you're crossing a line," Connolly said. "They're inciting people to riot with just total distortions of facts. They think we're going to euthanize Grandma and the government is going to take over."Recent events have given congressman good reason to be "fearful for their safety." Last week, a protester hung an effigy of freshman Rep. Frank Kratovil (D-MD) outside his district office, and after a June 22 town hall meeting was disrupted by an "unruly mob" of tea party activists, Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY) had to be escorted to his car by police. ThinkProgress contacted Connolly's office regarding the identity of the congressman who was physically assaulted, but we have not yet received a response.
Women and Girls Foundation to Hold Candlelight Vigil Honoring Victims of Collier Shooting
I updated my earlier post, but I just want to put it front-and-center for those in the southwestern PA area who are interested.
The Women and Girls Foundation is organizing a candlelight vigil to be held in the portico of the City-County Building in Downtown, Pittsburgh, Thursday August 6th at 5:30pm to offer support and non-denominational prayers to the victims and families of the Collier Shooting.Thank you to Elizabeth at WGFPA for the information.
“We are organizing this vigil so that we can join together as a community to send collective prayers to the families of the women who were killed and the women who are still in critical condition, as a result of this horrific and violent act against women,” said Executive Director Heather Arnet. “From the murderer’s own blog and note, it is more than evident that the focus of his rage and violence was women. This vigil is intended to send strength and prayers to the families who are grieving and for those women and their families who are hoping to heal from this horrific event.”
All members of the community are encouraged and welcome to attend. Participating in the vigil will be representatives from the Women and Girls Foundation, local elected officials, the National Organization of Women, National Council of Jewish Women, Pittsburghers Against Domestic Violence, local victims service agencies, and many other community organizations. All are welcome.
Also participating in the vigil will be members of Women and Girls Foundation’s Regional Change Agents, a diverse group of 15 teen girls and 15 adult women from Allegheny, Fayette, Greene and Washington counties, who have come together to engage in civic advocacy in their communities to support women. The tragic events of Tuesday night have moved the Allegheny County team of Regional Change Agents to call attention to the inexcusable acts of violence against women within our community and beyond it.
Please help support WGF's efforts by passing this information to your friends and networks! For questions or more information, please contact WGF at 412.434.4883 or info@wgfpa.org .
Feel the Homomentum!
The Missouri Housing Development Commission (MHDC) recently added sexual orientation to its non-discrimination policy. The addition is part of an overall ethics reform package.
The MHDC supports the financing, development, and preservation of affordable housing for Missourians, finances developers of affordable rental properties, funds loans to first-time home buyers, and provides 0% interest loans to non-profits that provide housing for moderate- and low-income individuals. It also administers the federal and Missouri Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) programs, federal HOME funds, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Project Based Section 8 rental assistance contracts.Show me some homomentum!
Clint Zweifel, Missouri State Treasurer, became the head of the commission in May 2009 and quickly called for a comprehensive ethics reform package, including the addition of sexual orientation to its non-discrimination policy. The policy will not only guarantee equal employment opportunities within the MHDC but also ensure that sexual orientation does not affect a first-time home buyer's ability to receive a loan or mortgage refinancing assistance from the agency. Any company doing business with MHDC will also be held accountable for discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Zweifel stated, "Access to dignified, affordable housing for all Missourians is a core value for me and central to the mission of the Missouri Housing Development Commission. It is vital that we build a culture of tolerance and inclusion at MHDC so we can ensure that we are renewing the promise of responsible homeownership and providing equal access to quality affordable housing for all Missourians and the expanded non-discrimination policy will help us do that."
[Just FYI, I can't find a link to this story anywhere, I just received this news via email from PROMO. Nothing on their site as of yet.]
Hey
You know what the best comic strip ever is? Frank and Ernest.
It just doesn't get better than two sassy old white doodz commenting sassily on the issues of the day. The best part is how frank and earnest their observations are—just like you'd expect, since, as we all know, old white doodz embody the very essences of the sort of frankness and earnestness that keeps America great.
I wish they were real, just I could chuck them on the chins and give 'em the old 'atta boy they deserve.
Because I can't, I'm just going to start my own comic strip, starring Deeky and me, called "Conniving and Sinister."
USA: Beacon of Stupid - Too Stupid to Care Edition
As people are being swept into the pitchfork-bearing frenzy over the evils of healthcare reform (no thanks to the hired assclowns that are being planted at these townhall events), I'm in awe of how many people are screaming just for the sake of screaming. They don't even know what they're railing against anymore.
From a recent meeting in Texas comes this gem:
During the town hall, one conservative activist turns to his fellow attendees and asks them to raise their hands if they "oppose any form of socialized or government-run health care." Almost all the hands shot up. Rep Green quickly turned the question on the audience and asked, "How many of you have Medicare?" Nearly half the attendees raised their hands, failing to note the irony.Even a former Reagan administration economist doesn't know his ass from his elbow:
[ART] LAFFER: I mean, if you like the Post Office and the Department of Motor Vehicles and you think they’re run well, just wait until you see Medicare, Medicaid, and health care done by the government.If knowledge is power, then the lack of it is servitude.
Or, as the Republicans would put it: Party über alles.
Mendacious Wankers
Anti-choicers are deliberately misrepresenting findings of the indispensable Guttmacher Institute in order to claim that healthcare reform would result in increased abortions. And, naturally, that's a BAD THING!!!eleventy! even if more women who want abortions are able to get them. But I digress… The point is that it's not even true.
Guttmacher's Director of Government Affairs explains here.
...In My Pants
The other day I was scouring the internet for a copy of "Lapti Nek," a quest that went nowhere, as far as an MP3 was concerned. All for the best, probably.
Somewhere along the way I became sidetracked reading about Max Rebo (left) and his band, who appeared briefly in Return of the Jedi. That was early in the movie, before the teddy bears showed up and shat on everything.
While meandering my way through Wookiepedia (the Star Wars wiki!), I found out there was something in the Star Wars universe called jizz.
Hey, hold on. Just bear with me here a moment. It's not what you think.
Jizz is described as "an upbeat, swinging genre of music, most notably performed by the Modal Nodes [the band from the first movie] and Max Rebo Band."
Also: "Jizz-wail was an early form of jizz that was much softer than its later, more popular incarnation." An early form of jizz? Okay. And just so you know, jizz-wail is performed by jizz-wailers, "musicians who specialized in playing jizz songs."
In the Star Wars lexicon there is also something called a jizz-box, described only as "an instrument commonly used in jizz songs." Attempts to google an image of said device proved, ummm, fruitless.
Did no one, at any point in time, think to tell George Lucas that there as another, very common definition of jizz?
In Perfect Sense-Making
[Trigger warning.]
Chansa Kabwela, the news editor of Zambia's largest independent (i.e. not government-owned) newspaper, The Post, is currently on trial after sending "two photographs of a woman giving birth without medical help to the country's vice-president, health minister and rights groups," in an attempt to raise awareness about the dire state of the nation's healthcare system and encourage them to settle the nurse's strike.
The Post's news editor Ms Kabwela did not publish the controversial photographs, but sent copies to a number of prominent people and women's rights groups, along with a letter calling for the strike to be brought to an end.He subsequently called for a police investigation, because pornography is illegal in Zambia. Kabwela was arrested and charged with—make sure you're sitting down lest the irony bowl you over—"distributing obscene material with intent to corrupt public morals."
…The pictures are graphic. They show a woman in the process of giving birth to a baby in the breech position - when the baby's legs come out first. Its shoulders, legs and arms are visible, but the head has not yet been delivered. The photos were apparently taken in the grounds of Lusaka's main hospital.
The nurses were on strike and the woman had been turned away from two clinics. By the time doctors operated, the baby had suffocated. Ms Kabwela says she was given the photographs by the woman's relatives.
President Banda expressed his outrage at a news conference, calling the photographs pornographic.
Which strikes me a little bit like the Zambian government is admitting that their morals include abandoning birthing women and babies to distress and death, and that damn Kabwela was trying to corrupt them with her zany insistence on expecting more.
Sign the petition to acquit Chansa Kabwela here.[H/T to Shaker ImTheMarigold.]
Wednesday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by Shaxco, distributors of Lissie's Beck Repellent. (Also effective on some O'Reillys, Hannitys, and Savages.)
Recommended Reading:
Lindsay: Carnival of Feminists #1!
Lauredhel: Fifteenth Down Under Feminists Carnival: July 2009
Harriet: Another Post About Rape
mzbitca: Rape Culture: Making Paradoxes Possible
Steve: Does Obama Want 'Left-Wing Groups' to Back Off?
Angry Asian Man: Hate Crimes for Fun and Laughs in The Goods
Kevin: There's No Politics Like Texas Politics
Susan: White Noise: White Adults Raising White Children to Resist White Supremacy
Leave your links in comments...
Glenn Beck, in Deathbed Confession Cinema
After spending the past few years being a completely unhinged asshole—riling up his angry and disgruntled conservative viewers with inflammatory lies and half-truths, demonizing liberals, feminists, LGBTQIs, people of color, immigrants, atheists with provocative warnings about ominous conspiracies and agendas, and dehumanizing them with eliminationist language—now he's backing away from what is unerringly the foreseeable result of such incendiary rhetoric and telling his viewers not to get violent.
[Full transcript below.]
You know, maybe it's just because I'm a little paranoid, what with people like Beck screaming about how people like me are traitors who are hell-bent on ruining America, but this entire thing seemed like: 1.) A perfunctory insurance policy so he can't get blamed when the inevitable happens; 2.) A winking encouragement to make it happen.
It's right here when it really happens: "Our founders sailed across the ocean—battled killer storms, smallpox, they vomited for three months on a tiny little wooden ship with a bedsheet for a sail!—just to get a grievance before the king. They did that for twenty long years. What have we done? [sniveling voice] 'Well, I sent an email, I made a phone call, they won't even listen to me anymore.' [back to regular voice] So the next logical progression is email, phone, a gun? Only for a crazy person." It's in the tone of his delivery—right up until he goes into that sniveling voice, it's an exhortation for drastic action, but then he pulls back into perfunctory insurance policy mode.
It's like he's deliberately playing to the unstable person in the audience who will touch his nose and then point at the TV: "I gotcha, Glenn. Only a 'crazy person' would use a gun. Well, I'm just the kind of crazy motherfucker you're looking for, friend."
Yeah, I'm probably just a wacky paranoiac. But I wonder: Why didn't Beck explain what he thinks is the appropriate next "forceful" step between phone and gun?
I guess that's just a blank his viewers will have to fill in for themselves.
The best thing you can do right now is to let Congress know that you are watching them like a hawk. You show up. You, you let them feel your burning gaze on them at all times. But here's the thing that I, I'm concerned about—your interaction with them needs to be respectful, polite, forceful, and peaceful.
I've been warning Congress now for a couple of years, and the time has come and passed for them to be able to learn from this. I've been telling them, "You have to listen to the people," or they'll be in real big trouble. Well, now let me give the warning to you: If anyone thinks that it would be a good idea to turn violent—think again. It would destroy the Republic. I feel it with everything in me.
There is a great reason for hope right now, because I am telling you for the first time, since I started saying this in the last couple of years, for the first time I know it, I feel it, the American people are starting to wake up. These people in Washington have no idea what they have done; they have awakened a sleeping giant!
But just one lunatic like Timothy McVeigh could ruin everything that everyone has worked so hard for, because these people in Washington won't pass up the use of an emergency. Look how the media ran with the abortion doctor killing! They tried to pin that despicable act on Fox in general and specifically Bill O'Reilly and me! The only, the only thing either of us have ever said is there's no reason for that, ever.
I don't wanna ever hear from our own Americans, anyone, voicing some sort of Muslim extremist-type justification, as we heard in the circles after 9/11, "Well, I could see how they, ya know, how they felt they had to do it—course I don't agree." Absolutely not. There is no excuse for violence.
Our founders sailed across the ocean—battled killer storms, smallpox, they vomited for three months on a tiny little wooden ship with a bedsheet for a sail!—just to get a grievance before the king. They did that for twenty long years. What have we done? [sniveling voice] "Well, I sent an email, I made a phone call, they won't even listen to me anymore." [back to regular voice] So the next logical progression is email, phone, a gun? Only for a crazy person.
If you ever hear something thinking about or talking about turning violent, it is your patriotic duty to stop them. The only way to save our Republic is to remain peaceful. Forceful, but peaceful.
From New York—good night, America.
Radio Shakesville
Welcome Home
Yesterday, Deeky mentioned that US journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee had come home after being held for months by North Korea. Following are (warning: blub-inducing) images of their emotional homecoming.
Freed U.S. journalists Laura Ling (top left) embraces her husband Iain Clayton while fellow freed journalist Euna Lee (bottom left) is hugged by her husband Michael Saldate and daughter Hana Saldate in Burbank, California August 5, 2009. Ling and Lee were freed from North Korea after being held there since March, 2009.
American journalists Laura Ling (top) and Euna Lee disembark from the plane that brought them back from North Korea in Burbank, California August 5, 2009. Former President Bill Clinton met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to release the two women after months of detention.
Former U.S. Vice-President Al Gore hugs freed U.S. journalist Laura Ling (R). Ling and Lee are reporters for American cable television venture Current TV co-founded by Gore.
Freed American journalist Euna Lee hugs former U.S. Vice-President Al Gore (R) while holding her daughter Hana as her husband Michael Saldate (rear, L) looks on.
"Thirty hours ago, Euna Lee and I were prisoners in North Korea," Ms. Ling said in brief remarks to reporters, blinking back tears. "We feared that at any moment we could be prisoners in a hard labor camp. Then suddenly we were told that we were going to a meeting.Welcome home, Ms. Ling. Welcome home, Ms. Lee.
"We were taken to a location and when we walked through the doors, we saw standing before us President Bill Clinton," she said, recounting the final moments of her ordeal. "We were shocked, but we knew instantly in our hearts that the nightmare of our lives was finally coming to an end. And now we stand here home and free." (link)
What The Hell?
Shaker somebodyoranother, left
What the hell is with the top hat on your date? What the hell is with the black prom dress, Morticia?? What the hell is this, a picture from the prom or your summer job at the Haunted Mansion??? What the hell????
[See also: Deeky, Liss, evilsciencechick, katecontinued, ClumsyKisses, Mistress Sparkletoes, Liiiz, Reedme, Mama Shakes, Mustang Bobby, RedSonja, MomTFH, Portly Dyke, SteffaB, Icca, Christina, Orangelion03, Car, Siobhan, InfamousQBert, Maud, Rikibeth, MishaRN, CLD, Cheezwiz, MamaCarrie, and Temeraire.]
