[I need to wrap up a little early today because I've got some stuff to do this afternoon.]
Suggested by Shaker particolored: "What is your favorite song to sing in the shower (or anywhere else)? "
Question of the Day
Republicans Think People Aren't Entitled to Food
[Content Note: Class warfare.]
Or a liveable wage:
As expected, Senate Republicans voted on Wednesday to block debate on legislation to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour.SENATOR SUSAN COLLINS THINKS $10.10 IS TOO HIGH. Of course she does. Even though someone working 40 hours a week at $10.10, without overtime or bonuses, would annually earn $2,452 less than the current federal poverty level for a family of four.
The procedural motion to begin debate received 54 votes for, and 42 against -- short of the 60 needed to break a filibuster.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) had expressed willingness to play ball on the minimum wage but decided that hike to $10.10 per hour -- phased in over three years -- was too high for her. Democrats, who are aggressively touting the issue on the 2014 campaign trail, declined to budge on the $10.10 figure.
That's not even a liveable wage. And the Republican Party thinks it's too high.
The shades of my contempt are positively multitudinous.
Daily Dose of Cute
Dudley, being inimitably dudleyish.
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
The Wednesday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by giraffes.
Recommended Reading:
Rocio Isabel Prado: [Content Note: Discussion of racism; white-, hetero-, and cis supremacy] On Translating an Oppressive Dialect
BYP: [CN: Domestic violence; misogyny; rape apologia] D.L. Hugley Blames Columbus Short's Wife for Scandal Departure
Becca Segal: [CN: Food insecurity; class warfare] A New Tool Against Hunger in High-Poverty Neighborhoods
Rad Geek: [CN: Empathy/obedience experimentation] Shocking Results
Shayera: [CN: Misogyny] Petals in the Dust (Click the link at the top of Shayera's post to find out more about the documentary.)
Emily Yakashiro: [CN: Racism; child abuse] Reading Asian Women Writers: The Bird by Oh Jung-Hee
Jamilah King: [VIDEO] Janet Mock Asks Reporter: "Who Was the First Person You Came Out to as Cis?"
Andy Towle: [VIDEO; CN: Misogyny; homophobia] Glenn Beck: "Hillary Clinton Will Be Having Sex With a Woman on the White House Desk"
Leave your links and recommendations in comments. Self-promotion welcome and encouraged!
In the News
Here is some stuff in the news today...
A federal judge has struck down Wisconsin's voter ID law, "saying it violated the Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution." GOOD.
[Content Note: Reproductive coercion; hostility to consent] A county sheriff in Michigan denied a pregnant inmate access to an abortion, and he is being hailed as a hero in an editorial in local press headlined: "Sheriff's refusal to allow abortion results in a new family." Rage. Seethe. Boil.
Fox News is all a-twitter with the news that "Benghazi emails suggest White House aide involved in prepping Rice for 'video' explanation." OH MY GOD! CAN YOU EVEN IMAGINE?! A PRESIDENTIAL ADMINISTRATION COORDINATING A RESPONSE?! HOLY SHIT! #impeachObummer
[CN: Drones; death] Ha ha transparency schmansparency: "The official number of civilians killed each year by U.S. drone strikes will remain unknown, after senators dropped a demand for a public declaration, congressional aides said, after the U.S. intelligence chief expressed concerns the disclosure might reveal classified information." Ah, national security is at stake. That old canard.
At Think Progress, Jessica Goldstein has an interesting interview with Janet Vertesi, a woman who tried to hide her pregnancy from Google. What I found most compelling about her experiment was how she discovered that trying to live in a way where your information isn't being constantly mined looks suspicious: "[I]t was disconcerting because the kinds of things you're doing are, if it were taken in the aggregate, it looks like we're up to no good. Who else is on Tor every day and pulling out cash all over the city and taking out enormous gift cards to buy a stroller? It's the kind of thing, taken in the aggregate, that flags you in law enforcement systems. Fortunately, we never had the FBI show up at our door. But you start noticing the lengths, the extremes you have to go to to try to not be tracked. They put you in a very, very discomfiting position."
Have you heard about this neat kid who was accepted by all eight Ivy League universities? "Kwasi Enin will announce his decision at William Floyd High School at a news conference, the type of event usually reserved for college football and basketball recruits." LOL. Awesome. I love that.
RIP Bob Hoskins. I know that you will probably be remembered most for Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but you'll always be Spoor from Brazil to me.
All you've got to do is blow your nose and it's fixed, innit?
Shaker Garden Thread: April Edition
Heya, Shakers! What's growing? It's (finally) spring in this part of the world, so it seems like a good time to ask about everyone's growing projects. How are they going? What have you planted? What's sprouting or blooming? If it's not spring yet, what are your plans? If you're a Southern Hemisphere Shaker, how is your autumn garden? Whether it's a windowsill of herbs or outdoor vegetable beds, houseplants or patio plants or flowerpots or whatever, feel free to share your green thumb-ery here!
For me, last fall's bulb-planting paid off in a big way! Lots of early crocuses popped up, the random daffodil mix I bought looked great, and I even managed some tulips--always a feat in this Southern clime. One of my favourites was this multi-flowered daffodill.
Other perennials are off to a slow start, but I don't expect very much from their first year. Iris, peony, and perennial poppies have all made an appearance, even though they haven't bloomed, so that's a good sign. I'm also really happy with the progress of the herbs (wormwood, pennyroyal, tansy, rosemary) I planted in some particularly difficult perennial beds. They seem to be healthy and will provide some green when other plants struggle. Or at least that's the idea!
The veggie garden is showing signs of life, too! I planted some crops last fall and in February for early spring harvest; the radishes are flourishing really well. There's also lettuce, onions, and even some peas(below) from those plantings. Despite some late frosts, the many kinds of squash/pumpkin seeds I planted this spring have made their appearance. I've also gotten sprouts from the gourd, cantaloupe, watermelon, and cucumber seeds. Unfortunately the "live" tomato and pepper plants I ordered from Gurney's were delivered dead, so I just bought some tomato, pepper, and eggplants from Lowe's to set out. Fortunately, the live tomato and groundcherry plants I ordered from Seed Savers' Exchange arrived healthy and in good order! Except for re-sowing some annual flowers (zinnias, sunflower), I think my planting is done.
How about you? Any buds, flowers, or veggies yet? Or anything else of note? Feel free to share pictures and stories about your garden (or patio, or windowsill, or houseplant) projects in this thread. Non-growing projects are welcome too; if you want to share something you're building, a pot you're painting, or the like, feel free. Happy gardening, Shakers!
[Commenting reminder: Please respect that different gardeners have different needs and goals, and refrain from auditing others' choices on issues such as organic gardening, water usage, soil development, plant supply venues, and the like.]
End the Death Penalty Now
[Content Note: Death penalty; torture.]
As you may recall, in January, Ohio death row inmate Dennis McGuire was executed using "a new cocktail of drugs that took nearly a half hour to kill the gasping McGuire." The new drugs were used because pentobarbital, which has long been used in lethal injection executions, is no longer available as manufacturers now refuse to sell it for that purpose.
States continue to search for new alternatives, despite the fact that eradicating executions is the best alternative. And searching for new alternatives means using death row inmates as guinea pigs during executions, even if that means torturing them until they're dead.
Yesterday, in Oklahoma, it happened again:
The state of Oklahoma botched one execution and was forced to call off another on Tuesday when a disputed cocktail of drugs failed to kill a condemned prisoner who was left writhing on the gurney.Neither McGuire nor Lockett—nor Warner, who's been spared the same fate, at least temporarily—are good men. They are men who did horrible things. (Unless they are among the 4% of wrongly convicted inmates sitting on death row.) And there are people who argue it doesn't matter if men who did horrible things die horrible deaths.
After the failure of a 20-minute attempt to execute him, Clayton Lockett was left to die of a heart attack in the execution chamber at the Oklahoma state penitentiary in McAlester. A lawyer said Lockett had effectively been "tortured to death".
For three minutes after the first drugs were delivered Lockett struggled violently, groaned and writhed, lifting his shoulders and head from the gurney.
Some 16 minutes after the execution began, and without Lockett being declared dead, the blinds separating the chamber from the viewing room were closed. The process was called off shortly afterwards. Lockett died 43 minutes after the first executions drugs were adminsitered.
The execution of Charles Warner, scheduled for 8pm local time, was then postponed. Both were due to have been carried out with a drug cocktail using dosages never before tried in American executions.
But if we are really conceding that we don't care if we're any better than them, we are truly lost.
Buh-Bye
[Content Note: Racism.]
LA Clippers coach Donald Sterling, who was recorded making racist comments and has been the focus of widespread criticism since the audio was made public, has been sanctioned by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver:
Silver said the Clippers owner was fined $2.5 million and was banned from any association with the team for life. Silver added that he would urge other owners to force a sale of the team.Wow. I have all the thoughts about this, but mostly I'm just really pleased to see rank racism addressed with the seriousness it deserves.
Silver said the lifetime ban would stand regardless of whether Sterling was ultimately forced to sell the team he's owned for 33 years. The commissioner said the NBA constitution allowed owners to eject Sterling if three-quarters of the owners voted in favor of such a move, and that he would commence the process of expulsion immediately.
"I fully expect to get the support I need from the other NBA owners to remove him," said Silver, who appeared visibly agitated throughout his remarks.
...Under the terms of Silver's punishment, the 80-year-old Sterling cannot attend any NBA games or practices and is not allowed to inhabit any Clippers facility or participate in any business or player personnel decision involving the team. Sterling is also barred from the NBA's Board of Governors meetings and other league activities, Silver said.
The commissioner said the $2.5-million fine was the maximum allowed under the league constitution and would be donated to organizations dedicated to anti-discrimination and tolerance efforts. The NBA and the National Basketball Players Assn. will jointly select those organizations.
I hope the NBA will use this as an opportunity to examine less visible acts and practices of racism throughout the league, rather than instead using one attention-getting incident to pretend they're addressing racism comprehensively.
Question of the Day
Suggested by Shaker Merkohl: "What's the story about a second chance you got? Maybe the first time around, you made a choice and weren't satisfied with the way it turned out; wishing you'd chosen differently. Then, somehow, you had another opportunity, and this time you acted on the wished-for choice; how did it turn out? As you imagined? Even better?"
An Observation
I will never, ever, stop loving (ahem) arrogant dipshits who expect personal education on demand, then angrily scold me when I direct them to work I've previously done.
Because their expecting me to stop everything else I'm doing to provide them with personal education is reasonable, but my expecting them to read materials I've already written makes me a fucking bitch.
It's not even worth it to politely direct them to existing resources. I might as well just respond how I really want to demands for personal education: "FUCK OFF."
(This is why tone arguments that admonish Strident Feminists to be "nicer" are bullshit. Yeah, we've tried being nice. We know the end result is the same either way.)
Quote of the Day
[Content Note: War on agency.]
"There's nothing inherently burdensome about crossing state lines."—Paul E. Barnes, the attorney for Mississippi state, defending the law requiring abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a local hospital, which, if upheld, could put the last remaining abortion clinic in the state out of business.
By law, abortion restrictions must not create an undue burden, which is why we get these absurd arguments about how having to cross state lines or drive 150 miles each way to access abortion aren't "inherently burdensome."
Star Wars Casting News. And Exceptional Girls.
[Content Note: Misogyny.]
J.J. Abrams and the Lucasfilm team have announced the cast of Star Wars: Episode Wev:
The full list of announced actors is as follows:That's a really weird announcement list, since it gives the character names of returning cast and the names of previous works of new cast, but whatever.
Mark Hamill — "Luke Skywalker"
Carrie Fisher — "Princess Leia"
Harrison Ford — "Han Solo"
Peter Mayhew — "Chewbacca"
Anthony Daniels — "C-3PO"
Kenny Baker — "R2-D2"
Adam Driver — Girls
John Boyega — Attack the Block
Daisy Ridley — Toast of London
Oscar Isaac — Inside Llewyn Davis
Andy Serkis — The Lord of the Rings
Domhnall Gleeson — About Time
Max von Sydow — The Exorcist
The thing that's most notable to me is that the much-criticized token female dynamic of the original films (Princess Leia) seems to be replicated here in the newly added cast, 37 years later, in the "post-feminist" year of our lord Jesus Jones two thousand and fourteen.
Now there will be two whose women in the cast. Maybe they'll even have a scene together!
My objection is not just about filling a quota—although I'd be lying if I said that a cast which is 15% female when women are 52% of the population doesn't annoy the fuck out of me.
More than that, however, is the fact that the habit of putting token girls into sci-fi and fantasy works informs narratives about strong, powerful, smart, and/or otherwise cool women being exceptions.
Is it any wonder so many budding feminist nerd girls go through a stage of Exceptional Womanhood, in which we define ourselves as "not like other women," for the benefit of male friends?
Me as a kid, sound asleep with Princess Leia buns.
It was lucky I was the only girl who loved Star Wars in my elementary school class; there was only one role for a girl, anyway. And I can't even begin to explain the joy of The Lord of the Rings' Eowyn telling the Witch King, "I am no man," as she delivers his death blow. Empowered with such heroism because she was a girl—my god, it was revolutionary.
But even though Leia and Eowyn were both great heroines, it seemed to me as though girls who were smart and tough were always segregated away from other women. Images of women who are smart and tough and the only female in a group of men are, in fact, so common, that it serves to teach smart and tough little girls that girliness is bad. Only silly girls hang out together in their giggling little gaggles; smart girls hang out with boys—a sentiment reinforced over and over as I played girl-less video games and watched films and read books with a token girl. A second girl only meant a rivalry, never a friendship.
Or, in rare cases, a token girl of another generation. A mother or auntie who might dispense wisdom, but doesn't kick ass herself anymore. Which is what I fear is going to be the dynamic in Star Wars, with its two whole women.
The problem isn't that individual female characters can't convey to girls (and boys) that women can be awesome. The problem is their solitary circumstances, and how that lonesomeness communicates that there simply aren't as many awesome women as men. While simultaneously tasking the token with being representative of the monolith. Tokens are at once lionized as above average, and diminished as interchangeable with the rest of their kind.
There should have been other girls for me, and there should be other girls now. Good girls, bad girls, smart girls, funny girls, conniving girls, heroic girls. The presence of all sorts of girls in the Star Wars universe would be affirming to the girls who love those films.
But there was only one kind of a girl for a girl like me, who happened to prefer Star Wars to Facts of Life, and I find it utterly depressing that basically nothing has changed.
"Not Alone"
[Content Note: Rape culture; sexual assault on college campuses; carcerality.]
This morning, the White House released a fact sheet titled "Not Alone—Protecting Students from Sexual Assault," which details the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault's proposed series of actions to:
(1) identify the scope of the problem on college campuses, (2) help prevent campus sexual assault, (3) help schools respond effectively when a student is assaulted, and (4) improve, and make more transparent, the federal government's enforcement efforts. We will continue to pursue additional executive or legislative actions in the future.I'm glad the Obama administration is concerned with sexual assault on college campuses. That said, I have some real concerns about some of the approaches in this fact sheet, particularly around confidentiality and bystander intervention.
Confidentiality: Under the section heading "Helping Schools Respond Effectively When a Student Is Sexually Assaulted: Confidentiality, Training, Better Investigations, and Community Partnerships," the first two bullet-points read:
* Many survivors need someone to talk to in confidence. While many survivors of sexual assault are ready to press forward with a formal complaint right away, others aren't so sure. For some, having a confidential place to go can mean the difference between getting help and staying silent. Today, the Department of Education is releasing new guidance clarifying that on-campus counselors and advocates can talk to a survivor in confidence. This support can help victims come forward, get help, and make a formal report if they choose to.There are two major problems here.
* We are providing a sample confidentiality and reporting policy. Even victims who make a formal report may still request that the information be held in confidence, and that the school not investigate or take action against the perpetrator. Schools, however, also have an obligation to keep the larger community safe. To help them strike this balance, we are providing schools with a sample reporting and confidentiality policy, which recommends factors a school should consider in making this decision.
One: "For some, having a confidential place to go can mean the difference between getting help and staying silent." First of all, note that "staying silent" is implicitly defined as filing a formal complaint. That is not the only way that survivors can and do raise their voices. Secondly, there is an embedded implication that the only barrier to justice is survivors "breaking their silence" by filing a formal report, which is categorical bullshit. Countless numbers of survivors have tried to file formal complaints, with university administrators and/or police, only to be turned away. The burden that is implicitly being put on survivors here is profoundly objectionable.
Two: Victims may request "that the school not investigate or take action against the perpetrator," but schools "have an obligation to keep the larger community safe" and are empowered with the "decision" as to whether to take action. These two things cannot coexist. This sounds an awful lot like schools are being empowered to compel victims to participate in prosecutions, which is incompatible with providing a safe and confidential resource to survivors.
Bystander Intervention: An emphasis on bystander intervention is problematic for a whole lot of reasons, not least of which is that not everyone has the same capacity to safely intervene.
And, much like the increasing tendency to prosecute survivors who are unwilling to participate in prosecutions, bystander intervention initiatives are headed in a "criminalize bystanders who fail to intervene" direction.
This is something about which Lauren Chief Elk has written a lot on Twitter, and I highly recommend this Storify (shared with Lauren's permission and compiled by @mizblossom) detailing some of the ways in which bystander intervention initiatives can cause more problems than they solve.
Tasking potential victims with prevention, tasking bystanders with intervention, tasking survivors with formally reporting, and prosecuting survivors and bystanders who don't engage with law enforcement on law enforcement's terms is not effective rape prevention.
Which is to say nothing of the fact that these initiatives presume that "the system" is already working fine for survivors when they do try to pursue justice through formal channels.
To be clear: I'm not saying it's wrong to provide a(n ostensibly) safe space for victims to report, nor am I saying it's wrong to encourage people to intervene if they can safely do so. What I'm saying is that the emphasis on these things, coupled with increasing tendencies to criminalize survivors' and bystanders' failure to act, is actively harmful to meaningful and effective rape prevention.
Where we're headed is a culture of carcerality to compel compliance with ineffective law enforcement where there are more survivors and bystanders being prosecuted than rapists.
Daily Dose of Cute
The sweetest. Just the absolute sweetest.
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
On Game of Thrones, Part Two
[Content Note: Sexual violence. Discussion of Game of Thrones' last two episodes which includes spoilers.]
Part One is here.
In comments here, and in other spaces, I've seen people express surprise that the rape scene at Caster's in the most recent episode did not get nearly the amount of attention that the scene of Jamie raping Cercei in the previous episode did.
And I wanted to take a moment to tease out why I think that is, because it's an important reflection of the rape culture—and which incidents of sexual violence we collectively care about, and why.
I've read an absolute fuckton of commentary on the scene in which Jamie rapes Cercei, and one of the narratives that quickly became evident was that the primary concern of most critics of the scene was not that Cercei was raped, but that Jamie had been turned into a rapist. At first blush, that might sound like a bit of semantics, but it's not: There was not an outpouring of grief for Cercei being victimized; there was, however, an awful lot of grief that Jamie's redemption arc had been ruined by turning him into a rapist.
To be clear, I absolute sympathize with (and share) that complaint. There's no way I'm going to watch a man rape his sister in one episode, and then enjoy his friendship with another female character I adore (Brienne) in the next. Turning Jamie into a revenge-raping monster absolutely fucked up the story.
But I was also concerned and upset that Cercei had been raped. That is not a concern that was widely shared.
The overall tone of the criticism of the scene was not about what Jamie had done to Cercei; it was about what the writers of the show had done to Jamie.
* * *
In contrast, the scene at Caster's, in which multiple women are being raped, did not get nearly as much criticism, or even online discussion. In many recaps of the episode I read, the sexual violence wasn't even explicitly mentioned.
This, despite the fact that the scene at Caster's is inarguably more graphic; there are more victims; there was no defense of the scene as anything other than rape from the writers, the director, the author, the actors.
So why was there so comparatively little criticism of this scene?
Well, we're not meant to like the male characters who are doing the raping in that scene. We're meant to hate them. The depicted rape is there specifically to invite our contempt.
Returning to my piece from yesterday:
It is a violent show altogether, but the way that sexual violence was used took on a particular tone that suggested sexual violence is uniquely despicable, but also fair game for casual use as shorthand for character development.These men are supposed to be rapists. But Jamie Lannister isn't.
...Which brings me to last night's episode, featuring a scene that opened to the sound of a woman weeping while being raped and showing multiple women being raped as background, while a male character directed his men to "fuck them 'til they're dead."
This scene was invented for the show.
The women being raped are not major characters; they were props being used to establish that this new male character is not a nice guy.
* * *
Why one scene was met with a torrent of opprobrium and the other wasn't doesn't have anything to do with rape at all. Not really. It certainly has nothing to do with any of the female victims, including Cercei. It has to do with rape only insomuch as being a rapist reflects on male characters and upholds or subverts our opinions of them.
The truth is, virtually no one cared about female characters being raped, even when one of them was a major female character. Virtually none of the mainstream criticism has been centered around the concern for female characters being victimized.
It's been centered around Jamie Lannister, beloved male character, being victimized by the show.
In the News
Here is some stuff in the news today...
[Content Note: Terrorism; abduction; violence; misogyny; exploitation] Last week, I wrote about the 234 Nigerian girls who had been abducted from their school by members of the jihadist organization Boko Haram. At the time, there was no information about where the girls had been taken. Now, there is a deeply upsetting report that most of the girls "have been ferried abroad to Chad and Cameroon after they were married off to sect members on N2,000 bride price each. ...Dr. Pogu Chibok, who is the leader of the Chibok Elders Forum, told Daily Trust yesterday that latest information available to them indicates that most of the girls have been taken to the neighboring Cameroon and Chad by their captors. He said before they were ferried in canoes across the Lake Chad, a wedding ceremony was conducted at a town on the border with Cameroon where they were married off to Boko Haram militants." And still very little action has been taken to rescue them. My heart is breaking into a million pieces.
[CN: War on agency] The Florida state senate has voted to approve a "fetal homicide bill" which now goes to the Republican governor for signature: "The Florida Senate voted 25-14 last week to pass a bill making it a separate crime to kill or harm a fetus while committing a crime against a pregnant woman. Under current Florida law, a person can already be charged with manslaughter or murder if he or she kills a viable fetus. But this new bill, HB 59, expands the penalties to include causing injury or death to a fetus at any stage of development, starting with conception."
[CN: Misogynoir; domestic violence; sexual assault] Speaking of Florida: "Standing Our Ground: Reproductive Justice for Marissa Alexander."
Well, this is good news: "Google is removing Web search ads for some 'crisis pregnancy centers,' after an investigation by NARAL Pro-Choice America found evidence that the ads violate Google's policy against deceptive advertising."
[CN: Racism] The fallout continues for LA Clippers' owner Donald Sterling, who was caught on tape making racist comments: "Two sponsors have suspended ties with the Los Angeles Clippers, amid mounting pressure on the team and basketball authorities to banish owner Donald Sterling from the sport over alleged racist comments. ...The National Basketball Association was expected on Tuesday to announce sanctions against Sterling, including a possible fine and a ban from playoff games for the rest of this season. ...An outcry led by President Barack Obama, athletes and other public figures has piled pressure on the NBA to oust Sterling from the sport. That would be a fraught and unprecedented step, since the 80-year-old tycoon cannot be fired or compelled to sell the team. ...The National Basketball Players Association has asked the NBA to ban Sterling from attending playoff games and to impose the league's maximum penalties if the comments are verified to be his."
[CN: Disaster; death] The active search through the debris following the Washington landslide has been suspended. Two people remain missing. An active search may be resumed "if conditions change, allowing crews into areas that were previously inaccessible due to large amounts of debris." So sad.
And finally: Here is just a terrific story about a rescued baby squirrel and the gentle dogs who accepted him into their pack.
More Severe Weather
[Content Note: Tornadoes; injury and death.]
Following the storms over the weekend in which at least 17 people died, tornadoes raced across the southeastern US last night, killing at least 11 more people.
The storm front killed at least 11 people on Monday when it slammed into parts of Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee and produced more than 50 tornado reports in 24 hours.And the severe weather isn't done yet.
On Tuesday, the areas hit hardest by severe weather "are going to get a repeat performance," according to The Weather Channel's chief meteorologist, Kevin Roth. He said the severe storm that kicked off the chain of deadly tornadoes was so slow-moving that it's "almost stationary."Tornadoes are terrifying, especially because they're so unpredictable. If you've never been in one, it's hard to understand how fast and devastating they can be. Be as safe as you can, everyone.
Roth warned that eastern Mississippi, eastern Tennessee and "all of Alabama" could be in line for a second hit — putting millions of people at risk.
"It is almost identical areas that are under the gun, two days in a row," Roth said. "That's not normally the case."
Shooting at FedEx Warehouse in Georgia
[Content Note: Guns; injury.]
An as-yet unidentified man, for whom police are still searching, shot six people at a FedEx facility in Kennesaw, Georgia, early this morning. The six victims were taken to a local hospital, one in critical condition. Several were taken into surgery.
The scene has been shut down while police investigate. The shooter reportedly fled the scene after the shooting, and there has so far been no indication from police that anyone has been taken into custody.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is providing updates here, including information on the investigation and areas designated to connect with family members and friends who were at the warehouse this morning.
I just don't even know what to say anymore.
UPDATE 1: Cobb County police Sgt. Dana Pierce has said that the suspect is dead. At the moment, there's no further information on whether he was killed by police or took his own life.
UPDATE 2: Police believe the still unidentified shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. They are not currently looking for any other suspects at this point.
UPDATE 3: The town in which this happened, Kennesaw, is "unique in the U.S. for mandating every household own at least one gun. The law is not enforced, so the Kennesaw gun ownership rate hovers around 50 percent, according to its police chief. That's still higher than the average rate of gun ownership in the U.S., estimated to be about 34 percent." So much for arguments about how more guns prevents mass shootings.
Question of the Day
Suggested by Shaker Kathy_A: "What is your favorite piece of furniture (current, in your past, or one you would love to get someday)?"
Quote of the Day
[Content Note: Racism.]
"Tuscaloosa's schools today are not as starkly segregated as they were in 1954, the year the Supreme Court declared an end to separate and unequal education in America. No all-white schools exist anymore—the city's white students generally attend schools with significant numbers of black students. But while segregation as it is practiced today may be different than it was 60 years ago, it is no less pernicious: In Tuscaloosa and elsewhere, it involves the removal and isolation of poor black and Latino students, in particular, from everyone else. In Tuscaloosa today, nearly one in three black students attends a school that looks as if Brown v. Board of Education never happened."—Nikole Hannah-Jones, in her extraordinary piece for ProPublica, "Segregation Now."
The above link goes to a text article. You can view ProPublica's entire multimedia report on school resegregation here.
Pentagon Omits Trans* People from "Human Goals Charter"
[Content Note: Transphobia.]
Welp:
The Pentagon issued Monday a new declaration of its goals for human rights, and although the document affirms for the first time inclusion of gay, lesbian and bisexual service members, it omits any reference of either transgender troops or civilian workers.My first thought about this was to research what the rules are regarding pregnant servicemembers, whose healthcare needs presumably make "untenable" serving in "austere environments" without easy access to routine medical care. And the policies on pregnant servicemembers aren't especially clear, though pregnancy is no longer an automatic discharge, and it seems like, generally, accommodations are made for pregnant servicemembers.
The document, known as the Department of Defense Human Goals Charter, sets forth principles for the Pentagon to "create a culture of inclusion" in the U.S. armed forces — both on the military and the civilian side. Although the document sets goals for the department, it doesn't necessarily reflect a change in policy or law.
..."The defense of the nation requires a well-trained volunteer force comprised of active and reserve military members and civilian personnel," the document says. "We gain a strategic advantage through the diversity of our total force and create a culture of inclusion where individuals are drawn to serve, are valued, and actively contribute to the overall mission success."
...The charter includes sexual orientation as a category in which the military will strive to be a "model of equal opportunity." The term "sexual orientation" is also included in a section that describes ways "to provide equity in civilian employment."
But there is no reference to gender identity. Transgender people are barred from service in the military because of medical regulations, despite growing efforts among LGBT advocates to push for openly transgender service.
..."The Department considers that service members must serve in austere environments, many of which make necessary and ongoing treatments related to sex reassignment and many other conditions untenable," [Lt. Cmdr. Nathan Christensen, a Pentagon spokesperson] said. "Policies on military personnel and health care regarding transgender members are intended to meet the needs of the services, which include the ability to deploy to and serve in austere environments with limited (and perhaps no) access to medical care for prolonged periods on little or no notice."
(I hope those with more knowledge of current military practices can weigh in here regarding pregnancy policies.)
In any case, I strongly suspect that it would be easier than Lt. Cmdr. Christensen suggests to make reasonable accommodations for trans* servicemembers.
Seen
"Out of order" is right. You're out of order! You're out of order! This whole machine is out of order! They're out of order!
On Game of Thrones
[Content Note: Descriptions of sexual violence and torture. Discussion of Game of Thrones which includes spoilers. Please Note: We all like problematic shows, and we all draw our lines about what is overwhelmingly problematic in different places. This piece is about my line, which doesn't mean it has to be yours.]
I have always had a complicated relationship with Game of Thrones, the TV series. From the start, I had criticisms of its use of exploitation of women and use of sexual violence. I didn't watch the show for a long time after being alienated by the pilot, but Iain, who's read the books, kept watching the series, and I was slowly drawn in as I'd catch scenes of complex female characters who I really liked.
(Plus: Peter Dinklage.)
So, I eventually became a fan of the show, even if a fan with reservations and criticisms.
One of the most jarring and frustrating things about the show is that it is one of the few shows on television with female characters who are truly well-drawn, who are genuinely imbued with their full humanity—but that's only if a female character is fortunate enough to be one of the primary characters, rather than one of the many actresses used as naked props in the series which spawned the portmanteau "sexposition," which describes, to put it bluntly, the habit of making expository scenes more "fun" with a screen full of boobs.
Lady T once wrote a terrific piece, which has really hung with me, about the juxtaposition of naked ladies and props and the fully human female characters in Game of Thrones:
I think our culture has become so accustomed to seeing naked women used as props in advertising, film, television, and in other forms of media, that we don't always notice objectification anymore. Those of us who are actively feminist will notice unnecessary boobage in a show, but more casual consumers of media and popular culture might not pick up on the objectification in such displays of nudity, because the objectification is everywhere.It is something for which the two male showrunners, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, have never had anything satisfying to say, so I knew that the exploitation of naked female bodies (and the exploitation of the actresses in those scenes) was always going to be the cost of accessing stories about the female characters I loved.
Game of Thrones, however, gives us scenes with characters like Cersei and Catelyn and Arya and Brienne and Daenerys, shows them as complex and complicated and morally gray as any male character on the show–and two minutes later, gives us a scene where a male character talks to a woman who exists as nothing more than a naked giggling prop.
The shift is jarring, as if the show is saying, "Women are complex, just like men–now here are some more boobs in soft glowy lighting, brought to you by The Male GazeTM." It's jarring enough that even a casual viewer is more likely to notice. You can't be oblivious to the naked giggling props when there are so many fully-clothed, complex human beings around, reminding us that women are people.
That itself was a steep cost.
Increasingly, the show relied on the torture of women to create characterization for male characters. Minor female characters, like lowborn sex worker Roz, were tortured to death to convey that male characters were particularly terrible. (In contract, The Hound was shown to have a glimmer of goodness by rescuing a major female character, the highborn lady Sansa, from a gang-rape.) It is a violent show altogether, but the way that sexual violence was used took on a particular tone that suggested sexual violence is uniquely despicable, but also fair game for casual use as shorthand for character development.
This was not reserved exclusively for sexual violence against women: One of the cruelest characters in the show, Ramsay Snow, cuts off the genitals of Theon Greyjoy in order to "break" him. And references to that heinous act of sexual violence are often followed in the show by edits to jump to other male characters cutting into a sausage at a meal. A serious act of torture turned into a punchline.
A steeper cost as the price of entry. And, over the past two episodes, the cost has become even steeper.
In last week's episode, Jamie Lannister raped Cercei, his sister—and longtime lover and mother of his children. The scene in the book is problematic, in that Cercei protests but eventually consents (despite the fact that Jamie doesn't seem to care whether she consents), but it is not a violent rape. In the show, it is a violent revenge rape, in which Jamie wonders why he has been fated to love such a "hateful woman" after Cercei resists his advances, then punishes her with what is clearly depicted as rape.
In the days following the airing of the episode, over which there was much outcry from fans, the male writers of the show weighed in, the male writer of the original material (George R.R. Martin) weighed in, the male director of the episode weighed in, and the male actor in the scene weighed in, all in defense of the scene being consensual. The closest any of them came to acknowledging it was a scene of rape was actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who, when asked if it was rape, said: "Yes, and no. There are moments where she gives in, and moments where she pushes him away. But it's not pretty."
Yes and no. There is no "yes and no" in consent.
The director's take was even more discouraging:
Well, it becomes consensual by the end, because anything for them ultimately results in a turn-on, especially a power struggle. Nobody really wanted to talk about what was going on between the two characters, so we had a rehearsal that was a blocking rehearsal. And it was very much about the earlier part with Charles (Dance) and the gentle verbal kidnapping of Cersei's last living son. Nikolaj came in and we just went through one physical progression and digression of what they went through, but also how to do it with only one hand, because it was Nikolaj. By the time you do that and you walk through it, the actors feel comfortable going home to think about it. The only other thing I did was that ordinarily, you rehearse the night before, and I wanted to rehearse that scene four days before, so that we could think about everything. And it worked out really well. That's one of my favorite scenes I've ever done.Note, here, that the director refers to the two men in in the scene by the actors' first names, but the woman in the scene, the woman who is raped, by her character's name. And Lena Headey, who plays Cercei, is the one person (and only woman) involved with the scene whose opinion about whether it was rape we never heard.
At least none that I've been able to find. (And I'm not suggesting she is obliged to do so. I'm more interested in the fact that, in the dozens of articles I've read about this scene, nary a single writer seeking responses from the writers, director, and actors has penned even one line wondering what she thinks of the scene.) If Headey has responded, it's sure not getting as much attention as every man involved with the creation of the scene. Which is a dynamic that seems to replicate real rape cases, mimicking whose voices are privileged to define what constitutes consent. Like in many real rape cases, we're content to let all the men involved define "whether" it's rape and have no interest in what the woman who played the victim has to say.
Funny that, how the public discussion of a rape scene that is supposedly not a rape scene looks so very much like rape culture.
All of which speaks to how much I, and other viewers, can trust the people who make this show regarding sexual violence—and how it's used and depicted.
Which brings me to last night's episode, featuring a scene that opened to the sound of a woman weeping while being raped and showing multiple women being raped as background, while a male character directed his men to "fuck them 'til they're dead."
This scene was invented for the show.
The women being raped are not major characters; they were props being used to establish that this new male character is not a nice guy. And the scene was shot in a way to give maximum titillation to anyone who gets off on watching women being raped, or anyone who can overlook that it's a rape scene, as long as there are boobs at which to gaze.
Obliging me to view the graphic torture and rape of women as entry for stories about female characters I like is too steep a cost. And fuck the stewards of this show for making that the cost of access to rare stories about complex women.
Having tweeted about this a bit already, I'm already getting the usual pushback. I'm oversensitive. (Yawn.) I'm trying to ruin everyone's fun. (Do what you want; I'm speaking for myself.) I should worry about more important things. (Do you know how many people watch this show?) This is just "the way it was back then." (Don't argue realism with me in defense of rape scenes in a show with fucking dragons.) The show has always been violent. (Yes, and I am objecting to how certain types of violence are used.) What do I expect? (More.)
I especially expect more from a show that simultaneously demonstrates a capability for writing complex female characters.
Like a man who exceptionalizes the women in his life only to monolithize all other women, the stewards of this show treat the major female characters as humans, but the women in the background as "women." Whoops.
Thus we get a scene in which naked women, marked with cuts and bruises, are raped by men who are told to "fuck them 'til they're dead" in a throwaway bit of lazy and unnecessary male character development—in the very same episode that Brienne, a female knight of singular extraordinariness, sets off to save Sansa, armed with a sword of Valyrian steel and a custom-made suit of armor.
George R.R. Martin, who wrote the series on which the show is based, identifies as a feminist. At this point, if he has any decency and integrity, he needs to speak out firmly against that scene, which was invented for the show and is incredibly hostile to women. Including the actresses exploited for such garbage and the female viewers who shouldn't have to navigate such rank misogyny to engage with his female characters.
As for me, the cost of entry has become too steep. So long and thanks for all the dragons.
Daily Dose of Cute
"Hey cats!"
"Yes?"
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
The Monday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by cranberries.
Recommended Reading:
Imara: [Content Note: Racism] Cliven Bundy, Donald Sterling, and Affirmative Action
BYP: [CN: Guns; death] Chicago Activist Leonore Draper Shot and Killed after Leaving Anti-Violence Event
Vaidehi: [CN: Racism] Finding Your Different
Terri: [CN: Misogyny] The Naming of Things
Andy: Japan's First Lady Akie Abe Joins Tokyo Gay Pride Parade
Ron: Astronomers Have Discovered a Star That's as Cold as Ice
And last but not least: Congratulations to fat activist Cat Pausé on her 100th show!
Leave your links and recommendations in comments...
In the News
Here is some stuff in the news today...
[Content Note: Tornadoes; injury and death] At least 16 people have been killed by a wave of tornadoes across Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Iowa. Many people were injured, and many people have lost their homes, property, businesses. I haven't yet seen links to aid for the affected areas; please feel welcome and encouraged to leave links in comments as they are made available. I'm so sorry to everyone who survived these storms. I hope you get the resources you need, that you're reunited with pets, that your recovery is not any more difficult than it has to be.
[CN: Racism; antisemitism] Over the weekend, a recording was made public of LA Clippers (basketball) owner Donald Sterling making racist comments to V. Stiviano, who, at the time of the recording, was his girlfriend, and who is a woman of color. Deadspin has 15 minutes of the recording, with partial transcript. There's nothing to say besides this guy's an indecent fuck. Well, I will say two quick things: 1. I love that Magic Johnson, with whom Stiviano had posed for a picture, which started the fight recorded and later made public, is interested in buying the Clippers. Perfect. 2. I have read in article after article about Sterling's rank racism that he's "from another century" or variations on that theme. Nope. He's not. He expressed what are very much contemporary views for a whole lot of white people. Part of meaningfully addressing racism, white privilege, and white supremacy means being honest about that.
[CN: Torture; Christian supremacy] Former Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin said during a speech at the National Rifle Association's "Stand and Fight" rally this weekend that, if she were president, she wouldn't hesitate to torture accused terrorists. "Well, if I were in charge, they would know that waterboarding is how we baptize terrorists." What a truly terrible person she is.
[CN: Guns] Also at the NRA convention this weekend: "The National Rifle Association on Sunday offered young children free membership and the opportunity to win a high-powered rifle or shotgun. A 'Youth Day' at the influential gun lobby group's annual convention in Indianapolis was scheduled to culminate with a prize draw in which participants could take home a WBY-X rifle or shotgun supplied by Weatherby, a major firearms manufacturer and a sponsor of the event. All were also given a free six-month youth membership of the NRA." I don't even have words. I really don't.
[CN: War on agency] Mississippi pro-choicers are fighting to keep open the last abortion clinic in the entire state: "Mississippi could become the first state in the country without a single abortion clinic, depending on the outcome of a current legal challenge that's in the hands of a conservative federal appeals court. ...In 2012, Republican lawmakers in the state enacted a burdensome new state law that requires abortion doctors to obtain admitting privileges at local hospitals. The only two doctors who provide abortion care in Mississippi fly in from out of state to serve their patients, and they haven't been able to get hospitals to agree to those partnerships, so the future of their work is in jeopardy." Sob.
And finally: Here is just a great video of a swimmer being protected by a pod of dolphins from a(n unseen) shark. Coincidentally: "Walker's swim raised money for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society." Aww!
Guns Everywhere
[Content Note: Guns.]
Last week, I mentioned that Republican Georgia Governor Nathan Deal had signed a "guns everywhere" bill into law, which allows registered gun owners "to carry their weapons into churches, schools, libraries and bars." And elsewhere.
Which means, among other things, that stories like this will become increasingly common:
A man carrying a gun in a holster prompted parents at a children's baseball game to halt play and round up the children behind a dugout, but authorities say no crime was committed.I think it's really neat (by which I mean terrible) that brandishing a weapon, asking people if they see it, and telling them there's nothing they can do about it doesn't constitute making "verbal threats or gestures."
Parents and others at the Forsyth County park north of Atlanta flooded the 911 center with 22 calls about the man Tuesday evening.
Parent Karen Rabb tells WSB-TV the man was asking people if they saw his gun, saying there's nothing anyone could do about it.
Forsyth County sheriff's deputies questioned the man, and found that he had a valid gun permit. Authorities said that since the man made no verbal threats or gestures, they couldn't arrest him.
Sheriff Duane Piper said the man had the right to carry the gun, but called his conduct inappropriate.
I am not part of the gun culture. I'm part of the no-gun culture. But there's no room for a no-gun culture anymore, not when people are allowed to take guns anywhere and everywhere.
[H/T to Aphra_Behn.]
It Continues to Be a Real Mystery Why Republicans Aren't Connecting with a Majority of Female Voters
[Content Note: Misogyny; victim-blaming.]
This is something that a person running for office actually said:
One of the six Republican primary challengers to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) once blamed women for causing most divorces – even when their husbands are unfaithful.Bowers released a statement explaining that, as part of his role in "steering my flock away from the destruction of the sacred union between husband and wife," he "simply shared with the congregation the information I received from the couples I counseled."
Det Bowers made the remarks during a sermon at the Christ Church of the Carolinas, where he served for more than a decade as pastor. The sermon was available for download until the podcast was removed recently ahead of the June 10 primary. But Politico obtained an audio recording of the sermon and published his comments Thursday.
"I find that in about 95 percent of broken marriages, though the husband's the one that ran out on his wife, the wife loves her children more than she does her husband," Bowers said. "That is an abominable idolatry."
He then directed his comments, his voice rising, to the women in his congregation, which he led from 2000 to 2012.
"Do you hear me, ladies?" Bowers said. "It is an abominable idolatry to love your children more than you love your husband, and it will ruin your marriage. And yet you blame it on him because he ran off with some other woman! He did run off with some other woman, and you packed his bags. All of his emotional bags, you packed for him. Is that true in every case? No, but it's true in the vast preponderance of them."
..."You just ran him off," Bowers said. "You paid more attention to your children than you did to him. 'Oh, he doesn't need me?' He needs you more than they do. He chose you, they didn't. An abominable idolatry."
Sure. I'm definitely certain that the "couples" he counseled shared the information that cheated-on and abandoned wives were to blame for their husbands' behavior.
Well, maybe one-half of those couples did.
Your Progressive Pope
[Content Note: Anti-choice rhetoric; Christian Supremacy.]
Hey, remember when Pope Francis said that the Roman Catholic church has become "obsessed" with abortion, same-sex marriage, and contraception, and that they shouldn't talk about it so much anymore, and everyone was all "WOO PROGRESSIVE POPE!" and I was all "UH, NOT REALLY!" and then everyone just kept ignoring when Pope Francis said stuff like abortion is "horrific," so they could maintain this fantasy about a Pope who loves to talk about poverty but refuses to support women's control over their own reproduction, which is one of the most crucial means by which women have of avoiding poverty? Remember all that?
Well, here's some more terrific stuff for everyone invested in the Progressive Pope meme to ignore!
Ahead of the weekend's [historic sainthood mass in Vatican City], Pope Francis showed glimpses of that complexity on Friday, when he made a seemingly rare statement to a group of African bishops in which he strongly condemned abortion.Let's just review that: "Abortion compounds the grief of many women who now carry with them deep physical and spiritual wounds after succumbing to the pressures of a secular culture which devalues God's gift of sexuality and the right to life of the unborn."
"Abortion compounds the grief of many women who now carry with them deep physical and spiritual wounds after succumbing to the pressures of a secular culture which devalues God's gift of sexuality and the right to life of the unborn."Pope Francis has made a habit of focusing on poverty and social inequality rather than abortion, which remains a divisive issue both within and beyond the Catholic church. Two weeks before, he had called abortion "an unspeakable crime" during a speech to an Italian anti-abortion group.
Said Shakesville contributor Aphra_Behn, who sent me this story, which I'm sharing with her permission: "I really enjoy the way he worked in slut-shaming, mental health myths, AND a fundamental disrespect for bodily autonomy into one pullquote. Pope Totally Awesome!!!!!!!"
And NOT ONLY THAT! But he managed to work in heterocentrism and ciscentrism, while disappearing atheists and victims of rape. There's an awful lot of wrong packed into that quote!
But he's totes progressive blah blah fart.
Open Thread
Hosted by baba ganoush.
This week's open threads have been brought to you by the letter B.
The Virtual Pub Is Open
[Explanations: lol your fat. pathetic anger bread. hey your gay.]
(See what I did there?)
TFIF, Shakers!
Belly up to the bar,
and name your poison!
Welp
Putin Halts All Talks with White House:
Since the invasion of Crimea, President Vladimir Putin and President Barack Obama have had regular phone calls in an often half-hearted attempt to deescalate the ongoing crisis inside Ukraine. But as the U.S. and EU prepare to unveil new sanctions against Russia, Putin has decided the interactions should stop. The Kremlin has ended high-level contact with the Obama administration, according to diplomatic officials and sources close to the Russian leadership. The move signals an end to the diplomacy, for now.I don't even know what to say. I'm just watching this unfold with wide eyes.
"Putin will not talk to Obama under pressure," said Igor Yurgens, Chairman of the Institute for Contemporary Development, a prominent Moscow think tank, and a close associate of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. "It does not mean forever."
...On Friday, Kerry warned that new round of American financial assaults on Russia were on the way. "We are putting in more sanctions, they will probably come Monday at the latest," he said in a private meeting in Washington, according to an attendee. Russian businesses and individuals close to Putin would be on the sanctions list, he added.
Diplomatic sources close to the process confirmed that Putin is not interested in speaking with Obama again in the current environment. The two leaders might talk again in the future but neither side is reaching out for direct interaction, as they had been doing since the Ukraine crisis began. The failure of the agreement struck last week in Geneva between the contact group of the U.S., EU, Russia, and Ukraine has made further direct Washington-Moscow interactions moot.
...That leaves the channel between Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as the only semi-functioning high-level diplomatic channel between Washington and Moscow. But even that often-frosty relationship has further chilled as the two sides hurled insults and accusations this week.
Important Jem & the Holograms News
Last month, I shared the news that Jem and the Holograms was getting its own live-action film, and said I hoped that Aja, Shana, and Carmen would not be whitewashed. So, the film has now been cast, and the good news is that Aja and Shana have not been whitewashed.
Aubrey Peeples, best known for a role on TV's Nashville, will play Jem. Disney star Stefanie Scott is Jem's sister Kimber, Aurora Perrineau (Pretty Little Liars) is Shana and Hayley Kiyoko (Lemonade Mouth) is Aja.
Jon M. Chu is directing from a script by Ryan Landels. The director posted a photo of the full Jem and the Holograms movie cast, which you can check out below.
It's still not set in the '80s, though! But I'll take it.
Discuss.
The Jury Is Still Out on Climate Change
[Content Note: Climate change; fat bias.]
Here are two things I read today:
1. Drought Now Covers Every Last Inch of California: "According to the April 22 release of the U.S. Drought Monitor, every last inch of California is in a state of 'moderate' to 'exceptional' drought—the first time in the monitor's 15-year history that's occurred. Indeed, the vast majority of California's territory is now either at 'extreme' or 'exceptional,' which are the two most severe levels."
2. The First Week of May Will Be Decidedly Un-Springlike for Much of the Country:
A significant multi-day severe weather outbreak is looking increasingly likely for this weekend. The powerful low pressure system associated with those storms will push temperatures up into the 80s (or even 90s) across much of the south until Monday or Tuesday.If we have snow next week, I am going to— I'm gonna— well, there's nothing I can really do about it, so I'm prolly gonna do this!
After the storm system slowly moves through, blocked in place by an impressive blob of high pressure over Canada, a sharp north-to-south elongation of the jet stream will usher in some seriously frigid weather. The first week of May is looking decidedly unspringlike, especially for the Gulf Coast. Low temperatures on May 1st could be in the 30s from Dallas to Birmingham—challenging hundred-year-old record lows—with cold weather of nearly that magnitude spreading to the East Coast by next weekend.
There's even a (slim) chance of snow as far south as St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit, and Boston next week. There hasn't been measurable snowfall in St. Louis in May since 1929.
[Video clip from Pretty in Pink of Duckie, having just tried unsuccessfully to beat up Blaine, bouncing off a locker and then running down the hall, tearing down a prom banner.]
Rrrwahh!
Meanwhile, this article about #1 climate change activist Al Gore starts out with an observation about how much weight he's lost: "Al Gore is richer and skinnier than ever." I'm sure that's definitely what Al Gore was hoping would be the lede of an article which later describes him as "steamed...about the lack of clear progress in combating global warming, a failure that clearly eats at him."
Daily Dose of Cute
Cat nap.
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
The Friday Blogaround
This blogaround is brought to you by naps.
Recommended Reading:
Save Wįyąbi Project: [Content Note: Rape culture; racism] #DecolonizeSAAM Week 4: Anti-Blackness
Health At Every Size® Blog: [CN: Fat bias; discussion of intersectional oppression] HAES® Matters: Understanding the New HAES Principles
Jes: [CN: Fat bias; body policing; disordered eating] Six Things That I Understand about the Fat Acceptance Movement
BYP: [CN: Racism; misogyny] Study: Faculty Members More Likely to Respond to White Males
The Mary Sue Staff: [CN: Sexual violence; other forms of violence] A Frank Discussion of Game of Thrones's Rape Scene and Its Epidemic of Sexual Violence
Prison Culture: [CN: Carcerality] Data Visualization: Rise of U.S. Incarceration 1978-2012
Dayvoe: The Right Wing Web. Again.
Leave your links and recommendations in comments. Self-promotion welcome and encouraged!
Here Is Just a Great Video of a Man Finding Out That's He's Going to Be a Grandpa
Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww blub!
An older white man with a mustache, wearing a blue Cubs jacket, sits in a booth at a restaurant. He opens a little package and pulls out a pacifier with a note attached. At first he doesn't notice the note.Congratulations to the whole family and best wishes for an uneventful pregnancy and safe birth!
He laughs. (He has a great laugh.) "This looks like something you used to suck on when you was little," he says.
"Yeah?" says his daughter, from behind the camera. "You should probably read it."
He reads the note, which is a note from his only daughter, 20 years after her mother and his wife died, informing him that he's going to be a grandfather. His eyes widen and his entire face lights up. He laughs. "All right!" His daughter and (presumably) her male partner laugh.
He reads the note again, cradling the pacifier in his hands, then clutches it to his chest and smiles. "Really?" he asks excitedly.
They laugh. "Yeah!" says his daughter.
"Aw!" he says. He looks down at the pacifier cradled in his hands. His eyes well up. He clutches it to his chest again, grinning. His daughter laughs happily as he wipes away tears.
"Told you he was gonna cry," she says, though joyful laughter. He cries. "I'm ten weeks," she says. He puts his hand to his mouth and looks at her.
[Via Marisa.]
Two-Minute Nostalgia Sublime
Queen & David Bowie: "Under Pressure (Classic Queen Mix)"
This week's TMNS have been brought to you by David Bowie,
possibly the coolest human being on the planet.
In the News
Here is some stuff in the news today...
A judge has struck down as unconstitutional Arkansas' voter ID law. Good.
[Content Note: Racism] Not good: A federal judge in Atlanta has dismissed a lawsuit brought by Teresa Ann Culpepper against Atlanta police and Fulton County officials after she was wrongfully arrested and held in jail for 53 days, "because she had the same first name as another woman wanted by authorities in an aggravated assault case." Even though, at the time of her arrest, Culpepper, a black woman, "provided officers with her driver's license that showed she did not have the same name and was not the same age as the real suspect" and showed that she "did not have a gold tooth that police were told the real suspect had," Culpepper was taken in custody, charged, and was only "cleared of the felony charges weeks later when the victim in the case saw Culpepper in court and said she was not the person who committed the crime—yet Culpepper was returned to jail and remained there for several more days before being released." Just a big misunderstanding, apparently, as a result of which none of the authorities must face consequences. Bullshit.
[CN: Guns; violence; police brutality; racism] Explicitly being called a "misunderstanding" by police is the shooting of Philippe Holland, a 20-year-old black man who was delivering pizzas when he was stopped by plainclothes police. Deputy Police Commissioner Richard Ross says: "As I understand it, they asked the male to stop. The male, in quick fashion, got in his car and he drove at a high rate of speed towards the officers. The officers then discharged out of fear for their lives. ...We are getting information that he is a pizza deliveryman, so it is a possibility he may have thought he was being robbed. We do know the police officers announced themselves as police officers; he may not have heard that. Again, what I stress is this is all preliminary at this point. It may just be an unfortunate set of circumstances all the way around." Holland is in critical condition. You may note that the police version of events sounds a lot like other stories we've discussed in this space, the contentions that Holland "drove at a high rate of speed toward the officers" and that the officers "feared for their lives." What's missing from this account, also familiarly, is any justification for why police were approaching Holland in the first place.
[CN: Police harassment; sex work shaming] In Louisiana, the House is considering legislation that would ban panhandling and solicitation, and the Democratic legislator who introduced it is unapologetic about his intent to empower police to harass sex workers: "New Orleans lawmaker Rep. Austin Badon said his legislation could cut down on the number residents begging motorists for money, but he proposed the bill for another reason. Badon said House Bill 1158, which prohibits solicitation, was answer to a call by law enforcement groups to help them crack down on prostitution. 'They needed something to be able to stop (prostitutes), question them and find out what they're doing,' said Badon... The legislation would allow for prostitutes to be 'hassled by the cops,' he said, likely prompting them to move on to another place or another state." Jesus Jones.
[CN: War on agency] This is what happens when you restrict access to abortion. Spoiler Alert: It doesn't stop abortions.
[CN: Rape culture] Fucking hell: "Penn State removed an iconic statue of late coach Joe Paterno from outside Beaver Stadium in 2012. Now State College residents are planning a new statue to honor the former Nittany Lions coach." Of course they are.
Baby zonkey. I repeat: Baby zonkey.
234 Girls
[Content Note: Terrorism; abduction; violence.]
On April 14, there was a major terrorist attack on a Nigerian bus station, killing 75 people and injuring many more. The jihadist organization Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the bombing, and, later that same day, Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sinful" in the northern Hausa language, abducted 234 girls from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State.
The girls are still missing.
And as the search for them continues, Boko Haram are threatening "to kill the abducted students, should the search to recover them continue."
At the Guardian, Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani describes the mood in Nigeria:
More than a week since they disappeared, the girls' whereabouts are still unknown. About 44 escaped by jumping from the back of trucks used to ferry them away or by sneaking out of the kidnappers' camp deep inside the Sambisa forest. This latest tragedy has dominated national conversation and consumed columns in our newspapers. At Christian and Muslim gatherings prayers have been offered for the girls' safety.The international media has not given the attention to this story that it deserves and needs, the kind of attention that creates pressure to make things happen and get questions answered.
In the days since they went missing, almost every friend or colleague I have spoken to on the phone has devoted the first minutes of our chat to expressing their horror at the abduction. Despite what one would imagine is the bottomless capacity of Nigerians to absorb catastrophe – what with the series of carnages that have steadily erupted in the country over the past year, at least – people here seem particularly affected.
Perhaps it is the audacity with which the crime was perpetrated, the innocence of the victims, or horror at what the children might be going through wherever they might be – Boko Haram has abducted women and girls in the past to serve as sex slaves and chars.
The Nigerian military interrupted the national mood of grief when its spokesperson announced two days after the incident that the missing girls had been rescued. But national jubilation quickly deflated when the school's principal and the students' parents revealed the story to be false. Now our collective horror at the abductions is almost equaled by our revulsion at the military's brazen deceit. What on earth could they have been thinking?
Additional claims by some of the parents have led to more criticism of the military. Fathers and mothers, who in desperation marched into the Sambisa forest to search for their missing daughters, say they saw no trace of military presence in the area; no sign of any search and rescue operation. Some of these parents have now hired motorcycles to help their search.
Beyond grief, many Nigerians are also bewildered by the abductions. How many trucks were required to transfer well in excess of 200 girls? Was the convoy not spotted by anyone as it left the school? Were there no security agents along the route?
Right now, it's crucial to amplify this story, to actively care about the missing girls. It is the best thing we can do in the hope that they will be found and make their way home. Share this story; talk about what's happening; if you're on Twitter, follow and participate in the hashtags #helpthegirls and #bringbackourdaughters.
UPDATE: Here is a petition to "bring this situation to the notice of the UN, UNWomen, UNIFEM, and other international organization that can put significant pressure on the Nigerian Government. These 234 girls need to be found and returned to the safety of their families and homes."
Parks & Rec: WHUT.
[Content Note: Bullying. Spoilers for last night's season finale of Parks & Rec.]
Even though I'm not regularly recapping Parks & Rec anymore, I thought that we might want a thread to discuss last night's really weird season finale. Which felt like a series finale, but was not. Because there's at least one more season.
So here's a thread to talk about it. And here is an interview [CN: disablist language] with the show's executive producer Michael Schur, which answers a lot of questions about the episode and the show's future.
The only thing I will note here (though I'll join the discussion in comments) is that my eyes nearly rolled right out of my fucking head when I heard Gary (aka Jerry) (aka Larry) being called Terry in the future. Jesus Jones.
Have at it!
Question of the Day
Suggested by Shaker jenjay: "What word have you picked up recently, intentionally or unintentionally, that you find yourself using a lot?"
It Continues to Be a Real Mystery Why Republicans Aren't Connecting with a Majority of Female Voters
[Content Note: Misogyny.]
Blah blah republicans blah blah women blah blah misogyny blah blah fart:
"Men, by and large, make more because of some of the things they do," [New Hampshire] state Rep. Will Infantine (R) said during a speech on a paycheck fairness bill. "Their jobs are, by and large, riskier. They don't mind working nights and weekends. They don't mind working overtime or outdoors."Provided Infantine's stats are actually accurate, and I've no idea whether they are, it's specious to suggest that women (all of us! the whole monolith!) object to working nights and weekends, as opposed to not being able to, either because we're not given the opportunities or because we are primary child- or eldercare providers or a number of other reasons.
Infantine's colleagues protested almost immediately, to which he responded that he pulled all of his information from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics.
"This is not me," he said before continuing to explain why women make less.
"Men work on average more than six hours a week longer than women do," he said, adding that even among business owners, women earn less. "Women make half of what men do because of flexibility of work, men are more motivated by money than women are."
At the end of his speech, Infantine defended himself one last time.
"Guys, I'm not making this stuff up," he said. "My apologies if I have some people upset."
Many men are able to work more hours than women because they have wives or mothers or girlfriends who are providing the childcare and housekeeping and food preparation (for many more than six hours a week), whereas a majority of working women don't have a partner or family member who does as much or more family and home maintenance as they do.
The same is true whether women are employees, self-employed, or business owners.
That ain't about being "motivated by money." It's about necessity.
Which is not to erase the number of women who are, for whatever reason, not keen to work as much as they could possibly work and have other priorities. Those women certainly exist. But their choices to opt-out of MAXIMUM WORKITUDE do not account for the pay gap.
This Is So Weird
Mount Baldy is the largest "living" dune at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, at about 125 feet tall. It has, for decades, been a major attraction of the national park, but, in recent years, it's started moving inland at an increased pace and has developed inexplicable holes.
Officials at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore announced Thursday that scientists still do not know what caused holes to appear in Mount Baldy last summer, and the popular attraction will remain closed for further study.What's causing the holes?!
Nathan Woessner, 6, of Sterling, Ill., was swallowed up by a hole on July 12, 2013, and rescued by firefighters.
Two additional holes have appeared since last July, park officials said on Thursday.
Ground penetrating radar studies performed by the Environmental Protection Agency have identified a large number of anomalies below the dune's surface, but scientists from the National Park Service, Indiana University and the Indiana Geological Survey still do not know how these holes were formed.
...The two additional holes and a number of depressions have been found since July. Officials said report that the holes are short-lived, remaining open for less than 24 hours before collapsing and filling in naturally with surrounding sand.
Officials at the National Lakeshore on Thursday announced more testing will be conducting this summer, which will include mapping of openings and depressions, and studies that will allow scientists to develop a better understanding of the overall internal architecture of the dune.
There is a theory that it's a lack of sufficient dune grass and erosion caused by people who veer off the designated path, but I'm guessing that's not the whole story. I'm eager, and a little fearful, to see what they find.
Not that I think it's, you know, a dune monster or something. I rather suspect it's something altogether more mundane and more terrifying, like an unexpected effect of climate change.
Numbers of the Day
[Content Note: Misogyny.]
67%: The percentage of male US respondents ages 8-18 in the Junior Achievement USA®'s annual Teens & Personal Finance Survey who said they get an allowance from their parents.
59% The percentage of female US respondents ages 8-18 in the Junior Achievement USA®'s annual Teens & Personal Finance Survey who said they get an allowance from their parents.
You might be thinking that's because boys are given more chores, but you would be wrong:
One study found that girls do two more hours of housework a week than boys, while boys spend twice as much time playing. The same study confirmed that boys are still more likely to get paid for what they do: they are 15 percent more likely to get an allowance for doing chores than girls. A 2009 survey of children ages 5 to 12 found that far more girls are assigned chores than boys. A study in Europe also found fewer boys contribute to work around the house.Welp.
And it's not just that boys are more likely to be paid by their parents, but they also get more money. One study found that boys spent just 2.1 hours a week on chores and made $48 on average, while girls put in 2.7 hours to make $45. A British study found that boys get paid 15 percent more than girls for the same chores.
Maya has some thoughts on "Why the Gender Gap in Children's Allowances Matters."
