In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Note: Videos autoplay at links] Time's Person of the Year for 2014 is The Ebola Fighters. The first runner-up is The Ferguson Protesters. I don't disagree with their choices—although I will note that Time has not selected an individual woman as its "X of the Year" since then-president of the Philippines Corazon Aquino was named Woman of the Year in 1986. In 1999, Time changed the annual year-end honorific, which had almost exclusively been a "Man of the Year" since its inception, to "Person of the Year," but it merely created an illusion of parity. Still no individual women.

[CN: Rape culture] The New York Observer reports that Rolling Stone founder and publisher Jann Wenner refused to accept the resignation of deputy managing editor Sean Woods over Jackie's story and the magazine's mistakes. The anonymous source providing that information also indicates that the inside line on what happened appears to be that Jackie "embellished" her story. So much fuckery. And the Observer's reporting is garbage too: "UVA reporting brouhaha" and "Rolling Stone's blockbuster story about campus rape at the University of Virginia." Jesus Jones.

[Content Note: Christian supremacy] The Michigan House has passed legislation giving service providers "the right to deny service to anyone who does not adhere to their religious beliefs. ...The bill will now go to the Republican-controlled Michigan Senate." Naturally, this law is designed explicitly to allow employers to deny contraception coverage and to discriminate against members of the LGBTQI community.

[CN: War on agency] Meanwhile, in Ohio: "On Tuesday, facing an uphill battle in their attempt to pass a stringent anti-abortion bill as a standalone measure, Ohio lawmakers attempted to tack it onto an unrelated piece of legislation that aims to reduce infant mortality." They are shameless.

[CN: Violence; guns] The prosecutors in Oscar Pistorius' murder trial have been granted the right to appeal the verdict after he was found guilty of the lesser charge of culpable homicide. It was the same judge, Judge Thokozile Masipa, who rendered the verdict that also granted the appeal, having been convinced that "prosecutor Gerrie Nel had raised 'questions of law' that another court could interpret differently." The prosecution's likelihood of winning is not terribly strong, but at least it will make Pistorious squirm for awhile longer, which is the least he deserves, frankly.

Howard Dean: "Hillary Clinton is by far the most qualified person in the United States to serve as President. If she runs, I will support her." If she runs. See how easy that was?

[CN: Homophobia] In Alabama, "a three-person review panel" somehow missed that a "NOHOMO" vanity license plate was inappropriate.

And finally: Oh dogs. "Koni and Kona are a pair of German shepherds that were left tied to a fence and abandoned by their owner. Using the cover of night, they were tied to a fence outside a local Humane Society with leashes. Koni became so distressed he chewed his way free, but sat by his mate Kona still tied to the fence, and refused to leave without her. ...As time went by, the shelter staff kept faith that the bonded pair would be able to find a forever home together. On Wednesday evening, their faith was rewarded. Kona and Koni we adopted as a pair." Blub.