In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note: Racism; appropriation; video may autoplay at link] Rachel Dolezal, former president of Spokane's chapter of the NAACP who has been misrepresenting herself as a black woman for years, granted an interview to Today's Matt Lauer to say that she identifies as black as has been doing so since she was a child. Hoo boy. She further said: "As much as this discussion has somewhat been at my expense recently, and in a very sort of viciously inhumane way come out of the woodwork, the discussion is really about what it is to be human." For someone who has been perpetuating fraud at the expense of black women, it's pretty rich that she's worried about a discussion happening at her expense, whatever the shit that's supposed to mean.

The Smoking Gun also reported that Dolezal sued Howard University, a historically black university in Washington, D.C., for discrimination, because of course she did.

[CN: Injury; death] So awful: "Five Irish students have been killed, and as many as nine others have been injured, when a fourth-floor balcony in California gave way. Police found debris on the street below after an emergency call at 01:00 local time (08:00 GMT) in Berkeley. The students are believed to have been holding a birthday party at the time, Irish officials said, but the cause of collapse is unknown. They were believed to be in the US on temporary worker visas."

[CN: Christian Supremacy; homophobia] Rage seethe boil: "Same-sex couples in Michigan may have a harder time adopting children under new laws signed by Gov. Rick Snyder on Thursday that allow adoption agencies to deny anyone services based on the organization's 'sincerely held' religious beliefs." And Snyder had the unmitigated temerity to say this Orwellian shit: "This is about making sure we get the largest number of kids in forever families. The more opportunities and organizations we have that are doing a good job of placing people in loving families, isn't that better for all of us?" Fuck off, bigot.

In presidential primary news, Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders is drawing huge crowds in Iowa, on par with Hillary Clinton's. If you are a Sanders fan, that's great news! And it's pretty good news even if you're a progressive who's not a Sanders fan, because it means that left-leaning voters are engaged early in this campaign.

[CN: Disablism; hostility to consent] A Swiss bio-medical company called Genoma used an unlicensed and stolen photo of a blogger's daughter, who has Down Syndrome, to promote a prenatal testing kit called Tranquility, which tests for Down Syndrome. "As if she were a cautionary tale: don't let this happen to you. The campaign is so disparaging towards individuals with Down Syndrome that it incited an avalanche of complaints from concerned parents and disability rights activists in Spain. One parent is quoted in a local publication asking 'what mother could allow her daughter to be photographed and used for this campaign?' Not me. Never. I would never have allowed this." The company has been responsive, but the stock photo agency which nicked the photo has not been. For fuck's sake.

[CN: Guns] More ridiculous news from the Conservative Legislation Lab: "It will soon be legal to manufacture, sell, or own a sawed-off shotgun in Indiana. The General Assembly approved a bill earlier this year to bring state law in line with federal regulations. State Sen. Jim Tomes, R-District 49, says the law puts short-barreled shotguns, or those less than 18 inches in length, back into a category of firearms that require background checks and permits from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives." Yeah, sure, that makes way more sense than just keeping them illegal.

Mia Hamm leads a rally at the Women's World Cup in an "I believe that we will win" chant. Goosebumps!

Kerry Washington is starring as Anita Hill in an upcoming HBO film about Clarence Thomas' Supreme Court nomination Senate hearings. That is terrific casting, and I hope that Hill is represented just as well in the storytelling.

Here are just some amazing dog portraits! (If you don't like seeing dog teeth, maybe skip this one.)

And finally! "9 Signs Cats Are Plotting World Domination." LOL YEP.