right-wing homophobic asshole of the day

Thanks to feministing for the link to this charming piece of ridiculousness. How can she stand there and say this? What a disturbing and truly ludicrous statement. What is wrong with the people of North Carolina that they elected this person?

Although I shouldn't necessarily blame the people of the state she represents. California elected Reagan governor. We all elected Bush president.

Oops--I forgot! He wasn't really elected! My bad.

get your war on part 2

I'm not sure that this Max Blumenthal video needs any commentary at all, except to say that these people make me nervous. They also make me embarrassed to be American.

When you're watching the video, notice the radio talk show voices of some of our favorite right-wing nutbags and professional hate-mongers: Michael Savage and Glenn Beck.

The video also reminds me of the value and importance of education and critical thinking, since there is very little evidence of either present in these persons.

I've figured it out!

Although I may be playing with fire with this one, I think it is worth thinking about.

The other day I was talking to a friend who has an almost two-year-old son. We were discussing his upcoming birthday celebration, and she said "His grandmother has been to his first two birthdays" and all of a sudden I realized something.

When does our age begin? When do we begin counting our existence? It's not the day we are conceived. It is the day we come out. The day we are born into the world. So anyone against abortion has to realize that according to all common beliefs and ways of measuring human life we begin at birth.

So until we begin counting our age as beginning at conception, and making ourselves nine months older in the process, we have to concede that human life begins at birth.

I admit considering age beginning to be enumerated at conception brought up a whole host of rather disturbing images--we would have to know the date our biological parents had heterosexual intercourse. We might even celebrate the position. We might even celebrate that day, thus celebrating H.I. itself. I can't imagine the pro-birth/anti-choice/anti-abortion contingent would go for that.

You go, Hillary Clinton!

This is what a feminist Secretary of State sounds like! Watch this video, thanks to Shakesville, as Secretary Hillary Clinton gives Mike Pence a dressing down on reproductive rights.

Awesome! Thank you, Madame Secretary.

The time of the gentleman has expired.

Michael Savage is an asshole . . .

I've never really gotten into energy drinks . . . perhaps because they seem too expensive and I'd rather just have a Coke. But I know lots of people who love energy drinks, and I just learned that the company that makes Rockstar energy drinks is owned by hate-monger and all-around asshole Michael Savage and his equally obnoxious son.

Michael Savage is truly a disturbing excuse for a human. Here's some stuff that will let you know why you should not support him by purchasing his products:

A few facts about Michael Savage. Better yet, here are a few comments directly from the mouth of Michael Savage:

"You want me to tell you what makes me sick? When I see two puffy white males kissing each other, I want to puke. When I see two women kissing each other, on the lips, as lovers, I want to vomit."

"When you hear "human rights," think only one thing: someone who wants to rape your son. And you'll get it just right. OK, you got it, right? When you hear "human rights," think only someone who wants to molest your son, and send you to jail if you defend him. Write that down, make a note of it."

"...children's minds are being raped by the homosexual mafia, that's my position. They're raping our children's minds."

"You know what autism is? I'll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. That's what autism is."


Disgusting, right? Michael Savage is reaping profits from the selling of Rockstar Energy Drink.

Thanks to Change.org and Feministing for the heads up.

There is also a web site with lots of information.

You know, the point is that there isn't a choice . . .

I'm so sad that Miss California's giant shiny white teeth did not win her the pageant. But her homophobic answer to Perez Hilton's question was kind of funny. I love that Faux News is peeing all over themselves praising her, having her on their shows, getting their panties all tangled up in excitement over her "honesty" and forthrightness.

Hmmm . . . I wonder how people would feel if she argued that blacks shouldn't be allowed to marry whites? Stupid woman, stupid pageant, stupid stupid stupid.

when you make a really, really stupid video

It's so much fun to see how smart people respond.

A Gaythering Storm from Jane Lynch

Another hilarious response to the "Gathering Storm" ridiculousness.

is our children learning?

I'm not sure that much needs to be said about those "grass-roots" tea parties that Faux News was running, but here's a picture, thanks to Gin and Tacos, of a particularly charming protestor and his mind-boggling signage.

Whew.

virginity pledges and dancing with dad

Another fascinating and ultra creepy fundamentalist trend: Father Daughter Purity Balls. These balls have been going on for many years, and they function as a way for fathers and their daughters to spend quality time together. Of course, that quality time involves the daughter (property) pledging her purity/virginity to her father (owner #1) until she gets married (ownership transferred).

One of the most disturbing aspects of these sickening soirees is the incestuous quality of the events. They seem more like weddings or senior proms. A few months ago TLC aired a wonderful documentary about these patriarchal power ceremonies, focusing on scumbag Randy Wilson. I highly recommend watching it. The documentary showcases this "minister" from Colorado Springs (where else) who has about a billion daughters and a few sons (who don't attend purity balls, by the way) and a very weepy and submissive wife. Randy Wilson's organization is named Generations of Light and they have a fascinating web site. You can even give a donation!

Yuck.

I can be one nasty bitch . . .

Is it ever right to make fun of someone? I suppose it is okay if that someone is bad in a harmful kind of way, or if that someone is really mean to other people. I think I have to say something.

Sometimes when I'm reading blogs I click on the "next blog" thingy at the top of the blog I'm reading. It randomly takes one to some blog, very often about football in Spain, or botany in Uruguay, or someone's adventures building a house in Montana. Nothing earth shattering. But a few weeks ago I came across this blog called Polka Dots and Protein Bars.

Now Polka Dots and Protein Bars (94 followers) seems harmless enough. The blogger describes her page as " a hodgepodge of joyful chatter from the life of a 22 year old girl learning to be a grown up lady." Aside from the "girl" and "lady" crap, I found that this blog which dwells on clothing, fashion, brunching, protein bars, decorating, and all other sorts of girly pursuits is not alone. Oh no--this is a trend amongst blogs. There are literally oodles of blogs (now I'm starting to sound like them) out there by young women that focus on married life, dieting, children, being a woman, and all kinds of other feminine pursuits. So what, you ask? Who cares?

I became fascinated with these regressive blogs with titles like Newlywed Stillettos, Monograms and Manicures, With This Ring, First Comes Love, An Undomesticated Newlywed, (118 followers) and so on, endlessly. Perhaps I am jaded, but who the fuck cares about this crap? When one reads these blogs, if you can even stand reading past the first sentence, they prattle on and on about the most mindless stuff, as if not a one of them has ever heard of politics or ideas or reality: or least of all feminism. My favorite is of course the original, Polka Dots and Protein Bars, because this blogger is really unbelievable. She just recently posted about a plus-sized woman at her gym and made fun of her weight.

I suppose my disgust is useless. But I'm really perplexed--do these women really not see what is around them in the world? Do they not see how trivial these issues are? Why should I care? How does it affect me? It doesn't, really, except once I found Polka Dot lady I couldn't resist commenting on her blog from time to time. No response. Damn it.

humorous response to right-wing nutbaggery

Great response to the assholes who made the anti-gay marriage video . . .

creepy quiverfull family on Today Show

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

It's not enough that the Duggars have a show on TLC that never mentions their fascistic/misogynistic Quiverfull affiliation, but now the Today Show has them on this morning to announce that their eldest son has already impregnated his wife (i.e. the newest reproductive host) and they're so happy! Of course, they announce the birth also saying they will let "god" plan how many children they (she) is going to spawn.

To me, the creepiest part is that the wife (womb-warrior) took the damn pregnancy test and then let her husband (owner) see the results before she did, because she was so "anxious" about the result. So of course he told her she was pregnant. Why was she anxious about the result? Because her value as a woman/wife is almost solely linked to her ability to produce as many children as her body will allow until she dies. Disturbing. Watch for yourself.

Glenn Beck advocates violence . . . again

Isn't it interesting that nutjob wingers like Glenn Beck are actually advocating violence against their "enemies?" Ever since he was relocated to Faux News, Beck has been on a very clearly marked path to insanity. I try to watch him from time to time just to catch his mix of hatred and nutbaggery, but here's a very telling segment where he actually seems to be calling for people to act against the Obama administration.

Isn't that a bit frightening? Now that they are in the losing camp, the wingers are really showing their colors. I wonder if Beck has mental health coverage?

what the fuck?

Who are these ridiculous people? What is their problem? This group, the National Organization for Marriage, is really fucked up. Watch their really stupid, offensive and completely meaningless advertisement.

I'm so incensed by this I can't even try to be funny, but David Rees from Get Your War On is waaaay funnier and smarter than I am. here's what he says about the ad:

1. They should have used “booming thunder” sounds, to reinforce the fact that the gay storm will be dark AND noisy;

2. They should have included a CGI dragon (gay-looking, if possible) gnashing its teeth at the Massachusetts mother whose son is being forced to have gay sex(?) in the school(?);

3. When the cute woman with glasses says, “I am afraid,” they should have intercut a brief shot of the Devil mouthing the words “AS WELL YOU SHOULD BE, FOR I SHALL MAKE ALL OF YOU BE GAY.”

4. When the guy with the Mexican(?) accent says, “The storm is coming,” they should have dumped water on him, like he got wet from the storm — like he naively thought the storm was coming, but in fact it had already arrived, like, because of Vermont letting gays marry each other and all that gay stuff, you know how gays are, with wanting to get married and all that stuff because of the gays.

snap into a slim jim

The next time you omnivores bite into a piece of bacon, you might consider little Fiona, recently rescued by Farm Sanctuary.

Here is part of her story:

Rescued from certain death on a factory hog farm along with another small piglet, Fiona had endured much abuse by the time she came to us at just under two weeks of age, as she had already been cruelly tail-docked without anesthesia and ripped from her mother’s side to be primed for the commercial food chain. Like countless other piglets who are to be raised for pork, she and her friend were destined for a crowded concrete pen where they would be fattened up for about six months and then slaughtered before they even had a chance to mature. However, not all piglets actually end up fitting into the industry’s plan, and the cruelty they endure at the hands of agribusiness takes other forms.

dykes to watch out for . . .

Alison Bechdel really is the best. Vermont has joined the gay marriage bandwagon, seemingly, and here is what Bechdel has to say about it! I love her.

I would just as soon be tied in a burlap sack and tossed off a bridge as married, but I’m gonna be pissed off if this all comes to naught. And ecstatic if it doesn’t.

am I late to the party, or what?

I just discovered Maira Kalman's work, which is published monthly at the New York Times. Who knew there was such fantabulosity available to read for free? Love the artwork, love the ideology, love the whole thing. Check it out here.

Thanks go to Etsy seller Swallowfield for the link!

do dead black women matter?

I have to say this story pisses me off in a very major fashion. Apparently there is a serial killer in Los Angeles county who has murdered at least eight black women since 1985. They have named this killer "The Grim Sleeper" and have yet to obtain any useful evidence, except for a lone 911 call from 1987.

What I want to know is this: why is this not big news? Why is Nancy Grace not all over this? Why do we obsess about every skinny white girl who goes missing on spring break, but when eight black women are killed barely anyone seems to even be aware of the case? Of course, skinny white women deserve to be found and saved, too, but I'm truly disgusted with the way we privilege stories about white women and neglect women of color.

I blame the white supremacist capitalist patriarchy.

We love you, Iowa Supreme Court

As much as I rail against marriage as a deeply flawed patriarchal institution, I think anyone who wants to get married should be able to do so. I'm very happy--ecstatic, even, to live in the third state that allows same sex couples to marry.

Yay, Iowa Supreme Court! Amazing. Story below from the BBC:

Iowa's Supreme Court has ruled that a ban on same-sex marriages in the US state was unconstitutional.

The judges rejected an appeal against a lower court's 2007 ruling that the ban violated the rights of gay men and women in the state.

The case stems from a 2005 suit filed by a New York-based gay-rights group on behalf of six gay and lesbian couples.

Iowa now becomes the third US state to allow same-sex marriages after Connecticut and Massachusetts.

blood is juicy . . . juicy is rumor

monkey's butt is red from min oh on Vimeo.

Okay: I don't really know why I like this video so much, but here it is in all it's creepy, beautiful weirdness. Perhaps it is the eerie juxtaposition of children's flash cards with disturbing shit. Perhaps I am just demented.

Enjoy!

Link brought to you in full living color by I blame the patriarchy .