when the status quo frustrates.

Why I Concern Troll About Being Pro-Choice****, by William Saletan

Thursday, March 26th, 2009

…er, okay, actually the article is called “Lady Parts,” by William Saletan. He doesn’t really talk about any lady parts in it, though, so I thought the above title was a far more accurate descriptor of his latest offering of emergency toilet paper (just hit “Print!”).

You know, that observation is worth pursuing a little. William Saletan, in this article about abortion, in vitro fertilization, pregnancy and surrogate motherhood, manages to discuss them all without once referring to a mature human female uterus. He does manage to refer seven times to a developing human embryo, though. What a surprise!

Clearly I (and Amanda*, and others) are not the only ones who have been steadily repulsed by Saletan’s concern trolling about abortion for, well, years now. Apparently, he has gotten a flood of inquiries on the subject!

(more…)

Q: When is a democracy not a democracy?

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

A: Let’s let the official Team Obama Unnamed Source explain.

The US and its European allies are preparing to plant a high-profile figure in the heart of the Kabul government in a direct challenge to the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, the Guardian has learned.

The creation of a new chief executive or prime ministerial role is aimed at bypassing Karzai. In a further dilution of his power, it is proposed that money be diverted from the Kabul government to the provinces. Many US and European officials have become disillusioned with the extent of the corruption and incompetence in the Karzai government, but most now believe there are no credible alternatives, and predict the Afghan president will win re-election in August.

…A diplomat with knowledge of the review said: “Karzai is not delivering. If we are going to support his government, it has to be run properly to ensure the levels of corruption decrease, not increase. The levels of corruption are frightening.”

Another diplomat said alternatives to Karzai had been explored and discarded: “No one could be sure that someone else would not turn out to be 10 times worse. It is not a great position.”

Well, I’m glad that the Obama administration at least gave serious consideration to regime change.

…Other recommendations include: increasing the number of Afghan troops from 65,000 to 230,000 as well as expanding the 80,000-strong police force; sending more US and European civilians to build up Afghanistan’s infrastructure; and increased aid to Pakistan as part of a policy of trying to persuade it to tackle al-Qaida and Taliban elements.

…The risk for the US is that the imposition of a technocrat alongside Karzai would be viewed as colonialism, even though that figure would be an Afghan.

Naw. That’d just be silliness! After all, the figure would be an Afghan!

Hey, anyone mind if I just go ahead and install Noam Chomsky as prime minister of the US? I mean, Obama is not delivering.

(Via.)

Feminism is to blame for this, of course.

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009

According to an article in the Boston Globe, an informal poll taken among 200 teenagers has revealed that almost half of them blame the pop star Rihanna for her recent beating, allegedly by her boyfriend, Chris Brown.

It’s just one survey. But it’s very bad news. And feminists are to blame.—Kathryn Jean Lopez, “What Feminism Wrought”, National Review Online

(more…)

Sexual Dimorphism (remix)

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009

This Vox dude is turning out to be a real trip. Of course I always keep in mind that a single, incoherent, poorly written blog article does not speak to the entirety of any particular blogger’s ability–I’m sure I’ve cranked out enough of those to paper at least one wall of my basement. But two of ‘em in a row…that can’t be a good sign.

Voxalicious’s opening words in yesterday’s blog entry, following up his diatribe on the new Battlestar Galactica series:

As long as my masculinity is again being called into question, I suppose it’s as good a time as any to answer a few of the regulars who emailed to ask about what’s been going on in the workout front

What does working out have to do with masculinity..? No idea here; I’ve been working out since I was thirteen years old and I’ve been a girl the whole, entire time. As a matter of fact, that was the year I got my first period..! (TMI, no doubt. Sorry, folks. :) )

particularly about an injury I’d mentioned a while ago. I don’t know if it was age getting the better of me or if it was just my propensity to overtrain, but something deep inside my shoulder had been bothering me for a long time, so I finally listened to Spacebunny and kept my bench under 165 for about a year.

Oh, wait. It’s weightlifting! Oh, well, I’ve only been doing that since I was eighteen. Maybe my gender switched polarities or something in those intervening five years. Of course, that was also the year that I first got knocked up, which makes it difficult to believe.

The rest seems to have helped quite a bit; today was my second heavy lift in over a year and the shoulder held up fine without even a twinge of discomfort. It felt great and everything except the very last rep at 270 went up easily.

No, no, now I get it! He lifts really heavy weights. Much like our sure knowledge that no woman has ever knocked a man out with a pugilistic blow, we also are just as positive that no woman, anywhere, lifts really heavy weights. And if she DID lift heavy weights, they would never be anywhere near as heavy as TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY POUN–

Women’s Olympic weightlifting records.

In the 58kg (128lb body weight*) class: 522 lb
In the 69kg (152lb body weight*) class: 605 lb
In the 75+ (165lb+ body weight*) class: 671 lb

*Weightlifters are classed by body weight–not knowing Vox’s body weight, I put up a nice range above for him to fit himself into.

My recommendation: Try defining your masculinity in some other way than based upon how much weight you can lift.

(Previous musings on sexual dimorphism here.)

Disgust Wins.

Wednesday, December 31st, 2008

So Douchebag Prager wrote “Part 2.” Hard as I’m trying not to contemplate him in even the remotest sexual fashion, I can’t help but wonder: is he really as terrible in the sack as this article makes him sound..? (Can anyone be? And if someone was, should he really be making it so publicly clear as this..?) Jesse’s blog on this is hilarious and definitely hits all the fine points, happily saving me from having to generate a detailed analysis of something that is genuinely grossing me out. Yep, it’s even worse than “Part 1″ was.

Lessons from Xena (Or Why I Agree with FFR)

Friday, December 5th, 2008

I was watching the “Xena” episode “Altered State” (instead of studying for my property exam) and it made me think of the story it is CLEARLY based on, that of Abraham and Isaac. For those of you lucky enough to avoid having to go to church (or, like most, have completely forgotten the story) Wikipedia has a pretty good run-down of it. The short version runs as follows:

God: I’m bored. Huh, I bet I know what would liven things up; I’ll be a giant jackass and test the faith of one of my most faithful. I’ve already split the family up, what with the whole Hagar/ Sarah thing, let’s see what I can do. Yo, Abraham?

Abraham: Yes my lord? I live to serve the. Though normally hearing voices would be a sign that I’m clinically deranged, it is surely that I am holy and God has chosen me.

God: Go and kill your kid on top of a mountain.

Abraham: Yes sir. *clicks heels* Come on kid.

Isaac: What was with the whole “sacrificing kid” thing? We didn’t bring a goat, or a lamb or anything.

Abraham: I’m sure something’ll turn up. *Ties Isaac to rock*

Angel: Yo, God, how far are you going to take this joke?

God:….oh yeah, tell him to stop would you? I would, but my show just started.

Angel: Stop killing your kid. Here’s a wild Ox, god likes those too.

Abraham: If you’re sure. *kills and burns ox*

Isaac: Um, yay god?

Now, the lesson you’re supposed to take from this is that you should always have faith; if god says jump, you say “how high?” and don’t ask any other question. My question from this is: what kind of fucked-up, psychopathic god, says “kill your kid” even (and maybe especially) as a test of faith? I have a running theory that the god of the Bible is more akin to an abusive spouse, than any kind of benevolent being. This is an example of that; this is like an abusive spouse asking the other to get rid of a pet because “you love it more than me” and then pouting until you do, and then saying s/he was “just kidding”. This story is one of the many, many stories that are supposed to be inspiring, but are really just insane in primitive. Even if there was any evidence that god existed, this would be a damned good reason not to worship it. Just as a general rule of thumb: if the voices in your head say “Kill” don’t listen to them.

This story was particularly sticking in my head in light of this; the atheist sign in Washington put up to the Nativity Scene. The sign said “”At this season of the Winter Solstice, may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.” Hubby was mad when he read this sign, because as a still-vaguely religious person with fond memories of his church, he disagrees that religion “hardens hearts and enslaves minds”. I, of course disagree. Paul the Spud over at Shakesville disagrees with the sign as well, saying:

GAH. Thanks SO much for handing Bill O’Reilly and his like-minded knuckleheads more ammo. I’m seriously beginning to wonder if these War-on-Christmasers and You’re-telling-us-we’re-going-to-hell atheists are profiting together off of this bullshit.

Not surprisingly, I disagree with both of them. Yeah, I think Freedom From Religion is at best insanely naïve if they didn’t expect people to be pissed by this sign, and at worst disingenuous. And yeah, this sign is probably not the best in way of being persuasive.
But you know something? FFR is right. Religion has been used for many good things over the years, and inspired (or at least paid for) some of the best art work in the world. But, it does harden your heart and enslave your mind. If one of the “role models” in the Bible was willing to kill his own kid because he thought god said so, that’s what I call a hard heart and an enslaved mind. If religion teaches you to do what god says, and never to question it, (and god amazingly always sound like the leader) than you have a hard heart an enslaved mind.
And Bill O’Reilly and the like don’t need ammunition; they’d make it up if they didn’t have this. And just like I won’t be cowed when someone says “if you feminists just ask for it NICER, you’d get more rights” and “if you gay people would just stop being so AFFECTIONATE in public, people would accept you more” I find it completely unpersuasive to tell atheists not to get their message out as often as possible, or to say it nicer if they want to be taken seriously. Atheist organizations have every right to say this where everyone else is allowed to say their beliefs. No one has convinced anyone of anything by staying silent and hidden.
So, good for FFR. I hope either Christian organizations will take this as a lesson to stop using government property for their beliefs, if they don’t want them contradicted.

The Revised Church of Homophobia

Thursday, December 4th, 2008

I am tired of the tiptoeing around and kid glove treatment that these assholes automatically get because they associate themselves with Jesus. Spare me this holiday season–please?

No? Well, let me help you, then.

The Pope’s Christmas Gift: A Tough Line on Church Doctrine Vigorous Support of Ten Years to Life in Prison For Teh Homos*

and

Split in Episcopal Church hits new level
Conservatives who fled liberal views of Scripture believe that Teh Homos should be publicly reviled and burn in Hell have formed a breakaway church in North America.

There–much more accurate. Don’t they want their message gotten across more clearly? I’m sure they do!

*The pope also says, Stop touching each other before Mass–we can’t tell which of you are Teh Homos when you do that!

Right.

Tuesday, October 21st, 2008

My younger son just handed me a permission slip for his school’s sixth grade Friday Halloween dance. While I was dutifully filling out the “contact information” and signing it, I couldn’t help but notice his stifled giggles. “What?” I asked as I handed the permission slip over.

“Mom,” he said, “you didn’t read the information sheet attached to it yet!” Unable to contain himself further, he shouted out, “I’m not allowed to show any CLEAVAGE!”

Nope, he sure isn’t!–as a matter of fact, the information sheet has a highlighted, bolded section at the very bottom, entitled “Administration’s Costume Guidelines for October 24, 2008 Sixth Grade Dance.” Beneath it is listed the costume restrictions:

1. Not too short
2. No fake weapons
3. Not provocative
4. No Cleavage
5. No under garments showing

(Capitalization untouched from the original.)

Too short? Not provocative? No CLeVaGe? No undergarments showing..? Gee. What too short a costume could my eleven-year-old son possibly wear? What “under garments” are we talking about here–his boxers? And what the fuck is a provocative costume on an eleven year old–

OH, oh, oh–they’re not talking about what BOYS might be wearing! (slaps forehead)

I find the guidelines raise far more questions than they answer. To wit:

1. How many eleven-year-old girls have any cleavage to speak of? One or two at most?
2. Of all the others, if any part of their breastbone is showing in the costume, does the Administration get to humiliate them publicly and send them home for showing Cleavage?
3. What Administrators are finding anything any eleven-year-old girl wears, up to and including nothing at all, so provocative that that was the adjective that sprang to mind when formulating these guidelines?
4. If I show up to the school to chaperone, as they are begging parents to do elsewhere in the information sheet, can I bring a fake weapon and smack the Administration with it?
5. On second thought, can I just wear a “burqa” costume and tape copies of the guidelines all over the outside and hand out fliers for Pedophiliacs Anonymous instead?

Barack Obama: See If He Really Has YOUR Best Interests In Mind!!

Thursday, October 9th, 2008

Yes, and how you find that out is definitely by taking this quiz!

Random gems:

“Some say Barack Obama’s plans to implement sweeping environmental regulations will raise the cost of gas, groceries, heating and air conditioning. Do you favor or oppose Obama’s environmental plans?”

Favor
Oppose

“Some” say..?

“Some people think the government is trying to do too many things that should be left to individuals and businesses. Others think that government should do more to solve our country’s problems. Which comes closer to your own view?”

Government doing too much.
Government should do more.

In the immortal words of The Daily Show, “Could you be less specific, please?”

“Some say Barack Obama’s plan to raise taxes and increase trade barriers are similar to those created by President Herbert Hoover in the 1930s, which contributed to worsening America’s economy. Do you think Obama’s plans will worsen the economy as well, or do you think they will help the economy?”

Worsen the economy
Help the economy

And are you also a McCarthy-era communist, and if so, can we just hang you for treason now..?

It just gets better and better…

“Recently, Barack Obama was asked when he thought life begins, in reference to the issue of abortion. Obama responded by saying that decision was above his paygrade. Knowing that the next president may be able to appoint two or three U.S. Supreme Court Justices, who may be called to make rulings on the issue of Abortion; do you support or oppose a president who does not know when life begins?”

Support
Oppose

And of course, the crown jewel…no, I really didn’t make this up.

If you knew you had a step brother who was living in a slum and barely surviving on $300 a year, would you help them financially?

Yes
No

Would I do anything to not end up on the side of people who come up with this amazingly, ridiculously bad shit..? Pretty much!

Why Kathleen. Your inbox sounds just like a feminist’s!

Tuesday, October 7th, 2008

If you haven’t already stumbled across conservative columnist Kathleen Parker’s article on Sarah Palin’s total incompetence for the position of Vice-President of the United States, check it out.

And now she’s shocked, shocked I see, to find that she is getting hate mail for having written it:

Speak Correctly
Or build a big bunker.

By Kathleen Parker

Allow me to introduce myself. I am a traitor and an idiot. Also, my mother should have aborted me and left me in a dumpster, but since she didn’t, I should “off” myself.

Those are just a few nuggets randomly selected from thousands of e-mails written in response to my column suggesting that Sarah Palin is out of her league and should step down.

Kathleen, who can’t be as slow on the uptake as her series of “ah-hah!” moments illustrated in these two articles make her seem, is still flailing around wildly–she has decided that we the people are just so much more partisan than we used to be! That’s where all this fire and brimstone are suddenly coming from! —or as she says:

After 20 years of column writing, I’m familiar with angry mail. But the past few days have produced responses of a different order. Not just angry, but vicious and threatening.

Kath, we-the-people aren’t any more partisan than we ever were. Nor is this…erm, to you “new”…breed of insults and threats any different than it ever has been. Here’s some fun readin’ for ya! (I hear Sarah Palin’s voice in my head, saying that. Sigh.)

God damn your god damned old hellfired god damned soul to hell god damn you and god damn your god damned family’s god damned hellfired god damned soul to hell and good damnation god damn them and god damn your god damned friends to hell.
Peter Muggins, American citizen, letter to President Abraham Lincoln (1809-65)

My one ardent desire is that after the war he should be publicly castrated in front of Nurse Cavell’s statue.
Lytton Strachey (1880-1932) on David Lloyd George, prime minister of England during WWI

A hypocrite in public life, the world will be puzzled to decide whether you are an apostate or an impostor, whether you have abandoned good principles, or whether you ever had any?
Thomas Paine (1737-1809) to George Washington

He would kill his own mother just so that he could use her skin to make a drum to beat his own praises.
Margot Asquith (1864-1945), writer and wife of Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith, on Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

I find this extremely funny in the same way I have been finding other conservative pundits’ sudden epiphanies on the prevalence of sexism funny–and like Kathleen, they seem to think that it isn’t that sexism has been around already forever–oh noes! It’s that sexism has just now come into existence. Just now!

…of course, you might have noticed it sooner if you had ever had or allowed a significantnumberofwomentoholdhighlyvisiblepositionsofpowerinyourparty NO NO NO, that can’t be it! Too, um, obvious, or something. Right?

Kathleen, do not follow in the path of these obvious morons. Listen to me, and I will tell you why your angry mail has suddenly turned vicious and threatening. The people you used to offend? Who sent you the angry but coherent and non-threatening mail? Those were these people: left-leaning, liberal, feminist people.

Now, for the first time, who are you offending? Not those people.

You’re offending your own people. And when your own people hear shit they don’t like, they don’t just angrily disagree, Kathleen. They want to rape you and beat you to death and they want you to KNOW IT.

Who needs feminists? You have, for the past twenty years. That’s who let you glide gently through life in the public eye, taking all the repressed rage and abuse upon themselves so you could spend all that time sneering at them and dismissing them and their efforts for you and every other woman like you who actually gets to be in the public eye in any serious professional role other than actress. Your people, Kathleen, really don’t have any use for you as other than a female talking head. Their unbelievably cynical nomination of Sarah Palin as Vice-President, as the most convenient available ambulatory vagina that might be tolerable to the horde of fundamentalist nutjobs that your people have decided to cultivate as their power base, doesn’t prove that to you?

If it doesn’t, I don’t feel sorry for you. You’re simply reaping what you’ve so enthusiastically helped sow. But maybe this’ll pull your head out of your ass…one can always hope.

The worst person on the planet

Sunday, July 20th, 2008

We have a contender.

Meet Dmitri. He’s a pick-up artist, which in itself gives him about 50 million douchebag points. He met a woman named Olga, who talked to him for a few minutes, gave him her card, and said, “Call me.”

So he did. She wasn’t home, and he left the second-douchiest phone message in history. Olga seems to be a sensible woman who, in realizing her mistake, did the sensible thing and just didn’t call him back. So a few days later, he fired back with the douchiest phone message in history.

Have a listen. He’s from Toronto, and the comments from the good folks at the Toronto Women’s Bookstore in that article are just wonderful.

Hat tip: Rantipole6

Umm…

Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008

So I was idly paging through CNN.com and came across this headline:

July 2, 2008
Poll shows Americans cool to Michelle Obama
Posted: 10:30 AM ET

Oh brother…aside from the fact that a candidate’s spouse should be a virtual non-issue and so should everybody’s opinion of him or her–

The new Associated Press-Yahoo poll shows 30 percent of Americans view the outspoken wife of Barack Obama favorably while 35 percent view her unfavorably. That compares to the 27 percent of Americans who view John McCain’s wife, Cindy, favorably and the 17 percent who hold an unfavorable view of her. Mrs. McCain is clearly less known than Mrs. Obama — 56 percent said they don’t know enough about the Arizona senator’s wife to render an opinion while only 34 percent said the same for Mrs. Obama. She’s been at times a lightning rod for criticism from some Republicans over the course of the presidential campaign, and a new poll out Wednesday suggests more Americans hold a negative view toward Michelle Obama than a positive one.

White Americans appear particularly suspect of Mrs. Obama. The poll shows those voters hold an unfavorable view of her by nearly 20 points while about 80 percent of black voters reported positive feelings about Mrs. Obama.

Those numbers are reversed for Cindy McCain: whites view her favorably by a margin of 17 points while only 10 percent of blacks like her.

In a similar trend line her husband faced during the primary season, Mrs. Obama’s favorability ratings are higher among unmarried people and college graduates while her ratings are particularly low among senior voters.

Mrs. Obama also appears to drum up stronger opinions among voters than does Mrs. McCain. About 20 percent of voters said they hold a very negative view of her while 10 percent said the same for Mrs. McCain.

Okay, well, I thought, I guess I’m not surprised (the outspoken wife–has any man EVER been referred to as the outspoken husband? sigh)…so I finished the article and continued my random clicking through the site and then–huh?

July 2, 2008
CNN Poll: Candidates’ wives viewed favorably
Posted: 01:40 PM ET

Now waitaminute…didn’t I just read–

According to the new poll, 51 percent of registered voters report a favorable view of the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee’s wife while 28 percent hold an unfavorable view. Just over 21 percent did not express an opinion.

Meanwhile, 39 percent of registered voters hold a favorable view of John McCain’s wife, Cindy, while 23 percent report an unfavorable rating. The poll also shows she is considerably less known than Mrs. Obama — nearly 40 percent report having no opinion of her.

Conclusion: Poll results based on about 1,000 random citizens in a country of nearly 300,000,000 have absolutely no bearing on reality. I’ve always suspected as much.