freckles make me strong.
Month
So Bobby Jindal makes fun of ‘volcano monitoring’, and soon afterwards Mt. Redoubt erupts. Susan Collins makes sure that funds for pandemic protection are stripped from the stimulus bill, and the swine quickly attack.
What else did the right oppose recently? I just want enough information to take cover.
”—Paul Krugman (via thebusstop)Jerry Holkins (via livedeliberate)
hehe.
Last year, researchers studied 34 students at the University of Virginia, taking them to the base of a steep hill and fitting them with a weighted backpack. They were then asked to estimate the steepness of the hill. Some participants stood next to friends during the exercise, while others were alone.
The students who stood with friends gave lower estimates of the steepness of the hill. And the longer the friends had known each other, the less steep the hill appeared.
Now there is scientific proof to support what the Swedish have known all along: friendship doubles our joy and divides our grief.
No business has a right to profit, sell, or even to produce. All are privileges that society grants businesses.
To retain those privileges, its time we discussed the things that come before making money - like justice.
”—Umair Haque, Why the War Against File-Sharing is Unwinnable - HarvardBusiness.org
(via ethanb)
(via notthatkindagay)
As a huge supporter of gays and lesbians being allowed to serve in the military, I have to say that the four senior military officers who advocated against allowing them to serve openly have changed my mind. I now believe that, as they said, “Team cohesion and concentration on missions would suffer if our troops had to live in close quarters with others who could be sexually attracted to them.”
In fact, I’m so fired up for their cause that I plan to start a campaign to prevent women from serving in the armed forces. All those young, red-blooded American men simply can’t be expected to complete a mission with women around clouding their judgment. I have no proof, of course. Neither do the senior officers who simply said they “believe” that openly gay members would “undermine recruiting and retention.”
Thank goodness I left when I did. I’m sure the military is much more effective without me.
KELLY J. EGAN
Alexandria
Well said!
Apparently Texas is talking about seceding, AGAIN. Does anyone else notice they keep threatening but they never go through with it? The Lone Star state is a little kid who decides to run away from home. The rest of the nation packs it a snack for the trip and says, “Okay, if that’s what you need to do, I understand.” Then little Texas gets down to the end of the block and just sits there for a couple of hours wondering where to go. As parents, we know they will come back when they get hungry or tired or need medical attention, all the little necessities that parents provide. And just like that little kid, it comes home and pretends nothing ever happened. We pat it on the head and say, “Texas, we are so glad you’re back” while it proceeds to its room to unpack its things.
P.S. The greatest part about this story is that Chuck Norris said he would run for president of Texas. Bowflexes for everyone!
5 Things Obama’s Done in the Last Few Days That Clinton Would Have Gotten Hammered For - Mark Halperin - TIME (via apsies)
Applause all around for a week well spent.
(via notthatkindagay)
The governor is reeling after nominating for attorney general a man who allegedly defended the right of men to rape their wives.
…
According to Burton, who detailed the allegations for me, Ross allegedly declared during a speech before a 1991 gathering of the “father’s rights” group Dads Against Discrimination, “If a guy can’t rape his wife, who’s he gonna rape?”
…
Burton said Ross’s statement was consistent with his overarching attitude toward women’s issues. She claimed that he once said during a debate on the Equal Rights Amendment, “If a woman would keep her mouth shut, there wouldn’t be an issue with domestic violence.”
katoleary:
An excellent list. Folksinger Utah Phillips noted that men walk into the world armed to the teeth with the weapons of sexual privilege, and part of living a pacifist lifestyle is not only to discard these weapons but to encourage others to discard them as well. I’m paraphrasing him, but that’s the gist. That idea seems to echo item #3 on this list - “Have the courage to look inward. Question your own attitudes.”
(via thebronzemedal)
The Anonymous Liberal (via fuddmain)
Applause.
Through work to bring materials from women’s studies into the rest of the curriculum, I have often noticed men’s unwillingness to grant that they are overprivileged, even though they may grant that women are disadvantaged. They may say they will work to women’s statues, in the society, the university, or the curriculum, but they can’t or won’t support the idea of lessening men’s. Denials that amount to taboos surround the subject of advantages that men gain from women’s disadvantages. These denials protect male privilege from being fully acknowledged, lessened, or ended.
[…]
I think whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege. So I have begun in an untutored way to ask what it is like to have white privilege. I have come to see white privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets that I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was “meant” to remain oblivious. White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools , and blank checks.
”—Peggy McIntosh, White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack“Emergency” is a relative term.
Field of Dreams
I’m in a baseball mood anyway, but today’s news gives this quote all sorts of new meaning.
(via thegreg)
notthatkindagay:
“Thanks to today’s decision, Iowa continues to be a leader in guaranteeing all of our citizens’ equal rights.
“The court has ruled today that when two Iowans promise to share their lives together, state law will respect that commitment, regardless of whether the couple is gay or straight.
“When all is said and done, we believe the only lasting question about today’s events will be why it took us so long. It is a tough question to answer because treating everyone fairly is really a matter of Iowa common sense and Iowa common decency.
“Today, the Iowa Supreme Court has reaffirmed those Iowa values by ruling that gay and lesbian Iowans have all the same rights and responsibilities of citizenship as any other Iowan.
“Iowa has always been a leader in the area of civil rights.
“In 1839, the Iowa Supreme Court rejected slavery in a decision that found that a slave named Ralph became free when he stepped on Iowa soil, 26 years before the end of the Civil War decided the issue.
“In 1868, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that racially segregated “separate but equal” schools had no place in Iowa, 85 years before the U.S. Supreme Court reached the same decision.
“In 1873, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled against racial discrimination in public accommodations, 91 years before the U.S. Supreme Court reached the same decision.
“In 1869, Iowa became the first state in the union to admit women to the practice of law.
“In the case of recognizing loving relationships between two adults, the Iowa Supreme Court is once again taking a leadership position on civil rights.
“Today, we congratulate the thousands of Iowans who now can express their love for each other and have it recognized by our laws.”