freckles make me strong.: Archive

“It saddens me that there are 20 year old interns walking around me office spewing the ignorance of their fathers, and that they are becoming in turn, a new generation of “victimized” white men. You know what? You feel victimized? You feel the sting of racism? You are upset that everyone listens to the woman and the black man?

Call me when the day comes that white men can’t vote. Call me when white men are profiled as criminals, or when white men endure jokes about whether or not they “deserved” their rape, or if indeed it even was rape. Come and talk to me when men are regarded as chattel and incubators, when Congress enacts laws restricting their Viagra, or requests that any male contraceptive use be reported to the government to “prevent abuse”. When the “angry” women and minorities ship white men on death voyages so they can pick cotton for a few hundred years, only to finally be “freed” so that they can experience all of the injustices above for another hundred years or so, and eventually be arrested in front of their own homes by “well meaning” cops. Yeah, call me when that happens.”—Still Shouting; Still Random: In Four Years… (via robot-heart-politics) (via think4yourself)

Jul 30, 200937 notes

#race #privilege

“There’s not a single decent kosher restaurant in the entire Galilee region – only kebab and hummus joints. Same goes for the Negev. So I’m supposed to take a delegation of Swedish diplomats on a tour of the north and stop for lunch at a hummus joint? It’s undignified…”—

Hilarious excerpt from: Why Israeli Diplomats Don’ Eat Treif (via negevrockcity)

Hummus: Undignified? Maybe. Delicious? Absolutely!

Jul 30, 20095 notes

Jul 30, 200972 notes

“14) Imagine this: You’re sixteen and having sex with your boyfriend. You want to be safe so you ask your mom to take you to the doctor for birth control. Most people would call this a sign of maturity and responsibility. The state of Mississippi would call it an incident to be reported to the cops. That’s because a bill that passed in January makes it a crime for parents not to report to the police that their kids are having sex. The Mississippi Child Protection Act of 2009, requires mandatory reporting of sex crimes against children and imposes new abortion restrictions on minors. Though there is much to quibble with in the bill, one section is particularly alarming. This is the clause that prohibits, “the intentional toleration of a parent or caretaker of the child’s sexual involvement with any other person.” Supporters of the law claim that they are trying to protect young people from abuse. But nowhere does the bill distinguish between sexual abuse and consensual sexual encounters between teens. Mississippi already boasts the highest teen pregnancy rate in the country. Maybe they are striving for the number one spot in preventing parent/child communication, as well…”—15 Shocking Tales of How Sex Laws Are Screwing the American People | Sex and Relationships | AlterNet (via sarahchristine)

Jul 30, 200968 notes

#politics

“Although I’ve gotta say, when I hear critics talk about out of control spending I start scratchin’ my head. I can’t help but remember, those same critics contributed to a $1.3 trillion deficit that I inherited when I took office. I mean, seriously, I’m now president, so I’m responsible for solving it, but I don’t think we should have a selective memory. You hand me a $1.3 trillion dollar bill and then you’re complaining 6 months later because we haven’t paid it all back. A debt, by the way, that was partially the result of two tax cuts that went primarily to the wealthiest few Americans, and a Medicare drug program that wasn’t paid for. These are the same folks who are now complaining about health care, we can’t afford health care. You pass a prescription drug program and didn’t pay for it! Handed the bill to me. Nobody is talking about some government takeover of health care. I’m tired of hearing that. These folks need to stop scaring everybody.”—President Obama at a Townhall Meeting in Raleigh, North Carolina (via Obama Finds His Inner Partisan - TaylorMarsh.com) (via apsies)

Jul 30, 2009156 notes

#economics

Jul 29, 2009

“Charity is commendable; everyone should be charitable. But justice aims to create a social order in which, if individuals choose not to be charitable, people still don’t go hungry, unschooled or sick without care. Charity depends on the vicissitudes of whim and personal wealth; justice depends on commitment instead of circumstance.”—Bill Moyers

Jul 29, 20094 notes

#light my fire

“Traditionally, in American society, it is the members of oppressed, objectified groups who are expected to stretch out and bridge the gap between the actualities of our lives and the consciousness of our oppressor…Whenever the need for some pretense of communication arises, those who profit from our oppression call upon us to share our knowledge with them. In other words, it is the responsibility of the oppressed to teach the oppressors their mistakes. I am responsible for educating teachers who dismiss my children’s culture in school. Black and Third World people are expected to educate white people as to our humanity. Women are expected to educate men. Lesbians and gay men are expected to educate the heterosexual world. The oppressors maintain their position and evade their responsibility for their own actions. There is a constant drain of energy which might be better used in redefining ourselves and devising realistic scenarios for altering the present and constructing the future.”—Audre Lorde (via ohfortheloveofdog)

Jul 28, 2009

#race #privilege

I wish I was a little bit taller

Today, as I pulled out of my driveway Skee-Lo came on the radio. My Sunday went from melancholy to excellent. There is simply no way to be in a bad mood when a song like that is playing.

Wikipedia tells me he is still releasing albums. I had no idea. I don’t know how he could top “I Wish”, it’s really bad music at its best.

Jul 26, 20091 note

#things that make my day

“Prisons used to be a non-profit business, too. And for good reason — who the hell wants to own a prison? By definition you’re going to have trouble with the tenants. But now prisons are big business. A company called the Corrections Corporation of America is on the New York Stock Exchange, which is convenient since that’s where all the real crime is happening anyway. The CCA and similar corporations actually lobby Congress for stiffer sentencing laws so they can lock more people up and make more money. That’s why America has the world’s largest prison population — because actually rehabilitating people would have a negative impact on the bottom line.”—Bill Maher (via azspot)

Jul 26, 200992 notes

Referendum 71 may be gaining momentum

This morning, we heard that the Secretary of State’s office has a special appointment this Saturday with the right-wing forces to submit their signatures to attempt to qualify Referendum 71. Larry Stickney, who is spearheading the referendum to repeal the rights of committed same-sex couples (profiled in the video), said Monday he didn’t have an estimate on the number of signatures gathered so far, but “we think it’s going to be very, very close.” For the past two months thousands of Washingtonians have stood up against bigotry by pulling together to protect Washington’s gay and lesbian families and lay the groundwork for a statewide movement to support equality for all families whether or not the referendum qualifies for the November ballot. More than 40,000 individuals, 110 groups and 75 clergy and congregations have pledged to decline to sign Referendum 71. More info on decline to sign here: https://secure.fusewashington.org/page/contribute/declinetosign721

Word Revival #10

Adroit adjective 1. having or showing skill, cleverness, or resourcefulness in handling situations synonyms: clever, dexterous

Jul 16, 2009

#word revival

“If you know anything about the history of health care in America, you know that the American Medical Association has played a consistently nefarious role. It helped block Truman’s plan for national health insurance, in alliance with Southern politicians who feared that a national system would force them to integrate hospitals. It sponsored Operation Coffee Cup, in which doctors’ wives were encouraged to rally their friends against Medicare — with the help of a recorded message from Ronald Reagan. But now the AMA has endorsed the House health reform bill.”—The AMA — as good guys???? - Paul Krugman Blog - NYTimes.com

Jul 16, 2009

#health care

“A wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not know that a gaggle of white Republican men afraid of extinction are out to trip her up.”—Maureen Dowd (via urg) (via apsies)

Jul 15, 20099 notes

“More combat planes, missiles and soldiers won’t provide additional bread for our families, desks for our schools or medicine for our clinics. All they can do is destabilize a region that continues to view armed forces as the final arbiter of social conflicts.”—Oscar Arias Sanchez (via azspot) (via transparentcommunity)

Jul 10, 20095 notes

“This news makes me happier than a herd of beautiful wild ponies running free across the plains. […] The show was an oasis of cynicism for the misery chick in all of us. She pointed out the absurd, the superficial, the hypocritical in that delicious dead-pan. I watched and rewatched until I could rewatch no more because it had disappeared from the TV landscape altogether. But now, a full seven years after the show left the air, comes news that we can continue having low esteem for everyone else together.”—

Dorothy Snarker, on the news of the Daria DVD release (via julyshewillfly)

I can’t believe it’s been seven years.

Jul 10, 20097 notes

Jul 9, 20098 notes

Word Revival #9

Pusillanimous

adjective

1. lacking courage and resolution

2. marked by contemptible timidity

synonyms: cowardly

Jul 9, 2009

#word revival

“While I spent a few moments of my holiday weekend revisiting the irony of anti-socialism protests taking place on socialized park land, it occurred to me that the proposed government-run public health insurance option probably won’t cost nearly as much as the CBO is suggesting. Because clearly there won’t be any Republicans signing up for it. I mean, no Republican would dare sign up for inexpensive, easily portable health insurance. Not when red, white and blue All American for-profit health insurance is available. After all, free market private health insurance will probably continue to be the more expensive option, so that must mean it’s the finest insurance, right? Expensive equals good, no? (No. More on that presently.) And of course none of the Republicans or Blue Dogs in Congress are covered by a government health insurance plan. Except for all of them.”—Bob Cesca: If You Don’t Want the Public Option, Get the Hell Out of the Way (via obamaccounting)

Jul 9, 200914 notes

#Health Care

“There’s nothing unusual about black families taking in their kin. Historically, they have often done so, but when the children look more white than black, eyebrows – and stereotypes – get raised.”—

Will Michael Jackson’s White Kids Get Along With Black Family? - ABC News

Dear ABC,

Historically, most families take in their kin, regardless of race. The fact the black families, which you treat as “other”, behave in the same fashion as the “norm” (presumably the upper middle class white people) is not news worthy. Please refrain from wasting my time with such “revelations”.

Sincerely,

Disheartened

Jul 9, 20092 notes

We got a new voicemail system at work the allows you to speed up messages. Now the message can talk as fast as I can process. Consider my day made.

Jul 8, 2009

Military Institutes New 'Don't Tell, Let Me Guess' Policy [the onion] theonion.com

notthatkindagay:

Pentagon officials announced Tuesday a new policy toward homosexuals in the armed services, the so-called “Don’t Tell, Let Me Guess” system, which gives Pentagon brass the opportunity to state their opinion on a soldier’s sexual orientation, provided it’s followed by the phrase “Am I right?” “These new guidelines allow homosexuals to serve in the armed forces, as long as they don’t show any outward traits that would tip us off and ruin all the fun of guessing,” said Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who purports to have “excellent” gaydar. “When you make a game out of it, you’re much more invested in the survival of your fellow serviceman—at least until you guess whether or not he or she enjoys sex with members of the same gender.” Pentagon officials said soldiers who are correctly guessed to be homosexual will face immediate dishonorable discharge, unless they can prove they have killed at least 10 enemy combatants in a particularly brutal fashion.

Jul 8, 200927 notes

Jul 8, 200930 notes

#Health Care

“Maybe you don’t like your job, maybe you didn’t get enough sleep, well nobody likes their job, nobody got enough sleep. Maybe you just had the worst day of your life, but you know, there’s no escape, there’s no excuse, so just suck up and be nice.”—Ani DiFranco

Jul 7, 2009

Jul 6, 2009

#seattle

“Mr. Emanuel said he knew the Obama-mania was waning in his household when he told his son recently that they would again be savoring father-son bonding time at the White House on a Saturday. The 12-year-old did not jump for joy. He set conditions. “I’ll go,” his son said, “but I don’t want to sit through another Iranian meeting.”—A ‘Family Friendly’ White House Is Less So for Aides - NYTimes.com (via apsies)

Jul 6, 20097 notes

#politics

“When I was in the military they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one.”—Epitaph of Leonard P. Matlovich, 1988

Jul 5, 20091 note

Listen

(via thepolarist)

Criminal.
Fiona Apple

Sometimes you haven’t heard a song in a while and you almost forget it. You mentally file it in a drawer somewhere under a bunch of old photographs you never look at. Then you hear it and you fall in like all over again as if no time has passed.

Jul 4, 2009

“I like baseball, movies, good clothes, whiskey, fast cars … and you. What else you need to know?”—

Johnny Depp, Public Enemies

I think I am going to see this tomorrow. Whose coming with me?

Jul 2, 2009

Jul 2, 2009118 notes

#politics

“It wasn’t just anyone who left MySpace to go to Facebook. In fact, if we want to get to the crux of what unfolded, we might as well face an uncomfortable reality… What happened was modern day “white flight.” Whites were more likely to leave or choose Facebook. The educated were more likely to leave or choose Facebook. Those from wealthier backgrounds were more likely to leave or choose Facebook. Those from the suburbs were more likely to leave or choose Facebook. Those who deserted MySpace did so by “choice” but their decision to do so was wrapped up in their connections to others, in their belief that a more peaceful, quiet, less-public space would be more idyllic. This dynamic was furthered by the press, an institution that stems from privilege and tends to reflect the lives of a more privileged class of people. They narrated MySpace as the dangerous underbelly of the Internet while Facebook was the utopian savior. And here we get back to Kat’s point: MySpace has become the “ghetto” of the digital landscape.”—

“The Not-So-Hidden Politics of Class Online,” Danah Boyd (via somethingchanged)

This is obvious. What kind of bothers me is that this isn’t strictly an issue of self-selecting “early adopters,” as the author implies, starting with Ivy Leagues and spreading outward to the college bound and upwardly mobile. When facebook first started, it was restricted to Ivy Leagues and slowly but surely, other universities and colleges were added to their list and also given access. The most reputable and prestigious institutions, followed by the larger institutions, and then finally the smaller, less well-known institutions were given access…followed by high school students and then the general public. And while, yes, the wealthy and the educated were more likely to leave myspace for facebook, the reason for this was that, at least in the beginning, only the wealthy and the educated could leave myspace for facebook. Moreover, the debates that arose when facebook decided to open membership to the general public just further illustrate how controlled facebook was and how fiercely its members defended its “elite” status. Facebook was created specifically for a certain group of people, and for a long time, actively kept the Others out. It wasn’t just a choice. Facebook was, for a long time, the very exclusive country club of social networking.

(via robot-heart-politics)

While I understand there are a lot of issues at play here let’s not forget one other thing, MySpace is awful. MySpace is the AOL of social networking. It may have been a pioneer but now it just doesn’t keep pace.

Jul 2, 2009

#privilege

“You Should Avoid Herpes”—

Things You Should and Should Not Do During Pregnancy

I am planning a baby shower for my sister and while contemplating the menu I thought I should check out the restriction list. I asked google what not to eat when you are growing a baby and it gave me the list in the above link. At the bottom it says, “you should avoid herpes.” Um, shouldn’t we all do that? Also, it says to avoid tap water. Conclusion: this site is made for crazies.

Jul 2, 2009