Marginal Tax Rates

Andrew Sullivan does understand how they work, right? Because this indicates otherwise:

A simple question. I'm a flat taxer, because I don't believe the government has any business punishing people for getting richer.

Obama Purchases Ad Space On Side Of McCain’s Bus

I love the Onion.

Steve Jobs, You're Making Me All Verklempt

No on Prop 8
Apple is publicly opposing Proposition 8 and making a donation of $100,000 to the No on 8 campaign. Apple was among the first California companies to offer equal rights and benefits to our employees’ same-sex partners, and we strongly believe that a person’s fundamental rights — including the right to marry — should not be affected by their sexual orientation. Apple views this as a civil rights issue, rather than just a political issue, and is therefore speaking out publicly against Proposition 8.

If you don't already own an Apple computer, go and get one.

Separation of Church and State

I just wanted to follow up on the post you made regarding Mormons not being united in the Church's stance on the Yes on 8 campaign. Personally, as a church-attending Mormon, the unbelievable, over-the-top support from the Church (at all levels) on this is a never-ending source of shame that digs up some of the worst skeletons in our collective closet (e.g., denying African-Americans full rights in the church until 1978, opposition to the ERA, etc.).

When the fuck is the Church of Latter Day Saints going to lose its tax-exempt status already? Huh, IRS?

From Sullivan.

And Now For Something Completely Different

After my negativity over the past 24 hours, I think I'll post something a little sweet. After 16 years of marriage, the Obamas are still clearly mad about each other.



God, look at that. It's enough to warm the cockles of my bitter, shriveled heart.

And a fantabulous wedding photo.



Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

Oh, almost forgot. Check out more at the Huffington Post.

False Accusations

I wrote this comment in response to a rape apologist scumbag, but it's actually something that occurred to me when Ashley Todd's status as a lying bitch was found out.

It bears repeating here.

Stories like this demonstrate that the MRA fear of false rape accusations is so much fucking hogwash.

It’s hard to make false accusations and make them stick. Most people are horrible liars. In order to come up with a lie, a plausible story has to be concocted in the first place. All contingencies have to be accounted for. The lie has to be as simple as possible so the liar can stick to it, and the liar cannot under any circumstances forget or embellish any element of the lie.

When most people lie, they don’t think that far ahead. They say things that are implausible from the get-go, concoct stories that are way too complicated, make stuff up as they go along, contradict themselves, and ultimately dig their own graves. Just like this woman.

This is why false rape accusations are so rare in the first place and why they rarely gain any traction. The Duke Lacrosse case would not have gone on for more than a month if it hadn’t been for that overzealous prosecutor who ignored all the obvious evidence of contradictions, backtracking, and lying by the accuser. And it should be noted that most investigators and prosecutors are not that zealous. Their knee-jerk reaction is to not believe the accuser and to put her under such scrutiny that even natural inconsistencies or forgotten details (that always happen to victims of violent crimes) become evidence of lying. That is why there are so few false accusations, and that is why so few real accusations result in prosecutions.

Damn I'm good.

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire!

For the record, I am always fucking right. Always.

Ashley Todd is a Lying Bitch

I don't like to repeat myself in such close succession, but I just can't let this go. There have been documented cases of threats toward Obama supporters and Obama himself and actual violence against reporters and Obama supporters. The Republicans are desperate and angry, and McCain/Palin are determined to stir up class and race resentment, no matter what the toll. So, inevitably, those cocksucking Republicans are trying to make themselves out to be the victims.

Ashley Todd is leading the way. She has concocted a false report claiming that an Obama supporter mugged her, beat her, and "carved" the letter "B" into her face. How do I know the stupid bitch is lying?

There's the detail that first raised red flags:

Ashley Todd, of College Station, Texas, was using an ATM at Liberty Avenue and Pearl Street just before 9 p.m. Wednesday when a man approached her and put a knife to her throat.

The man was wearing dark colored jeans, a black undershirt and black shoes.

My goodness, not exactly dressing for the season, eh? I checked; the forecast projected a low of 30 degrees fahrenheit in Bloomfield, PA for last night (Thursday). Either Pennsylvania gets some really wacky weather, or this thing is more than a little suspicious.

Then, there's the matter of the backwards "B" on her face.



Republicans are coming up with all manners of excuses for how that happened. The favorite of the moment is that, after the assailant knocked Todd to the ground, he knelt behind her head and carved that bad boy into her cheek. There are just a few problems with that explanation:
1. If the guy punched her and knocked her down, he would have been facing her. In order to kneel behind her head, he would have to walk all the way around her prone body.
2. Unless she was knocked out cold, he would be better off squatting over her, pinning her arms and legs to minimize struggling.
3. He's a very conscientious thug, isn't he? Despite being armed with a knife and a tendency toward election-based violence, he oh-so-gently scratched a letter into Todd's face, barely breaking the skin and not drawing any blood.
4. When people write a capital "B", they usually make the top loop smaller than the bottom one. In the photo, the top loop is very clearly smaller. Either the attacker has unusual penmanship, or the "victim" scratched the letter onto her own face while looking in a mirror. (And, not surprisingly, was too stupid to realize how mirror images work.)

And there's more.

...the robber took $60 from Todd, then became angry when he saw a McCain bumper sticker on the victim's car

First off, he only took $60 from her? Most debit cards have a daily maximum withdrawal of $200. If he had so much time on his hands, why didn't he get her to withdraw the maximum amount? And, for that matter, why not take her entire wallet and any valuables she may have had on her person or in her car?

Second, how the fuck did he know which car was hers? You can see that ATM on Google Maps street view. (Search for Liberty Ave & Pearl St, Bloomfield, PA). The ATM is along the sidewalk. It's not like it's in an isolated parking lot.

Which brings me to another point. Google street view clearly shows a busy and bustling street. There's a Thai restaurant just across the street. There's a coffee shop and a Domino's a few doors down. Are we really supposed to believe that just before 9 pm no one saw or heard anything during a protracted mugging and violent assault?

Richard said the woman refused medical treatment after the assault, which happened outside the view of the bank's surveillance cameras.

I wonder if her refusing medical treatment is in any way related to that fake ass bruise over her eye. Check it out.



No swelling, No redness in or around the eye. All black; no blue, purple, or yellow. That is not a shiner. That is makeup. Period.

And it all happened out of view of security cameras, even the initial mugging. How convenient.



Republicans will stop at nothing to smear Obama, his supporters, and liberals in general. The comments on Republican blogs about this fake incident speak volumes about Republican lies, deflection, and hypocrisy. Nothing those craven motherfuckers say can be believed at this point. Nothing.

Ahem

You know it.

John McCain:

A creepy, war-mongering albino who knows jack-shit about the economy.

Nuff said.

Quotation of the Day

This is a pitbull with lipstick? More like a cowering chihuahua.

Something Smells

I decided to hold off on commenting about the Bristol Palin is actually Trig's mother brouhaha. It seems to be cleared up, but I still have a question; a question that I want to see answered.

That question is: What the fuck was Sarah Palin on when she decided to get on a plane after effectively going into labor?

If there isn't some weird coverup going on here, then what is it? What's the reason?

Two possibilities come to mind.

1. Governor Palin hadn't actually gone into labor and made up the story to have an excuse to leave Texas early. That doesn't make much sense since she delivered her speech anyway, but it sure would explain why the hospital where she allegedly gave birth doesn't have a record of that birth on that date.

2. Sarah Palin wanted Trig to die. She couldn't abort him, since that would go against her pro-life principles, so she decided to get rid of him by other means. Such behavior is hardly new. It's ages old, dating back to when abortion was illegal and less safe than it is today. And check out that timeline; click to enlarge.



No sane person acts like this. No fucking way.

So which is it, Sarah? Are you lying, as you lie about everything else, or were you trying to kill your baby?

I Couldn't Resist

I stole this from the comments thread of a DKos post. I don't know who SC is (or even if that is the author), but kudos, SC, wherever you are.

There once was a man named mccain, who had the whole white house to gain, but he was quite a hobbyist of boning his lobbyist, so much for his 08 campaign. SC

The Newest Addition To My Blogroll

Check it out:

Sarah Palin IS NOT Hillary Clinton

A POW Against McCain

Read it.

I furthermore believe that having been a POW is no special qualification for being President of the United States. The two jobs are not the same, and POW experience is not, in my opinion, something I would look for in a presidential candidate.

Hopefully he, unlike a four-star general, is *allowed* to say that.

More Classical Music Muppet Goodness

Although I prefer "Pres de remparts de Seville".

My Favorite Rendition of "Ode to Joy"

Fuckin' hilarious. There are so many details in this, I just love it. Notice when the top middle Beaker makes the glass break and the two Beakers next to him react to it. I love that kind of detail in movies/TV; the type of thing you normally only notice if you watch the thing many times over*. If I were ever a filmmaker, I'd totally use that with abandon.

*Although I noticed it the first time 'round.

The Wages of Mendacity

It would seem that John McCain is a bald-faced liar. I'm shocked, let me tell you. Anyway, I've already contributed my definitive comment on the matter at another blog. Don't ask me where; I can't be expected to remember these things. So, the comment:

Liberals are too damn ethical. Republicans smeared Kerry, who never lied about his service. McCain is lying through his teeth about his POW experience; is effectively claiming his POW status as his primary, if not only, qualification for president; and is pulling the POW card whenever anyone criticizes him for anything. Note his campaign's statements on whether he cheated at the Rick Warren interview. POWs can't lie and cheat? This cross story, and the Keating 5, and McCain's treatment of his first wife prove otherwise.

This story is absolutely fair game. McCain is sullying the most important event in his life and his only true demonstration of courage and resilience, and he's proving his Christian faith to be nothing but a pack of lies.

Word.

My New Psychedelic Rock Band

...will be named Avocado Accordion.


That is all.

The Cause of My Insanity

Reports like this one bring up the question about why certain cities and communities have more public sexual harassment than others. H/T.

I think it's entirely about a city's culture. I'll bet my bottom dollar that Egyptian society is turning away from typical third world restraint and politeness, but also hasn't caught up with first world acceptance of women's autonomy and equality. So, you have a perfect storm of almost all Egyptian men hating women and the breakdown of norms that previously kept that shit behind closed doors.

New York is also really shitty in the public harassment arena. I'll add, however much I don't like to bring it up, that most of the harassers in New York are black. Soon after I moved to Seattle, I moved into the city's majority black neighborhood. Not once was I harassed. Not once. The problem isn't black folk, as I might have been made to believe after living in New York for several years. The problem is the culture of New York. A high proportion of New Yorkers are rude and aggressive (and the rest are sheep too scared to acknowledge what's going on, let alone stand up for themselves). They see no need to restrain themselves or mind their own fucking business. Consequently, a significant minority of men in that city behave like sleazebags. Seattle, with its far more restrained culture, simply doesn't tolerate that shit.

I am so glad I don't live in New York anymore. Of course, that city succeeded in making me so aggressive and pissed off, if I returned, the harassers would be the ones running for cover.

Shorter Andrew Sullivan

If it doesn't work perfectly, let's not do it at all.

Doctors are Assholes

Seriously.

Fortunately, as someone who is a "healthy" weight, I've never had to face that kind of shit from doctors. But, when it comes down to it, most doctors are dismissive bastards with massive God complexes who never bother listening to their patients. I'm the type of person who hates admitting weakness and, thus, pain. And even I've dealt with the smug doctor who can't find anything wrong, even as he or she hasn't fucking bothered looking.

I hate to imagine what fat people have to deal with.

Big Fucking Surprise

Andrew Sullivan is a hypocritical douchebag.

Doom and Gloom

I greatly enjoy reading Jim Kunstler's Clusterfuck Nation. His pessimism and apt descriptions of the decline of American culture tickle me pink.

For example:

The fashion and body language of male youth in 2007 comes from three sources: prison, the nursery, and the pimpmobile. It's an old story now that many conventions of gangster fashion come out of the jail experience, where they take away your belt and shoelaces so you won't hang yourself... Jail being a kind of accreditation device these days, the message may be: I passed the entrance exam.

Less obvious is the contribution of the nursery. Pants that are ambiguously neither long or short, worn with XX-large T shirts, tend to make grown men look like babies. Babies have short legs and large torsos compared to grown men. They also make big awkward gestures and touch their sex organs a lot...

The pimp connection is too obvious to belabor -- meant to mock normal executive attire while signifying an existence of total leisure and the enjoyment of unearned riches. The trouble is that the worship of unearned riches -- based on the belief that it truly is possible to get something for nothing -- has now become normal at all levels in American life... The catch is that men who live by this code almost always come to a bad end. They get their throats cut with razors, or go to prison, or manage to lose all their unearned riches (and the investments of many strangers, too).

The portrait of the young American male in 2007, therefore, is of an impotent, infantalized being lost in grandiose fantasies of power and importance. It's a picture of men without real confidence, and no idea how to achieve it, who wish to project a transcendently ferocious image complete with odds-and-ends of manner taken from comic books and movies based on comic books, in order to be taken seriously.

I have not seen a better description of people, namely men, of my generation. Perhaps that's the real source of my pessimism about the fate of humanity. Those fuckers are going to be running things someday.

I do find his doom and gloom message to be somewhat tiring. Kunstler's predictions, while correctly timed, are a hundred times worse than what actually happens. Last summer, he predicted the market meltdown. Based on that prediction and my own observations, I cashed out most of my investments. And it just so happens that I cashed out at the top of the market. Of course, we still haven't hit the Depression that Kunstler predicted back then and is still predicting today.

I think we're at the beginning of a long, slow decline of the American empire, if not the American experiment in general. With energy prices soaring and no hope of sustained relief, lots of hard choices will have to be made and Americans will see a gradual shrinking of their wealth and quality of life. Nevertheless, we're not on the brink of catastrophe (yet).

Sigh.

Apropos of...

...my post on June 30. This is an interesting read. I think it goes a long way to explain why a black man wouldn't take issue with hurling racist and sexist epithets at black women, while probably taking great issue of being the victim of racist slurs himself.

My only issue is the idea that many black men only hate black women. I'm sure they reserve their worst resentment and bad treatment for their female peers, but I highly doubt that, if these guys had access to white women, they'd treat us any better.

Ultimately, when a man is low status, whether due to race or class or both, he clings to the last shred of dominance and alleged superiority he has -- that piece of meat swinging between his legs.

Agreed

Babies stink.

But seriously. Young babies either reek of spoiled milk or shit and oftentimes the two at once. It also doesn't help that they're fugly. I helped my sister bathe her youngest several months ago. There were all these folds, especially around the torso and under the arms. Apparently, you have to clean those areas real well lest cheese develops and an infection ultimately festers. Ugh. It would seem that babies are like small morbidly obese people. And I don't mean clinically morbidly obese. I'm talking 500 pounds morbidly obese, Gilbert Grape's mother morbidly obese.

Those things aren't cute until they're at least two years old.

Ugly:



Cute:

Manufactured Outrage

Some female opponents of Obama, who oppose him for no other reason than he's not the female candidate, are looking for any excuse to hate on him. It's getting to the point of being half-hearted. I'm not even really feeling it anymore. Obama says something. OMG! Outrage, outrage, outrage. He hates women, even though he shares the exact same positions as the female candidate and talks about abortion pretty much exactly the same way. It doesn't matter. He's not a woman, only the woman is allowed to take nuanced views of abortion.

The most recent manufactured offense: Obama says he doesn't support an "emotional distress" exception for late-term abortion.

Let's see some of that fake outrage.

What he meant is that he doesn't think all those irresponsible, fickle, ninny-brained straw-women who decide willy-nilly they want abortions in their third trimester shouldn't be allowed to get one by claiming "mental distress" swoon swan get thee to a fainting couch. He's breathing life into the damnable lie that there are legions of women who seek out late-term abortions just because they've changed their silly little minds and make up lies about "mental distress" to get them.

Jesus, where do I begin?

1. The third trimester is a generally accepted cut-off point for abortion. It's at that point that a fetus becomes effectively viable and aborting a fetus that can survive outside its mother's womb kinda smacks of infanticide. (And this would be real infanticide, not the fake shit that anti-choicers have made up.) People who support abortion rights fully accept this cut-off point, with the exception of a few loonies (who you'll find in the comments of that blog post). Other countries where abortion rights are codified into law (as compared to being decided by the courts) often cut off elective abortions even earlier, such as after the first trimester. Those countries have the same prohibitions and exceptions for late-term abortions that we have had for the past 35 years.

2. "Emotional distress" has often been used by women in countries where abortion is illegal. Wealthy women in those countries shop around for a doctor willing to give them an exception and essentially buy access to a safe abortion. This has been the case in Spain for a long time and is a major reason why Portugal won't allow abortion under any circumstances. They've seen how the mental, and even general, health exception works in practice. Allowing women late-term abortion for something as nebulous as "emotional distress" is the same thing as having no prohibitions on late-term abortions at all. Anyone who knows something about abortion and the history of abortion would know this to be true. (You'd think these guys had at least seen Vera Drake.) It's amazing to see such die-hard proponents of abortion rights acting like such ignoramuses, but I suppose that's necessary when you're manufacturing outrage.

3. Obama's position is necessary to preserve abortion rights in this country. Americans barely support abortion rights. Most of those who generally support abortion rights are squeamish about it. They like to see limits on it. They like to see parental consent laws. They don't like to see government money spent on abortion. They want to make sure that late-term fetuses, which are pretty much babies, aren't being aborted at all or at least are being aborted for only the best of reasons, such as the health of the mother or the death or severe ill health of the fetus. Taking the position of "Fuck it. Women should be able to have abortions whenever, for whatever reason." hurts the cause. It alienates people who would otherwise support us. It makes the anti-choicers' lies about fetal organ farms and the profitability of Planned Parenthood that much easier to believe. And, yes, most Americans who support abortion rights will worry that some women will seek late-term abortions for superficial reasons. Even if only one woman does it, that could very well be enough to turn many Americans against abortion rights.

It's so frustrating to see this garbage, particularly when combined with the other criticisms of Obama's statements on abortion. He thinks women should only have "some" control over our bodies. He thinks women should have to consult with our religious leaders and fathers of our babies before we can get abortions. He thinks abortion is a tragic choice.

It's all bullshit and it's all manufactured.

We finally have a candidate who knows how to talk about abortion. John Kerry demonstrated how not to do it. When asked about abortion at a debate, he said that, as a former altar boy, he understood what the questioner was feeling, but there was just nothing he could do about it. Translation: I know that abortion is wrong, but I'm too much of a mendacious, power-hungry coward to take a stand against what I and my religion consider to be murder.

Obama comes along and talks about how he's not sure about the morality of abortion. Maybe it's ok, maybe it's not, but there's no way to be sure. Therefore, he's going to leave that decision in the hands of the people who are directly affected by it. He's also going to pursue generally good public policies that have the bonus side effect of lowering the abortion rate, and he's going to pursue sensible policies vis a vis late-term abortion since that's a less uncertain moral quandary. No one wants to see a 6- to 9-month-old fetus/baby die unless absolutely necessary.

He is an incredible candidate. His nuanced stand on abortion will cement pro-choice Americans' support of it (even among those who are squeamish about it), and he may even draw some anti-choice voters who are eager to no longer see abortion used as a wedge issue.

I predict Obama will win in a landslide, and I can't wait to see it happen.

Incidentally

When I searched Google images for hot+guy+beach, this came up:




Not quite what I had in mind.

Now You Know

Oh, and the magnetic lasso in Photoshop is the best thing evah!

Happy 4th!

I can't think of a greater gift on this day of our independence.

My Job...

...at this point is an 8-hour time suck. Something I have to endure until I can get around to my real life. What the fuck is the point of any of this?

Jesus Christ

Whatever you do, do not look at the comments on this article.

The article is a defense of Imus by a black writer. Fine, whatever. Imus may as well be the crypt keeper, but I have a hell of a lot more important things to worry about than that decrepit geezer. But one paragraph in the article really pisses me off:


I found his comments about the Rutgers team insensitive but only slightly off-sides. Imus commented that the girls team was a little mannish and rough-looking (real talk). These observations were not altogether shocking or fresh; black commentators have said similar things about other female basketball players for years. And even though his jibe was consistent with his other shtick designed to rile sensitive ears, Imus should not have called those young women names—they didn't have a knock coming.

What a fucking asshole.

Imus merely called those women names. "Nappy headed ho" is a schoolyard taunt on a par with "poopyhead" or "boogerface." Bullshit. The words Imus used are racially charged, and I suspect that, if Imus had called the author of this piece, Jimi Izrael, a racial epithet more commonly reserved for black men, Mr. Izrael would be considerably more pissed off.

But bitches ain't shit, or at least black women aren't, and Mr. Izrael doesn't see anything wrong with calling black women either nappy headed or hos.

Don't mind the fact that Imus started off saying those women looked mannish and rough looking (as if that's an insult female athletes haven't heard before). According to Mr. Izrael, calling a woman a "ho" is merely an extension of insulting her appearance, an appearance noted for being unfeminine. Just don't mind the fact that whores aren't terribly renowned for looking mannish. Let's just pretend that "ho" isn't a common term hurled at black women, by black men and white men alike. And let's pretend that Mr. Izrael isn't conveniently ignoring the misogyny and racism implied in that epithet. Since a number of black men have no problem throwing that word in black women's faces, it's only fair that a white man should be able to say it without consequences. Kind of like how, since some black men call each other a certain taboo word, it's perfectly acceptable for white people to call them that.

I have to conclude with that tasty morsel: They didn't have a knock coming. In that case, it is perfectly acceptable to denigrate black women with racially charged and sexist epithets... so long as they deserve it.

Goddamn Thieves

Several weeks ago, I requested my free credit report online. Freecreditreport.com, run by Experian (the fucking crooks), demanded my credit card number before I could even look at my credit report. Smelling a rat, I carefully reviewed everything I was looking at to make sure I wasn't going to be roped in to some sort of fee or membership. As far as I could tell, nothing. The credit card number was just in case I felt like paying them for some reason.

Bullshit.

Over a week ago, I received an email telling me of a change in my credit rating. I emailed freecreditreport.com to ask them if I was being charged for this service. Of course I fucking was. $14.95 a month for NOTHING!

So, I emailed them back demanding that they immediately cancel my "membership." They complied just a little too fast, like they know they're doing something fucking illegal fast.

I'll be damned if I'm letting this go. The FTC and possibly the Consumerist are going to hear about this shit. I wonder how much money Experian is stealing from unwitting customers and doing it through the federally mandated free credit report no less.

Fuck. Them.

Update

Consumerist's already got the scoop, of course. Apparently, Experian is deliberately swindling people, yay! They have a domain: freecreditreport.com. They don't tell people that you have to pay for their bullshit service, until you start seeing those charges on your credit card statement, yay! And state agencies, not the FTC (that useless piece of shit), are the only ones starting to call out Experian on its bullshit. Fantastic.

And, by the way, here is the only way to get your real free credit report. Learn from my being a victim of highway robbery.

Good Question

Why are men more likely to send hate mail?

I can't say for certain, but it could be related to how, when I was a child, whenever I expressed any kind of anger or said that I hated something, I was immediately admonished. It was unseemly to be angry, and I should never say I hate something, I should say I "dislike" it. Meanwhile, boys could get away with murder and might get an annoyed admonition to "cut it out," which was only uttered after the umpteenth example of aggressive behavior and which was never followed up with actual action.

Men are allowed to be angry and violent; women are not.

Justice

Of course this is published in a New Zealand newspaper.

Although I gotta love this quote:

"Somebody murdered my daughter and you picked the wrong person to fuck with."

Hell yeah.  Get them.  Get those worthless pieces of shit.  And make them pay for sending that scumbag rapist/murderer back home for him to start killing women stateside.

H/T.

My Avatar

No, I don't hate Rosie O'Donnell.  Let me make that clear at least.

My Blogspot avatar was chosen as a response to another blog commenter.  Incidentally, the one who introduced me to that "victim" nonsense.  Since I refuse to take his shit, I of course look like a scary, angry lesbian with a hairy chest.  So, I figured, why not use that image for my blog.

Although I will say that it tickles me pink how Rosie O'Donnell has been changed from a cute, cuddly, harmless lesbian to a rabid she-beast.  I think I prefer her this way.  Only a she-beast would tell Douchebag Trump what to go do with himself.

Helpful Tip of the Day

Anti-feminist guys, when you're trying to make an argument that feminism isn't necessary or that feminism doesn't need to address a certain issue, don't make it crystal clear in your arguments that feminism is still necessary. Fucking morons.

An example from this Feministing thread:

Sex-ed is to teach children about reproduction, safe sex, contraception, and the like.  It's not to teach them how to give each other orgasms. You might be comfortable with the idea of a bunch of 11 year olds running around learning orgasm-giving techniques, but I'm not. From a purely biological, reproductive standpoint, the female orgasm is without purpose. Sex for pleasure is a perfectly fine use for sex, but human sexuality is primarily a reproductive system.  Thus the name, "reproductive system". That's why most biologists and classes don't focus on the female orgasm.  Because when learning about reproduction, a woman "getting off" really has no bearing on it. That's why.

Though, it's odd to me:

When all a man thinks about is getting off, and sexual pleasure, feminists and women call him an "objectifier of women", and "someone who believes women are for his pleasure", and a "man child"... But when women do the same it's "empowering"? I'm sorry we apparently disagree on feminist views.  I think there's a lot more to it, and MUCH more important feminist work to be done than making certain you get lots of orgasms.

Great orgasms...or woman president?  Great orgasms...or equal representation in congress? It's just tacky to me to try to act like orgasms are important to feminism.

Posted by:  Black Thirteen June 16, 2008 6:41 PM

(Emphasis mine)

You can see where this is going, can't you?  A deaf and blind monkey could see where this is going.

Another comment from the same idiot:

Why is it important for young boys to know how a clitoris works?  In order to give women those orgasms feminists feel we "owe" them?

(Emphasis mine, again)

I love it.  At the same moment this guy is trying to say that female sexuality is irrelevant to feminism, he makes it clear that it's of paramount importance to feminism.  For fuck's sake, in the 21st century, with Dan Savage on the loose, there are straight men who are still threatened by women's sexuality and by the very concept of reciprocity in life and love.  Pathetic.  Unbearably fucking pathetic.

Nowhere Else To Go

I occasionally wade into the nether regions of Hillary blogtopia.  What can I say?  I'm something of a masochist at heart.  A common argument over there is that Obama has to earn Hillary's supporters, namely women.  Incidentally, there doesn't seem to be much acknowledgement that not all Hillary supporters are women.

For examp:

...the women who are angry about the way that Clinton was treated during the campaign, and about Obama's silence...are not under any illusions that John McCain is better on women's issues than Obama would be.

I've been paying attention to the people who are fed up with that line, and I can say one thing:  that's just not going to work anymore.  They've heard this for decades now, and nothing gets any better, because the party knows they have nowhere else to go.  It's not about McCain being some champion for women's rights;  they know he's not.  What it *is* about is Obama, and the Democratic Party, and the fact that Obama is running to be President on the ticket of the Democratic Party, which is ostensibly supposed to champion women's rights.  But this year, that was revealed to be an expedient lie.  And the people who are fed up with the lies want to give the Party a wakeup call, and to let the party -- and Obama -- know that they expect action, not just promises and lies.

Roe has had only one use for the Democratic Party in the past 25 or so years -- as a club to beat women with every four years.  Because they have nowhere else to go, right?

Fair pay?  Health care?  Domestic violence?  Where has the Party been on those issues?

(Emphasis mine)

Christ on a cracker.  Nothing in that screed indicates any kind of sensible rejection of a candidate or the Democratic Party.

1.  There's the careful parsing of McCain not being "better" on women's issues.  There's no admission that Obama is head and shoulders above McCain on women's issues.  No, McCain isn't "better", which is to imply that he's not worse.  McCain is also not a champion of women's issues, which is to imply that he won't do everything in his power to reverse every political, economic, and social gain that women have won in the past several decades.

2.  It's fucking bullshit to say that nothing gets any better and to put the sole blame on the Democrats.

Conservatives have been fighting for decades to take over the government.  They've been fighting for decades to turn the American public over to their side with great success; the majority of Americans barely support reproductive rights, and most of them are very squeamish over abortion.  Any chipping away at Roe has been at the behest of the American public.  Look to them for the blame.

What's amazing is how little comparative damage the Republicans have managed to wreak over the past few decades.  It's a testament to our founders' foresight when they created this country, and evidence for why it's so difficult for Democrats, even when they have large majorities in Congress, to make sweeping reforms.  You'd think someone with a law degree would understand that, but then you'd have to assume this is actually about the Democrats and not sour grapes over the female candidate's loss.

3.  The Dems' concern for women's issues has hardly been revealed to be an "expedient lie." Having a bunch of men rush in to defend a woman's honor is a thornier issue than it first appears.  What would have happened had Obama defended Hillary from sexist attacks?  If anything, it would have seemed as though he were operating under the assumption that Hillary couldn't defend herself.  Meanwhile, she did handle it herself, with grace and aplomb, although unfortunately only addressed it directly at the very end of her campaign.

4.  I hate to break it to the tiny minority of Hillary supporters determined to sit this one out or vote McCain, but Obama is going to win in a landslide, barring something really terrible happening.  If women actually do sit this one out (not that I'm saying they are, because they AREN'T), and Obama wins anyway, the ultimate message will be that the Democrats don't need women to win, and I don't really think that'll help anyone.

5.  That "promises and lies" line:  My impression from that is that there's nothing Obama can do at this point.  This writer is determined not to believe anything that comes out of his mouth.

6.  Damn straight women don't have anywhere else to go.  The past eight years should have been more than enough to demonstrate the consequences of a protest vote.  Perhaps this writer thinks that things can't get worse, so women have the luxury of voting against Obama.  Things can get worse.  Great Depression worse.  Things can get worse for women, for men, for children, for people around the world.  And McCain is just the pasty-faced walking corpse to make that happen.

Anyone with any sense has nowhere else to go.

7.  Fair pay, health care, domestic violence, really?  The party as a whole supports the fair pay act, supports some solution for our health care crisis, and has been working on DV issues for decades.  For frak's sake.  And while not every Democrat agrees with the party's stance on those issues, I do know where the Democratic candidate for president stands, and I'm voting for him largely because of those positions.

Lastly, why does Obama have to specifically reach out to women voters?  On every issue, every issue, that is or could be important to women he's far and away better than McCain.  Putting specific women's issues aside for a moment, women are affected by the economy, crappy health care, Social Security and Medicare, war, environmental destruction, and civil liberty violations just as much as men.  In some cases, they're more affected by those things.

What this writer wants is not for Obama to take a specific stand on "women's" issues; he's already done that.  What she wants is hand holding, for him to pay special attention to her and other disgruntled Hillary supporters and coddle them.  Not surprisingly, this specific critic of Obama constantly criticizes him for being insincere and being an empty suit, and for the kind of "I feel your pain" politicking that she now wants from him!  I'm not imagining a reaching out being accepted in good faith.

The Calm Before the Storm

My apartment manager is being eerily quiet this evening.  Her apartment is directly above mine, and she's proven herself to be a noise nuisance such as I've never seen.  Seriously, even in New York I never had to deal with this bad of an asshole neighbor.

But tonight, all is quiet.  Did she inadvertently overhear my muttered death threats or is there some other reason?

"Libertarians" and Feminism

I occasionally, even frequently, agree with libertarians.  I agree with them on issues of civil liberties, on the drug war, on some other social issues.  But then, they gotta go and lay their insecurities on the line.

Francisco Torres June 20, 2008, 6:50pm

In a long and thoughtful response, Rod Dreher ponders this question and writes:

Well, should people who choose not to go into the armed services be forced to subsidize those who do?

The answer to both is:  NO.  Nobody should be forced to do anything -- the question answers itself if you believe coercion is evil.

If women decide NOT to reproduce, they will simply be replaced by younger generations of women who grew up in large families, bred by cultures that reward fertility.  Feminists will simply be bred out of existence by beautiful Latinas.

Guy Montag June 20, 2008, 10:18pm

Feminists will simply be bred out of existence by beautiful Latinas.

WOW, that is the most beautiful thing I have read in weeks.

Little known fact, lots of Latinas know how to weld too!  At least in my fantasies anyway.

(Bold mine)

And libertarians wonder why they can't recruit more women.

There are so many things wrong with this.

1.  There's the assumption that Latinas are never feminists.  That would certainly come as a surprise to the valedictorian of my high school class.  But then, to these assholes, she'd be invisible since she's not beautiful.

2.  There's the assumption that all feminists are ugly and, for that matter, that feminists are these she-beasts that sprang out of nowhere.  As if female descendants of third world immigrants wouldn't eventually become feminists themselves.  Nope, only white women are feminists.  Only ugly women are feminists.  And feminism is absolutely not a natural progression for most women as they become better educated, wealthier, and more independent.

3.  There's the general hostility on the part of all (male) libertarians towards feminists and feminism.  They really believe that they can recruit women with this shit going on?  It kind of makes me sad*, because, like I said, there are many libertarian issues I agree with.  Libertarians could try to co-opt the feminist movement.  They could make the argument that they believe in a level playing field for everyone and that women have the potential to equal, maybe even surpass, men in a libertarian society.  There is one problem with that, however, it would be a lie.  Libertarian men do not want to compete equally with women.

4.  And that brings me to my last point: the basis of libertarian hostility toward feminism as evidenced in those quoted comments.  When it comes down to it, in the battle of the sexes, libertarian men are the biggest pussies of all.  The very idea of having to compete equally with women in business, let alone in the bedroom, scares the bejesus out of them.  (Imagine how sad Guy Montag will be when he finds out that second generation Latinas aren't any less likely to be feminist as those white hags who fill his nightmares.)  If women are equal, those guys might have to treat women as actual people with distinct personalities, with their own needs and desires, their own interests.  Look at what douchebag #2 said:  "...lots of Latinas know how to weld too!  At least in my fantasies anyway."  In his fantasies, indeed.  To him, women are here for his pleasure, and his pleasure only.  Ugly women need not apply.  Women who want reciprocity in bed should just fuck off.  Women who advocate for their own interests should shut the fuck up; men's interests are women's interests.  Ultimately, when libertarian men complain about women not joining their movement, it's all about their inability to get laid at their libertarian conferences and not about wanting to see female colleagues at their side fighting for a libertarian utopia.

Oh, and, Guy, I've found your ideal girlfriend.  You can thank me later.

*Although it doesn't surprise me.  I've never seen a Libertarian candidate for president who wasn't anti-choice.  It's a problem for the government to take people's money, but not to control a woman's uterus.

On Being a Victim

I've been hearing the word "victim" a lot lately.  I first heard, or rather saw, it over a year ago when I was called one.  I earned such a title by confronting a blog commenter for his constant woman bashing.  (He very conveniently never bashes men.)  Since then, I see the title given out constantly.  Everyone from women to gays to African Americans are "victims."  In other words, if you complain about unfair treatment ever, you are a victim.

I don't credit the original blog commenter with starting the trend.  He's neither nearly clever nor original enough for that.  But the existence of the trend is interesting, and I wonder about its origins.

I guess whoever started the trend and those who perpetuate it have to start with the assumption that there's something wrong with being a victim.  I can't say that I agree.  There's something wrong with being an aggressor, someone who likes to fuck other people over, and nothing wrong with being the victim of such a waste of flesh.  What would be unforgivable is for a victim to just lie back and take it.  Victims everywhere ought to and must fight back against such scumbags.

This, of course, is exactly what people who throw around the word "victim" do not want under any circumstances.  They want to victimize others and get away with it.  Any attempt to push back is a threat.  There's just one inconvenient little secret:  when those motherfuckers throw that word around, they're showing everyone just how fucking useless they are.