Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Santorum Heckled In Nashville

Rick Santorum did not exactly get the warmest welcome in Nashville last night. Santorum was 45 minutes late to the mostly empty stadium at Belmont University. But several hundred students stuck around for the show anyway. Probably because profs were giving them extra credit for attendance (that's the only way some of these yahoos can get an audience).

The candidate doesn't have the money or the infrastructure to win in the General. And he's not going to get the money because everyone except his bat-sh*t crazy base knows he's too crazy to win the General. That said, polls show Santorum leading in Tennessee. But that's a good thing because the longer this clown show goes on, the weaker Romney gets.

Rick Santorum Gets Booed on Nashville College Campus:


NASHVILLE – Rick Santorum faced a mixed crowd Wednesday evening as many of his go-to talking points, which typically garner applause and cheers, were met with resistance on the campus of Belmont University...

When Santorum began to talk about the implementation of the healthcare plan in 2014, a point in his stump speech which normally receives boos, Santorum was met with resounding cheers from a portion of the crowd who support Obama’s plan. The other half of the crowd tried to quell the applause with loud boos of their own.

When Santorum explained the reasons the Constitution was drafted, a member of the crowd shouted “To protect us from you!” to some laughter from the crowd. Santorum ignored the heckler and said the Constitution was intended to protect Americans’ inalienable rights.

Photo via Belmont students' commentary [snark]: Santorum @ Belmont [STORIFY]

Operation Hilarity: Liberals Voting in GOP Primary; Let's Do It in Tennessee

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Homophobes Target Archie Comics

Perhaps this means the crazed homophobes will leave Ellen alone? John Goldwater, c0-CEO of Archie Comics responds to the homophobic attack:

“We stand by Life with Archie #16. As I’ve said before, Riverdale is a safe, welcoming place that does not judge anyone. It’s an idealized version of America that will hopefully become reality someday. We’re sorry the American Family Association/OneMillionMoms.com feels so negatively about our product, but they have every right to their opinion, just like we have the right to stand by ours. Kevin Keller will forever be a part of Riverdale, and he will live a happy, long life free of prejudice, hate and narrow-minded people.“

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The Anne Boleyn Files - The Anne Boleyn Collection

Almost two years ago, I had the privilege of being part of the first ever Anne Boleyn Experience, organized by Claire Ridgeway of The Anne Boleyn Files.  I was fortunate enough to get to know Claire and to share our mutual love of Anne Boleyn.  When Scandalous Women came out, Claire did me the honor of reviewing the book.  Now it's my turn to share with my readers that Claire has just published her first book, The Anne Boleyn Collection.  To celebrate she's put together a week-long virtual book tour, where all sorts of goodies are up for grabs, for next week.
 
Here’s the schedule:-
 
•5th March The Tudor Tutor – Claire will be answering questions and giving away a signed copy of “The Anne Boleyn Collection” and a Tudor themed prize over at Barb’s Tudor Tutor blog.  A winner will be selected at random from entrants.

 
•6th March Let Them Grumble – Guest article on Anne Boleyn for Libby over at her Let Them Grumble blog. Claire will also be offering a signed copy of her book and a pair of Anne Boleyn earrings from “The Tudors” range. See Libby’s page on the 6th for details.

 
•7th March Anne Boleyn: From Queen to History – Over at Sarah’s Anne Boleyn: From Queen to History blog, Claire will be writing a guest article on the Boleyns and offering a signed copy of the book plus an Anne Boleyn B necklace or A necklace. All you have to do to be in the running for this give away is to either like the Anne Boleyn: From Queen to History Facebook page or leave a comment on her guest article on the 7th March.

 
•8th March Queen Anne Boleyn Facebook page – On the 8th March Claire will be answering your questions and giving away a signed copy of “The Anne Boleyn Collection” plus an Anne Boleyn scarf over at Sylwia’s Queen Anne Boleyn Facebook page. Sylwia is collecting questions at the moment and will be selecting a winner from those who “like” her page.

 
•9th March On the Tudor Trail – Claire will be rounding up the week with an interview over at Natalie’s On the Tudor Trail blog. She will also be giving away a signed copy of the book and an Anne Boleyn wine stopper.

Here are just a few of the exciting articles that you will find in the collection:

  • Should Anne Boleyn be pardoned and reburied as Queen?
  • Anne Boleyn and "The Other Boleyn Girl".
  • Did Anne Boleyn dig her own grave?
  • The Six Wives' stereotypes - are they right?
  • Did Anne Boleyn commit incest with her brother?

 The book is currently available on Amazon.com but not yet for the Nook.

Olympia Snowe Quits: Fed Up With 'My Way Or Highway' Politics

And another woman leaves the manly U.S. Senate. The GOP continues to excel at running sane people out of party politics:

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe rocked the political landscape Tuesday with a stunning announcement that she won't run again, drawing the curtain on a storied political career and staggering Republican hopes to recapture a Senate majority... A political moderate, Snowe backs abortion rights and often drew fire from GOP conservatives for casting key votes that helped Democrats pass major legislation.

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10% of Voters Were Democrats in Michigan Primary

Thousands of Democrats crossed party lines to vote for Santorum in Michigan. The victory was so narrow that Romney will have to split the delegates with his evil twin Santorum.

And the clown show continues:

According to CNN, 10% of those who voted in the primary identified themselves as Democrats, representing a larger share of the electorate than in the 2008 vote. Of that group, 50% said they voted for Santorum, 19% for Ron Paul and 15% for Romney, exit polling showed.

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Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Grants for Occupy Protesters

Ben and Jerry, among others, are putting some money to good use:

Occupy Groups Get Funding: The group will give grants of as much as $25,000 to protesters across the country after undergoing an application process that begins in March. The group, along with five Occupy activists, will review applications.

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Scandalous Women Reviews: Anne of Hollywood by Carole Wolper

Title:  Anne of Hollywood
Author:  Carole Wolper
Publisher: Gallery Books

Publication date: 1/24/2012
Pages: 352

Overview:

“I wasn’t prepared for the enemies. Had I been as gorgeous as a supermodel, or as rich as an heiress, or an actress with an Oscar to my credit, people would still not be happy that I had Henry’s attention, but they’d understand. What they resented was the king coupling with a ‘nobody.’”


Skirts may be shorter now, and messages sent by iPhone, but passion, intrigue, and a lust for power don’t change. National bestselling author Carol Wolper spins a mesmerizing tale of a twenty-first-century Anne Boleyn.

Wily, intelligent, and seductive, with a dark beauty that stands out among the curvy California beach blondes, Anne attracts the attention of Henry Tudor, the handsome corporate mogul who reigns in Hollywood. Every starlet, socialite, and shark wants a piece of Henry, but he only wants Anne. The question is: can she keep him?

Welcome to a privileged world where hidden motives abound, everyone has something to sell, and safe havens don’t exist. With her older sister Mary, a pathetic example of a royal has-been, Anne schemes to win her beloved Henry in the only way that gives a promise of forever—marriage. Success will mean contending with backstabbing “friends,” Henry’s furious ex-wife, and the machinations of her own ambitious family, and staying married to a man who has more options than most and less guilt than is good for either of them will take all her skill. Anne will do anything to hold on to the man—and the lifestyle—she adores, however, even if sticking your neck out in Hollywood means risking far worse than a broken heart. With Henry’s closest confidante scheming against her, and another beautiful contender waiting in the wings, Anne is fighting for her life. Can she muster the charm and wit to pull off her very own Hollywood ending?

My thoughts:  When I first heard about this book, I thought, 'You have to be kidding me! Anne Boleyn in Hollywood?' Still there was something about the idea that intrigued me. Perhaps it was the fact that this mash-up didn't turn Anne into a werewolf, a vampire or a succubus! So I downloaded a sample of the book onto my NOOK, and gave it a quick read. What I read made me want to read the whole book, but I confess, I took the book out of the library instead of buying it. A girl has to economize! 

The idea of translating the Tudors into contemporary Hollywood shouldn't work but it somehow does.  Henry VIII in Wolper's version is Henry Tudor who owns a studio, a web-site ala The Huffington Post, as well as other interests.  He's referred to as "the King" of Hollywood by various characters in the book. But Henry is not content with just being the Kingpin of Hollywood, he's seeking the Governorship of California. All of the usual suspects that most readers will be familiar with are here, Thomas Cromwell as been reinterpreted as Theresa Cromwell, Henry's right hand woman, Cardinal Wolsey is now crooked money manager Carl Wolsey, Catherine is Catherine Aragon, the daughter of a wealthy power-broker Ferdinand, she and Henry have a daughter Maren who is boarding school. As the book opens, they are wrangling not just over the divorce but over the property settlement. Catherine, obsessed with Henry, has become a devout Catholic, who pops pills to get through her day. Mary is a former model turned party girl who failed to snag Henry, so she becomes a pot-smoking hippie. All the Boleyn hopes are now pinned on Anne. See daddy Thomas Boleyn, unlike the successful courtier of Tudor Times, is an entertainment lawyer, who failed when he started his own firm. Now he creeps around the fringes of power with his face pressed against the window, trying to get in. George is a bisexual actor, who gets a job on a cop show thanks to Henry. Jane Boleyn is now Lacy, who hates Anne because George loves her so much. And then there's Jane Seymour who is now a jewelry designer and a friend of Theresa's.

The novel is written in an easy, breezy style from the points of view of various characters, mainly Anne (in the first person), Theresa, and a hanger-on Cliff Craven.  Anne is a likeable narrator, who genuinely seems to love Henry for himself, not just for what he can do for her family. Theresa Cromwell feels threatened by Anne, particulary when she takes over Henry's philanthropic foundation, which was Theresa's pet project.  There are two big weaknesses in this novel, the first is that Wolper fails to make the reader understand why everyone, apart from Catherine and Lacy, hates Anne so much.  She doesn't really throw her weight around, everyone agrees that she is vibrant, sexy, and charismatic. Unlike the real Anne, she doesn't confront Henry with his infidelities, she seems to roll with the punches.  She's a freelance writer, but unlike Lacy, she doesn't use her position as Henry's wife to snag a cushy job. Nor is she really one of those Hollywood wives who spend most of their times lunching.  We don't really see Anne doing much of anything, apart from giving birth to Elizabeth, and hoping to get pregnant with a male heir for Henry.  Apparently even in 2012, a daughter isn't good enough.

The other weakness in the novel is that Henry remains off-stage throughout most of the book. He's a cipher, a Howard Hughes figure but without the OCD. It's unclear how he became so rich, or powerful. After awhile, I began to lose interest in the story, or even care how Anne was going to get her comeuppance in this version of her life. Clearly, she's not going to be executed but somehow banished from her glitzy lifestyle. I've read Jackie Collins novels with more pizzazz and punch than this book which is really a shame because it's an intriguing idea.

Verdict:  Only for real fans of Anne Boleyn, or readers who love reading about Hollywood.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Dems Play Cross-Party Sabotage In Michigan

Tennesseans thinking about joining Operation Hilarity -- in order to keep the GOP clown show going strong with its unintended consequence of alienating Americans everywhere -- can watch how it plays out in states like Michigan. The Michigan primary is today:

The liberal blog [Daily Kos] is not the only outlet pushing for Democratic turnout on Tuesday: Michigan Democratic strategist Joe DiSano has launched a similar campaign within the state - and he says he expects about 8,000 or 9,000 Democrats to vote for Santorum tomorrow.

DiSano says he conducted a robo-call in Michigan over the last week encouraging Democrats to vote for Santorum in order to "embarrass Romney" and prolong the Republican process. According to DiSano, the robo-call instructed voters to "press one" to signal their willingness to vote for Santorum. He says 12,000 Democrats pressed one.

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Romney: 'I have friends who own NASCAR teams'


There goes Richie Rich Romney, bragging about being rich again.

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Operation Hilarity: Liberals Voting in GOP Primary; Let's Do It in Tennessee

It looks like Tennessee is going to matter in the GOP primary clown show this year. So, I plan to engage in a little cross-party sabotage. Considering how I feel about the deranged and not-remotely grand old party, this is the least I can do.

The longer the anti-birth control, anti-sex, anti-college, pro-theocracy GOP circus continues, the sicker the country gets at the mere thought of the 14 century party. If you live in an open primary/caucus state (Michigan, North Dakota, Vermont and Tennessee), I hope you'll join me in Operation Hilarity by voting for the ludicrous, Satan-obsessed Rick Santorum:

At Daily Kos, we are encouraging Democrats, liberals and progressives to vote for Rick Santorum in open primaries and caucuses in order to extend the race for the Republican presidential nomination. The Tennessee primary on March 6 is one of those open contests, as anyone is allowed to vote no matter if they are a Democrat, a Republican, an Independent, or something else.

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Meryl Streep's Oscar Acceptance Speech (Video)

Meryl Streep won her 3rd Oscar last night, her first since 1983. This one is for her role as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady."


“I thought I was so old and jaded, but they call your name and you just go into a sort of white light. It was like [being] a kid again. I was a kid when I won this, like, 30 years ago. Two of the nominees were not even conceived,”

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Sunday, February 26, 2012

Anita Hill On Sunday's Melissa Harris-Perry Show

The Melissa Harris-Perry show is on MSNBC at 9am (central time) Saturdays and Sundays. The show debuted last weekend. So far, the Melissa Harris-Perry show is the political talk show women have longed for since the day the first TV appeared. Last weekend, I tuned in late and saw a panel of women discussing religion and contraception and God Our Mother.

Oh yeah, there was a token male on the panel. Asian, gay.

Keeping my fingers crossed. Today's (Sunday) show (2-26-12) features Anita Hill! I'm not going to miss it.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy



Melissa Harris-Perry show at MSNBC breaks more than gender, race barrier


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Saturday, February 25, 2012

Virginia Lawmaker (Jerk-R) Jokes About Forced Vaginal Probe (Video)

Because a law mandating forced vaginal penetration (the definition of rape) is simply hilarious when you are a grossly insensitive white male republican jerk such as Virginia State lawmaker David B. Albo. [DelDAlbo@house.virginia.gov]


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Friday, February 24, 2012

Where Are the Women? Oscar Nominations 2012: 19% Women to 81% Men

From my inbox via The Women's Media Center:

Where are the Women? 35 women in a pool of 180 nominations! 19% women to 81% men.! 1/4 of the categories have NO women at all!



Video via Women and Hollywood: To The Academy: Consider the Women

Oscar voters overwhelmingly white, male And the Oscar Goes to... a Man: Gender Bias at the Top

Where Are the Women at the Oscars: The Stats

Women & Gender | Report about male domination at Oscars troublesome for industry, society:

Oscars 2012: Where are the female directors?

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Scandalous Women Radio presents: Mary Seacole (1805 - 1881)

Tune in this Sunday, February 26th to Scandalous Women over at Blog Talk Radio where I will be talking about one of the most remarkable women of the Victorian Era:  Mary Seacole.

The Times of London called her a heroine, Florence Nightingale called her a brothel-keeping quack, and Queen Victoria's newphew called her Mammy. But her name was Mary Seacole, one of the most eccentric and charismatic women of the Victorian era. Desperate to help out in the Crimean War, she was refused, but she traveled under her own steam, to help out. For more than a century after her death, the life of Mary Seacole was forgotten, but thanks to new research and biographies, her story has now been told. In 2004 Mary Seacole was voted top of a list of 100 of the greatest Black Britons and was again recognised by the public for her achievements during the Crimean War.


Sources:

Jane Robinson - Mary Seacole: The Charismatic Black Nurse Who Became A Heroine of The Crimea (2004)

For more information:

Mary Seacole at the Florence Nightingale Museum
Mary Seacole

Child Poverty at 26% in Tennessee

The Anne E. Casey Foundation finds that child poverty in Tennessee is soaring. With a child poverty rate of 26%, Tennessee looks bad even in a nation long infamous for having the highest child poverty rate among the developed nations.

Red states like Tennessee tend to rank at the bottom in a nation that is shamefully negligent when it comes to taking care of its children. If the state of Tennessee was a parent, s/he would be serving time in prison for criminal negligence.

Asking our 'leaders' do something about this worsening problem does as much good as slamming our heads against a brick wall. No doubt, we'll just have to wait for the riots in the streets.

Children in poverty - how the states rank

via Nashville Scene

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Thursday, February 23, 2012

Margaret Sanger - Saint or Sinner?

“No woman can call herself free who doesn’t own and control her own body” – Margaret Sanger.


Almost 40 years after her death, Margaret Sanger (1879-1966) is still a subject of controversy in the United States. While some people see her as a savior, the woman who created the first women’s birth control clinic in the U.S., others see her as a racist, a promoter of promiscuity and a killer of unborn babies. Given the political climate in the U.S. where the far right seeks to dismantle her entire life’s work, I thought it was a good time to take a look back at her legacy. Type Margaret Sanger’s name into “Google” and you will find just as many web-sites that revile Sanger as you will those that admire her. The clinic that bears her name on the Lower East Side of Manhattan is picketed daily by anti-abortion activists who completely ignore the good that Planned Parenthood has done in its 80 years of existence, providing free and low-cost healthcare to women who either don’t have health insurance or cannot afford it. From a personal standpoint, when I was unemployed and had no health insurance, Planned Parenthood provided me with a freely yearly gynecological exam, plus they steered me to a clinic where I could receive a free mammogram.

For Margaret Sanger the cause of birth control was a personal crusade. At the age of twenty, Margaret watched her mother Anne die of tuberculosis at the age of 50, worn out after 18 pregnancies in 22 years of which 11 children survived. During her work as a visiting nurse on the Lower East Side in New York, Sanger was asked repeatedly for help by the poor immigrant women she was treating for any way to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Lacking any means of contraception, many of these women, when faced with yet another mouth to feed, resorted to back-alley abortions. After one of her patients died due to a self-induced abortion, Sanger made it her life’s mission to making reliable contraception information available to women.

But there was a huge obstacle to her mission, namely the Comstock Act, a federal statute that made it a criminal offense to send information about contraceptives through the mail, labeling it obscene. In these early years, Sanger considered birth control a free-speech issue. She believed that the only way to change what she considered an unjust law was to break it. In 1914, she started publishing a monthly newsletter The Woman Rebel. She came by her rebellious nature honestly. Her father Michael, an Irish Catholic immigrant turned atheist, was a supporter of unions and education for women. Sanger coined the term "birth control" and began to provide women with information and contraceptives. She was arrested over 8 times during her career, starting in 1915 when she was arrested in 1915 for sending diaphragms through the mail and again in 1916 for opening the first birth control clinic in the country for which she spent 30 days in prison. In 1921 she founded the American Birth Control League, and spent the next three decades campaigning to bring safe and effective birth control into the American mainstream.

But there was still more work to be done as far as Sanger was concerned. She had been dreaming of a "magic pill" for contraception. Tired of waiting for science to turn its attention to the problem, Margaret Sanger found Gregory Pincus in 1951, a medical expert in human reproduction who was willing to take on the project. Their collaboration would lead to Enovid, the first oral contraceptive, in 1960. When Sanger passed away in 1966, after more than 50 years of fighting for the right of women to control their own fertility, she died knowing she had won the battle.

Margaret Sanger is a classic example of an admired public figure who is also a flawed human being. She would probably be the first person to admit it. Sanger devoted her life to legalizing birth control and making it universally available for women. At the same time, her crusade took her away from her children and contributed to the end of her first marriage. No one denies that Sanger had a prickly personality, that she was impatient, and that she often didn’t given credit to women such as Emma Goldman, who were advocating for birth control long before Margaret took up the cause. However, there are several issues that people find hard to overcome when it comes to Sanger.

Problem number one for Sanger admirers: Her support of Eugenics which is nothing short of appalling. Eugenics believed in the survival of the fittest to a certain extent, meaning that the deaf, the mentally or physically handicapped shouldn’t be allowed to breed. This concept got interpreted as a justification for racism, and eugenics was incorporated into the Nazi regime. Sanger believed in what was called “negative eugenics” including compulsory segregation or sterilization for the profoundly retarded, advocating coercion to prevent from procreating. However, Sanger wasn’t an advocate for euthanasia for the unfit. She denounced the lethal Nazi eugenics program.

Then there is the idea that Sanger was an advocate for abortion. From the beginning she advocated contraception rather than abortion. Sanger had seen the damage done to women by back-alley abortions. She believed that birth control should be available to all women; particularly the poor, because limiting the number of children would help mothers provide a better quality of life for their families, especially when resources were limited. She also opposed abortion because she felt that it was the taking of life. In her autobiography she clearly wrote, “We explained what contraception was, that abortion was the wrong way no matter how early it was performed it was taking life; that contraception was the better way, the safer way.” She also wrote in her book, Woman and the New Race, “While there are cases where even the law recognizes an abortion as justifiable if recommended by a physician, I assert that hundreds of thousands of abortions performed in America each year are a disgrace to civilization.” It wasn’t until the after her death, that the reproductive rights movement expanded its scope to include abortion rights as well as contraception.

Was Margaret Sanger a racist? Her critics say a big fat YES. They point to a letter that Sanger wrote a letter to a supporter named Clarence Gamble in the 1930’s when The Birth Control Federation played a supervisory role the Negro Project, which sought to deliver birth control to poor African-Americans. The letter stated “we do not want word to get out that we want to exterminate the Negro population.” This single quote has been used by her detractors to prove that she was a racist. Last year, former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, claimed that Planned Parenthood, the visionary global movement she founded nearly a century ago, is really about one thing only: “preventing black babies from being born.” Sanger wasn’t immune to the criticism that birth control would pose a threat to the African American community. From the beginning, she wanted to involve the African American community in the formation of birth control clinics in the South, to make sure the black community didn’t associate The Negro Project with racist sterilization campaigns. In 1930, she had opened a clinic in Harlem where both the staff and the board was made up entirely by African-Americans. The clinic received the approval of many prominent African-American leaders including W.E.B. Du Bois, one of the founders of the NAACP. Her critics also point out that she gave several speeches to women of the Klu Klux Klan (I have no explanation for that one). Does this mean that she was a racist? Only Sanger could tell us for sure.

Did Sanger promote promiscuity? Her work promoting birth control certainly meant that sex was no longer just for pro-creation purposes. Sanger for a time believed in ‘free love’ as did many of the bohemians that she hung around with in Greenwich Village during the pre-World War I period. Sanger adopted the view that sex was a powerful, liberating force. Of course this doesn’t mean that Sanger expected everyone to go out and shag their hearts out. She also believed that both sex and birth control should be discussed openly.

Despite her flaws, Sanger still remains an iconic figure in the struggle for women’s reproductive rights.

For more information on Sanger, take a look at the NYU Margaret Sanger Papers Project

Gail Collins: Presidential Race Is About Women, Women, Women Instead of Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

Quote of the Day

“If you had asked me what the big topic of the presidential race was going to be, I’d certainly have said jobs, jobs, jobs. But lately, we seem to be talking about women, women, women. In Washington they’re fighting about whether it’s a good plan to have all-male panels discussing women’s right to get contraceptives under their health insurance. In Virginia they’re debating abortion and Mississippi is thinking about bringing back the personhood amendment its voters defeated last year. In Indiana this week there was a dust-up in the State Legislature over the Girl Scouts, and whether they promote abortion and homosexuality.”
-- Gail Collins

Bonus Quote of the Day

"So let’s return to our normal subject. Men, men, men. Let’s go back and have a normal election: men talking about themselves. The love that won’t shut up."
-- David Brooks

via New York Times

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Lawmaker Proposes to Outlaw Gender-Neutral Names: 'Don't Say Stacey' Bill (Video)

Hilarious. D.W. Moorehouse (the man in the video) is targeting the odious and bigoted author of the 'Don't Say Gay' bill: Stacey Campfield.



"District Selectman D.W. Moorehouse (R) is attempting to pass a a bill of utmost importance, "Don't Say Stacey." This bill is meant to protect the most precious and innocent of commodities, the children. Don't Say Stacey would make it illegal to name children androgynous names which confuse and promote homosexual tendencies. Women named "Billy" and men named "Stacey" (just for example), have a higher likelihood of leading and sinful and unnatural lifestyle. . .

"That's Stacey with an "ey" like a girl. Or a man who is running from his feelings and picks on others to hide it."

Log on to dontsaystacey.com today and see how you can help. Also, "Don't Say Gay"

via The Nashville Scene

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Breaking: DOMA Ruled Unconstitutional

Sweet! Another victory for marriage equality! Even sweeter - the judge is a Bush appointee:

Moments ago, Judge Jeffery White of the District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) violates the Constitution’s equal protection clause in a case brought by Karen Golinski. Golinski, represented by Lambda Legal, “was denied spousal health benefits by her employer, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.” White was appointed to the court by President George W. Bush in 2002. The decision represents a serious setback for House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), whose Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG) defended DOMA after the Obama administration announced it would no longer defend the law. Read the full opinion here.

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Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Santorum: Satan Is Coming

Quote of the Day

"Satan has his sights on the United States of America! Satan is attacking the great institutions of America, using those great vices of pride, vanity, and sensuality as the root to attack all of the strong plants that has so deeply rooted in the American tradition. This is a spiritual war. And the Father of Lies has his sights on what you would think the Father of Lies would have his sights on: a good, decent, powerful, influential country - the United States of America. If you were Satan, who would you attack in this day and age?"
via Drudge

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The View Takes on Tennessee's Bigoted 'Don't Say Gay' Bill (Video)


Modern Family's Jesse Tyler Ferguson responds to Tennessee's bigoted lawmakers.

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Hillary Photos of the Day

Hillary didn't get the memo on the uniform for the day. It doesn't appear to be bothering her or anyone else for that matter.




via Didn't get the memo? Hillary Clinton dons lime green shirt for G20 'family photo' while everyone else wears white

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Indiana Lawmaker: Girl Scouts Are Feminist Lesbo Commies

Does this mean the Indiana state lawmaker won't be ordering any Girl Scout cookies? We hope so. This man needs to be kept far far away from little girls. And little boys too.

Reptile-Brain Republican Rep. Bob Morris (Indiana): spends way too much time thinking about sexuality and little girls:

The Republican lawmaker has chosen not to sign a resolution that honors the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts, as the cookie purveying “radicalized” organization “promote[s] homosexuality”and has “entered into a close strategic affiliation with Planned Parenthood,” among other things.

In an open letter to the Journal Gazette, Morris says he’s not the first to find fault with the team-building group, as “Many parents are abandoning the Girl Scouts because they promote homosexual lifestyles. In fact, the Girl Scouts education seminar girls are directed to study the example of role models. Of the fifty role models listed, only three have a briefly-mentioned religious background – all the rest are feminists, lesbians, or Communists.”

Meet Indiana's Disturbed Congressman Bob Morris

Indiana lawmaker accuses Girl Scouts of promoting sex, says group is a ‘tactical arm’ of Planned Parenthood: Rep. Bob Morris is accusing Girl Scouts of being "radicalized organization" that supports abortion and promotes homosexuality.

Rep. Morris "also wrote that the fact that first lady Michelle Obama is honorary president should give lawmakers pause before they endorse the Girl Scouts."

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Hillary Explains Reproductive Rights to Anti-Woman Dolts In Congress (Video)

And she could have been the president.
This happened in 2009.


via Violet Socks

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Monday, February 20, 2012

Sexist Doug Brinkley: Jodi Kantor’s ‘The Obamas’ Is ‘Chick Nonfiction’

Serious books are written by dudes says Douglas Brinkley. In a New York Times review, the seriously sexist dude refers to Jodi Kantor's new book as "chick nonfiction". Evidently, Douglas Brinkley writes only for dudes, so in the future I will avoid his dudely reviews.

At She the People, Melinda Henneberger writes:

Sometimes, the things men say can astonish me still. Take this passage, for instance, from Douglas Brinkley’s review of Jodi Kantor’s book, “The Obamas”: “Call it chick nonfiction, if you will. This book is not about politics, it’s about marriage, or at least one marriage, and a notably successful one.”

... And anyone who thinks the president’s most important relationship has no import the non-chicks need to think about obviously doesn’t know his – oh, but Brinkley is a historian, so that can’t be right.

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Sunday, February 19, 2012

Melissa Harris-Perry RIPS Chris Brown & Our “Women Need a Man” Culture (Video)

On the debut of her new show, Melissa Harris-Perry had a few unkind words for the kind of culture that permits "artists" like Chris Brown to thrive. If you watched the Grammys, you saw the woman-beater pick up an award and heard the forgiving applause.

But it is the reaction of young girls stuck in this sick culture that is really nausea inducing. Melissa Harris-Perry explains in this video clip from her absolutely fabulous (feminist) new show - watch it!


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Virginia Misogyny: Women Who Want an Abortion Will Be Forcibly Penetrated

Another really good reason for women to leave the red states:

Virginia’s Proposed Ultrasound Law Is an Abomination

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Friday, February 17, 2012

All Male Morning Joe Panel Criticizes All Male Birth Control Panel (Video)

With straight faces the all male Morning Joe panel discussed women's reproductive rights and railed against the injustice of an all male Congressional hearing panel that had the nerve to discuss women's reproductive rights. While the men criticized the all male hearing, the caption on my TV screen read "'Where are the Women?' Hearing Panel Devoid of Women."

Where are the women???

Seriously? These pathetic dudes didn't even notice their own absurdity. Gawd.


“It pains me to say this, but I don’t think they have a clue and that’s the sad part about it. When I sat there and I looked out at those men talking about women’s reproductive rights and their — and contraception, you know, I said to myself, you know, suppose this was — we were here talking about prostate cancer and the only people on the panel were women. Men would be alarmed.”
Rep. Elijah Cummings,
Clueless member of an all male Morning Joe panel
discussing women's reproductive rights

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