ALPHAVILLE reminds us what

the 14th amendment says

i HAD to

show everyone this wonderful posting from bob cesca's awesome blog! (no, that's the actual NAME of the blog. but it IS awesome)

he points us to this sarevil quote

"This is the problem with that lamestream media throughout our country, it's not just this issue but so many. One of the media outlets the other day just, ah, just was killin' me on this one, Sean, where they had a caption across their screen that said this Arizona law will make it -- it will make it illegal to be an illegal immigrant -- some bizarre type 'a headline like that where it was just this illustration that they just don't get it." Sarah Palin on the Hannity show last night

then shows us this picture:

via

shout out to sheriff clarence dupnik

for recognizing stupidity and racism when he sees it. well not just recognizing it BUT ADMITTING IT OUT LOUD

Arizona sheriff won’t enforce law that’s ’stupid and racist’
By David Edwards

At least one Arizona sheriff disagrees with a new immigration law that critics say could lead to civil rights violations. Sheriff Clarence Dupnik is promising not to enforce a law believes is "racist and stupid."

The law directs enforcement to use a "reasonable suspicion" standard to decide which persons need to be stopped. People without documentation proving they are legal residents can be imprisoned for up to six months. Governor Jan Brewer signed the legislation into law Friday.

Dupnik is becoming one of the most vocal opponents of the law. The Pima County Sheriff told KGUN that the legislation was "disgusting" and "unnecessary."

"I think the law, as I have said is unwise. It's stupid and racist," said Dupnik.........

wow

an edge over which it is impossible to look


Nearly half a year ago, a reader emailed with a link to a paper by Andrew Crompton, called "Three Doors to Other Worlds" (download the PDF). While the entirety of the paper is worth reading, I want to highlight a specific moment, wherein Crompton introduces us to the colossal western bellmouth drain of the Ladybower reservoir in Derbyshire, England. ..............

pic: [Image: The Ladybower bellmouth at full drain, photographed by Flickr user Serigrapher].

how cool is this?

via

for the record, i've never seen the twilight (or read it) shite. but man, i watched EVERY buffy!

this should be something special

i'm planning on watching (yes, i'll make sure i'm somewhere that has a tv).

Moyers and Hightower Talk Populism on the Last Edition of 'Bill Moyer's Journal' | BuzzFlash.org

BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT

The following is a press release from PBS.

After years of insightful, award-winning television journalism, Bill Moyers' final edition of his weekly PBS "Journal" will air this Friday evening, April 30. For his concluding show, Moyers features a discussion about "America's real populism" with longtime populist agitator, Jim Hightower.

Hightower, a Texas-based author, radio commentator, nationally syndicated columnist, and former statewide elected official has spent the past 40 years carrying the banner of progressive populism across the country,battling the corporate powers that are running roughshod over working families, consumers, small business, and our environment.

In Friday's "Journal," Moyers draws on Hightower's experiences and well-honed wit to draw the line between the real thing and what Hightowercalls "the faux populist posturings" of Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck, and othercorporate-funded mouthpieces for America's economic elites. In the hour-long broadcast, Moyers and Hightower highlight some of the current efforts that folks around the country are making to break the iron grip that big corporations have on our economy, environment, media, and government. One of the featured groups is Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, a feisty and successful grassroots organization working to empower and unite people from all walks of life to take control of their communities.

To see what time Moyers' final show will air on a PBS station in your area,
and to get more information about the program, go to
www.pbs.org/moyers/journal.

Blackwater Will Be Allowed to Bid on Big State Department Contract « The Washington Independent

from the sublime absurd to the absurderererererererer................

one would think blackwater xe (a steamin' pile o' shite by any other name) could only bid on jobs in some brand new country (which thinks they need mercenaries), we've not heard of yet, but noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. they're actually ALLOWED to bid on united states jobs. shame on us. really. shame on US

Blackwater Will Be Allowed to Bid on Big State Department Contract « The Washington Independent

By Spencer Ackerman

GUANTANAMO BAY — A brief detour from my Guantanamo coverage, as a State Department official, speaking only on background, confirmed something else I’ve been working on. The private security company formerly known as Blackwater and now known as Xe Services, will be allowed to bid on the next generation of the State Department’s lucrative Worldwide Protective Services Contract. The company’s track record of killing Iraqi civilians, shooting at Afghan civilians, taking for personal use U.S. military-issued rifles from the Afghan police and setting up shell companies to win government contracts will not be an obstacle.

Once again, the fact that no federal acquisition official has recommended Blackwater be barred from bidding on federal contracts means, the official said, that “any company, including Xe Services and its subsidiary companies, [may] submit a proposal in response to an acquisition process established on the basis of full and open competition.”............

wow, she really IS dimmer than i even imagined

and here i thought that was impossible. silly ME!

Palin distorts Arizona law: ‘No opportunity for racial profiling’ | Raw Story
By David Edwards and Muriel Kane

When former half-term Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was asked for her reaction to Arizona's new immigration law, her first response was to defend it against charges that it will lead to racial profiling.

"Thankfully, Byron York, he hit the nail on the head," Palin told Sean Hannity of Fox News on Tuesday. "There is no ability or opportunity in there for the racial profiling. And shame on the lamestream media again for turning this into something that it is not."

"Governor Jan Brewer did what she had to do as the CEO of that state to help protect the citizens of her state," Palin continued. "I think it's shameful too that the Obama administration has allowed this to become more of a racial issue by perpetuating this myth that racial profiling is a part of this law."..........

i wear 'em

via

angst

via

Jersey Mayhem: That Depends, What Kind Of Tastykake Are We Talking About?

by Dave Bry
A New Jersey man was arrested in Asbury Park Friday for offering an undercover police officer $10 and a box of Tastykakes in exchange for a sex act. The specific type of Tastykake has not been disclosed...............

pic via

THE definition of DICKwad

After calling health care reform unconstitutional, Ailes declares: ‘I don’t do politics, I do the news.’

By Matt Corley

Yesterday, while speaking at the Ritz-Carlton Naples Golf Resort during an event hosted by the Ave Maria School of Law, Fox News President Roger Ailes took shots at his cable news rivals and attacked the health care legislation signed by President Obama. “It doesn’t seem constitutional to me to have the government tell you you have to buy something,” said Ailes. He told a reporter after the talk, “I don’t do politics, I do the news.” Nevertheless, when Ailes was asked how Republicans could win in November, he responded, “We have got to get back to the Constitution.” In a separate interview with a local Fox affiliate, Ailes defended Fox’s conservative content, saying, “We think we are fair and balanced. We think the others aren’t.” Watch it:

.................

you go grrrl!

there's also a google docs electronic petition you can sign, at the link below. it's to the gop telling them to come into the 21st century AND STOP DISSIN' MY SISTAHS

Send Me "Back to the Kitchen"?

Rep. Betty Sutton

Democratic Congresswoman (Ohio's 13th District)

Last week a talented, young woman full of promise came to me with a flier her family received in the mail from the Republican Party. As she handed me the mailer, with a sense of disappointment and hurt, she pointed to a line in the flier that read, 'Let's take Betty Sutton out of the House and send her back to the kitchen.'

The young woman, her heart heavy, then said, "I can't believe that this is how some people value women. And, even if they do, I can't believe that they would feel comfortable promoting it in a flier like this." And then, this bright, capable woman, who I know to be ready and able to do great things for our community and nation, said this: "I don't know why I even went to college; if this is how people treat you, what's the point?"

The mailer was supported by funds from a Republican multimillionaire challenger by the name of Tom Ganley who has decided he wants to take my place in Congress. Ganley placed a huge advertisement in the flier to build support for the campaign to - how did they put it - oh, yes, to get me "out of the House and back in the kitchen.".....................

an article worth reading.

this is pretty intense but a good read. it's written by a straight, ex-mormon, atheist which makes it all the more interesting

i can't pretend to know what it's like to be so fearful and angry (or is that guilty) at oneself that you'd go to a 'conversion' camp like this. i understand gay is NOT in league with a lot of christian sects. i understand gay is NOT in league with simple day to day living (you know what i mean. i mean it's not necessarily accepted by the neighbors). i also know you can't change who you are

What Happened When I Went Undercover at a Christian Gay-to-Straight Conversion Camp
By Ted Cox

I don’t remember exactly when I felt his erection pressing into my back. It might have been while he whispered in my ear, “Long ago, you were the Golden Child. But, somehow, that Golden Child was hurt, and you put up a wall to protect yourself.” Or it might have been when other men in the room broke out in song:

How could anyone ever tell you
That you’re anything less than beautiful?
How could anyone ever tell you
That you’re less than whole?

I sat on the floor between the outstretched legs of a camp guide, my head leaning back against his shoulder. The guide sat behind me, his arms wrapped around my chest. This hold was called “The Motorcycle.” Five men surrounded the two of us, their hands resting gently on my arms, legs and chest.

There were about ten other groups like this sitting on the floor in the darkened room: one guide giving “healing-touch therapy” while the surrounding men rested their hands on the receiver. Some men were held in the Motorcycle position. Others were turned towards their guide, cradled the way a parent would hold a sobbing child who had just scraped her knee on the sidewalk.........

oh my effing goddess

if you're running in an area where you feel COMPELLED to carry a firearm, perhaps you'd best find another area to jog in. by the way, this doesn't make you a he-man in my book. just the opposite

Texas gov. shoots, kills 'wily' coyote during jog

By JIM VERTUNO

The Associated Press

this looks very interesting

it also looks very sad and very hard to watch



prodical sons

i'm amazed we're still on this planet

via

tuesday humor (more from dangerous minds)

although he's NOT TRYING to be funny





What Does Bathroom Etiquette Have To Do With God?
Posted by Richard Metzger
Pastor Steven L Anderson of the Faithful Word Baptist Church (and Teabagger) preaches that men must urinate while standing up. This is what being a man is all about. And it’s emblematic of everything that’s wrong in the world. Apparently. And did you know that President Obama probably pees sitting down. too? That’s what the good reverend thinks! How he knows this, I can’t say..........

blond on blond is one of my favorite albums

so i was especially happy to see this: (but dangerous minds ALWAYS has cool music and other stuff)


The Making of Blonde on Blonde in Nashville
Posted by Richard Metzger

nteresting 2007 essay by Sean Wilentz from the Oxford American Magazine about the recording of one of the greatest albums of the last century, Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde. A couple of interesting quotes in the piece from actor-musician Kris Kristofferson, who at the time (1965) worked as a janitor in the recording studio where the album was made. Here Wilentz describes the scene when the epic Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands was created:

The strangest Nashville recording dates were the second and third. The second began at six in the evening and did not end until five-thirty the next morning, but Dylan played only for the final ninety minutes, and on only one song: “Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands.” He would later call it a piece of religious carnival music, which makes sense given its melodic echoes of Johann Sebastian Bach, especially the chorale “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.” Unlike “Visions of Johanna,” though, this epic needed work, and Dylan toiled over the lyrics for hours. The level of efficiency was military: Hurry up and wait.............

Visions of Johanna from ramonramon on Vimeo.

cool

Modern dance inspired by science

Maggie Koerth-Baker

i could go on and on and on

using words like crazy or insane or soul-less or idiotic or white supremacist. i won't. you can read it for yourself and think what you will

Texas lawmaker: Obama is ‘God’s punishment on us’
By Daniel Tencer

Texas governor 'proud' to be in Glenn Beck's 'army'

It seems conservative firebrands are seeing God's punishment everywhere these days.

First there was televangelist Pat Robertson who in January told his audience that the Haitian earthquake was punishment for Haiti's founders having signed a "pact with the devil."

Then came radio host Rush Limbaugh, who last week suggested that the Iceland volcano was "God's punishment" for the US passing health care reform.

Now a Texas state representative has taken the notion a step further, declaring that an elected official -- rather than a natural disaster -- is a sign of God's displeasure.

"I believe that Barack Obama is God's punishment on us today," Rep. Leo Berman of Texas' 6th district told the audience at a Glenn Beck appearance in Tyler, Texas. ............

we shouldn't have to be reading about this type of thing

what if jere was your best friend or your mother or your aunt or your sister? how would you feel then?

on one of the latest podcasts of 'this american life' they did a show on urban myths. one segment was: stories immigrants to the usa heard (i guess from other immigrants) that couldn't possibly be true. anyway, all of the stories WERE true. the one that stuck with me or struck me is; we have homeless people in america. i guess in most countries homelessness isn't an issue. well i'm bothered it's a problem for us. i'm ALSO bothered by the lack of heath care coverage for our citizens. NONE OF US SHOULD HAVE TO SUFFER

Gaps in insurance policies make oral drugs too pricey for some cancer patients

By Sandra G. Boodman

Kaiser Health News

When Jere Carpentier learned last year that she had advanced colon cancer -- her third malignancy in a dozen years -- she worried about spending hours in a clinic tethered to an intravenous line, enduring punishing chemotherapy that would make her hair fall out. Her veins ruined by earlier treatments, Carpentier was elated when her oncologist said this time she could avoid needles and take a pill at home that would specifically target the cancer cells and spare her hair. "I let that be the thing that made this okay," she recalled.

But the former human resources manager, who lives in San Jose, soon discovered that her insurer would not pay for the pill called Xeloda, which cost $4,000 per month, because a cheaper IV drug was available. So instead, she underwent surgery to implant a port in her chest through which she received 46-hour-long chemotherapy infusions, mostly at home. One night the device, which included a large needle that constrained her every move, sprang a leak and began emitting a shrill alarm, requiring a race to the emergency room. "It was the scariest thing that happened to me," Carpentier, now 60, recalled, "and I'd been through two cancers." ..........

the christian science monitor

copy edits 9 teabagging pics

here's one

PROBLEM: An examination of the historical record finds that Congress has never been peeled in the first place. SOLUTION: Replacing 'repeel' with 'repeal,' while failing to create a prescription that could be enacted within any existing legal framework, would at least convey something closer to a meaningful concept.

Flickr user Pargon (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pargon/) Some rights reserved. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)

see i TOLD you this was going to happen

number one, I DON'T CARRY MY BIRTH CERTIFICATE WITH ME (do you)? number two, i DON'T CARRY MY PASSPORT WITH ME (do you)? i wonder if the governor does? i wonder WHO does?

putting EVERYTHING else aside. HOW THE HELL MUCH IS THIS GOING TO COST THE STATE OF ARIZONA? really

Truck driver forced to show birth certificate claims racial-profiling

by Alicia E. Barrón

PHOENIX – A Valley man says he was pulled over Wednesday morning and questioned when he arrived at a weigh station for his commercial vehicle along Val Vista and the 202 freeway.

Abdon, who did not want to use his last name, says he provided several key pieces of information but what he provided apparently was not what was needed.

He tells 3TV, “I don't think it's correct, if I have to take my birth certificate with me all the time.”

3TV caught up with Abdon after he was released from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in central Phoenix. He and his wife, Jackie, are still upset about what happened to him.

Jackie tells 3TV, “It's still something awful to be targeted. I can't even imagine what he felt, people watching like he was some type of criminal.”..............

if you're a fan of queen and/or bohemian rhapsody

you MUST run on over to tywkiwdbi to see the comprehensive posting (linked below) on the song

The Story of Bohemian Rhapsody

(note the following is NOT part of the story, but i HAD to post it anyway)

let's face it, a ravioli

is just a wet empanada

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Word - No Problemo
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Fox News

via

i guess the pope isn't a sticks and stones kind of dude

he's offended, his FEELINGS WERE HURT over some words. yet, he doesn't really seem to have too very many effing issues over real EVIL TRAGIC TORTUROUS ACTIONS against the priests who assaulted children. someone please explain that one to me. please.

this is beyond belief. the church is OFFENDED OVER WORDS. yet they try to bury abuse. when that doesn't work, they blame the victims. when that doesn't work they blame the jews. when that doesn't work they blame gays. when that doesn't work they blame the devil.

FUCK they blame everyone BUT THEIR OWN FUCKING GUILTY SELVES

Pope 'could cancel UK visit' over 'offensive' Foreign Office memo

By Gordon Rayner and Nick Pisa in Rome

Senior Papal aides suggested the Foreign Office had not taken strong enough disciplinary action against those responsible for the document, which suggested the Pope should open an abortion clinic, bless a homosexual marriage and launch his own range of condoms while he is here.

No-one has lost their job over the memo, which was sent to Downing Street and at least three Whitehall departments, and the civil servant who authorised it has simply been moved to other duties.

One highly-placed source in the Vatican said: “This could have very severe repercussions and is embarrassing for the British government - one has to question whether the action taken is enough.

“It is disgusting. Britain’s ambassador to the Holy See has been in to see the Secretary of State and explain what happened and this will all be relayed to the Pope...........

posted it before, but wanted to again

the nutmeg grater: the hartford courant

the nutmeg grater: the hartford courant

my new ink

s
e
o

as you may or may not know, when i got my knitting fairy tattoo, her shoes just would NOT heal. i eventually went to the doctor and he ended up having to make her shoe-less (check out her feet in the top picture). the fact i had just been tattooed was coincidental. it had NOTHING to do with the skin cancer. so it's been about a year and i got the go ahead from my doc to get her touched up. i made an appointment with pat macdonald (who did the original knitting fairy) and i told him i'd also like some stars around my lower arm (eventually the arm will be a sleeve). i'm not linking to pat's shop because he's going to a new one on may 5th. i believe he said he's going to west springfield (i know he said it's by the big e fairgrounds). when i get his new info, i'll post it.

anyway.................here's my NEW arm (and yeah, the knitting fairy as you can see if you look closely, is still shoeless. pat won't do it for at least another year. he said the skin had to heal even more. the ink would just spread around too much now and it would be a hot mess. so, i will just have to wait.)

i'm so very happy. i LOVE my pentagram. i love my stars, they're all different and i love my moon. thanks pat!

creepfest

from

via alphaville

some nice, some not

15 bizarre and creative necklaces

there are NO words

Diner in Australia told gay dogs not welcome

A restaurant in a northwest suburb of Adelaide that refused a blind man entry because it thought his guide dog was "gay" was ordered by the Equal Opportunity Tribunal to pay him $1500.

Ian Jolly, 57, was barred from dining at the Thai Spice restaurant in May 2009 after a staff member mistook his guide dog Nudge for a "gay dog," a tribunal heard this week.............

oh my goddess this is GREAT

Barbie’s Unflattering Photos – She’s Not So Perfect After All!

check 'em ALL out

via

"Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black" - Tim Wise

this really IS brilliant


skip to main | skip to sidebar

Thursday, April 22, 2010

"Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black" - Tim Wise

Let’s play a game, shall we? The name of the game is called “Imagine.” The way it’s played is simple: we’ll envision recent happenings in the news, but then change them up a bit. Instead of envisioning white people as the main actors in the scenes we’ll conjure - the ones who are driving the action - we’ll envision black folks or other people of color instead. The object of the game is to imagine the public reaction to the events or incidents, if the main actors were of color, rather than white. Whoever gains the most insight into the workings of race in America, at the end of the game, wins.

So let’s begin.

Imagine that hundreds of black protesters were to descend upon Washington DC and Northern Virginia, just a few miles from the Capitol and White House, armed with AK-47s, assorted handguns, and ammunition. And imagine that some of these protesters —the black protesters — spoke of the need for political revolution, and possibly even armed conflict in the event that laws they didn’t like were enforced by the government? Would these protester — these black protesters with guns — be seen as brave defenders of the Second Amendment, or would they be viewed by most whites as a danger to the republic? What if they were Arab-Americans? Because, after all, that’s what happened recently when white gun enthusiasts descended upon the nation’s capital, arms in hand, and verbally announced their readiness to make war on the country’s political leaders if the need arose.

Imagine that white members of Congress, while walking to work, were surrounded by thousands of angry black people, one of whom proceeded to spit on one of those congressmen for not voting the way the black demonstrators desired. Would the protesters be seen as merely patriotic Americans voicing their opinions, or as an angry, potentially violent, and even insurrectionary mob? After all, this is what white Tea Party protesters did recently in Washington...................



tim wise's website

via

who knew he had such sweet sweet

well read what his wife said to find out

This week in crazy: Scott Baio

By Mary Elizabeth Williams

We suspected Scott Baio had the makings of a great Twitter meltdown back in January, when the former teen star and staunch conservative posted an unflattering photo of Michelle Obama along with the comment, "WOW He wakes up to this every morning." We were impressed when he followed up by posting a photo of himself with an actual black lady to prove he wasn't racist. And he got our attention when he tweeted, on April 12, "Taxes

are done. That should feed, house & provide medical for quite a few lazy non working people at my expense."

But if you're going to melt down in the same medium that holds a Jim Carrey and a Lindsay Lohan, you're going to have to try a little harder. This week, with a little help from his wife, Scott Baio did just that..................

...................His wife, Renee, meanwhile, took her ire to Facebook, where she posted the elegant: "F**K YOU Jezebel.com web rag!!!! You bunch of FAR LEFT Lesbian shitasses!!!!! No wonder you're all lesbos because what man could put up with your cuntness? Scott Baio has more class in his piss than all of you all!!!"..................

and from jezebel itself:

"You Lesbian Shitasses": Scott Baio's Wife Rants On Faceboo

k (Updates)

and from huffpo:

Scott Baio Defends Wife's Anti-Lesbian Facebook Rant

but NOT to worry. it looks like renee HAS lesbian friends and black friends and jewish friends and muslim friends and maybe even A FAT friend. wow!