My Congressperson, Eliot Engel, changed his mind and voted for the Markey Amendment. Unfortunately, it didn’t pass.
I’m so glad I contacted Mr. Engel’s office. Who knows but that my letter was the deciding one?
Now the fight goes to the Senate. Our voices can be heard and must be heard. Call or write (or both) your Senator and make your voice heard.
At school today, Arthur participated in the Day of Silence. He’s a talky kid. He found the silence beautiful. He wore a Day of Silence sticker, and a button that said “With Liberty & Justice For All” with the Statue of Liberty against a rainbow background. Their group had handouts for the teachers explaining their silence.
I am very proud of him.
In case you care, here’s my take on the big Tony Snow news. I think it’s great. I think it’s good for the American people. No, really.
Unlike his robotic predecessor, Snow has enough personality to make the news more watchable. This has the potential effect of actually getting more Americans to pay attention.
Snow negotiated a much higher level of acess to the President than press secretaries normally have; much more than Puffy McMoonface had. So, if Snow lies to the press, we’ll know he’s lying, not misinformed or out of the loop. (Good for us!) And, we already know that Tony is a mendacious sort, which is sort of a nice cushion; we don’t have to wonder.
Tony Snow has been intensely critical of the President, which is, y’know, fun, and might also lead to some lively press conferences in the future.
Plus, the bonus points of showing up Fox News as the shill it is.
Look, we knew a conservative asshole would be picked. How not? I think this choice offers some meaty extras. It could certainly be worse.
The crush on Bruce Willis has been there for a while. The impassive he-man with a twinkle in his eye reminds me of my ex. Him, James Caan, all those stoic but not guys with big arms. Also he’s from Jersey.
So I despair whenever I hear about his politics, because as you know, I only date liberals.
So anyway, this week, I read an Empire Online interview with my honey. Here’s the money quote (emphasis added):
Q: You are one of the few major Hollywood stars who are proud to be Republican…
A: Let me stop you right there. I’m a Republican — and everybody write this down because I’m sick of answering this fucking question – only as far as I want a smaller government, I want less government intrusion, I want them to stop pissing on my money and your money, and I want them to be fiscally responsible, and I want these goddamn lobbyists out of Washington. But other than that, I want the government to take care of people who need help, like the half a million kids who are in orphanages right now; they call them foster homes but they’re orphanages. I want them to take care of the elderly and give them free medicine, give them whatever they need. There’s billions and billions of dollars that are just being wasted. Okay? I hate government. I’m apolitical. Write that down. I’m not a Republican. There you go. Now you can finish your question.
See? I am teh happy. My way to him is clear. All systems go.
So one of the really fun things about me is the Internet dating. Not “fun” in the sense of actually enhancing the quality of my life, you understand, but “fun” in the sense of generating amusing stories to tell at the expense of the evil ratholes I occasionally date or (more often) refuse to date.
So one time, I get this contact from a guy who liked my ad. And I look at his ad, and I see that it says that he’s a conservative. Seeing that, I think “nuh-uh.” Just as you would.
I write to the guy, something very similar to the following: “Thanks anyway, but I see that you’re a conservative. I’m a liberal and I don’t think we’re a good match. I don’t think we should pursue this.”
He writes back: “You’re right. We shouldn’t pursue it. Liberals annoy me.”
And I thought, it figures. I write to him with something mutual, something equal for both of us and non-judgemental—we’re not a good match. He answers with something that’s all about him, and is insulting to boot. Frickin’ conservatives.
Y’know, I try to maintain the attitude that good people can choose to be conservative. But it’s Really. Damn. Hard.
Got it from Shakes, but this is the link to read.
Short version? The big telecom companies want to control what you can see on the internet. We don’t want that!
Go here.
Sign the petition.
Write your Congressperson.
Saturday was Blog Against Heteronormativity Day. I didn’t participate. I live with a great many complex thoughts about gender and orientation, and I suppose if I had simply sat and written some thoughts, it would have turned into a decent essay. But I was put off by the big, self-important neologism, and a little put off by all these blogosphere Day designations as well. Also, I’m not comfortable with all this defining; I’m not convinced that gay, straight, and bi are enough categories, or the right categories.
So, last night, I saw the wonderful movie The Station Agent. In it, a dwarf (Peter Dinklage) struggles to be treated as himself, and not as an oddity. Fin (Dinklage) says “It’s funny how people see me and treat me, since I’m really just a simple, boring person.”
So I realize; it’s not heteronormativity, it’s normativity. » Read more..
I was just in a meeting, and I felt myself nodding off, and I thought “I’m pulling a Cheney.”
Probably, pulling a Cheney will someday mean shooting a friend in the face, but falling asleep in an important meeting is certainly a contender.
Of all the reams of material I’ve read about the Duke rape case, the raw news, the feminist, race, and class analysis, the anti-feminist rhetoric, the information on DNA testing, the meta-news about how the news is reporting the story, of all of it, the thing that resonates most clearly for me is the car theft analogy.
Sometimes people who report their cars stolen are lying, for their own reasons, be it fraud, malice, attention-seeking, or whatever.
Sometimes, a person consents to loan his car, and then accuses the borrower of theft. Such a case is ‘one person’s word against the other.’
Physical evidence of damage to the car isn’t proof of theft. It might merely prove vandalism. If I break your car window, and then someone else comes along and jacks the stereo, I am not a thief, am I? I’m just a vandal! Nonetheless, such evidence is considered significant.
Although there are numerous authorities advising you on how to avoid getting your car stolen, your lapses in following that advise aren’t all that pertinent to the theft investigation. If you left a package visible in the car, or if you parked on a dark side-street, your right to file a theft report would not be questioned.
Some car thiefs are joy-riding youngsters, often alcohol-fueld, and with no criminal background. This doesn’t prevent the theft from being treated as a crime, nor does it shift blame onto the victim.
Scotty we hardly knew ye.
Teehe.
