Privilege

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

"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."

Read the whole thing here: http://ephphatha-poetry.blogspot.com/2010/04/imagine-if-tea-party-was-black-tim-wise.html   It's worth the extra three minutes.

"And this, my friends, is what white privilege is all about. The ability to threaten others, to engage in violent and incendiary rhetoric without consequence, to be viewed as patriotic and normal no matter what you do, and never to be feared and despised as people of color would be, if they tried to get away with half the shit we do, on a daily basis."


(Photo via huffingtonpost.com)

"Dr. Dorothy Height, A Sister Whose Shoulders We Stand On"

"I join the nation in mourning the passing of Dr. Dorothy Height, one of our iconic feminist leaders. She was one of a legion of women who did not get the fame and recognition of their more famous male counterparts, but whose impact on the struggle for human rights leaves footprints so large they may never be filled. Much will be written about her legacy, but few know of the leadership she provided in advancing reproductive justice for all women."

from: http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2010/04/21/dr-dorothy-height-a-sister-whose-shoulders-we-stand-on/

"If she was the Queen Mother of the Civil Rights movement, as she has been called, then for me she was Voice of Race in the Women’s movement, always calling attention to the importance of fighting racism as part of the feminist agenda."

Click through and read a great article, by Loretta Ross. It's upsetting that I didn't know about her after all the amazing work she did, and for so long. 'Amazing' is a word that is thrown around casually now, but it is appropriate in her case.

"'Loretta, my generation was the one that opened the door so that your generation could get a seat at the table. The generation after you may turn the table over, but each generation has its own role in the struggle.'"


(Photo credit at link.)

First-world problems

It is one of the minor annoyances of my life when the automatic faucets either won't turn on or won't turn off.

It's like the faucet knows something about me existentially, how much I'm there or not there on any given day.

In praise of TV - or - Support your local PBS station

One of my favorite things about DC is that we get a bunch of different PBS stations from around the region. And I watch it because it has stuff I like. And that's it.


I pretty much watch all its types of programs, minus children's programming. Some of my more recent favorites? History Detectives and Nova Science Now, with Neil deGrasse Tyson, and I'm watching more Independent Lens, too.

When people rail against TV, I always think we need to define our terms. TV, in and of itself, is neither good nor bad. Anything in gluttonous proportions is probably not great for you. Anything that you abuse to the point of affecting the rest of your life is probably not great for you. But TV, in and of itself, isn't bad.

And all content isn't the same.

I wouldn't argue that the only thing good on TV is PBS or all bad things are on MTV. I mean, I really do love PBS - the music stuff, the documentaries, local DC arts stuff, the history stuff, the BritComs, the home improvement shows. But I also love some crap found elsewhere. And good stuff found elsewhere. And everything in between.

Saying you don't like TV is like saying you don't like food: you have to be more specific than just the general category for the statement to actually mean anything.

I come up with lots of random facts. People ask fairly regularly, "How do you know that?!" Usually? It's because I watch a lot of TV.

A guide to the crazy

The Illustrated Tea Party Dictionary - A Field Guide

Fascism: Any decision that does not agree with a right-wing perspective, approved by democratically elected lawmakers in various arms of Government and signed into law by the democratically elected President, is Fascism. Obama is thus Hitler. Both men were apparently known for their moderate views and hosting of seders.

Freedom: Is defined as the rights of any individual to do anything, without government interference, as long as those things do not include falling in love with a member of one's own gender, or deciding to get an abortion.

ObamaCare: Is the evil tool by which Government, the Mainstream Media and ACORN will take over the country and turn it into a filthy, foreign place like Europe where people have access to medical care even if they cannot afford it and are almost never pushed into abject poverty by the misfortune of getting sick.

Patriotic: Any American, preferably a Real American, who supports all wars, decries all foreigners and attempts to help the poor, even if poor themselves, is patriotic.

Read 'em all at the above link, with some amazing signs. And by "amazing" I mean that I am amazed that people are really this hateful and rabidly insane.


Someone send these people a dictionary - both for the actual meanings of words (which they very clearly have just made up) and for spelling purposes (which they very clearly need). Then maybe someone will take you seriously.


(Photo via gawker.com.)

Idiot conversation of the day

NONNY: So then you're leaving a week from yesterday?
ME: No, a week from Wednesday. Two days ago.
NONNY: But today is Thursday.
ME: No, today is Friday.
NONNY: Halley, it's Thursday.
ME: It's Friday!
(Insert a few more rounds of this back and forth and the reasons why it must be a certain day.)
ME: Omigod! It's Thursday!

I've been thinking it was Friday. All day long.
It is so nice to have an extra day.

This is why I should wear a watch - the kind that tells time and place and day and date and air pressure and friendly reminders. This is also the reason I meticulously keep a day planner in book form, so I can see whole weeks out in front of me. Usually, it's helpful. Usually.

Do unto others... as they have already done to you and you should really return the favor in order not to be an asshole

Meet Paul.

Much of the time, Paul lives on boats. Big ones.
He likes these big boats.
And the sea (where you find the big boats).

Paul is now yelling at the screen, "They're called 'ships'!"

Read Paul's blog for all sortsa neato sailor-y things, and some astute personal reflections on the state of New England fishing/lobstering.


Like Paul mentioned, we are pretty opposite in a lot of ways.
In a lot of ways that drive my little (feminist, vegetarian, liberal) soul crazy, and make my big (feminist, vegetarian, liberal) mouth scream. But Paul reminds me that we can all disagree without being disagreeable, and that just because the policy with which the other may agree seems stupid, it doesn't make the person (inherently) stupid. (He also reminds me that some conservatives actually do know how to spell and are familiar with rules of grammar.)

And his wife is totally hot.

Among the Righteous

PBS is showing a great documentary right now: Among the Righteous - Lost Stories from the Holocaust in Arab Lands.

You can watch the whole thing on the PBS website right now: here. It's 55 minutes and worth it. Interesting and enlightening. (There's also a bunch of interesting stories/info on that page, if you are in a "scrolling down" mood.)

I had no idea that there were over 100 concentration camps* in North Africa during WWII. Those sent there were either the Jews of North Africa (yes, there were African Jews), or European Jews who escaped to North Africa, but were sent to the camps upon arrival on the continent.

One of the items they open with is the fact that there are no Arabs mentioned in the "Righteous Among the Nations" garden of Yad Vashem, which lists those non-Jews who saved Jews during the Holocaust. There are Muslims, but none of them Arab. This absence is not because none existed.

I think everyone would "enjoy" (appreciate?) this documentary. It does not come across as partisan. There is little editorializing. It basically just explores a history that has rarely been told and is hardly known. (Yes, I know history is always political in the manner of its retelling.) Personally, I know I've never heard of any of this (the camps, etc.), much less Righteous Arabs in the surrounding areas who rescued Jews.

Part of the reason? Then as now, those rescuers often didn't want people to know what they did because many didn't like the idea of helping Jews.

I am happy to hear of it. I only hope, in some small way, this can help people unclench their fists a bit and bring a little more peace.

I disagree with a statement they make at the end (which was something approximately): "By acknowledging him [a known Arab rescuer], they are acknowledging the names of all the unknown Arab rescuers."  I agree that it breaks the silence on acknowledging a group that had previously been unrecognized - and that is wonderful - but it is not enough. Acknowledging him is a start, but it sounds like an invitation to slack off in finding other names and a kind of dismissal. Had one of these people rescued my family, I would not be content with simply "leaving it at that."

Still, a very worthwhile film. Now go watch.




(*The film is not graphic, if that was a concern.)

Photo credits: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Please see the film's website for details, these images, and others: http://digitalassets.ushmm.org/photoarchives/result.aspx?search=north%20africa&page=1

Quote of the Day

"Nobody expects you to go get a job as Ruth Bader Ginsburg."

                                                                                               -Christine

Call for happy-thought sending

Everyone send out some happy thoughts (or your version thereof) to Sierra, a sweet puppyface of my friend Stephanie.

Sierra has been diagnosed with lymphoma, but is being treated and is progressing positively. Stephanie is obviously a huge part of that.

A hero to so many animals (and to people who care about animals), Stephanie has been in animal rescue and fostering and advocacy for eons. Personally and professionally.

Her mix-and-match pack at home is awesome.

She has a great post up right now about canine chemotherapy, a subject I knew little about. Read it. (And add her blog to your roll; she's a great writer, too.)

So send those happy thoughts.

Happy birthday, Baubie

Happy birthday, Baubie!

We miss you.

And don't worry- I'm eating, I'm eating.

Back in the good ol' days

'Justice John Paul Stevens, who announced his resignation from the Supreme Court on Friday after 34 years, may be the last justice from a time when ability and independence, rather than perceived ideology, were viewed as the crucial qualifications for a seat on the court. He was nominated in 1975 by President Gerald R. Ford, who said all he wanted was “the finest legal mind I could find."' (emphasis mine)

read me:
The End of an Era, for Court and Nation (from NYT)

"In an interview last week, he said that every one of the dozen justices appointed to the court since 1971, including himself, was more conservative than his or her predecessor."


Let's hope Obama reverses this trend.

It should seem odd to all of us that if we went back several decades on the Court, we'd see a far more liberal collection of justices. Not that they were so wacky and radical, but that it's easier to nominate a conservative now.

Conservatives often talk about the good ol' days. At least in this case, I might agree, nomination-wise.
So let's give 'em what they're asking for- a liberal justice.

Nope, this looks nothing like my lists... nope

(Thanks to Liza and her finding stuff.)

I hear snarling and maniacal laughter...

(Wherein I rant a little and then make a point or two:)

Is it just me, or are the Republicans seeming like the Lion King's nasty pack of hyenas, lately?

To say that they will filibuster Obama's nomination - a nominee who DOESN'T EVEN EXIST yet - is insane. That just doesn't happen for Supreme Court Justices. There are other ways of interrogating them and challenging them and their qualifications. These tantrums are getting old.

The Republicans can't say that they will just vote "no" on the nominee because the Obama administration won't put up a candidate who isn't qualified. The Republicans could only vote against the nominee if they could prove s/he wasn't qualified. That would probably be hard to prove, given the thorough extent to which Obama's team is likely to vet her/him.

During the Bush years, the Repubs could run wild with all the mean-spirited and illegal activities they wanted, because these activities were lead by W. And now they are cranky because no one is kowtowing to their sense of entitlement. Seriously, guys, you may be upset, but just take whatever meds you've gone off of, and start acting like moderately-rational adults! I'd even accept acting like Congressmen and Senators. But you aren't even close to reaching that level lately.

When Stevens joined the court, he was certainly considered a moderate conservative. And the court has drifted to the right around him - he's been there that long - to the point where he is now the Court's leading liberal.

If Obama didn't pick a nominee just as liberal (and hopefully someone relatively young), he would be a fool. It would be foolish to think that the Republicans would "appreciate" or be in any way happy about anyone other than another Roberts-type or Thomas-type. I know it's impossible to get Stevens's type of shepherding and influence over the other justices for important, tight votes as soon as the new justice arrived. But that could come with time, with the right candidate.

I don't think Obama is a fool - quite the opposite; that's what's frustrating here. While optimism and idealism are wonderful qualities to bring to any leadership position, naivete is not. Especially naivete that one hangs onto past its usefulness.

Come on, Mr. President. You have the political capital from the Health Care win. If you don't spend it now, it's gone. Truly replace Justice Stevens to the extent that you can - with someone who is a liberal. Don't go for the easy confirmation; go for the right one, even if it's hard.

Yakko's Nations of the World

I had this running through my head.
And now, so can you.



We could probably pin down the year this was made by the countries that no longer exist named here.
We could also just look it up, the date.
But I prefer the harder way.
(Shocking, I know.)

"Do You Know What Your State Just Did?!" episode 1: The Rebel Yell... about taxes, not slavery

My sister and brother-in-law live in Virginia.

They will make the distinction that it's Alexandria they live in - "NORTHERN Virginia, Halley!" - also known as the less-frightening, really-we-used-to-be-part-of-DC* Virginia. And they will also make the distinction that they voted for the other guy and would have nothing to do with the reactionary, racist, misogynist slug currently running the place and trying to bring it back a few centuries.

But still.

Until Northern Virginia becomes a state (not a terrible idea), I still get to hold up examples of its regular "No way, they didn't really just do that, did they?" actions, and sit smugly across the river in DC, with our gay marriages and our ... you know, lack of federal representation.

In what I expect to be an ongoing (if occasional) series, may I present the inaugural episode of "Do You Know What Your State Just Did?!"

By now, you've probably heard of the Governor's plan to bring back the Celebrate Confederate History initiative, and make April Confederate History Month. And you've probably heard how he didn't include slavery in his first proclamation, because he wanted to only include "significant" historical elements. He just wanted to focus more on history, he said.

Right, because slavery had nothing to do with the Civil War.

For details and insightful commentary, see of course Rachel Maddow, in conversation with Melissa Harris Lacewell. Start around the 4:30 mark: Bob McDonnell's "History"

Seriously, do yourself a favor and watch this.

What was shocking to me was that on a friend's Facebook wall (a nice woman I only somewhat know after meeting in an Arts Mgmt class), I got backlash for suggesting that there was any kind of problem with celebrating Confederate history, especially in the way it was being presented. (To be fair, many people just disagreed, perfectly respectfully.) And then, as these things always go, the tone eventually turned.


Everything was going along fine (some agreeing with the original poster's sentiment, "Really, Virginia? Confederate History Month?", but many other ideas, too), until some dude start screaming about how "this girl" (aka - me) thinks all southerners are bigots and racists, and how he thinks you should just celebrate the men and women who died, and the Civil War wasn't about slavery, but that's what the Northerners always say it is. The South just didn't want to be taxed.

Riiiight.

("But it is a significant part": it = slavery)

I was shocked that in this day and age, I was in the minority on this discussion thread (of a dozen people). Most of them thought the initiative was a fine idea.

I'll end with an exchange between my friend and the nasty guy.

GUY: (...)  Everyone is so busy trying to be politically correct and have actually forgotten there is more to it than just slavery.

FRIEND: I'm really not trying to pick a fight at all and I'm asking this with legitimate curiosity: What else is there that you are referring to?  Honestly, I used to defend Confederate history with this same language...I suppose this was related to growing up in the area we did...but then I could never really figure out what else there was to it all.

The RNC is now doing damage control.

And almost as bad as this whole business of "celebrating" the history (and not just learning it, in whatever mangled form it comes in), is the fact that McDonnell is just doing this to rally support from the Republican base. He is using it more as a tool to manipulate people more than anything else.

Though I wouldn't be surprised to find a Confederate flag in his office. You know, just as a symbol of history.




*While Alexandria and Arlington did indeed used to be part of the District, they went back to VA for the Civil War in order to keep their slaves, which at the very least makes their background a bit... murkier.

Happy AWPing

To all my little AWPers, have a fabulous time in Denver.

The last (and only) time I was there, it was on a train stop of a cross-country rail trip. (Fine, we got off in Salt Lake City, so technically not fully across the country. It was the middle of night and the twelve of us wandered the streets looking for lodging, watching for roving gangs of Mormons.)


After packing too much in Boston (this was pre-InterFuture, okay?), I was miserable with my awkward assemblage of bags - a duffel bag with wheels and a useless handle, a sleeping bag, and a food bag (all required items, but in too large a scale). In Chicago there were no little wheelie luggage carts to be found anywhere in or around our Union Station stop. I would've paid a small fortune for one. But alas, no. [Insert tears here.]

Denver will always have a special place in my heart for its Office Max that carried luggage carts and was within a twenty minute walk of the train station. The love I felt for this town, measured in suitcases, would've broken that little cart, which neatly carried all my crap for the remainder of the two-week trip. When the cart broke a few years later, after helping me with countless apartment moves, I said a little prayer of gratitude for it (and for Denver) before tossing the mangled, metal carcass into the trash.

By the way, there was nothing else in downtown Denver. Seriously. It was about 6p when we rolled into town and everything else had closed. Try not to get knocked up out of boredom.

What Happened at Constance McMillen's Prom

(Reposted from http://nmisscommentor.com/2010/04/04/what-happened-at-constance-mcmillans-prom/. EDIT: That site is back up, but I'll leave this here.)

What Happened At Constance McMillen’s Prom

Here’s the news, from a source I view as extremely reliable. The prom
the school district promised at the country club in Fulton was a ruse.
Only seven kids, Constance, and her date showed, and at the same time,
everyone else held a “real” prom at a secret location out in the
county.

This is all after the school district had represented to Judge Davidson
that Constance was invited to a parent-sponsored prom to be held at
Tupelo Furniture Market. The school represented that Constance was
invited in court filings, testimony, and representations by the school
district and its lawyers. In reality, Constance had not been invited,
but, based on the representations by the district and its counsel, Judge
Davidson denied Constance’s request for a preliminary injunction that
she could go to the prom.

The school reneged, or possibly didn’t ever intend to follow through on
its representations to the court. The parents didn’t want Constance at
the prom and didn’t want to be sued (as they told the Clarion Ledger),
and so on Tuesday announced the cancellation of the prom.

But what they’d done was secretly relocated it.

Shortly thereafter, the school’s attorney announced (on Wednesday) that
“the prom” was to be held at the Fulton Country Club on Friday. But
yet only seven kids showed up.

Meanwhile, there’s a rumor that school officials were directly involved
in setting up the “fake” prom.

I have several distinct reactions here. First, there’s a cowardice and
dishonesty to this that I would hope even folks who don’t accept
Constance McMillan’s right to be herself would find reprehensible.
Second, at times it’s crossed my mind that there were some folks out
there working in school systems who really loved the kind of petty crap
that went on in high school and get far too much pleasure out of
reliving it (this is not a comment on school professionals generally!).
At second hand, I’m sensing that in the folks making the decisions for
the school in Itawamba County. Third, at the back of my mind this
whole time has been my experience of being a ninth grader when the
Fifth Circuit decided they’d had it, and that it was time for complete
(rather than token) integration of public education in Mississippi.
One outcome was an immediate cancellation of school-sponsored proms,
leading in turn to private proms that, in the white community, became
sort of junior auxiliaries for the Ole Miss (or the like) greek system,
with all the exclusion and related snottiness that could imply.

I do have this recall of Kent Moorhead (to his credit) as president of
the student council a year ahead of me at Oxford High, making a large
thing out of trying to bring back school sponsored buses to out-of-town
football games (I think he won on that one) and school proms (he lost
that one). I’d hope for some student leader to join Constance in
telling the grownups how to behave, but I’m not holding my breath.