I can't believe this guy is a legitimate candidate

Rick Santorum recently visited my adopted state of Washington and declared, "This is a blue state? No way. This is a state that treasures freedom and opportunity." Gee, Rick, I didn't realize I had to be conservative to treasure freedom and opportunity! Oh, wait - that's because I DON'T.

I treasure the freedom to love and marry whom I choose.

I treasure the freedom to decide what is best for me and my body.

I treasure the opportunity to take care of my basic health needs even if I'm poor.

I treasure the opportunity to live in a country that values equality, tolerance, and compassion.

At least, I would treasure those things, if conservative lawmakers weren't so determined to stop me.

(via The Stranger)

Also, this:

What's Your Problem With Sisterhood?

Heather Mac Donald's recent article for the City Journal is a case study in irrationality and delusional thinking. Let's put aside the fact that she conflates two completely unrelated issues – she clearly wanted to rant about recent events at Yale, and thought she'd make it seem more current by pretending it had something to do with SEAL Team 6. Her arguments on both counts show a failure to understand feminism in general and the particulars of the cases at hand.

Let's start with what is clearly Mac Donald's main beef: Yale's recent actions against the DKE fraternity for having new pledges chant, “No means yes, yes means anal!” According to Mac Donald, the chant was “an unfunny effort at transgression,” and Yale's response to it is evidence that they have caved to feminism, “the largest and most influential power bloc.” But in order for something to be transgressive, in must violate some boundary, go against what is generally considered acceptable. Unfortunately, the sentiments chanted by DKE's pledge group are more the norm. College women are at the highest risk for date rape, and a large number of college men don't understand that forced intercourse is rape. Women who experience date rape are often told it was their fault for dressing the wrong way, going to the wrong place, or drinking too much. College campuses are notorious for not investigating assault accusations, and rape victims all too often are dismissed by authorities. Rather than holding men responsible for not raping, our culture holds women responsible for not getting raped.

Mac Donald believes that Yale's sanctions against DKE would only be justified “if the pledge chant represented official thinking on campus.” But if Yale had just given DKE a slap on the wrist, as they and other universities have done in similar situations in the past, they would have been accepting sexist and threatening attitudes as normal and inevitable. Instead, school officials enforced actual consequences and sent a clear message that misogynistic attitudes are not welcome on campus. Yale is finally taking the stance that women should not have to accept that their bodies are public property, that assault or the threat of assault should be taken seriously. They are not caving to the unreasonable demands of a feminist regime, but admitting that women should be treated as human beings.

The article gets truly offensive when Mac Donald calls Yale feminist groups hypocritical for objecting to DKE's pro-rape chant when they have hosted sex-positive events on campus. According to this logic, hosting events that encourage people to take consensual pleasure in themselves and their partners means giving up all rights to oppose rape. Geez, ladies, if you stopped being such slutty sluts you wouldn't have to worry about getting raped!

Mac Donald goes on to say that sexism is a myth, and that if she didn't experience discrimination at Yale in the 1970s, there can't possibly be any inequality there today. Mac Donald is fortunate to feel she hasn't experienced sexism, but not all women are that lucky. It's true that we have made a lot of progress since her college days, but women are still more likely than men to experience harassment and assault. They are paid less and promoted less than men in most fields, and face expectations in career and family that men do not. Objecting to pro-rape chants does not mean that women are too emotionally fragile to meet the demands of a military special forces team, and it is ludicrous to suggest that it does.

Yes, that is where Mac Donald goes with this convoluted argument. She argues that women can't possibly be fit to serve in military special-operations units if they are so thin-skinned as to oppose hateful sexist speech on college campuses. Yeah, it doesn't make any sense to me, either. She is clearly dedicated to enforcing the status quo, but when you have to abandon common sense to do so, it may be time to reassess your stance.

[Original article: Sisterhood and the Seals by Heather Mac Donald]

Check the scenario, I'ma bust your ear drum

I've never been ahead of the curve when it comes to music. I only recently discovered Robyn - I got one of her CDs library after seeing a video I liked online. Robyn was released in 2008, and most of the songs are a few years older than that, but girlfriend makes Lady Gaga look like Mandy Moore circa 1999.



Now, I love me some Lady Gaga, really! She makes well-crafted pop songs that are dancy, fun, and un-annoying. But let's be honest: well-crafted pop is not very interesting. Robyn, on the other hand, makes dancy, fun pop music that's also weird and thoughtful. It reminds me a little of Basement Jaxx and a little of Ladyhawke, but mostly it sounds new. When's the last time you thought that about a dance track?

"Who's That Girl?" is my new favorite song of the moment. In it she rejects the demands of modern femininity and asserts her right to just be what she wants. The girls of fantasy who are pretty all the time and never say no don't exist, and she won't try to be that girl no matter how much pressure she feels. "Good girls are sexy like every day/I'm only sexy when I say it's okay," she sings, all to a sugary electro beat. It is awesome, and it is something I could stand to hear more often in the pop world.

In conclusion, if you like things that are good, check out Robyn. Konichiwa, bitches!

A Disturbing Ad... Or Maybe Not

A friend of mine shared this post in Google Reader, with a note saying, "Definitely not okay."




















Via Best Week Ever

Three things struck me about this post, one thing at a time. At first, I found the ad itself quite disturbing. In the background, a little girl is asleep or passed out in a bent over position on a couch, with her panties visible and some of her toys nearby. In the foreground, a man is holding his finger to his lips in a "Shhh, don't tell anyone!" gesture. His facial expression is pretty ridiculous, and gives me the impression that this is supposed to be funny. There is some text, but I can't read it. My first thought when I saw it was that it is, as the poster says, Not Alright.

The second thing I thought interesting was the post itself. The blogger at Best Week Ever basically says this is a subway ad from "Thailand or Taiwan or whatever." It was sent to him by a friend who took a photo of it, but he doesn't know what country this friend was in, and seems to think it doesn't matter. He also shows no interest in finding out what the ad is for or what the text says. The whole tone of the post seems to say, "Look at this ridiculously awful pedophile ad from one of those interchangeable Asian countries!"

The last thing I wanted to mention didn't occur to me until I read the comments. A few people thought it was an ad for the air conditioning unit visible on the wall behind the girl. In this interpretation, the ad is saying this air conditioning unit is so quiet that the girl has fallen asleep, and her father doesn't want her to wake up. I have no idea if it is really an ad for an AC unit, but this made me think - the original poster on Best Week Ever, most of the commenters, my friend and I all looked at this image and assumed it was making a joke out of child rape. Off the top of my head I can think of two reasons for this assumption. One is the idea us Westerners have that non-Western countries are less civilized, and therefore places where bad things can happen and no one will care. In particular, Asian countries are assumed to be havens for human trafficking and child prostitution. Though those are very real problems in some countries, that doesn't mean it should color our interpretations of a subway advertisement depicting a nice, middle class home. Another possible explanation for the assumptions I and others made about this ad is that we are used to seeing little girls sexualized in American media. We see ads all the time that show young girls in sexy poses and clothes, so that when we look at this image of a girl asleep on a couch with her butt in the air we assume something awful is going on. But maybe someone who isn't used to seeing children made to look sexy would just look at this ad and see a sweet scene of a girl sleeping and a father trying not to wake her.

Sherlock Holmes: A Love Too Great to Contain

This has been languishing in my notebook for a while now, and I know that for this to be relevant I should have posted it months ago. Let's just say that timeliness is one of my areas for personal growth and leave it at that.

Robert Downey, Jr. said in an interview recently that he thinks Sherlock Holmes is “a very butch homosexual.” This would explain the lack of on-screen chemistry he had with Rachel McAdams. Predictably, the Conan Doyle estate is not amused, and they've said that if Downey doesn't ix-nay on the ay-gay he won't be doing the sequel. This debate is nothing new, of course. There is a long-lasting divide between those who think the deep affection between Holmes and Watson can only be the product of sexxxy times, and those who take offense at the suggestion that their friendship ever transgressed the bounds of straight-laced Victorian manners.

The are-they-or-aren't-they speculation isn't unique to Holmes and Watson, either. There's another detective whose relationship with his best friend is the subject of much winking and nudging. I'm speaking, of course, about Batman and Superman.

“But wait!” you protest, “Wouldn't Batman and Robin be a more accurate comparison?” Many people would agree with you, but you're wrong. Watson may act as Holmes' trusty sidekick, but he's no one's ward. At the end of the day Watson is Holmes' truest friend and equal partner in anti-crime. And, as with the World's Finest, a binary model of sexual preference is just too limited to contain their super love. There is ample evidence that all four men have genuine attraction and interest in the opposite sex, but those feelings will always be eclipsed by the love they have for each other.

The similarities between Sherlock Holmes and Batman are obvious; after all, you can't call your character the “World's Greatest Detective” without paying homage to the original master. Batman, like Holmes, is a solitary man, sacrificing personal relationships for the sake of fighting evil in his beloved but notoriously crime-ridden city. Thanks to their obsessive natures and extreme intelligence, they are both the best at hunting down criminals – and they both feel disconnected from the ordinary humans they fight so hard to protect. And of course, neither man has much time or patience for romance, with the exception of the women who can outsmart them: Catwoman and Irene Adler.

The Watson-Superman connection takes a little more thought, but since I have recently read every Sherlock Holmes story Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ever wrote, I am (by internet standards) an expert. Watson may not be a superhero, but he is a war veteran and doctor. Despite his self-reported character flaws, he is unquestionably a good guy. Like Superman, he is popular with the ladies; in A Study in Scarlet he mentions conquests in “five continents.” Eventually, he and Superman both settle down with smart-but-safe women, who they no doubt love very dearly. But both Lois Lane and Mary Morstan must be resigned to the fact that their husbands will dash off at the merest word from their detective friends, always ready to abandon spousal duties and their day jobs to help out on a case. And, probably, totally do it off-panel.

So why do most people insist on reducing these complicated relationships to a question of gay or straight? Anything beyond those two options never enters the debate. And our understanding of the world's best crime-fighting duos is forever made less interesting.

A Dilemma

One of the first assignments I got was from Marina, who asked me to write a humorous short story using certain words and phrases. A scene immediately came to mind, and I began writing right away. Then I remembered why I haven't attempted to write fiction since high school: I have no idea what I'm doing. The story has a directionless plot, too many characters, an unclear concept, and a villain so mysterious that even I don't know what makes her evil, or if she's evil, or what horrible deeds she's done. So I ask you: When you're working on something and it's just not working out, how do you decide whether to start over, keep soldiering through, or give up altogether?

In memoriam: list-making

My great-aunt Mary Schaub recently passed away. She was a writer, and a compulsive list-maker (and, judging from the old school books I uncovered at her house, has been since birth). So in her honor, I present here some lists.

Things I am afraid of:
1. Car crashes
2. Cannibalism
3. Senility
4. The dark
5. Amputation
6. Bed bugs
7. Raccoons

Things I highly recommend:
1. Yukon gold potatoes. Seriously, you will never go back to white potatoes again.
2. The library.
3. Re-reading books you haven't read since childhood.
4. Hot beverages - tea, coffee, cocoa. They always make you feel better, one way or another.
5. Vodka pie crust. Just try it.
6. Watching TV shows on DVD after they've ended.
7. Making your own granola. It's easy, cheap, and you can put exactly what you want into it.
8. Annie's White Cheddar Bunnies

Things I wish I had:
1. Long underwear
2. An disco ball
3. An exterminator
4. Sleeping pills
5. Skills

Best places to disappear for a few years to attain a mysterious aura:
1. Antarctica
2. Russia
3. Any desert
4. Montana

Best things to drink after a Very Bad Day:
1. Hot tea
2. Hot chocolate
3. Hot chocolate with Bailey's
4. Beer

If you enjoy lists as much as Mary and me, here are some great places to look at lists:
1. http://blablablamarina.blogspot.com/ Lovely lists from the lovely Marina!
2. http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/lists/ I think anyone can submit a list to this site, and some of them are pretty excellent.