Tag: feminism

Old Time Religion

Today, a bunch of men in another part of the world were so threatened by the very idea that a woman might learn something that they shot a 14 year old girl as she rode home from school in a bus. What a bunch of big, manly men that they had to go shoot a teenager for daring to engage in radical activities like reading a freaking book. They tried to assassinate her for “want[ing] an access to the world of knowledge.” Oh no, she was a liberal and an infidel. The shooters wanted to make sure they had the right girl. After all, it served their purposes to leave the rest of them scared to go back to school; let them grow up to be ignorant and easily subjugated wives.

Damn right there’s “outcry” and “revulsion.”

Don’t pretend that this is about religion. This is about a bunch of scared little baby-men who fear that if women know about the world, they will demand the rights accorded to human beings and will stop allowing themselves to be treated like property.

Feminism at its most basic — at the level that anyone who isn’t a caveman, a member of Taliban, or perhaps a modern Republican should agree with — says that women have the same unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that men do. On this basis and this basis alone, I am a feminist. However, modern feminism has too much baggage. My partner will read this and argue that I’m not a feminist at all, but rather I believe in equal rights. I don’t think I’m any better than men. I don’t hate men. I don’t hate other women that disagree with me. I believe that a lot of my life is none of your business. I believe that the “patriarchy” is actually an over-hyped and under-effective tool of the oligarchy.

These ass-hats who think guns can enforce their opinion on morality should take their old time religion with them straight to whatever passes for hell.

In Closing: fragile infrastructure has real costs; cool boat; hedge fund pirates; fine print; yoga; Natalie reminds us that “not tested on animals” is a fraud; heh; explanation of the Washington bubble; on unemployment and payrolls; and I see his point.

Oh Nuts, It’s Her Annual Feminism Post

If you don’t read Natalie Dee, you should:

She’s married to Drew of “Toothpaste for Dinner” and “Married to the Sea.” You should go check it out and maybe order some T-Shirts.

Anyways….

I’m trying to link to more news than other people’s opinions. No point in being part of the echo chamber. Nevertheless, PunditMom is right to point out that the “SuperCongress” (it’s a bird! it’s a plane! it‘s Unconstitutional!!) has some fundamental problems with it’s makeup. Namely,  nobody’s wearing any. Not even the token female member, Senator Patty Murray — for whom I once voted. One token woman, one token black man, one token Hispanic, no Asians, nobody controversial. So 9 white guys and 3 other. And these people are supposed to decide that we can make do without by Thanksgiving. Worse yet, nobody seems to be able to stop them.

Other bloggers have done a great job talking about Christian Dominionism, an offshoot of Christian thinking that would have horrified both Jesus and George Washington. And while it may seem like a tangent to bring it up, hair pat-downs and other TSA intrusions are quite a nice way of telling the sheep — particularly brown and/or women sheep — to shut up and obey daddy/husband/authority.

And before anyone says that profiling is the only answer because only scary brown people are terraists, don’t make me slap your worthless ass with Tim McVeigh and William Krar! The Unabomber was a white man planting bombs before the War on Terror, too. If you think only Muslims are terrorists, you are too ignorant to participate in this discussion. Kindly close this tab and go away.

I am a woman. I don’t need a man’s permission to live my life, do my job, or much of anything else. If that offends you, I sure hope somebody invents a time machine so you can go back to the 50s and enjoy an era when each of us knew his or her place.

In Closing: math lesson; download this coffee; SF/F; won’t somebody please think about thinking of the children?; You tell’em, Professor!; Taibbi nails it again; sex offenders; the Costs of War; and seriously, go check out Drew and Natalie.

The Violent Shorties

Obligatory Health Insurance Reform front and center: Health care and the denial thereof as a way to control the masses; the good, the bad, and this POS reform bill (no, doesn’t mean “point of service” in this context, sorry).

Not as overt as Quiverfull: religion and women is an interesting read. And I don’t know what to make of this.

Study confirms what most of us knew: When Wal-Mart comes to town, the number of low-wage jobs they create are roughly equal to the number of decent jobs they destroy.

Most Americans are Idiots: Most approve of the use of full body scanners. These scanners are much like a virtual strip search with a side order of radiation. Oh, and they would not have found the Undiebomber‘s stash. Pfeh.

On Employment: America’s Low Wage Future; Are the Baby Boomers starting to retire?; Who are the unemployed?; 6.4 job seekers for every open job.

Mighty Joe Rollino: how many people can lift 635 pounds with one finger? The answer is now zero. Joe has passed away at the amazing age of 104 (insert obligatory comment about fitness and long life here).

Conan is classy: (No, not this Conan). Conan O’Brien’s resignation letter.

This is not news: I seriously do not give a shit where Bill Clinton hides his sausage. I can think of few bigger wastes of journalist time. Enough already!

And one last thought: Airplane accidents.