150 years ago today, in the play “Our American Cousin”, the actor Henry Hawks uttered the line, “Well, I guess I know enough to turn you inside out, old gal, you sockdologizing old man-trap!” It was the biggest laugh line of the show. “Sockdologize” was a slang term which became very popular in the United States during the 1850’s and … Read More
Black-Person-Death-By-Cop Quote Of The Day
“Oh, I shot him. I’m sorry.” – Robert Bates, a 73-year-old reserve deputy sheriff in Tulsa County, Okla., after he mistook his gun for his taser and fatally shot a suspect during an undercover operation. Not for nothing, but the 73 year old(!) volunteer policeman was only an actual cop for one year….. fifty years ago. Maybe having geriatric non-cops with lethal weapons … Read More
Tucker Carlson and Misogyny
Yeah, I’m not going to wade into this controversy, but I will give Tucker Carlson this free advice: If you are being accused of misogyny, don’t respond by referring to a woman as a “chick”. BONUS: And Rand Paul is in hot water for “shushing” women reporters (which he’s done twice now). Bad start, Rand.
NFL’s Groundbreaking Female
Congratulations, Sarah Thomas, the first full-time female official in NFL history.
Why Don’t We Celebrate Civil War Holidays?
The Civil War ended 150 years ago today. Why do most people not know this? Jay Elias writes why: The battles surrounding the Civil War are still with us. Right now, there is an active campaign in this country to persuade Americans that the opposition to so-called Religious Freedom Acts in Indiana and Arkansas are a new fight, the latest … Read More
Cue Next Right Wing Freakout in 5…4…3…2…
NYT: WASHINGTON — A 17-year-old transgender youth, Leelah Alcorn, stunned her friends and a vast Internet audience in December when she threw herself in front of a tractor-trailer after writing in an online suicide note that religious therapists had tried to convert her back to being a boy. In response, President Obama is calling for an end to such therapies … Read More
Stamp Honoring Maya Angelou Uses Quote That Isn’t Hers
Oops: The Washington Post reports that a new United States postage stamp bearing Angelou’s likeness features the quote “A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.” Problem is, that’s a quote from a book of poems by Joan Walsh Anglund. “Yes, that’s my quote,” Anglund told the Post on Monday.
Video Shows Cop Murdering Black Man
On Saturday, Water Scott, 50, was shot and killed by Officer Michael T. Slager of the North Charleston, South Carolina, police department, after a traffic stop. According to Slager’s initial report, Scott tried to take his Taser, and in the struggle, Slager had to fire in self-defense. Yesterday, a video surfaced from an anonymous witness. In contradiction of Slager’s account, Scott is seen turning to … Read More
CIA to Carrie Matheson: “Good Riddance”
So, this happened: Good Riddance, Carrie Mathison http://t.co/6zNSBK89Eo — CIA (@CIA) April 5, 2015 That’s an official tweet from the official Central Intelligence Agency to a fictional character — Carrie Mathison of the Showtime series, Homeland. Next season, Carrie will no longer be working for the CIA. The CIA tweet references a Sunday New York Times op-ed by Maureen Dowd which … Read More
False Rape Stories
Having a specific story in mind, and then going out to find the “facts” to support it. Tell the dramatic narrative of ONE example to explain a larger phenomenon. That’s what right wing media does (i.e., if they can find ONE example of voter fraud, then voter fraud must be a huge problem). And apparently, that’s what Sabrina Rubin Erdely did … Read More
Guns and God and Pennsylvania
“You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania… they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.” – Barack Obama, April 6, 2008 Seven years later….
“Cake Is Speech”: The New Dumbest Thing Ever Said
Yes, cake is speech. That’s what Indiana Baptist pastor Tim Overton told NPR’s Steve Inskeep yesterday morning, defending his state’s controversial “religious freedom” law. No, it’s not some fringe theory: It’s shaping up as a core tenet of one “compromise” approach to religious freedom laws that’s under consideration, in the wake of the backlash to the Indiana law, which Overton fervently supported … Read More
The Indiana Fix
The proposed new bill working its way through the Indiana state legislature today seems to negate the worst things about the RFRA law: It doesn’t undue Hobby Lobby or other grievances. The changes would not establish sexual orientation and gender identity as a protected class under the state’s civil right’s laws. That will have to come another day. All this does is … Read More
Arkansas Governor Wisely Seeks To Avoid Same Headache That Indiana Has
Moments ago, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said that he does not plan to sign the version of the religious freedom bill that currently sits on his desk and called on the state legislature to make changes before sending it back to him. Hutchinson, who called the issue “divisive” and cited his own son as an example of someone urging him … Read More
Bigots Get It
At yesterday’s press conference, Indiana Governor Mike Pence spent a great deal of time blaming the media for its representation that Indiana’s RFRA law allows businesses to discriminate against gay people. “Not true”, Pence said. Well, it is true if you read the actual law, and apparently, even the bigots think so: WALKERTON, Ind. -A small-town pizza shop is saying they … Read More