Take Action Monday

Saturday was the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Support the Gulf Coast Civic Works Act.

Tell President Obama to sign an international treaty to reverse global warming.

Urge President Obama to include eradicating malaria, health protection, microfinance, and education to any foreign aid bill.

Sign this online card for Sen. Ted Kennedy's family.

Help ratify CEDAW.

Funny Stuff

I wish I had more funny stuff to post, since we could all use a little laughter.

The Soup shows us a sneak peek of the "fat reality show" line-up.



Sarah Haskins discovers Brooke Shields is good at selling stupid shit. Well, she endorses a lot of stupid shit.

Thank You, Senator Ted Kennedy

Senator Ted Kennedy died of brain cancer yesterday at the age of 77. Because everything I do as a young woman of color is due in part to Ted Kennedy's fierce leadership in his 47 years as Senator, I can only thank him for all he has done for the United States. The man with every kind of privilege in the world worked for the oppressed every day of his life, and his legacy shall live on in every person he has inspired. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

And to keep everything light and funny here, here's the "I'm an Amendment to Be" video from The Simpsons. This was the first time I heard of Ted Kennedy. No one will say that you're gay no more, Ted.




via videosift.com

Sorry about the volume thing. You have to raise it to 11.

Take Action Monday

Prohibit mining in the Grand Canyon, and development in the Rocky Mountains.

Help pass the trans inclusive Employee Non-Discrimination Act.

Urge the Sri Lankan government to free displaced civilians.

Thank Dr. Carhart for providing late-term abortion services for women in need.

Tell Ruby Ridge's owners that threatening workers who want to organize with gun violence is wrong.

Save the Bluefin Tuna from wasteful fishing practices.

Support the Protect US Citizens and Residents from Unlawful Detention Act and the Strong STANDARDS Act.

Help free political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi.

That's Gay: Lady Kisses

Bryan Safi's latest That's Gay explores the "lez pretending" in prime time sitcoms and dramas.

So Not Funny, Conan O'Brien

The image above comes from an episode of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien that aired last week. I was very offended by it, but didn't get a chance to write about it. Luckily, Renee at Womanist Musings did and found the offensive picture.

Basically, Conan O'Brien has this running gag called "Conan's Tabloid Moment" where he decides to stage a scandalous scene, take a picture of it, and sell it to the tabloids. At first, he pretends he's at a strip club. Then, he decides that the situation would be worse if he's drunk. What could possibly make that scene any worse? If the strippers were "trannies" of course! Because viewing cis women as sex objects isn't sickening, but if they're trans women . . . . And the way the cis women strippers become trans is by slapping a Keith Hernandez mustache on their faces. It's not that simple, Conan, and it's so not funny.

Conan has played around with gender on his show. A running joke of his is the fact that he looks a lot like Oscar-winning actress Tilda Swinton. A few years back, Conan enjoyed fame in Finland, and he attributed it to his resemblance to their president, Tarja Halonen. With both jokes, Conan made sure the joke was on him. He wasn't saying that Swinton and President Halonen looked like men, but that his red hair, pale complexion, and thin physique made him look like those women. He seems to be quite comfortable with his appearance, at least enough to talk about it and make fun of himself. But not everyone is as comfortable with the body they were born into. Trans people aren't afforded the privilege to feel comfortable in their own skin and be accepted as they are. That oppression shouldn't be exploited for cheap laughs.

Barney Frank, I Love You

And this is why.

Update: You can thank Representative Frank for standing up against extremism by signing this petition!

What's That You're Against?

Part of me wishes I had the idea to make a sign with a hilarious spelling mistake and pretend to protest healthcare reform with it.




via Pandagon

Take Action Monday

Tell Rite Aid CEO Mary Sammons to stop stalling union negotiations.

Urge President Obama to protect us from nuclear weapons.

Make ending gender-based violence a priority in U.S. foreign policy.

Tell your Representatives that you want healthcare reform this year.

Choose the new slogan for Save Darfur.

End human trafficking in the U.S.

The Irony is Completely Lost on Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin* said this in one of her Facebook notes the other day,

The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s “death panel” so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their “level of productivity in society,” whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil.

after saying this,

"So how about, in honor of the American solider, you quit making things up?"

and this

Face it. You're one of us now! One of us! One of us! One of us! (and it goes on).



*This might make me sound like a total asshole, but I don't really care. I'm REALLY glad that I don't have to put "Governor" in front of her name anymore. It actually bothered me to show such an evil person that kind of respect. Whereas others would put "Ms." or "Mrs," I always felt like it was more respectful to use their title, no matter how repugnant I believe their policies to be.

Take Action Monday

Congratulate Justice Sotomayor for her confirmation.

Send your feedback to the EPA regarding biofuels.

Get antibiotics out of our meat.

Stop opponents of health care reform distorting the truth.

Urge CNN to set the record straight on the Employee Free Choice Act.

Help stop toxic wastewater dumping in our streams.

Ensure that children are covered in healthcare reform.

Charles & Red Answer Important Questions

via Feministing

Transgender life coaches Charles and Red give hilarious answers to the cis people who've failed Trans 101

And while I'm at it, here's the latest That's Gay by Bryan Safi.



Please don't ask me what gay people have to do with feminism. Please.

Take Action Monday

Tell Congress to draft a healthcare plan that works for people with chronic diseases.

Call on advertisers to stop sponsoring Glenn Beck's racist television and radio shows.

Show Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano that you want real immigration reform.

Tell your Congressperson to support a public healthcare option.

Urge your Senators to confirm Judge Sotomayor to the Supreme Court.

Thank Secretary of State Clinton for her dedication to women's rights.

Tell CNN that you want Lou Dobbs off the air. I know I do.

Demand accountability for the crimes committed at Guantanamo Bay.

Urge Senators Baucus, Bingaman, Conrad, Enzi, Grassley, and Snowe to give back money donated to them by health insurance and pharmaceutical companies.

A Rest from All That "Obama is a Racist" B.S. Going Around

Not that he's saying President Obama is the ANTICHRIST or anything, but here's a five-minute video explaining why this is indisputable fact!

via Mario Piperni

The Funny & the Fucked Up

The Funny:



The latest from Sarah Haskins. I hate those doofy husband commercials too. Playing dumb is total male privilege!



William Shatner reads former Governor Palin's resignation speech. Poetry!

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Word - He Who Smelt It, Dealt It
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Tasers

Stephen Colbert compares racism to farts, with hilarious results.

The Fucked Up:

Governor Schwarzenegger cuts ALL funding from domestic violence shelters in California. Contact the governor and tell him what you think.

Take Action Monday

It's still Monday for another 40 minutes.

Urge Senators on the Foreign Relations Committee to ask Special Envoy Gration for tough measures in the upcoming plan for peace.

Ask the United Nations to end violence in schools.

Call on CNN to address Lou Dobbs' paranoia.

Tell Texas not to exclude Cesar Chavez and Thurgood Marshall from its history textbooks.

Urge Congress to include reproductive healthcare in healthcare reform.

Help protect Alaska's national parks.

Sign the petition to abolish nuclear weapons.

Demand justice in the murder of human rights activist Natalia Estemirova.

Stop California from exposing pesticides to pregnant farm workers.

Urge the Senate to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

Top 6 Ways to Deflect Accusations of Racism

Part of the reason why I haven't been updating is because I'm pretty addicted to this Facebook game called Typing Maniac. You have to type words that fall from the top of the screen before they reach the bottom. It's much more fun than I'm making it sound. There are a bunch of words, some from different languages, some with double meanings. Facebook users can discuss the game on the message board, and someone posted a topic called "Racist words." He says,

Why on earth is the word CHINK on it???? What kind of BS is this?

"Chink" has more than one meaning, and a few people informed the OP of this. Still, there's no denying that the word is triggering, since it is also a racist term used to refer to Chinese people. And then comes the deluge of "it's not racist because I say so" replies. These comments come in many forms.

First, there's the "You're racist because you notice racism" response:

What kind of racist initially thinks of that as a racist word when it has existed as a benign word for much longer?

Uh, the kind of racist who's been called a chink before? What a bitch, and I mean that in the most benign way possible.

Then there's the "playing dumb" response:

chinks?

1 : a small cleft, slit, or fissure 2 : a weak spot that may leave one vulnerable 3 : a narrow beam of light shining through a chink

I don't see it as a racist word and I'm chinese

Except you know it can be used as a racist term against Chinese people. Why else mention at the end that you're Chinese? Which segues nicely into the next response, the "I'm not offended, so it's not offensive" response:

I'm not offended by it at all.

Where's the "Have a Cookie" application when you need it? I love this one, because it basically tells others how they should feel, like they're the normal standard and everyone else deviates from it. I bet if I kicked this kid in the balls, he'd scream in pain. And I'd tell him, "If it hurts as much as you say it does, wouldn't it hurt me too?"

Then there's the "words mean nothing" response . . . :

I think if someone is offended by words, he can stay at home, close his pc his tv and his ears. Black people get offended when you say the word negroes but they say it all the time, homosexual people are offended if you say fug but they always say it. Life is like a south park joke for them.

. . . Made by someone who hates the fact that he can't use racial slurs because he's an oppressed White man. Now where did I put that tiny violin . . . . Oh, well. Let's get on with it. Probably my favorite response to a racist accusation is the "Speaking of racism, let's not speak about that" response:

lets just start posting all the weird words you get here~

Here's a word for you: FAIL.

And finally, there's the "You're a victim of racism, so there's something wrong with you emotionally" response:

Secure people don't make a fuss about words. I'm sick of hearing about it all from INSECURE people who've been taught insecurity in their childhood. GROW UP!

Yes, why can't we all be secure in our Whiteness like you? Oh, that's right. Because we're not all White. It's all part of our pathology.

Let's Get a Couple Things Straight

This is funny stuff.

This is so not funny stuff.

Now what would you file this under?

via Pandagon

Take Action Monday

Protect women's reproductive healthcare from anti-choice attacks.

Tell Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano to stop supporting racist Sheriff Arpaio.

Apply for a job at Senator Grassley's office so that you can have the same great healthcare he has.

Support the Global Food Security Act.

Urge Republicans to denounce Rush Limbaugh.

Tell Congress to support single-payer healthcare.

Stephen Colbert Explains the Myth of Neutrality

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Word - Neutral Man's Burden
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Jeff Goldblum

This segment of The Word on The Colbert Report from last night is probably the best thing that's ever aired on the show, possibly ever in the history of television.