Random Thought About "Ground Zero" Mosque

I haven't updated in a while. And when I go a while without updating you should be worried, because that means I've been thinking a lot. For the past week or so, I've been thinking about the community center and Mosque being built in lower Manhattan. I've tweeted about it a lot, and if you follow my tweets, you know that I support their right to build the community center and Mosque there. I haven't even thought about "should they build there," because it doesn't make any difference to me. I think the most important thing is for the United States to uphold the Constitution and everyone's rights to freedom of religion and freedom to own property.

But a lot of people don't see it that way. Most people do support the right of the Mosque to be built, but most people don't think it should be built there. People have called the abandoned Burlington Coat Factory that was bought by Imam Rauf to build this community center "hallowed ground." I love a bargain as much as the next person, but "hallowed ground?" This building is two blocks away from Ground Zero, it's been abandoned for 8 years, and it's about time that area of the city be rebuilt to foster a feeling of community and at least try to bring it back to the bustling neighborhood it was before September 11, 2001. People like Newt Gingrich and other opposers of the Mosque are comparing Muslims to Nazis. Muslims all over the country who wish to build Mosques and Muslim prayer centers are being denied permits, as local governments are wiping their assess with the Constitution in order to please some racist jerks. And all of these thoughts naturally lead me to wonder this:

Did Glenn Beck face this much red tape from the government when he was planning his demonstration at the site of Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech this Saturday? Oh yeah. None. None at all. In fact, this was something he's been talking about for a year.

Think about it. Protesters of the Mosque in lower Manhattan are saying that because the 9/11 hijackers were Muslim, Muslims building on private property there would be in poor taste and would be a slap in the face to everyone who lost loved ones on September 11. Let's apply this logic be applied to Glenn Beck's demonstration. After all, a White person murdered Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Therefore, White people shouldn't be allowed to demonstrate on the site where he gave his "I Have a Dream" speech. It's sacred ground for African Americans who fought and died for equal rights. If you think I'm going too far with this, please read on.

One of the other major objections to a Muslim community and prayer center being built two blocks from Ground Zero is that this 13-story building is a symbol of Muslim's desire to convert everybody and change their most cherished beliefs and values. Fancy this quote.

This is going to be an image for the history books. If you come, I believe this may -- maybe in 100 years from now or 200 years from now -- I believe this will be remembered as a moment America turned the corner.

This is going to be an iconic event . . . This is a moment quite honestly, that I think we will reclaim the civil rights movement. It has been so distorted and so turned upside down. It's an abomination . . . We will take that movement because we were the people that did it in the first place.

Gee, who said that? Imam Rauf? No. It was Glenn Beck. It looks like Glenn Beck is the one who is trying to change history and our value system. Projection much?

10 Things Anti-Choice Protesters Can Do to Help a Child Live a Happy Life

I just finished watching (and re-watching some of) the HBO documentary 12th and Delaware. It's about an intersection in Florida where there is an abortion clinic and a crisis pregnancy center (CPC). Unfortunately, most of the documentary follows CPC workers and anti-choice protesters. I guess that's where all the juiciness is. But I saw the anti-choice protesters in a different way. Don't get me wrong. I did not see past their ignorance and downright hatred for women. It was abundant. But what got me the angriest was that they were wasting some of their redeeming qualities, like tenacity, dedication, and passion, on harassing and hurting women. They spend their days, and make their living, harassing, lying to, and insulting the intelligence of women and teen girls. The "counselor" of the CPC and an anti-choice protester in the film admitted that their tactics may be harmful and/or illegal (e.g., stalking doctors and locking pregnant women in a room for 6 hours to convince them not to have an abortion), but it was worth it, because they thought they were helping.

Imagine if they engaged in activities that helped children, instead of denigrating women?

So I had the idea to do some convincing myself. I don't know if I will convince anybody to change their routine, but I'll just get it out there. I would like anybody who spends their days protesting outside of abortion clinics and other women's health centers to take one hour, just ONE HOUR, out of their protesting schedule to help real sentient children live fulfilling lives. Here are some ideas.

1. Spend an hour reading to one or more children at the local library or hospital. In an hour, you can read a couple of really good picture books, and it's a great excuse to talk in funny character voices.

2. Join an organization like Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and spend an hour with a child playing an awesome board game like Chutes and Ladders. There's no chute for the girl who had an abortion, but I'm sure pro-lifers can still appreciate the lessons learned.

3. Volunteer at the library or an after-school program, and spend an hour helping children with their homework.

4. Get together with neighborhood parents and organize a carpool to transport children to and from school. It helps kids and the environment!

5. Spend an hour at the local recreation center and teach music, dancing, art, baking, or first aid to children.

6. I highly doubt that most anti-choicers would do this, but I'll give it a shot. Spend an hour a day being a crisis intervention counselor for The Trevor Project, a hotline for suicidal LGBTQ youth. Help save the life of a transgender, genderqueer, gay, bisexual, or questioning kid in need.

7. Spend a half hour standing outside of the grocery store and collect money for UNICEF, the March of Dimes, or Abandoned Babies and Children. Spend the other half hour buying groceries to donate to the local food bank, since millions of kids go hungry every day in the United States.

8. Spend an hour at a group home for foster children, teen moms, runaways, or juvenile offenders and talk or play with them.

9. Volunteer at the local park and motivate children to exercise and eat healthy.

10. Spend an extra hour a day enjoying the company of your own children, grandchildren, and the other adorable little kids in your lives. They might be jealous that you're giving so much attention to other women's embryos.

This isn't about changing the views of anti-choicers. I'm not even telling them to stop protesting outside of clinics (although I wish they would, since they're doing more harm than good [that was a rhyme]). All I'm saying is that the above 10 things (and many others) are at least as rewarding as protesting outside of a clinic, and way more effective at helping children live happy lives. So take an hour each day and help children in need who can at least smile in appreciation. Some might even say thank you!

P.S. Although I say "volunteer" throughout the post, you can get a paying job to do some of those things. But you'd have to do it for more than an hour, of course.

A Day at Glenn Beck Elementary

By now, you have probably heard that Glenn Beck has started his own online university. Its motto is Faith, Hope, and Charity. Incidentally, a Sunday school teacher of mine from back in the day had a daughter with that very name. Isn't that nutty? Speaking of nutty, Glenn Beck has created an online university! It's not a real university where students earn credits, because college educations are for Communists and are at least the second most dangerous thing in America. Instead, it's just videos of three guys telling paid customers, called Insider Extremists, what hope, faith and charity are. Yes, three classes each on hope, faith, and charity. It should surprise no one that Glenn Beck thinks he has something to teach people who are old enough to use a credit card, because he's an egomaniac. In the interest of learning how to crawl before learning to walk, I think he should have created an elementary school first, because I don't think he's ready for higher learning. I wonder what a day at Glenn Beck Elementary would be like . . . .

In Language Arts, children would learn about such anti-Communist literary heroes as The Little Red Hen. You know her, right? She's the one who asked for help baking bread, and no one helped her. At the end of the story, she asks if anyone wants to help her eat the bread, and they all say "I do!" Then, she tells them all to go fuck themselves. The lesson is, they didn't help her make the bread, so they don't get to eat any of it. It's an important value to teach 6-year-olds to stop freeloading off of their parents and learn to use the stove themselves.

Then, it's time for Math. At Glenn Beck Elementary, being able to use numbers in one's daily life is very important. Students will be able to calculate how many illegal immigrants live in their neighborhoods, how many White babies they'll need to have to forestall brown folks becoming the majority, and how many webs of conspiracy theories one can make with a single box of chalk.

Only because this fascist state demands it, all of the students have to take Health. In an attempt to stick it to The Man, Glenn Beck Elementary school teachers tell kids the truth about nutrition. For example, the secret about candy is that it's really good for you. Dentists just say that sugar candy rots your teeth, because they want to keep all the candy for themselves. And people who exercise are the ones to blame for our nation's sky-rocketing healthcare costs, what with all their sport-related injuries. Oh, wait. That was Rush. Either way, no recess at Glenn Beck Elementary!

After Health comes Science, where students learn to separate fact from fiction. Evolution? Just a theory! Gravity? Just a theory! Climate change? Fascism! Thunder? Angels bowling!

The day is almost over, and now it's time for History. At Glenn Beck Elementary, students will learn about all of the great Americans that helped shape this country. There was civil rights hero Martin Luther King, Jr. He was kind of like Glenn Beck. And radical political thinker Thomas Paine. He was kind of like Glenn Beck too (Really? Whatever you say.). And one of our greatest founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin. That guy was a lot like Glenn Beck. And Revolutionary War hero Paul Revere. Just like Glenn Beck.

But really. Any old school teaches history. What makes Glenn Beck Elementary so great is that the kids in that school learn Future. In Future class, students will learn how Glenn Beck will reclaim the civil rights movement for White folks. Glenn Beck Elementary students will also be challenged to imagine what America will look like this Christmas, and next Christmas. And your children will surely get an A+ in Future, because name one damn thing that Glenn Beck has said that hasn't happened!

Take Action Monday on Tuesday

Last Monday, I played New York City tour guide to a family from Arizona. All I have to say is, Bill Maher was right.

Support clean energy legislation.

Tell BP to provide respirators to clean-up workers.

Tell BP to stop burning endangered sea turtles alive.

Help to repeal the ban on privately-funded abortion in the military.

Tell Congress to make ending violence against women a priority.

Protect whales from hunting.

Support full funding for public media.

Keep important reproductive decisions between patients and doctors, not legislators.

Pledge to be an advocate for immigrants.

Support healthcare coverage of immunosuppressive drugs.

Take Action Monday

I was going to post these petitions earlier, but I saw El Secreto de sus Ojos (The Secret in their Eyes), the Argentinean film that won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film a few months back. There were a surprising number of senior citizens there. The movie is amazing, and knowing that a bunch of old people ditched their stupid families to go see it made it even sweeter.

Support Secretary Salazar's plan for increasing renewable energy sources and energy efficiency.

Preserve the International Affairs Budget.

Tell FOX to fire racist contributor John Stossel.

Support Alan Grayson's (D-FL) The War is Making You Poor Act.

Repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Reject the Texas Textbook Massacre.

Strip BP of all federal contracts.

The Funny & Fucked Up

The Funny

After Bill O'Reilly tells Columbia University professor Dr. Marc Lamont Hill that he looks like a cocaine dealer, Dr. Hill responds: "You look like a cocaine user."

A couple of feminist blogs have talked about a new right-wing website called America Speaking Out. Conservatives post their ideas to improve America, and visitors to the site vote for the ideas. It appears that several funny liberals have taken the site over and posted some jokes.

The Fucked Up

A radio station in Columbus, Ohio had a contest in which the "winner" gets a trip to Phoenix, Arizona to "chase aliens." You can encourage them to apologize here.

An elementary school teacher in Norfolk, Virginia gave four-inch plastic fetus dolls to their students, along with anti-choice messages.

No, Walter, You Did Women a Favor

It's pretty clear that to fill in for Rush Limbaugh, you have to be more utterly insane and just plain stupider than he is. That way, all of us liberal cry babies can be thankful when he comes back to just sprinkle discriminatory language throughout his broadcasts instead of slabbing it on pretty thickly like this fool. I'm honestly surprised when people say such ridiculousness. I don't care to research this guy's credentials, but people who host radio shows tend to be formally educated with college degrees and life experience. And then I remember that right-wing nut jobs on the radio aren't stupid. They just know that their audience is stupid and play on that. Right wing nut jobs on the radio don't care about delivering news, insight, or analysis. Their purpose in life is to make idiots feel smart (and vote). In the above clip, Walter E. Williams compares systemic discrimination to seeking a potential spouse.

Back in 1960, when I was choosing a marriage partner, I systematically discriminated against White women. I didn't give Asian women an equal chance to marry me. I didn't give women with criminal records or women that did not bathe regularly. I did not give them an equal opportunity to marry me. Now you might be saying, "That type of discrimination doesn't hurt anybody." Well, if you said that, I would be insulted, because when I chose to marry my wife, I harmed other women. I reduced their opportunity set. So I did harm other people.

If your point of view only works with an analogy that proves you're an arrogant asshole, then you have no point. You see, Mr. Williams getting off the market in 1960 didn't harm anyone (except maybe his wife). It didn't reduce other women's pool of possible husbands. With Mr. Williams out of the way, straight women were more likely to find a husband that, you know, didn't believe in controlling them and making their kids work instead of go to school. Seriously, he said all that nonsense in the same show.

Now do us another solid and stop talking.

Take Action Monday

It's International Women's Day! Take the time this day to recognize the wonderful women around the world who work hard and still get shit on.

Urge your Senators to co-sponsor the GROWTH Act.

Encourage Congress to support the International Violence Against Women Act.

Tell Congress to pass real health reform now.

Close concentration camps in North Korea.

Tell the Washington Post to stop promoting torture on their editorial page.

Keep the Toyota plant in Fremont California open.

Some CPAC Funny

CPAC, the Conservative Political Action -- [looks at hand] Convention -- strike that -- Conference, is taking place this week in Washington, D.C. I think it's a week. I normally wouldn't care about these things, but there are a couple of funny videos from the event. First is some guy who decries the presence of a conservative gay organization at the convention. A conservative gay organization? Outside of the Catholic church? You're kidding me! He rationalizes his outrage by saying that civil rights are rooted in natural rights and natural rights are rooted in nature and nature is Wee-Wees + Foo-Foos = Baby. During his rant, something pretty amazing happens



He gets booed! Maybe it's because the crowd respects conservatives of the gay variety. Maybe it's because the absence of tie around his neck automatically makes him Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's BFF. But then this guy launches probably the best insult in history:

The lesbians at Smith protest better than you do!

That's probably because lesbians have always had plenty to protest about, even in super-duper gay Northampton (Hey, Diana & Tori!). Conservatives discovered protesting when Glenn Beck told them to discover it.

Next, Rachel Maddow attended CPAC, mostly to laugh at people. I really have nothing to add here. It's just plain funny.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

So Not Funny, Keith Olbermann!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Keith Olbermann called his Worst Person in the World segment last night "unusual," and ended it with this:

All I have to say about Ann Coulter is this: If this guy wants to live his life as a woman, I'm gonna back his choice up 100 percent.

Calling Ann Coulter a man? Real unusual, Keith. And so not funny.

I know what you're thinking, because it wasn't long ago when my cis brain might have accepted this train of thought. "But Ann Coulter made a litany of gender-variant-phobic jokes in the column Keith quoted. She dissed cross-dressing! She dissed androgyny! She dissed butch lesbians! Why aren't you holding her accountable? Coulter is worse than Olbermann!" Maybe she is worse than he is, but not today. Or last night when Keith made that comment. I would really like the whole world to be above this, but I think the best hope the world has of becoming above this is if our progressive media figures become above this. Conservatives aren't going to call Coulter out on her trans hate. If anything, they might praise her for it. Progressives don't seem to be calling Olbermann out either. One woman on Twitter actually said it was the best part of her day. How's that for praise? But I still believe there are some people in the progressive movement that will tell him that his comments were offensive.

So that's why I e-mailed Keith Olbermann at Countdown@msnbc.com and told him that his comments were hurtful and possibly deadly. I mean, as long as mainstream media figures and the rest of the world are going to frame trans people as the outliers of humanity, then it doesn't make much of a difference if they were to die, right? (h/t @lilithvf1998). Making a joke about someone's gender identity does this extremely well. I think he needs to make himself tonight's Worst Person in the World. And never make a trans joke again.

A New Funny Poll

I haven't had a funny poll in a very, very long time. But it was Glenn Beck's birthday the other day, and this is my way of celebrating. In other words, I recognized the day by taking a few minutes to make fun of him. So . . . .

What do you think Glenn Beck wished for when blowing out the candles?

• More chalk to illustrate his insane conspiracy theories
• Fewer auditory hallucinations

You decide!

Take Action Monday

So CBS ended up airing the Focus on the Family ads during the Super Bowl anyway. When I saw one of them on YouTube, I commented that Focus on the Family is an extreme right-wing hate group that works to roll back the rights of women and LBGTs, meager as they already are. A loser then replied saying this: "Focus on the Family is not an extreme right-wing hate group. They believe in the love of family - every member of the family - the pregnant and the preborn. 64% of all abortions are coerced making abortion the ultimate exploitation of women. Focus on the Family is there for the family, the pregnant, and the preborn. There is no hateful propaganda on their website only love and compassion." Anti-choicers say that darndest things, don't they?

Demand maternal healthcare in Burkina Faso. Five women died of pregnancy and childbirth-related deaths in Burikna Faso ALONE on the day CBS aired ads for Focus on a Family, an organization that supports women dying as long as it aligns with their political beliefs.

Stop the lying teabaggers.

Tell the CDC and NIH to include children in their HIV vaccine studies.

Sign to take genetically modified corn off the shelves.

Tell Congress to stop wasteful defense spending.

Call on President Obama to end nuclear weapon proliferation.

Support investing in women and families.

Tell Glenn Beck that you have a weird name, and you're an American.

Speak out against offshore oil drilling.

Urge the Census Bureau to count LBGT families too.

Protect our drinking water.

See Ya, Wouldn't Wanna Be Ya

Not that I'd want to be Lou Dobbs ever. Point is, Dobbs is out a job at CNN as of today. And guess which network he's moving to. I'll give you a hint: It's where all wing-nuts from CNN go to get even crazier.

Edit 11/14/09: I thought since Lou Dobbs met with Roger Ailes, Dobbs was moving to FOX News. But that hasn't been decided. He'll probably just go the Sarah Palin route and tweet all day long.

Take Action Monday

Sorry for the lack of posts, but I was sick allll week. Fortunately, I'm getting better, so I should be posting a bit more.

Tell your Representative and Senators that being a woman is not a pre-existing condition.

Support fair salaries and unionization at WalMart.

Tell President Obama to make Sudan a priority on his next trip to China.

Urge CNN to dump Dobbs. And tell Glenn Beck what you think of him too.

Tell Senate Majority Leader Reid to support a public health insurance option.

Protect wolves from slaughter.

Urge the Sri Lankan government to release detainees.

Take Action Monday

I have to do this assignment for one of my teaching courses where I have to visit a school for a few hours, observe a class, and get some general information about the school and surrounding community. Every school I call requires that I give up my first-born child in order to do this assignment, since they don't want just anyone entering their school. When I told them I don't have any children and don't plan to, they told me a pint of my blood would be a sufficient offering. So I'll be visiting the blood bank soon. Anyway . . . .

Protect the Arctic from oil and gas development.

Encourage the 62 companies who have pulled their ads from Glenn Beck's program to stand their ground.

Support the Clean Water Protection Act.

Tell your Senators to pass healthcare reform now.

Tell your Representatives not to meet with anti-immigrant hate groups while planning immigration reform.

Support a balanced approach to achieving Middle East peace.

Urge your Representative and Senators to prioritize reproductive healthcare access in healthcare reform.

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.

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).

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.

Funny Stuff

I haven't posted any Funny Stuff in a while. Let's just say that the last month was so not funny. But it's a new month, and here are some funny videos for your enjoyment.



Betty Bowers on traditional marriage.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Burka Ban
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Jason Jones in Iran

Damn, Kristen Schaal. Where has your hilarious ass been?



The latest from Sarah Haskins.



File this under WTF. The inspiration of Barack Obama's presidential victory with all the kitsch of a Chia Pet.



File this under WTF too. Rush Limbaugh claims there's some sort of significance to the fact that Michael Jackson died during Barack Obama's presidency. And it sounds like his producers are giving him the "Please stop talking! You sound like a weirdo!" hand gesture. But Rush doesn't listen and continues to repeat his insane theory. If there ever was a time for the man to shut the fuck up . . . .

Take Action Monday

Guarantee every child gets healthcare services.

Help free Euna Lee and Laura Ling.

Repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.

Support the Water for the World Act.

Help pass comprehensive immigration reform this year.

Stand up for Florida farm workers.

Demand paid sick days.

Show your support for a public healthcare option.

End cruelty to animals used in military testing.