I’ve written before about an acquaintance in college who was shocked that I’d never heard the pun about this day: March Forth! It’s a date and a command!

For the last few years I’ve been observing my own March Forth tradition. I urge you all on this March Forth, to go please donate to The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans.

Meanwhile, thank goodness Friday. I’m seeing my doctor again today, because the last round of antibiotics didn’t knock out the infection.

Here are links to some of the interesting things I read on the web this week.

Links of the Week

Bad Ass Miss America, Yolande Betbeze Fox, Dies at 87. She was a singer, refused to model bathing suits after winning the 1951 Miss America pagent, and campaigned for civil rights from the late 1950s on. Yeah, I think bad ass is right.

This Week in Diversity

MEET THE WOMAN WHO FOUNDED “BHARAT BABIES,” A CHILDREN’S BOOK COMPANY CENTERED ON INDIAN CULTURE.

TOP TEN RESPONSES TO THE DIVERSITY BASELINE SURVEY.

Decolonise, not Diversify.

Dear White Writers,.

What It’s Really Like to Work in Hollywood – What It’s Really Like to Work in Hollywood – If you’re not a straight white man.

This week in Difficult to Classify

Ottawa man wakes to find contents of someone’s home on his driveway.

Kicked Out in America!

News for queers and our allies:

Sam Smith’s Oscar Gaffe Shows Why Teaching LGBTQ History Is So Important.

South Dakota Governor Vetoes Bad Transgender Bathroom Bill .

Gov. Nathan Deal makes a forceful, biblical case against Georgia’s ‘religious liberty’ bill.

Despite being inadvertently outed, one gay college athlete in Virginia is finding acceptance.

Science!

Fresh confusion over origins of enigmatic radio-wave blasts.

As of Tuesday, it’s the wettest winter in Seattle history.

Anchorage is so warm this year it has to import snow for the Iditarod.

Drumming Can Largely Improve Your Mental Health, Science Says.

Neandertal Chemistry: Archaic humans used manganese dioxide to start fires, not—as thought—just for body paint.

How killing wolves to protect livestock may backfire.

This device turns plastic waste into safe, edible mushrooms.

T. rex Was Likely an Invasive Species.

Why the heck does it hurt so bad to step on a Lego? Science explains.

515-Million-Year-Old Fossils Contain Exquisitely Preserved Nervous System.

A blind woman has regained sight following a controversial stem cell treatment.

New Alzheimer’s treatment fully restores memory function in mice.

Complaining Rewires Your Brain for Negativity, Science Says.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

It’s a Steampunk Universe … Unless You’re an Indigenous American.

How Long ’til Black Future Month?

Gods of Egypt is a Racist, Whitewashed Failure of a Movie.

NORWESCON: 39 YEARS OF FANDOM AND COUNTING. After missing the convention for a few years, I’m really looking forward to going again. This year will be my 27th NorWesCon!

7 ways Deadpool did right in getting Negasonic Teenage Warhead wrong.

WHAT MOVIE STUDIOS WILL ULTIMATELY GET WRONG ABOUT DEADPOOL’S SUCCESS.

Theodore Beale is the Donald Trump of Science Fiction.

The Strange Saga of a Sci-Fi Author Who Became a Prolific Pornographer.

How ‘The X-Files’ Was Accidentally Reborn as Right Wing Propaganda.

J.J. Abrams says Star Wars without gay characters is ‘insanely narrow-minded and counterintuitive’.

Fandom issue of the week

Disney made furry fandom, in a very real and direct way.

This week in Writing

Cory Doctorow: In Praise of Fanfic. An oldie, but a goodie!

Finish your Sh*t: Secrets of an Evolving Writing Process.

These Journalists Dedicated Their Lives to Telling Other People’s Stories. What Happens When No One Wants to Print Their Words Anymore?

Culture war news:

Kiddle: Child-friendly, Google-powered search site bans words including ‘bisexual’ and ‘transgender’.

80 Religious Leaders Stand Up To Say Anti-Choicers Don’t ‘Have A Monopoly On Faith’.

Booted Anti-Gay Michigan Teabagger Legislators To Face Felony Perjury Charges For Lying About Their Affair. It’s not really for lying about the affair, it’s for falsely reporting a blackmail, and then lying under oath about a bunch of things related to it.

Pat Robertson: Homosexuals Are Incapable Of Knowing Love, That Only Comes From White Jesus.

Author banned from discussing his book at speaking engagements after coming out as gay.

Who Still Opposes Gay Marriage, and Why.

Georgia “Religious Freedom” Bills and the Real Problem Nobody is Talking About.

Raising Awareness About the Dangers of “Conversion Therapy”.

Anti-Gay Georgia Senator Greg Kirk’s Elusive ‘Gay Friends’ Are Nowhere to be Found. Another anti-gay pol claims to have gay friends. Finally a reporter asks obvious followup Q: “Can I talk to them?”

This Week in the Clown Car

Why Republican criticism of Trump fails. “For half a century Republicans have been trying to recruit white nationalists without stating our intentions out loud. During election seasons we issue coded assurances to nervous racists that we support them. Concealed beneath rhetoric about constitutionalism, or religious freedom, “conservative values,” or government dependence is a promise to put the genie back in the bottle. Brown folk and women and foreigners will all be nudged back into their rightful place, properly subjugated and presumably happy. We will “take our country back.” We will “make America great again.” America will once again be a white Christian nation.”

Ben Carson, Who Felt God’s Fingers Pushing Him to Run for President, Hints at Suspending Campaign.

Trump is the GOP’s Frankenstein monster. Now he’s strong enough to destroy the party. The author of this piece is, by the way, a conservative republican. He’s right about several things, but wrong about two important bits: 1) President Obama’s foreign policy is actually a lot different than the liberals the author claims they are indistinguishable from–Obama’s foreign policies are almost exactly the same as George W. Bush’s were in his second term. 2) The majority of Republicans are bigots; most are the kind of bigot who say, “I’m not a bigot, but…” and then spout something racist, Islamophobic, homophobic, or misogynist.

Harry Reid Savages Republicans For Making Trump.

How America Made Donald Trump Unstoppable: He’s no ordinary con man. He’s way above average — and the American political system is his easiest mark ever.

To survive, Marco Rubio descends into the gutter with Donald Trump.

Ted Cruz Blames Left-Wing Policy For Detroit’s Destruction.

John Kasich Backtracks on LGBT Rights While Others Trade Insults.

This week in Other Politics:

Researchers have found strong evidence that racism helps the GOP win. “…79 percent of Republicans agree with negative statements about blacks…” A more accurate headline would be, “Study confirms majority of Republican part is racist.”

Federal Law Criminalizes Protesting Trump Now That He’s Guarded by the Secret Service.

Scalia Communicates Through Clarence Thomas from the Grave.

Torpy at Large: Are senator’s gay friends like Jan Brady’s boyfriend?

1905 Precedent Lets Obama Appoint SCOTUS Judge without Consent.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 2/27/2016 – On a hero, and on silence.

We have always been here, part 2.

Confessions of a keyboard addict.

Videos!

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Whitewashing (HBO):

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The Daily Show – Ben Carson and the Black Experience:

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Finding Dory Official US Trailer:

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Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Donald Trump (HBO):

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