Tag Archives: news

Friday Links (Wonder Woman’s the hero we need edition)

blogging, , ,

“Clark, my country is all women. To us, it's not 'gay marriage,' it's just marriage.”
“Clark, my country is all women. To us, it’s not ‘gay marriage,’ it’s just marriage.”
It’s Friday. The second Friday in Pride Month. And the news in the real world continues to be both depressing and frightening. So, if you haven’t yet, I highly recommend you go see Wonder Woman, because no matter who you are, it should make you feel empowered (well, unless you’re an alt-right/neo-nazi/MRA jerk with enough self awareness to recognize what the bad guys believe). Seriously.

Anyway, here are the links I found interesting this week, sorted into categories.

Links of the Week

Why I cried through the fight scenes in ‘Wonder Woman’.

Man who mowed lawn with tornado behind him says he ‘was keeping an eye on it’.

Mary Poppins sequel: Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Dick Van Dyke connection.

This week in awful news

We Have Already Forgotten Yesterday’s Mass Shooting in Orlando.

Orlando Awning Factory Shooting Left 2 Teens Parentless.

Friend: Orlando victim feared workplace shooter would seek revenge over firing.

News for queers and our allies:

Philly Unveils New Pride Flag with Black and Brown Stripes.

Families of Pulse Victims Urge Churches to Toll Bells.

Scissor Sisters and MNDR Release New Track ‘Swerlk’ as Pulse Shooting Anniversary Approaches. (Video below)

Remembering the History of the UpStairs Lounge.

For Pride Month Shameless Fancies made these flags.

Sometimes You Just Outlast It .

Being Gay vs. Being Southern: A False Choice.

Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters: Why there is still a need for Black LGBTQ Pride events.

This week in Wonder Woman

How ‘Wonder Woman’ Brought Colors to the DC Universe.

Is David Edelstein’s Wonder Woman Review Just Asking For It?
 
Wonder Woman Review: Gal Gadot Did Not Give Me a Hard Enough Boner.
Great satire of the horrible Edielstein review…

Blood Tribe actor from Alberta speaks Blackfoot language in Wonder Woman movie.

Why It Matters That DC Comics Confirmed Wonder Woman’s Bisexuality.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

John Scalzi and Annalee Newitz Say Sci-Fi is Always Political.

Why Doctor Who Season 10 is the perfect palate cleanser for the current political climate.

Oldest Fossils of Homo Sapiens Found in Morocco, Altering History of Our Species.

VHS Tapes: How Archivists Are Working To Save Them.

Scientists discover plants have ‘brains’ that decide when to sprout.

Ravens Remember People Who Have Wronged Them, Study Says.

Fossil mushroom discovered from the era of the dinosaurs.

This week in Writing

A Simple Trick for Better Self-Editing .

This week in Words

The order of the definitions may not mean what you think – Dictionary Facts and Trivia.

Culture war news:

Scott Lively Celebrates After Judge Condemns His ‘Crackpot Bigotry’.

North Carolina woman admits leading 30 parishioners in beating of gay church member to expel his ‘demons’.

This Week Regarding the Lying Liar:

Is Trump’s blocking of some Twitter users unconstitutional? A lot of people think the first amendment is only about personal expression and the press, but the first amendment also guarantees citizens the right to petition their government; Trump has turned his personal twitter account into an official policy communication conduit and some would argue a public forum.

Making Ignorance Great Again.

The $110 billion arms deal to Saudi Arabia is fake news.

How Donald Trump Shifted Kids-Cancer Charity Money Into His Business.

Trump campaign’s ‘Pittsburgh, not Paris’ rally draws ‘dozens’.

This week in Politics:

John McCain’s questions to James Comey did not make sense.

This Week in Racists, White Nationalists, and other deplorables

Kids Are Quoting Trump To Bully Their Classmates And Teachers Don’t Know What To Do About It.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 5/3/2017: Heroes come in all genders.

Dancing my plot with a playlist.

Is that a light at the end of the tunnel, or an oncoming train?

The meaning of everything—more adventures in dictionaries.

Videos!

MNDR, Scissor Sisters – SWERLK [OFFICIAL LYRICS]:

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)

Robbie Williams – Angels (One Love Manchester):

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)

Weekend Update 6/3/2017: Heroes come in all genders

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Jane Curtin anchoring Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live.
Jane Curtin anchoring Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live.
Yesterday’s weekly round up of links had only one story on Wonder Woman: the fact that is had an extremely positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes (among all superhero movies of all time, second only to The Incredibles.) I didn’t include any stories about the man-babies who are complaining: Conservatives Cry Misogynist Tears Over All-Female “Wonder Woman” Show. So Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas announced a couple of “No Guys Allowed” showings at two of it’s theatres, one in Austin, one in Brooklyn. And a bunch of entitled douches got upset. This kicked of a string of responses. My favorite is: Austin Mayor Responds To Man Angry About ‘Wonder Woman’ Screening. I love that the mayor’s response begins, “I am writing to alert you that your email account has been hacked by an unfortunate and unusually hostile individual. Please remedy your account’s security right away, lest this person’s uninformed and sexist rantings give you a bad name. After all, we men have to look out for each other!”

Michael and I saw the movie last night at a theatre near our new place and the movie is very good. It’s a lot of fun. Wonder Woman is heroic and human and uplifting and… it’s really good. Go see it! You don’t have to just take my word for it: ‘Wonder Woman’ Review: Gal Gadot Lights Up The Screen In Comic-Book Gem That’s Funny But Not Campy. And it looks like audiences are happy: ‘Wonder Woman’ Breaks Glass Ceiling For Female Directors With $97M+ Debut; Earns ‘A’ CinemaScore.

And let’s talk about some real-life heroes. I had a bunch of stories yesterday about last week’s hate crime/white nationalist terror attack on a Portland train. The quick sum-up, an angry man started yelling at two teen-age women of color on the train, three guys tried to intervene, the angry man stabbed all three guys, two of whom died at the scene. Angry man is in custody and at his arraignment was screaming white nationalist slogans. People have donated a lot of money to funds to help the families of the two men who died and help cover the medical expense of the survivor. I covered all of that, yesterday.

Today we have: Portland stabbing victim Micah Fletcher calls out “white savior complex” in response to attack. Fletcher doesn’t want us to forget that the victims in these crimes are not the guys who try to stand up for the targets of hatred, but the people initially targeted:

“We need to remember that this is about those little girls. I want you to imagine that for a second, being a little girl on that MAX.This man is screaming at you. His face is a pile of knives. His body is a gun. Everything about him is cocked, loaded and ready to kill you. There is a history here with this. You can feel that this has happened before, and the only thing that was different was the names and faces. And then a stranger, two strangers, three strangers come to your aid. They try to help you. And that pile of knives just throws itself at them. Kills them.”
—Micah Fletcher

And while people like Micah are standing up, others are not: Trump misses opportunity to reassure U.S. Muslims after Portland attack and Will Donald Trump Ever Say the Words ‘White Supremacist Terrorism’?

The Google Doodle honoring Gilbert Baker, creator of the Pride Flag.
The Google Doodle honoring Gilbert Baker, creator of the Pride Flag.
It’s June! Queer Pride Month. Did you see yesterday’s Google Doodle: Google honors Gilbert Baker, late rainbow flag designer. And you really should go here and watch how the artist made the doodle. It’s cool! Gilbert Baker’s 66th Birthday.

Speaking of Pride Month: Netflix And FilmRise Separately Acquire Transgender-Themed Documentary Films. One of the documentaries is The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson; Johnson was one of the trans heroes at the original Stonewall Riots, and is often credited with being the actual person who threw the first brick that night.

Friday Links (crayons of all kinds editions)

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“We are all a little broken. But last time I checked, broken crayons still color the same.”
“We are all a little broken. But last time I checked, broken crayons still color the same.”
We had an extremely productive holiday weekend, getting a lot of errands and unpacking done. There’s still a lot to do. I hoped to continue the work weeknights this week, but we had another impossible deadline at work this week, which meant I worked really long hours Tuesday, Wednesday, and a bit of Thursday. That also means that this week’s collections of links may be a bit smaller than usual.

Anyway, here are the links I found interesting this week, sorted into categories.

Links of the Week

The stolen childhoods of Kashmir in pencil and crayon.

Cat is summoned for jury duty in Boston; court rejects owners’ appeal to disqualify him.

Barack Obama beats Donald Trump as Gallup’s ‘Most Admired Man of 2016’.

Let’s talk about crayons!

In case you missed it a couple of months ago: Color us sad: Crayola is retiring the dandelion crayon.

Retiring Crayola Crayon makes farewell stop in Little Rock.

And now the replacement: Discovered in a Lab, a New Superblue Will Be Unleashed Upon the World as a Crayola Crayon.

This week in hate crimes

Suspect in Portland Hate Crime Murders is a Known White Supremacist.

Portland mayor says MAX attack an act of terrorism. Yes: white, christian terrorism inspired by the Deplorable One

Young father run down, killed in Grays Harbor County campground confrontation. Let me correct that headline: it was not a confrontation, it was a hate crime

Suspect in hit-and-run that killed Quinault tribal member charged with manslaughter, vehicular assault.

The Portland Heroes Who Stood Up To Hate.

Portland MAX hero’s last words: ‘Tell everyone on this train I love them’.

‘Never seen anything like this’: Inside Indonesia’s LGBT crackdown.

White Calif. Man Charged With Hate Crime After Stabbing Black Man With Machete: Report.

This Week in Restoring Our Faith in Humanity

Muslim groups raise nearly $500,000 for families of ‘Portland heroes’ – It only took 5 hours to shatter their initial $60,000 goal.

News for queers and our allies:

Mom of genderqueer teen writes touching email to college student about photo shoot.

Gay Pride Celebrations Worldwide to Honor Orlando, One Year After Pulse Nightclub Attack.

Rainbow Playbills Take Over Broadway as Fourth Annual Playbill Pride Kicks Off.

What Not To Do, When Calling Yourself a Transgender Ally.

THE RIGHT TO BE REMARKABLY UNREMARKABLE – BEING FREE TO BE LGBTQ AND BE EXCEPTIONAL, OR PERFECTLY ORDINARY, IS A TREMENDOUS GIFT.

‘Boy Erased’ is a heartbreaking memoir about the journey of self-acceptance.

Federal Appeals Court Rules In Favor Of Transgender Student.

Science!

BEST JUPITER IMAGES FROM JUNO … SO FAR.

Bright spots on our moon could be frost, says NASA.

Video: Astronaut shows the proper way to eat pudding in space.

Jupiter, Saturn and Venus Will All Be on Display in June.

Dinosaur embryo returned to China, but many fossils fall victim to illegal trade and poor protection.

It turns out that we may have more than five basic tastes.

Draper’s Genetically Modified Cyborg DragonflEye Takes Flight.

‘Scrappy’ skeleton hints earliest primates hung out in trees.

One of Crispr’s Creators Faces Her Fears.

Scientists Created Artificial Nanoparticles That Can Communicate With Each Other.

Complex Brain Evolution In Vertebrates Likely Began With Two Simple Parts, Not Three.

A third detection of gravitational waves is changing our understanding of black holes.

Scientists Have Discovered a Brand New Type of Neuron.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

Queer Fantasy Roots: The Changing Role of Amazons.

Us Versus Them, or What Happens When SF Fandom Can’t See Past Its Own Blinders.

‘Wonder Woman’ Lassos Best Rotten Tomatoes Score of Any DC or Marvel Movie.

This Week in Tech

Why I can’t/won’t point to Facebook blog posts.

John Gruber agrees and gives more points: F–k Facebook.

Culture war news:

Washington State Blocked a Black Woman From Selling Legal Pot Because Her Spouse Is in Priso.

House Overwhelmingly Supports Bill Subjecting Teen Sexters to 15 Years in Federal Prison.

Let’s talk about Native American Voter Suppression.

This Week Regarding the Lying Liar:

Hacks, Leaks, and Tweets: Everything We Now Know About the Attack on the 2016 Election.

HOW STEPHEN MILLER RODE WHITE RAGE FROM DUKE’S CAMPUS TO TRUMP’S WEST WING.

No, the “grown-ups” won’t save us: A favorite Beltway fantasy bites the dust again.

This Week in Racists, White Nationalists, and other deplorables

“March Against Sharia” Intended for Portland Is Headed for Seattle Instead.

A Few Things Got Left Out of The Daily Caller’s Report on Confederate Monument Rally – Daily Caller hired white supremacist to cover demonstration by white supremacists.

I Met the White Nationalist Who Says Trump Made Him Rough Up a Protester.

More Than An Occasional Crank: 2,012 Times the Center for Immigration Studies Circulated White Nationalist Content.

Farewells:

Frank Deford, NPR’s Longtime Philosopher Of Sports, Dies At 78.

Frank Deford’s Wicked Grace.

Pierce Brosnan Writes Tribute to Roger Moore: ‘We Fell in Love With a Magnificent Actor’.

In Unmourned Departures:

In Panama, many indifferent to former dictator Noriega’s death; relatives of Noriega’s victims many will never know what happened to the presumed dead.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 5/27/2012: Elected bullies behaving badly.

It used to be called Decoration Day… (or, Memorial for Grandma).

While we’re on the subject of Memorial Day….

Achievement unlocked: No Shuttling Weekend! (And we can haz library?).

Weather shifts, linguistic relativity, and the search for the perfect writing beverage.

Odd, strange, eccentric — more adventures in dictionaries.

Videos!

Mary Lambert – Know Your Name “Yes, I did make the nerdy queer version of “Bad Blood”.”:

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)

Martin Garrix & Troye Sivan – There For You (Official Video):

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)

Weekend Update 5/27/2012: Elected bullies behaving badly

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Gary Owens from Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Gary Owens from Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In
So, on the eve of a special election a congressional candidate body slammed a reporter for the temerity of asking him a question about the health care bill currently in congress. He assaulted the reporter in front of witnesses. There is audio of the assault. And yet, he won the election: Body slam a journalist, win an election: Readers see ominous signs in Gianforte’s victory By the way, I refuse to say “alleged assault” because in a subsequent speech the candidate has admitted that he did it. But we shouldn’t be surprised, I mean, after all: Montana Congressional Candidate Greg Gianforte Has Close Ties with Extremist White Supremacist Pastor because of course he does!

There are so many things I could say about this, but I think this tweet sums it up:

“Here's what I know about people: You don't grab someone by the throat and throw them to the ground for the first time at age 56.” —@todgoldberg
“Here’s what I know about people: You don’t grab someone by the throat and throw them to the ground for the first time at age 56.” —@todgoldberg

Let’s move on to someone who may finally be facing justice. Back in 2012 a high school student in Rhode Island sued to have a religious banner removed from her public school. Shortly after a court ordered the school to remove the mural, state legislator Peter Palumbo said in a radio interview that the student was an “evil little thing.” So a government official, an adult, was bashing a teen-age girl because she had the audacity to stand up for the Constitution. Classic bullying behavior. Well, Palumbo apparently does know a thing or two about evil: RI State Rep. Who Called Teen Atheist “Evil Little Thing” Indicted for Embezzlement.

He lost re-election recently. Not for bullying a teen-age girl, of course, no that didn’t cost him any votes. He was revealed to be involved in a financial scandal. This week, he was indicted on charges of embezzling tens of thousands of dollars from his campaign funds. This has nothing to do with the contract scandal that cost him his office. This is another illegal not-so-little thing he was doing.

I wish the Rhode Island citizens would have tossed this guy out on his ear back then, but they seemed to have been too busy making death threats and bullying the teen-ager who stood up for the Constitution. At least, now, karma has caught up with one of her bullies.

Friday Links (what would Yoda do edition)

blogging, , ,

“Do or do not. There is no try!”
“Do or do not. There is no try!”
We finished clearing out the old place. I went to bed early two nights in a row. I haven’t really worked on any unpacking at the new place the last few days. We have a lot to do in that regard, but we’ve been spending every spare moment dealing with the move for about six weeks, and we’ve both been exhausted and sore the whole time, so a couple of days of just going to work has been an incredible rest.

Anyway, here are the links I found interesting this week, sorted into categories.

Links of the Week

Proof Chris Evans Really Is Captain America.

15 Acts Of Heroism By Everyday People.

Restoring Our Faith in the Rule of Law

Supreme Court strikes down North Carolina gerrymandering.

This week in Comments, Trolls, and Wankers

Take Your Platitude And Shove It Up Your…….

This week in awful news

Manchester attack: government ‘furious’ at US leaks of forensic photographs.

U.S. House Reps Introduce Resolution Condemning Anti-Gay Violence in Chechnya.

Manchester was an attack on girls.

This week in awful people

Miami ‘Joker’ Bonds Out of Jail, Speaks About Gun Charges.

News for queers and our allies:

Taiwan’s High Court Rules Same-Sex Marriage Is Legal, In A First For Asia.

Nevada governor signs bill to ban conversion therapy.

Four facts reporters should include in stories about Texas’ pending attack on the transgender community.

Dear straight allies, please don’t come to pride until you’ve understood these 6 things.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

Remembering Carrie Fisher on Stars Wars 40th Anniversary.

Cast of Star Wars: The Last Jedi Takes Over Vanity Fair and It’s Glorious.

Where’s the Queer Representation in Science Fiction and Fantasy Media?

Why the 40th Anniversary of ‘Star Wars’ Matters.

Looking Back at Moonraker’s Insane Attempt to Turn James Bond Into Star Wars.

Here are the winners of this year’s Nebula Awards.

Star Wars 40th anniversary: That’s no moon … but what if it were?

The Nebulas Do Diversity.

NEBULA AWARDS WEEKEND PATREON PANEL. Interesting advice on how to use Patreon…

Star Wars’ Head-Banging Stormtrooper Explains the Classic Blunder.

40th Anniversary Of Star Wars: An Ode To Action Figures, Both Past And Present.

‘Star Wars’ Opened 40 Years Ago: Background Actors Recount How Movie Changed Their Lives.

And other news:

Twitter Founder “Sorry” If He Helped Put Trump in Office.

As crime dries up, Japan’s police hunt for things to do.

This Week in History

Gendering The Past.

This Week in Tech

Safari vs. Chrome on the Mac.

This Week in Covering the News

The Seth Rich lie, and how the corrosion of reality should worry every American.

The life and death of the Seth Rich conspiracy theory.

This Week Regarding the Lying Liar:

As Trump unravels, so do Fox’s ratings.

Donald Trump, Our A.I. President.

Trump’s Election Integrity Commission Could Have A ‘Chilling Effect’ On Voting Rights.

Trump wasn’t always so linguistically challenged. What could explain the change?

The Pentagon Can’t Believe Trump Told Another President About Nuclear Subs Near North Korea.

News about the Fascist Regime:

Nope. No and Also No Way.

The Questions About Obstruction Now Spread to White House Staff.

Trump Budget Based on $2 Trillion Math Error.

This week in Politics:

Here’s what the ‘glowing orb’ Trump touched in Saudi Arabia actually was.

Jeremy Corbyn has defied his critics to become Labour’s best hope of survival: His anti-austerity manifesto has been therapeutic, renewing his party’s identity and sense of moral purpose.

This Week in Racists, White Nationalists, and other deplorables

White supremacist converts to Islam — then kills neo-Nazi pals for disrespecting his new faith: police.

How the Swastika Became a Confederate Flag.

Donald Trump’s Base Is Shrinking.

FBI Investigating If Killing on University of Maryland Campus Is Hate Crime.

Farewells:

Roger Moore, beloved James Bond actor, dead at 89 after short cancer battle.

Roger Moore – Saint, Persuader and the suavest James Bond – dies aged 89.

The story everyone’s sharing about Roger Moore.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 5/20/2017: More words and pictures.

Confessions of a penny pinching packrat.

And we’re out!

Look that up in your Funk and Wagnalls – more adventures in dictionaries.

Videos!

Roger Moore Back as Bond! What if… Spectre Trailer:

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)

NY Library Brings Drag Queens to Kids Story Hour:

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)

Is Atheism Prideful?:

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)

Queen – Frankie Grande (Official Music Video):

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)

BABY STRANGE – Pure Evil:

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)

Weekend Update 5/20/2017: More words and pictures

news,
“Several people close to the president say his reliance on a small cadre of advisers as he mulled firing Comey reflects his broader distrust of many of his own staffers. He leans heavily on daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner, as well as Hope Hicks, his trusted campaign spokeswoman and Keith Schiller, his longtime bodyguard. Schiller was among those Trump consulted about Comey and was tapped by the president to deliver a letter informing the director of his firing.”
“Several people close to the president say his reliance on a small cadre of advisers as he mulled firing Comey reflects his broader distrust of many of his own staffers. He leans heavily on daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner, as well as Hope Hicks, his trusted campaign spokeswoman and Keith Schiller, his longtime bodyguard. Schiller was among those Trump consulted about Comey and was tapped by the president to deliver a letter informing the director of his firing.”

The Associated Press article being quoted in the above is available here: FIRESTORM OVER COMEY’S DISMISSAL ADDS TO TRUMP FRUSTRATIONS.

But her emails…
“Tell him is fake news. Work of moose and squirrel.” Cartoon by Pat Byrnes from the New Yorker.
“Tell him is fake news. Work of moose and squirrel.” Cartoon by Pat Byrnes from the New Yorker.

The Pat Byrnes cartoon originally published here: DAILY CARTOON: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29TH

“Jesus regularly ate dinner with thieves and prostitutes, but you're telling me it's against your religion to bake a cake for a gay person?”
“Jesus regularly ate dinner with thieves and prostitutes, but you’re telling me it’s against your religion to bake a cake for a gay person?”

Friday Links (I need more coffee edition)

blogging, , ,

Cup of coffee with the phrase, “Hello Darkness, my old friend.”
“Hello Darkness, my old friend.”
We’re STILL unpacking at the new place and still cleaning the old place. So not having a lot of time to work on things like this post.

Anyway, here are the links I found interesting this week, sorted into categories.

Links of the Week

‘Disgusted’ Women, Minorities Criticize Viral Atlantic Story ‘My Family’s Slave’.

Alex Tizon’s Brutal Honesty.

This Week in Restoring Our Faith in Humanity

Movement To Stop ‘Lunch Shaming’ Hits Seattle, Snohomish County.

This Week in the Economy

The self-made man is a myth, Arnold Schwarzenegger tells students.

If Declining Towns ‘Deserve to Die,’ Where Should Their Residents Go?

This week in the environment

Energy Department to Investigate Collapse at Hanford Nuclear Site.

News for queers and our allies:

Nevada outlaws anti-gay clinical therapy on children.

Joe Biden: Americans must stand with LGBT people around the world .

Stunning Photos Debunk The Myth That Queerness Is ‘Un-African’.

Huge win: Supreme Court won’t revive North Carolina GOP’s discriminatory voter suppression law.

Target doubles down on Pride celebrations despite anti-LGBT boycott.

Berkeley schools go beyond bathrooms to support gender non-conforming students.

BuzzFeed Threw Its First Queer Prom And It Was Seriously Beautiful.

Trans Students Must Be Protected from Hate Groups.

‘The Flash’ Star Keiynan Lonsdale Comes Out as Bisexual: ‘I’ve Become Bored of Being Insecure, Ashamed, Scared’.

Science!

The Amazing Dinosaur Found (Accidentally) by Miners in Canada.

Space bender: A galaxy cluster distorts the fabric of space, creating beautiful patterns of light.

Mars May Have Been Born in the Asteroid Belt.

Why Quantum Computers Might Not Break Cryptography.

Optical nanofiber ‘hears’ bacteria swim, cancer cells move.

Smithsonian Solves 150-Year-Old Mystery Death Of Collector And Puts Bones On Display.

Mars Rover Opportunity Begins Study of Valley’s Origin.

Scientists Found Sperm’s Power Switch—And a Way to Turn It Off.

Migratory birds bumped off schedule as climate change shifts spring.

This 36-Million-Year-Old Fossil Is a “Missing Link” in Whale Evolution.

This Week in Tech

“MP3 is dead” missed the real, much better story.
“MP3 is supported by everything, everywhere, and is now patent-free. There has never been another audio format as widely supported as MP3, it’s good enough for almost anything, and now, over twenty years since it took the world by storm, it’s finally free.”

INSIDE APPLE’S INSANELY GREAT (OR JUST INSANE) NEW MOTHERSHIP.

How to Accidentally Stop a Global Cyber Attack.

The WannaCry attack should be a wake-up call for consumers, businesses and governments.

Why Doesn’t Apple’s State-of-the-Art New Campus Include a Day Care? Seriously – a two-story yoga studio, but no on site day care?

This Week in Covering the News

Sinclair Requires TV Local Stations to Air Segments That Tilt to the Right.
“Tilt” is putting it mildly; they are full-fledged propaganda…

Culture war news:

Jordan may end reviled law on rape: Parliament is asked to repeal Article 308, which allows attackers to avoid prison if they marry their victims.

Gay, transgender rights in Texas under attack in state Legislature.

Man who killed trans woman with hammer sentenced to 49 years for hate crime.

Christian Mother Mourns Loss of Son She Abandoned for Being Gay (On His Wedding Day).

West Virginia Supreme Court Rules Anti-Gay Assaults Are Not Hate Crimes.

This Week in the Resistance:

My home state’s Attorney General is also and internationally-rated chess player. In this analysis for Time magazine, it shows: Washington AG: President Trump’s Aggression Will Be His Undoing.

This week in so-called Christians

About those Trump Voters for God? Stop Calling them “Fake Christians”. I understand the point he’s trying to make, but as a fellow survivor of an oppressive denomination, I will keep calling them “so-called Christians”

This Week Regarding the Lying Liar:

David Brooks is quite often an idiot, but he nails some important truths here which most of his fellow conservative pundits have yet to admit: When the World Is Led by a Child.
“We’ve got this perverse situation in which the vast analytic powers of the entire world are being spent trying to understand a guy whose thoughts are often just six fireflies beeping randomly in a jar… And out of that void comes a carelessness that quite possibly betrayed an intelligence source, and endangered a country.”

News about the Fascist Regime:

Trump Spurns Congress as He Signals Medical Marijuana Fight.
He’s spent his entire life ignoring and bypassing laws; we shouldn’t be surprised when he does it as president…

This week in Politics:

Vermont becomes first state to pass legislation legalizing all pot use.
(All previous legalization have been by a vote of the public)

Nevada recreational marijuana industry clears state hurdles.

How close is legal marijuana in PA?

This Week in Racists, White Nationalists, and other deplorables

Paul Babeu, Lando Voyles seek apology, retraction from new Pinal County Attorney.

Ex-Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu hearts the shiny badge and spiffy uniform of his erstwhile office so much that he seems loath to relinquish it online.

Farewells:

Sin City, S.H.I.E.L.D. alum Powers Boothe passes away at the age of 68.

Powers Boothe, Actor Known for ‘Deadwood’ and Other Dark Roles, Dies at 68.

Powers Boothe: Actor who revelled in playing charismatic villains and all-round bad guys.

Charles Esten Remembers ‘Kind and Charasmatic’ Powers Boothe

Chris Cornell, Soundgarden and Audioslave Frontman, Dies at 52.

Chris Cornell dead: What the Soundgarden singer said about great artists dying too young.

‘Devastating loss’: Music world mourns death of Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell.

In Unmourned Departures:

Roger Ailes Will Be Remembered As a Pitiful Abuser, But His Legacy Lives On in Trump.

Things I wrote:

Weekend Update 5/13/2017: Pictures and words.

Confessions of a cluttering packrat, part 2.

Unknown Search Terms and other meta-blogging emphemera.

Where do plots come from?

Cromulent is as cromulent does — adventures with dictionaries.

Videos!

Chris Cornell – Nearly Forgot My Broken Heart:

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)

Chris Cornell “Nothing Compares 2 U” Prince Cover Live @ SiriusXM // Lithium:

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)

Soundgarden – Loud Love:

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)

ERASURE – Love You To The Sky (Official Lyric Video):

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)

Weekend Update 5/13/2017: Pictures and words

blogging, , ,

I keep saving various images to possibly use to illustrate a Friday Links post or a political commentary, then wind up using only a fraction of them. We have another busy weekend of hauling things to Value Village and cleaning out the old place, so no time to do much writing or commenting on anything that’s happened since I put together this week’s roundup of links, so, here are some of my recently collected images/memes/what-have-you:

“I hate when I wake up in the morning & Donald Trump is still president”
“I hate when I wake up in the morning & Donald Trump is still president”
“TrumpCare: Pay more for less; 24 million lose insurance; 'Age Tax' for older Americans; Guts Medicaid; Huge tax cuts for millionaires”
“TrumpCare: Pay more for less; 24 million lose insurance; ‘Age Tax’ for older Americans; Guts Medicaid; Huge tax cuts for millionaires”
Nixon is no longer the most corrupt President in our history. Dubya is no longer the dumbest President in our history. Trump stole both titles in only 110 days.
Nixon is no longer the most corrupt President in our history. Dubya is no longer the dumbest President in our history. Trump stole both titles in only 110 days.
Number of times each has been accused of sexual assault: Trump 14, O'Reilly 7, Ailes more than 20 times, Obama 0 (zero)!
Number of times each has been accused of sexual assault/harassment: Trump 14, O’Reilly 7, Ailes more than 20 times, Obama 0 (zero)!
“We had a choice between a woman who is the most qualified candidate ever to seek the presidency and a man who boasted about being a serial sex abuser, and some people still want to debate if sexism played a role in the election.”
“We had a choice between a woman who is the most qualified candidate ever to seek the presidency and a man who boasted about being a serial sex abuser, and some people still want to debate if sexism played a role in the election.”
“This man launched his campaign by demeaning Mexicans; spent his entire campaign using racist dog whistles; promised policies to harm refugees, immigrants, and citizens who are people of color; and some people still want to debate whether racism played a role in the election.”
“This man launched his campaign by demeaning Mexicans; spent his entire campaign using racist dog whistles; promised policies to harm refugees, immigrants, and citizens who are people of color; and some people still want to debate whether racism played a role in the election.”
“This infamous nemesis of the LGBT community was chosen as Trump's running mate, and people still want to debate whether homophobia and transphobia played a role in the election.”
“This infamous nemesis of the LGBT community was chosen as Trump’s running mate, and people still want to debate whether homophobia and transphobia played a role in the election.”
“The problem with (some) christians: That they think they are bing that guy (points to Jesus being lashed and tortured) whilst behaving like those guys (points to the roman soldiers beating Jesus).”
“The problem with (some) christians: That they think they are bing that guy (points to Jesus being lashed and tortured) whilst behaving like those guys (points to the roman soldiers beating Jesus).”
“A bunch of snowflakes = an avalanche” and “Make hate wrong again”
“A bunch of snowflakes = an avalanche” and “Make hate wrong again”
“We fight today for a better tomorrow.”
“We fight today for a better tomorrow.”

Friday Links (bengal cat and otter edition)

blogging, , ,

Sam The Bengal Cat & Pip The Otter
Sam The Bengal Cat & Pip The Otter
We’re still unpacking at the new place and still getting the last straggling things out of the old. I’m looking forward to some mythical day in the future where I’m not constantly exhausted. I have been slightly less sore most of this week, so that’s a good thing, right?

Anyway, here are the links I found interesting this week, sorted into categories.

Links of the Week

What Is “Free Speech,” Anyway?

It Was Cultural Anxiety That Drove White, Working-Class Voters to Trump.

No Strings Attached.

This Week in Seattle Area News

Our Weed Is So Good, a Seattle Cop Has Allegedly Been Exporting It to the East Coast.

Tacoma might sue opioid makers as part of battle against homelessness.

This week in the environment

Energy Department to Investigate Collapse at Hanford Nuclear Site.

Science!

Scientists Think They’ve Finally Found The Mechanism Behind Grey Hair And Baldness.

In a new book on duck sex, dancing birds, and human orgasms, Richard Prum argues against a cold and utilitarian view of nature’s splendor.

Comets Produce Their Own Oxygen, Planets Could Do The Same Without Needing Life.

Scientists warn thawing soil could suddenly unleash deadly pathogens unseen in centuries.

Getting to Grips With Time Crystals. What is That Really?

Daily dose of cannabis extract could reverse brain’s decline in old age, study suggests.

If science is murdered in a forest and nobody is around to hear it, does that mean the climate isn’t changing?

Humans Are Less Genetically Diverse Than Wheat. What Does That Mean for Our Species?

Scientific American: Why Don’t People Return Their Shopping Carts?

HIV life expectancy ‘near normal’ thanks to new drugs.

Oldest Evidence of Life on Earth Possibly Found in Australian Rocks.

Scientists are turning loose 40,000 sex-hungry mosquitos in Florida to fight Zika.

New 2D Quantum Material Can Conduct Electricity at Nearly the Speed of Light.

Scientists Say Greenland Sharks May Live 400 Years.

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Speculation!

“Tron Guy” Joins the Alt-Right (Except When It Comes to Furries).

ON THE NEED TO MAKE GREAT THINGS GREAT AGAIN.

Facing Facts: American Identity is Based on Alternate History.

This week in Words

‘Supposably’ vs. ‘Supposedly’ – They’re both real. But which are you supposed to use?

This Week in Tech

Steve Jobs’ custom Apple I and other historic machines are on display at Seattle museum.

An oldie, but a goodie by the late great David Carr from the days when the notion of someone posting something on a blog going viral was still new: One Man’s Musical Tastes as Fodder for a Flame War.

This week in Topics Most People Can’t Be Rational About

America’s Uniquely Lethal Domestic Violence Problem.

A statistical guide to firearms, intimate partner abuse, and the children, parents, and police who become victims, too.

Culture war news:

Stephen Fry Runs Afoul of Ireland’s Blasphemy Law for Disrespecting ‘Capricious, Mean-Minded, Stupid God’ on TV in 2015.

White Male Terrorists Are an Issue We Should Discuss.

Another Religious Right Claim Of Anti-Christian Persecution Gets Utterly Debunked.

‘Straight out of the Nazi playbook’: Hindu nationalists try to engineer ‘genius’ babies in India.

Baby born clutching IUD? Free abortion vacations? Nope — but such urban legends are very useful to the right.

Texas House passes bill protecting religious adoption agencies that deny services, turn away prospective parents.

Texas House votes to bar vaccinations of new foster children, even to prevent cancer.

The Creationist Suing Grand Canyon Park Officials for Discrimination Is Just a Bad Scientist.

This Week in Fighting Back in the Culture War:

Suing the trolls: A woman’s lawsuit against a neo-Nazi’s “troll storm” could change how to fight back against online harassment.

NCAC Demands Ohio High School Restore Eleanor & Park to English Curriculum.

This Week in the Resistance:

Dan Rather Just Gave The BEST Response To Trump’s Comey Firing.

In the wake of Trump’s brazen power play, it’s time to go nuclear.

This week in so-called Christians

Christian Minister Spent Over $30,000 on Fancy Clothes… Because He Sweat Too Much.

This Week Regarding the Lying Liar:

Poll: Trump’s health care and tax plans are very, very unpopular.

Behind Comey’s firing: An enraged Trump, fuming about Russia.

Donald Trump’s fear of the Russia scandal becomes more obvious.

Trump’s Tuesday night massacre.

News about the Fascist Regime:

Obama personally warned Trump against hiring Flynn as national security adviser: report.

Eric Trump ‘said we have all the funding we need out of Russia’, golf writer claims.

Trump Administration Cites Pro-Segregation Ruling To Defend Its Travel Ban.

Bad News for Everyone! The 2020 Census Is Already in Trouble.

Look past Jim Comey: The Census director’s sudden resignation may create serious long-term problems.

Grand jury subpoenas issued in FBI Russia probe: report.

Reporter arrested for asking Tom Price if domestic violence is a pre-existing condition under Trumpcare.

Acting FBI Director Contradicts Everything White House Has Said About FBI, Is Definitely Also Getting Fired.

This week in Politics:

How the Affordable Care Act Drove Down Personal Bankruptcy.

‘AN ACT OF MONSTROUS CRUELTY’ – Every Republican who voted for this abomination must be held accountable

Letter: Can’t get through to Chaffetz. Constituent discovers the congressman’s office has blocked all numbers coming from his own state…

Northwest Immigrant Rights Project Sues Feds Over Request to Stop Helping Undocumented People.

This Week in Racists, White Nationalists, and other deplorables

U.S. Far-Right Activists Promote Hacking Attack Against Macron.

Things I wrote:

Who are you going to believe?

“You’re not going to believe someone like that, are you?”

Questions some authors dread: Where do you get your ideas?

Videos!

BLADE RUNNER 2049 – Official Trailer:

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)

WONDER WOMAN – Rise of the Warrior [Official Final Trailer]:

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)

Jimmy Kimmel on Response to Emotional Monologue About Baby & Health Care Debate:

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)

Iron Sky The Coming Race – Official Teaser Trailer:

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)

Sam The Bengal Cat & Pip The Otter:

(If embedding doesn’t work, click here.)

“You’re not going to believe someone like that, are you?”

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About a month ago a political scandal reared its head in Seattle. An anonymous man filed a lawsuit against Mayor Ed Murray—our fist openly gay mayor, a man who served many years in the state legislature as an openly gay man—alleging that decades ago when the plaintiff was 15 years old, Murray had paid him for sex. Because of the age of the plaintiff at time, if the allegations are true, it would have been consider sexual assault, child rape, et cetera because the younger man was below the age of consent.

It was difficult to know how to respond to the allegations. The lawsuit was filed just six weeks before the filing deadline to run for mayor. The law firm representing the plaintiff is headed by a notorious anti-gay activitist. False accusations of sexual predation on underaged boys are lodged against gay men all the time. The lawyer handling the case has since behaved as if this is a crazy PR stunt rather than a case. For example, going online on local news sites to make long and very unlawyerly comments on stories about the case, or filing “motions” with the court that have nothing to do with the case but contain long press release-style recounting a of rumors about odd things that have happened around the mayor.

Three more accusers have stepped forward, two of whom had tried to make similar allegations some years ago, but were unable to convince police in Portland, Oregon in 1984 to file charges, and more recently even the local Republican-leaning paper felt there wasn’t enough evidence to print their story of being abused in a group home where Murray worked in the 80s. The paper rushed to publish the 9-year-old interviews as soon of the law suit was filed.

To be clear, among the reasons I leaned toward thinking the allegations are probably false is that in 1984 police in Portland, Oregon were not exactly known for being pro-gay, neither was the Multnomah County Prosecutor. At the time, Murray was an openly gay man with a degree in Sociology working with troubled youth. Not exactly the sort of person you would expect the police or prosecutors to go easy on in regards to charges of child rape. That led me to think that in the 1984 investigation it wasn’t merely a lack of corroborating evidence, but that there was actually evidence refuting the charges.

On the other hand, my own experience of surviving physical and emotional abuse from a parent, and how people didn’t believe me (even people who witnessed some of the abuse), as well as the many accounts of survivors of various kinds of abuse whose allegations are dismissed out of hand, the stastistics about rape victims being disbelieved, and so forth, made me reluctant to leap to the conclusion that the allegations were false.

But then there was the way Murray chose to defend himself. Rather than simply deny the allegations and say that he was looking forward to his day in court (the statute of limitations for criminal charges is long past, so it’s a civil lawsuit), Murray and his lawyer initially attacked the two non-anonymous accusers for their criminal records and drug histories. He suggested that the lawsuit was being filed for political purposes, and questioned why the plaintif was suing anonymously and waited so long to file.

Attacking the credibility of accusors is a classic abuser tactic. It doesn’t prove that Murray did it, but if he was able to dispel the scandal this way, it would have a chilling effect on abuse survivors who have less-than-perfect pasts.

The original plaintif then revealed his identity and explained that he had remained quiet all of these years because he didn’t want his father to know that he had worked as a prostitute during his teen years. His father having recently passed away, the plaintiff felt free to come forward now.

Certainly the attorney’s odd behavior (which has actually provoked sanctions from the judge) makes one wonder what his motives are for taking this case on contingency. Murray isn’t fabulously wealthy, so I’m not sure any judgement earned is going to justify the months of work the lawyer will undertake between now and the trial date (scheduled for next year). Since the initial filing of the case came off as a mini media circus, he clearly wasn’t hoping for a quick settlement to make the scandal go away. But no matter how impure the lawyer’s motives may be, it doesn’t mean the underlying allegations are false.

The four men in question have far from spotless records. But the other thing they have in common is that all four were, as teens, in very bad situations. It isn’t unexpected that coming from such a background they would find themselves turning to crime and drugs just to get by. And it is very difficult to break out of such a cycle once it is started. Vulnerable people, particular vulnerable teens, are exactly the sorts of victims certain types of abusers seek out, precisely because “respectable” people are disinclined to believe them.

On yet another hand, Murray is notoriously thin-skinned. He’s infamous for shouting at people who disagree with him, not to mention shouting at his own staff members when things don’t go his way. That means he’s exactly the sort of person who, if he is innocent of the charges, would react by attacking his accusers. But routinely shouting at people who work for you is also indicative of a particular kind of abusive person…

Fortunately, many prominent people were willing to make public statements about how the Mayor’s defense tactics cast a chilling effect on abuse victims and rape victims and so forth. The calls for him to at least drop his re-election campaign all focused on that, leaving the truth or faleshood of the allegations for a jury. So, yesterday he announced that he won’t seek re-election, though he plans to serve out his term.

If the allegations are false, it is sad that a man who has devoted so much of his life to furthering the cause of civil rights for queer people has had his career ended by them. If the allegations are true, it’s sad that his victims weren’t believed and that they felt unable to come forward publicly sooner. And it’s going to be infuriating when (not if) the usual anti-gay a-holes use this as an example that queer people are evil.

I hope the charges aren’t true, but if they are, I hope that a jury figures that out and that at least some form of justice is served. Because everyone, no matter their class, status, or past, deserves justice.