Faking It

Paul Rosenberg has another piece on what's wrong with Obama. Obviously there's more than enough material for a book, several. High on the list: a political lifetime of faking it.

Politics Progressive News Obama

Hillary Rodham Clinton: Most Popular Living Politician

The woman they said was too polarizing to be president is now the most popular of "all living politicians in the United States who have ever held elected office." These days it's damn hard to find a popular politician, be she Democratic or Republican.

Some on the left are now dreaming that Hillary will run in 2016. It's not going to happen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is over there with Al Gore now. They are leaders we could have had if we, the left, hadn't been so caught up in the macho blood sport of trashing and disrespecting our best and most highly qualified candidates.

Susie Madrak recalls some of the reasons progressive activists opposed Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2008. One of my falling-off-the-chair-in-laughter favorites is:

"The right wing will go after her, and the country can't take another eight years of that."

Politics Feminist News Gender

BP Buses in Sham Clean-Up Crew For Obama's Visit to Grand Isle

Things didn't look that bad on Grand Isle by the time Obama got there. That's because BP sent in a clean up crew of 400 workers to make the beach look all nice and spiffy clean for the President's visit:

BP, the oil company taking flak for its inconsistent response to the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, bused in 400 extra cleanup workers to Grand Isle during President Obama’s visit today, Jefferson Parish Council Chairman John Young said.

“It appears to have been a PR stunt by BP, not to say we don’t appreciate the extra participation,” Young said. “We certainly need them, but we don’t need them for just one day that happens to coincide with a visit from the president.” After Obama’s departure, Young said, the work crews all but vanished. “This is a total shame that a mockery has been made of this visit by the executives of BP,” Councilman Chris Roberts said.

The clean up crew arrived early in the morning on the day of Obama's visit and disappeared shortly after Obama left. Reportedly, the largest number of BP workers spotted cleaning the beaches on Grande Isle before the President's visit was 12 to 20. The temp workers were dressed in uniforms of red or blue shirts and nice clean white pants. Watch BP's temp workers clean up the beaches for the President's visit in the video clip below.


Sham Workers? BP Bussed In Clean Up Crews For President Obama’s Gulf Visit

Politics BP News Obama

Greenpeace UK Rebrands BP: British Polluters (Video)

BP needs a new logo and Greenpeace is on the job:

Our climbers scaled the front of BP's corporate headquarters in London to brand them with a logo that better suits their dirty business.

We think their logo needs a makeover to better suit a company that invests in tar sands and other unconventional oil sources like deep water oil. We reckon a company that invests in tar sands - the dirtiest oil there is - needs something other than a nice green flower as their brand identity. And while our effort at a new logo is OK, we think you can do better, so we're asking you to help us redesign BP's logo and win the chance to see your artwork displayed 'prominently' as the new image of BP.

Greenpeace Plants Flag at BP Corporate Headquarters

Enter Greenpeace UK's Rebrand BP competition and see more BP logos here.

Politics Environmental News British Polluters

Hillary Clinton: 'The rich are not paying their fair share'

Quote of the Day

“This is my opinion; I’m not speaking for the Administration. . The rich are not paying their fair share in any nation that is facing the kind of employment issues [America currently does] — whether it's individual, corporate or whatever [kind of] taxation. . Brazil has the highest tax-to-GDP rate in the Western Hemisphere and guess what — they're growing like crazy. And the rich are getting richer, but they're pulling people out of poverty. There is a certain formula there that used to work for us until we abandoned it, to our regret in my opinion. "

-- Hillary Rodham Clinton

Politics Progressive News

White House Used Bill Clinton to Ask Sestak to Drop Out of Race

It's always hard to muster any sympathy for Rahm Emanuel, but especially so when he uses Bill Clinton to fight against the progressive candidate. At any rate, the so-called bribe was an unpaid position; it's hard to see how this fulfills the right-wing dream of an impeachable scandal:

President Obama’s chief of staff used former President Bill Clinton as an intermediary to see if Representative Joe Sestak would drop out of a Senate primary if given a prominent, but unpaid, advisory position, people briefed on the matter said Friday. . .

In tapping Mr. Clinton as the go-between, Mr. Emanuel picked the party’s most prominent figure other than Mr. Obama and someone Mr. Sestak had worked for on the National Security Council staff in the 1990s. Mr. Sestak endorsed Hillary Rodham Clinton against Mr. Obama in the 2008 presidential primaries, and Mr. Clinton was one of the first to call to congratulate him on his Senate victory last week.

Politics Pennsylvania News Obama

Sarah Palin Builds a Fence

The Palin family built a privacy fence in order to keep out the prying eyes of the "journalist" who moved in next door to observe Sarah Palin and her family.

Predictably, normally-sane-sounding bloggers, such as empathy-challenged Greg Sargent, now sound shrill as they defend the "journalist" and dismiss Sarah Palin's concerns as paranoia. (Check out what Sargent calls Palin's "bizarre and rambling attack on a journalist that by any standard should make us seriously pause." Did Sargent even read it?)

Paranoia? What kind of "journalist" rents the house next door to your family home in order to write a book about you? So sorry to give you a serious pause Sargent, but Sarah Palin has small children in the home while an obviously sick and obsessive compulsive nut peers from next door.

Politics Feminist News Gender

Republicans Launch New Web Site: Laughter Ensues

The GOP's new web site is called, America Speaking Out. The idea is that ordinary Americans should log in and tell the Party of No what their positive agenda should be. Lots of folks logged in with lots of suggestions. It ain't pretty:

"End Child Labor Laws. We coddle children too much. They need to spend their youth in the factories."

"A 'teacher' told my child in class that dolphins were mammals and not fish! And the same thing about whales! We need TRADITIONAL VALUES in all areas of education. If it swims in the water, it is a FISH. Period! End of Story."

"Build a castle-style wall along the border, there is plenty of stone laying around about there."

"I say, repeal all the amendments to the Constitution."

"Don't let the illegals run out of Arizona and hide. . . . I think that we should do something to identify them in case they try to come back over. Like maybe tattoo a big scarlet 'I' on their chests -- for 'illegal'!!!" (Filed under "job creation.")

"English is are official langauge. Anybody who ain't speak it the RIGHT way should kicked out."

Politics Party of No News GOP Issues

Democrat James Carville Slams Obama

Quote of the Day

"Eleven people are killed because of multinational corporate greed, malfeasance and possibly criminal negligence? I think Franklin Roosevelt would have jumped out of his wheelchair and run down here to be in the middle of this. . . [President Obama], you got to get down here and take control of this, put somebody in charge of this thing and get this moving. We're about to die down here."

--Democratic strategist James Carville

Politics Obama News BP Oil Spill

Leaked BP Memo Compares Employees to Three Little Pigs

What's the value of human life? Not that much if it gets in the way of making an obscene profit for BP. Here's more sickening news about the corporation that is in charge of the Gulf region of America. A document obtained by The Daily Beast shows that BP, in a previous fatal disaster, increased worker risk to save money. The leaked document calculates the worth of human life with a cost benefit analysis of workers construed as the "Three Little Pigs." Why should BP protect its workers with blast resistant houses when straw is so much cheaper?

If BP had splurged on a $500,000 valve, the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf might never have happened. But since it costs money to keep employees alive and since BP regards its workers as the equivalent of the "Three Little Pigs," BP didn't do that. Cause at BP, saving money is more important than saving lives:

The Daily Beast has obtained a document—displayed below—that goes to the heart of BP procedures, demonstrating that before the company’s previous major disaster—at a moment when the oil giant could choose between cost-savings and greater safety—it selected cost-savings. And BP chose to illustrate that choice, without irony, by invoking the classic Three Little Pigs fairy tale.

Politics BP Greed News Oil Spill

Liberals Blast Obama for Letting BP Oil Spill Crisis Turn Into His Katrina (Video)

Any day now, President Obama will freaking remember that he is supposed to be in charge. Keith Olbermann, Ed Schultz, James Carville and even Donna Brazile are wondering what the hell President Obama is waiting for? Keith is on fire!


Politics Liberal News BP Oil Spill Crisis

Sexist Washington Post: ‘Most women…cross their legs when sitting, but not Elena Kagan.’

The gender police at the Washington Post never rest. Oh, look, they caught Elena Kagan with her legs uncrossed.

It must be time for another column griping about Hillary Rodham Clinton's pantsuits, because how can we stare or leer at the legs of the Secretary of State when she is wearing pants all the time?

And where is the Washington Post column drawing our eyes to the body parts of Justice Samuel Alito? Oh wait, most people have concerns about Supreme Court nominees, concerns that don't involve their legs!

Funny, I was just reading a column by Bonnie Erbe in which she explains that the sexist content at the Washington Post is so boring that she cancelled her subscription years ago.

Caption on photo at Washington Post: "UNUSUAL: Most women, including Sen. Amy Klobuchar, cross their legs when sitting, but not Kagan." (Hyungwon Kang - Reuters)

Politics Feminist News Gender

Despite Obama’s Moratorium, Drilling Projects Move Ahead

As if you haven't heard, or had, enough, here's more news about the dysfunction of our country:

WASHINGTON — In the days since President Obama announced a moratorium on permits for drilling new offshore oil wells and a halt to a controversial type of environmental waiver that was given to the Deepwater Horizon rig, at least seven new permits for various types of drilling and five environmental waivers have been granted, according to records.

Politics Empire Falls News Offshore Drilling

Photo of the Day: BP's Naked Greed

Women from Code Pink march toward BP headquarters in Houston, Texas on Monday, May 24, 2010, to protest BP's incompetence and greed in the face of the catastrophic oil spill off the coast of Louisiana.

Politics Code Pink News Oil Spill

Anger Mounts Over Oil Spill (Video)

US has approved 19 environmental drilling waivers since oil spill
Oil soaks birds, marshes in La.
BP Still Stonewalling EPA on Dispersant Chemicals

Politics Louisiana News Oil Spill

Erin Brokovich: “Stand Up to BP and Say, ‘I’m not taking your sh*t any more’"

Quote of the Day

“A poison is a poison. We're not supposed to be eating it, we're not supposed to be drinking it, and nor is our wildlife. . This spill has the potential to be one of the worst environmental disasters in our lifetime. Every single night the whole thing that's happened with BP makes me sick to my stomach. . . Stand up to BP and say, ‘You know what, I’m not taking your shit any more.’"

-- Erin Brokovich

Erin Brokovich was in Pensacola, Florida, advising some 300 people about how to hold BP accountable for the ongoing catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It's nice to have some leadership.
If you have no faith in the likelihood of President Obama awakening -- tell Congress to Stop Offshore Drilling.

Politics Oil Spill Obama Crude Awakening News

Texas Textbook Massacre (Video)

File this one under you have to be crazy to let your kids go to school in Texas. Or thereabouts. Or you can teach your kids not to believe anything they hear in school. How crazy is that? Among other atrocities to be included in the new Texas textbooks are arguments for gutting Social Security and Medicare!

California state Sen. Leland Yee (D) has introduced a bill to stop Texas textbooks from getting into California classrooms. Earlier this year, Texas cut Thomas Jeffersonout of textbooks and replaced him with the religious right icon John Calvin - who argued that riches are the sign of god's blessing and poverty is a sign of god's curse - and also tossed out the word “democratic” from the description of the U.S. government, replacing it with "republic" which sounds more like "Republican" - an old rhetorical trick that goes back to Joe McCarthy's time. A new report in the Guardian reveals that the Texas dropped the phrase "slave trade" in favor of ‘Atlantic triangular trade." And newly proposed changes in Texas schoolbooks include teaching kids the importance of gutting social security & medicare and how the UN "is a danger to US sovereignty.


Politics Texas News Orwell

Plastic Human Fetus Dolls Given to Students At School

If your child goes to school in Virginia or Texas America, you should worry:

Oakwood Elementary's principal was placed on administrative leave Friday as school officials investigated why life like, 4-inch-long plastic fetus dolls were given to dozens of third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students.

On Thursday, the school staffer thought to be responsible for handing out the dolls was placed on leave. (via Crooks and Liars)

Politics Reproductive Rights News Virginia

Jesse James, Most Hated Man, Talks (Video)

Politics Sandra Bullock News Idiots

Sarah Palin Works to Defeat Dem Women

Politico calls Sarah Palin Sister Sledgehammer in order to emphasize that Palin is working for the defeat of women, Democratic women:

But it’s not just conservative female candidates who have attracted the former Alaska governor’s attention. Democratic congresswomen and candidates are also on Palin’s radar — in March, when Palin rolled out a list of 17 House Democrats she intends to target for defeat, five of them were women. . .

I kinda feel a connection to that tough, gun totin’ pioneer feminism,” she told the enthusiastic crowd of anti-abortion activists gathered to support the SBA List.

Politics Feminist News Gender

Paul Calls White House Pressure On BP ‘Un-American’ (Video)

Eyes roll as Rand Paul opens his mouth again. Paul defends BP, says accidents happen and the government should leave BP alone.



Rand Paul Calls White House Pressure On BP ‘Un-American,’ Says That ‘Sometimes Accidents Happen’

Politics Kentucky News Oil Spill

The Dalai Lama: 'I'm a Marxist'

Quote of the Day

"I am a Marxist. [Marxism has] moral ethics, whereas capitalism is only how to make profits."

--The Dalai Lama

Politics Progressive News Liberal

Texas School Board Lunatics Set to Destroy History Books (Video)

Move over Arizona, Texas is about to be slapped with a boycott too. The Texas school board is set to vote on transforming school history books into right-wing propaganda that glorifies Joe McCarthy and the Confederacy too. Yippee, more crazy old white men in history books! Here's a surprise, the Texas School Board is comprised of 10 Republicans and 5 Democrats. That's 5 sane people and 10 raving lunatics! It does not look good. Folks may have to homeschool their kids in order to save them from the lunatics. Where do all these lunatics come from? Gawd, I wish we could bribe some faraway country to take them all away:

At the center of the furor is that many of the amendments exclude or revise various pieces of accepted history in favor of versions provided by conservative groups or leaders. One amendment, for instance, requires that students learn about the "communist infiltration in U.S. government" in the 1950s, with board head Don McElroy saying Sen. Joseph McCarthy's controversial hunt for American communists at the time had been "vindicated" in the ensuing decades. Another would require teachers and textbooks to refer to the capitalist system as the "free enterprise" system. Capitalism, the board's Republican bloc agreed, is a pejorative term used by "liberal professors in academia."

Of special interest to Jealous and the NAACP are several amendments whitewashing Civil War history and attacking black culture. In addition to voting to remove hip-hop from a high school history study of musical genres, the board also voted to require students to learn the ideas expressed in Confederate President Jefferson Davis' inaugural address. . . One proposal that ultimately proved unsuccessful would have had students learning that the civil rights movement created in African Americans "unreasonable expectations for equal outcomes."


Politics Texas School Board Rightwing Lunatics News

Rand Paul Won't Try to Repeal Civil Rights Act Because He Is Terrified of Rachel Maddow

Quote of the Day

"I unequivocally state that I will not support any efforts to repeal the Civil Rights Act of 1964."

-- Rand Paul

And in other idiotic news of the day, Rand Paul also will not try to overturn the Susan B. Anthony Amendment or bring back the 12 hour workday. Gawd.

Also, Paul says he is never going back on the Rachel Maddow show because clearly all the heat raining down on his poor misbegotten head for his ultra racist views is the fault of that scary woman!

Rachel Maddow Grills Rand Paul's Racist & Sexist Ass (Video)

Politics Racist News Sexist Rand Paul Kentucky

Rachel Maddow Grills Rand Paul's Racist & Sexist Ass (Video)

Rand Paul believes the government should leave private businesses alone and let them discriminate based on race, sexual orientation and god knows what else. Surely, the people of Kentucky must be having second thoughts.

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

Courier Journal Editorial - A Dismal Choice: The trouble with Dr. Paul is that despite his independent thinking, much of what he stands for is repulsive to people in the mainstream. For instance, he holds an unacceptable view of civil rights, saying that while the federal government can enforce integration of government jobs and facilities, private business people should be able to decide whether they want to serve black people, or gays, or any other minority group. . He quickly emphasizes that he personally would not agree with any form of discrimination, but he just doesn't think it should be legislated.

His perspectives — like Mr. Grayson's — are repellent to those who believe in a woman's right to choose whether to have an abortion. Indeed, Dr. Paul wouldn't even permit exceptions in the case of rape or incest. He says the mother and the unborn zygote have equal rights.

Politics Racist News Abortion Rights Kentucky

School Girl Outs Mother's Citizenship Status During Michelle Obama's Visit (Video)

With TV cameras rolling, a little girl put her family at risk by revealing to First Lady Michelle Obama that her mother does not have the citizenship papers needed to avoid deportation.


Politics Immigrant News Arizona Papers Please

AP: Sestak Wins. Specter Loses. Woohoo!

Joe Sestak wins the primary. The Associated Press just called it, according to MSNBC. Too bad for Obama's favorite candidate the Republican, disguised as a Democrat. Arlen Specter will soon be out of a job! Here's to actual Democrats winning Democratic primaries! Novel concept, I know.

Politics Pennsylvania News Gender

Ron Paul's Son Wins Kentucky Primary

Ron Paul's libertarian son won the Republican primary for the senate. It could be a landslide. Anything that sends shockwaves through the Republican Party, I'm for. And a Republican senator who opposes the war on drugs sounds like an improvement to me.

WASHINGTON — Rand Paul, one of the early leaders of the Tea Party movement, won the Republican nomination for Senate from Kentucky Tuesday night, delivering a powerful blow to the party’s establishment and offering the clearest evidence yet of the strength of the anti-government sentiment simmering at the grass-roots level.

Politics Kentucky News Rand Paul

Sarah Palin Is Wrong: Susan B. Anthony Was Not "Pro Life"

Herstorians and authors Ann Gordon and Lynn Sherr put the lie to rest. While the pro life faction likes to claim that Susan B. Anthony was anti choice, there is absolutely no evidence to support the claim.

I've read a fair amount by and about Susan B. Anthony too, and not only was she not pro life, she was not even pro marriage. The woman vowed that as long as men enjoyed a higher status than women, she would abstain from marriage. True to her word, she never married. Anthony was also known to hide runaway wives from the law. She was not a conservative family values kind of woman.


Politics Feminist News Gender

All I Want for Super Senate Tuesday is for Blanche Lincoln to Lose

Sorry to break with President Obama's wishes, but I've had it with conservadems. All I want for Super Senate Tuesday is for Blanche Lincoln to lose. Blanche Lincoln opposed the public option.

It's Dems like Lincoln who helped keep both single payer and the public option off the table. Perhaps that's why Obama likes her so much?

Or maybe Obama likes Blanche Lincoln because she is such a strong supporter of workers rights. Not! Obama actually made that claim in a radio ad for Lincoln, and that's as brazen a lie as you can tell considering that the labor unions are fighting hard for Lincoln's opponent. Blanche Lincoln is officially opposed to the Employee Free Choice Act, labor's top priority:

Organized labor has lined up against her, with unions investing nearly $7 million (most of it in stinging television advertisements) to deny her a third term. Lt. Gov. Bill Halter drew the support of nearly every left-leaning group in his primary challenge to Mrs. Lincoln. He does not have a legislative voting record — a godsend in this political environment — but he has sought to make the case that he would be a truer Democrat than their current senator. Mr. Halter was responsible for the bringing the state a lottery that finances college scholarships. His constituency could well include grateful parents whose children are in college because of his persistence.


Politics Arkansas News Lincoln

Saudi Woman Beats Up Religion Cop

A woman fights back, I'm guessing the cop feels especially bad because he was beaten up by a lowly girl:

When a Saudi religious policeman sauntered about an amusement park in the eastern Saudi Arabian city of Al-Mubarraz looking for unmarried couples illegally socializing, he probably wasn’t expecting much opposition. But when he approached a young, 20-something couple meandering through the park together, he received an unprecedented whooping.

A member of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the Saudi religious police known locally as the Hai’a, asked the couple to confirm their identities and relationship to one another, as it is a crime in Saudi Arabia for unmarried men and women to mix.

For unknown reasons, the young man collapsed upon being questioned by the cop. According to the Saudi daily Okaz, the woman then allegedly laid into the religious policeman, punching him repeatedly, and leaving him to be taken to the hospital with bruises across his body and face.

Politics Feminist News Gender

Another Family Values GOP Congressman Caught Cheating on His Wife (Video)

Another day, another lowlife family values Congressman caught cheating on his wife. Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) is resigning and he's sorry he got caught, or sorry that the evil atmosphere of DC made him do it. But it gets worse. In the video clip below, Rep. Souder praises the many virtues of abstinence, and he does so while being interviewed by the woman he had an affair with! Gawd, what a freaking scumbag.


Souder has also been a persistent critic of what he calls "homosexual marriage." He cosponsored the "the DC Defense of Marriage Act [which] would simply state that in our nation's capital, marriage means what marriage has always meant" and the "Marriage Protection Amendment [which] would amend the U.S. Constitution to ensure that marriage in the United States consists only of the union of a man and a woman."

. . He said in a statement that he "sinned against God, my wife and my family by having a mutual relationship with a part-time member of my staff." And he blamed the atmosphere in Washington for forcing him to make the move.

Politics Indiana News Sex Scandal

Police Kill 7-Year-Old Girl in Detroit Raid in Wrong House

I used to wonder why America has the highest crime rate in the industrialized world. Now I think I know, it's the crimes committed by cops in all those midnight raids at the wrong houses (police were raiding both portions of a duplex). Why can't they come in the daytime? And what the hell is it with the grenades? I used to live in a country that presumed innocence. When cops are throwing grenades and breaking down doors at midnight, clearly there is no presumption of innocence! It breaks my heart. Her name was Aiyana Jones. Her family's life is ruined:

(CNN) -- Police in Detroit, Michigan, on Sunday expressed "profound sorrow" at the fatal shooting of a 7-year-old girl in a police raid. Aiyana Jones was shot and killed by police executing a search warrant as part of a homicide investigation, Assistant Chief Ralph Godbee said in a statement.

Aiyana's father, Charles Jones, told CNN affiliate WDIV, "She was sleeping and they came in the door shooting and throwing flash grenades ... burned my baby up and shot her, killed her."

Politics Police State News Detroit

Alabama Campaign Ad: 'Vote for Me, I'm a Big Strong He-Man With a Gun' (Video)

Who knew they had cowboys in Alabama?


Politics Absurd News Theater

Obama's Broken AIDS Promises Protesters Arrested Outside Democratic Fundraiser

Here in New York, protesters from ACT UP, Africa Action, Global Access Project and other groups rallied outside a Democratic fundraiser last night featuring President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Police arrested eight protesters after they chained themselves together and disrupted traffic. The groups accused Obama of reneging on his campaign pledge to spend at least $50 billion by 2013 for the global fight against HIV/AIDS. Since taking office, Obama has shifted funding away from international AIDS programs at a time when the number of people infected with HIV continues to grow by a million a year. The United Nations now estimates there is a global shortfall of about $17 billion for controlling the epidemic.

Jennifer Flynn of Global Access Project: “We are here today to protest in front of this $15,000-per-person dinner hosted by President Obama to the fact that he’s gone—he’s broken his promise to fully fund the fight against global AIDS."

Politics Democratic Party News Obama

He's Your President Not Your Boyfriend

Quote of the Day

I'll be doing an interview regarding this topic on the Michel Martin's NPR show Tell Me More at 11 AM EDT tomorrow. The other guest will be conservative law professor Stephen Bainbridge.

I'll be arguing that Kagan's nomination should be opposed because she's a blank slate who could well move the court to the right, while Bainbridge will be arguing in favor of the nomination because she's a blank slate who could well move the court to the right.

-- Paul Campos,

He's your president not your boyfriend

(via Paul Rosenberg at Open Left)

Photo: Obama with homophobe Rick Warren.

Politics Liberal News Elena Kagan Obama SCOTUS

Catholic School Rejects Child Because Parents are Lesbians

And what does the Catholic School teach? Hateful discrimination and homophobia:

(CNN) -- Progressive Catholic groups vented outrage Friday over the decision of a Roman Catholic school in Massachusetts to rescind the admission of an 8-year-old student because his parents are lesbians.

"The idea that a child might be punished because he does not live with his two biologic parents is antithetical to notions of Christian charity and Catholic social justice," said Patrick Whelan, president of Catholic Democrats, in a statement Friday.

Politics Feminist News Gender

SNL Oil Spill Spoof: Dolphins With Mops (Video)

Politics BP News Saturday Night Live

Austin Boycotts Arizona (Video)

Austin, Texas is the latest city to join the boycott. Austin joins LA, San Francisco, Oakland, Boston, St. Paul, and more.


Firedoglake: “Boycotting Arizona: A Conversation With Brent Wilkes, National Executive Director of LULAC”
Democracy NOW: Arizona Students Protest New Law Banning Ethnic Studies Classes
Crooks and Liars: Coalition against Arizona's xenophobic immigration law is spreading

Politics Immigration News Human Rights

Gone Viral: 7 Year Old Girls Perform 'Single Ladies' Dance (Video)

Early Show hosts on CBS discuss the gone viral video of 7 year old girls performing a hyper sexualized dance in hyper sexualized costumes to the tune of Beyonce's Single Ladies. These little girls have parents???


Politics Feminist News Gender

'Elena Kagan is a Lesbian' Mashup OR Sometimes a Softball Bat is Just a Softball Bat (Video)

In other words, all the unmarried women are lesbians.


WSJ on Elena Kagan: Lesbian or Switch-hitter?

Politics SCOTUS News Gay Lesbian

Lewis Black on Arizona's Xenophobic Immigration Law & Glenn Beck (Video)

The inestimable Lewis Black is at his best railing against the insanity of America, as illustrated perfectly by Black's take down of characters such as Glenn Beck (who has Nazi Tourettes!).


Politics Arizona News Immigration

Arizona's Tom Horne Is a Sexist Idiot (Video)

Arizona’s state superintendent of public instruction Tom Horne referred to civil rights hero Dolores Huerta as a “former girlfriend” of Mexican American labor leader Cesar Chávez and he did it because some men can't think of women in any other terms than: What man does the women belong to? Horne is a sexist redneck who is running for attorney general in the lost state of Arizona. God help the state of Arizona, Horne is in charge of their education.



"Being attorney general is a man’s job."

-- Tom Horne

Another Sexist GOP Candidate. In Other News, Sky is Blue

Thanks Woman Voter!

Politics Feminist News Gender

Betty White on Jay Leno: About SNL & Jay-Z (Video)

Betty White entered the Jay Leno show last night to a standing ovation, like she gets everywhere she goes nowadays (you can see some of it at Gawker). She talked about the joy of hosting Saturday Night Live and joked about Jay-Z patting her on the bum. And she talked about her old friend Liberace, a sweet moment of remembering her good old days. (See more video and text at Arts Beat.)


Politics SNL News Gender

Arizona Bans Ethnic Studies

Sheesh, I can't believe this one. Has George Wallace come back to life in Arizona? Today it's Chicano Studies, tomorrow it will be Women's Studies:

Arizona GOP Gov. Jan Brewer has signed a law banning the state’s schools from teaching ethnic studies classes. Brewer signed the bill Tuesday that targets Chicano studies programs currently being taught in Tucson schools.

Tucson Unified School District officials say the Chicano studies classes benefit students and promote critical thinking. "We don't teach all those ugly things they think we're teaching," said Judy Burns, the president of the district's governing board.

She has no intention of ending the program, which offers courses from elementary school through high school in topics such as literature, history and social justice, with an emphasis on Latino authors and history. About 3% of the district's 55,000 students are enrolled in such classes.

Politics Arizona News Boycott

Arizona Loses RNC Convention

Since the passage of the infamous Profiling Hispanics law (SB-1070) "at least 23 events have been canceled, totaling a reported loss of between $6 and $10 million."

Even Republicans don't want to be in Arizona:

[T]he Republican National Convention (RNC) site selection committee decided against holding the 2012 convention in Phoenix, AZ, instead choosing Tampa, FL.

L.A. City Council votes to ban travel and future contracts with Arizona because of tough new immigration law

Politics Arizona News Boycott