Don't forget the librarians, Mr. Card

NOM Board Member Advocates Criminalization of Homosexuality,
Overthrow of Government
People For the American Way calls on group to reject remarks

National Organization of Marriage board member Orson Scott Card has called for the CRIMINALIZATION of sex between same sex couples. And he's also called for the OVERTHROW of the government should same sex marriage be permitted.

So. Speechless.

Mr. Card should remember the power of librarians. I'm telling you right now that I will never purchase another one of his books. Not for my branch and definitely not for myself. I'll be (politely) contacting his publishers. And, by the way, passing his comments on to my colleagues. We're not exactly known for not standing up for rights. Ask Michael Moore who made sure that "Stupid White Men" got published. That would be librarians.
I'm not saying that Card doesn't have a right to open his mouth and let anything he wants come out of it. I am saying though, that I have a right to disagree with him, make sure my friends and colleagues know what he said, and to make my displeasure know. If that results in Card losing book sales, well, too bad for him.
Homophobia and calls for violence should never be rewarded.

Dear Banks: FU!

Banks urge Senate to reject mortgage relief bill

The banks have gotten how much completely string free, unaccountable money? Yeah, a lot. And now they're bitching and moaning because people they gave home loans and credit cards to might get some assistance as well.
Well, I say: SHUT THE FUCK UP! You got yours. Now let others have some as well.
Fucktards.

You know, it's possible to way over react

Swine flu spreads in 10 US states, Europe

Here's the thing. The swine flu is actually dangerous. But. according to the CDC, one person has died of the illness in the United States. The CDC reports that approximately 36,000 people die of influenza every year.
There are sensible precautions we can all take to safeguard ourselves. Wash your hands carefully. Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze. Stay home or see a doctor if you're feeling unwell.
What we don't need is a bunch of people (media ESPECIALLY) going off half cocked with misleading information.

Good. Kick them out.

Iraq: No long-term role for ex-Blackwater units

We all know the damage Blackwater has done in Iraq. They need to go. And they need to be held accountable.

Please go and read these

Abuse of Power:
The Bush Administration's Secret Legal Memos

The ACLU has the 4 memos released today by the Obama Administration. These detail the torture techniques used by the CIA interrogators. These things were done in our name. In the name of the American people. The Administration has said that the agents who committed these acts will not be prosecuted. I do not agree with that decision. But I guess I have to see where they are coming from in making it.
Read these documents. I warn you, you will be horrified and distraught. But you must read for yourself and know what was done.

My friends' contributions to the teabagging literary canon

My many wonderful friends on Twitter and Facebook have contributed some wonderful "reteabagged" book titles and quotes. Here's the list they came up with.

Bridget Jones's Teabag
The Hitchhiker's Guide to Teabags
Guess who's coming to teabag?
Iron Teabag Man
20,000 Teabags Under the Sea!
Shall we teabag?
teabags and the last crusade
Some teabags like it hot
It's a Wonderful Teabag
The old man and the tea(bag)
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Teabag
The Tea, the Bag and the Ugly
the lord of teabags
The Scarlet Teabag
Teabag Wars
The Teabaggers Strike Back
Return of the Teabag
the fellowship of the teabag
Dreams from my Teabag
love in the time of teabags
A Teabag's History of the United States
The Wealth of Teabags
First Teabag
Charlie and the Chocolate Teabag
Alice's Adventures In Teabags
James and the Giant Teabag
Captain Corelli's Teabag
The Lion, the Witch and the Teabag
Teabags, and the Teabagging Teabaggers who Teabag Them
A Tale Of Two Teabags
Teabagging in the Time of Cholera
Last Teabag in Paris
Nine and a Half Teabags
Teabag: Salvation
Mission: Teabag
Much Ado About Teabags
The Teabags of Wrath
A Farewell to Teabags
Stupid White Teabags
Invisible Teabag
A Teabag with a View
Teabag of the August Moon
The Maltese Teabag
The Teabag of Oz
Teabag Indemnity
The Mary Teabag Moore Show
Teabag Millionaire
Eternal Teabag of the Spotless Mind
The Teabags of Wrath
Stupid White Teabags
Invisible Teabag
A Teabag with a View
The Naked and the Teabagged
A day in the life of a teabagger
Wuthering Teabags
Taming of the Teabags
A Midsummer Night's Teabag
A Winter's Teabag
King Teabag
Twelfth Teabag
To Kill a Teabag
Dude, Where's my Teabag
The Church Of The Flying Teabag Monster
Gone with the Teabag
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Teabagging
X-Men Teabags: Doucherine
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Teabags
There Will Be Teabag
American Teabag X
No Teabag for Old Men
Sex, Lies & teabag
The Teabag of Oz
The Teabag and the Fury
Gone with the Teabag
Teabagtown
Teabag of the August Moon
The Naked and the Teabagged
Mr. Teabag Goes to Washington
La teabag è bella
The Teabag on the River Kwai
Monty Python and the Holy Teabag
A Teabag Named Desire
E.T. The Extra-Teabag
Willy Macha and the Teabag Factory
Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Teabag
Teabag, Teabag
Quoth the teabag, "Tax some more!"
Once Upon a Teabag
Will Rogers' Teabags
The Fellowship of the Teabag
The Prince and the Teabag
Teabagtown
Avenue Teabag
The Teabag and I.
The Grapes of Teabag
Teabag Shrugged
Brave New Teabag
Lord of The Teabags
The Great Teabag
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a teabag.
The Spy Who Teabagged Me
Lady Chatterley's Teabag
Lady Teabag's Lover
It was the best of times, it was the worst of teabags.
TeaBAGnewsNotes
Come Back Little Teabag
The Teabag Identity
Bartlett's Familiar Teabags
The Seven Teabags of Highly Effective People

A serious WTF

"Dear" Amazon,
WHAT. THE. FUCK???? Seriously. What the fuck is wrong with you?

Amazon Rank

amazon rank
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): amazon ranked

1. To censor and exclude on the basis of adult content in literature (except for Playboy, Penthouse, dogfighting and graphic novels depicting incest orgies).
2. To make changes based on inconsistent applications of standards, logic and common sense.

Etymology: from 12 April 2009 removal of sales rank figures from books on Amazon.com containing sexual, erotic, romantic, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered or queer content, rendering them impossible to find through basic search functions at the top of Amazon.com’s website. Titles stripped of their sales rankings include “Bastard Out of Carolina,” “Lady Chatterly’s Lover,” several romance novels, GLBTQ fiction novels, YA books, and narratives about gay people.

Example of usage: “I tried to do a report on Lady Chatterly’s Lover for English Lit, but my teacher amazon ranked me and I got an F on grounds that it was obscene.”

Alternate usage: “My girlfriend wanted to preserve her virginity, and I was happy to respect that, then she amazon ranked and decided anal sex was okay.”

Definition courtesy of Smart Bitches, Trashy Book, you should totally by their new book Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches' Guide to Romance Novels.
Amazon is stripping the rank of any "adult" titles from their rank in their database. Search for "Heather has 2 Mommies" and it's not until way down on the page before you find the book.
Search for homosexuality and what do you get: A Parent's Guide to Curing Homosexuality. According to one Amazon rep, they are doing this in response to customer complaints. Well, you know what? I find "A Parent's Guide to Curing Homosexuality" offensive.

Metawriter has a list of titles affected currently Amazon Censorship - Who is affected.
Here's a link to an online petition: In protest at Amazon's new "adult" policy
And here's Dear Author's post about the situation: Amazon Rank


moar funny pictures

Dear Betty: Suck it

Texas lawmaker: Asians should change their names to make them ‘easier for Americans to deal with.’

Aw! Poor baby! Chinese names are hard, so people should be forced to change their names to accommodate her. I can't tell you how sad I am for you Betty. Mostly because I'm not. I think you're beyond ignorant and close minded.
By the way, I spoke to my Irish, Dutch, and Norwegian friends. They wanted me to point out that their names aren't exactly the easiest either. They want to know if they should changes their names as well. For some reason, they think you'd probably be okay with they not changing their names.

You guys you guys! OMG go watch this!

Time to fight back

And Then They Came for Koh ...

Harold Koh, the Dean of Yale law School, has been nominated by President Obama as legal adviser to the State Department. And he's being smeared all over the crazy right wing sites for something he didn't say.

Harold Koh is not a radical legal figure. He has served with distinction in both Democratic and Republican administrations (under Presidents Clinton and Reagan), and in that capacity he sued both Democratic and Republican administrations. He was confirmed unanimously 11 years ago, and yet this time around, he is a threat to American sovereignty.

The insanity that is the right wing media in this country has got to be smacked down. Harold Koh is a decent man and an exemplary legal scholar. It's time to fight back against the baseless smears.

Oh hey! Rod "the hair' Blagojevich is back in the news

Deadline near, indictment imminent for Blagojevich

Goodness! Doesn't January seem so very long ago? I guess I'll have to lay in some popcorn for this event. Hopefully he's been studying up on his poetry and we'll get some doozies.