June 29, 2006
Redefining family
By now many of my readers have already seen “family values expert” Katharine DeBrecht’s take on the new Superman movie. (If not, Shakespeare’s Sister has it here.) There’s little I can say about it that hasn’t already been said, but I did find one particular comment she made interesting: “Portraying Superman with an out-of-wedlock child and potentially breaking up a family is completely unnecessary” (emphasis added).
Hang on there. Breaking up a family? Let’s take a closer look at this, shall we?
I have not yet seen Superman Returns. My understanding of the pertinent plot points, though, is that Superman was gone for a few years, and in the meantime Lois Lane had his baby and got engaged to another man (note that that’s engaged, not married).
So, a consequence (unintended, I’m sure) of DeBrecht’s criticism is that she seems to be saying that a family can be made up of a woman raising her illegitimate child with a man who is not yet her husband. Is it just me, or does that seem to fly in the face of accepted conservative dogma of what actually constitutes a family?
My opinion, of course, is that “family” must be defined by the individuals in a family, and by them alone. It’s nice to think that someone right-wing enough to write a children’s book called Help, Mom! There are Liberals Under My Bed agrees with me, if only subconsciously.
June 28, 2006
Wow!
Things have been entirely too serious around here lately, so here’s a bit of fun (thanks, Boing Boing!) that has nothing to do with anything: dust art. Here’s the blurb for the first photo: “When the dust gets thick on the back window of his Mini Cooper, Scott Wade uses it as a canvas to create temporary works of art. Among his creations was a copy of C.M. Coolidge’s ‘A Friend in Need,’ better known as dogs playing poker.”
86 years later…
The Nineteenth Amendment, which granted women the right to vote, was ratified in August of 1920, nearly 86 years ago. I will admit that I sometimes take my right to vote for granted, a fact of which I am not proud. So, it has never occurred to me that there might still be people out there who believe women shouldn’t have the right to vote.
Much to my dismay, I discovered this morning that there most definitely are such people. There’s a very interesting post over at Echidne of the Snakes about a blog discussion she was following that explained in a fair amount of detail why women’s suffrage was a mistake. It’s worth reading, as are the comments in response, because if nothing else it demonstrates the diversity of viewpoints out there…
June 24, 2006
A response to Vox’s “arguments”
Below is a comment I left over at Vox Popoli in response to a long-winded, many-barbed post by a man who writes for a popular right-wing website and yet appears to think it worth his time to shout down a couple of not-particularly-well-known (at best, especially in my case) left-wing bloggers. Go figure. (Maybe he’s trying to boost our readership…)
I am beginning to suspect that the man behind the curtain, if you will, over at Vox Popoli does not actually believe that which he spews. His argumentation is faulty and, it would seem, deliberately inflammatory. As a result, this may well be my last post on the subject. But for now, I refuse to be bullied into silence. Read the rest of this entry »
June 23, 2006
Winging it: a response to a right-wing sucker punch
First of all, I would like to begin by stating that I am an idealist, and often a naive one at that. I tend to believe the best of people until I’m given a concrete reason to believe otherwise. And even then I can often be like a dog in that I’ll keep believing people are good even after I’ve been hit.
Sometimes, though, a punch will seem to come out of nowhere and shock me enough that I don’t know whether to cower in a corner (in this case that would mean ceasing this blog altogether) or go on the offensive. Obviously I’ve opted for the latter. Please bear with me, dear readers, as I give you the background. Read the rest of this entry »
June 22, 2006
Things about which I am writing to my Representative today
1. H.R. 503: the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act
Purpose: To prohibit the slaughter of horses for human consumption and the trade and transport of horseflesh and live horses intended for human consumption.
2. H.R. 5052: the Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women’s Services Act
Purpose: To direct the Federal Trade Commission to prescribe rules prohibiting fraudulent advertising of abortion services.
(Obviously I’m in favor of both of these resolutions.)
Feel like writing to your Representative? You can find contact information here.
Teh hawtness
From The REAL Hot 100 website:
Congratulations to the REAL hot 100 women of 2006!
These women are smart. They work for change. They aren’t afraid to speak their minds. They are the REAL hot 100.As you know, looking to the media for positive images of young women is no easy task. We are here to celebrate these women and their accomplishments. Meet the REAL hot 100 women of 2006 and see how hot SMART can be.
Indeed.
An Inconvenient Truth
Evil Bender (whose blog has moved, by the way) and I went to see An Inconvenient Truth yesterday. It was fantastic, if disheartening at times, and I encourage everyone to make an effort to see it. I also encourage everyone to go see how they can reduce their impact on the climate. Global warming is not an insurmountable obstacle if we all work together.
June 21, 2006
An amazingly well-put argument for same-sex marriage
News that should surprise absolutely no one
Congress Stiffs Working Americans. Caption from the article that would seem self-evident to most people, but obviously not to Congress: “Lou Dobbs says Congress shouldn’t give itself raises while refusing to raise the minimum wage.”
I have to admit, even I didn’t think the political pimps in control of our national whorehouse would have the gall to sneak through a pay raise for themselves, then turn around a week later and kill the first increase in the minimum wage in almost ten years. Even I wouldn’t have imagined they would think they could get away with it. Not in an election year. I guess it’s their way of showing Tom DeLay they don’t need him around to act like a pen full of swine with a taste for eating their own feces. The Bug Man may be gone, but his pestilence remains.
As long as the majority of Americans insist on maintaining their illogical, disparate regard for government and the people who run it, and uncritically subscribing to the notion that those of us who don’t share their interest in preserving a lethargic freedom from responsibility are simply nuts, the GOP will continue to make hay out of the opportunity such dismal circumstance supplies. Why not give themselves a raise while denying the same to working Americans? Who’s going to stop them? Who will do anything more than grouse about those damn, dirty politicians, of whom we can imagine no better anyhow?
Both commentaries are worth checking out. I have no words, except to say that now would be a good time to write to or call your Congresspeople, folks, if you haven’t done so already.
I am the Lizard Queen! 