Afternoon Open Thread

10 Mar 2010 Author: rikyrah

hat tip-lamh32

The First Lady attended a soccer clinic in Washington on Friday that was designed to help promote healthy activities among the nation’s young people. (March 5)

Good Afternoon.

Drop those links. Engage in debate. Give us trivia and gossip too.

And continue to have a peaceful day.

Tags: Afternoon Open Thread

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http://blog.evavegadiversity.com/ evita
This relates to my earlier post on Dan Rather:
reposted from the Disabled Feminist
http://disabledfeminists.com/2009/11/05/hipster…
Hipster Ableism
By meloukhia on 5 November, 2009
Note: This post contains spoilers for current episodes of Glee, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters.
There’s a particular brand of humour which seems to be extremely popular in the United States right now. It may, of course, be popular in other regions of the world as well, but since I’m American, I’m speaking to the American experience here rather than trying to conjecture about humour in other nations. I call it “hipster -ism,” in a reference to the fact that it’s especially prevalent in the hipster community, and it involves the use of -isms for supposedly comic effect.
Hipster -ism works like this: Someone uses an -ism among a group of friends, and the friends laugh, because the idea is that they know it’s an -ism, they know it’s not acceptable, and it’s funny because of this. It’s ironic, geddit? Over at this ain’t livin’, I’ve discussed hipster racism and liberal sexism, and today, it’s time for hipster ableism.
It’s important to note that there are a number of things built into the structure of the hipster community which are important to consider when evaluating hipster ableism, or any hipster -ism, in strict point of fact. The first is that the hipster community is primarily young and liberal, comprised of people who have grown up being lectured about racism and other -isms, while still living in a society which is rife with these -isms, and retaining the cultural values which prop these -isms up and directly benefiting from the entrenched -isms in their culture. Most hipsters also have class privilege, coming from the middle classes, and they are usually white and able bodied. Please note that these are generalizations. I am well aware that there are non-white hipsters, disabled hipsters, hipsters from the lower classes, etc, but I’m speaking to general demographics here.
Hipster -ism is a type of humour which people use because they mistakenly identify it as edgy and transgressive. The idea is that it’s funny because it’s pushing social boundaries and norms. Indeed, it’s a way of thumbing one’s nose at the “PC police.” But, there are a few things about it which suggest that this is not the case.
For starters, it’s primarily used in safe spaces, among other hipsters, which would seem to suggest that it’s actually a form of in-group humour. In fact, it’s a way for people to continue internalizing and believing in -isms, using their humour as a defensive wall. “Oh, I don’t really believe it, that’s why it’s funny,” they say, but if that’s the case, then why don’t they use this humour outside hipster circles? If it’s funny to make jokes about people with disabilities, for example, why don’t hipsters make those jokes around people with disabilities?
Another hallmark of hipster -ism is that people who challenge it are informed that they “don’t get it.” Another example of a technique used to silence and marginalize people; when those who question are told that they don’t get it, it often means that those being questioned are feeling uncomfortable. It’s true that different people have different senses of humour, but when entire classes of people fail to see something as funny, that may be a sign that, you know, it’s not funny.
Hipster -ism also props up cultural values, rather than breaking them down, by normalizing exclusionary language and ideas. When you make jokes about people of colour in a society which marginalizes people of colour, you are not being edgy, transgressive, or particularly funny. You are instead propping up the status quo. And, in a sense, privately justifying your privilege, although some hipsters are not even aware of the concept of privilege or of how it affects them.
And this brings us to hipster ableism. Hipster ableism relies on using jokes about people with disabilities as a form of humour, or using disability as a shorthand to make something appear funny. This can be seen in many forms of hipster art and expression, from films where disability is a joke to the entrenchment of ableist language in hipster discourse.
In Glee, we have Artie, a wheelchair user, constantly being used as a prop and being marginalized to the edge of the discourse. “It’s funny,” people say, “because that’s how people treat people with disabilities and Glee is making fun of that.” Uhm, no, actually Glee is just normalizing the marginalization of people with disabilities by constructing an entirely one dimensional disabled character (played by an able bodied actor) and using him as a prop. Artie does not defy social norms or break boundaries, he is a rolling caricature. And a cruel one, at that. Every time I see someone push Artie’s chair, every time Sue calls him a “cripple,” I cringe, as a viewer. I’m not seeing humour here, at all. I’m seeing what happens to people with disabilities every day.
The popular mashup series blending Jane Austen books with monsters is another terrific example of hipster ableism (among other hipster -isms). It’s kind of a fun idea, and I liked the concept initially, but the way the books have chosen to alter the plot is really reprehensible. They’ve added in things like racism and ableism because it’s “edgy” and “funny,” except that they don’t seem to recognize that readers have internalized the values supposedly being mocked, so actually the books just reinforce social norms.
In Pride and Predjudice and Zombies, we have Wickham being “punished” for his misdeeds by being severely beaten and developing quadriplegia, which is deemed just punishment, and Lydia is punished for her supposed sluttiness by being doomed to a life of caring for Wickham. The book makes sure to dwell on his incontinence to make sure that readers get the message, which is: Lydia is a slut, so she should be shamed and punished, and being a caregiver to a person with disabilities is a punishment and a burden. So, why isn’t this funny? Because this is what people actually think, right now, in the world. That sluts need to be punished, that developing quadriplegia is a tragedy, that caring for someone with quadriplegia is an impossible burden.
That plot isn’t funny, it’s not transgressive, it’s just a repetition of what society believes. It uses sexism and ableism to advance itself, rather than refuting these cultural norms. And it was totally unnecessary. The book could have turned the Lydia/Wickham plot on its head and played with it, but instead it decided to take the cheap and easy way out.
Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, aside from featuring some rather horrific racism and colonialism, gives Colonel Brandon a “cruel affliction” in the form of “perverse tentacles” attached to his face. When discussing his unsuitability as a marriage prospect, the girls make sure to stress how “repulsive” he is, and they throw in some ageism when they suggest that a 27 year old unmarried woman might settle for him, but a 17 year old girl certainly shouldn’t. Adding gas to the fire, Elinor suggests that a woman who was “say, visually impaired somehow” would make an ideal match for Brandon.
Again, this is not edgy humour. People are discriminated against in love, among many other things, because their faces do not meet with society’s standard of attractive. And people also say that people with disabilities should just settle for loving and marrying each other. Or that people with disabilities are not sexual, and therefore should not be upset that they are missing out on intimacy and love. Able bodied people in relationships with people with disabilities are repeatedly told how “brave” they are and informed that they are “so courageous” for staying with their partners, while people privately speculate on how on Earth a nice able-bodied person like that could possibly date a gross person with disabilities.
The sad thing about both of these modifications to the novels is that they don’t really add anything. A cute, fun concept is actually ruined by the insistence on bringing hipster -ism into the plot. The writers think it’s edgy and transgressive, or they write it in to appeal to the audience they are trying to reach, and people lap it up. Meanwhile, people like me who went “cool idea” when they first heard about the books are reading and going “sigh.”
The most insidious thing, for me, about hipster ableism and other hipster -isms is that they are a thinly veiled way to continue being a prejudiced bigot. People can go right on thinking their prejudiced thoughts, and they can hide behind the shield of “humour” and “you just don’t get it” when they are challenged. Hipster ableism, far from being edgy and transgressive, is in fact very safe and affirming.
Indeed, ignoring and marginalizing challenges to -isms are built right into the hipster culture, where “PC” is hurled like an insult, social justice movements are mocked, hipsters engage in cultural appropriation to make themselves feel cool, and members of marginalized communities are deliberately excluded.
morphus
More than 15.7 million women are HIV positive world-wide. In fact one in four HIV infected people is female. Every 35 minutes a woman in the United States is diagnosed with HIV. These statistics underline the critical need for women and girls to be tested. As the numbers continue to grow, HIV follows only heart disease and cancer as the leading cause of death among women. Although there is no cure for HIV, the virus that leads to AIDS, early detection can improve quality of life through medical treatments that can lead to long-term health.
“Many times women don’t think they are vulnerable to HIV or AIDS because it has traditionally been associated with homosexual males,” says Edward Salko, Jr. D.O., founder of PERSONALABS.com. “Women represent the fastest growing number of new infections with African American women in first place.”
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) states that HIV among black women (including African Americans and Hispanics) is greater than among all men except black men.
“The only way to stop the spread of HIV is to be tested, and if you are positive, to stop spreading the disease,” says Salko. “Most people do not spread HIV on purpose. Knowing your status can help you make informed decisions.”
March 10 is National Women and Girls with HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
djchefron
Mortgage Insurers Won't Pay on Bad Loans
“[Mortgage insurers] claim rescission rates have shot up from a historic rate of around 7 percent to as much as 25 percent over the last few quarters.” — Moody's Resi Landscape
When I saw that, I thought, well here is the mortgage insurance industry, faced with an historic number of claims, trying to save itself at the cost of the big banks.
I mean, if you buy insurance for a product, and something bad happens to that product, then you should make a claim and get paid back by the insurer.
That's the definition of insurance.
Read More
http://www.cnbc.com/id/35800892
whiterosebuddy
I know what groping is when it is a female, but I am not sure I understand groping as it applies to 2 men. Does groping in the context of males mean that one male grapped/attempted to fondle another man's genitalia?
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/201…
More on 'Massa Messages”
“According to Peter Clarke, a Navy shipmate, Massa was notorious for making unwanted advances toward subordinates. He tells the story of his friend Stuart Borsch, with whom Massa shared a hotel room while on leave during the first Gulf War. “Stuart's at the edge of the bed,” Clarke says Borsch told him at the time, “and [Massa] starts massaging him. Massa said, 'You'll have to get one of my special massages.' He called them 'Massa Massages.'” Ron Moss, a Navy shipmate and Borsch's roommate, confirmed that Borsch told him this story at the time.
Borsch, now a history professor at Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts, didn't addresss that specific incident, but did confirm to me in an email that he was groped by Massa: “In 1990, aboard the U.S.S. Jouett, I was awakened when a senior officer, Lt. Commander Massa, seemed to be groping me. (I was a lieutenant at the time.) I believe he may have been drinking. I shouted at him and he left. I mentioned the incident to several other officers. I did not officially report it.”
Clarke says that Massa's roommate, Tom Maxfield, was also assaulted. “Tom lived on upper bunk,” Clarke say. “When you're on ship, you're almost exhausted 24-7. So a lot of times you sleep with your uniform on. Tom and Massa shared a stateroom together. Massa climbed up on the top of his bunk, which is hard to do–you never crawl up on somebody else's bunk. He wakes up to Massa undoing his pants trying to snorkel him.” Ron Moss also confirmed hearing this story from Maxfield. Maxfield did not return calls and messages left for him–I'll update if he does.”
lamh32
This Ta-Naheisi post got me to thinking:
I won't even lie, I thought George Michael was Black cause of “Careless Whisper” one of the only songs other than Teena Marie or Bobby Caldwell sung by white artist that was played at night on the quiet storm stations.
All The Girls Named Lola
I was shocked, after hearing “Carless Whisper” to find out George Michael wasn't black. I was, like, seven but I just knew that some Luther Vandross wannabee–a black Luther wannabee. I thought the same about Madonna on “Holiday,” and while no Negroes will cop to it, I have it on good authority that when “Ice, Ice Baby” hit the club Negroes didn't exactly vacate the dance-floor. Then they saw the video. Oh, my people…
So what famous person/poltician/rapper/athlethe, etc did ya'll think was Black by name only, but then found out later they were white or not Black. Sherrod Brown comes to mind, if that don't sound like a Black dudes name, then I don't know what does.
lamh32
Alternate Health Care Bills
In response to President Obama's call for compromise, several lawmakers have concocted their own health care reform bills. Here are some provisions of the top contenders:
Hoyer-Larson Bill: All 45 million uninsured Americans would be guaranteed medical care, all of it provided by Dr. Tom Janicak of Houston, TX
Melancon-Cooper Bill: Would create a low-cost government-administered health insurance plan, but would prohibit anyone from buying into it
Griffith-Cantor Bill: Low-income families would be allowed to huddle outside hospital windows in the cold and look at wealthier families receiving care
Hutchinson-Snowe Bill: Children insured on a cuteness scale
Murray-Menendez Bill: Doctors only allowed to mention giving birth as a viable alternative after providing counseling on the many different ways one can have an abortion.
Luetkemeyer-Fortenberry Bill: They just liked the way their names looked together, and this seemed like the most high-profile opportunity to put it out there
Grayson Bill: Rep. Alan Grayson will personally punch in the face any insurance executive who turns down a valid claim
Blookross-Feiser Bill: Although no one is exactly sure who these two shadowy congressmen are, their bill would mandate a twofold increase in insurance premiums and force patients to buy name-brand drugs
RobM
Does Grayson need help?
RobM
You obviously don't understand that the mortgage industry is using the health insurance standard.
On a serious note this is going to extend to bond ratings and insurers and firms that write CDSs
Suprk
Not sure if this has been posted, but I thought I would share.
Once-revered SC lawmaker (Juanita Goggins) freezes to death alone
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/03/10/2597715/once-r…
When Juanita Goggins became the first black woman elected to the South Carolina Legislature in 1974, she was hailed as a trailblazer and twice visited the president at the White House.
Three decades later, she froze to death at age 75, a solitary figure living in a rented house four miles from the gleaming Statehouse dome.
Goggins, whose achievements included key legislation on school funding, kindergarten and class size, had become increasingly reclusive. She spent her final years turning down help from neighbors who knew little of her history-making past. Her body was not discovered for more than a week.
… She taught in the state's segregated schools, married a dentist and got into politics. In 1972, she became the first black woman to represent South Carolina as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. Two years later, she became the first black woman appointed to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission.
“I am going to Columbia to be a legislator, not just a black spot in the House chambers,” she told The Associated Press in 1974 following her victory over an incumbent white man from a district just south of Charlotte, N.C.
Voters “were weary of poor representation. They were ready to accept a person who was sincere and concerned about things. Those feelings go beyond color,” Goggins said.
She sat on the powerful House budget-writing committee and was responsible for funding sickle-cell anemia testing in county health departments.
The former teacher also helped pass the 1977 law that is still the basis for education funding in the state. Her proposals to expand kindergarten and to reduce student-teacher ratios in the primary grades were adopted after she left politics in 1980, citing health issues.
“She was not bashful or anything. She liked to talk. I used to say she could sell an Eskimo ice,” recalled Ilese Dixon, 88, of Pendleton, Goggins' last surviving sibling. “She was just lively and smart. She thought she could fix the world.”
morphus
That is sad, read it earlier today. RIP, Ms. Juanita Goggins.
lamh32
America's Next Top Model Season 14 premeire on the CW now
whiterosebuddy
Hall & Oates
http://WeeSeeYou.com Shanti2
Same here, WRB. And Bobby Caldwell.
Lisa M
If a guy had man-boobs, he could get groped in that way.
ch555x
I'm not keen on current trends, but there was a song by a group named One Block Radius that I thought was “the usual suspects”…nope!
Simply Red is another one…:/
SouthernGirl2
Daniel Bedingfield
James Taylor.
ch555x
What a sad ending…rip!
http://blog.evavegadiversity.com/ evita
I haven't watched in a few seasons. Is it still worth it?
Angelar
spread the word regarding John Ensign
“http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/us/politics/11inquire.html?hp
WASHINGTON — Previously undisclosed e-mail messages turned over to the F.B.I. and Senate ethics investigators provide new evidence about Senator John Ensign’s efforts to steer lobbying work to the embittered husband of his former mistress and could deepen his legal and political troubles
whiterosebuddy
Yes, see that is what I am thinkin…what are they groping.
I read another article and they said something how 'head locks' and touseling hair!
I am like whaaaat? That is not what women men when they say a man groped them!!
whiterosebuddy
Yep…I loved Sarah Smile…and You're a Rich Girl.
I just learned from you that Bobby Caldwell wasn't a brother just now. Heck even that name sounds like brother!! lol
whiterosebuddy
SG2..James Taylor was white???
Plantsmantx
No offense, but I don't see how either of you could think James Taylor was black? Which James Taylor are we talking about here?:)
RobM
I wish I could say it just keeps getting more sickening but it isn't.
Inside Man a review of Henry Paulson's, George II final Treasury Secretary, memoirs.
Hat tip ritholtz.com
rikyrah
Grayson Offers Medicare Buy-In Bill, Makes Impassioned Speech (VIDEO)
First Posted: 03-10-10 04:10 AM | Updated: 03-10-10 04:53 A
When Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) first became a father, his health insurance company refused to pay for the birth of the child, and Grayson had to pay $10,000.
Grayson told the House that story Tuesday during an impassioned and personal speech urging fellow lawmakers to support legislation that would allow Americans to buy into Medicare. Grayson introduced a four-page bill Tuesday that would make that a possibility. He asked would-be opponents to grant Americans the option to buy into the same health care plan that the federal government already offers.
Grayson: Isn't it time that we finally did something good for America? Isn't it time that we gave all Americans the right to buy into a public plan like this? Isn't it in fact past time that we did something like that and what's the harm? I say to those people on the other side of the aisle, if you don't want to buy into the public option, that's fine. But don't prevent me and my family and the ones who I love from doing the same. Let us have our alternative. And remember, remember what you said so many times before. You say the government can't do anything right. Well let's see. Let's see right now. Let's let people buy into the public option, this bill.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/10/grayso…
rikyrah
Democrats To Upend Seniority System In Senate: Brown
Senate Democrats intend to elect the chairs of committees when the next Congress convenes, which could upend a tradition that prioritizes seniority over party loyalty, legislative effectiveness or any other merit-based criteria.
During a question-and-answer session with progressive media, video blogger Mike Stark asked lawmakers why the Democratic caucus hasn't yanked Sen. Blanche Lincoln's chairmanship of the Agriculture Committee, considering her opposition to Democratic legislative efforts. In Arkansas, her gavel is a top selling point as she battles a progressive primary challenge.
“We're going to elect committee chairs next year,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). “The current chairs that are sitting there now understand that we'll be electing chairs next year,” he added, saying the idea had been cleared with Senate leadership.
Under current rules, members of the caucus can weigh in by objecting to an overall Senate organizing resolution, but don't have an up-or-down vote on each chair.
Historically, the seniority system has been one of the chief obstacles to legislative progress. It is more difficult to continuously get elected to the Senate — or to get elected at a young age — in a big state, rather than a small state. That imbalance means that the most senior members of the Senate are almost all from rural, conservative states, giving them outsized influence in a chamber where they already have outsized influence because of minority protections and the two-per-state makeup of the chamber.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) chairs the Steering and Outreach Committee, which oversees the organization of the caucus. But the process is effectively controlled by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).
“I don't think Sen. Reid has decided, but that is something that has been proposed,” Stabenow told HuffPost, calling it a “serious proposal.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/10/democr…
rikyrah
Rick Roll himself…LOL
SouthernGirl2
Yes!
You know, he sang “How Sweet It Is”. I love that song! :)
SouthernGirl2
Oh, it brings back such good memories of growing up! The name sounds black. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsOBSo_jKnM&feat…
SouthernGirl2
Love, “Sarah Smile”!
Do you remember this?
**Once you taste brown sugar** ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exl0oSfTSoY
morphus
'Seniority' is reason given for more ethics probe of Black pols because senority demands higher standards.
Plantsmantx
Ok, once again, no offense for…
1. No, strike that, I'm not going to ask if you know that's a Marvin Gaye song:). Of course you know.
Anyway, He never struck me as sounding black.I'm guessing that maybe he sounded black to you because that particular song was your introduction to him?
Anyway, the mention of his name makes me think about the Isley Brothers' remade of one of his songs, and the fact that when Eric Clapton recorded the song (Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight) he modeled his version not on James Taylor, but on the Isleys.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0H3fSvEAgp4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PL_PQiRp5fk
James Taylor:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C9w9qGQixw&feat…
SouthernGirl2
Hey Plants,
Yeah I know it was a Marvin Gaye song. But I was speaking of the name being associated with being black…”James Taylor”. But I do like his version of “How Sweet It Is”!
Thanks for the Isleys Brothers memory. Love me some Eric Clapton. I have no words to describe this song. I think I'm in love with Eric Clapton! :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qneh8eJTcas
PS: Katie Kissoon's voice is like an angel. Can a voice be anymore beautiful?
http://www.yuregininsesi.com/ yuregininsesi
I was shocked, after hearing “Carless Whisper” to find out George Michael wasn't black. I was, like, seven but I just knew that some Luther Vandross wannabee–a black Luther wannabee. I thought the same about Madonna on “Holiday,” and while no Negroes will cop to it, I have it on good authority that when “Ice, Ice Baby” hit the club Negroes didn't exactly vacate the dance-floor. Then they saw the video. Oh, my people…sesli sohbet sesli chat
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