This Rockin’ quote of the day comes from Shakesville:

“They try to paint the picture that I was this downtrodden, ugly girl who was unpopular in school and in life, and then I got this role and now I’m awesome. But the truth is that I’ve been awesome, and t…hen I got this role.”—Gabby Sidibe, the star of Precious

I love young Feminists who are not afraid to gbe thier Bad (Ass) seelves.  The interview had several other great quotes:

“You look totally opposite to your character.”

“Thanks,” says Sidibe dutifully. “I’m actually … not her.” says Sidibe, “I learned to love     myself, because I sleep with myself every night and I wake up with myself every morning, and if I don’t like myself, there’s no reason to even live the life. I love the way I look. I’m fine with it. And if my body changes, I’ll be fine with that.”

“I know I’m not a piece of shit or some random fat girl. I’m Gabourey Sidibe.” She pauses. “I just said my name in the third person!”

of course there is crap like this from Daniels who cast her:

“She is unequivocally comfortable in her body, in a very bizarre way. Either she’s in a state of denial or she’s so elevated that she’s on another level,” he says. “I had no doubt in my mind that she had four or five boyfriends, easily.”

More fat girls would rock too if we stopped telling girls they are only worthwhile if they are impossibly pretty (and thin) princesses.*

In Sidibe’s words (albeit to a jackass boyfriend):

“Don’t, don’t, don’t! I’m not a regular girl. I just got off a plane from France. You need to check yourself.”

A note, you are not badass b/c you got off a plane from France, you got off a plane from France because you are badass.  I hope you career grows like mad.

*As someone who has been on both sides of that shit (being impossibly thin, and now overweight) that shit is dangerous.  There is nothing like your doctor demanding you gain weight and your culture, friends, and  family bluntly telling you to lose it.

CREDO action is giving a way free bumper stickers supportive of gay marriage. I know little about them, but if you are interested go here:
http://act.credoaction.com/stickers/?rc=fb.connect

From this article New York Times:

But General Jones’s style suits Mr. Obama, close aides and friends of the president said. To the general’s credit, there has so far been no evidence of serious clashes on a team that includes not only Mrs. Clinton but also Robert M. Gates, the defense secretary, and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., both national security experts in their own right. “I look at the result of our national security policy and I’m pretty pleased so far,” said Brent Scowcroft, the national security adviser to former President George H. W. Bush.

Not only is every one else defined by their names this first time they are mentioned, but they all have bio links.  Where as /Secretary/ Clinton is only referred to as former President Bill Clinton’s wife.  Score another one for the NY Times and blatant sexism.

EDIT:  They have fixed the problem.  Next time they should catch this on the first time.  Thanks to JessSnark for pointing this out to me!

Today I was driven to write several Haiku.  The need was inspired by Symigoddess who posted several one liners from Twin Peaks. The lines are now the titles

I feel like I know her but sometimes my arms bend back.

That gum you like is going to come back in style

Blow the bubble. Pop!
the store stopped carrying it-
Paris Hilton chews

She’s dead. Wrapped in plastic.

rigid and smiling
waist too small for organs
bright cardboard coffin

While the news talks about our economy and and the presidential election, no one seems to be talking about the lingering realities of Ike.  Reuters announced today that power outages are extensive and likely to linger.

About 1.5 million Texas power customers were not connected, followed by Ohio with 324,000 out and Kentucky where 130,000 had no electricity, the U.S. Department of Energy said.

It will by October before some Texans can re-energize refrigerators and lights, utilities said.

Why is nobody talking about this?  Just remember that these people without lights, refrigerators, or air conditioners have a 10 forecast where the expected temperature ranges from 84 -88 degrees.   Food will spoil.  Elderly and youth may die from heat alone.  Yet it is not on the national radar…why?

Bob Barr is suing Texas to remove Obama and McCain’s name from the ballot as they did not register with the Department of State in time to legally be on the ballot.

This both frightens me and makes me laugh.  Updates as they become available.

article here

<via>

As all of you know the McCain-Palin ‘4 more years’ ticket is the most anti-choice ticket in recent memory with both candidates promising to overthrow roe v. wade (remember 60% of the country agrees with r v. w).  I have been talking about the war on birth control for years and most of the people I talk about just shrug it off throwing me mentally to the land of the crazies.  Well, while the opening salvo is long since past the newest barrage of anti choice, anti woman, anti birth-control is here and it is a doozy.  President Bush is attempting to cement his anti-choice legacy by pushing through a Department of Health and Human Services rule change.  This rule change will fundamentally alter the relationship between women and pharmacies, hospitals, and yes our regular doctors.  Its vague wording will allow any health care provider to refuse patients care if they are opposed to a procedure, action, etc.  for religious reasons.
Here is what Sen. Hillary Clinton and Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards say about it in their nytimes op ed:

“The rule would also allow providers to refuse to participate in unspecified “other medical procedures” that contradict their religious beliefs or moral convictions. This, too, could be interpreted as a free pass to deny access to contraception.  Many circumstances unrelated to reproductive health could also fall under the umbrella of “other medical procedures.” Could physicians object to helping patients whose sexual orientation they find objectionable? Could a receptionist refuse to book an appointment for an H.I.V. test? What about an emergency room doctor who wishes to deny emergency contraception to a rape victim? Or a pharmacist who prefers not to refill a birth control prescription?  The Bush administration argues that the rule is designed to protect a provider’s conscience. But where are the protections for patients?”

Actually, the Bush administration has said many times that they do not feel that a pharmacist should be forced to give contraception to patients if they do not agree with the practice.  This is a huge issue.  Before anyone says “But I don’t think they should have to do anything against their religion for a job!”  Birth Control has been legal since 1965 , if you do not think that one of the most popular prescriptions is right with your god, DO NOT BECOME A PHARMACIST.   I know of know Orthodox Jews who run non kosher delis.  If you, like me, wish to stop this rule change please know that there are only six days left in the 30-day public comment period.  ACLU has a letter that you can sign and electronically sent to the committee here.  If you, also like me, signed the letter weeks ago please feel free to join me in calling them at 1-877-696-6775 to let them know you disagree with the bill.  Suggested script if you need one:

“I am calling regarding the proposed regulatory changes released on August 21.  I would                                like to register my strong disagreement with the proposed change.” (via shakesville)

Please don’t sit by the wayside while your (or your sister’s, mother’s, daughter’s, wife’s, girlfriend’s ect.) rights are limited for no reason other than a few who want to force their faith on you.

The US embassy in Yemen was bombed this morning, only the Yemeni guards, first responders, and police/paramedics were harmed.  This is extremely awful.  For the news report go here.  My main question is why did Canada write about it before the US?

h/t Ginmar

While the Republicans are pushing the Dems to violate Pakistani Sovereignty in the name of “following the terrorists to their caves,” Pakistan points out that repeatedly violating your only ally is colossally stupid.  Not only does it seem that this administration expects far more concessions than they would be willing to give, but they miss the point that running into an area guns blazing without the support of the community or government will only ensure many innocent people are killed or injured.  There is no way to win the hearts and minds of the community after attacking their families, and no way of telling the terrorists we seek apart from the innocents defending themselves against the terrorists we are.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7618929.stm

The Roma in Europe have been discriminated against since the middle ages not only because they look physically different, but also because of their one time nomadic lifestyle and the absence of any cultural homeland. They are the only group of people that at no time in modern history could be called indigenous. They are not only Europe’s largest minority, but also the most systematically discriminated against minority in Europe—and by many accounts the world. They were also the second largest ethnic group targeted by the Nazis. Recently there has been an amazing amount of progress in bettering the plight of the Roma in Europe. Last year the European Court of Human Rights ruled that exclusion of the Roma from mainstream European schools is discrimination and had to be ended. States have as a rule been slow to comply with the decision and desegregation has other hurdles not inherent in other desegregation programs like the one we had here in the US. Today the BBC had an article on the reality of the education situation in the Czech Republic.

It begins with Berta Cervenakova’s daughter, who was forced to go to a school for the mentally retarded even though she herself was not mentally retarded. Now 18 she does not know how to read, nor does she have sufficient skills to support herself in any job that is not manual labor—this type of discrimination keeps the Roma in extreme poverty and near helpless to protect themselves economically in some cases (according to Cervenakova her daughter lakes the skills even to do the marketing). Eight years ago Cervenakova filed suit to put her daughter in mainstream schools, the result was that she was given a 4,000 Euro award in compensation. There is no way that a onetime payment of 4,000 Euros will make up for being able to read and write sufficiently to acquire a job that will lift her out of poverty. No way that paltry 4,000 Euros will help her ensure that her employer is not shorting her paycheck. That award itself is so low it screams discrimination to me. My uncle (white, American) won more than that when he was injured for life by a state vehicle in Germany—an injury that in no way relegated him to subpar employment. Before the fact that these are two different countries is pointed out I want to remind all that this was a /European/ court, not a Czech court that did the awarding, and that my uncle’s award happened well over 40 years ago. Inflation alone should have made it higher.

The racism of the headmaster of the Czech school for Romani children is so blatantly thick I do not think I could breathe in the same room with him:

“”In the first grade in a normal school, the kids can count to 20. Here, they can only count to five – although we want to teach them numbers up to 10,” says headmaster Jindrich Otzipka at the Ibsen school.

He takes me on a tour. In the eighth grade, a classroom for 14-year-olds, a brightly-coloured alphabet is on the wall.

“Normally the children would learn this at fourth grade. But these kids keep forgetting things, so you have to keep repeating them,” he says.

“I blame the parents. They don’t read to their kids. The Roma have no appreciation that you have to apply yourself to get on. They just live for the day.”

It does not seem to cross his mind that the parents do not read to their children because they can’t or because they are exhausted from attempting to fend off poverty. He blames the children for forgetting things but later states that they cannot get rid of subpar teacher because then the entire system would collapse. This tells me that not only are Romani children being funneled in to ‘special’ schools but that the schools are staffed with unqualified ‘teachers.’ To blame the kids and their (likely undereducated) parents for the failings of school system is absurd. That quote alone makes one hella strong case for affirmative action.

The article goes on to talk about the de facto segregation in many German schools where the Romani and Sinti (a subset of Roma) are loathe to leave the schools they historically attend. Other than the obvious comfort we all have when our surroundings do not harangue us for our race, many Roma still hold religious beliefs that prolonged contact with non-Roma will pollute their beings. There is in the Romani religion a code of actions that must be adhered to in daily living. Simplistically this is like eating Kosher or Halal but far more extensive. According to this believe not only can committing a taboo upset your balance, but so can contact with others who do not remain ‘pure.’ This complicates desegregation, but should not affect the quality of education at the schools the Roma chose to attend.