TEACH WOMEN NOT TO RAPE! (CONT’D): Police: High School Dance Teacher, 37, Had Lesbian Sex With Girl, 16.
Archive for 2014
October 29, 2014
WAR ON WOMEN: Rep. Alan Grayson’s Estranged Wife & Kids on Gov’t Assistance as Dem Refuses to Support Them. “Barely a week after being named the 17th richest member of Congress, liberal firebrand and Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson is refusing to support his estranged wife and their kids, and his wife has turned to government food stamps to support her family, WFTV 9 Orlando reports. . . . Barely a week after being named the 17th richest member of Congress, liberal firebrand and Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson is refusing to support his estranged wife and their kids, and his wife has turned to government food stamps to support her family, WFTV 9 Orlando reports.” They told me if I voted for Mitt Romney. . . .
NEWS YOU CAN USE: Sex with 21 women lowers risk of prostate cancer, academics find; The University of Montreal has found that men who had sex with more than 20 women lower their prostate cancer risk. “Men who had slept with more than 20 women lowered their risk of developing cancer by almost one third, and were 19 per cent less likely to develop the most aggressive form. In contrast, men who slept with 20 men doubled their risk of developing prostate cancer compared with men who have never had sex with another man.”
THAT CATCALLING VIDEO: It’s a racist production about white women not wanting attention from black and Latino men. “The video also unintentionally makes another point, that harassers are mostly black and Latino, and hanging out on the streets in midday in clothes that suggest they are not on their lunch break. As Roxane Gay tweeted, ‘The racial politics of the video are fucked up. Like, she didn’t walk through any white neighborhoods?'”
Maybe she did.
UPDATE: Catcalls And The Death Of Chivalry.
After a brief search on social media, the video was being shared by several flamboyantly contrite men and enraged women. “Wow! I guess men still don’t get it.” “Men are disgusting animals.” “All you men should be ashamed of yourselves.”
I didn’t have the slightest shame watching the video, nor should any male with whom I associate. We don’t catcall. Of course some guys are boors as are some women. I don’t need a video to prove that human nature is a thing.
In the young woman’s 10-hour stroll through New York City, the video shows 20 incidents of harassment (two per hour), while text at the conclusion alleges more than 100. Some of the behavior is downright creepy while much isn’t disturbing at all.
Apologies to the video editor, but “how you doing today,” “how are you this morning,” and “have a nice evening” hardly count as harassment. If they do, I’m violated by polite tourists, panhandlers, and assertive shopkeepers every time I stroll along a busy city street.
All gentlemen agree that catcalling is a bad thing. In fact patriarchal Victorians were so disgusted by such rudeness, they enforced an elaborate public morality that elevated women with a higher level of respect. Thank goodness feminism and secularism drove a stake through chivalry’s heart.
Chivalry was a system, which imposed behavioral obligations on both women and men. Women found those obligations too onerous, but still expect men to shoulder them.
And let’s be honest. What makes these catcalls offensive isn’t that they come from men. It’s that they come from low-status men. Like an unconsented kiss from President Obama, if the catcalls came from George Clooney there’d be much less female outrage.
In fact, maybe these catcalls are a way of striking back at privilege. Any grievance-studies major should be able to flesh out this line of thought . . . .
UNEXPECTEDLY: Romney Foreign Policy Team Is Schooling 2016’s Republicans.
Well, in retrospect Romney’s foreign-policy chops from 2012 are looking spot-on, while Obama’s are looking kinda . . . chickenshit.
THE BEATING IS WORST when you stop moving.
WHO COULD HAVE SEEN THIS COMING? ‘Sneak and Peek’ Warrants Intended for Terrorism Mostly Used in Drug Cases.
CUT THEIR BUDGETS, AS THEY OBVIOUSLY HAVE TOO MUCH TIME ON THEIR HANDS: More Cops Investigate More Teens ‘Sexting.’ Now What?
POOR ASHE SCHOW. SHE’S ALWAYS HAVING TO PLAY WHACK-A-MOLE WITH DISHONEST NUMBERS: No, 1 in 6 MIT undergraduates have not been sexually assaulted.
But I say, Why take chances?
[INSERT OBVIOUS SEXBOT JOKE HERE]: Will Your Next Best Friend Be A Robot?
SPYING: Research links massive cyber spying ring to Russia. “The group, dubbed APT28 by the company, has targeted high level officials in Eastern European countries such as Georgia, and security organizations such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). While Russian and Ukrainian cybercriminal groups are known to conduct massive campaigns aimed at stealing money and financial information, APT28 focuses solely on political information and state secrets, according to FireEye. The report argues that the group is closely tied to Russia and likely part of Moscow’s intelligence apparatus.”
SHOCKINGLY, NOT A REPORT FROM THE WHITE HOUSE SITUATION ROOM: This Is Your Brain On Magic Mushrooms.
GOVERNMENT IS JUST A WORD FOR THE THINGS THAT WE DO TOGETHER.
COLORADO ELECTION SHENANIGANS: GOP: Some Boulder County election judges are Democrats posing as Republicans.
IN THE MAIL: How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World.
Plus, today only at Amazon: 39% or More Off Select Culligan Filtration Systems and Replacement Cartridges.
And, also today only: 27% Off Select Serta Queen and Twin Mattresses.
TAXPROF ROUNDUP: The IRS Scandal, Day 538.
CAR WARS: Uber and Cabbies in a D.C. Death Match.
As it has become clear that their friendly neighborhood taxi commissioner will not be able to shut down services such as Uber and Lyft, taxi drivers have increasingly adopted a new tactic: blocking traffic on Pennsylvania Avenue. They staged another slowdown today as the D.C. Council prepared to take a final vote on a bill that would legitimize and regulate Uber-like services.
Much venom has been spilled toward the taxi drivers on my Facebook feed. But here’s what I want to know: What the heck is the point?
The Teamsters union organized hundreds of cabbies to drive around the Wilson Building today while the D.C. Council was expected to vote. But the city council already knows how taxi drivers feel. The problem is, there are more Uber riders than taxi drivers, and those folks also feel pretty strongly. I’ve seen it suggested that this is a show of force to remind the council that it is risking the large sums that taxi interests routinely contribute to campaigns. That’s the sort of reminder I’d think would be better delivered over drinks, in the form of an unsigned check.
Meanwhile, this campaign has been 100 percent successful in alienating folks who might have been sympathetic before they started asserting their civil rights to shut down a major artery in the name of protecting their cozy monopoly. It seems like this is all cost, no benefit.
. . . At least to the taxi drivers. On the other hand, for the Teamsters, it’s important to show that you’re Doing Something in the face of an enormous threat to your income. And using their vehicles to interfere with traffic is what the Teamsters know how to do. This may not get the taxi drivers what they want. But it might well buy the union some loyalty from its members. When you’re fighting a lost cause, the important thing is to be seen fighting.
Leaders are more interested in leaders’ positions than in followers’ well-being.
REMEMBER THIS THE NEXT TIME YOU SEE THE TIMES EDITORIALIZE ON THE EVILS OF CORPORATE MONEY AND LOBBYING: NY Times Hires Lobbyist to Advocate on ERISA Update. I’m sure lobbyist Harold Ashner will be pushing for changes that make life cushier for workers and retirees. . . . .