Sorry I haven’t posted a link farm in a while… I’ve been busy, somehow. Not sure what I’ve been busy doing, exactly, but the time sure has flown. Co-hosting my first Passover Seder ever (first one hosting, that is, not attending!) took a bit of time. Went to work a few times.
Anyhow, this is an open thread. Feel free to post whatever you’d like here, including links to your own stuff or just to neat stuff. And in that spirit, here’s some of what I’ve been reading lately. (Apologies to the folks I found these links through; usually I try to give credit, but I managed to lose track of that info this time):
Jay Sennett Jaywalks: The Fifth Carnival of Bent Attractions
April 18: Blog to raise awareness about sexual violence!
April 22: Blog Against Heteronormativity!
Today is the last day to submit nominations for the 13th Carnival of Feminists.
FattiePatties: Top Ten Things I’m Tired of Discussing
I linked to this series when it was in progress, and now that it’s done I’m linking it again. FattiePatties is one of my favorite fat politics bloggers; she always makes me feel like I’m not nearly radical enough with my own fat politics, plus she’s such a damned great writer. I’m definitely gonna nominate this for a “best series” Koufax next year.
Fattiepatties: It’s Not About The Food
Feh-Muh-Nist: But, You’re Not Fat!
In the last few years, however, I’ve started saying it straight and plain, “I am fat.” People do not like to hear this. My unapologetic admission of fatness (as if they can’t tell!) sends others into a fat-denying frenzy.
Big Fat Blog: Brand Thin Gets Rebranded As Brand Health
Big Fat Deal: There’s Always Molly Weasley
Big Fat Deal welcomes J.K. Rowling’s recent fat-positive remarks, but rightly criticizes her awful writing of fat characters.
Alternet: One Big Fat Lie
“America is allegedly in the midst of an obesity epidemic, but our obsession with weight is the real disease.” Curtsy: Fat Chicks Rule.
Blac(k)ademic: Why HR 4437 Is A Queer Issue
i went to the trial with her as a witness where i had to disclose of our sexual activities to prove that she was indeed a lesbian. my testimony, along with her medical records documenting her abuse, her own legal research that she did, and her own testimony persueded the judge to grant her plea for asylum. the department of homeland security, which threated to file motion of appeal against her, eventually did not.
Political Animal: Illegal Immigration Has Very Small Impact On Economy
The Y Files: The Thin Line Between Legal and Illegal
I am a legal immigrant myself. […] And that is something I tremendously appreciate, but I am also aware of the fact that I got a special break due to Cold War politics, and that a lot of people around the world who had as good a claim to fleeing oppression or persecution did not get the same break. So my reaction is not “but I came here legally!” but more like, “There but for the grace of God…”
The Debate Link: Immigration Roulette
As Ambrose Bierce wrote exactly one century ago: “The right to property implies the right to exclusive use, and therefore the right to expel trespassers. Therefore, if A B and C own all the land, D E and F have no place to be born, or born as trespassers, to exist.” This may seem like a rather stretched analogy, until we remember those who want to expel the children of immigrants, born in the USA. Under this paradigm, these people would be “born as trespassers,” and that label seems immoral in a very visceral sense.
I have been wondering of late why elite opinion has been vociferous about keeping US borders open for goods, but, has been recently queasy about keeping it open for poor people.
Knight Ridder: Cost and Benefits of Immigration a Net Wash
Washington Post: American Pioneers — or ‘Illegals’?
A number of the politicians calling for the criminalization of illegal immigrants may not be aware that they and a good many of their constituents could themselves be direct descendants of people who did some illegal migrating of their own many years ago. Much of the territory of the United States was settled by people — hundreds of thousands of them — who disregarded the law by squatting on public lands. [Curtsy: Debate Link]
Fareed Zakaria: To Become An American
Many Americans have become enamored of the European approach to immigration — perhaps without realizing it. Guest workers, penalties, sanctions and deportation are all a part of Europe’s mode of dealing with immigrants. The results of this approach have been on display recently in France, where rioting migrant youths again burned cars last week.
La Queen Sucia: Responses to an Anti-Illegal-Immigrant Correspondant
Brad Plumer: Letting Immigrants Vote
Unskilled immigration, he says, depresses the wages of low-skilled workers. Well, yes, but again, with properly-designed policies…living wages, full employment, labor laws that allow unions to flourish, earned-income tax credits, and the like…I think you can mitigate this, while preserving the very, very large benefits immigration brings for immigrants and the countries that send them.
Woman of Color Blog: Immigration, Blogothropology, and a Day of Protest
Interesting dialog between Brownfemipower and Poor Boy about race, immigration, and other matters. You can also read it here at Poor Boy’s blog, where the formatting is much better; but it looks like Poor Boy is about to take down his blog, so Brownfemipower’s link will last much longer. Be sure to also read Brownfemipower’s follow-up thoughts, and (while they last) Poor Boy’s (here, here , here, here, here and here).
Gray Does Matter: Corruption In the 2004 Ohio Election?
Woman of Color Blog: Abortion and Women of Color
For example, in the 70s, Native women became targets of the United States’ population control program. A declassified federal document, the National Security Study Memorandum 200, stated the following: “Too many people crowded too close together cause many of our social and economic problems. These in turn are aggravated by involuntary and irresponsible parenthood… The welfare mess, as it has been called, cries out for solutions, one of which is fertility control.” What “fertility control” meant for Native women was that when women went into the doctor for complaints as varied as back pain, chronic headaches, tonsillitis and pregnancy, they often left the doctor without a uterus.
Violence Against Women Blog: Kuwait Women Vote And Run For Office For First Time
Bark/Bite: Do You Tell A Football What Time The Game Starts?
Extremely smart, well-written post about homosociality (“the idea that men’s relationships with women are secondary to men’s relationships with other men, and that women are used as currency of exchange in male relationships…”).
Tennessee Guerilla Women: The Gender Gap Between The Parties Is Growing
Femivist: Catherine A. Mackinnon Is My Hero
Creek Running North: Tarantula
There are some political undercurrents here, as there are in all of Chris Clarke’s posts. But mainly, damn good storytelling about Tarantulas, who Chris positions as the friendly squishy pacifists of the scary-looking-creature world.
Feministe:Thoughts on Upcoming Surgery
She was sort of aghast. She couldn’t understand how I could actually change genders and/or sexes without having some essential working definition of each one. How did I even keep track? How did I know where I was? How did I explain all of this to myself?
When you talk about those “Hispanics” taking all the jobs, it’s pretty fucking obvious this isn’t about immigration … it’s about language and culture and surnames and that which allows you to identify them without knowing anything more, skin. It’s about skin. Because you assume that an entire continent and a half is all Mexico, all immigrants, all illegal. Even those of us who are born here, even those who have lived here for generations longer than your families.
How To Save The World: Living On The Edge
Most people’s diagrams of the world put themselves at center, but this guy thinks he’s at the edge. I don’t really agree with any of this – I think there’s a lot of essential issues that it’s easy for a white male and (I suspect) straight man to ignore when he says that the fights between lefties and righties are nothing more than a distraction from really important stuff – but I found this perversely entertaining reading nonetheless.
Twice the Rice: Letters To My Past
Witty, bitchy (in the good sense of the word) and touching letters from a woman who was born in Korea but adopted by white Americans in infancy. Also read this uber-ultra-sarcastic post about adopting kittens.
VeganKid: White Solidarity with Non-Whites, in Practice and Not
Interesting essay about a spur-of-the-moment attempt to get a group of white “allies” to join in solidarity with a most-Latin@ demonstration.
Bitch PhD: Pro Life Pharmacists Refuse to Dispense Vitamins and Antibiotics
Privilege Judo: What’s The Matter With White Folks?
Quoting Tim Wise, arguing with statistics that it’s not Kansas, it’s white people.
Creative Destruction: Feminist Professor Tears Down Student Pro-Life Display
I actually feel kind of sorry for the professor, but come on: What she did was not only tactically stupid, it was unethical.
Blood on My Teeth: He Said/She Said And Why I’m A Feminist
Political Animal: Mifepristone deaths: Under 1 in 100,000. Viagra Deaths: 5 in 100,000
Yet somehow, the pro-life congressmen who want to ban Mifepristone because it’s too dangerous to women, aren’t jumping to ban Viagra. Gee, what’s that about?
Pandagon: Boobage and the Governor’s Race In Alabama
So a couple of journalists named “Bob” are oddly obsessed with the boobs of the libertarian candidate for Governor. Amanda provides a bunch of links and good analysis, but what makes linking this story irresistible is the candidate’s funny and classy response.
Political Animal: Alphabetical Tyranny
It’s why I like the blog name “Alas.” But in retrospect, I should have gone with “Aardvark blog.”
This Comic Strip Rocks
Curtsy: I Blame The Patriarchy
(Cross posted at Creative Destruction)
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Cat and Girl rocks. ROCKS I say.
Speaking of awesome webtoons – whatever happened to Hereville? This is my compliment/finger of shame.
There’s been some interesting talk about Feminism and Gaming on RPGtalk. Matt Wilson’s A Feminist Gaming Manifesto, Parts One and Two mention a bit about privillege, lists, exclusive groups and the like. (This was indirectly kicked off by Vincent’s A problem for feminists/pro-feminists.
I read the “La Queen Sucia” post. The guy she was talking to was indeed a dufus, but that doesn’t mean that he didn’t have some valid points.
ALISA SAYS: My dear Michael: By far the biggest strain on our healthcare system is the 45 million uninsured American citizens who are far more likely than any undocumented immigrant to seek the free treatment you describe here.
Hm. So, uninsured American citizens are more likely than illegal aliens to seek health care? How’s that work out?
Now, before you say, “yeah, but they’re ‘murkin citizens,” consider that many of them are too poor to pay taxes. So your taxes are going to pay for their free health care.
Yeah, but they are American citizens and have rights that illegal aliens in this country don’t. Like the right to be here.
For the record, 45 million is a number larger than [lots of various ethnic groups, etc.]
So what? That doesn’t change the fact that illegal aliens worsen an already bad situation.
MICHAEL SAYS: 2. They overwhelm the public school system and not being property owners they pay no taxes to support the schools.
He’s got the second half of that wrong; as Alisa points ou t, most undocumented immigrants do, in fact, pay property taxes, either though direct ownership of property or through rents. But Alisa’s response to the first point, while technically correct, would fail if we changed Michael’s comment to “They overwhelm the public school system in certain areas.” Which they do in some urban districts and in areas of border states.
MICHAEL SAYS: 3. They do not register for selective service and do not serve in the military – forcing legal Americans to defend them.
ALISA SAYS: Sigh. According the U.S. government, all male immigrants ““ legal and otherwise ““ are required by U.S. law to register for selective service.
Which does not contradict Michael’s statement. I can’t prove it, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to at least suppose that people who violate our immigration laws also would violate our Selective Service laws.
According to the National Center for Immigration Law, one in ten U.S. soliders who have DIED in Iraq have been immigrants. Five percent of those serving in our military are illegal immigrants.
Illegal aliens should not be allowed in our military. Legal immigrants who serve in the U.S. military should be made citizens immediately upon the receipt of a Honorable Discharge, or after 4 years of service, which ever is sooner.
ALISA SAYS: The vast majority of illegal immigrants work in jobs that pay such low wages they would receive all of their federal and state income tax back on April 15 if they did pay taxes.
I’m curious where she gets that number. My daughter made 15K$ this year and she’s paying both state and Fed taxes. Of course, she has no dependents. What are the amounts of income under which you pay no taxes?
According to the U.S. government, the majority of illegal immigrants pay taxes through Individual Taxpayer Identification numbers of false social security numbers. On average, immigrants ““ regardless of legal status ““ will pay $80,000 per capita MORE in taxes than they will USE in government services. The Social Security Administration at this very moment holds $420 BILLION in taxes paid from earnings of illegal immigrants who, because of their legal status, are ineligible to claim the funds.
Hard to gather sympathy for people who evade our laws and then fail to gain eligibility to claim a benefit from them.
Meanwhile, since taking office, George W. Bush has
done a lot of shit I don’t agree with either. So what? What has that got to do with granting illegal aliens citizenship? That sounds like the “Solve these other problems that Bush’s policies, etc., have caused before you worry about this one”, which is an attitude roundly criticized elsewhere on this blog in the “She Does Not Speak For Me” thread (and justifiably so, as I noted was my opinion there).
MICHAEL WHINES: 5. They refuse to assimilate, learn English, and send much of what they earn back to Mexico.
ALISA SAYS: The Pew Center for Hispanic research shows that by the third generation all immigrant grandchildren ““ NO MATTER WHERE THEY ARE FROM OR THE LEGAL STATUS OF THEIR ANCESTORS ““ are COMPLETELY ASSIMILATED ENGLISH SPEAKERS.
Good for them. But this debate, and Michael’s comment, has to do with illegal aliens, not their grandkids.
As for remittances? Only one in five illegal immigrants send money to another nation.
Hm. I’d like to see documentation of that. I’ve read that the third largest revenue source for the Mexican economy is U.S. remittances. Although I’d have to look that up to source it, I confess.
MICHAEL BABBLES: 7. Stop trying to insinuate your way into this country – follow the laws and rules – and wait your turn. If you do, I say, “Welcome to America.” Otherwise, get out now!
ALISA LAUGHS: Dude, are you talking to me? I got to this country the same way you did: I was born here, to a mother who is a sixth-generation New Mexican.
No, Alisa, I think he was speaking to the 11 million illegal aliens that are in this country.
Michael is a bit of a clown, but non-responsive answers to his points are not the way to refute him. I don’t think that Alisa is much of an effective advocate for not passing immigration reform and adequately defending our borders.
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ScottM, are you someone I know in real life? I ask because I think it’s interesting you linked to my friend and former housemate Vince.
You’ve mentioned your gaming relations in the past; Vincent, Meg, and Emily often scribble about their time together with you in your “hippie gaming commune”. I’m no longer sure, but I believe my blog-stalking of Vincent began with a link from you… probably to his pancake recipe or something similar.
Long story short, no, I’m pretty sure we’ve never met. Hopefully one day…
Hooters training manager tells women at Hooters, “If you need the extra money, go ahead and suck a dick or fuck a customer if the money is right.” When the assistant manager of an Alabama Hooters complained he was fired, so now he’s suing.
The Smoking Gun
In his April 7 U.S. District Court complaint, a copy of which you’ll find below, the 31-year-old Gray claims that a trainer named Cat told waitresses that they were “the ones with the pussys and you are in control because of that.” Then she reportedly added “If you need the extra money, go ahead and suck a dick or fuck a customer if the money is right.” Gray contends that offended waitresses approached him and “asked if he could resolve this problem and correct Cat’s offensive behavior.” But after he called the Hooters corporate office to complain about the trainer’s remarks, Gray said he was canned by the owner of the Auburn franchise where he worked.
Female chauvinist piggery or feminist freedom fighter? I’m siding with the former based on the male-approved ancient axiom “[women are] the ones with the pussys and you are in control because of that.”
“Any violence perpetrated against that silly display was minor compared to how I felt when I saw it.”
This got play on Free Republic a few days ago. This woman seems to think that her feelings are paramount over other people’s rights to free speech. Not the kind of person who should be a professor at any college.
A number of the politicians calling for the criminalization of illegal immigrants may not be aware that they and a good many of their constituents could themselves be direct descendants of people who did some illegal migrating of their own many years ago. Much of the territory of the United States was settled by people — hundreds of thousands of them — who disregarded the law by squatting on public lands.
So, we go from illegal aliens to illegal immigrants (ignoring the people who come here and then go back home), and then from illegal immigrants to illegal migrants. The author seems to be drawing an analogy between people who were citizens of a country going from one location in it to another (in an illegal fashion) and people entering a country they are not a citizen of illegally. It’s an intersting story, but a lousy analogy. The descendents of those people are not descendents of illegal aliens.
Many Americans have become enamored of the European approach to immigration — perhaps without realizing it. Guest workers, penalties, sanctions and deportation are all a part of Europe’s mode of dealing with immigrants. The results of this approach have been on display recently in France, where rioting migrant youths again burned cars last week. Across Europe one sees disaffected, alienated immigrants, ripe for radicalism. The immigrant communities deserve their fair share of blame for this, but there’s a cycle at work. European societies exclude the immigrants, who become alienated and reject their societies.
Where, other than in the White House, do we see Americans enamored of “guest worker” programs? The right-wing blogs and boards think it’s a lousy idea. They’re tearing up Bush over this one.
I think that the author hit the nail on the head; bringing people into the U.S. to provide labor with no chance of getting citizenship is a terrible idea and will lead to the same kind of problems that France, et. al. are having. Nobody with any sense wants that. People I talk to don’t want to exclude immigrants; they want to exclude people from crossing the border illegally. There’s a big difference.
Mr. Plumer says:
It’s awfully odd to think that shutting the border is really the best possible thing we can do for low-skilled native workers.
He’s right. That would be odd. I wonder if he can quote one person who has expressed that opinion?
And then he says:
Why not just let anyone living here legally vote?
If you can’t be bothered with following American law from the very first second you step on American soil, you don’t deserve the vote. Make the committment to come here legally, follow the rules that allow you to become a citizen, and then you’ve earned that right. Why let people whose loyalty to the United States is at least divided have a say in how this country is run?
As far as Dear White Folks goes; dang, I look so white I’m pink and even I wouldn’t want to live in Utah. I can see where she’s pissed off.
RonF: Haha, well, I’m in Colorado now. I think (?) it’s slightly better here. It’s still pretty conservative but at least people seem to be, for the most part, relatively sane. But there’s a huge migrant population here and a lot of tension around the immigration issue. In Utah, at the time, I guess I was rare enough to just be a wierd oddity (in my neighborhood, we got to be one of two token hispanic families! and no one could remember which was which!) instead of there being so much underlying hatred and anger. It’s been a few years since I’ve been back to Utah, though, so who knows how things might have changed there. I have the suspicion it’s probably gotten a lot worse.
earlbecke:
Being involved in the Boy Scouts, I’ve made it my business to get some understanding of the Mormon religion. The Mormons have incorporated the BSA into their official male youth programs; every stake is supposed to have a Scout unit for the appropriate age groups, and the local religious leader appoints someone to be Scoutmaster, Cubmaster, etc. as their mission for that year. One out of every 8 Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, etc. is a Mormon. The same numbers hold, +/- a percentage point, for the RCC and the Methodists (or is it the Lutherans? Dang …).
Mind you, the same does not hold for the GSUSA. This is likely because the Mormons perceive that the GSUSA teaches young women that there are roles for women in society that are equally as valid and fulfilling for them as being a wife and mother. That’s in pretty direct conflict with Mormon doctrine, which basically puts marrying and having and properly raising kids as the pinnacle of existence for women.
Strictly speaking, there is no good way to tell how many Girl Scouts are Mormon because the GSUSA does not track religious affiliation. It is (probably) true that Mormon churches do not sponsor Girl Scout troops to the same extent as Boy Scout troops, but that’s partly because Girl Scout troops aren’t (generally) sponsored – you need just 2 adults, not related to each other, with the appropriate training and an approved place to meet, to have a Girl Scout troop. Utah has quite a few Girl Scouts, and I would guess that most of them are Mormon, just because of the demographics.
Oh, I’m sure they do. What I’m saying is that the Mormon church has formally adopted the BSA as part of their youth program, whereas they have not done so with the GSUSA. And that the reason is because the Mormon Church has doctrines regarding the role of women in family and the world that the GSUSA doesn’t really fit into.
I heard that the Katrina refugees had interesting times fitting into the culture in Utah.
Mr. Plummer is quoted above as saying,
Unskilled immigration, he says, depresses the wages of low-skilled workers. Well, yes, but again, with properly-designed policies…living wages, full employment, labor laws that allow unions to flourish, earned-income tax credits, and the like…I think you can mitigate this, while preserving the very, very large benefits immigration brings for immigrants and the countries that send them.
What kind of properly-designed government policy is “full employment”? I’m not sure what that means. What is the objective of the policy and how would it be implemented?
RonF: Oh, I’m sure they do.
Huh? My nonsequiteur-connector machine is broken today.
He’s sure they do have lots of Girl Scouts in Utah. The GSA organization just isn’t tightly bound to the Mormon church.
Speaking of Fat issues
Does any one have any opinions about newer measures about measuring people’s health such as waist to hip ratio. For example here is some information on a 2005 study on waist to hip ratios…
and
http://www.ncpa.org/newdpd/dpdarticle.php?article_id=2503
http://www.health4youonline.com/article_waist_hip_ratio_apple_and_pear.htm
I guess the way I look at it BMI, expect for measures in the very extreme ranges i.e. BMI lets say BMI measurements under 17 and BMI measurements over 47, tells you nothing about a person health and really the only thing the extreme ranges says is than generally people who are six feet tall and weigh 125 pounds or under are unhealthy or people who are 6 feet tall and weight over 350 pounds are generally unhealthy. Just today I actually decided to calculate my BMI using the lowest weight (220-225lbs) I had been over the last ten years, which indicates I would be classified as borderline obese and my in shape weight (235lb) would definitively be classified as obese, which basically tells me using BMI as a health indicator is essentially meaningless (my own build in case anyone is wondering is pretty uniformly board i.e. large shoulder, chest, arms, and legs and I guess could be described a slightly bear like e.g. heavily muscled with a layer of fat). By comparison when measuring by waist to my hips I get measurements of 46 inches and 50 inches respectively, which gives a waist to hip ratio of 0.92 and that is just a little bit inside of what is considered low risk. By comparison right now at close to six feet tall at slightly above 250 pounds (let say 255 pounds) my BMI is about 35, which is considered obese.
I’m changing the name of my blog from “Raznor’s Rants” to “Aaaaaaaa”
Lee: Robert was right. But I was hardly clear.