November 6, 2012 was truly historic. For the first time ever, the 20% of the United States Senate will be female. Of course, that’s far from the 50% that would mark a truly representative democracy. But here’s what it looks like.
Breaking news: first openly bisexual person elected to Congress
The election was too close to call before, but as of today, Kyrsten Sinema has defeated Tea Partier Vernon Parker in Arizona’s 9th Congressional District. Sinema is the only openly bisexual person in the Senate or the House, though she joins fellow LGBT officials like Senator Tammy Baldwin, and Reps. Jared Polis of Colorado, David Cicilline of Rhode Island, Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, Mark Pocan of Wisconsin and Mark Takano of California.
Obama responds to letter from girl with two dads
So, first there is this totally adorable and moving hand-written letter by 10-year old Sophia Bailey Klugh, who has two dads. (See the hand written letter and drawing below the jump). Sophia explains, “I am so glad that you agree two men can love each other because I have two dads and they love each other, but at school kids think that it’s gross and weird, but it really hurts my heart and feelings.” She then asks, “If you were me and you had two dads that loved each other and kids at school teased you about it, what would you do?”
And guess what! Obama wrote Sophia back. His advice: “A good rule is to treat others the way you hope they will treat you. Remind your friends at school about this rule if they say something that hurts your feelings.”
Musical Parody: “(Mitt’s got a) Fast Car”
This is a music video parody I made of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car.” It’s sung from the perspective of Seamus, the Romney dog who was strapped to the top of the car. It’s meant to be funny but actually speaks to the insensitivity of Mitt Romney. It’s the same insensitivity that caused him to state that he doesn’t really care about 47% of the country. It’s the same insensitivity that allowed him to continue endorsing Richard Mourdock, even after he said that that a pregnancy resulting from rape is “something God intended.” It’s the same insensitivity that made him say “I didn’t know you [LGBT people] had families.” It’s the same insensitivity we saw when he endorsed “self deportation” for immigrants.
Bette Midler Defies Hurricane, Fights Climate Change
Bette Midler knows that even when it comes to Hurricane Sandy, the show must go on. And so must her annual masquerade Hulaween — a major fundraiser for the New York Restoration Project. The nonprofit reclaims and restores New York City parks, community gardens, and open spaces throughout the five boroughs. Sandy makes the work of NYRP even more urgent.
When I asked Midler, dressed as the corpse of CoCo Chanel to go with the evening’s French theme, whether “super” hurricanes like Sandy will change the minds of climate change deniers, she said: “I have no idea. But I know, I know in my heart, the truth. And I will not be swayed. And you know what, if people knew simple physics, they would understand it as well.”
Midler told Us Weekly, “We had no idea that this was gonna happen of course, that we were gonna have the devastation of Sandy. But there’s never been a time where our organization is needed more.” […]
What Romney would do about Hurricane Sandy: not much
I’m writing from Manhattan, where the winds are roaring and we’re awaiting the full-on arrival of Hurricane Sandy, which has already flooded parts of the city, this photo of Red Hook Brooklyn shows, as well as New Jersey. As any responsible president would do, President Obama has declared a state of emergency in 7 states and DC, allowing them to receive federal funds for emergency disaster assistance. But WWRD? What Would Romney do? Probably not a whole lot.
During a June GOP debate, when asked about federal disaster relief for tornado and flood victims, Mitt Romney said that Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) should be privatized. It is, Romney argued, actually “immoral” for the federal government to spend money to provide disaster relief.
Finally, SOMEONE has the guts to blame Sandy on the gays!
Thank God. I mean, literally, you can thank god for bringing on Hurricane Sandy. Of course god isn’t just some sadistic schmuck, wreaking havoc for the sake of it. He’s trying to wake us up to a danger that is infinitely greater than any natural disaster you could imagine: homosexuality. I can’t take credit for this insight into god’s motives. It comes from author and Chaplain John McTernan, who also moonlights as a meteorological analyst.
During Hurricane Isaac, McTernan hypothesized, “It could be that God is putting an end to this city and its wickedness,” since “New Orleans is still hosting Southern Decadence with open homosexuality manifesting in the streets of the city.” And he warned “Let’s all watch this very closely, because if New Orleans is destroyed, it is a sure sign that the final judgment for the national sin of America has arrived.” New Orleans survived, so that wasn’t the final judgement.
Lena Dunham, Lesley Gore tell Mitt Romney “You Don’t Own Me”
Lesley Gore, of “It’s My Party” fame, is letting us know that the GOP is most definitely not her party. Sarah Sophie Flicker, Tavi Gevinson, Maximilla Lukacs, Tennessee Thomas, Leith Clark, Alexa Chung, Karen Elson, and Erika Spring, produced a PSA in which they, along with Tracee Ellis Ross, Lena Dunham, Miranda July, Rachel Antonoff and more lip sync to Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me.” The song uses text cards to criticize Mitt Romney and the War on Women and urge women to vote. (See the transcript of the video after the jump.)
Gore, who I’m now following on twitter, appears in the video and states: “I recorded You Don’t Own Me in 1964. It’s hard for me to believe but we’re still fighting for the same things we were then.”
Why 34 mentions of Israel got me trashed last night
Before last night’s debate, I created a little drinking game for myself and anyone who wanted to join. The instructions were to drink every time Israel was mentioned and drink twice every time the candidate emphasized how close he was with Israel and/or its Prime Minister or criticized his opponent for not being close enough. I had no idea how intoxicating and expensive this drinking game would be. Because it turns out that during the debate, Israel was mentioned 34 times!
I was too trashed from all the Israel mentions to keep track of how many times the candidates praised Israel or accused each other of not hearting Israel sufficiently, so I had to check the transcript.
Breaking news: HPV vaccine does NOT make you more “promiscuous”
Why would anyone oppose a vaccine that could protect people from the human papillomavirus and, ultimately cervical cancer? Well, there’s intellectual heavy weight and amateur scientist Michele Bachmann, who claims the vaccine causes mental retardation. But a more widespread fear among some conservatives is that it will lead to “promiscuity.” And at the end of the day, having a lot of sex with a lot of people is way worse than dying of cancer.
katiehalper.com 