Tag: RawStory

Articles originally posted on RawStory.com

Video: Governor Cuomo fears for his life, screams out for Mayor de Blasio

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HUD_Secretary_Andrew_Cuomo

Some people like to face their fears. Others like to ignore them and pretend they’re not there. And now we know that Governor Andrew Cuomo definitely belongs in the second camp.

We knew that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) was too afraid to debate his primary challenger, Progressive Fordham University law professor Zephyr Teachout. But we didn’t know that he was so afraid of her, her mere presence causes him to  shut down, pretends she’s not there, and screams for help.

Until this weekend… when Teachout threatened Cuomo with an attempted “hello,” at New York City’s Labor Day Parade on Saturday.

NYTrue.com captured the video of the terribly scary exchange. Here’s a blow by blow.

Teachout and her running mate Tim Wu menacingly approach Cuomo and his running Kathy Hochul.

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Cuomo’s campaign manager, Joe Pecoco, protects the Cuomo and Hochul, putting his life on the line as he bravely places his body between Teachout and Cuomo.

Teachout harasses the Governor and his staff, shouting aggressive, inappropriate things like, “Hi, how we doing?”

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Unable to get through, Tenacious T, doggedly pursues her victims through another route. Understandably scared for their lives,  Cuomo and Hochul turn away from Teachout.

Teachout then assaults Hochul with a brutally light tap on the arm. Continue reading “Video: Governor Cuomo fears for his life, screams out for Mayor de Blasio” →

Also, Ben Stein is nostalgic for when “lynchings of African Americans weren’t rare”

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Ben Stein is a renaissance man. Famous for his role as the attendance-taking teacher in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, he was also a game show host, a speech writer and lawyer for President Nixon and a philanderer. He is a man of contradictions. Socially conservative and in an open marriage. Jewish and doesn’t believe in evolution.

But when it comes to his racism, he’s extremely consistent. Recently, Stein gave an interview with Newsmax in which he totally, and unequivocally, exonerated not only the officer who killed Michael Brown, but the officer (who was actually not a policeman, and explicitly disobeyed police orders to stay in his car) who killed Trayvon Martin. For Stein, both Brown and Martin, not their innocent executioners, were the guilty ones.

Stein disputes the fact that Brown was not armed:  ”I mean he wasn’t unarmed; he was armed with his undoubtedly strong, scary self.” See! If he didn’t want to get shot, Brown shouldn’t have gone out with…. himself.

Also, if you want to not be executed by the police, simply change your tone.  In both the Martin and Brown case,

it’s the very large, so-called victim attacking the policeman who winds up dead…. I mean if they didn’t just, would not attack the policeman, if they would just talk to the policeman in a reasonable way instead of attacking the policeman, nobody would be dead.

(FYI, Trayvon Martin was 158 pounds. George Zimmerman weighs 178 pounds at the time. But, yes, Martin was taller. None of this is relevant but it just shows how Stein’s theory lack coherence and how is premise is not based on reality)

So, Ben Stein’s advice to young Black men: don’t leave the house because you are scary. But if you do… use your words.

Stein is concerned for the real victims and expressed fear that the Justice Department’s investigation into the killing of Brown would result, not in justice, but in a ”lynching jury.” Choice words.

Luckily, Stein doesn’t just use lynching as a metaphor. He addresses it literally:

There was a time, even in my youth … when lynchings of African Americans were not that incredibly rare. Now the lynchings are of the police, and it’s just an outrage!

Ahhh… the good old days. Before lynching of African Americans was replaced by the lynching of police officers. Not sure when any police officer in the United States was ever lynched. But it makes a great soundbite (lie).

To hear more about Ben Stein’s racism police fetish, watch this week’s Morning Jew.

Originally posted on RawStory

Senator who doubts female senator was sexually harassed linked to Church sex abuse coverup

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Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) says Obamacare will lead to 'rationing'

Senator Ron Johnson (WI-R) challenged Senator Kristen Gillibrand’s claims of inappropriate comments and touching from her male colleagues. If I were Senator Ron Johnson, I wouldn’t go around challenging the veracity of sexual harassment allegations. Because in addition to testifying against a bill that would have made it easier for victims of child sexual assault to sue, Johnson served on the council of a Church that covered up the abuse of children.  Whoops!

Let’s talk about the Gillibrand incident first. In her new book “Off The Sidelines,” Gillibrand reveals that one male colleague who ran into her in the gym  ”Good thing you’re working out, because you wouldn’t want to get porky!” On other hand, another colleague said, ”You know, Kirsten, you’re even pretty when you’re fat.” And another male senator grabbed her waist and advised, “Don’t lose too much weight now. I like my girls chubby.” #MixedMessages

On Tuesday, Ron Johnson went on NewsmaxTV’s “The Steve Malzberg Show,” and said of the Gillibrand claim, “First of all, it was not me.” OK… The Senator doth protest too much, methinks,  but anyway. He went on to say, ”Quite frankly, I’ve never seen that kind of behavior in the United States Senate. “ How odd that he wouldn’t be privy to every one-on-one conversations out of his earshot and vision? And surely, he would have been at the receiving end of comments about weight and boy and appearances if they were being made. But not only did Johnson doubt Gillibrand, he criticized her not naming names and not sensationalizing and personalizing an important discussion about a systemic problem: “If you’re going to throw out accusations, my guess is you probably ought to name names… If you’re going to throw out those kinds of accusations, you ought to give people a chance to defend themselves.”

OK. Now, let’s go back to 2010 and review footage of  Ron Johnson  opposing The Wisconsin Child Victims Act. The 2010 bi-partisan bill would have done what several other states have already done: eliminated the civil statute of limitations in sex assault and rape cases involving children. In Wisconsin, people are barred from suing over child sexual abuse or rape after the age of 35, a totally arbitrary cut-off that makes it harder for victims to see justice and hold abusers accountable.  Controversial? Sadly, to Johnson it was. Continue reading “Senator who doubts female senator was sexually harassed linked to Church sex abuse coverup” →

Lady Gaga will perform in Israel because not everyone is as principled as the Backstreet Boys

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image via Kate_xo

Lady Gaga is going to Israel! And she just recorded a video about how excited she is.

Shalom. This is lady Gaga. I’m so excited to perform my new tour in Tel Aviv. I’ll see you soon, Israel.

A couple questions.  Is Gaga using a teleprompter? It kind of looks like it. And this is her excited? She doesn’t exactly scream kvelling! I’d hate to see what she looks like when she’s not pumped to do something.  I get it. poker face. I assume she’s using shalom in the “hello” sense and not in the “goodbye” or “peace” sense, right?

Has she read the mission statement of her own Born This Way foundation?

the Born This Way Foundation was founded in 2011 to foster a more accepting society, where differences are embraced and individuality is celebrated. The Foundation is dedicated to creating a safe community that helps connect young people with the skills and opportunities they need to build a kinder, braver world.

We believe that everyone has the right to feel safe, to be empowered and to make a difference in the world. Together, we will move towards acceptance, bravery and love.

Not sure performing in Israel is the best way to help create a kinder world where everyone has the right to feel safe. Guess she needs to add a “void where prohibited” disclaimer.

In all fairness, The Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys, Paul Anka, America and Neil Young all cited security reasons and not political ones in canceling their tour. And Lady Gaga isn’t exactly known for her political astuteness or coherence. She once declared, “I’m not a feminist. I hail men, I love men, I celebrate American male culture — beer, bars, and muscle cars.” Because, FYI, feminism requires abstaining from beer, bars, muscle cars and men. Then she came out as “a little bit of a feminist.” So… there’s that.

Originally posted on RawStory

No sex list: three men no women should have sex with this week/ever

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There is a rich and honorable historic tradition of sexual boycott for socio-political purposes. The practice was immortalized by Aristophanes in his comedy Lysistrata, in which the women of Greece abstain from sex to encourage their husbands and lovers to negotiate a peace and end the Peloponnesian War. “Lysistratic nonaction” has been seen more recently, in places like the Philippines, Colombia, Liberia, and Ukraine, with varying degrees of success.

Well, ladies, it’s time to take active non-action once again. There are some men in the news whose behavior really requires it. I am issuing a non-binding* call for a sexual boycott. It is a crime against not only women, but, I would argue, humanity, to have any sexual relations with these men. Their behavior towards women cannot be sanctioned or condoned through sex. It must be punished through denial. Luckily as you will see from the list, abstaining won’t require too much will power.

So, no sex for…

1. CeeLo Green: Last week, in one of the dumbest statements ever released by a man recently found guilty of drug possession and accused of spiking a woman’s drink with ecstasy, the singer CeeLo Green tweeted,

People who have really been raped REMEMBER!!!

If someone is passed out they’re not even WITH you consciously! so WITH Implies consent.

Though I have no doubt that Green, famous for his song, “Fuck You,” has a very nuanced understanding of not only consent but consciousness in a political and neurobiological sense, he is also very in touch with his energy and personal anti-loitering laws. So, he deleted not only his comments, but his entire Twitter account, explaining that he would “not allow that negative energy to loiter on my time line u still got it so keep it! I’m deleting this too.”

Luckily, Green was back online by Monday, and was able to explain that every single person who read the tweets and isn’t a rapist or misogynist had taken his statements out of context:

Let me 1st praise god for exoneration fairness & freedom! Secondly I sincerely apologize for my comments being taken so far out of context.

When I read about the context removal I wondered what it was and thought to myself that, unless it was “this is how to not talk about rape,” it wasn’t going to be exonerating. And it tuns out it wasn’t. Green’s comments were part of his altruistic healing process.

I only intended on a healthy exchange to help heal those who love me from the pain I had already caused from this. Please forgive me as it…. was your support that got me thru this to begin with. I’d never condone the harm of any women. Thank you.

In a great post entitled “Say hello to men who hate NSA spying but blame women for being spied on”  T.C. Sottec exposes some civil liberty-loving, women-hating dudes. I would, of course, be remiss if I failed to include one on the list.

2. Larry Wachs: this bald white dude with glasses is the founder and one of the  hosts of the Atlanta talk radio show called “The Regular Guys,” whose name makes me think that they are all really secure about their penises. He also prides himself as “one of Atlanta’s top Jews.” The frequently-fired Wachs has a great sense of humor, as evidenced by his RTing this gem:  ”breaking news ‘Michael Sam Signs with Lingerie Football League’.” Get it? It’s funny because Michael Sam is gay. I’m still laughing. Anyway, when actress Mary E. Winstead tweeted, “To those of you looking at photos I took with my husband years ago in the privacy of our home, hope you feel great about yourselves,” Wachs replied, “.@M_E_Winstead Stop posing nude on camera, dummy. Your husband not know what you look like nude? .” His dummy accusation was somewhat undermined by the caveman syntax in his last sentence, but moving on. He had similar words of wisdom for Jennifer Lawrence “@itsjenIawrence. Maybe you shouldn’t pose nude if you can’t handle the public seeing it. . And don’t step on downed power lines!” I love how he raises the comedic stakes as he replaces dummy with #dumdum.

Also, Wachs may not be that sensitive to the whole naked photos thing because he himself appeared as a nude extra in the comedy “Neighborhood Watch.”

Mitch_McConnell_official_portrait_112th_Congress3. Republicans. I know. What makes this week different from any other week. Shouldn’t Republicans always be forced to suffer blue balls for their sexist policies? YES. But, it’s hard to do a full time boycott. I mean, how could someone like Elaine Chao be expected to control herself?

And I am, after all, a pragmatist. So, I wouldn’t encourage a boycott without an outstanding catalyst. Luckily, the RNC tweeted this undeniably dishonest statement on Labor Day:  ”This #LaborDay, the White House & Democrats believe paying women less than men is an acceptable practice… All Republicans support equal pay.” Unfortunately for the Republicans, reality and objective facts aren’t on their side, not that that’s ever been a problem for them anyway. But the RNC can’t really spin away the fact that Senate Republicans have blocked a vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act three times! And it’s hard to be good on wage equality when you deny that it exists. Meanwhile, President Obama, a Democrat (yeah, I know you call him a socialist… if only) signed the The Lilly Ledbetter Act into law.

*for logistical reasons, not for lack of commitment on my part.

 

Originally posted on RawStory

Eleven movies to watch on Labor Day that are actually about labor

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800px-WomanFactory1940s

Happy Labor Day! If you have the day off, and want to show some appreciation for the people who got it for you, then find your closest striking workers and walk the picket line with them. But if you’re feeling a little less ambitious but don’t want to be a total ingrate, you can watch a movie. Not Labor Day, with Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin. And not just a film that takes place on Labor Day, like A Good Old-Fashioned Orgy, as good and old-fashioned as the film is. Check out one of these!

1. Matewan (1987). Directed by Jon Sayles, with Chris Cooper, James Earl Jones, Mary McDonnell, and David Strathairn. Cinematography by  Haskell Wexler. The film is fictional but based on the true story of the 1920 coal miners’ strike in Matewan, a small town in the hills of West Virginia, against the Stone Mountain Coal Company. Chris Cooper plays Joe Kenehan, an organizer for the United Mine Workers and former Wobbly who must organize the miners and fight against the company’s attempt to pit Black and white workers against each other.

2. Bread and Roses (2000). Directed by Ken Loach, with  Pilar Padilla, Adrien Brody, Elpidia Carrillo and… George Lopez. I know. George Lopez doesn’t scream social justice indy film, but Bread and Roses is one of the few movies to explore union organizing is a contemporary, rather than historical context. The film doesn’t overly romanticize the labor movement either, and shows the complicated racial and cultural dynamics often at play.

3. The Organizer (1963). Directed by Mario Monicelli, with Marcello Mastroianni, Renato Salvatori, Gabriella Giorgelli. The film is about exploited textile workers in Turin, Italy at the end of the 19th century. Professor Sinigaglia, played by Mastroianni, is helps organize a strike and transitions from intellectual to organizer. The film was nominated by the Academy Awards for best screenplay.

Continue reading “Eleven movies to watch on Labor Day that are actually about labor” →

After 9-year-old fatally shoots instructor with an Uzi, gun range raises age minimum to 12

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First, the bad news. 

  • A nine-year-old girl was learning how to use an Uzi sub-machine gun, when she lost control of it and wound up fatally shooting her instructor in the head at the Last Stop shooting range in White Hills, Arizona.
  • Her parents filmed it on their cell phone.
  • Charles Vaca, 39, is dead.
  • A nine-year-old girl will be psychologically scarred for life because she witnessed the death of a man she killed accidentally.
  • Parents will be psychologically scarred for life because they witnessed their nine-year-old daughter kill a man, accidentally, because they thought this was an age-appropriate activity.
  • People think that kids should learn how to use Uzis.
  • The shooting took place at a combined fast good restaurant and firing range.
  • A combined fast food restaurant and firing range exists
  • The tour company that brings people to the range is called Bullets and Burgers.

The Good News: Tragedies can serve as teachable moments. And that’s exactly what we see here. You see, before this death, the age minimum at the Last Stop shooting range was 8. I think we can all agree that that’s ridiculous. Especially when operating an Uzi. But now, a change has come. The age minimum is now twelve years old. And, as if that’s not already radical enough. the minimum height is five feet. Seems a little sizest and ageist to me, but safety first, I guess.

 

I know I feel a lot better. And I can’t help but think of this song.

Originally published on RawStory

“Daily Caller” celebrates Women’s Equality Day with a sexy slideshow that is broken

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Sigh. If only the left were as irreverent, creative and  funny as the people over at the Daily Caller. I mean, we already know that the site is cool, since anything run by Tucker Carlson is at least as hip as his bow ties and inverted mushroom coif.

But now they’ve really outdone themselves, with a “Celebrate Women’s Equality Day With These Ten Beauties [SLIDESHOW].”

The Daily Caller’s Entertainment Reporter writes,

August 26 was deemed “Women’s Equality Day” a mere 41 years ago for a reason, and The Daily Caller will pay homage to it the proper way. These ten beautiful women truly have no equals, so we applaud them and their figures.

OK. So, it’s not surprising that this was stupid and not funny. But what was genuinely surprising was that I wasn’t able to navigate through the slide show very well. Like, get it together, Tucker. Can’t you guys pay a good coder? And I wasn’t the only one.

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Also, do they know that Olivia Wilde, whom they include in the slideshow, is an ACLU-supporting feminist? Or maybe they do… and her punishment is being included on this list?

Originally posted on RawStory

Why do Holocaust survivors have more empathy for Palestinians than Seth Rogen?

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Happy 50th Day anniversary of Israel’s assault on Gaza!

Guys, I’m really torn. This weekend, two open letters were published which address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. One condemns, “the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza.” The other one argues that, “Hamas cannot be allowed to rain rockets on Israeli cities.”

I’m trying to figure out which of the two letters is more relevant and helpful. Bear with me, won’t you, as I look at the context and the content of these two letters before coming to an informed decision.

The Authors

The letter Condemning Israel:  40 Jewish survivors of the Nazi Holocaust and 287 children and grandchildren of Jewish Holocaust survivors.

The founding of Israel, as well as its policies, are based on the notion of self-defense and “never again.” The Holocaust almost wiped out the Jews. And it could happen again. That’s why Israel does what it does. If there’s one group of people who you would think this idea would work on it would be the very people who were almost wiped out during the actual Holocaust. And yet, the people who signed they letter realize that their trauma doesn’t justify the policies of Israel. So, that is pretty significant.

The Letter Condemning Hamas: 190 actors, directors, producers and at least one “mogul” in Hollywood.

None of the signatories survived the Holocaust, spent time in Concentration Camps or witnessed the Holocaust. But some of them are important Jewish voices. Seth Rogen, for example, boldly took on the theme of the overbearing Jewish mother in film Guilt Trip. Bill Maher helps bridge the dangerously widening gap between misogynist domestic abusers and islamophobes. Among the non-Jews, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger are known for their commitment to peace over violence on and off the screen, Tom Arnold is really smart, and Kelsey Grammer endorsed Michele Bachmann, whose commitment to Zionism is unwavering (since Jews need to go back to Israel in order for The Rapture to happen after which all the Jews who don’t accept Jesus will burn in eternal damnation.

The Message

The letter Condemning Israel: Israel’s actions are inexcusable, and so is the United States support for Israel:

As Jewish survivors and descendants of survivors and victims of the Nazi genocide we unequivocally condemn the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza and the ongoing occupation and colonization of historic Palestine. We further condemn the United States for providing Israel with the funding to carry out the attack, and Western states more generally for using their diplomatic muscle to protect Israel from condemnation. Genocide begins with the silence of the world.

We are alarmed by the extreme, racist dehumanization of Palestinians in Israeli society, which has reached a fever-pitch. In Israel, politicians and pundits in The Times of Israel and The Jerusalem Post have called openly for genocide of Palestinians….

….. Nothing can justify bombing UN shelters, homes, hospitals and universities. Nothing can justify depriving people of electricity and water.

The Letter Condemning Hamas: Hamas’s actions are inexcusable, and children are the future.

While we stand firm in our commitment to peace and justice, we must also stand firm against ideologies of hatred and genocide which are reflected in Hamas’ charter, Article 7 of which reads, “There is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him!” The son of a Hamas founder has also commented about the true nature of Hamas.

Hamas cannot be allowed to rain rockets on Israeli cities, nor can it be allowed to hold its own people hostage. Hospitals are for healing, not for hiding weapons. Schools are for learning, not for launching missiles. Children are our hope, not our human shields.

The Significance and Relevance Continue reading “Why do Holocaust survivors have more empathy for Palestinians than Seth Rogen?” →

St. Louis cops release incriminating video of fatal police shooting, think they look good

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Man with knife in Video re-creation

I have to applaud the police of St Louis. They are pretty powerful. Somehow, they managed to take  a video which captures a fatal, unjustified and unnecessary police shooting, and turn it into a video which, they claim, is “exculpatory” and proves that they were in the right.

In order to understand how they were able to transform the footage to suit their needs, let’s review what everyone agrees happened.

On Tuesday, in St Louis, fewer than four miles away from where the unarmed teenager Michael Brown was killed by police, a convenience store owner called 911 to report that a man, later identified as Kajieme Powell, had stolen pastries and energy drinks. Another woman called the police and said that Powell had a knife in his pocket and was behaving erratically. Two white officers arrived in an SUV. 23 seconds later, Powell, who was black, was dead on the ground, having been shot by the two officers.

On Wednesday, The St. Louis Police Department released footage recorded on a cell phone by a bystander. According to a police union representative, the footage released was “exculpatory.” In other words, the police decided to release the footage, along with the 911 calls, to show they had nothing to hide.

But let’s compare the footage of what happened and what the police claimed happened.

Police Claim: the police officers started shooting when Powell was within three or four feet of them.

Footage shows: Police started shooting before Powell was that close.

Via youtube. This is how far away from the cops Powell was when the cops shot him.
Via youtube. This is how far away from the cops Powell was when the cops shot him.

Police Claim: Powell was holding the knife ”in an overhand grip.”

Footage shows: Powell’s hands were by his sides. Continue reading “St. Louis cops release incriminating video of fatal police shooting, think they look good” →