Recent reading.

The disappeared: Chicago police detain Americans at abuse-laden ‘black site’. Ackerman, S., The Guardian (Feb. 2015). (“‘The real danger in allowing practices like Guantánamo or Abu Ghraib is the fact that they always creep into other aspects,’ Siska said. ‘They creep into domestic law enforcement, either with weaponry like with the militarization of police, or interrogation practices. That’s how we ended up with a black site in Chicago.'”) [Gosh, who could have predicted this? –Ed.]

Dear Patricia Arquette: Blacks and gays owe white women nothing. Telusma, B., The Grio (Feb. 2015).

Room for Improvement: Clean up cities. Give the homeless a place to live. And save money too? The shockingly simple, surprisingly cost-effective solution that won over a bunch of conservatives in Utah. Carrier, S., Mother Jones (Feb. 2015). (“You actually need housing to achieve sobriety and stability, not the other way around…giving people supportive housing cost the system about half as much as leaving the homeless to live on the street.”)

The school to prison pipeline, explained. Nelson, L. and Lind, D., Vox (Feb. 2015).

Ax-wielding hair designer burns down Michigan adult store to please God. Kaufman, S., Raw Story (Feb. 2015). [Ugh, this god is THE WORST. –Ed.]

Gazi Kodzo. (youtube channel). [Brilliant, hilarious and scathing. –Ed.]

Abused, isolated and offered for a $25,000 arranged marriage: The extraordinary upbringing and daring escape of a victim of America’s homeschooling fundamentalists. Gould, M., The Daily Mail (Feb. 2015). [WHAT. THE. FUCK. –Ed.]

U.S. Geological Survey: Fracking waste is the primary cause of the dramatic rise in earthquakes. Hayden, J., Daily Kos (Feb. 2015).

8 Things Some A$$#ole Says in Every Debate About Sexism. McKinney, L., Cracked (Feb. 2015). [D00d nails it. –Ed.]

Ending the Neoliberal Neopatriarchy. Campbell, B., iai news (Feb. 2015). (“Global capitalism works with patriarchal principles, institutions, cultures and psyches. So, our liberation from this tragedy is inconceivable − it is, literally, unthinkable − without feminism.”) [h/t Vanina] [Meet the new patriarchy. Same as the old patriarchy. –Ed.]

Feminist writers are so besieged by online abuse that some have begun to retire. Goldberg, M., Washington Post (Feb. 2015). [Huh. –Ed.]

Why are women leaving the tech industry in droves? Lien, T., The Los Angeles Times (Feb. 2015). [Huh. –Ed.]

Thaddeus Murphy arrested for January Colorado Springs NAACP bombing. King, S., Daily Kos (Feb. 2015). (“Murphy claims he wasn’t trying to harm the NAACP office, but a local tax office connected to it.”) [Or maybe it was the abortion clinic. Or the sex toy store. Po-TAY-to, po-TAH-to. –Ed.]

How our microbes make us who we are. Knight, R., TED Talks via youtube (Feb. 2015). [VIDEO] [h/t SJ] [Amazing. –Ed.]

What The Atlantic Left Out About ISIS According To Their Own Expert. Jenkins, J., Think Progress (Feb. 2015).

30 Signs Of Emotional Abuse In A Relationship. Davenport, B., Live Bold & Bloom (Nov. 2014).

Letter to My Rapist, Jailed for Raping Women Who Are More Respectable Than I Am: I’m writing to you to tell you that we’re both human. Burns, T., AlterNet (Feb. 2015).

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For the Quote collection:

No institution in modern civilization is so tyrannical and so unjust to woman as is the Christian Church. It demands everything from her and gives her nothing in return. –Josephine K. Henry (1897)

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PLZ NOTE: Acquisition of links and/or bon mots for the Palace Library does not imply the Palace’s 100% agreement with or endorsement of any content, organization or individual.

Recent reads.

FOIA Documents Reveal Massive DEA Program to Record American’s Whereabouts With License Plate Readers. Stein, B., ACLU (Jan. 2015).

DHS intelligence report warns of domestic right-wing terror threat. Perez, E. and Bruer, W., CNN (Feb. 2015). [h/t SJ] (“Some federal and local law enforcement groups view the domestic terror threat from sovereign citizen groups as equal to — and in some cases greater than — the threat from foreign Islamic terror groups”) [No shit. –Ed.]

Editor of major newspaper says he planted stories for CIA. Lopez, R., Digital Journal (Jan. 2015). [Quelle surprise. –Ed.]

The U.S. Media and the 13-Year-Old Yemeni Boy Burned to Death Last Month by a U.S. Drone. Greenwald, G., The Intercept (Feb. 2015). (“Most Americans, by design, will have no idea that their government just burned a 13-year-old boy to death and then claimed he was a Terrorist.”)

Obama administration to allow sales of armed drones to allies. Ryan, M., The Washington Post (Feb. 2015). [Finally! Now other countries can enjoy burning 13-year-olds to death too! –Ed.]

1 In 3 College Men In Survey Say They Would Rape A Woman If They Could Get Away With It. Culp-Ressler, T., Think Progress (Jan. 2015). [ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME. –Ed.]

How Israeli High-Tech Firms Are Turning the U.S.-Mexico Border into a New Kind of Hell. Miller, T. and Schivone, G., TomDispatch via AlterNet (Jan. 2015).

The Great SIM Heist: How Spies Stole the Keys to the Encryption Castle. Scahill, J. and Begley, J., The Intercept (Feb. 2015). (“The hack…gave the surveillance agencies the potential to secretly monitor a large portion of the world’s cellular communications, including both voice and data.”)

To the Parent of the Unvaccinated Child Who Exposed My Family to Measles. Jacks, T., Mother Jones (Feb. 2015). (“When your child gets sick, others are endangered—including my daughter with cancer.”) [To the parent of that unvaccinated child from Perry Street Palace: FUCK YOU. –Ed.]

What Not To Wear After 50. Combs, C., Better After 50 (Feb. 2015). (“Resting bitch face. Hahahahaha. Just kidding. Wear that one all you want.”)

I’m Brianna Wu, And I’m Risking My Life Standing Up To Gamergate. Wu, B., Bustle (Feb. 2015).

Natural Deception: Conned By the World Congress of Families. Parke, C., Political Research Associates (Jan. 2015). (“the organization is leading a global legislative and public relations campaign against LGBTQ and reproductive rights.”) [They seem nice. –Ed.]

Jeb ‘Put Me Through Hell’. Kruse, M., Politico Magazine (Jan. 2015). (“Michael Schiavo knows as well as anyone what Jeb Bush can do with executive power. He thinks you ought to know too.”)

Here Are 25 Jokes That Only Nerds Will Understand. If You Laugh Then Yep, You’re A Nerd! Boredom Therapy (Jul. 2014).

The Anti-Vaccine Movement Should Be Ridiculed, Because Shame Works. Novak, M., Gizmodo (Feb. 2015). [Hear, hear! He must be reading my blog! This d00d disagrees, though, and says “People who are told their deeply held beliefs are stupid tend to withdraw from the conversation.” Um, perhaps someone can ‘splain to me why getting these assholes to shut the fuck up would be a bad thing? I mean, there is a reason unvaccinated children with measles are found in clusters, and that reason is anti-vaxxers spreading their deeply held beliefs deadly bad ideas to others. –Ed.]

FBI monitored and critiqued African American writers for decades. Flood, A., The Guardian (Feb. 2015).

Policing Our Girls. Hutchinson, S., blackfemlens (Feb. 2015).

Gay People Posting Photos Of Gay People On Facebook Is Persecuting Christians Says Perkins. Badash, D., The New Civil Rights Movement (Jan. 2015). [To all mah gay peeps: go forth and persecute. –Ed.]

Something Really, Really Terrible Is About to Happen to Our Coral. Philpott, T., Mother Jones (Jan. 2015). [I hate people. Have I mentioned that I hate people? Well, I hate people. –Ed.]

How secular family values stack up. Zuckerman, P., The Los Angeles Times (Feb. 2015). (“Far from being dysfunctional, nihilistic and rudderless without the security and rectitude of religion, secular households provide a sound and solid foundation for children”) [h/t SJ]

Why science is so hard to believe. Achenbach, J., Washington Post (Feb. 2015).

10 Senate Ds Think Drillers Should Be Able to Inject Whatever the Frack They Want into Your Water. Liberty Equality Fraternity and Trees, Daily Kos (Jan. 2015). [In case you’re wondering who these motherfrackers are: Michael Bennet (D-CO), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Jon Tester (D-MT), Tom Udall (D-NM) and Mark Warner (D-VA). –Ed.]

Obama, Biden & Pelosi Lobbying Hard for TPP. Publius, G., Hullabaloo (Feb. 2015).

Source Code Similarities: Experts Unmask ‘Regin’ Trojan as NSA Tool. Rosenbach, M., Spiegel Online InternationaI (Jan. 2015).

Oklahoma Lawmakers Vote Overwhelmingly To Ban Advanced Placement U.S. History. Legum, J., ThinkProgress (Feb. 2015). [Christ. Doesn’t Oklahoma have enough problems already with all the earthquakes from fracking? –Ed.]

No good deed goes unpunished. Vermont Political Observer (Jan. 2015). (“What I did not anticipate was the vitriolic verbal assault from those who don’t know the difference between the Classics and illegal immigrants from South America.”) [D000000000d. Have you never been on the Internet? –Ed.]

Indisputable proof that prosecutors and politicians are penalized when they hold police accountable. King, S., Daily Kos (Jan. 2015).

Is the US the only country where more men are raped than women? Filipovic, J., The Guardian (Feb. 2015). [American exceptionalism, y’all. –Ed.]

5 Bizarre Realities of Being a Man Who Was Raped by a Woman. Anonymous, via Mannen, A., Cracked (Jan. 2015).

Pipeline explodes in West Virginia. Gardner, F., Daily Kos (Jan. 2013). (“This is the fourth major pipeline incident that’s occurred this month.”)

Hobby Lobby 2: Inside Republicans’ Plan to Kill America’s Most Effective Anti-Teen-Pregnancy Program. Baumann, N., Mother Jones (Feb. 2015). (“An innovative program has reduced the abortion rate and saved a state millions. Here’s why it’s doomed.”) [SPOILER ALERT! Because conservatives. –Ed.]

Black teens who commit a few crimes go to jail as often as white teens who commit dozens. Ehrenfreund, M., The Washington Post (Jan. 2015).

Here’s What It’s Like For A Woman To Send a Job Rejection To A Man. Creighton, J., Medium (Feb. 2015).

Liberal Racism: 25 Things I Learned After I Wrote About ISIS and White Racism at the Daily Kos. DeVega, C., Daily Kos (Feb. 2015).

Women Being Inexpertly Groped In Western Art History. Ortberg, M., The Toast (Feb. 2015). [NSFW] [Hahaha. –Ed.]

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PLZ NOTE: Acquisition of links and/or bon mots for the Palace Library does not imply the Palace’s 100% agreement with or endorsement of any content, organization or individual.

Reads.

People Who Become Cops Tend to Have Authoritarian Personality Characteristics: Research shows a correlation between police behavior and authoritarianism. DeVega, C., AlterNet (Jan. 2015). [h/t SJ] [GTFO. –Ed.]

A Tale of Two Snipers: Killing in war through different moral lenses. Driscoll, C., The Greanville Post (Jan. 2015). [Or, “Why I Won’t Be Seeing the New Bradley Cooper/Clint Eastwood War Propaganda Extravaganza.” –Ed.]

BDSM Versus the DSM: A history of the fight that got kink de-classified as mental illness. Gerson, M.N., The Atlantic (Jan. 2015). [Just FYI: We freaks are all right. –Ed.]

Islamic extremist attack in Nigeria named the ‘deadliest massacre’ in history. News.com.au (Jan. 2015). [Not to minimize the recent horrors in Paris—white d00d lives matter!—but yet again we see that the victims of Islamist terrorism are, overwhelmingly, other Muslims, and in this case, mostly women, children and the elderly. And yet again, there is little media coverage. And yet again, I will point this out:

BLACK LIVES MATTER.

Get your fucking shit together, “journalists.” –Ed.]

The Ethyl-Poisoned Earth. Bellows, A., Damn Interesting (Dec. 2007). [Nothing condemns capitalism as brutally as…capitalism. –Ed.]

First International Hypocrite Convention Passes Without Incident. Waterford Whispers News (Jan. 2015). [LOL. –Ed.]

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PLZ NOTE: Acquisition of links and/or bon mots for the Palace Library does not imply the Palace’s 100% agreement with or endorsement of any content, organization or individual.

Recent reading, plus bonus whining.

NOTE TO LOYAL READERS™: Your Humble Monarch™ has been under the proverbial weather for almost 6 weeks now, and has only in the past few days seen some improvement: coughing less, sleeping better and actually contemplating getting her royal arse back in the gym. Well okay, someday. Pile on the usual holiday stresses this time of year, the drama of dysfunctional families and obligatory interactions with toxic people, and it’s a True Christmas Miracle I haven’t just taken my sugar-free black cherry cough drops off to bed with me—permanently—and said fuck it. But I have not forgotten about you, my Many Tens of Loyal Readers™! Extinguish that thought right now! I have been doing some reading here and there (mainly in doctor’s office waiting rooms and the pharmacy line), diligently keeping track of links and quotes for your personal infotainment.

TL;DR: The bumper sticker slogan for my entire life recently would read thusly: I’d rather be blogging. And oh, is there ever something I am quite eager to write about. After the fucking 25th.

HAPPY SOLSTICE.

Let’s start with some quotes:

Religion’s greatest “sin” lies in displacing human endeavor, thought, time, resources and efforts from this world, our only world, in order to exalt a highly unlikely, unknowable, unseeable, unprovable and unbelievable pretend afterworld. The only afterlife that ought to concern us is leaving our descendants (along with the other animals and life we share our planet with) a secure and pleasant future. –Annie Laurie Gaylor

Heaven for climate, hell for company. –Mark Twain

All religions issue bibles again Satan, and say the most injurious things against him, but we never hear his side. –Mark Twain

The average man, who does not know what to do with his life, wants another one which will last forever. –Anatole France

Millions long for immortality who do not know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon. –Susan Ertz

We are on the earth, and they tell us of heaven; we are human beings, and they tell us of angels and devils; we are matter, and they tell us of spirit; we have five senses whereby to admit truths, and a reasoning faculty by which to build our belief upon them; and they tell us of dreams dreamed thousands of years ago, which our experience flatly contradicts. –Frances Wright

I believe that this world needs all our best efforts and earnest endeavors twenty-four hours every day. . . . I do not know the needs of a god or of another world. . . I do know that the needs of humanity and this world are infinite, unending, constant, and immediate. They will take all our time, our strength, our love, and our thoughts; and our work here will be only then begun. –Helen H. Gardener

One world at a time. –Robert G. Ingersoll

Dying is a very dull, dreary, affair. And my advice to you is to have nothing whatever to do with it. –W. Somerset Maugham

[h/t Don Ardell for the link to Annie Laurie Gaylor’s post containing all of these fine gems.]

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Why Is Rape at the Origin of Most Religion? Tarico, V., AlterNet (Dec. 2014). [Why indeed. –Ed.]

The Oil Coup. Whitney, M., Counterpunch (Dec. 2014). (“Washington has persuaded the Saudis to flood the market with oil to push down prices, decimate Russia’s economy, and reduce Moscow’s resistance to further NATO encirclement and the spreading of US military bases across Central Asia. The US-Saudi scheme has slashed oil prices by nearly a half since they hit their peak in June.”)

Stakes are high as US plays the oil card against Iran and Russia. Elliott, L., The Guardian (Nov. 2014).

Good job, humans: The oceans now contain 5 trillion pieces of floating plastic. Mooney, C., The Washington Post (Dec. 2014).

Musicians’ Brains Really Do Work Differently — In A Good Way. Tsicoulas, A., NPR (Nov. 2014). (with VIDEO via TED-Ed)

War by media and the triumph of propaganda. Pilger, J., Belfast Telegraph via The Greanville Post (Dec. 2014).

The Fifty Shades of Grey series. Cliff, The Pervocracy. (ongoing; link is to chapter 1.) [Brilliant, hilarious and trenchant take on one of the worst books I have ever read by the best kinkster blogger I have ever read. –Ed.]

Villagers in Kazakhstan Are Falling Asleep En Masse for No Apparent Reason. Hay, M., Vice (Dec. 2014). [What the fucking fuck. And no, it’s not satire. –Ed.]

Colleges often reluctant to expel for sexual violence — with U-Va. a prime example. Anderson, N., The Washington Post (Dec. 2014). (“Why, skeptics ask, has U-Va. dismissed dozens of students for academic cheating in recent years but none for sexual assault?”) [Truly a mystery. But if I had to guess, I’d say it’s the same reason that drug suspect lab tests are processed immediately while hundreds of thousands of rape DNA kits languish unexamined. #priorities –Ed.]

Merry Christmeh: 13 greatest examples of people phoning it in on Christmas (that I bothered to look for). Fox, M., Happy Place (Dec. 2014). [Hahaha. Now that’s the spirit. –Ed.]

The Posters that Warned against the Horrors of a World with Women’s Rights. MessyNessy, MessyNessyChic (Dec. 2014). [TW: misogyny, ageism.]

This Physicist Has A Groundbreaking Idea About Why Life Exists. Wolchover, N., Quanta Magazine via Business Insider (Dec. 2014). [Mind: blown. –Ed.]

The War on Christmas is over. Jesus won. Ingraham, C., The Washington Post (Dec. 2014). (“nearly three-quarters of Americans — 73 percent — believe that Jesus was literally born to a virgin.”) [Exhibit No. 7,376,233 that the Greatest Ever Country Ever on Earth Ever is chock full of deluded apes. –Ed.]

Your body, his choice: Missouri GOP bill requires men to give written permission for abortion. McDonough, K., Salon (Dec. 2014). (“Exceptions, according to the bill’s sponsor, will be made for victims of ‘legitimate rape'”.)

The White Guy Problem. Bitter Gertrude (Dec. 2014).

5 Things You Learn Escorting Women Into an Abortion Clinic. Axness, A.J., Cracked (Dec. 2014).

How Medicaid forces families like mine to stay poor. Campbell, A.L., Vox (Dec. 2014).

Chicago activists have quite a bit of proof that the police are eavesdropping on protestors’ phones . Einenkel, W., Daily Kos (Dec. 2014).

Undercover Cops Outed and Pull Gun on Crowd. Harrop, C., Storify (Dec. 2014).

Texas officer attacks and tasers 76-year-old man over expired tags. Hayden, J., Daily Kos (Dec. 2014).

Stop blaming liberals for conservative backlashes. Marcotte, A., Raw Story (Dec. 2014). (“Hating change is the constitution of the conservative. Of course they’re going to scream and cry like infants. Knowing that’s going to happen and there’s no way to avoid it is freeing.”)

Winter beauty tips for the slovenly and unkempt. Irby, S., bitches gotta eat (Dec. 2014). [LOL. –Ed.]

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PLZ NOTE: Acquisition of links and/or bon mots for the Palace Library does not imply the Palace’s 100% agreement with or endorsement of any content, organization or individual.

New Yorkers: 1, Motherfrackers: 0.

New Yorkers: 1, Motherfrackers: 0.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s administration announced on Wednesday that it would ban hydraulic fracturing in New York State because of concerns over health risks, ending years of uncertainty over the disputed method of natural gas extraction.

You’re welcome, New York! I don’t like to toot my own horn or anything, but it’s pretty clear the good governor really took to heart the letter I wrote him in July. I kid, I kid. He doesn’t give a flying fuck what I think. Hell, I didn’t even vote for the guy. And therein lies a lesson.

As New Yorkers may remember, Andrew Cuomo, the incumbent Democratic governor, faced a Democratic primary challenger on September 9: Zephyr Teachout. While it was universally acknowledged that she had no chance of actually winning, she put up fight with the backing of environmentalists (and other lefties who see Cuomo for the corrupt, conservative opportunist he is). While Cuomo continued to drag his feet and waffle on deciding the fracking issue, Teachout flat-out stated that she would ban it.

She had me at hello.

And oh, how I heard that I’d be wasting my vote, and/or to not even bother voting in the New York primary because after all, Cuomo was a shoo-in. And that was just from people who had heard of Teachout. More often the conversation started and ended with who?

Nevertheless, this upstart with a pittance of a budget went up against a Democratic icon with a massive war chest and the backing of a well-oiled party machine—and she came away with 33% of the primary vote. Not enough for a win, of course. But Cuomo is a scion of Democratic politics who harbors national ambitions, and, well, that certainly does not bode well for him. While he may not give a shit about me, or about New York’s ground water, he sure as hell gives a shit about that.

Environmentalists are fawning all over Cuomo:

Michael Brune, the executive director of the Sierra Club, said Mr. Cuomo “set himself apart as a national political leader who stands up for people” over the energy industry.

But tonight I’ll be toasting Zephyr Teachout, and those of us who showed up on September 9 to vote for her. Especially in primaries, it doesn’t take a “win” to win.

By the way, if you want to actually waste your vote, just keep right on voting for the “lesser of two evils.” They’re counting on you.

Recent reading.

There’s Been HOW Many Pipeline Spills in Alberta in The Last Four Months?? Gwennedd, Daily Kos (Nov. 2014). (“Our main media, CBC, does not provide any coverage of the many, many spills and gas releases that happen every month, nor the efforts to clean up the messes. They’re simply not considered news.”)

Darren Wilson Breaks His Silence: I’m Sorry, And I Would Shoot Michael Brown Again. Badash, D., The New Civil Rights Movement (Nov. 2014). [#sorrynotsorry –Ed.]

Near-collisions between drones, airliners surge, new FAA reports show. Whitlock, C., The Washington Post (Nov. 2014).

Barack Obama, Ferguson, and the Evidence of Things Unsaid: Violence works. Nonviolence does too. Coates, T.N., The Atlantic (Nov. 2014).

Do not judge a person, until you know their story. oldnerdybasterd, The Meta Picture (Nov. 2013).

The Feminist Vampire Movie That Teaches ‘Bad Men’ a Gory Lesson. Barcella, L., Jezebel (Nov. 2014).

The Debunking Handbook. John Cook, J. and Lewandowsky, S., Skeptical Science (Jan. 2012). (pdf)

‘I can’t think of a time when it was worse’: US abortion doctors speak out. McVeigh, K., The Guardian (Nov. 2014).

Women find their voice in Ferguson protest movement. Pearce, M., Los Angeles Times (Nov. 2014).

I Belong to Me: Learning Agency & Consent Outside Christianity. Kelly, D., Patheos (Nov. 2014).

Everything We Know So Far About The Oil Rig Explosion In The Gulf Of Mexico. Atkin, E., Think Progress (Nov. 2014).

Violence isn’t the answer, unless I’m asking the question. Cromwell, I., Crommunist (Nov. 2014).

Man stabbed 9 times after asking catcaller to stop harassing his girlfriend. Kutner, J., Salon (Nov. 2014).

Battered Victim Marissa Alexander Back In Jail On Plea Bargain – Florida Injustice Wins Again. Salzillo, L., Daily Kos (Nov. 2014).

No One Wanted to Talk About Bill Cosby’s Alleged Crimes Because He Made White America Feel Good About Race. Traister, R., New Republic (Nov. 2014).

Bad Teeth, Bad People: Another Way Privileged America Shames The Poor. Parker, E., If You Only News (Nov. 2014).

5 Thanksgiving Disasters You’re Probably Not Prepared For. Cheese, J., Cracked (Nov. 2011).

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PLZ NOTE: Acquisition of links and/or bon mots for the Palace Library does not imply the Palace’s 100% agreement with or endorsement of any content, organization or individual.

Reads.

“Down Outright Murder”: A Complete Guide to the Shooting of Michael Brown by Darren Wilson. Devereaux, R., The Intercept (Nov. 2014).

After 13 years, 2 wars and trillions in military spending, terrorist attacks are rising sharply. Ingraham, C., The Washington Post (Nov. 2014).

As Sioux Tribe Calls Keystone XL an “Act of War”, TransCanada Hires PR Firm to Probe Critics. Democracy Now! (Nov. 2016) (with VIDEO).

Topless Femen deface Christian cross in Vatican. RT.com (Nov. 2014) (with VIDEO). (“Femen have taken their brash form of activism to shockingly new heights (or depths), simulating anal sex with crucifixes outside the Vatican to protest the Pope’s alleged meddling in politics.”) [Hahaha. Awesome. For a…different take, which I first thought was satire, see here. –Ed.]

Insecure Men Outraged That Smarter Man Recognizes Sexism And Apologizes to Women. Opal, K. (Nov. 2014). (“This is no longer about Matt & Rosetta. This is now about men being outraged that women made Matt reconsider…Matt Taylor apologized and moved on. But it seems that a lot of men were pissed off that a man apologized to women for having done something that perpetuated sexism.”)

Black students walk out over school official’s tweet: ‘Every white girl’s father’s worst nightmare’. Edwards, D., Raw Story (Nov. 2014). [Jeezus. –Ed.]

Lack of access to health insurance keeps U.S. premature birth rate near Somalia’s. Ingraham, C., The Washington Post (Nov. 2014). [USA! USA! USA! –Ed.]

Barbie F*cks It Up Again. Ribon, P., Gizmodo (Nov. 2014) [OMFG. LOL! –Ed.]
(related: Barbie computer engineer story withdrawn after sexism row.)

Surprise! The war on abortion rights is actually a referendum on women’s “place” in society. A group of protesters explain why they believe motherhood is the only and most important choice for women. McDonough, K., Salon (Nov. 2014) (with VIDEO). [Wow! I am so surprised! –Ed.]

The Rehtaeh Parsons Verdict Just Set a Horrible Precedent for Rape Victims Everywhere. Plank, E., Mic (Nov. 2014).

Transgender activists seek laws, acceptance, to combat violence. Guilbert, K., Reuters (Nov. 2014).

Congress Is Irrelevant on Mass Surveillance. Here’s What Matters Instead. Greenwald, G., The Intercept (Nov. 2014).

Sexual Surveillance of Women is a Consequence of Conservative Norms, Not Liberal Social Mores. Chemaly, S., Huffington Post (Nov. 2014).

Canadian Mother Gives Birth While On Vacation In The U.S., Faces $1 Million Hospital Bill. Culp-Ressler, T., Think Progress (Nov. 2014).

A Rape on Campus: A Brutal Assault and Struggle for Justice at UVA. Erdely, S.R., Rolling Stone (Nov. 2014).

Geckos inspire ‘Spider-Man’ gloves. BBC News (Nov. 2014).

Who Profits From Poverty? Films for Action/The #GlobalPOV Project (Nov. 2014) (VIDEO). [h/t nubs]

Why No One Can Design a Better Speculum. Eveleth, R., The Atlantic (Nov. 2014). (“The gynecological device may have an ethically fraught history, but it’s hard to improve on the design.”)

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For the Quote collection:

A lot of times, the simple answer to the specious question, “Why would he do something like that?” is, horribly, “Because he can.” –Melissa McEwan

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PLZ NOTE: Acquisition of links and/or bon mots for the Palace Library does not imply the Palace’s 100% agreement with or endorsement of any content, organization or individual.

Recent reads.

German village plays prank on neo-Nazis. Halser, M., YNet News (Nov. 2014). (“Residents of Wunsiedel, where Hitler’s deputy Rudolf Hess is buried, are tired of yearly invasion of neo Nazis to their village, so they decide neo-Nazis can march for a good cause.”)

4 workers die after chemical leak at Texas plant. SFGate (Nov. 2014).

‘The Princess Bride’ Just Got A Hilarious Feminist Makeover. Vagianos, A., The Huffington Post (Nov. 2014). [“Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You denied my mother equal pay. Prepare to be on the wrong side of history. #feministprincessbride” LMAO. –Ed.]

Women who have sex before marriage are like ‘filthy dishrags,’ California pastor roars. Gettys, T., Raw Story (Nov. 2014). [FYI Filthy Dishrags is the name of my new fake band. –Ed.]

Double Jeopardy: In Alabama, a judge can override a jury that spares a murderer from the death penalty. Williams, P., The New Yorker (Nov. 2014). [This is beyond fucked-up. –Ed.]

The Massive Feminist Protest the English-Speaking World Completely Ignored. O’Hara, M.E., Mic (Oct. 2014). (“you didn’t read that Wednesday’s Vaga De Totes (“Everything Strike”) brought together more than 600 different feminist and community groups over the course of a year of organizing that culminated in one riot grrrl-like takeover of Barcelona.” Well we don’t want the English-speaking laydeez getting any silly ideas. –Ed.]

Scalia on retirees losing their health insurance: “I can’t feel bad about it.” Boeckmann, T., Alliance for Justice (Nov. 2014). [Hahaha. What can a fucking sociopath feel bad about? I mean besides the Corporation-People, and especially their important religious rights. –Ed.]

Victims Of Online Threats Say Perpetrators Aren’t Being Caught. Sydell, L., NPR (Nov. 2014).

Why women who are sexually assaulted remain silent. Renzetti, E., The Globe and Mail (Oct. 2014).

Christian Kids Dying Because Their Parents Refuse Medical Treatment — And It’s Perfectly Legal. Garcia, A., AlterNet (Nov. 2014). [FREEDOM™! –Ed.]

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PLZ NOTE: Acquisition of links and/or bon mots for the Palace Library does not imply the Palace’s 100% agreement with or endorsement of any content, organization or individual.

Recent reading.

First transformer flying car ready for production. RT.com (Oct. 2014). [with VIDEO] (“world’s first production-ready flying car, which transforms from an automobile to a plane in just several seconds, has been unveiled to the public in Vienna.” OMG WANT. –Ed.) [h/t nubs]

Sentencing reform and how to right the drug war’s wrongs. Steigerwald, L., The Washington Post (Nov. 2014). (“One of the more fascinating, though politically unrealistic suggestions for what to do about this mess is one offered by a Green Party candidate for governor of New York: Howie Hawkins suggests releasing all drug prisoners, and putting together a “panel on reconciliation” between them and their communities and governments. They want voting rights restored, school grants restored, help for children of the former cons, and prevention of would-be employers asking about criminal histories.” We will of course be voting for Mr. Hawkins today for governor of New York. –Ed.)

Henry Darger. Wikipedia (see also: Google image search). (“famous for his posthumously discovered 15,145-page, single-spaced fantasy manuscript called The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion, along with several hundred drawings and watercolor paintings illustrating the story.” Just…wow. –Ed.) [h/t The Blue Hoodie.]

He Never Hit Me. Amit, R., Huffington Post (Oct. 2014). [TRIGGER WARNING: intimate partner abuse.]

Pink Upholstered Vagina Couch. Best of Craigslist (Jan. 2008). [with IMAGES.] [h/t Stacey]

Verizon, AT&T tracking their users with ‘supercookies’. Timberg, C., The Washington Post (Nov. 2014).

A staggering 400 million birds have vanished from Europe since 1980. Mooney, C., The Washington Post (Nov. 2014).

JPMorgan’s foreign exchange trade under investigation by Justice Dept. Agence France-Presse via Raw Story (Nov. 2014). (“raised its estimate of related legal costs by $1.3 billion to $5.9 billion.” My, that sure seems like a lot of money. Incidentally, the bank’s profits were $22 billion in 2013—and that’s after shelling out tens of billions in legal costs. –Ed.]

Hackers Could Decide Who Controls Congress Thanks to Alaska’s Terrible Internet Ballots. Friess, S., The Intercept (Nov. 2014). (“Alaska’s first-in-the-nation internet voting system is a security nightmare that threatens to put control of the U.S. Congress in the hands of hackers.” You know, I’d rather take my chances on the hackers than have control of the U.S. Congress in the hands of America’s Owners and other conservative critters. –Ed.]

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PLZ NOTE: Acquisition of links and/or bon mots for the Palace Library does not imply the Palace’s 100% agreement with or endorsement of any content, organization or individual.

Have a nice day.

 

Recent reads.

Dead babies near oil drilling sites raise questions for researchers. Lofholm, N., The Denver Post (Oct. 2014). (“numbers show an upward four-year trend in infant deaths: One in every 95.5 burials in Uintah County in 2010 was a baby, according to Young. In 2011 it was one in every 53. In 2012, one in every 39.7. And in 2013 the number jumped to one in every 15.”)

The American Dream Is Leaving America. Kristof, N., The New York Times (Oct. 2014). [From the headline we thought this piece was about how we all want to get the fuck out of this corrupt right-wing fracked-up shithole of a country—but no, it’s actually about our dismal education system, once the envy of the world. –Ed.]

Whistleblowers: IRS officials behind ‘fraudulent’ multi-billion dollar corporate tax giveaways. Ahmed, N., Raw Story (Oct. 2014). (“‘IRS officials have ‘intentionally undermined the authority of the IRS Whistleblower Office’ to avoid taking action ‘in cases involving billions in corporate taxes due.’ The IRS also refuses to enforce laws for ‘large corporate taxpayers,’ resulting in giveaways of further billions, despite applying the same laws with ‘draconian strictness to small business, the self-employed, and wage-earning individuals.’”) [Sounds about right. –Ed.]

4 Illegal Drugs that Could Safely Treat Depression. Derbyshire, D., The Guardian via AlterNet (Oct. 2014). (“Science continues to show how cannabis and psychedelics can work psychological wonders.”)

Ending a Pregnancy Is a Common, Normal Event in Women’s Lives—Let’s Talk About It That Way. Pollitt, K., excerpted from Pro: Reclaiming Abortion Rights (Picador USA, 2014) via AlterNet (Oct. 2014). [h/t SJ]

Illustration to be Handed Out at Public Schools: Human Bible Sexually Assaulting Woman. Hughes. B.M., CNS News (Oct. 2014). [They report this like it’s a bad thing. Huh. –Ed.]

A Hispanic man delivers absentee ballots, and now conservatives want him dead. Kaufman. S., Raw Story (Oct. 2014). [They seem nice. –Ed.]

A Pair of Entrepreneurs Want to Make Sure Every Woman Is Able to Orgasm. Bianco, M., Mic (Oct. 2014) (with VIDEO). [No argument here. –Ed.]

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NOTE: Acquisition of links and/or bon mots for the Palace Library does not imply the Palace’s 100% agreement with or endorsement of any content, organization or individual.