I thought it was just me

~ susie ~ 2 Comments

Years ago, I got knocked down, punched and kicked in the ribs in a mosh pit at an X show. Apparently this is how some people treat women who dare to go to live shows:

Most women who frequently attend live shows will tell you that they have been harassed, groped or assaulted as they listen to their favorite bands. A standing-room-only show, when you’re wedged into a massive crowd fueled by beer and testosterone, is particularly scary. There seems to be a spectrum of violence that women experience at live shows, ranging from misogynist verbal harassment to sexual assault. Sometimes, it means being called a “fat bitch” by a guy who wants to cut in front of you in line at the bar. Other times it involves being forcefully shoved across a raging mosh pit by someone three times your size, or being touched inappropriately as you try to crowd-surf. These may seem like harmless little interactions, something that should just be expected in a rowdy crowd. But every time one of these acts of violence occurs, in their varying degrees of severity, it has the same effect: making women feel scared or vulnerable as they enjoy the bands that they love.

In the past few years, there have been a torrent of stories in the news in which women are abused, assaulted or raped at live shows. Earlier this year, video surfaced of Afroman decking a woman who jumped up on his stage to dance. Last year, Tim McGraw slapped a fan who grabbed his leg across the face. Even though the actions of both of these women were completely unjustified, the artists responded with violence. In the experience of many female fans, the men whom they share space with at shows can cross that line, too.

The author goes on to say how it’s assumed that women at these stories are “just groupies.” I was never a groupie; I had lots of musician friends but it simply wouldn’t occur to me to sleep with any of them. It just wasn’t my thing, I was there for the music.

Now that I read this, I realized I stopped going to these kind of shows after this happened. Maybe it’s just safer to go to singer-songwriter shows.

White House blues

~ susie ~ 3 Comments

Middle Class Prosperity Project with Senator Elizabeth Warren and Ranking Member Elijah Cummings

I’m not a trade expert. But the people I know who are say Warren’s right:

So far in her battle against President Barack Obama’s trade agenda, Sen. Elizabeth Warren has raised the specter of shady international courts invalidating U.S. laws and a cabal of business interests writing trade agreements in secret, smoky rooms.

Now she has a new complaint: If Congress gives Obama what he wants on fast-track trade authority, says Warren (D-Mass.), some future Republican president could use that power to gut the Dodd-Frank financial reform law and let Wall Street run wild once again.

 Supporters of the Trans-Pacific Partnership in the White House, Congress and the business community are growing increasingly alarmed at the escalating rhetoric. Warren’s arguments, these people say, are increasingly wide of the mark and easily rebutted. But administration officials are at odds over how aggressively to take her on, knowing that a sustained attack would only arouse her supporters in the progressive and labor movements.

Obama has already called Warren “wrong” on trade. But in private, administration officials fume in much more colorful terms over Warren’s attacks, calling them “baseless” and “desperate,” with “no bearing or relation to anything we are doing.” They also suggest the Massachusetts senator knows going after trade deals will only further energize the “Draft Warren” movement that desperately wants her to run for president.

Pollen may help clouds form, increase rainfall

~ susie

It’s common knowledge that rain helps flowers bloom. But new research suggests the opposite may also be true: Pollen from flowers could help form clouds and bring about rain. In a study published this week in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, atmospheric scientists from the University of Michigan and Texas A&M found that pollen from six… Continue reading “Pollen may help clouds form, increase rainfall” →

Your librul media

~ susie ~ 2 Comments
FILE - In this file photograph taken Nov. 1, 2007, the masthead of The Washington Post is displayed on the office building, in Washington. The Washington Post Co. is reporting a surge in second-quarter earnings, helped by a big jump in profits at its education division and lower expenses. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, file)
FILE – In this file photograph taken Nov. 1, 2007, the masthead of The Washington Post is displayed on the office building, in Washington. The Washington Post Co. is reporting a surge in second-quarter earnings, helped by a big jump in profits at its education division and lower expenses. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, file)

Sure would be nice if they acted like journalists:

Ever since Peter Schweizer’s new attack book Clinton Cash was touted as the must-read tome of the campaign season, a growing number of media organizations, including Politico, BuzzFeed, ABC News, FactCheck.org, and Time, have detailed factual shortcomings in the book. (Media Matters has, too.) Noticeably absent from that fact-checking procession has been The New York Times and the Washington Post, the two newspapers that entered into exclusive editorial agreements with Clinton Cash’s publisher.

The Times’ and Post’s seeming lack of interest in detailing the book’s long list of misstatements certainly raises questions about whether the papers’ exclusive pacts made the dailies reluctant to highlight Clinton Cash’s obvious shortcomings.

After all, if those other media organizations can find the Clinton Cash errors, why can’t the Times and the Post? And even if Times and Post reporters can’t spot the misinformation, why aren’t they at least writing about the key revelations that others are uncovering? Recall that it was the Times that trumpeted Clinton Cash as the “the most anticipated and feared book” of the campaign season. If it’s so important, why isn’t the Times documenting the crucial errors found between the Clinton Cash covers?

By entering into exclusive agreements, both the Times and the Post used Clinton Cash as the basis for larger investigative articles that raised questions about the Clintons’ finances.

The cost of rising up

~ susie ~ 1 Comment

Great Radley Balko column. You can easily skip the first half about Hillary Clinton and the columns written about her criminal justice platform, it’s mostly inside baseball. Start in the middle, where he writes:

And this is why I want Richard Cohen and Lloyd Green to meet Antonio Morgan.

Really good article about how the local institutions can be racist, even if the people who run them aren’t.

‘Abstinence-only’ high school in Texas has a chlamydia outbreak

~ susie ~ 1 Comment

texas school

How predictable:

Crane Public Schools in West Texas sent out a letter to high school and junior high parents last Friday regarding a breakout of chlamydia confirmed in the district.

The number of cases has been widely reported at 20, though the school’s superintendent and the Texas Department of Health Services told BuzzFeed News that there have only been three confirmed cases in the district.

So far only high school students have allegedly been affected; the letters were sent to junior high parents preventatively.

The letter began with “Crane Independent School District would like to make our parents aware … of a problem that has been identified in our teenagers…” but was otherwise a brief sexual education pamphlet about Chlamydia.

Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted disease that is on the rise. Several cases have been reported. It is a reportable disease that is mandatory to report … The number of cases reported from Crane and Upton County have been significant.

With this being said, we feel we need the parents to be aware of this growing problem and pass along some information regarding the [STD].

Chlamydia – most common [STD] in the United States.
Cause – Bacteria that is transmitted during sexual intercourse.
A person can have chlamydia without even knowing it. If not treated, Chlamydia can cause painful infection that can lead to the inability for women to conceive. The risk for boys/men include painful infections.

Bernie Sanders, talking about real issues

~ susie ~ 1 Comment

<> on December 13, 2011 in Washington, DC.

It’s about time someone brought this up:

The H-1B visa issue rarely surfaces during presidential races, and that’s one thing that makes the entrance of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) into the 2016 presidential race interesting.

As a senator, Sanders does not have a lot of political clout. He’s an independent socialist whose major campaign contributors are unions. But Sanders this week announced he’s running for the Democratic nomination for president, a move that could raise the visibility of the H-1B visa program as a national issue.

Sanders is skeptical of the H-1B program, and has lambasted tech companies for hiring visa holders at the same time they’re cutting other staffers. He’s especially critical of the visa’s use by providers of IT services that are headquartered overseas.

“Last year, the top 10 employers of H-1B guest workers were all offshore outsourcing companies,” Sanders said in a Senate speech in 2013. “These firms are responsible for shipping large numbers of American information technology jobs to India and other countries.”