I am praying for Bill Keller and his friends

And if you’re the praying kind, I encourage you to do the same. This birther-mercial is running in Texas, and a few other places, and, speaking as a trained fundamentalist, I have to say I enjoy very much the ominous music. Though it is instrumental, and we didn’t have instrumental music at my church, it sent a delicious shiver up my spine, just as did those old get-your-ass-to-church hymns.

But the birthers just won’t let it go. They don’t want to move off their claim that Pres. Barack Obama wasn’t born in Hawaii. They want to believe that he is a foreign-born man who by law cannot be our President.

This was tiresome when it started, and now it’s crossed over into something else again.

We’re in two wars. Our health care system is broken beyond belief. Sin and degradation stalk our land, and yet, and yet, and yet this ignorant conversation continues.

There’s more at TPM.

Here’s more on Gary Kreep, who’s been rocking the political world since the ’70s.

Here’s  more on his United States Justice Foundation. And here’s  more on the United States Judo Federation, which must get rank-sick of people who mean to go the “justice” people and type the address wrong. Perhaps we should follow that organization’s lead when it comes to the birthers: Judo: The way of gentleness.

And thanks, AlterNet, for the link.

The Supreme Court could release the torture photos

If the Obama administration doesn’t want the detainee torture photos released, the Supreme Court might step in and release them, anyway.

Here’s more on the American Civil Liberties Union, which is seeking to get the photos released. And here’s a bit on a group — Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity – that supports release of the photos.

Women may be allowed to serve on submarines

Well, yeah.

Reaction is mixed after the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff announced he would like to lift the ban that keeps women off submarines.

The Christian News Wire says no, as does Phyllis Schlafy, bless her heart. Me? I’ve never understood the restriction.

The death penalty is expensive.

It’s also immoral, yes, but — as the New York Times pointed out recently — it’s a financial black hole.

Can a feminist take a joke?

Sure! If it’s funny. But tell me what you would have done in this case:

I’ve just gone through the gate at my work’s parking lot when a man who is walking by makes a hissing sound. It’s loud so I turn because that’s not a sound you hear every day, and he, looking right at me, says “Nice ass.”

Is that funny? Am I to be complimented? The thing is, I don’t know this man and pretty much the only man I do know who can say something like that to me is Mr. DJ. And because Mr. DJ and I are high-minded folks, my ass is not a topic of conversation all that often, and I’m content with that.

Do you laugh at something like that when it happens to you? Do you just ignore the guy and walk away? I used to do that, but it’s not like word got around to all the men who say stupid things to women on the street that this one, this tall brunette one, won’t play so just leave her alone, won’t you?

So I stopped. Remember: There’s a locked gate and a high chainlink fence between me and my new boyfriend. Plus, I have the added benefit of the presence of a security guard sitting not that far away. He’s a good guy. If push comes to shove, he would leave his desk and render aid.

So I stop. I turn. And I say, ”Does that work for you?” and the man gets all flustered, so I pursue it (verbally). From my side of the fence, I ask if when he says things like that to other women on the street, do they react positively? Do they follow him home? 

“Christ, it was just a joke,” the man says, to which I reply, “But if I don’t find it funny, it’s not a joke, is it?” Here, the guy starts to walk away so I have to talk louder because I’m not done yet. I tell him that I find comments like that ignorant. I have no love for the guy, and don’t intend to listen to his particular brand of — and here I said a bad word.

Sorry, Jesus.

When I was younger (and, let’s be honest, cuter) this happened sometimes, and I would scurry away. It still happens (infrequently), but I am older now and have built my vocabulary to the point where I am quite proud of it and use it every chance I get. So if you’re walking past a tall brunette with a nice ass, keep your opinion to yourself, won’t you? That, or risk getting schooled, feminist/hillbilly style. No matter how busy I am or how late I’m running, I always have time for a little corrective discussion.

And that’s not just me talking. This explores the phenomenon that encourages women to keep quiet when they witness harassment. Who wants to be a “ranty-pants?”

Well, me, I guess, if the timing’s right.

And this is Janice Turner’s latest.

Where would be we be without our machismo?

We’ve already talked about Latino/a and Hispanic evangelical ministers taking on their culture’s traditional machismo. What would that mean for the rest of us?

Fareed Zakaria at the Washington Post says Pres. Obama’s recent public statements lead our country’s foreign policy away from our culture’s traditional machismo/sabre rattling.

I like this:

Obama was telling the world: The United States is willing to be cooperative, to rejoin international institutions, to adhere to treaties. But in return, other countries will have to help solve some of the world’s common problems. You can’t just kick us around anymore.

And this:

Obama is gambling that America is mature enough to understand that machismo is not foreign policy and that grandstanding on the global stage won’t succeed. In a new world, with other countries more powerful and confident, America’s success — its security, its prosperity — depends on working with others. It’s a big, bold gambit. I hope it works.

Me, too. And thanks, Slate, for the link.

Giving up September and October birthdays, and weddings, etc.

Rock on Charity: Water. I got all choked up at the enthusiasm in this guy’s voice. But: 700 people at a birthday party? That’s a lot of friends…

If you think you’re going to fulfill your Yom Kippur duties via Facebook…

…think again.

And don’t think Twitter will suffice, either, bub.

Write your own caption!

Oh, wait. Some pictures speak for themselves.

We have more poverty than we think

The Economic PolicyInstitute is looking at the recent Census numbers that say poverty is rising.

That’s true, but the government’s definition of poverty sets the bar too low. In fact, we have far more poverty than we let on.