Friday, May 2, 2008

RightWing Roundup #3: "These" Feminists, Incompetence, and Omissions

1. Who Exactly Are "These" Feminists?

Read hater-of-women-who-distinguish-themselves-from-doormats Rush Limbaugh's latest asininity:

"[Y]ou have to understand the mindset of a lot of these feminists and women. They think they're owed this -- just like Obama supporters think they're owed this." Limbaugh continued: "These women have paid their dues. They've been married two or three times; they've had two or three abortions; they've done everything that feminism asked them to do. They have cut men out of their lives; they have devoted themselves to causes and careers. And this -- the candidacy of Hillary Clinton -- is the culmination of all of these women's efforts....And if it gets stolen from them, in their minds -- not actually stolen, but if the country or if the Democrat [sic] Party rejects this wonderfully great, lying woman in exchange for a rookie, radical black guy who can't tell the time of day, they are going to be so miffed. They are going to be so upset."


Ah, fun times. Does his shrill voice grate on anyone else's nerves?

Now, I'm a feminist and a woman. I've even been called a super "radical" feminist and a "leftist gender warrior." In light of my feminist cred, I've never been married or divorced, I have had zero abortions, and even though I'm a big dyke, I have not cut men out of my life. In fact, rather than "voting with my vagina," I voted for Barack (Hussein) Obama.

So, where does this leave me Rushy-poo, you great arbiter of who is and is not a feminist? Ain't I feminist too?


2. When Relying on an Incompetent Government is For suckers the Poor

After the government response failure during and after Hurricane Katrina, private companies have been taking matters into their own hands.

As political writer Naomi Klein documents: "HelpJet, a travel agency launched with promises to turn 'a hurricane evacuation into a jet-setter vacation.' For an annual fee, a company concierge takes care of everything: transport to the air terminal, luxurious travel, bookings at five-star resorts. Most of all, HelpJet is an escape hatch from the kind of government failure on display during Katrina."

This assurance of safety can be yours for a one-time fee of $50,000 and an annual fee of $15,000. I mean, you're stupid if you just "stay" in your basement and not take advantage of this rescue opportunity. What's that you say? You can't afford this private jet and luxury vacation? Well that's your own damn fault ya lazy bum. You can just wait for rescue workers to save you. What's that you say? If every human life is of equal worth every person should have access to competent disaster management?

As Klein alludes, this all sorta gives new meaning to those who are "Left Behind." (That would be most of us).

This all sorta reminds me of that girl I went to college with who, in that privileged tone I quickly grew accustomed to, wondered aloud why parents didn't just pay their kids' 4 years of tuition all at once and up front to lock in the lower tuition, I mean, people who pay it year by year are just sort of stupid.


3. Because an Omission is Not Technically a Lie?

I saw this tidbit on Box Turtle Bulletin. Kentucky legislators passed a resolution to expand school children's opportunities to learn about victims of the Holocaust by making curriculum materials available to public schools.

That's great, right? Oh, a minor detail is that the educational curriculum will omit the fact that the Nazis killed people other than Jews:

"The Senate deleted a clause in the House version that cited other people the Nazis deemed 'undesirable' because of their 'race, nationality, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, religion, and political ideology.'

Whitaker said he received indications earlier in the session that the reference to sexual orientation was a 'red flag' that could have endangered the bill."


Tim Kincaid at Box Turtle puts it well:

"It truly amazes me that some people refuse to provide accurate information about the Holocaust lest someone somewhere may know that gay people were also victims of Nazi mentality."


Indeed.

As an interesting point, one legislator said that he would be in favor of allowing information about "homosexual" victims of the Holocaust if it were "age-appropriate." It's too bad that so many hold information about gay people to a much higher standard regarding "age-appropriateness" than they hold any other group of people to. Unfortunately, it's a Catch-22. For, because conservatives are fixated on the "anal sex between two men is gross" aspect of gayness, they envision meandering Holocaust discussions where teachers explain to children the intricacies of gay sex. Admittedly, for those who do not know gay people or who only get their info from conservative and right-wing propaganda machines, they find it impossible to differentiate gay people from straight people without talking about sex. Meanwhile, in the real world, the "difference" could also be framed in age-appropriate "gay people fall in love with people of the same sex" language.

Not too difficult, eh?

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