You Eedeeyote!

I’ve really been on a reading tear lately, and finished a couple of books this week (as well as reading Stephen King’s short story “Mile 81” today—fun, quick read!). I thought I’d post a couple of quick reviews, because both of these books are significant.

First up is Idiot America: How Stupidity Became a Virtue in the Land of the Free by Charles P. Pierce. I’ve written before about this, and many have discussed the current atmosphere of anti-intellectualism in the country. Ignorance is seen as a desirable trait, because to be educated is seen by some to be elitist behavior. An expert opinion is “balanced out” by the opinions of utterly unqualified people. The fact that this makes no sense doesn’t seem to matter to a large portion of the populace.

Pierce talks about the importance of “American cranks.” You know, those people who have seemingly outrageous ideas, but can bring up legitimate questions and steer the discussion in a new direction. For example (this is my example, not the author’s), think of some of the more bizarre ideas of Ron Paul and his loony son, like allowing business owners to make their own policies when it comes to who the will allow into their place of business. The Civil Rights Act and the strides we’ve made in that area are kind of important. Not an expert opinion, by any means, but it seems self-evident to me. However, Paul has been adamantly opposed to both wars we’re in, and I believe that he has steered that discussion in the right direction.

Pierce says that the problem with cranks is when they become part of the mainstream, rather than anti-establishment. The inmates taking over the asylum, if you will. (See Baggers, Tea.) Pierce’s Great Premises of Idiot America are that anything can be seen as true if you say it loudly enough, you appear to believe it, and enough people believe it fervently enough. (See Panels, Death.) He writes about the Kitzmiller v. Dover case (I highly recommend the Nova documentary in that link) concerning the teaching of intelligent design in public schools, and spent a good amount of time with Federal Judge John E. Jones III, who ruled on the case. Judge Jones said:

If you poll the United States today, you find that over 40 percent, sometimes over fifty percent, of the people in the United States believe in creationism and not evolution. And they think that creationism should be taught alongside, or even supplant, evolution in the public schools. So they don’t understand why this federal judge in Pennsylvania, in my case, won’t get with the program and bend to the popular will. Well, that’s not the way the Framers designed the judiciary. We are supposed to be a bulwark against the popular will at a given time and responsible to the Constitution and to the law. But, boy, that’s lost. People should get that.

My hero! Pierce also tackles the current assertion by some that America was meant to be a Christian nation, and the Founding Fathers laid it out that way. He examines the thoughts and writings of James Madison, especially. In his “Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessment” of 1785, Madison writes:

It is proper to take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties...Who does not see that the same authority which can establish Christianity, in exclusion of all other Religions, may establish with the same ease any particular sect of Christians, in exclusion of all other Sects? that the same authority which can force a citizen to contribute three pence only of his property for the support of only one establishment, may force him to conform to any other establishment in all cases whatsoever?

In other words, if the government allows Christian prayer to be conducted at public functions, or the expression of Christian faith to the exclusion of other religions in the public square, you may be sittin’ pretty for now, Sunny Jim, because you like that old-time Christian religion, but if the government does that, they can just as easily establish a religion you might not dig so much. Now do you get why the separation of church and state is a good thing, and is exactly what the Founders intended? It wasn’t just to protect your religion from our government; it was also to protect our government from your—or any—religion. The Founders wrote extensively and often about how a nation with a self-government needs an educated and informed populace. I think they would be very disappointed in Idiot America.

Pierce veers off into snarky derision once in a while, which can be a little jarring, but it’s also usually warranted. A good read, and I recommend it.

Speaking of idiots in America, the second book is The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin by Joe McGinniss. You might remember the brouhaha generated last summer when McGinniss rented the house right next to the Palins’. He and his family received death threats for that little bit of effrontery, but he managed to survive the summer. Palin’s reaction was immediate and swift, accusing him on her Facebook page of spying on them and peeping into the girls’ bedrooms. Typical Palin, playing the victim. McGinniss was merely staying in Wasilla in order to talk to numerous townspeople about Palin past and present. Was there a little bit of poking the bear with a sharp stick involved? I don’t doubt it. I understand the easy allure and sheer pleasure of knowing how easy it is to get to someone you don’t much care for. But to accuse him of peering in her daughters’ windows is absurd.

Anyway, McGinniss bounces back and forth between Palin’s childhood, political rise, and current goings-on. These time shifts are easy to follow, though. Palin is threatening to sue both McGinniss and Random House for publishing the book, citing defamation for lies and rumors presented as fact and based on anonymous sources. (Random House is standing by the book and McGinniss.) I was paying close attention to that as I read the book. Much of the political incidents mentioned were things that I’d read before, and most of those mentioned the source. When it came to the personal items like drug use and Todd’s supposed promiscuity, sources usually weren’t mentioned as anything other than “a friend” or “a former coworker.” I took such stories with a large grain of salt. The one personal item that was getting all the press was Palin’s one night stand with NBA star Glen Rice. The source cited for that story? Glen Rice himself. I haven’t seen Rice coming out with any sort of statement about the story being a falsehood.

What was more important to me was to read about her political dealings and her religious fanaticism. Much of this was nothing new to me, but there were several whoppers that had me constantly thinking, “Man, what a bitch!” This book corroborated many things I’d read before, but the depth of her religiosity was very disturbing. She can believe whatever she wants to, but she sincerely wants to impose that religion on everyone else, and that I have a problem with. (Read up on dominionism, if you haven’t heard of it.)

I think McGinniss goes off the reservation at the end of the book with his speculation that Trig might not be Sarah’s kid. I’m not a fan of conspiracy theories in any form, and I don’t care much about this one. There’s enough about her “policies” and lack of intelligence to bother me; the personal nitpicking doesn’t do much for me. I bet it all bugged the hell out of Sarah, though!

I won’t recommend this one way or the other. McGinniss is a very good writer, and it flows well. If Palin is going to stay on the public stage (and no, I don’t think she’s running for President), it’s important to be armed with just how horrid she is. Those who need to find it out the most will, of course, never read this book. For most of my readers (who tend to be liberal, as far as I can tell), this is a quick read if you want to be reminded of why you can’t stand this woman and want her as far away from Washington, D.C. as possible. If she does, by some bizarre chance, decide to run, I’ll start posting excerpts from the book!

Hey, how about a little Green Day?! Don’t mind if I do!

Nailed the Trifecta!

Before I write about anything else, I want to mention that somehow, one of my blog entries got added to StumbleUpon. I don’t know if one of my friends did it, or if it was merely random, but let me just say “Thank you!” On the day it happened (I believe it was for my entry about Bachmann and the HPV vaccine), I got almost 1,400 page views. Whoa! I’ve gotten a lot more hits after that (although nothing at that level), and I don’t know if it will continue, but I really appreciate the traffic. Thank you, friend, or anonymous stranger, who liked what I wrote!

Okay, here’s the deal. I’ve been watching the Republican debates when I’ve been able to, and we’ve seen some rather interesting [exaggerated finger quotes] moments. In one, the crowd cheered for Rick Perry’s stellar execution record in Texas. Over 200 executed on his watch! Yeehaw! In the next debate, the crowd cheered at the prospect of letting a 30-year-old without insurance (by his own choice) die rather than the state or federal government financing his poor decision at not obtaining health insurance. Yay, death!

At the most recent debate, we didn’t get cheers from the audience about a particular topic. In a video question, a gay soldier, Stephen Hill, who was finally able to serve openly only this week asked how any of the candidates would deal with the recently repealed Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy. In yet another What The Fuck moment, there were people in the crowd who booed. Yes, they booed this soldier who is currently serving in Iraq. See for yourself:



Paul Begala wrote, “I may start a betting pool on what the Republicans will boo in the next debate: puppies? Ronald Reagan? Ronald Reagan’s puppies?” Ha!

I watched someone trying to say that it was only a couple of people in the audience who booed the soldier, and the rest of the people in the audience were booing those people. It sure doesn’t sound like that to me, and knowing how many of these people feel about the repeal of DADT, it wouldn’t surprise me a bit if several booed the soldier. And if so many Republicans condemn these people disrespecting this soldier, as many have said (and good for them for speaking up), why didn’t one single person on that stage step up and say, “Whoa, wait a minute there. This guy is serving his country in Iraq right now, so show some goddamn respect! How dare you boo this soldier?!” Instead...crickets.

Rick Santorum answered the question, though.

Hill: “In 2010, when I was deployed to Iraq, I had to lie about who I was, because I'm a gay soldier, and I didn't want to lose my job. My question is, under one of your presidencies, do you intend to circumvent the progress that's been made for gay and lesbian soldiers in the military?”
(BOOING)
Santorum: “Yeah, I — I would say, any type of sexual activity has absolutely no place in the military. And the fact that they're making a point to include it as a provision within the military that we are going to recognize a group of people and give them a special privilege to — to — and removing 'don't ask/don't tell' I think tries to inject social policy into the military. And the military's job is to do one thing, and that is to defend our country.
“We need to give the military, which is all-volunteer, the ability to do so in a way that is most efficient at protecting our men and women in uniform.”
(APPLAUSE)
“And I believe this undermines that ability.”
(APPLAUSE)
Moderator Megyn Kelly: “So what — what — what would you do with soldiers like Stephen Hill? I mean, he's — now he's out. He's — you know, you saw his face on camera. When he first submitted this video to us, it was without his face on camera. Now he's out. So what would you do as president?”
Santorum: “I think it's — it's — it's — look, what we're doing is playing social experimentation with — with our military right now. And that's tragic.
“I would — I would just say that, going forward, we would — we would reinstitute that policy, if Rick Santorum was president, period.
“That policy would be reinstituted. And as far as people who are in — in — I would not throw them out, because that would be unfair to them because of the policy of this administration, but we would move forward in — in conformity with what was happening in the past, which was, sex is not an issue. It is — it should not be an issue. Leave it alone, keep it — keep it to yourself, whether you're a heterosexual or a homosexual.” (source)

That’s right. Santorum would tell this man, who not only has the courage to serve in the military and serve in a war zone but also has the sheer balls to come out in front of the entire country on national TV, that he is incapable of serving and is not wanted by the U.S. military. And he would tell every other homosexual that they are not acceptable to the U.S. military, simply because of their sexual orientation. He also seems to think that a person’s sexuality should not be mentioned at all, that you need to keep that to yourself, so I presume he would issue a rule stating that no one is to mention their husband or wife, boyfriend or girlfriend, and while we’re at it, no one should mention their kids, either, because that implies that they have had sex. (Believe me...as a former Air Force wife, and based on comments from other friends who have served or been military spouses, if you think there isn’t rampant fuckery going on in the military, you don’t know jack.)

“Special privilege?” Really? “Inject social policy” into the military? Really? Oh, you mean like Harry Truman issuing an executive order in 1948 that desegregated the U.S. military so that blacks could serve with full benefits and honors? Kind of like that?

For all those people who think those dirty homersexticals shouldn’t be allowed to serve, I wonder why you haven’t gotten riled up about the numerous charges of rape occurring among heterosexual men raping female soldiers? Rapes that either are reported and not prosecuted, or not reported because the women know that it will probably ruin their career if they do. Where is the outrage? I find it infuriating (and humorous in a disgusting sort of way) that some people--both military and non-military--don’t get all that upset about female soldiers being abused, but if there is the slightest possibility that an openly serving gay man will slip up behind them in the shower for a booty call, they scream bloody murder. Like being able to serve openly is a license for getting all rapey and junk. Women have been putting up with such abuse for decades, so pardon me if I don’t have much sympathy for you and your whiny heterosexual ass.

Santorum subsequently came out (so to speak) and said that he did not hear those boos, and if he had, he’d have told those people not to do that, that we should be thanking him for his service. You know what, Ricky? I don’t believe you. I think you heard those boos loud and clear, and you just stood there with all your other lame colleagues and chose not to say anything. Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson (it was his first debate in this race) said, “That’s not the Republican party I belong to.” Oh, yes it is, Governor.

And until people like you start stepping up and soundly renouncing such bigoted behavior, doing it at the time rather than after you find out that many Americans were appalled by it, you and your party will continue to own it. It’s really not hard to do. I’ve done it quite a few times. You just step up and say, “You know what? That is wrong of you to say, and I completely disagree with you.” Basically, you have to have courage and stand up for what you think is right.

Kind of like the courage that soldier that you booed displayed.

Another fruit fly moment

Anderson Cooper recently discussed the endless parade of Michele Bachmann gaffes and errors, culminating in her assertion the day after the latest debate that the HPV vaccine has serious side effects, including “mental retardation.”

Setting aside the fact that she seems to be confusing “mental retardation” with brain damage, there is no case for either consequence from this vaccine. I was reminded of the infamous Sarah Palin fruit fly moment (and no, I will NEVER let it go!), in which she ridiculed “fruit fly research in Paris, France.”

It might sound like a strange thing to trigger that last straw, but that was it for me. After that, I stopped being nice about Palin, because I saw that she had no intelligence when it came to science, and even worse, she had no desire to learn. Anything that was beyond her scope of knowledge was deemed foolish and a waste of money. (Never mind that research using fruit flies has numerous applications, including upon autism research.)

I’ve never given Bachmann a break; I recognized from the very beginning that she was a homophobic moron who wants to institute a theocracy in my country. Her remarks about the HPV vaccine, however, put her on a whole other plane of ignorance and irresponsibility. Her initial point in the debate about Governor Perry possibly involved in pushing the vaccine in order to benefit the manufacturer, Merck, was a legitimate one. Her assertions that it was a “dangerous injection” were not legitimate, and the following day, she took it up a notch and mentioned a woman who came up to her and tearfully told her that her daughter became “mentally retarded” after being vaccinated for HPV.

Bachmann tried to portray the vaccine mandate as government overreach, and I have no doubt that she preyed on typical conservative Christian fears that a vaccine for a sexually transmitted infection will lead to promiscuity. Just like free condoms lead to sexual promiscuity. Never mind the fact that it can keep a young woman (and with the new guidelines for vaccinating young boys, it protects them as well) from getting not only genital warts, but it can keep her from getting cervical cancer down the road.

Think about that for a moment. I still remember how exciting it was when we first started checking for HPV in my lab, because of the numerous studies that showed a correlation between HPV infection and subsequent cervical cancer. Showing the presence of the virus (and certain strains, which are stronger predictors of cancer risk) allowed for earlier detection and more aggressive treatment, resulting in greater survival rates. When the vaccine came out, it was even more of a breakthrough, because we were essentially vaccinating against cancer. This is astounding to me, and I honestly cannot understand anyone who would place the nebulous possibility of their children having premarital sex earlier than usual (or who thinks that their kids wouldn’t have premarital sex if it weren’t for those pesky free condoms and protection against a sexually transmitted cancer-causing virus) above the childrens’ long-term health and protection against cancer.

There has been no proof that vaccines cause autism. I’ve written about this extensively. For Bachmann to suggest that the HPV vaccine causes “mental retardation” is not just ignorant, it could possibly cause many parents to forgo the vaccine for their children and leave them open to this very common sexually transmitted infection and later cervical cancer. As someone who lost a very dear relative, my Aunt Bert, to cervical cancer, I take it seriously. So should Bachmann, if she can manage to think of the greater good when it comes to public health rather than pandering to the anti-government teabagger loons.

Bachmann made her pronouncement after speaking to one tearful mother who was certain that a vaccine caused her daughter to suddenly develop “mental retardation.” There are very real, genetic causes for such impairment, and vaccines aren’t one of them. Bachmann’s bizarre insistence on giving full credence to one parent and ignoring numerous studies, extensive research, and thorough vaccine trials should rightfully doom her candidacy. She is obviously someone who just does not want to learn and who does not trust scientists...or even science.

And on Sunday, she rested

Whew, what a whirlwind weekend! (And one filled with alliteration!)

My awesome niece Heather, her equally awesome husband Rey, and their awesome² son Liam are in town for a visit from San Diego, so they came over Friday evening to check out Nutwood. We took a walk out back, and Liam (4 years old) occupied himself by finding turkey feathers throughout the yard. The turkeys had been hanging out the previous day, and I’ve never seen them leave behind so many feathers! They even made an appearance on Friday, walking through the front yard. Thank you, turkeys...you made a little boy very happy! (You made ME happy, too, by cooperating so nicely!) We also took a little walk through the marsh and out to the woods. I love doing that with visitors. Seeing Nutwood through others’ eyes makes me appreciate it even more.

After our little nature outing, I think we were all feeling pretty famished, so we headed out for some dinner at Macri’s. We had some pasta and pizza (their pizza is pretty darn good), and Liam had a little nap, but woke up in time for food. We called it an early night, since we had a game to go to the next day!

I made some wrap sandwiches in the morning, we filled up the cooler, and headed out for some tailgating. It was truly one of the most perfect days for football I’ve ever experienced. About 68°, sunny, with a slight breeze. We had our sandwiches, drank some beer, and played some cornhole with our nifty new Notre Dame set. (I was soundly trounced...I’m sure the beer had something to do with that!) The Fightin’ Irish did their part for a perfect game day, beating Michigan State 31-13. The best part was their attitude. They seemed to have a confidence that they were previously lacking. They still need to work on cutting out the turnovers, but it was a good game and they played well.

After the game, we headed over to my sister’s house for a birthday party for her husband, Tom. (Thanks for the Thomas Jefferson book loans, Tom!) It had been going on for a while, but I think we caught up nicely! We had a great time visiting family, and stayed pretty late talking with Tom and Diana. We headed home and didn’t crash until 4 or 5 this morning. Slept late and took it easy today, and I’m still not fully recovered. My “bounce back time” has definitely gone up as I’ve gotten older!

It was a fun weekend. I hope yours was as pleasant!

Cool cats at the Peppermill Lounge

I have more to write about Las Vegas (as well as lots more pictures), but I wanted to write about my new favorite place in Vegas: the Peppermill.

Located on the Strip, just south of the Riviera casino, the Peppermill was built in 1974. If not for the flat screen TVs they’ve put up in the lounge, you might think you had actually traveled back to that year. This place is old school Vegas, something you don’t see much of on the Strip these days. (In Vegas years, something built in 1974 is practically a dinosaur.) The place is actually separated into different (but attached) areas, the restaurant and the Fireside Lounge.

I had read about this place when researching for our last trip, but we didn’t manage to make it there last time. This time it was a must-see for me, and we took the opportunity to arrange to meet some online friends, Bill and Libby. Due to some family arrangements, Bill couldn’t make it, so we met Libby there. It turned out to be a good choice, because despite having lived there for several years, she had never been to the Peppermill! We had a great time talking with her and picking her brain about Vegas (whether old school or the new style).

How to describe this place? I walked in there and felt like I was a guest on the Dean Martin Show. The lounge itself is small, but a combination of low lighting, purple and pink neon, and a mirrored wall provides the illusion of a larger place. We were there at 4 o’clock in the afternoon, so pretty much had the place to ourselves; it’s open all night, and when going by there later, the parking lot looked packed. I bet they do pretty good business later on. (Libby told us that some of the entertainers hang out there after their shows; she knows that Penn Gillette has been spotted there. Cool!)

The seating is arranged in circles or semicircles, low to the ground (this short person rejoiced), and covered in a plush pink fabric. In the circular seating area, there is a firepit with a flame erupting from a pool of water. As I mentioned, it’s quite dark, but the lighting is skillfully arranged so that you don’t feel blinded. Of course, there’s all that neon bouncing off the brass rails and the mirrors!

Peppermill 1 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Our waitress was wonderfully friendly, and they wear long black dresses with a big slit up the leg...a little more glamorous than most places. Inspired by the glamour, I felt like having something a little more glamorous than a beer, so I had a grapefruit juice and vodka. I wish I could have remembered that it’s called a Greyhound, but I had to settle for ordering it by ingredient. We decided to have some appetizers, so we got a sampler platter (lots of fried food, pretty good except for the onion rings) and a fruit and cheese platter. We were able to lean back on that pink upholstery and completely relax, like we were at someone’s home...if their home happened to look like a swingin’ ‘70s pad, that is! Groovy.

I can’t begin to tell you how much I loved this place. It will be a stop during every single Vegas trip from now on. I hope it survives for many years, because they don’t make them like this in Vegas anymore. Peppermill Lounge, don’t go changin’. I love you just the way you are.

Peppermill 2 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

A damp start to the season

Today we went to the Notre Dame season opener against University of South Florida. Hopes are high among the Fighting Irish faithful, but a win eluded us, and we lost 23-20.

It was a little more adventurous than that, though. First of all, it was a brutally hot day. I’m not sure what the high temperature ended up being, but it was hovering up around 93° or so. Add to that a very high humidity level, and it felt like it was around 100°. Those of you who live in areas with high humidity know that it can make you incredibly uncomfortable, and it’s downright dangerous. Your sweat doesn’t evaporate like it’s supposed to, cooling you off, so you pretty much just sit there and parboil. After we had our sandwiches (pretty good, if I do say so myself!), we headed towards the stadium.

I’m not sure when I’ve been that hot in my life, even with wearing just a tank top and shorts. Maybe one time at Disney World (also very high humidity). We had to walk about a mile and a half to get to the stadium, and I had to stop a couple of times to rest. I’m fairly fit and healthy, but for some weird reason (high metabolism? part reptile?) I don’t handle extreme temperatures well. We got some water as soon as we got into the stadium, but I still had sweat just rolling off of me. It was like a wet t-shirt contest, but with sweat instead of water. That’s a gross visual, but it’s pretty apt! All 80,000+ of us in the stadium were in the same boat, though, and we all tolerated the massive stench of humanity that tens of thousands of people exude on a sultry Indiana day.

We were all pretty fired up—almost literally!—for our team, and things were looking good early on. That didn’t last, and neither did the relentless sunshine. The clouds started rolling in, and we started getting a few sprinkles. Considering how hot we all were, it felt pretty good. Then it started getting a little heavier, and Ken and I put our rain ponchos on. By half-time, the Irish were down 16-0, and the Notre Dame band, waiting to do their half-time show, was told to leave the field. They then asked the fans to take shelter, and mentioned several places on campus where you could go, if you didn’t want to stay in the concourse (which is open on the sides). There were some pretty bad storms coming in, with “cloud to ground” lightning, as they put it.

We know Indiana storms well enough to take them seriously, and we went to the concourse. After waiting a bit, checking the radar and seeing some really nasty stuff moving our way, and watching darker skies moving in, we decided to head home. The game had been suspended until the storm moved through, so we weren’t sure when the game would resume. It turned out to be a good decision, because it was a complete downpour right when we got home, and we found out that they actually evacuated the stadium, something that has never happened in the history of Notre Dame. And they’ve been around for a while!

After calling our moms to let them know we were safe at home (aren’t we good kids?), we waited for the game to resume, this time in the comfort of our own home. With a change of quarterbacks, things were looking up, but it was too little, too late. With about 5 minutes left to go, a second wave of storms came through, and the game was suspended and the stadium evacuated again. When they were finally able to start again, I think everyone was just ready for the damn game to be done with. The Irish didn’t give up, and were able to come back and lose by only three points. I’m disappointed, but the team needs to learn from this. I can’t fault the coaching; the mistakes were the players’. There is work to be done, and I don’t know how the season will play out, but they have a lot of talent that they can build on.

So I can certainly say that it was an adventure. I haven’t experienced a game quite like that before! Between the heat, the storm, the walking, and the general excitement, I’m tired and mellow. I might get a second wind and do a little packing for Vegas, but if not, we aren’t flying out until Sunday evening, so I can do most of it tomorrow. I’m just looking forward to sleeping in!

Math is hard!

But not as hard as my math teacher! (I couldn’t resist the Bob & Tom reference.)

Today I came across a post on one of my feeds that showed this sweatshirt available from JC Penney. (See the feed post here.) I posted it on Facebook and asked “Offensive or funny?” I was curious to see how people would react to it, and whether my reaction was typical or too much. I’ll mention the comments, and then write about my feelings on it.

Rot Job wrote: “Yeah, because every guy wants to fuck a moron.”

Elly Bear wrote: “Simply put, sad. Notwithstanding the US slip in educational achievement scores as compared to other countries. For instance, on average, China's children spend 8.6 hours a day at school, with some spending 12 hours a day in the classroom PLUS homework including on the weekends. We might think that's rough, but they're laughing...”

Simon wrote: “Funny! Or, to put it another way, it's offensive about as much as ‘GIRLS RULE / BOYS DROOL’ should be banned for its explicit sexism. Meh!”

Tim wrote: “HUNH? How about nonsensical? Rot - sadly, I know plenty of guys who'd love nothing more....”

Estela wrote: “I think it is funny, but I want to know who has a brother that nice? I sure didn't.... nor do my daughters.”

I think my initial reaction was probably a little too lacking in humor. I won’t go so far as to say that it was offensive to me, but it bothered me on a certain level. I think something like that perpetuates an attitude in young girls that studying and doing well in school is best left to the boys, and “looking pretty” is left to the girls. The further description of the item mentions Justice Beaver, which I DO find rather offensive, but for very different reasons. I’m not sure when this item was for sale, but if you click through, it is no longer available on the JC Penney website.

The title of this entry goes back several years to when Mattel marketed a talking Barbie who really did say “Math is hard!” I didn’t see red or wig out with that or with this sweatshirt; but as someone who went heavy on the science, it does make me worry about what messages we’re sending to young girls with such items. I’m far from the type of feminist that lardbucket Rush Limbaugh likes to call “feminazis.” I take it as a given that I will be treated with the same respect as any man (whether in the workplace or out of it), and if that’s not the case, then I will address it. Oh, I’ll address it REAL good, believe me. I don’t take easy offense at slightly misogynistic jokes, but I’ll call out true mean-spiritedness. I’m more of the “empowerment” type of feminist, trying to get young women to understand that they can do anything they put their minds to. They don’t have to go into a certain profession or do any certain thing simply because that is what society dictates. They can make their own path, and part of that involves hard work and doing your own homework and not relying upon being “too pretty” for such mundane tasks.

Simon mentioned the “Girls rule Boys drool” thing and said that something that silly shouldn’t be banned for sexism. I see what he’s saying, but I find that sentiment (the drooling boys part) counterproductive and I’ve never liked that whole attitude of “All men are stupid.” Hearing a man say that all women are stupid pisses me off, and hearing women say the same thing about men pisses me off just as much. It perpetuates a ridiculous myth and it’s disrespectful to all parties involved. I understand Simon’s point, and of course I don’t think any such thing should be banned.

But I’d much rather foster an atmosphere of mutual respect and cooperation, one in which young women understand that there is more to life than looking pretty, and that using their looks to get people to do things for them is irresponsible and a complete cop-out. Everyone should aspire to learn and excel in academics, and to me, such items, even as a joke, are counterproductive to that goal.

Am I irate about this? No. I’m not offended, either. But I don’t care for it much, and I don’t like the message it sends.

Now, the Justice Beaver thing...THAT is offensive!