Note on the Alleged Attack on McCain Supporter
| posted by Melissa McEwan | Friday, October 24, 2008I'm starting to get emails about the reports that a 20-year-old woman was mugged at an ATM in Pittsburgh and then marked with a "B" by her attacker after he spotted a McCain bumpersticker on her car.
At this point, I'm hesitant to say anything substantive about the case until I learn more information for a couple of reasons, none of which have anything to do with her being a McCain supporter. And I don't want anyone to think I'm ignoring it for that reason.
Briefly, the main thing is that the B on her face is neat and superficial and backwards. That does not mean it wasn't done to her; a B could appear backwards if done by someone hovering above her, facing the opposite direction, for example. And she may have briefly passed out without realizing it, providing an opportunity to her attacker to mark her cleanly while she was not struggling.
But backwards letters, and easily legible letters, and letters formed by superficial wounds of a consistent depth, are all associated with self-mutilation as part of staged attacks. Carving messages into the body during an attack is also an extremely rare event, outside of pop culture. Again, that doesn't mean that written messages being left on a victim never happens, just that it is very infrequent.
Additionally, there is now a report that the woman's "statements about the attack conflict with evidence from the Citizens Bank ATM where she claims the incident occurred," according to police. That, however, is not terribly unusual for the victim of a violent attack.
All told, I just feel like there's reason to be cautious with this story, and so I am going to thus be.
No matter how this happened, or who did it, I hope this young woman heals quickly.
I'm seeing a lot of talk about "passive electioneering" rules -- i.e., the possibility that you could be turned away from voting if you show up at the polls wearing a T-shirt or button supporting a candidate. Snopes says it depends on the state and offers a handy article that breaks down the state laws. Trouble is, upon skimming, I didn't see anything in there about an Illinois law prohibiting voters from wearing campaign stuff, but I did see people get in trouble for it when I went to vote.
The good news is, no one was turned away. I saw one woman asked to remove an Obama button from her purse, and I stood in line behind a man wearing his T-shirt inside out. At first I didn't get what that was about (fashion trend I'm not up on? bad eyes?), but then I overheard this conversation between him and the volunteer who set him up to vote:
Him: They made me turn my shirt inside out.
Volunteer: I know. It's a nice shirt, sir. It's a very nice shirt. But we can't let you wear it in here.
When he turned around, I saw a vague, backwards outline of Obama's face on his chest. A very nice shirt, indeed. Heh.
The bad news (in this context) is, I live in a ridiculously Democratic-leaning neighborhood. As in, the kind where an election volunteer can blatantly say, "It's a very nice shirt" without fear of anything but a "Fuck yeah, it is!" from anyone who overheard. So if the polling station in my neighborhood was enforcing "passive electioneering" rules, you can bet it's also happening other places -- and in those places, the response may or may not be as simple as, "Go turn your shirt inside out."
It might be that no one gives a rat's ass in your neighborhood. It might be that "Turn it inside out" is the statewide policy, which will be enforced fairly and evenly. But still, if you haven't gone to vote yet, I'd recommend not wearing anything that promotes a candidate. It's just not worth the potential pain in the ass.
Wheeeeeeeee!
Any day my robot boyfriend is in the news is a good day, but a day that he finally takes the big robotic dump on his former programmers, aka Bush Inc., that we all know he has longed to take, is a GREAT day. Now he is free, and my robot boyfriend will come to me and I will start downloading progressive ideas into his chubby wee adorable robot head, Matrix-style, until he is the C-3PO-esque robot hero I know he can be.
Inspired by the direction the conversation has taken here: What about sex surprised you once you started having it? What have you found delightful? What have you found aggravating?
It probably could go without saying, but I'll say it, anyway: "Sex" means whatever it means to you—vaginal, anal, oral, same-sex, opposite-sex, single partner, multiple partners, with toys, without toys, S&M;, missionary position, swinging from the chandelier, whatever you fancy, as long as you're having it with a consenting partner (because, if you're not, it's not sex; it's something else altogether).
Per Shaker Llencelyn's request: TMI welcome and encouraged.
[My apologies to the virgins among us for the exclusion. I recommend considering this thread validation of your decision to remain celibate, or fair warning if you've only just not had a chance to dive in yet, heh.]
In an uncanny timeliness, given today's discussion thread, I got an email earlier from Shaker PatC, who provided last night's QotD. Quoted with permission:
Thank you so much for using that as the QOTD! I'm so excited to have been quoted as "her"! I'm working on a paper on 18thC sexuality right now and so gender bending is topical for me (full disclosure, I am biologically and identify as a man). Regardless, thanks for using my idea. Shakesville kicks ass.I had no reason at all to assume PatC was a woman, and I'm frankly not sure why I did; I've had female and male friends called Pat, and my email correspondents collectively skew slightly more male. So big wev to me: lol my gender assumptions.
Cheers,
PatC
What was more interesting to me was my reaction to PatC's email: I was surprised, relieved, and grateful that he wasn't insulted by having been presumed a woman.
And it was sad to me that I found it notable when his response wasn't aggrieved.
I can understand people who aren't playing with or challenging gender getting distressed at or annoyed by being mistaken for the opposite sex in public, to their faces; if one isn't consciously bucking convention, to be wrongly identified might feel like a negative commentary on one's general appearance, being called ugly—and that can be a separate issue from being offended at being perceived as the opposite sex. (Though certainly they are intertwined.)
It's the affronted objections I've seen men raise when someone refers to them as "she" or "her" online that never cease to really amaze and dismay me—because there is no offense to take at all, unless one perceives women negatively.
And that's something I've seen happen so often that I was actually surprised when it didn't.
I don't know if men can fully appreciate what it means that so many of them regard being mistaken for a woman as a slight, what it does to a woman to read such indignant protestations—"I am not a woman!"—and feel the slithering creep of memory up the back of her neck, as the first time she ever heard a childhood male companion cry out with disgust, "Eww, I don't want to be a girl!" rings in her ears, recalling that first instance when she began to suspect there was something wrong with her by virtue of what was (and what wasn't) between her legs.
It's a total mindfuck. And it never goes away.
I have played video games with men who refused to play female avatars; I have been with a man who was miffed that I classified his predisposition to copiously pre-cum as being "like a woman"; I have been talking about some female bodily function to a male friend or lover only to have him make a face and inform me he's so glad he's a man; I have heard male coworkers grousing about how "being a woman sucks," because of another male coworker with a groping proclivity; I have been exhorted to "not be such a girl" about things; I have known men who refuse to wear pink; I have been told by men who consider themselves feminists that they won't be raising their daughters "to be girls" but instead raising them "to be people"; I have been told flatly that women are inferior in intellect by virtue of our biology; I have been "complimented" by being told how very much like a man I am in my humor, or rationality, or some other quality; I have listened to men express directly to my face in every way imaginable that they would never want to be a woman.
And most of them have been surprised when I had a problem with that—because, you see, we're all supposed to take it as read that no one would want to be a woman, given the choice, since we all know they're the inferior model.
It's just another indication of how far away from real equality we actually are, that one of the sexes is still largely considered anathema to the other.
Thank you for the glimpse of what could be, PatC.
"Republican John McCain is not going to make his election night remarks in the traditional style - at a podium standing in front of a sea of campaign workers jammed into a hotel ballroom."Instead, Senator McCain will address a small group of reporters and supporters.
MEANWHILE, Senator Obama plans an election night spectacle in Chicago's Grant Park.
Action ItemFree Esha Momeni.
Matt's got all the background and contact info at his place. Teaspoons ahoy!
"I always wanted a son named Zamboni."—Governor Sarah Palin, in a new interview with People magazine. I'm going to go ahead and assume she was kidding, because my brain can't actually acknowledge the possibility that she wasn't.
Her husband, btw, replied: "I don't think that would have flied."
[H/T to Pet and Shaker Kim.]
This is definitely one of the coolest videos I've ever seen. An extremely well organized lip-synch in one smooth take.
[H/T to Recon]
…or do you find yourself increasingly reading stories about the rightwing's scare tactics, and thinking, "If only!"
I just read this piece at PageOneQ about a GOP mailer in NC claiming that Democratic candidate Kay Hagan, who's challenging Sen. Elizabeth Dole, will advance a "radical homosexual agenda" (that old canard!) including "same-sex marriage, removing 'Under God' from the Pledge of Allegiance, and forcing the Boy Scouts to accept gay and atheist troop leaders."
If only!
And I keep hearing (as do we all) that Barack Obama will be a crazy liberal who, if elected, will turn America into a socialist utopia, redistributing wealth toward a robust social safety net including universal healthcare, where children will be taught comprehensive sex education, contraceptives will flow like water, abortions will be affordable and accessible, institutional racism will be eradicated, people will be lifted from poverty, LGBTQIs will serve openly in the military, same-sex marriage will be legal, feminism will be taught in schools, and gay pink unicorns will be fucking in the streets!
If only.
From your worst nightmares to Maude's ears, conservative fearmongers.
by Shaker Car
Calling all crafty Shakers! Tuesday's QotD spawned an idea regarding lovey snuggly comfort items and the fabulous community that has grown up here at Shakesville. There are many, many regulars here, some commenting often, some not, but enough that we know a lot about each other; people share their highs, their lows, their in-betweens. In that thread an idea was formulated to come together and offer Shakers a tangible cuddly object when they might need that little extra boost to remind them that there's an online community that cares about them, and there seemed to be a lot of interest in it.
My idea is to create little lap blankets that are a mishmash of whatever people want to do in a 7x7 space, be it yarn, fabric, whatever, and once a month or so send one to a Shaker in need of a pick-me-up. There are a few issues to iron out (there's a pun!), but in the meantime I'm trying to get people together and gauge (ha! another pun!) interest. Even if this particular idea turns out not to work, there is also the possibility of getting craft makers and craft wanters together in other mutually beneficial ways. If you have any interest in contributing ideas or projects, please email me at carShaker(at)gmail(dot)com. Indication of interest will not be construed as signing an ironclad contract to provide material. :)
If you're not really interested in this particularly but like the idea of making things for someone else in need, please check out Sewing Charity, a list of charities based on craftmaking. They range from soft hats to cancer patients to blankets for bereaved parents to stuffed toys for disaster victims to just about anything you could think of.
Remember, way back in April, when the McCain campaign was trumpeting that Obama was being supported by Hamas?
In an interview with ABC radio, Hamas political adviser Ahmed Yousef said:Well... whoopsie."Actually, we like Mr. Obama. We hope he will [win] the election and I do believe he is like John Kennedy, great man with great principle.Almost instantaneously, the McCain campaign sent a fundraising email titled "Hamas Weighs In On U.S. Presidential Election." Joe Lieberman, too, took up the charge. And on April 25, McCain himself blasted Obama:
We like Mr. Obama and we hope he will win the election. He has a vision to change America.""I think it is very clear who Hamas wants to be the next president of the United States...I think that the people should understand that I will be Hamas' worst nightmare.
"I never expect for the leader of Hamas...to say that he wants me as president of the United States. I think it is very clear...why they would not want me to be president of the United States, so if Senator Obama is favored by Hamas, I think people can make judgments accordingly."
Back in April, John McCain and his allies taunted Barack Obama as the choice of Hamas in the wake of remarks by a spokesman for that organization. Now with the news that Al Qaeda web sites are seemingly backing McCain for President, the Republican might want to reconsider that line of attack. And to be sure, John McCain should steer clear of touting "Osama the Terrorist" at his rallies.All of this leads to what will probably be my favorite post headline in this entire campaign:
As the Washington Post detailed Wednesday, Al Qaeda cadres see a McCain as the best bet to perpetuate the policies of President Bush they see bankrupting the United States and the West:"Al-Qaeda will have to support McCain in the coming election," said a commentary posted Monday on the extremist Web site al-Hesbah, which is closely linked to the terrorist group. It said the Arizona Republican would continue the "failing march of his predecessor," President Bush...
...It further suggested that a terrorist strike might swing the election to McCain and guarantee an expansion of U.S. military commitments in the Islamic world.
"It will push the Americans deliberately to vote for McCain so that he takes revenge for them against al-Qaeda," said the posting, attributed to Muhammad Haafid, a longtime contributor to the password-protected site. "Al-Qaeda then will succeed in exhausting America."
McCain Advisers Freaked Out by Al Qaeda Preference for McCain
I just got off a conference call held by the McCain campaign to deny that Al Qaeda, contrary to reports in the AP and the Washington Post, is rooting for their man. To describe the call as panicked would be an understatement.Actually, for those of us that have watched the Bush administration blunder and scheme their way into handing Al Qaeda exactly what they want while ignoring every warning, this isn't ludicrous, it's obvious. Seriously, if your campaign actually is concerned with "Country First," and genuinely does want to protect America from terrorists, shouldn't this endorsement concern you? When Al Qaeda is supporting you and stating that your policies will accomplish their goals, shouldn't your concern be about your policies, rather than spin? With the current financial crisis, when Al Qaeda specifically states that they want to bankrupt this country, shouldn't you have the slightest bit of concern?
Jim Woolsey, the former CIA director who publicly connected Iraq to the 9/11 attacks without any evidence in 2001, and senior foreign-policy adviser Randy Scheunemann spent more time whining about the Washington Post’s standards of fairness than on the logic of why Al Qaeda might prefer Sen. John McCain. “An amazing piece of journalism, and I use journalism in quotation marks,” Scheunemann said, going on to list barely approving quotes of Sen. Barack Obama from Hamas, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi, which he said he wasn’t going “to characterize.”
[...]
Yet the idea of Al Qaeda preferring a U.S. strategy that strengthens it confounded the McCain camp. “It is ridiculous to believe that in its heart of hearts, Al Qaeda wants John McCain to be the president,” Woolsey said. “It’s ludicrous.”
If you actually care about this country, that is.
Seriously, I don't know how they could be any more obvious that they don't give a flying fuck about anyone or anything other than winning goddamn elections and gaining more power. It drives me completely bonkers that so many people are completely blind to this.
The Planet Of The Guys. Oh, With Gals, Too, Naturally. by Echidne.
Discussion Question: In what ways has the idea that "man" is the default human and "woman" a lesser variation thereof affected you?
[This is the second in a series created by the goddess Echidne about why she became a feminist, which I'm just mirroring with discussion threads. Echidne's first post was here and mine here. If you have trouble loading that page because of the overwhelming and awesome discussion that ensued, try reading the Disqus page instead. The Disqus page for this thread is here.]
From the Miami Herald:
With the smell of sawdust in the air and planks of wood stacked around him, Republican presidential candidate John McCain hammered his tax cut promises and his opponent's encounter with ''Joe the Plumber,'' referencing the now famous ''spread the wealth'' remark more than half a dozen times at a morning lumberyard rally.Next week he'll be hitting the trail with Larry the Cable Guy and Bob the Builder just to give all the other fictional characters equal time. Jared is handling the catering, the coffee will be supplied by Mrs. Olson, and Rosie the waitress will clean up any messes. Oh, and Madge the manicurist will be making sure that Sarah Palin's nails are just perfect for the tour. Remember, "you're soaking in it!"
(Cross-posted.)
"We just let things get completely out of hand," he said of his own party's rule in the past eight years.This would be the same John McCain who voted with Bush 95% of the time.
…"Spending, the conduct of the war in Iraq for years, growth in the size of government, larger than any time since the Great Society, laying a $10 trillion debt on future generations of America, owing $500 billion to China, obviously, failure to both enforce and modernize the [financial] regulatory agencies that were designed for the 1930s and certainly not for the 21st century, failure to address the issue of climate change seriously," Mr. McCain said in an interview with The Washington Times aboard his campaign plane en route from New Hampshire to Ohio.
"Those are just some of them," he said with a laugh, chomping into a peanut butter sandwich as a few campaign aides in his midair office joined in the laughter.
Does that make him 5% maverick?
