How Could Anyone Vote Against That Mustache?

Check out these clips from the NY Gubernatorial debate; the candidate from the Rent Is Too Damn High Party provides some real gems.

“As a karate expert, I will not talk about anyone up here”. . .well, of course!

The guy’s a bit eccentric, clearly, but honestly it’s sort of refreshing to hear someone state things in such a direct way. The rent in NYC is too damn high, people can’t afford to live and feed their kids, and this guy represents that truth. Just, you know, oddly.

Check out the videos. And if you want to marry a shoe, apparently, this guy will marry you.

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Rachel Bishop

Kagan Confirmed!

By a vote of 63-37, the US Senate has confirmed that Elena Kagan is a lesbian! I  mean, that she will be the newest justice on the U.S. Supreme Court! They won’t be voting on her sexual identity until later this week.

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Rachel Bishop

Voices From Brooklyn: Racial Profiling’s Part Of Everyday Life Here

Check out this video from Colorlines, asking young men in Brownsville about their experience of racial profiling from the NYPD.  Disturbing stuff.

Full article here.

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Rachel Bishop

For A Lifetime of Happiness, Amputate Your Legs

Today the feminist blog Jezebel posted the results of an online survey that asked 1600 Christian guys what a good Christian woman needs to do to be appropriately modest, thus securing a good Christian husband. I thought it’d be helpful for all you lovely female 99problems readers if I boiled the results down into three rules of thumb:

1. If a man isn’t treating you like an amputee, you’re doing something wrong. Any clothing that “draws too much attention to the chest”, legs or rear is taboo; men need to be under the impression we possess none of those physical attributes. I guess this explains the whole fixation on opening doors for us, although at that level of disability they should really just carry us everywhere.

2. If you must insist on having breasts, at least try not to walk around too much, or stretch. “Seeing a girl stretching” and “seeing a girl’s chest bounce when she is walking or running” is considered a “stumbling block” by many of these young men.

By now we’re all standing stock-still in full body jumpsuits. At least we’ve still got our personalities! Oh, wait, “An immodest lady is loud, proud, and dresses in a way that communicates such an attitude”. So. . .

3. Keep quiet, and don’t forget to hate yourself!

I know some of you must be thinking, “Great suggestions, Rachel, but what if I have goals in life other than securing a good Christian husband, and some of them might require me to walk around?” Have fun in hell.

For some more in depth, slightly less sarcastic analysis, check out the Jezebel post.

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Rachel Bishop

An Atheist Praying For Arizona

I’m no exception when I say I’m praying about the situation in Arizona this week. But I’m a little different in that I’m not usually one to pray. I’m not religious; I’m awed by and grateful for the universe, and always conscious that as humans we’re not capable of comprehending all of reality, but I don’t think anyone’s listening. No big dude in the sky.

But a prayer doesn’t have to be about God. It can be a simple, blind, and occasionally desperate act of hope. Hope that among those things we don’t fully understand in the universe, there is something called Justice that is real, and powerful, and will win out in the end.

At this point, the people have spoken, the cards are all on the table, and all we can really do is pray that what’s slated to happen won’t come to be. I’ve been focusing in on the people I met in Arizona on my recent visit and praying for them individually. Praying that the shy 15-year-old kid who told me he gets good grades but probably can’t go to college won’t be suddenly sent away to a country he’s never known. Praying for the brave people who, when I arrived at the Arizona State Capitol, had been keeping vigil outside in the blazing heat for 50 days. Praying that the palpable tension I felt everywhere in the air there won’t devolve into untamed violence.

This is a situation where the nature of justice is so obvious, where truth is just begging to be heard; where innocent people’s lives are hanging in a shaky balance that can only be righted if our nation takes a major stand for tolerance. I’m not confident the right thing will happen, because I don’t believe there’s anyone checking in. But I’m going to pray.

Posted by:

Rachel Bishop