“I love so many things about this #NoBillNoBreak sit-in, but the thing I love the most is John Lewis’ facial expression. He has Resting Protest Face. He doesn’t give a shit about your guns, or your parliamentary procedures, or your C-SPAN cameras. He’s heard you want to put him on Periscope but he’s not sure he gives a shit about that either. He’s like “Did you see Selma? You remember the John Lewis character? That was me. John ‘I asked for and received an apology from the Klan’ Lewis.” He is the human personification of the expression “You tried it.” He most definitely doesn’t give a shit about Paul Ryan. When asked for comment about how Paul Ryan compared to political foes he’s encountered in the past, Lewis thought for a second and replied “He doesn’t have the range.” John “Freedom Rider” Lewis has an honorary doctorate in sitting. Don’t come for him unless he sends for you.”
An interesting thing about Finn is how spirited he can be. He shouts for joy when he escapes the star destroyer with Poe–realizes he’s hitting targets and that this thing might just work. His first reaction when he and Rey escape Jakku is similar. He’s joyful when he discovers what he and Rey can do together.
This is someone who was stolen from his parents–who doesn’t even know his real name. He was raised by an institution–and never encouraged to express feelings. But he’s so able, willing, and ready to feel happiness. He opens up to Poe and Rey within minutes of meeting them–and his excitement at discovering those friendships is so palpable that it makes the audience excited for him.
Finn lightens the tone of a dark movie–and he does it without being a comic relief character. He’s a man realizing he can finally, finally do what he chooses, when he chooses. One who finally has people like Rey–who look at him like an equal. And because of that, even when he’s fighting for his life, he seems happy.
House Democrats began a historic sit-in on the floor of Congress Wednesday, with the stated aim of forcing Republican Speaker Paul Ryan to bring two measures to curb gun violence up for a vote: one bill to expand background checks for gun buyers, and another to prevent anyone on the government’s terrorism watch list from purchasing guns. But the sit-in’s true goal is something entirely different: to showcase the Republican Party’s refusal to pass reasonable gun safety legislation, thereby damaging the GOP’s standing with voters and helping Democrats win back Congress—when then they’ll be able to actually pass new gun regulations.
Democrats know that Ryan won’t capitulate. He’ll simply never allow the minority to dictate what bills get voted on in the House. And even if he did permit a vote, the proposals would never win a majority. We just saw this happen in the Senate, where Republicans lined up against the same measures en masse. The same fate would await these bills in the House. And again, Democrats know all this.
But some pundits—even some ostensibly liberal ones—don’t seem to grasp what’s going on. Some complain that Democrats are wasting their time on such small-bore legislation, but again, it’s not about getting these bills passed. Some are worried that Democrats are violating the sanctity of the parliamentary process and are only fomenting further dysfunction, but that’s already proven false: Republicans successfully held several other unrelated votes in the midst of the sit-in on Wednesday night. These worriers forget that it is Republicans who have abused the system for decades in unprecedented fashion, leading to our current sorry state of affairs.
Others raise more legitimate questions about the civil liberties concerns posed by the terrorism watch list. But if Democrats retake Congress, they’d be able to address these issues. Republicans, by contrast, don’t care one whit about civil liberties unless they somehow implicate gun ownership, as they’ve demonstrated by their failure to actually pass any legislation that would improve the watch list in all the years they’ve been in power.
Right now, because Democrats want to keep their message as focused and as simple as possible, they’re concentrating solely on guns, and solely on gun reforms that command the support of vast majorities of voters. And they’re doing this because political theater is a powerful tool, particularly when you have the public on your side. Georgia Rep. John Lewis, the leader of this sit-in, knows this well. Lewis has led sit-ins before: at segregated lunch counters in Nashville as a young man in 1960. But Lewis’ ultimate aims—his life’s work—went far beyond desegregating restaurants. Yet the images and news reports of those early lunch counter struggles in the South reverberated in ways that went on to have a profound impact on American law and life.
Likewise, the fight for new gun safety laws is also in its earliest days, because for the first time ever, the Democrats are fully unified on the issue. And the sit-in is already having an impact. Not only has it generated intense coverage in the traditional media, it’s also lit up social media as well. Even Kim Kardashian tweeted her support for the Democrats to her 46 million followers. Snicker if you like, but the fact that someone like her has taken notice shows that the sit-in is reverberating.
And if Democrats can keep up their intensity, with any luck, this will reverberate all the way until November.
of course, the irony about this cartoon - which I assume is meant to demonstrate shallow selfie culture desecrating the great classics - is that among other things a) hamlet is a disaffected young man suffering from depression and, frankly, deeply self-absorbed and b) the entire play is obsessed with the idea of performance and performativity and so absolutely hamlet taking selfies would be in the spirit of the original because a selfie is a new way of constructing the self through images
so what I’m saying is: fuck off culture snobs I’m coming for you
Yeah, my first thought was definitely “huh. That would make for a pretty good adaptation.”
Okay, if Gryffindor is the house of doing stupid, maybe dangerous things because it’s fun, Slytherin is the house of doing the same things because fuck you, Sarah, don’t tell me what not to do
And Ravenclaws do stupid, dangerous things sometimes because SCIENCE!!
Hufflepuffs do stupid, dangerous things because our friends are doing it and SOMEONE responsible better be involved
You know, this description actually makes sorting a hell of a lot easier.
This is either a metaphor for my life, or for the American political process, I just don't know which is more cynical.
Poor snake. This slithery Stimson’s Python somehow managed to shed its skin completely within itself. The tail, oddly enough, finished shedding inside the mouth of the snake, forming a perfect circle that unfortunately trapped the snake inside of its old skin. According to the Alice Springs Reptile Centre in Australia, the non-venomous snake was just going around and around inside its own skin for over three hours before it was able to find a way out.
OK, but for real, CAN WE PLEASE LOSE THIS NOTION THAT RACIAL PURITY DOES NOT MEAN BLOODSHED? Getting rid of people who aren't like you means killing them. You're a bigot who wants people to die because they don't look like you. OWN IT, assholes.
Tennessee congressional candidate Rick Tyler made no effort to hide his racism in a campaign billboard that reads “Make America White Again.“ According to local news station WSMV, Tyler told Channel 3 he has no ill will toward people of color and that he intended the sign’s message to evoke a happier feeling.
— Rep Donna F Edwards (@repdonnaedwards) June 22, 2016
Rep. John Lewis, the civil rights leader and Democratic congressman from Georgia, is leading a sit-in on the House floor to demand a vote on a bipartisan bill that would prohibit the sale of guns to suspected terrorists on the government's no-fly list. Because the House hasn't been gaveled into session, C-Span is not broadcasting the event, and photography is not permitted in the chamber.
But Mother Jones reporter Hannah Levintova is at the Capitol, documenting the scene at the sit-in. Here's what she witnessed:
Rep. Lynch says he's a rules guy, was nervous about a sit-in at first. "But when they shut off this mic, and they shut off the cameras…"
idea: selina kyle as a reverse archeologist. she steals from museums and private collections and returns things to the shrines and graves where they belong. she brings a clay jaguar to monte alban and now she can talk to cats. the whip is because she’s indiana jones. batman makes half-assed attempts to stop her but it’s not like she’s wrong so like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ he’s got violent crimes to deal with, what does he care if she’s stealing back smuggled relics from rich assholes. he met that guy at a party once and he was a huge asshole so fuck him. steal his toupee, too. it’s probably endangered. ‘oh no catwoman is escaping and there’s nothing we can do. robin sit back down. there’s nothing we can do. she’s taking that statue back to egypt and we have no possible recourse against this terrible nonviolent crime with a single dick victim. i am definitely really mad about this. i’ll fight her later, when you’re sleeping or at a friend’s house or something. you’ll understand when you’re older.’
Followup idea: Batman does this with Poison Ivy as well, only without the horizontal dancing, because Ivy’s as gay as a pride parade. One night he’ll find a little potted plant on a gotham rooftop, with a note tucked into its soil about how so-and-so companies been dumping waste into gotham’s harbour, or dodging carbon tax, and a date. Ivy turns up, he and Robin turn up and ‘foil’ whatever ‘evil’ outlandish plant-based scheme she has going on, and in the process of cleaning up after them both the police have found that they always find proof of environmental law breaking.
Ivy also won’t hurt children, so he tends to use her as a Robin training ground
Notice how quick the Orlando shooting turned into a referendum on gun control rather than one on anti-LGBT legislation sweeping the U.S.
Notice how this instance of anti-LGBT violence is being used to bolster the state security apparatus rather than challenge it.
Notice how queer death is used to bolster the imperialist “war on terror” & legitimize state sanctioned racial profiling.
Which is what the terrorist watch list mostly is.
Notice how no one wants to put the shooting in the context of anti-LGBT, antiblack, anti-immigrant transmisogynistic violence.
Notice how much easier it is for us to discuss “islamist violence” than any of these other violences.
Notice how they never use the word “terrorism” when it’s queer POC dying.
Notice how the shooting is being used as an excuse to further militarize queer and POC spaces.
Notice the ties between rising nativism/nationalism and the death rates of the ones excluded in order to “make america great again”]
And now we’ve got states like Mississippi trying to pass more anti-gay/discriminatory laws. Right after the Orlando massacre. What the FUCK is wrong with people.
-male nerds seem agree that being nerds makes them less attractive to normal women
-so why would normal women pretend to be nerds to be more attractive to men who are already less attractive than normal men
-things like tv shows and books and videogames are designed to be fun and accessible to a fairly wide range of potential consumers. they are products being sold for money, not some kind of exclusive sadkid narnia club you only get into by being pure of heart and testicle
-hey you know what’s not fun? exclusionary sexual harassment
-why would normal women enter into hostile spaces just to look attractive to the hostile men making those spaces so fucking toxic for women, when being attractive to those men is only going to invite vicious, resentful sexual harassment? we all fucking know this. all geeky women know this. the only geeky women who don’t know this are young teens, and they get fucking taught.
-you know that ‘boo hoo highschool was traumatic people were mean to me just because of who i was and what i liked’ gauntlet that male nerds think entitles them to be shitheads forever? female geeks never get to exit that gauntlet, thanks to male geeks. it goes on, and on, and on for us. and yet: we’re still fucking here.
-hey, you know what? there are women who only exist to artificially pander to male nerd’s baser instincts. they’re fictional. they’re the characters in the shows and games and comics that male nerds go goddamn ham over. they’re the fictional female fuckdolls men keep fucking pumping out by the truckload, for each other.
-so anyway, if a woman says she’s a geek, she’s a geek. if she’s hot and posts a picture of her sticking a goddamn game controller up her personal business and says ‘i’m a geek!’ she’s a geek. if you don’t like her, she’s still a geek, and also, you can go fuck yourself.
Re-posting this because of all the BATHROOM FUCKERY going on!
To all the conservatives out there using any convenient enough excuse to bully, harass, and oppress people you think are different - I dedicate this song to you.
“We need to keep changing the attitude that raises our girls to be demure and our boys to be assertive. That criticizes our daughters for speaking out and our sons for shedding a tear. We need to change the attitude that punishes women for their sexuality, but gives men a pat on the back for theirs.”
“You’re a white person in America, so I could see why you’d think this, but tellin’ other people how to live is actually NOT a right you have.”
DING DING DING
It’s really refreshing to see this, coming from someone who lives in the South.
I honestly have to second the last comment on this. I’m so used to the South being a bastion of racism and other grossness, it’s so good to see a Southerner calling people on their shit.
I just need to take a minute because John Boyega…I mean, he really did not come to play. Since Attack the Block days, he’s always spoken about the vision he’s had for his career. From strategically picking roles with underlying social commentary/messages to wanting to own and control his own image and create his own projects.
And then he gets an audition for Star Wars. He goes through seven entire months of auditions–auditions longer than anyone else, and actually books the part. Earns the part! Like, he DID that. And he killed the performance. And honestly, leading man in the biggest movie franchise ever? He could’ve stopped there. But he didn’t. He could’ve been satisfied. But he wasn’t.
He reinvested that money and co-founded his own production company and is already investing in another franchise and securing lead roles for himself. But it’s not just about him and you can tell he knows that. If it was just about his success, he could’ve stopped with Star Wars. He’s not just making sure that Hollywood will never be able to typecast or control him, he’s also ensuring that if he believes in a project or role for him or anyone else, he can get it done.
He’s been planning and working toward this for years and strategizing about how to overcome and breakdown the racist roadblocks in Hollywood and he’s making it happen. If his career so far is any indication, I can’t wait to see the rest of his plans unfold. I don’t know him, but I'm just so proud of him. Because we need him and it seems he’s up to the task.
1. I'm betting Wil Wheaton would love to be on the squad. 2. I'm betting Wil Wheaton being delighted to be on the squad would horrify... everyone. Except me.
I actually think [Taylor Swift’s] squad’s a bit sexist, because it’s all about being equals, and yet no man’s been asked to join the squad. I actually find it degrading to men.
Especially DO NOT leave the DND sign on your door, and then come down to bitch to the front desk about how your room was not cleaned. We know you are full of bullshit, and honestly, we're on the housekeeper's side, and not yours, if it comes down to it.
@crossingscon Here’s the thing… some of this is misleading, if not outright wrong.
The replaceable towels should follow the hotel’s rules for where they should be placed. There’s usually a small sign in the bathroom and in my experience, it’s usually “put them on the floor.”
Notes: housekeepers may not know English; there’s no guarantee they’ll be able to read the note. There is also usually a “do [action] to signal you don’t want the towels replaced” on the sign mentioned above.
Tip daily IS right on the mark; housekeepers can and do change daily.
Don’t bother to make your beds; they’ll have to redo them to fit the hotel standard. Also, some hotels have signs near the beds to indicate if you want the sheets changed daily or not.
USE the Do Not Disturb sign if you’re taking your showers and going to breakfast in the morning and such if the hotel starts housekeeping early. No one wants to walk into a room and see people changing. Just remember to take it down when you’re done. Do NOT leave the sign up all day and/or all night.
