Bah.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Under a huge tent just outside the medical unit at Camp Liberty, shielded from the blazing sun, soldiers watch and cheer as two men at a time get their heads shaved. Clumps of hair fall to the hot sand below.

But they’re not just fighting the Iraqi heat. They’re showing solidarity with sick kids they don’t even know.

It started with a dare on St. Patrick’s Day 2000, when two guys shaved their heads to support children with cancer. Thus was born the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. In eight years, the awareness and fundraising organization says, events have taken place in 18 countries and the United States, “raising over $34 million and shaving more than 46,000 heads.”

Maj. Stephen Roberts knows a lot about bald heads. He’s a pediatric oncologist at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. And he’s seen a lot of his young patients lose their hair to chemotherapy.

The kids he guides through treatment don’t seem fazed by it. “They’re just amazing, inspiring kids,” Roberts said. “They’re going through something more difficult than most of us can imagine and they do it with a level of grace and strength that I don’t think I could match.”

This year, Roberts planned to participate back home in Washington, but he deployed to Iraq. So he organized the shearing on the base.

Sounds like a nice feel-good story, right? Wrong.

Back in Iraq, the female soldiers can’t participate; Army regulations don’t allow shaved heads for women. But that doesn’t stop them from cheering the guys on — or making donations.

Fucking awesome. So first the patriarchy doesn’t want teh wimmins in the military because our lady bits will distract the men and cause them to rape us through sheer lust and sexual frustration. Then they object to us looking too masculine, too unladylike….you know, fitting in with the guys. We’re not even cool enough to show solidarity with kids with cancer (I thought we were supposedly the nurturing sex, yo!). Those uppity bitches, just who do they think they are?!!1! Next thing you know, they’ll be demanding to wear pantaloons and shit.

And don’t you just love how strong, competent military women have been reduced to cheerleaders for teh menz? IBTP.

Preemptive strike: Yes, I think the ban on earrings for men is ridiculous, too. If one sex is allowed earrings, then both sexes should be allowed earrings. But it isn’t an example of misandry, but homophobia. So there, MRAs.

UPDATE, 1:30 PM:

It occurred to me while doing Tae Bo this afternoon that the topic of women of color and “black hair” didn’t even enter my mind when I wrote this post. So let’s discuss.

Firstly, Why Tae Bo?, you ask. There’s an African American women in the DVD I’m using, and she’s got closely cropped hair. (Not to mention, a kickass physique that I totally envy.) So, given the “the politics of having kinky hair,” as Pam phrases it, what of WOC and the military? Are women with kinky hair allowed “manly” cuts, or are they expected to wear it to the collar? And if they’re required to keep it longish, what constitutes “neat” (which also appears to be in the military regs)? Would Cynthia McKinney’s so-called “wild” hair (an even more appalling description, which I refuse to quote, can be found here) be a grounds for a court-martial? Just how does the military square the intersection of sexist and racism they’ve created here? (Rhetorical question; they don’t.)

I’d also like to apologize for failing to recognize this in my original post. Sheer white privilege on my part. No, I definitely don’t want a cookie; how about a cracker instead? Perhaps a water cracker…those are English, right? Can’t get any whiter than a water cracker.

On the bright side, maybe this will inspire a bit of empathy the next time Shane gets flummoxed during a discussion of vagina-stuff.

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Tagged: cancer hair beauty combat military war iraq feminism misogyny sexism homophobia

Via PZ, I found a link to GOD’s new blog, Stuff God Hates. It’s kind of like Stuff White People Like but, um, funnier. God hates everything, you see, even though He created damn near all of it.

The reason I prefer SGH over SWPL? Well, as other veg*ns have already complained, SWPL reinforces the stereotypes that veg*nism – or, more simply, giving a flying fuck about creatures other than yourself – is a white thing. As if no veg*ns are persons of color, and veg*n diets may only consist of uber-expensive faux meat products. (Beans and rice, anyone?) See, for example, here, here and here. God, on the other paw, hates us all. His ghostwriter (because, let’s be honest, ain’t no way God has time to blog) also seems to be more consistently satirical than the white dude over at SWPL.

Just look at God’s full list of dislikes to date:

#22 St. Patrick’s Cathedral
#21 Asia
#20 Cats
#19 Nine-Eleven Conspiracy Theorists
#18 Dancing
#17 Snitches
#16 Dick Franing
#15 Science
#14 American Idol
#13 Cops
#12 Blasphemy
#11 Being Crucified
#10 Hillary Clinton
#9 The Pope-Mobile
#8 Anal
#7 Women
#6 ‘The Virgin’ Mary
#5 Onions on Pizza
#4 Patrick Swayze
#3 Foreskins
#2 Africa
#1 Desperate People Begging For Help

(More below the fold…)

Currently on my reading list is Thirty Ways of Looking at Hillary, among other titles. I’m about halfway through the 30 essays, and it’s a fairly interesting collection – all by women writers – reflecting on the juggernaut that is Hillary Clinton. There are a few pieces I don’t agree wholeheartedly with, but nothing patently offensive. That is, until I stumbled upon this throwaway bit of anti-veg*n sentiment. Or maybe it’s just culinary ignorance. Either way, it annoyed the craps outta me.

In “How Hungry is Hillary?: Reading the Culinary Cues,” Mimi Sheraton tries to nail down the “real Hillary” based on her food choices. Maybe it’s a silly exercise, but no less fluffy than Susan Orlean’s attempt to define Hillary vis-à-vis her choice of pets companion animals in child- and adulthood (“Political Animals: Is Hillary a Cat Person or a Dog Person?”). Some of the essays are like that. Anyway, it’s all fun and games until she hates on Boca Burgers.

Next I interviewed Walter Scheib, who worked as the White House chef for the Clintons (and, briefly, for the second Bushes). Scheib recently published a cookbook memoir, White House Chef, which offers many clues to Hillary’s preferences. Had she ever asked for an olive burger or a Hillary burger, I asked?

“No, but I always kept Boca Burgers in the freezer,” he said, referring to a brand of soy protein patties. “She liked them for snacking.” When I obtained some Boca Burgers and pan-grilled them, as directed, they turned out to be miserably limp, grassy-tasting little disks that might be produced by Rubbermaid. Asked what he thought of them, Scheib replied, “I and my cooks figured they’d be okay if you added lots of cheese and bacon.” Not to mention a half-bottle of ketchup and maybe a soupçon of Dijon.

OK, firstly, I love how she feels the need to explain what a Boca Burger is, as though it’s some weird new pseudo-product à la Hufu. I mean, I thought that surely “Boca Burgers” had entered the American lexicon years ago, along with Tofurky, soy milk and the like. And then there’s the whole matter of hunting them down, as though they’re not available, um, everywhere. Seriously, we buy econo-packs at Sam’s Club, ferchrissakes!

Finally, the criticism: miserably limp, grassy-tasting little disks that might be produced by Rubbermaid. Unless she’s rubbing defrosted Boca Burgers on her lawn, ain’t no way they come out tasting like grass. As for the so-called “limpness,” the only time I’ve cooked up a limp Boca Burger is by over- or under-cooking it in the microwave. Grilling and pan-frying them, not so much.

And, erm, do I really need to point out how counterproductive it is to garnish Boca Burgers with bacon and cheese? St00pid.

Then again, Sheraton later quotes Ann Althouse in an approving manner, so I really shouldn’t be all that surprised.

In short, if you find yourself reading Thirty Ways of Looking at Hillary, particularly Mimi Sheraton’s “How Hungry is Hillary?: Reading the Culinary Cues,” do not believe the omni talking points! Boca Burgers are awesomely yummy, life-sustaining foodstuffs. They protect against global warming, antibiotic resistance, BSE, E. coli, cancer, heart disease, human cruelty and indifference, and deforestation. They are peace on a plate and I love them, usually to the tune of one a day.

Did I also mention that I am a super-lazy cook?

Boca Burgers don’t judge, either.

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Tagged: vegan veganism vegetarian vegetarianism thirty ways of looking at hillary boca burgers mimi sheraton

* Well, minus the Reverend Wright slam in the final frame. Holy men say crazy shit all the time; it’s in the job description! Singling out the black reverend is just…racist.**

** But do call the Reverend (and by proxy, Obama) out on his sexism. Hillary Clinton “ain’t never been called a nigger,” but Barack Obama Ain’t Never Been Called a Bitch.

(Via.)

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Tagged: video 2008 elections barack obama hillary clinton sexism misogyny racism msm mainstream media fauxgressives politics

Shorter Wil Wheaton: “I can’t be a misogynist, because I highly enjoy sticking my penis in vaginas!” Yeah, and I have a black friend I’d like to introduce you to. Yawn.

More Phony Right-Wing Environmentalism @ PFAW: “[W]hen one thinks of those protecting the environment and assisting third-world countries, one automatically thinks of the tireless efforts historically put forth by the likes of the Family Research Council, Focus on the Family, Concerned Women for America, and Wallbuilders.” HA!

Woman Gains Silver Star — And Removal From Combat:

KHOST, Afghanistan — Pfc. Monica Brown cracked open the door of her Humvee outside a remote village in eastern Afghanistan to the soft pop of bullets shot by Taliban fighters. But instead of taking cover, the 18-year-old medic grabbed her bag and ran through gunfire toward fellow soldiers in a crippled and burning vehicle.

Vice President Cheney pinned Brown, of Lake Jackson, Tex., with a Silver Star in March for repeatedly risking her life on April 25, 2007, to shield and treat her wounded comrades, displaying bravery and grit.

Within a few days of her heroic acts, however, the Army pulled Brown out of the remote camp in Paktika province where she was serving with a cavalry unit — because, her platoon commander said, Army restrictions on women in combat barred her from such missions.

Note to Phyllis Schlafly: yes, sweetie, some women do “want to be treated the same as men in the military and in combat.” I suppose they’re all just “brainwashed by feminist professors”, eh? Well, perhaps you should stop “whining about it” already and “get a life and move on”. From the godbag’s mouth, as they say. *Shrug*

Also in Missouri, both the proposed Photo ID Legislation and the Abortion Restriction Act of 2008 FAILED!

Finally, the sad story of the Kofa Mountain Lions – in a nutshell, the U.S. government misleads the public on the behalf of big game hunters so that everyone gets to kill! kill! kill!

Says Deb at invisible voices:

And this is where we come in. You, and me, and everyone else can write in and give our arguments against the mountain lion hunting.

From now until May 24, 2008 it is what they call the “formal scoping period” and we can send letters, electronically or via snail mail, with our thoughts, and have them entered formally and officially in public record. And, especially importantly, we should include our suggestions for alternatives. For instance, no hunting of mountain lions on Kofa NWR by agencies or hunters.

More here.

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Tagged: links link love link dump link roundup news in the news Phyllis Schlafly war on terra feminism animal rights animal welfare abortion missouri mo misogyny

OK, so I’m way late on this one, but here’s my review of Jesus Camp, which is every bit as awesome (awesomely scary, rather) as you’d expect. In my defense, we’ve had the DVD for awhile, but every time I suggested we watch it, Shane passed, reasoning that it’d get me too worked up and why don’t we just watch a comedy instead? See, I have a awful habit of abusing the pause button in order to rant about this-or-that when whatever it is on the teevee pisses me off a great deal. I confess, I can be downright insufferable. So I finally decided to watch Jesus Camp solo, and I can honestly say that I wouldn’t have hit pause a single time had I watched it with someone else. It’s like a car wreck, there’s just no looking away, if even to discuss the horror you’re witnessing with the rest of your carpool.

In sum, it is so awesome that it managed to shut even my overactive yapper.

Oh, and the icing? The three families profiled are all from the Kansas City area. I live in the Kansas City area.

*Shudder*

(More below the fold…)

I have two not-so-random songs for your listening pleasure tonight: Morrissey’s Meat is Murder and Me and a Gun by Tori Amos. The first video has some fairly graphic images of animal abuse, and the comments thread for the second is riddled with misogynist trolls. So watch and/or browse with caution.

And since these are both somewhat depressing choices, some loldogz after the jump. Smile, it be Friday, yo!

(More below the fold…)

Shane loves on Kaylee, the toughest bitch he knows.

Bloggers ask for 2 million or woman gets abortion.

Wil Wheaton is a fauxgressive. Just a hint, hun: if you feel the need to preface and/or amend your statement with “I’m not a sexist (or a racist, homophobe, etc.), but…” then it usually means ya are.

Oh yays! The California Supreme Court rules in favor of gay marriage!

Oh noes! CA fundiebigots are already scrambling to place a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that could potentially nullify the Supreme Court’s ruling…

…so tell your friends in Cali to vote no in November. (Hey Shell, that means you!)

Woes is us! Clinton and Obama pander to the homobigots.

This video makes me sooooo happy!

I’ll never watch the X-Files the same way again.

Lye and Let Die; Dissolving your corpse is the green way to go.

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Tagged: link love

Spam promising faster, stronger orgasms – directly above an email reminder for your grandmother’s 92nd birthday.

Excuse me while I go bleach my eyes.

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Tagged: email spam the internets

McCain in 2006:

Two years ago, just after Hamas won the Palestinian parliamentary elections, I [James P. Rubin, of the Washington Post] interviewed McCain for the British network Sky News’s “World News Tonight” program. Here is the crucial part of our exchange:

[James P. Rubin] asked: “Do you think that American diplomats should be operating the way they have in the past, working with the Palestinian government if Hamas is now in charge?”

McCain answered: “They’re the government; sooner or later we are going to have to deal with them, one way or another, and I understand why this administration and previous administrations had such antipathy towards Hamas because of their dedication to violence and the things that they not only espouse but practice, so . . . but it’s a new reality in the Middle East. I think the lesson is people want security and a decent life and decent future, that they want democracy. Fatah was not giving them that.”

McCain in 2008:

US Republican presidential candidate John McCain said over the weekend that he would be Hamas’s worst nightmare, while Democratic rival Barack Obama was clearly Hamas’s choice for US president.

“I think it’s very clear who Hamas wants to be the next president of the United States,” McCain, the putative Republican presidential nominee, said in a conference call on Friday with conservative bloggers.

“I think that the people should understand that I will be Hamas’s worst nightmare,” he said in response to a question from Jennifer Rubin of Commentary magazine.

Campaign spokesman Brian Rogers said Hamas support “is a legitimate issue for the American people to think about.”

“The reason for Hamas’s praise of Senator Obama’s foreign policy is his commitment to meet unconditionally with Iran… It is not only responsible to raise these critical issues in this election, but it would be the height of irresponsibility not to have this discussion with the American people,” Rogers said.

Obama’s foreign policy represented a “radical departure” from current standards of dealing with “rogue regimes,” he said.

McCain suggested that the support stemmed from Obama’s willingness to have diplomatic talks with nations like Iran.

“I never expect for the leader of Hamas… to say that he wants me as president of the United States,” McCain said. “I think it is very clear… why they would not want me to be president of the United States, so if Sen. Obama is favored by Hamas, I think people can make judgments accordingly.”

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