Baby wants a creche!

Posted on May 15, 2012 at 12:37 pm by Epluribusunum |

Goodness gracious, this board may just turn out to be the most corrupt in recent history. The hilarity continues to escalate (assuming that you find the deliberate incitement of costly taxpayer-funded lawsuits hilarious).

After last month’s highly entertaining meeting of the Courthouse Grounds and Facilities Committee (reported here), in which the chairman admitted both to having consulted with “preeminent constitutional lawyer” Mike Farris and that the proposed inclusion of a menorah was only to provide “top cover” for the sole objective of a county-sponsored creche, this month’s meeting featured ejecting a reporter and members of the public from the room. The reporter was told that although the committee has no authority to make policy, and is not facing litigation, they had to be in “closed session” because they were receiving legal advice.

Continue reading →

Delusional, or immoral?

Posted on May 15, 2012 at 7:27 am by Epluribusunum |

Crossposted at Equality Loudoun

You might have seen a video that went viral over the weekend – five minutes of some of the most bizarre claptrap about gay people you are ever likely to hear, delivered by a speaker at a city council public meeting. I say “some of” because much of it could easily have come from certain public figures, or from one or two speakers addressing local public boards here in Loudoun.

Well, it turns out that the speaker in the video is a “protected person,” a resident of an assisted living facility and diagnosed with schizophrenia. She is a regular at these public meetings; the council members are familiar with her and listen to her politely. Her brother Patrick acts as her conservator:

He said he’s disappointed the video garnered such attention and jokes without the whole story.

“To me, it shows how little society really cares about people with mental health issues,” Patrick Svoboda said. “She does have a very tender heart … but anything she says is certifiably schizophrenic … she’s not some crazy conservative.”

He said her family has tried to get her help multiple times, but unless she harms herself or others, there’s not much more they can do.

Continue reading →

The most significant event for equality in recent memory – and it wasn’t the president’s endorsement of marriage

Posted on May 14, 2012 at 1:02 pm by Epluribusunum |

Crossposted at Equality Loudoun

Before somebody starts yelling at me, let me just say that I’m not diminishing the significance of President Obama’s historic endorsement. It matters. A lot. Go read Andrew Sullivan’s cover essay in this week’s Newsweek for a good summary. “To have the president of the United States affirm my humanity —and the humanity of all gay Americans — was, unexpectedly, a watershed. He shifted the mainstream in one interview.”

But, as a measure of how far the mainstream has actually shifted, nothing beats this much less reported, but must-read document. As Sullivan points out, this is the GOP establishment addressing, bluntly, the GOP establishment. The warning from “highly respected Republican pollster” Jan van Lohuizen really couldn’t be more factual and dispassionate about the situation they are now facing:

In view of this week’s news on the same sex marriage issue, here is a summary of recent survey findings on same sex marriage:

1. Support for same sex marriage has been growing and in the last few years support has grown at an accelerated rate with no sign of slowing down. A review of public polling shows that up to 2009 support for gay marriage increased at a rate of 1% a year. Starting in 2010 the change in the level of support accelerated to 5% a year. The most recent public polling shows supporters of gay marriage outnumber opponents by a margin of roughly 10% (for instance: NBC / WSJ poll in February / March: support 49%, oppose 40%).

And this is what that looks like graphically:

Continue reading →

Links for May 10. Ten full days of reading material.

Posted on May 11, 2012 at 12:02 pm by Liz Miller |

These come from my twitter, face book, and blog roll feeds.

Lots of links on North Carolina, and on Romney’s and Obama’s very different attitudes towards LGBT folks.:

Liss from Shakesville cuts right to the chase: Fuck, He Did It
On Babble, my friend Magda from Ask Moxie put it really well: Thank you, it’s about time.
Also from Shakesville: On Archbishop Timothy Dolan’s reaction to Obama’s statement about marriage equality, Well, That Didn’t Take Long

“His statement does, however, confirm that his mitre is actually a rectal chapeau”

Coffee. OUT MY NOSE. My keyboard will never be the same.

The Log Cabin Republicans also weighed in: Obama Announcing Support For Marriage Equality Is ‘Offensive And Callous’, but apparently Romney’s pledge to support a federal marriage amendment banning same-sex marriage nationwide isn’t.
From The Washington Post: While in prep school, Mitt Romney assaulted a gay student. The man who wants to have the most powerful job on the planet has a history of bullying, cruelty, and conscienceless greed. Combine this with a lack of imagination about the reality of other people’s lives, and the GOP candidate looks somewhat like a sociopath with good business sense. Bleah.
From BuzzFeed: Romney High School Classmate says that [Mitt Romney] Was Kind Of A Jerk
From Huff Po: Romney bullied GLBT Youth Group as Governor.
From Talking Points Memo: Matthew Shepard’s Mom on Romney’s bullying of a gay student in his high school
From Bravo TV: How Tom Colicchio dealt with “a ridiculous, even cruel, act of juvenile intimidation” like Mitt’s “haircut” on Top Chef (via @digby)
From Seriously Gay: My friend, Karen, hits it out of the park on Mitt Romney and Pastor Harris and bullying: “Straighten” the Gay
From the New Civil Rights Movement: Pastor Who Advocated Gay Child Beating Is Having A Really Tough Day
From Irish Central: Someone did exactly what Sean Harris wanted and now a child is dead
From the News Observer: The marriage amendment, 1875 – “…in this foundational matter, thou shalt never be equal.
From the Political Carnival: this powerful video of a black minister speaking out against Amendment One. Watch the whole thing.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
”From Daily Kos: I am a straight white male, and this is how the push for “equal rights” has hurt people like me
Another from Seriously Gay: Is this Democracy?
From Left Out Loud: If you care about what happened in North Carolina yesterday, please retweet this photo.
Mother Jones: Long-Term Trends Favor Gay Marriage

Reproductive rights (and War on Women generally):

First, some good news: NY county passes law to *improve* safe access to abortion!. This is why we need pro-choice lawmakers at all levels of government!
And from Daily Kos: House Republican wants to protect Planned Parenthood. Wait, what?
And now back to our regularly scheduled ranting, from Think Progress: A study says there’s no reason to restrict medication abortion services via Telemedicine, but why should that stop anti-choice legislatures?
From NPR: When Religious Rules And Women’s Health Collide
From LA Weekly: Reporting that made me see red.

An L.A. mom whipped out her booby and started breastfeeding at the L.A. County Museum of Art recently, inspiring a hapless “staffer” to tell her to cover up. [emphasis mine]

LT Weekly, is your reporter twelve?
Speaking of poor reporting, Cecily at Babble takes H&R Block to task: Yes, because all mom bloggers are white, blond, AND WEAR A FUCKING APRON.
The New York Times has a reporting super fail.
From Think Progress: Fox News Contributor and Sean Hannity Associate Says Giving Women The Right To Vote is Ruining America.
From New Model Minority: What men mean when they talk about their “crazy” ex-girlfriend is often that she was someone who cried a lot…
Jay Smooth says that Pro-Lifers have given him one more reason to be Pro-Choice.
Liss at Shakesville does her usual awesome analysis: Utah Now Has 72 Hour Waiting Period for Abortions.
From RH Reality Check: General Public Still Just As Supportive Of Abortion Access As Always.
From mySA: Abstinence can be taught along with contraception. The two are not mutually exclusive.
From Boing Boing: New Kansas abortion bill lets doctors lie to patients, withhold cancer treatment
Babble on Vogue: Hell hath frozen over! Vogue Magazine pledges to cease showcasing pin-thin models

Hunger/Food Safety:

From Military.com: Food stamp use at Commissaries up sharply.
From Bossip: Recession Is Real: Record Number Of Americans With Graduate And Doctorate Degrees Are On Food Stamps And Welfare
From NPR: Recipe For Safer Drinking Water? Add Sun, Salt And Lime
Also from NPR: Shopping Bags Can Carry Stomach Flu Virus (Yikes!! I’m never getting another plastic bag, and I’m gonna wash all my canvas ones in hot water and bleach)
From Grist: We asked the FDA if they have any plans to halt antibiotics in animal feed: Don’t hold your breath.

Politics:

From the Nation: Evidently, foreign policy moderates have no place in today’s GOP.
From the Maddow Blog: Mourdock on 3 different networks: “Compromise” means Dems giving in to what GOP wants.

Health:

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal: Wisconsin sees widespread outbreaks of whooping cough cases. People, I had whooping cough as a kid, and I am here to tell you to get your kids vaccinated. Spread out the schedule if you must but get them the shots!
From HuffPo: Asthma kills poor and minorities disproportionately, (yet another) study finds

Disability:

From Gawker: Horrific Footage of Mentally Ill Homeless Man’s Fatal Police Beating Surfaces Online [Video]
This one could go under many different headings, but we’ll leave it here: House Republicans Would Slash Billions In Benefits For Low-Income Disabled Kids.
Chen Guangcheng, Activist Lawyer, is a Hero (Oh Yeah, and He’s Also Blind) – Law Office of Lainey Feingold
From A Smarter Planet: Deafness is no disability for master inventor & new White House “Champion of Change” Dimitri Kanevsky
From the Atlantic: How the #Blind are Reinventing the iPhone
From Science and Technology: Power Prosthetics Propel Service Members to Better Lives

Virginia, oh Virginia:

The Greene County Republican Committee. (Link is to my other site).
Real Loudoun has more: Merely incompetent and corrupt
Speaking of incompetent and corrupt, from the Loudoun Times Mirror: Locked doors, lack of notice for Court House Grounds Committee meeting.

And finally, on Maurice Sendak:

From Blown Covers: A conversation between Maurice Sendak and Art Spiegelman.
And from Phantom Scribbler, one of the people who started me blogging in the first place, a beautiful and true tribute.

“War on Christmas” gets an early start this year

Posted on April 30, 2012 at 9:49 pm by Epluribusunum |

Back in 2005, the School Board’s Legislative and Policy Committee was meeting regularly to discuss how they could rewrite freedom of expression policy, at the behest of Dick Black, without violating federal law. After one memorable meeting during which some inadvisable confessions were made, I titled my report “It was late and they were tired.”

Alas, last week’s discussion of holiday displays by the new Courthouse Grounds and Facilities Committee (CGFC) took place at only 6:00 pm.

To briefly recap, the new board has abandoned the idea of a limited public forum. This is because – as I predicted – those like Eugene Delgaudio, who claimed to support freedom of expression for all, in reality did not like anyone’s expression but their own and demanded that the displays end. The board is now pursuing the idea of a county-sponsored holiday display on the courthouse lawn, and the CGFC has been tasked with designing it. Further, the CGFC has been reconstituted and is now stacked with individuals who were active in writing letters and speaking to the last board in favor of allowing the display of religious symbols and messages, but prohibiting the display of other symbols and messages.

One of those individuals is John Mileo, who had a design proposal for the rest of the committee. But first, he had to explain his reasoning. Continue reading →

Links for Monday, April 30 (what I’ve read since my last links post)

Posted on April 30, 2012 at 12:58 pm by Liz Miller |

These come from my twitter, face book, and blog roll feeds.

Reproductive rights (and War on Women generally):

From Life Site News (a “pro-life” [sic] site): Surprise! Bowling for Abortion is a success and women who support reproductive rights have children and take them to pro-choice events! (via @robinmarty)
From the Star Tribune: Minnesota Governor Dayton vetoes abortion clinic licensing bill.

Dayton countered that if the issue was health, and not abortion politics, then Minnesota should license all 1,250 outpatient clinics, not just six.

“If regulation of clinics were the concern, the bill should have required licensure of all clinics, not just a select few. If the Legislature wants to create a new regulatory scheme for health care clinics, then all clinics should be treated equally. No clinic or procedure should be the focus of special and unique regulatory requirements.”
From Shakesville: Liss gives the National “Right to Life” [sic] the Quote of the Day.
From RH Reality Check: An article on something I’ve known for over two years, Crisis Pregnancy Centers Use Federal Funds to Promote Religion, Lie to Patients, Discriminate In Hiring Practices. Non-Christians need not apply.
Also from RH Reality Check: S.C. Senator: Fetuses Are “Victims,” Women Who Have Been Sexually Assaulted, Not As Much.
From NECN: In South Carolina, antichoice politicians vote to deny abortion coverage to rape survivors who rely on state health plan.
From Knoxville News: Bill Authorizes Prosecution for Death of an Embryo. I can’t see any unintended consequences arising from that.
Or perhaps I can. From the Guardian: Outcry in America as women who lose their babies face criminal charges.
From Babble: The flip side to forced-birth, a woman is being bullied by a Texas hospital into giving up on her troubled pregnancy. This is what happens when women are not seen as being fit to make decisions about our own bodies.
From Panoptic Society: Hey Canada! Get out of my reproductive system! Apparently, the US is not the only country with governing bodies that are trying to govern bodies.
Speaking of other countries governing bodies, from RH Reality Check: Forced Sterilization in Uzbekistan. This has got to stop.
From Salon: A reminder that the Morning After Pill is not an abortion pill.
From Women Are Watching: After Arizona defunds Planned Parenthood, Senator John McCain calls ‘war on women’ “ludicrous, partisan, and imaginary”.
Really? Senator McCain? Because from here, it looks pretty real.
From Huff Po: Abortion laws proposed in some states expand access, bucking the national trend.
Also from HuffPo: Women still can’t get justice for sexual assaults and rape.
Speaking of rape, from Mother Jones: Florida governor Rick Scott slashes rape counseling during Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Agriculture (and food generally):

From Mother Jones: We’re still feeding cows to cows. And testing less than .1% for mad cow disease. This is terrifying.
Speaking of beef, from Forbes: Food’s Biggest Scam: The Great Kobe Beef Lie. (I knew it! Kobe beef is too special to be used in freaking hamburgers).
From Grist: This pesticide is so nasty even conventional vegetable farmers are scared of it
From Slate: Woman whose job it is to increase sales of baby formula writes book attacking breastfeeding
From Just West of Crunchy: The Ugly Side of Milk Donation

Politics and Elections:

From Think Progress: Two courts say that Wisconsin’s Voter ID law that Walker signed won’t be in effect for the June 5th Recall Election.
Also from Think Progress: Mitt Romney’s advice to students, “borrow from your parents“.
Speaking of Mitt, from Daily Kos: Looks like Romney and his team haven’t updated their maps since the ’80’s.
From Washington Post: This WaPo editorial confirms what has been saying for years, both sides are not “just as bad“.
Also from the Washington Post: Why the League of Women Voters and Rock the Vote are suing Florida.
From the Tax Policy Center: The GOP budget proposal would reduce tax as % of GDP to only 15% – lower than any 1st world country. (via @DriveSwift)
From Media Matters: According to Fox News, “Obama Lowered “The Status Of The Office” But Bush Appeared On Deal Or No Deal!
From Politics USA: Ann Romney loves the fact that she doesn’t have to work and you do.
From Huff Po: Sarah Steelman, Missouri GOP Senate Candidate, ‘Not Sure’ What Violence Against Women Act Is.
From NPR: Gov’t files first criminal charges in BP Spill (not really politics or elections, but not sure where else to put it)

Parenting and School:

From When the Flames Go Up: Stepping up without stepping on toes. Gracefully and graciously co-parenting after divorce.
From Pink is for Boys: Sure, I’ll wear a tiara. What weapons does it have?
From Yahoo! News: Bullied 13-Year-Old Set on Fire Changes Thinking
From Raising WEG: When did Attachment Parenting go mainstream and why was I not told?
From Forbes: University of Florida cuts computer science. Boosts athletics.
From Wisconson Voices: Teacher says kids aren’t getting fed due to budget cuts.

Media (and books, but only slightly):

From Mediaite: Rush Limbaugh on Hilary Clinton, “She has reached the pinnacle, and all she is is a secretary“.
From Babble: Forbes Asks, “Do Bloggers Really Make Money?” and Cecily responds.
From Little Green Footballs: Fox Nation Fabricates Story to Blame Green Activists.
From the Associate Press: Drug overdose antidote is put into addicts’ hans. This article caught my eye because the antidote is mentioned in Trial Run, a mystery by Dick Francis (from 1978!)
“Dear Dolby, before naming your new product you should GOOGLE DOCTOR WHO ” (via @owillis)
“I’m beginning to think Dick Morris is not what most people would call “ethical” (via @bendimiero)
I’m ashamed to admit I only missed two of these: Huffington Post’s Before They Were Stars Quiz: Guess The Style Icon

LGBT:

First up, from Equality Loudoun: Virginia has done something really right for once. WOW!
From Prop 8 Trial Tracker: Sponsor of NC’s Anti-Gay Amendment 1 will vote against it.

Disability:

From the Washington Post: Swiss scientists show partially paralyzed person can control robot using brain signals.
From CBS DC: Family Misses Flight After TSA Gives Pat-Down To Girl With Cerebral Palsy.
From Fair Lawn (New Jersey) Patch: Building Patient-Centered Medical Homes for the Developmentally Disabled.

Religion:

From Shakesville: “We have nothing to fear from Love“. Anglican Church is having internal disagreements over civil rights for LGBT people.
Lizz Winstead asks, “Remember that time the LA Archdiocese paid their sex abuse scandal settlements by selling the nun’s house?”
From Think Progress: Notre Dame Professors Call For Bishop To Apologize or Resign From Notre Dame Board For Comparing Obama To Hitler.
From The Daily Beast: “Newt gets to marry 3rd wife in church, but Vatican wants to prevent my having one civil marriage w/no church involved“
From Foreign Policy: Why Do They Hate Us?

Race:

From Ebony: Black Woman ‘Stood Her Ground’, Faces 20 Years in Prison.
From the Political Carnival: Couple held at gunpoint by neighbors, arrested. Nobody believed they were the new owners.
From Huffington Post: Waiter Racism Survey Shows 40 Percent Of Waiters Discriminate Against Black Customers.

Economy:

From American Progress: Very cool idea: retrofitting foreclosed homes for greater energy efficiency & higher resale value (via @DrGrist)
From Shakesville: The return of the Debtor’s Prison.
From Think Progress: Austerity Pushes The UK Back Into Recession — Will American Conservatives Learn The Lesson?

And Locally:

And now more locally, from Ashburn Patch: An article on Discovery and Enterprise by Stevens Miller with pictures by Deb Keirce.
From Leesburg Patch: Lots of people in Loudoun are going hungry. Won’t you help?
From me: My “reputation for conservative activism“
And ABOUT me! SQUEE! @CecilyK wrote an article for Babble about Women Blogging After Age 40, and I’m in it!

And last but not least, I’m going to give a reverse shout out to Loudoun.gov. Their new website is atrocious. One would think clicking on Community Services on the menu would take one to the Loudoun Community Services Board page, but it doesn’t. And there is no link that specifically says “Developmental Services”. The CSB page header says, “Mental Health, Substance Abuse & Dev. Services”. How is that helpful for people looking for services for their mentally challenged family members? Somebody in the Loudoun government, please fix that mess.

Virginia defies its reputation, embraces reality

Posted on April 30, 2012 at 11:41 am by Epluribusunum |

Crossposted at Equality Loudoun

This is nothing short of a stunning accomplishment. We owe our thanks to the community members who did the hard, unglamorous, patient work of education. They are heroes. Education is really the only thing that can bring about a significant change in policy like this.

Virginia has adopted a simple, straightforward mechanism for correcting one’s gender marker on a driver’s license, one that comports with the reality of legal gender transition:

As of April 25, 2012, the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) implemented a new, and much simpler, policy for changing one’s gender marker on a VA driver’s license. Individuals can now use the Gender Change Request form, known as DL-17, which requires only a signature from a licensed provider, including a doctor, psychiatrist, nurse practitioner, social worker, or counselor attesting to the fact that the applicant is a patient of the provider and that the applicant’s “gender identity” is either female or male and “can reasonably be expected to continue as such for the foreseeable future.”

Continue reading →

Links for Tuesday, April 24 (aka what I’ve read since the last links).

Posted on April 24, 2012 at 11:04 am by Liz Miller |

Links from Twitter, Facebook, and my blogroll.

Shakesville‘s “Primarily Endless” is HILARIOUS. I love this series of posts, I love the artwork Liss does.
Three from Think Progress: 1) Bradlee Dean, Rachel Maddow and Conservative Entitlement 2)Cantor ‘Puzzled’ That Obama Would Threaten To Veto The Latest GOP Tax Cut For Millionaires. 3) Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) advocates boycott of Coca-Cola to punish company for leaving ALEC
Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota tweets a graphic about VAWA: The Violence Against Women Act has had bipartisan support over the years. Let’s work together to reauthorize it
From HuffPo: Planned Parenthood Worried It’s The Target Of New Undercover Sting
Another from HuffPo: Facing the facts of high premarital sex and abortion rates, Evangelicals decide to really talk about sex
From AlterNet: How Darrell Issa and the Right Are Planning to Kill the U.S. Post Office
From Truth Wins Out: Pro-equality Catholics urged to stand with American nuns, oppose Vatican bullying

“The Vatican also reprimanded Network, a Catholic social justice lobbying group founded by sisters. Both Network and the LCWR were cited for spending too much time caring for the poor and fighting economic injustice (topics that Jesus had quite a lot to say about, if my memory serves me) and not nearly enough time opposing — in fact, being “silent” on — women’s reproductive rights and LGBT equality (which, to my knowledge, Jesus never discussed at all).”

Amen.
From Mother Jones (warning, link is ad-heavy): Loudoun’s own Dominionist anti-LGBT Prison Fellowship Ministries (bleah) in the news!
From the NY Times: Lawyers Find Obstacles to the Disabled, Then Find Plaintiffs – whether or not you agree with the tactics, the truth is that enforcing the ADA is making NY City more accessible. As the population ages, the importance of this will come home to a lot more people.
Why does this matter? Landlords in Sarasota County Discriminating Against Disabled and Minorities. It’s hard to live your life if you can’t find a place to live. Sarasota’s powers-that-be are very clear that they don’t have enough staff to enforce the fair housing laws.
It’s even harder to live your life if you can’t make a living: Rising Unemployment Rate for People With Disabilities.
Access, housing, jobs: it all comes down to perception. From This Ain’t Living: Making Lives Valueless: People With Disabilities and Popular Perceptions
While we’re talking about accessibility, this comes from the University of Buffalo: Could Universal Design Be the Next Mainstream Movement in Architecture, Planning?
From the Girl With the Cane: Attn: Editor of the New York Post, re: Americans with Disabilities Act editoral.
From the Seattle Times: Designers add more personality to cutting-edge prosthetic limbs. Making prosthetics something to envy rather than pity.
And from Dave Hingsburger: The Benefits of Inclusion #116 (discussing his attendance at a performance of a mixed-mobility dance troupe)
From the National Partnership for Women and Families: Latest state to require cruel & medically unnecessary measures before an abortion: Louisiana.
From Blue Virginia: Loudoun Republicans Revealed Themselves in the 2012 General Assembly Session. Despite all their big talk about how they were going to focus on jobs and traffic, the Loudoun Republican Caucus focused mainly on guns and limiting women’s rights, and failed to bring home the transportation bacon.
From Same Facts: The Romneys “struggled” in college, living off the sale of stock! (via @dailykos). Having a reliable source of funds is not struggling.
From the Washington Post: McDonnell tries to Etch-a-Sketch his stance on abortion.
Also from the Washington Post: Loudoun is on the fringe of making a historic error. Please, BOS, vote Yes on Metro. We need it.
The Principal at PS 321 in Park Slope, Brooklyn writes a letter to NY State Education Commissioner. (via @danielradosh)
From Dances With Fat: For Fat Patients and Their Doctors.
From Ms. Magazine: The UN has estimated that women do $11 trillion a year of unpaid work.
From Jezebel: For the Millionth Time: The Morning After Pill Is Not the Abortion Pill.
George Takei has a question for the Straight Folks.
And finally, a reminder to please just bookmark Jim Rigby’s blog.

What I’ve been reading since my last post about what I’ve been reading

Posted on April 20, 2012 at 10:00 am by Liz Miller |

These are from my Twitter and Facebook feeds and from folks on my blogroll at my blog.

Two more from Jim Rigby: Bible Bullies and “But What About Romans?” These are follow-ups to his post, What Part of “Thou Shall Not Judge” Do You Not Understand?
From Pandagon: Romney’s Going to Speak at Liberty University.
From The Infamous Brad: Sometimes, When “All the Facts are In,” It’s Worse: The UC-Davis Pepper-Spray Report. Can you count the number of errors the police made? The full text of the report can be found here. (via my friends Daniel Radosh and Kathy Withcats)
From USA Today: Vatican orders crackdown on American nuns (via Martha Plimpton).
Two from Think Progress: Undocumented Immigrants paid more in taxes in 2010 than General Electric and Cantor is actually suggesting raising taxes on the poor.
From Price of Oil: It’s Official: Fracking Causes Quakes according to a report commissioned by the British Government.
From Huffington Post: Jennifer Tyrrell, Boy Scout Den Mother, Forced To Resign Because She Is A Lesbian. Just a coincidence that,

“The revocation of my membership came shortly after I was elected treasurer of my pack and uncovered some inconsistencies in the pack’s finances.”

This comes less than a year since a similar incident here in Loudoun.
From The Girl With the Cane: Annie Clark Wins Penmanship Award by Writing with her Forearms. First she did better than anyone else in her school, all of whom have use of their hands.
From When the Flames Go Up: For This Divorced Mom, Traveling For Work Is No Big Thing.
From News of the Restless: Apparently, the Ukrainian abortion ban bill would also ban the missionary position and childlessness. (via @ClinicEscort)
From Talking Points Memo: Obama To GOP: Abide By Debt Limit Deal Or Else Face A Govt Shutdown Right Before The Election.
From CBS Baltimore: CPCs demand the right to mislead and manipulate women who want an abortion (via @NARALVirginia). Stevens tried to get a similar ordinance on the agenda here in Loudoun, but he couldn’t get any of the other Dems to second it. I don’t get why CPCs wouldn’t want to let people know up front that they don’t refer for abortions or birth control. Isn’t that something they’re proud of?
From Hoydens About Town: It’s about Health at Every Size!
From Mother Jones: 4 Things Grosser Than Pink Slime. Now I really really really want to raise my own chickens.
From Denver Biz Journal: Frontier Airlines fined over disabled-traveler incident (via Bill Shackleton)
From The New York Times: When Catholic hospitals merge w public ones, women’s health care takes a back seat to religion. (via @AisFor)
From The Guardian: Disability rights protesters bring Trafalgar Square traffic to a standstill.
From ABC News: The Romneys’ Dancing Horse Competes Without Them. Which leads Kos to ask, “Are the Romneys now ashamed of their horses?”.
From UpWorthy: 3 Reasons Why These Country-Lovin’ Pastors Are Pro-Gay Activists
From Jezebel: The Ten Scariest Places in America to Have Ladyparts
From Shakesville: Snapshots of a Week (or so) of Being a Woman Geek

Speaking of being a woman geek, I can’t get enough of OK Go. It helps that I think that one of the members of the band bears an uncanny resemblance to The World’s Best Campaign Manager, Bar None.

What I’ve been reading since yesterday’s post

Posted on April 18, 2012 at 12:10 pm by Liz Miller |

From my Twitter feed*:
First up, my very favorite link of the day. From Jim Rigby (who, I am assured by a friend who knows him, is the smartest person you will ever meet and who is a minister in Texas): Ten Things I wish the Church Knew About Homosexuality

And now, in no particular order:

From Shakesville: Headlines of the Day
From Slate: Why do you have to fill out all these complicated forms at all? ‘Cause that’s the way conservatives like it.
From RH Reality Check: Now It’s Clear: “Pro-Life” means “Pro-Imprisonment”. Did you notice in the article that the folks who are pushing imprisonment for pregnant women are “The Liberty Counsel”? Talk about cognitive dissonance.
A video from Funny or Die: If you’re not mature enough to continue a candidacy to term, you shouldn’t engage in the risky behavior that begins it.
From Mother Jones: Red states get 30 cents more federal spending per tax dollar than blue states .
Also from Mother Jones: Study: All-White Juries More Likely To Convict Black Defendants (via @scaTX)
From The New Civil Rights Movement: 14-Year Old Suicide Victim Was Receiving Death Threats For Being Gay
Also from TNCRM: ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill One Step Closer To Law In TennesseeWhich leads us to a brief public service announcement from George Takei:

And now back to our regularly-scheduled linkfest.

From The American Prospect: Stop Blaming Dysfunction on Both Sides (Liss has said this for years)
From HuffPo: WORK Act Would Give Low-Income Moms the Same Option as Ann Romney (for 3 years) – via @ThinkProgress
From The Guardian: [UK] Protesters prepare to fight disability living allowance cuts – video
From REV-elution: Amendment 1 is the litmus test to determine who gets my vote (via @PamSpaulding)
From Think Progress: You know where we can find awesome female action heroines? THE TORAH
From Grist: Charming video explains where traffic comes from and how to fix it (Spanish with English subtitles) The Loudoun Board of Supervisors should be required to watch it.
From Dogs Against Romney: Common sense: activist responds to desperate spin from Romney’s campaign (via @gn)
From The New York Times: NEWSFLASH: Drug testing welfare recipients doesn’t save money. Just harasses our fellow citizens for being poor. (via @SallyKohn)
From The Maddow Blog: Clever use of Virginia’s “Trust Women, Respect Choice” plates: “The VRGYNYA license plate” (via @NARALVA) I especially like the bumperstickers. Speaking of which, what does YOUR “Trust Women, Respect Choice” license plate say? Mine says “DORBLQN”.
From Dave Hingsburger: Urine Nation (Please Read). A must read for disabilities activists and for people who are caring for people with disabilities.
Here are two from Mrs. Q: Here’s why many families rely on school meals to bridge the gap… and Sixth graders: Give us time to eat at school
From Jezebel: Paperwork Keeps Chicago Mother from Obtaining U.S. Citizenship for her In-Vitro Twins

*I may spend too much time on Twitter.