I also run: trouble minx, a tumblr about Spoon Avedon & Erté, which posts one classic Richard Avedon photo and one Erté art deco masterpiece a day, or at least it does when I get around to filling the queue.
"For the first eight years of our marriage, [Michelle and I] were paying more in student loans than what we were paying for our mortgage. So we know what this is about.
And we were lucky to land good jobs with a steady income. But we only finished paying off our student loans—check this out, all right, I’m the President of the United States—we only finished paying off our student loans about eight years ago."
When Obama was nominated, he got a lot of criticism for not having military experience. I think it’s more pertinent that he had the experience of not growing up wealthy and privileged in America. How can someone who’s never had to worry about money or loans create a fair policy about them? -Jess
"No one could blame American women here if they all suddenly decided to leave the country saying, ‘That’s it, we’re fucking out of here, this is complete bullshit.’ There has been a debate on contraception in the last week so ludicrous that part of me was wondering if it was in fact a performance art piece, to make us all question how terrible it would be to live in a country where something like this could actually happen."
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John Oliver on American contraception debates, The Bugle 183
I keep thinking about this. Men dramatically outweigh women in politics and in media — arenas where an imbalance is dangerous. And then there’s this whole thing of Rick Santorum even being a contender for President. What is going on? I really might flee if things get out of hand.
“Williamson County GOP chief blasts school lunches”
As more Williamson County schools begin to serve breakfast to students, the county’s Republican Party chairman, Kevin Kookogey, says it is not the role of the government to feed people….
“I am sure you have heard about this happening in other areas, but ladies and gentlemen, Williamson County, one of the wealthiest counties in the nation by any measure, is now operating under a perverse incentive to increase the number of students taking government hand-outs,” Kookogey wrote. “Of course, those handouts are courtesy of you and me, the federal taxpayers.”
Kookogey did not answer a reporter’s phone calls, but he did respond via email to questions about his comments on the breakfast program.
“This is not a complicated issue,” he said. “It is not the role of government to feed people. Government exists to protect and defend our God-given rights.”
About 12 percent of the county district’s 32,000 students qualify for free and reduced-price meals. In the 2005-06 school year, that number was 7.6 percent. In the Franklin Special School District, about 41 percent of the 3,800 students participate in free and reduced-price lunches.
Floyd strongly believes a man does not belong inside a women’s restroom or dressing room, not matter the circumstances.
“I don’t care for what reason, how depraved their mind is, how perverted their mind is, or for what reason they think a man has a right to go into a women’s bathroom, or dressing room to try on clothes,” Floyd said.
His proposed bill would require a birth certificate to prove which restroom a person would be required to use….
“I’m just sick and tired of society having to adjust to every little alternate life style, or little whim or someone who thinks they’re different,” said Floyd.
Sometimes I feel like I live in the absolute worst state.
Opponents of contraception had lobbied hard for a broad exemption that would have allowed any religiously-affiliated employer to opt out of providing such coverage. Fortunately, the Obama administration rejected that push and decided to maintain the narrow religious exemption that it initially proposed. Only houses of worship and other religious nonprofits that primarily employ and serve people of the same faith will be exempt.
The kind of thing I voted for when I voted for Obama.
“I want to apologize to Senator Scott Brown and I promise to replace the pair of pants he shit when he found out he might have to run against me. Seriously, I do want to congratulate Senator Scott Brown for starting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — oh, wait, that was me.”
“I’m Elizabeth Warren, and I will fix this shit myself if I have to.”
I would move to Massachusetts to vote for her if I could.
Remember when John McCain wasn’t horrible? But seriously, the knowledge that an 8-or-above magnitude earthquake with an epicenter less than 100 miles from my house could happen at any time used to literally keep me awake at night. The New Madrid fault zone is one of the worst in the country (that whole thing about the Mississippi briefly flowing backward in 1811 is actually true, for starters).
"People don’t seem to make the connection between their tax money and the benefits that they get from their tax money, like free education, and the fire department, and police protection, and everything else. It drives me bonkers, because it’s pretty straightforward to me. People think of taxes as money just being robbed from you. They don’t consider the benefits of paying taxes. The benefits that they get and also the benefit of just being a part of a large group of people: a town, or a city, or a country, or a society that allegedly should stand together and all try to help each other."
"The US budget is like a 1st grader playing Oregon Trail. Spend all the money on ammunition so you can shoot at stuff, then wonder why your wagon is falling apart and everyone is dying of dysentery."
