Miscellaneous

Rightwing Roundup: Wiccans, Meanies, and Ex-Heteros

Posted on September 22, 2008
1. Another Reason to Love BuffyBecause the cult tv classic Buffy the Vampire Slayer holds a special place in my heart, the following news makes me so very happy. Apparently, Buffy, which included characters who were witches has caused thousands of women to leave "the church" to become "Wiccan"- at least, so says a headline from the UK's Daily Mail...

SuPeR CeLeBrItY NeWs!

Posted on September 19, 2008
Live from Alaska, it's Sarah Palin!"Palin, in her first major introduction to the American people, sent a bolt of energy through the crowd...""Mrs. Palin has become the 'rock star' of conservatism, drawing huge crowds and raising untold campaign cash...

Politicians and Privacy, Take Two

Posted on September 18, 2008
Previously, I criticized the excessive attention paid to the pregnancy of Sarah Palin's daughter. As with every blog I write, I reserve the right to change my mind in light of new evidence. I won't hold onto a belief, willingly blinding myself to other ideas, just for the sake of remaining "correct...

Not What Jesus Would Do

Posted on September 17, 2008
Remember David Benkof, the gay man opposed to same-sex marriage who marriage defenders lurved to reference before he unexpectedly called it quits? In his own words, Benkof claimed to have learned "quite a bit of disturbing information" about the Proposition 8 movement that led him to drop out of the movement...

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Proposition 8 Propaganda Watch

Posted on September 16, 2008
Proposition 8, if you remember, is the initiative in California to take away the right of same-sex couples to marry. I remain amazed that so many people still seem to genuinely believe that "defending" marriage from gay people is a valiant mission. Despite the failing economy, the mortgage crisis, the unaffordability of health care, the war in Iraq, the war in Afghanistan, and other major issues that actually matter to the world, they say "you know what, there is entirely too much love in the world that if we sanction any more of it our society will definitely collapse...

Rightwing Roundup: End of the World Edition

Posted on September 15, 2008
1. The Original Version is BetterRightwing churches across the nation are not happy that Katy Perry's catchy tune "I Kissed a Girl" has become such a hit. Previously, I highlighted one bright rightwinger who suggested that this song has lesbian "undertones...

Words and Phrases, Part II

Posted on September 12, 2008
Previously, I have written about words and phrases that inexplicably grate on my nerves. I've decided that so many words and phrases annoy me that this just might be a recurring feature in Fannie's Room. Feel free to make additions.1. "Lesbian Lover"First off, the phrase "lesbian lover" is so 1990's...

The Draft Doesn't Prove Feminism Wrong

Posted on September 11, 2008
For as much as "men's rights activists" (MRAS) like to say otherwise, the existence of a male-only draft/male-only combat positions do not "prove" anything about feminism. Some common arguments among MRAs include arguments of the following type: A) Male privilege is a "myth" because women have privileges too, like not having to register for the draft...

"Deep" Thought #22: Adulterers Needed to Help Defend Marriage!

Posted on September 10, 2008
Newt Gingrich has joined the misguided crusade to take away the right of same-sex couples to marry in California. This thrice-married and twice-divorced adulterer who is totally into the sanctity of marriage and all that it represents has urged Californians to support Proposition 8 in order to "defend and protect marriage...

Book Review: Original Intent and the Framer's Constitution, Part II

Posted on September 09, 2008
In Part I of my analysis of Leonard Levy's Original Intent and the Framer's Constitution, I ended by discussing how historical evidence demonstrates that judges of all political stripes engage in judicial "activism." What follows from that truth, is this question: What then, if judges engage in activism and decide cases according to their personal political preferences, legitimates judicial review?3...

Book Review: Original Intent and the Framer's Constitution, Part I

Posted on September 08, 2008
For those interested in American constitutional history, law, and original intent debates, I would recommend Leonard Levy's Original Intent and the Framer's Constitution. This 400-page history book is daunting, I'll admit. Yet, unless one has a particularly strong interest in the detailed history of our Bill of Rights, one could easily skim over some of the very detailed chapters on the history of specific constitutional amendments and still get a good overview of constitutional history...

Oh Yeah

Posted on September 05, 2008
This article, "McCain Accepts Nomination, Touts POW Experience," reminded me that John McCain gave a speech recently, too.Neat.Wait..... John McCain was a POW?;-)

Rightwing Roundup: "Mavericks," "Pride," and Female Political Bloggers

Posted on September 05, 2008
1. Raising the DiscourseYesterday, I gave liberal and Democrat writers a hard time for obsessing about Sarah Palin's daughter's pregnancy and urged them to, instead, focus on substantive issues. Yet, when Sarah Palin herself had the opportunity to raise the discourse she failed miserably...

Raising the Discourse

Posted on September 04, 2008
Does anyone else on the left not care about Sarah Palin's daughter's pregnancy? My hunch is that more than a few of us tend to agree with Historiann's sentiment that although we fundamentally disagree with most of Sarah Palin's policy positions:"...speculation about and scrutiny of her body, pregnancy, and sex life, or her daughter?s body, pregnancy, and sex life, and all discussions of leaking amniotic fluid, lactation practices, medical records, or anything at all relating to the sexuality and reproductive history of anyone in the Palin family are disgusting, beside the point, and moreover, a really dumb path for so-called 'liberals' and 'progressives' to go down...

Gays (and Lesbians?) In Iraq

Posted on September 03, 2008
I recently read a very disturbing article on CNN.com regarding the oppression of gays in Iraq. While the article regularly mentioned "gays and lesbians," the article only presents evidence that gay men are the ones targeted for this horrendous violence...

Rightweeeeeeng Roundup: Townhall Edition

Posted on September 02, 2008
For this week's edition, I ventured over to the rightwing hellmouth that is Townhall.com. It's always fun times over there, folks. 1. Minor DetailsPhyllis Schlafly, who I previously wrote about here, starts us off with an article called "Title IX Tied Our Hands At the Olympics" in which she blames our "lack" of competitiveness in China to, dun-dun-dun, Title IX and those trusty scapegoats teh feminists...

A Commenting Tutorial

Posted on September 01, 2008
I wasn't going to write anything on Labor Day today, but then I thought,"Hmmmm maybe I will. Dozen of people might want to read a blog here today."So today, I'm going to do a little housekeeping. See, the vast majority of people who read Fannie's Room never comment here...

Sarah Palin?

Posted on August 29, 2008
OMG, McCain picked a woman as his running mate, I am like so totally going to vote for him now!!Seriously, Republicans. Could you give women just a little more credit?And note to Obama supporters: Don't even think about making gendered attacks on this woman...

Happy Friday!

Posted on August 29, 2008
1. The juxtaposition of these two billboards will surely make you laugh.2. So will this.If you don't get it and/or you think the post is calling the kid ugly, the humor comes from the fact that, as one commenter says:"[T]he kid who said '...there's no way I came from an ape...

John McCain: Weapon of Mass Projection

Posted on August 28, 2008
John McCain's recent campaign strategy of painting Barack Obama as an elitist "celebrity" is an interesting campaign strategy. See, it's interesting because this undesirable trait McCain ascribes to Obama is something that so clearly applies to McCain himself...

Review: Federalist Society Online Debate About Marriage

Posted on August 27, 2008
The libertarian-leaning Federalist Society recently hosted an interesting debate on same-sex marriage as part of its Online Debate Series. Participants included law professors Dale Carpenter, Robert Nagel, Andy Koppelman, and Amy Wax. I encourage interested parties to read through the postings for themselves...

"Journalist" Ignorant of Standard Journalism Procedure?

Posted on August 26, 2008
When a "news source" includes an article entitled "Fat Lesbians on Crack," that's a pretty good initial clue that you probably aren't going to find accurate, legit, or honest information within the article. Thus, there are two, and only two things worth noting about an article with that very headline written by conservative commentator (and Professor at University of North Carolina-Wilmington) Mike S...

More Hollander Frivolity, An Addendum

Posted on August 25, 2008
My article about Roy Den Hollander's lawsuit deserves an addendum since I just took a look at his class action civil rights frivolous complaint against Columbia (and others) for gender discrimination. [PDF] (All quotes from complaint). Within this complaint you'll find a lot of old hat MRA-type of reasoning within it...

More Stuff Lesbians Like!

Posted on August 22, 2008
In other happy fun friday news, my latest Stuff Lesbians Like is up at the fabulous Grace the Spot.Have a good weekend, everyone.Yee-haw!

A Happy Friday

Posted on August 22, 2008
Hello readers, how about some good news for a friday?During the past week, news broke that Rachel Maddow is getting her own show in the male-dominated field of political punditry and Ellen has legally married her girlfriend. As fans of both of these women, this news makes me happy...

But, Isn't Every Other Course a Men's Studies Course?

Posted on August 21, 2008
Self-styled "anti-feminist" Roy Den Hollander is suing Columbia University for discriminating against men. (All quotes from the NY Times article). Is Columbia paying male employees less than female employees? No. Well, are male employees being harassed? Umm, no...

Evangelicals Are Not the Moderate Center

Posted on August 20, 2008
Did you catch the Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency this past weekend? According to the Saddleback Civil Forum's website, the "series was established to promote civil discourse and the common good of all." Rich Warren, best-selling author and pastor of the Saddleback evangelical mega-church in California, created the forum with three goals in mind: "helping people accept responsibility, helping the Church regain credibility, and encouraging our society to return to civility...

My Michfest Journal, Part II

Posted on August 19, 2008
In Part I of My Michfest Journal, I discussed the value of "womyn-only" space in relation to Michfest. Today, I have written about a related topic- how the exclusion of transwomen from Michfest relates to the value of "womyn-only" space.2. The Trans Exclusion PolicyMichfest is officially a space for "womyn-born-womyn" as opposed to "all women...

My Michfest Journal , Part I

Posted on August 18, 2008
1. Value of a Womyn-Only SpaceI attended Michfest for the first time this summer. For those who don't know what Michfest is, it's an "international feminist music festival" at which "womyn-born-womyn" camp out in the woods listening to music and attending workshops for 1 week in August...

Words and Phrases That Inexplicably Grate on My Nerves

Posted on August 15, 2008
I'm going to take a break from political writing today to talk about something way more important: words and phrases that I dislike. Sure, there are the common disliked words like "moist," "slacks," and "dowdy." I could go on and on with a list of those...

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