Monday Mission (And Weekend Reward to Look Forward To)
posted by bitchphd
As I begin writing this, I'm halfway through a "grande nonfat Dulce de Leche latte, no whip." And yes, I'm well aware that the savvy among you (by which I mean, "those of you who have already finished your morning coffee") will likely not be unamused by the irony of my posting, while drinking my $4 Starbucks monstrosity, about how This Country Is Going To Hell!!! Rilly it is!!
But. In all seriousness, self-deprecating acknowledgment that I, personally, am sitting at the top of the world economic heap aside. The executive branch of Our Government really truly is out of control, and it really truly is long, long past time that we (by which I mean "We the People," but also, perhaps especially, "those of us who drink ridiculous things from Starbucks and can therefore, for now, afford to feel Terribly Bothered by the Gubmint but not, in our day-to-day lives, personally terrified in the manner of, say, yer Iraqi mamas or your Afghani school girls or your increasingly nervous Iranian feminists who really have been more or less successfully pushing the stone of women's rights slowly up the hill of their theocratic government for some time now without the help of U.S. bombers, thankyouverymuch) devoted the waning days of this summer (July 4th isn't that distant a memory, folks) to pushing and shoving our own goddamn government into Doing Something About The Most Unpopular President in History and his Self-Appointed Evil Vice President/Puppet-Master.
The opposition party controls the House. It (We) control half the Senate. It (We) are in a pretty good position to get the goddamn executive office back in our hands next year and buckle down and start (re-)establishing some Goddamn Checks and Balances in our government, and while we're at it let's quit with the deeply fucked up wars of aggression and repair some of our international credibility and reaffirm that women's rights are human rights, you fuckers, and also get moving on establishing a Social Security-style Universal Health Care/Coverage package (which is going to be a tough fight, because the insurance company folks are going to do their damndest to convince us that This Would Be a Disaster and things will be Much Better if we instead pass insane laws "requiring" everyone to purchase health insurance privately unless they fail some means test in which case okay, we'll provide a batter of confusing bureaucratic publicly funded plans for them to choose from, plans which will be a pain in the ass to qualify for and will provide minimal coverage and will merely reinforce the sense of grievance that people who Pay for Their Own Health Insurance Through Their Own Hard Work have against those Lazy Poor People Who are Yet Again Taking Advantage of Our Tax Money etc. etc.).
So. Really, truly. Here is your Required Reading for today.
1. Eric Rauchway, 'The World Has Gone Mad Today', in which the very calm and mild-mannered professor of History at U.C. Davis asks "are we having a constitutional crisis yet?" I mention the man's bona fides because, well, he knows something about American politics and history
.
2. Tim Burke--another history professor, at Swarthmore (who is actually famous in a small, internetty way, for being moderate and balanced and let's-not-get-too-polemical-here and demonizing-the-political-opposition-only-creates-divisiveness), decides that really, we seem to have gotten to the point where it's completely undeniable that anyone still defending the current administration is clearly either (1) a moral monster or (2) a complete and utter liar. He says it all very nicely, because that's his style, but he says it.
3. In accordance with (and fwiw, out of nearly insensate--but justifiable--rage at) the slow awakening of the latte-swilling reasonable liberals, Adam Kotsko (who studies theology, of all things, a fact that--along with my having seen an SUV today with *both* one of those Calvin-kneeling-at-the-cross window decals *and* a "Give Peace a Chance" bumper sticker complete with 70s-era dove graphic--helps me keep in mind that a lot of those Christians(TM) are not just bigots in sheeps clothing, plus despite his reputation as a rabid revolutionary Marxist he is, in person, actually the most mild-mannered Midwestern boy you could ever hope to meet) rants about why he Hates Democrats. Spoiler: Because too many of us enjoy our lattes and our Moral Outrage but don't actually do a whole lot about it.
Well NO MORE, people. Get off your well-cushioned American asses; here is your homework for the week.
A. Click here, enter your zip code in the goddamn box, pick up the phone, and call your fucking Senators to tell them that you expect them to support Senate Amendment 2022, to restore habeas corpus to the defense spending bill. For extra credit, write a follow-up letter, which you can address to:
B. Hang onto that phone. Now dial up your Representatives and tell them you support House Resolution 333. If one of your representatives is Nancy Pelosi--who I, personally, am a huge fan of--remind her that she promised to clean up the motherfucking house, tell her you're ticked that she says impeachment is off the table, and let her know you want her to reconsider.
Extra credit background reading here and here. Extra credit action items at After Downing Street, which includes a list of upcoming events nationwide. For super extra bonus credit, organize a goddamn impeachment demonstration at one near you. Or try one of their other suggestions. If you're in Pelosi's district and you're considering supporting Cindy Sheehan's challenge to her, feel free--I, personally, am neutral on this one for now.
C. Write. A. Fucking. Check. If you're rich, write a check for $50 or $100. If you're poor as shit, try $10 or $5. Send it to Emily's List (you can dedicate it to a specific candidate--click on "Candidates" in the left-hand column, or to ImpeachPAC, or to Barbara Boxer's "PAC for a Change (these issues), or again, WUFPAC (which supports women candidates under 40) or NOWPAC or the Women's Campaign Fund or a local candidate you've got your eye on. Extra credit: google "your issue" and "PAC" and do your own research. Seriously consider privileging women candidates or explicitly feminist organizations in your targeted spending.
This check-writing thing really does matter. The ability of teh internets to get normal little people like you and me to haul out our damn checkbooks is really one of the biggest tools we, collectively, have--especially considering the appalling state of affairs in the mainstream media (those are all Salon links, and yeah, you'll have to watch an ad. Do it, if you're at all interested in the current state of American reporting). Money talks. If you want to make sure that whoever you're writing your check to understands your money loud and clear, write a quick note that says "I'm sending you this check because I support X issue" or (to a candidate), "I'm sending you this check in the hopes that you support/will continue to support X issue."
If you do all these things this week, then for fuck's sake treat yourself to a nice brunch on the weekend. I recommend this quiche recipe (the quiche pictured has ham, but the recipe's veggie--you can add ham if you must, but I recommend not bothering. Oh, and you'll have to make or buy your own crust, but believe me, it'll be well worth it) or, if you've done your extra credit, these brownies. If you're in Pelosi's district and have done Pelosi-themed extra credit, you can just go to Tartine and buy yourself some quiche and a morning bun.
If you've written a check, then by all means splurge on this cookbook, print out this article, and stick it in the back of the book so you can bake their absolutely heavenly morning buns for yourself--the recipe was sadly left out of this otherwise excellent book.
If writing a check means you can't afford the book, then leave a coment (be sure and include an email) and I will personally scan a recipe of your choice and email it to you. The index to the cookbook is available on the Amazon link above.
P.S. The "Search Inside" content at Amazon includes the croissant recipe you'll need to go with the linked morning bun recipe.
But. In all seriousness, self-deprecating acknowledgment that I, personally, am sitting at the top of the world economic heap aside. The executive branch of Our Government really truly is out of control, and it really truly is long, long past time that we (by which I mean "We the People," but also, perhaps especially, "those of us who drink ridiculous things from Starbucks and can therefore, for now, afford to feel Terribly Bothered by the Gubmint but not, in our day-to-day lives, personally terrified in the manner of, say, yer Iraqi mamas or your Afghani school girls or your increasingly nervous Iranian feminists who really have been more or less successfully pushing the stone of women's rights slowly up the hill of their theocratic government for some time now without the help of U.S. bombers, thankyouverymuch) devoted the waning days of this summer (July 4th isn't that distant a memory, folks) to pushing and shoving our own goddamn government into Doing Something About The Most Unpopular President in History and his Self-Appointed Evil Vice President/Puppet-Master.
The opposition party controls the House. It (We) control half the Senate. It (We) are in a pretty good position to get the goddamn executive office back in our hands next year and buckle down and start (re-)establishing some Goddamn Checks and Balances in our government, and while we're at it let's quit with the deeply fucked up wars of aggression and repair some of our international credibility and reaffirm that women's rights are human rights, you fuckers, and also get moving on establishing a Social Security-style Universal Health Care/Coverage package (which is going to be a tough fight, because the insurance company folks are going to do their damndest to convince us that This Would Be a Disaster and things will be Much Better if we instead pass insane laws "requiring" everyone to purchase health insurance privately unless they fail some means test in which case okay, we'll provide a batter of confusing bureaucratic publicly funded plans for them to choose from, plans which will be a pain in the ass to qualify for and will provide minimal coverage and will merely reinforce the sense of grievance that people who Pay for Their Own Health Insurance Through Their Own Hard Work have against those Lazy Poor People Who are Yet Again Taking Advantage of Our Tax Money etc. etc.).
So. Really, truly. Here is your Required Reading for today.
1. Eric Rauchway, 'The World Has Gone Mad Today', in which the very calm and mild-mannered professor of History at U.C. Davis asks "are we having a constitutional crisis yet?" I mention the man's bona fides because, well, he knows something about American politics and history
.2. Tim Burke--another history professor, at Swarthmore (who is actually famous in a small, internetty way, for being moderate and balanced and let's-not-get-too-polemical-here and demonizing-the-political-opposition-only-creates-divisiveness), decides that really, we seem to have gotten to the point where it's completely undeniable that anyone still defending the current administration is clearly either (1) a moral monster or (2) a complete and utter liar. He says it all very nicely, because that's his style, but he says it.
3. In accordance with (and fwiw, out of nearly insensate--but justifiable--rage at) the slow awakening of the latte-swilling reasonable liberals, Adam Kotsko (who studies theology, of all things, a fact that--along with my having seen an SUV today with *both* one of those Calvin-kneeling-at-the-cross window decals *and* a "Give Peace a Chance" bumper sticker complete with 70s-era dove graphic--helps me keep in mind that a lot of those Christians(TM) are not just bigots in sheeps clothing, plus despite his reputation as a rabid revolutionary Marxist he is, in person, actually the most mild-mannered Midwestern boy you could ever hope to meet) rants about why he Hates Democrats. Spoiler: Because too many of us enjoy our lattes and our Moral Outrage but don't actually do a whole lot about it.
Well NO MORE, people. Get off your well-cushioned American asses; here is your homework for the week.
A. Click here, enter your zip code in the goddamn box, pick up the phone, and call your fucking Senators to tell them that you expect them to support Senate Amendment 2022, to restore habeas corpus to the defense spending bill. For extra credit, write a follow-up letter, which you can address to:
Office of Senator (Name)Extra background reading on just the latest case I, personally, know about is here. And of course the women of Obsidian Wings are your go-to girls on this issue.
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
B. Hang onto that phone. Now dial up your Representatives and tell them you support House Resolution 333. If one of your representatives is Nancy Pelosi--who I, personally, am a huge fan of--remind her that she promised to clean up the motherfucking house, tell her you're ticked that she says impeachment is off the table, and let her know you want her to reconsider.
Extra credit background reading here and here. Extra credit action items at After Downing Street, which includes a list of upcoming events nationwide. For super extra bonus credit, organize a goddamn impeachment demonstration at one near you. Or try one of their other suggestions. If you're in Pelosi's district and you're considering supporting Cindy Sheehan's challenge to her, feel free--I, personally, am neutral on this one for now.
C. Write. A. Fucking. Check. If you're rich, write a check for $50 or $100. If you're poor as shit, try $10 or $5. Send it to Emily's List (you can dedicate it to a specific candidate--click on "Candidates" in the left-hand column, or to ImpeachPAC, or to Barbara Boxer's "PAC for a Change (these issues), or again, WUFPAC (which supports women candidates under 40) or NOWPAC or the Women's Campaign Fund or a local candidate you've got your eye on. Extra credit: google "your issue" and "PAC" and do your own research. Seriously consider privileging women candidates or explicitly feminist organizations in your targeted spending.
This check-writing thing really does matter. The ability of teh internets to get normal little people like you and me to haul out our damn checkbooks is really one of the biggest tools we, collectively, have--especially considering the appalling state of affairs in the mainstream media (those are all Salon links, and yeah, you'll have to watch an ad. Do it, if you're at all interested in the current state of American reporting). Money talks. If you want to make sure that whoever you're writing your check to understands your money loud and clear, write a quick note that says "I'm sending you this check because I support X issue" or (to a candidate), "I'm sending you this check in the hopes that you support/will continue to support X issue."
If you do all these things this week, then for fuck's sake treat yourself to a nice brunch on the weekend. I recommend this quiche recipe (the quiche pictured has ham, but the recipe's veggie--you can add ham if you must, but I recommend not bothering. Oh, and you'll have to make or buy your own crust, but believe me, it'll be well worth it) or, if you've done your extra credit, these brownies. If you're in Pelosi's district and have done Pelosi-themed extra credit, you can just go to Tartine and buy yourself some quiche and a morning bun. If you've written a check, then by all means splurge on this cookbook, print out this article, and stick it in the back of the book so you can bake their absolutely heavenly morning buns for yourself--the recipe was sadly left out of this otherwise excellent book. If writing a check means you can't afford the book, then leave a coment (be sure and include an email) and I will personally scan a recipe of your choice and email it to you. The index to the cookbook is available on the Amazon link above.
P.S. The "Search Inside" content at Amazon includes the croissant recipe you'll need to go with the linked morning bun recipe.
Labels: Bush, civics 101, good cause, politics, the media
Posted at 10:34 AM
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