Wednesday Morning Reads: It’s a man’s world, still.
Posted: November 28, 2012 Filed under: Congress, Crime, Discrimination against women, Elections, House of Representatives, misogyny, Political and Editorial Cartoons, Politics as Usual, Republican politics, Republican Tax Fetishists | Tags: Erick Erickson, Florida, Grover Norquist, Jacob Lew, Jordan Davis, Saxby Chambliss, Secretary of the Treasury, The Rolling Stones 40 Comments
Ah, Good Morning!
I am sitting here on my bed, with my legs crossed, and my laptop propped up on top of them…it’s cold in here, so my blankets are up over my head. Funny. Just like a child who stays up late at night, reading under their covers with a flashlight. (Damn, do kids even do that these days?) I feel quite insignificant under these cozy blankets, and that was before I read this article on Congress. Now I can add that I am feeling mad and insignificant. Congress and its men. Specifically, the House of Representatives. House committee chairs all men
At the top of House committees, it’s a man’s world.
Not a single woman will lead any of the major House committees in the 113th Congress.
After a day of meetings closed to the public, the House Republican Steering Committee announced an all-male slate of committee chairs, including 12 returning lawmakers who will head up some of the most important panels in Washington.
The top female contender to lead a major committee was Michigan Rep. Candice Miller, who lost a battle for the chairmanship of the Homeland Security Committee to Texas Rep. Mike McCaul.
Women did make big gains in Republican leadership. Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers will be House Republican Conference chairwoman, Kansas Rep. Lynn Jenkins will be her vice chairwoman and North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx will be conference secretary.
New chairmen include Reps. Jeb Hensarling of Texas atop Financial Services, Ed Royce of California on Foreign Affairs, Bob Goodlatte of Virginia on Judiciary, Lamar Smith of Texas on the Science, Space and Technology Committee and Bill Shuster of Pennsylvania atop Transportation and Infrastructure.
Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan was the only lawmaker to obtain a waiver to bypass House GOP rules to remain as a chairman for a fourth term. He will lead the Budget Committee again.
House Democrats are likely to have five women as ranking members committees: Rep. Nita Lowey (N.Y.) or Rep. Marcy Kaptur (Ohio) on Appropriations, Rep. Maxine Waters (Calif.) on Financial Services, Rep. Louise Slaughter (N.Y.) on Rules, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (Texas) on Science and Rep. Nydia Velazquez (N.Y.) on Small Business.
…the Voice of the GOP Gated Community is very disappointed by his so-called ‘elected representative’ for talking about going off Grover Norquist’s reservation:In a 900-word indictment of Sen. Saxby Chambliss, RedState editor and CNN contributor Erick Erickson described the Georgia Republican Tuesday as “waffling around like a dog off its leash for the first time.”…The RedState post, which laid out the conservative case in full against Chambliss, read a lot like a campaign manifesto, which maybe it was: Erickson said Tuesday evening on his radio show he’d been approached “by serious people” to consider a primary challenge and is giving it “prayerful consideration.”
An Erickson primary challenge would certainly make for great political theater. He’s won elected office before—he served one term on the Macon City Council—and could complicate Chambliss’s re-election bid. But as a leading conservative blogger, radio talk show host and frequent cable television presence, Erickson’s also got a long trail of writing and video that might not be so helpful in a statewide campaign…
Murphy the Trickster God does not love me enough to make this travesty happen. Almost certainly, Erickson is just scrambling to re-establish his Master-of-the-Universe status with the RedState tribalists while not losing his ‘sane moderate’ credentials at CNN, because C.R.E.A.M. But every
bloviatorpolitical blogger looks in the mirror and sees a solon, and a ‘true conservative’ challenge to that dishonorable pus-sack Chambliss (the chickenhawk who got his seat by attacking actual veteran Max Cleland) might cause me to break my lifelong commitment to never donating to a Republican primary contender.
Please, someone get me a bucket…and a cleaning lady. Maybe speculating on a Erickson ticket is yet another sign that the Mayans were right about that end of the world thing. If asshole aka son of Erick is seriously considering running, my little part of Georgia will surely love to have the head of Red State as their representative. I am so sick of all of this.
Moving on.
Dakinikat called this weeks ago, New Treasury Secretary Jack Lew: Chief of Staff will get the job.
I was considering doing a post with chin-stroking speculation about who the next Treasury secretary will be, but instead let me just tell you. It’s going to be Jacob Lew, the current White House chief of staff.
Why? Well, because the White House has decided that it wants the Treasury secretary to be deeply involved with budget issues, and who better than a former Office of Management and Budget director? What’s more, Obama has been working with Lew for a while now and likes him, and they’ve been working well together. All the other ideas kicking around involve bringing someone in from the outside who’d be taking over midstream and trying to establish a working relationship with the president and the Treasury team while simultaneously hammering out thorny bargains with House Republicans. It doesn’t really work.
See the link if you want to read the rest. Personally it is old news to us, because Dak brought up these points before…
There has been another killing of an unarmed young black man in Florida. Jordan Davis: Another Unarmed Young Black Male Gunned Down | Angry Black Lady Chronicles
Another senseless shooting death of a young unarmed black man in Florida:
Jordan Davis, 17, and some other teens were sitting in a SUV in a parking lot when Dunn parked next to them and asked the youths to turn down their music.
Jordan Davis and Dunn argued over the music, then Dunn, who is a gun collector, pulled a gun and shot eight or nine times, hitting Jordan twice, reports the Orlando Sentinel.
Jordan Davis’ father Ron Davis said his unarmed son died in the arms of a friend in the SUV.
Dunn and his girlfriend took off, but witnesses wrote down their license plate number, according to the police.
The couple was staying in a Jacksonville hotel when they heard a news report Saturday morning about the shooting, so they drove home to Satellite Beach, Florida.
Dunn was arrested at his home on Saturday and charged with murder and attempted murder. He is being held without bail.
Because this occurred in Florida, we can expect another round of likely unfruitful discussions about the “stand your ground” laws that were at issue in the Trayvon Martin case. There will be handwringing and a public outcry, but nothing will be done, ultimately, because the ALEC-sponsored gun laws in this country are just fine, and if black kids don’t want to get shot for wearing a hoodie, or playing loud music, then that’s just too damn bad. They should stay home.
It is such a sad thing to read about…think about it for a moment. Makes you mad too?
I don’t want to finish on a down note.
Check out this feature from Vanity Fair, Photos: Iconic Film Stills Photographed in Their Real-Life Locations
Journalist Christopher Maloney walks to work through Central Park on most days, and last summer he made an observation. “Every day I walked past tons of locations from popular—and not-so-popular—movies,” he explains. He decided to start printing out stills from the films and comparing them to their real-life counterparts. “Since then, I’ve re-created more than 250 scenes around the city.” His work—which includes movies as varied as Midnight Run, The French Connection, and Shaft—can be found at his Web site, FILMography. “I’m actually surprised that locations used in the 1940s and 1950s haven’t changed that much,” he says. “But places used in movies last year are virtually unrecognizable.” New York also changes depending on the director, Maloney adds. “You can tell just how much filmmakers like Woody Allen and Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee love the city. It’s sometimes hard to believe that those three very different places are all the same city.”
Look at this:
Can you guess what film that is from? Yes, it is Cary Grant…in?
There is also this interesting read from Gin and Tacos: THE CONTEST EVERYBODY LOSES It is a post about writing…crowdsourcing and giving the “middle finger.” Enjoy it…I did.
And I have to end this post with this funny cartoon. (Although I think it is missing something.) 11/28 Mike Luckovich cartoon: Stones | Mike Luckovich
There should be a big set of lips on at least one of those stick figures!
Have a great day and let us know what is on your mind!
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Okay, I’m guessing it’s North by Northwest (the Cary Grant photo). 2nd guess is the one with Deborah Kerr – it’s too early in the AM & I’m old, so I can’t think of the name of the film. Anything with Cary Grant was always wonderful. One of a kind.
The treatment of women & African Americans – some things never change.
Just heard Chambliss on NPR. He’s not in favor of raising taxes. Another “close the loopholes” guy. However, if loopholes are closed, the wealthy will just move more money offshore. It’s their money & they’re going to keep it. There ain’t nothin’ we can do about it. Now Steve is interviewing Ted Yoho, from Florida, he doesn’t think the US has a tax revenue problem. Eliminate fraud & waste, even though he didn’t sign Grover’s pledge, that’s his solution.
Chambliss is an asshole, and nothing can make me give him a pass on his stance on any issue.
And, you are right, it is North by Northwest! 😉
I so love that film. My cousin actually dated Eva Marie Saint. He was a bit older than me & one of those pilots that lands on aircraft carriers. You know, “Top Gun” type.
Morning, I wanted to put up a couple of links: Man Says Prayer Group Leader Told Him to Kill Wife – ABC News
Read it, it gave me chills….
And there was a recent report ranking states according to their HS graduation rate. It is Ga. high school graduation rate is 67 percent | AccessNorthGa
I will see if I can find the actual report findings for you.
Here it is: States Report New High School Graduation Rates Using More Accurate, Common Measure | U.S. Department of Education
That goes to the DoE press release, and here is the pdf doc: http://www2.ed.gov/documents/press-releases/state-2010-11-graduation-rate-data.pdf
Iowa is tops with 88% rate of Graduation.
I know that the article I linked to is about my own state of Georgia, but I thought this part was interesting:
No shit…I am glad that someone said it though.
No truer words. Of course, if parents can’t read, how can they read to their children? I volunteered, many years ago, for an adult literacy program. One student was a recent HS graduate. She behaved in school, so teachers passed her even though they knew she couldn’t read. My student was an older AA man. He needed to learn to read because his wife was blind due to diabetes & could no longer do his reading for him. He had left school at a very early age when his father died & he was the eldest at home & needed to work the family farm. He didn’t even know the alphabet. However, he’d worked his entire life & was a construction crew supervisor.
Well, duh! OTOH we do need the studies too. How can kids learn when they’re hungry, cold, sick, or worried about home life since Mom lost her job and Dad got laid off 2 yrs ago?
Luna, no truer words have ever been spoken and the sad thing, truth seems to be eluding about 48% of the electorate and by that I mean those who choose to vote, not the eligible voting population.
Hmmm, have you seen this: A Meltdown In The Progressive Twittersphere
Definitely weird. People got their panties in an intertubz twist.
Once a ‘bot, always a ‘bot’s brains.
Wonderful roundup, JJ.
I tried to find Christopher Maloney’s website, but Google keeps sending me to Christopher Meloni of Law and Order. I didn’t see the Cary Grant photo at Vanity Fair. Where did you get it?
I liked the one of Cary Grant in That Touch of Mink. I love the old Doris Day movies.
I almost put that one up, but with all the Hitchcock talk yesterday, the North by Northwest seemed to have more…oomph.
Does Maloney have a website?
Yes, http://philmfotos.tumblr.com/ but it is taking forever to load…
Try this link – it only shows some of his pictures on the main page but click on the Archives tab.
Thanks Minx for this, it was wonderful scrolling through the pictures of then and now.
http://philmfotos.tumblr.com/
I thought the ones from “The Quiet American” were neat to see. I had no idea that was filmed in NYC.
And here it is…as predicted: Florida man cites ‘stand your ground’ after killing of black teen amid loud music dispute | The Raw Story
It can’t be stand your ground. The kid was unarmed. That’s ridiculous!
Trayvon was also unarmed. Well, there was skittles but they only cause long term harm to teeth.
So hard to keep in mind that logic does not exist in the middles of these idjits.
Massachusetts dog wins domestic violence protection order
Oh, that is so wonderful! Hurting an animal is often what abusers do to also hurt the girlfriend/wife they’ve been abusing. So cruel and senseless. Hope this helps stem the violence.
That is such good news and I give Deval Patrick multiple points for recognizing that children and animal companions (I will not call them pets, it’s demeaning) deserve protection from power hungry depraved individuals of both sexes, although it seems that one sex is the most prevalent in statistics. Have I been PC enough? Don’t want to be accused of being a Feminazi by the MRA crowd of malcontents. Oh heck, I guess I am a Feminazi – any person who would harm a partner by direct violence or violence against the extended family, children and animal companions needs to be convicted and incarcerated for the rest of their lives because they will do it again if they get out. Wish I had a light sabre.
This is fantastic. I could list several cases of where the abuser killed the animal in front of the woman, one where the abuser used her puppy to beat her, killing the puppy. So glad someone like Patrick values the lives of animals so much. He stood up, over a year ago, for the horribly emaciated pit bull Patrick who was thrown down a garbage chute in a multi-storied apartment building. He helped make sure the woman who “threw him in the trash” was prosecuted.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/18/patrick-the-miracle-dog-_n_1894325.html#slide=1538235
Nice to read some good news about animals. My heart cries when I read about the horrors done to animals by cruel humans. Those kind of people usually treat humans the same way.
Oops, a Huckleberry CLosetcase joke 🙂
John Heilemann Makes Lindsey Graham Joke on ‘Morning Joe;’ Edited Out of 8am Reair
This is a big one.
Most Massive Black Hole Found By Texas Telescope
Wow, that is amazing. And it’s more amazing that the fundies and the republican party doesn’t have the ability to appreciate the wonderful revelations that SCIENCE has provided. I laugh about dinosaurs saddled for human usage, yet when I see what science has provided I’m awe struck. I’m struck by the fact that the scientists identifying this are in Texas – and yes I am aware that NASA had a major installation in Texas, but with all that is continuing to remove the validity of science and replacing it with creationist in Texas, I’m surprised that the scientific effort survived.
As much as some would like it, creationism isn’t taught in Texas schools by state standards. In fact if you check the results of the Iowa assessment of skills, Texas elementary and secondary schools consistently score very high especially for minority kids. It’s a counter-intuitive miracle, but true.
I hope that continues Ralph, despite your governor and the legislature. I hope sane people fight for their children’s future (and their own).
Bob Somerby, who knows education, on quality and measures in Texas,
http://dailyhowler.blogspot.com/2012/11/skool-daze-perpetually-stunningly.html
From the Filmography site:
The Out of Towners. Haven’t seen that since I saw it in a theater.
Jack Lemmon, Sandy Duncan – what a farce. I remember it, but not well (it was a long time ago and the file cabinet that comprises my brain is overstuffed so things get lost or arbitrarily shredded) however I did recognize the picture.
darn, I knew her name began with a D but with the file cabinet not being accessible, I gave the name of the peter pan actress. It was Sandy Dennis, not Duncan. forgive my lapse. Here’s where I emply my elderly aunt’s excuse – I’m just an old widder woman with nobody to help me. Does that sound like a good excuse? Cause if it does, I just might start using it. (not really but it’s fun to think about itK)
Characters Escape From Carl Hiaasen Novel, Get Arrested With Pot Guarded By Alligators
Seattle Times: Two alligators, a pole dancer and pot at Olympia area shooting scene
This story may win the internet for the day!