Yesterday, Sen. Vitter of Louisiana offered up an amendment to permanently drop anyone ever convicted of a violent crime from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). According to Robert Greenstein, president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Democrats in the Senate obliged him. The amendment is for a farm bill, which is currently being debated in the Senate.
The amendment would bar from SNAP (food stamps), for life, anyone who was ever convicted of one of a specified list of violent crimes at any time — even if they committed the crime decades ago in their youth and have served their sentence, paid their debt to society, and been a good citizen ever since. In addition, the amendment would mean lower SNAP benefits for their children and other family members.
So, a young man who was convicted of a single crime at age 19 who then reforms and is now elderly, poor, and raising grandchildren would be thrown off SNAP, and his grandchildren’s benefits would be cut. … Democrats accepted it without trying to modify it to address its most ill-considered aspects.
Two-thirds of SNAP recipients are children, elderly or the disabled, and two-fifths of SNAP households live below half the poverty line.
I can’t think of anything constructive to say. Other than, yeah, naturally, great, awesome, murrika.
I kinda get the thrust of it—you violate society’s rules, society doesn’t have an obligation to you—but Jesus FUCK this is bullshit. Not thought-out, discriminatory (think of who gets convicted of violent crimes; now think of who has the lawyer to fight off the charges even if they committed the crime), utter crap.
But there is one big problem that I haven’t seen anyone touch on. One major change from the canon that leads to all of the smaller problems with Irene. One major change that is at the core of what pulls the rug out from under those of us who loved the original Scandal in Bohemia story. One major change that betrays a complete misunderstanding of the point of A Scandal in Bohemia and the real reason Irene Adler could win against Sherlock Holmes and walk away from him scott free holding everything she ever wanted.
Stephen Moffat and Guy Ritchie made the exact same mistake that a million fanfic and pastiche writers have before them. They looked at the Rogues Gallery of Sherlock Holmes for a formidable female villain, someone with potential for romance and intrigue, and picked out the perfect-seeming Irene Adler. This is understandable. She’s popular among fans, particularly female ones. She’s one of his best known opponents, possibly the best known after Moriarty. She looks good in a suit. Her story involves political and sexual intrigue. She’s cunning and resourceful. She won.
There’s just one small problem.
Irene Adler isn’t actually in the Rogues Gallery of Sherlock Holmes.
Look back at A Scandal in Bohemia. She’s not the bad guy. She’s the good guy. Sherlock’s client is the bad guy, wrongly pestering his ex-girlfriend and painting her as a extortionist when all she wants to do is live her life. He lied to Sherlock Holmes. Her explanation for trying to keep a little insurance against future bad behavior from this man is perfectly understandable. The entire story is a misunderstanding.
And that, more than anything else, is why she got to win. Because in addition to being his equal, beating him fair and square, she was also on the side of right and he was the manipulated one.
Listing her among his “villains” is like listing Spider-man as a Daredevil villain.
Ragnell, “How do you solve a problem like Irene?”
This was originally written in response to A Scandal in Belgravia and A Game of Shadows, but I think it applies equally to Elementary’s interpretation of the character.
One other thing not touched on in this section but also pointed out in the article is particularly germain to Elementary’s choices: Irene is memorable because she beats Sherlock. Elementary did a good job of trying to preserve that, but when they turned her into Moriarty, they guaranteed she wouldn’t win, not in the end, not really. She would never be allowed to waltz off into the sunset and live happily ever after, which is her great victory in Scandal. Irene Adler, average citizen, is allowed to show up the great detective. Irene Adler, average citizen, is the person we should feel good rooting for, and the person who deserves to come out on top. But Moriarty?
Moriarty is a villain, and villains have to lose.
(via maegoesfullfandom)
#oh this is really really interesting and important #obviously i loved what elementary did; because my sympathies and fascination have always been with moriarty; with the trickster villains of #any piece or text #but the tendency towards making a true antagonist out of irene adler really does rob her of what truly made her powerful#that she wasn’t obsessed with sherlock; had no ties; was not villainous; was in fact just off living her merry life #using her wonderful intellect and wit to live as she pleased in a world dominated by men #her life and her agency and her strength and her character were entirely unreliant on sherlock or sherlock’s interest in her #that was a bonus for us reader’s; was her in to the story #but never once detracted from the fact that she was off living her own adventurous life with nary a care for sherlock’s narrative #and that’s important; that irene has to be tied to sherlock; villainized; can’t be allowed to exist #as a wonderful complex woman who is the lead of her own story that just happens to intersect with sherlock’s briefly #elementary did a wonderful brilliant thing making moriarty irene; subverted and made brilliant the tendency to villainize irene #but it doesn’t change the underlying pathology of modern texts that need to make sherlock more crucial to her existence + emotional state
(via boredwithinsanity)
People being angry about ~dem gays~ on Target’s Facebook.
I just want to give my two cents on this and tell you a story.
A couple weeks ago, I was hired at Target. I have a job at Target. Not a big deal right?
It is a big deal because i’m a transman.
It doesn’t take a genius to conclude that it’s hard for me, my brothers, and sisters to get a job. There are legal restraints regarding the job and if you don’t pass, it’s hard to be taken seriously at a job interview.
Right on the application, it asks what your preferred name is. It also asks if there is anything that target should know. I put the fact that I am a transman, expecting not to get a call because usually when you put that down, people will throw out the application. I got TWO interviews.
At the interview, they asked me about it. I told them I am on hormones and they told me that they didn’t care. Not in the sense that they don’t emotionally care, but that it didn’t matter. I was male and that’s all that mattered. They also told me that they give sex same couples benefits in states that do not recognize them as a married couple.
At my job orientation, I was not misgendered once. Even my supervisors who weren’t sure of my gender avoided pronoun use, which I found only happens when you’ve had pronoun training. They gave me a name tag with my preferred name and didn’t ask questions. I felt safe and respected, which is huge for a trans* person.
TLDR: Target is amazing not just for the LGB, but also the T. Shop there for the rest of your life.
First of all, I am nowhere near a Target (I’m in the UK), but I’m happy they are awesome.
And secondly: “oh no, people who are not as privileged as me are being treated the same way as I am treated! I AM BEING OPPRESSED!”
Nonbinary/genderqueer folk, do you feel like anonymously contributing to some stats about gender identity and expression?
I’m running a bit of an informal data-gathering thing to see how people express their nonbinary gender. I’ll publish the statistical results in July 2013 in the form of graphs and charts.
You will not be asked for your name, sex/gender assigned at birth, or email address. For information on the safety of your information and anonymity, click here: http://lottelodge.tumblr.com/post/50751981387
The questions are about how you describe your gender, and your preferred titles and pronouns, and that’s it. Lots of multiple choice, so it’s very quick and easy.
Imagine the federal government holding conversations about your privacy - except yours is the only voice not at the table. This is what people with psychiatric disabilities are facing as the House Energy & Commerce Oversight Subcommittee takes up the issue of mental health and privacy rights under HIPAA.
Rep. Tim Murphy, Chair of the House Energy & Commerce Oversight Subcommittee, is holding a hearing this Friday to try and argue that the HIPAA protections that protect the privacy of people seeking mental health services are unnecessary and a threat to public safety. Regrettably, Chairman Murphy has a history of threatening the rights of Americans with psychiatric disabilities. This Friday’s hearing is a continuation of a roundtable Rep. Murphy organized last month to try and showcase the inaccurate idea that people with psychiatric disabilities are more likely to commit violent crimes. Although empirical evidence shows no such link between psychiatric disabilities and violence, the roundtable made no acknowledgement of this simple fact. Furthermore, of all of the many witnesses called to testify, not a single person with a psychiatric disability was invited to share their perspective.
When a caller on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal program asked Rep. Murphy to explain his rationale for excluding the voices of people with psychiatric disabilities from the witness panel, he dismissed the need for the voices of people with disabilities themselves, claiming they would be incapable of testifying and that the most important conversation is one about parents and families’ experiences!
There is a time and a place for discussing improvements to the availability and quality of mental health services. A conversation about violent crime is not that time nor that place. It is inexcusable for public officials to use public safety as justification for an attack on the civil rights of an already marginalized and stigmatized population. Tell Chairman Murphy and Ranking Member DeGette of the House Energy & Commerce Oversight Subcommittee that the disability rights principle of “Nothing About Us, Without Us!” apply in mental health policy too. Don’t let our voices be forgotten.
Sign the petition and shut this shit DOWN.
can someone please make a tumblr for old essays and everyone can just upload their essays and others can steal them for free come on guys
I’m here!How about making a tumblr with old instructor comments where everyone can upload old good ones so I can just copy-paste them onto your shitty essay without having to pretend I read it?
Rejection is a thing that happens to writers who seek publication. Getting a story rejected is a sad thing. It hurts. Rejection is universal, but that fact does not make the feeling suck any less. Because you have already been rejected or will be rejected at some point in the future, here are a few things to keep in mind regarding the word “no.”
The formatting on this is a little weird, as it is a pdf file converted to html using an online tool, but all the text is there. You can view the original PDF document here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/hzz2dqb3spyoymr/Letter%20to%20Ishman%20Click%205-14.pdfb o o t h s w e e t l l p
See this guy? This is Deke!
Deke is my service dog in training. He was adopted from a shelter and is currently living with a trainer who is doing an incredible job - he’s got amazing public manners, is gentle and loving, and most importantly, he’s already being trained to do things to help me out with everyday tasks - things people take for granted, like picking up an item that they drop, sitting up and changing positions without needing additional stability, hearing a knock at the door, paying for things at high counters, and walking unassisted.
I have a neuromuscular disorder in addition to a neurological disorder that make all of these things very difficult for me - I’m a wheelchair user, and eventually, Deke will even learn to pull my chair for me. I’m also a lot of other things: a college student, an artist, a brother, a music fan… but right now, this is what matters most.
WE NEED YOUR HELP.
To bring Deke home, we’re in need of two thousand dollars… and we’re well on our way! 11% of the way there, in fact, thanks to some INCREDIBLE people. All fundraised money goes right to the trainer, too! If you can’t donate, please consider sharing or reblogging this - signal boosting means a LOT! If not, maybe like Deke’s facebook page - that way you can keep up with us!
Giveforward Fundraising Link: http://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/1k12/bringdekehome
Facebook Page Link: https://www.facebook.com/DekesJourney
In addition, I’m offering art to help fundraise! You can see some examples above. Pet Portraits are 12x12 hand-cut, hand-drawn and colored pieces and they are $30, including shipping. Please contact me via my ask box or via sethlangilotti at gmail dot com for more info! Paintings range a lot in price and size - contact me to see what I have available or to ask about custom work!
Once again, thank you to anyone who signal boosts, shares, likes our page, or donates to help a boy and his dog come together and to give me freedom again.
I’ve read a lot of great essays about how fandom is female-majority and creates a female gaze and a safe space for women and etc. But spend five minutes in fandom and you’ll have an unsettling question.
Why does a female-majority, feminist culture hate female characters so much?
It’s not a question of if it happens. You know it does. You can go into any fandom and see it. Some fandoms are worse than others, but it’s always there. Scroll down the Tumblr tag for any show, movie, book, comic, whatever, and you’ll see nothing but love for the men, and a lot of unjustified hate for the women, maybe with a few defenders here and there insisting on their love for the women in the face of all that hate.
To be clear, we’re not talking about female villains. Male villains get just as much hate. It’s fine if you hate Bellatrix Lestrange or Dolores Umbridge, you’re supposed to. (I personally stan for Bella, but I realize that wasn’t the authorial intent.) This is about people hating Hermione, Ginny and Luna, but loving Harry, Ron and Neville. This is about how ambiguous male antiheroes, like Snape, Zuko, or pretty much any male vampire protagonist can get away with walking that fine line between good and evil and not only remain sympathetic, but be even more beloved for how ~tortured~ he is, but when a female character is morally gray that bitch has to die.
So you can’t tell me it’s okay that you hate Sansa because you also hate Joffrey and he’s a dude. They’re not comparable. It isn’t even comparable if you pick a female antihero. Let’s do this apples to apples, here.
We all know that fandom does this. We all know that it’s fucked up and symptomatic of internalized sexism. What’s really fucking weird about it, though, is that the women doing this hating often aren’t ignorant. These are feminists. These are women who can go on meta-analyses of the writing. Some will hide behind pseudo-feminist reasons for their hate—oh, it’s the writing, we just aren’t given strong female characters! (I saw this used for the women of AtLA: Katara, Toph, Azula, et al. This was about when I just backed away slowly because I know a lost cause when I see it.) I’ve seen women who denied being sexist, but couldn’t name a single female character they liked. And it’s always that the female characters aren’t good enough, even when they obviously have a double standard, and they’re measuring women on an impossible scale full of contradictions and no-win binds, while the men are just embraced and loved pretty much for existing.
The reaction nearly every time one of these women is called out is not to say, “Huh, you may have a point, I should examine the way I judge and process women’s actions more closely,” but an insistence of their feminism, followed by a more detailed description of why that particular woman is terrible and she hates her, as if the whole point were not that fandom is already oversaturated with that kind of hate, and as if the person doing the calling out were not already 110% done with that bullshit.
Particularly telling is that male-dominated corners of fandom do not have this problem. They fetishize, they objectify, they ignore. They don’t hate like this.
We know it happens. What I want to know is WHY.
Theories follow below the cut.