Participating in a recent forum on how to effectively market at-home HIV testing, I got a $200 gift card. Not wanting to spend it on a hustler, I instead gave $150 of that to The Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead's Planned Parenthood, I Am Here for You fundraiser that happened here in NYC last night—and it was not only a good investment but also a good investment.
Joan Walsh & Lizz Winstead
I showed up at 6:30PM at the Gramercy for the VIP reception to find a handful of non-famous women spiked with the evening's famous females—Winstead, Salon editor Joan Walsh, Sandra Bernhard and Lisa Lampanelli. I was the only dude for the longest time in a room filled with women and several womyn.
Adding Sandra Bernhard to the mix
Lisa Lampanelli (L) and Judy Blume (R) join a mom and her baby, Rosie
My new friends with the A-list
All together now!
Talking to a few attendees about the art of the photo op, I figured out we were supposed to meet and greet the stars on our own—there was no formal line happening. This makes it a bit awkward because you don't really want to shoehorn yourself between Winstead and Bernhard when they're engrossed in a conversation about their bodies/their selves. Especially when you're announcing that you blog at something called Boy Culture.
Oh, Fudge! Fawning over Judy Blume
Ms. messaging
But it was totally fine and the women were absolutely gracious and eager to pose for photos and chat. Winstead is the ultimate feminist to me—unswerving on principle, unbothered by political correctness, utterly hilarious. She was in boots and a dress that looked macramaed from a distance. She reminds me of Laurie Metcalf and Barrie Longfellow.
Rachel Maddow's take-down of Bill O'Reilly for insulting her about ratings when she was insulting him about his, er, loose take on reality is so satisfying it borders on the sexual. I don't always watch her because sometimes the snarky tone isn't my cup of tea even if I almost always agree with her, but this time she nails it 100%.
Apparently, when simpleton Sarah Palin said that President Obama should call her regarding the BP oil spill, what she would have told him on the phone was: "Call the Dutch!" Seriously, she thinks that the Dutch—because of the story about the boy sticking his finger in the dike—would be experts on how to fix this spill?
It would be funny if it weren't so scary how powerful this idiot is.
Meanwhile, the president's speech on the BP crisis was roundly panned. My problem with the whole thing is...I don't see how this problem gets fixed. It's hard for me to blame him when I don't see a plausible solution that he's failing to see. But he hasn't addressed the issue specifically enough—and that's just going to keep his approvals leaking as long as the oil leaks.
Meanwhile, all the Republicans are BP cheerleaders—and isn't that worse?
In Touch (January 25, 2010) goes all in with the anti-choice crowd, doing an original photo shoot with Sarah Palin (classy!) and her daughter Bristol and allowing them to scream, "We're glad we chose life" on the cover of the 'bloid. Remember when Republicans thought single motherhood was deplorable? Now, as long as you ARE a Republican, it's downright godly.
Factoring in Levi Johnston's credible-sounding comments that Sarah Palin didn't do much of the actual mothering for Trig, it makes sense that she'd deem herself a "more patient" mother. It's easy to be patient when your daughter is taking care of the kid. Speaking of her daughters, Bristol now says, "I'm not going to have sex until I'm married. I can guarantee it." I wouldn't bet on that.
Also, can we please come to the conclusion that the Palins can no longer hide behind "leave my kids out of it"? You're deliberately making them a focal point of who you are.
UPDATE: She seems to have insisted on using her own strictly partisan photographer. Kudos for zero (?) retouching, but dig that tacky, unprofessional backdrop:
Meanwhile, Palin on FOX admits she thought Iraq was behind 9/11...and she thought this not in September of 2001, but immediately before being chosen as her party's nominee for Vice President in 2008. Complete idiot. Thanks, John McCain, for making this moron such a powerful name and a potential future president.
In my opinion, when esteemed gay-rights advocates aregoing along withBill O'Reilly's phony bash-Obama talking points (his popularity is not sinking, health care is not a "death dance") or even going on his show at all in order to argue their point that President Obama hasn't done enough for the gays, either gay activism or President Obama's gay support has jumped the shark. Or both.
Prominent doctor George Tiller of Kansas—known to abortion foes as a man whose women's health clinic performed later-term abortions in extreme cases and who was vilified as a murderer by the right wing for the past 20 years—was gunned down in cold blood AT CHURCH today. This story is a microcosm of the abortion argument—the religious nuts who think terminating an unwanted pregnancy is the same as shooting an adult man probably timed this to coincide with today being the anniversary of the 2003 arrest of anti-abortion TERRORIST Eric Rudolph.
Then you have anti-choice crazies Operation Rescue issuing a statement deploring his murder, though they demonized him relentlessly and could not resist mentioning in their statement, "We pray for Mr. Tiller's family that they will find comfort and healing that can only be found in Jesus Christ."
The man's clinic has been bombed and vandalized and he was shot in both arms once before (that lunachick is still imprisoned, thankfully). It was only a matter of time before this happened. Especially with explicit cheerleading from the likes of Bill O'Reilly:
Tiller was charged with performing late-term abortions without consulting a truly independent second source; he was exonerated. That was not good enough for his enemies; he was executed.
They must be desperate, seeing that President Obama will have two, three or more chances to alter the makeup of the Supreme Court. Expect more.
UPDATE: President Obama has denounced Tiller's assassination in no uncertain terms, even as anti-choice leader Randall Terry seems to blow it off and reiterate his side's duty to "protest" abortionists everywhere—including at their churches, which is where Tiller was assassinated.
