I wrote this in a response to my friend Jillian on Facebook, but figured it should be here as well. So, the Senate is considering a bill outlawing supporting any boycott movement against Israel and our senators, Schumer and Gillibrand, are both co-sponsors (plus it has a Democrat sponsor in the first place. Ugh.) Among other things, the bill prohibits US citizens from “supporting any boycott fostered or imposed by an international organization, or requesting imposition of any such boycott, against Israel.” It’s a bit hard to find, but the bill refers to 50 U.S. Code § 1705 for penalties and they include: A person who willfully commits, willfully attempts to commit, or willfully conspires to commit, or aids or abets in the commission of, an unlawful act described in subsection (a) shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than $1,000,000, or if a natural person, may be imprisoned for not more than 20 years, or both. Even if you disagree with the BDS movement (which I don’t), I would think this bill would appear monstrous! 20 years in prison for a political act! (And the bill explicitly refers to supporting a boycott as political. One would think they would…
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So a ton of Democrats (including my Senators, Schumer & Gillibrand) are supporting the Israel Anti-Boycott Act. It’s a monstrosity. No matter how you feel about the BDS movement, punishing speech with up to 20 years in prison is about as Un-American as you can get. If your Senator is on this list, I urge you to contact them.
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Dave Winer is an amazing programmer who’s done a tremendous amount for the open web. His comments on technology are insightful. However, his thoughts about society and culture come from a deeply privileged place. He contends that a women-only Wonder Woman screening, “left us with a wound and one more political division to deal with.” As if a safe-space for women to celebrate the first modern female superhero film was the equivalent of a men’s rights march. The world is a safe-space for men, especially white, cis-gendered, straight men. They have had millennia to celebrate their achievements and glory, all while subjugating and tyrannizing half of humanity. That power dynamic, while slowly changing still exists; the context renders female-only spaces different from male-only spaces1. More recently, he wrote about Bill Maher and the N-word, arguing that its use in “pop culture” absolved Maher of responsibility. “I’m not saying what the answer is and I don’t like Maher, but I think it was inevitable this was going to happen, and I’m pretty sure it’s not fair to blame him.” This is such a naive view. Yes, Black Americans have taken an extremely offensive word and made it their own. The N-word…
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To be a New Yorker. Cuomo: “I have ordered the Port Authority to reverse its decision regarding the JFK AirTrain. The people of New York will have their voices heard.” de Blasio: "We have seen an order that makes no sense on its face. It is filled with contradictions, has caused confusion. But under all that we see the beginning of the degradation of our civil liberties and our constitutional rights. We are not fooled. We know where this leads and how dangerous it is." Schumer: “…bad for America, bad for humanity, bad for our national security and against everything that is American." Nadler: “This should not happen in America. We shouldn’t have to demand the release of refugees one by one. We must fight this executive order in the streets, in the courts, anywhere, anytime. We must resist. We must fight. We must keep working to keep America the land of the free and the home of the brave.”
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Today I am ashamed to be an American.
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So this post is a little delayed, but Saturday was a good day, if a bit weird. The crowd I was in found an impromptu route. Good people along it though.
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Nothing like the modern security state’s—and the NFL’s—insistence on clear backpacks to make me feel like a naif. Luckily I got one from Eastsport—Amazon was cleared out!
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Sorry for the late post. Turns out a 340 mile round-trip drive from Salem to Poughkeepsie and back is not conducive to writing in-depth the next day. Anyways, onto the preview! Blogging and the Anti-Social Bookmarker — A return to tech for those bored of politics and art. Ever since Maciej enabled Privacy Lock, I've set my personal Pinboard to be completely private. I'm not particularly interested in sharing all my personal interests1. However, after starting Reading George Fox, I figured it would be helpful2 to provide an archive of my sources; hence the pinboard.in link on the side. Now, who wants to manage two different bookmarking accounts? Certainly not lazy old me. I've cobbled together a small AppleScript and bash system to automate transferring links from the personal account to the blog's. This will be the story of that journey.3 One Size Fits All — On the Magnum Edition of Lovecast 356, Dan chats with Dr. Joye Swan about condom use and magical monogamy thinking. While Dr. Swan has done some excellent research on the STI/HIV risks of serial monogamy and partner infidelity, her advice for “the re-education we have to go through” is far too dogmatic and narrow…
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Dan Savage’s continuing enthusiasm for Anthony Weiner is well intentioned, but ultimately mistaken and potentially counter-productive[1]. Dan is absolutely correct that we must fight for a world in which our sexual interests and mistakes do not disqualify us from employment or public service. How we behave[2] in the bedroom has little impact on how we work outside of it. Moreover, we have always been a kinky species; the Internet has just made our kinks public knowledge. In the long run, this is a wonderful news—it’s much harder to be judgmental about others’ quirks when your own are well known[3]. Weiner is just the wrong standard bearer for this fight. Dan often makes a distinction between having a kink[4] and how you communicate it. We look for good judgment in potential partners, and introducing yourself as a Furry, Coprophiliac, and Masochist on the first date usually[5] indicates that you aren’t the sharpest knife in the draw. Ol’ Anthony has taken a plethora of opportunities this summer to showcase his horrendous judgment. If you are premising your campaign as a redemptive journey, don’t engage in the behavior that fucked you in the first place. Especially when your wife will have to stand…
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From a Letter to Jeff Hitchock My own leanings towards anti-racism started to crystallize last winter during my term at Pendle Hill: I took a Facilitating Group Learning course and was paired with an African American member of Cambridge Meeting, Michelle Brimage. It took much work and sitting together in the fire to come to trust one another: it was worth it. We both learned and grew. People of color have played a significant role in my life. My African American nanny took me on play dates in her neighborhood; I was given the loving nickname “Jamal” in high school for sitting at the Black kids lunch table; Artists of color have been important collaborators (I’m a lighting designer). I considered myself pretty racially enlightened. Through the work at Pendle Hill, I realized that it is impossible to be White in America and not be racist. The most personal aspect of my own racism is, from a young age (I remember it from 5), I have never been attracted to a Black woman. My dearest friend is a beautiful woman; we connect on a deeply spiritual level; I can truly say I love her. The buds of a romantic relationship,…
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