Tuesday Bag o’ the Grumps

It’s day five of a painful sore throat, the kind where 1) you dread having to swallow and 2) you have to swallow constantly. I stopped at the corner CVS yesterday to get something for it, and, since there wasn’t anyone in line, visited the “minute clinic.” The five-minute strep test was negative; the PA said I probably have allergies. I walked out with […]

See You in Hell, Haters

That’s my latest Facebook cover photo, which a friend (thank you, Pat Shields!) helped colorize in honor of Friday’s Supreme Court ruling in favor of marriage equality. After I put it up on my Facebook page, another friend told me she didn’t get it. What’s not to get? The right says everyone in favor of marriage […]

You Can’t Read That!

You Can’t Read That! is a periodic post featuring banned book reviews and news roundups. Well, two steps forward, one step back: in spite of the SCOTUS ruling on same-sex marriage, books with LGBT themes and characters are still widely challenged. Here’s an interesting article about ongoing parental challenges and “vigilante censorship” in Vermont schools. It’s not just […]

Thursday Bag o’ Nukes

It’s been extremely hot in southern Arizona. Every day we hear about electric power outages in different sections of Tucson. Are these intentional rolling blackouts? Sure looks like it. So far no power interruptions in our hood, but since our air conditioner crapped out last week and we had to spend a night and a […]

The Elusive Telescoping Steering Wheel

Remember the steering wheels Immortan Joe hands out to his War Boys just before they take off after Imperator Furiosa’s War Rig in Mad Max: Fury Road? Well, you can bet the very best wheel was reserved for Immortan Joe himself. I wasn’t thinking about steering wheels when Donna said we could go looking for […]

Terrorism & Hate Crimes

James Comey, the director of the FBI, says the murder of nine African-American churchgoers at a prayer meeting in Charleston, South Carolina, is not terrorism. His reasoning? Terrorism is act of violence done or threatens to in order to try to influence a public body or citizenry so it’s more of a political act and […]

Thursday Bag o’ Post-Racial America

Man. This church shooting in South Carolina. This white guy. Whose middle name is Storm (as in Stormtrooper or Stormfront?). Who sported an apartheid-era Rhodesian flag on his windbreaker. Who (but of course!) was given a gun for his 21st birthday. Pardon me if I roll my eyes the next time someone tells me everything’ll be […]

Trans-Achievementism

When the Rachel Dolezal story came to my attention, one of my first thoughts was, “I know people like that.” I bet you do, too. There probably aren’t many white people claiming to be black, but there are plenty of white Americans who claim Native American blood, and we all know people who have invented […]