Secondhand Sun

When I was in high school, I had an argument with a classmate and friend of mine named Nicole about the literal truth of the Bible. "So you're saying," I said incredulously, on realizing she was absolutely serious about the position she'd staked out, "that God actually bent over, picked up some dirt from the ground," I scooped up a handful of the dry, fine dirt we were standing on, "and made a man out of it?" She rolled her eyes at me. "Well, obviously he had to spit on it first. DUH. You can't make anything out of just dirt unless you get it wet."

For a number of years afterward I told that story for laughs, or to bring home a point about the goofiness and weirdness of fundamentalist Christianity. But what I failed to notice or appreciate was that believing in the literal truth of a creation myth is only one way to have a relationship with the story - and it's only one way that the myth can have a profound effect on your life. There are many other ways that can happen.

Continue reading "Adam and Eve, not Eve and Adam" »

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Local Democrats were excited about the selection of Jim Webb to give the Democratic response to the State of the Union address. We bumped up the time of our meeting last night so that we could go to a bar together afterwards and watch. They gave us the whole back room, and free chicken wings, and we ate and drank and critiqued the president. And then we fell silent when it was Jim Webb's turn. And then he said this.

On both of these vital issues, our economy and our national security, it falls upon those of us in elected office to take action.

Regarding the economic imbalance in our country, I am reminded of the situation President Theodore Roosevelt faced in the early days of the 20th century. America was then, as now, drifting apart along class lines. The so-called robber barons were unapologetically raking in a huge percentage of the national wealth. The dispossessed workers at the bottom were threatening revolt.

Roosevelt spoke strongly against these divisions. He told his fellow Republicans that they must set themselves as resolutely against improper corporate influence on the one hand as against demagogy and mob rule on the other. And he did something about it.

As I look at Iraq, I recall the words of former general and soon-to-be President Dwight Eisenhower during the dark days of the Korean War, which had fallen into a bloody stalemate. "When comes the end?" asked the general who had commanded our forces in Europe during World War II. And as soon as he became president, he brought the Korean War to an end.

These presidents took the right kind of action, for the benefit of the American people and for the health of our relations around the world. Tonight we are calling on this president to take similar action, in both areas. If he does, we will join him. If he does not, we will be showing him the way.

And the room erupted. You should have heard them roar.

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I've been visiting family; it's good. But this morning, when I was sitting on the couch bouncing with excitement over the news of John Edwards' announcement of his presidential candidacy, my brother and my cousins started discussing Hillary Clinton. "Is Hillary running?" A. (female) asked. "She hasn't officially announced yet, but she's raised a ton of money," I answered. "She's running, all right," one of the guys said, making it sound almost as ominous as, "It looks like cancer."

"Good," said A., causing general surprise - she's not a Democrat, at least not publicly.

"Why do you want her to run?" asked C., her sister's boyfriend.

"Because!" A. answered. "We need a woman in charge of things."

"Not /that/ woman," came the immediate response from another of the guys, but C. was eyeing A. with a poisonous look. "Are you a lesbian or something?" he demanded.

A. was offended. "No. Why?" she shot back.

C. shrugged. "I'm just wondering what your big attraction is to women."

------------------

This is the problem I have, and probably will continue to have, with this upcoming presidential primary season. So much of the opposition to Hillary Clinton is rooted in outright hatred of women that I feel dirty just thinking about supporting someone else. (And I think about it a lot. I like John Edwards.) A lot of feminist bloggers oppose Hillary Clinton, but that doesn't help me out, because when their commenters agree, it's always with the same misogynist undertones.

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It must be Bizarro News Day and nobody told me.

Item #1: The tallest man in the world saved the lives of two dolphins by sticking his very long arms down their throats and into their stomachs to remove some plastic they swallowed.

Item #2: A schoolteacher in Richmond, Virginia has been suspended from his job because... wait for it... he paints with his ass in his spare time. Seriously. I am not making this up.

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Brilliant.

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Why, yes, yes he did.

He's slamming Washington Post ombudsman Deborah Howell, long a favorite bloggers' punching bag, for her recent column in which she runs down the numbers of male vs. female columnists, as well as whites vs. people of color, and finds that the Post comes up wanting in the diversity department.

So how could The Post increase diversity as the staff and space for stories got smaller? It wouldn't be easy, but here are some thoughts. On the op-ed pages, don't run all the columnists all the time. Create some space for new voices. In Close to Home, make a point of seeking out more women and minorities. Outlook can also bring in more such voices.

The Metro section needs a female columnist, and it also needs a columnist attuned to the region's burgeoning Latino communities. A Latino columnist could appear in the Extras since they are oriented toward counties and neighborhoods. Not all new voices have to be on the staff; they could be regular contributors. Metro's new Page Three could be used to bring in more female and minority voices.

The point is not to toss excellent white male columnists; the point is to add more and lively voices to The Post.

Kos quite rightly points out that adding women writers and writers of color, but banishing them to the "fluff" section(s) of the paper, is bullshit. I am confident that Howell means to say the Extras are "oriented toward counties and neighborhoods," and not that Latinos are. Still, it's a pretty insulting remark: it amounts to saying that gee, maybe we should add a Latino columnist to talk about stuff that goes on around here because a lot of Latinos live around here now. The unspoken assumption is that Latinos (and whites) won't be interested in reading a Latino person's take on national issues.

What's really interesting here is that Howell does seem to understand that the numbers point to a need for change - but she's extraordinarily unambitious, even defensive, in her prescription for change. Some of her caveats remind me of begging my mom to let me stay up past bedtime: "C'mon, mom, just ten more minutes? Five minutes? Pleeeease?" When Howell points out that NO MEN'S POSITIONS WILL BE THREATENED, and really we don't even have to officially hire these women and non-whites as actual staff members - they can just be guest writers or something! (Maybe they'll even be so grateful for the opportunity that we won't have to pay them!) ...it bears asking, who is she talking to here? Who is the audience? Is she really that worried that Joe PostReader will give two hoots and a holler whether the new female columnist is on staff or not? No. Remember the role of an ombudsman, abominable as Howell has been at the job. She's talking to the paper's management - and begging them to throw her, and us, a bone.

So it's the management who really has the problem - not that we didn't know that already. I have a proposition for these guys. The Style section is the only section of the paper where female columnists outnumber male columnists (seven women to three men). These include a TV column, a fashion column, several advice columns... you know, women's shit. So they should change the name from "Style" to "Women's Shit" - put it right up there in the masthead. That will dramatically reduce the likelihood that any man will accidentally pick up, read, or otherwise come into contact with the "Women's Shit" section and suffer the penis shrinkage that surely results. Then they won't have to expense any more male enlargement pills to reverse the damage - and with the money saved, they can hire another woman to write on national issues for the op-ed pages. That will make it 17 men to 4 women, instead of 17 to 3, and those darn women will stop complaining - and the real readers (the male ones) will never notice.

Oh, and as for kos - for all his protestations that diversity is not a consideration when he chooses his front-page writers, he seems to be doing a pretty decent job of achieving it anyway. Last year, two of four new co-bloggers were women. This year, it's two or three of four (I'm not sure if Devilstower is a man or a woman,) and two of his three blogging "fellows" are women as well. Kos can be an ass, but maybe he did learn something from the infamous Pie Wars after all.

Posted by Joanna at 11:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The AP has called the Virginia Senate race for Jim Webb.

In November 1994 I was seventeen years old; I was a senior in high school. I woke up the morning after the election and ran to get the paper. My father was at the kitchen table drinking his coffee. I picked up the paper, took one look at the headline, and threw it across the room. I don't remember the exact words I used, but they were foul enough to draw a rebuke from my father. "It's not going to matter," he told me. "This isn't something that's going to make a difference in our everyday lives."

It's been a long twelve years.

During that time I've learned what it's like to be poor, to have to search through cushions for bus money to get to work - and on getting there to find that you didn't have a job anymore, so sorry, we did call you this morning to tell you, why are you here? I've been paid less than minimum wage and stuffed myself at events that offered free food so that I wouldn't need supper later. I've learned what it's like to have pneumonia and be turned away at the doctor's office because you don't have $90 cash to give them up front. I've seen bigotry against women, minorities, and gays enshrined in law and enforced through public policy.

It's been a long twelve years.

Politics is a ripe breeding ground for cheesy rhetorical imagery. I'm sure it's the emotion of the day and not the power of the words that burned Tom Daschle's concession speech of November 3rd, 2004 into my memory. He said that he'd seen the sun set over the mall in Washington, DC (I have too, and from a plane no less - a breathtaking sight) and that he'd seen the sun rise over Mount Rushmore - and that he liked sunrises better than sunsets. As I was telling a friend the other day, I like sunsets best: they're pretty, and you have to get up far, far too early to see the sun rise, unless it's winter, and in the winter it's too cold.

There is no sunset I've ever been gladder to see than the metaphorical one that marks the end of the rule of these Republicans who launched themselves to power by stomping on our best hope to bring healthcare to everyone, and whose latest electoral push has been based on the idea that people with accents and brown skin should be automatically denied the opportunity to participate fully in society. And yet I'm uncertain - it's hard to imagine what this new day will look like. It's been such a very long twelve years.

I'm daring to let myself hope that it's over now. But I know too that my work has not yet ended. This victory is a tool not an end; we will have to use it to further fight for justice and create the world we want. I'm ready to begin.

Oh, and thanks, D.C. United - I'd definitely rather have this than the MLS Cup.

Posted by Joanna at 10:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

DC United lost to New England in the Eastern Conference Final last night, and I'm far more disappointed - crushed, even - than I ever expected to be. I woke up this morning too miserable even to give Anna a game report the way I usually do first thing. She's got a lot of empathy for a five-year-old; I think she caught on pretty quickly that I was upset about the loss, and left it be. She's a good kid. I gave her the report at bedtime, with full props to Twellman for his goal (and leaving out the saltier editorial comments; she is only five) and the tale of how the stunned crowd came alive again, in fits and starts; how Ben Olsen, as always, never ever quit; how Freddy almost scored. Over and over again someone almost scored, but it never happened. "That's really sad!" Anna said. Yes, yes, I agreed; I told her how much I'd wanted to see us play for the MLS Cup. That wasn't what she meant, though: "Now there won't be any more games until spring!" A child after my own heart. No, there won't, and that's sad too - but, I explained, we do get to start earlier than the other teams because we're playing in the CONCACAF tournament. Apparently "CONCACAF" is a funny enough sounding word to cheer up a five-year-old. Would that it worked on me.

But tomorrow is Election Day. In a way, it's like that scene from the movie Fever Pitch, when the Hornby character consoles one of the students on the soccer team he coaches after the kid just missed a PK that lost the game for his team.

Paul Ashworth: If you had to choose between winning this afternoon and Arsenal winning tomorrow night, what would you go for?
Robert: Tomorrow night of course!
Paul Ashworth: There you go then.
Robert: What, you're telling me, Arsenal are gonna win two nil at Anfield?
Paul Ashworth: I can't promise, can I? Well, there's a chance isn't there? You've done your bit, you've missed the penalty. If that's what it takes then it'll be worth it.
Robert: Yeah, course.

If I had to choose between DC United winning the MLS Cup and the Democrats taking back Congress tomorrow, my answer would come just as easily - tomorrow, of course! And, United's done their bit; they got knocked out of the final, so...

So I'm going to go to bed, because I'll be up at 4:30 am tomorrow, if I sleep at all. My volunteers are all confirmed, the car is packed with all my supplies, and I'm jumpier than... something very, very jumpy. The jumpiest thing you can think of. I'm jumpier than that.

Election Day is tomorrow! And tomorrow, we shall see.

Posted by Joanna at 10:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Via Lauren at Faux Real Tho, a great story:

Police hunt farting dissident

Police in Poland have launched a nationwide hunt for a man who farted loudly when asked what he thought of the president.

Hubert Hoffman, 45, was charged with "contempt for the office of the head of state" for his actions after he was stopped by police in a routine check at a Warsaw railway station.

He complained that under President Lech Kaczynski and his twin brother Jaroslaw, the country was returning to a Communist style dictatorship.

When told to show more respect for the country's rulers, he farted loudly and was promptly arrested.

Well, great except for the whole being arrested part. But I suppose there are worse ways to get yourself thrown in jail and/or labeled an enemy combatant.

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Vote for Bobby Boswell for Cosmopolitan's bachelor of the year.

It's a rather stupid contest, true, and his contest video (links found here) is dorky. But Bobby doesn't get paid that much - only $29,400! and the prize is $15,000. So let's help him out.

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Okay, this is funny. I suppose if you think about it, it should come as no surprise that satellite cameras would catch people sunbathing topless, and that as a consequence they would appear in Google Earth but... it's still funny.

This is via Google Sightseeing, which is a cool site. Here are some stadiums, and there's lots of other stuff, too.

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Our response to airplanes can tell us a lot about who we are. Besides being of great pratical use, an airplane is a powerful symbol. Who among us has never dreamed of flying, in both the literal and metaphorical senses? Who has never longed to transcend everyday existence and to see, to do, to become something more - to "slip the surly bonds of earth and touch the face of god"? Who has never earnestly desired to disappear from this place and reappear somewhere different, somewhere new, somewhere far far away?

Continue reading "Thoughts at an airport" »

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Footie Girl has a post about why she loves soccer tournaments.

There's only an hour between games, which is just enough time for your muscles to all stiffen up before you have to play again. You take off your shoes and socks and jersey and lay them out in the sun, hoping that they'll dry out a bit before the next game. You lie back with your head on your bag for a pillow and talk about nothing and everything with the guys on your team, or talk trash about the players in the games between your own.

Sometimes -- far too often -- the games aren't pretty; a mad scramble after the ball, nobody seems to be playing their position, neither team holds onto possession for more than 30 seconds at a time. But then sometimes it all comes together -- a one-two down the line, a pretty passing move around the 18-yard box, a gorgeous goal -- and it reminds you that this is why you're playing.

Go, read the whole thing.

I'd give up my weekend for that if I could - one of these days, perhaps, when my foot that's been sore for over a month finally heals. (We'll see what the doctor says on Wednesday.) Meanwhile I've got the next best thing for this weekend, a road trip to Houston to visit my family and see DC United play. I couldn't talk my cousin into standing with us - "I'm not cheering for that team!" - but he may attend the game, and even tailgate with us, my aunt tells me. She said he wanted to know whether soccer fans drink.

Anna was very disappointed that she couldn't come to Houston with me, although she's still so enamored of kindergarten that preparing for school was enough to distract her. I set the Tivo to record the game for her, and told her that she should be sure to wear her Jaime Moreno shirt tomorrow, so that we'll win. "I will!" she promised. We're all counting on you, Anna!

UPDATE: While I'm linking to stuff, Soccer Dad of On the Pitch has a post reviewing various websites that you can use to find soccer games in your area. When my foot is better...

Posted by Joanna at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Sitemeter is usually lots of fun. Most of my readers are from the US, particularly the DC area, but I have some in Austrailia and New Zealand, and one in France. Someone from the CIA occasionally reads this blog. That made me nervous at first, but apparently they are most interested in the soccer content, as opposed to the political stuff, which has eased my mind a bit.

But sometimes one discovers things from Sitemeter that are rather... disturbing. Someone found this blog by seaching for "girl sex soccer."

If anyone out there knows how girls - or women, for that matter - have sex while playing soccer, please DO NOT tell me. I really do not want to know. Actually, you know what? That goes for boys and men, too. I just don't want to know.

kthxbye.

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So I was hanging out at the Screaming Eagles tailgate with D of DCenters and a bunch of his friends, whom he'd just introduced me to. And I notice this guy with the most INCREDIBLE completely amazingly dreamy eyes. He is talking to an authoritative woman with brown hair. I mean this guy is HOT. Since D has already been gracious enough to introduce me to people, I think, Gee, I wonder if any of these folks know that guy? Maybe I'll get introduced to him later. Then I look around to see if I can see any other interesting people. My hearing isn't always the greatest, and I was distracted by said people-watching while D and a couple of other guys were having this conversation, off quietly to the side. (That, or he's making it up, but D would never do that. Right, D?)

Dave walks over to me. "You know who that is, right?"

"Who? That guy?"

"Yeah, that's Bobby Boswell."

I stifle the urge to reenact a Jack Benny spit-take. "No shit, hey, you're right." It's a slightly awkward feeling, since a few minutes before I told Joanna of my plans to pick up a Boswell replica jersey when we head into RFK. Very close to the kind of fanboy behavior that invites William Shatner to ask about whether or not I am currently in posession of, as they say, a life. No, the important thing now is to just be cool about the entire thing. I turn to my drinking buddy who hasn't overheard the conversation with Dave. "Hey, it's Boswell over there." He picks up on the studied non-chalance, barely raising his eyebrows in response.

"Is it? Cool." There's a pause as we are earnestly aware of how forced the casual tone of conversation has become. "You know, I woke up with Heather Mitts in bed this morning..." Complete deadpan. A nice escalation of the mood.

"You too?" I offer.

"Who hasn't?" adds Dave, safely out of earshot of his girlfriend.

I can't be rude and stare at other people and not listen to the conversation that is going on right next to me, though. I turn back to D just in time to hear:

Still, now I've been challenged. It's important to establish alpha-male ultimate coolness at this point. "So, um... Jesus Christ came over this morning. Wanted to borrow a cup of sugar. I told him this was the last time..."

I'm a little confused, but I had some of that blue stuff which has vodka in it, so this is still a funny remark. I laugh. D seems to catch on to my confusion because he says something about Bobby Boswell. At first I assume he's still talking about going to get that jersey, but he points. I look. "That's him, right over there."

"HIM?! That guy?" I'm stunned! Because while Boz is cute enough in his photographs...

...they just don't really bring across the extreme hotness that we were all blessed to witness there in person at the tailgate. I think this is because Bobby squints in a lot of his pictures.

So I tease D (while surreptitiously staring at Bobby Boswell) that he ought to just go ask Bobby for one of his shirts. Then he'd have a real one instead of a replica, AND save money. "No!" D says. "I'm not going to be That Guy."

"I know what you mean," I say emphatically (while surreptitiously staring at Bobby Boswell). This response is a useful reminder that I had better not be That Girl either. Or else my new friends will think I am uncool and will not want to hang out with me at future tailgates. I'm on notice, so I'm careful (while surreptitiously staring at Bobby Boswell). It occurs to me that I could walk right up to Bobby, grin at him, and inform him that I'm lucky, and that if he kisses me, we'll win the game. I'm just tipsy enough to maybe pull this off without clamming up and standing there grinning mutely like a stupid idiot. And, with just a small bit of the luck I'd be claiming, I might be able to get him to kiss me on the cheek, which would make the thirteen-year-old in me happy for weeks. But I don't dare try this, because I've got to be cool.

Continue reading "Cool as a grape slushie!" »

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