"We have a lot of people … [who have] lost their jobs, who don't have health care, even children that are in homes don't get three square meals a day. But this man sits with guards protecting him, he's receiving free medical, free meals." •  A recently freed Spanish skipper claims that Somali pirates are holding a 12-year-old Ukrainian girl hostage aboard another hijacked ship. Ricardo Black says he met both the girl and her parents. "Her mother begged me to take [her daughter] with me," he told a Spanish paper. • A New York teacher is suing the Department of Education because she claims she suffered injuries after she slipped on garbage, including condoms, that had been left on the floor. She's particularly mad about the condom bit (although there is no news about whether or not they were used): "They caused, allowed and permitted condoms to be distributed by school personnel to the students, many of which were opened during the school lunch period and thrown on the floor," she said in the suit. • Five high school freshmen were arrested in California for the sexual assault of two ninth-grade girls. Police say that the boys accosted the girls at school and groped them during a lunch break. • Forbes has compiled a list of the top earning states for women. Washington D.C. is at the top of the list, with women making an average of $866 a week, only 7.8% less than men. Also high on the list are Maryland, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. • Rusty Kanokogi, advocate for women's judo, has died at the age of 74. Kanokogi devoted the past twenty years to making women's judo an Olympic sport, an effort that was recognized by the Japanese government, who awarded her the Order of the Rising Sun last year. • The Virginia Military Institute is facing charges of sex discrimination. The Education Department first brought the complaint against the Military school in 2008, claiming that the "climate and culture" of the school was derogatory and discriminatory towards women.  • According to FBI data released today, reports of hate crimes against gays and religious groups increased sharply in 2008. The number of racially motivated hate crimes fell less than 1 percent, but there was an 11 percent increase in hate crimes against homosexuals and a 9 percent increase in crimes against religious groups. • Dr. Bernadine Healy, the former director of the National Institutes of Health, says women should ignore the new breast cancer screening guidelines that delay the start of routine mammograms until 50, because it would save money but not lives. • Senator Harry Reid says that right after the Senate's vote to begin debating health care legislation on Saturday, he got a call from Ted Kennedy's widow, Victoria Reggie Kennedy. "She believes that Ted was watching," said Reid. "I'll remember the call always. She of course was crying pretty hard. We both felt that he's watching us tonight." • Today President Obama announced "Educate to Innovate," a 10-year campaign to increase American students' achievement in math and science. It involves $260 million in corporate donations, a National Lab Day, and an annual national science fair at the White House "to show young people how cool science people can be." • A reporter for The Guardian visited an Iraqi jail to talk to women who have attempted to commit a suicide bombing. She found many have lost close male relatives, lived in isolated communities dominated by extremists, and felt choosing to be a suicide bomber made them special, even though they couldn't control much else in their lives. But, one detective investigating the women cautioned not to generalize because, "All the cases are different. Some are old; some are young; some are just criminals; some are believers. They have different reasons." • The late Sister Maria Alfonsina Danil Ghattas is one step closer to becoming a saint after thousands of worshipers gathered in Nazareth for her beatification yesterday. She helped found the Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of Jerusalem in the 1880s, which continues to run schools for Palestinian girls in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. • Libby Longino is one of only 32 students to win a Rhodes Scholarship this year, but she won't be lonely at Oxford University: her boyfriend Henry Spelman was also selected. They are both seniors at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Longino said, "I could barely hope it would turn out this way." •

• A 54-year-old woman from Chicago has been charged with a hate crime for harassing a young Muslim woman in a grocery store. Valerie Kenney reportedly made loud references to the Fort Hood shootings before grabbing and pulling Amal Abusumaya's headscarf. If convicted, Kenney faces up to three years in prison and a $25,000 fine. •  A woman accused with trying to exhort money from former Knicks coach Rick Pitino has been charged for falsely claiming Pitino raped her. The FBI says there is no evidence that a rape occurred, although he admits to having consensual sex with the woman. • A new analysis of several different studies has found that women who quit smoking while in treatment for weight control fare better at both tasks. While conventional wisdom tells us that going cold turkey while dieting is impossible, researchers say now women won't "have to choose between the two." •  29-year-old Mario McNeill has admitted to the kidnap of 5-year-old Shaniya Davis. McNeill told investigators that he took Shaniya from her home to a hotel about 30 miles away. Police have not yet brought charged against McNeill, and don't plan to until jurisdiction questions are resolved. • Two college students were handcuffed and driven away in a police car after they refused to pay a mandatory gratuity service at the Lehigh Pub. "Gratuity is thanking you for your service," argued 22-year-old Leslie Pope. "You can't give us terrible, terrible service and expect a tip." • Japanese drug company Sciele Pharma Inc plans to file for U.S. approval of a spray that numbs the penis to prevent premature ejaculation. There is currently no prescription treatment for the condition, which Sciele estimates affects up to a third of American men ages 18 to 59. • The March of Dimes gave the U.S. a D on its premature births report card because one out of eight American babies are born prematurely each year. Some states were recognized for taking steps to reduce smoking among women or providing health insurance coverage for pregnant women, but no state got an A. • A study of 2,016 women by deodorant-maker Bionsen found that the average British woman "hosts" 515 chemicals on her body every day. Most of the pollutants come from deodorant, perfumes, moisturizers, and makeup the women put on themselves. • Separate studies found that the most talented male athletes also have attractive faces. In one study women ranked the best NFL players as more desirable, and another survey of New Scientist Twitter followers came up with similar results for men's tennis. Researchers concluded the same genetic factors may be linked to an attractive male face and athletic prowess. • The American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery has responded to the Senate health bill including a 5 percent tax on most of their procedures with six reasons they think it's a bad idea, including, "cosmetic surgery is not a specialty for only the wealthy or the vain," and "despite the fact that more men are seeking cosmetic procedures than ever, the largest portion of patients are still working women, who would be unfairly targeted by such taxes." •

• The Australian Bureau of Statistics has reported that more babies were born in that country 2008 than ever before. They also found that the trend of mothers giving birth later in life "seems to have stalled," and that there were slightly more newborn boys (51%) than girls. •  A 28-year-old German man has been found guilty of stabbing a pregnant Egyptian woman during a court hearing in Dresden. Al-Sherbini was going to testify against Alexander Wiens, who allegedly harassed her at work with taunts of "terrorist" and "Islamist" when Wiens attacked her in the courtroom. Wiens has been sentenced to life in prison. • Jewish activists are anticipating Obama's announcement of a special envoy to monitor anti-Semitism. Rumor has it that the candidate is female, with Chicago connections. • A Hungarian man convicted of using a camera to peep up women's skirts has been banned from filming in public for the next two years. Apparently, the women who he filmed were unaware and have not been informed of the violation. • Jaycee Dugard's family has brought in a publicist to help "clean up" the mess made by several greedy middlemen. Unfortunately, the family is still in looking for donations to help pay for everything from medical bills to food. •  A recent spate of suicides among housekeepers working in Lebanon has lead to a campaign for better conditions for the often overworked immigrant women. A recent survey found that more than one migrant domestic worker was dying in Lebanon each week, usually from either suicide or falling off a balcony in attempts to get away from an abusive employer. •  For the first time ever, the Mormon church has announced support for gay rights legislation in Salt Lake City. Although the Church is still against gay marriage, officials have come out in support of legislation that would prohibit discrimination against gays in housing and employment. • Cynthia Stewart, a 17-year-old junior at Tharptown High School in Alabama, is on her school's prom planning committee and personally raised $200 for the event. But when Stewart asked her principal if she could bring her girlfriend to the prom he said no and told her to take off a sticker that read "I am a lesbian," because, "You don't have that much freedom of speech at school." Her family appealed the decision to the school board, but it upheld the principal's decision. • The Tate Gallery has announced the appointment of Penelope Curtis as the new director for the museum in London. Other good news for women in art comes from Venice, where the Japanese architect Kazuyo Sejima has been named director of the Venice Architecture Biennale. • Scottish widow Mona Webster, who died in August at the age of 96, loved opera and birds so she left most of her $16.6 million fortune to New York's Metropolitan Opera and the British charity Windfowl and Wetlands Trust. • Brits are some of the ugliest people in the world, according to the dating site BeautifulPeople.com. The site lets existing members rate applicants' attractiveness to decide if they should be let on the site and only one in 8 British men and three in 30 British women have been accepted. Swedish men have the most success, with 65 percent accepted, and Norwegian women were voted the most beautiful with 76 percent accepted. • People are criticizing Pittsburgh's recently unveiled Mister Rogers statue because they say the 11-foot tall, 7,000 pound statue looks nothing like him. Jimmy Kimmel said it makes "the nicest man in the world look like a mud monster." •

[North Hollywood, October 29. Image via Getty]

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA - OCTOBER 29: Saba Moore-Doucette (C) and her daughter Molly along with neighbors look at the scene after a gunman shot and wounded two men in the underground parking garage of the Adat Yeshurun Valley Sephardic Congregation on October 29, 2009 in the North Hollywood section of Los Angeles, California. The wounded men, arrived in separate vehicles for a morning prayer service and were shot after they got out of their vehicles. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

• According to a Gallup poll released earlier this year, New England is the least religious region in America, which is partially why Evangelists are targeting the apathetic Northern states. Some Christian denominations view New England as a "mission field," and MSNBC interviews several missionaries seeking to convert those living in and around Boston. From a New Englander born and bred: Good luck with that. •  The Georgia man accused of attacking an African-American woman outside of a Cracker Barrel while screaming racial slurs has been released on bail. Troy Dale West Jr. faces charges ranging from false imprisonment to cruelty to children, but no word yet on whether he will be charged with a hate crime. •  Soon after the election, 67% of Americans reported being "optimistic" about the future of race relations. But the so-called "Obama effect" didn't last long, and the percentage of optimistic folk has already slipped down to 56, which is only one point higher than in December 1963. • In his new memoir The Audacity to Win David Plouffe, who managed Barack Obama's presidential campaign, says Obama seriously considered asking Hillary Clinton to be his running mate. He writes; "[W]hat surprised me at [our first meeting to discuss the vice presidency] was that Obama was clearly thinking more seriously about picking Hillary Clinton than Ax and I had realized. He said if his central criterion measured who could be the best VP, she had to be included in that list. She was competent, could help in Congress, would have international bona fides and had been through this before, albeit in a different role. He wanted to continue discussing her as we moved forward." • A U.S. District Court judge has dismissed another one of Orly Taitz's birther lawsuits. She asked the court to demand President Obama produce more documentation proving that he was born in the United States and to shut down the federal government and hold an election if he couldn't. The judge said it was unconstitutional for the courts to "effectively overthrow a sitting president." • Obama For America sent out a link to a commercial paid for by the DNC that features Sarah Palin's various health care lies followed by a clip of her saying "quit making things up." • The House Democrats healthcare reform bill unveiled today says, "Only private premium dollars can be used to provide abortion coverage. Where abortion coverage is provided, funds for this purpose must be segregated from other funds, including affordability credits," which won't satisfy pro-lifers who say private premiums and government subsidies given to low-income Americans can't be isolated and segregated. • New York Governor David Paterson has signed a bill that enhances the penalty for injuring an abortion provider, staff member, volunteer or patient. The legislation is a response to the shooting of Dr. George Tiller, and makes physically injuring someone obtaining or providing an abortion a class E felony rather than a misdemeanor. • Scientists in New Zealand are working on developing an ice cream called ReCharge that will help relieve the side-effects of chemotherapy in cancer patients. The "medical dessert" uses active ingredients from dairy products to relieve diarrhea, anemia and lack of appetite. • Susan Finkelstein, the woman accused of trying to trade sex for World Series tickets, will be given two tickets to Game 3 by a Philadelphia car dealer and the host of Chio in the Morning on WIRED-FM. • According to the CDC's Prevention's Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report released today, 11 percent of the U.S. population reports not getting enough sleep. 12.4 percent of women say they don't sleep enough compared to 9.9 percent of men. • A study by Trojan ranks the University of South Carolina as the nation's top university in sexual health. The ratings were based on a poll of students conducted on Facebook and data from on-campus student health centers. One big element of the school's sexual health awareness program are peer-to-peer groups sponsored by Student Health and Violence Prevention. • Ahmed Muhamed Dhore, a Somalian who claims he is 112 years old, says he has realized a "dream" by marrying a 17-year-old bride. He has married five times before, but three wives are dead. Dhore already has 13 children, the oldest of whom is 80, but says he would like more with his new bride, Safiya Abdulle. •

Image via Peter Rivera's Flickr

The New York Times reports:

The measure, attached to an essential military-spending bill, broadens the definition of federal hate crimes to include those committed because of a victim's gender or gender identity, or sexual orientation. It gives victims the same federal safeguards already afforded to people who are victims of violent crimes because of their race, color, religion or national origin.

"Hate crimes instill fear in those who have no connection to the victim other than a shared characteristic such as race or sexual orientation," Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Democrat of Vermont and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said afterward. "For nearly 150 years, we have responded as a nation to deter and to punish violent denials of civil rights by enacting federal laws to protect the civil rights of all of our citizens." [...]

The measure would also allocate $5 million a year to the Justice Department to assist local communities in investigating hate crimes, and it would allow the agency to assist in investigations and prosecutions if local agencies requested help.

And let the record also show:

Many Republicans, normally staunch supporters of defense bills, voted against the bill because of the hate crimes provision. All the no votes were Republicans except for Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., who supported the hate crimes provision but opposes what he says is the open-ended military commitment in Afghanistan.

As usual, Jeff Sessions is advocating on behalf of assholes everywhere:

"The inclusion of the controversial language of the hate crimes legislation, which is unrelated to our national defense, is deeply troubling," said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.

Senator: Sessions, would it make you feel better if we called it domestic terrorism instead of a hate crime?

Towleroad posted a statement from the Matthew Shepard Foundation:

"Dennis and I are extremely proud of the Senate for once again passing this historic measure of protection for victims of these brutal crimes," said Judy Shepard, president of the Matthew Shepard Foundation Board. "Knowing that the president will sign it, unlike his predecessor, has made all the hard work this year to pass it worthwhile. Hate crimes continue to affect far too many Americans who are simply trying to live their lives honestly, and they need to know that their government will protect them from violence, and provide appropriate justice for victims and their families."

And this measure comes not a moment too soon - the 2010 census is attempting to accurately count the number of GLBT couples:

The U.S. Census Bureau is making an unprecedented effort to include same-sex couples in next year's national population count, but legally married gay couples won't show up as such in the official once-a-decade tally, bureau representatives said Thursday.

Statistical problems related to the development of the 2010 census form and the evolving legal state of same-sex relationships led Census officials to conclude that trying to include married gay couples in the overall snapshot of household marital status could yield an inaccurate number, said Gary Gates, a University of California, Los Angeles demographer who has been advising the bureau on gay issues.

Instead, same-sex married couples will be added into the category for unmarried partners, just as they were for the 2000 census. But in a marked policy departure, the agency plans to make the data on same-sex couples who described themselves as married available on a state-by-state basis.

"The Bureau has decided to give us the information, but be a little cautious," Gates said.

The decision to develop separate sets of numbers was a compromise position that was "less about politics and more about accurate data," he said.

Gates stressed that it was important for gay couples to participate in the census, noting that information drawn from the last one had been used in lawsuits dealing with same-sex marriage and to lobby congressional representatives who may wrongly assume they do not have many gay constituents.

Senate Approves Broadened Hate-Crime Measure [NY Times]

Congress Extends Hate Crime Protections To Gays [LA Times]
Senate Approves Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act 68-29 [Towleroad]
Census Bureau Says 2020 Count Could Include Gays [AP]

Earlier: House Passes Sexual Orientation Update To Hate Crimes Bill

8 Cervarix is only $5 cheaper than Gardasil, but unlike Merck's vaccine, it doesn't prevent two other types of HPV that cause genital warts. The committee decided not to endorse one vaccine over the other, and the CDC still has to adopt the committee's recommendation for it to be approved for widespread use. • The Oklahoma law that would require the collection and anonymous public sharing of abortion patients' personal data will not go into effect as scheduled on November 1, due to some legal wrangling and highly unusual judicial decisions. The Center for Reproductive Rights filed a suit requesting a temporary restraining order to prevent the law from going into effect on behalf of two local women. The judge recused herself from the case and the new judge, Twyla Mason Gray, has ignored the request but granted the state's request for an extension, moving the hearing to December 4. Gray set the bond for the temporary restraining order request at $25,000, which is an uncommonly large sum for such cases. Oklahoma Representative Wanda Jo Stapleton says so much personal information would be made public by the law that, "Women in small towns can be identified by nosy neighbors or, equally important, they can be misidentified when the guessing games start." • Megan Williams of West Virginia is now says she was lying when she reported that she was assaulted by a group of white men. She accused the men of keeping her in a trailer for several days, beating and stabbing her, and forcing her to eat animal feces. Seven men plead guilty and were convicted, but now her lawyer says she made up the story to get revenge on one of the men she was having a relationship with. Prosecutor Brian Abraham says the men were convicted on physical evidence and their own statements. • In only the second known case of a sperm donor passing on a genetic disease, a donor has given the heart condition hypertrophic cardiomyopathy to nine of his 24 children. One died at age 2 and two of the children, who are now teenagers, are at risk for sudden cardiac death. • Dr. Marci Bowers, who herself underwent a sex-change operation, now performs "female circumcision reversals" that can restore sexual pleasure in 80% of genital mutilation victims. One patient says she's looking forward to "a romance with my husband." • Israeli researchers say people who are violent with their partners are usually in control with their friends and bosses. They say the abuser usually goes through a calculated decision-making process and their behavior often escalates from verbal aggression, to threats of physical aggression, then moderate physical aggression, and severe physical aggression. • Six women are accused of posing as victims of domestic violence to jump to the top of the New York City Housing Authority's waiting list for subsidized apartments. A manager noticed there were similarities in some of the women's police reports and other documents. If convicted of forging court documents, the women could each face seven years in prison. • 53-year-old John Marshall of California has been charged with drugging and raping an acquaintance then shaving off all of his victim's hair. There are at least two other complaints from men and boys who say he drugged and raped them but he hasn't been charged with those crimes and is currently out on bail. • Kuwait's highest court has granted women the right to obtain a passport without their husband's approval. Thousands of women have been petitioning the courts to overturn the 1962 law requiring their husbands' signatures for a passport. Women in Kuwait can vote, serve in parliament, and drive, unlike women in some neighboring countries. • Researchers from Yale University and the VA Connecticut Healthcare System asked 18,481 female and 134,731 male veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom if they are in pain since coming home. Only 38 percent of female veterans compared to 44 percent of the men said they experienced any pain, and women were more likely to report moderate-severe pain but less likely to report persistent pain. "We were surprised by the lower pain prevalence in women Veterans which is contrary to studies conducted in civilian populations," said Dr. Sally Haskell. The discrepancy could be due to the fact that women do not serve in direct combat roles, or women being reluctant to seek treatment and admit they're in pain. • A 50 year-old Russian coal miner is trying to sell a signed photograph of Brigitte Bardot to pay for a $2,090 operation to treat his lung disease. • The one day suspension of a Springfield, Illinois bus driver who wore a pink tie to support breast cancer awareness has been rescinded. Springfield Mass Transit District managing director Linda Tisdale wrote in a newspaper editorial, "Unfortunately, my decision has left the mistaken impression that the SMTD and I do not support the Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign and, even more regrettably, has hurt and insulted the many families who have had to deal with this horrible disease." • A Florida judge says he will not dismiss a civil lawsuit against Casey Anthony, charged with killing her daughter Caylee. The girl's former nanny Zenaida Gonzales is suing Anthony because she says she damaged her reputation by naming her as a suspect in Caylee's death. • A recent study found that adults who are childhood cancer survivors are 20 to 25 percent less likely to marry compared with their siblings and the American population. Sometimes cancer treatment can lead to fertility or developmental problems and survivors may suffer from ongoing medical issues. • Hahnium Goren, the mother of a 15-year-old girl believed to be murdered by her father in an "honor killing," testified against her husband Mamet Goren in a London court today. While on the stand she screamed at him, "Look at my face. What did you do to Tu lay?" He's accused of killing their daughter in 1999 because she was dating a boy he didn't approve of. • The British news program More4 News will feature actors playing Jane Austen, Samuel Johnson, and John Ruskin "reporting" on the societal changes since their time. The Jane Austen character will discuss modern courtship and the waning popularity of marriage and observe a speed-dating session where "you can encounter dozens of potential partners in one evening, with no obligations." • Some extremely serious runners have their toenails surgically removed to make 50 or 100-mile races less painful. Nails are removed by pouring acid on the nail bed. A podiatrist who treats runners says, "Even within the ultra community, less than 10 percent or maybe even 5 percent are permanently removing their toenails." •

• According to the LA Times Twitter is the new outlet for celebrity feuds. Everyone from Perez Hilton (natch) to Chris Brown are getting in on the action. Apparently, part of the appeal of Twitter is that the entries are written and posted so quickly that there is no time for a publicist to censor the sentiment. • Jezebel contributor Doree Shafrir takes on the growing trend of American couples outsourcing surrogacy to India. Although homosexuality was only recently decriminalized in India, many gay couples are finding that some Indian clinics are easier to deal with than American surrogates. • A LDS church in Utah has become the target of vandals, who threw rocks at the window with the attached message "Stop spreading your lies, pagans." Police do not have any suspects, but they are already discussing whether or not hate crime charges will be filed. • Speaking of hate crimes, there is a growing push to amend New York state hate crime laws so that they protect transgender individuals. • After escaping an abusive boyfriend in 1998, Kalyn Risker found the Detroit non-profit Sisters Acquiring Financial Empowerment, to help other domestic abuse survivors learn skills to reenter the workforce and break their financial dependence on their abuser. The program is in high demand, since Detroit only has one domestic violence shelter but has seen a 7% increase in domestic violence cases this year. • Have you ever wondered why there are no calorie counts on cat food? According to The New York Times, it's because many pet foods haven't been tested for digestibility and true content per can. A 10 pound cat needs roughly 200-400 calories, but the best way to tell if it's eating enough is just to see if maintains a normal weight. • Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill commemorating Harvey Milk for being the first openly gay politician elected to public office in California. Under the measure Milk's birthday, May 22, would be proclaimed a day of significance by the governor each year. "He really saw this signing as a way to honor the gay community in California," said a spokesman. •

The House vote on the defense bill was 281 to 146. Unlike usual defense bill votes, most of those in opposition — 131 out of the 146 — were Republicans objecting strenuously to inclusion of what they referred to as "thought crimes" legislation in a defense bill.

"The inclusion of 'thought crimes' legislation in what is otherwise a bipartisan bill for troop funding is an absolute disgrace," said Rep. Tom Price of Georgia, head of the GOP conservative caucus.

And why were they so upset? They were just looking out for hate speech:

GOP opponents were not assuaged by late changes in the bill to strengthen protections for religious speech and association — critics had argued that pastors expressing beliefs about homosexuality could be prosecuted if their sermons were connected to later acts of violence against people who are gay.

Supporters countered that prosecution could occur only when bodily injury is involved, and no minister or protester could be targeted for expressing opposition to homosexuality.

Well, as long as that's settled...

This legislation comes at an interesting time. One of the Republicans protested:

"This is radical social policy that is being put on the defense authorization bill, on the backs of our soldiers, because they probably can't pass it on its own," House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio said.

Right...because soldiers couldn't possibly have an interest in protections that now include sexual orientation, gender, gender identification, and disability. I mean, obviously, every single red-blooded American solider is male, het, and proud! Well, unless you're a female soldier being dismissed due to Don't Ask Don't Tell:

All the services kicked out a disproportionate number of women under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, according to Department of Defense data obtained by the Palm Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The center studies gender and sexuality in the military. [...]

In addition, the Army removed more women under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy at a greater rate than men when compared with the ratio of women to men in each service.

Of those discharged under the policy, 36 percent were women, although women make up only 14 percent of troops in the Army, the data showed.

But who cares about facts? To the Republicans, these are "thought crimes" not "losing my job to discriminatory practices" problems or "tie someone to a fence after pistol whipping and torturing them" crimes. So, it's perhaps a good thing that "The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later" is showing at 120 theaters around the globe on October 12th, to commemorate the 11th anniversary of Matthew Shepard's death from "thought crimes."

House Votes To Add Sexual Orientation To Law On Hate Crimes [Washington Post]
House Extends Hate Crime Law To Cover Gays [MSNBC]
More Women Than Men Dismissed From Military For Being Gay [CNN]
Guthrie To Present 'Laramie Project' Epilogue [MPR News]

• Less than 50% of female residents of Ontario who had abnormal pap smears received follow-up care, a new study says. Unsurprisingly, many of the untreated women were from lower-income communities. • AdAge breaks down what we can learn from online dating. Among the bullet-point nuggets of wisdom: "the vast majority of people out there are hurting, confused, bitter, uncertain, cynical and, yes, crazy" and "We are all biologically programmed to be 'about the looks.' Apple has built a small empire based on its remarkable aesthetic." • Ever wondered what happens when you sneeze? This article will answer that question, and several others, like why does a sneeze sometimes feel so fucking good? • Margaret Atwood on the environmentalist message of her new novel, Year of the Flood: ‘‘We tend to pay attention to immediate needs and desires, but we are not so good at looking down the road, and it is really hard for us to look a hundred years down the road.'' Read the rest of the (awesome) interview here. •  A 14-year-old mixed race girl from the UK was driven to attempt suicide by the taunts of her racist 15-year-old classmate. Last month, the boy was convicted of racially aggravated harassment, but he was only sentenced to a six month supervision order and a fine. The victim said of the ruling: "That's pants." •  One Texas sheriff's deputy has been fired and four other deputies have been disciplined for asking a scantily-clad waitress named Bambi to pose on the back of their police cruiser holding a AR-15 rifle. • Controversy is brewing over a book on Frida Kahlo coming out this fall that the publishers say contains "an astonishing lost archive of one of the 20th century's most revered artists … full of ardent desires, seething fury, and outrageous humour." Unfortunately, Kahlo scholars say the items are fake and are pushing Mexican art institutions to step in and "put a stop to this type of fraud." • Director Kathryn Bigelow says she filmed The Hurt Locker, her critically-acclaimed film about the Iraq War, in Jordan because, "It's a movie about the Middle East and, call me crazy, I wanted to shoot it in the Middle East. I don't think Arizona would have been quite right... The nature of this film was so reportorial – if you don't immerse yourself, how are you going to tell the story responsibly?" • A federal judge ruled today in a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota challenging informed consent laws that South Dakota abortion doctors must tell pregnant women the procedure terminates the life of a human being. However, she ruled that pregnant women don't have to be told abortion increases the likelihood of suicide or that they have an existing relationship with the fetus. • A British man who had a cornea transplant says he must have received the "cornea of a woman". His wife used to have to pester him to do housework but he says, "Because of my new eyesight I now notice every speck of dust and dirt and immediately want to clean it up... There is a reason why men don't clean normally and I think it's because we just don't see the dirt. But since the transplant I now see it wherever I go."

Sonia Scherr from the Southern Poverty Law Center explains the origins of the Pendergrafts' hatred for Jews and people of color.

The blond, fair-skinned Pendergrafts come from a long line of Aryan activists. Their grandfather is veteran Klansman Thomas Robb, leader of the Arkansas-based Knights Party, and their mother, Rachel Pendergraft, serves as spokeswoman for the Klan group.

Some things, it seems, can be passed down.

Charity Pendergraft sporadically maintains a blog in which she posts attractive pictures of herself and her younger sister (she thinks her sister is, like, totally hot!) and talks about how important it is to teach kids that hate is good.

I believe that there should be many meetings much like that one. Where the focus is on the youth. People need to remember that they are the future and they have to be prepared for the responsibility of spreading the message of White Christian Heritage to all their white brothers and sisters. We need to encourage them and give them the right tools to stay faithful and push on. There needs to be a balance of inspiring speeches, truthful music, and having just plain fun with their white brothers and sisters.

She also covers their eating habits (Pizza Hut's a big fave) and their daily activities in stultifying detail.

Testimonials from their commercial site are about what one would unhappily expect.

Hello,

Thank you for putting out a CD that my family can actually listen to. No hate, violence, swearing - just good solid white nationalist song writing. You make us proud!

Washington

Gotta get those kids early.

But, as Scherr notes in her piece, all the accolades from white supremacists and the hate-filled lyrics can't disguise one fact: the Perndergraft sisters really bite.

If that's the cultural shift white supremacists want to bring about, they've already lost everyone without a tin ear.

Another Adorable White-Power Sister Act [Southern Poverty Law Center]
An Update On Us....LOL [Heritage Connection Band]
Testimonials [Heritage Connection]

Sodini was a member of the LA Fitness in Collier, Pennsylvania, and neighbors described him as "a bit of a recluse." Allegheny County police superintendent says Sodini "did what he set out to do, and I think nobody could have stopped him." Moffatt did not confirm a report that Sodini's ex-girlfriend was one of his victims, but the killer's website (now offline) shows a bitter frustration with women in general.

On December 24, 2008, he wrote,

Moving into Christmas again. No girlfriend since 1984, last Christmas with Pam was in 1983. Who knows why. I am not ugly or too weird. No sex since July 1990 either (I was 29). No shit! Over eighteen years ago. And did it maybe only 50-75 times in my life. Getting to think that a woman now would just, uh, get in the way of things. Isolated. [...] I know nothing will change, no matter how hard I try or what goals I set.

And on December 29, 2008:

Just got back from tanning, been doing this for a while. No gym today, my elbow is sore again. I actually look good. I dress good, am clean-shaven, bathe, touch of cologne - yet 30 million women rejected me - over an 18 or 25-year period. That is how I see it. Thirty million is my rough guesstimate of how many desirable single women there are. A man needs a woman for confidence. He gets a boost on the job, career, with other men, and everywhere else when he knows inside he has someone to spend the night with and who is also a friend. This type of life I see is a closed world with me specifically and totally excluded. Every other guy does this successfully to a degree. Flying solo for many years is a destroyer. Yet many people say I am easy to get along with, etc. Looking back, I owe nothing to desirable females who ask for anything, except for basic courtesy - usually. Looking back over everything, what bothers me most is the inability to work towards whatever change I choose.

And on June 5, 2009:

I was reading several posts on different forums and it seems many teenage girls have sex frequently. One 16 year old does it usually three times a day with her boyfriend. So, err, after a month of that, this little hoe has had more sex than ME in my LIFE, and I am 48. One more reason. Thanks for nada, bitches! Bye.

Does it make sense to think of this as a misogynist crime? It's worth noting that Sodini's diary also includes some racist ramblings ("Black dudes have thier choice of best white hoez"), but both his racism and his sexism are heavily overlaid with insanity and despair. On May 4, 2009, he wrote:

I know I will never enjoy life. This is an over 30 year trend. Some people are happy, some are miserable. It is difficult to live almost continuously feeling an undercurrent of fear, worry, discontentment and helplessness. I can talk and joke around and sound happy but under it all is something different that seems unchangable and a permanent part of my being.

Sodini was clearly disturbed, but his bilious diary displays an extreme version of a type of grievance misogyny that is all too common. His conviction that all the "desirable single women" in the country are collectively rejecting him, even though he is not "too weird" seems at first like the antithesis of the bluster of pickup artists and "game" aficionados, but a glance at repugnablog Roissy in DC reveals a connection. In a post about the shooting, Roissy writes,

When men kill women, the underlying reason is almost always an unfulfilled psychosexual need. This goes for spree shooters, rapists, and serial killers. I'm not surprised Sodini hasn't had sex in nearly 20 years. As I've written before, to men celibacy is walking death, and anything is justified in avoiding that miserable fate.

Roissy's contention that "anything is justified" to help men avoid celibacy is terrifying, but more subtly disturbing is his assumption that Sodini's rampage was directly caused by women refusing to sleep with him. Like Sodini himself, Roissy assumes that Sodini shot up a gym because women rejected him, not that women rejected him because he was the kind of guy who would one day shoot up a gym. Roissy continues,

If Sodini had learned game he would have been able to find another woman and gotten laid after his ex dumped him. He wouldn't have spent the next 20 years steeped in bile and weighed down by his Sisyphian blue balls, dreaming of vengeance. Game could have saved the lives of the women Sodini killed. [...]

we are going to see a growing eunuchracy of involuntarily celibate betas and the marginalized men in their ranks decide that exiting in a blaze of hot lead beats living in loveless obscurity. And ex-girlfriends are target #1.

So basically if Sodini had only read Roissy's blog he would have been totally fine and never killed anyone, because all of his problems were caused by not knowing how to manipulate women. And women had better submit to such manipulation, unless they want to get shot. Despite his alpha-male swagger, Roissy basically endorses the tenets of grievance misogyny — that women are shallow creatures who reject perfectly good men, forcing them to endure the "walking death" of celibacy. Though his solution to this problem is domination through subterfuge and insults, rather than murder, his commenters are less charitable. One writes,

Finally a mass murderer writes a relatively coherent manifesto. Could be better, but at least it is implied that feminism is to blame and he is taking a last stand. I had been waiting for this (almost thinking I had to do it myself) and I am impressed. Kudos.

After George Tiller's murder, many asked whether conservative commentators were to blame for stirring up fringe elements of the anti-abortion camp. Similarly, AlterNet's Eric Boehlert called out Fox News for giving airtime to the conspiracy theorists who inspired murderer Richard Poplawski. Roissy and his pickup-artist ilk don't advocate the murder of women. But the worldview they promulgate does appear to inspire murderous thoughts. We don't know if Sodini visited misogynist websites during the long period in which he was planning his crime. We do know that he lived in a society where some people view hatred and even murder as a normal response to dating difficulties — if Roissy's violent "eunuchracy" ever comes to pass, these people will bear some of the blame.

Four Dead, Including Gunman, In Gym Shooting [CNN]
Pennsylvania Gym Shooter Plotted Attack In Online Diary Before Killing Three [ABC]
Game Can Save Lives [Roissy in DC]

Andrade's defense attorneys claimed that Andrade reacted without premeditation, in a rage at finding out that Zapata was born male (which Guanabee suggests may have happened after the two had sex). One lawyer said, "Justin Zapata lived like a female, looked like a female, sounded like a female. That's what Mr. Andrade believed. And when he found it wasn't Angie, it was actually Justin, he lost control." But prosecutors countered that Andrade knew that Zapata was born male for 36 hours before he killed her, and that he did so "out of his dislike for homosexuals." The jury agreed, deliberating for only two hours before finding him guilty of both murder and hate crime — one of the first times hate crime law has been applied to a transgender victim. Andrade will serve a life sentence without parole.

A really telling — and disturbing — aspect of this case is the language used on both sides. Andrade's defense lawyers insisted on referring to Zapata as Justin, perhaps implying that Andrade's actions somehow made more sense because Zapata wasn't "really" a woman. Andrade himself referred to Zapata as "it" when he was first arrested. There's also an interesting contrast between the AP's description of Zapata as "biologically male" and the Times's "born male." Does the Times's version do a better job of acknowledging the complexities of biological gender?

Blogger Drew Wilson reminds us that Zapata's death was, sadly, not a first for Colorado. A Navajo teen, Fred Martinez, was killed in 2001 because he identified as a two-spirit, a Native American who occupies both male and female gender roles. Notably, his murderer, Shaun Murphy, was not convicted of a hate crime. The conviction of Angela Zapata's killer on this charge is the saddest kind of progress.

Murder And Hate Verdict In Transgender Case [NYT]
Jury reaches verdict in Colo. Transgender Slaying [Breitbart]
As We Remember Angie, Let's Not Forget Fred [Drew Wilson, Denver Gay Examiner]
Breaking: Allen Andrade Convicted Of First Degree Murder [Feministe]
Defense Says ‘No Hate Crime' In Angie Zapata Trial, Prosecution Proves Otherwise [Guanabee]

Yesterday opening statements were heard in the murder trial of Angie Zapata, which marks the first time someone has been tried under the sexual orientation section of Colorado's hate crime law, according to The New York Times. Zapata was killed in Greeley, Colorado, two weeks before her 19th birthday last summer. Andrade, 32, told the police that he met Zapata on the internet and they had a sexual encounter. He then found out that she was biologically male and attacked her with a fire extinguisher. In an affidavit, he said he thought he had "killed it," but Zapata tried to get up, so he hit her in the head again.

Andrade and Zapata communicated nearly 700 times via text message, cell phone, and computer between July 12 and 16 because Zapata said she was looking for a roommate, reports the Associated Press. The two spent the day together and ended up in Zapata's one-bedroom apartment. He told police that she performed oral sex on him, but wouldn't let him touch her. Andrade saw photos in the apartment that led him to ask about her gender. She told him, "I am all woman," according to Andrade.

Defense attorney Bradley Martin, who repeated referred to Zapata as "Justin," her birth name, said his client was deceived because her profile said she was a straight female. "This case is about a deception, and a reaction to that deception," said Martin, "Allen discovered that Angie, this girl he had spent the last night with, was in fact a man, and Allen snapped."

Prosecutors say Andrade plotted to kill Zapata 36 hours after figuring out that she was born male. "This is the person who spent time with her, talked to her and then, on the evening of July 16, picked up a fire extinguisher and bashed in her skull," said Brandi Nieto, a deputy district attorney, adding, "His statements will show he did this because she was transgender."

In a recorded phone conversation from jail between Andrade and his girlfriend, he said, ""It is not like I went up to a schoolteacher and shot her in the head or killed a straight law-abiding citizen." His attorney said he was just joking.

Andrade is facing life in prison for the first-degree murder charge and the hate crime charge carries an additional sentence of 3 years. Eleven states and the District of Columbia have hate-crime laws that cover gender identity. According to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, 21 transgender people were killed last year, but this is the first time any state's hate crime law has been applied to the murder of a transgendered person.

Murder Trial Tests Colorado Hate-Crime Statute [The New York Times]
Defense: Colo. Transgender Slaying About Deception [The Associated Press]

• The man convicted of killing Brandon Teena has recanted part of his confession and is now claiming he was the lone murderer. (Teena's story was the inspiration behind the 1999 film Boys Don't Cry, for which Hilary Swank won the Best Actress Oscar.) One thing kinda irks us about this news story: CNN insists on using his birth name "Teena Brandon" even though he lived and died as Brandon Teena. [CNN]
  
• That Planned Parenthood in Aurora, IL that was at risk of never opening because of some silly regulation violations? Well, a judge has ruled that the clinic will remain closed. As PP said after the ruling, "We wouldn't be here if this was a foot-care clinic." [Feministing]

• New York State has given the heave-ho to the abstinence-only education-funding the Bush Administration will not stop ramming down our throats. [NY Times]
• A judge in Kansas rejected State Attorney General Phil Kline's mission to require health care workers and counselors to report all underage sexual activity, including kissing. Seriously, dude, just read Penthouse Letters to get your rocks off, okay? [Ms. Magazine]
• Isn't the BBC supposed to be of higher quality than the junk we watch on American TV? The news network has decreed that only good-looking women will be reading the bite-sized news bits aimed at their younger audience. [Daily Mail]
• Donald Trump has hired Miss Teen South Carolina to model for Trump Model Management at a rate of $25,000 a day. Because everyone knows that there's nothing prettier than an empty brain cavity. [WorldNetDaily]

• Wow, "Keith" must be working some serious overtime! Southwest Airlines gave another woman hell for wearing "revealing" clothing, just a week after a woman was nearly booted off a flight for wearing a mini-skirt. Setara Qassim was forced to wear a blanket by a flight attendant because she thought Setara's top was too low cut. Dude, is it just us, or does Southwest seriously have a problem with girls with ample breasts? [NBC6.net]
  
• Eating right, staying active, and watching your weight during pregnancy furthers the chances that your unborn baby will grow into a healthy adult. Memo to Nicole Richie: Eating right, staying active, and watching your weight ups your chances of being a healthy adult too! [Newsweek]
  
• A Top Chef contestant and a small group of her friends were beaten outside of Long Island bar in what appears to be a hate-crime. Josie Smith-Malave, who is gay, says she hopes the perpetrators will be caught and prosecuted on felony hate-crime charges. [Local6.com]

• "Is football too dangerous?" asks Time Magazine. If we say yes, will our boyfriend stop dominating the television Saturday through Monday for four months out of the fucking year? [Time Magazine]
• Seventy-five percent of moms have major nightmares about something horrible happening to their children. See, women carry the bulk of the parenting load, even in their dreams! [MSNBC]
• Children who are exposed to high levels of testosterone in the womb may see symptoms of autism later in life, further evidence that links the male hormone to the disorder. [MSNBC.com]
• Further proof that humans are descended from monkeys: female chimps love bad boys just as much as women do. [MSNBC.com]
• It's the 40th Anniversary of the Abortion Act in the UK, but there's a bit of a debate raging as to how late in a pregnancy a woman can terminate. The Daily Mail has an interesting panel of women who've had abortions weighing in on the discussion. [Daily Mail]
• An 80-year old Iowa woman had "Do Not Resuscitate" tattooed on her body, but doctors are still keeping her on life support because they say the tattoo is not enough proof of her wishes. Do they think "Do Not Resuscitate" is the name of a heavy metal band or something? [Crooks And Liars]
• A woman who is the victim of an alleged rape has sued the judge in the case because he has barred the use of the words rape, victim, and assailant from the courtroom during the trial. The woman was barred from using the words during her testimony, which lasted 13 hours, a clear violation of her first amendment rights. [Law.com]
• A lawsuit against the University of Colorado was reinstated after being dismissed in 2005. The original case stemmed from the gang rape of two women in 2001 by the school's football players and recruits. The suit alleges that CU officials failed to respond adequately to a long history of sexual harassment and assault by school football players and were therefore liable for the environment that allowed the rapes to occur. [Ms.]
• A Vitamin-D deficiency during pregnancy increases the risk of getting pre-eclampsia, the leading cause of premature birth. Trista Sutter — you know, the OG Bachelorette — talks about her personal experience in this week's US Weekly! [Science Daily]