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Worst People Ever
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Worst People Ever
racism watch
What Patriotism Isn't
Last week, I charged journalists with taking pictures of Republican National Convention attendees in possession of an ObamaMonkey or Obama-Curious George T-shirt. Today, I have an addition. I want pictures of people wearing these pins, which were sold at the Texas Republican convention last weekend, so they shouldn't be hard to spot — just look for members of the Texas delegation. If 2000 and 2004 is any guide, there will be a preponderance of cowboy hats in the vicinity. E-mail them to me. I want to start racist-shaming. Between that and the "Keep the White House... Wh!te" stamps on dollar bills in New York, I understand more and more what it is to be ashamed of my country and my fellow Americans.
Stick A Pin In It [Dallas Morning News]
Read It And Weep [Staten Island Advance]
Earlier: ObamaMonkey? There Is No Teachable Moment With Some People.
A Texas judge has set the minors from the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints free, reports CNN. Judge Barbara Walther said that the FLDS parents can start picking up their children immediately, though the Department of Family and Protective Services will be checking in on the polygamist sect, and, according to CNN, "These unannounced visits could entail medical, psychological and psychiatric examinations, and the parents must not intervene." FLDS parents must also complete parenting classes and are not allowed to leave the state of Texas without notifying authorities in advance. [CNN]
big love
Texas Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of FLDS; Children Will Likely Be Returned
The Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints minors who were seized from the cult's Texas compound will be Yearning For Zion no longer — the Texas Supreme court has upheld a lower court's decision, and declared that the removal of children from the FLDS stronghold was unwarranted. Church spokesman Rod Parker says, "at this point there is no legal basis to hold anyone," and he wants the children to be reunited with their parents as soon as possible. What happens next is not entirely clear, according to the Los Angeles Times, because while the removal of the children was ruled unwarranted, the state is still allowed to "take other measures to protect [the children] while [the trial court] deliberated." Those measures, legal experts believe, could include requiring parents to stay in the area and/or move out of the Yearning For Zion ranch in addition to further DNA testing, the L.A. Times reports. More »
Whether the state of Texas violated the rights of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints when it removed 400 some-odd children from the Yearning For Zion ranch is up for debate. What's not is the creepiness of these photos of former FLDS honcho Warren Jeffs sucking face with his child-brides. The Smoking Gun got a hold of images of Jeffs with two of his spiritual wives, Loretta and Merrianne. Merrianne, pictured here with Jeffs, was 12 when this photo was taken. These photos were used as evidence in the ongoing FLDS custody trials. Jeffs is currently in jail for coercing a 14-year-old girl to marry a 19-year-old. [The Smoking Gun]
Teenage Wasteland
Marche Taylor, like many teens around this time of the year, showed up at her prom in Houston, TX dressed to impress. The party was being held in a ballroom at the Sugar Land Marriott, but Taylor only got as far as the lobby. A school official told her that her dress did not meet the dress code; Taylor argued and then tried to get her money back. Someone called the cops. Taylor was escorted from the establishment in handcuffs. Really? Was that necessary? Don't forget about that Human Rights Watch report that says black people are disproportionately incarcerated. On the one hand, girls can be mentally damaged from sexualization in advertising; on the other hand, should a prom dress land a young woman in handcuffs? [KHOU]
babies having babies
Over Half Of Female FLDS Teens In Texas Custody Have Been Pregnant
Here we are, worried about the sexualization of 15-year-old Miley Cyrus, when 31 out of 53 girls from the ages of 14-17 from the Yearning For Zion ranch are pregnant or already have children. Although the polygamist Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints have been claiming that they do not marry off 13 and 14 year old girls to older men, the number of very young yet pregnant girls seems to refute these claims. What's more, there are 53 girls ages 14-17 who were taken from the ranch, while only 17 boys in that age group were living with the sect. (The gender divisions in children under 14 were about 50/50.) This gives credence to the tales of "lost boys" of the FDLS: adolescent males who were exiled from the sect to keep the gender imbalance favorable for polygamous unions. More »
big love
Despite Doubters, Texas Will Keep Polygamist Children In State Custody
Texas judge Barbara Walther ruled on Friday that the 416 children who were taken from the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints' polygamist enclave, the Yearning For Zion Ranch, be kept in state custody. This legal decision has not been made without opposition, not just from the FLDS brass, but also from the ACLU and conservative journalists, who believe the state of Texas invaded the YFZ ranch on a false tip. In a written statement, ACLU Texas executive director Terri Burke said, "As this situation continues to unfold, we are concerned that the constitutional rights that all Americans rely upon and cherish — that we are secure in our homes, that we may worship as we please and hold our places of worship sacred, and that we may be with our children absent evidence of imminent danger — have been threatened." More »
news roundup
Everything Is Disappointing, Everyone Is Disappointed
- Fabulous CNN reporter Richard Quest (my pretend British boyfriend), was picked up early this morning in Central Park and charged with possessing meth. Oh, Richard. You already overcame the hazards of British dentistry once, why would you risk your teeth again? [NY Times]
- In what is rapidly becoming a roll call of disappointment, journalists call out Snuffleupagus and Charlie Gibson for their shoddy debate performance. Isn't it elitist to care if the debate was less than substantive, guys? [The Nation]
- Speaking of things that are bound to disappoint others, Bill Clinton's former Labor Secretary Robert Reich endorsed Obama today. For those people counting, that's now five former Clinton Cabinet secretaries (Reich, Richardson, Peña, Daley and Mineta) supporting Obama and 2 openly supporting Clinton (Albright and Cisneros). You may hate the Bushies, but, damn, do they understand loyalty better than the Clintonistas. [Robert Reich's Blog via NY Magazine, HuffPo, WaPo, HuffPo and HillaryClinton.com]
More »
big love
Child Abuse Hearings On Texas Polygamist Sect Start Today
Child custody hearings begin today in Texas for the 416 minors who were taken from the polygamist sect Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints' compound near Eldorado. According to CNN, logistics will be decided upon today, like which cases take precedence, while the actual fates of the children will be determined on Thursday. As previously reported, over 100 mothers accompanied the children from the compound, also known as the Yearning For Zion Ranch, when they were taken by police over a week ago. Texas authorities were responding to a call from a 16-year-old who blew the whistle on YFZ child abuse, though that teen has yet to be located. The mothers and children have been living in a temporary shelter in San Angelo, Texas, and the FLDS moms are none too pleased at the treatment they've been receiving. More »
crappy hour
Your Nagging Ancient Mormon Underage Sex Cult Questions, Answered At Last!
So these polygamists: how did they pull it off? How did Warren Jeffs find time time to impregnate 70 women and run from the law? When your spiritual leader is on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List and you've been chased out of two states and your creepy molestation cult is the subject of a Jon Krakauer book, just how do you go about finding the proper plot in West Texas on which to build your theme park-sized compound and commence bilking the government? Don't these people have a problem with birth defects? What of all the excess dudes? 100 years we've been putting up with this? What, is there some formidable pro-polygamy lobby keeping authorities from charging all these creepy old men marrying 13-year-olds because it will "break up families? (A: yes!) Didn't homeowners in El Dorado fear the whole "Waco" stigma? (Also yes!) Why was a sixteen-year-old who didn't even know how to spell her name the proverbial smoking gun here? And what's with the macro diet? Does it make up for all the inbreeding? Glamocracy's Megan Carpentier and I yearn to know more about Yearning For Zion, and we do all the morbid internet research so you don't have to, after the jump. More »
clips
Wife Swap: Terrifying Texas Mom Shows "Pansy" Husband Who's Boss
On last night's Wife Swap, a radio shock-jock mom from the Northeast traded places with a walking ashtray from Texas named Sue Ann, who doesn't stand for any B.S. like "pansy" househusbands who don't earn a living or know how to play catch with their sons. A man named Edward was the husband assigned to Sue Ann, and, although he was kind of a "pansy", she was an absolute loon who flew off the handle at every available moment. At one point, she began screaming in his face about how his wife is "nothing special". Clip above.
crappy hour
Hillary Wins Big In Thrilling Plot Twist, Oh Yay!
Oh Hell no! (Or put another way, Hell no.) Howwwww much longer can this go one? Until quality secure green collar jobs are found for the cast of The Hills? Until, oh ha ha ha, "Hill freezes over"?? (Hey, by the way, that's already happening to Obama's superdelegates!) Maybe until everyone dies like in the Decameron. CAN EVERYONE JUST DIE ALREADY PLEASE. After the jump, I call in first buddylist member Megan Carpentier of the blog Glamocracy to discuss why Hillary won the white Texan male vote, whether she photoshopped Obama's face to look like a scary black man and whose is a more influential endorsement, Jay Rockefeller or Jay-Z. More »
broadsides
Alexis Thompson May Actually Increase Our Interest In Golf
- Golf? Snooze. A 12 year old girl becoming the youngest female to ever qualify for United States Women's Open? Pretty awesome. [USAToday]
- Another reason to tell you boyfriend to stop singing the same damn song in the shower every morning: Scientists say the number of different songs a male bird can sing is a signal of its sexual prowess. [Guardian]
- Women, take note! Health experts have identified a set of symptoms — including bloating, pelvic/abdominal pain, frequent urination and difficulty eating — that may be early indicators of ovarian cancer. [NYTimes]
- A former swimsuit model with no journalism experience but busty, blonde good looks has been made an anchorwoman at a CBS affiliate in Tyler, Texas. [ABCNews]
- Presidential candidate and United States Senator Sam Brownback: No abortion, even for rape victims. [Feministing]
