Women in Secularism 2: Breaking News: Even at WiS, we have to defend the purpose of WiS!

Reblogged from Dissent of a Woman:

If you want some background as to why we even had this conference, Ken Chitwood posted in the Houston Chronicle about it on May 15th about the upcoming event. Female atheists fight for equality in freethought movement

Women are in a bit of a conundrum when it comes to religion. Increasingly, women want more roles, greater leadership and increased participation. At the same time, such vertical movement is harder for women to attain as pockets of religious conservatism tighten control, leaving women with a crisis.

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Yeah. This happened. I was there in the front row, and I can confirm, Ron Lindsay's speech was just as bad as it sounds. He was an embarrassment to the "old white guy" demographic. For the amount of time he spent scolding us nasty feminists for our bad manners, we could've had another talk.

Jon Hamm Needs To Stop Dressing Like a Total Slut

Reblogged from Thought Catalog:

It seems like Jon Hamm’s penis has enjoyed its literal moment in the sun. Much to the chagrin of the man behind the appendage, photographs of his bulge have made the rounds on entertainment websites and tumblr blogs. While his displeasure is understandable, it takes away from the greater point. Jon Hamm needs to stop dressing like a total slut.

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Here we have #edgyheadlines, the expanded version.

Catholic Bishops Oppose Violence Against Women Act Because of LGBT Protections

Reblogged from Bondings 2.0:

After a lengthy political battle centered around specific LGBT, American Indian and migrant protection, President Barack Obama finally signed the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act yesterday, but not before five Catholic bishops announced their opposition to the legislation in a statement released Wednesday.

Lauren Markoe writes in The Washington Post about the bishops’ rejection of this legislation that strengthens and funds federal initiatives to further protect domestic violence and human trafficking victims.

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Keep digging that hole, Bishops.

Jamila Bey Caught in the Commission of Journalism

Hemant Mehta shows us this incident in which the Rev. William Owens of the Coalition of African-American Pastors made the mistake of opening up the topic of “Biblical marriage” in front of an audience which included Jamila Bey. The press conference was supposed to be about CAAP’s opposition to marriage equality. Rev. Owens is a consultant to NOM. He acts like he isn’t accustomed to actually answering questions.

Bey: Reverend, What is God’s position on polygamy?

Owens: [Glares] Well, I think you know that. This is not about polygamy. This is about same-sex marriage.

Bey: This is about your — I need you to define for me, please, the Biblical definition of marriage–

Owens: The Biblical definition of marriage is a marriage between a man and a woman. And I’m not going to–

Bey: But Reverend–

Owens: I’m not going to get on another track!

Bey: … Talk to me about Abraham’s marriage.

Owens: Madam. Next question! Next question.

Bey: Reverend, what is God’s position on polygamy?

Owens: Next question!

Bey: Reverend, what is God’s position on polygamy?

Owens: Are you, are you going to stand there and just demand that I answer your question? This is not about polygamy. This is about same-sex marriage… and I will NOT do any different.

Bey: Reverend, you said that you would answer questions about Biblical marriage.

Owens: [To security] Would you have this lady removed?

Look at that again: “Are you going to stand there and just demand that I answer your question?” Why, yes, Rev. Owens! It’s called being a journalist. If you bring up “Biblical marriage,” as if the Bible is a helpful guide to well-adjusted family life, then you should be prepared for someone to ask about polygamy. This is especially important given how much energy the anti-equality side puts into comparing SSM to polygamy, or sounding the alarm that marriage equality will put us on a slippery slope to polygamy, bestiality and state-sanctioned incest. In light of the environment which the pro-patriarchy side has created, one should know better than to bring out the Good Book as a defense of enforced heterosexual monogamy. The Reverend just walked right into it.

Writer revenge!

Reblogged from Knitting with Pencils:

There are days that I wish I was above thoughts of revenge.

And then there are days that I revel in the knowledge that because I'm a writer, I can get back at every single person who ever hurt me.

Above thoughts of revenge? Fuck it. Certain people had better hope I don't get around to writing that YA novel I'm planning, because it will not handle them kindly.

I will concede that this is preferable to unemployment…

In short: remember how my home Internet was useless on Sunday? Yeah, it was supposed to come back on last night, but as of this morning it was still useless, and I am not optimistic about Virgin Mobile. So, at home it’s not happening, and at work it’s not allowed, so…the pursuit of intellectual interests online is a non-starter. If the wifi device is still not getting the job done tonight, then with any luck I’ll manage some actual writing.

Sunday Storytime: “You love the ladies, and they love you!”

This week, I’m going to show you another sample from Charlinder’s Walk. This one is not shown on the website and has not been previously posted at this blog. I shared it with the ladies at the meetup at Teaism (thanks, Ananda!) and they enjoyed it, so today I’m posting it here.

The context is that Charlinder is going to leave on his journey within the next few weeks. All the village know he’s leaving, and they’re going to miss him, so his gal-pals are taking turns saying good-bye to him. As a result, he’s having sex a lot more often than usual, and his uncle is not oblivious. Therefore, Roy is going to tease him a bit. The village does communal meals in the main square, thus the “coming in from dinner” bit.

Also below the jump is a tidbit from my fourth novel, which is currently in the planning stage.

Bigoted trending topics

Twitter has successfully made a TT out of #wordsafricansmispronounce oddly enough with more than half of the content being messages that it’s an offensive topic. What makes this TT amusing is that I opened it up and found a great deal more amusing content, and considerably less offensive bullshit than, say, #thingsblackgirlsdo. Though that’s a low bar to clear.

Oh, look! A new paint job!

Someday, I just might find a blog theme I like and just stick with it. Right now, though, I’m going for “professional and clean” rather than “colorful just like me.”

I can’t blame it on a “slow news day.”

Yep, I saw the news about the shooting of Rep. Giffords and bystanders. I hope the Congresswoman makes a full recovery. I just don’t have anything more interesting to say about it because…

…I’m withdrawing from caffeine right now. Which would be fine, if my body agreed to feel as tired at 11 on Sunday night as it does at 8 on Monday morning. Don’t expect much from me over the next few days.

Butterfly says hi. She’s still nuts.