From the ceaseless conveyor belt of shit that is Margie Phelps's Twitter feed:

The Phelps family is basically a human centipede.

But University of Washington president Michael Young—who shrugged responsibility for funding colleges because he doesn't make enough money—makes more than the governor, state lawmakers, or even the US president:

This leads Goldy to ask the inevitable questions OVER HERE.

No Riches, Just an Embarrassment: The Seattle Public School district has an embarrassing lack of teachers of color and doesn't know quite what to do about it. "African-American students outnumber black teachers by nearly 3-to-1; for Latinos, the ratio is more than 4-to-1," reports the Seattle Times.

Another Excuse to Get Naked in Fremont: It's summer solstice, let's get naked and run around! It's Halloween, let's get naked and run around! Children have tumors, let's get naked and run around!

Obama Caves to Catholics? This morning the administration will reportedly backpedal on its rule requiring insurance companies to cover contraceptives, because the rule makes Catholic Bishops—who traditionally don't use contraceptives or fuck women who do—squawk.

Meanwhile, Someone's Gunning for the Pope! Could it be God? I hear he works in mysterious ways.

Lewd Payout: The LA teacher charged last week with 23 counts of lewd conduct against children—which allegedly included both cockroach and semen play—was paid $40,000 to leave the school district quietly last year.

What a Boob: U.S. District Judge rules that a Houston company was within their rights to fire an employee after she asked to pump breast milk at work because, he stupidly reasons, there's no correlation between pregnancy and nursing:

"Even if the company's claim that she was fired for abandonment is meant to hide the real reason – she wanted to pump breast milk – lactation is not pregnancy, childbirth or a related medical condition," U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes writes in his statement. "She gave birth on Dec. 11, 2009. After that day, she was no longer pregnant and her pregnancy-related conditions ended. Firing someone because of lactation or breast-pumping is not sex discrimination."

Sweetheart Swindlers: Seattle widow looking for love online says she was swindled by a sweet-talking gold dealer in Ghana.

Hactivist History Lesson: Alan Moore, the creator of the V for Vendetta comics, gives a fireside history lesson on why and how Guy Fawkes became the face of anonymous hackers everywhere.

Pink Battery Backlash: Please enjoy this corporate sob story about businesses being publicly burned by donating—or, say, debuting thousands of pink batteries—to charities in the midst of scandal.

And finally, watch as Bill Maher unbaptizes Mitt Romney's dead atheist father-in-law:

Continue reading »

Last year, a blogger, activist, and "amateur pornographer" named Furry Girl requested her FBI file on a lark. Last month, she got it and posted some of its highlights online.

Among other details, Furry Girl learned that she and a few others were followed for several days several years ago while they planned and participated in a small, legal protest. (She doesn't specify what it was about—being an amateur pornographer, she's sensitive about her whereabouts and activities—saying "It was the sort of thing activists do every month all around the world.")

The 436-page file, which was begun in 2002, notes that she and her cohort neither planned to nor engaged in any illegal behavior—besides a little dumpster diving—but the FBI kept following them anyway:

It's the surveillance detail where things get funny and weird. Eleven or twelve of us were followed by a group of 3-6 FBI agents over the course of five days, and there was often a detail sitting outside of my apartment, totally unbeknownst to me. (I feel like a total chump that I didn't notice that I was being followed and photographed during this time.) I had never read law enforcement surveillance logs before, so it was interesting to comb through the pages.

The file notes, for example, that one day she left the house wearing an orange cap, kissed somebody, got in a car with some friends, and went to see Lord of the Rings. Then she and her friends left the movie theater while agents "attempted" to photograph them, went to the store, got a case of beer, went to someone's house, and other boring stuff that people do.

I've written before about not-dangerous folks being surveilled by federal and local law-enforcement agents for peacefully and lawfully exercising their First Amendement rights: making art, throwing parties, expressing dissident political opinions, being involved in protests, and... um... writing for The Stranger about people involved in protests.

So what's the big deal? Most of us have nothing to hide, right? So why not let cops and FBI agents take our photos when we're not looking, sniff through our underwear drawers, and write 436-page reports about it?

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Greek debt deal. In a last minute effort to stave off default, Greek government leaders have agreed to impose new austerity measures as part of a deal to secure another $172 billion in bailout money, and as much as a 70 percent write-off of its private debt. Because, you know, austerity has worked so well thus far.

US foreclosure deal. Five of the nations largest banks have struck a $26 billion deal with federal and state officials as restitution for a broad range of foreclosure abuses. About a million homeowners will receive mortgage debt relief, and another 750,000 foreclosure victims will get cash payments of about $2,000 each. In exchange, the banks will receive broad immunity from prosecution and civil suits. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal for the banks.

News Corp phone hacking deals. Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. has struck 15 more deals to settle claims by victims of its phone hacking abuses. Last month, a News Corp subsidiary settled 37 additional claims.

Gay marriage. Deal with it. In case you missed it, the Washington State House passed marriage equality legislation yesterday, sending the bill on to the governor, whose signature will, apparently, destroy traditional marriage as we know it. Or something.

Sweet deal for state health insurers. Washington's three "non-profit" health insurers have stockpiled $2.4 billion in surpluses, something Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler thinks he should be allowed to consider the next time he's asked to approve rate hikes.

Raw deal. What can I say? Would you trust your money to a guy named "Skeeter"?

Frequent flyer deal. Frequent flyers will soon be able to breeze through airport security, because people who travel back and forth between the Middle East and the US never rack up enough miles to be considered frequent flyers.

Double entendre scores hat trick! There are two kinds of headline writers: the kind that looks forward to crafting naughty, santorum-oozing headlines, and the kind that desperately (and futilely) seeks to avoid them. By now, both kinds are likely bored with the task of describing Rick Santorum's surprising sweep of yesterday's Republican presidential contests in Missouri, Minnesota, and Colorado.

Syria bombs Homs! Things look bad for Syria's rebels, as government troops continue to shell and bomb the city of Homs, while the Obama administration reportedly rules out arming the resistance.

Release the Kraken! After more than two decades of drilling through miles of Antarctic ice, Russian scientists have finally broken through to a gigantic, 20-million-year-old lake. No doubt the scientists are all dead by now, brutally killed by whatever mysterious creature/diseases/alien they've unleashed.

Eli owns a jacket and tie! Intrepid reporter Eli Sanders is donning his Sunday best, and heading down to Olympia for today's historic House vote on marriage equality. Tune in at 1 p.m. for Eli's live-Slogging.

The New York Giants suck! And so do their fans. Hope they choke on their delicious bagels, and giant deli sandwiches. Fuck 'em. (Go Eagles!)

Give me a "V"! At least 19 cheerleading squads have reported vomiting and diarrhea among their members after attending a tournament at the Comcast Arena in Everett, over the weekend.

One million comments! Yesterday, at 4:48 p.m., Slog recorded its one millionth comment. In the immortal words of Bethany: "We couldn't have done it without the trolls. And by that I mean it would've taken longer but been more pleasant."

Just because! A baby playing ping pong:

As Goldy said, good riddance, Karen Handel, you bigot.

As for the rest of us, here's where you can contribute directly to Planned Parenthood—which as you can see from this overview of the whole Komen story from last week, is continuously under attack by bigots.

And when you donate to PP and forward your receipt letter to feministkilljoy@thestranger.com, you enter for a chance to win one of three of these T-shirts (winners will be announced tomorrow at noon!):

• Be one.

Barack Obama is a drug dealer! From the NYTimes:

The Obama campaign said it was refunding more than $200,000 raised by the family of a casino magnate linked to violence and corruption in Mexico who has been seeking a pardon.

Russia's foreign minister had a “very productive visit” with Syrian officials in Beirut: Said productivity evidently did not involve the end of killing the shit out of more Syrian civilians.

Jay Inslee rolls out jobs plan: Proposing new business tax breaks and a state government focused on growing key industries such as aerospace, clean energy and agriculture.

More bank windows smashed: On Capitol Hill again. I'll give you one guess who it was!

Washington State gay marriage could see a vote on the House floor as soon as Wednesday night: From KUOW (the radio kind)

Today is supposed to be really nice: Tomorrow is not supposed to be really nice:

The Guardian: Live Blogging as Bernanke testifies to Congress on US economy. Bernanke expected to tell Senate Budget Committee he plans to keep interest rates at super-low level.

Cleansing the record: Amanda Knox lawyer appeals slander conviction:

In October, an Italian appeals court overturned the young Seattle woman's murder conviction in the 2007 death of her British roommate in Perugia. But the same court upheld Knox's conviction for slander — for falsely accusing bar owner Diya "Patrick" Lumumba of involvement in the slaying.

Enter the Dragon: "I Am Bruce Lee," a documentary coproduced by Lee's daughter, Shannon Lee, and directed by Pete McCormack, is playing at Pacific Place in Seattle Feb. 9 and 15. The trailer:

Today in horrible pieces of shit: Josh Powell and 2 young sons believed dead in home explosion.

"According to the Tacoma News Tribune, Powell's attorney said he received an email moments before the explosion from Powell. It read simply, 'I'm sorry, goodbye.'"

Syrian civilians continue to die: Fifty more dead in the city of Hom.

Another gunshot fatality in Seattle, another uncooperative crowd: "Police said witnesses were 'less than forthcoming with investigating officers.'" Details of the shooting remain under investigation.

Several new proposals for evaluating state teachers: They all involve "moving from a two-level rating — satisfactory or unsatisfactory — to a four-level rating system that would give teachers more feedback and thus help them improve. Under the earlier system, almost all teachers were rated satisfactory."

Morons consider eating dog while lost in the woods of southern Oregon: "She's that good a dog, she'd have done it, too," one said. Wha?

We're next! 5.7 earthquake off B.C.

There's gold in them there hills: Canadians are after gold in the hills outside Wenatchee.

It's raining homeless men: Guy falls off overpass and is hit by car. "The area near the overpasses between Capitol Hill and downtown over I-5 has seen regular occurrences of people jumping, falling or attempting to cross the busy freeway to access fenced-off areas often used by homeless people to camp."

I remember when I lived in Oliver Tower, I saw a woman fall down onto the transit lane. Medics couldn't find her, and one eventually had to jump down from actual I-5, where the ambulances had stopped, to get to her. Then, minutes later in a seemingly unrelated incident, there was a dog running north on southbound I-5. All hell had broken loose on that bit of I-5 that day.

And here is some karate rap that you apparently have to click on the permalink to watch:

Yawn, it's the Mitt again: Romney cruises to an easy win in the Nevada Republican caucuses. He secured 47.6% of the votes with just over 70% of the votes counted. His nearest rival Newt Gingrich got 22.6%. Romney's victory is his second in a week and cements his position as the Republican presidential front-runner.

Still fighting: Gingrich is not giving up until his party's convention in August, says he had expected Romney to win in Nevada because of the state's high Mormon population. "I'm actually pretty happy with where we are, and I think the contrast between Governor Romney and me is going to get wider and wider and clearer and clearer over the next few weeks," Gingrich said.

Any friend of Newt is a friend of Romney's?: It looks like even if Gingrich drops out of the race, his top donor Sheldon Adelson will devote his time, energy and billions to the overriding issue: beating Barack.

"Uni-dimensional": That's what Santorum called Romney. What should Romney call Santorum?

"A travesty": Is what Hillary Clinton called Russia and China's veto of a UN resolution condemning Syria's crackdown against anti-government protesters. Human rights groups say that more than 7,000 people have been killed in Syria by the country's security forces since the uprising began in March.

Soccer riot: Continues for the third day in Egypt. The death toll from street fights grew to 12. The "ultras," a group of soccer fans, are now the vanguard of the Egyptian uprising.

Damage Control:: Komen for the Cure is seeking help from Ogilvy Public Relations and possibly former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer to deal with its PR fiasco.

Brady vs Manning: Here's some Super Bowl trivia. Looks like even the NFL uses standardized tests to evaluate whether athletes are smart enough to draft.

Tax breaks: A new proposal in Olympia would force lawmakers to take a closer look at hundreds of state tax breaks currently on the books.

$975K: Money a jury awarded a mentally-ill woman who gave birth all alone in a King County jail cell 14 years ago.

And finally, it's not as nice today as it was yesterday, but it could be worse.

Jobless rate falls to 8.3%: An improvement to our economy but poses serious political risks for advisers to both Obama and Romney (basically means Romney can't blame Obama for making the recession worse anymore).

Gingrich's ties to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: Runs deeper than he would like you to know.

Obama denounces brutal killings in Syria: The weekend attack in Homs left more than 200 people dead. The U.S. pledges support to the Syrian people.

Komen for the Cure apologizes: Backs down from cutting funding to Planned Parenthood. But can the world's largest breast care charity erase the blemish?

FBI probes anonymous phone hack: Hacktivist group Anonymous intercepted a conference call between British and U.S. police in which they were discussing legal action against hackers.

Frozen to death: In the past month, at least 22 Afghan children under the age of 5 have frozen to death after their families fled war zones in Afghanistan to seek shelter in refugee camps.

Do the dead outnumber the living?: The BBC investigates.

It's the year's warmest day so far: Wear some shorts!

The Episcopal bishop in Western Washington supports same-sex marriage: Believes that "same-sex marriage is "a conservative proposal" that should be adopted "not only in our society but in our church."

Investigation widens to find shooter of eight sea lions: In case you missed this, there's now a $10,000 reward being offered by the Sea Shepherd Society to track down the killings.

And finally, to put you in the mood for the Super Bowl, here's Seinfeld's No Soup for You! Super Bowl ad. You be the judge:

But Komen, for the record, has lost any support I might have given it. I'll be donating directly to cancer research, not funneling through Komen. Ever.

Komen Reverses: Now saying it will fund Planned Parenthood, after the firestorm of response.

Komen's Attack on Planned Parenthood Locally and Nationally: The whole story, all in one place.

January Jobless Rate: Lowest in three years.

Four Men in South Africa: Convicted of killing an 18-year-old lesbian in a hate crime. (Note: "Gay marriage is legal in South Africa, which was the first African nation to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.")

The Securities and Exchange Commission of the U.S. Government: Whose side is it on?

Curtis Walker Guilty: In 2010 Skyway shooting of a 12-year-old.

Seattle Police Department Investigation: Is Being Rushed, Minority Leaders Say.

Panetta Convinced: Israel could bomb Iran this spring.

Madonna Is Freaked Out: To perform for a billion at Superbowl halftime. Details of her show.

Fake Cop in Oregon: Used teddy bears on the "job."

More Deaths in the Aftermath of Soccer Riots: In Egypt.

Two Americans Kidnapped in Egypt: Released.

"Dabblers in Hard Drugs": After age 50.

And here's Madonna's new single, with Nicki Minaj and M.I.A....

Joni Earl just sent the statement we've been waiting for, including a letter that Puget Sound Komen sent today to the national chapter, which makes clear that the Puget Sound affiliate wants to "express our extreme disappointment and frustration with the new grant policy adopted by Komen National."

It also makes clear that this conversation, as was reported today, has been happening internally—and that people inside Komen, including affiliates like Puget Sound, have seen this train wreck coming and been warning against it. (In other words, it's not a "media conspiracy," as Elisabeth Jameson of Seattle Westin tried to claim earlier today.)

"As we communicated with Komen National last month on behalf of our Board and Staff, we believe that this policy is overly broad and strips the authority from affiliates to determine how to best serve our local communities with the funds entrusted to us by our donors. We were further dismayed at Komen National's failure to consider feedback from the affiliates before taking this action."

Continued:

We believe this policy is misguided and respectfully reiterate our request that the policy be rescinded or revised to permit greater flexibility to the affiliates to evaluate grant applicants and, together with Komen National, determine whether an applicant should be ineligible for funding.

We must consider the implications of this policy on women worldwide.

I will try to get Earl's perspective on why Komen Puget Sound isn't just doing like Denver and ignoring the defunding mandate.

Here's the whole PDF.

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Can we talk about Komen?

Email me! Please!

Where are the leader ladies of Seattle? Hmm? Patty Murray isn't the only one, is she?

I am grateful that Elisabeth James, the manager of the Westin in Seattle and one of the trustees of Komen's upcoming local gala, called me back just now. (I called her yesterday.)

But when I asked her what she thought of Komen's decision to defund Planned Parenthood...she blamed the problems on the media.*

Do you disagree with the decision to defund Planned Parenthood? I asked her.

"I don’t disagree with it based on if there’s an investigation and that’s the standard, and holding to your standards is the only way you can avoid being political," she said. "Personally, do I support Planned Parenthood? Absolutely. I just separate those things."

Why doesn't the local chapter reject the defunding mandate, like Denver's has done? James doesn't know, and isn't really asking.

I think my job is to support Komen to give those [defunded] women additional funding so they can have screenings. I haven’t had this conversation with the local group lately. I’m a trustee with the gala… I have personal support for Komen. To me, what I’m supporting and raising money for is breast cancer research, and whether I do that through Komen, or I write a check to Planned Parenthood, those are individual choices that people will make.

...All of the grants that I saw from the local chapter in my time on the grant committee were related to small, local outreach programs that served women and communities that either weren’t getting enough information, weren’t getting enough service, or had already been diagnosed and weren’t getting enough support.

No word yet from Joni Earl, but I'm still hoping to hear from her.

^{*I asked James how she gets her information, but then realized she didn't have any.}

The Atlantic continues to rock the coverage of the Komen controversy, with this just in:

The decision, made in December, caused an uproar inside Komen. Three sources told me that the organization's top public health official, Mollie Williams, resigned in protest immediately following the Komen board's decision to cut off Planned Parenthood. Williams, who served as the managing director of community health programs, was responsible for directing the distribution of $93 million in annual grants. Williams declined to comment when I reached her yesterday on whether she had resigned her position in protest, and she declined to speak about any other aspects of the controversy.

But John Hammarley, who until recently served as Komen's senior communications adviser and who was charged with managing the public relations aspects of Komen's Planned Parenthood grant, said that Williams believed she could not honorably serve in her position once Komen had caved to pressure from the anti-abortion right. "Mollie is one of the most highly respected and ethical people inside the organization, and she felt she couldn't continue under these conditions," Hammarley said. "The Komen board of directors are very politically savvy folks, and I think over time they thought if they gave in to the very aggressive propaganda machine of the anti-abortion groups, that the issue would go away. It seemed very short-sighted to me."

Furthermore, "But the Komen board made the decision despite the recommendation of the organization's professional staff to keep funding Planned Parenthood."

There's much more in the story on the atmosphere and dialogue inside Komen on this issue. Read the whole thing.

State Senators Pass Gay Marriage: And even behave like humans while doing it.

Yes, I'm Still Angry About This: Puget Sound donors and supporters of Komen tacitly support the bigotry of national.

Portraits of the Facebook Millionaires and Billionaires: About to be minted.

Ugh: Home-birth advocate dies giving birth at home. Her daughter survives.

Another Shipwreck This Week: A ferry sinks off Papua New Guinea. Number of deaths unknown, some 200 survivors.

Romney Attacks Obama's Afghanistan Withdrawal Strategy: And some experts agree with Romney.

The Sad, Sad News That Hit UW's College of Arts and Sciences This Week: The son of dean Bob Stacey and history professor Robin Stacey was killed in Afghanistan by an IED on Tuesday. He was a Marine. An obituary.

Europe's Debt Crisis: Bailout help from China?

U.S. No-Fly List of Known or Suspected Terrorists: Has doubled in the last year.

White Striped Seal Rarely Seen in Puget Sound: Deemed healthy (and beautiful).

Egyptians Mourn: After soccer riot.

Amy Winehouse's Coroner Resigns: The inquest into her death could be reopened.

And....THIS IS SOME HISTORIC SHIT, WASHINGTON! Vote FUCK YEAH when it comes time, y'all.

• Moveon.org

I called executives at Boeing, Costco, law firms, banks, even the general manager at the Westin downtown—all of them trustees organizing the Komen Foundation's upcoming gala in Seattle.

I called Komen gala trustee Holli Martinez (former M's player Edgar's wife), whose own charity organization, the Martinez Foundation, is devoted to the promotion of people of color in education—the same people of color who are adversely affected by lack of access to breast cancer screenings, according to Komen's own admission.

I called architecture offices, the Seahawks, the Sounders, the Swedish Cancer Institute—all companies that were "Promise Partners" (donors of $30,000 to $150,000) of the Puget Sound Susan G. Komen Foundation last year.

I called Joni Earl, Sound Transit's director, who also is president of the board of trustees of the local Komen Foundation, and who won an award from Komen just last month.

"We are choosing not to participate in this media opportunity at this time," the communications director at MulvannyG2 Architecture told me, as if I was trying to sell her a vacuum.

The only person to speak out against Komen's blatant right-wing bullshit—pitting my vagina against my breasts; the breasts are innocent, the vagina is guilty—was Lisa Dawson, one of the gala trustees. On her blog, she wrote that she is "stunned, saddened, and frankly a bit ticked off"—but that she will continue to support Komen, and she urges other people to as well.

The Denver affiliate of Komen has not taken the bigotry lying down, so why is Seattle's?

No explanation, apparently, will be given. Even the development director at Puget Sound Komen didn't return my call today.

Well, I'm so glad that all you nice executives with full insurance benefits can throw nice galas for a charity willing to fuck over the neediest women in order to follow the whims of a bunch of bigots at national headquarters.

Your tacit agreement is a shameful reflection of our region.

UPDATE: Joni Earl says she will be issuing a statement. Stand by.

Gay Marriage in Olympia: Legislators take it up starting at 4 today.

Robotney Wins Florida: Voter turnout is down.

Washington Lawmakers Seeking Secrecy?: Considering a bill that would limit public-records requests.

Russia to the U.N.: We'll block anything that looks like regime change in Syria.

Too Many Sugar Tablets, Too Few Hormone Pills: Voila! You're pregnant on the pill. Pfizer recalls a million packets.

The Susan G. Komen Foundation: Run by a bunch of right-wingers who've defunded breast exams for poor women.

Inside the Boomerang: Gates Foundation Visitors Center opens Saturday.

Don Cornelius, Creator of "Soul Train": Dead at his home, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head, at 75.

Double the Weight and Diving: Seattle Aquarium's newborn sea otter pup.

Pictures of Less Happy Animals: A photo book on the trade in endangered creatures.

Via Culture Monster, a violist in Slovakia handles the cell-phone-ring-during-concert situation.

Cold Snap in Eastern Europe: Kills at least 48.

Why Is the CDC Keeping Secrets for Taco Bell?: Outbreaks followed by anonymity for offenders.

42 Washington Lawmakers to the Feds: Reclassify marijuana, please.

Nate Silver's Forecast for Florida: Romney by 15.

Who Is the Better Singer?: Obama or Romney?

Will Intiman Survive Today?: Will donors and Facebook fans save the theater?

Drunken Sailor Gets in Bed With 80-Year-Old Woman in Bremerton: In the wrong apartment. She gets to formally scold him later.

Washington State's Credit Outlook Downgraded: From lack of revenue, not excess spending.

Six-Story Building Heights Approved: Near Roosevelt High School.

Search for Bodies Called Off: In cruise ship wreck that killed at least 17 people; 15 still missing.

Skin Cells: Turned into brain cells.

Citigroup Has to Pay a Half-Mill: In an age bias case.

Meanwhile, Legislation: To protect pregnant women from losing their jobs.

And in a matter of days (February 10!), Wim Wenders's 3D movie Pina comes to Cinerama. I CANNOT WAIT.

This guest post is by Rahul K. Gairola, a queer scholar and teacher who completed a joint PhD in English Literature and Theory & Criticism at UW-Seattle. He currently teaches at UW-Bothell and Cornish College for the Arts.

There are obvious reasons that Pastor Ken Hutcherson, leader of the Antioch Bible Church in Kirkland, recently pulled out of his appearance at a “marriage equality” debate at Seattle Town Hall sponsored by The Stranger. Aside from the fact that the city’s savvy inhabitants would crucify his homophobic sentiments, he would hope to garner more conservative support on the Eastside, in Bellevue. As if rubber-stamping Pastor Hutcherson’s move, Pope Benedict earlier this month called gay marriage a threat to "the future of humanity itself." As a person who identifies as queer and who regularly teaches classes and conducts research on topics like this, I find the corpus of the argument to be misdirected in major ways. In this context, my understanding of “queer” is someone who does not conform to the dominant institutions and lifestyles of straight or gay sensibilities.

What concerns me more than the apparent bigotry that is institutionalized in the arena of religion by Pastor Hutcherson and Pope Benedict XVI is that the success of the very institution of marriage is at an all time low. A recently published BBC article documents the all around decline of marriage in the US. While many gays and lesbians are extolling the wonders of “marriage equality,” I, and many others, are left asking how and why legal codification through the government leads to any form of equality. Indeed, many argue that the conscription of gays and lesbians to “marriage equality” is yet another way that the dire circumstances of people in the US already subject to race and class oppression will become worse. In plain terms, “marriage equality” justifies the further disenfranchisement of those who do not conform to the marital order by framing them as perpetually single or “off-system” while valorizing the insertion of gays and lesbians into the global exploitation that is capitalism. Many teachers, scholars, and activists, namely Yasmin Nair, Kenyon Farrow, Ryan Conrad, and the many other folks who comprise the Against Equality Collective have been arguing this for quite some time now.

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No Talks in Syria: Russian-brokered talks between the government and opposition break down, street battles rage.

They're calling it a surge: Romney extends his lead over Gingrich in Florida.

Starbucks: Going into India.

Iraq to U.S.: We thought you left. Get out!

Whatever you do: Don't take Mercer Street. Construction detours start today.

Coming Wednesday: Floor vote on gay marriage for Washington!

If Your Dentist Used Paper Clips in Your Root Canal: Then I am sorry.

Least Surprising "News" of the Day: Teenager who ate McNuggets for 15 straight years collapses.

Do Not Get Zapped in the Testicles: There are various good reasons.

Wall Trampolining: Is a thing (or a "nascent sport").

The Movie Undefeated: A friend of mine made it, and it's been nominated for an Oscar, so I am excited.

Seattle choreographer Amy O'Neal told me I should watch this documentary. Let's watch it together.

This guest Slog post is by Christopher Rao, managing partner of Rao & Pierce PLLC, and former Chair of the KCBA Family Law Section. He also runs decouplingblog.com, which helps make family courts more accessible to men and women who cannot afford attorneys.

A number of father's rights groups have been increasingly vocal about the belief that fathers are typically treated unfairly in our courts—in essence, that dads are the real victims of nasty custody fights. It is disappointing that these misguided beliefs have been accorded an air of legitimacy by Nina Shapiro's recent cover story, dramatically titled, "Ripped Apart: Divorced dads, domestic violence, and the systemic bias against men in King County family court."

The article dutifully quotes a few female attorneys to make its point that men are consistently treated unfairly in King County Family Court. One attorney recounts a busy day on the calendar where a commissioner ruled against the man seven or eight times in a row. The piece narrates a couple of heartbreaking one-sided anecdotes—conveniently interviewing only the man's attorney in each case. It then criticizes three female family law commissioners by name for a variety of offenses, including fining one man's attorney $500 "for writing too much in defense of his client" (but the fine was for violating court rules on page limits).

Over the years I’ve seen many attorneys angrily (and disrespectfully) grandstand in court for the benefit of their pissed-off unrealistic clients, male and female—and heard these same attorneys, after losing their case, criticize the court for various types of bias. The truth is that wining in Family Court depends mainly on avoiding dubious he-said, she-said hysteria, and instead presenting a reasonable proposal to the court, backed by solid evidence from reliable sources.

Continue reading »

Sheldon Adelson: Ladies and gents, meet the man behind Newt Gingrich's money. Adelson, 78, is a Las Vegas casino magnate who once tried to open a casino in the Middle East.

"Newt Gingrich for President of the United States": Herman Cain endorsed Newt Gingrich yesterday, says Gingrich is going through the "sausage grinder" in Florida. A recent poll shows Romney leading in the Sunshine state.

"Stalin-esque": That's what Sarah Palin is calling criticism of Gingrich.

29: The number of Chinese workers captured by Sudanese rebels after a fight with the government, the insurgents said Sunday. China is a major military supplier to the regime in Khartoum. It is also the largest purchaser of Sudanese oil.

14: The age of golf's youngest tour winner, Lydia Ko.

300: The number of people arrested in Occupy Oakland protests yesterday. News reports are calling Saturday's protests the most turbulent since police broke up Occupy Oakland encampments in November. Police used tear gas after some protesters threw flares, rocks, and bottles at them.

Wanted: Police are looking for the suspect or suspects who shot three people at Citrus restaurant in South Lake Union early Saturday.

Seattle's new baby sea otter: Here are some pics by local AP photographer Ted Warren.

Finally, a broke Irishman builds a 1.4 billion euro house with shredded bills.

Hot-headed and undisciplined: Newt Gingrich

Goldman Sucks: Largest source of Mitt Romney's campaign contributions.

Syria: The Arab League will be suspending its monitorng mission in Syria due to a surge in violence. It is estimated that about 200 people were killed since the mission was renewed for a second month Tuesday.

A drug of last resort: State warns that prescription opioid methadone is "unpredictable and poses a high risk of accidental death." A Seattle Times investigation in December reported that at least 2,173 people in Washington have died since 2003 after accidentally overdosing on it.

Sentenced: The Barefoot Bandit gets 6 1/2 years for committing at least 67 crimes, including eight burglaries, nine car thefts, and three airplane thefts; says remorse is "heartfelt."

Might close: The Volunteer Park Conservatory. If the city can't find the funds to keep it open, they might close it by next year. The 100-year-old conservatory brings in a revenue of $25,000 and costs $450,000 to run.

Overbilled: DOT has discovered that some drivers were overbilled in 520 tolls by an extra 25 cents. The agency announced late Friday that it will waive the fee on ALL trips made Jan. 17 to 25.

Shot!: Eight sea lions were found with bullet wounds in the Puget Sound region recently. Their deaths are being investigated. (Whoever did this should rot in hell).

TRAFFIC ALERT!: I-5 off-ramps at Mercer closed until 9 a.m. Saturday. I-5 on-ramps will be closed until 7 p.m. Sunday. More details here.

"Oomph": That's the word missing from the U.S. economy.

And finally, it's Saturday, let's learn how to fake French:

The Circus Returns: Monty Python reuniting for a new science-fiction film project.

Romney Charity Supports Ex-Gay Therapy: Specifically, quack conversion groups that claim gay men can become more masculine “by drinking Gatorade and calling their friends ‘dude.’”

Speaking of Totally UnGay: Romney spanked Gingrich during last night's debate, although polls still show them in a dead heat ahead of Florida's primary.

Cat Hoarder Arrested for Hoarding Cats: Out-of-town man was arrested in Auburn for stashing 73 (live) cats and one dog in a trailer because he couldn't stand to leave them alone, at home, while he visited his girlfriend. The animals are thirsty but otherwise fine.

Declared Competent to Stand Trial: Louis Chen, the man charged with fatally stabbing his partner and young son last August in their First Hill apartment.

Gas Fight with Guns: Two men were shot last night after an argument erupted at a Safeway gas station; the shooter remains at large.

Washington's 1st Congressional Seat: In case you missed it, the Metropolitan Democratic Club held a candidate forum for 1st Congressional seat hopefuls last night; intrepid blogger Goldy reports on how awesome Darcy Burner is.

Growth Spurt: The US economy expanded at a rate of 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011—a nice bump in GDP that nevertheless fell short of analysts three percent predictions.

Hilary Clinton Is Tired: The US Secretary of State says she's going to step down from her position if Obama is re-elected because she is fatigued, as evidenced by the juvenile headbands and albino-spider hairpieces (pictured) she's been wearing of late. Girl just doesn't Give. a. Fuck.

And finally, in honor of Monty Python, please enjoy the miracle of birth:

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