Dear Malala: I am writing this letter to explain why we tried to kill you

Posted on July 18, 2013 by - free speech, human rights, politics, society, womens issues

In a bizarre development, a senior member of the Pakistani Taliban has written a letter to Malala Yousafzai explaining why the Taliban tried to murder the then 15 year-old school girl.  The handwritten, rambling, 4-page letter (which jumps around from British colonialism to pointing out that Henry Kissinger is Jewish)  insisted that she was not targeted because of her support for education, but because of her “smearing campaign” against the Taliban. Last Friday Malala delivered a very inspiring speech at the United Nations supporting girls’ education and received a standing ovation. It’s as though the Taliban just realized that they need to launch a PR campaign to fix their misogynistic image.092501Taliban&Women

 

WANTED: hoodie

Posted on July 17, 2013 by - human rights, politics, society

WantedHoodieSMI’ve heard many pundits dismiss the issue of “Stand Your Ground” laws in the discussion of the Trayvon Martin case because it wasn’t part of the defense strategy but I think that’s missing the underlying issue.  When you combine people’s prejudices with guns and the right to use force in self-defense outside of your home, there will be more killings.   Don’t buy it?  Well, think about how people act in their cars when you accidentally cut them off.  Now put a gun, a perceived threat, and no obligation to retreat first all together.

Children having children

Posted on July 10, 2013 by - human rights, politics, womens issues

Apparently, Chile has it’s own version of Gov. Rick Perry:

“Chilean President Sebastian Pinera has praised as ‘brave and mature’a pregnant 11-year-old rape victim who said she was happy to have the child.” (BBC news)

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*Update- the Texas House voted in favor of the 20 week ban on abortion, moving it to the Senate where it’s expected to pass.

Gov. Perry’s reaction to Wendy Davis’ filibuster

Posted on July 1, 2013 by - human rights, politics, womens issues

07012013archivesboxWhile the Supreme Court was concluding their historic 2012 session, there was another important political story last week taking place in the Texas legislature.  State Senator Wendy Davis led a 11 hour filibuster against a restrictive anti-abortion bill, which resulted in  Gov. Rick Perry calling for another special session after time ran out before the bill could be voted on. Since the drama unfolded last Wednesday, the I-can’t-remember-the-third-one Texas governor has been following the Todd Akin model, giving a speech to a Right to Life group where he  mentioned that since Ms. Akin had been a teen-age mom herself and said that it’s “unfortunate that she hasn’t learned from her own example”.

animation: Rick Perry’s condescending response to Wendy Davis’ filibuster

 

Supreme Court rules DOMA unconstitutional

Posted on June 27, 2013 by - politics

I was busy doing sketches and wrestling with my internet connection yesterday so wasn’t able to post about the 2 huge gay marriage cases the Supreme Court ruled on.  Here’s some photos I took of the atmosphere around the Court:

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SCOTUS update

Posted on June 21, 2013 by - human rights, politics, society, womens issues

We’re down to the last week of the Supreme Court’s 2012 term and still no opinions on gay marriage,  affirmative action, and voting rights.  SCOTUSblog will begin live blogging Monday at 9am and expect opinions to start coming in at 10am. As I mentioned before, I’ll be doing live sketches of the action outside of the Court so check back here and at the Washington Post.     GayCouple

Rep. Peter King calls for prosecuting Glenn Greenwald

Posted on June 14, 2013 by - free speech, politics

With the latest developments on Syria and red lines, you might have missed a member of Congress calling for a reporter to be prosecuted for doing his job.  Appearing on CNN, Rep. Peter King said that journalists who reported the leaks of the NSA’s surveillance program should be prosecuted.  Later on Fox News he singled out the Guardian’s Glenn Greenwald, claiming that Greenwald would release the names of CIA operatives.  Greg Sargent has Greenwald’s response here.RepPeterKing