Oh Lord.

LeelaFacepalm

Rex Tillerson had confirmation hearings on Wednesday, for the position of Secretary of State. Watching a brief video compilation reminded me of Reagan, with the constant “I don’t recall” “I don’t know” and “I need more information”. I’m surprised someone didn’t ask him his name, just to get a fucking answer out of him. Think Progress has all the deadly details of the questions Tillerson found himself unable to answer, including questions about Exxon lobbying against U.S. sanctions in other countries. Tillerson tried to claim he didn’t have enough information to answer that one, either, even though he was the effing CEO of Exxon. Details at Think Progress.

Via Think Progress.

Healthcare Specifics.

Vice President-elect Mike Pence, flanked by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. John Barrasso CREDIT: AP Photo/Cliff Owen.

Vice President-elect Mike Pence, flanked by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. John Barrasso CREDIT: AP Photo/Cliff Owen.

Or, rightly said, lack of healthcare specifics. The dirty work done in the small hours specifically gutted these features of ACA:

1. Protect people with pre-existing conditions.

2. Let young adults stay on their parents’ plan.

3. Maintain access to contraceptive coverage.

4. Ensure Medicaid expansion stays in place.

5. Protect children on Medicaid or CHIP.

6. Protect veterans’ health care.

Think Progress has all the details on each one of these, and how the rethuglicans just yanked the rug out from under everyone.

2017 Ronin | Globus Artist in Residence Program.

AIR-ikibanner-01

Following a highly successful inaugural year, the 2017 Ronin | Globus Artist-in-Residence Program is back! Open to artists practicing in Japan, this annual program seeks to stimulate cross-cultural dialogue by providing the opportunity for Japanese visual artists to live, work and exhibit in New York City. Last year’s winner, Oz Yamaguchi, concluded his residency last year with a sold-out art show!

Spoon & Tamago is happy to be collaborating once again as a media sponsor and judge. The theme this year is “Iki: Stylish, Simple, and Sophisticated.” Artists working in Japan can submit applications through April 1st, 2017.

(Information in Japanese)
昨年に続き、ローニン／グローバス・アーティスト・イン・レジデンス・プログラムに 参加させていただく運びとなりました。本プログラムは日本のヴィジュアル・アートの先駆者たちを通じた異文化間対話の活性化を模索するものです。紙上に作 品を創り上げる日本人のアーティストに向けて開かれたこの機会では、住居と、畳敷きのスタジオ・スペースと、そしてローニン・ギャラリーで開催される「日 本における現代美術の才能」展に出品するチャンスを提供いたします。本プログラムや詳しい応募方法（締め切りは２０１７年４月１日）については、こちらをご参照ください。ご応募おまちしております！

This is a great opportunity for all artists living in Japan. Jump on it!

The full story is at Spoon & Tamago.

New Year’s Ukiyoe.

Chinese New Year is coming up, it’s on the 28th this month. 2017 is the Year of the Rooster. I’m a rooster, a fire rooster to be specific. If it’s your year, it’s supposed to be a bad one for you. Nothing new there, except that I can hope that particular fantasy is wrong. Very wrong. Please be very wrong. Are you listening, universe? Probably not.

Over 150 years ago the ukiyo-e artist Shigematsu Enrosai created an imaginary beast as a woodblock print and called it “Twelve Precepts.” The beast featured the head of a rabbit, the neck of a dragon, the tail of a snake, the forelegs of a monkey and the hind legs of an ox. Indeed, it was a fantastical combination of all 12 zodiac animals. Now, Japanese artist Feebee has created her own interpretation, and has produced it in the same technique as it was made in around 1850.

“A beast called Kotobuki”

“A beast called Kotobuki”

Feebee’s creation is titled “A beast called Kotobuki – bird-“ (2017) and is created in her unique style of using vivid colors and excruciating detail to render fantastical beasts. This time, however, instead of painting she collaborated with the Adachi Foundation for the Preservation of Woodcut Printing. If you were thinking about becoming a member, now’s your chance because Feebee’s woodblock print comes as a membership reward (20,000 yen, or about $170).

[…]

Below are 2 fascinating videos that show the production process of the woodblock print. Even if you’re familiar, it’s a nice reminder of the incredible work and craftsmanship that goes into producing these.

Via Spoon & Tamago.

Cool Stuff Friday.

The 100 Best Space Photos of 2016.

Click for full size.

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Astrophotographer Mike Killian took this image of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket blasting off on May 6 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

jupiter-moon-8-5-2016-Greg-Diesel-Walck-NC-e1470472815820

Greg Diesel Walck took the image from Moyock, North Carolina as a thunderstorm drifted across the horizon on Aug. 5. Read the full story here.

Y’know, we get serious weather here, but it never looks like this. Sigh.

Free Legal Tips!

L2 L20 12

The 2016 Comedy Wildlife Awards.

Click for full size.
CW1

CW2

Warren v Carson.

Elizabeth Warren questions Ben Carson at a Senate confirmation hearing (screen grab).

Elizabeth Warren questions Ben Carson at a Senate confirmation hearing (screen grab).

It is still so difficult to process that Ben Carson is going to be in charge of anything, let alone Housing and Urban Development. This is a man who can barely string a sentence together, and when he does, it’s usually a mess, as he’s not someone you could describe as quick on the uptake. As usual, he’s ill-informed and clueless. It’s rather obvious he doesn’t much care if HUD is used to funnel money into Trump’s pockets, either. It’s not even clear whether or not that had occurred to him at some point.

At Carson’s confirmation hearing for secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Warren noted that President-elect Donald Trump will be uniquely positioned to benefit from HUD contracts due to his real estate business. During a press conference a day earlier, Trump had revealed a plan * to allow his sons to run his business instead of putting his assets in a blind trust as other presidents have done.

“My concern is that among the billions of dollars that you will be responsible for handing out in grants in loans,” Warren said to Carson. “Can you just assure us that not one dollar will go to benefit either the president-elect or his family?”

“It will not be my intention to do anything to benefit any American,” Carson declared boldly. “It’s for all Americans.”

[…]

After Carson had a flustered moment, he came out with this:

“You can take it to mean that I will manage things in a way that benefits the American people,” Carson insisted. “If there happens to be an extraordinarily good program that’s working for millions of people and it turns out that someone that you’re targeting is going to gain $10 from it, am I going to say, ‘No, the rest of you Americans can’t have it’? I think logic and common sense probably would be the best way.”

Warren had the correct response to that puddle of lukewarm vomit:

Warren replied: “The problem is that you can’t assure us that HUD money — not of $10 varieties, but of multi-million dollar varieties — will not end up in the president-elect’s pockets.”

“And the reason you can’t assure us of that is because the president elect is hiding his family’s business interests from you, from me, from the rest of America,” the senator said. “And this just highlights the absurdity and the danger of the president-elect’s refusal to put his assets in a true blind trust.”

“He knows what will benefit him and his family financially but the public doesn’t.”

And there’s the big old rub to it all. Trump refused to hand over his taxes, so he could be worth much less than he claims, how would we know? Trump refuses to obey nepotism laws, insisting on making “president” a family job. Trump refuses to place his assets in a blind trust, openly intending to use the office of president to strongarm a whole lot of money into his pockets. For all the Trump-Idiots out there, how well would any of this openly corrupt garbage have gone down with President Obama, or any other president? Would have been howling your heads off, wouldn’t you? Fucking hypocrites.

I edited out the ‘controversial’ in that link. I am sick to death of media latching onto the word controversial to describe things which are outright fucking wrong. Any time you see ‘controversial’ being used, it’s yet another part of normalising every thing that is immoral and wrong.

Via Raw Story.

“Clovergender”

CG

While I’ve been dozing under my rock, yet another type of insidious bigotry is drenching the ‘net, based on the time immemorial pastime of linking LGBT peoples with pedophilia.

Martin Shkreli has given the LGBT community another reason to despise him.

The pharmaceutical executive, who rose to infamy by hiking the price of a drug used for an AIDS-related condition by more than 5,000 percent, is now promoting “clovergender,” an identity concocted by trolls to mock LGBT people.

Before his Twitter account was suspended for harassing a Teen Vogue writer, Shkreli urged his followers January 4 to “please spread clovergender awareness.” The term, which has sprung up on several social media accounts early this year, appeared to be used by adult individuals claiming to be “a child trapped in a man’s body who is attracted to other children.”

However, “clovergender” is a hoax. Snopes debunked it, tracing the birth of “clovergender” and this definition, which ridicules the identity of transgender and gender-nonbinary people, to a 4chan thread from December 31.

“We’re creating a new gender to trolls SJWs with,” posted an anonymous user, in a reference to “social justice warriors.” They then coined “clovergender” and ascribed fake preferred pronouns like “cl / clir /climself.”

“We will be trolling on Tumblr and Facebook,” the user stated. Another replied, “I see potential in this.”

Just what this sociopathic asshole has to gain from this, I don’t know, and it really doesn’t matter. I guess it’s just his way of getting his kicks. The potential for damage is overwhelming though, and it’s not like people in general don’t already have a whole lot of hatred for LGBT peoples anyway. They do, and those who are always looking for any reason to fire up that hate will grab this garbage and run with it. We have one state after another attempting to legislate bigotry and hate, and I imagine there will legislators who will seize on this as well, in order to shore up their always faulty reasoning.

After gaining momentum on the message boards of 4chan and Reddit, the term did indeed find its way to broader social media. A new Facebook page claimed to be created in response to “the horrible pain and backlash somee [sic] Clovergender people receive. We are against that. We think a kid should do what he wants.”

[…]

Several Twitter accounts, which follow and retweet LGBT outlets and influencers, are also attempting to intertwine the fake cause with the real-life movement. At least one has attributed Shkreli’s Twitter ban to clovergender discrimination.

The ruse duped some folks on social media, who reacted with disgust to the “clovergender” community.

The myth of the sexual predator has dogged the LGBT community since time immemorial. The call for “bathroom bills,” which prohibit transgender people from using restrooms that correspond with their gender identity, is the most recent example of how conservatives are painting queer people as perverts. “Clovergender,” if it perpetuates, will only continue to stoke these mistruths and biases.

So. We find ourselves back at the beginning again, folks, having to fight this blatant lie again, over and over. Be aware of this, spread the word, get the truth out there, we all know the drill.

Full story at The Advocate.

Stay Afloat.

Every Moment Counts, 1989, Rotimi Fani-Kayode.

Every Moment Counts, 1989, Rotimi Fani-Kayode.

Conversation with a Mannequin, 2013, Kelvin Atmadibrata performance for the camera.

Conversation with a Mannequin, 2013, Kelvin Atmadibrata
performance for the camera.

Lovers Lane, 2016, Sharmar Johnson White pencil Black paper, 22x28.

Lovers Lane, 2016, Sharmar Johnson
White pencil Black paper, 22×28.

A Pile of Crowns, for Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1988, Keith Haring acrylic on canvas, 108x120, Keith Haring artwork © Keith Haring Foundation.

A Pile of Crowns, for Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1988, Keith Haring
acrylic on canvas, 108×120,
Keith Haring artwork © Keith Haring Foundation.

…“In our work and in our living, we must recognize that difference is a reason for celebration and growth, rather than a reason for destruction.” Reflecting on this quote by Audre Lorde, I know that these sentiments are the way forward. Although, I am honestly a bit anxious about the next four years, I see strength and intelligence in these artists. I love the humor in RALPH HALL’s piece Bassethound, which pictures a fluorescent dog with butt plug. I also salute the tenacity of young artists like Kia Labeija. As seen in all their work, many of the artists in the Visual AIDS Artist+ Registry share the same love of an eclectic bunch of leaders that I do. We stand on the shoulders of heroes, like Harriet Tubman, Gordon Parks, Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Grace Jones, Frankie Knuckles, Lady Bunny, Marlon Riggs, Tina Turner and countless others. Brave hearts are not a new concept; this struggle is part of our DNA.

The featured gallery from Visual Aids December 2016. Beautiful, poignant work, you can see it all here.

On This Day…

Now-Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX), during his 2012 campaign CREDIT: AP Photo/Pat Sullivan.

Now-Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX), during his 2012 campaign CREDIT: AP Photo/Pat Sullivan.

A day after Donald Trump shouted down CNN reporter Jim Acosta at his first “press conference” since July and accused his network of providing “fake news,” a Republican Congressman is demanding that Acosta be fired.

Two years ago to the day, Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX) made national news for a tweet comparing the president of the United States — unfavorably — to Hitler. He laterapologized for his observation that “Even Adolph [sic] Hitler thought it more important than Obama to get to Paris. (For all the wrong reasons.) Obama couldn’t do it for right reasons,” and deleted the tweet.

He never removed a January 2014 tweet in which he called Obama “Kommandant-In-Chef”… the Socialistic dictator,” nor others suggesting POTUS stood for “Poor Obama Trashed U.S.”

But now, apparently, Weber has decided that being rude to the president is an offense worthy of firing.

On Thursday morning, he tweeted:

The CNN reporter who was disruptive to the press briefing, & disrespectful to Trump-should be fired & prohibited from any press briefings.

Ah, where’s that ferocious con love for free speech? As always, it’s the first casualty whenever there’s criticism or hard questions.

Via Think Progress.

Back to What Healthcare?

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) speaks during a health care news conference to oppose Republicans’ effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act. CREDIT: AP Photo/Evan Vucci.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) speaks during a health care news conference to oppose Republicans’ effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act. CREDIT: AP Photo/Evan Vucci.

In a classical villain move, the rethugs met in the middle of the night to kill off healthcare. PZ has posted about this, and Think Progress has a comprehensive look at what went down.

I’m just going to focus on the fear, the terror, the despair. Every single fucking person who voted for that sick fucker Trump, every single fucking person who didn’t bother to strike a valid vote against him, ever single fucking person who bleats about voting republican because, there simply are not enough deeply nasty words for you. There isn’t anything out there compared to the bone deep ugly inside of yourselves. Rotten to the godsdamn core, all of you who brought this about. :spits:

And one more fucking time: The Affordable Care Act, which has now been gutted out of fucking spite, is the same thing as Obamacare.

Amelia

@keithellison As a breast cancer survivor, this is a death sentence for me.

***

Ron Krasnow

As a Stage 3 cancer survivor I’m ineligible for life insurance and soon won’t be able to afford health insurance. Is this how “great” feels?

***

Mike T

I have cystic fibrosis. If the ACA is repealed people like me will lose coverage. People like me will die.

***

Regular Sized Renee

As a veteran my health insurance is covered under the ACA.

***

Jen ish

I have a chronic disease. means I can be self-employed with coverage and schedule work around my illness. Without it? Who knows.

***

Cindy Baldwin

2. Without the protections in the ACA, I will run out of health insurance in 1-2 years thanks to the reinstatement of lifetime limits.

***

Ange

@SenSchumer so my pre-x condition of cancer will screw me and a recurrence will kill me…

***

Just the tiniest sample of those millions of people who will now find themselves in untenable and intolerable situations, thanks to all those who voted in mega-assholes who think running on spite and hate is a fine fucking thing.

Via Raw Story.

The Alabama Privacy Act.

gender-neutral-bathroom

Like many other states, legislators are rushing in all their transphobic policies, attempting to turn bigotry and hate into law. Alabama’s attempt is a bit different, seeing as it demands lavatory attendants. The purpose of said attendants isn’t entirely clear.

While several conservative states are preparing “bathroom bills” for the upcoming legislative session, Alabama’s anti-LGBT bill is changing the game by requiring costly bathroom attendants.

The bill, prefiled by Alabama Sen. Phil Williams, is called the “Alabama Privacy Act.” If passed, the bill would require public places with bathrooms or changing rooms to have single-person rooms, rooms for multiple people of the same gender, or rooms for people “irrespective of their gender” staffed by a bathroom attendant.

If a public place fails to provide these options, a fine of $2,000 will be imposed for the first violation, increased to $3,500 for each violation afterward.

The bill’s language is odd for several reasons. First, the bill does nothing to define what “gender” means—something that other conservative legislatures have taken great pains to do in opposition of the transgender community. Second, it’s not entirely clear what purpose a bathroom attendant would serve in gender-neutral bathrooms. The bill says they would “monitor the use of the restroom and answer any questions or concerns posed by users.”

Answer any questions? Really. Umm, I’d think people who had no problem with a unisex type lav wouldn’t have any particular questions. Just what are they expecting here, someone to rush in with an urgent need to piss, and must know, right now, should they stand or sit? I’m pretty sure all the homophobic and transphobic bigots out there don’t want to be going into a all gender lav. Or maybe they do, what do I know?

Full story at Out.