Is it sexist to call a senator a “little girl”? Republican Carl Paladino, New York gubernatorial candidate, doesn’t think so. In fact, he has “no regrets” about calling N.Y. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand “Chuck Schumer’s little girl.”
When pressed on the issue on T.V., Paladino denied that his remarks were sexist and then simply walked out on the interview to avoid further questioning. Paladino insisted that he was simply referring to Gillibrand’s lack of a mind of her own when casting votes, although, as Irin points out at Jezebel, he could have chosen a number of other non-sexist adjectives in that case: “Pawn. Puppet. Pushover.” But he went with “Schumer’s little girl.” Degrading much?
Paladino has already received plenty of Change.org coverage for his various offensive acts: Forwarding emails with the phrase “Run n___ers, run” and depicting the Obamas as “pimp and whore.” Calling LGBTQ people “disgusting.” Saying we should imprison poor people to teach them “hygiene.”
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You NEED to watch this video, but be warned. It’s disturbing and shocking.
Republican Linda McMahon is running for the US Senate, and she’s funding her race with the millions she earned peddling the “entertainment” you just watched. Sadly, McMahon is not alone on the GOP ticket:
Sharron Angle, running for Senate in Nevada, suggested that women who are raped – including teenage incest victims – shouldn’t be allowed to consider an abortion. Instead, they should just turn “a lemon situation into lemonade.” Outrageous.
As a district attorney, Colorado Senate candidate Ken Buck refused to prosecute a rape even though the accused rapist admitted to police that the woman said no multiple times. He said a jury could think she just had “a case of buyer’s remorse.”
Republicans are running candidates who have an utter lack of respect for women. Urge RNC Chairman Michael Steele and his party to start respecting women and women’s issues!
Republicans: Start Respecting Women!
Trash talk and boxing go hand-in-hand. But in a videotaped rant, boxer Floyd Mayweather didn’t just insult rival Manny Pacquiao’s prowess in the ring, he mocked him for being Asian.
“Once I stomp the midget, I’m gonna make that mother___er make me a sushi roll and cook me some rice,” bragged the African-American Mayweather. Apparently, it’s of no consequence to Mayweather that sushi is Japanese and Pacquiao is Filipino, as Mayweather seems to believe that Asian ethnic groups are interchangeable.
He later called Pacquiao a “f____t,” using homophobia to stereotype Asian men as feminine, and threatened to “cook that motherf___er up with some dogs and cats.”
Mayweather’s rant is textbook racist, and the fact that he’s black doesn’t let him off the hook. But visitors to websites such as the Huffington Post, which posted video of his tirade, are defending the champ. They argue that Mayweather probably doesn’t really hate Asians and that his rant against Pacquiao isn’t as offensive as Muhammad Ali’s rants against his competitors.
Such points are irrelevant, though.
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When it comes to the issue of marriage equality, 2010 is going to be an important election, particularly on the state level where a number of states may move forward marriage equality legislation depending on who is elected into office.
Rhode Island, for instance, stands a very good shot at enacting marriage equality depending on who gets elected governor. New York, as well, might see marriage equality hang in the balance depending on who wins both the governor’s office and a number of State Senate seats.
And Minnesota, too. Which is why so much attention has been on this year’s Minnesota gubernatorial race, where candidates have staked out clear positions either in favor of same-sex marriage, or strongly opposed to same-sex marriage.
Both Target and the National Organization for Marriage are supporting a candidate in the race, Tom Emmer, who thinks that gay marriage is not only immoral, but that it should be constitutionally blocked. And both Target and the National Organization for Marriage are throwing substantial resources behind electing Tom Emmer.
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If Sabbar Kashur were Jewish, he would not have been convicted of rape.
But while Kashur is many things, he is not Jewish. He’s an Arab living in Jerusalem — a married man and father of two. He is a man who met a Jewish woman at the grocery store two years ago, spoke with her for 15 minutes, and engaged in what both parties agree was consensual sex in a nearby building. He’s since been convicted in an Israeli court — for, of all things, so-called “rape by deception.”
That’s because according to the complaint filed against Kashur and early reports on the case, Kashur lied about his ethnicity, indicating that he was Jewish. Later, it emerged that Kashur never stated his ethnicity, but only offered his nickname — DuDu, which is a common Jewish nickname in Israel, and one that Kashur has gone by his whole life. “My wife even calls me that,” Kashur explained.
Kashur’s adultery and alleged lying may be immoral, but they should not be punished as crimes.
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BP’s response to the oil spill has been rife with gaffes. But the latest may be one of the most egregious yet.
CEO Tony Hayward, on the heels of testifying before Congress about the spill, just spent the day yacht racing off the coast of England.
The move sparked outrage from gulf residents, pundits and political figures alike. “To quote Tony Hayward, he’s got his life back,” said Rahm Emanuel—a jab at his earlier admission that he’d “like his life back.” On Fox News, Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) dubbed the excursion “the height of arrogance.”
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