From SFist:
Target’s Financial Backing of Anti-Gay Politician
“Here’s something that may give fans of San Francisco’s impending Target invasion some pause: the company’s financial support for an anti-gay Republican politician whose friends include a “kill-the-gays” Christian rock singer.
(snip)
So what’s the Target connection? Well, Bradlee’s ministry received money and support from Tom Emmer, an anti-gay Minnesota Republican running for Governor. And Tom Emmer’s campaign got a boost from Minnesota Forward, a PAC running TV ads on his behalf. And Minnesota Forward got $150,000 — which amounts to about a third of all of their donations — from Target.
So, to follow the money: Target gave $150,000 to Minnesota Forward, which bought TV ads for Tom Emmer, who says “I believe marriage is the union between one man and one woman,” and who hangs out with a guy who thinks killing gays is moral.”
Target has since issued an apology. Protests are still planned.
—
From Jezebel:
An Open Letter From A Stripper
“I should not have to convince you that the work I do deserves pay like everyone else, but because you seem like a stupid man, I will give you a quick run-through. I do not make any hourly/shift wage. In fact, I have to tip out every night that I work. Its called a house fee, it can run up to 200$ depending on the club, and its part of a model that is pervasive throughout the service industry. This is also why you should also tip waitresses and bartenders fairly. I am also not an employee but an independent contractor, meaning I have no worker’s rights or larger support network, like a union.
(snip)
That’s right, because a lot of you don’t seem to realize this, it is my job! Many seem to have problems with me doing this job for money, and seem to think that my only motivation should be personal enjoyment. Fyi, I do like my job, most of the time. But my pay should be independent from whether or not I, at the bottom of my heart, like everything I’m doing all the time. Imagine if you went into work one day and weren’t paid because someone thought you weren’t enjoying it as fully as you should be! Listen, part of my job is to maintain a glossy illusion and normalize the experience for you. I am more than happy to entertain you in this way, and you should feel free to enjoy me as such. This is respectful because it acknowledges that I AM WORKING!”
This rant gets bitchy at times but she makes a lot of good points. I liked it.
—
From the Examiner:
Strippers protest church for a change
“For the past four years, Pastor Bill Dunfee and members of his congregation at the New Beginnings Ministries church have been protesting a local gentlemen’s club in Warsaw, Ohio. On Sunday August 8th, the Foxhole Club’s owner and dancers went and protested right back.
On almost every weekend, Pastor Dunfree and his followers can be found outside the Foxhole Gentlemen’s Club with bullhorns, signs, and cameras. They have taken photos of customer’s cars and license plates and posted them on their website as a form of intimidation.”
I love this! What a brilliant idea. More strip clubs should do this. If there’s a protest near me I’ll go. That pastor said he “can’t look away”. Oh I bet he can’t! I’m sure he jerks off to the “sinners” regularly.
—
From Bust Magazine:
Happy Sex Workers’ Day!
“Or what should have been seen as such, but…no, not so much for Ye Haiyan. The single mother, sex worker and activist has been detained by Chinese authorities for the organization of a mass protest of people carrying red umbrellas, banners, petitions, all promoting legalization of prostitution. According to non-profit publication The China Development Brief, this protest was a first for China.
It seems that the last anyone has heard about Ye, also known as “Hooligan Sparrow,” is that she “cannot use the internet or talk” much, as she has been “with them.” She also mentioned in a text to Reuters that she is “at a ‘resort’ and receiving ‘re-education.” (Dissidents in China tend to be taken away for “vacation” or “studies” so that they may be kept from “moving about freely during sensitive dates.””
Ye Haiyan is one brave soul. Being sent off for “re-education” sounds scary as hell. Let’s hope this is the spark that ignites more protests for sex worker rights in China.
Posted by Vixen as News, Sex Workers at 8:52 PM CDT
No Comments »
Ted Stevens died in a plane crash Monday.
From MSNBC:
Former Sen. Ted Stevens dies in Alaska plane crash
“Former Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, died in a single-engine plane crash in southwest Alaska that killed four other people, including one of his former congressional aides, officials said Tuesday. A former NASA chief was among the four survivors.
Stevens, 86, the longest-serving Republican senator in history, was among nine people on board when the 1957 DeHavilland DHC-3 Otter, crashed into a brush- and rock-covered mountainside Monday afternoon about 17 miles north of the southwest Alaska fishing town of Dillingham, federal officials said.”
My first thought? It’s a Series Of Tubes! It’s an older remix but it’s still funny.
Posted by Vixen as News at 11:01 PM CDT
No Comments »
From the Advocate:
Proposition 8 Overturned
“In a highly anticipated decision with potentially far-reaching implications in the national battle over marriage equality, a federal judge has struck down California’s Proposition 8.
U.S. district judge Vaughn R. Walker ruled that the ballot measure violated both equal protection and due process clauses of the U.S. Constitution in a 136-page opinion released Wednesday, nearly seven months after an unprecedented trial over marriage rights began in his San Francisco courtroom.”
Also from the Advocate:
Formal Prop. 8 Appeal Filed
“Marriage equality foes jumped at the chance to appeal Judge Vaughn Walker’s decision striking down Prop. 8 and formally filed an appeal Thursday morning.
If accepted, the case will head to the ninth circuit court of appeals, which has no deadlines to hear the case, according to KTXL in Sacramento. A three-judge panel will be chosen at random to decide the appeal; they will likely ask for written arguments from both sides before scheduling a hearing.”
That appeal didn’t take long. Think this will go all the way to the Supreme Court? What a victory it would be to see legal gay marriage in our lifetimes.
—-
From Cnet:
Feds admit storing checkpoint body scan images
“For the last few years, federal agencies have defended body scanning by insisting that all images will be discarded as soon as they’re viewed. The Transportation Security Administration claimed last summer, for instance, that “scanned images cannot be stored or recorded.”
Now it turns out that some police agencies are storing the controversial images after all. The U.S. Marshals Service admitted this week that it had surreptitiously saved tens of thousands of images recorded with a millimeter wave system at the security checkpoint of a single Florida courthouse.”
I think that keeping the images are such an invasion of privacy. But I’m not surprised.
—
From the New York Times:
At Hiroshima Ceremony, a First for a U.S. Envoy
“With the mournful gong of a Buddhist temple bell and the release of a flock of doves, a crowd of 55,000 on Friday solemnly marked the moment 65 years ago when the world’s first atomic attack incinerated this city under a towering mushroom cloud.
(snip)
“Until Friday, American officials had always skipped the annual ceremony, fearing their presence would renew the debate over whether the United States should apologize for the World War II bombings, which together killed more than 200,000 people in explosions so intense that many victims were vaporized, leaving only ghostly shadows on walls, while others died in agony from burns and radiation sickness.”
This visit is long overdue. If it renews the nuclear debate that’s great. We need to be discussing it.
—
From the University of South Florida:
USF Geologists Find Beaches Teeming With Tiny Tar Balls
“As researchers from USF’s Coastal Research Laboratory examined miles of beaches of north Florida and Alabama last month, they discovered beaches hit by oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill and then “cleaned” by BP crews were anything but clean.
The sand, on the surface, looked better after crews had passed and was somewhat whiter, the scientists noted. But when University of South Florida beach geologist Ping Wang and researchers from his lab looked closer into the once pristine white quartz sands, they found that after beach-cleaning machines had combed the area, the beach was covered with thousands of tiny tar balls.
Furthermore, the beach cleanup efforts were doing nothing to address layers of oil buried inches below the sand and accounting for possibly more than half of the beach contamination.”
This is so symbolic of BP’s actions-just cover up the problem so you can’t see it.
Posted by Vixen as News at 2:13 PM CDT
No Comments »
From Open Secrets blog:
Van Hollen, ‘Corporate Candidate’ Murray Hill Spar Over Political Rights of Businesses
“Eric Hensal, the designated human delegate of public relations firm Murray Hill Inc., basked in the newfound political influence corporations enjoy.
(snip)
“If you see an ad with a particular message and it says that it is from the Coalition for a Cleaner Ocean, and it is funded by BP, you might look at that ad in a different way,” Van Hollen quipped, followed by cheers and laughter from the audience.
(snip)
Murray Hill Inc. might need a party for a few more years, at least. The Maryland Board of Elections barred Murray Hill from the ballot, informing the corporation that, at age 5, it is not old enough to run. Citing Article 1, Clause 2 of the Constitution, the board clarified that a candidate for Congress must be at least 25.”
—
Sure I knew that Murray Hill wouldn’t get elected to Congress. But somehow this ruling is a good reminder of how the powerful set the rules so that the powerful can play and win. It’s creepy how they didn’t get disqualified because corporations shouldn’t have the same rights as people period. What if Murray Hill had been a 26 year old company? What then?
Posted by Vixen as News at 9:14 PM CDT
No Comments »
From this gallery.
Posted by Vixen as Sexy Sensations at 10:30 PM CDT
No Comments »
“There’s one advantage of being a member of the wrong group. Nothing you do is exactly right. This frees you to do whatever you want.”
-Gloria Steinem
From this Katie Couric interview.
Posted by Vixen as Musings at 1:16 AM CDT
2 Comments »
Washed Up by bubs84
Welcome to Pleasurists, a round-up of the adult product and sex toy reviews that came out in the last seven days. For updates and information follow our RSS Feed and Twitter.
Did you miss Pleasurists #87? Read it all here. Do you have a review for Pleasurists #89? Be sure to read our submission guidelines and then use our submission form and submit it before Sunday July 18th at 11:59pm PDT.
Want to win some swag? All you’ve got to do is enter.
Editor
Scarlet Lotus St. Syr
Looking for sexy posts other than reviews?
e[lust] #17
On to the reviews…
Vibrators
Dildos
Anal Toys
Toys for Cocks
Lube, Massage Oil, Bath Stuff, & etc.
BDSM/Fetish
Adult Books/Games
Adult DVDs & Porn
Storage
Sex Furniture
Lingerie
Miscellaneous
Posted by Vixen as Reviews at 2:01 PM CDT
No Comments »
Shanna is the winner. Congrats! I’ve sent you an email.
Posted by Vixen as Musings at 10:22 PM CDT
2 Comments »
From AVN:
Analysis: Judge Dismisses Free Speech’s 2257 Lawsuit
“In case anyone hadn’t figured it out yet, sex is an incredibly powerful—perhaps the most powerful—motivating force in human interaction, and as such, everyone who seeks power wants to control it. That includes clergy, politicians, employers, parents, teachers—you name it.
So why is that important to U.S. District Judge Michael Baylson’s dismissal of the Free Speech Coalition’s (FSC) lawsuit challenging the federal recordkeeping and labeling laws (18 U.S.C. §§2257 and 2257A)? Because to assume that Congress enacted those laws with no regard for the content of the speech those laws affect—SEX!—shows either a complete lack of understanding of human nature and/or a deliberate disregard for one’s own nature, no matter under how many layers of “civility,” religious belief or politics they may have attempted to buried it.”
The 2257 case was dismissed?!? This is so disheartening.
—
From Pony is here!:
“Cachez ces putes”
“Sex workers in Lyon, France are going up against City Hall.
The City of Lyon has been pushing prostitutes into less-traveled areas of the town, a dangerous policy we experience (and oppose) in cities all over the world. According to Cabiria, it’s a game called “hide the whores” or (if you want to practice your French) “cachez ces putes.”
(snip)
Lyon is important to us. In 1975, 150 prostitutes occupied a local church and caught the attention of the international media. The occupation of St-Nizier inspired church occupations in Paris, Marseilles and elsewhere. Prostitutes in other countries heard about the strike and formed new organisations.”
You can read more about the Lyon occupation at the above post. Interesting history.
—
From KPTV:
County: ‘John’ School Would Curb Prostitution
“Multnomah County may begin a program geared toward first-time offenders who pick up prostitutes in hopes of educating them on how prostitution can negatively affect people’s lives.
County leaders said the prostitution customers, or johns, would pay $1,000 to attend the school, which would earn the county about $1 million per year. If the john doesn’t offend again within six months, their record remains clean.”
How about the ways prostitution can positively affect people’s lives? They never show that side. I’m so irked that these “john schools” are becoming a trend.
—
From AVN:
Porn Abuse Part of Air Traffic Controllers’ $2m Harassment Suit
“Two female air traffic controllers with many years of service working for Airservices Australia, a government-owned provider of traffic control management and related airside services, have filed a Federal Court action. Asserting “extreme” sexual discrimination and bullying, the two women are seeking more than $1 million apiece in a $2 million-plus claim.
“The women claim they were exposed to pornography distributed by a manager and were subjected to regular bullying and abuse,” reported The Age. “They also allege they were denied access to training and professional development, were belittled when they became pregnant and suffered false allegations against them. When they both separately complained in April and May 2008, they were allegedly ignored.””
This one falls under the WTF category.
Posted by Vixen as News at 11:21 PM CDT
No Comments »
