Zuzu nails Kos on the bullseye

This post may ramble a bit, but bear with me, as I'm trying to articulate some issues that have ben percolating for a while.

Zuzu, over at Feminsite, just nailed the essence of an article on Daily Kos, by Kos, as to the commotion over the death threats and harassment aimed at a woman blogger who had a techie blog site up, until she closed the blog and cancelled her participation at some seminars she had been scheduled to present at. (I'm not going to link to the Kos article -- read Zuzu at Feministe and Amanda at Pandagon, then link to Kos from there)

I had been trying to figure out why I didn't feel all that comfortable porting stuff from my own blog to a diary on Daily Kos, and then the comment thread there crystallized it for me -- it's as if there is no requirement for consideration or thoughtful speech. (including their pooh-poohing of a proposed "blogger code of ethics")

I don't know if it's because the place is so big, or if it's just that "the management" has decided that such consideration is not worth the effort.

And the feeling in the Kos article (never mind some of the wild-a** comments) was just as Zuzu shortened it -- "she was asking for it."

The feeling I got when I read the woman's techie blog was that she was really frightened, and saw no reason why this level of venom was aimed as her. And *I* saw no reason for this level of venom, either.

But when the graphic threats are published, and I read the descriptions of what these people said they wanted to do to her, I saw real reason for her to be frightened.

Blogging can be a liberating activity, partly because of the anonymity, but that same anonymity can be a cause for some to treat what should be freedom as license. I know, and fully understand and accept, that the authors and readers at Feministe and Pandgon will view this issue through a "feminist lens," and they are right to do so. It most certasinly *is* a feminist issue, especially the way that Kos framed his article.

But I want to view this through a more expansive lens, and it leads to my reflection on a survey that BitchPhd had asked readers to participate in on the subject of "blog author anonymity/pseudononimy." My own response had been that I blogged semi-anonymously because it made my wife more comfortable for me to do so, and I wasn't someone who needed personal recognition to be so public that I needed to use my real-life name.

But over the past few months now my feelings have changed, are that she (my wife) was much more right than previously either of us realized -- for reasons that neither us of would have, I think, previously credited.

There are real some crazy people out there, and it really isn't needful to broadcast a way for some nutcase to be able to come directly to your home or workplace in order to confront or "punish" you because you have expressed an opinion that is contrary to what they deem as "correct." Amanda notes in her article on Pandagon that, when she first started blogging she had to spend a lot of time editing comment threads to remove the posting of her real-life name and address. It was, as she put it, the implied threat behind the statment "I know where you live."

There is a lot of presumption in our society these days that threats are all just so much trash-talking that it doesn't need to be believed, or that someone has to just "grow a thick skin" or "get over it." You know what? "Get stuffed."

There is no need for belittling the people who have legitimatly felt they are being threatened, especially someone who, like Soerra, have ben threatened in such a credible fashion that the police are taking it seriously.

Stalkers are dangerous.

People who are delusional can be *really* dangerous, especially if they thinkl they cannot be held acountable for their actions.

Unfortunately, when I look around and compare what I see to what I used to view as the familiar landscape of our "civil society," all I can say is "it doesn't look like we're in Kansas any more, Toto..."

You know, this makes as much sense as anything else we hear from inside the Beltway

From a comment thread at Available Light on G.W.'s recess appointment of Sam Fox as Ambassador to Belgium :

#14 ::: Paula Lieberman ::: (view all by) ::: April 05, 2007, 10:38 AM:
I figured it out, it's

Satanic Possession!

Yes, the body occupying the Presidency of the United States is possessed by Satan! Karl Rove is another case of demonic-possession, and so is Dick Cheney! Satan is running the US Government!

Melech Ha'Mauvetz is ruling the world, and co-opting people who think they are working in accordance with God's Plans--all those supposedly pious and humble (not...) ministers of Jesus who have open access to the White House from Colorado Springs and elsewhere, who preach intolerance and bigotry and demand conversion of those who are either not of their faith, or have lifestyles and values (including tolerance...) that fail to comply with the preachers' professed credo (Ted Haggerty fell but shall rise again born again and again and again... shades of the hypocritical confessions and soul-cleansings in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man). The demonically possessed subvert the populace of the USA, colluded to deliver thousands of souls into death on September 11, 2001 (refusing to accept any briefings about the threat posed by Al-Qaeda until after the start of September 2001, by the time the long-diverted and delayed briefing that finally got scheduled was scheduled for delivery, it was far to late to effective do anything to deter the murderers... complicity and collusion, and thousands of souls sent to death, and millions more sent into financial stress-- //snip//

There was the invasion of Afghanistan--bungled, and the administration of Afghanistan after the invasion bungled even worse. The lot of women in that country has not changed much, the schools that had been closed for years were briefly reopened to girls, and then closed again with atrocities of bombings and arson and massacres effected against those with the temerity to teaching reading and writing to girls, and against the schools the girls were going to, and against the girls who were learning to read and write. US-backed warlords with no different social policies that Taliban--lock the women in purdah and throw away the key, bludgeon all males into wearing full beards and behaving in accordance with rigid codes prohibiting alcohol, graven images, etc., destroy any art or literature considered religiously improper or impious or challenging....

There was the invasion of Iraq--"collateral damage" of more than half a million souls sent into death, more than a tenth of the population fled out of the country as refugees trying to avoid the fate of relatives murdered intentionally or as byproducts of homicidal mania masquerading as sectarianism or of homicidal mania manifesting as zeal for vengeance and revenge exacted for the deaths of friends and relatives....

"Blood and souls for Arioch!" called Elric as he wielded Stormbringer reaping its deadly harvest.. Stormbringer and Elric didn't cause the death and destruction of closing on a MILLION people, did they?

God knows that *I* can't find a rational analysis of why this administration does the things they do. And Voodoo would likely be a step up in the credibility process...

Solidarity

In January of 2001 Jordon Barab, then an appointee of several years as "a Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for OSHA" turned into a self-described pumpkin when the new winds blew through Washington.

A year and a half later, in March of 2003, he started up "Confined Space," a blog intended to cover workers safety and health issues.

And did it so well that it was voted a Kolfax award for "Best Single Issue Blog" in 2005

Unfortunately, the fields had been sown thickly with dragon's teeth, with all too much to tell about roll-backs in safety standards, the eviscerating of OSHA, and the toll of injury and death to America's workers, with more than 15 workers killed every day, and a workplace injury every 2.5 seconds.

Well, with the new winds again blowing through Washington, in January of this year, "Confined Spaces" turned into a pumpkin and Barab turned into a horse-drawn coach an appointee to the House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor. Barab has decided that, from the viewpoints both of time and conflict-of-interest, he has given up being an active advocate in phosphor, and will fill that role in the halls of the U.S. Congress

Confined Space will stay up, with its archive as a resource, and some of the focus points will be taken on by other writers.

Even more than wage issues, unions got legs because of worker safety issues. Maybe some unions have adopted some practices that are counter-productive, (even spawning words like "featherbedding").

But the "free market" is one that grinds up workers and discards the carcass, and unions are still desperately needed.

The paradox in all that is that more and more rank-and-file workers think that the unions have had their day, and that management will magicly become altruistic and safety-conscious. I saw this sea-change in my own mother, as she, a woman who had worked for decades as a charwoman and then as a postal worker, bought the free-market lies whole-heartedly.

At the bottom of his last post at Confined Space Barab linked a video from YouTube that shows the need, and the solution, far better than I. I've copied it here.

Keep fighting Jordon, keep fighting.

Student's Free-Speech rights vs Orderly School

The Supreme Court heard arguments this week on a case that balances a student's free-speech rights with the rights of a school to control the atmosphere, through limits on student speech, of the school itself. In January of 2002 Joseph Frederick, then a senior at a high school in Juneau, Alaska, unfurled a 14-foot banner near Juneau-Douglas High School proclaiming "Bong Hits 4 Jesus."

Frederick's display of the banner occurred during the relay of the ceremonial torch for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Fredericks, now studying and teaching in China, claims that the banner was a publicity stunt, with nonsensical wording, just to gather attention and make a point about free speech. Deborah Morse, then the principal of the high school, saw, instead, a pro-drug message, and suspended Frederick for 10 days. (originally 5 days, but Frederick refused to name his fellow-travelers in crime, and the principal upped the sentence on, umm, principle, when he quoted Thomas Jefferson to her)

Frederick appealed the suspension to both the school Superintendent and the district's school board, both of whom upheld the suspension but reduced it to "time-served" of eight days (the days from the incident to the appeal to the Superintendent).

In April of that year Frederick filed suit in the United States District Court for Alaska, stating that his federal and state rights to free speech had been unnecessarily curtailed.

The District Court held for Morse and the school board, but the 9th Circuit court, on appeal, reversed with a unanimous decision and held that Frederick's rights of free speech had been violated.

The School Board, and Morse, asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.

There is a peculiar cast of supporting characters, as well -- Kenneth Starr (yes, *that* Ken Starr) is representing Morse (now a Juneau schools' administrator) and the School Board. The U.S. D.O.J.'s Solicitor General, Paul Clement has filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the school authorities. The brief calls for near unlimited control of speech in the schools, based on the thought that "it may be banned if it is inconsistent with a school’s basic educational mission ." This kind of control is just ripe for abuse, considering that, like the "war on terror," the definition of a school's "basic educational mission" can be pretty slippery.

The ACLU is representing Frederick, along with Juneau lawyer Doug Mertz. The briefs filed show that the ACLU is framing the case as a "simple" free-speech case, and not necessarily one of "student's rights," noting that the banner exhibition did not cause disruption (some thought "it was dumb."), the display occurred on public property, and it was not an official school-sanctioned "event."

'Though the school did release students to watch the relay parade, Fredericks did not make it to school that morning, arriving at the parade after the school had let the students out, so Frederick had never been under the school's control up to that point.

Along with the ACLU and Mertz, support for Frederick's actions is coming from the American Center for Law and Justice , who have filed an amicus brief in the case. The ACLJ is a right-wing group that must be feeling somewhat nervous being on the same side of a case as the ACLU (indeed, one of their lead items on their web site's home page is attacking the ACLU).

Along with the ACLJ the Rutherford Institute has filed an amicus brief. At least the Rutherford seems a little more comfortable working with the ACLU -- the two organizations have cooperated in several cases in the past.

Others that have filed amicus curiae briefs in support of Frederick:
- Drug Policy Alliance - amicus brief
- Alliance Defense Fund - amicus brief
- Center for Individual Rights - amicus brief
- Christian Legal Society - amicus brief
- Lamda Legal Defense Fund - amicus brief
- The Liberty Counsel - amicus brief
- Liberty Legal Institute - amicus brief
- National Coalition Against Censorship - amicus brief
- Student Press Law Center - amicus brief
- Students For Sensible Drug Policy - amicus brief

Of course, this mix-master of organizations all have their own agenda -- but the one that is most to look after is the right-wing one, as groups like Liberty Legal (these were the people who represented the two women who were fired after they "prayed over" and "anointed" the desk, chair and cubicle of an absent co-worker) and Christian Legal want to try to find a wedge so they can go back to forced prayer and proselytizing in the public schools.

The transcript of the oral arguments before, though the Supreme Court can be found
here.

It's always a chance if you presume that what questions are asked will be probable indicators of where the decision may go. If that were the case, the decision may hinge on the fact that the then-student was on public property and that his "speech" was not disruptive.

On the one side is the student claiming free-speech utterances of a nonsense phrase, and the school board claiming that a "reasonable person" would view "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" as an endorsement of drug use.

The arguments that the lawyers for Morse and the school board were putting forth to support the "drug endorsement" message really seem a stretch.

The court is expecting to issue a ruling before the summer.

A few background notes: the student was harassed by police several times, and he won a lawsuit against the city, and his father was fired from his job with the city's liability coverage, at least partly because he did not intervene to shut his son up. When the elder Frederick sued for wrongful termination, he got a $200,000 from his lawsuit.

Neb. High Court characterizes repeated, persistent bullying as "Stalking"

For far too long bullying in schools, especially of girls, has been dismissed as being "just a stage" or that the victims just need to "get a thicker skin." Schools often say they cannot do anything about the situations, and that it should be handled by the parents

In at least one case, however, persistent bullying has been recognized as the brutalizing and fear-inducing act that it is.

Neb. court says bullying was stalking
LINCOLN, Neb. --A teenager who called a schoolmate "fat penguin" and other derogatory names in front of other students for months committed misdemeanor stalking, the state Supreme Court ruled Friday

The ruling overturned an appeals court finding that the 16-year-old's actions were intended only for his "own juvenile amusement."

According to court documents, the teen identified only as Jeffrey K. yelled at the girl close to 200 times over two months in 2004 at Omaha Westside High School. He shoved a chair directly into her path, causing her to stumble, repeatedly called her a "whore" and threw food at her, yelling "eat some more, fat ass."

Lets see, bullying that was repeated each day, every school day, for months. Where the hell was the school system all this time, that these actions were permitted to continue for such a long period, and in such a public fashion? Never mind that the incidents with the chair and the thrown food could also be classed as "assault."

A Juvenile Court found that the boy had committed misdemeanor stalking, but an appeals court overturned that judgement.

But I guess they figured it was just a case of "boys will be boys," because the victim, herself a minor, testified that the tone of voice was "mean, but not, really -- like, threatening."

On the face, the victim changed her daily routine in order to avoid her harasser, presumably out of fear. But, because the appellate court viewed the statute only in a subjective manner, they reversed the Juvenile Court.

The state supreme court in its decision (In re Interest of Jeffrey K.) took an objective view of the case, and decided that, from an independent, external view,

based upon our review, we determine that the record contains evidence beyond a reasonable doubt demonstrating that a reasonable person would be “seriously . . . intimidated” by Jeffrey’s ongoing verbal and physical attacks as required under § 28‑311.02(2)(a).

It's about damn time some of this behavior is called for what it is.

Ancient Mayan site purified after GW visit

This is just chock full of pre-loaded snark...

Guatemalans perform rituals after Bush exit

IXIMCHE, Guatemala -- A whiff of incense, a sputter of candles, a hum of prayer.

Mayan Indian activists yesterday offered the gentlest protest yet to the recent Latin American tour of President Bush as they held a purification ceremony to drive out the "bad spirits" they said he had left behind during a stop at their ancient pyramid.

The activists said the bad spirits were roused by Bush's policies, including the US-led war in Iraq and the immigration raid last week in New Bedford, Mass. Several Guatemalans were among the 361 alleged illegal immigrants detained.

Bush visited Iximche, capital of the pre-Hispanic Kaqchiqueles kingdom, during his daylong trip to Guatemala as part of a five-nation trip to the region.

Kroger's and EC in Georgia

It's nice when I can quote a news story that shows corporate responsibility (even is that "corporate responsibility" will translate into customer's regarding the company as one that wants to actually serve customers, instead of serving well-heeled pressure groups that won't spend money in the chain's stores anyway).

"Kroger reminds pharmacists of company policy after Ga. complaint"

ATLANTA -- Kroger Co. said Friday it was reiterating its drug policies to all of its pharmacists after a Georgia woman claimed she was denied the so-called ”morning after” pill at one of the company’s stores.

The Cincinnati-based grocery chain said if its pharmacists object to fulfilling a request, the store must ”make accommodations to have that prescription filled for our customer.”

”We believe that medication is a private patient matter,” said Meghan Glynn, a Kroger spokeswoman. ”Our role as a pharmacy operator is to furnish medication in accordance with the doctor’s prescription or as requested by a patient.”

//snip//

Supporters of the drug say widespread availability will cut down on unwanted pregnancies and abortions.

Critics argue it encourages promiscuity and unprotected sex and some consider it related to abortion, although it is different from the abortion pill RU-486.

Lets look at that again, "encourages promiscuity and unprotected sex."

In other words, men and women being responsible about not bringing unwanted children onto the planet is to be punished and regarded as "bad."

I'd say that Kroger's was being the responsible one here.

I'm sure that there is also no lack of those who will call this move by Kroger's management as "caving to the forces of immorality!"