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Posted by Amy Miller on April 26, 2015 35 Comments
We're slowly losing the distinction between the protest and the riot. Last night, chaos broke out in Baltimore after protests against the death of Freddie Gray turned into riots that damaged property and police cars, and resulted in the arrests of more than 30 people. Baltimore city officials denounced the violence as the work of "splinter groups"---isn't that always the case?---but the fact that over 300 officers were deployed and engaged in the area around Camden Yards sends that friendly narrative right down the toilet. One producer paid the price for covering the protests, and was robbed on camera as she filmed a group of teens running the streets. In the video below, you'll see the producer become surrounded, and then thrown to the ground as the crowd becomes more frenzied. The producer filming the scene was forced to give chase after one of the teens ripped her handbag from her person. Fortunately, police intervened soon after. Watch:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 24, 2015 33 Comments
You might remember Emma Sulkowicz, the Columbia University student who vowed to carry her mattress around campus in protest of her alleged rapist who remained on campus. Sulkowicz turned what she says was a horrible tragedy into performance art; performance art that will suffice as her senior thesis. Sulkowicz chose not to press charges, but to pursue allegations through Columbia's 'justice' system instead. A few months ago, Sulkowocz's alleged rapist, German student Jean-Paul Nungesser, provided his side of the story to the The Daily Beast. Nungesser's story, which was corroborated by Facebook and text messages provided to The Daily Beast, deviated significantly from Sulkowicz's version of the sordid tale. Though charges levied against by Nungesser were dismissed by Columbia University, he was judged harshly by his peers as a result of what appeared to be false accusations. When Nungesser's shared his version of events, I wrote:
Nungesser was judged in the court of public opinion because of what appear to be patently false accusations. He was hounded by the press and his peers. Meanwhile, Sulkowicz was praised for her bravery and artistic expression. And the compulsion to vilify the accused, in spite of evidence to the contrary, has yet another notch on its belt.

Posted by Amy Miller on April 24, 2015 27 Comments
Earlier today, the Speaker's office released a light, approachable (we'll talk about this later), "Happy Spring" video from the Man himself, showing John Boehner purchasing and installing a new blade on his push mower. Watch it here:
He may be the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, but he still irons his own shirts, washes his own dishes, and yes…cuts his own grass. But a well-kept yard requires well-kept tools, so in the video, Speaker Boehner preps his push mower for the springtime.
Flawlessly executed "man of the people" spot? NAY. Soon after the video was released, the internet noticed something...horrifying. Behold:

Posted by Leslie Eastman on April 23, 2015 22 Comments
When I read Aleister's post detailing the ludicrous trigger warning issued by Georgetown's radical feminists for Christina Hoff Sommer's talk, I was taken aback by this tweet from from an attendee of an event for the Association of Writing and Writing Programs. After I got done rolling my eyes, I realized that it is unlikely that any one of these geniuses will be remembered for their writing in 40 years...much less 400 years. This is compared to one very white, very straight man known as William Shakespeare, who was born on this day in 1564.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 21, 2015 49 Comments
You've seen the maps delineating the largely regional usage of words like "y'all" versus "you guys." But what about the more subtle differences in English usage? Yale's Grammatical Diversity Project produced some rather fascinated results. The study "examines syntactic differences among local varieties spoken by considerably smaller numbers of people." Digging far deeper into the grammar usage among regions within the same state, the study documents, "minimal differences among varieties of English spoken in North America." According to one of the researchers, the goal was not to look for grammatical inaccuracies or judge language usage, but to catalogue regional variations. For example, in many parts of New England, people will say "so don't I" to mean "so do I," he explained. The study also explores generational differences in the usage of words like, "so." Among younger people, and particularly in New York and California, "so" is used to convey drama. For example, "I was so tired last night, I couldn't keep my eyes open."

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 17, 2015 13 Comments
Tomorrow evening marks 240 years since Paul Revere made his famous midnight ride. Made famous by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, Revere's ride has become an iconic piece of American revolutionary history. Longfellow's poem was riddled with inaccuracies, but made for an entertaining rhyme.
LISTEN, my children, and you shall hear Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere, On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five; Hardly a man is now alive Who remembers that famous day and year. He said to his friend, ‘If the British march By land or sea from the town to-night, Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch Of the North Church tower as a signal light,— One, if by land, and two, if by sea; And I on the opposite shore will be, Ready to ride and spread the alarm Through every Middlesex village and farm, For the country folk to be up and to arm...’
Revere was a Boston-based artisan, early propaganda artists, and original Tea Partier:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 16, 2015 5 Comments
Etsy has long been my internet happy place. The online market provides craft-makers, artists, photographers, and virtually every creatively-minded individual a place to hawk their wares. And with over one million active sellers scattered across the globe, there's an abundance of fabulously kitschy, and often customizable items to chose from. I've purchased everything from wall hangings, jewelry, vintage clothing, incense, post cards, to hors d'oeuvres plates, and many other unique pieces. Until recently, mass manufactured products were not eligible for Etsy stores. Founded in Brooklyn approximately 10 years ago, Etsy practically re-engineered the virtual marketplace and offered a global platform for the would-be small business owner.  Opening a shop in Etsy's marketplace is free. Etsy charges 20 cents for each item listed and collects a fee of 3.5% once the item sells. Screen Shot 2015-04-16 at 2.06.43 PM Reaching a new milestone today, Etsy went public. The IPO's shares are currently hovering around $32 a pop. "Today, as we reach an important milestone for Etsy – our initial public offering on the Nasdaq stock exchange – we would like to thank you, our sellers, for helping us reimagine commerce. Together, we’ve built not only a thriving marketplace, but a unique worldwide community based on creativity, entrepreneurship and helping one another," said the site's announcement.

Posted by Amy Miller on April 13, 2015 10 Comments
It's cherry blossom season in DC. I walked down to the tidal basin this weekend to see them. It really is wonderful---white petals flying everywhere, and when the wind blows just so, the little flowers make a lovely rustling sound. It's almost enough to make you forget the garbage that politicians go through to seize an office here. I made the mistake of looking at the internet early Sunday morning and discovered that everyone was already talking about Hillary's Big Announcement©. Fortunately for conservative bloggers everywhere, Hillary's Big Announcement© quickly turned into Hillary's Big Disaster©. Even before the news dribbled out from her camp, Hillary's surrogates went on the attack against her critics---and made a few not-too-thinly veiled threats in the process.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on March 24, 2015 33 Comments
Today will go down in history as the day feminists officially stepped beyond the bounds of self-parody. UK based outfit, the National Union of Students is hosting a conference for women. The multi-day conference for union delegates began today. Motions up for consideration at the conference include designating the abolishment of prisons as a feminist issue, free education and living grants, supporting the decriminalization of sex work, ending Transphobia, Biphobia, and Islamophobia on campus, and supporting the right to justice and education for Palestine. This afternoon (our time, anyway), a group in attendance made the following request: To which the NUS Women's Campaign responded, saying:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on March 23, 2015 18 Comments
The seminal case in the fight against 'rape culture' ended today, leaving a giant, gaping hole in the Rape Culture agenda. An investigation conducted by the Charlottesville Police Department found no evidence of rape at the accused University of Virginia fraternity. Months ago, Rolling Stone broke Jackie's story. Jackie claimed she'd been gang raped by members of Phi Kappa Psi in 2012. When the Rolling Stone article sparked national outrage, UVA's administration acted swiftly and without facts, punishing Greek life on campus. Then the Washington Post began to dig deeper into the Rolling Stone shocker. And that's when the story began to quickly unravel and was eventually debunked in entirety. Today, the New York Times reports:
“I can’t prove that something didn’t happen, and there may come a point in time in which this survivor, or this complaining party or someone else, may come forward with some information that might help us move this investigation further,” Police Chief Timothy Longo told a roomful of reporters here. “That doesn’t mean that something terrible did not happen to Jackie on the evening of Sept. 28, 2012,” Chief Longo said, referring to the accuser and adding that his department was simply unable to corroborate her account. He added, “This case is not closed by any stretch of the imagination.”

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on March 23, 2015 25 Comments
If there were an award for ill-conceived marketing campaigns, 'Race Together' would earn the gold. Starbucks' latest social justice endeavor that encouraged baristas to engage customers in conversations about race came to a resounding halt Sunday. One week after its launch, the corporate coffee behemoth decided to cancel the first phase of 'Race Together' after receiving tremendous negative backlash. Amazingly, consumers don't enjoy being told they're racist while ordering a cup of coffee. Who knew? According to the Associated Press, 'Race Together' is not ending, it's merely moving into the next marketing phase.
The campaign has been criticized as opportunistic and inappropriate, coming in the wake of racially charged events such as national protests over police killings of black males. Others questioned whether Starbucks workers could spark productive conversations about race while serving drinks. The phase-out is not a reaction to that pushback, Olson said. "Nothing is changing. It's all part of the cadence of the timeline we originally planned." He echoed the company memo, saying of the Race Together initiative, "We're leaning into it hard."
Riiiiiight. While customers won't be badgered by baristas, Starbucks plans to move forward with ads in USA TODAY, in-store placards, and also plans to open more stores in minority communities, reports the AP. Doubling down on a universally despised marketing campaign? Ok, then.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on March 22, 2015 4 Comments
C-SPAN gets its fair share of wild calls, but this one has to be one of the best as of late. 'Jack Strickland' called into C-SPAN with a tale reminiscent of one from 90's sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, featuring Will Smith. 'Strickland' has a history of C-SPAN prank calls. See here, here, and here. “Hi, good morning. I'm Jack Strickland. I just want to make it clear I’m calling from Bel Air, California, but I’m originally from Philadelphia, specifically West Philadelphia. But anyway, I was actually discussing this issue with a friend of mine while I was in Philly, uh, it occurred on a basketball court," said Strickland. "At some point during the conversation, a couple of guys who were essentially up to no good starting making trouble in my neighborhood. I got in one little fight and my mom got scared and said, "you're moving with your auntie and uncle in Bel Air."" And that's when C-SPAN cut the call.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on March 20, 2015 19 Comments
Feminists found a new target for their incessant outrage -- Nike's new spring clothing line. Nike's latest fashion endeavor looks runway ready, and probably not meant for kickboxing, spinning, or anything else athletic. But then most runway fare isn't designed for anything but the runway. Even the promo photos look like the glossy ads that fill Marie Claire and not typical adverts placed in weekly circulars. Nike x sacai feminist outrage nike clothing line 1Nike x sacai feminist outrage nike clothing line Which seems to be the point. Partnering with Japanese fashion studio Sacai, Nike hopes to make their mark in the rapidly expanding world of fitness fashion. So Nike decides to create what is obviously a fashion couture line. No big deal, right? It shouldn't be. Except that Nike committed the unforgivable sin of describing the line as feminine. As described by Nike:
Renowned for her disruptive aesthetic, sacai’s founder Chitose Abe began the design journey by mining the Nike archives and pulling references from running, tennis and American football, reinterpreting Nike’s heritage sportswear silhouettes through a feminine and modern lens. The resulting eight-piece capsule collection seamlessly blends the iconic look of sport with a feminine and modern edge. New fabric innovations include a special mesh lace hem that was specifically developed by Nike and Abe to adorn the trim of graphic Nike T-shirts. The detail pays homage to sacai’s cool and subversive take on femininity. Abe also applied her signature paneling to several of the garments. Through technical innovation, the partners were able to achieve this effect by pleating the classic ripstop fabric for the first time. Bonded zippers that are attached without any stitching are another example of advanced design.
Cue faux feminist drama.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on March 17, 2015 38 Comments
Earlier this morning, we reported that Starbucks launched a new social justice initiative -- encouraging baristas to chat with customers about race. The campaign called 'Race Together' was instantly a fantastic disaster. I mean, who would've imagined engaging customers on a highly politicized issue like race could have possibly gone awry? This afternoon, Business Insider reported that Starbucks' Global Communications Senior VP, Corey duBrowa, had shut down his Twitter account after going on a Twitter user blockfest. Why? Evidently he wasn't interested in participating in the conversation Starbucks had started. Interestingly, those 'attacking' duBrowa (at least as reported by Business Insider) appear to be of the left leaning persuasion. DuBrowa told BI, "I was personally attacked through my Twitter account around midnight last night and the tweets represented a distraction from the respectful conversation we are trying to start around Race Together. I’ll be back on Twitter soon." But that was only the beginning. Vox had this article: Screen Shot 2015-03-17 at 6.42.10 PM

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on March 17, 2015 53 Comments
Race Together. If you find those words gracing your morning cup of joe, it's because Starbucks launched a new initiative yesterday. CEO Howard Schultz is encouraging baristas (or 'Partners' as Starbucks calls their employees) to initiate conversations about race with their customers. Citing Ferguson and New York, Schultz decided to join the race conversation, “we at Starbucks should be willing to talk about these issues in America," Schultz said. "Not to point fingers or to place blame, and not because we have answers, but because staying silent is not who we are." After holding forums in select cities like Oakland, St. Louis, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City, partners began voluntarily writing 'Race Together' on cups, according to a statement released Monday. Now, Starbucks is taking the campaign nationwide. Special 'Race Together' stickers will be provided to baristas, who may place the provocative stickers on beverages, as a way to engage customers in friendly discourse about race. "It is an opportunity to begin to re-examine how we can create a more empathetic and inclusive society – one conversation at a time," Schultz said. Schultz's efforts seem noble, but might be viewed as more legitimate were his reasons for entering the contentious race arena not predicated on blatant falsehoods and astroturfed race hustling. To be fair, conservative ideology has bled into the turbulent world of corporate advocacy, though with marked distinction and with significantly less prevalence. Chick-fil-a President and CEO, Dan Cathy, got a chance to tussle with the gay rights mafia (which must be separated from advocacy groups working in earnest) a few years ago when his sentiments on same sex marriage made their way into the public. Enduring intense public backlash, Cathy later said Chick-fil-a had no place in culture wars.

Posted by Amy Miller on March 14, 2015 8 Comments
The cult culture surrounding our president gets so weird that sometimes I don't even get it. Just when we thought we'd finally gotten used to the idea that Barack Obama is about 100 levels cooler than anyone else on the planet, we find out that he is not, in fact, just a phone call away from good times with A-list celebrities and cultural icons like Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, and Jay-Z. In this past week's appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Obama put to rest rumors that he hits up Kanye West's home phone (no one has those anymore, Kanye) on the regular for Very Important Discussions© about...whatever it is that the President of the United States would talk about with Kanye West. From CNN:
In a characteristic brag, West recently said during a lecture at Oxford University that he can "call Obama out of the blue," adding that "Obama calls the home phone." The president was complimentary toward the Chicago rapper — who he's previously called a "jackass" — but said he doubted that was true. "Look, I love his music, he's incredibly creative, but I don't think I have his home number," he told Kimmel.
TMZ has video of Kanye defending his honor against shared nemesis Rush Limbaugh, who recently said that, had Kanye rapped the lyrics to the now-infamous racist SAE fraternity chant, it would have become a chart-topping hit:

Posted by Amy Miller on March 13, 2015 18 Comments
"Is your 401k retirement plan invested in public gun companies?" The "Unload your 401k" campaign wants to know. Their website is full of scare stats: did you know that almost $2 billion of investor money is partially buried in three gun companies? That number is followed by statistics highlighting gunshot wounds, the cost of gun violence, and even a nod to Columbine. The Unload your 401k backers are ramping up the effort to get investor money out of the gun industry, and they're using celebrities to do it. Watch: From CNN Money:
Snoop Dogg might seem like an unusual choice as an anti-gun advocate. He once exalted gun violence through songs like "Bang Out" about gangsters. In 2006 he was charged with felony gun possession. And in the 1990s he was tried -- and acquitted -- of murder charges. But Snoop Dogg has changed his tune. Last year, he released a song called "No Guns Allowed," which he produced with Drake and his daughter Cori B. (The B stands for Broadus.) The song contained references to the massacres at Sandy Hook Elementary and Columbine High School.
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