Oh, and since it's Bad Ass Feminist Day (just because I say so), enjoy this blog post at Ms. about Sady Doyle's quest to get Michael Moore to fucking apologize already for calling the rape allegations against Julian Assange "all a bunch of hooey." Sady started the hash tag #MooreandMe on Twitter, where feminists are all a-gatherin' to tell Michael Moore just what we think of him (and of course there are some haters on the hash tag as well, but just ignore them). Four days into her anti-Moore campaign, Sady blogged:

No matter what they do to me, no matter how long Michael Moore ignores me, I am still going to be here outside the tower. At this point, if you want to fucking stop me from demanding that apology, you will have to get a gun and literally shoot me down. And if I survive that, I’m Tweeting from the hospital.

She's bold, to say the least. Check out #MooreandMe, it really is great fun.

And here's another bad ass feminist to round out your day: Nicola Briggs. Because if you haven't seen the video of her PWN'ing the pervert who sexually harassed her on the subway, stop what you're doing and watch it now.



Oh fucking yes.

"Look dad, I made a modest studio apartment for my Malibu Stacey doll! This is the kitchen, this is where she prints her weekly feminist newsletter..."
-Lisa Simpson

You gotta love her.

Found many-a interesting things while perusing the web on my Sunday afternoon, so here's a nice little round-up for y'all.

• If you need your daily dose of disgust, you can read about the opposition to building mosques near Ground Zero.


• For those of you who haven't heard, an appeal has already been filed against the Prop 8 ruling. No one's particularly surprised.


• From The New Gay: Queers You Should Know: Fred Karger, Our First Gay President?


• In honor of World Breastfeeding Week (which ended yesterday), Kimberly Seals Allers wrote a piece for Women's eNews about the low breastfeeding rates amongst black mothers.


• I found this absolutely horrific but thought it served as a good reminder of the lengths people will go to in order to protect their precious gender roles. A man allegedly beat his girlfriend's 17-month-old son to death because he wasn't acting "manly" enough.


• From AlterNet: In States Where "Gun Ed" Is Prevalent, Comprehensive Sex Ed Is Nowhere to Be Found.


• Another one from AlterNet: The GOP Fights to Make African-Americans Sicker and Poorer.


• Scenes from an anti-choice abortion-kills-black-babies protest.


• Ironically, Lucky magazine airbrushed Jessica Simpson to make her look thinner in her photo for an article about how much she loves her body.


• Jane Lynch. Hosting SNL in October. 'Nuff said.


• Thank goodness for Rachel Maddow and her ability to take on offensive media powerhouses, e.g. Bill O'Reilly.

Although I'm sure many of us have our issues with the overly-commercialized "Hallmark" holiday that is Mother's Day, I can't imagine many of us have issues with honoring the women in our life who have made us who we are. That's how I see Mother's Day. Not everyone is lucky enough to have a mother like Lorelai Gilmore, but I sincerely hope that we are all lucky enough to have strong women role models in our lives.

Living with my mom hasn't always been the easiest task. I have nothing but happy memories of her as a kid - from her ability to always act as if I had given her diamonds for her birthday when really all I gave her was a bunch of pictures I scribbled, to her tendency to always stand up for me when I felt the wrath of my dad's temper (not to say that I don't love my dad - I love him very much, but the man can sure yell). But by nine years-old, she had been diagnosed with a nightmarish disease that over the years, has attacked her body and mind. At 57 years-old, though she needs constant care and is essentially wheelchair-bound, she is still kickin', defying all odds. There is a 50% chance I have inherited the disease from her, and while I don't know yet if I have it or not because I'm not at the point where I'm ready to take the test, I'm sure I inherited her never-give-up, don't-take-shit attitude. Go mom.

We have had our fair share of fights, as the disease attacked her ability to think rationally which made it increasingly difficult to be around her, but I have nothing but love for my mom. And not only was I blessed with an awesome mother, but also an older sister who looks out for me, defends me when people give me crap for being a feminist, and in a few weeks, will be sharing a house with me. I see how my mom's older sister treats her with nothing but the utmost care and love, and I know that if either my sister or me were affected by the disease (Heaven forbid) it would be no different. Because that's what women do, or should do, for each other.

So go give the women in your life big hugs, and tell 'em why they rock. Also, feel free to comment with your stories. Now, enough with the mushy stuff. I feel I have to post the hilarious video I always think of whenever Mother's Day is mentioned.

It's been widely known that Meghan McCain, John McCain's outspoken daughter, is a proud supporter of same-sex marriage. She even posed in an advertisement for the "NO H8" campaign against Prop 8 in California.



And nowwww... Cindy McCain, John McCain's wife, has decided to pose for the campaign as well.



I'm very surprised that Cindy so publicly supports marriage equality. The NO H8 Campaign website posted the images and announced that Cindy and Meghan are "redefining Republican." Despite my disagreement with many of their political views and my dislike for John McCain, I really respect their willingness to go against the grain by speaking in favor of a political view that is so unpopular within the Republican party (and with John McCain himself).

I think this is an important step in the right direction, to where eventually LGBTQ rights won't be a political debate, but a given. If two of the country's most well-known Republicans can recognize that denying rights to same-sex couples is a form of hatred and discrimination, surely others can as well.

I love me some Cynthia Nixon. She is a talented actress (who is smokin' hot) and 100% open about her sexuality. What I didn't know is that she's also a vocal pro-choice activist. An article today on CNN called her the "abortion debate's new voice." They also interviewed her, where she discussed her pro-choice views, and how abortion has been portrayed on "Sex and the City."

CNN: "Sex and the City" did the now-famous episode where your character, Miranda Hobbes, chose to have an abortion only to change her mind at the last minute. Was there a message in that episode? What was it?

Nixon: The message was choice. Miranda is a fighter. If she had to fight to get to that abortion, if there were forces working against her, she would have fought and fought and fought to get there and she might not have stopped to think, "What do I really want in this situation?"

But she was able to sit there in that doctor's office, about to go have an abortion with the support of her friends, and think to herself, "You know, I don't think this is what I want to do." This should be all about choice. We should not be pushing women to have children they don't want or can't care for.

As a celebrity, it's really risky to take a public stance on such a controversial issue because she could plausibly lose some anti-choice fans, but this doesn't seem to phase her much. I appreciate her willingness to put her neck on the line for a good cause and to use her power and publicity to do some good in the world.

THANK YOU, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), for calling out the fact that women's access to health care and reproductive services is constantly under attack, yet the medicines (i.e. Viagra) and procedures that men use are not put in this same political position. Double standards. Story of our lives, ain't it? IMO, it all goes back to society trying to control a woman's sexuality. Why are birth control rights threatened incessantly, yet condoms seem almost impervious to the same assaults? Because men are allowed to be sexually free, and we're not.



Take a moment to contact Senator Boxer and thank her for her wise words. It's not easy being a feminist in Washington.

Watch Rachel Maddow take on one of those "gay people can become straight with therapy!" nuts. It's awesome.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

If you're a card-playing feminist, shoot on over to Lady Junkie's feminist poker blog. Start by reading some lovely interviews Lady Junkie conducted recently with feminist bloggers, including yours truly, and Julie Zeilinger of The FBomb.

As someone who was taught how to play poker by her father when she was ten years-old, I really enjoyed doing this interview. More power to any women poker players who are kicking ass in the male-dominated game.

I can't believe I've never gotten into Le Tigre before. Sure, I've heard of them, but I never appreciated their awesome-ness. While searching for music to play on my feminist radio show (listen online tonight at 8:30PM EST), I thought, "Hmm. You know, I bet I would like Le Tigre."

Scratch that, I love Le Tigre.

One of the founding members of Le Tigre is Kathleen Hanna, who used to be in Bikini Kill, one of the pioneer bands of the Riot Grrrl movement in the 90s, the famous underground feminist punk movement that is argued to have kicked off the third wave of feminism.

Le Tigre, with its dance-punk style and political lyrics and activist members, is one bad ass feminist band. Unfortunately, their best songs contain tons of cursing, so I can't play my favorites on my radio show. But here are some lyrics of theirs, from the song "FYR" off their album Feminist Sweepstakes:

Ten short years of progressive change,
Fifty fucking years of calling us names.
Can we trade title nine for an end to hate crime?
RU-486 if we suck your fucking dick?
One step forward, five steps back.
One cool record in the year of rock-rap.
Yeah, we got all the power getting stabbed in the shower.
And we got equal rights on ladies night.
Feminists, we're calling you.
Please report to the front desk.
Let's name this phenomenon.
It's too dumb to bring us down.
F.Y.R. Fifty years of ridicule.
F.Y.R take another picture.
Mrs. Doubtfire on mother's day.
On-the-job stalker for equal pay.
Toss us a few new AIDS drugs as national healthcare bites the dust.
While you were on vacation black people didn't get reparations.
You know these days no one's exploited.
Sorry dude can't hear you with my head in the toilet.

And this is "Deceptacon," definitely one of their most danceable songs.



Love them. Now.

This is ah-mazing.

Senator John Kyl (AZ-R): *grumblegrumble* I don't need maternity care in my health insurance! *grumblegrumble*
Senator Debbie Stabenow (MI-D): I think your mom probably did.



(h/t to Feministing!)

On Meet the Press, Maddow appeared on a panel with former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), former House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas), and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.). And she effectively called Armey out on his bullshit.

I love Kathy Griffin. It's undeniably difficult for women comedians to make it in the male-dominated world of comedy, but Kathy is climbing her way to the top. As a 'fag hag' til death, she always begins her stand-up shows by saying, "Where my gays at?!" She has an enormous gay following, and the latest episode of her reality show, Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List, gave the gays even more of a reason to love her. In the episode, Kathy got in touch with her activist side by lobbying for the rejection of Prop 8. In an interview she did with MatthewShepard.org, Kathy said,

...I know a lot of gay people and I have heard many of their stories, and through them I have met so many more gay people and heard their stories, etc. But one thing that is really important to me and I am proud of is the Prop 8 episode that we are doing on "My Life on the D-List." You know, every year we do kind of a serious episode and it has really turned into a story about oppression and LGBT issues in general and the reason it was so important to me to invoke Matt's story and kinda his participation from heaven.

Kathy goes door-to-door to discuss same-sex marriage with Californians, and the interesting part is that most of them did not have a good response to her question of, "If gay people can get married, how does that affect you?" Most of the opponents responded with, "It doesn't." She got some people to flat-out say that they will reconsider their anti-gay marriage stance. Kathy also rounded up a group of young LGBT people, introduced them to Matthew Shepard's story, and took them to a gay rights rally. Here's a clip from the episode:



I really appreciate Kathy using her popularity and power to spread a pro-gay rights message. You gotta love her.

Forbes has released its Most Influential Women in the Media list. It was nice to see that the majority of the women on this list are extremely intelligent, assertive, and actively involved in politics. Not surprisingly, Oprah took the #1 spot. My favorites on the list? Ellen DeGeneres took #4, Arianna Huffington of the Huffington Post was #12, Rachel Maddow (swoon) was #15, and the wonderful Campbell Brown of NBC was #24. It's good to see these women being honored for their achievements and contributions.

Undeniably, there is a blatant lack of women of color on the list. But that can be attributed to the fact that there are so few women of color in mainstream media in general. The Forbes list definitely reflects that.

Because I love:

a.) Roller derby girls
b.) Ellen Page
c.) Drew Barrymore

I must see this movie.

You'll LOL.

AfterEllen.com, the popular website for queer women, has released their annual Hot 100. The Hot 100 is meant to give lesbian and bi women a voice in "mainstream, heterocentric pop culture" to identify the women they find sexy.

Portia De Rossi topped the list at #1, and Ellen DeGeneres came in at #15. Some of my favorites on the list? Ellen Page, Tina Fey, Michelle Obama, Meryl Streep, Sandra Oh, Rachel Maddow, and Amanda Palmer, among many others. There are also "supplementary" lists: Hottest Women of Color, Hottest Out Women, and Hottest Women Over 40.

I love that queer women are being given the opportunity to have their voices heard, but I still yearn for more "hot 100" lists that celebrate more than a woman's looks. But I do realize that many of the women on the AfterEllen list are attractive for reasons other than looks - for example, I know Rachel Maddow was on that list for not just her androgynous hottness, but also her intelligence and passion. Still, I have to agree with Sinclair Sexsmith, author of The Sugarbutch Chronicles when he said, "according to this list, sexy women are feminine." There was undoubtedly a blatant lack of sexy genderqueer and butch women on the list.

Because of this, Sinclair Sexsmith is asking for nominations for the Hot Butches of 2009. Submit yours!

And wonderfully enough, it's a woman. Judge Sonia Sotomayor has been nominated to fill the empty seat on the Supreme Court left by Justice Souter. If confirmed, she will be the third woman ever to serve on the Court, and the first Hispanic justice to ever serve. Of course, conservatives are not happy. From The New York Times:

"Judge Sotomayor is a liberal judicial activist of the first order who thinks her own personal political agenda is more important than the law as written," said Wendy E. Long, counsel to the Judicial Confirmation Network. "She thinks that judges should dictate policy, and that one's sex, race, and ethnicity ought to affect the decisions one renders from the bench."

Ech. What she really believes?

"I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life," said Judge Sotomayor.

Quite true. Judge Sotomayor has sat for the last 11 years on the federal appeals bench in Manhattan, and six years before that, she was a federal district judge in New York. According to her biography on the Times website:

Judge Sotomayor earned a reputation as a sharp, outspoken and fearless jurist, someone who does not let powerful interests bully, rush or cow her into a decision.

I'm really excited. I sincerely hope the right-wing Republicans don't block what appears to be a qualified judge who can bring fervor and diversity to the Court.

Ugh. The ever tasteful Maxim magazine named Michelle Obama #93 on their Hot 100, a collection of what they believe to be the "hottest" women in the world. According to Maxim:

He may be dealing with two wars, an economic meltdown, and a rapidly graying dome, but at least our Commander in Chief gets to come home to the hottest First Lady in the history of these United States. (Sorry, Martha Washington!)

I hate that it's perfectly acceptable to rate women based on their looks, even political figures. Michelle Obama is undoubtedly beautiful, but there is more to her than just good looks. Where are the lists of women with good hearts? Where are the "Top 100 Most Bad Ass Women" lists?

That's it, I'm making one. Maybe not 100, but I'll do my best. Expect it soon.

The latest from the phenomenal Sarah Haskins. I found this episode particularly awesome because the dating shows she refers to piss me off to no end.