The author of Gender Queer says what we all already know.
An artist gets accused of fraud over his latest piece of work but should he give his money back? I say no. I’ll tell you why.
And the great debate about dog culture and pit bulls has come to a head. Let’s talk about it.
Dumbass of the Day
So, what’s a woman than?
You Don’t Say
According to the Daily Wire:
The author of “Gender Queer,” the graphic novel with explicit sexual content that has shown up in public school libraries across the country, outraging parents, is saying her book is not actually for kids.
Last week, author Maia Kobabe, who identifies as non-binary and uses the pronouns “e, em and eir,” explained that while her book might be appropriate for “older teens,” she does not recommend it for children.
“It keeps being called a children’s book … but I think that’s coming from a misreading of the comic-book form. ‘Gender Queer’ is a comic, and in full color, but that doesn’t mean it’s for children. I originally wrote it for my parents, and then for older teens who were already asking these questions about themselves. I don’t recommend this book for kids!” she told The Washington Post in an interview published last week.
“Gender Queer” includes illustrations of sex between two males with a sex toy, oral sex, masturbation, and other sexually explicit content.
Here is John Kennedy reading an excerpt from the book in a hearing in the Senate:
Why? This is Art!
Art is going straight to hell.
According to the Daily Wire:
A Danish artist is being asked to return money he was given to complete an art installation after he submitted two blank canvases as the finished project.
The Kunsten Museum of Modern Art in Denmark lent artist Jens Haaning 532,549 Dutch krone, equivalent to about $76,400, so he could recreate two earlier pieces that physically depicted the average income of a Danish citizen versus an Austrian citizen, per NPR.
But rather than affixing the money to the canvases, Haaning pocketed the cash and turned in blank canvases he dubbed “Take the Money And Run.”
The museum initially accepted the canvases and displayed them as part of its “Work It Out” show in 2021, expecting the artist to return the money afterward. But he refused, which resulted in a lengthy court battle.
My question is why should he return it? That’s modern art today. I’m just surprised no one bought it.
Doing the Minimum
Hollywood is falling apart as well it should. They want more money and a guarantee that technology, specifically A.I., will not take the jobs of the writers or the actors. So they all went on strike.
Well, it’s been six months and guess what? No one notices or cares.
Unfortunately, there are workers that are really struggling. So the queens of empathy in Hollywood have decided to raise money for all the little people who do not have jobs because the millionaires who are on strike refuse to work. (I do hear they are paying $20 an hour at McDonald’s soon so we can give them that little piece of advice).
You would think that means each of these millionaires is going to donate $10,000 or something to help. You would be wrong. They are going to give so much more. Each actor and writer decided to auction off goods and service to the highest bidder on Ebay. Let’s take a look at what some of these caring and empathetic elites are offering us little people to help the other little people:
- Lena Dunham will paint a mural in your home ($5100).
- Busy Philipps will take a pottery class with you ($2800).
- Tom Waite is auctioning off his hat.
- Natasha Lyonne (“Orange is the New Black,” “Russian Doll”) to help you with a New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle ($2800).
- An apron signed by Jeremy Allen White and other cast members from “The Bear”.
- Adam Scott of “Parks and Recreation” will be walking a winner’s dog in Los Angeles for up to an hour.
- Big-ticket items include a watercolor portrait of the winning bidder’s dog from Emmy-winning actor John Lithgow ($4,050 and rising).
- Dinner with Bob Odenkirk and David Cross ($7,100 or more.)
- Actors Sarah Silverman and Maggie Gyllenhaal have opted for 20-minute, 20-question ask-me-anything-style Zoom calls.
- The casts of “New Girl” and “Bones” have each agreed to Zoom hangouts with winning bidders.
- Nicole Kidman will hold a 20-minute Zoom meeting.
I mean, wow. The arrogance of these people is just incredible. And is this not the cheapest thing you have ever heard of?
https://www.dailywire.com/news/lena-dunham-will-paint-you-a-mural-celebs-auction-services-to-fundraise-for-crew-members-on-strike
https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2023/09/14/writers-actors-strike-charity-auction-union-solidarity-coalition/
You’d Surprised What I Think
There is an article by Abigail Weinberg at Mother Jones called Dog Culture Must End. I thought it was kind of a funny subject and Mother Jones does have some weird articles, so I read it. It’s worth taking a look at because, surprisingly, it is not as insane as the usual Mother Jones article.
When I say that I hate dogs, I don’t mean that I hate your dog. I mean that I dislike ill-behaved dogs. I mean that I’m actually a little bit scared of them, and they can sense my nervousness, and so we tend not to get along. I mean that I hate dog culture—the relentless prioritization of dogs’ needs over humans’, and the suggestion that anyone who doesn’t want their face licked by some oversized mutt is a monster.
This is not an insane opening statement. I agree with this.
This issue of our societal permissiveness toward dangerous dogs recently came up at work. During his tenure, President Joe Biden has brought two violent dogs into the White House, where thousands of people go to work every day. Last month, a conservative watchdog group released records showing that Biden’s German shepherd Commander attacked Secret Service members 10 times between October 2022 and January. And in 2021, Major Biden, another German shepherd, was exiled to Delaware after his own biting spree. When my colleague Inae Oh surveyed Mother Jones readers about how the Bidens should handle the situation, I was baffled by the responses.
This is true. Those dogs had no business being at the White House and the people working there have a right to work without being eaten by old Joe’s 120 pound dogs.
Several respondents suggested that Commander must be able to sniff out Trump allies, as if those people deserve to be savaged by an untrained dog. The notion that a dog is a reliable judge of character is symptomatic of a dog-obsessed society; a subset of our population genuinely believes that the dog is always right.
I think those people are probably making a joke, but with the weird culture we live in right now, who can be sure.
Also, is it a surprise that Trump is derided in this article? Of course not. The article wouldn’t get published otherwise.
I think the president should take a stand against this. Biden should set an example for the rest of the country by getting his animals under control or getting them out of the White House, away from an active workplace where they’ve been known to hurt people. He should make it clear that no one needs to tolerate an unruly dog. He should give a grand speech—I’ll write it, don’t worry—on how this country’s canine-first attitude is, although not a top legislative issue, extremely annoying.
I am allowing Biden to take the moderate position here, as usual. He does not need to say he hates dogs. He can simply state the obvious: It’s a dog’s world, and we’re just living in it, no matter how dangerous, dirty, or disrespectful it may be. (Hating dogs, by the way, is just another thing Trump ruined.)
Another Trump barb.
By the way, why is it a dog’s world? No one believes this. Like a lot of other things, this infatuation with dogs needs to be put in its place.
Some will read this and pretend they don’t know what I’m talking about. Come on. You’ve experienced dogs’ indiscretions. You’ve stepped on their shit in the street. And it’s not their fault: Behind every misbehaving dog is a human victim of dog culture, an individual whose mind is too warped by dog-love to consider the well-being of their fellow humans or the dog itself. In a world of doggy day care, dog parades, and dog spas, can you really blame some people for starting to believe that dogs are a little better than the rest of us?
She’s right here. Now do race. Now do gender.
Some of us act like dogs rule the world. Often, when I’m out with a friend, strolling down the street or sitting down at a restaurant, a dog walks by, and the friend interrupts our conversation to freak out about the dog. They might exclaim what a cute dog it is, or go up to the owner asking to pet it, initiating a protracted conversation about the animal’s age, sex, weight, breed, temperament, and grooming requirements. What I want to say to my friend, but never manage to spit out, is, “Have you never seen a fucking dog before?” Calm down. Why are you so excited? It’s a dog.
I think, if I were a dog owner, that I would be annoyed by people stopping me every two blocks to fawn over my pet. But I’m not a dog owner, so I’m unable to comprehend the sense of superiority and entitlement that governs their day-to-day. Imagine going through a life with a rambunctious dog and insisting to every stranger she attacks that “She’s really sweet!” Imagine dragging your dog into restaurants with a fake “service animal” vest, thereby making it harder for people who actually do need service animals to prove that they’re not just pets. Imagine bringing your dog into a wilderness area, ignoring the leash requirements, and acting surprised when your dog won’t stop chasing birds or digging up plants.
We allow dogs to act like assholes. Enough. End dog culture now.
(This is my last day after many years of blogging at Mother Jones. I’ll miss you all. And if you disagree with this post, you and your dog can bite me.)
She’s absolutely correct which is probably why Mother Jones fired her.
Dogs, or any other animal, do not belong in planes, trains, buses, restaurants, bars, coffee houses, grocery stores, malls, doctor’s offices or hospitals. They are animals, dirty and stick their noses in everyone’s business. I am not talking about service animals. But I am talking about pets.
I am also talking about emotional support animals. Those are just pets with a piece of paper signed by a doctor that save someone $50 on rent. If someone needs to have a dog to function, that person should check themselves into a mental institution. A dog ain’t going to fix their problem.
Dog culture is also just bad on our culture. We have a real problem with people not having kids. People are buying dogs and then calling themselves “dog parents” and they think that’s a replacement for kids. Here’s a little tidbit, people can’t be “dog parents”. Dog parents are other dogs And dog parents can be a-holes. You know why? Because they’re dogs. It irritates me when people say they’re not going to have kids, they’re just going to get a dog. It’s a cop out for being lazy and not wanting to be a responsible adult.
.https://www.motherjones.com/mojo-wire/2023/09/dog-culture-must-end-bite-me/
Pit Bulls
England just banned a large breed of pit bull citing the dangers of the animal. Mind you, they already banned pit bulls because they are dangerous animals (most people didn’t know that when the ban took effect). The same arguments come out when someone decides to put restrictions and bans on pit bulls in the United States.
I believe pit bulls should be banned. I believe this because most dog attacks are pit bulls (by a large margin) and they provide no real benefit. I have heard several arguments against banning pit bulls including my wife, who had a kid mauled by a pit bull. Not sure what her stance is and why she’s taking it.
Let’s go through those arguments:
- They’re cute.
- Nature makes things “cute” for a reason. Usually to entrap prey to eat.
- Bears are very cute. I definitely wouldn’t go near one.
- There are other cute dogs out there that are not built and bred to kill and weight 150 pounds.
- I have the right to have a dog. What’s the difference than the right to own a gun?
- You do not have a right to own a dog. It is not in the Constitution. Guns rights are.
- Guns are inanimate objects. Dogs are not. They think and act for themselves.
- Mean dogs are a training problem.
- No. Dog are sentient creatures. They can be moody and get annoyed. That’s when they attack.
- A dog can be fully trained and still flip out. It happens all the time.
- They are no more dangerous than any other large dog.
- No. Pit bulls have been bred to fight and kill.
- They were made, specifically, for dog fighting.
- They have jaws that lock.
- They have higher levels of testosterones, making them more aggressive.
- Pit bulls cause most of the fatalities from dog attacks.
- My pit bull is part of the family.
- We can refer to the above article.
- Dogs are not family. They are not human. They are dogs.
- They may love you when they get home but you should worry if they don’t love you when you get home.
https://abcnews.go.com/International/american-xl-bully-dogs-banned-uk-string-attacks/story?id=103219335
https://inews.co.uk/news/which-dogs-banned-list-illegal-breeds-what-happens-banned-explained-2607999