Indignant Desert Birds

Sunday Morning Reading Material (Third Sunday in August)

Posted on August 15th, 2010 by Punning Pundit

So, this week basically all of Russia caught fire. NASA is claiming they can see 368 separate forest fires. Russia is basically a petro-state, Alaska writ large. I’m wondering what this will do to production and refinement– and prices. The FDA approved a new version of Plan B, this one can be taken up to 5 days after sex– greatly reducing the chances of unwanted pregnancy. If you’re fond of consequence free fucking, say “w00t!” Also this week:

What would Sunday Morning be without righteous fury brought down on a sinner? Fred Clark asks if the Family Research Council sincere in their bigotry. Check out this thimble full of the 200 proof straight goods:

Many of the conservative Baptists among whom I grew up believe that dancing is a sin. I have never heard any of them suggest that weddings are invalid if there is dancing at the reception. Nor did any of them argue that professional dancers ought to be relegated to second-class citizenship — forbidden to marry, to adopt children, to serve openly in the military. They didn’t argue such things because it wouldn’t have made sense. The leap from “dancing is a sin” to “dancers are subhuman and should not have rights” is illogical and it’s bad theology by their own standards.

There’s a reason Gayle Force earns a spot here every week. This article is about being queer and “passing”– and thoughts about last week’s prop 8 decision.

Speaking of the prop 8 decision, long time readers may remember Wanton Frolic (she’s started her own blog. Go check it out!). She’s announced her engagement. We’re very happy for her.

I’m going to use “marriage and family” as a tenuous segue into this article Kevin Drum. He’s writing about why liberals should support “Birthright citizenship”. My own feeling is that any claim America has to being an “exceptional” nation is tied up in the idea that everyone who comes here can become part of the American song. Birthright citizenship is an important part of that.

Want to know what happens when you don’t allow for birthright citizenship? The Guardian talks about the Roma. It’s the opposite of good.

Race, racism and true awfulness– the Confederate South. Andy Hall shows us exactly how many people in the Confederate army lived with slaves. Turns out: most of ‘em. Fuckers.

Matt Yglesias tells us how many Americans died in terrorist acts last year. Hint: it’s smaller than you think.

Let’s go for happier news? Data collection/Dating site OK Cupid tells us how to be in a good picture. Also: iPhone users have more partners! Question not answered: do iPhone users have an easier time finding partners, or a harder time finding someone who will stick around?

Once you find a partner, Geekology gives us some factoids about sex toys. According to research, I’ve got that in the correct order.

I’ve been playing a lot of StarCraft recently (As of today, Raptr has me at 33hrs). I’ve also been watching quite a bit of professional StarCraft play on youtube. NPR has a story about StarCraft announcers .

Here’s an example of a great game. It’s a 15 minute match, and it might be something you love. I highly recommend clicking through and watching it on full screen: