A Rubber Door » News

Komen, Planned Parenthood & the power of an angry mob

Speener — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 14:16:17 +0000

How great has this week been? When I first heard about Susan G. Komen Foundation eliminating funding for the breast cancer screening services that Planned Parenthood provides to poor women, I was shocked. I took to my blog, Facebook and Twitter to express my dissatisfaction as did a lot of people. I sent them $50 and others sent them 2,999,950 more. I wouldn’t have been surprised if that was it.

It wasn’t.

Over the next few days, the mob got louder and angrier, and they kept it up. It got so bad, that today Komen apologized and stepped back (albeit a little) from their original plan. It’s a testament to the power of an angry mob.

What amazes me, is that companies and organizations continue to make the same mistake. First there was Lowe’s, then there was SOPA and now the Komen debacle. You’d think they’d learn. The damage to Komen’s brand and reputation may be irreparable. This controversy has forced many people to take a deeper look at them and what was found wasn’t pretty. The founders of Komen have been found to be big GOP donors. They had no issue putting their brand on pink guns. and a new part of their management team is a major anti-abortionist. Many of the supporters they lost this week will not be coming back.

At the end of the proverbial day, I’m happy this happened. Planned Parenthood collected $3 million to help people who need it the most and we know what the Komen Foundation really is. And the internet and social media has become of age as a tool of mass activism.

It’s been a really good week.

TSA wants you to feel safer – even if you’re not

Speener — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 21:38:51 +0000

I don’t like to write about the TSA controversy two weeks in a row, but the furor isn’t dying down. If anything, it’s only gotten greater as there have been stories of breast cancer survivors being asked to show their breast prosthetics, scans being leaked, and the TSA’s refusal to modify their screening procedures.

I have already come to terms with the fact that when I fly next, the agents will have to grope me. As a man, I guess it doesn’t have the same stigma. I have never been sexually assaulted; I don’t know the feeling of being leered at; I don’t have a disfiguring disease that makes me self-conscious – so I will give away the right that bars unreasonable search and seizure, not because I want to, but because it’s the best of two evils.

But let’s be clear – what the TSA is attempting to do is substitute technology for a lack of intelligence (in all senses of the word). Their agents are overworked, underpaid, and trained to follow written rules to find terrorists (as opposed to teaching them how to spot a terrorist). How about spending some of the hundreds of millions that we are spending on these machines, towards better pay and better training?

But all of this will make some people feel better about travelling, and I think that’s the real point, because the appearance of doing something is often better than doing something.

The touching of junk: How far will the TSA go?

Speener — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 00:14:15 +0000

As the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) moves to more invasive forms of screening, they’re getting some push back from pilots, attendants, civil rights activists, and citizens. Some people are saying enough is enough, but once you’ve given away freedom for the promise of security, it’s hard to know where to stop.

I read a novel that described how a prostitute was “turned out”. A woman meets a great guy, until one day he gets into trouble and owes someone a great deal of money. In exchange for the money, that person is willing to accept sex. The great guy tells his girlfriend his predicament and she bails him out – just that one time. Once she has slept with one guy for money, she’s damaged goods, and she does it over and over again.

We’re that prostitute; the first time a traveller took off their Nikes so that they could be checked for a bomb, we proved that we were willing to sell ourselves for safety – and the government, like a pimp, keeps coming back to us for more. The day that a terrorist smuggles a bomb aboard by hiding it in his anus, we’ll be grabbing our ankles and they’ll be grabbing the lube. All in the name of safety.

There’s a great quote from Benjamin Franklin (actually there are a lot of great quotes from Benjamin Franklin):

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.

So how far are you willing to go?

How to Stop Your Car if the Gas Pedal is Stuck

Spencer — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 02:29:30 +0000

Toyota has been in the news for their massive recall of eight recent models. First off, if you own a Toyota, you need to check their website to see if your Toyota has been recalled.

Next thing, if your accelerator does get stuck, the following video explains how to stop your car. This can happen in any car, wether it’s a defective pedal or your pedal gets stuck under your carpet. The following video can save a life, so watch it and share it with your friends.

Conshohocken Lends a Hand to Haiti

Spencer — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 12:53:32 +0000

On Wednesday, January 20, ten Conshohocken restaurants are donating 20% of your bill to the American Red Cross. The restaurants are:

You may think that there is enough money, but there isn’t. Haiti was destroyed, when the thought of that a few weeks ago would seem redundant. They are going to need our money for years to come. If you’re going to eat out, why not make sure some of the money goes to a good cause? See you tomorrow.

The Fake French Disgrace Themselves in Haiti

Spencer — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 03:40:10 +0000

I had problems with CNN correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta reporting when he could help – well he changed my mind here. On Friday night the UN told the a Belgian medical team of 60 that they wouldn’t provide security, but they would evacuate them. So the ball-less Belgian director Geert Gijs ordered all the doctors out; and they left; and they took all medical supplies with them. Gupta stayed behind along with a Haitian nurse and took care of the patients by themselves for the entire night.

“I’ve never been in a situation like this. This is quite ridiculous,” Gupta said.

I’ll take you one further – it’s disgraceful. Save for a gun at my head, I don’t think I could have left suffering patients. At a time when many lives hung by a thread, their decision to leave could have done damage, when they took an oath not to do so.

Disgraceful indeed.

Where’s the outrage for Roman Polanski?

Spencer — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:14:36 +0000

A few months ago when the Philadelphia Eagles signed convicted dog killer/fighter and quarterback Michael Vick, it opened a firestorm of controversy. After Roman Polanksi was arrested in Switzerland, I wondered where was the same outrage. Among the arguments we heard about Michael Vick were as follows:

Animals are defenseless – Polanski’s victim was a 13 year-old girl who he plied with alcohol and quaaludes
Michael Vick didn’t serve enough time – Polanski hasn’t served any. Instead he’s been living high on the hog in France, making movies, winning Oscars, and making money
Michael Vick doesn’t deserve a job like NFL quarterback – again, Polanski has been making major motion pictures for the past 31 years
Michael Vick’s crimes were especially heinous – according to testimony and interviews from the victim, we know this “despite her protests, he performed oral sex, intercourse and sodomy on her”. She said no repeatedly and Polanski raped her over and over again
Vick apologists will say that he grew up in an environment where dog fighting was accepted; that argument is appropriately denied. Anyone who dismisses Polanski’s crime as not real rape, or as Whoopi Goldberg stated “rape-rape” should be ashamed of themselves

“Come on, man, she’s 13. Thirteen! I’ve seen some hot 16-year-olds that look 18, 17[-year-olds] that look 18…Thirteen is 13. Nobody gets away with having sex with a 13-year-old.” Chris Rock

One wonders why Polanski has scores of defenders and Vick none. It’s something that always bothered me about the Vick outrage was that it was disproportionate with the crime in relation to reaction to other crimes. The reaction to Vick was part in response to his stature and visibility as an NFL quarterback, but I believe also a response to the person. Poor, not highly educated, black – none of these things work in his favor.

“In the United States, we want to capture Osama Bin Laden and murder him. We’re not gonna rape him. That would be barbaric!” Chris Rock

If anything deserves your outrage, it’s the Polanski crime and the support he has received since being arrested. Thank goodness for the common sense responses by Chris Rock, Jay Leno, and Kirstie Alley.

What do you think?

I am not a racist

Spencer — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:16:37 +0000

Note to everyone – if you have to say “I am not a racist” on the Larry King show, then chances are you are a racist. It seems that many people don’t realize what racism is. There is some misguided belief that unless you kill someone or assault someone physically, that you’re all well and good. That calling someone nigger or chink or whatever doesn’t rise to the level of racist behavior. Last week Boston Police officer Justin Barrett was suspended for sending an email were he referred to Henry Gates Jr. as a “banana eating jungle monkey” three times and referred to Boston Globe columnist’s article about the Gates arrest as “jungle monkey gibberish”. Yet he appeared on the Larry King show to say he is not a racist. Really? Then – really, who is a racist?

“I am not a racist” has become a refrain that is all too familiar in these days of the “post-racial” society. Barrett’s lawyer contends that this was private communication from a private computer, to which I say that once it became public it doesn’t matter; Bartlett is a government employee and once his acts become public, then their review is fair. It’s what you do in private that identifies you as racist or not. Racists generally aren’t running down the streets wearing white robes and masks yelling “Nigger, nigger, nigger.” Racists at least are interested in self-preservation and keep their racist thoughts and speech to the like minded. It’s when this speech is moved public where action is demanded. His lawyer says that cops that do cocaine get their jobs back and that Barrett doesn’t deserve to be fired. To that I say that drugs are an addiction, and there are many recovered addicts that are benefits to society. Officer Justin Barrett is a racist, and as such can not be recovered to the point to where they can be trusted to protect the public.

There are enough bad cops out there that we’re not sure of. Let’s get rid of the ones we know are bad.

69 year-old mother dies leaving her sons motherless

Spencer — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:30:55 +0000

That headline wouldn’t be so horrible until you find out the mother gave birth a few months prior to her 67th birthday. The woman, Maria del Carmen Bousada of Spain, lied to physicians in Los Angeles about her age. She told them she was 55 (as if that’s not too old). She died recently of cancer leaving these children without their only parent.

If only we could choose our parents.

I guess people grow up without parents all the time – maybe these kids are better off; clearly their mother was a moron.

Trapped in the bathroom

Spencer — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 23:32:25 +0000

I can only wait for R. Kelly to get a hold of this story. I challenge someone to comment with a crazier story than this.

A 35 year-old Wichita, Kansas woman had to pried off of her toilet after spending two years in the bathroom. Here’s the AP story:

ROXANA HEGEMAN

The Associated Press

WICHITA, Kan. – A 35-year-old woman who sat on her boyfriend’s toilet for so long that her body was stuck to the seat by the time he called police had a phobia about leaving the bathroom, the boyfriend said.

“She is an adult; she made her own decision,” said her boyfriend, Kory McFarren. “I should have gotten help for her sooner; I admit that. But after a while, you kind of get used to it.”

The case drew nationwide attention after Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple said it appeared the Ness City woman’s skin had grown around the seat in the two years she apparently was in the bathroom.

“We pried the toilet seat off with a pry bar and the seat went with her to the hospital,” Whipple said. “The hospital removed it.”

McFarren, 36, said he can’t be certain how long Pam Babcock stayed in the bathroom because “time just went by so quick I can’t pinpoint how long.” He said beatings she received in her childhood caused her phobia.

“It just kind of happened one day; she went in and had been in there a little while, the next time it was a little longer. Then she got it in her head she was going to stay , like it was a safe place for her,” McFarren said.

But McFarren said she moved around in the bathroom during that time, bathed and changed into the clothes he brought her. He brought food and water to her. They had conversations and had an otherwise normal relationship , except it all happened in the bathroom.

McFarren said he finally called police Feb. 27 after he became worried because Babcock was acting groggy , like she didn’t know what was going on, except she was awake.

What emergency responders found when they went into bathroom has left residents of this small western Kansas town buzzing, and law enforcement officials incredulous.

Police found the clothed woman sitting on the toilet, her sweat pants down to mid-thigh. She was “somewhat disoriented,” and her legs looked like they had atrophied, Whipple said.

“She was not glued. She was not tied. She was just physically stuck by her body,” Whipple said. “It is hard to imagine. … I still have a hard time imagining it myself.”

She initially refused emergency medical services, but was finally convinced by responders and her boyfriend that she needed to be checked out at a hospital.

“She said that she didn’t need any help, that she was OK and did not want to leave,” he said.

Whipple said the county attorney will determine whether any charges should be filed against McFarren.

McFarren, who works at an antique store, said he has been taking care of Babcock for the 16 years they have lived together. He insisted that he tried to coax her out of the bathroom every day.

“And her reply would be, `Maybe tomorrow,’” Whipple said. “According to him, she did not want to leave the bathroom.”

She was reported in fair condition Wednesday at a hospital in Wichita, about 150 miles southeast of Ness City. Whipple said she has refused to cooperate with medical providers or law enforcement investigators.

Babcock has an infection in her legs that has damaged her nerves, and there is a possibility she may wind up in a wheelchair, McFarren said.

James Ellis, a neighbor, said he had known the woman since she was a child, but that he had not seen her for at least six years.

“I don’t think anybody can make any sense out of it,” Ellis said.

Babcock had a tough childhood after her mother died at a young age and apparently was usually kept inside the house as she grew up, he said.

“It really doesn’t surprise me,” Ellis said. “What surprises me is somebody wasn’t called in a bit earlier.”

They had to pry the seat off of her ass!

I love that they otherwise had a normal relationship. Seriously – your girlfriend has been locked in the closet for 2 years, seems like nothing else matters after that. She could be Suzy fucking Homemaker and all that matter is that you have to ask her to scootch over to take a leak.

I also have to note that these two weren’t married. What the hell? I’m sure this guy was thinking – “hell, it’s pretty quiet this way.”