BP oil spill

Start your weekend off right: with compelling articles from around the web!

• Bitch contributor s.e. smith discusses asexuality on Tiger Beatdown.
• Katha Pollitt writes for The Nation about the DC Abortion Fund and the right's vendetta against Planned Parenthood. (via AlterNet)
• ColorLines shares three scholars' thoughts on fighting homophobia in hip-hop.
• Check out journalist Barbie Latza Nadeau's piece at The Daily Beast about reporting on sexism in Italy.
• In These Times interviews Sady Doyle, founder of Tiger Beatdown and Bitch contributor, about blogging and online activism.
• Jill at Feministe hopes everyone who celebrates had a happy feminist Passover.
• As the New York Times searches for a new columnist, Feministing has a plea: "Don't hire another white dude!"
• The Root interviews our recent Bitch High Five candidate Joycelyn Elders, who was forced to resign for saying sex ed should include information about masturbation.
• We're keeping our fingers crossed for the Uniting American Families Act, "a bill which would allow same-sex couples to sponsor their partners for legal residency in the U.S."
• 90s Woman praises Heather Corinna's book S.E.X.: The All-You-Need-To-Know Progressive Sexuality Guide to Get You Through High School and College. I'm personally a fan as well, and we have a copy in the Bitch Media Community Lending Library!
• One year after the BP oil spill, Ms. talks about the danger of the status quo as explored in Antonia Juhasz's new book about the disaster, Black Tide.
• Also at Ms., look at this profile of Bitch contributor Mandy Van Deven's, Joanne Smith's and Meghan Huppuch's group, Girls for Gender Equity, and book, Hey, Shorty! A Guide to Combating Sexual Harassment and Violence in Schools and on the Streets.
• Shakesville shares an excellent quote by Ms. Geena Davis about the power of gendered media images.
• Nick at Original Plumbing reflects powerfully on reconnecting with family members.
• At the ACLU blog, one rockin' woman recalls confronting a street harasser.
  
• Bad news: QUILTBAG-oriented site Queerty has "come to a close."

What have you been reading? Share away!

As far as human emotions go, if the 2004 elections were about fear and the 2008 elections about hope, it seems fair to say that the 2010 midterm elections have been about anger. Anger at the government for what's perceived as a weak economy. Anger at Congress, either for not getting enough done, or for turning the country into a cesspool of socialism, depending on one's political leanings. Anger at immigrants, who are so crafty to get into the United States that they'll even crawl under fences that aren't on the border with another country (at least according to the ads in Louisiana and Nevada). Anger at liberals and their long affair with taxes. Anger at gay people. Earlier this week Mother Jones ran a cover with Sarah Palin in the image of the '50s movie poster, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, to attempt to show how middle class anger is so fever-pitch high that people are talking about voting against their own interests, and what was the response? Anger that they would replicate such a sexist image.

This week's douchebag decree goes out to all of the douchebags who are responsible for the BP oil spill. Because there are so many filthy rich BP Oil Execs who have repeatedly displayed their lack of concern about how the spill is affecting the environment and its inhabitants, I've decided to honor a couple of them with this week's decree.