policywonkette

[policywonkette]

8 Reasons Young Americans Don't Fight Back: How the US Crushed Youth Resistance

Student-Loan Debt.

Psychopathologizing and Medicating Noncompliance.

Schools That Educate for Compliance and Not for Democracy.

“No Child Left Behind” and “Race to the Top.”

Shaming Young People Who Take Education—But Not Their Schooling—Seriously.

The Normalization of Surveillance.

Television.

Fundamentalist Religion and Fundamentalist Consumerism.

Read More

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It’s not a deterrent. It’s not foolproof. It is racially biased. It costs more. And there is no way to reverse a mistake when you put an innocent person, wrongly accused, to death.

GAVIN NEWSOM on the death penalty.  (via bvsed-socialist)

[policywonkette]

[policywonkette]

I do volunteer work for an organization in Houston that helps dogs in a specific area and pulls them off the streets if they're in desperate need. There's no better feeling than trapping a seemingly feral dog the org has been watching for a year only to get her in the trap, ignore the growling, and get kisses on the hand after. 

I LOVE ANIMAL RESCUE.

[policywonkette]

When I'm not busy finishing up my undergrad in Public Relations/Political Science, I work in campaigns/fundraising. In my spare-spare time, I also foster puppies who were abused, neglected, or dumped. For the next two weeks I'll be fostering three pups (Boudreaux pictured above!): Boudreaux, Breesy, and Nola. Boudreaux got to go to work with me today - he's really great at helping sort through FEC filings!

[policywonkette]

Antlers are the vessels of a deer's memories. They carry the burden of their owner's past, a burden so heavy it twists and contorts them into forms both uniquely beautiful and grotesque. How will your own past shape you? Will you be crushed by a constant cycle of regret, of feeling sorry for yourself, of clinging, complaining, longing, lamenting, and boo-hooing? Or are you ready to move on, let go, release, dream?

Unknown

[policywonkette]

“One male poet approached me after a performance and said, “I don’t mean to be rude, but do you ever write about anything other than the struggles of women?” I replied, “I don’t mean to be rude, but take your finger off the trigger and I’ll stop.” After all, who among us ever wanted to speak about these things? What little girl dreams of growing up to write ‘rape poems?’ About violence? About the muffled voices of women worldwide?” -Andrea Gibson

[policywonkette]

Conservative freshman state Rep. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth, has filed a bill that discriminates against people based on race, gender and sexual orientation.

HB 360 would deny state funding to colleges and universities, including private institutions, that require a “student organization, including a religious student organization, to allow any student enrolled at the institution to participate in the organization, regardless of the student’s beliefs or status, including race, gender, and sexual orientation.”

Check out this video from Equality Texas regarding the proposed bill and other craziness from the TX Lege.

[policywonkette]

All the world’s a cage and we are animals, pounding at the glass

ETID (via neverendingsleeplessness)

[policywonkette]

We should follow the example of a North Miami woman named Desiline Victor. When she arrived at her polling place, she was told the wait to vote might be six hours. And as time ticked by, her concern was not with her tired body or aching feet, but whether folks like her would get to have their say. Hour after hour, a throng of people stayed in line in support of her. Because Desiline is 102 years old. And they erupted in cheers when she finally put on a sticker that read “I Voted.”

President Obama, State of the Union Address (Feb. 12, 2013)

[policywonkette]

Texas is NOT totally represented by Cornyn & Cruz

Both of my U.S. Senators are voting against the Violence Against Women Act. Embarrassing, for starters. But, I went ahead and called them and simply asked "why?"

No good answers, just good political spin.

[policywonkette]

The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own. No apologies or excuses. No one to lean on, rely on, or blame. The gift is yours. It is an amazing journey, and you alone are responsible for the quality of it. This is the day your life really begins.

Bob Moawad (via floralnymph)

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I spent this weekend watching the West Wing, taking afternoon naps, doing research for my pre-law class papers, and reading Jessica Valenti books. I'm so much fun, I just don't even know how to handle it. 

[policywonkette]

Jessica Valenti at the Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast Roe v. Wade Luncheon! 

Loved seeing her speak. I think she was just fantastic.