Stacey Campfield is the worst

And he's single, ladies!

Tennessee State Senator Stacey Campfield was on the radio yesterday doing what he does best: embarrassing Tennesseans and generally offending... well, everyone.

This is what The Worst looks like. Stupid orange tie...

For a quick rundown of what this neanderthal had to say about gay people, AIDS, and the "glorification of homosexuality," read this from The Huffington Post. The full interview is available here.

In between suggesting that children are being coerced into homosexuality and that AIDS is only acquired through gay sex, Senator Campfield attempted to drum up support for his "Don't Say Gay" bill, coming to a Tennessee legislative session near you. Oh yeah, I'm talking about that guy.

All together now: WHAT A DOUCHE.

There isn't any commentary I can contribute that hasn't already been said. Really, the commentary writes itself.

But I will say this: guys like this do not have to be in government. Our state and national discourse does not need to include this kind of filth. We deserve to be represented by people who want the best for Americans -- all of them.

Unfortunately, Senator Campfield isn't up for re-election this year, so we can't kick him out. There are, though, plenty of politicos out there who share his backwards politics, many of them right here in Tennessee! Lucky us!

So get involved. Send money. Volunteer. Talk to your friends and neighbors. And good grief: vote. Decisions are made by those who show up.

Show up, Tennessee.

Please don't embarrass me.

There's an episode of Tina Fey's showbiz sitcom 30 Rock called "TGS Hates Women." About halfway through the episode, Tina Fey's character Liz Lemon confronts Abby, a new writer and self described "sexy baby." Liz wants Abby to drop the idiot girl in pigtails act and grow up. Shit gets real when Abby tells Liz that how she chooses to act is none of Liz's business.

Liz responds: "Except it is, because you represent my show and you represent my gender in this business and you embarrass me."

Last week in Tennessee, State Senator and Senate Judiciary Chairwoman Mae Beavers, R-Mt.Juliet, proposed a bill that would strip the Tennessee supreme court of its power to determine the constitutionality of laws passed by the Tennessee legislature.

This woman, the head of the Senate Judiciary Committee (no law degree, by the way), a committee that one might assume deals with all things judicial, wants to throw out judicial review.

Remember judicial review? That's the Marbury v. Madison one. It's been on the books since 1803. Judicial review is a check on the legislative and executive branches; it protects the minority from the tyranny of the majority; and if you need an example of judicial review in action, go into a public school: if you see a child who isn't white, bingo. And did I mention that it's been the law of the land for over 200 years? For a little context, we've had a federal constitution for less than 225 years.

Thankfully, someone convinced Senator Beavers to withdraw her bill. For perhaps a zillion reasons, this was a good move. As one prominent DC lawyer put it, even if the legislature did get the bill passed, "the US Supreme Court would knock it down while pointing and laughing."

Now back to 30 Rock. To quote Liz Lemon: Senator Beavers, you represent my gender on the Hill in Nashville, and you embarrass me.

In all fairness, the Tennessee legislature has brought its fair share of idiocy to the floor. Instead of creating jobs or doing something about the state's regressive tax structure, our dearly elected officials are putting all their efforts into gutting women's healthcare, banning Muslims from worshiping anywhere, and making sure that "Christian" kids can bully their gay classmates without being sent to the principal's office. Thank God for the great state of Tennessee!

So yeah, I am singling out Senator Beavers because she's a woman.

Women have enough trouble in politics. Between Michelle Bachmann, Christine O'Donnell, and Sarah Palin, we've got enough representation in the crazy arena. Nancy Pelosi, for all she did as the first female Speaker of the House, is still a favorite punching bag of Republicans. Good grief, people hate on Michelle Obama because she wants America to have healthy kids.

Let's put this in terms of Saturday Night Live. Will Ferrell had a mean George W. Bush. It was seriously funny for almost a decade. It helped that Bush Jr. gave Ferrell plenty of material to work with. But no one holds a candle to Tina Fey's Sarah Palin. The 2008 edition of the Yale Book of Quotations listed "I can see Russia from my house!" as its number one quotation of the year. The economy went to hell in a hand basket, we elected a black president, and the best line from the whole year was Tina Fey making fun of a female Vice Presidential candidate -- a candidate who had been in national politics for about two seconds when that sketch aired. Tina Fey's Sarah Palin will outlive Tina Fey and Sarah Palin.

Senator, and all women in elected positions, you have to be better than the men you work with. Men have had centuries to say stupid stuff in government, and the human race has had centuries to learn to not listen. Whether you realize it or not, your voice carries through the noise. You're still somewhat of a novelty. It's completely, utterly, disgustingly unfair; but when you say or do something as stupid as sponsoring a blatantly unconstitutional bill, people notice.

In conclusion, I'm going to channel every 13-year old everywhere: Please just don't embarrass me.



A few notes:
- Yup, big fan of Tina Fey. Look for many more 30 Rock references on this blog.
- The hilarity of the Senator's name does not escape me.

I told you I was a Dem.

I would like to take this moment to say a few things about a certain former Speaker of the House.

In what can only be seen as a statewide brain fart, South Carolina Republicans decided that Newt Gingrich was the most promising candidate to take on the Barack Obama campaign machine.

I'd like to say a heartfelt thank you to the voters of South Carolina. And Newt, best of luck to you. I hope your campaign of hypocrisy and bigotry takes you all the way to the Republican nomination. Then we can all revel in the bloodbath that will ensue when David Axelrod has his way with you.

In the meantime, though...

WARNING: Rant approaching.

Back in March 2011, Newt gave an interview to the Christian Broadcasting Network. In this interview, Newt blames his previous infidelities on how "passionately [he] felt about this country." This reiterates what he's said in the past, which is something along the lines of "I loved my country so much that I couldn't keep my hands off my female staffers."

In case anyone has forgotten, this is the same man who led the charge against President Clinton during the Lewinsky scandal. This man distracted the legislative and executive branches from the business of running a country with a sex scandal and a ridiculous impeachment process. Not saying the Clinton wasn't a dirtbag (he was), but come on. Should Newt really be the one talking about ineffective government?

My point here is that Newt is running for the nomination of the most morally smug, closed-minded, backwards party in the history of political parties. The party that believes it has a monopoly on American morality is really going to nominate this piece of garbage? Does anyone really believe that he only cheated on two wives with the two women who became his second and third wives? Of course not. It's only another display of Newt's blinding arrogance that he thinks another intern or staffer won't come out of the woodwork the second he gets the nomination.

So again, my sincere thanks to the Republican voters of South Carolina. There's nothing I'd like more than to see Newt at the top of the ticket in November.

#ImA-nnoyed with Dr. Pepper

Recently Dr. Pepper has been playing this ad:

It's a cute bit of advertising. "You're an original when you drink Dr. Pepper!" Look at all those people coming together. And those shirts are kinda fun.

Except clearly Dr. Pepper has a view of women shared by your average 15-year old boy. Of the first five shirts this ad features, two of those are worn by women. See if you can guess which ones:

"I'm a one of a kind."

"I'm a dreamer."

"I'm a cougar."

"I'm a beginner."

"I'm a control freak."

Really, guys? A cougar and a control freak? The men are labeled with thoughtful, positive descriptions; the women are portrayed as old and shrill. Get over your ex-girlfriends, move on from your "Graduate" fantasies, and start to see women as more than "Cathy" cartoons.

We all (men as well) have moments when the control freak takes over. And I saw one of the Twilight movies in the theater: the average age in that room was about 35, and you better believe it wasn't only the teenagers drooling over Taylor Lautner in the buff. We can and should own those parts of our personalities, but that doesn't mean we should be reduced to minor characters in a romantic comedy.

Dr. Pepper made a mistake. This kind of thoughtless sexism drives me up the wall. I was offended, because I know that I am more than my worst moments.

As for me, I'll be sticking to Diet Coke, thank you very much.

The F-word

The F-word makes people cringe. Its use is taboo in polite conversation, and definitely don't say it in front of your conservative parents. Drop this F-bomb into a friendly discussion and suddenly the atmosphere changes.

Get the fuck over yourselves, people. We're adults here.

The word I'm talking about is feminism.

If you're truly honest with yourselves, you probably think the following: that I am a militant man-hater with bad hair and offensive BO; that I don't shave my legs and that I can't take a joke; and that this blog is going to be an endless liberal tirade against the tyranny of men.

In other words, ignore me. Don't take me seriously. I bitch and moan about this stuff all the time. 

It's sad that the idea of feminism has been so perverted. Instead of empowering women, the word has been chewed up and spit out as another way to put us down, a way to marginalize and belittle.

So here's the real scoop: I was raised by loving parents to be a polite but confident and intelligent woman -- in other words, no daddy issues here. I have a very nice boyfriend. I have a college education, a job, but no cooking skills. I have spent years and too much money agonizing over my hair, which does actually have the potential to be pretty bad. I love to read and do it often, but if there's an episode of The Real Housewives of Wherever on TV, I'll watch it ("She did NOT just throw wine in her face!"). I love wearing and playing with make-up.

And I am a feminist. A Miss Piggy feminist, if you will.

So yeah, I like pink and dressing up, but mess with moi or my frog and I will kick your ass.

Welcome to my blog. I'm glad you're here.