That Dress

– “Conformity is now hand-picked. You can find the people who support your version of reality, and use them to battle the people who don’t. You don’t have to wonder whether you are right or wrong; you just have to find the people or the evidence that agrees with you.” Why The Dress Matters (h/t @ChiefElk)

Classism

-“Why do people think they’re entitled to decide how food stamps, in particular, are used? Not all government benefits elicit such feelings. When we give people assistance through the home-mortgage interest deduction, we don’t feel entitled to tell them what house to buy or what neighborhood to live in; when we subsidize a college education through student loans, we don’t tell students what school to go to or what to major in.” Why Do Americans Feel Entitled to Tell Poor People What to Eat? (h/t @deray)

Sex Work and Feminism

– “Both the abolitionist movement and the anti-choice movement cast women as victims, often unwitting victims who think they’ve independently chosen to do sex work or have an abortion, but are actually seriously deluded or naïve—they don’t realize they’re under the coercive sway of patriarchy, capitalism, men, or the “culture of death.” Or maybe they’re just too poverty-stricken or drug-addicted to do anything but be a passive victim because they have “no choice.”” Cozy Bedfellows: Prostitution Abolitionists and Anti-Abortionists (h/t @pastachips)

White Feminism

– “And before you say “But, Blue, she said women not just white women,” let me be blunt: If you say black people need to stand up for you – that means you are asking every person in the room who is both black and a woman to choose her gender over her race in order to suit your agenda. It’s a very subtle form of feminist segregation that I’ve heard about for a few years now. And it’s complete b.s.” Dear Patricia Arquette: Blacks and gays owe white women nothing (h/t @allisonkilkenny)

– “I’m not here for kumbaya feminism. Kumbaya feminism demands that Black women take a backseat to whatever interest of the day white women deem most important. Kumbaya feminism castigates as “divisive” any Black woman who dares speak out against the White Feminist Industrial Complex. Kumbaya feminism is little more than trickle-down feminism.” The Road to Structural Erasure Is Paved With Well-Intentioned White Ladies (via @AngryBlackLady)

Worker Rights

– “Right-to-work legislation, which is aimed at gutting union membership by ending requirements that workers have to pay dues in workplaces that are organized, likely wouldn’t affect the NFLPA directly. But the statement noted that many stadium workers at Lambeau Field, the home of the Green Bay Packers that was renovated in 2003 with an all-union workforce, will feel the effect of the law.” Why The NFL Players Association Is Taking On Scott Walker (via @ThinkProgress)

Irony

– “Google is, of course, ignoring all of his 23 requests via the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to remove stories linking him to reports on how horrible a person he is and how sleazy his website was—before the FTC shut him down.” Revenge Porn Dude Wants His Personal Info Removed From Internet Lolol (h/t @AngryBlackLady)

Student Loans

– ““Corinthian took advantage of our dreams and targeted us to make a profit,” the so-called Corinthian 15 wrote in a letter to the Education Department. “You let it happen, and now you cash in. We paid dearly for degrees that have led to unemployment or to jobs that don’t pay a living wage. We can’t and won’t pay any longer.”” A dangerous revolt: People are refusing to pay back student loans (h/t @rustyheadedgirl)

Misogynoir

– “Why is it so hard for everyone else to give her that control over her own life? Why are we hellbent on forcing people to surrender their autonomy to the fickle flow of where we want to place them in service to our own wants?” Jessica Williams Doesn’t Need Your Permission: How White Feminists Hurt Everyone By Trying To Lead Women Of Color (via @Karnythia)

Injustice

– “Reed’s defenders have long maintained that Reed was set up by Fennell for his fianceé’s murder, likely after Fennell found out about the illicit relationship. In a recent article about the case, The Intercept chronicled Fennell’s history of violence, including allegations of stalking and rape. Indeed, Fennell is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence for kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman while on duty and in uniform.” “Oh My God, This is Way Off”: New Investigation Shows Texas Is Likely Set to Kill an Innocent Man (h/t @LilianaSegura)

– “While it appears that modern thinking about the meaning of “cruel and unusual” is focused on the actual methods of execution, the gentlest method of execution for someone who is actually innocent is the gravest form of injustice and cruelty possible.” Did you know the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that it’s legal to execute an innocent person? (via @ShaunKing)

Reproductive Health

– “Another formerly incarcerated women said she was shackled throughout her entire childbirth experience in 2010. On a press call to announce the findings of the report on Thursday, she told reporters that she was cuffed to the bed and unable to sit up, even as her daughter was moving through the birth canal. Maria Caraballo, who has since become an advocate for women in prison, said she remained shackled while she was being stitched up post-delivery.” New York Prisons Are Illegally Shackling Inmates During Labor, Harrowing Report Finds (h/t @MsFoundation)

Policing

– “Smith said he’s repeatedly told some of his members—particularly “the ones who complain about it”—the following: “You applied here. And you have to treat people all the same. You have to serve the community. If you don’t like the politics here, then leave and go to a place that serves your worldview.” The tough talk, Smith said, usually continues with him saying something like this: “They hired you because they thought you were going to be able to work in a diverse community. And if you can’t, well then, I guess there are still places across the country that aren’t diverse, so go work there. But those won’t last forever.”” Seattle Police Union President to Cops: Get With the Times or Get Out of This City (via @strangerslog)

Capitalism

– “Mitchell said that she was skeptical that Consumers Energy cared about its elderly customers, even after it responded to her father’s death by setting aside $9 million in profits for heating assistance. “I think it might be a front,” she argued. “If you are sorry, why did you shut off the heat for a 69-year-old man? I understand that every business has to be concerned about profit, but they have to be concerned about the customers too. Maybe gas companies should take account of what people earn. That would be helpful.”” 69-Year-Old Vietnam Vet with Throat Cancer Freezes to Death After Company Shuts off His Gas (h/t @Are0h)

Environment

– “Concerns have also been raised about the potential contamination of local water-treatment facilities, after officials noted that at least one of the derailed tanker cars fell into the Kanawha River. The area is about 30 miles from the location where 10,000 gallons of a coal industry chemical called crude MCHM spilled and tainted the drinking water supply a little over one year ago.” West Virginia In State Of Emergency After Massive Oil Train Explosion (via @ThinkProgress)

Biology

– “When genetics is taken into consideration, the boundary between the sexes becomes even blurrier. Scientists have identified many of the genes involved in the main forms of DSD, and have uncovered variations in these genes that have subtle effects on a person’s anatomical or physiological sex. What’s more, new technologies in DNA sequencing and cell biology are revealing that almost everyone is, to varying degrees, a patchwork of genetically distinct cells, some with a sex that might not match that of the rest of their body.” Sex redefined (h/t @stavvers)

Vaccines

– “No matter what other lofty ideas of toxins and vaccine-related injury anti-vaxxers try to float around in their defense, that’s really what all of this is about: we’re facing a massive public health crisis because a disturbing number of people believe that autism is worse than illness or death. My neurology is the boogeyman behind a completely preventable plague in the making. I’m Autistic, And Believe Me, It’s A Lot Better Than Measles (h/t @allisonkilkenny)

– “You know what vaccines protect your children from? Pain. Suffering. Irreparable harm. Death. And you would be the first to line up if you had an inkling of what the death of a child feels like. You would be crawling through the streets on your hands and knees, begging, begging to get that vaccine into your precious babies because that is what I would have done, if I could, to save my daughter.” My 15-Day-Old Son May Have Measles (h/t @BreeSmithWx)

Islamophobia

– “As such, the shooter was portrayed as an irrational, lone killer who does not represent atheists. However, the shooter — who was transparent in his contempt for religion and religious people — was undoubtedly inspired by the Islamophobic rhetoric espoused by radical anti-theists communities represented by Dawkins, among others.” How the ‘Muslim Menace’ Steals Muslim Lives (via @roqchams)

Sports

– “But if Edelman was checked, it likely did not conform to the establish protocol. Shortly after the hit, Edelman was still in the game and scored the go-ahead touchdown.” Doctors Told Patriots That Wide Receiver Should Be Checked For A Concussion, But He Stayed In Game (via @ThinkProgress)

Labor

– “Gentles, who had Asperger’s syndrome, “experienced severe emotional distress” following the incident, according to the lawsuit. Three days later, he killed himself by jumping from the roof of a hotel.” Target workers claim ‘walk of shame’ that allegedly led to a suicide is a widespread practice (h/t @jordanbks)

Recreational Substances

– “Media reports and anti-pot legalization advocates have hyped the idea that “drugged driving” would wreak havoc on the roads now that states are beginning to legalize marijuana. In fact, highway fatalities have gone down since Colorado legalized marijuana.” Marijuana Doesn’t Make You More Likely To Crash Your Car (via @ThinkProgress)

Health Care

– ““The prohibition on physician-assisted dying infringes the right to life, liberty and security of the person in a manner that is not in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice,” the high court said in a unanimous ruling.” Canada’s high court legalizes physician-assisted suicide (h/t @ACLU_WA)

Immigration

– “There is not one family that doesn’t send money back home. It is a part of our culture to take care of our relatives, no matter how distant they may be,” explains Ahmed, “My little brother and sister have nothing to do with terrorism. They deserve to eat and to go to school. The money we send helps with that. Now they no longer have access to that.” Why Seattle Should Give a Damn About Somali Remittances (via @strangerslog)

Police Brutality

– “Surveillance footage first obtained by Northeast Ohio Media Group showed Tajai running to her brother’s side after Timothy Loehmann fired two shots at the boy, who was carrying an airsoft-style gun. As the girl neared her brother, Loehmann’s partner, Frank Garmback confronted her and forced her to the ground. Loehmann rushed over, and the two knelt beside her as she rolled on the ground. Eventually the officers handcuffed the girl and placed her in the back of the police cruiser, less than 10 feet from her dying brother.” Tamir Rice’s sister says Cleveland police lacked ‘decency’ and ‘respect’ in detaining her after shooting (h/t @Copwatch)