I’m travelling for the next few days; currently I’m visiting my sister Tampa. This afternoon we were treated to a ridiculously intense thunderstorm.

– Good reminder of how “Lean In” so often misses opportunities to really help women: Hey Sheryl: Lean On This (h/t @angryblacklady)

– Remember the vet injured in the Occupy Oakland protests? He’s settled with the city: Iraq War Veteran Scott Olsen Reaches $4.5M Settlement in Occupy Oakland Bean Bag Case (h/t @allisonkilkenny)

– Promising talk from last week’s GDC: Mass Effect developer makes emotional plea to eliminate social injustice in games (h/t @angryblacklady)

– Infuriating. There is a problem with how we allocate funds to public schools (and I don’t think charter schools are the answer to that): Mom Jailed for Enrolling Kids in School Tells Her Story in New Book, Film

– If true, this is disturbing: Scientists Condemn New FDA Study Saying BPA Is Safe: “It Borders on Scientific Misconduct” (via @MotherJones)

– As usual, Dave Zirin is on point with the R*dskins discussion: About That Open Letter Dan Snyder Just Sent to ‘Redskins Nation’ (via @DaveZirin)

– ARG: Arkansas Mother Thrown In Jail For Breastfeeding While Drinking A Beer (h/t @scATX)

– This is pretty serious concern I have, especially as it is happening where I live: Washington State Case Study: A Difficult Miscarriage Made Worse by Hospital’s Religious Restrictions on Care (h/t @AIsForOrg)

– Some of you may have seen the #CancelColbert discussion. Here is more on that: We Want To #CancelColbert (via @Suey_Park)

– Wait, what? U Of Alabama Sororites Win Right To Ban Blacks (h/t @maniacwrangler)

– And finally, we wrap up with a nice bit from Anita Sarkeesan reminding us that “ironic” sexism and racism is often an excuse to get to be sexist and racist.

It’s the first day of spring! Does it feel like it where you are?

In ‘disgusting abuse of power / xenophobia’ news: Judge Who Took Away Immigrant’s Baby Said Lack Of English Would Cause ‘Developmental’ Problems (h/t @irevolt)

People in California show up to fight fracking: PHOTOS: Thousands Turn Up For California’s Largest-Ever Rally To Ban Fracking (via @ThinkProgress)

Mistreatment of sex workers: ‘I Have a Right to My Own Body’: How Project ROSE Tries to ‘Save’ Sex Workers (via @melissagira)

Councilmember Sawant offers options for small businesses to address $15/hour minimum wage: Sawant talks a friendly path for small businesses as March for $15 finishes on Capitol Hill (via @jseattle)

Great post about the non-technical folks at tech start-ups: The Myth of the Non-Technical Startup Employee (h/t @agoodcuppa)

For all those (ignorant or sexist or both) asshats who claim the wage gap is because women just don’t negotiate: Negotiating While Female: Sometimes It Does Hurt to Ask (h/t @JessicaValenti)

Neil deGrasse Tyson is performing an amazing public service with Cosmos. I saw him speak once, and it’s still one of the coolest evenings of my life: Science Deniers Are Freaking Out About “Cosmos” (via @MotherJones)

We had a 60+ degree day this week, no rain, just sun. It was glorious. And also resulted in a lot less media consumption; hence the short post today.

– But seriously, gender discrimination is all in our heads, right? Right? Even With The Same Pitch, Investors Prefer To Give Money To Men Over Women (via @ThinkProgress)

– This is great – and as a 49ers fan, I’m pretty excited: In a Victory for Ending Mental Health Stigmas, Jonathan Martin Lands With the 49ers (via @EdgeofSports)

It’s been a long week. But on Sunday I got a new tattoo. Man, I forgot how much it itches. SO MUCH. On to the reading …

– Fascinating. Evidence that breast-feeding doesn’t appear to be better than formula feeding when you compare within families (although I haven’t read the source study yet): New Study Confirms It: Breast-Feeding Benefits Have Been Drastically Overstated (h/t @DrJaneChi)

– Good but narrow response to the very troubling Amanda Marcotte article from last week: On Prosecutors Having Survivors of Assault Arrested: It’s Not a Zero-Sum Game (via @StudentActivism)

– Important points. Whitewashing reproductive rights: How black activists get erased

A week of ups and downs … and a whole lot of obnoxious writing on feminism. Let’s take a look!

Gay Rights:

– I like this trend of not attempting to defend the indefensible: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/oregon-defend-gay-marriage-ban-lawsuit-22603097#.UwaSdOMT6G0.twitter (h/t @MsFoundation)

Racism:

– Good grief people. Arabic is a language. People will write it. Even on airplanes. Security scare delays EasyJet flight for two hours because schoolboy saw another passenger ‘writing in Arabic’ (h/t @irevolt)

Problems with Mainstream Feminism: 

– One woman’s experience with ignorant white people has lead to this. Why I’m no longer talking to white people about race (via @renireni)

– Tired of talking about the problems with mainstream feminism? Too bad! This is stuff us white women need to read: Toxicity: The True Story of Mainstream Feminism’s Violent Gatekeepers (via @BlackGirlDanger)

– Another take on the issue: From One White Salon Writer to Another: An Open Letter To Michelle Goldberg From Across the Pond (h/t @scATX)

Rape Culture:

– Good response to an awful article: Safety for Survivors (via @Shakestweetz

Reproductive Rights:

– Debunking the propaganda: The Seven Most Common Lies About Abortion (via @LaurenARankin)

Awesomeness:

– BRILLIANT. Girl Scout Sells Cookies Outside Medical Marijuana Clinic (via @nprnews)

My kittens are the best.

– Long, good read on mental health care at colleges: How Colleges Flunk Mental Health

– Yup, TED really shouldn’t lie to a journalist who does her research and keeps her emails: TED Backpedals on Abortion Stance After Outrage (via @JessicaValenti)

– Allison Kilkenny on war and what it can do to people: The Poster Boy For Unending War (via @AllisonKilkenny)

– HOLY SHIT KANSAS “If a gay couple calls the police, an officer may refuse to help them if interacting with a gay couple violates his religious principles.” Kansas’ Anti-Gay Segregation Bill Is an Abomination (h/t @EdgeOfSports)

– Awesome post on the problems feminists have created for the trans community: It’s Time to End the Long History of Feminism Failing Transgender Women (h/t @thewayoftheid)

– On the benefits of paternity leave: Daddy Track: The Case for Paternity Leave (h/t @MsFoundation)

– Once again, a black teen was killed by a white man, and the white man was not convicted: On the Killing of Jordan Davis by Michael Dunn (h/t @LaurenARankin)

– More on the murder of Jordan Davis: Michael Dunn Verdict: Hung Jury (via @shakestweetz)

– Rolling Stone article on the murder of Jordan Davis: Stand Your Ground’s Latest Victim

Happy Valentine’s Day? Maybe?

– A flip on that whole “women make $.77 on the dollar” concept: Whenever I hear …

– The NCAA is just horrible: 10 Points About College Hoops All-American Marcus Smart’s Pushing a ‘Fan’ (via @EdgeofReason)

– The power of Twitter Activism: The theme has now changed: The Winnipeg Art Gallery and the Yellow(Face) Peril; Winnipeg Art Gallery Relaunches Art & Soul Theme (h/t @SueyPark)

– Mychal Denzel Smith writes the best things: How to Create a Thug (via @MychalSmith)

– Go Ms. Sarkeesian! GDC Awards to honor Feminist Frequency, League of Legends (h/t @femfreq)

And finally, this cover is AMAZING.

This is a little late because of an awesome weekend away that involved snow, hot chocolate, and lots of good friends.

-Eve Ensler is not doing good work, despite what we may have though. Open Letter to Eve Ensler: A Lesson for Haitians (h/t @ChiefElk)

– Irony. On Seeing Dan Snyder at an Event to Promote Racial Justice (via @EdgeOfSports)

– Related to the ridiculous “Nation” cover article this week: In Defense of Twitter Feminism (via @SueyPark)

– Finally, a lot has been written (much of it disgusting) on Dylan Farrow’s statement regarding the abuse by her father, Woody Allen. Here are some great resources if you’re interested in the story (and why “innocent until proven guilty” isn’t a useful response)

Dylan Farrow, Rape Apologia, & Rape Culture 101 (via @Shakesville)

Nope (via @Shakesville)

Choosing Comfort Over Truth: What It Means to Defend Woody Allen (via @JessicaValenti)

Don’t Listen to Woody Allen’s Biggest Defender (h/t @EdgeOfSports)

10 Undeniable Facts About the Woody Allen Sexual-Abuse Allegation

Visualization of Rape Accusation Statistics (h/t @Dr.JaneChi)

I can tell you what I’m NOT reading – enough books to hit my Cannonball Read VI targets. Damn you, George R. R. Martin, and your excellent but extremely long books!

Stop and frisk continues to be utterly unacceptable. Police Assault Teen So Violently During Search That His Testicles Burst

So many problems with Jezebel, but still this article made me smile. Dudes, Stop Putting Women in the Girlfriendzone (h/t @AllisonKilkenny)

One of the more thoughtful posts on Macklemore, I think. Finding a Place in the Hip-Hop Ecosystem

I voted for her. Sawant to give back 2/3rds of her city councilmember salary

It’s a step. 2nd Grand Jury Indicts Officer in Fatal Shooting of Unarmed Man

Sexism? In politics? No! Painting Wendy Davis as a bad mother is political sexism at its worst (via @scATX)

Yeah, money doesn’t seem to correlate so closely with how hard people actually work. $10.10

The Nation wrote a pretty shitty article this week. Here is a response. Interlopers on Social Media: Feminism, Women of Color and Oppression

They threw out elementary school kids’ lunches. The FUCK. Lunches seized from kids in debt at Salt Lake City elementary

• This whole this is so extremely screwed up. She’s dead. She’s not an incubator. Attorneys: Fetus of pregnant, brain-dead wife is ‘distinctly abnormal’ (h/t @AisFor)
• The death penalty is barbaric. Ohio Inmate Put To Death With Untried Lethal Cocktail (via @ThinkProgress)
• How I Met Your Mother REALLY just … wrong, guys. So wrong. Dear How I Met Your Mother: ‘Asian’ Is Not a Costume (h/t @sueypark)
• This has been covered in some media I follow; sadly one website I love had a HORRIBLE article on this issue. This one is so much better. Careless, Cruel, and Unaccountable (via @shakesville)
• But racism is TOTES gone, right? Harvard Study: Black People Get Screwed on Airbnb
• Finally, this is the best thing on the internet ever that doesn’t directly involve cats. Paul Rudd’s Amazing Dancing GIFs, Ranked (thank you, @pajiba)