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April 2015

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What I’m Reading – April 19, 2015

Written by , Posted in What I'm Reading

Bigotry

-“This is just another example of [Maher’s] casual racism and anti-Muslim bigotry,” Hooper told ThinkProgress. “It has become part of his public persona, and that’s unfortunate.” Has Bill Maher Finally Gone Too Far? (via @ThinkProgress)

Police Brutality

– “It’s not black America’s problem, it’s yours. Racism is your problem, not because white people are uniquely predisposed to racial bigotry (it’s a horrible trait we all share), but because the power structure of White Supremacy upholds it. It’s your system and whether or not you personally built it, you live in it, maintain it, and benefit from it. It is your house, and you need to clean it.” What You Can Do Right Now About Police Brutality (via @IjeomaOluo)

– “What sounds more realistic? That Thabo Sefolosha, whose off-court reputation is pristine, decided to bum-rush a police officer whose back was turned, or that a pissed-off cop, adrenalized over a melee involving a stabbed NBA player, chose to get aggressive with the other black NBA player on the premises?” A Police Story Unravels: How Did the NYPD Break an NBA Player’s Leg? (via @EdgeofSports)

Health

– “If people of normal weight have shorter lifespans than those who are overweight, why do we call them normal? Surely we should call them “mildly underweight”, at which point we would have to call people who are now considered overweight “normal”.” Why being ‘overweight’ means you live longer: The way scientists twist the facts (h/t @stavvers)

Reproductive Health

– “We argue in our paper that the exercise of conscientious objection (CO) is a violation of medical ethics because it allows health-care professionals to abuse their position of trust and authority by imposing their personal beliefs on patients. Physicians have a monopoly on the practice of medicine, with patients completely reliant on them for essential health care. Moreover, doctors have chosen a profession that fulfills a public trust, making them duty-bound to provide care without discrimination. This makes CO an arrogant paternalism, with doctors exerting power over their dependent patients—a throwback to the obsolete era of “doctor knows best.” Why We Need to Ban ‘Conscientious Objection’ in Reproductive Health Care (via @rhrealitycheck)

– “The legislation, which redefines the dilation and evacuation procedure as “dismemberment abortion,” is part of a campaign by anti-abortion advocates to influence public opinion by using graphic language. Abortion rights proponents, on the other hand, say the procedure is often the safest and most compassionate way to terminate a pregnancy in the second trimester. They have argued that the bill would force abortion providers to consider methods that are less safe.” Kansas Becomes First State To Ban Common Form Of Abortion (h/t @laurenarankin)

– “Hold on a second: Her mother gave her birth control but would be shocked that she had sex? Clearly Jerry’s lesson here—the reason he needed to drop that the girl had been on birth control but that when she got pregnant, they didn’t tell her mother—was supposed to be this: Birth control fails. It fails all the time. And sex is so shameful that if you get pregnant, you can’t get prenatal care. You have to hide the pregnancy. In shame.” I Sat In on My Son’s Sex-Ed Class, and I Was Shocked by What I Heard (via @strangerslog)

Sexual Assault

– “The sketch may have been meant as a commentary on the subject coming on the heels of a week’s worth of articles about notorious teacher Mary Kay Letourneau, who is trying to return to teaching a decade after marrying her former student (and serving time in jail for it). Or maybe the sketch just went over our heads and was meant to be a reflection of media coverage and how the media under-reacts to underage males having sex with women in positions of authority? Either way, it wasn’t funny.” This ‘Teacher Trial’ Rape Sketch On SNL Failed Miserably (via @Gothamist)

– “Jameis Winston . . . has proven time and time again to be an entitled athlete who believes he can take what he wants,” Kinsman’s attorney, John Clune, said in a statement. “He took something here that he was not entitled to and he hurt someone. There are consequences for that behavior and since others have refused to hold him accountable, our client will.” Erica Kinsman sues NFL prospect Jameis Winston (h/t @scATX)

Environment

– ““Data from NASA satellites show that the total amount of water stored in the Sacramento and San Joaquin river basins — that is, all of the snow, river and reservoir water, water in soils and groundwater combined — was 34 million acre-feet below normal in 2014. That loss is nearly 1.5 times the capacity of Lake Mead, America’s largest reservoir,” writes Jay Famiglietti of NASA.” R.I.P. California (1850-2016): What We’ll Lose And Learn From The World’s First Major Water Collapse (h/t @sarahkeendzior)

Family

– “I think it’s really hard to be a parent, and I think when parents are confronted with people who glibly say, “I don’t have children because I’d rather hit the snooze button or take expensive vacations,” it’s offensive and upsetting. What I want to do is shine a light on the reasons people make this choice. I’ve never met anyone in my life who was earnestly making the decision between having a kid and having a Porsche and chose the Porsche.” I don’t want kids and it’s not because I’m selfish (h/t @werenothavingababy

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