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Good News!
As our faithful readers know, last week was a blowout. I couldn’t find any good news and so I decided that no news is good news and indulged in a snit. Well, I was worried this week as I looked over the headlines. I know I threatened to make my own news if that’s what it took to find good news but you can all feel relieved. This week I found some good news.
Let’s start with the economy. Finally maybe things are looking up because there are new jobs appearing around the country. It beats me why anyone would hire anybody but for whatever reason they are. For some reason the unemployment rate went up too. It’s not such good news when there are more new people looking for jobs than new jobs. Still with this economy, I’m ready to grasp at any straw.
Job Creation Much Better Than Expected; Rate Hits 9%
The EU has been in a bad way lately with so many countries owning more than they are worth. It was making the Euro look pretty lame in their bid to become a world currency. Greece was thinking about dropping the Euro and once the defection started, the rest of the PIGS would surely follow. Well, Greece says they wouldn’t think of leaving the Euro zone. I guess those bailouts really work.
Greece denies report it’s seeking to leave euro
Locally there is more good news. Our recently departed governor is returning to his old career. Apparently he was an entertainer of some sort. It ‘s hard to imagine what kind of success a short guy with a saggy face and a hicky Austrian accent could make for himself in Hollywood but he must have made some connections during his time in office. I don’t think Californians will be interested in seeing any more of him but according to a Hollywood hack,
“I guarantee that you’ll get another look at Arnold Schwarzenegger in this movie,”
That’s enough to keep me away.
Arnold Schwarzenegger picks drama for comeback
Closer to home, Sacramento keeps the lights on at night.
Don’t the city fathers know that that’s what street lights are for? I would say something about the brightest bulbs not deciding to reside in the city whose claim to fame is that it is two hours from places you would like to be but then I’d have to explain why I live here – or maybe not.
City Takes Unique Approach To Deter Copper Thieves
Good news for the tourist season in Martha’s Vinyard. They sighted the first great white of the season. This is sure to keep the hoi polloi away from the playground of the idle rich . This will be good news for the Jersey Shore too. Snooky will have lots of business.
Great white zeroes in on whale off Vineyard
Young ladies these days seem to have minds of their own. After a Toronto cop suggested that dressing like a slut might cause men to thing that that’s actually what you are and act accordingly, spontaneous demonstrations popped up on college campuses all over honoring sluts. I always wondered why educating women is a good idea. This proves my point.
Cop’s rape comment sparks wave of ‘SlutWalks’
Finally, a heartwarming story to wrap up this weeks CNS. Marie Osmond gets married again – to her first husband. Doesn’t it just warm your heat?
Love, etc.: Marie Osmond remarries long-ago ex-husband
So now we’re back in the groove with the news. Enjoy.
I think they’re right to protest (the women on the sluts thing). In some cases, yes, it’s true that we wear extremely provocative clothes. This attracts attention. However look at our ‘fashion’, we can choose to look slightly provocative or frumpy and ‘old’ – at the mercy of our peers!
Sometimes all it takes for clothes to be classed as revealing is to have them tight enough to fit your body properly, rather than skimming over the top.
But I digress.
My main reason for saying they’re right to protest is that even if that girl was wandering around in a string bikini and stripper heels, the minute she says ‘No’ it’s rape. Prostitutes, in legal countries or not, can still say ‘No’ and it’s still rape. The problem is with prosecuting such cases and pitting the word of the two (or more) people involved against each other. In such cases it’s easy to look at it as female attention seeking, attack character, and look the other way.
It’s a horrible, insidious crime that’s notoriously hard to police. I don’t feel that its right to turn it back on the victim in any circumstance, whether its a guy being raped, a woman, a ‘whore’, a child, or a drunken teen. It also shouldn’t matter who the rapist is.
Funny old world this one. =) Good news on the jobs though, nice to see some recovery happening somewhere.
Heather,
I was hoping to gore somebodies goat with this one. Still I’m pretty disgusted with how both sexes dress these days. The goal seems to be- how trashy and classless can I be. You used to be able to count on women to aspire upward. Now, everybody wants to be trailer park trash or gang bangers. You didn’t bite on the educating women dig. Guess I need to work harder
Everything is much more uplifting this week. Wonder which old role Arnold will resurrect in his come-back movie? The geriatric-anator??
Hansi,
Anything will be fine with me. I don’t go to movies anyway. Just so long as it’s not governor.
The key is in ‘seems to be’ and ‘everybody’. As with everything else there’s still a lot of diversity in how people dress. Also in how much ‘education’ is taken to heart.
In the end, the point is that rape is rape is rape. The garden variety sort is bad, the sort where you take advantage of someone is bad, the horrifically violent sort is worse. Statuary rape I’m willing to leave a little wriggle room in for the stupidity of children; other than that it should all be punished.
Certainly police officers, our supposed beacons of right and just and good out on the streets, shouldn’t be making comments like that about anyone much less a victim. Say it to friends behind closed doors if you absolutely must. The words bother me less than the assumption behind them; that ‘depending on circumstances’ rape might not really be the rapist’s fault. That it could be understandable, that there could be cause.
Compared to that gross, disgusting, low form of thought from someone old enough to know better (one would assume), I don’t find the clothing itself to be an issue.
In comparison. There’s a whole other kettle of fish to get into there.
Heather,
I wasn’t whitewashing rape. It’s wrong no matter what you are wearing.
I’m not saying you were Ralph. =) Simply that the officer’s comments were deplorable and that I believed the protests were in that spirit.
In which case they make sense to me.