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News & ArtsThursday, May 23, 2013
Savage Love SL Letter of the Day: Not A Prude... And Not Just Not That...
Posted by Dan Savage on Thu, May 23, 2013 at 10:42 AM
I am a 26 y.o. gay man living in Europe. Some weekends ago I went to visit a friend to another city and we went out to a party where I met a gay couple in their mid 30s. We clicked and by the end of the night they proposed me a threesome. (It was an excitement idea! They were very hot!) Unfortunately I had to decline because the friend I was visiting is a friend with benefits and we agreed on "fun together or not fun at all."
The issue is that I gave these guys my cellphone number and one of the guys—a guy that is hot as hell and way out of my league—wanted to have fun with me but without his partner. He was planning on coming to my city only for this reason and was waiting for me to confirm. I asked him if his partner agreed on this and he told me that he didn't know if his partner would have agreed and that he was not planning on telling him. (They have been together for more than 8 years!) I have been with guys in open relationships but I have always declined the cheating setup and this was clearly a cheating setup so I declined. The guy was not happy and called me a prude.
This is not true, Dan! I have a lot of fun with guys but I just don't like the idea of being the one that a guy cheated on his partner with. In a "Grindr" set up with limited information, this would have been less of a problem for me, but here I knew who his boyfriend was and their relationship status. My male hetero friends, that are all in couples, told me that I did right. My male gay friends, that are all single at the moment, thought that I should have gone for it, that I am too uptight and, yes, prudish.
Am I a prude? Enlighten me, Dan. Please.
The Gay Prude
P.S. Sorry about my English!
My response after the jump...
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Politics / Religion Michele Bachmann Says God Will Perform a Miracle to Free Us All from "the Yoke of Obamacare"
Posted by Paul Constant on Thu, May 23, 2013 at 10:35 AM
ThinkProgress reports on the latest stupid thing Michele Bachmann said:
“I think the President will ultimately be forced to repudiate his own signature piece of legislation because the American people will demand it,” [Bachmann] told an evangelical radio host Tuesday. “And I think before his second term is over, we’re going to see a miracle before our eyes, I believe God is going to answer our prayers and we’ll be freed from the yoke of Obamacare.”
Presumably, this is because God believes people should not have access to quality medical care if they can't afford it. I'm sure there's some Bible verse somewhere that backs up Bachmann's claims.
TV Bill Wixey Puts Morgan Freeman to Sleep
Posted by Grant Brissey on Thu, May 23, 2013 at 10:25 AM
Whoops! Auto-play. After the jump, feel free to witnesseth the Lord Our God Morgan Freeman taking a nap on the teevee. -Eds
Theater An Interview About Shoot
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Thu, May 23, 2013 at 9:40 AM
For the curious, and for the haters, a long interview with Saint Genet director Ryan Mitchell (about Paradisiacal Rites, about Shoot, about the Jackass phenomenon, about whether pulling a performance stunt like Shoot is just a cheap exercise of white-guy privilege, about Captain Ahab, about how one can love Brecht but still think he didn't get it quite right, about whether your opinion about anything matters at all, and more) is now up over here.
Here is some video documentation of Chris Burden's Shoot, with some spare commentary from the artist.
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Politics / The Ladies Great Moments In GOP Outreach to Women
Posted by Dan Savage on Thu, May 23, 2013 at 9:27 AM
It's amazing how all the GOP outreach to women...
Louie Gohmert just told a woman whose fetus had no brain function that she should have waited and given birth anyway.
— Irin Carmon (@irincarmon) May 23, 2013
...can be undone by one Republican representative at a just-us-boys congressional hearing on abortion.
LGBTQITSLFA Usually When I'm Sent a Photoshopped Image of a Gun Pointed At Me...
Posted by Dan Savage on Thu, May 23, 2013 at 9:14 AM
...it's from someone who claims to be a Christian.
Thanks for the change of pace, Indianapolis Bisexual Solidarity.
Visual Art Squishhenge, Come to Maryhill!
Posted by Jen Graves on Thu, May 23, 2013 at 8:46 AM
Seattle collector Ruth True has thrown out the idea for an art parade in Seattle. Last fall she suggested Mungo Thomson's sticking a pin in Michael Heizer would make a good anchoring float. Thomson's earlier Skyspace Bouncehouse—a bouncy castle version of a Seriously Meditative James Turrell sky room (one's at the Henry Art Gallery)—had been a hit at Western Bridge.
For the Olympics last year, Jeremy Deller created Sacrilege, another deflationary inflatable: bouncy Stonehenge. It's now in an inflatables exhibition at the inaugural Art Basel Hong Kong, but may I suggest that if Sacrilege needs a permanent home, it could do no better than somewhere on the land of this eccentric outpost at the border of Oregon and Washington. Are you planning summer day trips and do you like cliffs, peacocks, Rodin, Romanian queens, and failed dreams? Go to Maryhill! The museum even has a new wing, financed by wind turbines.
- Photo by Jeremy Deller
- Squishhenge, come to Maryhill!
And while we are on the subject of artflatables (Paul Constant: "My kid could inflate that"), please enjoy the story that inspired the headline "Sudden downpour takes the wind out of poop art."
(Also in Hong Kong: Log Lady and Dirty Bunny. A quick check in the office revealed that we need help figuring out: What's Dirty Bunny from?)
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2012 Tornadoes are Common in Oklahoma City, Basements Aren't...
Posted by Charles Mudede on Thu, May 23, 2013 at 8:31 AM
CNN:
It's one of the most familiar pieces of advice from authorities to people in the path of a tornado: Get into your basement. Yet few homes in the Oklahoma City area have them — even though that state is hit by far more powerful tornadoes than most others.I would be surprised if the answer to that question is not in anyway related to this fact:
"Probably less than one tenth of one percent" of the houses in Moore are built with basements, said Mike Hancock, president of Basement Contractors in Edmond, Oklahoma. "There's just such a misconception that you cannot do it."
Why?
Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential candidate, wins Oklahoma and leads in all counties reporting results. GOP nominees have captured all 77 Oklahoma counties in last two presidential races and topped 65 percent of the vote.
Seriously, there are certain things that are indeed political and other things that are certainly not. The economy, for example, is political; tornadoes are not—and never the other way around. CNN:
In fact, basements are so rare in the area that real estate listings do not include "basement" as an option under foundation types...
In another report:
Moore Mayor Glenn Lewis told CNN's Jake Tapper, also Wednesday, that six people previously unaccounted for have been located.Five were found alive. The sixth is dead, and the body was located at the medical examiner's office. The mayor was not sure whether that death was included in the official count of 24.
He also told CNN that he would push for a law requiring storm shelters or safe rooms in new homes.
But imposing regulations on Americans is just damn socialistic.
Science The Science Today: Peeing On a Motherfucking Solar Plane
Posted by Unpaid Intern on Thu, May 23, 2013 at 8:07 AM
Posted by science intern Madeline Reddington
Today, science is using dogs to study an endangered animal, investigating the bioweaponry of ladybugs, developing printable astronaut food, and learning the ins and outs of the bathroom on the Solar Impulse.
A local dog is helping scientists save Orca whales—by smelling their poop
It's not too unusual for a dog to have a penchant for poop, but the abilities of this eight-year-old black lab called Tucker are extraordinary—Tucker can detect Orca feces from up to a mile away, and with his help, the UW Center for Conservation Biology has been able to pin down what’s been harming local killer whales. Using body language, Tucker indicates the direction the smell is coming from so that researchers can drive the boat to the sample and collect the poop, which usually floats on the surface of the water. (A recent poop analysis revealed that a dearth of Chinook Salmon is behind the Orca population decline.)
Through sample analysis researchers can learn about the sex, diet, hormones, diseases, and habitat of the whale in question. This allows scientists to keep tabs on endangered animals without hunting, trapping, and tagging them. Tucker, and other gifted sniffers like him, are trained at Seattle’s Conservation Canines.
Asian lady beetles (aka ladybugs) are proliferating uncontrollably in the US and UK
Originally from native to China and Japan, these ladybugs were introduced to greenhouses in the 1990s to keep aphid populations in check. But their population has since boomed beyond the greenhouse and they are beginning to displace native beetles. A new study shows these ladybugs carry a fungus to which they are immune, but is deadly to other beetle species.
NASA grants company $125,000 to developing 3D-printable foods
The grant goes to a research corporation that hopes to arm a 3D printer with proteins, carbohydrates, and other raw materials to create “tasty” synthetic foods that astronauts can print on-demand. While astronauts are the focus right now, the company ultimately believes printable food will play a role in everyday diet and nutrition for the world population. That idea comes with a healthy dose of skepticism for many. Either way, you’re probably a long way from using “ctrl+p” to make yourself dinner.
The art of the in-flight restroom
Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg have been taking turns in the cockpit of the Swiss-made Solar Impulse as it makes a record-breaking odyssey across America this month. They’ve fielded a lot of questions about their adventure along the way, but obviously the one we’re all secretly thinking about is this:
Visual Art Currently Hanging: Name That Bar
Posted by Jen Graves on Thu, May 23, 2013 at 8:04 AM
- Courtesy the artist
- Well? Can you name this Seattle bar and bartender?
Jessica Jorgensen is a figurative painter who moved from California to Seattle, and kicked off her stay here by getting her art very, very drunk. She immersed "herself in this local subculture"—Seattle bars—for her new series of oil paintings. They go on display tonightFriday (May 24) in a reception from 7 to 9 pm at the Broadway Market Gallery above QFC in Capitol Hill.
Want her to paint your favorite bar? Shoot her a note. Her paintings are up through June 23.
Find out which bar is pictured, on the jump.
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News Morning News: Abortions, Boy Scouts, Pot, and Semicolons
Posted by Anna Minard on Thu, May 23, 2013 at 7:59 AM
Soldier in London Dead in Apparent Terrorist Attack by Machete: It happened in broad daylight in the middle of London yesterday afternoon.
Some of Our New State Insurance Plans May Not Cover Abortion: Cienna reports on the troubling news via Planned Parenthood; the insurance commissioner disagrees with PP's numbers, in a complicated fashion. Either way: Just fucking pass the Reproductive Parity Act already.
The Boy Scouts Still Voting on Gay Rights: Today, a big vote on whether to lift the ban on gay Scouts. Gay leaders would still be banned, which is weird and dumb.
Cal Anderson Park: Getting a ranger, says the city.
Shot in the Mouth! And you're to bla-aame, you give love a bad name... A West Seattle man, out walking his dog, was unexpectedly shot in the mouth yesterday, possibly by a BB gun.
Your Facebook Password Is Safe for Now: At least from your employer, after Governor Inslee signs a bill barring employers from requesting social media passwords in interviews. Washington is the fifth state this year to pass such a law.
Two Seattle-Area Medical Pot Dispensaries Raided This Week: But by burglars this time, and the cops are investigating.
The Economics of Pot: NPR interviews a young dealer who moved from the West Coast to NYC, where the "100 percent illegal" status of weed quadrupled his income. "Chuck sells marijuana for about $60 for an eighth of an ounce; in California, it would be anywhere from $30 to $45."
Why'd People Break Windows on May Day? Our news intern Ansel Herz answers the question.
Lonely Island Debut Semicolon Song: That the only song ever written about semicolons actually uses them wrong hurts my heart; others are also copyediting the video. (Must be how every English professor in the '90s felt about the not-actually-about-irony "Ironic.") But it still makes me laugh...
SIFF What Do Vampires, Rock Stars, Impolite New Yorkers, and Sarah Polley's Family All Have in Common?
Posted by Paul Constant on Thu, May 23, 2013 at 7:55 AM
Over the weekend, I saw a bunch of SIFF movies, and it didn't occur to me until after I'd watched them all that they had one thing in common: They all were directed by, written by, and/or starred strong women. Ten or fifteen years ago, these movies would have appeared as a festival within the larger festival under a Feminist Films banner, but now they're standing on their own.
Frances Ha was directed by a man—Noah Baumbach, doing maybe the best work of his career—but it was co-written by and stars Greta Gerwig. As a young New Yorker whose friends are all growing up and moving on, Gerwig's Frances is a very likable protagonist. She's self-conscious, but not in a late-Woody Allen sort of way. She's often impolite, but not standoffishly so. She causes a lot of problems for herself, but she's not a composite made up of the sum of her personal problems. Frances Ha is a remarkably good-hearted story that brings to mind a cross between Mike Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky and one of Woody Allen's better, earlier New York films.
Sini Anderson's The Punk Singer, which I saw a preview of and which screens on Friday and Sunday this weekend at Harvard Exit, is a straightforward documentary about Bikini Kill/Le Tigre frontwoman Kathleen Hanna. You're not going to see anything new, technique- or structure-wise, but the story is compelling from start to finish because the subject is fascinating, and the footage of Hanna dancing around stages (from shitty Olympia dives to a protest in Washington DC to some fancier clubs) is super-entertaining to watch. If you're into films that stretch the capabilities of documentaries, Sarah Polley's Stories We Tell is for you. Polley, who has evolved from an excellent actor into an excellent director, brings a special kind of confidence to her first documentary. Perhaps that's just because she's working with such a familiar cast: Stores We Tell is about Polley's mother, who died young and who left behind many secrets, including the identity of Polley's real father. It's a movie that alternates easily between warmth and prickliness. From the too-passive, highly inexact title on down, Polley spends a bit too much time focusing on the power of stories when she already ably demonstrates the power of stories with her story (every time I see or hear someone expounding on the importance of stories to human beings—it happens a lot on NPR—I get the feeling that it's just another way to compliment the audience for spending their time consuming a storytelling medium), but otherwise, Stories We Tell is a moving, generous account of a family's secrets and strengths.
And then there's the vampires. Byzantium is directed by Neil Jordan, but its cast (Gemma Arterton, Saoirse Ronan) and its screenwriter (Moira Buffini, adapting her play of the same name) are all women, and it's a decidedly feminine take on the vampire myth. The greatest joy of Byzantium is that it's not a reheat of every other vampire story that's come before; these vampires have different weapons (rather than fangs, they have long, sharp thumbnails that they use to pierce arteries) and origins than any cinematic vampire you've seen before. Byzantium begins with the end of one life for our vampires (Arterton has the harder role, here, as she's got to make a vampire/stripper seem not like a From Dusk Till Dawn-style cliche, but Ronan is typically incredible as an eternal 16-year-old) as they're forced to flee one small British town and head to another. This is something they've been forced to do again and again, as they're chased by mysterious agents every time their cover story slips. Byzantium is a slow-burn movie—the script smartly drops the viewer into the middle of the narrative and slowly reveals the backstory in dollops—but it's worth it, as the vampires at the heart of the story are forced to consider whether eternal life means an eternally unchanging life.
None of these movies are similar in theme or plot or structure, but they're indicative of a greater sea change in the filmmaking world. It's no longer necessary for a film festival like SIFF to cordon off a selection of movies as "women-made films." There are enough quality films featuring women that they can't be contained anymore, and there are plenty more movies to come in SIFF demonstrating the importance of women in film; hell, the closing night gala, The Bling Ring, is produced, directed by, written, and stars women. This is the new normal, and it's awesome.
Religion A Pope at Peace With Atheists?
Posted by Eli Sanders on Thu, May 23, 2013 at 6:00 AM
I am no expert on popes. However, this quote from the new Pope Francis, via Sullivan, seems interesting:
We all have a duty to do good. And this commandment for everyone to do good, I think, is a beautiful path towards peace. If we, each doing our own part, if we do good to others, if we meet there, doing good, and we go slowly, gently, little by little, we will make that culture of encounter: we need that so much. We must meet one another doing good. ‘But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!’ But do good: we will meet one another there.
Another thing Pope Francis said yesterday, and perhaps more relevant to yesterday's news: "To say that you can kill in the name of God is blasphemy."
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Theater Theater Schmeater Losing Its Basement Home After 21 Years
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Wed, May 22, 2013 at 4:04 PM
This morning, Theater Schmeater artistic director Douglas Staley sent out a press release saying the company would start looking for a new place to make theater.
Which means this run of The Twilight Zone: Live! will be your last chance one of your last chances to see a show in the subterranean venue that, in Seattle, has become synonymous with the term "basement fringe theater." (This summer's Game Show will be the final production in Schmeater's current space.)
The recent departure of the Brocklind's costume shop upstairs is the issue. In a subsequent email, Staley explained that the theater and the store had "a symbiotic relationship" because they had different business hours, so there were never noise problems. Now the upstairs space is going to house a restaurant and bar, and the theater ceiling is already so low, it can't build in sound muffling (which probably would only be marginally effective anyway).
"We are already at about 8'2" at the bottom of the cross supports," Staley wrote. "Putting in a ceiling and bringing down all of our lights means some of them will be maybe less than 7' from the floor. That precludes using any risers for the audience, or casting anyone over 5'6". Our light designers make miracles but that really is more than I could ask for."
But the future isn't all gloomy. He added:
Film What Do You Think of the Don Jon Trailer?
Posted by Paul Constant on Wed, May 22, 2013 at 4:03 PM
Don Jon is a new movie directed by, written, and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a porn addict who gets into a relationship with Scarlett Johansson, who disapproves of his porn consumption. It costars Tony Danza (!?!), and it's packed with New Jersey accents.
What do you think?
Guns Another Day, Another 2-Year-Old Accidentally Shot in the Head
Posted by Goldy on Wed, May 22, 2013 at 4:02 PM
But it was only "accidental," so I guess that's okay then:
An accidental shooting sent a Trigg County toddler to Vanderbilt Medical Center overnight.
Kentucky State Police were called to a residence in Trigg County just after 9 p.m. Tuesday in reference to a 2-year-old suffering a gunshot wound to the head.
The child was initially taken to Trigg County Hospital, then transferred to Vanderbilt with non-life threatening injuries.
That makes three 2-year-olds and a 3-year-old shot in the head, just over the past two weeks. Rather than repeat myself, I'll throw you a link to my recent rant on America's epidemic of toddler gun violence in this week's print edition of The Stranger.
Books Amy Tan Is Replacing Joan Didion
Posted by Paul Constant on Wed, May 22, 2013 at 2:56 PM
We told you in Loose Lips this week that Joan Didion cancelled her upcoming appearance at Benaroya Hall, due to an "unforeseen personal conflict."
We just got a press release from Seattle Arts and Lectures announcing Joan Didion's replacement. It begins like this:
SEATTLE, WA: Seattle Arts & Lectures’ 2012-2013 Literary Arts Series concludes with Amy Tan on Wednesday, June 5, 7:30pm at Benaroya Hall. Unfortunately the previously scheduled speaker, Joan Didion, unable to make her appearance on June 5th. We are excited to announce Amy Tan as a replacement.
Amy Tan is well known in literary circles for her sensitive and witty exploration of the complexity of mother daughter relationships starting with her debut novel, The Joy Luck Club that was a finalist for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her theme continued in her equally successful novels from The Kitchen God’s Wife to Saving Fish from Drowning to the Bonesetter’s Daughter. In addition, to her novels Ms. Tan co-produced and wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of the Joy Luck Club. Ms. Tan is also the author of a memoir, The Opposite of Fate, two children’s books, The Moon Lady and Sagwa, The Chinese Siamese Cat and numerous articles for magazines, including The New Yorker, Harper’s Bazaar, and National Geographic.
Stranger Editor Christopher Frizzelle, who was going to interview Didion onstage, will not be interviewing Amy Tan.
Religion The Pope Doesn't Understand the Point of Atheists
Posted by Paul Constant on Wed, May 22, 2013 at 2:56 PM
Here's something that Pope Francis said today:
The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! ‘Father, the atheists?’ Even the atheists. Everyone! And this Blood makes us children of God of the first class!
Um, gee. Thanks, I guess? But maybe keep your unicorn juice to yourself? It's kind of weird to go spilling magical blood on a bunch of people who don't believe in it.
Education / Money Better than Idaho!
Posted by Goldy on Wed, May 22, 2013 at 2:46 PM
Huh. I guess that explains Cienna:
Idaho remains stuck at the bottom of public education funding, ranking second to last of all states in per-student spending for a third straight year, the U.S. Census Bureau said today.
Idaho spent $6,824 per student in the 2010-11 school year, above only Utah, according to the latest available figures.
Neighboring Washington ranked 30th – up two spots from the previous year – with $9,483 spent per student.
Both Idaho and Washington fall below the national average of $10,560 per student.
Just to bring Washington State's per student spending up to the national average would cost an additional $1.12 billion a year ($2.24 billion per biennium). And in case you think our taxpayers can't afford it, it's important to note that Washington ranks 46th in terms of per student spending as a percentage of per capita income. We're just cheap, pure and simple.
Economy This Pope Understands Capitalism
Posted by Charles Mudede on Wed, May 22, 2013 at 2:45 PM
The Pope for once sounds like the founder of his religion...
Rome: Pope Francis has attacked the ''dictatorship'' of the global financial system and warned that the ''cult of money'' is making life a misery for millions.
He said free market capitalism had created a ''tyranny'' and that people were being judged purely by their ability to consume goods.
Money should be made to ''serve'' people, not to ''rule'' them, he said on Thursday, calling for a more ethical banking system and curbs on financial speculation. Countries should impose more control over their economies and not allow ''absolute autonomy'', in order to provide ''for the common good''.
More real talk...
''The worship of the golden calf of old has found a new and heartless image in the cult of money and the dictatorship of an economy which is faceless and lacking any truly human goal,'' he told the ambassadors.
That Pope has got some real big testicles, saying stuff like that in public. Neoliberalism might be dead as an ideology but it's still in effect, still in power, still ruling the third world from the sun.
The tip for this post came from Lark.
Politics Why They Break Windows
Posted by Unpaid Intern on Wed, May 22, 2013 at 2:41 PM
- Ansel Herz
Posted by news intern Ansel Herz
It's been three weeks since May Day, and the reverberations from the day's mayhem continue. At a court hearing last Thursday, two young men accused of throwing rocks at the police were arraigned in King County Superior Court. That evening, Seattle police posted to their website asking for tips from the public on eight suspects, complete with videos that appear to show young men smashing windows with rocks and skateboards.
"I could feel my temper rising as I watched this thing fall apart," KIRO radio host Dave Ross told Mayor Mike McGinn the day after May Day. "Why have they adopted [Seattle] as their playground?" his co-host asked.
"There is a desire to provoke a confrontation with the police, so then they can claim the police overreacted," McGinn said. "This is in fact the objective of the march."
"I speak for the majority of Seattle when I say fuck you all and your stupid white privilege that thinks you can walk around smashing shit up, yelling and throwing shit at the police," wrote one typical Slog commenter.
It's easy to stereotype window-breakers and rock-throwers as spoiled kids throwing tantrums, out with malevolent intentions to mess with the police, and then feel indignant about it. But truth be told, those are lazy, inaccurate assumptions.
CHARITY! They Need Your Help, Slog!!
Posted by Dominic Holden on Wed, May 22, 2013 at 2:16 PM
Seattle's Low Income Housing Institute is in the running for a $250,000 grant for housing homeless veterans and and assisting the beloved Urban Rest Stop. They're a few thousand votes behind, with nine days left, but they're closing the gap and they need your help to win.
Please go here and vote for the Low Income Housing Institute.
Thank you, Sloggers.
The Ladies Insurance Commission Insists That Majority of WA Indv. Insurance Exchange Plans Will Cover Abortion
Posted by Cienna Madrid on Wed, May 22, 2013 at 2:14 PM
UPDATE: As I hypothesized below, it turns out the number that Planned Parenthood and other reproductive rights groups were citing encompassed individual plans inside and outside of the Affordable Care Act's federal insurance exchange. (Individuals who earn less than $45,000 can apply for insurance through the exchange and qualify for premium subsidies, while those who earn more will purchase plans outside of the exchange.)
As Planned Parenthood Public Policy Director Jennifer Allen explains, "What we had understood was that the information dealt with plans inside the exchange, but it's really inside and outside the exchange, which frankly is worse news. This makes it even more clear that coverage access is eroding everywhere, and it’s even more imperative that we pass the Reproductive Parity Act."
Why is this worse news? Because the federal exchange is shiny and new, while regular individual insurance plans have obviously existed for years. This basically means that insurance companies are taking advantage of the legislature's failure to pass the RPA these past two years to change a historic status quo in our state: That every insurance carrier covers abortion.
"I’d venture to say that the very complexity of this conversation is the very reason we need the RPA," Allen adds. I've posted the lists of all the companies that have filed plans inside or outside of the exchange, and whether or not their plans cover abortions, after the jump.
***Original post below***
The Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner is pushing back against a claim made earlier today by Planned Parenthood and a number of other women's reproductive rights groups that only half of the 10 individual insurance exchange policies currently filed with their office would cover elective abortions.
“I’m not sure where Planned Parenthood got their numbers but of the nine plans filed to be in the exchange, eight are covering abortion and one is a maybe," says Insurance Commissioner spokeswoman Stephanie Marquis. She explains that the one insurance company that's currently not covering abortion—Bridgespan Health Company—is reconsidering their decision.
"We definitely got our numbers from [the commission]," counters Jennifer Allen, Public Policy Director for Planned Parenthood Votes NW. "Perhaps, based on public scrutiny or interest from legislators, those numbers have changed. But we definitely got our numbers from them.”
The confusion could also stem, in part, from insurance companies that are filing new insurance policy bids both within and outside of Washington's exchange. Marquis promised to send over breakdown of all the various policies soon so I can eyeball them for myself.
Regardless, the state legislature should still pass the Reproductive Parity Act to ensure that insurance policies cover abortion, because the number of filed policies (and whether or not they cover elective abortions) could still change: the deadline to submit policy bids is July 31, after which the insurance commission reviews the rates and punts the plans over to the federal insurance exchange program to determine whether they’re qualified to be sold inside the exchange starting on October 1, 2014.
Money Google and Yahoo Are Big Tax Cheats, Too
Posted by Paul Constant on Wed, May 22, 2013 at 1:42 PM
AppleInsider makes a very good point about Tim Cook's appearance before a Senate panel to defend Apple from charges of tax evasion yesterday:
Though some such as U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) portrayed Apple's tax strategy as "unique," at least in scope, the tax shelter practice known by attorneys as the "Double Irish" is also utilized by tech companies Google and Yahoo.
Google has moved foreign profits through Ireland and the Netherlands, allowing to avoid about $2 billion in income taxes a year, according to Bloomberg. But unlike Apple, which manages its Irish subsidiary in the U.S., Google goes one step further and manages its Irish branch through Bermuda — a British territory that has no corporate income tax.
Yahoo, too, is said to deposit its profits in an Irish subsidiary. Like Apple, Yahoo says its Irish arm is not a tax resident to avoid corporate income taxes. But Yahoo also employs a strategy similar to Google and claims its tax residency offshore, in the Cayman Islands.
Apple is not unique in this. They just have gotten more attention because everyone knows they're sitting on an unthinkably huge pile of money. But does any of this matter? After the chummy way John McCain ended the Apple tax investigation yesterday...
...I'd be shocked to learn that anything is going to change.
POT / Housekeeping More Pets Are Suffering from Marijuana Overdoses
Posted by Cienna Madrid on Wed, May 22, 2013 at 1:16 PM
A veterinarian at an emergency clinic recently told my partner that roughly one-third of the pets in crisis he sees nowadays suffer from marijuana poisoning. Komo's reporting seems to support this anecdotal evidence:
Dr. Jennifer Waldrop, critical care specialist at the ACCES clinics in Seattle and Renton, said known cases of toxic reactions to marijuana have increased from two in 2009 to 35 in 2012. And, those are only the cases where vets are certain the dogs ate marijuana. Waldrop said there are many more mysterious toxicity cases where pot could be the culprit.
Waldrop said the increase in dogs eating pot can be attributed to the rise in marijuana use, both medical and recreational. She also said more people are reporting their dogs eating pot now that marijuana use is legal and less stigmatized.
If your pet starts twitching, drooling copiously, vomiting, or, you know, falls into a coma, take them to a vet immediately. Especially it you've got marijuana lying around the house.
City A Donation Chute Tells It Like It Is
Posted by David Schmader on Wed, May 22, 2013 at 1:10 PM
From this week's I, Anonymous:
I'm a donation chute that has gained consciousness, and I've got a confession to make: I don't support a nonprofit or a local thrift store at all, even though I often use the word "donation." All this time, I've been taking your clothing and immediately shipping it overseas, only to positively impact my pocketbook. I won't even supply you with a tax receipt, because guess what—you're not actually supporting a business that is a legitimate nonprofit or that makes a difference locally. How do you avoid me? It's simple: Either donate in person at a local establishment, or make sure that you recognize a donation chute as belonging to an organization that's an actual nonprofit. Chances are if you are putting a "donation" into a chute like me, with a name you've never heard of, it's a for-profit company. I usually hang out at gas stations (because, you know, most things reputable go down in gas-station parking lots). So now you know.
Read about others' surprise/lack of surprise/bemusement/fury (and express your own) in the comments.
Dinosaurs Today's Dinosaur News
Posted by Mary Traverse on Wed, May 22, 2013 at 1:00 PM
I'm currently reading his new book, My Beloved Brontosaurus, and it's delightful! Switek's enthusiasm is irrepressible as he explores our collective relationship with dinosaurs and the disparity between actual science and public perception. He writes about his own life-long obsession and notes important discoveries and shifts in understanding. It's a fun read from a kindred spirit.
You can get tickets for his Town Hall appearance here! See you there!
Sports Jose Canseco Probably Shouldn't Be Allowed on Twitter
Posted by Paul Constant on Wed, May 22, 2013 at 12:48 PM
Jose Canseco, who has been accused by both of his ex-wives of domestic violence in the past, was approached by police officers in Las Vegas as part of a rape investigation, according to Canseco's Twitter feed. How did Canseco respond? By tweeting the name of the woman Canseco says has accused him of rape, along with what he claimed to be a photo of her and her phone number. The tweets—there were two clusters of them—have since been deleted, but BuzzFeed has screen captures of them (with the name and personal information redacted).
Now, people are calling for Canseco to be kicked off of Twitter for posting the personal information of a woman whom he believes has accused him of rape. I used to follow Canseco on Twitter because he was kind of funny, but his propensity to angrily publish the personal information of whatever woman he's obsessing over—and he's done this on multiple occasions—was way too creepy for my tastes.
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