You know how you open your browser and start to type into the search box, and it automatically fills it in for you? And sometimes it's the most bizarre stuff, because it's filling in the most popular searches or whatever? And it freaks you out a little?
Well this weekend it was rape nuts.
A few days ago, I went to the Daily Show page and there it was, under 'most searched terms'. I had a minor panic attack, because I thought it was telling me that that was the most searched term for my computer specifically. It was a how-the-fuck-did-that-happen-and-why-won't-it- go-away-how-do-I-make-it-all-go-away-oh-no-OHSHITOHSHITOHSHIT- WHATIFTHEYDEPORTME-or-THROWMEINJAIL moment. A courtroom drama was quickly emerging in my head, in which I was sweating profusely, and protesting my innocence in an unconvincing, high-pitched voice, going, "I don't even know what a rape nut is!"
I was too scared to check what rape nuts actually are, but my brain went into overdrive, listing the possibilities. Beer nuts tossed in roofie powder? Testicles of sexual predators? Rape enthusiasts who see themselves as more committed than the hobbyist who only dabbles in the occasional rape?
Anyway, turns out "Rape Nuts" actually was a segment on the show:
It is reassuring that the amendment passed, but seriously, what the fuck? Is it really that hard to follow the logic here? A contract that includes a clause prohibiting employees from suing in case of sexual assault says two things:
1. yes, we are fully aware that sexual assault can and does happen in our workplace
2. and we support it.
Now you may sign a contract without reading the fine print, but if you put the fine print in there in the first place, you know damn well you're giving yourself and everyone in the workplace a rape pass.
And Congress may pass a law without the lawmakers reading and parsing every little word, but if you've gotten to the point where you're debating the amendment you cannot plead ignorance. If you know that an employer essentially permits rape and assault with impunity in the workplace, and you think that it's okay for the government to fund such an employer, you're funding rape. Bravo, Senator Sessions (R-Alabama).
So the Amendment passed, despite the thirty senators - all male, all Republican (and according to this site, at least 23 of them with daughters) - who voted against it: stalwarts such as
Jeff Sessions (R-AL) who once claimed to have been joking when he said the Ku Klux Klan would be "okay" if only they didn't smoke pot.
John Ensign (R-NV) who said that Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky meant "he had no credibility left"... ah, the irony.
John McCain (R-AZ)... yeah, that one. The one that 'hates gooks', called Clinton's teenage daughter 'ugly', and couldn't remember off the top of his head how many houses he owned. End air quotes.
Jim Bunning (R-KY), whose non-profit's largest recipient was the senator himself: he was paid $180,000 for working one hour a week, about $44,000 more than what went to actual charities.
Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) whose senate race against decorated war veteran Max Cleland featured a TV spot questioning Cleland's patriotism. (Max Cleland lost both legs and a forearm in a war that Chambliss dodged by claiming he had a bad knee.)
Bob Corker (R-TN) whose senate race against Harold Ford, an African American, included a TV spot laden with racist overtones featuring a white woman claiming to have met Ford in a 'Playboy party'.
Jim DeMint (R-SC) who said single mothers should not be allowed to teach in public schools if they had a live-in boyfriend.
Tom Coburn (R-OK) who opposed NBC's airing of Schindler's List as an 'all-time low', because of all that nudity.
Kit Bond (R-MO), who infamously said water-boarding was "like swimming".
Jim Inhofe (R-OK) who calls global warming the second-largest hoax on Americans, after the separation of Church and State.
Richard Shelby (R-AL) who leaked classified information to Fox News while he was on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
David Vitter (R-LA) who called for Bill Clinton to resign over the Lewinsky affair. This was of course before Vitter's own DC madam scandal broke. cf. John Ensign, above.
...and the usual anti-choice, anti-gay, anti-evolution crowd: Lamar Alexander (R-TN), John Barrasso (R-WY), Richard Burr (R-NC), "Big Bad" John Cornyn (R-TX), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Sam Brownback (R-KS), Judd Gregg (R-NH), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Mike Johanns (R-NE), John Thune (R-SD), Roger Wicker (R-MS),
Jim Risch (R-ID), Pat Roberts (R-KS), and two senators I have a special dislike for, Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
Extremely disappointing: nay votes from Senators Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ). Democratic Senators Byrd (him of KKK infamy) and Specter did not vote. Not idea why, and I'd sure as hell like to know.
Well this weekend it was rape nuts.
A few days ago, I went to the Daily Show page and there it was, under 'most searched terms'. I had a minor panic attack, because I thought it was telling me that that was the most searched term for my computer specifically. It was a how-the-fuck-did-that-happen-and-why-won't-it- go-away-how-do-I-make-it-all-go-away-oh-no-OHSHITOHSHITOHSHIT- WHATIFTHEYDEPORTME-or-THROWMEINJAIL moment. A courtroom drama was quickly emerging in my head, in which I was sweating profusely, and protesting my innocence in an unconvincing, high-pitched voice, going, "I don't even know what a rape nut is!"
I was too scared to check what rape nuts actually are, but my brain went into overdrive, listing the possibilities. Beer nuts tossed in roofie powder? Testicles of sexual predators? Rape enthusiasts who see themselves as more committed than the hobbyist who only dabbles in the occasional rape?
Anyway, turns out "Rape Nuts" actually was a segment on the show:
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Rape-Nuts | ||||
| ||||
It is reassuring that the amendment passed, but seriously, what the fuck? Is it really that hard to follow the logic here? A contract that includes a clause prohibiting employees from suing in case of sexual assault says two things:
1. yes, we are fully aware that sexual assault can and does happen in our workplace
2. and we support it.
Now you may sign a contract without reading the fine print, but if you put the fine print in there in the first place, you know damn well you're giving yourself and everyone in the workplace a rape pass.
And Congress may pass a law without the lawmakers reading and parsing every little word, but if you've gotten to the point where you're debating the amendment you cannot plead ignorance. If you know that an employer essentially permits rape and assault with impunity in the workplace, and you think that it's okay for the government to fund such an employer, you're funding rape. Bravo, Senator Sessions (R-Alabama).
So the Amendment passed, despite the thirty senators - all male, all Republican (and according to this site, at least 23 of them with daughters) - who voted against it: stalwarts such as
Jeff Sessions (R-AL) who once claimed to have been joking when he said the Ku Klux Klan would be "okay" if only they didn't smoke pot.
John Ensign (R-NV) who said that Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky meant "he had no credibility left"... ah, the irony.
John McCain (R-AZ)... yeah, that one. The one that 'hates gooks', called Clinton's teenage daughter 'ugly', and couldn't remember off the top of his head how many houses he owned. End air quotes.
Jim Bunning (R-KY), whose non-profit's largest recipient was the senator himself: he was paid $180,000 for working one hour a week, about $44,000 more than what went to actual charities.
Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) whose senate race against decorated war veteran Max Cleland featured a TV spot questioning Cleland's patriotism. (Max Cleland lost both legs and a forearm in a war that Chambliss dodged by claiming he had a bad knee.)
Bob Corker (R-TN) whose senate race against Harold Ford, an African American, included a TV spot laden with racist overtones featuring a white woman claiming to have met Ford in a 'Playboy party'.
Jim DeMint (R-SC) who said single mothers should not be allowed to teach in public schools if they had a live-in boyfriend.
Tom Coburn (R-OK) who opposed NBC's airing of Schindler's List as an 'all-time low', because of all that nudity.
Kit Bond (R-MO), who infamously said water-boarding was "like swimming".
Jim Inhofe (R-OK) who calls global warming the second-largest hoax on Americans, after the separation of Church and State.
Richard Shelby (R-AL) who leaked classified information to Fox News while he was on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
David Vitter (R-LA) who called for Bill Clinton to resign over the Lewinsky affair. This was of course before Vitter's own DC madam scandal broke. cf. John Ensign, above.
...and the usual anti-choice, anti-gay, anti-evolution crowd: Lamar Alexander (R-TN), John Barrasso (R-WY), Richard Burr (R-NC), "Big Bad" John Cornyn (R-TX), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Sam Brownback (R-KS), Judd Gregg (R-NH), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Mike Johanns (R-NE), John Thune (R-SD), Roger Wicker (R-MS),
Jim Risch (R-ID), Pat Roberts (R-KS), and two senators I have a special dislike for, Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
Extremely disappointing: nay votes from Senators Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ). Democratic Senators Byrd (him of KKK infamy) and Specter did not vote. Not idea why, and I'd sure as hell like to know.
