Bev Perdue…

Posted by High Priestess Kang as Politics, Tentacle Wagging

…thinks the citizens of North Carolina are idiots. Or at least her campaign staff does.

Since late January, early February, North Carolina Gubernatorial candidate, Bev Perdue has been spewing her vitriol in television commercials. Instead of focusing on the issues at hand, Ms Perdue has unleashed her inner fury and frustration on fellow candidate, Richard Moore.

I had been meaning to send a little note to Perdue’s campaign staff. Alas, between the vigil for John Aherne and my new job, other things took precedence. Monday night, an article on WRAL’s website reminded me that I had been remiss in my duties as a good steward of the electoral process. I managed to carve out a few moments to write the following:

I have been meaning to send a message to Ms Perdue regarding the campaign ads on television as of late. Fortunately, WRAL’s website reported this story: http://www.wral.com/news/local/politics/story/2655617/ which served as a wonderful reminder.

I must say that I am entirely appalled by Ms Perdue’s behavior with respect to the Gubernatorial Campaign. I am currently an undecided, registered Democrat. I recognize the fine service both Ms Perdue and Mr Moore have provided/performed for our State. Ms Perdue’s incessant barrage of negative attacks on Mr Moore have been nothing but repugnant and a detriment to the cause of keeping the Democrat party in the Governor’s office.

I iterate that I remain undecided at this point in time. However, if Ms Perdue and campaign staff does not cease with the unnecessary vitriol, I will be happily voting for Mr Moore.

Shame on your campaign for this blatant level of hypocrisy. You must believe the entire electorate is completely devoid of any intelligence if you think that anyone would accept Ms Perdue’s flagrant coquettishness and ridiculous position regarding negativity given that she is so astute in dishing it out. I cannot decide whether the campaign or Ms Perdue is at fault for this form of low-brow behavior. But the article referenced above does not positively reflect on the campaign given what I have been subjected to whilst I attempt to watch television.

/High Priestess Kang
Raleigh, NC

The kind folks of Ms Perdue’s campaign responded with the following:

Dear High Priestess Kang,

We would MUCH rather talk about the issues facing the next governor of North Carolina and that is what this campaign has been focused on. Bev Perdue has released many detailed policy proposals, made many important speeches. Our ad campaign was focused on what Bev will do for the future of our state.

Unfortunately Richard Moore began the negative attacks almost two weeks ago, and we are in a position where we must respond. Too often Democrats have learned the hard way what happens when you don’t fight back. It’s unfortunate that’s the way campaigns are run.

Remember that while attacks between the campaigns continue, that does not stop Bev from talking about the real issues that will confront the next governor. Thanks for the e-mail. We certainly sympathize with your concerns.

Sincerely,
Kathryn Hughes
Bev Perdue Camp
klhughes@bevperdue.com

HUH?

How did I fail to make myself clear? These commercials, these attack ads, have been airing since late winter. It’s phucking April. There is no way these people think I cannot read a calendar properly.

Wow.

Ms Perdue’s negative ads have been airing far longer than the past two weeks so I highly doubt the campaign is simply, “reacting.” You must think I am a complete moron.

If you truly, “sympathize” you would simply take the high road and focus on the issues. There is nothing wrong with exhibiting a bit of class and dignity.

Let the Republicans act poorly. That’s their milieu; not yours.

/High Priestess Kang

What I have learned from this exchange:

• Bev Perdue’s campaign staff underestimates the intelligence of the electorate
• Bev Perdue’s campaign staff feels poor behavior is tolerable
• Bev Perdue’s campaign staff obviously lacks in reading comprehension abilities *or* doesn’t take the time to listen to the issues

Given the above, I can say, with certainty that I will be marching off to the polls on Primary Day to vote for Richard Moore. If this group of rabid tossers cannot listen to a concerned citizen during the campaign season, what on earth would leave me to believe they would listen to the voters about anything during service?

I have no delusions of grandeur. Nor do I feel that my thoughts are of such esteemed importance that I should be listened to all of the time (ok…I do). But this exchange, this display of utter ambivalence grinds my gears and frustrates me to no end.

It’s one thing to (inherently) know that elected officials view us all as common tools. It’s another thing to have the shit in your mailbox after a long day of work, earning income and putting taxes back into a system where only a few will ever reap benefits.

White, American men irritate me

Posted by High Priestess Kang as Tentacle Wagging

Ok.  Not all white, American men.  That would be a rash, broad sweeping statement which is untrue.  However, there are many who really piss me off.

Living in the South requires an infinite amount of patience on my part.  Unless I’m in the safety of my own home, I will usually encounter one blithering, frothing bigot a day.  The fact that I smoke and thus loiter on a smoking patio when working, does not seem to help.

Alas…I do have the shelter of my home and an internet connection to keep me in touch with the balanced (and I mean mentally) folks.

That is…until recently.

Everyone knows that I frequent The Local.  I have been doing so since 2005.  It’s a wonderful place to talk about Sweden, spar about politics and troll.  I have made many a good friend through my participation.

Unfortunately, because The Local is Sweden-centric, it attracts a certain unsavory element.  The element is usually white Christians from the United States who are seeking shelter from the storm of brown people, yellow people, black people, Jews, gheys and anything else they find repugnant.  For some reason, Sweden  is, to them, the last great white place on the planet.  Naturally, those of us who have been to Sweden know this isn’t the case.  But, in their narrow minds, Sweden is full of G-d fearing, blonde haired, blued eyed Christians.  No other species of human being lives in Sweden, according to them.

Typically, I will use this sort of racist rhetoric as fodder and twist their words.  I like drawing the bigoted sort of from under their rocks and whacking them on the nose with my evil, horrible, G-dless words.  It’s fun.  At times.  Usually, the bigots grow so tired of being endlessly trolled, they leave.  Off to seek shelter at some white love site like, “Gates of Vienna.”

Latley, there have been two posters on The Local who have been driving me bat-shit crazazy.  I have seen the word, “Sambo” uttered in reference to Obama.  I read posts taken from Rush Limbaugh’s playbook calling Obama a Muslim because his middle name is Hussein.  I have choked on some of the most vulgar commentary about those of Mexican descent.

When people ask me why I want to leave America it is because of the moronic behavior I have described above.  I do not want to live with scared, white people gripping to their tenuous hold on power.  I do not want to be around such hate.  I have spent my entire life trying to be tolerant of everyone, regardless of their differences.

So - here’s my little message to these filthy pigs.  These people who cannot handle a world that is not white.

Please stay away from Sweden.

By no means am I an authority on all things Swedish.  That said, Sweden is a diverse country.  An accepting country.  A country where marriage isn’t the moral code.  A country where everyone mingles among each other.  A country that welcomes asylum seekers with open arms.

Sweden is not the last gateway to white supremacy.

Please, for the love of G-d, leave the precious country alone, you rabid nutters.  Allow me just one little shred of land where I don’t have to be around bigots, people who want the Bible to govern the land and people who aren’t afraid of someone who looks differently than white folks.

I know the nine-headed hydra of hate isn’t going away.  I only wish they would go to, “Gates” or some other, equally vile breeding ground of hate.

Damn Saab

Posted by High Priestess Kang as Tentacle Wagging

Welcome to my Monday. My Monday with my temperamental, little Inga. My Monday with Inga and the local SAAB dealership for a gearbox malfunction.

Oh. And she only has 54,000 miles on her.

Hooray!

You want something to complain about???

Posted by High Priestess Kang as Observations, Tentacle Wagging

…I’ll give you something to complain about, then!

Far be it from me to deny someone the right to anything.

When I was growing up, my father used to use that line. Had he not been grinding his teeth, on the verge of snapping after trying to reason with a child, I would have thought more about what that sentence means. But no…I just took that as a strong message to straighten up and fly right or face draconian measures.

As I aged, when I heard that, I would roll my eyes. Because…it’s something utterly lame to hear. Utterly lame to say.

Today I learned why people say that.

I have the misfortune of dealing with a very unpleasant creature consistently enough where she has become the virtual thorn in my side. No…wait…I should rather have a real thorn in my side that deal with this person. I’m not exactly sure where the communications turned awry but I have been told that it is *all* my fault. :lowers head in shame:

Whenever I see emails flutter into my email box from this person, the bile rises in my throat. Whenever I hear her voice, my toes curl. I don’t like her. Fortunately, I don’t have to like her. I won’t die if I don’t like her. Nothing traumatic will happen if I don’t like her. However, I need to figure out a way to deal with her.

Today, instead of smiling through the pain or taking an, “Oh…I’m so sorrrrrrry” posture, I decided (granted it has been a few months of eating this person’s shit) to feed it back. Not in a negative way. Not in an angry way. I did it in the way that annoys the hell out of everyone. I fed her her own words. Her own words in her own poorly constructed sentences. I did it because I could no longer play the role of diplomatic author. I did it because I am absolutely tired of the incessant negativity and the lack of respect exhibited. I did it because it was my last resort.

I gave her something to complain about.

Herself.

Henry encourages me to be an empath and consider the other person’s position and feelings. I try to employ this wisdom on a daily basis, particularly when a situation is tense. For some reason, be it that I’m blind with rage, entirely fed up with this woman’s on going shenanigans or utter lack of respect, I really didn’t think about her position. I really don’t care about her position. It’s hard to be an empath towards someone who makes you out to be a hell-cat, a problem, the reason why people are hungry, whales are dying and tuna keeps getting caught in dolphin net with very little to substantiate and support her position.

It’s easy to make judgment calls when you have no data. Maybe something horrendous is happening to the shrew.?. What the shrew doesn’t realize is that not everything is sunny in KangWorld, either. And her shitty attitude, snarky posture and tattle-tale ways are not doing anything to help the situation. All that it is doing is making me defensive.

And resourceful.

Thank G-d I save every email for occasions such as this. If, as a last resort, you have to hand someone’s ass to them on a plate, be absolutely sure you can do it. And, be absolutely sure you have an audience.

This rant was brought to you by the letter, “B.”  As in biatch.

Furious…

Posted by High Priestess Kang as Tentacle Wagging

No. I’m not mad because of a lingering ear infection which is very painful and has rendered me temporarily deaf in the right ear.

No. I’m not mad because I have gained five pounds.

No. I’m not mad because I quit smoking. I really don’t miss stinking up the house.

I’m furious because I cannot seem to make the determination between quality v. cost. Apparently, there are many people who fail to understand that one can have a quality product/program/service at a reasonable price.

I’m furious because there are certain participants in healthcare who are only out for profit.

I’m furious because the value of human life is subjective when assigned a price tag.

I’m furious because I cannot endure smarmy men talking down to me.

I’m furious when a team member undercuts another in a meeting with a supplier.

Today…I had to listen to the following statement from a provider.

If you allow employees free access to healthcare, it’s like giving them a shopping cart and setting them free in a grocery store. They’ll return with a cart full of lobster and every other expensive item.

Yeah. Because seeking treatment for an ailment is fun. And…everyone has the time to do it, as well. Let us not even explore the fact that people might use one iota of reasoning ability when making decisions about treatment.

Days like today remind me that the world is littered with douchebags.

trAnny Coulter

Posted by High Priestess Kang as Politics, Tentacle Wagging

…is a waste of protoplasm.

Coulter draws fire over remarks about Jews
Conservative author offends CNBC host Donny Deutsch with comment

Conservative author Ann Coulter finds herself in the middle of a firestorm once again after remarks on a CNBC television show in which she said Jews need “to be perfected” and suggested the nation would be better off if it were all-Christian.

Appearing on “The Big Idea” with host Donny Deutsch on Monday, she said Christians were tolerant of racial diversity but that it “would be a lot easier” for Jews if they were to become Christians.

Deutsch, who described himself as a practicing Jew on the show, was clearly dismayed by the remarks, which he called “hateful” and “antisemitic,” according to a transcript published on the Web by Editor and Publisher.

In her defense, Coulter apologized for the remarks and said they were misinterpreted.

“I don’t think you should take it that way (as offensive), but that is what Christians consider themselves: perfected Jews. We believe the Old Testament,” she said.

Deutsch told Adweek magazine that he had invited Coulter on to discuss her “brand strategy” but that the topic drifted into politics. After Deutsch was offended by Coulter’s remarks, he said, “I think she got frightened that maybe she had crossed a line, that this was maybe a faux pas of great proportions.”

After the comments were made on the late-night cable show, they were picked up by several online magazines and began gaining momentum in the blogosphere.

Coulter has a history of making inflammatory remarks on Deutsch’s show and elsewhere.

Last year she told Deutsch that former President Bill Clinton showed “some level of latent homosexuality” and then followed it up by telling Chris Matthews on MSNBC that former Vice President Al Gore was a “total fag.”

In one of her books she lashed out at 9/11 widows, saying, “I’ve never seen people enjoying their husbands’ deaths so much.”

All the risk of allowing magnets to speak for me, I think this is most appropriate for Ms Mr Coulter.

Lancome Response

Posted by Ming the Merciless as Guest Author, Ming the Merciless, Tentacle Wagging

Here’s the official Lancome response, folks. According to them, they don’t test finished products on animals. That gives them a lot of wiggle room, so it’s probably safe to say that within the production chain somewhere components of Lancome products are tested on animals. Realistically, if they weren’t, Lancome would have been boasting about it.

From: Consumer Affairs, Lancome (Internet)
To: Ming the Merciless
Date: Fri, Aug 17, 2007 at 7:07 PM
Subject: Ref # 42XXXXX

August 17, 2007

The safety of our consumers is our highest priority at Lancôme, a division of L’Oréal USA, Inc., and we can assure you that our products go through extensive testing to provide the best and safest possible products for our consumers.

L’Oréal is committed to the elimination of animal testing. In 1989, L’Oréal ended all animal testing on its finished products. However, various national and international regulations still require additional testing to guarantee the safety of new ingredients. L’Oréal meets all governmental safety requirements in the 130 countries in which our products are sold.

For more information about L’Oréal’s commitment to the elimination of animal testing, please refer to L’Oréal’s Sustainable Development Report, which is posted on our company’s global website www.loreal.com.

If you are unable to click on the link, copy and paste it into the Address line of your browser. Then click Go or hit Enter on your keyboard.

We appreciate your interest in Lancôme and we hope this information is helpful.

Sincerely,
XXXXXXXXXXX
Consumer Affairs Advisor
Ref # 42XXXXX

Cruelty free?

Posted by Ming the Merciless as Guest Author, Kang & Ming, Ming the Merciless, Resources, Tentacle Wagging

Let me preface this by saying neither Ms. K nor I are fanatical, Birkenstock-wearing, VW-driving, unwashed PETA*-flogging hippies. I was a member of my college’s student environmental action group for a while but I kind of lost interest about three meetings in, when they started planning protests that involved people dressing up like fish and infiltrating paper manufacturing plants. (I’m a little unclear to this day whether the plan was to perform the infiltration while disguised as fish.)

Instead, we’re the target market companies like L’Oreal and Revlon are aiming for. Thirty-something, middle class professional women. And we both make an effort to buy ecologically friendly, animal friendly products. As I write this, I’m finishing my cup of fair trade, ecologically friendly coffee. Made using a recycled paper coffee filter. (And this weekend, I’m going to pick up one of the reusable ones, if they finally have the right size.) Apparently they aren’t listening to their markets because we do still care about animal testing, too.

This morning I had an email from Ms. K, who is planning on reinventing her look and was trying to find information on whether Lancome cosmetics are cruelty free.

The sad answer to that appears to be, “No.” Apparently Lancome’s parent company L’Oreal at one point claimed they were done animal testing (back in the late ’90’s/early ’00’s) when caring about animals was hip and trendy but so far have refused to provide adequate follow-up information to cruelty-free organizations and may still require ingredient suppliers to provide animal test data. So no, L’Oreal/Lancome products cannot be safely assumed to be cruelty-free.

In an effort to clarify the cruelty-free status of Lancome, I’ve gone directly to the source and sent the following communication via their web site:

Dear Lancome;

I have recently been trying to verify your policy on animal testing but am unable to locate this information on your web site. Cruelty-free organizations list your parent company L’Oreal as either testing on animals or requiring unnecessary animal testing data from ingredient suppliers. Can you please clarify the following questions:

Does your company test its products on animals?
Does your company require its ingredient suppliers to provide animal testing data?

As a consumer, this information is important to my purchasing decisions since I strongly believe animal testing for cosmetics to be both unnecessary and highly unethical.

Sincerely,
Ming Merciless

I’ll keep you posted on what they have to say.

L’Oreal does also now own The Body Shop, and according to cruelty-free organizations, those products still do not employ animal testing or ingredients tested on animals. I’m personally ambivalent about using “cruelty-free” products from a company whose parent company has tried to masquerade as cruelty-free without actually making any changes. Perhaps if they see a demand for their cruelty-free brands it will convince them that it is important to consumers, though.

It’s not like going cruelty-free is going to cost a company market share. Nobody has ever stood in the cosmetics aisle looking at mascara saying, “Goddamn, don’t they have anything here that’s blinded some bunnies?”

For those of you that want to see where your products of choice fall (or find alternatives for the ones that fail), here are some useful links:

The Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics
Caring Consumer: A Guide to Kind Living

As a footnote:
Lancome and L’Oreal are also not listed as signers of the Compact for Safe Cosmetics, where companies promise to eliminate carcinogenic, mutagenic, and toxic chemicals from their products. For those of us in Europe, the EU Cosmetics Directive means that companies have to do this anyway for products sold here. Not so for the rest of you, I’m afraid.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics Signers

*More on this later.

Johnson & Johnson attempts to eat the Red Cross

Posted by High Priestess Kang as News, Tentacle Wagging

Yup! Corporate business shows its altruistic side, yet again.Johnson & Johnson is suing the Red Cross! Not for anything legitimate mind you. They’re claiming that they are the only one with rights to use the red cross symbol. It’s a lawsuit over corporate identity.

WHAT THE PHUCK? Seriously. What the phuckity phuck? I mean…who the phuck does J & J think it is?

Now…I’m going to say that I’m not exactly enamoured with the Red Cross. They won’t allow the use of the Red Magen David. From one perspective, it’s delicious irony. On the other hand, filing a law suit against a non-profit organization comprised of do-gooders??? What next? Mugging a nun? Taking candy from a baby?

Johnson & Johnson sues Red Cross over use of emblem

Johnson & Johnson, the pharmaceutical giant which uses a red cross as its trademark, filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the American Red Cross, demanding that the charity halt the use of the red cross symbol on products it sells to the public.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in New York, marked the breakdown of months of behind-the-scenes negotiations, and prompted an angry response from the Red Cross.

“For a multibillion dollar drug company to claim that the Red Cross violated a criminal statute … simply so that J&J can make more money, is obscene,” said Mark Everson, the Red Cross president.

Johnson & Johnson began using the red cross design as a trademark in 1887 — six years after the creation of the American Red Cross but before it received its congressional charter in 1900. The lawsuit contends that the charter did not empower the Red Cross to engage in commercial activities competing with a private business.

“After more than a century of strong cooperation in the use of the Red Cross trademark. … we were very disappointed to find that the American Red Cross started a campaign to license the trademark to several businesses for commercial purposes,” Johnson & Johnson said in a statement.

It said these product include baby mitts, nail clippers, combs, toothbrushes and humidifiers.

The pharmaceutical company has had exclusive rights to use the trademark on certain commercial products for over 100 years, Johnson & Johnson said.

The Red Cross said many of the products in question were part of health and safety kits, and that profits from the sales — totaling less than $10 million (€7.25 million) — went to boost Red Cross disaster-response efforts.

The suit asks the Red Cross to turn over the products in question to Johnson & Johnson for destruction and also seeks unspecified punitive damages.

Hot fun in the summertime…

Posted by High Priestess Kang as Tentacle Wagging

Grrrrrrrr. The cold season is upon us. And by cold, I mean - not the weather but the illness.

Both Kate and I managed to come down with a wicked case of the nasty, snots over the weekend. One would think, after all the fun of last summer, that a cold would be a walk in the park for me. But noooooooo…Kang-the-Intolerant slithers off to the doctor this afternoon.

I have no earthly idea why being sick in the middle of the summer sucks so much ass but it does! And how it does!!! I spent yesterday in bed, this morning snotting all over my desk, this afternoon with the doctor and back to bed. Poor Dock is feeding me soup, soup, liquids and more soup. Blech!!!!

So there is my whine du jour. Aaaaaaachooooooooo!!!

I wouldn’t be developing into a proper, old Jewish lady if I wasn’t complaining about something.