reasons why I need to buy an Obama t-shirt

Both of these came to me via Bitch, PhD, which I love.

Amnesty International is calling out the police involved in the arrests of protestors at the Republican National Convention for using excessive force.

Amnesty International recognizes the challenges involved in policing large scale demonstrations and that some protestors may have been involved in acts of violence or obstruction. However, some of the police actions appear to have breached United Nations (U.N.) standards on the use of force by law enforcement officials. These stipulate, among other things, that force should be used only as a last resort, in proportion to the threat posed, and should be designed to minimize damage or injury. Some of the treatment also appears to have contravened U.S. laws and guidelines on the use of force. The U.N. standards also stress that everyone is allowed to participate in lawful and peaceful assemblies, in accordance with the principles embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Gosh, I'm glad to see them speaking out about this.

And if you were starting to regain a little of that warm and fuzzy feeling about government now that the convention in St. Paul is over, think again. This story from Alaska disgusted me. The police chief of Wasilla when Sarah Palin was mayor spoke out against state legislation in 2000 that would prevent sexual assault survivors from being billed for the cost of their evidence-collecting exams, claiming it would put a burden on the police department to fund the exams.

[House Bill 270, signed into law by the governor] makes it illegal for any law enforcement agency to bill victims or victims insurance companies for the costs of examinations that take place to collect evidence of a sexual assault or determine if a sexual assault did occur.
[...]
"In the past we've charged the cost of exams to the victims insurance company when possible. I just dont want to see any more burden put on the taxpayer," Fannon said.

Glad to see he was looking out for the female taxpayers in his community.

Let's round this out with some Gloria Steinem, who I've always loved. This came to me first via Siobhankha.

Republicans may learn they can't appeal to right-wing patriarchs and most women at the same time. A loss in November could cause the centrist majority of Republicans to take back their party, which was the first to support the Equal Rights Amendment and should be the last to want to invite government into the wombs of women.

And, if Gloria's not your taste, you can always go watch my political tv girlfriend Rachel Maddow over at MSNBC. Love that woman; she's super smart and sassy.