This Time, Acceptance Takes the Cake.

KenCake

A trans Ken doll cake created by Freeport Bakery in Sacramento. (KTXL-TV).

SACRAMENTO — A local bakery is getting a flood of support after one of its custom cakes caught quite a bit of flack on social media. The cake was baked and molded into a transgender Ken doll.

“It wasn’t that unusual, we do doll cakes all the time.”

Eggs, milk, butter and a dash of controversy, the recipe at Freeport Bakery for the unorthodox custom cake.

A Ken doll wore a pink dress made of frosting, a sash, a tiara and jewelry.

“Naively, I guess I just thought this is a really cool cake, and look at how great they did with the butter cream,” said Marlene Goetzeler, co-owner of the bakery. “What’s wrong with a Ken cake?”

Baked at 350 degrees, but the real heat didn’t come until Goetzeler posted a picture of the dolled up delicacy on Facebook.

“I started getting some negative comments … Then a couple days later I noticed there was a big dip in unlikes. I was kind of surprised,” said Goetzeler.

An LGBT debate ensued. After a few hundred comments, and more than a thousand reactions, the bakery’s page lost dozens of Facebook likes and potential business, all because of the post.

“I was shocked that somebody would be offended,” said Goetzeler.

“Oh, I thought it was fantastic,” said Chad Graham, who attended the party where the cake was served.

Graham says it was at the birthday party for a member of a group that meets once a month for a dice game. He says the cake’s recipient is not transgender nor was he trying to make a political statement whatsoever. The cake’s recipient didn’t wish to speak to FOX40. The backlash took the group by surprise.

“I thought it was a little ridiculous. It was just cake,” said Graham.

But when word of the confection controversy began to spread, hundreds of people came to the bakery’s defense, both on social media and at the storefront.

“In the beginning, I thought ‘What’s the big deal?’ but now I realize how important it is to take a stand if you believe in something,” said Goetzeler.

A small gesture with a big impact. Goetzeler says this time acceptance takes the cake.

I think that’s a great cake, and I’m really happy that so many people took a stand and supported the Bakery.

Via Fox40.

Dakota Access: A Disaster Waiting to Happen.

The Dakota Access Pipeline. Photo by criminalintent on Flickr.

The Dakota Access Pipeline. Photo by criminalintent on Flickr.

ShadowProof has given us some much needed coverage. Still asking mainstream media, where the hell are you all? There are a thousand stories to be told, at least. So many stories. And there is one hell of a big story, if you can manage to pull your heads out of oil’s backside.

The Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota will not only impact the environment but also lead to an influx of out-of-state workers and increase crime, drug use, and sex trafficking, according to an indigenous columnist.

If completed, the pipeline, also known as the Bakken Pipeline, would travel from North Dakota to Illinois through 50 counties in the United States and transport crude oil. A data sheet published by Dakota Access, LLC, indicates it is a $3.7 billion “investment” intended to run some 1,172 miles, or 1,886 kilometers. It is expected to “transport approximately 470,000 barrels [of crude oil] with a capacity as high as 570,000 barrels per day or more.”

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe launched a protest encampment called the Sacred Stone Spirit Camp back in April, but in recent weeks, demonstrations against the pipeline have intensified, as thousands have traveled to the camp to support the struggle of indigenous people against Dakota Access.

Ruth Hopkins, a Lakota and Dakota of the Oceti Sakowin, or Great Sioux Nation, and an enrolled member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota Nation, told Shadowproof oil development tends to bring in a lot of non-Native men from out of state who do the work, often on a temporary basis. This influx of transient workers “brings an increase in crime, drug use, and sex trafficking. The Bakken is a perfect example of that.”

As the oil boom began, North Dakota saw a major population spike, and the state’s law enforcement, particularly on reservations, wasn’t prepared.

“We don’t have the kind of funding necessary to combat crimes waves, and there are special concerns regarding jurisdiction on tribal lands,” Hopkins said. “As a tribal judge on a nearby reservation, I witnessed the effects of this oil boom. It pushed the tribe to the point of declaring a State of Emergency due to rampant drug use.”

[Read more…]

BREAKING: Federal Courts Won’t Rule.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – No decision has been made today in federal court regarding the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline near Cannon Ball, N.D.

Judge James E. Boarsberg says the main legal issue is the consultation factor between the Tribes & Army Corps of Engineers.

Boarsberg said he will issue his opinion by September 9 and an appeal hearing has been set for September 14 if the Tribes or Corps of Engineers is unhappy with the decision.

Via KFYR. There was noise a couple of days ago that the judge thinks we need more time to just talk things over with the AC of Engineers. Apparently, he’s decided to be utterly oblivious to the months of talks that did go on, when the AC of Engineers assured the people of Standing Rock that they understood the issues, and were sensitive to them. Well, we’ve seen that so-called sensitivity, and we’ve seen the lies. No, Judge Boarsberg, this is not something we can settle over tea. And this is really important to remember:

This is the truth, I see it every day. Dakota Access swore on their black heart they would stop until the court hearing, but they have not stopped. The only thing they stopped was drilling under the Missouri River. Everything else is going ahead, in spite of the thousands of people at the camps and everywhere else. The interstate from where I live is lined with massive pipe, holes and ditches being dug everywhere. They have no intention of stopping, because all they ever do is lie. Please, if you can, get this news out if you can, please. I’m begging. Mainstream Media is still busy pretending we don’t exist, and they aren’t about to cover Dakota Access lying their asses off about stopping work.

WE ARE NOT GIVING UP. WE ARE NOT GOING AWAY. THIS IS NOT GOING TO BLOW OVER. RISE, STAND WITH US. We should not have to fight for healthy earth, clean water, and clean air. We should not have to fight for these things for all the generations to come. We must protect our earth, we must protect our people. All of us, every single one of us, let us raise our voices in unity and strength. We have the right to say no. Join the resistance, come to the camps if you can. If you can’t, donate money, supplies, a few moments of your wireless to get the the word out, whatever you can do. It matters. Every action matters. Every word matters. You matter. Make a difference.

Support Sacred Stone Camp. Legal Fund Help. Rezpect Our Water.  Sign the Petition. Sign urgent petition. And please, please, signal boost as much as you can, spread the word – mainstream media is still acting like nothing is going on, and I saw one new MSM article today, and it was covering the 3rd day in August! This has been going on since April, and even now, media can’t manage to be remotely current. Help them out by doing their job for them, since they can’t seem to handle it. Thank you!

Dakota Access Pipeline Standoff. – Feds Grant TRO Against Standing Rock Members. – Dakota Access Protest: We’re being sued – help us fight it! – Dakota Access Standoff Calls on Obama. – Among Those Arrested… – Sacred Stone Camp: Calling Water Warriors! – Dakota Access: About That Oil… – Dakota Access Purchaser Looking Like Enron. – Standing Rock and IITC File Urgent Communication to UN. – Sacred Stone Camp. – North Dakota: State of Emergency Declared. – Solidarity Sings! – Settling into Camp – Washington DC: Action Alert – Solidarity Sings Along. – WE ARE… – URGENT Petition Call and Solidarity Sings III – A Tale of Two Standoffs. – Lakota No Access. – Coping With Cops. – Dakota Access and The Mindset of Christendom. – Adding Insult to Injury. – Tanka’s Mark Tilsen Speaks. – Los Angeles: Action Alert. – Sadness. – Reno Nevada: Action Alert. – Never Broken. – Resistance: Photo Essay. – Washington, DC –

Washington, DC.

Photos and videos are flowing in from Washington DC, and the protests at the hearing there today. You can see much more at https://twitter.com/RedRoadWoman.

Support Sacred Stone Camp. Legal Fund Help. Rezpect Our Water.  Sign the Petition. Sign urgent petition. And please, please, signal boost as much as you can, spread the word – mainstream media is still acting like nothing is going on, and I saw one new MSM article today, and it was covering the 3rd day in August! This has been going on since April, and even now, media can’t manage to be remotely current. Help them out by doing their job for them, since they can’t seem to handle it. Thank you!

Resistance: Photo Essay.

San Carlos Apache Tribe council member Wendsler Nosie Sr. embraces Standing Rock Sioux Tribe David Archambault II at the Camp of the Sacred Stones near the Standing Rock reservation, where Nosie came to offer support and prayers to those taking a stand against the Dakota Access oil pipeline. The Apache Stronghold has been fighting for more than a decade to stop the takeover of sacred Oak Flat for copper mining by Rio Tinto. Apache Stronghold is one of nearly 90 tribes that have expressed support.

San Carlos Apache Tribe council member Wendsler Nosie Sr. embraces Standing Rock Sioux Tribe David Archambault II at the Camp of the Sacred Stones near the Standing Rock reservation, where Nosie came to offer support and prayers to those taking a stand against the Dakota Access oil pipeline. The Apache Stronghold has been fighting for more than a decade to stop the takeover of sacred Oak Flat for copper mining by Rio Tinto. Apache Stronghold is one of nearly 90 tribes that have expressed support.

Riders on horseback exit the campsite and keep a watchful eye to ensure that folks stay safe and protected. Some paint their hoses in traditional designs. Thosh Collins.

Riders on horseback exit the campsite and keep a watchful eye to ensure that folks stay safe and protected. Some paint their hoses in traditional designs. Thosh Collins.

Each morning at the Cannon Ball prayer camps, participants walk and ride horse from the campsite to the construction site, about a half-mile away. Songs are sung and prayers are offered by all. (Photo: Thosh Collins)

Each morning at the Cannon Ball prayer camps, participants walk and ride horse from the campsite to the construction site, about a half-mile away. Songs are sung and prayers are offered by all. (Photo: Thosh Collins)

Veterans from tribal nations, including several bands of Lakota and Ojibwe people, carry staffs to lead the crowd toward the pipe ceremony just outside the gate of the construction site. (Photo: Thosh Collins)

Veterans from tribal nations, including several bands of Lakota and Ojibwe people, carry staffs to lead the crowd toward the pipe ceremony just outside the gate of the construction site. (Photo: Thosh Collins)

[Read more…]

GOOOOOOAAAALLLLLL!!!!!! WE DID IT!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYBODY!!!

Schef

On Monday, I posted about The Sioux Chef, happily begging people to help the kickstarter over that final hurdle, and this was in an email I just received:

GOOOOOOAAAALLLLLL!!!!!! WE DID IT!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYBODY!!!

There’s some excitement, can you tell? We have some great food on the way, and thank you so much, everyone who saw fit to signal boost or kick a few dollars to the Indigenous Kitchen. Pilamayaye.

Update:

As you know, we hit our first goal today at 10:54 AM (CST) two weeks ahead of the end of our campaign. Our team has been screaming, texting, high-fiving, fainting,laugh-crying, and group hugging ever since. We couldn’t post an update for two hours because we are in a state of disbelief and euphoria!!

When Chef Sean had this idea ten years ago he knew that there could be true Native American restaurants, and he slowly started working on educating himself on what the fundamentals of an Indigenous food system are. Two years ago, he formally started the company The Sioux Chef, and Dana came on one month later. Our team has grown and now we have seven team members, and each one of these wonderful humans are completely committed to propelling the concept of bringing the awareness of these foods to as many people as possible.

Hopefully we can bring people in from tribal regions to learn about these foods, and then bring that knowledge back to their communities. You helped us get closer to these goals! You are coming along with us on that path, too! Each one of you has invested in us… That humbles us! Thank you! We are so happy to have you in our Kickstarter tribe!

We have two more weeks of fundraising. The more we raise, the less funds we will need in traditional financing options, and the less risk there will be for us. Two more weeks to get the word out, two more weeks to make new friends and to raise awareness of the importance of these foods that are beautiful, delicious medicine.

In other words, we are going to keep sprinting on this thing.

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Healthcare for Trans People? Oh no. No, no.

Texas-Governor-Greg-Abbott-800x430

Greg Abbott speaking at FreePac, hosted by FreedomWorks, in Phoenix, Arizona (Gage Skidmore/Flickr).

Chalk up another one for the persecution files. Texas and four other states are filing lawsuits, and crying the extra-large tears of religious persecution at the thought of providing proper healthcare to transgender persons. Oh gods, we can’t be discriminating ‘phobes!? Whatever shall we do, I know, sue!

Texas and four other states sued the Obama administration on Tuesday over extending its healthcare nondiscrimination law to transgender individuals, saying the move “represents a radical invasion of the federal bureaucracy into a doctor’s medical judgment.”

Texas, along with Wisconsin, Nebraska, Kentucky and Kansas sued on behalf three medical organizations, two of which are affiliated with Christian groups.

They argue the medical groups would be forced to violate their religious beliefs “and perform harmful medical transition procedures or else suffer massive financial liability,” according to the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, named as a defendant in the suit, was not immediately available for comment.

On Sunday, a judge for the same district blocked an Obama administration policy that public schools should allow transgender students to use the bathrooms of their choice, granting a nationwide injunction sought by 13 states, led by Texas.

I am seriously starting to think that it would be just fine to set Texas aside, get federal aide to get all the decent people out, herd all the fanatical asses in, then cut them off. There, there’s your kingdom, go figure it out and eat each other alive. Bye.

Full Story Here.

Extra Crispy Sunscreen.

KFC-Extra-Crispy-Sunscreen-e1471958289356-800x430

Well, here’s my WTF for the day. Someone thought this was a really great idea, and maybe it is for some, but myself, I don’t see the appeal of smelling like fried chicken. I imagine the monster dogs would approve though. That alone is reason enough to keep such a thing a long, long way away. What scares me is the thought of someone like Trump trying to buy a truckload of this stuff to hand out to Black people in an attempt to court their vote.

USA Today reports that KFC has already given away all 3,000 bottles of its experimental KFC Extra Crispy Sunscreen that it offered as a promotional item started on Monday. Apparently it took a mere two hours for KFC to exhaust its entire supply of chicken-scented sunscreen tubes.

“We think it smells amazing,” KFC spokeswoman Kasey Mathes tells USA Today. “The sunscreen seemed like a natural fit.”

KFC first put up an ad for the Extra Crispy Sunscreen on Monday, and it featured what might be the greatest disclaimer in the history of advertising: “Extra Crispy Sunscreen is real sunscreen. Do not eat.”

Although you’ve missed your chance to get a free bottle of the sunscreen, one has already gone up for sale on eBay and is priced at over $60 as of this writing.

Via Raw Story.

Pence, Oh So Awkward.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) gets a haircut in Norristown, Pennsylvania on Aug. 23, 2016. (CNN).

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) gets a haircut in Norristown, Pennsylvania on Aug. 23, 2016. (CNN).

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) isn’t that recognizable outside of his home state, going by his stop for a haircut in Norristown, Pennsylvania.

According to Philadelphia Magazine, Pence went to Jones Barber & Hairstyles for a haircut, a visit that was captured on video by CNN. After discussing football, among other subjects, Pence steps out of the chair calling the haircut “perfect.”

“It’s been a pleasure, young man,” the barber replies. “Now, your name?”

“Mike Pence,” the vice-presidential candidate explains. The barber repeats Pence’s name without suggesting he recognizes it.

“Governor of the state of Indiana. I’m running for vice-president of the United States,” Pence explains, prompting surprise from the barber.

There’s video at the link. Via Raw Story. Seriously, these old white men need to stop trying to court the vote of People of Colour, it’s not only awkward, it’s downright embarrassing.

Stockpiling Piss.

Shutterstock

Shutterstock

The Intercept directs our attention to a Bloomberg report from earlier this year that reveals Robert Mercer — a hedge fund manager who is also a major funder of a pro-Trump Super PAC — has been funding the creation of a massive stockpile of human urine in Oregon.

The urine is being collected by the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine, a research outfit founded by Arthur Robinson, a chemist who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2010 with financial help from the Mercer family. So far, Robinson and his institute have collected and 14,000 frozen samples of human urine.

What is Robinson’s interest in urine?

It seems that he believes that analyzing urine with an expensive piece of equipment called a mass spectrometer will be able to help him predict patients’ future likelihood of contracting diseases, thus creating a whole new era in the realm of preventative medicine.

“He’ll use the spectrometer to decode the chemical patterns in urine, the red flags that warn of disease before it strikes,” Bloomberg writes. “The human life span will stretch. It’s hard to judge the credibility of his claims; although he earned a Ph.D. from the University of California at San Diego in the 1960s, he hasn’t published peer-reviewed research on diagnostic medicine in decades.”

Despite the fact that Robinson hasn’t produced any recent peer-reviewed research, Mercer has spent $1.4 million funding this gigantic urine storage center.

Blood transfusions, miracle pee! Oh all the things the super rich think will magically extend life. Given the intense fright and paranoia all that wealth seems to engender, I’m glad I’m not rolling in money. Not that I wouldn’t mind having a bit more, life’s rough when you’re prone to outbreaks of stone brokeness. That said, I think all around, I’m a whole lot happier, enjoying life moment by moment and day by day, rather than constantly fretting how I can stick around longer, so no one can get my money, power, or privilege. Strikes me as a miserable way to live.

Via Raw Story.