By Iris Vander Pluym on 08.10.14

[CONTENT NOTE: ableist language; slut-shaming.]

I am an unrepentant, die-hard proponent of mockery in the political sphere. There is a reason witty dissidents, clever cartoonists and pseudonymous snarkers have historically been persecuted by powerful regimes, and that reason is that mockery is potent stuff. Humorous ridicule has long been an effective tool of subversion, and there are many masters of it in the 21st century United States. Jon Stewart and Andy Borowitz among others have made careers of it, and of course Stephen Colbert is a world-class mocker: consider his recent one-line zinger, “If we put a woman on the one-dollar bill, it’ll only be worth seventy-seven cents!” Hahaha.

By Iris Vander Pluym on July 13, 2014

People, I just don’t know why I bother to click on linkbait at mainstream American media outlets like the Washington Post. I recently got suckered by We think our enemies are idiots, and that’s a problem: The psychological explanation for our partisan strife, by psychologist and assistant professor of management and organizations at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Adam Waytz. The piece is full of false equivalencies between conservatives and liberals, and finishes up with the usual pointless whinging:

By Iris Vander Pluym on 06.08.14

[CONTENT NOTE: extreme hostility to consent, bodily autonomy and agency.]

Welcome to the Abattoir! Here, we perform extractions of lifesaving organs–whether people consent to them or not!

Don’t worry: we don’t harvest organs from just anyone. All of our involuntary donors must meet one very specific criteria: they would eagerly and happily force other people to donate lifesaving organs without their consent. Since they feel so very strongly about this particular principle, it is only right and fair that they live by it!

By Iris Vander Pluym - 05.11.14

So this is a thing that is happening:

Thieves in UK Are Using Drones to Locate and Steal From Cannabis Farms
The burglars seek out cannabis operations in order to burglarize or extort them.

Miscreant techies in the United Kingdom are following in the footsteps of law enforcement, adopting the use of heat-seeking drones to locate...

By Iris Vander Pluym - 04.13.14

Lately we’ve seen a good deal of mockery emanating from various Democratic pundits over the “success” of Obamacare. Over 7 million people signed up! Hahaha, Republicans! YOU LOSE!

What.

Did everyone suddenly forget that the ACA is a terrible, fundamentally conservative paradigm, with deep Republican roots in both Romneycare and The Heritage Foundation? Sure, Republican efforts to block and repeal their own policies make them look like petty buffoons.