No Cookies for You, Laura Ingraham!

Recently my attention was drawn to the existence of a woman named Laura Ingraham. Wikipedia tells me that she has her own Republican radio talk show and that she is a correspondent to Fox News. My friend said she's "the Ann Coulter that's not Ann Coulter," revealing that she was, in fact, a blonde right-wing propaganda-ist. Like her counterpart, she's written a book bashing the Obama administration, called The Obama Diaries, which is sitting pretty at the number one spot on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller's list. The book is a mock-diary format of life in the White House from Obama's, Michelle's, Biden's, and even (?) Vladmir Putin's viewpoints. She was recently on The Colbert Report and got subtly slammed by Stephen Colbert about said book. Watch the clip below:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Laura Ingraham
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes 2010 Election Fox News

Dear Ms. Igraham,


As the head of the Irish Banshee Committee of Ireland, I take great offense to your claim that banshees are a part of Native American culture when it is clear to anyone who has either a) read Harry Potter, or b) owns a computer and can look up stuff on Wikipedia, that banshees are a part of Irish folklore and not, in fact, the very general "Native American folklore" that you cite. Additionally, we do not appreciate being used as a blatant defense against your probable racism. Much like the poor defense, "I have an African American friend so I can't be racist", saying "You called me a banshee and they're Native American so you're the real racist here" is not only dead (ohoho) wrong, but also entirely inappropriate. Please consider educating yourself before, Mórrígan forbid, you write another book or appear in public.


Thank you,
Fionúir O'Hara,
President of the IBCI


P.S. I look forward to personally wailing outside your home and washing that horrid scarlet dress as an omen of your death.

And if you didn't like that, here's a picture I made of what Laura Ingraham would look like as a banshee!

Pop Goes African (And So Can You!)

The World Cup notwithstanding, when was the last time we heard anything good about Africa? The problem is that this continent, riddled with poverty, disease, and violence is the only Africa that makes the newspapers. And while it is of course important to recognize the problems that plague Africa as a continent so that the world can help them solve these issues (genetically bred, malaria-resistant mosquitos, anyone?), it is also important to note that Africa is a land of many different cultures and beauty, nor should they be reduced to fleeting trends at Forever 21. That is where Pop'Africana comes in. Pop'Africana is a brand new art, fashion, and culture magazine based in New York City "dedicated to delivering a rejuvenated image of Africa and Africans in the Diaspora and a robust and educative guide documenting the endeavors and achievements of Africans, home and abroad." Or, in other words, this magazine aims to show Africa and Africans in a new light, while not ignoring Africa itself: as the website for the magazine says, it is "an antidote to global opinions of the African." Pop'Africana aren't the first to want to shed light on the other side of Africa and Africans: a popular blog The Real Africa aims to do just that, calling itself "The Africa they never show you." The lesson here: don't judge a continent by its problems.

buy a copy of Pop'Africana