Orgasms for Peace, Deep Fried Flags, Terrorist Stamps and Other Ways to Win People Over

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Call it deft showmanship or call it the equivalent of making a bonfire with your furniture after winning the NCAA tournament—either way, you’ve got to hand it to our liberal activists as of late for keeping things entertaining. I mean, how do you top the stalwart men and women who four years ago brought us the word “Peace” spelled out on fields and hills around the world in naked bodies? Well, one way would be to sign up for their next project: Global Orgasm for Peace. According to Sunday’s story in the San Francisco Chronicle:

The Global Orgasm for Peace was conceived by Donna Sheehan, 76, and Paul Reffell, 55, who live together on a houseboat along scenic Tomales Bay in Marin County, just north of San Francisco.

Their immodest goal is for everyone in the world to have an orgasm on December 22 while focusing on world peace.

“The orgasm gives out an incredible feeling of peace during it and after it,” Reffell said on Sunday. “Your mind is like a blank. It’s like a meditative state. And mass meditations have been shown to make a change.”

Or rock the boat, at least.

Speaking of rocking the boat, you probably noticed at some point since, say, 1976, that burning a flag is generally no longer an effective political statement. You could, however, take a cue from an artist in Tennessee and deep fry it. From the AP today:

Art student William Gentry said his piece, “The Fat Is in the Fire,” was a commentary on obesity in America. “I deep-fried the flag because I’m concerned about America and about America’s health,” Gentry said.

The exhibit, at the Customs House Museum in Clarksville, featured more than 40 flags fried in peanut oil, egg batter, flour and black pepper. Apparently, the Southern appetite for everything from fried Twinkies to fried Snickers bars has its limits, though. The museum removed the exhibit, saying it conflicted with “community values.”

For another eloquent (and not necessarily effective) challenge to the values voters, see also this 2005 exhibit at the Houston art gallery DiverseWorks. Among the highlights: The image of a baby strapped with TNT, below the words “Hamas Baby Bomb,” appeared on a faux postage stamp, which artist Michael Hernandez de Luna had stuck to an envelope and repeatedly mailed to himself without a glitch. Now that there’s reason to beleive public opinion has turned against Bush and the war, ever-catchier agit-prop this sort may be coming to an inbox near you.

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From the desk of Mother Jones CEO, Monika Bauerlein...

Newsrooms can be funded in many ways. One of the most controversial (and volatile) ways is by a for-profit corporation or a billionaire owner. We see it across the headlines on a weekly basis: the claw backs in public media, the gutting of The Washington Post, the bending over backwards to appeal to Trump and his allies.

But not here.

When Mother Jones first started publishing 50 years ago, our founders made a critical decision: to be a reader-supported nonprofit. They knew that no corporate owner would be interested in a muckraking newsroom; they also knew that no muckraking newsroom would be interested in following the agenda of a corporate owner.

And so, we’ve been reader-funded for half a century. We rely on contributions from our readers—readers like you—whether it’s $50, or $15 a month, or whatever fits your budget. People give what they can, and every donation makes a difference for our newsroom, which has grown tremendously—in size and reach and renown—since its inception in 1976.

You may be wondering: What does it take to publish an investigation? And what does my donation actually fund? The answers are one and the same: It takes people, resources, and time. And that’s what your donation funds directly.

Every donation Mother Jones receives from readers fortifies our newsroom, whether we’re covering underreported scandals out of Washington, DC, or the most important news of the day. And right now, each donation will be doubled because of our $50,000 match. So when you make a donation—$5, $50, any amount—it’ll go twice as far.

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