EoT: Martians, a ‘Gynecist’ and Fangirls

A roundup of news, columns and features about the state, from media around the world.

The New Republic reported this week that “climate denier” U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz may chair the subcommittee on science and space and is willing to work with anyone—even Martians.

“I am perfectly happy to compromise and work with anybody,” he said on Fox News Sunday. “Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians. I’ll work with Martians. If—and the if is critical—they’re willing to cut spending and reduce the debt.”

The subcommittee oversees the National Science Foundation, NASA and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

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In the last heated moments of the Texas gubernatorial campaign, a conservative website invented a neologism to insult state Sen. Wendy Davis, the unsuccessful Democratic candidate.

Salon reported the conservative website American Thinker called Davis a “gynecist,” or someone who “… promotes the political position that the primary and most essential power a female can hold is the control of her own sexual and genital functions.”

Jenny Kutner responded in Salon that Davis “is a legislator… a Harvard graduate, a mother and an owner of fancy pink sneakers who supports feminist causes … she might even be a gynecist — which really doesn’t sound so bad.”

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Frisco teenager and Target employee Alex Lee denies he was part of a “fangirl” conspiracy after his picture went viral this week. “Alex from Target” picked up 693,000 Twitter followers and news coverage across the country.

A marketing company called Breakr said it was behind the viral photo, The New York Daily News reported.

“We wanted to see how powerful the fangirl demographic was by taking an unknown good-looking kid and Target employee from Texas to overnight viral Internet sensation,” said CEO Dil-Domine Jacobe Leonares in a LinkedIn post.

Lee tweeted, “My family and I have never heard of this company.”

Gynecist is latest in a long list of insults targeting the Texas senator that includes “extremist,” “aspiring baby killer” and “abortion Barbie.”