Showing posts with label women. Show all posts
Showing posts with label women. Show all posts

The USWNT Is F#@king Awesome

Posted by Melissa McEwan at Monday, July 08, 2019
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Women, amirite?

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Primarily Speaking

Posted by Melissa McEwan at Wednesday, July 03, 2019
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image of a cartoon version of me yelling through a bullhorn, pictured in front of a patriotic stars-and-stripes graphic, to which I've added text reading: 'The Democratic Primary 2020: Let's do this thing.'

Welcome to another edition of Primarily Speaking, because presidential primaries now begin fully one million years before the election!

This article in the New York Times is so fucking ridiculous I'm not even going to link to it, but here is the lede: "Some people whisper it, some apologize for it, and some are very careful to mention their neighbors — their neighbors would be the ones to ask. 'Do you really think a woman could be elected president?'"

For fuck's sake, a woman was elected president in the last election, and if the racist antiquity known as the Electoral College hadn't rendered moot her 3 million additional votes and the current occupant of the White House hadn't colluded with a foreign adversary to steal the election from her, she'd be sitting in the Oval Office right now and no one would be asking that goddamn infuriating question anymore, and the editors of any publication that continues to ask it without making the points I just made about Hillary Clinton's stolen victory can go eat shit.


In polling news, the new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds that Joe Biden still leads the pack, although the new Reuters/Ipsos poll finds that Black voters' support for Biden has been cut in half.

Good job, Senator Kamala Harris! In other Harris news, she's reminding everyone that, just because Pride month is over, it "doesn't mean we stop speaking out about the abuses being committed against the LGBTQ+ community by this Administration." Indeed!

Beto O'Rourke is marking the 55th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act: "55 years after the signing of the Civil Rights Act, we're reminded that it's never enlightened members of Congress who've secured change and progress. It's the people who've applied the pressure that has forced them to get it done. In Iowa, we committed to keeping that pressure on." That's...a weird message for someone who is running to be head of government. (Not the acknowledging activists part, but the trashing Congress part. "Never"? Okayyyyy.)

Bernie Sanders is also marking the anniversary: "Today marks 55 years since the Civil Rights Act was signed. This is a moment for us to remember that the struggle for civil rights and human dignity is a struggle not of a single year or decade, but of a lifetime, which must be fought by every generation." And that's a weird message for someone who doesn't believe in "identity politics." ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

In other Sanders news, CNN's Harry Enten says: "You in danger, girl." (I'm paraphrasing.) (Barely.)

Mayor Pete Buttigieg has introduced a national service plan, which he hopes will unify the country: "National service can help us to form connections between very different kinds of Americans, as was my experience in the military. I served alongside and trusted my life to people who held totally different political views. You shouldn't have to go to war in order to have that kind of experience, which is why I am proposing a plan to create more opportunities for national service." All righty!

At Bloomberg: Senator Elizabeth Warren "Starts Winning Begrudging Respect on Wall Street." As well she should. Nevertheless, countdown to the dirtbag left using this news as PROOF!!!1! that Warren is a neoliberal capitalist establishment monster in 3...2...

Warren also continues to call attention to the crisis at the southern border, referring to the images from the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General's report: "Sickening. Human beings are being herded like animals right now in our country. This goes against our American values. It's cruel and it must end — now."

I mean, it goes against what our American values ought to be, and what we often claim they are, but I wish that she would be more careful in her language with stuff like this. We don't want to concede that Trump's values are the entire nation's values, but we also can't pretend that there isn't a huge portion of the population for whom sadism toward people in need and/or oppressed people is essentially their primary animating value. Pretending they don't exist is part of what got us to this point, so I want more sophisticated rhetoric from Warren (and all the candidates) on that subject.

Senator Cory Booker, for instance, says "our values," rather than "American values," and it's a subtle but meaningful difference. This whole clip is very good:

My immigration policies will reflect our values, that, when people come here escaping terror, and they come to our border, they don't find more terror; that we have the facilities, the resources, to honor their human dignity and evaluate their asylum claims.

Number two is: Family separations are not just going on at the border; they're going on all over the United States [audience murmurs in agreement; a woman says, "That's right."] where you see people afraid now to go to school to drop their kids off, afraid to go to businesses, afraid even to report crimes.

They could be victims — survivors of sexual abuse, or being victimized by their spouse, and they're afraid to go forward for help, or to report about other crimes.

My police department in Newark was complaining to me about a climate, a fear, that's coming over, that is separating — remember, separation is bad — separating immigrant communities from the resources that they could use that would actually help for the safety of everybody.

If I am President of the United States, we're going to stop the practices that we're seeing now, [someone in the audience says, "When you're president!"] where people are being — I should thank you, when, I appreciate that! — where we see people being, families being separated, where a grandfather is being deported when his children are American citizens. We're going to see an end to children who know no other country — the Dreamers — but this one, don't live in fear and anxiety.

We need to have an immigration system that reflects our values and our economic well-being, because immigrants are a positive economic force in our country. [cheers and applause]
And, of course, Julián Castro continues to be a leader on this issue. He is doing the rounds on the various news shows, laying out his vision for this country and levying his beautifully unyielding criticism of this administration.

We already contribute some aid [to Central American countries] now, but this president has said that he's gonna revoke that aid. The thing is, there's a reason that these folks are coming — a hundred and forty-four thousand last month — because they can't find safety and opportunity in their home country. We need to partner with those countries so that people can find safety and opportunity at home instead of having to come to this country.
Note how Castro expertly makes the point that people should have the chance to be safe and thrive in their home countries without, even a little bit, sounding like he doesn't also welcome immigrants who want to come here.

Male anchor asks: You're in favor of decriminalizing border crossings. If you do that, how do you still have a secure border?

Castro: Well, two things: Number one, decriminalizing but there's still part of a court process; it's just a civil process. That's the way that we used to do it, from the late 1920s until about 2004. So this is not something radical; this is the way that we used to handle it.

Secondly, we have six hundred and fifty-four miles of fencing; we have thousands of border personnel; we have planes; we have helicopters; we have guns; we have security cameras; we have boats — we have a border that is being secured and we can maintain security.

But, what we oughta do is use compassion and common sense, and not cruelty. And what you see there, those images that you see, that's not who we should be. That is evidence of a dark heart of cruelty of this administration that I think is unbecoming of this country.
That is not who we should be.


Rachel Maddow: How much do you worry about playing on [Trump's] turf and playing to an image that he likes for his base?

Castro: Number one, I don't think we have any choice. He has a huge bullhorn, and so he's gonna make this an issue, so I believe that we have to offer a compelling, strong alternative. Now, I've said that we can maintain border security, but, what I'm betting, is that there are enough people out there that know that we can do this a better way — and, if he's gonna proceed with a dark heart of cruelty, then I wanna proceed with a heart of compassion and common sense.

And, I'll tell you, about a year ago, I was at the Ursula Processing Center down in McAllen, Texas, on the border. I was there to join activists that were protesting the family separation policy. And, as sad as the situation was, with the little children that were inside that facility, what gave me hope was that the activists that were there, they were white, they were Black, they were Asian-American, they were Latino.

In other words, it was people of all different backgrounds, from throughout the country, who were united with their compassion and their values, their belief in humanity and a common respect for these human beings, no matter the color of their skin or the fact that they're not American.

I'm betting on that, even as he bets on cruelty.
I'm betting on that, too. Sob.


Anyone who still says Castro isn't ready to be president either isn't paying attention to Castro, or isn't paying attention to the crisis at the southern border, or both.

John Hickenlooper is still definitely running for president.

Talk about these things! Or don't. Whatever makes you happy. Life is short.

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Quote of the Day

Posted by Melissa McEwan at Tuesday, July 02, 2019
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Below, an excerpt from "So the President F*cking Hates My Girlfriend," a piece by Sue Bird, who is dating U.S. Women's National Soccer Team player Megan Rapinoe, whom the president has attacked after she said she would not be going to the White House after the World Cup:

Megan, man… I'll tell you what. You just cannot shake that girl. She's going to do her thing, at her own damn speed, to her own damn rhythm, and she's going to apologize to exactly NO ONE for it. So when all the Trump business started to go down last week, I mean — the fact that Megan just seemed completely unfazed? It's strange to say, but that was probably the only normal thing about it.

It's not an act with her. It's not a deflection. To me it's more just like: Megan is at the boss level in the video game of knowing herself. She's always been confident… but that doesn't mean she's always been immune. She's as sensitive as anyone — maybe more!! She's just figured out how to harness that sensitivity.

And I think Megan's sensitivity is what drives her to fight for others. I think it's what drove her to take a knee. The Megan you're seeing now? It's the stronger version of the one who knelt in the first place. All the threats, all the criticism, all the fallout — coming out on the other side of that is what makes her seem so unfazed by the assholes of the world now.

I think in trying to help others, Megan has cemented who she is.
Precisely the opposite of the brittle, insecure, cheating, traitorous, empathy-free charisma void that is our deplorable president.

Who should really keep Megan Rapinoe's name out of his fucking mouth.

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Sandy Zimmerman, Y'all

Posted by Melissa McEwan at Tuesday, June 25, 2019
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Well, another season of American Ninja Warrior has begun, so you know what that means — more women making history!!!

We've previously celebrated the history-making exploits of Kacy Catanzaro, who became the first female Ninja Warrior, in either Japan or the U.S., to complete the finals qualifying course and move on to the finals; Meagan Martin, who became the first woman to complete a city qualifying course, making her the first woman ever to qualify in two seasons back-to-back; Jessie Graff, who became the first woman ever to complete Stage One in the finals; Allyssa Beird and Jesse "Flex" Labreck, who became the first two women to finish a qualifier course on the same night; and Jessie Graff again, when she became the first woman ever to complete Stage Two during an international competition.

And now it's time to add a new name to the list: Sandy Zimmerman, who made history at last night's Seattle/Tacoma city qualifier as the first mom ever to complete a city qualifier course and hit a buzzer! Other mothers have qualified by being among those who went the farthest the fastest, but no mother has ever ascended the warped wall and hit the buzzer. Until now!


Video Description: Sandy Zimmerman, a 42-year-old, olive-complected brunette who is 5'6" and muscled, stands at the starting line of the obstacle course. The buzzer goes off, and she heads toward the first obstacle — the Shrinking Steps, which is a series of increasingly high foot-sized steps, spaced wide apart over water. She traverses the steps and then LEAPS! onto a rope and swings across the water onto an angled platform. And she's made it through the first obstacle!

Next, she approaches the second obstacle — the Lunatic Ledges. She leaps up onto a swinging ledge, hanging by her fingertips. It swings out over the water and she stretches her body and swings her legs forward to pick up momentum.

image of Sandy Zimmerman hanging from a ledge, swinging in the air

A couple of swings and then she LEAPS! onto a second swinging ledge, standing on a narrow platform at its bottom. As it swings back and forth in the air, she crawls around to its far side and then LEAPS! onto a platform. And she's made it through the second obstacle! THE CROWD GOES WILD!

She stands on the platform facing the third obstacle, the Barrel Roll, visualizing the steps to make it through. She then takes a running start, jumps onto a small trampoline, then SPROINGS! onto a barrel swinging high above the water. She swings back and forth, building momentum, then LEAPS! to the next barrel, pulling herself up to its top using a series of grips. "WOO!" she shouts with a huge grin, as the crowd cheers.

image of Sandy Zimmerman balanced atop a barrel high over the course, grinning broadly

She reaches to her side, grabs a bar on a spinning part of the barrel atop which she's balanced, and then SWINGS! beneath it. She flies through the air as the barrel spins, then LEAPS! onto the next platform, and she's made it through the third obstacle! She pumps her fists in celebration and the crowd roars.

She stands on the platform preparing for the next obstacle, the Broken Bridge, breathing deeply. As the crowd cheers, she smiles briefly, and the crowd begins to chant her name. "Sandy! Sandy! Sandy!" She moves her hands one on top of the next as she visualizes her steps across the balance obstacle — a series of narrow steps suspended across the water. She takes off and, in a blur of quick motion, runs across the steps.

image of Sandy Zimmerman running across the Broken Bridge

And just like that, she's through to the next obstacle! She drops to one knee and pumps her fist in celebration as the crowd cheers. Her husband and three kids cheer wildly along the sidelines.

She moves forward to prepare for the fourth obstacle — a new obstacle called the Lightning Bolts, in which competitors have to navigate their way through a series of rolling cradles using a long bar from which they are hanging. They must leap from one set of cradles to the next, rocking between two positions on every cradle suspended high above the water.

Sandy stands on the platform, readying herself, then hops onto the trampoline and SPROINGS! onto the bar nestled in the first cradle. She swings back and forth, then gently shifts the bar into the second part of the first cradle. The crowd cheers. She LEAPS! to the second cradle, swinging, then gently shifts the bar into the second part of the second cradle. OMG SHE'S DOING IT!!!

image of Sandy Zimmerman suspended from a bar high above the water

She takes a moment to adjust the bar so that it's centered in the cradle, then LEAPS! across the six-foot gap to the third cradle. The crowd is going wild! She gently rocks into the second part of the third cradle OMFGGGGGG and now all that's left is the dismount!

She swings her body back and forth and then LEAPS! onto the platform, barrel-rolling to a stop, and the crowd is screaming and the announcers are shouting and her kids are losing their minds and IT'S SO EXCITING!!!

She gets ready for the final obstacle, the Warped Wall — a 14'6" foot curving wall, up which competitors have to run as far as they can, then LEAP! up to grab the edge of its top ledge, and then pull themselves up on the platform, where the buzzer awaits. "Beat that wall! Beat that wall! Beat that wall!" chants the crowd.

"Listen to this crowd," says announcer Matt Iseman. "No mother has ever hit a buzzer on American Ninja Warrior," says announcer Akbar Gbaja-Biamila, "and it's about to go down!"

Sandy takes a deep breath, winds up, then runs up the wall, but can't quite reach the top. OH NO! She slides down the wall and the crowd gasps. Her kids look worried. She has two more chances.

She retreats to regroup, and the crowd chants, "Sandy! Sandy! Sandy!" to encourage her. She winds up again, then runs up the wall for a second time—

image of Sandy Zimmerman hanging by her fingertips from the top of the Warped Wall

—AND SHE'S DONE IT! She takes a moment to hang on the edge of the wall, flexing in celebration, before scrambling up to the top of the wall, hitting the buzzer, and then pumping her fist in the air in celebration. EVERYONE IS GOING WILD! I AM GOING WILD! YAYAYAYAYAY!

series of images of Sandy Zimmerman defeating the Warped Wall, hitting the buzzer, and celebrating

"Sandy Zimmerman has made history!" exclaims Iseman. She covers her face with her hands in disbelief. The crowd cheers and cheers.

"Sandy!" Gbaja-Biamila calls to her, and she turns to face him. "You just made herstory!"

"MOM!" she shouts, hitting the buzzer. "The first mom! The first mom!"

Not only was Sandy the first mom ever to hit the buzzer, but she was the first competitor of the night to hit the buzzer in Sea-Tac, the first woman to hit the buzzer this season, and the oldest woman to ever hit the buzzer, too!

You can read more about Sandy, who also won the National Judo Championship in the Tacoma Dome 30 years ago, here.

Congratulations, Sandy! WOOT!

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Today in Misogyny. And Every Day.

Posted by Melissa McEwan at Monday, June 17, 2019
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Misogynists: Women just aren't equal to men. They just can't do the same things men can. It's science.

Women: *do the same thing men have done*

Misogynists: Eww gross. That isn't ladylike.

Rinse and repeat for fucking ever.

Am I talking about soccer? Yes! Am I talking about running for president? Yes! Am I talking about— Yes! I am talking about all the things, because misogynists run the same playbook in every goddamned situation.

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Republicans Protect Rapists' Parental Rights in Alabama

Posted by Melissa McEwan at Monday, June 10, 2019
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[Content Note: Sexual violence; anti-choicery; rape apologia; hostility to consent.]

As I have regrettably had occasion to observe many, many times in this space over the last 14 years, the Republican Party does not have a solid history of taking sexual assault seriously, to put it mildly.

There was that time House Republicans tried to redefine rape so that it was only "real" rape if it involved force. Then there was the time that Senate Republicans blocked votes on military sexual assault legislation. There was that other time New York state Republicans blocked a proposal to eliminate the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse. And let's not forget that time when Georgia state Republicans didn't want to consider a proposal on rape kits and accused the Democratic sponsor of "politicizing" the issue to get votes.

There was that time former GOP Senator and two-time presidential candidate Rick Santorum said that pregnant rape victims should make the best out of a bad situation. And that time former GOP Senate candidate Todd Akin argued that pregnancy from rape is really rare, because "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down." And that time Akin also accused women of lying about rape. And that time GOP Senate candidate Richard Mourdock said that getting pregnant from rape is god's plan. And all the times Republicans have told women how to avoid getting ourselves raped, as if it's our responsibility to stop rapists rather than predators' responsibility to not rape people.

There's Joe Walsh. And John Koster. And Phil Gingrey. And Thomas Corbin. And Jonathan Stickland. And Roy Moore. And Blake Farenthold. Just the tip of the iceberg of Republican politicians who have said stupid shit about sexual assault and/or been accused of sexual assault themselves.

And then there's the current Republican president, whose opening salvo in his campaign was to call undocumented Mexican immigrants rapists; who compared trade deficits to rape — twice; who is himself a confessed serial sex abuser; and whose Secretary of Education has rewritten campus assault guidlines to favor predators; and whose Supreme Court justice was confirmed despite (or because of) credible allegations of sexual assault.

This is hardly a comprehensive list. The litany of examples of Republicans blocking legislation that would address sexual assault or support survivors, and of Republicans saying inappropriate things about rape and/or its victims, and of Republicans who have themselves engaged in sexual harassment and/or assault is interminable. And intolerable.

Which is all preface to say that it it not surprising, but it is nonetheless absolutely rage-making that the Republican Party of Alabama continues to protect rapists' parental rights while eroding pregnant people's bodily autonomy and rights to access a legal healthcare procedure to terminate their pregnancies.

Emily Wax-Thibodeaux at the Washington Post reports:

Alabama is one of two states with no statute terminating parental rights for a person found to have conceived the child by rape or incest, a fact that has gained fresh relevance since its lawmakers adopted the nation's strictest abortion ban in May. That statute even outlaws the procedure for victims of sexual assault and jails doctors who perform it, except in cases of serious risk to the woman’s health.

...Last month, Alabama lawmakers considered a bill that addressed ending parental rights in cases of rape that result in conception, but the legislature removed that language, limiting the law to cases in which people sexually assault their children. State Sen. Vivian Figures (D)...said she didn't know Alabama lacked a statute preventing rapists from gaining custody of their offspring but told The Washington Post that she now plans to introduce a bill in the next legislative session.

"It's just...unfair and even dangerous to these mothers and children," said Figures, who voted against the state's abortion ban.
There is much more at the link.

Naturally, opponents of a law limiting rapists' access to children conceived via rape are relying on ancient narratives about women being liars who constantly allege rape fraudulently in order to defend not having a law that protects victims from having to maintain contact with men who raped them. Women, they say, will lie about having been raped in order to deny fathers access to their children.

Suffice it to say, these men's rights advocates are not concerned in the slightest about the possibility that rapists will leverage impregnating their victims in order to guarantee a lifetime of access to them, despite the fact that reproductive coercion is a documented endemic phenomenon, while women accusing men of rape to deny them parental rights is not.

Republicans' hostility to consent is legendary and central to their ideology. And we must be blunt about this: They are empowering rapists as part of their war on agency. This isn't just a fortunate byproduct of their contempt for women's agency; abetting rapists' control over women's reproduction is by design.

Republican leadership at any level of government is an urgent health crisis and a pressing safety issue for women. That is not a matter of opinion. It is a fact.

[Related Reading: #StopTheBans.]

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Primarily Speaking

Posted by Melissa McEwan at Wednesday, June 05, 2019
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image of a cartoon version of me looking tired and holding a pillow next to text reading 'I need a nap,' while standing in front of a patriotic stars-and-stripes graphic, to which I've added text reading: 'The Democratic Primary 2020: Let's do this thing.'

Welcome to another edition of Primarily Speaking, because presidential primaries now begin fully one million years before the election!

Let us begin today with yet another thing for which Democratic candidates have better have a plan, since it's almost certainly going to happen again, and even more so, during the 2020 election: "Russia's infamous troll farm conducted a campaign on Twitter before the 2016 elections that was larger, more coordinated, and more effective than previously known, research from cybersecurity firm Symantec out Wednesday concluded. The Internet Research Agency campaign may not only have had more sway — reaching large numbers of real users — than previously thought, it also demonstrated ample patience and might have generated income for some of the phony accounts, Symantec found."

Since Russia has faced zero accountability for having interfered in our last presidential election, they will do so (and have already begun) again. And I'm sure they will not be the only foreign interlopers, since the Trump Regime has telegraphed they have no interest in meting out consequences for foreign meddlers who undermine the integrity of U.S. elections to their benefit.

On another subject to which candidates might want to pay attention: "A new Morning Consult poll found that 14% of Democratic voters listed women's issues as their top priority, compared to just 6% that did so around the start of May. 'Although most voters still rank the economy and health care as their top priorities, that uptick marks a major increase in focus on women's issues, a policy area that encompasses reproductive rights, pay equity, workplace discrimination, and maternal mortality.'" In other words, "the economy and health care" are women's issues.

[Content Note: Joking about sexual misconduct] Someone who might want to pay attention to the fact that voters aren't fucking around when it comes to women's issues is Joe Biden, who continues to make jokes about his history of nonconsensually touching women and children.


The thing about Biden, as I have pointed out many times before, is that he doesn't learn. He won't learn. He refuses to. Because he doesn't think he's done anything wrong.

That's true whether we're talking about inappropriate touching, or whether we're talking about plagiarism.

Biden, who was caught plagiarizing in law school and again during his 1988 presidential campaign, has done it again: "Biden released on Tuesday a comprehensive proposal to combat global climate change, adding to the mix of candidates who have made rolling back dangerous emissions a central tenet of their campaigns. But multiple sentences in Biden's proposal appear to lift passages from letters and websites for different organizations."


In other news, he still supports the fucking Hyde Amendment OMGGGGGGG:


This fucking guy. Honestly.

* * *

Someone who is thinking ahead to the challenges of 2020 is Beto O'Rourke, who joins the female senators running — all of whom have repeatedly talked about election integrity and voter suppression efforts — and has released a comprehensive voting rights plan. He tweeted the broad strokes: "This is about having every voice heard. To achieve that, we'll: ✅Stop gerrymandering ✅Ban PAC contributions ✅Expand the Voting Rights Act ✅Make Election Day a federal holiday ✅Enact same day & automatic registration ✅Prevent members of congress from ever becoming lobbyists." Good stuff.

Julián Castro tells it like it is:

CNN's Don Lemon: What will tariffs actually accomplish?

Castro: Well, first of all, this is a stupid idea. This is grade-A dumb, in terms of ideas. It's not connected to trying to get Mexico to do anything. I think we can do this in a better way. It's already estimated that this 5% tariff, to begin with, that he wants to impose on Mexico would cost 400,000 jobs nationwide, and 100,000 of those would be in my home state of Texas. And so, this is the worst possible way to try and go about partnering with Mexico to get them to do anything. In fact, it's just gonna hurt the United States.
Malice is the agenda.

Senator Kamala Harris is tweeting about her plan to support public defenders: "This is not what a fair criminal justice system looks like in America. Public defenders should not be forced to take on second or third jobs. My EQUAL Defense Act would boost pay and resources for public defenders."

Senator Amy Klobuchar is tweeting about Trump's disastrous Cuba policy: "The Administration's latest travel restrictions for Cuba are yet another setback. I lead the bipartisan bill to lift the embargo. Isolating Cuba for more than 5 decades has not secured our interests. We need to move our relationship forward, not backward."

[CN: Gun violence] Senator Cory Booker is mad as hell about gun violence and he's not gonna take it anymore:

The corporate gun lobby has too much of a handle on politicians who are trying to block common sense. There was a time in America where, when people died, we changed laws. When four girls died in a bombing in a church in Birmingham, we changed laws. When women were throwing themselves out windows at the Shirtwaist Factory fire, we changed workers' laws and conditions. But yet now we're showing a level of political impotency that's outrageous! People are slaughtered at a concert in Las Vegas — we do nothing. People are slaughtered at a nightclub in Orlando — we do nothing. A Pittsburgh synagogue — we do nothing. Children hiding under desks, being slaughtered, shot, child by child — and we do nothing.
This is the anger I want to hear on this subject.

Senator Bernie Sanders is headed to Walmart to tell the owners to pay their workers a livable wage. Well, I sure hope that works! I'm pretty sure they've been asked before, but maybe they'll listen this time!

In other Sanders news, he continues to make it very hard for me to like him even a little bit:


Fucking hell, Bernie.

John Hickenlooper is still definitely running for president.

Talk about these things! Or don't. Whatever makes you happy. Life is short.

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#StopTheBans

Posted by Melissa McEwan at Tuesday, May 21, 2019
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[Content Note: War on agency.]


As I mentioned earlier, there are hundreds of events around the country today protesting the abortion bans being passed in state legislatures, and you can follow along on Twitter with the hashtag #StopTheBans.

I've been following with each free moment I've had today, often with tears streaming down my face because of a constellation of emotions: Pride in and solidarity with the protesters; anger at the actions by Republican legislators that obliged the protests; fear of what will happen to women et. al. if we lose the fight to prevent these bans from taking effect.


I have previously noted on many occasions (here, was probably the first time) that I'm hard-pressed to see why I should be any less contemptuous of a man (or woman) who sits at a big mahogany desk in a government building making decisions about my body without my consent than I should be of the men who used physical force to make decisions about my body without my consent.

It is an observation by which anti-choice folks are outraged. They are horrified to be compared, even obliquely, to sexual predators. As well they should be. I am horrified to have to make it. But anyone who holds the position that they should be able to legislate away my bodily autonomy and supersede my consent about what happens to my body shouldn't be too goddamned surprised by the comparison.

One must be ridiculously incapable of self-reflection to simultaneously argue that sexual assault (forcing a woman to do something with her body she doesn't want to do) is a Terrible Thing, but the denial of abortion (forcing a woman to do something with her body she doesn't want to do) is a Moral Imperative.

Disallowing access to abortion, i.e. forced birth, is an inherently violent position which values fetuses more highly than the people who carry them.

I am utterly unwilling to pretend it could ever be anything else.


This is a war on agency. It's a war on autonomy. It's a war on choice. It's a war on consent. It's a war on women and anyone else who can get pregnant. It's a war that will be expanded to control any bodies that the authoritarian pigshits in charge want to control to limit people's freedom.

We matter.

Our agency matters.

Our autonomy matters.

Our choice matters.

Our consent matters.

Our freedom matters.

We matter.

#StopTheBans.

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Leslie Jones Has Your Back

Posted by Melissa McEwan at Monday, May 20, 2019
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Ghostbuster Leslie Jones made an appearance on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update to say a few words to the men — and women — passing anti-abortion legislation on the state level. And to let the women in those states know that they aren't alone. I love this message eleventy-seven times as much as telling people to "move." This is the message we need: WE HAVE YOUR BACK. Because reproductive choice is FREEDOM.

Video Transcript: Weekend Update anchor Colin Jost, a white man, sits at the Update desk. Leslie Jones, a Black woman, soon joins him.

Jost: This week, Alabama passed a near-total ban on abortion, in what many say is part of a larger effort to overturn Roe v. Wade. Here to comment is our own Leslie Jones!

[audience cheers and applause; Jones comes out wearing a white bonnet and red cape a la The Handmaid's Tale. ]

Jones: Hoooooo! Yesssssss! Blessed be the fruit, Colin.

Jost: Are you in a Handmaid's Tale outfit?

Jones: Well, basically, we're all handmaids now — so my name is actually Ofjost. [laughter] But I don't know how good of a babymaker I'm gonna be, because my eggs is dusty as hell! [laughter] But I'll give it a shot!

Jost: I don't think, Leslie — I don't think society's quite there yet.

Jones: No? You would think that, right? [tears off bonnet and cape to reveal a black t-shirt reading MINE in big white letters and a downward pointing arrow; audience cheers] You would think that. But this is how it starts. I'm out living my life, then I see on the news a bunch of states are trying to ban abortion — and then tell me what I can and can't do with my body. Next thing you know, I'm in Starbucks, and they won't take my credit card because I'm a woman, instead of the regular reason which is I don't have no money on it. [laughter]

And what made me so mad [squeezes fists] was seeing the twenty-five Alabama senators who voted for the abortion ban. Throw that picture up. [image of 25 white male legislators; audience boos] Look at 'em. All men. This look like the casting call for a Lipitor commercial. [laughter] This look like the mugshots of everyone arrested at a massage parlor. [laughter] And if any of 'em had lips, I would tell them to kiss my entire ass. [laughter]

You can't control women! [audience cheers and applause] You can't control women! Because, uh, I don't know if y'all heard, but women are the same as humans! [cheers] And I'm Leslie Dracarys Jones! [applause]

I mean, why do alla these weird-ass men care about what women choose to do with they bodies, anyway?! I don't care what you do witchyo sixty-five-year-old droopy-ass balls! [laughter]

And how is Alabama's woman governor going along with this? WHAT?! You not rebel— Me? I'm rebellious from the top! When people tell me "good morning," I say, "No it's not. You don't know my morning. [laughter] Don't take away my choice to have a bad morning."

Because when women have a choice, women have FREEDOM!!! [cheers and applause]

Jost: That's right.

[Jones snaps her fingers repeatedly as the audience continues to cheer]

Jost: That's right. You tell 'em, Leslie!

[Jones turns on Jost and looks at him with contempt]

Jones: SHUT UP! [laughter] Ya flat white privilege latte. [laughter; Jones turns back to the camera] Look, the fact that nine states are doing this means this really is a war on women. [NB: And anyone who can get pregnant.] And if you're a woman out there and you feel scared or confused, just know that you're not alone. There's so many women out there that got your back — especially me, Leslie Dracarys That Bitch Jones! [cheers and applause]

You can't tell me what to do with my body. You can't make me small, or put me in a box. I'm six feet tall and two hundred and thirty-three pounds. [cheers] Ain't no box big enough to hold me!

And I know, 'cuz, uh, one time I tried to mail myself to a dude. [laughter]

Jost: Leslie Jones, everyone! [cheers and applause]

Jones: DRACARYS!!!
♥

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We Resist: Day 818

Posted by Melissa McEwan at Wednesday, April 17, 2019
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a black bar with the word RESIST in white text

One of the difficulties in resisting the Trump administration, the Republican Congressional majority, and Republican state legislatures (plus the occasional non-Republican who obliges us to resist their nonsense, too, like we don't have enough to worry about) is keeping on top of the sheer number of horrors, indignities, and normalization of the aggressively abnormal that they unleash every single day.

So here is a daily thread for all of us to share all the things that are going on, thus crowdsourcing a daily compendium of the onslaught of conservative erosion of our rights and our very democracy.

Stay engaged. Stay vigilant. Resist.

* * *

Late yesterday and earlier today by me: Trump Tells Supporters: "This Is Your Country, Not Theirs" and Barr Rules Asylum-Seekers Can Be Held Indefinitely and Primarily Speaking.

Here are some more things in the news today...

[Content Note: Arson; white supremacy] Last Thursday, I noted that an arrest had been made in the arson attacks on three historically Black baptist churches in one Louisiana parish. Since then: "A fundraiser started by the Seventh District Baptist Association set a target of $1.8 million to be raised and split evenly to the three churches. As of Wednesday morning, $1,030,647 had been donated by over 18,000 people." The total as of this writing is now at $1.27M, and, if you can and would like to donate, you can do so at GoFundMe.

[CN: Terrorism] In another follow-up: U.S. Coast Guard Lieutenant Christopher Hasson, a white nationalist with a massive stockpile of weapons and ammunition who was arrested in February after planning a large-scale terrorist attack targeting Democratic politicians and journalists, will not face terrorism charges, according to his attorney: "Hasson, 49, has remained in custody since his Feb. 15 arrest and subsequent indictment in Maryland on firearms and drug charges. Hasson's attorney, Liz Oyer, wrote in a court filing Monday that prosecutors recently disclosed that they don't expect to seek any additional charges."

Essentially, she's arguing he should be released since prosecutors have supposedly told her no more charges will be filed against him, and there are no terrorism charges filed at the moment, which gives them no reason to hold him indefinitely.

Just as a reminder, at the time of his arrest, prosecutors said: "The defendant intends to murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country."

* * *

Felicia Sonmez, Josh Dawsey, and Karoun Demirjian at the Washington Post: Trump Vetoes Resolution to End U.S. Participation in Yemen's Civil War. "[Donald] Trump on Tuesday vetoed a resolution that would have ended U.S. support for the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen. ...The veto means the United States will continue its involvement in Saudi Arabia's bombing campaign against Yemen's Houthi rebels, waged in the name of holding back Iran's expansion in the region. But the Saudi-led effort, which has targeted civilian facilities and prevented aid shipments from getting to Yemenis, has been faulted by human rights organizations for exacerbating what the United Nations has deemed the world's worst humanitarian catastrophe."

Trump's refusal to sign the resolution is a great shame on our nation, and his veto will almost certainly not be overridden, because the Republican Party is itself a great shame on our nation.

Speaking of which...


See also:


The next time you hear someone say that there's no difference between the two parties, remember that the GOP is engaging in domestic election meddling in order to cheat their way into power, while this is what Democrats do: "Governor Laura Kelly has signed a new bill she says makes voting more convenient in Kansas. 'Over the past decade, we have seen countless efforts aimed at making voting more difficult in this state,' Governor Kelly said in a press release. 'I hope this will be the first of many laws that help ensure that every voice is heard in our democratic process and that every vote is counted.'" Right on.

Jeffrey A. Engel at the Washington Post: Impeachment Should Be a No-Brainer, No Matter What the Mueller Report Says. "The Constitution's authors wouldn't have needed any summary of the special counsel's report to know it was time to impeach the president. Neither would they have waited to see whether its full text provided evidence of criminal wrongdoing. The group that created our nation's founding document would already have judged Donald Trump unfit for office — and removed him — because he's repeatedly shown a dearth of the quality they considered paramount in a president: a willingness to put national interest above his own." Correct.


Luke Harding at the Guardian: Deutsche Bank Faces Action over $20bn Russian Money-Laundering Scheme. "Germany's troubled Deutsche Bank faces fines, legal action and the possible prosecution of 'senior management' because of its role in a $20bn Russian money-laundering scheme, a confidential internal report seen by the Guardian says. ...Deutsche Bank was embroiled in a vast money-laundering operation, dubbed the Global Laundromat. Russian criminals with links to the Kremlin, the old KGB, and its main successor, the FSB, used the scheme between 2010 and 2014 to move money into the western financial system. The cash involved could total $80bn, detectives believe."

Felicia Sonmez at the Washington Post: Mitch McConnell Reelection Launch Video Touts Praise from Trump, Blocking of Merrick Garland. "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Wednesday kicked off his 2020 reelection bid with a video highlighting his successful effort to block President Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland — a move that helped reshape the court and over which Democrats are still fuming. The video also includes footage of [Donald] Trump hailing McConnell as a 'rock-ribbed Kentucky leader' and 'one of the most powerful men in the world.' ...McConnell, 77, is running for a seventh term." God I loathe him.

Saleha Mohsin and Jennifer Jacobs at Bloomberg: Mnuchin Plans to Hire Fox's Monica Crowley as Spokeswoman, Sources Say. "Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin plans to hire Fox News commentator Monica Crowley as his top spokeswoman, according to people familiar with the matter, as he seeks to tout the GOP's tax cuts and navigate Democrats' demands for the president's tax returns." Yeah, that sounds about right. In case you'd forgotten: "Trump planned to appoint Crowley to a position at the National Security Council in his White House, but she withdrew from consideration in January 2017 after CNN reported that she had plagiarized portions of her 2012 book and Politico reported that she had plagiarized portions of her 2000 Ph.D. thesis."

This entire fucking administration. Goddammit.

* * *

Yessenia Funes at Earther: There's Microplastic Blowing in the Wind, Study Suggests. "Some peaks throughout the Pyrénées Mountains of France stand more than 10,000 feet tall. Across the mountains' ridges and valleys, adventurous visitors may spot a brown bear or a yellow lily, one of the wildflowers of the Pyrénées. But this mountain range is home to something else too, something not always visible to the human eye. And that's plastic. A study out Monday in Nature Geoscience found that wind can take tiny plastic particles known as microplastics for a ride, dumping them on unsuspecting mountaintops far from human settlements — like the Pyrénées. It's one of the first studies to show how these particles move long distances through the air in what is likely to be a growing area of research."

Andy Greenberg at Wired: Cyberspies Hijacked the Internet Domains of Entire Countries. "The discovery of a new, sophisticated team of hackers spying on dozens of government targets is never good news. But one team of cyberspies has pulled off that scale of espionage with a rare and troubling trick, exploiting a weak link in the internet's cybersecurity that experts have warned about for years: DNS hijacking, a technique that meddles with the fundamental address book of the internet. Researchers at Cisco's Talos security division on Wednesday revealed that a hacker group it's calling Sea Turtle carried out a broad campaign of espionage via DNS hijacking, hitting 40 different organizations. In the process, they went so far as to compromise multiple country-code top-level domains — the suffixes like .co.uk, or .ru, that end a foreign web address — putting all the traffic of every domain in multiple countries at risk."

Staff at Feminist Newswire: New Research Finds Women Make Nuclear War Less Eminent. "New research, including research by the Gender Champions in Nuclear Policy, suggests that women are a vital part of preventing nuclear conflict, as well as resolving potential nuclear weapon issues. Including women in non-proliferation talks increases the diversity of ideas as well as leads to more positive outcomes. The Royal Society found that in simulated scenarios men are more likely to display 'overconfidence' that leads to attacks. Involvement of women in these scenarios was found to result in de-escalation of the given conflicts." Yeah, I'm still not over Hillary Clinton not being president, and here's another good reason why.

What have you been reading that we need to resist today?

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Today I Met Beatrice

Posted by Melissa McEwan at Tuesday, March 26, 2019
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Earlier today, I had to go get blood drawn for a test my doctor ordered. When I arrived at the phlebotomy clinic, they had instituted a new computerized check-in system, and I was the youngest patient in the waiting room by about four decades. (Not an exaggeration.) So I helped my fellow patients with the confounded machine to get them checked in.

A woman who was a doppelgänger for June Squibb was the first to ask me for my assistance. "Young lady," she said (I have not been called "young lady" in many years), "would you mind helping me?"

"Of course I will!" I said, and hopped up to stand at her side while I walked her through the process.

She turned to me with a raised eyebrow. "I'm 80 years old — what the fuck do they expect?"

Y'all know me well enough to know how much I loved that. After I'd helped Harvey, who told me I was younger than his flip phone, Beatrice and I sat down beside each other. We chatted amiably as we waited. The computers were down, so all of us with appointments started piling up in the waiting room. Finally, I was called in. I said bye and disappeared into the back.

It was a wait there, too, and soon Beatrice had joined me. We were sitting in chairs kitty corner from one another. "I'm following you!" she laughed. "Fancy meeting you here!" I told her.

We got to talking about our dogs, as people with dogs do. She told me: "Two of my dogs and my husband all died around the same time a few years back. I miss the dogs."

Beatrice is a proper character.

I told her about another Beatrice I knew, "but she is called Betty." She said, "I'm called Bea."

"Like Bea Arthur!" I said.

"Yeah," she said, "or like BITCH! Depends on what day you catch me."

At this point, I should probably mention that I was wearing a bright purple t-shirt that says "FEMINIST: The theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes." When I put it on this morning, Iain asked me, "Hey, do you happen to know what 'feminist' means?" I pointed at my shirt. He laughed. "I figure if dudes are going to stare here anyway, I might as well educate them," I said. "High-value advertising real estate," he replied.

Iain is a proper character, too.

Anyway, I told Bea the Bitch, "I get that sometimes myself." With a laugh. She laughed, too; she already knew that.

"My daughter would tell me to stop talking right now," she said.

"I think women are told to shut up way too much, so keep talking!" I told her.

She exclaimed, "YES! You and I would get along just fine!"

And so we did, until the phlebotomist came to take my blood and then Bea's. Once I was done, I went on my way with a wave and a smile. "Goodbye, Beatrice!" I told her.

"Bye now!" she chirped, then turned her attentions to giving the phlebotomist the razzmatazz.

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Happy International Women's Day

Posted by Melissa McEwan at Friday, March 08, 2019
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Today is International Women's Day, which is generally only meaningfully marked by the people who already treat every day as International Women's Day. It is a day on which I am usually pointedly reminded that the business of advocating on behalf of women's equality is still considered woman's work, which tends to give the day a flavor of bitter irony that doesn't want to leave my mouth.

Nonetheless, every year, I feel obliged to try to write something profound for International Women's Day, and every year I fail, and most years I feel more optimistic about the state of women's equality than I do on this day.

I'm angry about the state of the world for the women in it, for women in my own country and for women in every country all over the world, Black women, brown women, white women, tall women, short women, women with dwarfism, fat women, thin women, in-betweenie women, trans women, intersex women, disabled women, able-bodied women, neuro-typical women, neuro-atypical women, old women, young women, girls, women with children, childfree women, healthy women, ill women, poor women, rich women, middle class women, employed women, unemployed women, women who do unpaid labor, insured women, uninsured women, immigrant women, migrant women, refugee women, English-speaking women, non-English-speaking women, progressive women, conservative women, women in unions, women in uniforms, women in male-centric careers, women in comas, straight women, lesbian women, bisexual women, asexual women, demisexual women, partnered women, unpartnered women, polyam women, aromantic women, powerful women, weak women, vegan woman, vegetarian women, omnivorous women, religious women, atheist women, agnostic women, educated women, uneducated women, women who have survived trauma, women who want my advocacy, women who don't, and/or every other conceivable expression, intersection, and experience of womanhood that exists on the planet.

I am angry at what we are denied on the basis of our womanhood, or the insufficiency of our womanhood, or the unacceptable expression of our womanhood, as arbitrarily defined by people fiercely guarding their privilege.

I am angry that we are denied autonomy, dignity, respect, the right of consent, safety, security, opportunity, access, equality—and many things smaller than those.

That anger threatens every day to engulf me, to hold me like a flame under a jar until, starved of oxygen, I disappear into a wisp of smoke. I search each morning for a way to turn that anger into inspiration, fuel, purpose. Today is a day like all others in that regard.

Today is a day when I am angry, but, also like all other days, it is a day on which I am happy to be a woman among women.

I do not long to be the Exceptional Woman. When I find myself in a space in which I am the only woman, I do not feel satisfied, nor do I feel insecure: I feel contemptuous that there aren't more women there. I do not want to compete with other women in a way that suggests there is only room for one of us. I want to lift up other women, and be lifted up by them, and blaze trails in the hopes that many more will follow behind.

I respect women, and I love them. And when I take stock of all the issues disproportionately affecting women across the globe, what I see is lack of respect and love for women so pervasive and profound that to merely assert to love and respect women yet remains a radical act.

It is at the intersection of my anger at the mistreatment of women and my love and respect for them that I find my motivation every day.


This year's International Women's Day campaign theme is #BalanceforBetter: "The future is exciting. Let's build a gender-balanced world. Everyone has a part to play — all the time, everywhere. From grassroots activism to worldwide action, we are entering an exciting period of history where the world expects balance. We notice its absence and celebrate its presence. Balance drives a better working world. Let's all help create a #BalanceforBetter."

Okay! I'm in! I am committed to women's equality on this day, and every day.


All I ever do is try to empty the sea with this teaspoon; all I can do is keep trying to empty the sea with this teaspoon.

Like I say every year: I am an imperfect advocate for women, and I have nothing profound to say on International Women's Day. Again. The truth is, I just want to recommit myself to treating every day as a day in which it is important to fight for international justice for women, and to value and respect them, including myself.

I am a feminist with a teaspoon, and I ain't afraid to use it.

* * *

One of the ways I'm using my teaspoon today is to recommend women to follow, listen to, amplify, and support on Twitter:


[Note: In one of my tweets, I carelessly included @amaditalks, who is non-binary. My apologies to Mx. Amadi.]

Please feel welcome and very encouraged to head to comments to recommend women to follow on Twitter and/or wherever their work can be found!

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We Resist: Day 753

Posted by Melissa McEwan at Monday, February 11, 2019
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a black bar with the word RESIST in white text

One of the difficulties in resisting the Trump administration, the Republican Congressional majority, and Republican state legislatures (plus the occasional non-Republican who obliges us to resist their nonsense, too, like we don't have enough to worry about) is keeping on top of the sheer number of horrors, indignities, and normalization of the aggressively abnormal that they unleash every single day.

So here is a daily thread for all of us to share all the things that are going on, thus crowdsourcing a daily compendium of the onslaught of conservative erosion of our rights and our very democracy.

Stay engaged. Stay vigilant. Resist.

* * *

Earlier today by me: Primarily Speaking and So, This Mueller Investigation...

Here are some more things in the news today...

[Content Note: Climate change; animal harm] Damian Carrington at the Guardian: Plummeting Insect Numbers 'Threaten Collapse of Nature'.
The world's insects are hurtling down the path to extinction, threatening a "catastrophic collapse of nature’s ecosystems," according to the first global scientific review.

More than 40% of insect species are declining and a third are endangered, the analysis found. The rate of extinction is eight times faster than that of mammals, birds, and reptiles. The total mass of insects is falling by a precipitous 2.5% a year, according to the best data available, suggesting they could vanish within a century.

The planet is at the start of a sixth mass extinction in its history, with huge losses already reported in larger animals that are easier to study. But insects are by far the most varied and abundant animals, outweighing humanity by 17 times. They are "essential" for the proper functioning of all ecosystems, the researchers say, as food for other creatures, pollinators, and recyclers of nutrients.

Insect population collapses have recently been reported in Germany and Puerto Rico, but the review strongly indicates the crisis is global. The researchers set out their conclusions in unusually forceful terms for a peer-reviewed scientific paper: "The [insect] trends confirm that the sixth major extinction event is profoundly impacting [on] life forms on our planet."

"Unless we change our ways of producing food, insects as a whole will go down the path of extinction in a few decades," they write. "The repercussions this will have for the planet's ecosystems are catastrophic to say the least."
This is so dire that it would even throw a wrench into the OligArk works. Nobody, I don't care how wealthy you are, is going to come of a mass extinction alive and thriving.

* * *

Liz Stark at CNN: Trump to Sign Executive Order Launching Artificial Intelligence Initiative. "Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Monday launching the American Artificial Intelligence (AI) initiative, a senior administration official told reporters in a background call over the weekend. The initiative outlines 'bold, decisive actions to ensure that AI continues to be fueled by American ingenuity, reflects American values, and is applied for the benefit of the American people,' the official said."

I've noted many times that Trump doesn't GAF about automation stealing U.S. jobs, and this is how the administration is addressing that concern: "The official also sought to allay concerns that investments in new AI technology may displace American workers, noting that the administration is 'very cognizant of' the issue and has already developed programming like apprenticeships and career special education programs to address it."

Oh cool, that sounds great. Obviously we're all aware of how splendidly telling people to take out student loans to go back to school or working as unpaid interns and apprentices in a new career has worked out for the last decade. For fuck's sake.

* * *

Ryan Pickrell at Business Insider: U.S. Navy Warships Just Challenged China with a South China Sea Sail-By Operation, and Beijing Is Furious. "Two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers — the USS Spruance and the USS Preble — conducted a freedom-of-navigation operation on Monday, sailing within 12 nautical miles of Chinese outposts in the contested Spratly Islands. The purpose was 'to challenge excessive maritime claims and preserve access to the waterways,' as well as to show that the U.S. 'will fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows,' Cmdr. Clay Doss, a U.S. Navy 7th Fleet spokesman, told CNN. Beijing sharply criticized the operation. A spokeswoman for the Chinese foreign ministry, Hua Chunying, accused the U.S. of entering Chinese waters without permission and engaging in provocations that threaten China's sovereignty, the South China Morning Post reported." Terrific.


[CN: Video may autoplay at link] Catalin Cimpanu at ZDNet: Russia to Disconnect from the Internet as Part of a Planned Test. "Russian authorities and major internet providers are planning to disconnect the country from the internet as part of a planned experiment, Russian news agency RosBiznesKonsalting (RBK) reported last week. The reason for the experiment is to gather insight and provide feedback and modifications to a proposed law introduced in the Russian Parliament in December 2018. A first draft of the law mandated that Russian internet providers should ensure the independence of the Russian internet space (Runet) in the case of foreign aggression to disconnect the country from the rest of the internet." So, guess what Russia is planning everyone!


[CN: Nativism; border militarization] Ted Hesson at Politico: The Border Patrol's Recruiting Crisis. "Border Patrol's struggles to recruit and keep agents present a seldom-discussed impediment to Trump's efforts to lock down the U.S.-Mexico border — one that the Trump White House is reluctant to acknowledge. ...Shortly after taking office, the president signed an executive order that called for the hiring of 5,000 agents. More recently, his administration pushed a proposal that calls for 2,750 more agents, law enforcement officers and staff. But Border Patrol can't hire enough people to fill jobs that were available before." Even after they lowered hiring standards. Yikes.

[CN: Nativism] Ari Honarvar at Rewire.News: As Government Continues 'Dumping' Migrants in Border Cities, Activists Organize. "The Trump administration has never hidden its animosity toward asylum seekers. Trump's zero-tolerance policy is a recent example of this, one that set off a ripple effect that continues today. ...[A]sylum-seeking families have been released onto the streets of U.S. border towns without food, instructions, or means to contact sponsors. Immigration authorities released 1,500 asylum seekers in El Paso in one week alone, according to USA Today. Immigration rights volunteers in other border towns such as San Diego have been experiencing a similar trend. Kate Clark, director of immigration services at Jewish Family Service of San Diego, a partner of the San Diego Rapid Response Network, told Rewire.News, 'Vulnerable [asylum-seeking migrant] families have no local support or resources, and no idea what to do next.'"

[CN: Nativism; border militarization] Jazmine Ulloa and Taryn Luna at the LA Times: Slamming Trump's 'Political Theater,' California Gov. Gavin Newsom Pulls National Guard from Border.
As a second partial government shutdown looms in Washington over border discussions, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday will order the removal of roughly 360 National Guard members from California's southern boundary with Mexico, repudiating [Donald] Trump's characterization of a recent influx of Central American refugees and migrants as a national security crisis.

The announcement comes just one day before the governor delivers his first State of the State address Tuesday, setting the stage for Newsom to counter Trump's State of the Union address from last week.

In released excerpts of his speech, Newsom says he is giving the National Guard a new mission so that troops would not take part in the White House's "political theater" and instead "refocus on the real threats facing our state." The governor said he would sign a general order to redeploy the troops to support wildfire prevention efforts and expand operations to counter drugs and cartels across California, with a group of forces trained in spotting narcotics to be stationed at the state's international points of entry.

"The Border 'emergency' is a manufactured crisis," Newsom is expected to say Tuesday, according to prepared remarks provided by the governor's office. "This is our answer to the White House: No more division, xenophobia, or nativism."
YES.

* * *

[CN: Video may autoplay at link] Heather Long at the Washington Post: Millions of Americans Could Be Stunned as Their Tax Refunds Shrink. "Millions of Americans filling out their 2018 taxes will probably be surprised to learn that their refunds will be less than expected or that they owe money to the Internal Revenue Service after years of receiving refunds. People have already taken to social media, using the hashtag #GOPTaxScam, to vent their anger. Many blame [Donald] Trump and the Republicans for shrinking refunds. Some on Twitter even said they wouldn't vote for Trump again after seeing their refunds slashed." LOLsob when are conservatives going to learn that GOP tax bills are wealth redistribution upwards schemes that steal from the not-rich to give to the rich? WAKE THE FUCK UP.

Holly Yan and Sara Weisfeldt at CNN: Denver Teachers Are Now on Strike, But 92,000 Kids Still Have to Go to School. "Fifteen months of simmering frustration boiled over Monday as Denver teachers went on strike. ...The Denver Classroom Teachers Association and Denver Public Schools made a last-ditch effort to settle their differences over the weekend. But the talks went nowhere, meaning up to 92,000 students will go to school without their teachers indefinitely. 'We're hoping for a quick solution to this whole thing,' DCTA lead negotiator Rob Gould said Monday. 'We're hoping (school district officials) come to the table tomorrow ready to listen so we can get back to work. Because our teachers want to be in the classrooms with their kids.' The big sticking point involves teachers' base salaries."


[CN: Homophobia] Savas Abadsidis at Towleroad: The Tennessee Natural Marriage Defense Act Strikes Back and It Could Be a Huge Legal Headache for Marriage Equality. "Three years ago, Tennessee introduced a bill that would 'defend natural marriage between one man and one woman,' with the goal of barring same-sex marriages. The bill failed in the Tennessee House of Representatives during its last session, but state Republicans reintroduced the Tennessee Natural Marriage Defense Act in a new effort to prevent government officials from recognizing same-sex marriages. ...'The far right's dream scenario is this would go back before the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court would accept it,' said Chris Sanders, executive director of the Tennessee Equality Project, an LGBTQ rights advocacy group that has previously opposed the bill, according to The Tennessean."

[CN: Racism; blackface imagery] G. B. Saunders at Colorlines: The Real Cost of Being the POC 'in the Room' Required to Shut Down Obviously Racist Products. "A common response to failed products like the Gucci blackface sweater is that there should have been a Black person 'in the room' to save the company from marketing racism. We need to talk what it takes to get into that room and the cost of staying there." This is a really good piece. Also, I hate that whole narrative for the additional reason that every person of every race should understand why the fuck blackface is a problem in the year of our lord Jesus Jones two thousand and nineteen. JFC.

What have you been reading that we need to resist today?

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