As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
Daily Dose of Cute
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
In the News
Here is some stuff in the news today...
"Scotland's first minister has said a second independence referendum is 'highly likely' after the UK voted to leave the EU. Nicola Sturgeon said it was "democratically unacceptable" that Scotland faced the prospect of being taken out of the EU against its will. She said the Scottish government would begin preparing legislation to enable another independence vote. Scotland voted in favour of the UK staying in the EU by 62% to 38%."
Disqualifying fuckery: "Donald Trump said Friday that the collapse of the British pound is good news for his Scottish golf course, which he was visiting. 'When the pound goes down, more people are coming to Turnberry, frankly,' he said during a press conference at the course. 'For traveling and for other things, I think it very well could turn out to be a positive.'" This is part of a pattern: Recall Trump saying he was "excited" about the housing market crash in 2007, because he'd make big money off of it.
JFC: "That confusion over what Brexit might mean for the country's economy appears to have been reflected across the United Kingdom on Thursday. Google reported sharp upticks in searches not only related to the ballot measure but also about basic questions concerning the implications of the vote. At about 1 a.m. Eastern time, about eight hours after the polls closed, Google reported that searches for 'what happens if we leave the EU' had more than tripled." That, right there, is the power of fearmongering, xenophobia, and nationalism. People voted for something they didn't even truly understand, and which will have devastating consequences.
[Content Note: Flooding; death] "Some of the worst flooding in West Virginia 'in 100 years' has left at least six people dead, including one child. Tens of thousands of residents were left without power and many roads were impassable following Thursday's pounding rain, officials said. The hardest hit counties include Greenbrier, Nicholas, Fayette, Kanawha and Webster. In Greenbrier, a flaming house could be seen floating down a creek. 'Just high water everywhere. People can't get out; they can't get in,' one resident told CBS News." Damn.
[CN: Racism; gun violence; death] "As almost 170 members of Congress held the House floor on Wednesday and through the night into Thursday, Lucy McBath stood beside them. McBath's son, Jordan Davis, was shot and killed for playing loud music in his car at a Jacksonville, Florida gas station in 2012. In the years since, she has become an advocate for gun reform and this week, she stood outside the Capitol during the entirety of the sit-in, speaking, singing, chanting, and joining other gun safety advocates in supporting the lawmakers inside the chamber. ...The 'No Bill No Break' sit-in was not successful in demanding that the House hold debate before leaving for its July 4th break—Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) dismissed the chamber until after the holiday. And while the Senate's 15-hour filibuster led to a vote on four gun-related measures, all four failed. But McBath said the overwhelming support both inside and outside the Capitol this week was a success in and of itself." Blub.
"The White House has announced the designation of the Stonewall National Monument, where the Stonewall riots took place. Said President Obama in a video making the announcement: 'I'm designating the Stonewall National Monument as the newest addition to America's national parks system. Stonewall will be our first national monument to tell the story of the struggle for LGBT rights. I believe our national parks should reflect the full story of our country–the richness and diversity and uniquely American spirit that has always defined us. That we are stronger together. That out of many, we are one.'"
[CN: War on agency] "Data Shows Surge in Texans Traveling out of State to Get an Abortion: A Rewire analysis has found that while Texas data shows there has been a decline in the number of abortions in the state, data from other neighboring states suggests there has been a dramatic increase in the number of Texans traveling out of state to access abortion care since the passage of HB 2 in 2013." Unconscionable, the people who continually pretend that criminalizing and/or reducing access to abortion will reduce abortions, as opposed to just making pregnant people seek alternatives to safe, accessible abortion.
[CN: Video may autoplay at link] "Seven months ago, Lisa Alamia woke up with a British accent after having jaw surgery. Since then, her neurologist, Toby Yaltho, has diagnosed her with Foreign Accent Syndrome (FAS). ... "Lisa is speaking with reporters from around the world now and hopes her story can help science. 'We thought maybe a local newspaper...we never thought it would turn into national, international news,' she said. 'My thing is just advancing medicine, that this is just something that happened, it's not something that's fake and if other people have experienced it, come out, get help, go to a doctor.'" Fascinating. And what a cool lady that she's sharing her story and offering to help researchers find out more about this confounding syndrome.
[CN: Image of scar; cancer; bullying] "After eight-year-old Gabriel Marshall underwent surgery to remove a tumor in his brain, the large scar left in its place 'made him feel like a monster,' Gabriel's dad, Josh, tells PEOPLE. 'He was very embarrassed about the scar–he wouldn't even leave the house without something covering his head.' ...Josh wanted to make his son feel better about the procedure, especially once Gabriel's tumor–an anaplastic astrocytoma that had metastasized to his spine–was showing no signs of regrowth. So Josh decided to get a tattoo to match Gabriel's scar. 'I asked him if it would be okay if I went and got his scar tattooed on my head if that would make him feel better, and he agreed that yes it would,' Josh says. '[I wanted] to take away some of the stares or attention from him. He was very excited when I came home and showed him that I'd gotten it done. He said, 'Wow that looks so realistic.'' With his dad by his side, Gabriel learned to appreciate his scar. 'He's now very proud of his scar because he knows that that it means that he was tougher than [the tumor] that tried to hurt him,' Josh says. 'He calls it his battle scar.'" ♥
And finally! Baby giraffe! "Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens proudly announced the birth of a male Reticulated Giraffe calf. ...Veterinary staff examined the calf early, the morning after the birth, and determined that it was a healthy boy. He measured 6'4" tall and weighed-in at 187 pounds, and he is the tallest giraffe calf ever born at the Zoo! After trial introductions to his habitat the weekend after his birth, the calf and mother are now on exhibit with the rest of their herd."
Hard Pass
[Content Note: Hostility to consent; bullying.]
I've never liked a Republican presidential candidate in my lifetime. Especially not since I've been old enough to vote.
My first election was '92, the year I turned 18. The Republican candidate was then-President George H.W. Bush. I didn't like him at all. In '96, it was Bob Dole. I liked him even less. Then it was George W. Bush, twice in a row, followed by John McCain, for whom my distaste is legendary in these parts, and then Mitt Romney, and don't even get me started on that guy.
Since 1992, the Republican Party has moved even more rightward, and I've moved even more leftward, so it's not surprising that I dislike every Republican candidate more than the one before him.
But, as I've written previously, whether I like a presidential candidate isn't nearly as important to me as whether I feel as though I can trust them.
What I've always meant by that is: Trust them to run the country.
I've never thought that I couldn't trust any of the Republican presidents to be relatively decent human beings to me one-on-one, for some limited amount of time, as long as we talked about the weather or some similarly anodyne subject.
Until now, of course.
Not only would I not want to have a drink with Donald Trump; I wouldn't want to be in the same room with him for any amount of time for any reason. I wouldn't want to talk to him on the phone. I wouldn't want to exchange one glance or word with the man.
Because I don't want to be around any person who has such aggressive hostility to consent; such profound contempt for women; such a deep, nasty, bullying streak.
In this way, if not others, Trump represents a fundamental break with the previous nominees of his party, as well as other people who could have been the nominee.
I don't want to be, could not tolerate being, anywhere near the guy.
And all the reasons that I don't are the very same reasons for which his supporters cast their votes for him. They affirmed the precise behaviors and attitudes that make him utterly repellent to me.
Which is pretty chilling.
Elections Matter
[Content Note: Anti-immigrationism; white supremacy.]
I've got two new pieces up at BNR, both broadly on the subject of why elections are so important.
First: A piece about the SCOTUS non-decision on immigration yesterday, which was the result of a tie caused by the Supreme Court vacancy, which itself persists because of Republican obstructionism on Merrick Garland's nomination to the Court:
As noted by SCOTUSblog: This case will be appealed, which means that the President's immigration policy "will be revived if Clinton wins and a democratic nominee provides a 5th vote."There's much more at the link, including video of the President's statement on the SCOTUS tie, so head on over.
Naturally, we know what will happen if Donald Trump is elected and instead nominates to the Supreme Court whatever nightmare of jurisprudence he unearths from the bowels of Liberty University Law School.
This is a case with potentially life-or-death consequences for scores of undocumented immigrants. It is a case, as the President observed, about the kind of country we want to be.
Donald Trump wants to build a wall. House Republicans merely want to erect "high fencing." In any case, the Republican position on immigration is to build barriers, while the Democratic position — as repeatedly stated by Hillary — is to tear them down.
Second: A piece about Hillary Clinton's and Donald Trump's respective responses to Brexit:
Donald is once again reveling in volatility, as the Brexit vote causes turmoil in the UK and in the global markets. Prime Minister David Cameron has resigned, Scotland's second independence referendum will almost certainly be accelerated, and the global economy has been thrown into crisis — and he's thrilled about all of it, calling Brexit a "great thing."As always, there's more at the link.
...Meanwhile, Hillary has released a statement expressing concern for working people and the effect this sort of volatility and turmoil may have on their lives.
"This time of uncertainty only underscores the need for calm, steady, experienced leadership in the White House."
Truer words never spoken.
We do not need a leader who feasts on volatility with zero regard for the resulting instability and the tumult it wreaks in the lives of the most vulnerable people.
To the absolute contrary, we need a leader who sees the havoc that wildly fluctuating markets, leadership voids, empowerment of white nationalism, and the potential crumbling of a major global alliance will cause on average people if calm is not restored.
Bernie Sanders Says He's Likely to Vote for Hillary Clinton, But Still Won't Endorse Her
Who will Bernie Sanders vote for in November? "In all likelihood it will go to Hillary Clinton," Sanders says. https://t.co/6kcLznkOWV
— CNN (@CNN) June 24, 2016
CNN's Chris Cuomo: No endorsement of Hillary Clinton. Simply stated: When the day comes in November, and Sanders has to cast his vote, to whom does it go?Actually, Bernie Sanders, your job right now, as a defeated candidate, is to help your party win. And you are patently not doing that by continuing to act as a concern troll for the Democratic Party, especially when the Democratic Party platform is already the most progressive it's ever been, and you're out there doing interviews suggesting otherwise.
Bernie Sanders: In all likelihood, it'll go to Hillary Clinton.
Cuomo: When you say "in all likelihood," what percentage of margin of error—
Sanders: I don't want to parse words here. Here's where we are right now, Chris.
Cuomo: Please.
Sanders: Uh, I want, I believe this country faces enormous crises; I believe our politics and our economics are dominated by big money interests; I believe the Democratic Party has got to become the party of working people, prepared to stand up and take on those special interests. We are working right now, as we speak, with A: the Clinton campaign, trying to see what kind of agreements we can work out; and B: as we speak in St. Louis tonight, there is going to be a big debate about platform, and we're going to try to make that platform as progressive as we can. Then we're going to Orlando, where the whole committee meets; we're going to offer a whole lot of amendments to make it progressive. So my job right now, as a candidate, is to fight to make sure that the Democratic Party not only has the most progressive platform in the history of the Democratic Party, but that that platform is actually implemented by elected officials.
The effect of continuing to demonize Hillary Clinton and trash the Democratic Party is that 22% of Sanders supporters (according to the latest Bloomberg National Poll) say they will vote for Donald Trump. But Sanders just pretends this reality doesn't exist.
Sanders: Trump "does not understand the people who have supported me ... they are not going to vote for a bigot" https://t.co/zzj96LRdfp
— New Day (@NewDay) June 24, 2016
Cuomo: Trump says that your supporters should be looking at him more than anybody else, because he's the closest in offering to what you did as anybody in the field.Except, you know, endorse Hillary Clinton. That, says Sanders, is still contingent on whether Clinton is willing to talk to him about free college, and whether the Democratic Party will bend to his will.
Sanders: Well, I think he—when he says that, he does not understand the people who have supported me. The people who have supported me are not gonna vote for a bigot; somebody who has as the cornerstone of his campaign, uh, insulting Mexicans, Latinos, and Muslims, and women, and veterans, and African Americans. That is not the candidate I believe the people who voted me will support. I'm gonna do everything I can to defeat Trump.
Seriously, on a day when Donald Trump is in Scotland, criticizing the President of the United States on foreign soil and revving up white nationalist hatred, Bernie Sanders sitting on CNN and lecturing the Democratic Party, its President, and its nominee that they're not sufficiently progressive by his own personal measure is just about as self-centered and unhelpful (which is the politest way I can possibly put it) as it fucking gets.
I don't know what I find more astounding: His ego or his indifference to the people whose lives and safety hang in the balance.
UPDATE: I've got more on this at BNR.
Brexit: The Vote Is In
[Content Note: Racism; white nationalism; Nazi reference.]
Yesterday, the UK went to the polls to vote on the Brexit referendum, the central issue of which was whether the UK would remain part of the European Union. (If you need a primer on Brexit, here you go.)
Well, the vote is in and the result is: LEAVE.
Honestly, I expected "remain" in a close vote, so I'm fairly stunned by this result.
There is going to be a whole lot of fallout from this vote. It's already begun, as the global markets are reacting to the news and British Prime Minister David Cameron has resigned.
For obvious reasons, the reaction in Scotland (which was widely "remain") is of interest to me. Here's one tiny picture of what's happening in Scotland:
Patrick Harvie, the Scottish Green party co-leader, has signalled his party could support a second independence referendum if that was called for by Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon.It's just mind-blowing (though also totally understandable) to read about Scotland considering withdrawing from Britain to align with Europe, because other parts of Britain don't want to be part of the EU anymore.
The Scottish Greens announced they had launched a public petition calling for Holyrood to "examine and exhaust every option for continuing Scotland's close ties with Europe" – a move which would include staging a second vote.
Describing the Brexit campaign as "deceitful, manipulative, and at times downright racist," Harvie said it would damage the economy and tear up the many benefits of EU membership.
He said: "Scotland must keep open every option for protecting ourselves from this threat. The Scottish parliament and government must be represented in the negotiations about what comes next. A cross-party plan of action should be sought, so we can defend our rights as EU citizens."
With the SNP two seats short of an overall majority at Holyrood, Sturgeon would need the six votes of the pro-independence Scottish Green party to win a Scottish parliament vote calling for a second referendum.
Meanwhile, from Northern Ireland:
BREAKING: Sinn Fein says "British government has forfeited any mandate to represent economic or political interests of people in N Ireland"
— Marc Mallett (@MarcMallett_UTV) June 24, 2016
In the US, the media is spinning this as a win for Donald Trump, and [CN: video autoplays at link] doing a victory lap, calling it a "great thing" and saying it's only the beginning of things to come. And it has certainly empowered the white nationalists who support him: I was up until 2am blocking gleeful Brexit celebrators on Twitter who were coming after me, whose profiles were all combinations of Trump imagery and Nazi imagery. It is chilling.
This will have global ramifications, but it will be the worst for the most vulnerable marginalized people in the UK. My thoughts are with them, especially.
The Guardian has live updates here.
Open Thread
Hosted by an emu.
[Video Description: An emu plays in a garden sprinkler in a backyard. She rolls around on the ground beside it, twisting her body and neck into a seemingly impossible position! Then she stands back up for more sprinkler fun-time.]
Nope
[Content Note: Misogyny; eliminationist rhetoric.]
I've got a new piece at BNR about CNN's reportedly having hired fired Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski:
CNN's decision is particularly objectionable given that Corey Lewandowski was charged with assaulting a female reporter (the charges were later dropped) and has a reputation for harassing female reporters and staffers. If I were a woman working at CNN right now, I'd be very angry about CNN's apparent indifference to his treatment of women.Click on through to read the rest!
But, beyond that, Lewandowski's hiring is indicative of broader problems in cable news.
First: The drivers of political news are already overwhelmingly white, conservative, and male. Hiring Lewandowski – who is himself white, conservative, and male – more deeply entrenches that existing problem.
Secondly: Cable news is absurdly welcoming to rightwing extremists like Lewandowski.
Okay, Bernie
Bernie Sanders, fresh off saying with a straight face "It doesn't appear that I'm going to be the nominee," has now written a piece for the Washington Post about what he and his supporters want: "Here's what we want."
Just for the record: "To defeat Donald Trump" appears nowhere in the piece.
I'm not suggesting he doesn't want that. I've heard him say that he does. But it's curious that it still doesn't seem to be a key priority for him at this point. Not enough of a priority that he mentions it, encourages unity, or endorses Hillary Clinton, anyway.
Which is to say nothing of the fact that most of his list of wants are things that Hillary Clinton and her supporters also want. Which underlines, once again, that Clinton's and Sanders' primary disagreement was about how to get those things done.
It's long past time for Bernie to acknowledge that, instead of continuing to imply that Clinton and her supporters want different things altogether.
Daily Dose of Cute
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
Standards
"Don't have standards; you might scare him off." This is the opposite of good advice. Do not take this advice.
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) June 10, 2016
So much advice given to straight women about relationships is, at its root, about lowering our standards for men. Or not having any standards at all, lest we scare them away by seeming "difficult," or "demanding," or "high maintenance," or, you know, "bitchy."
I'm not one to offer relationship advice, especially unsolicited, but this is one piece of advice I will give: Have standards, and communicate them.
If you scare someone off with your standards: Good. That means they were never going to meet them.
Iain and I have always had high standards for one another. Sometimes, to be frank, it's just because of our own idiosyncrasies and foibles, which create a high threshold of tolerance. It isn't just anyone who can put up with either of us, heh. But it's also because each of us wants to be with someone who loves us hard and knows us well; who is loyal and reliable; who is willing to be fucking in it with us, no matter what.
That's what we each want to give, and that's what we each want in return.
Neither of us has standards based on ephemeral criteria. He was broke as hell when we met, and I couldn't have cared less. I made my own money; I had a good job and owned my own place. I had a major health crisis soon after we met, and he didn't freak out. He knows that health is precarious, and, in any case, if you want to grow old with someone, you'd better be ready for their bodies to change in significant ways. Now or later.
We never tested each other, but we asked for things we needed. When I wanted some reassurance about to whom I was speaking, long before mobile phones and laptops came standard with cameras, he found a way. There was a shitty webcam broadcasting from the construction site of the Scottish Parliament Building, which was being built at the time. Iain would give me a time to watch, and I would tune into the live stream, to see him running and waving, a tiny little figure in the distance, appearing in a series of still images.
Something about that, everything about that, has always hung with me. I needed something that wasn't easy for him to deliver, but he understood why, and he found a solution. It was a solution that took some effort and creativity. But I'm worth some effort and creativity. So is he.
Insert here all the obvious caveats about how we sometimes fuck up and let each other down. But generally speaking, when one of us says we have an expectation and/or a need for something we need to feel safe and secure and loved, the other meets it. And happily so.
And thing about being partnered with someone who has standards is that it challenges you to meet them. We make each other better people, simply by asking.
The thing is, there are all kinds of cultural disincentives for women, especially women partnered with men, to not have high standards. The warnings that you'll end up alone. The grim head-shaking about how you'll be seen as high-maintenance. The pushback you get when you express them, by lots of men.
Sometimes it's hard to give ourselves permission to have standards, particularly if we have transgressive bodies or politics or any of the other number of things that invite "well-meaning" people to admonish us to settle.
But we must grab the permission to have standards with both hands, and hold onto it firmly. It's okay to expect that our partners actually give us what we need. Standards are boundaries. They are self-protection. They are the path to both safety and joy.
It's more than okay to have them, and to communicate them. It's crucial.
Expect more. In all things.
In the News
Here is some stuff in the news today...
The Supreme Court has issued a number of big decisions today:
1. "The Supreme Court has placed new limits on state laws that make it a crime for motorists suspected of drunken driving to refuse alcohol tests. Justices ruled Thursday that police need a search warrant before requiring drivers to take blood alcohol tests. But the court declined to require a warrant for breath tests, which it considers less intrusive."
2. "In a small victory for diversity in higher education, a hamstrung Supreme Court narrowly upheld the affirmative action program at the University of Texas at Austin, effectively allowing the school to keep using race as one of many factors in its admissions process. The case, Fisher v. University of Texas, was one of the oldest cases left undecided on the court's current docket." Crucially: "SCOTUS ruling steps back constitutional scrutiny of affirmative action programs, making them substantially more likely to be upheld."
3. "A tie vote by the Supreme Court is blocking President Barack Obama's immigration plan that sought to shield millions living in the U.S. illegally from deportation. The justices' one-sentence opinion on Thursday effectively kills the plan for the duration of Obama's presidency. A tie vote sets no national precedent but leaves in place the ruling by the lower court. In this case, the federal appeals court in New Orleans said the Obama administration lacked the authority to shield up to 4 million immigrants from deportation and make them eligible for work permits without approval from Congress." Shit. However: "There will be a later appeal, so Obama immigration policy will be revived if Clinton wins and a democratic nominee provides a 5th vote."
4. "SCOTUS ties 4-4 in fight over jurisdiction of tribal courts." (I'm continuing to try to find a complete story on this decision.) UPDATE: Here's a piece by the AP on the decision.
The final three SCOTUS opinions from this session, including the challenge to Texas' abortion restrictions, will be issued on Monday.
* * *
[Content Note: Police brutality; racism; death] Goddammit: "Officer Caesar Goodson Jr., the third of six Baltimore City police officers to stand trial for their alleged role in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray, was found not guilty of second-degree murder today by Judge Barry Williams." Goodson "faced the most serious criminal charges over the death of Freddie Gray" and his case "has been viewed as potentially the state's strongest shot at a conviction, and the defeat deals another blow to both activists' hope and state's attorney Marilyn Mosby, Baltimore’s beleaguered chief prosecutor who many hailed as a hero when she announced the charges on 1 May 2015."
[CN: Guns; terrorism] "A masked man who stormed into a German movie theater Thursday afternoon and opened fire has been shot and killed in a police raid. Authorities say between 20 and 50 people may have been hurt from tear gas used in the attempt to take out the attacker. No one is believed to have been injured by the gunman. One state official said that right now it's unclear if the man was armed with a real gun—it may have been a gas or stun gun. ...The chaos unfurled around 3 p.m. in the Kinopolis cinema complex in Viernheim, a small town outside of Frankfurt in western Germany. The masked man reportedly tried to barricade himself in the theater; after a brief standoff, he was taken out by police."
[CN: Guns] Rep. Steve King continues to be a terrible human being, responding to the Democratic sit-in to protest Republican obstructionism on gun reform by tweeting: "I've had it with the gun grabbing Democrats and their sit in anti 2nd amendment jihad. I'm going to go home and buy a new gun." I mean.
[CN: White supremacy] "An independent candidate for Congress from Tennessee has been swept up in a wave of criticism for his campaign billboard vowing to 'Make American White Again.' Rick Tyler, who is running for the 3rd Congressional District in the northeastern part of the state, said he put up the billboard alongside Highway 411 in Polk County to make a point that "the 'Leave It to Beaver,' 'Ozzie and Harriet,' 'Mayberry' America of old was vastly superior to what we are experiencing today.'" 1. America was never "white." Never. 2. Whoooooooooops your idea of "tradition."
Congratulations to Erin O'Flaherty, who was crowned Miss Missouri on Saturday, making her the Miss America pageant's first-ever openly lesbian contestant. "'I'm on cloud nine really just to be Miss Missouri,' she said. 'I don't know that I intended to be the first, but I am. So I'm very excited about it.' O'Flaherty believes she also will be the first openly gay woman to compete in the Miss America scholarship pageant, which is scheduled for Sept. 11 in Atlantic City, New Jersey."
Whoa: "Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Australian National University have developed new technology that aims to make the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) even more sensitive to faint ripples in space-time called gravitational waves. ...Although not part of the original Advanced LIGO design, injecting the new squeezed vacuum source into the LIGO detector could help double its sensitivity. This would allow detection of gravitational waves that are far weaker or that originate from farther away than is possible now."
YESSSSSSS! "You've seen Spy, right? I'm not sure if I just exist in a bubble and didn't hear it talked about much, or if it really is, even still, upsettingly underseen. Because oh wow is that movie phenomenal. And Paul Feig knows it. He created a perfect vehicle for Melissa McCarthy, and that's clear. But the supporting characters in this movie are equally brilliant, not least of all Jason Statham's face-off-machine-obsessed Rick Ford. Ford is such a great character, in fact, that Feig isn't done with him. He says Spy is 'the first thing [he] did that [he] set up to be a possible franchise and Melissa is dying to do it.' And Statham's Ford is a huge part of the story he already has planned out.
'Susan Cooper is one of my favourite characters I've ever come up with,' continues Feig, 'but Rick Ford is possibly the one I'll take to the grave with me. Will he get any more self-aware in the sequel? No, god no. He'll get less self-aware.' This is incredible news. In the current climate of unending sequels, this is a franchise we can firmly get behind. How can Rick Ford possibly get less self-aware? I have no idea, but I'm deeply upset that we can't find out right this instant." SAME!!!
And finally! "Senior Boxer & His Guinea Pig Copilot Are the Coolest Duo Since Batman & Robin." OMGGGGGGG LOVE.
This Is Ridiculous
Heaving sigh. This is where we are: The media is so desperate to turn this campaign into a horserace that they are quoting Donald Trump's shitcanned campaign manager as proof that Trump is definitely totally certainly absolutely for sure on his way to becoming presidential material.
Politico: "Ousted Trump aide: He's getting his act together."
No, no he is not. No more than he was the last time we heard he was "getting his act together." Or the time before that.
NBC, 6/22: Trump tries to reset
— Brian Fallon (@brianefallon) June 23, 2016
Politico, 6/10: Trump tries to reset
NPR, 4/27: Trump reset?
Reuters, 4/14: Trump takes step to reset
We are on an endless loop of promises that Trump is on the verge of becoming a reasonable, competent candidate—followed immediately by evidence that Trump is, in fact, not even remotely a reasonable, competent candidate.
The guy is a terrible person and a disaster candidate. That ain't gonna change.
And it would be really swell if we could all stop pretending that it could ever be otherwise.
I Guess He Would Think That
[Content Note: Guns; gun violence. Video may autoplay at link.]
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan thinks the Democrats' sit-in in protest of Republican obstructionism on gun reform is a "publicity stunt."
Paul Ryan called the Democratic lawmakers' sit-in Wednesday to protest inaction on gun laws a "publicity stunt," saying that House liberals were more interested in headlines than solving the problem.1. Fuck you.
..."This is nothing more than a publicity stunt," Ryan said, saying House Democrats would infringe on Second Amendment rights and do nothing to prevent terrorist attacks. "This is not about a solution to a problem. This is about trying to get attention."
Ryan said they would not take up gun bills that the Senate already voted down on Monday. He called on legislation to be drafted in a "calm and cool manner," not through sit-ins.
2. Yes, Speaker Ryan, you're right in that the Democrats are "trying to get attention." YOUR ATTENTION. The attention of your party. They want to get your attention and direct it at the vast majority of US voters who desperately want their elected representatives to take meaningful action on gun reform. They want to direct your attention at the people who have been killed and injured by gun violence. They want to direct your attention to the fact that you're a bunch of pathetic minions of the NRA who put party above both country and your countrypeople's lives.
3. "Calm and cool." Don't be getting all hysterical about the need for gun reform, civil rights hero Rep. John Lewis! And all your colleagues! And all the people who are demanding change! Simmer down now. We've only had 13 mass shootings in the 10 days since the massacre in Orlando. What's with the urgency?
(In case I wasn't laying it on thick enough: That was sarcasm. Bitter, bitter sarcasm.)
Honestly, I just don't know how many more ways are there to say "there is blood on your hands for failing to act." ENOUGH.
I've got more at BNR: "We are at an unmistakable inflection point. A huge majority of the American people want action taken on guns. The Republicans flatly refuse. The Democrats are doing everything they can to make their opponents budge. ...The difference in the two parties could not be more stark. One party actually realizes that this is a matter of life and death, and one party doesn't. Or worse: Realizes it but doesn't care."
This Photo Is Everything
Posted on Rep. John Lewis' Facebook page, with the caption: "We have a mission, a mandate, and a moral obligation to speak up and speak out until the House votes to address gun violence. We have turned [unwilling] ears to the blood of the innocent and the concern of our nation. We will use nonviolence to fight gun violence and inaction."
On the day of the Senate filibuster, I wrote: "There are still things that need to change. I am not done agitating; I expect more, always. But this day I am proud to call myself a Democrat. Because there is a difference between these parties, and it means something to me."
I am proud of my party for filibustering and for sitting-in. And I am proud of them for modeling that indifference is not an option. Not anymore.
Question of the Day
Suggested by Shaker bekitty: "Are you a part of any fandoms? Which one/s, and what drew you to them?"
